The successor to Italy’s once powerful Communist Party is taking steps to patch up any differences it had with Israel and strengthen its ties with Jews. “We are retying loose ends with the whole of Jewish culture, one of the historic cultures of the left,” declared Piero Fassino, a Democratic Party of the Left activist who was heading a delegation to the opening of the Israeli Labor Party’s convention in Jerusalem on Tuesday night.
The Democratic Party of the Left, or PDS, is the name chosen by the former Italian Communist Party after the 1989 revolution in Eastern Europe, when it declared itself part of the Social Democratic mainstream in Europe.
Recently, it “twinned” with Mapam, a small left-wing party in Israel.
At its peak in the decades after World War II, the Italian Communist Party was the largest Communist party in the West and second in size only to the Christian Democrats in Italy. Although the Italian Communists largely ignored the Moscow party line, they subscribed to the pro-Arab policy of most of the Communist world, especially after the Six-Day War.
“For Italian Communists, as for those all over the world, Israel was the enemy, the expression of American imperialism in the Middle East,” L’Independente wrote.
“In that period, to be Jewish and a Communist in Italy was almost impossible,” Fassino told the newspaper. “The majority of the Jewish members felt forced to choose one side or another. Those who remained in the party left the (Jewish) community. Those who chose the community left the party.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
