Following Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s announcement yesterday suspending the automatic defense agreement with Israel, reactions in Israel were largely dismissive. “The agreement has no real substance and no practical significance, and the matter will not harm Israel’s security,” diplomatic sources said.
However, the situation in Italy regarding attitudes toward Israel is deteriorating sharply. From being one of Israel’s most supportive and friendly countries, with warm and genuine ties between the two peoples, sentiment among large parts of the Italian public toward Israel — its government, the state as a whole and Israelis — has shifted dramatically.
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Magazine cover story this week on alleged harassment of Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers and IDF soldiers
Pressure on Meloni from the opposition, left-wing parties and even elements within the Italian center to take action against Israel has intensified significantly in recent months. After Meloni and her government lost a critical referendum last week on constitutional changes and judicial reform, the left feels emboldened. With elections expected next year, Meloni could lose power, and Italy’s left today includes leaders and politicians who do not hide their hostility toward Israel — not merely support for a two-state solution, but calls to sever all ties and, in some cases, challenges to Israel’s very right to exist.
The meteoric rise in antisemitic incidents over the past two years is only part of the troubling outcome of a broader shift in tone across the media, the street, the cultural sphere and politics. A series of incidents in recent weeks has further fueled anti-Israel sentiment. One such episode — the unprecedented decision to bar the Latin Patriarch from visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Easter due to the war — sparked widespread outrage. Security considerations were barely discussed, and the incident was portrayed as a declaration of war by Israel against Christianity as a whole, and the Catholic world in particular. In Italy, a Catholic country that hosts the Vatican, this carries particular weight.
A growing number of incidents in southern Lebanon involving clashes between IDF troops and UNIFIL peacekeepers have also provoked anger in Italy. Rome leads the UNIFIL force and has accused the IDF of deliberately firing at its troops. Just days ago, an incident occurred in which an IDF tank collided with an armored vehicle carrying Italian soldiers. The Italian government has issued sharp criticism of Israel’s conduct in Lebanon, including last week’s deadly strikes in Beirut that caused hundreds of casualties. Italian media coverage often fails to distinguish between Hezbollah operatives and civilians.
More broadly, Italian media coverage of events in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran has become highly biased. Headlines are increasingly harsh and extreme, reports are filled with distorted information and there is a clear lack of understanding of the conflict’s complexity.
At the same time, Israel — and particularly its more extreme political figures — are doing little to improve the situation. One of Italy’s leading magazines, the weekly L’Espresso, published a cover story this week on alleged harassment of Palestinians in the West Bank by settlers and IDF soldiers. The damage is significant: on social media and in the press, anti-Israel rhetoric has reached new highs, with Israelis widely portrayed as Nazis, monsters and “the worst people in the world.”
Rome’s prosecutor’s office also announced Monday that it is expected to open an investigation to verify whether IDF soldiers tortured and abused participants in the recent Gaza flotilla. Israel would do well to wake up and recognize the warning signs. Italy is changing course — and it is dangerous.