Italian authorities have forcefully shut down an anonymous online initiative that solicited public reports on the locations of Jewish and Israeli tourists, as well as businesses suspected of Zionist ties, sparking outrage and comparisons to fascist-era persecution. The Google form, circulating on social media, aimed to “map Zionist tourism,” property acquisitions, and alleged “Zionist neo-colonization” within Italy, soliciting user-submitted details about individuals and establishments. Leaders like Walker Meghnagi, president of the Jewish Community of Milan, decried the effort as a return to the 1930s and a dangerous form of “hunting Jews,” a sentiment echoed by Italian Senate President Ignazio La Russa, who condemned the cataloging of people based on religious belief or connection to Israel as “aberrant” and a manifestation of “profound anti-Semitism.” The initiative was removed following intervention from Italy’s national coordinator for the fight against antisemitism, General Pasquale Angelosanto. While the form indicated information would be received by the Global Sumud Movement, an activist network linked to Gaza flotilla efforts, the group denied commissioning or even knowing about the questionnaire prior to the controversy, stating they “do not hunt Jews.” The form’s later sections reportedly asked for specific locations of Jewish or Israeli visitors and whether local groups were already “managing the phenomenon,” raising grave concerns about potential incitement and targeting of vulnerable communities, with officials vowing that those responsible would not go unpunished.
Adapted from: Latest World News on Fox News
