"Antisemitism": The outrageous condition imposed on Jewish teachers in Italy

About 100 Jewish educators from the US and Israel cancelled their participation in a professional training program in Italy after being required to sign a document condemning the "occupation in Gaza." The demand followed pressure from local parents who examined the teachers' social media accounts to check for support of the IDF. Italian Senator Ivan Scalfarotto condemned the demand as antisemitic.

An uproar in Italy: about 100 Jewish educators from the US and Israel cancelled their participation in a professional training program in the city of Reggio Emilia, after being required to sign a document condemning the "occupation in Gaza" as a condition for participation. The demand followed pressure from local parents, who even examined the teachers' social media accounts to check whether they support the IDF. The hosting organisation, Reggio Children, drafted a statement calling for the "demilitarisation of schools." The principal of a Jewish school from New York described how the teachers' identities were exposed and their accounts scrutinised. Italian Senator Ivan Scalfarotto attacked sharply: "To demand that Jews condemn Israel — that is antisemitism." The affair unfolds against the background of a rise in antisemitic incidents in Italy, with 963 incidents documented in 2025, including the defacement of a synagogue in Rome and attacks in Milan. A survey found that 15% of Italians view attacks against Jews as "justified."