Silvio Berlusconi (1936-2023)

The news of Silvio Berlusconi’s death, the former Italian prime minister, aroused many reactions in Israel and in Jewish Italy. “The Jewish communities express their condolences for the death of Silvio Berlusconi, not only a political leader, but also a personality who has marked the history of Italy. We remember him as a person who was close to the Jewish world, recognizing its contribution to the development of the country and supporting the relationship with its institutions”, says the UCEI President Noemi di Segni. She adds: “A great friend to Israel, who was always committed with his own party to safeguard Israeli right to exist, to defend itself and to progress towards peace and prosperity. Our deepest closeness to his family and his closest collaborators”.
The Embassy of Israel in Italy underlined in a message of condolence that “President Berlusconi was always in the forefront of the fight against all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. For this very reason, one of his main personal and policy objectives was the strengthening of relations between Italy and Israel. Thanks to his constant effort, the bilateral relations between Rome and Jerusalem have become increasingly tighter and stronger”. It adds that Berlusconi “was a sincere friend of Israel and of the entire Jewish people, and therefore he will remain alive in our memory”. Benjamin Netanyahu, the current prime minister of Israel, said he was “deeply saddened by the death of Silvio Berlusconi. Silvio was a great friend of Israel and he always stood by us. Rest in peace my dear friend”.
Ruth Dureghello, the President of the Jewish community of Rome, tweeted “I grieve for the death of Silvio Berlusconi, a great friend of Israel and of the Jewish people. To him we owe the paradigm shift between Italy and the Jewish state. Peace in his eternal and easy rest”. The President of the Jewish community in Milan Walker Meghnagi, in the end, wrote: “He was a great friend of Israel not only as a man, but also as a politician, and was always aware of the position of this country in the Middle East, as the key to a fundamental quarter in the world. As a fighter, he always opposed antisemitism and anti-Zionism”.

Translated by Sofia Busatto, revised by Valentina Megera, students at the Secondary School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.