With 1,200 soldiers deployed in southern Lebanon, Italy offers the largest European contingent in UNIFIL. Since the Israeli army attacked three bases, two of which were Italian, Rome has been worried and would even consider proposing that the Blue Helmets could respond militarily in order to defend themselves… Meanwhile, anti-Semitism is on the rise in Italy…
Since an Italian base of UNIFIL, the United Nations interim force in Lebanon, was damaged by an Israeli army Caterpillar, the Italians have been worried. In bars, in restaurants, between two dishes of spaghetti, the speeches are identical. “So you declared war on us? “, quips Luca Barbareschi. YOU ? “Well yes, you Jews who cannot manage, whatever your nationality, to stand out from the Israeli government and from Israel”, specifies this forty-year-old trader specializing in items for pets. “We are going to go to war, there will be chaos, gasoline will increase and all that, because of them. » They are the Israelis and the diaspora who are talking about a worrying rise of a new wave of anti-Semitism.
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And while the tone is rising among the population, the political class is getting agitated. In Rome, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, one of the founders of Fratelli d’Italia, Giorgia Meloni’s party, has already summoned Israeli Ambassador Jonathan Peled to ask for explanations. Strong words flew, with the Italian Defense Minister speaking “ hostile acts by the Israeli armed forces which could amount to war crimes “. For his part, Antonio Tajani, who has taken over the leadership of Forza Italia since the death of Silvio Berlusconi, the founder of this party, is demanding explanations and, above all, an official apology. He also requests special protection for the approximately 1,200 Italian soldiers deployed in Lebanon, the largest European contingent of UNIFIL, including 1,000 in the south of the country, along the blue line drawn on June 7, 2000 by the Organization. of the United Nations (UN) and which marks the Lebanese-Israeli border. For her part, the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni telephoned Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the Italian press, the conversation was completely lacking in cordiality.
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Monday evening, a few hours before the kick-off of the League of Nations match between Italy and Israel which was being played in Udine in the Friuli region, several personalities from sport but also from politics asked to boycott this meeting . The Italians decided to sanction Israel themselves by refusing to attend the meeting. According to the sports federation, only 12,000 tickets were sold for the football match even though the stadium can accommodate 25,000 spectators. The fact is that the indignation among the population is growing stronger. According to a survey carried out by the YouGov research institute, only 5% of Italians still support the Jewish state. Another poll claims that half of the population believes that the Israeli government’s reaction in Gaza is disproportionate to its legitimate right to defend itself. Finally, 4 out of 10 Italians also say that Jerusalem should have found a compromise solution with Hezbollah.
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While tension increases over the hours between Rome and Jerusalem, as concern grows among the population, in the large cities of Milan, Turin and Rome where Jewish communities are strongly represented, fear is there. Some are secretly talking about possible attacks and calling for a strengthening of security measures, particularly in front of synagogues and Jewish schools already under guard by the army.
