DEMOCRACY – Noemi Di Segni (UCEI): Minorities should be protected, not isolated

The Italian Jewish community has strongly reacted to recent statements by Five Star Movement leader and former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. In a video livestreamed on his social media, Conte called on Italian Jews to “distance” themselves from Israel’s actions “because in this case, silence becomes complicity.” We publish an editorial by the President of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni.

“Another week has come to an end, in which the archive of quotes to be remembered has been enriched with further manipulations. Some are not surprising; some can even qualify as an offense; others are serious for the sole reason that they come from who served as Italian Prime Minister. Italian Jews, like Jews all over the world, are not voters abroad of the State of Israel. They are neither ‘friends’ nor ‘not friends.’ They are Italians. We are Italians.

We are here and we are alive, despite state persecutions, deportations and massacres. Despite the many demonstrators who wish us bad luck, we are still here. A minority. But citizens. Our Jewish values are part of Italy.
We do not distance ourselves from Israel or its government nor we do associate with it. The Jewish state, born longing for peace, is part of the Jewish identity. It is part of a millenary history. It is not a sentiment born in 1948. And as we have repeatedly affirmed, the defense of life is our daily commitment. Of course, the challenges in Israel are enormous and the dilemmas are morally lacerating, and for this very reason the schemes of boycotting and demonization should be contained. Fortunately, the thinking of Italian Jews is not monolithic. Just as there are different opinions in Israel, there are also different opinions in Italy. But even in this diversity, we do not lend a hand to those who deny Israel or legitimize terrorism. Our duty is to defend Israel from the distortions that are spread and from those who seek to undermine Italy’s democratic foundations. 

We also oppose those who dream of a radicalization also in Europe. The Italian Jewish communities have always been committed to support coexistence and not just dialogue with other minorities. Why does President Conte not ask our Muslim fellow citizens to distance themselves from the perpetrators of the horrors of October 7 or from the terrorist attacks carried out elsewhere in the name of Islam? Why does President Conte not ask Italian Muslims to support the thousands of Palestinians demonstrating against Hamas in the Gaza Strip? Why does no one support them? 

My appeal to President Conte and his Five Star Party friends is to distance themselves once and for all from the Hamas terrorists and realize that their real goal, beyond the destruction of Israel, is the Islamization of Europe. And Europe, with its values of freedom and democracy, should be protected. We are leaving behind the anniversary of the Ardeatine cave massacres with its Italian victims. And as we approach April 25, which marks the liberation of Italy from Nazi fascism, we reaffirm that the protection of protecting minorities is a guarantee for the entire democratic system.