Israel–Italy relations are the foreign relations between the
State of Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the
Italian Republic
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. Italy
recognized Israel on 8 February 1949, after the
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the civil war phase and beginning of the international phase of the ...
on 14 May 1948.
Italy has an embassy in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, two consulate-generals in
West Jerusalem
West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by ...
and
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...
, and 4 honorary consulates in
Beersheba
Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...
,
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...
,
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
and
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
. The Italian ambassador in Israel since 2021 is Sergio Barbanti. Israel has an embassy in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and the current Israeli Ambassador is
Dror Eydar. Both countries are members of the
Union for the Mediterranean
The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 Member state of the European Union, EU member states (i ...
.
History
Jews in Italy
The pre-war Jewish population of Italy amounted to 58,500 (46,500 by Jewish religion and 12,000 converted or non-Jewish children of mixed marriages). It is estimated that about 10,000 Italian Jews were deported to Nazi
concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...
and
extermination camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
s, of whom 7,700 were murdered in the Holocaust. The surviving community was able to maintain its distinctiveness throughout the following decades and continued to have a significant role in the fields of politics, literature, science and industry. Writers such as
Giorgio Bassani
Giorgio Bassani (Bologna, 4 March 1916 – Rome, 13 April 2000) was an Italians, Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual.
Biography
Bassani was born in Bologna into a prosperous Jewish family of Ferrara, where h ...
,
Natalia Ginzburg and
Primo Levi
Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works i ...
were among the leading figures of the Italian culture in the post-war years. As of 2019, the estimated core
Jewish population in Italy numbers around 45,000.
Italian migration to Israel
The size of the Italian Jewish community has faced a slight but continuous drop throughout the postwar decades, partly because of
emigration to Israel or the United States and partly because of low birth rates, assimilation and intermarriage, especially in the small congregations of the North. Italians in Israel mostly grew thanks to immigration during the 20th century.
Aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
- the symbolic ascent to Israel - has come in waves. During the period of the British Mandate, there were legal and economic limitations on immigration that were removed with the independence of the State of Israel and the promulgation of the Law of Return. Many
Italkím arrived after the
Italian racial laws
The Italian racial laws, otherwise referred to as the Racial Laws (), were a series of laws promulgated by the government of Benito Mussolini in Fascist Italy from 1938 to 1944 in order to enforce racial discrimination and segregation in the King ...
promulgated by
Fascist Italy
Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
from 1938 to 1943 to enforce
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...
in Italy, directed against the
Italian Jews
Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...
, then immediately after the Second World War, and after the Six Day War of 1967. In the first ten years of the 2000s, immigration had a new wave. In 2012 there were about 15,000 Italian citizens established in Israel.
Cooperation in the fight against terrorism and antisemitism
Relations between Italy and Israel remain strong, with frequent diplomatic exchanges and a large volume of trade. The Israeli Government has followed with great attention the fight against international terrorism pursued by the Italian Government (also in the European arena: the decision of
Riva del Garda to insert
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
in the European list of organizations considered as terrorist). In 1986, terrorists attacked an Italian passenger liner, the fact is known as the
Achille Lauro hijacking
The ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. A ...
. Afterwards, Italy and Israel ''"recognizing the effective cooperation already existing between their respective countries'"'', in the persons of the Minister of Police of the State of Israel and the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Italy signed the Israel-Italy Agreement on the Struggle Against Terrorism, ''"Aware
..of the need to realize in a more incisive way the coordination in the flow and analysis of information, and repression of international terrorism, the illicit trade in drugs and other forms of serious crime including organized crime.'"'' Israel was highly pleased with the agreement, the first in its kind with a major European power.
It has also been appreciated what the Italian Presidency has done in the framework of the United Nations on the Middle Eastern issues. Israel also welcomed the coherent and firm line of conduct, in contrasting the emergence of
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
in every possible form taken by the Italian government.
Cooperation in military and defense field
The military and defense relations between the
Italian Army
The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
and the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
are strong. It is demonstrated by the several exercises and conferences between the higher ranks of the armies that occurred in the last decades in the field of defense, air force, military strategy and cyber security. There are also bilateral agreements for the acquisition and exchanges of military weapons and instruments.
The
Israel Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
(IAF) and the
Italian Air Force
The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...
concluded an extensive, two-week joint exercise in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
2010. The exercise was aimed at strengthening IAF operational capabilities and training its aircraft in large, unfamiliar airspaces along with foreign aircraft.
In July 2012, the two Governments signed a bilateral agreement for the supply to Israel of 30 advanced training aircraft
Alenia-Aermacchi M-346
The Aermacchi M-346 Master is a family of military twin-engine transonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft. Originally co-developed with Yakovlev as the Yak/AEM-130, the partnership was dissolved in 2000 and then Alenia Aermacchi ...
and related flight control operating systems. Italy received an OPTSAT-3000, a high-resolution optical satellite system for Earth observation and a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
-standard communications subsystems for two aircraft of the Italian Air Force.
In summer 2014, the United States,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, Italy and
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
sent their top air force commanders to Israel to learn about the air defense technologies behind the Iron Dome's high rocket-interception rate. The conference was about the instability in Middle East.
In May 2015, air force commanders from around the world gathered in Israel to address the globalization of aerial threats. The first international air defense conference included representatives from Israel, Poland, Germany, Greece, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Italy and the Netherlands.
In November 2017, the “Blue Flag” exercise took place. Throughout Blue Flag, air forces from the United States, Poland, Italy, Greece,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
simulated intense combat scenarios in realistic settings with the IAF.
In 2018 different events occurred to celebrate the IDF's 70th Independence Day. The IAF held an aerial show featuring a collection of aircraft from the IAF, Israeli commercial airlines, the fire-fighting unit, and Israeli Police. The IDF's military partners, including the Italian Aeronautica militare, joined the IAF aerial show, with fighter planes from Greece and Italy, and cargo aircraft from Poland, Canada, England, and
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.
In May 2018 the Israeli Air Force hosted an international conference during which representatives from more than 20 different countries came together to discuss international cooperation and regional stability. The representatives were from the United States, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, India, Holland, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Romania, Finland, and other countries.
In June 2018, the IDF's C4i and Cyber Defense Directorate held its first international digital and
cyber security
Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...
conference. About 70 foreign representatives attended the conference, including 6 generals and 16 colonels who deal with cyber and military defense technology. This is part of 13 delegations from 11 countries (
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, the United States, Austria, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy,
Rwanda
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and Poland) all of which are united by technology.
The exchange of defense and security instruments between the two Countries have been continuing over these years with further agreements in February 2019 when Israel's Defense Ministry signed an agreement to procure seven advanced military training helicopters from the Italian government. In return for the Israeli purchase, the Italians have committed to acquiring defense and security materials from the Israeli government "within a similar scope." On 23 September 2020 Jerusalem purchased advanced training helicopters, and consequently Rome purchased spike missiles and simulators.
Arab–Israeli conflict
On 10 October 2024, Israeli troops opened fire at 3
UNIFIL
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...
positions in
South Lebanon
Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...
, including UNIFIL's main base at
Naqoura. Israel attacked the UNP 1-31 base in the area of responsibility of the Italian contingent. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned the attack on UNIFIL bases. Italian Defense Minister
Guido Crosetto contacted Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant
Yoav Gallant (; born 8 November 1958) is an Israeli politician and former military officer who served as Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense between 2022 and 2024. Gallant was an officer in the Southern Command (Israel), Southern ...
for a discussion and a formal protest asking for guarantees on the safety of Italian personnel and UNIFIL bases.
Economic relations
Because of their geographical and cultural proximity, Israel and Italy are trade allies. Commercial and economic exchanges primarily concern high-tech and chemical industries, as well as food products. In 2020, Italy's exports to Israel were worth €2,455.58 million . In 2020, Israel exported €730.29 million to Italy. Until the beginning of 2020, the trend of exchange between the two countries was steadily increasing, but due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, the trend started to decrease. Italy and Israel are two of the world's most powerful arms traders. Between 2014 and 2018, Israel was one of the most significant buyers of Italy's overall weapons export; indeed, Italy is Israel's third largest arms seller. Italy has banned arms sales to Israel from October 7, 2023, according to Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani
Antonio Tajani (; born 4 August 1953) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs since 22 October 2022. He served as President of the Europe ...
. But Defense Minister
Guido Crosetto said Rome had continued to issue previously signed orders.
In 1955 the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce was founded as a
non-profit association. In 1993 it was officially recognized by the Italian Government and it promotes commercial and diplomatic relations between the two States. The two Countries signed an Agreement for Research and Development Cooperation in Industrial, Scientific and Technological fields on June 13, 2000. Within this Agreement, the "Nineteenth Call for Proposals for Joint Industrial R&D Projects" was published.
On 22 September 2020, the Governments of Italy and Israel together with the Governments of
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
established the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (
EMGF) as a regional inter-governmental organization.
On 10 March 2023, Israel's Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
made an official visit to Italy with a ceremony at
Chigi Palace
The Chigi Palace ( ) is a palace and former noble residence in Rome which is the seat of the Council of Ministers and the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy. It is located in the Piazza Colonna, next to Palazzo Montecitorio, seat ...
in Rome. He was welcomed by acting Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni
Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Italy since 2022. She is the first woman to hold the office. A member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies since 2006, s ...
, and flown to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv by a helicopter because anti-government protesters blocked all the roads around it. Netanyahu was seeking more economic cooperation with Israel and offered to export more natural gas to Italy.
Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...
, Italian Minister of Infrastructure, emphasised the economic cooperation between the two Mediterranean countries, and the Italian government refrained from all criticism towards Israel.
Tourism
Tourism relations between Italy and Israel are intense. Every year 400,000 people from Israel visit Italy for tourism and business. Italy represents the 6° country for international visitors to Israel (after US, Russia, Germany, France, United Kingdom) with 190,000 people arrived in Israel in 2019, a growth of 27% compared to the 2018 and a growth of 77% compared to 2017 (the highest increment compared to all the other nations). Israel is easily reachable from the main cities of Italy with direct flights. Contemplating the stats of
UNWTO
The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...
and
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
, the flights from Italy are the 5° among the most crowded (after
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Germany, France, Russia).
Cultural exchange
Israelis frequently visit Italy for education, work, tourism, and scientific and artistic exchanges. In the last ten years 105 books of Italian authors were translated from Italian to
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
. A strong community of
Italqim who have made
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
to Israel have strengthened cultural ties and promoted Italian culture in the country. The Italian Cultural Institute recently initiated and organized a series of activities in the Cultural Center of the
Jews of Libyan extraction in
Or Yehuda
Or Yehuda () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. Located in the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area, in it had a population of .
History Prehistory
Human settlement back to the Chalcolithic has been found on the site.[Italian Cultural Institute
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Italian Cultural Institute in English, is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Italian government. It promotes Culture of Italy, Italian culture and is involved in the teaching of the Italian l ...]
recently stimulated the creation of a Friends of Italy association ("Amitei Italia") which consists of more than 15,000 people . In 2004 the negotiations for the new triennial protocol (2004–2007) of the Bilateral Accord in the Cultural Sector in force as of November 1971. The Italian Cultural Institute operates in Israel as of 1960 with its principal office at
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
and a separate section in Haifa. The
Italian language
Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...
is taught in various centers around the country. The total number of students studying in centers under the direct control of the Italian Cultural Institute In 2004 was 1500, in 150 courses with 30 teachers. If the Dante Alighieri Society courses are considered, the figure reached 2500 students.
Recently, the possibility of introducing the teaching of the Italian language in various high schools and academic institutes in Israel has been successfully negotiated. For the academic year 2005-2006 the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv opened three academic courses of Italian Culture and Language at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Italian is taught in four of the seven universities in Israel, and Israeli students study medicine, law, science, politics, architecture, and art at Italian universities.
On 25 October 2012, the "Italy-Israel Foundation for Culture and the Arts" was founded, to promote the values and the ideas shared by the two societies. The two Countries have a Program of Cooperation for the years 2020–2023.
[Program of Educational, Scientific, Cultural, Youth, and Sport Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the State of Israel for the years 2020-2023. https://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2020/11/pe_israele_firmato-2.pdf]
Resident diplomatic missions
* Israel has an embassy in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
* Italy has an embassy in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
and an consulate-general in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.
See also
*
International recognition of Israel
*
History of the Jews in Italy
The history of the Jews in Italy spans more than two thousand years to the present. The Jewish presence in Italy dates to the pre-Christian Roman period and has continued, despite periods of extreme persecution and expulsions, until the prese ...
*
History of the Jews in the Roman Empire
The history of the Jews in the Roman Empire () traces the interaction of Jews and Romans during the period of the Roman Empire (27 BC – 476 AD). A Jewish diaspora had migrated to Rome and to the territories of Roman Europe from the land of I ...
*
Holy See–Israel relations
Formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel were established on 30 December 1993 after the adoption of a "Fundamental Agreement" between the two states. A Vatican nunciature in Israel and an Israeli embassy in Rome w ...
*
Italian Jews
Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...
*
Jews of San Nicandro
*
Israel–European Union relations
Israel is an associated state of the European Union. The relations between the two are framed in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and the Union for the Mediterranean.
The main legal ties between Israe ...
References
External links
The Israel Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel-Italy relations
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
Bilateral relations of Italy
Jewish Italian history