Rome synagogue memorial to murdered Jewish toddler defaced

Italian Jewish community leaders condemned the attack as antisemitic and threatening to Italy’s democratic values.

By World Israel News Staff

A memorial honoring a two-year-old Jewish boy killed in a terror attack at a Rome synagogue was defaced earlier this week, with anti-Israel vandals spray-painting “Free Palestine” and anti-Zionist slogans across the site.

Michael Stefano Gaj Tachè was murdered in 1982 when Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the Great Synagogue of Rome. During the attack, the terrorists threw grenades and fired machine guns at unarmed Italian Jews who were leaving Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret holiday services. Gaj Tachè, only two years old, was killed, and more than 30 others were wounded.

In 2022, a wing of the Bet Michael Monteverde Synagogue in Rome was dedicated in his memory. Over the weekend, anti-Israel activists defaced the memorial plaque and scrawled messages including “Free Palestine” and “Monteverde is anti-Zionist and anti-fascist” on the synagogue’s exterior walls.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned the vandalism in a statement on X. “Against every ghost of the past, enough antisemitism, enough hatred,” Tajani wrote, noting that he had contacted local Jewish community leaders to offer support.

Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish community of Rome, said in a video statement that the attack occurred amid a stark uptick in antisemitism across Italy.

“All of this is part of a strategy of intimidation,” he said. “Antisemitism is being used as an instrument of political protest.”

The Union of Young Italian Jews also denounced the incident, calling the defacement “an insult to the Jewish community and, at the same time, a direct attack on Italy and the values on which our democracy is founded.”

The organization added that “those who commit such acts are not engaging in politics nor expressing dissent. They are fueling antisemitism – the same hatred that has already wounded Italy in the past and is resurfacing with disturbing ease.”