A bittersweet Hag

Sukkot is “the festival of our joy”. But like all Italian Jews, I cannot but think of the horrendous attack at the Rome synagogue, tens of seriously wounded and the murder of a two years old toddler. It was on Shemini Atzeret, the day of the family blessing (when the synagogue is packed with children — the goal of the Palestinian commando was to kill children). It was 40 years ago today.

I don’t feel I can judge the terrorists. I was not born in a refugee camp; who knows, perhaps I could have been one of them. They escaped, so we know nothing about them.

But I have nothing but contempt for those politicians who shielded the terrorists, who allowed them to walk free around Italy on condition that non-Jewish Italians was not hurt (and called this horror “diplomacy”) , sold us Jews to the terrorist, who allowed them to purchase weapons in exchange of oil, who welcome Yasser Arafat as a Head of State and allowed him to address the Parliament showing off his gun (yes, a gun in a Parliament). The attack was a message to us Jews: condemn Israel, or worse. We were blessed to have great leaders, and nobody obliged.

I extend my contempt to those so-called Progressives who have forbidden me to say Kaddish for these victims for years and then defended those who say Kaddish for Gaza. For those who called me gangster, a sex addict and tweeted about pizza (and worse, all from the anti-Italian repertoire…) because I dare to talk about that terror attack. For those who casually ask, “but all the Jewish community in Rome agreed with their leaders?” because even there, even in front of the body of a toddler, they feel the need to tell the world that antizionism is not antisemitism and that those murderers may have the reason on their side. They are horrible human beings.

At this very moment, some Far Left militants are busy with a campaign to inform the world that not all UK Jews are in favour of the move of the UK Embassy to Jerusalem. Guess where those horrible human beings stand.

I am proud to be different. May the memory of Stefano Taché be a blessing. Am Israel Chai. And Chag Sameach