The organizers of the march denied violence against the participants, saying "the provocation by six supporters of Israel was peacefully and unanimously rejected by all participants of the march."Follow us on GoogleA participant holds a sign reading "No pride in genocide" during the 2026 Genoa Pride Parade, June 13, 2026.(photo credit: Emanuela Zampa/Getty Images)ByMATHILDA HELLERJUNE 15, 2026 18:42Israeli and anti-Iranian regime participants of Bologna Pride were reportedly violently attacked by the rest of the crowd on Sunday.At least 20,000 people were estimated to have joined the Rivolta Pride 2026 parade whose slogan this year was “No Pride in Genocide."A small group of about six demonstrators decided to join while carrying either Iranian or Israeli symbols. This included an Iranian photographer wearing the pre-1979 Iranian flag, a Jewish woman wearing a rainbow flag featuring the Star of David, and several members of Partito Radicale [Radical Party] an Italian political movement centered on civil rights and nonviolent activism.The Radical Party claimed that "within twenty seconds, we were intimidated and, amid chants of “Zionists out of the march,” we were prevented from continuing through violent shoving and coordinated pushing. Through megaphones and shouting, we were forced to leave the procession."Additionally, the Radical Party said that the Iranian photographer displaying the Iranian flag was told "We don’t care about Iran" and was forced to leave. The Radical Party posted videos showing the Jewish and Iranian protesters being unable to move forward while other protesters yelled 'Free Palestine' and 'Genocide' at them.Jewish and Israeli protestors were banned from multiple marches in Italy"With the exponential rise of antisemitism over the past two years, Jewish LGBTQ communities around the world have increasingly found themselves isolated, challenged, discriminated against, and forced to confront attempts at exclusion," the Radical Party wrote on Facebook.It also noted that this is the second time this year that Jewish or Israeli protesters have been excluded from pride in Italy: the organizing committee of Rome Pride decided to exclude the Jewish LGBTQ association Keshet Italia from the upcoming June 20 event over the group’s refusal to condemn Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide.Israel's Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled firmly condemned the incident, calling it "an unacceptable act and contrary to the values of equality, freedom, and inclusion."He called it the exact opposite of what happened in Tel Aviv, "where thousands of people — Jews, Christians, and Muslims — marched together in an atmosphere of respect and coexistence."The organizers of the Pride March denied violence against the six participants, saying "the provocation by six supporters of Israel was peacefully and unanimously rejected by all participants of the march.""One of the fundamental pillars of pride is the condemnation of genocide, the support for the fight for a free Palestine and the rejection of any exploitation of our rights to justify colonial and racist policies."The organizers confirmed that it does not accept any symbols relating to Israel at the march.The organizers also confirmed their antipathy towards the use of the flag of the Iranian monarchy, which they said "has recently been revived by a small segment of the diaspora who currently advocate for the return of the monarchy and support Israel and the US military intervention."Other anti-regime Iranians were said to be allowed at the march.The organizers concluded by saying that "the fight against antisemitism has always been a fundamental value for us," but that this was "a clear and pathetic Zionist provocation."Follow us on Google