What Is the Purpose of the Press?
On March 31, the Italian Order of Journalists, a state-approved professional body, passed a motion to adopt the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA). This declaration differs from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, adopted by many Western countries, including Italy under the second government led by PM Giuseppe Conte (2019-2021) – a coalition between the 5Star Movement and the center-left. According to its signatories, the JDA aims “to meet what has become a growing challenge: to provide clear guidance to identify and fight antisemitism while protecting free expression.” The JDA was not created as an addition to the IHRA’s document. Rather, it was written “because the IHRA definition is unclear in some of its key aspects, and widely open to different interpretations, and because it has caused confusion and controversy, hence weakening the fight against antisemitism.” In short, the IHRA definition, claim the JDA supporters, could stifle free expression by labeling many legitimate critiques of the Israeli government or Zionism as antisemitic.
This is not the place to discuss why one might question the very existence of a country but does who challenge Zionism do not only challenge an ideology, but an entire school of thought developed by Jews around the world who sought to establish a Jewish state—a school of thought that has evolved over the centuries encompassing religious, socialist, collectivist, pacifist, nationalist, and even agrarian currents.
However, we still need to see whether the Italian Order of Journalists, established by law in 1963 as a result of the Register of Journalists created by Benito Mussolini in 1925, will follow through on its March 31st decision. When adopting the JDA, the Order stated that it “is committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of racism and discrimination.” It is not yet known if the Order of Journalists has seen the last cover of the weekly magazine L’Espresso.
The cover contains a series of stereotypes, and portray an Israeli soldier with an overly mean facial expression. The first aggravating detail are his pe’ot, the sidelocks worn by some Orthodox Jewish men and boys. The second one is that he is wearing an IDF uniform and sneering while an Arab woman passes by, portrayed as dignified, well made up, wearing a veil over her hair as she looks down in sorrow. It is an impactful image in which the victim is good and the oppressor is bad—and very Jewish.
In this series of stereotypes, the evil, Orthodox Jewish male (wasn’t there a debate in Israel about low Orthodox participation in the army?) humiliates a poor Muslim woman. The headline is “L’Abuso” (The Abuse) and lists the entire Middle East: Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and, of course, Iran. It seems like the Espresso just couldn’t find a better way to portray the entire Middle East in flames than with a sneering Israeli soldier? What is the purpose of this cover, to inform or to indoctrinate?
We are waiting to see if the JDA will be applied. Here is point one of the newly adopted definition: “It is racist to essentialize, or treat a character trait as inherent, or to make sweeping negative generalizations about a given population. What is true of racism in general is true of antisemitism in particular.”
Daniel Mosseri
Chief Editor of Pagine Ebraiche