(European Jewish Press/JNS) Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he is in favor of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The minister visited Israel recently, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed him as a “great friend of Israel,” despite the Italian Jewish community’s outcry over his far-right policies and anti-migration views.

During his two-day visit, Salvini met with Netanyahu and visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial.