Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Italy Paralyzed as Anti-Genocide Protesters Take the Streets
The Cradle News Desk
24 Sep 2025
🖨️ Print Article
Protest
(Photo credit: Matteo Ciambelli/Reuters)

Walkouts in over 60 cities disrupted trains, ports, and schools to protest Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Originally published in The Cradle.

Workers across Italy launched a nationwide strike on 22 September to oppose Israel’s genocide in Gaza, halting public transport, rail services, schools, public offices, and ports in more than 60 cities.

Italian grassroots trade union, Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), called the strike to force Rome to “immediately break off relations with the terrorist state of Israel, which is the concrete way in which Italy can, and must, react to the genocide that is taking place.”

Rail freight was suspended on Sunday night, with ports including Ravenna, Livorno, Trieste, and Genoa joining the actions.

In Genoa, dockworkers blocked a vessel scheduled for Israel, while in Livorno, access to the port was restricted by protesters.

In Rome, several regional trains were canceled and others delayed for more than an hour, while in Milan, the city’s M4 metro line was shut down. 

Students in Bologna occupied university lecture halls under the banner of the Cambiare Rotta group. Demonstrators also marched through Milan in heavy rain to demand a ceasefire and express support for the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.

USB said protests were taking place in 81 locations across Italy, declaring, “For a free Palestine from the river to the sea, we will shout in every square.”

UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese voiced support for the strikes, writing on X, “In Italy, the general strike has shut down train lines, ports, highways, schools & shops. With a genocide ongoing, there can be NO business as usual. Stay peaceful, everyone. Do not react to any provocation. Freedom for all allows no mistakes.”

Protest organizers said more than 200 lawyers had issued an appeal to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani recently told the Senate that Rome was prepared to consider EU trade sanctions against Israel, including measures targeting Israeli ministers over what he called “unacceptable” policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, on 17 September, threatened retaliation against EU member states if the European Commission moves forward with proposed sanctions on Israel.

Italy
Palestine
General Strike
protest
Genocide
Israel

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
U.S. Plans for An Attack on Iran
04 November 2026
Public opposition to war with Iran has forced Trump to wait until after the midterm elections to commit more war crimes.
Ali Abunimah
Israel’s “opposition” offers genocide with better PR
04 November 2026
Israel's election produced no real alternative for Palestinians, because every Zionist party from Eisenkot's Yashar to Golan's Democrats shares
Coleen Littlejohn
NicaNotes: Historic Solidarity between Nicaragua and Palestine
28 October 2026
Coleen Littlejohn presente!
Belen Fernandez
Israel’s Lebanese Land Grab
21 October 2026
Under the guise of a farcical “pilot zone” project to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty, Israel is pursuing a scorched-earth strategy whi
Gerald Perreira
October 7, 2023: The day that changed the world
21 October 2026
October 7, 2023, was not an isolated attack, but the culmination of generations of Palestinian imprisonment and resistance in Gaza, comparable
Julia Wright
Behind French uprising: Impact of de-colonialization in Global South
21 October 2026
The 2026 French uprising is a continuation of the anti-colonial struggle, rooted in the 1961 Paris massacre of Algerians and the ongoing neocol
Edward Rhymes
What Changes For Palestine?
21 October 2026
Disregard for Palestinian rights is a feature of Israeli politics rather than a bug.
Orinoco Tribune
Colombia’s First National Strike Against De la Espriella Met With Police Crackdown
21 October 2026
Thousands of people took to the streets across Colombia on Wednesday in the first national strike against President Abelardo de la Espriella’s
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ARTICLE: “Trade in Blacks” Practiced in Haiti; Tension Among Peasants Increases,” Jacques Roumain, 1937
07 October 2026
“Between October 2 and October 8, 1937, between 15,000 and 40,000 Haitians and Black Dominicans were slaughtered by Dominican troops…
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
An open letter to the honorable people of the United States of America
07 October 2026
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a letter addressed to the American people, outlining its views on recent developments a

More Stories


  • Hubert Harrison, Tribune of the People: Part Three, The Struggle for Equality
    Sean I. Ahern
    Hubert Harrison, Tribune of the People: Part Three, The Struggle for Equality
    22 Jun 2022
    Hubert Henry Harrison was one of the foremost Black socialist and nationalist thinkers of the early 20th century. He was known as "the father of Harlem radicalism." This is the last of a three-…
  • Venezuela Celebrates Petro’s Win in Colombia as US Loses its Latin America ‘Bastion’
    José Luis Granados Ceja
    Venezuela Celebrates Petro’s Win in Colombia as US Loses its Latin America ‘Bastion’
    22 Jun 2022
    The election victory of Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez in Colombia has implications for relations with other nations, such as neighboring Venezuela.
  • Haiti| UN: twenty organizations say "No to the renewal of BINUH!
    Rezo Nodwes
    Haiti| UN: twenty organizations say "No to the renewal of BINUH!"
    22 Jun 2022
    The Security Council must say no to continuing interference in Haiti's affairs through the United Nations Integrated office in Haiti (BINUH). BINUH is just the latest iteration of colonial control…
  • Nicaragua a ‘Dictatorship’ When It Follows US Lead on NGOs
    John Perry
    Nicaragua a ‘Dictatorship’ When It Follows US Lead on NGOs
    22 Jun 2022
    The U.S. corporate media loyally follow the state's narrative about other countries. Nicaragua has instituted rules similar to those in the U.S. regarding governance of NGOs. But destabilizing that…
  • Britain Looks to Israel for Ideas on How to Curb the “Problem” of Asylum Seekers
    Jonathan Cook
    Britain Looks to Israel for Ideas on How to Curb the “Problem” of Asylum Seekers
    22 Jun 2022
    Rwanda's agreement to take asylum seekers from the United Kingdom has its roots in a similar arrangement made with Israel. There would be fewer asylum seekers if the UK and its allies did not hatch…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us