The incident was the latest in a series of such protests at Italian universities.
“Today Federico II and its dean Matteo Lorito were woken up in this way,” said the Rete Studentesca per la Palestina (Student Network for Palestine) group.
“We decided to take hard-hitting action by occupying the rectorate offices as has already happened in Rome, Turin and Bologna.
“We are tired of walking through our universities while lie after lie is told, while places of knowledge are militarised on the one hand - legitimising a language of war that is more than worrying - and depoliticised [on the other].”
The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa’s academic senate recently requested the call for proposals to be reconsidered following protests over the impact of Israel’s war against Hamas on the civilian population of Gaza.
That came after Turin university’s academic senate announced the decision not to take part in the same call for proposals after pro-Palestinian left-wing collectives occupied its premises.
Following that decision and the de-platforming of La Repubblica editor Maurizio Molinari at the Federico II University a few days earlier, Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, sounded the alarm on anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment at Italian universities.
“Every red line has now been crossed and concern about the university situation is overflowing,” she said.
ANSA
