Italian Jews blame press, politics for temple attack

October 12, 1982

Italian Jewish leaders, denouncing the attack on a Rome synagogue in which a two-year-old boy was killed, blamed politicians and journalists for creating a ''climate of hatred and anti-Semitism'' in Italy after Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

Thirty-four people were injured in the Oct. 9 attack by five terrorists who fired submachine guns and hurled grenades at about 250 worshippers leaving the synagogue.

The chief rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff, said Italian democracy had permitted a campaign of anti-Semitism, which culminated in last month's visit to Rome by Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat.