The Commission for Benefits to Anti-Fascist Political and Racial Persecuted held its first meeting of 2026 in the middle of May. This commission was created within the Italian Prime Minister’s Office and operates through the Ministry of Economy and Finance. As a result, this meeting brings renewed attention to applications under Law No. 96 of 10 March 1955, also known as the Terracini Law.
The commission’s session is also an opportunity to remind Italian Jews who have not yet applied that they may still do so for recognition of these benefits. Applications may be submitted directly for racial persecution suffered personally, or indirectly by the children of persecuted individuals or surviving spouses.
Following the reform introduced by Law No. 178 on December 31, 2020, racial persecution against Jews in Italy during the period of the racial laws is presumed by law. Proof on a case-by-case basis is no longer required. This change overcomes one of the main obstacles that prevented many eligible individuals from obtaining the benefit for decades.
It also serves as a message to those whose applications were rejected before the 2020 reform. In some cases, it may be advisable to submit a new application in light of the updated legal framework to assess whether conditions for reconsideration exist.
Of course, the requirements established by current legislation still apply. This is particularly true for indirect applications, which are still subject to income- and medical-related assessments.
Nevertheless, the resumption of the Commission’s work sends an important signal to those who have not yet begun the application process, as well as to those who abandoned it after a previous rejection.
Seventy years after the Terracini Law was enacted, the issue of moral and material recognition for Fascist and racial persecution remains unresolved and highly relevant.
Giulio Disegni
Translated by Elizabeth El Khoury and revised by Caterina Mansani, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.