UN expert Albanese, protesters warn against Italy’s anti-Semitism bill

Rome, Italy – “Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism”, read the black-and-yellow signs distributed by Amnesty International outside the Italian parliament on Wednesday afternoon.Hundreds gathered in front of Montecitorio Square in Rome to oppose Italy’s so-called anti-Semitism bill.The demonstration was organised to coincide with a meeting of the Chamber of Deputies’ Constitutional Affairs Committee, which is examining legislation approved by the Senate on March 4 by a large majority. Under Italy’s constitutional system, a bill must be approved by both chambers in the same text before it can become law.“We are tired of seeing anti-Semitism instrumentalised to promote censorship of any kind of criticism of the State of Israel and its criminal policies,” said Daniel Calo, of Tikkun, a group of Italian Jewish antiracism activists.“In the face of this shameful bill, we reiterate once again, forcefully, that opposing Zionism is not anti-Semitism.”At the centre of the controversy is the possible adoption into national law of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which critics argue conflates anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel.According to ...