A prominent Italian philosopher and former member of the European Parliament says he would personally like “to shoot those bastard Zionists.”
Marxist philosopher Gianni Vattimo told national Italian radio that Israel is “a bit worse than the Nazis.”
He said that Hamas is “fighting with toy rockets that don’t really kill anyone,” and suggested that Europeans raise money “to buy Hamas more rockets.”
Vattimo also wants the EU to fight alongside Hamas, just as foreign volunteers helped to fight against fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
Stefano Jesurum, the Jewish community’s representative to the Milan city council, expressed his shock at the statement to Israel National News. ”Either Vattimo is completely nuts, or he was speaking in bad faith,” he said. “I refuse to believe that a well-educated European, a scholar, can see any parallel between Israel and Spain under Franco’s regime.”
Vattimo’s comments are part of a wave of anti-Semitism making its way through Europe. Protesters have attacked synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, and Jewish tourists.
“Anti-Israeli sentiment is anti-Semitism dressed up in fancy clothes,” Italy’s first female rabbi, Rabbi Barbara Aiello, told The Local. “Imagine if what is said about Jews was said about Italians. For example: ‘I don’t object to Italians I just don’t believe that Italy has a right to exist!’”
View a slideshow of recently anti-Israel protests here.