The “Clown Prince” of Italian Politics Not a Fan of Israel

Beppe Grillo

Italy’s 2013 general election took place on February 24 and 25 to determine the 630 members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate for the 17th Parliament of the Italian Republic.

And, in what politicos describe as a major upset, former comedian Beppe Grillo become the leader of Italy's largest party, the "Five Star Movement".

And, while many pundits consider Grillo’s – and his new protest movement’s ability to have captured 25 percent of the popular vote, despite being only three-and-a-half years old impressive to say the least - Grillo’s uncompromising hatred of Israel and the United States is a problem.

As a former comic, an anti-corruption crusader, and an internet guru, Grillo, 64, known as the "clown prince" of Italian politics, arrived at the dance just in time to grab votes from Italians fed up with the usual mainsteam parties.

He is an idol to the majority of young Italians, and holds considerable influence over the same demographic.

In other words, when Grillo speaks, people listen.

If you dare to speak of, or even acknowledge the Jewish State in Grillo’s presence, he will tell you that "talk of Israel is a taboo, as is talk of the euro. Just touch it, they will tell you that you are racist and anti-Zionist".

He insists that "all that in Europe we know about Israel and Palestine, is filtered by an international agency called Memri. And behind Memri, there is a former Mossad agent. I have the evidence: Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London, has used Arabic texts with independent translations and he discovered a completely different reality".

But Grillo’s dangerous rhetoric doesn’t stop there. He continues, conjuring up the ageless “Jewish conspiracy” theory before deciding to explain how Iraninan President Ahmadinejad is not really a bad man but, rather, merely misunderstood.

"Those who escape (Ahmadinejad’s regime), are opposed to it. But those who remained do not have the same concerns that we have abroad. The economy there is okay, people work. It’s like South America: before it was much worse. I have a cousin who builds highways in Iran".

One of my particular favourites is Grillo’s assertion that, "There is a saying that 'where Attila has passed through, no grass will grow'. We can say 'where the Israelis have passed, no Palestinian will grow.'”

Grillo's Facebook page is full of anti-Jewish attacks from his supporters, and includes some of the following ditties. "Israel is like Nazi Germany", "I hope that someone will use any means to stop this killer state", "The Jews are God's cursed people", "Zyklon B for you, peace and justice in Palestine", "the Israeli leaders are monsters", "Hamas is much better than all the Zionist governments"...

“The killer of children is an assassin that must be put on trial for crimes against humanity,” Grillo wrote during 2009’s Operation Cast Lead.

And, you really can’t get much lower than defending Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic rants, but, apparently, Mr. Grillo doesn’t have a problem going that low.

"Israel is scary, her behavior is irresponsible", Grillo said. "I said it. And I'm not drunk. I'm just scared for my children. Israel is behind the United States or the United States is behind Israel, which is the cause and which the effect?".

What really scares me about this lunatic is that he, with all his ignorant and virulent hatred against all things Israeli, has a powerful voice in Italy. He knows how to hide hatred in the guise of humour, which is often a more effective way to get one’s message out in a subliminal fashion. Although, so far, there’s nothing subliminal about this buffoon’s unfounded and inflammatory anti-Semitsm and anti-Zionism.

Let’s hope somebody gets the hook out, and pulls him off the state before it’s too late for the youth of Italy.

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