That anti-Semitism is spreading in Italian universities is now clear after dozens of cases, without forgetting the occupations of universities by the pro-Hamas supporters. In recent days, the case of Monica Dall’Asta, professor of History of Film Theories at the Department of Arts of the University of Bologna, exploded. The professor has written an industrial quantity of posts in which she describes Israel as a Nazi state, going so far as to glorify figures such as the Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti, sentenced to five life sentences in Israel for a series of attacks that caused the death of dozens of civilians.
Some of Dall’Asta’s posts are breathtaking: «The falsehood of mass rapes has been debunked numerous times», «But what overwhelming evidence… the lie of mass rapes has been debunked numerous times», and again: «You must stop with the lie of rapes». Pressed by many users who reminded her that some of the kidnapped women were raped and are pregnant, Dall’Asta continued with her invectives against Israel and the Jews. The professor then lashed out at the Jewish activist Elisa Garfagna, who asked her to account for her very serious statements; what infuriated the university professor was the open letter that the activist from Genoa sent to the Rector of the University of Bologna, Prof. Giovanni Molari, in which she asks him to take a stand. We too at Panorama.it We asked Prof. Molari for a statement, but our phone calls and email requests went unanswered. It is unfortunate that an institution like this, which has a very stringent code of ethics, does not respond to press inquiries about a case that directly involves it.
As already mentioned, the October 7 massacre was the largest massacre against Jews (also affecting Buddhists, Muslims and Christians) since the Holocaust. Over 1200 dead, 300 people kidnapped (the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas were found a few days ago) and numerous testimonies of rapes suffered by the victims; these are the facts. Even the UN, which certainly cannot be considered a defense body of the Jewish state, after a thorough investigation, concluded that many of those rapes are true beyond any reasonable doubt.
It is simply unacceptable that members of the academic world make such statements that not only offend the suffering of the victims still in the hands of Hamas (especially women, victims of rape and mutilation), but also the image of the University of Bologna. Dall’Asta had also signed two appeals against Israel: one by professors of the University of Bologna asking to sever relations with the Israeli university “Technion” and with Thales; another signed by 1,400 researchers to ask that Italy put an end to the agreement of industrial, scientific and technological cooperation with Israel.
The statements of Professor Monica Dall’Asta are causing discussion and have become a political case, so much so that Sara Kelany, Deputy of Fratelli d’Italia, and Senator, also of FdI, Marco Lisei have released a very harsh press release: “Since October 7 of last year, episodes of anti-Semitism, especially those disguised as hairy and sinister anti-Zionism, have increased dramatically. At the University of Bologna, Professor Monica Dall’Asta has become a megaphone of obscenities against Israel, even praising the intifada and going so far as to deny the mass rapes committed by Hamas against Israeli women. This attitude is unacceptable, especially from someone who should be responsible for contributing to cultural and academic growth. We ask that the rector take serious disciplinary measures. While the left is guilty of remaining silent in the face of the denial of the terrible crimes of jihadism, we have long been denouncing that Italian universities have become one of the places favored by the propal committees and the universe of social centers to preach hatred against Israel, places that should contribute to the diffusion and promotion of culture and that have been dangerously transformed into incubators of anti-Semitism”.
