An Italian statesman and scholar warned here this week that it would be a mistake to relegate European anti-Semitism to the past.
Giovanni Spadolini, president of the Italian Senate, spoke of “new ghosts of a re-emerging anti-Semitism” in an address at the Hebrew University here. He said it is a matter of grave concern that demands forceful condemnation and counteraction.
The Italian political leader, who is also a journalist, was awarded an honorary doctorate for “his accomplishments as a scholar and statesman, for his service to the causes of democracy and cooperation between nations, and for his friendship to the people and State of Israel.”
It would be a grave mistake to “yield to the temptation to confine racism to the ghosts of the past,” Spadolini said. He said Judaism was in danger because it constitutes a key element of universal civilization.
Since it belongs “to the spiritual family of the free movement of ideas,” it has “always been jeopardized by racism and intolerance,” he said.
Spadolini urged Israelis not to be discouraged by terrorism, which seeks to derail the peace process in the region, but to persevere in seeking the “inevitable” negotiated solution that will guarantee Israel’s right to peace and security and, at the same time, recognize the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
