Segre’s appeal: “Let the anti-Semitism bill be passed unanimously, even with amendments”

It is essential that the anti-Semitism bill be passed unanimously: Senator for Life Liliana Segre emphasised this in a statement to ANSA, issuing “a new, heartfelt appeal to all parties to make a further effort in the spirit of generosity and responsibility, setting aside all speculation and focusing on the country’s best interests. “In the knowledge that a rift over such a sensitive issue would damage Italy’s image and contribute to fuelling a climate of intolerance and the spread of hatred,” said the life senator. The bill is due to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies on 2 October, having been approved by the Senate in March. In the meantime, the issue has continued to erode the centre-left from within. 

“I am still in disbelief at the divisions that are emerging over the draft bill against anti-Semitism. There are issues on which a civilised country should stand united, transcending partisan divides,” Segre continues. “I remember when my late friend Furio Colombo proposed the bill to establish Holocaust Remembrance Day. He said straight away that for Italy – which in 1938 had approved the racial laws by a unanimous vote in the Fascist Chamber of Deputies and which, through the Italian Social Republic (RSI), had actively cooperated in the Holocaust – it was a matter of honour to achieve unanimous approval for Holocaust Remembrance Day. And thanks,” he continued, “to his tenacity and his skilful mediation on the text, he eventually succeeded, in 2000, in securing that unanimous parliamentary vote.” Instead, “today, according to the statements I have read, all the main political parties share three convictions: that we are facing a wave of anti-Semitism; that this phenomenon must be combated not only to protect the tiny Jewish minority but also because it is a poison that pollutes our democratic life; that the new measures to combat anti-Semitism must safeguard the right to political criticism of the Israeli government. This last point is of particular concern to me, given that I myself – as the life senator pointed out – have often harshly criticised the positions and decisions of the current Israeli leadership, even going so far as to express a feeling of ‘repulsion’.”

Yet, according to Segre, “the text of the draft bill currently under consideration by the Chamber of Deputies does not present any real issues in this regard. Thanks to the good work carried out in the Senate, both the provisions of a criminal nature and the prohibitions that appeared in some of the initial drafts have been removed from the bill. Furthermore, the IHRA document on which the bill is based contains this unequivocal clarification: ‘Manifestations [of antisemitism] may target the State of Israel because it is conceived as a Jewish collective. However, criticism of Israel similar to that directed at any other country cannot be considered antisemitic.’ That said, if, in order to achieve the cross-party consensus I have always hoped for, it were necessary to reiterate the same principle in the text,’ concluded Segre, ‘it would be appropriate to accept this minor amendment in order to safeguard a unified outcome.” 

Democratic Party MP Piero Fassino responded to Senator Segre’s appeal. “Parliamentary groups should heed the words of Senator Liliana Segre and heed her call for united support for the anti-Semitism bill,” he said. “The fight against anti-Semitism must not be a partisan cause, but a united commitment to combating a phenomenon that affects not only Jews but also the democratic fabric of society. For this reason,” concluded Fassino, “it is an act of democratic responsibility to heed Senator Segre’s appeal.”