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Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, for authorities’ “principled stand” amid protests against Israel at the Venice Biennale art show, Herzog said on Wednesday.

“I thanked President Mattarella and the Italian authorities for their principled stance in condemning these attacks and for their efforts to prevent them. Israel regards Italy as a close friend, and the partnership between our countries serves both our peoples and nations,” Herzog wrote on X.

I had a very good and wide-ranging conversation this evening with my friend President Mattarella of Italy @Quirinale.

We exchanged views on recent regional developments. During our discussion, I raised my concerns about the extreme anti-Israel — and at times antisemitic —…

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) May 13, 2026

“I raised my concerns about the extreme anti-Israel—and at times antisemitic—sentiment that has surfaced in parts of Italian public opinion, as reflected in the ongoing harassment of the Israeli pavilion at the Venice Biennale, as well as in protests against the raising of the [British Army’s WWII] Jewish Brigade’s flags in Milan,” Herzog added.

Earlier this month, the five-member jury of the Biennale art show, one of the world’s most prestigious, resigned in connection with the Italian government’s opposition to a condition that management had tried to introduce, which would have excluded Israel and Russia. The condition, which was abandoned, said no country whose leaders is on trial at the International Criminal Court may attend.

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli publicly opposed this condition because it was meant to exclude Israel, and the Israeli pavilion was allowed to open, but it was hit by protests by dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators several times.

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