Overview

• Organizers estimated around 300,000 participants filled Rome’s Piazza San Giovanni at the June 7 rally called “Italy That Does Not Remain Silent”
• Opposition figures Elly Schlein, Giuseppe Conte, Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni demanded Italy suspend military cooperation with Israel and recognize the State of Palestine
• Speakers’ use of terms like “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” to describe Israeli actions provoked backlash from parts of the Jewish community and right-wing parties
• The event concluded with a public appeal to vote in the June 8–9 referendum, prompting accusations from Meloni’s coalition of violating the electoral silence mandate
• The Meloni government and its allies condemned the demonstration as politicizing the Gaza crisis and exploiting the tragedy for electoral gain