Jewish man in Rome arrested for allegedly shooting left-wing protesters with airgun |
A young Jewish man was arrested in Rome on Wednesday for allegedly shooting and lightly wounding two left-wing demonstrators with an airgun on Saturday at a rally celebrating Liberation Day, which marks the anniversary of the end of World War II in Italy.
According to the Italian daily La Repubblica, the suspect was brought to the Regina Coeli jail in Rome, and the authorities were considering charging him with attempted murder. The police are also investigating possible ties between the incident and other attacks and acts of vandalism against pro-Palestinian targets over the past two years.
On Saturday, according to Italian media, an individual wearing a helmet arrived on a motorcycle at a park where many of the demonstrators were hanging out and targeted a couple in their sixties who were wearing a red neckerchief, a symbol of the left-wing Association of Italian Partisans. The man was lightly injured in his neck, and the woman in her shoulder. Both were treated at the site.
According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, police identified the shooter, who used his own motorcycle, and he confessed, adding that he was “a member of the Jewish Brigade.”
The Jewish Brigade was made up of about 5,000 Jewish soldiers, mostly from Mandatory Palestine, who volunteered to join the British Army to fight against the Nazis in World War II. For the past several years, some Italian Jews have worked to revive the Brigade’s legacy, including by joining the Liberation Day rallies under its banner, with many also choosing to bring Israeli flags.
After the arrest of the Jewish man in Rome, Jewish organizations and leaders condemned the incident and distanced themselves from it.
“The arrest of a young man who is........