Anti-Green Pass Protestors in Novara are condemned for wearing Auschwitz prisoner styled bibs. The protestors also clung to knotted ropes designed to look like barbed wire.
Italy’s Jewish community condemned Green Pass protesters who demonstrated in the northern city of Novara dressed in grey and white striped vests. The vests recall the uniforms worn by prisoners of Nazi concentration camps.
To add further insult, the protesters filed through the streets hanging on to knotted ropes made to look like barbed wire. Their aim was an attempt to link Italy’s Green Pass mandate for workers with Nazi fascism.
Clear reference to Auschwitz
The demonstrators carried signs that read “We are like prisoners of Auschwitz” and “Stop dictatorship”, Corriere della Sera reported.
“In the face of ravings like this one cannot invoke the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution” – said Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). “We have witnessed an abuse and an offense to memory.”
The images also received widespread condemnation on social media in Italy. The health minister Roberto Speranza described the scenes as “shocking.”
Why the protest?
Since 15th October, the Green Pass has been mandatory for all workers, in both the public and private sector. The move led to protests across the country, though not the concerted and cohesive effort some thought they would be.
The Green Pass is a digital or paper certificate showing people have been vaccinated, tested negative or recently recovered from Covid-19.
