Conte, Schlein and Fratoianni’s ‘short memory’ regarding the anti-Semitism bill

The internal debate within the left over Bill 1004 on anti-Semitism, which was approved last March by the Senate’s Constitutional Affairs Committee and is now under discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, shows no sign of abating. Following a long and troubled period of self-reflection, the PD has decided to vote against the bill, which is considered controversial by several of its members. The association Sinistra per Israele has warned that this would inflict a “wound that would be difficult to heal” on many of its members, whilst some associations and public figures from the Italian Jewish community have launched an appeal to vote against it.

While showing growing opposition to the bill, the left appears, however, to have removed the previous passages. The definition of antisemitism contained in the bill is that of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), already adopted by the European Parliament in Resolution B8-0383/2017. The motion, which was also supported by small contingents from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the European People’s Party (EPP), was nevertheless tabled by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, whose leaders included Elly Schlein herself. The text expressly calls on Member States and European institutions to “adopt and apply the working definition of antisemitism used by the IHRA”, citing Austria and the United Kingdom – which was still formally part of the Union at the time – as exemplary cases in this regard.

In Italy, the same definition was introduced the following year in a motion tabled by Forza Italia MP Mara Carfagna. The motion (No. 1-00045) was approved during sitting No. 56 on 4 October 2018, alongside others (Fiano, Lollobrigida, Carbonaro-Belotti, Fornaro) “concerning initiatives aimed at combating antisemitism”. Among the signatories of the latter joint motion was Nicola Fratoianni, secretary of Sinistra Italiana. The motion, proposed in the wake of the No Hate Speech Movement campaign – the movement against hate speech coordinated by the Council of Europe – calls on the government to “recognise and adopt the working definition of antisemitism proposed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and ensure its implementation in all areas”.

Furthermore. On 17 January 2020, the Council of Ministers, chaired by Giuseppe Conte, adopted the following definition: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred towards them. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed towards Jewish or non-Jewish people, and/or their property, Jewish community institutions and their places of worship”.

Bill 1.004 does not introduce new offences relating to anti-Semitism, but provides for the adoption of a national strategy and guidelines for schools, for the training of school staff and law enforcement officers, and measures to combat online hate speech. Much of the opposition rejects it, arguing that the text restricts the freedom to criticise Israel’s policies and preferring the more technical definition contained in the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA). However, their stance appears driven by short-term opportunism: in the past, that very same definition posed no risk whatsoever to any of the leaders of the broad coalition.