The continuing opposition to official anti-Semitism among the Italians is indicated by an article in Roberto Farinacci’s newspaper, Il Regime Fascista, which denounces persons who refuse to mention the Jews in attributing blame for the war.
The article notes that residents of Milan mention “capitalism” and “plutocracy” in noon-hour discussions of the war, but hardly ever employ the word “Jews.” It continues:
“There is no law against talking about Jews. When discussing the war with the populace, call bread bread, a dog a dog, a Jew a Jew…
“Well, it is possible to understand how the bourgeois, who owe their privileges to the French Revolution engineered by the Jews, find anti-Semitism inconvenient. They prefer not to speak of it. How much international, financial and Masonic complicity there must be that so many bourgeois hurry to change the conversation when they hear Jews accused of the war! And God be praised if they don’t straightaway turn compassionate towards their lot.”
The article brought into the open the long-undercurrent unpopularity of anti-Semitism and the Italians’ coolness to the use of “international Jewry” as the explanation of war and all kindred evils.
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.
