MILAN, October 21, 2025 – Piero Calamandrei, Martin Luther King, Vivian Silver, Reem Al-Hajajreh, and Aleksandra “Sasha” Skochilenko are the figures who will be honored as the new Righteous 2026 at the Milan Garden of the Righteous.
This decision was made by the Assembly of the Association for the Garden of the Righteous of Milan – composed of the Gariwo Foundation, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and the Municipality of Milan – which also chose the theme for the 2026 Day of the Righteous of Humanity: “The Righteous for Democracy. Dialogue and Nonviolence to Build Peace.”
The common thread uniting these stories, so different from one another, is the defense of democracy in its noblest sense: not as a structure of power, but as a space of freedom, dialogue, and individual responsibility. It is a cry of urgency: in times marked by populism and intolerance, wars and extraordinary mass atrocities, the new Righteous embody the commitment to resist violence through the moral strength of words and listening.
The ceremony will also take place just under 80 years after the institutional referendum of June 2, 1946, from which the Italian Republic was born on the ashes of World War II and the Fascist regime.
The five chosen figures span different eras and borders, yet converge in a single conviction: defending democracy means believing in human dignity and in the power of words as instruments of peace:
Piero Calamandrei, Italian jurist and politician, a founding father of the Republic, devoted his life to defending democracy, antifascism, and the Constitution.
Martin Luther King, activist and Protestant minister, a global symbol of nonviolence, fought to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans.
Vivian Silver, Israeli women’s rights activist, fought for dialogue and peace in the Middle East, and was killed by Hamas during the attacks of October 7, 2023.
Reem Al-Hajajreh, Palestinian activist, founder of Women of the Sun, works to give voice and protection to women and to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict in the Middle East.
Aleksandra “Sasha” Skochilenko, Russian artist and activist, through a personal protest spread messages against the war in Ukraine, for which she was arrested and detained.
The ceremony honoring the new Righteous will take place at Monte Stella on March 11, 2026, a few days after the Day of the Righteous of Humanity (March 6), to allow for the broadest participation of city schools, which—as every year—will play a leading role in the event.
The Assembly also approved several nominations from civil society, proposed by associations, scholars, and citizens, who will be commemorated during the celebrations. They are: Father Lido Mencarini, Paolo Boetti, Meena Keshwar Kamal, Father Giovanni Ferro, Filippo Di Benedetto, Bruno Brandellero, Antonio Tosi, and Father Gianfranco Maria Chiti.
All biographies of the honored Righteous can be consulted in the Encyclopedia of the Righteous of the Gariwo Foundation.
“Today, every person can become a guardian of democracy. This is the message that the Garden of the Righteous sends to our city at a time when political hatred is poisoning our societies, when dialogue and nonviolence are often no longer regarded as values, and when many autocrats rule through physical and verbal violence,”
explains Gabriele Nissim, President of the Gariwo Foundation. “The democratic power of the powerless—even in our time—can save the world, as Martin Luther King and Piero Calamandrei, whom we will honor together with those who today in Russia and the Middle East fight for peace, dialogue, and freedom, once said. With these figures we send a message to young people: the world becomes better only when one loves and defends democracy in one’s own life, because it is from everyday hatred that the soil for tyrants is born.”
“The figures honored this year represent cardinal points for the free world,” states Elena Buscemi, President of the Milan City Council. “Contemporary democracies clearly need to reaffirm within themselves the principles and values that the Righteous defended, even at the cost of their lives. We are living through a complicated historical juncture. In many parts of the world, politics and diplomacy have been abandoned in favor of violence. The example of these people shows once again that this is a mistake; that it is humanity’s duty to resist the temptation of weapons and to seek dialogue in order to build peace.”
The Garden of the Righteous at Monte Stella will also be the stage, tomorrow October 22, for another important civic moment dedicated to the memory of human rights. Vera Vigevani Jarach, journalist and activist for truth and justice, survivor of the Shoah and mother of Franca, one of the young desaparecidas in Argentina, who passed away on October 3, will be commemorated.
Already honored at the Garden of the Righteous of Milan, Vera Vigevani Jarach was a tireless witness to the memory of the Holocaust and the crimes of the South American dictatorships, uniting two wounds of history into a single voice of justice and humanity. At 9:30 a.m., a flower will be laid on her plaque at Monte Stella. The remembrance will be led by Gabriele Nissim, Marco Vigevani, and Roberta Osculati, Vice President of the Milan City Council.