Many members of Prodi's coalition, which spans from Roman Catholic moderates to hardline Communists, criticized the jeering - but not everyone.
Francesco Caruso, an anti-globalization leader who won a seat in parliament for the Communist Refoundation party at this month's general election, said the protest was justified.
"Whistles are not an act of violence but a legitimate form of dissent," he told reporters.
Communist Refoundation head Fausto Bertinotti was less understanding, saying the jeers were contrary to the spirit of the April 25 commemorations, which mark the day in 1945 when a Nazi occupation army left Milan after a partisan insurrection.
Was a time when anti-semitism was the preserve of the right, but now it seems more at home on the left. There are of course strong arguments against Israel's policies in the Middle East and many of the same kinds of people who now criticise the Jews may once have argued for their homeland - they are the champions of the oppressed if you like.
But one has to ask oneself, if this is really the case, why weren't they burning the flags of Iran - where gays and adulterous women are regularly strung up - China or Zimbabwe or Sudan or... well, you get the idea.
Sadly, I suspect those flag-burners were driven by a deeper, older loathing. Burning a Chinese flag just doesn't provide the same... buzz, you know?
Courtesy of Harry's Place, Jewish Brigade soldiers celebrating Passover in Italy
5 comments:
Molehill, mountain. Were it not for the Berlusconi media's smarting attempts to de-legitimise the Prodi bvictory it is unlikerly anyone would know about this story.
It is in bad taste but it is a tiny thing.
AS for the burning of the flag offending all people of that RACE internationally - oh were do we go with this notion of a secular anti-racist state?
Then again as that statement was made in the VATICAN newspaper the irony rubicon is being worn smooth with all the criss-crossing this story is giving it.
Or was that an irony you missed?
I only picked the pic up from Harry after I had posted it - I didn't get the Vatican reference...
In any case, I weas suggesting that this was symptomatic of a more deep-seated racism that has infected the left ever since... oh... I was at Sunderland Poly in the Eighties and they banned the Jewish Society for being Zionist and therefore racist!
Though as a former RCPer yourself Mr B presumably you wouldn't have a problem with that?!
F**K off I have never been a member o the f**king RCP
Get your parties sorted - the thing is taht is Harry-style lazy thinking - if you can't see the potential for problems with a society defined by race and cuilture taking a position which is exclusively linked to one religion and a particular political manifestation of it (even more problematicaly linked to a GOD-GIVEN PROMISED LAND) then you clearly have been doing a good job of pretending to understand more than you do for a while - I can't stand faux naivete! (err how do you do acute accents?
Which one was it then?!
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