Israeli and anti-Iranian regime participants in Italy’s Bologna Pride were reportedly violently attacked by the rest of the crowd on Sunday.
At least 20,000 people were estimated to have joined the Rivolta Pride 2026 parade, whose slogan this year was “No Pride in Genocide.”
A small group of about six demonstrators decided to join while carrying Iranian or Israeli symbols. It included an Iranian photographer wearing the pre-1979 Iranian flag, a Jewish woman wearing a rainbow flag featuring the Star of David, and several members of Partito Radicale [Radical Party] an Italian political movement centered on civil rights and nonviolent activism.
The Radical Party said that “within 20 seconds, we were intimidated and, amid chants of ‘Zionists out of the march,’ we were prevented from continuing through violent shoving and coordinated pushing. Through megaphones and shouting, we were forced to leave the procession.”
Additionally, the Radical Party said that the Iranian photographer displaying the Iranian flag was told, “We don’t care about Iran,” and was forced to leave.
The Radical Party posted videos showing the Jewish and Iranian protesters being unable to move forward while other protesters yelled “Free Palestine” and “Genocide” at them.
Jewish and Israeli protestors were banned from multiple marches in Italy
“With the exponential rise of antisemitism over the past two years, Jewish LGBTQ communities around the world have increasingly found themselves isolated, challenged, discriminated against, and forced to confront attempts at exclusion,” the Radical Party posted on Facebook.
It also noted that this was the second time this year that Jewish or Israeli protesters had been excluded from pride in Italy: The organizing committee of Rome Pride decided to exclude the Jewish LGBTQ association Keshet Italia from the upcoming June 20 event, over the group’s refusal to condemn Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide.
Israel’s Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled firmly condemned the incident, calling it “an unacceptable act and contrary to the values of equality, freedom, and inclusion.”
He said that it was the exact opposite of Tel Aviv Pride, “where thousands of people – Jews, Christians, and Muslims – marched together in an atmosphere of respect and coexistence.”
The organizers of the Pride Parade denied violence against the six participants, saying “the provocation by six supporters of Israel was peacefully and unanimously rejected by all participants of the march.”
“One of the fundamental pillars of pride is the condemnation of genocide, the support for the fight for a free Palestine and the rejection of any exploitation of our rights to justify colonial and racist policies,” they claimed.
The organizers confirmed that they do not accept any symbols relating to Israel at the march.
Additionally, they confirmed their antipathy to the use of the flag of the Iranian monarchy, which, they said, “has recently been revived by a small segment of the diaspora who currently advocate for the return of the monarchy and support Israel and the US military intervention.”
Other anti-regime Iranians were said to have been allowed to participate in the march.
The organizers concluded by saying, “The fight against antisemitism has always been a fundamental value for us,” defining the actions of the six demonstrators as “a clear and pathetic Zionist provocation.”