Italy: Holocaust survivor’s plug for vaccine sparks hatred

ROME (AP) — An Italian Holocaust survivor’s attempt to encourage other older adults to receive the anti-COVID-19 vaccine has triggered a wave of anti-Semitic comments and other invective on social media. Ninety-year-old Liliana Segre received her first vaccine shot in Milan on Thursday. She urged people who reach her age “to not be afraid and to take the vaccine.” After Segre’s comments received negative social media attention, Italy’s Interior Minister expressed solidarity with her. He said Friday that the “new and unacceptable attack” was marked by “a very dangerous mix of hate, violence and racism.” Italy’s president gave Segre one of the country’s highest honors in 2018 for her years of speaking about the Holocaust with Italian schoolchildren.