Fiamma Nirenstein

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Widely regarded as a "staunch support of Israel,"[1] Fiamma Nirenstein is an Italian writer and member of the Italian Parliament as a legislator within Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing The People of Freedom party.[2] Since 1998 Nirenstein has been a resident of the Israeli settlement of Gilo[3] (located in East Jerusalem), which Israel annexed during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Development in the settlement has resulted in Palestinian house demolitions and the displacement of Palestinian residents for years, causing it to be referred to as a major obstacle to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.[4] Gilo is categorized as illegal by the United Nations,[5] the European Union[6] and the International Court of Justice.[7] Nirenstein has worked in Israel and Europe and she contributes to the New York Post and Commentary Magazine.[2] According to Nirenstein's official biography, the "pivotal focus" of her work "is the fight against totalitarianism and terrorism as connected to anti-Semitism and hate for Israel."The pivotal focus and underlying idea that runs through all Fiamma Nirenstein's work is the fight against totalitarianism and terrorism as connected to anti-Semitism and hate for Israel.[2]

Early Life

The daughter of a former soldier in the Jewish brigade and a mother who allegedly fought against fascism in Italy as well as Nazism, Nirenstein has stated that she spent part of her youth as a Leftist and feminist in Italy, but changed after returning from a Kibbutz in Israel where she lived during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war:

After the 1967 Six-Day War, a rift began to develop between her and her "communist comrades," who saw Israel as an occupying country. "I was confused for a long time," she says. "In 1982, I signed a petition against the First Lebanon War. Today I wouldn't sign it. What did Israel gain from the withdrawal from Lebanon?"[3]

Nirenstein argues that even though she has lived and worked in Israel, she has not obtained Israeli citizenship because it would hinder her work.[3] She attributes her fascination with Israel to her journalistic output on the region: "I had the feeling that this was the most interesting place in the world, and I also felt that the reporting on Israel was biased."[3]

Career

Nirenstein completed "university studies"[2] in Modern history in Florence. Described as "specialist in foreign affairs"[2] in her official biography, Nirenstein has won multiple "journalistic and literary prizes"[2] for her journalistic output and books. She has also created several Italian TV documentaries, "the last by the title of "Settlers", about the disengagement seen through the lives of the people involved in it." [2]Between 1993-94 Nirenstein directed the Cultural Institute of the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv.[2] She has taught Middle East History at Luiss University in Rome and is a board member of the Italian Foundation Magna Carta, as well as a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the Hudson Institute. She is one of the 6 members of the steering committee of the Interparliamentary Coalition on Combating Antisemitism.[2]

Nirenstein's writings and public speaking are unabashedly pro-Israel, with a heavy focus on an alleged victimization of Israel by Leftists,[8] international human rights organizations such as the United Nations[9] and Muslim and Arab nations.[10]. Nirenstein also argues that "every Jew in the world is an Israeli even if he's not aware of it. Anyone who doesn't know it is making a big mistake"[3] and stated during a speech in September 2010 that most allegations of anti-semitism are actually "anti-Israelism."[10]

Parliamentary role with Berlusconi's Party

In 2008 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and "the former head of the neo-fascist party"[3] Gianfranco Fini requested that Nirenstein became a member of the Italian Parliament as a legislator within their right-wing The People of Freedom party.

Nirenstein reportedly openly campaigned on her pro-Israel positions:

In the elections, Nirenstein did not hide her Israeliness. Her campaign was centered on the view that Israel is Western democracy's vanguard in the struggle against world terror. "I ran for a place in parliament as a representative of the Liguria district. I held rallies in Genoa and other cities in the region," she recounts. "But I didn't talk with the people about local problems. I told them that the most important thing for their Italian identity is to stand by Israel's side." Nirenstein called her most recent book "Israele Siamo Noi" ("Israel Is Us"). By "us," she was referring, of course, to Italians.[3]

She argued that Israel and Italy are natural allies because they share mutual interests:

"I said that Italy can learn a lot from Israel. It can learn what a true democracy is, how a democracy can survive in conditions of conflict, without forsaking its fundamental principles. Israel is a culture of life, a culture of people who are always seeking peace. Our problem in Italy is that sometimes we don't know who we are. You can know who you are if you know your enemy and your friend. Israel is Italy's friend."[3]

Nirenstein also expresses opposition to Muslim immigration because she argues that her characterization of Muslim values and practices clash with Italian culture:

"Rome is a very symbolic place in the eyes of radical Islam. Italy, with its Catholic culture, is an enemy in the eyes of Islam."..."People feel that immigration is threatening their cities, their culture," Nirenstein explains. "Maybe it's exaggerated, but the residents of Florence, for example, think of their city as a temple for the works of art that were created there. When they see the steps of the Duomo filled with immigrants, they're in shock."..."It's changed a lot. There are entire quarters that you can't enter at night. There's rape, there are assaults, there's drug dealing. There are schools for immigrants where they don't hang the crucifix. The immigrants have contempt for our culture. We gave them work and they scorn our values. There's a deep contradiction between the more radical Islam and Italy's values..."The problem is that there is hardly any moderate Islam in Italy. Just the opposite. In Rome they built an enormous mosque. There are a lot of mosques in Italy, and very anti-Western madrasas operate in them. There's polygamy, there's wife-battering - it's very common. There's a father who killed his daughter for 'family honor.' It's logical that Italians would notice and that there would be reactions."[3]

Affiliations

Democracy and Security International Conference, Attendee [11]| Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Associate[12] | Member of the Global Forum against Antisemitism instituted by Nathan Sharansky[13] | Member of the board of the Italian Foundation Magna Carta[14]| Fellow of the Hudson Institute, Washington[14] | Director of the Italian Institute of Culture Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Tel Aviv in '93 and '94[14] | NGO Monitor, member of international advisory board[15] | Introduced and written prefaces for translations of the works of Bernard Lewis, Nathan Sharansky, and Ruthie Bloom in Italy.| International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom, conference participant [16] |

Publications

  • (2007) Israele Siamo Noi, On the State of Israel as archetype for a liberal democracy at war with terror.
  • (2006) La Sabbia di Gaza, On the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.
  • (2005) Terror: The New Anti-Semitism and the War Against the West,An English-language selection of various articles.
  • (2004) Gli Antisemiti Progressisti, A look at the new anti-Semitism.
  • (2003) Islam, la guerra e la speranza, An interview with Bernard Lewis.
  • (2002) L'Abbandono, come l'Occidente ha tradito gli ebrei, A book that argues the West has betrayed the Jewish people.
  • (2001) Un solo Dio, tre verità, (One god, three truths)
  • (1998) Come le cinque dita di una mano – una famiglia di ebrei da Firenze a Gerusalemme, Written with her family.
  • (1996) Israele: una pace in guerra, Israel, at peace in war
  • (1990) Il Razzista Democratico, The Democratic Racist

Contact

Resources

  • Book Chapter, Fiamma Nirenstein, 'How I became an "Unconscious Facist,"' published in Those who forget the past: the question of anti-Semitism by Ron Rosenbaum.
  • Fiamma Nirenstein speech at the World Jewish Congress governing board in Jerusalem on 1 September 2010

Notes

  1. ↑ Cnaan Liphshiz, "'Israel should drop apologetic tactics, admit it is at war'", Haaretz, 8 August 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Fiamma Nirenstein, "Biography", Fiamma Nirenstein official website, accessed on 16 October 2010
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Meron Rapoport, "Haaretz: Nirenstein makes history", Fiamma Nirenstein website, 18 April 2008, accessed on 16 October 2010
  4. ↑ DPA, "UN official: Gilo expansion threatens Middle East peace", Haaretz, 24 November 2009
  5. ↑ UN New Centre, "Ban deplores Israeli decision to expand Jerusalem settlement", UN News Centre, 17 November 2009
  6. ↑ Leigh Phillips, "EU rebukes Israel for Jerusalem settlement expansion", EU Observer, 19 November 2009
  7. ↑ Victor Kattan, "The US-Israel Standoff over Settlements", Jurist, 7 April 2010
  8. ↑ "How I became an "Unconscious Facist", Mideast Outpost, accessed on 16 October 2010
  9. ↑ Fiamma Nirenstein, "The Left Is Now Rethinking: Enough Mud on Israel", Fiamma Nirenstein website, 9 June 2010, accessed on 16 October 2010
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Fiamma Nirenstein, "Fiamma Nirenstein at the WJC Governing Board", World Jewish Congress, 1 September 2010
  11. ↑ Democracy and Security Conference, List of Participants, Accessed 25-February-2009
  12. ↑ Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Our Key People, Accessed, 12 September 2007
  13. ↑ Fiamma Nirenstein Global Forum contro l'Antisemitismo, accessed 8 August 2010
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 NGO Monitor Fiamma Nirenstein, accessed 8 August 2010
  15. ↑ NGO Monitor International Advisory Board Profiles, accessed 8 August 2010
  16. ↑ Text of Conference Invite Email
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