Holocaust memorial stones in Rome defaced with black and green paint
Two Holocaust memorial stones in Rome's Trastevere district were vandalized with black and green paint on the night of Yom Kippur.
In Rome's Trastevere neighborhood, the Holocaust memorial stones for Michele Ezio Spizzichino and Aurelio Spagnoletto were defaced with black and green paint on the night of Yom Kippur. The victims, both in their thirties, were deported and murdered at Auschwitz. Victor Fadlun, head of the Comunità Ebraica di Roma, described the vandalism as a new instance of the same cruelty that once targeted the Jewish community, emphasizing the symbolic insult of striking the memorial during a major religious observance.
He highlighted that the paint colors resembled the Palestinian flag, suggesting a distortion of historical truth. The community pledged to clean the stones and keep them as a reminder, while urging authorities to swiftly locate and punish those responsible.
