On Friday, October 3, 2025, Italy witnessed an eruption of political activism that shook not only its own foundations but sent shockwaves across Europe and beyond. Millions of Italians participated in a political general strike and mass demonstrations under the rallying cry of “let’s block everything,” a slogan borrowed from the French protest movement and now echoing through the streets of Rome, Genoa, and far beyond. The strike, called by Italy’s two largest unions representing 5.5 million workers, brought much of the country’s transport system to a halt, while two million people joined mass demonstrations and hundreds of thousands engaged in direct action. The following day, over a million people gathered in Rome for a national demonstration against what protesters described as the genocide in Gaza, marking a dramatic escalation in both the scale and intensity of international solidarity actions.
According to Marxist.com, the Italian movement stands out for several reasons. First, its origins lie outside the traditional mass organizations; the leadership of Italy’s largest trade union confederation, CGIL, was compelled to act only after being outpaced by grassroots mobilizations, including a general strike for Palestine called by the smaller Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) union just weeks earlier. Youth played a decisive role, with students and young workers at the forefront of the mobilizations, their energy and numbers impossible for even established union leaders to ignore.
But what truly set the Italian protests apart was the sense that ordinary demonstrations were not enough. The call to “block everything” reflected a growing belief among participants that only direct action could make their voices heard. Nowhere was this more evident than in the country’s ports, where dockworkers in Genoa, Livorno, and elsewhere refused to handle cargo bound for or coming from Israel. Their actions, backed by mass mobilization outside the ports, raised the prospect of a workers’ boycott with the power to disrupt international supply chains and send a potent political message.
The Italian dockworkers’ initiative quickly gained traction beyond national borders. A conference of dockworkers in Genoa issued a call for a European and Mediterranean-wide day of action, seeking to coordinate similar boycotts across the continent. The idea resonated with workers elsewhere: in France, the “let’s block everything” movement fueled two massive days of protest in September, ultimately contributing to the resignation of Prime Minister Lecornu after just 27 days in office. In Spain, two million people took to the streets in solidarity with Palestine, with unions planning further strike action. Meanwhile, Greece saw a general strike on October 1, protesting labor law reforms and building on anger from previous disasters like the Tempi railway tragedy. Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, and the Netherlands all reported unprecedented mobilizations in solidarity with Palestine and against the Israeli assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The events in Italy and across Europe are part of what observers have dubbed the “Generation Z revolution,” a wave of youth-led mass movements stretching from Europe to Asia, Africa, and South America. This generation, shaped by the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, years of austerity, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the deepening climate emergency, has grown increasingly disillusioned with traditional political institutions. According to Marxist.com, this “loss of legitimacy” for established parties and the mainstream media has fueled a worldwide chain of mass protests, insurrections, and uprisings, with youth at their heart and an instinctively internationalist outlook.
Yet the immediate catalyst for the Italian general strike and the wider European mobilizations was the Israeli military’s raid on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian mission attempting to break the sea blockade of Gaza. Over a hundred volunteers from the flotilla remain captive in Israel after being intercepted in international waters. Released activists have described escalating abuse by Israeli authorities, particularly targeting women and those of Arab backgrounds. According to a statement from the flotilla, “From the moment of interception, all activists were held incommunicado, with communication systems having been jammed, some of them subjected to degrading treatment and water cannons.”
Legal advocacy group Adalah, which provided counsel to the flotilla’s crew, reported that its lawyers were initially prevented from reaching detainees, meaning several activists were processed without legal representation. Once access was granted, Adalah’s lawyers witnessed further attempts to degrade and intimidate the activists. “During the lawyers’ visits, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived in what was clearly intended as an act of humiliation and intimidation,” Adalah stated. Ben-Gvir reportedly accused the activists of being terrorists and used their imprisonment for propaganda purposes. Some detainees were blindfolded, forced to kneel, and denied essential medication, food, and clean water while being subjected to sleep deprivation and threats.
Among those deported was Italian dockworker José Nivoi, whose union, USB, played a central role in organizing the strikes and boycotts. Nivoi described the abuse he and others suffered, including being forced to kneel in Ashdod port, stripped of belongings, tightly handcuffed, and blindfolded with cloth in the colors of the Israeli flag. He recalled that “Greta [Thunberg] was about five meters away from me, she was literally humiliated. They put an Israeli flag on her, but she kept a facial expression that didn’t sit well with them, so they insulted her and spat on the ground around her.”
USB, in a statement, noted that Nivoi’s testimony highlighted the privilege of international activists compared to the “everyday life for Palestinians.” As USB put it, “Nivoi knows that as a European, he could count on international protection that allowed him to return home and describe what happened, while over 11,100 Palestinians remain imprisoned without protection or voice in a system of arbitrary detention that for decades has affected the entire population.”
In response to their treatment, dozens of flotilla crew members have begun a hunger strike, demanding the release of all activists and an end to the violence in Gaza. Deportations continue, with approximately 170 transferred to Greece and Slovakia as of Monday, October 6. Among them was Thunberg, who stated, “I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuse in our imprisonment. But that is not the story. What happened here was that Israel, while continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent, attempting to erase an entire population in front of our very eyes – they once again violated international law by preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza while people are being starved.”
The Italian general strike and the broader European mobilizations have put significant pressure on right-wing governments, shifting the political balance and forcing even established leaders to respond. As the Genoa dockworkers conference called for a continent-wide day of action, the movement’s leaders argue that only continued strikes, mass direct action, and international worker solidarity can force meaningful change. The events of early October 2025 have not only highlighted the power of collective action but have also inspired similar movements worldwide, from South America to Southeast Asia.
As the dust settles, it’s clear that the Italian general strike and the solidarity actions for Palestine have left an indelible mark on the political landscape, energizing a new generation of activists and setting the stage for continued struggle on issues from labor rights to international justice.
