A Holocaust mural of Anne Frank and Primo Levi in Milan, Italy, was vandalized with the words "Coloni Sionisti Nazisti" (Zionist Settler Nazis) on Thursday, Italian media said.
The original artwork, created by artist aleXsandro Palombo for Holocaust Remembrance Day, depicted Anne Frank seated opposite Holocaust survivor and writer Primo Levi (known for the book Survival in Auschwitz), with an inscription above them in a starry sky that read "Memory is no longer enough."
According to the European Jewish Congress, the mural was created at the site of an earlier antisemitic attack.
Israel's Ambassador to Italy Jonathan Peled condemned the vandalism, writing on X/Twitter, “Vandalizing a place that is a symbol of the memory of Anne Frank and Primo Levi means attacking the memory of the Holocaust and our collective duty to never forget."
"Antisemitic hatred, in all its forms, must be rejected with clarity and responsibility," he continued. "Memory is a commitment that no hateful graffiti can erase."
The incident marks the latest in a string of vandalism against Palombo’s Holocaust memorial artworks.
Other such works by Palombo are now part of Rome's Shoah Museum Foundation's permanent collection, specifically portraits of Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano, and Edith Bruck, which are on display in front of the historic heart of Rome’s former Jewish Ghetto, the Portico d’Ottavia.
AleXsandro Palombo's social activism through art
The internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, known for his reclusive and private nature, was among the first to address social issues through his pop art, including antisemitism, violence against women, and social exclusion.
Palombo's art explores the relationship between collective imagination, memory, power, and human rights in contemporary society.
Additional Palombo pieces are on display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France.