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Documents Show Italy Ignored Warnings of 1982 Attack on Rome Synagogue
(Times of Israel) Italian media on Friday published documents confirming accusations that Italy had agreed on a deal not to interfere with Palestinian terror attacks on Jewish targets and had failed to prevent a 1982 assault on a Rome synagogue in which a 2-year-old boy was killed and over 30 were wounded. The documents showed that Italian intelligence had clear information on the planned attack on the synagogue but did not stop it. Moreover, on the day of the attack, the usual police vehicle outside the synagogue on holidays was absent. In 2008, former Italian prime minister and president Francesco Cossiga told Yediot Aharonot that Italy had "sold out its Jews" in a deal that allowed Palestinian terror groups a "free hand" to operate against Jewish and Israeli targets in Italy in exchange for not attacking other Italian interests. At the time, the allegations were strenuously denied in Italy. According to the documents, Italian internal intelligence (SISDE) sent several warnings to the government that Palestinians "intended" to attack Jewish targets in Rome. At the top of the list of possible targets was the synagogue.