A group of young neo-Nazis tried to break into a hotel in Sofia on August 2, where Italian Jewish teenagers from Rome and Milan and their teachers were staying. All leading Italian media outlets wrote about the incident, including the Italian news agency ANSA, the newspaper “Corriere della Sera“, the news media “Sky TG24“, the financial publication “Sole 24 Ore“, the right-wing newspaper “Giornale“, the national media “RAI News“, the agency “La Presse“, and others. They report that young neo-Nazis gathered in front of the entrance to the hotel in Sofia and attempted to force their way into the building, then blocked access to it. According to the information, even after the police intervention, the attackers returned and again blocked the entrance to the hotel, which the media defined as “a serious act of anti-Semitism in the heart of Europe“.
A number of websites, including “La Presse“, ANSA and “RAI News“, have also published frames of the incident, showing young people dressed in black in front of the hotel entrance chanting “Sieg Heil” and give a Nazi salute.
A message of solidarity with the Italian youth affected by the incident was sent by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani. “I express solidarity with the group of young Italian Jews who were attacked and threatened in a hotel in Sofia. I condemn this latest act of anti-Semitism. This is a phenomenon that must be fought against, a form of hatred and discrimination that must be eradicated“, Tajani said in Aix, “Sky TG24“ and “Agencia Nova“ write.
Ignazio La Russa, the president of the upper house of the Italian parliament – The Senate also strongly condemned what happened, which it described as a “very serious episode affecting a group of Italian Jewish teenagers in Bulgaria“, writes “Sky TG 24“. La Russa expressed solidarity with the affected children, their families and the Jewish community in Rome and Milan and stressed that “anti-Semitism and any form of hatred can find no place in our society“. La Russa also expressed hope that the competent authorities will quickly verify the facts and identify those responsible.
The President of the Jewish Community of Rome, Victor Fadlun, said that this was a “shameful provocation“. “Our children are not free to travel around Europe without being exposed to violence and verbal aggression by anti-Semites“, said Faldun. He described the incident as “another act of anti-Semitism directed against Italian Jewish teenagers and their educators in a member state of the European Union“. Faldun called on the Bulgarian authorities “to fully clarify the case and for those responsible for this attack to be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible“.
The Union of Italian Jewish Communities said it “expresses solidarity with young Italian Jews over the incident. “These are incidents that continue to recur with increasingly alarming frequency. For our part, we will take all possible action to ensure that Jewish life in all its manifestations can continue to develop peacefully and safely for Italian and European Jews“, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities added.