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Italian politician Mara Carfagna: “If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself”

Mar 21, 2016 6:32 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald

Mara-Carfagna

“Mara Carfagna: ‘If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself,'” a translation of “Mara Carfagna: ‘Se l’occidente abbandona Israele, abbandona se stesso,’” L’Informale, February 11, 2016:

Mara Carfagna, the Minister for Equal Opportunity from May 2008 to November 2011, among Italian politicians has been one of the stoutest defenders of Israel. Mindful of ethical issues and civil rights, she was chosen by Berlusconi to be in charge of the civil and human rights section of his party, Forza Italia.

We wanted to speak with her not only about Iran, but about the growing antisemitism in Europe, and the boycott of Israeli goods from the territories.

We thank Mara Carfagna for agreeing to grant this exclusive interview to L’Informale, and for having restated her strong support for Israel and for the Jewish people.

Mara Carfagna, you have on many occasions spoken out openly in favor of Israel, as few other politicians have done. Do you really think Israel’s case is so hard to understand?

No, I don’t, if you look at the real situation, and not through the lenses of anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist prejudice. I have faith in the history, traditions, and culture of Israel. But above all, I believe in the rights of the Jewish people. In their right to claim their homeland, where they can live securely, free of discrimination and persecution. I believe that those who would deny Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state are very often motivated by prejudice rather than by political disagreements.

Israel has so many enemies, but at times it cannot even rely on its friends. The United States made a nuclear treaty with Iran over Israel’s objections. Does this mean that the West is abandoning Israel?

The West cannot abandon Israel, for that would mean to abandon itself. Israel is the West’s beachhead in an area where democracy, liberty, and human rights are not respected. Iran is a country with a long anti-Zionist tradition, and where many human rights are not respected. The West’s fundamental values cannot be put on the back burner or ignored altogether in order to further purely economic interests. We find it unacceptable for Italy or our allies to think only of profit.

It’s not only the United States that has angered Netanyahu. It’s also the EU’s decision to label products from the Israeli settlements that has angered Israel. What do you think about that decision?

I have publicly declared my opposition to it, and signed the petition which Il Foglio [a center-right Italian paper] started in mid-November of last year, at the same time that the European Commission was making its decision. There are so many territorial disputes everywhere in the world, and I don’t see why, of all of them, the E.U. chose to act only against Israel. I saw this as a form of discrimination, and I am well known for being against every kind of discrimination.

In a recent interview, Massimo D’Alema [a left-wing party leader] described Israel as “a problem,” which aroused the ire of the Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon…

Precisely because D’Alema is well-versed in foreign affairs, we should expect him to be careful before he speaks his mind. He surely ought to understand that, especially in foreign policy, words carry a tremendous significance. Israel is a democracy, a rarity in the Middle East, a beacon of liberty and human rights, and rather than addressing Israel as a “problem” ally, he would do well to recognize the great efforts Israel has made to further the peace process and should recognize, too, that Israel is a bulwark against the spread of Islamic terrorism.

Besides being the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel as a country is especially attentive to ethical matters and to human rights. These are subjects that the Right in Italy sometimes seems to ignore, just the way it seems to ignore Israel. Do you agree? And is there a place for a different kind of political right in Italy?

Let’s not overstate the case. To claim that the center-right isn’t interested in ethics and civil rights is another kind of prejudice. After decades during which Italy followed a policy of neutrality between Israel and Palestine, Silvio Berlusconi publicly aligned himself with Israel, which radically changed how Israel was viewed in our country. He was the first Italian prime minister to address the Knesset, repeating the beautiful definition of Pope John Paul II in his historic visit to a synagogue on April 13, 1986, describing the Israelis as “our elder brothers,” and Netanyahu called him an “apostle of peace.” It was our [center-right] government that compelled UNAR, the National Office Against Racial Discrimination, to include antisemitism as part of its remit.

In Milan last November, Nathan Graff, a Jewish man, was stabbed near a kosher club. This was the most serious act of anti-Semitic aggression since the attack at the Rome synagogue in 1982, in which a little child, Stefano Gaj Tache, died. Do you think that Italy could become a dangerous place for Jews to live?

Italy will continue to be a country that will be welcoming for its Jewish citizens. Our security services — police and intelligence – work effectively to prevent and fight all forms of intolerance, xenophobia, and antisemitism. They work tirelessly every day so that we can feel secure. The very valuable work that they do every day, and for which we should be forever grateful, has made Italy an example to be followed by the rest of the world.

In Sweden, antisemitism is now tolerated, partly because of massive Muslim immigration. Jews are leaving France. How is possible that Europe again is falling into the errors of the past?

I became full of rage when I learned that in Europe there are Jews now afraid to wear the kippah, or that large numbers are leaving for Israel out of fears for their safety. Or when I hear that Jewish children are afraid to go to school, or Jewish businesses are attacked. These attacks have been taking place all over, in Paris and Brussels, in Toulouse and Copenhagen. We have a duty to fight all this, and to fight the terrorism that kills in the name of God. There is no room for tolerance here. Every country should apply the principle of zero tolerance and fight ignorance and indifference before it manages to metamorphose into hate and antisemitism.

Ruth Dureghello, the President of the Jewish Community of Rome, spoke memorably during the Pope’s recent visit to the Rome synagogue: “Jews and Catholics should strengthen their common efforts to fight the evils of our time.” Do you think that such common efforts are possible?

I hope so. Pope Francis is a progressive and enlightened pope, and he is right to stress that Jews and Christians should feel themselves to be brothers, and together find the right path to solve the problems that now have the entire world in their grip.

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Filed Under: Featured, Islamic antisemitism, Israel, Italy Tagged With: Mara Carfagna


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Comments

  1. BlueRaven says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    Good see there are some smart people around in the European Politics.

    • robert davis says

      Mar 23, 2016 at 4:35 am

      She was right and Churchill said the same thing approximately : if you give in (to Hitler) you’ll have both dishonour + war. Now europe again gave in to bullies and has dishonour + terror.

      • rhondakelly07 says

        Mar 29, 2016 at 2:17 pm

        Hitler was not whites. And half of his Army was blacks and Muslims. Hitlers Untold stories. Today blacks , are #1 killer for every race , in all high crimes , then illegals. Today blacks. Are Hitlers. 81% of whites , are Butchered by blacks. Who called for a Civil war. Google it.

        • Angemon says

          Mar 30, 2016 at 7:49 am

          rhondakelly07 posted:

          “Hitler was not whites.”

          Let me guess: you’re one of those people who thinks that only 6’+ tall blonde people with pasty white skin and green/blue eyes are “whites”…

          “And half of his Army was blacks and Muslims.”

          No, it wasn’t.

          “Hitlers Untold stories.”

          You mean, the stormfront-backed piece of holocaust denying, fascism apologist propaganda?

          “Today blacks , are #1 killer for every race , in all high crimes , then illegals.”

          I’m going to go on a limb and say that Asians are the #1 killers in, for example, China and Japan… Or Arabs in Saudi Arabia…

          “Today blacks. Are Hitlers.”

          But Hitler hated black people. How does that work?

          “81% of whites , are Butchered by blacks.”

          Bulls***. Show me a white-majority country with a 81% demographics drop that can be attribute to blacks murdering whites.

          “Who called for a Civil war. Google it.”

          Racial supremacists are the one calling for a civil war.

  2. Wellington says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    She got everything right except her praise for Pope Francis. But definitely good enough for now, especially when one considers the likes of who is actually in charge of Western Europe as of present in the political realm, academia and the media.

  3. Champ says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 7:21 pm

    “Mara Carfagna: ‘If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself,’”

    ✡ Brava, Mara!! ✡

    And the United States needs a president that is not “neutral” on Israel …

    https://youtu.be/1sA_BO3wj20

  4. Angemon says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    The West cannot abandon Israel, for that would mean to abandon itself. Israel is the West’s beachhead in an area where democracy, liberty, and human rights are not respected.

    Damn right.

    In a recent interview, Massimo D’Alema [a left-wing party leader]

    Let’s not understate who this man is. He’s a communist, and son of an old-school communist, who made it to Prime Minister of Italy (after Prodi) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (under Prodi). He’s an experienced politician, not a fledgling, wet-behind-the-ears leader of a freshly founded “fringe-left” party.

    Precisely because D’Alema is well-versed in foreign affairs, we should expect him to be careful before he speaks his mind. He surely ought to understand that, especially in foreign policy, words carry a tremendous significance.

    Oh, I bet he does – I bet he knew exactly what he was saying and the reactions it would spark. He’s, as stated above, an experienced politician, a communist and the son of an old-school communist – he was college-aged when the Soviets started spreading pro-islamic, anti-Israeli propaganda in an effort to cosy up to muslim countries in the area and collect allies to counter US influence in the Middle East [via Israel]. Old habits die hard and you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – D’Alema didn’t simply said Israel was a problem, what he said was the following:

    Era sbagliato l’ostracismo verso l’Iran. Ed è divenuto insostenibilmente sbagliato con il passaggio dal conservatore Ahmadinejad al riformista Rohani. L’ostracismo era dettato non dagli interessi dell’Occidente, ma da quelli dei due alleati dell’Occidente: Arabia Saudita e Israele. I quali, più che alleati, si sono rivelati due problemi

    Translation:

    The ostracism against Iran was wrong. And it became unbearably wrong with the passage from the conservative Ahmadinejad to the reformist Rohani. The ostracism was dictated not by the interests of the West, but of those of two Western allies: Saudi Arabia and Israel. They, more than allies, turned out to be problems.

    On that same interview, D’Alema went on to say:

    Il governo della destra israeliana sta giocando un ruolo negativo nella regione. Con l’espansione delle colonie, la prospettiva di uno Stato palestinese è di fatto scomparsa. La coltiva ancora la leadership politica, che vive di aiuti internazionali; ma la società civile no. Gli intellettuali credono ormai allo scenario che chiamano sudafricano.

    Translation: The government of the Israeli right is playing a negative role in the area. With the expansion of the settlements, the possibility of a Palestinian State has, in fact, disappeared. There’s still a political leadership, which lives on international aid, but no civilian society. The intellectuals believe now in a scenario we call “South-African”.

    And when asked to expand on that he said:

    Un unico Stato, in cui i palestinesi dovranno battersi per i propri diritti. È nata così la nuova Intifada. Ma Israele, negando uno Stato palestinese, mette in pericolo la propria stessa idea di Stato ebraico. E la comunità internazionale accetta il doppio standard: Israele non rispetta gli impegni sottoscritti, viola le risoluzioni dell’Onu. Questo alimenta nel mondo arabo l’odio verso l’Occidente. Usa e Europa dovrebbero smetterla di avere nella regione alleati privilegiati, ai cui interessi finiscono per essere sacrificati gli interessi della stabilità e della pace. Noi abbiamo bisogno di un equilibrio fra i diversi Stati e di una convivenza basata sul rispetto dei diritti umani e dei principi del diritto internazionale».

    Translation: A single state, in which Palestinians can fight for their own rights. That’s what created the new Intifada. But Israel, denying a Palestinian state, endangers the very idea of a Hebrew state. And the international community accepts this double standard: Israel does not respect the commitments it has made, it violates UN resolutions. This feeds hatred of the West in the Arab world. The US and Europe should stop having privileged allies in the region, whose interests end up being sacrificed the interests of stability and peace. We need a balance between the different states and a coexistence based on the respect for human rights and the principle of international law.

    What do Saudi Arabia and Israel have in common? They’re aligned with the US (well, as far as Saudi Arabia goes, at least officially – the US should revise their “partnership” and kick them to the curb). Iran? It’s no friend of the US, much to the contrary. Is it that strange seeing a communist decrying Israel and Saudi Arabia while defending Iran?

    the full interview is here (in italian)

    http://www.corriere.it/politica/16_gennaio_10/d-alema-all-estero-non-siamo-piu-protagonisti-arabia-israele-alleati-problemi-da1da5d4-b7df-11e5-8210-122afbd965bb.shtml

    • warren raymond says

      Mar 22, 2016 at 7:15 am

      “Israel, denying a Palestinian state, endangers the very idea of a Hebrew state. ”
      Garbage.

      “Israel does not respect the commitments it has made, it violates UN resolutions. This feeds hatred of the West in the Arab world.”

      Garbage. Ignorant garbage.

      Israel doesn’t “deny a Palestinian state”, the Arabs have no intention to have one. The “Palestinians” were invented to destroy the Jewish state.

      “Israel does not….blah blah, it violates UN resolutions. This feeds hatred of the West in the Arab world.”

      No. No Arab Muslim cares about UN resolutions unless its in their favour. Arab Muslims hate the West BECAUSE THEY HATE THE INFIDEL, and all land that was once conquered by Muslims must remain in Muslim hands till the end of time.

      Everything else is gibberish. Those who cannot accept this reality should not be in politics. They should be laughed out of office.

  5. gravenimage says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 8:09 pm

    Italian politician Mara Carfagna: “If the West abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself”
    …………………….

    Brava Mara Carfagna!

    More:

    Israel is a democracy, a rarity in the Middle East, a beacon of liberty and human rights, and rather than addressing Israel as a “problem” ally, he would do well to recognize the great efforts Israel has made to further the peace process and should recognize, too, that Israel is a bulwark against the spread of Islamic terrorism.

    Besides being the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel as a country is especially attentive to ethical matters and to human rights.
    …………………….

    So true. It is not just that Israel is the canary in the coal mine, she is also our *only* true ally in the region, and the only democracy in a sea of Mohammedan hell holes. Abandoning her is both evil and profoundly foolish.

    Seeing that she has a strong ally in Italy is so heartening!

  6. mortimer says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    The canary in the mine is the Jews of Europe. The lights of freedom and logic are going out throughout Europe.

    It’s 1930 again in Europe. The only thing missing is a fiery, mesmerizing orator like Hitler.

    The voice of reason is considered ‘racist’ or ‘intolerant’.

    • Laura says

      Mar 22, 2016 at 9:09 am

      I fear, Mortimer, you are correct.

  7. underbed cat says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 9:51 pm

    Her beautiful spirit shines thru, in her support and words for Israel.. in these dark times. America is in denial.

  8. Islam_Macht_Frei says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    Damn.

    I am on her side no matter what.

  9. Pong says

    Mar 21, 2016 at 11:24 pm

    May be humanity is in luck and we might get another Oriana Fallaci.

  10. citycat says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 12:06 am

    “if the west abandons Israel, it will be abandoning itself”
    Also in the respect that Infidel is abandoning Infidel, which is what Islãm wants, i.e. The infidels divided.
    Muslims attack the Jews, but not so much that the rest of the Infidels get really heavy. They are playing on the rest of the Infidel worlds prejudiced view of Jews.
    Islãm has a go at the Jewish entity to test the ground, like the bully in the playground. Unspoken morality is abused. If no reaction then increasse the bullying till there is reaction, and take it from there.
    I don’t know why people are prejudiced towards the Jews. They’re cute with the sheks?

  11. Michael Johnson says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 4:36 am

    It would be just plain stupid to. Abandon Israel its the only Democratic country in the middle east our only ally

  12. roger eric woodhouse says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 6:01 am

    While the west is under the control of the left and its media nothing will be done to end this sorry mess . Islam is in an undeclared war with the Chistian people around the world while our so called leaders stand helpless to act. Ignorance on their part of the ultimate aims of this so called religion is no excuse. The inability of the leftwing and its supine followers has to be exposed for what it is . Their lifelong hatred of our established Judeo Christian heritage is plain for all to see but it will take another thousand innocent victims of this accursed cult before a belated and terrifying action is taken . Oh for another Churchil to arise and be accepted quickly.

    • vcragain says

      Mar 22, 2016 at 6:21 am

      I am a ‘Leftie’ and I completely agree with your statements – things are changing slowly – you do realize that those ‘Lefties’ are guilty of too much idealism, not a crime, just a bit TOO idealistic when it comes to a danger lurking menacingly at their doorstep and reluctant to lay blame at the feet of any one individual. In normal human relations – that is the way it should be, we are all capable of changing our views, Muslims too, but Islam is a particularly nasty threat and very dangerous to normal caring people. That is the barrier we face with this situation – how to stay caring, trusting people while making sure we protect ourselves from our enemies – who appear to have every intention of using our trust as a weapon against us – the very worst kind of human behavior ! We have to keep ourselves safe while NOT destroying our own values and that is a really difficult problem, hence all the confusion. Labeling those who care as ‘idiots’ does not help !

      • Charli Main says

        Mar 22, 2016 at 8:05 am

        ” lefties” are like turkeys singing the praises of and looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

  13. vcragain says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 6:09 am

    Now that I know a lot more of the history of the Jewish peoples over many hundreds of years, I am very amused at the fact of antisemitism in Europeans – what people don’t realize and may find out if they research their own ancestry, is that they could very well be Jewish themselves – ha ha ! I discovered that my mother’s family were Jewish, which I did not know until recently, it had been hidden, and so has the history of many, many European Jews – An antisemitic KKK group leader in the US recently was discovered to be Jewish and thrown out of his ‘club’ – very funny! Jews in Europe often changed their names and habits to be safe, some conserved that history thru the generations and others did not. So – all you antisemites need to be very careful about who you hate, others may find out who you really are and apply that hate to you too !!!

  14. Enragedsince1999 says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    Brava Mara ! All the power to her and other courageous people still left in the Western world ! Only they can save the Western civilization !

    Ruslan Tokhchukov, EnragedSince1999.

  15. citycat says

    Mar 22, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    @vcragain
    yeah, a lot of it about, same here, jewish grandmother, catholic father, spiritualist mother.
    Few years back, over there, an artist photographed Jewish and Muslim taxi drivers, no one could tell who was Muslim or who was Jewish.
    Mind you, Muslims are new.
    A Muslim once told me,
    “We’re all Jews, citycat” he reckoned he could spot a Jew several generations back.
    Some Muslims in Engeland do have a jewish look about them.
    The religion becomes forefront in the mind.
    Crazy world.

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