NEWS Italian Jewish Leaders Express Their Solidarity with Israel

By Rossella Tercatin

There was a minute of silence honoring the four teenage victims of brutal murders and an expression of solidarity with Israel, reaffirming its right to self-defense from the aggression against its civilian population perpetrated by Hamas.
The Council of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), which took place in Rome on Sunday, focused on the crisis between Israel and Gaza.
“Italian Jewish Communities and their leaders are worried about the incessant barrage of rockets against Israel and the escalation of violence. Gaza rulers represent a threat against Israeli as well as the Palestinian people – reads the UCEI message issued after the meeting – This is a conflict between freedom and the value of life against terror and the culture of death, which must be recognized and acknowledged by our national institutions as well. Aware of the complexity of the moment, we also condemn the media which are ready to mystify the real causes of this crisis, offering the public a distorted image of Israel”.
Also the Israeli Ambassador to Italy Naor Gilon joined the meeting, delivering some clarifications on the on-going operation and stressing the importance of the relationship between Israel and Italy and of the common fight against anti-Semitism.
A conference call also took place featuring some Italkim (Italian Jews living in Israel) to further discuss the situation: offering their views and analysis were Sergio Della Pergola, professor of Population Studies at the Hebrew University, Sergio Minerbi, former Israeli ambassador to the European Community in Brussels, Vittorio Dan Segre, political commentator and former Israeli ambassador to Madagascar.
Among the topics, the imminent visit to the region of the Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini. Madam Mogherini will be in Israel on July 15th and is supposed to meet with the Italian community at the Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem during her visit.