‘May Jews burn alive’: Antisemitic graffiti sprayed on train station in Florence, Italy

Antisemitic and anti-Israel graffiti have been found on walls in three locations surrounding the train station in Florence, Italy, according to Italian media reports.

Some of the scrawls read: “Jews to the stake,” “May Jews burn alive,” “May Zionists be hanged,” and “Let’s burn Israel,” alongside swastikas. Other graffiti targets local entrepreneur Marco Carrai, who also serves as Israel’s honorary consul in the city, calling for his death.

The graffiti was discovered yesterday and immediately cleaned up.

“The antisemitism resurfacing on the walls of our city is something that is serious and unacceptable,” Florence Mayor Sara Funaro, who is Jewish, writes on X. “These words hurt and have nothing to do with the values of Florence.”

“Florence does not deserve this, and it will not be intimidated, continuing to work for peace and against all forms of injustice and violence against oppressed peoples,” she adds.

L’antisemitismo che riaffiora sui muri della nostra città è qualcosa di grave e inaccettabile.

Oggi ci siamo svegliati con scritte che incitano all’odio, alla violenza e alla morte, riportandoci alla memoria gli anni più bui della nostra storia.

Parole che feriscono e che non… pic.twitter.com/0O9wLSeZ9g

— Sara Funaro (@sarafunaro) May 3, 2026

The day before, eight “stumbling blocks” commemorating victims of the Holocaust were vandalized in the northern city of Turin, the Italian daily La Repubblica reports.

The stumbling blocks were covered in black and pink paint in a square next to the local university.

“A vile and foolish act that offends the memory of the victims of Nazism and fascism,” said Turin Mayor Stefano Lo Russo regarding that act of vandalism.

The number of antisemitic incidents has increased in Italy, with a watchdog tallying a record 963 episodes in 2025.