President Sergio Mattarella on
Wednesday said the presence of European leaders at Auschwitz on
International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 for the
ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the
Nazi death camp showed Europe's renewed commitment in the fight
against anti-Semitism during a meeting with his Israeli
counterpart Isaac Herzog at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
"I was in Auschwitz 20 days ago for the 80 years since the
discovery of the horrid site of death and it was a great
satisfaction to see" on that occasion "Europe present in full
and at the highest representative level, there were also
representatives of other countries" in the world but "Europe was
all there" and "such a complete presence was a message" of
"renewed commitment against anti-Semitism which has started
circulating again and against which Italy is strongly committed,
an important message for the international community", said
Mattarella.
The Italian head of State also hailed during the meeting the
"excellent relations between Israel and Italy, also demonstrated
by the frequent meetings of the Foreign Minister and Deputy
Premier (Antonio) Tajani in Israel to prove the intensity of our
relationship and of the friendship between the two countries".
The two heads of State also met in Rome last July.
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