Dream vacation in Sardinia turned into a nightmare: "We don't want you here"

What was supposed to be a week of family celebrations in one of the most beautiful destinations in Italy turned into a jarring experience that left them with a sense of humiliation and pain. About 30 family members, who arrived in Sardinia to celebrate the 70th birthday of one of the family members, reunited from all over the world. It involves eight families – three from Israel, three from France, one family from the USA, and another family from Morocco – who met for a special family vacation on the Italian island.

However, according to Rivka Shamai, a mother of an IDF combat commander, who spoke with C14, the atmosphere changed completely after they encountered anti-Israel messages in various places across the island. "We arrived, the whole 'hamula' (extended family), from all over the world to the Italian island of Sardinia to celebrate my older sister's 70th," she said. "We traveled both in the north of the island and in the south, and then the shock came."

According to her, the family members noticed in many cafes posters written in Hebrew and English that stated: "All IDF soldiers are war criminals, occupiers, rapists, murderers – we don't want you here," alongside the inscription in English "We don't want you here."

"In many cafes, there were such notices in large letters," she described. "Of course, on the balconies of the apartments, the flag of the real criminals also flew – those same terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre." According to her, these sights affected all the family members and cast a shadow over the entire vacation. "Needless to say how much the entire extended family was hurt by that slogan," she said. "From that moment, we felt disgusted to stay on an island where we spent a lot of money."

Shamai says that for her, as a mother of an IDF combat commander, the messages directed against IDF soldiers were particularly difficult.

"The money of Israelis and Jews should not go to countries that hate us and even declare like in the Holocaust 'We don't want you here' in red color. One picture is worth a thousand words and is a serious injury to feelings."

At the end of her words, she asked to strengthen the IDF soldiers and the citizens of Israel. "We have no other country, and most importantly – there is nothing like our heroic soldiers. You are the oxygen of the people of Israel. Anyone who thinks for one second that they are not heroes – may they be an atonement for you. The people of Israel live, and all honor to all our soldiers. May God protect you always, amen."

According to her, the vacation that was planned to be a festive and one-time family event ended with a feeling of deep disappointment. Instead of memories of a family celebration on one of the most famous vacation islands in Europe, the family members returned home with a feeling of pain following the anti-Israel messages that they claim accompanied them during their visit to Sardinia.