Vandals have ‘decapitated’ a mural depicting the iconic October 7 survivor the Lady in Red.
The mural depicted Vlada Patapov who became known as the ‘Lady in Red’ after she was pictured fleeing in terror as Hamas gunmen stormed the Nova music festival slaughtering more than 360 revellers and taking 40 people hostage.
But the artwork was vandalised on Monday, October 7, one year since the horrific Hamas terrorist attack which killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
They scraped off the Lady in Red’s head and legs from the mural, which was located near Milan’s state university.
The artist who created it, AleXsandro Palombo, said in a statement whoever ‘decapitated’ the image is not fighting for the liberation of Palestine.
Vlada Patapov became known as the ‘Lady in Red’ after she was pictured fleeing in terror as Hamas gunmen stormed the Nova music festival slaughtering more than 360 revellers and taking 40 people hostage
The vandals scraped off the head and leg of the Lady in Red Mural in Milan
The mural was created by artist AleXsandro Palombo and is located near Milan’s state university
He added: ‘These extremist movements that are increasingly radicalising our society have the sole purpose of defending terrorist belief in our Western democracy.’
The artist said that images of the Hamas massacre ‘have been removed from the collective memory too soon, and instead need to be circulated more until they are imprinted and become a warning against the threat of Islamist terrorism and religious fundamentalism.’
The Lady in Red’s image was portrayed running among many torn Teddy bears on the walls of the University of Milan, in the powerful work by Mr Palombo in memory of the victims of the October 7th massacre.
The images of Vlada Patapov’s desperate run, which survived the terrorist attack, had travelled around the world. The artist shared the iconic work on social media with the caption ‘October 7th, Escape’.
The Lady in Red’s fate remained unknown after the striking footage of Vlada, with a red shawl around her shoulders, sprinting for survival across the desert flashed around the globe in the aftermath of the attack.
For weeks the world wondered if she made it – whether she was alive or dead – until she was tracked down by MailOnline and revealed her harrowing story.
Earlier today and now a year on, the Ukrainian mother-of-one spoke to MailOnline to put aside her personal heartache to open up about the events that changed her life forever and still haunt her to this day.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline the wedding planner said: ‘If I had one wish, it would be to have told everyone at the festival one hour before Hamas attacked that something was going to happen then everyone could have got away.
Her image was portrayed running among many torn Teddy bears on the walls of the University of Milan, in the powerful work by Mr Palombo in memory of the victims of the October 7th massacre
For weeks the world wondered if Vlada (pictured with her daughter Romi) made it – sprinting for survival across the desert flashed around the globe in the aftermath of the attack
The Ukrainian mother-of-one was finally tracked down by MailOnline last December (pictured) and told for the first time of her nightmare ordeal
Friends told how Vlada has been battling PTSD while dealing with the emotional turmoil of survivor’s guilt
Vlada, 26, remains haunted by the events where her life changed forever after armed terrorists swooped from the skies in paragliders to join gunmen on motorcycles and trucks in the carefully planned murderous mission
Vlada has told friends how she will mark the anniversary privately and wants to make it about honouring the dead rather than the focus being on her
Vlada’s Instagram posts show her enjoying beachside days out with her partner Matan who was with her on the night of the massacre
Vlada’s social media presence highlights her desire to return to as normal life as is possible
‘I survived but others weren’t so fortunate. I think about that. It weighs on my mind. I am still traumatised by what happened a year on.
‘I’ve been having therapy and counselling like many of the others who were there and I find speaking to people helps me cope with what happened that day.
‘But then sometimes I think who can help me when all this is still going on around us and the fear is still here and it’s still real.’
Vlada, 26, has been battling PTSD while dealing with the emotional turmoil of survivor’s guilt since the moment armed terrorists swooped from the skies in paragliders to join gunmen on motorcycles and trucks in the carefully planned murderous mission.
Meanwhile the anniversary of the massacre and the ongoing conflict in the region escalating out of control have only added to her trauma.
Now Vlada has revealed all she could think about as the horror unfolded was staying alive for the sake of her three-year-old daughter.
The destruction of the Lady in Red mural is an example of rising antisemitism in Italy over the last year, according to the Antisemitism Observatory in Milan.
Incidence of antisemitism has increased to about 80 or 90 a week in the last year, from about 30 a week before, said Stefano Gatti, a researcher at the observatory. He called the increase ‘overpowering.’
‘While before October 7, the incidents were mostly on internet websites, now they consist of acts in the real world,’ he said. ‘Antisemitism has also become more socially acceptable.’
It includes graffiti, insults, acts of intimidation and aggression that so far have not translated into cases of bodily harm.
He cited one incident during which a rabbi was followed in the port city of Genoa by someone brandishing a screwdriver, and another incident when a restaurant owner casually told a pair of diners he did not realize were Jewish that Hitler was right for seeking to wipe out Europe’s Jews.
‘We have not seen a situation like this since 1945,’ Gatti said, citing the end of World War II and the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million European Jews.
‘Not even in 1982,’ during Lebanon’s war when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. He said local mayors and university officials have not been clear in their condemnation of such events, ‘which has helped the phenomenon grow.’
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