Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio has
distanced himself and his 5-Star Movement (M5S) from an
anti-Semitic Tweet posted by a member of the movement, Senator
Elio Lannutti, which cited the anti-Semitic czarist forgery "The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion".
"As deputy premier and political leader of the M5S, I
distance myself, and with me the whole movement, from the
considerations of Senator Elio Lannutti", Di Maio said,
referring to the Tweet.
Lannutti cited the Protocols, a pillar of anti-Semitic hatred
for about a century, which purports to represent Jewish leaders
plotting world dominion.
It has long been recognized as a fabrication by the czarist
secret police and was used in early 20th-century Russia and in
Nazi Germany as a pretext to persecute Jews.
In a Facebook post, Lannutti on Monday said he had "published
a link on the Rothschild bankers, without any comment".
"Since I had no intention of offending anyone, least of all
the Jewish communities or others, I apologize if the link hurt"
someone's feelings, he wrote.
"Sharing a link doesn't mean sharing the content, from which
I distance myself", he noted, stressing that "I am not, nor will
I ever be anti-Semite".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
