Italian Photographer Documents Gaza Protests in Berlin

Italian photographer Alessia Cocca (born 1982 in Benevento) co-founded the militant photography collective From the River to the Street two years ago with photojournalists Zaira Biagini and Magdalena Vassileva to document police violence against pro-Palestine protesters in Berlin. The collective's name references the slogan "from the river to the sea," which is banned in Berlin and can lead to fines or arrest. Cocca, who has collaborated with Reuters, organized an international traveling exhibition from the collected material and is publishing a photobook titled "Diario di un attivista palestinese" in 2026 with American publisher Renascence Books. The book features the story of Mudi, a Palestinian activist in Berlin, with a preface by Yasemin Acar, an activist from the Global Sumud Flotilla recently acquitted of charges including uttering the taboo slogan. Cocca graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli and runs a space in Berlin called Tattoo & Magic, where she hosted a fundraising exhibition for Gaza photographer Hossam Anwer Abu Shamma. Her works have been exhibited in Germany, England, and Italy.