«Perfect sentences, no preconceptions. But we must not let our guard down »- Corriere.it

«An unexceptionable statement. We cannot and must not act or think on the basis of a preconception, based only on political or party origins. The essential is what is being said now. Even if, mind you, we don’t let our guard down ”

So Lia Levi, 91, Jewish writer and historian who escaped the Shoah, comments on the statements of Giorgia Meloni on October 16. Lia Levi founded and directed the magazine Shalomhe then wrote numerous successful books: the most significant is Just a little girl in which she tells the terrible story of her expulsion from school for the sole “guilt” of being Jewish.

So Giorgia Meloni took the point of October 16 with her statement?

«Even if there may be a doubt within us, understandable given Giorgia Meloni’s political roots, we must always hope that there is a real and definitive moral and historical awareness of what happened on that October 16 here in Rome. The declaration, I repeat, is unexceptionable and I hope that now there is no one who thinks of my customs clearance or other, for heaven’s sake. Let’s not let our guard down, the phrase simply corresponds to the truth. Memory really serves to ensure that a horror does not repeat itself ».

Can it count the fact that Giorgia Meloni is Roman, raised at Garbatella, and therefore has always known the details of the roundup?

“I think so, the Day of Remembrance has now entered the widespread Italian culture. But leaving Rome, few have the perception of the tragedy of that day, of that search of the Roman Jews house by house. The declaration brings to national attention the blackest page in the history of Roman Jews, as was the attack of 1982, recalled days ago with the very important presence of President Mattarella in the Synagogue ».

Giorgia Meloni uses the adjective “Nazi-fascist”: a roundup not only of the Nazi occupiers but also of the Italian fascists themselves, as it is in historical reality.

“In fact it is very significant. The roundup has unfortunately been cited, in many historical reconstructions, as an exclusively Nazi action. Instead, it is necessary to be aware of how much fascism was the co-author of that horror. We cannot and must not forget that Fascist militiamen knocked on the door of these defenseless Jews ”

The president of the Roman Jewish community, Ruth Dureghello, claimed in the synagogue before President Mattarella that Italian Jews are proud to be Italian even if someone often forgets it …

«It also happens to me to hear about Jews” and “Italians. That particle, “and”, reveals a retro-thought. We are Italian Jews. Point”.