About 15% of Italians believe that physical assaults on Jewish people are “entirely or fairly justifiable,” according to a new survey released on Tuesday, amid ongoing protests against Israel’s nearly two-year-old war with Hamas in Gaza.
The SWG poll, conducted between Sept. 24-26 among 800 adults, also found that 18% consider antisemitic graffiti acceptable, while around 20% said it was reasonable to attack pro-Israel professors and for businesses to refuse Israeli customers.
Reuters reported that the findings come as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government faces pressure from demonstrators demanding recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Italy has not followed other G7 nations in that step, though Meloni said she would back certain sanctions against Israel at the U.N. General Assembly in a speech on Wednesday, in which she attacked Israel for violating “humanitarian norms” leading to the “slaughter of civilians.”
Italy carries historical scars from the 1938 antisemitic racial laws enacted under fascism, and current legislation punishes hate crimes. The SWG poll noted that 85% of respondents said attacking Jews is “not very or not at all justifiable.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26, accused countries unilaterally recognizing Palestinian statehood of sending the message that “murdering Jews pays off.”
