Let's go on

Dear friends,

Just a few lines to keep you posted on my recent initiatives. We passed through an extremely prolific and significant period of work.
I'm writing now having just came back from a very intensive week in Israel: first, I was part of President Berlusconi’s delegation for the first bilateral summit between Italy and Israel. Eight Italian Ministers took part in it and it was very successful, as you could probably see from the great media coverage that was granted to this historical event. You can read some of my impressions in one of my recent articles I’m forwarding below.

Just one day after Berlusconi’s visit ended, on February 4th, I led the delegation of MPs we promoted in the framework of our very active Italy-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association. This was our second visit to Israel. Last year we concentrated in the Southern border, while this year we focused on the Jerusalem question, the "freezing" issue and the Northern border. The group, totally voluntary and self-funded, was made of 30 people, 14 MPs from the various political parties (totally bipartisan), some of them accompanied by their partners, professors and journalists. We had a ultra intensive 5 days program, from Thursday 4, coming back with the Tuesday 9 early morning flight in order to be right back for the voting in the Parliament…

Some days before I left Italy to come with Berlusconi, we ended with a series of initiatives in the Parliament, days of very hard and intensive work. Two public initiatives organized always in the framework of the Italy-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Association and in the first case also with the vital assistance of EFI (European Friends of Israel), an organizations that operates to strengthen the relationship between MPs all around Europe and Israel: the first one was a conference on the Goldstone Report, with the participation of Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN in New York;  Ambassador Laura Mirachian, our Italian permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva (who voted against the endorsement of the Report by the Human Right Council, as it happened later on in the General Assembly); Major General Giovanni Marizza, former Deputy Commander of the Multinational Corps in Iraq. The conference, moderated by one of our main op-ed columnist, Pierluigi Battista, from Corriere della Sera, was open to the large public and gave a very different picture of such a delicate issue, which has been superficially dealt with by the international press, as usual.

Then, only after one week, we had the chance to have a seminar in the Parliament held by Itamar Marcus and his colleague Nan Jacques, of the Palestinian Media Watch (www.palwatch.org), dealing with hate education in the Palestinian media and school textbooks. Unfortunately, due to unexpected voting in the Parliament, only journalist and the other invited could attend it, but, thanks to Marcus’ availability, we have been able to listen again to his impressive presentation during our MPs delegation to Israel.

Between these two initiatives, on the symbolic date of January 27, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we officially opened the Inquiry on Antisemitism of the Italian Parliament, with the hearing of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini.
The Inquiry was appointed by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, following the commitment he undertook in front of the steering committee of the ICCA (Inter-parliamentary Coalition on Combating Antisemitism), that held its first meeting in Rome on September 2009.
As written in its founding act, the Inquiry aims at establishing an “activity of monitoring of Antisemitism, both at a national and international level. The Inquiry is aimed at pointing out the new characteristics of this phenomenon, with particular regard to ethnic and religious hatred fed by fundamentalism and by the instrumental plot between anti-Zionism and Holocaust denial.The renewed outbreak of anti-Semitism at a global level, and in particular in Europe, together with the complex relation with the course of the event in the Middle East, induces us not to underestimate the episodes of intolerance that have occurred also in Italy”.
The Inquiry, which will go on at least for the entire 2010, is being held jointly by the Foreign Affairs and the Constitutional Affairs Committees. It will examine and verify, through hearings of Italian and international witnesses and experts, as well as through local inspections (a mission to the UK is in planning):

• The degree of awareness in the public opinion, the mass media, the educational system;
• The suitability of the present legislative means and of the efficacy of the international conventions to respond to the threat;
• The effectiveness of the organisms in charge of the fight against anti-Semitism, with a special regard to the new channels of spreading of anti-Semitism, like internet.

Only one day before the opening of the Inquiry, on January 26, I was in Strasbourg, at the Council of Europe, where I am a member of the Italian Parliament delegation. There, also as representative in the Sub-Committee on Middle East Affairs, I carried out a tough battle on a resolution on the “situation in the Middle East” (of course, of the 49 paragraphs that compose the report, about 40 deal exclusively with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To the situation of other important Middle East’s realities like Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, the report dedicates one paragraph each. Not very surprising…). The drafting of the report was assigned to my colleague of the Democratic Party (leading Italian opposition party), MP Piero Fassino. I presented 28 amendments to his report, each of them I was able to present for about 30 seconds. Part of them was accepted, but the debate was hard. I suggest you to read the verbatim record, as it illustrates very well the sick dynamics that rule this institution (which, in this case, is not an European Union body, but a overall European organ aimed at promoting democracy, human rights and in general European culture. It includes 47 member countries, among them also Turkey, Russia, Ukraine).

Here you can find the battle on the amendments:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/Records/2010/E/1001261500E.htm

The full Fassino’s report, partly amended after the discussion, can be read here:
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/ATListingDetails_E.asp?ATID=11141

My breaf intervention in the general debate, could be read here:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/Records/2010/E/1001261000E.htm

A positive note is that a short declaration on the Holocaust Remembrance Day I proposed (since, even if this session of the Council of Europe was held also on January 27, there was no document to remember Auschwitz’s liberation and the lesson we should learn from the largest tragedy of our time), was adopted by the Assembly without quarrels.

Finally, another battle I'm carrying on in the last months regards Iran. Just yesterday, with the revival of the riots, I took the floor in the Parliament declaring my commitment to raise an institutional reaction to the 44 Nobel Laureates' Appeal, promoted this week by Elie Wiesel, calling the leaders of the international community to help the courageous fighters for freedom in Iran.

Well, my friends, these lines want to express the beautiful sensation that the hard and meticulous work of accumulating a grain of sand on the other, a teaspoon of sea with the other, eventually seems to be a meaningful deed. But still, we need to work hard. Let's go on!

Yours,

Fiamma

 
Israel's love for Berlusconi? He challenges the political correctness

Il Giornale, February 4, 2010

"But why don’t you remain with us, what do you have to do in Italy” exclaimed the anchorman of the State TV Channel news program in talking about Berlusconi. "After three days with him, I must say: he is an irresistible charmeur" chimed the journalist of the second channel. Indeed Shimon Peres defined him shimshì, sunny, in his speech delivered during the official reception. He also simply and directly said to the Italian leader that “the press chits chats but voters choose”. “You warmed our hearts” smiled Peres during the farewell lunch on the last day of Berlusconi’s visit. And he was not referring to the undoubted popularity the Italian Prime Minister gained, nor to the joke he told. But he referred specifically to the substantial and courageous positions that Berlusconi took on all the occasions in which he expressed his opinion. And in particular, during his speech to the Knesset. Berlusconi had a different approach with respect to all other European leaders. He did not try to teach anything to anyone. But he offered his appreciation and mediation to a country that – as he said – “we must thank for its very existence”. He did not leave the title “best friend of Israel” to remain a rhetorical exercise and the moving story of his mother Rosa who saved a Jewish woman as part of Bibi Netanyahu’s welcome speech: on a day in which the enemies turned up with every possible means, with war threats from Syria and large bombs launched in the sea probably by Hamas to blast shores and Israeli ships and to cause a massacre.

He gave Israel different reasons to hope to be understood and to be supported in its search for peace, without having all the responsibility on its shoulders and, in addition, the reproach often coming from European Leaders. Berlusconi opened an important road. He set an innovative example for Europe. In fact, while he praised Netanyahu for having adopted the “two states for two people” position, he chose to repeat the sentence “full recognition of Israel”, four times and referred to it with affection for what it is “the Jewish State”. This does not leave room for ambiguity used by many European leaders to leave the true final solution open, with many Palestinians who dream of a future in which population growth or clashes will wipe out Israel.

Berlusconi stated it clearly: a Palestinian State near a Jewish State, i.e. where the Nation lives and not only the Jewish religion. And, in fact, religious people account for 15% of the population in Israel. The recognition of Israel as a Jewish State was mentioned in Netanyahu’s speech in Bar Ilan on the “two States” as a condition to arrive at decisive territorial concessions. And so far no Arab leader has ever used this expression. Berlusconi adopted a clear pedagogical approach to the issue of Palestinians and Arab states and promised to help with any initiative to improve the life of Palestinians.
Another fundamental theme on which Berlusconi was determined and concrete was Iran. Berlusconi linked Italy’s commitment against Iran’s atomic program to Ahmadinejad’s genocide agenda. He did not hesitate to show sympathy for Israel’s major concern for its fate. Indeed he ascribed it to Iran’s negationism. And he talked about it with horror. He concretely mentioned what practical measures to take; very harsh sanctions, the progressive restriction of business with Iran – that already diminished by one third – and a plan to put the powerful and terrible armed Revolutionary Guards corps in the EU’s  list of terrorist organizations.

The Israeli public opinion attaches great importance to Italy’s track record, with its brave stance against the most terrible moments when Israel was the victim of ideological and truly defamatory attacks. Berlusconi highlighted Italy’s most important support initiatives: Israel’s Day when Israel was beset by horrific terrorist attacks; the decision to say "no" to participate in the Durban 2 conference  considered to be "unacceptable" because of its slanders against Israel and again another "no" to Goldstone’s report that, de facto, prevents Israel from exercising its right to self-defense. This was a very important and innovative approach. No country had ever helped Israel to feel a normal country vis-à-vis the public opinion and with a true common sense that is necessary to defend oneself against annihilation.

Israel is obsessed with the steady flow of slanders and senseless accusations of perpetrating apartheid, racism, extermination of civilians and children. It is an international sport to delegitimize it and Europe is somewhat involved. It will suffice to read the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, which stated that Israeli soldiers tore organs from Palestinians to sell them: in the name of the protection of the right to opinion, Sweden did not speak one single word.  Berlusconi swept away the antisemitic clichés that are generally ignored for political interests and for pleasing the UN automatic majorities. In fact, Berlusconi rejected the politically correct approach that requires to have the cake and eat it, that always wants to stab and charge Israel with all the responsibilities while Palestinians are discharged. He promised a Marshall plan for them and asked them to give up violence and to sit again at the negotiating table.

Moreover, he insisted in proposing one of his dreams that may at last give Israel its natural and cultural domain. The domain of democracies derived from the Jewish and Christian civilizations: the European Community. Berlusconi thinks that Israel deserves it. The issue is whether Europe deserves it. But Berlusconi did not say that.

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