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Giovanni Giacalone
Eyes everywhere

Italian-Israeli soldiers blacklisted by Italian subversive far-left group

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and PM Giorgia Meloni (YouTube screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

On January 27th, 2025, the Italian “New Communist Party” (NCP), a far-left clandestine group mostly based in central western-Italy, published an updated version of its original blacklist of “Zionist agents”. This time, on its third update since last summer, the extremist group published a list of Italian-Israeli citizens serving in the IDF and their photos.

The first part of the list was included in a 24-page long notice published on August 22nd, 2024, and called for the boycott of Israel and the fight against Zionism in Italy. The call was backed by other far-left groups such as the Arab-Palestinian Democratic Union and P- CARC (Committee for the Support of Communist Resistance). The list was further updated on September 18th, 2024, with more names and it included a consistent number of rabbis who have no role in the so-called “Zionist propaganda”, members of Jewish associations, and even holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, a 94-year-old lady who is also a Senator of the Italian Parliament and who has been a frequent target of antisemites. The list also included prominent Italian MPs from both the majority and the opposition; ministers of the Meloni government, and a former ambassador. The case recalls situations already seen during the dark and dramatic years of the early 20th century under Nazism and that we hoped we’d never see again. Unfortunately, it’s 2025 in Italy.

The Italian NCP also called for the overthrow of the democratically elected Italian government and the establishment of a Communist regime defined as a “popular block”. It is interesting how the Italian NPC is so “clandestine” that it even runs its own website, accessible to all, where it shares its subversive propaganda every week, including the list of “Zionist agents”. The NCP prides itself on being untraceable and provides ways to anonymously contact its militants; maybe the leaders even believe it.

CARC and NCP often complain of being “criminalized” by the “pro-Zionist media”, while at the same time using Nazi-style means such as blacklists, parades with photos of “Zionists” that include Holocaust survivors, and calling for actions such as the marking of “enemy houses”.

Despite its call for the subversion of the democratic order and the threat it represents to the different categories depicted as “enemies” by the extremists, the Italian authorities haven’t moved a finger yet against the NCP website. This is quite strange, considering that jihadist social media content has been taken down for quite less. Would it be possible to even imagine a pro-ISIS website posting such content be left online? Then, why is it different when the far-left is behind it? Extremist narrative is defined as such regardless of its “color”.

It is worth recalling that on January 27th, 2025, Holocaust Memorial Day, the Jewish Brigade of Milan and the Jewish Community did not attend celebrations, as announced by the Brigade director, Davide Romano:

“The anniversary of January 27 was born to remember the horror of Nazi-fascism and antisemitism, but today I see in Italian society and in some institutions an anti-Jewish hatred that goes as far as to wink at totalitarian regimes like Iran and Hamas in order to criticize Jews and Israel.”

And again:

“If in Germany and Austria the main antisemitic impulses come from the extreme right, in Italy it is a certain left that worries more.”

The far-left threat has become a serious issue in Italy, up to the point that in late September, 2024, the ongoing NCP threats had become the subject of a parliamentary inquiry forwarded to their own Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, by two MPs from the majority, Sara Kelany and Francesco Filini, both from Meloni’s party, Fratelli d’Italia. Up to date, no response from Piantedosi has been acknowledged.

The Italian Ministry of Interior seems to aim at tolerating as much as possible to avoid an increase in social tension, but this is a non-strategy that is destined to fail, and it already did. The narrative of hatred and violence has spread widely throughout the country and has resulted in violence in numerous cases. The consequences were indeed predictable since, when an extremist group does not see a response from the institutions, it continues to raise the stakes. Therefore, what is the Meloni government waiting for to take action? Extremist narrative is a serious threat because it is the ideological “fuel” that leads to violence.

About the Author
Giovanni Giacalone is a senior analyst in Islamist extremism and terrorism at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies-Catholic University of Milan, at the Europe desk for the UK-based think tank Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, and a researcher for Centro Studi Machiavelli. Since 2021 he is the coordinator for the "Latin America group" at the International Institute for the Study of Security-ITSS. In 2023 Giacalone published the book “The Tablighi Jamaat in Europe”.
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