Italian Catholics and the June 1967 War: A Turning Point

This article examines the debate in the Italian Catholic world which erupted during the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967. At the time, Italy was governed by the Christian Democrats, a Catholic-based party in a center-left coalition and the Italian electorate leaned heavily towards Israel, as newspapers, magazines and many politicians feared a possible resurgent genocide against the Jews. Only a few important but minority public figures took radically different positions: Foreign Minister Amintore Fanfani and, more moderately, Prime Minister Aldo Moro together with their allies in the party. After the end of the war, many Italian Catholics changed their minds: Israel no longer risked “a new holocaust,” and the tragedy of the Palestinian people became obvious.