Security has been stepped up around Rome’s Great Synagogue and the Jewish ghetto following the Washington attack. Two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington were killed. The move aims to prevent copycat attacks, according to Italy’s security agencies.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said attention was already high and has now been raised further. “There are thousands of sites that are already under surveillance,” he noted, while urging calm. “I do not think it is necessary to raise alarms.”
Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned the Washington attack on social media, calling the violence “scenes of terror” that must be “strongly condemned.”
“Anti-Semitism born of hatred against Jews must be stopped,” he wrote. “The horrors of the past must never return.”
Tajani also addressed a separate diplomatic incident involving Israel earlier in the week. On Wednesday, he announced that Italy would summon the Israeli ambassador to explain an incident during a visit to Jenin. Shots were fired by the Israel Defence Forces near a refugee camp as diplomats, including an Italian deputy consul, were present. No injuries were reported. The IDF later apologised.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said it was right for Italy to criticise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking at the Trento Economics Festival, Crosetto warned that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is killing civilians and helping Hamas gain support.
“This war is leading to the killing of thousands of innocent people,” Crosetto said. “We must secure Palestine and give Palestine a future.”
