Palestinians and all supporters of justice worldwide should urgently seize this critical opportunity to decisively defeat the Israeli Hasbara for good, writes Ramzy Baroud.
Gaza, October 2023. (Saleh Najm and Anas Sharif/Fars News/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0)
I rarely visit Rome without stopping at the Campo de’ Fiori to pay homage to Giordano Bruno, an Italian philosopher who, in 1600, was brutally burned at the stake by the Roman Inquisition.
His crime was daring to challenge entrenched dogmas and to think freely about God and the infinite nature of the universe.
As I stood beneath his imposing statue, a strange ruckus suddenly erupted, growing louder as a sizable group of protesters drew closer. Dozens of people of all ages banged on pots and pans with fervent urgency.
Following the initial shock and subsequent confusion, it became clear that the protest was an urgent attempt to awaken people to the horrific famine unfolding in Gaza.
In no time, more people spontaneously joined in, some clapping, having arrived unprepared with their own tools for protest. Waiters from the square’s osterie instinctively began to bang their hands on anything that could generate sound, adding to the growing clamor.
“There is another Italy that doesn’t remain silent as the Meloni government does.”
Protesters in Italy’s Rome march to demand an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
— in pictures https://t.co/3aw9SS0hYE pic.twitter.com/6DRb5jWA9x
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 8, 2025
The square stood momentarily still, pulsating with the collective noise before the protesters marched on to another square, their numbers visibly swelling with each step.
Palestinians, Arabs, and all supporters of justice worldwide should urgently seize this critical opportunity to decisively defeat the Israeli Hasbara for good.
Monument to Giordano Bruno in the place he was executed, Campo de’ Fiori in Rome. (daryl_mitchell/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0)
In the bustling streets of Rome, Palestinian flags were conspicuously the only foreign flags to occupy public spaces. They hung from light poles, were glued onto street signs, or flew proudly atop balconies.
No other country, no other conflict, no other cause has permeated public spaces as profoundly as that of Palestine.
Though this phenomenon is not entirely new, the ongoing Israeli war and genocide in Gaza has undeniably amplified this solidarity, pushing it fiercely beyond the traditional confines of class, ideology, and political lines.
Yet, no other space in Italy can truly be compared to Naples. Palestinian symbols are everywhere, permeating the city’s fabric as if Palestine is the paramount political concern for the entire region’s populace.
Naples city council votes to cut ties with Israel in protest over the war in Gaza.https://t.co/HFZfptnhKo
— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) July 3, 2025
What was particularly fascinating about the solidarity with Palestinians in this vibrant city was not merely the sheer volume of graffiti, posters, and flags, but the very specific references made to Palestinian martyrs, prisoners, and movements.
Pictures of Walid Daqqa, Shireen Abu Akleh and Khader Adnan, alongside precise demands tailored to what would have been considered, outside of Palestine, largely unfamiliar specifics to a global audience, were prominently displayed.
How did Naples become so intricately attuned to the Palestinian discourse to this extent? This vital question resonates far beyond Italy, applying to numerous cities across the world.
Notably, this major shift in the deeper understanding of the Palestinian struggle and the widespread embrace of the Palestinian people is unfolding despite the pervasive and unrelenting media bias in favor of Israel and the persistent intimidation by Western governments of pro-Palestinian activists.
In politics, critical mass is achieved when an idea, initially championed by a minority group, decisively transforms into a mainstream issue. This crucial shift allows it to overcome tokenism and begin to exert real and tangible influence in the public sphere.
In many societies around the world, the Palestinian cause has already attained that critical mass. [In Australia, for instance, on Aug. 3, Sydney saw a massive march protesting the genocide in Gaza]
In others, where government crackdowns still stifle the debate at its very roots, organic growth nevertheless continues, thus promising an inevitable and fundamental change as well.
Pro-Palestinian convoy moves through central Rome demanding end to Gaza blockade:
Hundreds honk horns, bang pots, wave Palestinian flags on cars, bikes, and motorcycles
Demonstrators slam Rome city council’s silence and call to end economic ties with Israel pic.twitter.com/wD4fgyAuZR
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) July 31, 2025
And this is precisely the haunting fear of numerous Israelis, especially within their political and intellectual classes.
Writing in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on July 25, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak sounded the alarm once more. “The Zionist vision is collapsing,” he wrote, adding that Israel is “stuck in a ‘war of deception’ in Gaza.”
Though Israel’s pervasive Hasbara machine is relentlessly striving to stave off the surging flood of sympathy with Palestine and the rising tide of rage against Israeli alleged war crimes, for now its focus remains intently fixed on complicating the extermination of Gaza, even at the high price of global condemnation and outrage.
When the war is finally over, however, Israel will undoubtedly exert its utmost efforts, employing numerous creative new ways to once more demonize the Palestinians and elevate itself — its so-called democracy and the “right to defend itself.”
Due to the growing international credibility of the Palestinian voice, Israel is already resorting to using Palestinians who indirectly defend Israel by faulting Gaza and attempting to play the role of the victim for “both sides.”
This insidious tactic is poised to grow exponentially in the future, as it aims directly at creating profound confusion and turning Palestinians against each other.
Palestinians, Arabs, and all supporters of justice worldwide should urgently seize this critical opportunity to decisively defeat the Israeli Hasbara for good. They mustn’t allow Israel’s lies and deceit to once more define the discourse on Palestine on the global stage.
This war should be fiercely fought everywhere, and not a single space conceded — neither a parliament, a university, a sports event, or a street corner.
Giordano Bruno endured a most horrific and painful death, yet he never abandoned his profound beliefs. The Palestine solidarity movement should likewise not waver from the struggle for Palestinian freedom and the accountability of war criminals, regardless of the time, energy, or resources required.
Now that Palestine has finally become the uncontested global cause, total unity is paramount to ensure the march toward freedom continues, so that the Gaza genocide becomes the final, agonizing chapter of the Palestinian tragedy.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out. His other books include My Father was a Freedom Fighter and The Last Earth. Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.
This article is from Common Dreams.
Views expressed in this article and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
In the midst of an ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing, we see a call that the big goal at this moment is to stop Israeli Hasbara. Shouldn’t the big goal to be the stopping of the genocide and ethnic cleansing? With a bigger goal of reversing the earlier acts of ethnic cleansing?
Sometimes, it is easy to see why this modern left is on such a long losing streak. Picking the wrong goals is a part of that. Telling the wrong tales is a part of that.
The writer did ask a interesting question among his wanderings with ancient philosophers. “How did Naples become so intricately attuned to the Palestinian discourse to this extent?” Then, the writer veers away, and neglects to report on what must have been the real work of real on the ground organizing that obviously led to such a state. Again, typical of the writers of the modern left, neglecting the real topic of organizing that can really change the world. Which might explain why these days it is only the right that appears to know how to organize. In a world where the left has forgotten how to organize, the real story of how Naples became such a pro-Palestine place could be very important.
Get mad…. Organize!
This ‘critical mass’ could have happened a lot sooner. Now it seems choreographed, to herald in the next stage. Netanyahu has already hinted at handing Gaza over to a civilian power. I bet thats either USA or an entity concocted for the purpose of stealing Gaza, and who knows, possibly the parts of Lebanon and Syria that won’t be left to Turkey.
Is there a scene with pallets of cash coming yet ?
Provincial leader or some other gig ?
I can manage this if you need help .
Indeed “total unity is paramount to ensure the march toward freedom continues” on all fronts.
The first step toward that restoration of democracy in the US is elimination of money control of mass media and elections: until then there are no “people” to unify to march toward freedom, only selfish conformist sell-outs. Isolation of government from money power requires constitutional amendments that can never be passed while money rules.
The tyranny and totalitarianism of money power will prevail until force intimidates the wealthy, much as racism prevailed until black militants brought fear to the white oligarchy, who could then pretend to be persuaded by the peaceful MLK. Peaceful mass demonstrations send a message ridiculed by oligarchy until they fear militants coming after them, so unfortunately militancy we must have, and demonstrations only to credit later as the cause, to allow oligarchy to concede without seeming to be afraid.
So good to learn about the Italians’ ruckus making for the Palestinians good.