Israel Stirs Tension at Book Fair
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 06, 2008
Turin, Italy - Tensions are escalating in Italy ahead of Thursday's opening of the 2008 Turin International Book Fair where the naming of Israel as guest country has prompted leftist groups to plan protests.
Authorities have tightened security in the north-western city, declaring its Lingotto area, which will host the book fair, out of bounds for protestors who have scheduled a street parade for Saturday.
At a rally in Turin last week protestors set fire to Israeli and US flags to protest what they say is Israel's repression of the Palestinian people.
Leftist groups allege that by naming Israel the fair's Guest Country for 2008, the event's organizers, including Turin's centre- left city government, are ignoring the plight of the Palestinians at the hands of the Jewish state.
Organizers have denied this, saying in a statement posted on its website that the "guest of honour" to this year's event is "Israeli literature."
They cite Israeli authors David Grossman, Amos Oz, Abraham Yehoshua and others - some of whom have been invited to the event - as "confronting the conflicts and divisions that trouble contemporary societies and that for 60 years have been reproduced in territories contested by Israelis and Palestinians."
"Democratic Turin should unite in flying the Israeli flag," said Roberto Della Seta a representative of the centre-left Democratic Party, the largest party in Turin's city council.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who is is scheduled to open the book fair, has also become embroiled in the controversy.
He recently warned of the danger of "anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism", remarks interpreted by some critics of Israeli policy as an attempt to accuse them of racism.
Napolitano's office late on Monday issued a statement saying that "it is completely false to attribute to the head of state the fault of having branded as anti-Semitic all those who criticize the State of Israel."
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