Italian Officials Denounce Online Campaign to Track ‘Zionist Tourists’ as Antisemitism

Jerusalem, 21 July, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- (Adnkronos) – “The idea of ​​mapping ‘Zionist tourism’ online is simply abhorrent , and should be perceived by anyone and any political force or social group in our country as a denial of fundamental human rights, of humanity itself, and of the constitutional principles on which the Italian Republic is founded.” This was stated by Victor Fadlun , president of the Jewish Community of Rome, after a form appeared online to track so-called ‘Zionist tourism’ in Italy.

An anonymous online questionnaire circulating on Bologna and Milan social media groups encouraged people to “record cases of Zionist tourism, property purchases, and, more generally, Zionist neo-colonization in Italy.” The questionaire added, “Data collected will be received by the Global Sumud Movement and will remain protected and confidential.”

The Global Sumud Movement is best known for organizing flotillas aiming to break the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“We thank General Angelosanto, coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism, for his timely intervention to remove the despicable questionnaire,” Fadlun stressed. “We are witnessing with growing concern a veritable manhunt, in which people are being singled out, exposed, and stigmatized solely because of their Jewish identity or alleged ties to Israel. We renew our alarm at the anti-Jewish trend in our country as well and urge the authorities and civil society to remain vigilant.”

According to Livia Ottolenghi, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, “We are witnessing a quantum leap in antisemitism that cannot be underestimated . This time, with the online format, we have arrived at the new ‘yellow stars’: denouncing and cataloging alleged Zionist ‘colonies’ in Italy, branding Jews, insinuating dark plans that are completely nonexistent. It is the culture of conspiracy that takes us back to the times preceding the racist laws of ’38.”

Ottolenghi added, “The Union of Italian Jewish Communities is aware of a thousand other incidents that in recent months have reproduced and attempted to further instill anti-Semitism in public opinion. All of this has been met with the deafening silence of civil society, which, with a few sporadic exceptions, remains silent. It is a deliberate plan based on disinformation and propaganda that seeks to bend civil society to a vision of hatred and prejudice, pointing to—in the truest sense of the word—Jews and Zionists as the outcasts of this age.”

Senate President Ignazio La Russa said, “The online mapping of so-called ‘Zionist tourism,’ rightly denounced by the President of the Jewish Community of Milan, Walker Meghnagi, is an aberrant initiative, in open violation of fundamental human rights and the constitutional principles on which our nation is founded.”

He stressed that “Any form of profiling people based on their religious beliefs or their ties to Israel is neither acceptable nor justifiable. Behind all this lies a profound antisemitism that must be unanimously rejected with firmness and determination. We cannot remain immobile in the face of such grave events that evoke the ghosts of the past. My deepest sympathy to the Jewish Community.”

The senators of the ‘Segre’ Commission against Discrimination and Anti-Semitism also denounced the mapping project, calling it an abhorrent initiative born from the recent wave of anti-Jewish hatred, poorly disguised as anti-Zionist hatred, which is nonetheless unacceptable racial hatred.”

The senators — Marco Scurria, Ester Mieli, Ella Bucalo, Lucio Malan, Raffaele Speranzon, and Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata — said they would ask their commission to address the matter.

“We cannot remain indifferent in the face of acts that hark back to the worst years of the last century,” the senators said.