Italian Catholic cardinals showed solidarity with the local Jewish community, many of whose members felt Pope Francis was insensitive to the suffering of Israelis in the ongoing war, Maurizio Molinari, former editor-in-chief of major Italian daily la Repubblica, told Jewish Insider on Monday.

Speaking as the cardinals began to gather in Rome to choose a new pope to replace Pope Francis, who died last month, Molinari noted that Italian Jewish and Catholic leaders have “historical strong relations.” Community leaders held one of their annual interfaith meetings in February, during which, Molinari said, “one of the rabbis who was there in the framework of this dialogue told the other side, the priesthood, ‘We felt that you abandoned us.’”

While Pope Francis condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and met with Israeli hostage families, he more frequently spoke about the suffering of people in Gaza. He condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in his final public appearance before his death in April and one of his final wishes was to have one of his “popemobiles” retrofitted to serve as a mobile aid provider in Gaza. He called the Catholic church in Gaza every day from the start of the war and suggested that Israel was committing genocide. Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the pope of “double standards” and ignoring Hamas terrorism and kidnapping of children. 

Molinari said that the rabbi in the Jewish-Catholic interfaith meeting represented “the feeling that many [Italian] Jews had that after Oct. 7, the pope didn’t dedicate so much attention to the suffering of the Israeli victims as he did with the suffering of the Palestinian victims. No one is raising objections to solidarity towards the Palestinian victims. The question comes when there is no balance. That was the point raised.” 

While it is a taboo for senior figures in the Catholic Church to publicly criticize the pope, Molinari said that as part of his own reporting he found that “some of the most important cardinals that will sit inside the conclave to choose the pope share this feeling. They are well aware of the feeling of the Italian Jews, and they share it.”  

“You have clergy showing solidarity in different ways and showing that they understand that the dialogue between Jews and Catholics, that started with John Paul II, is very important,” he added.

Molinari expressed hope that the selection of a new pope will be “an opportunity to rebuild the Jewish-Catholic dialogue.” 

Asked if there are leading candidates for the papacy other than Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem who have experience and dialogue with the Jewish community, Molinari highlighted Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna.

“There is no question that the one that historically has the strongest relations with the Jews is [Zuppi], simply because he was born in Rome in the same neighborhood as the Jewish Quarter … close to the synagogue,” Molinari said. “He understands. We don’t even need to tell him, he knows, because he has so many human connections [with the Jewish community] that have defined him very much.” 

Molinari, 60, was the editor-in-chief of la Repubblica from 2020-2024 and continues to provide commentary for the paper. He was a longtime foreign correspondent whose last overseas post was in Jerusalem before becoming editor-in-chief of another major Italian newspaper, La Stampa, in 2016. Molinari has written 21 books about Jewish subjects, American politics, U.S.-Italy relations and radical Islam. 

“I believe that European Jewry is going through the most difficult period after World War II,” Molinari said. “We have no idea how things will go, but there is no question that the personal freedom and security the Jews enjoyed for 80 years can no more [be taken] for granted. And it is not because of the decisions of governments, it is because of public feelings. It is a very dangerous situation.” 

Molinari, who is Jewish, said that “the anti-Israel sentiment in Italian public opinion is rising at a speed that I never saw in my life. I remember what happened in 1982, when there was a bombing in [the Great Synagogue in Rome] — I was there, by the way — and I remember the Second Intifada. But it is nothing in comparison with the wave of intolerance against Israel and this feeling of dehumanization of the Jews that is spreading everywhere.” 

The journalist pointed to a recent music festival in Rome with tens of thousands of attendees, in which a band sang “Free Palestine” to the tune of “Hava Nagila,” and a case in which Israeli tourists were thrown out of a pizzeria in Naples because of their nationality. Jews have been verbally and physically attacked on the street by seemingly normal people, he said: “Now it may happen that you walk down the street and a normal person waiting at the crosswalk starts shouting at you. This is new in this country.”

Molinari emphasized that the situation in Italy is not as bad as in other European countries with large Jewish communities, such as the U.K., France or Belgium, but “in comparison with what the Italians were used to, the situation is worsening day by day.”

“It tells you something about the consequences, when they go from delegitimization of Israel to the dehumanization of the Jews. It’s legitimate to offend a Jew just because he doesn’t blame Israel for genocide. This is the dynamic,” he added.

“On the one hand, the position of the government has not changed … It is politically balanced. They are making some decisions against Israel in private, for instance on the weapons [sales], they are avoiding selling all kinds of weapons, even defensive weapons. But publicly, the balanced narrative today in Europe means to be pro-Israel,” Molinari said.

Molinari expressed gratitude to the Italian government for “dedicating a lot of resources, intelligence, security and protection” to the Jewish community. However, he said, that protection is based on the kinds of threats Jews faced in the past, largely from terrorism, and now, Jews are facing “shocking” ostracism throughout Italy.

“I believe that European Jewry is going through the most difficult period after World War II,” he said. “We have no idea how things will go, but there is no question that the personal freedom and security the Jews enjoyed for 80 years can no more [be taken] for granted. And it is not because of the decisions of governments, it is because of public feelings. It is a very dangerous situation.” 

The Italian journalist expressed concern that the public’s anti-Israel turn will become policy.

“On the one hand, the position of the government has not changed … It is politically balanced. They are making some decisions against Israel in private, for instance on the weapons [sales], they are avoiding selling all kinds of weapons, even defensive weapons. But publicly, the balanced narrative today in Europe means to be pro-Israel,” he said.

“The question,” Molinari added, “is for how long? … It is a legitimate question to ask if this growing sentiment will push the government to change its attitude towards the conflict.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, as well as European leaders more broadly, views the war between Israel and Hamas in the same prism as the war between Ukraine and Russia and a potential war between China and Taiwan, as one with an autocratic regime looking to topple Western-aligned democracies, Molinari said.

“The biggest surprise for all those who love the West is how much Germany stands up for Israel in the war against Hamas, not only in public statements and policies, but in human behavior,” he said. “The Germans showed that they understood that to defend Israel is to defend democracy … and for them, it is the same war with Ukraine, it’s the same trenches. There are no differences, and when you see [Russian President Vladimir] Putin receiving Hamas in Moscow, that is confirmation. [Most] of the rockets found by Israel in southern Lebanon were from Russia.”

“If you get these pieces together, you may understand there is a pro-Western front inside the European Union led by Germany and Italy. France is kind of on the middle, while on the other, let’s say the pro-Palestinian front, is led by Spain,” Molinari said.

Molinari expressed concern that President Donald Trump’s positions on Ukraine weaken the West’s standing. 

“When I grew up, my grandmother told me that as long as there are U.S. military bases in Europe, we can be safe,” Molinari said. “The moment where the U.S. and Europe don’t get along, the Jews enter the danger zone.”

“The problem for the pro-Western front, including Ms. Meloni, comes from the stance of President Trump on Ukraine. Here you have a weakness, because the Germans or the Polish or the Czechs say, ‘We’re defending Ukraine and Israel in the same way. But why isn’t President Trump defending Ukraine anymore? How is it possible that he defends Israel but not Ukraine?’ … In European terms, this is a contradiction,” he said.

The photo of Trump sitting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican last month gave Molinari hope “that maybe he can change his mind and can really understand that the guy to be defended is Zelensky and not Putin. These are the moves that can help the West  come back together,” Molinari said. “Ukraine is like the beaches of Normandy … it has to do with values and defense of democracy.” 

A muscular U.S.-Europe alliance is also important for the continent’s Jews, Molinari said.

“When I grew up, my grandmother told me that as long as there are U.S. military bases in Europe, we can be safe,” he said. “The moment where the U.S. and Europe don’t get along, the Jews enter the danger zone.”

“The security and freedom of the Jews in Europe have been guaranteed by the alliance between the U.S. and Europe,” he said.