Overview

• About twenty pro‑Palestine students entered a lecture at the University of Pisa’s Polo Piagge on 16 September, halted the class, and labeled instructor Rino Casella a “professore sionista.”
• Casella and a student were struck during the disruption; the professor received emergency treatment with a seven‑day prognosis and then filed a police complaint.
• Students for Palestine in Pisa posted videos claiming the action and said they had decided to occupy and cancel the lesson to protest the war in Gaza.
• Rector Riccardo Zucchi expressed solidarity with Casella and condemned the violence, while Universities Minister Anna Maria Bernini called the incident intolerable and phoned the rector, the professor and the prefect.
• Jewish community leaders warned of an escalation as bipartisan political figures condemned the assault, with protesters planning further rallies in Pisa and promoting a 22 September strike as other campuses hold demonstrations.