An Italian professor who opposes cutting ties with Israeli schools was beaten in his classroom by pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted the lesson he was giving on Tuesday at the University of Pisa.
In a second incident the same day, protesters interrupted a lecture from a guest Israeli speaker at a Turin polytechnic, with the school later severing ties with him as he had defended the Israel Defense Forces during dialogue with the activists.
Both incidents were caught on video and posted to social media.
Anti-Israel activity on campuses around the world has surged during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, led by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Dozens of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists burst into a class at the University of Pisa given by Prof. Rino Casella, who is not Jewish.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and hurled abuse at Casella, apparently over his objection to the university’s recent announcement that it would cut ties with two Israeli universities.
Casella said that one of the students in the class tried to intervene, but he was beaten, and that when Casella tried to shield the student, he too was attacked.
Casella went to the hospital for treatment of injuries to his head and arms.
Casella told the Courier Dellasera daily he was in “emotional shock.”
“I can’t accept the interruption of a university class, which is a sacred place, a place of dialogue — not a place of violence,” he said.
Casella described how “fascists” had burst into the class and demanded he stop the lesson.
When one student tried to take a flag from a protester, he was kicked and punched. The professor tried to shield the student, but was himself punched in the face.
Casella explained that a leaflet against him has been circulated a few days earlier after he spoke out against the university suspending collaboration with two Israeli universities.
“They called me a Zionist, I don’t consider it an insult. That said, I’m not Jewish, I’m an atheist. If they call me complicit in a genocide, well, I’m not, especially since I don’t believe a genocide is underway [in the Gaza Strip]. But that’s not the point,” he said.
“I represent the institutions, and the attack against me is an attack on the university,” Casella said, and warned that if such violence continues in universities, “someone could die.”
He vowed not to be deterred and said he would go back to teaching after taking a hospital-recommended rest of seven days.
A second incident occurred as Prof. Pini Zorea, of Braude College of Engineering Karmiel, delivered a guest lecture on “Principles of Digital Image Processing and Technologies” at the Polytechnic University of Turin, Courier Dellasera reported.
Anti-Israel activists interrupted the event with criticism of Israel over its use of facial recognition technology, accusing the IDF of trying to impose an “apartheid regime” on Palestinians.
Zorea spoke with the protesters, noting that in his opinion, the IDF is the most “clean” army in the world.
Responding to chants of “Free Palestine,” Zorea said he agreed — but that Palestine also needs to be free of Hamas, according to the report.
When the university administration heard of the incident, collaboration with Zorea was suspended.
“As soon as I learned of this unacceptable statement, I ordered, effective immediately, the halting of the module and the suspension of all activities with the professor,” Rector Stefano Corgnati said in the Courier Dellasera report.
“He will be called in for clarification on what happened,” he continued.
“The Polytechnic, including through its governing bodies, has always clearly condemned all forms of violence, repudiating war and expressing outrage over the ongoing massacre of civilians in Gaza,” Corgnati added.
In August, Prof. Luca Nivarraa at the University of Palermo called on his followers to “unfriend your Jewish ‘friends’ on Facebook, even the ‘good’ ones,” arguing that even Jews who criticize Israel were complicit in “covering up the horror” of what he described as a “Palestinian Holocaust.”
The university swiftly distanced itself from the remarks.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 64,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it had killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.