Italy Has an Intolerance Problem. Does It Still Have a Moderate Right?
ROME—When Liliana Segre, the face of Italy’s historical memory of the Holocaust, was named a senator for life last year, it was something of an honorary title for the 89-year-old grandmother. Segre, who was deported to Auschwitz at 13, No. 75191 tattooed on her arm, has spent her life speaking about her experience. She could easily have remained a figurehead in her new role. Instead, she has used her platform to speak up about minority rights in Italy in the face of rising right-wing populism. In the process, she has become a moral authority and a woman in a position of prominence, in a country that often lacks both.
Today Segre finds herself in the middle of onethat monitors anti-Semitism in Italy last week. On Thursday, she was assigned a police escort because of threats against her, and after neo-fascists unfurled a banner that read near an event where she had been scheduled to speak. Two Carabinieri must now accompany her every move.
