Italian city takes a stand against Israeli government.
The city council of Naples on Wednesday voted to break off institutional relations with Israel in protest over the Netanyahu government’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza.
Councillors in the southern Italian city approved a motion that commits the administration of the centre-left mayor Gaetano Manfredi to “terminate all institutional collaboration with Israeli entities, associations and institutions that are a direct expression of the current Israeli government”.
The move affects the “various areas of competence of the city’s administrative policies” and favours “collaborative relationships with Israeli non-governmental organizations active in pacifism”.
The document states that the Naples municipality must “urge the Campania region, other regions and the Italian government to limit institutional agreements with Israeli universities and businesses; launch initiatives of humanitarian assistance and support for civil reconstruction in Gaza, also through programmes such as Food for Gaza”.
Backlash
The move has sparked a backlash from the Jewish community of Naples which claimed that it was included in the section about severing ties “with entities and institutions linked to the Israeli government”, an expression “that, in its vagueness, actually contains a stigma against anyone who has relations with Israel, with its embassy, with its cultural institutions”.
The Jewish community argued that the motion “constitutes an extremely negative and disturbing signal for peaceful coexistence, respect and dialogue between the peoples and the various identities present in our city”.
The motion was approved unanimously by the councillors present in the chamber. The right-wing Fratelli d’Italia and Lega were absent, while the centre-right Forza Italia walked out at the time of the vote.
Precedents in Italy
Similar initiatives in protest against the Israeli government were taken last month by the centre-left led Italian regions of Puglia, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany.
Puglia governor Michele Emiliano stressed that his region’s position was against the “genocide of defenseless Palestinians by the Netanyahu government”, not against the Israeli people.
The cities of Bari and Bologna, respectively in the Puglia and Emilia-Romagna regions, also cut institutional relations with Israel in protest over the ongoing war in Gaza.
Italy’s opposition centre-left parties organised a major rally in Rome in early June calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, while in May the municipal administrations of towns and cities across Italy joined the 50,000 shrouds for Gaza campaign to remember the innocent victims in the Palestinian enclave.
Last week the Italian supermarket chain Coop Alleanza 3.0, which operates 350 stores in Italy, removed Israeli products from its shelves and began selling Gaza Cola, a Palestinian-owned beverage brand whose proceeds go towards rebuilding al-Karama Hospital in Gaza.
Photo ANSA
