Italy’s Meloni attends Oct. 7 memorial at Rome synagogue, denounces ‘rampant antisemitism’

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has voiced strong support for Israel, commemorates the Oct. 7 anniversary by visiting the main synagogue in Rome and reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

Meloni also denounces the “latent and rampant antisemitism” that has arisen in the year since the Hamas attacks, citing in particular pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests in Italy over the weekend, some of which turned violent.

While asserting Israel’s right to live safely within its borders, she insists that it respect international law and lamented the devastation unleashed by Israeli forces in Gaza. She says Palestinians in Gaza had been “victims twice over: first of Hamas’s cynicism, which uses them as human shields, and then of Israeli military operations.”

As the current president of the Group of Seven, Italy will continue to work for an immediate ceasefire, “the release of Israeli hostages and the stabilization of the Israeli-Lebanese border through the full implementation of UN resolutions,” Meloni says.

Since entering office in 2022, Meloni has taken several initiatives to show her strong support for Italy’s Jewish community and Israel. Her Brothers of Italy party has roots in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by sympathizers of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.