Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologised to Jews today for his assertion that fascist dictator Benito Mussolini never killed anyone, the head of Italy's Jewish Community has said.
But Jewish leader Amos Luzzatto told reporters the apology did not go far enough.
"He has apologised to us and specifically to me, but not to the Italian people," Luzzatto said after an hour-long meeting with Berlusconi in Rome's synagogue.
"The matter is not closed. We are awaiting another type of judgment, another type of statement and evaluation. In the coming hours, at most the coming days, we expect an official statement," he said.
In a magazine interview published last week, Berlusconi was quoted as saying Mussolini was a benevolent dictator who sent his enemies on "holiday" in internal exile and had no blood on his hands.
His comments provoked a storm of protest, with opposition politicians accusing Berlusconi of trying to re-write history.
Mussolini ruled with an iron fist from 1922 to 1943, launching bloody colonial wars in Africa before signing Italy up to the Nazi cause. His anti-Semitic laws in 1938 opened the way for the eventual deportation of around 7,000 Italian Jews toNazi concentration camps. Some 5,910 died.
"(Berlusconi) has apologised for the pain he has caused me even if I've said that he did not only hurt me as a Jew but also as an Italian," Luzzatto said.
Berlusconi left without talking to waiting reporters.
Luzzatto quoted Berlusconi as saying that his comments about Mussolini had been made in private and had not been intended for publication.