With the eruption of COVID-19 in Italy in early February, Israel took several measures to prevent the virus from spilling over into the Jewish state including the suspension of flights to and from Italy.
The move has raised eyebrows among Italian politicians concerned about the negative impact such a decision could have on the country's tourism industry which has seen an increase in Israeli travellers over the past several years.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte even called his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to express concern and "surprise" over the decision, saying "Italy [was] in all likelihood the safest and the most trustworthy country".
Diplomats in Israel, for their part, also began expressing their own worries that relations between the two countries could "face a challenge", just as happened with a number of Asian countries who initially were taken aback by the country's swift and strict measures in handling the COVID-19 outbreak.
Relations are Strong Despite Hiccups
But Avi Pazner, Israel's former ambassador to Italy, said the Jewish state has nothing to worry about.
"Italy is now taking similar measures to what Israel did in the initial stages. Prior to that, Italy and the rest of the world didn't understand the scope of the problem; they lived the European dream keeping their borders open. Now they realise that it was a mistake".
Over the years, relations between Tel Aviv and Rome have been cordial for the most part. In 2010, for example, Italy overtook Germany becoming the country's second largest trade partner in the fields of science and technology, while in 2019 Italy entered the club of Israel's top ten trade partners overall, with reports suggesting that the Jewish state's gas pipeline that will reportedly run through Cyprus and Greece will end up in Italy from where energy will be distributed to other European states.
Relations have been blossoming on the diplomatic front too, despite Italy's stable ties with Iran and several hiccups that included Rome's attempts to push for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the support it gave to a decision to mark products manufactured in Israeli settlements, considered occupied Palestinian territory under international law.
Apart from being one of the first countries to recognise Israel in 1948, Italy has been leading a largely pro-Israel policy. In 2004, it pushed for the EU to accept Israel in the bloc, and a year later several Italian politicians vented their anger at comments made by Iran's then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who called to wipe Israel off the map.
More recently, Italy has been a pioneer in publicly rejecting a Palestinian-backed UNESCO resolution disavowing Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and denying the Jewish connection to the disputed city.
Beggars Can't Be Choosers
Now, as never before, ties have become closer. Israel has found a real friend in Italy in former interior minister Matteo Salvini.
In January, the leader of the party Lega Nord, who is now heading the country's opposition, pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and even move the Italian Embassy there if his party wins in the country's general polls expected to take place by 2023.
In February, Salvini was stripped of his immunity by the Italian Senate presupposing that the former interior minister could be put on trial for holding more than a hundred asylum seekers at sea in 2019, a move that was condemned in Italy and by international human rights groups.
For Israel's Netanyahu, however, he will always remain a friend of Israel.
"Israel doesn't meddle in the internal affairs of other countries. As long as Salvini plays by democratic rules, his personal ideas are none of our business. We are friends with people on the left and on the right, and we make sure to stay away from internal political discussions", said Pazner.
The former diplomat explains that this policy comes from the Jewish state's desire to make allies in a region that's very often hostile to the nation.
In December 2019, the International Criminal Court opened a probe into the conduct of Israel's Defence Forces in the West Bank and Gaza, suggesting that there was grounds to believe Tel Aviv committed a series of war crimes in the area. Two months later, the UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, released a blacklist of Israeli and international companies operating in the West Bank, causing an uproar in Israel.
It is for this reason, believes Pazner, Israel cannot be choosy when it comes to picking allies.
"Israel is in a position where it tries to find friends wherever it can, especially in Europe".
Italy's Salvini is far from being the only "controversial" politician Israel has been courting. Throughout the years, Tel Aviv has also bolstered ties with other states in the European bloc, often deemed as Europe's black sheep, including Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban delcared war on refugees.
Yet, for Pazner, it makes perfect sense. "We are proud of our good relations with these countries and as long as they play by democratic rules we are more than happy to maintain these relations with them".
