The general elections present the Jewish community with a difficult dilemma: on the one hand, the expected sweeping victory of the right will lead to the establishment of a government in which two parties will sit - Georgia Maloney's "Brothers of Italy" and Matteo Salvini's "League" - which some regard as problematic Because of their past connections with the extreme right and neo-fascists.
On the other hand, the list of candidates of the main left-center party, the "Democratic Party", included activists who publicly expressed extreme anti-Semitic and anti-Israel positions.
The exposure of these statements in the Italian right-wing media resulted in only a limited response from the party's leadership.
Is there any reason to worry about the results of these elections?
"We will have to wait for the results of the vote and see what happens," cautiously tells Naomi Di Sagni, the president of the Council of Jewish Communities in Italy to Israel Hayom, "in the right-wing bloc, a shift of voters is expected between one party and another, especially between Salvini's party and the 'Brothers of Italy.'
This is the most significant thing in my opinion.
Is such a transition also related to what can worry the Jews in Italy?
That is, to what extent Maloney's party still represents the past and how far it has disconnected from this past.
It is clear that there is a certain continuity, because it is the same party.
But, it is also clear that there is a difference between 'Brothers of Italy' and 'Vox' in Spain or other parties that are really fascist by definition.'
Q: Do you know Meloni personally?
A: "Yes. I talked to her. I met all the heads of the parties in the last few days."
Q: What is your impression of her?
A: "She has a high ability to concentrate. She is very focused and knows what she wants. It is important to work on channels of work with her. We do not speak the same language, but we need to understand that we will be in the same institutional systems and it is important that we have common work channels. We need to establish a closer relationship with this party and understand what kind of messages need to be conveyed and routed and what work needs to be done in front of them. They are very pro-Israel, and it is easy to embrace this pro-Israel opinion. But, this is about the sympathy of a certain part of Israel, not of Israel as a whole for everyone who lives in it And all its characteristics. Of course, this sympathy is also related to the development of Israel, to its actions, to its innovation, to its being a start-up nation, and to everything that happens in the Middle East. But there is also an admiration for a kind of strength."
According to Di Sagni, "When they admire Israel, of course it makes us feel good."
She adds: "But, on the other hand, there is no understanding that the problem of anti-Semitism in Italy is a problem that needs to be understood as a whole.
Both Salvini and Meloni strongly support Israel, and this is not a position that brings votes in Italy.
That's why I appreciate it very much.
But, this still does not reflect enough insight that there is a problem of anti-Semitism in Italy and that this anti-Semitism is made up of many components.
Those who really want to work with us on the issue of anti-Semitism should understand that it is not enough to say: I appreciate Israel.
The problem of anti-Semitism is related to the denial of the Holocaust in all its guises, to the misunderstanding of fascism's responsibility for the destruction of Italy and helping to destroy the Jews, as well as things related to the Italian Church.
There are still currents in the Catholic Church that encourage all kinds of prejudices about blood plots and things like that.'
De Sagni recalls a recent anti-Semitic incident: recently outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi - former president of the European Central Bank - received an award in New York from a famous Orthodox rabbi.
One of the Catholic newspapers in Italy reported on the event emphasizing: 'Here, there you understand who really makes decisions in the West'.
That is, the Jews of New York influence, so to speak, the West.
"It's an anti-Semitic statement," Di Sagni says, "it's part of the daily existence of Italian society.
And of course, there are the connections between these right-wing parties and the extreme right.
With these connections, to what extent will they have the power to say that the problem of anti-Semitism should be dealt with in all its forms?
To what extent will they have the strength to understand what happened in Italy's history and take responsibility?
Of course, we are very concerned about the attitude of these parties towards Europe.
The European Union institutions and decision-making systems can and should be improved.
It's one thing to improve systems that were established decades ago and another to say: I don't want the union, or: I want more sovereignty, more national policy in Europe.
For us it is a scary thing.
Strengthening Europe will strengthen Italy, not the opposite message, which supports strengthening Italy and weakening Europe or changing the articles of the Italian constitution related to international organizations."
Q: To what extent is the strengthening of the right in Italy accompanied by anti-Semitic phenomena?
A: "It's an ongoing phenomenon that happens all the time, regardless of the election system. There are statements, and people who vote in a fascist way, as happened just this week at the funeral of a fascist official who died. It's an ingrained thing. At the same time, there is the problem with the left, which is no less. There This is the problem of BDS and the anti-Israel attitudes that are also rooted."
Q: Are you calling on the next government of Italy to deal with the problem of anti-Semitism in the country?
There is a lot of work in Italy on the issue of anti-Semitism, but there is progress.
With the education system, we passed guidelines on how to teach the subject of anti-Semitism in schools.
Not every Minister of Education would send the document, which we prepared to all schools in Italy to explain how to teach.
We also reached an agreement with the Italian Church that we will go through all the textbooks and remove from them everything related to religious and political anti-Semitism."
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