Italy’s Salvini accuses EU of anti-Israel bias

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini accused the European Union of being biased against Israel, in remarks during a visit to the Jewish state on Tuesday.

Published: 12 December 2018 08:57 CET

Italy's Salvini accuses EU of anti-Israel bias

Matteo Salvini flanked by bodyguards and aides in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP

“The European Union in recent years has been absolutely unbalanced… in its management of the conflict in the Middle East, condemning and punishing Israel every 15 minutes,” he told journalists.

Salvini met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday during his 24-hour visit to the country.

He referred to Israel as “a safe haven for European and Western values in the region”, while adding that “whoever wants peace supports Israel”.

Asked why he did not have any plans to meet Palestinian leaders, the Italian minister said he would do so on his next visit as his schedule was full this time.

Salvini, who heads Italy's anti-immigration League party, rejected the criticism he faced over his visit. “This is the fourth time I have come to Israel, and the fourth time I have been to Yad Vashem,” he said, referring to the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem that he is scheduled to visit on Wednesday.

“Our government will fight all forms of anti-Semitic violence, regardless of how it manifests itself,” he said.

His remarks come days after a suspected anti-Semitic attack in Rome, in which a memorial to Jewish holocaust victims was apparently stolen.

The Israeli left has accused Netanyahu of letting some foreign leaders use the country to counter allegations of anti-Semitism against them or their parties while promoting hardline rhetoric against Islam.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has not met with Salvini officially because of “agenda issues”, but the real reason is thought to be a desire to distance himself from the Italian minister.

In an interview with CNN late last month, Rivlin voiced regret over the return of neo-fascism to some European countries, without naming them.

“You cannot say, 'We admire Israel and want relations with your country, but we are neo-fascists',” Rivlin said at the time.

“Someone who is neo-fascist is truly a person who is totally against the spirit, principles, and the values of the State of Israel.”

Salvini is the latest in a line of far-right populist politicians received by Netanyahu, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in July and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in September.

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The strike comes after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama — who is close to Meloni — called a top RAI editor to complain about a television report into Italy’s controversial migration deal with his country.

The Usigrai trade union called the strike from May 6 to May 7 saying talks with management had failed to address their concerns.

It cited numerous issues, including staff shortages and contract issues, but in first place was “the suffocating control over journalistic work, with the attempt to reduce RAI to a megaphone for the government”.

It had already used that phrase to object to what critics say is the increasing influence over RAI by figures close to Prime Minister Meloni, who leads Italy’s most right-wing government since World War II.

However, another union of RAI journalists, Unirai, said they would not join what they called a “political” strike, defending the return to “pluralism” at the broadcaster.

Funded in part by a licence fee and with top managers long chosen by politicians, RAI’s independence has always been an issue of debate.

But the arrival in power of Meloni — leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who formed a coalition with Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing Forza Italia — redoubled concerns.

Tensions erupted at the weekend amid accusations RAI censored a speech by a leading writer criticising Meloni ahead of Liberation Day on April 25, when Italians mark the defeat of Fascism and the Nazis at the end of World War II.

Both RAI’s management and Meloni have denied censorship, and the premier posted the text of the monologue on her social media.

In another twist, Albania’s premier confirmed Thursday he called senior RAI editor Paolo Corsini about an TV report on Sunday into Italy’s plans to build two migration processing centres on Albanian territory.

Rama told La Stampa newspaper the report was “biased” and contained “lies” – adding that he had not raised the issue with Meloni.

The Report programme claimed the costs of migrant centres, which are under construction, were already “out of control” and raised questions about criminals benefiting from the project.