Vandals deface mural of Oct. 7 survivor as antisemitism soars in Italy

Vandals defaced a mural in Italy depicting one of the most harrowing moments of the Oct.7 terrorist attack, the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents plaguing the country.

The vandalism was discovered in Milan on Monday, the anniversary of the terrorist attack, with the suspects erasing the face and legs of Oct.7 survivor Vlada Patapov, whose likeness was etched to a mural in downtown Milan.

Patapov became one of the faces of Hamas’ brutal attack after images of her racing across the desert in her red jacket during Hamas’ invasion at the Nova music festival went viral.The mural, which was located near Milan’s state university, was dubbed “October 7th, Escape,” by artist AleXsandro Palombo, who painted it as a way for the world to remember the horrors of the attack.The artist condemned the vandals who “decapitated” the image, adding that those spreading antisemitism in Italy are not acting for the benefit of Palestinians.

“These extremist movements that are increasingly radicalizing our society have the sole purpose of defending terrorist belief in our Western democracy,” Palombo said.Local police said they are currently investigating the incident.

Monday’s case was the latest flagged by the Antisemitism Observatory in Milan, which recorded a 300% increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in Italy since the terrorist attack.Before Oct.

7, 2023, there were about 30 reports of antisemitism every week, according to Stefano Gatti, a researcher at the observatory.After the terrorist attack, which killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, the number of incidents spiked to 80 or 90 a week, Gatti said.“While before Oct.

7, the incidents were mostly on Internet websites, now they consist of acts in the real world,’’ he said.“Antisemitism has also become more socially acceptable.”The group cited previous incidents such as one where a rabbi was allegedly stalked in the city of Genoa by a person brandishing a screwdriver.

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