Photograph by Michael Leonardi

On Monday people across Italy rose up for Gaza and Palestine inspired by the call of port workers from Genova and the Global Sumud Flotilla currently en route to Gaza with a fleet of 50 boats carrying tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of common citizens, activists, lawyers, human rights workers, celebrities and elected officials from all over the world. In over 100 cities and towns across the country hundreds of thousands of students and teachers walked out of schools taking to the streets. Trains, ports and highways were shut down and the country was paralyzed from north to south.

This civil society uprsising is continuing by the moment as a call for constant and continuous agitation is being met with never ceasing demonstrations and civil disobedience.  It is a momentously historic time and a mobilization the likes of which Italy has not seen in decades. What was dubbed as a general strike on Monday was not called by the large institutional unions but by what are considered unions from below, that represent the vast and growing discontent of the working classes and a refusal by the vast majority of the Italian people to sit idly by as the Palestinian people are exterminated before our eyes by the genocidal United States and Israel with the ongoing complicty of most of the Western world.

The movement in Italy has been expanding and growing at a frenetic pace for months with constant cultural events, large mass demonstrations happening spontaneously in major cities, repeatedly, over the last couple months and a seismic shift in the national media narrative as the utter brutality of the now acknowledged GENOCIDE has been laid bare for all to see. But this awakeninging is not only in the major cities, it is literally everywhere. It is almost impossible to find a town or village that does not have some symbol of Palestinain solidarity on display for all to see.

For the first time in its three year tenure the neo fascist Meloni led coalition seems to be in tilt. They are scrambling to respond to this over powering wave of humanity that has grown to tsunami like proportions, especailly around the Global Sumud Flotilla that has captured the hearts and minds of over 80 percent of the Italian population. Meloni and the foreign secretary Tajani are now pretending to show support to the Palestinian people on the surface while they continue to provide record amounts of weapons and weapons making material to Israel as it itensifies its onslaught. They have consistently lied to the public saying they have halted most weapons transfers and military cooperations with Israel since 2024, but mainstream media outlets have exposed the truth. This warped and double talking government somehow thinks they can continue their pitiful servitude to Trump and friendship with Netanyahu while fooling the Italian people into believing that they really fo want what’s best for Palestinians. This game is up and it is clear that the Italian people will not allow the extermination acorss the Sea.

Image by Michael Leonardi

People repeatedly ask why this uprising has become so powerful and felt by so many in Italy and it seems that the best anwer is the strong human comradery and familal like bonds felt across the Mediterranean cultures and region. In Spain as in Italy the people are making it clear that they will not be silent and obedient in the face of genocide. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona, from Tunisia, From Italy and from Greece. The common connection to the land and the sea is something that breeds solidarity and empowers resistance.  The Spanish Government is the first country in Europe to take concrete and serious steps for a comlplete arms embargo of Israel. This came on the heels of the people of Spain literally shutting down the Vuelta bicycle race, one of the country’s most important sporting events as people across europe call for Israel to be banned from all international competitions and Spain threatens to boycott the World Cup if Israel is represented.

As in Spain the Italian people are demanding sanctions and a complete arms, cultural and trade embargo of the terrorist state of Israel. The hyporisy of white European settler colonalism is being laid bare and the masses are crying out from below that enough is enough. As of this writing we are wondereing what will come of the Italian and Spanish governments providing naval ships to accompany the Global Sumud Flotilla. The Spanish commitment definitely seems more hopeful and sincere. The Italian government is sending mixed messages saying they will protect the Flotilla in International waters but not when they enter another state’s waters. The waters off of Gaza do not belong to Israel and according to international lawyers and legal experts they are occupied waters that this Flotilla of the best that humanity has to offer has every right to enter.

The Israeli government has thretened to attack the Flotilla within 48 hours. Meanwhile, indictided war criminal Netanyahu is free to travel in New York and welcomed with open arms by the hodgepodge of fascist gangsters and psychopathic, messianic evangelical zionists running the country.

Here in Italy, the mobilization is continuing as we speak, there are protests continuing every day at all levels of society and another mass mobilization to shut down everything and block business as usual is already in the works. May the uprisings of the peoples of the Mediterannean and Italy be an example for the world. The time to rise is now, everywhere, powerfully and forcefully without fear for the sake of our humanity dying thousands of times over beneath the rubble of Gaza.

The post “We are all Sumud:” Italy Rises for Gaza appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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