What led up to the protests
“If we lose contact with the flotilla for 20 minutes, we will block all of Europe,” said the port workers in Genoa at a rally in support of the Sumud flotilla. For many Italian collectives that we have spoken to during our visit to Italy, this marked a turning point in the Gaza protests in the region. After two years of genocide in Gaza and several waves of protests around the world—with some of the largest mobilizations in recent decades—we still weren’t able to muster the strength to stop the war. However, in September and October of 2025, an important step was taken when millions of people took to the streets in Italy and many other countries around the world. As many people have testified, “Something changed.”
The political backdrop is a long period of buildup to what we might call a world war situation. Currently, many countries and regions are at war or expect war in their territories in the foreseeable future. From his prison cell on Imrali island, the leader of the Kurdish freedom movement, Abdullah Öcalan, referred to this as a third world war against peoples and society.
ADM International travelled around Europe during these months and met with families in Slovenia, students in Torino and port workers in Genoa and we witnessed a common feeling about the period that is creeping up on us. We feel the threat of a war at our doorsteps and therefore Gaza has transformed into an alarming and tragic example of what can happen. It is not just an abstract idea that passes by in our social media flow. A feeling echoed by solidarity protestors in Mexico when they chant “they did it to Gaza, they can do it to us”.
We would like to share Italy’s example. We know there are many countries experiencing simmering uprisings, from Morocco to Paraguay. However, we had the opportunity to visit Italy during our tour of Europe, where we met many people from different regions and walks of life. We will try to convey the feelings and spirit we experienced there because we believe they point to an opportunity for progress and change in the struggles we face today. The Italian people told us that they felt “something had changed.”
A brief history of change
In late August of 2025, a flotilla of small boats set course towards the besieged city of Gaza. The flotilla was composed of 500 activists from around the world. It wasn’t the first flotilla of this kind; many similar ones had preceded it, starting in 2010, and all of them had been stopped by Israeli military forces when entering Palestinian waters. This time, however, was different. First, the flotilla was large, with many boats and communities represented, creating societal connections to different parts of the world – not least to Italy. In a sense, the flotilla became a personal experience for many people, as many knew someone in the flotilla. This time, the Genoa port workers took a brave and crucial step. They declared that if the IDF stopped the flotilla, they would halt all goods entering and leaving the port of Genoa, one of the most important in Italy.
Many communities in Italy heard this call and organized support demonstrations. They waited for the moment they would touch the Sumud flotilla, ready to fight. Everyone was ready to take to the streets and shut everything down. And that’s exactly what they did.
Chronology of the recent developments in Italy
- August 30: Genoa port workers called for a blockade if the Sumud flotilla was touched.
- September 9: The flotilla was attacked in Tunisia with firebombs launched from drones.
- September 22: A general strike was held in response to the attacks.
- September 24: Eleven ships were attacked by drones.
- October 1: The IDF boarded the ships.
- October 3: Millions joined a general strike.
- October 13: Peace treaty was signed.
- October 14: Football match Italy-Israel in Udine, met by 20,000 protesters.
Of course, the period contained many smaller, yet important, mobilizations. These included neighborhood assemblies in Turin, where local youth expressed their disappointment about the Italian media’s and Meloni’s government’s lies about the situation in Gaza; university occupations during the past two years, during which many students experienced confrontational demonstrations for the first time; and a manifestation in Milan against renewing the “friendship” status between Milan and Tel Aviv. The larger backdrop was the change in perspective and methods of struggle among the organizers of the demonstrations compared to previous decades in Italy, as described by militants in Veneto: “We have shifted our focus from seeking clashes with the police to mobilizing society for demonstrations.” There is a general sense that leftist organizations have been marginalized in recent decades, making connecting back to society increasingly important.
Talking about the blockade of the central train station in Milan, a militant explained that, during the demonstrations, “we acted as one for the first time in a long while, even though we were from different organizations and had different ideological lines”. Another important observation is the large number of young participants, many of whom were unorganized. This also points to the marginalization of traditional leftist organizations which many simply don’t identify with anymore, yet the need to take to the streets continues. In Marghera, Mestre, and Venice, the bridge connecting the different parts of the region saw massive crowds of thousands of people coming from different sides of the bridge and converging in the middle of the structure. This embodied the word “convergenza,” which has been expressed and sought after in Italian movements but rarely achieved, except in precious moments like this one.
Then, the Peace Treaty was signed. This treaty raises many questions, such as, “What does peace really mean?”, “Is it acually going to last?”, “What is the future of the people in Gaza and Palestine going to be?”. The treaty was signed, which normally would mean that mobilizations would stagnate and become smaller, but so far, this has not been the case. On October 14, just a couple of days after the treaty was signed, a football match was held in Udine between Italy and Israel for which the Mossad was assigned to secure the Israeli football team on Italian soil, which is a sign of the deep cooperation between the two states. The turnout for the protests was massive. Even though Udine is in the far northeastern corner of the country, around 20,000 people showed up, rejecting the idea of creating som false “normality”. It proves that the people fighting spirit is still high, and will not be fooled by this questionable peace treaty.
Where will we go from here?
Throughout history, there have been as many protest movements in support of Palestine as there have been attacks from Israel. Awareness and emotion regarding Palestine run deep and have been present in the global consciousness for a long time. Some movements have been large, while others have been small, and they have almost always fluctuated in intensity with the attacks of the Zionist state. Often, we have seen protests stop suddenly when the attacks end, and it has been challenging to transform these waves of mobilization into a larger lasting process of organizing. We also recognize this from the solidarity mobilizations for Kurdistan. When the bombs stop dropping, the streets grow quiet. Many of us are left with questions like “What happened?”, “How could we have prepared better?” or “Where is everybody now?”.
In several of the cities we visited, we learned about and visited the community and neighborhood initiatives that had been ongoing for decades in some cases. In Marghera, for example, they tried to reclaim the streets by filling them with people, sharing food, and meeting in public spaces to talk. They brought together thousands of neighbors who would not usually meet each other this way. This was done in the “worst” streets, which were usually associated with the drug trade and decadence. This proves that public safety is achieved not by more police but by more sociability, building and strengthening community and more people inhabiting the streets. This is an example of social work to rebuild the social fabric that we have lost in this ongoing world war. It’s no coincidence that the same community then participated in the Gaza mobilizations en masse. An organized society is aware and prepared to act when necessary.
If there is a Third World War, its main objective is to finalize the work that capitalist civilization started thousands of years ago: destroying society and women’s leadership and protection of society. Therefore, when we rebuild society and come together in the streets to celebrate our community with food and fellowship, we are fighting back against a millennia-old attack by the patriarchal system, which aims to empty our lives of meaning. We are rebuilding the fabric of society and restoring its meaning. This is our best defense against war, poverty, and genocide in Gaza and everywhere.
The challenges that emerged
During the recent wave of protests in Italy, we were reminded of some of the problems that have prevented us, as communities in struggle, from taking bigger steps. We heard many examples of power struggles between organizations and collectives. When the mobilizations were successful, there was a process of claiming credit for the victories and putting one’s organization’s name as the owner of them. When problems emerged, the tendency was to blame others rather than ourselves for these shortcomings. This mentality stems from a desire to dominate and control movements. We try to position ourselves as the leaders of a popular rebellion so that, when the process solidifies, we can emerge as the rulers. We strive to accumulate political power so we can set the tone and define the political lines of upcoming activities. This happens in Italy, a country with an imperial history and tradition of strong patriarchal leaders, even in movements fighting against patriarchy. This mentality also exists in social movements around the world, and it can be traced back to the way the capitalist system has shaped us.
The result is a power struggle and division between political collectives that serve the egos of men and their allies, as well as the state’s interests in dividing and conquering social movements. For a young person joining a manifestation for the first time, it is off-putting to be confronted with these internal intricacies. If we really aim to build a new and stronger movement from the opportunities that arise, we have to be self-critical on these issues. We should seek unity even if we are diverse. We should always try to come together on the basis of respect and dialogue.
The opportunities that emerged
The identification of the problem of political hegemony means that it is now an issue that can be confronted. Through deep historical and social self-analysis, we can address the issues preventing us from advancing as forces fighting for democracy. Despite all the emerging opportunities, we must accept that the world is still in a state of war. It’s only now, after two years of campaigning, that we’ve finally managed to build stronger support for Gaza. We must also acknowledge that no one else will fight against the system of war and genocide; we are the ones who must carry this struggle forward. If it happens again, we are the ones who should have stopped it. The capitalist system won’t change, but we can and must change to create and build the alternative. We must surpass dogmatism, reinvent ourselves, and reimagine our struggles. As a comrade in Turin said, “The time of purity has ended.” We must do what works. We can’t insist on principles that haven’t worked out of pride or supposed loyalty. We must deepen our understanding of the present and find our principles in what defends life and our communities.
On the other hand, just like Audre Lorde said, “The tools of the master will never dismantle the master’s house,” meaning we shouldn’t look to the state for solutions. Reinventing our struggle doesn’t mean handing over the initiative to the system; it means taking it back from dogmatism and putting it into service for our own social reality. We must redefine our reality as societies and become subjects again. We must study our history and reality with our own methods and invent new ways of making politics. This must be done collectively, starting with forming spaces and methods to think, analyze, and imagine together.
If we feel that “the media is full of lies,” our goal shouldn’t be to create a new media that functions like the liberal media, but rather, we must reimagine communication and media from the ground up. We must reframe it into a world of perception and reality that stems from society so that it serves society.
We also need to develop brave and honest ways of life and of struggling. As a friend expressed it, “We are a frog in a pot and the water is slowly reaching the boiling level.” The question is, when will we acknowledge the fact and jump out of the pot? When will we act appropriately to the needs of the situation? There are many things in history that we should have done differently. We should have reached this level of protest for Gaza much more and much earlier. This is not just true for revolutionaries in Italy but everywhere. We should have built strong societies that could stop capitalism in its tracks and put real pressure on governments. This has been true for Gaza, and it will continue to be true for whatever war project the capitalist system has in sight next—whether it be Venezuela, North and East Syria, or Afghanistan.
Rebuilding what the Third World War has destroyed over the past few decades and will destroy will always be the top priority. Rebuilding society is the best way to keep the fighting spirit alive and stop the genocide in Gaza.
For further reading on the Third World War and the pursuit of peace and democracy, we recommend this brochure containing writings by Abdullah Öcalan. It was distributed by means of a poster action in Italy and other places as part of the International Campaign for the Freedom for Öcalan on October 10, 2025.