Life for Gaza from Naples, Italy to the World
Against the backdrop of an intensifying atmosphere of tension and repression across Italy and leading up to a preannounced confrontation with the state authorities that have banned a national mobilization for a demonstration of Palestinian solidarity set for Rome on October 5th, the second edition of Life for Gaza was held at the Ex-NATO base in Naples on September 28tt. Life for Gaza is a marathon concert and artistic extravaganza envisioned by one of the original members and founders of the Palestinian Community of the Campania region of Italy — chef, restauranteur, actor, and human rights activist Omar Suleiman.
The first sold-out edition of Life for Gaza was held back in February and brought together artists, actors/actresses, national and regionally renowned musicians, and an outpouring of Palestinian solidarity from across Italy. It was held at an indoor arena in the Fuorigrotta area of Napoli and raised money for medical relief for Palestinians in Gaza under the US-sponsored and still ongoing genocidal onslaught being perpetrated by the zionist entity. The Palestinian Community of Campania masterfully organized the event with the support of former Napoli mayor and magistrate Luigi De Magistris. People described the atmosphere as magical, and the organizers were able to raise thousands of euros toward medical relief for the people of Gaza.
After months of the continued genocide and almost constant Palestinian cultural events, informational meetings and demonstrations that have been happening across all of Italy in an unprecedented expression of Palestinian solidarity, Omar and the team decided it was time for Life for Gaza 2. Another concert event called Nessun Dorma for Palestina of a smaller scale sold out in Milan on September 9th with a capacity crowd of 1,500 people. This time, Life for Gaza 2 was held at a very unlikely and unique location marked with symbolism and signifying the pivotal point the world has arrived at: the former NATO base and command and control center in the Bagnoli area of Naples.
The date of September 28th was also chosen for its symbolic significance, as it marked the 81st anniversary of the 4 days of Napoli (Quatro Giornate di Napoli) when the local population of Naples rose up to liberate the city from Nazi German occupation. “Now the people are coming together once again in a struggle to fight back and expose the modern-day fascist scourge of Zionism. People are rising across the world to end the over 76-year-long colonialist project of theft and destruction of Palestinian land and lives”, said event organizer Omar Suleiman.
Ex-Nato, as it is referred to in Napoli, was freed from its NATO occupation in 2012 when the Allied Joint Force Command was moved to a new location on a toxic, polluted lake called Lago Patria. After 60 years as a NATO/US base, the Ex-NATO area has been transformed into a community events center of sorts. For this event, Palestinian flags, including a giant one, were hoisted on the poles which once flew the flags of NATO and its member states and the chants of Palestina Libera, Free Palestine and From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free, reverberated through the, once again, sold-out crowd of 7,000 people.
It is important to point out that an event the size of Life For Gaza, with the powerful theme of Palestinian solidarity front and center, hasn’t happened on this scale anywhere else in Italy, and for that matter, as far as we know of, anywhere in the world. This event was spectacular and powerful, with nationally renowned musicians and artists and headlined by internationally acclaimed Palestinian singer Amal Murkus. The artists donated their time and energy to making Life for Gaza a decisive success and the proceeds raised will go to the purchase of an ambulance to be used in Gaza, reminding us of the brutal and stark reality we are facing. Denunciations of the zionist entity and bearing witness to the horrifying live-streamed genocide ripping our humanity from us before our eyes permeated the night.
Palestinian Flags and Keffiyehs were everywhere and adorned the large outdoor stage where the activists, singers, and artists informed and inspired a diverse crowd ranging in age from small children to elderly senior citizens who were out in force to show their solidarity for Palestine. Roman notables like Max Gazzè, Daniele Silvestri and Valerio Mastandrea moved a lively crowd that bounced in Intifada fervor. The Old School revolutionary Neapolitan Band 99 Posse whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the evening was closed out in symbolism with another old-school revolutionary Neapolitan musician named Capone, who played an amazing rendition of the US National Anthem to sweep away the US Empire on Jimmy Hendrix’s broom (literally a broom) turned into a makeshift guitar.
Ideas for another Life for Gaza 3 are in the works and it is hoped to bring this event to an even larger audience and international scale. But this is all being done in a climate of growing repression. It’s as if the neofascist government and almost all the national media are taking direct orders and talking points from the US American State Department and the Netanyahu war cabinet. For the first time, the Italian government has taken the unprecedented step to ban a Palestinian solidarity protest scheduled for October 5th that organizers and activists plan to hold regardless. Tensions, like those that swirled around Genoa, Italy, during the G8 summit of 2001 and resulted in the killing of Carlo Giuliani, are in the air. All the mainstream media outlets in Italy are being run with a zionist agenda, and the propaganda has become mindboggling in recent weeks as the state is doing all it can to stifle dissent.
Despite this repression, the spirit and the commitment to resist this hellish slaughter and life-destroying death cult of Zionism and American Imperialism is strong. Many people have committed their lives to this struggle for justice and live it day in and day out. As anyone following this movement understands, the United States and Israel are more isolated in the eyes of the world than they have ever been in history and the people aren’t giving up on this fight for justice in this international Intifada. From Italy, the message is loud and clear: Stop the Genocide and Free Palestine.
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