A delegation of Jewish leaders emerged from a meeting here with Italy’s new foreign minister feeling somewhat reassured about the new Italian government, which includes a neo-fascist political party.
Lester Pollack, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told reporters after the meeting that “on balance,” the Jewish leaders “felt comfortable” with the presentation made by visiting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Martino.
Pollack called it “a very positive meeting.”
Last Tuesday’s hour-long meeting at the Italian Embassy here, held at Martino’s request, gave Jewish leaders a glimpse into the mind-set of the new Italian government — about which there has been much concern in the American and Italian Jewish communities.
The new government is a right-wing alliance led by billionaire media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. His governing Freedom Alliance links his Forza Italia party with the neo-fascist National Alliance and the separatist Northern League.
The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including Jewish concerns about the new government and future Middle East Italian policies.
‘WASN’T A VICTORY OF THE RIGHT’
“The minister assured us that the government is a centrist government, and that the defeat of the left (in Italy’s recent elections) was not a victory of the right,” Pollack said.
In addition, according to Pollack, Martino said that his government hoped for even stronger relations with the United States, and said he believed his government would be the most pro-Israel government in Italy in the past 20 years.
The newly appointed foreign minister, in office only eight days at the time, told the Jewish delegation that his government is supportive of the Middle East peace process, and indicated that he would assist the Palestine Liberation Organization in trying to organize its political and economic structures in an effort to further the peace process.
He also said that his government would be interested in assuring that the PLO comply with the terms of the self-rule accord signed with Israel, Pollack said.
Martino spoke of Italian opposition to the Arab boycott of Israel, and said that he would support amendments within European political and economic bodies to encourage trade with Israel.
The foreign minister told the Jewish leaders that his government would deal with any future right-wing extremist action the same way it dealt with recent verbal violence by skinheads in northern Italy.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents, said the Jewish leaders had “expressed concern” about elements in the new Italian government, and that Martino had said that statements by various officials could not be controlled.
But the minister said that new electoral reforms in Italy would lead to a more centrist government, and to the election of fewer extremists, Hoenlein added.
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.
