“I’m always with you, I think the censorship action against you is proof that we live in a fascist regime. It’s useless for them to be offended or say we are exaggerating, this is fascism.” That was the beginning of his speech. Moni Ovadia at a historians’ conference Angelo d’Orsi, “Russophobia. Russophilia. Truth”which was held at the crowded Arci club “La Poderosa” after the cancellation of the meeting at Polo del Novecento.
Artists and writers did not mince words commenting on the cancellation of the conference following the mobilization Radical Europe, +Europe, from Ukrainian Associationas well as the intervention of national figures such as Giorgio Gori (Pd), Pina Picierno (Pd) and Carlo Calenda (Action):”Cover your mouth for those expressing opinions, it is inconceivable. That’s only natural preventive sensors. Everybody’s licking America’s ass, but in America there is Fifth Amendment: You can’t do anything to someone who hasn’t spoken. For us, things are worse.”
The most difficult parts were those aimed at the political figures who played a key role in the event’s cancellation: “What qualities do these people have? Who are they? In my opinion Picierno: this woman is someone who shouldn’t even be put in charge of a building. I didn’t even talk about it Calendarthere let’s draw a veil of affectionthe cartoons have depicted it as it is. He’s a runaway, a nobody. Why are these people left to organize themselves for what they are? Our country is a constitutional democracy. There is one Constitutionstill valid.”
The speech then turned to the central theme of the meeting, Russia and the West. Ovadia stated that he agreed with d’Orsi’s analysis “point by point” and stated: “Putin he had all the reasons, because they were trying to treat him like a beggar and at some point he had to prove that they were serious. Putin knows very well who the Westerners are, nothing they say can be trusted.”
Ovadia reiterated that NATO expansion would be considered an existential threat: “It’s like putting American missiles in Red Square. The Westerners want to devour the entire Russian Federation. And there is proven evidence: good Gorbachev he was good, but what did the Westerners do to him? They make pork from it. Here’s why you should be evil: if you are not evil they will eat you alive. And then there is the hatred of Russia – he continued – first Russophobia, then Sovietophobia and now Russophobia has returned. The West, and especially the US, has a desire for total hegemony over the world and does not tolerate the existence of someone who is completely right and wants to claim its identity and horizons. And also the climate of international war that they are waging against Russia is something that is truly unspeakable because of its stupidity and fanaticism and the level of rhetoric and lies.”
Then he revealed: “I have a special debt to the Red Armybecause I was born thanks to his arrival in Bulgaria. I also have personal reasons.
Ovadia closed with a quote A Nachgeborenen (“For posterity”, 1939) by Bertolt Brechtwritten during exile in Denmark while fleeing Nazism: “Whoever fights can lose, whoever doesn’t fight has already lost.”
And he added an anecdote about Karl Marx: “When they asked him what happiness meant to him, Marx answered: ‘happiness for me is struggle’. So to all of us, to all of you, I say: we are happy”.
D’Orsi, from the stage, thanked him: “You are a valuable presence in this country where unfortunately Calenda and Picierno also thrive. But there is Moni Ovadia also in this country: there is another Italy.”
Ovadia commented: “Of course there is another Italy: this is also visible in the demonstrations for Palestine. It is time for a clear and unambiguous recovery, without hesitation and above all without moderation. This is where national moderation takes us.”
Ovadia’s article at the D’Orsi conference: “Closing your mouth is fascism. Calenda and Picierno? He escaped, I wouldn’t even put him in the guard room” is from Il Fatto Quotidiano.
