Khaberni - The Israeli Ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Bild, attacked the Italian magazine L'Espresso, based on its cover of the current issue dated April 10, claiming it was a "misleading employment" that distorts the "complex reality" and promotes "stereotypes and hatred," calling for "balanced and fair journalism." Jonathan Bild wrote on his X platform account on Saturday evening: "We strongly condemn the misleading use of the last cover of L'Espresso magazine. The image distorts the complex reality that Israel is experiencing, and promotes stereotypes and hatred. Responsible journalism should be balanced and fair."
This statement came after the magazine published a cover titled "The Assault" (L’abuso), which depicts an armed Israeli settler in military attire, wearing a "kippah", aggressively photographing a Palestinian woman. Accompanying the image was a text linking various fronts, from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, concluding with a political summary that the "Zionist right forms Greater Israel."
According to the magazine's website, this cover is not a standalone visual element, but part of a broader investigative dossier addressing the project of "Greater Israel," linking the rise of settler violence in the West Bank with expansionist policies supported by the Israeli military establishment, amidst a lack of effective international accountability. The Italian magazine described the ongoing actions as "a series of continuing crimes" that amount to an "ethnic cleansing campaign," extending to the genocide in Gaza.
The issue's content includes coverage of the war on Lebanon, which "L'Espresso" presents as part of a "harsh military strategy," along with reports on prisoner release negotiations that include direct criticisms of the performance of Benjamin Netanyahu's government. It also ties the war's fallout to global economic crises, from rising prices to impacts on industrial sectors, and the push towards alternatives like renewable energy.
The cover gains an additional political dimension due to its coincidence with Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's announcement on April 9, about a plan concerning the expansion of "Greater Israel," granting the magazine's editorial approach a timeliness that transcends its visual symbolism. This debate occurs in the context of escalating tension between Rome and Tel Aviv, weeks after Italy summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest the prevention of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Palm Sunday, a move that sparked diplomatic criticisms.
