‘Unfriend Your Jewish Friends’: Italian Law Professor Faces Backlash Over Viral Antisemitic Social Media Posts

An Italian law professor is facing mounting backlash over past antisemitic social media posts, including one that called on others to “unfriend” Jews in an effort to make them feel isolated.

Professor Luca Nivarra, who teaches in the Faculty of Law at the University of Palermo in Sicily, has come under scrutiny after several of his posts went viral, sparking outrage among the local Jewish community and public officials.

“I don’t want to meddle in matters that don’t concern me directly, but, having very few tools at our disposal to oppose the Palestinian Holocaust, a signal, however modest, could be to unfriend your Jewish ‘friends’ on Facebook, even the ‘good’ ones, who declare themselves disgusted by what the Israeli government and the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are doing,” Nivarra wrote in one of his posts.

“They lie, and with their lies, they help cover up the horror: it’s a small, tiny thing, but let’s start making them feel alone, face to face with the monstrosity to which they are complicit,” he continued.

On Tuesday, the University of Palermo issued a public statement distancing itself from Nivarra’s antisemitic remarks. Despite mounting public outrage, Nivarra has not faced any disciplinary action yet.

Massimo Midiri, dean of the university, condemned the hateful rhetoric, calling it “a personal and culturally dangerous initiative, far removed from our academic principles.”

“Nivarra’s statements risk fueling the very dynamics he claims to oppose. Complex issues like the Middle East conflict require dialogue and critical engagement, not exclusion or ideological censorship,” Midiri said in a statement.

Italy’s Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, also denounced Nivarra’s remarks, saying they “not only offend the Jewish people but also all who uphold the values of respect and civil coexistence.”

“Conflicts are overcome through dialogue, not isolation and it is only through this path that an authentic journey toward peace can be built, an objective to which Italy and the international community continue to dedicate their efforts,” the Italian official said in a post on X.

This is not the first time Nivarra has made antisemitic statements and spread anti-Jewish rhetoric. In his previous Facebook posts, he also wrote that “there are no good Israelis” and that “Israeli society is morally rotten.”

Nivarra also compared the IDF’s defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza to the actions of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann during the Holocaust.

“The only difference between Adolf Eichmann and the IDF is that Eichmann defended himself by saying he was following orders, while Israeli soldiers happily do what they do,” he wrote in another social media post.

Eichmann is widely considered to be the architect of the Holocaust, overseeing the Nazis’ systematic murder of six million Jews during World War II.

Since his posts went viral, Nivarra has faced widespread criticism on social media, but he has denied any accusations of antisemitism.

“You can call me an anti-Semite [sic] when I am not one at all. There is an insurmountable distance between me and the perpetrators of these horrors,” he wrote on his Facebook page.