He was at Rome’s Great Synagogue when he learned of the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.

 

In a reaction to the Tel Aviv attack, Italian Prime Minister Meloni tweeted: ‘’Italy stands with Israel in the face of the terrorist attack yesterday in Tel Aviv. I express my and the Italian government’s solidarity to PM netanyahu, who recently arrived in Rome.’’

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Rome on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Chigi Palace, the latter’s official residence.

He also met with dozens of heads of Italian companies and discussed Israeli water innovations in the context of recent Italian droughts and cybersecurity, among other subjects, according to the prime minister’s office. He told the business leaders that Japan has seen billions of dollars worth of bilateral trade increases following his visit to Japan and the Japanese prime minister’s visit to Israel.

“In his view, there is great potential for commercial and economic cooperation with Italy as well, which constitutes a major opportunity,” per Netanyahu’s office, which added that he planned to ask his Italian counterpart to hold a government-to-government meeting and a large gathering of Israeli and Italian business owners.

Israeli exports to Italy have doubled—now amounting to $1.5 billion by the end of 2022—in the past two years, added Netanyahu’s office.

Netanyahu was at Rome’s Great Synagogue when he learned of Thursday night’s terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.

The moment Prime Minister @Netanyahu was informed by his Military Secretary about the terror attack in #TelAviv last night, as he was meeting Italian Jewish leaders in the Spanish Synagogue at the Jewish Museum of Rome.

Photo: GPO pic.twitter.com/lT8K7vMtJ1

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) March 10, 2023

After PM ⁦@netanyahu⁩ updates the Jewish community in Rome about the Tel Aviv shooting attack, the crowd breaks into a spontaneous rendition of Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem. pic.twitter.com/iazcZnoLwo

— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) March 9, 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso met today in Rome with a forum of senior managers from prominent Italian companies, including dozens of company heads.

Read more >>https://t.co/GZ7V9GBzcg pic.twitter.com/KuOpqOt9It

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 10, 2023

He also thanked those gathered for their condolences for the wounded following the terrorist shooting in Tel Aviv.

“Italy experienced terror. All free societies must fight terror together,” he said. “I appreciate your words as an expression of that basic policy that we continuously adopt together, and we cooperate against terror.”

In a reaction to the Tel Aviv attack, Italian Prime Minister Meloni tweeted: ‘’I am appalled by yet another report of violence against Israeli civilians. Italy stands with Israel in the face of the terrorist attack yesterday in Tel Aviv. I express my and the Italian government’s solidarity to PM netanyahu, who recently arrived in Rome.’’

On the trip, an Italian translator reportedly refused to translate for the Israeli premier and some shared photos of protests on social media.

Ahead of Netanyahu’s visit, the Israeli premier told Italian daily La Repubbblica that he would  ask his Italian counterpart to recognize Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital.

“I believe the time has come for Rome to recognize Jerusalem as the ancestral capital of the Jewish people for three thousand years, as the United States did with a gesture of great friendship,” he said.

European Jewish Press contributed to this report.