More anti-Semitic incidents recorded in Italy

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Italy, according to the latest figures collected by the Milan-based Center for Jewish Documentation. "'We observed approximately 70 cases so far this year, most of them graffiti and online attacks. This means over 40 percent more compared with last year,'' researcher Stefano Gatti was quoted by the news agency ANSA as saying. This represented a worrying trend in a country like Italy, ''where essentially anti-Semitism is not violent, but rather ideological," Gatti said.

The data showed that the situation was evolving negatively, he added. "The boom might be due to more efficient data-gathering, but the episodes have undeniably increased. Also, certain attitudes were no longer perceived as anti-Semitic. The joke that used to be whispered after one glass too many, is now shamelessly told out loud,'' Gatti pointed out.

Worse, he said, was the fact that Italian pundits and politicians ''such as Silvio Berlusconi, Beppe Grillo or Piergiorgio Odifreddi'' were now writing discriminatory posts, telling racist jokes. ''Making certain issues seem normal, even funny, is one of the root causes of the rise in antisemitic episodes in Italy,'' the expert concluded.