Zerocalcare, a popular comic book artist, has announced that he will not be attending the Lucca Comics & Games festival. He explained on his social media profile that the reason for his absence is the festival’s sponsorship by the Israeli embassy in Italy. This controversy has been ongoing for days and shows no signs of dissipating. Zerocalcare stated that the Israeli embassy’s sponsorship is problematic for him as there are currently two million people trapped in Gaza. He feels that celebrating at the festival while these atrocities are happening is something he cannot reconcile. Zerocalcare has previously been to Gaza and knows people who still live there. When asked how a cultural event of this magnitude does not question the opportunity to collaborate with a government that is committing war crimes in violation of international law, he cannot provide an explanation. He clarifies that his decision not to attend is not a competition of radicalism, and he is not passing moral judgment on those who choose to go to Lucca. He also expresses his support for Asaf and Tomer Hanuka, the two artists featured on the festival’s poster. Zerocalcare hopes that one day there will be Palestinian comic book artists who can also leave their country. He acknowledges that the poster is just a symbol, but for those close to him, it represents the fear of not seeing the sun rise tomorrow.
Zerocalcare diserta Lucca Comics per il Patrocinio di Israele – Mondo – Ansa.it
Lucca Zerocalcare assente a Lucca Comics per sostegno a Israele GN