ROME (JTA) – Police in Turin are investigating a high school teacher who threatened in a Facebook post to massacre Jews and go “target shooting” against African immigrants.
Police searched the home of Renato Pallavidini Jan. 6 and seized computers, a flash drive and CDs. He could be charged with racial hatred.
Five years ago Pallavidini was penalized for Holocaust denial.
The Italian media last week reported that on Dec. 29, Pallavidini posted a picture of Adolf Hitler and Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini shaking hands, with a post reading, "Warning to dirty bastard Jews who control us from the land of s— and fags called California. If you remove this picture, I will go to the synagogue very near to my house, with my pistol, and gun down some parasite Jews."
He also reportedly published a post on Dec. 23 asking who would join him in “target shooting” against African immigrant street vendors near his home.
The picture and other material on Pallavidini’s home page were removed.
It was the latest in a series of anti-Semitic and racist incidents in Italy over the past two months. They ranged from a Facebook attack on a Jewish website to the murder of immigrant vendors in Florence.
“This is the umpteenth case in recent weeks of a resurgence of anti-Semitism, and more generally speaking, intolerance, in Italian society, that in particular takes advantage of the web and blogs to disseminate messages of hate and create and coordinate organizations,” Giacomo Kahn, the editor of the Jewish monthly Shalom, wrote on the Rome Jewish community website.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
