ROME � Benito Mussolini was a fierce anti-Semite, who proudly said that his hatred for Jews preceded Adolf Hitler�s and vowed to �destroy them all,� according to previously unpublished diaries by the Fascist dictator�s longtime mistress.
He started as a socialist, he was an Italian Catholic and he later became a Fascist. None of these three groups are really known for being overly friendly with the Jews.