TUSCANY – Amidst Jews’ disappointment, the Region suspends ties with Israel
On June 11, Tuscany’s Regional Council approved a resolution presented by the center-left Democratic Party, committing to “interrupting any form of relation with representatives of the Israeli government and with institutions and structures directly connected to it, which are overtly and explicitly motivated by the will to stop the ongoing massacre”. Following the pattern adopted by Apulia and Emilia-Romagna Regions, which, like Tuscany, are governed by the center-left, the resolution also requires the Region to urge the Italian government to unequivocally condemn the actions of Netanyahu’s government in all institutional contexts and adopt initiatives to suspend existing economic and commercial relations.
By supporting the motion, Tuscany’s president, Eugenio Giani, joined his own party in calling for Palestine to be recognized “as a free and sovereign State” and announced his intention to formally raise the issue in Parliament. Ahead of the meeting, the Jewish Community of Florence and the Italy-Israel Association addressed one open letter each to Mr. Giani. The president of the Jewish Community, Enrico Fink, urged Giani not to participate in any form of “boycott, censorship or closure” against Israel. “Do not renounce relations with Israel. That is what we ask: we who have been there and engage in constructive dialogue in all fields,” read the message signed by Emanuele Cocollini, president of the Italy-Israel Association, and the association’s board members.
However, the motion was approved, sparking disappointment in the Jewish community. “When the parties are prejudiced, nothing can be done,” said Vittorio Mosseri, president of the Jewish Community of Livorno. “Jews have been thrown into the hands of the right, while the left has turned to the other side. Cutting off relations with a country is a serious mistake.”
Mosseri argues the risk is that it may influence public opinion, which is often unable to distinguish between the government, the various groups within a country and the Jewish world as a whole.
Another problem concerns Mr. Marco Carrai, an Italian entrepreneur, president of the Meyer Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Israel’s honorary consul in Florence. The leftist/populist Five Star Movement said that his being the foundation’s president brings “a deep ethical and institutional incompatibility” and pro-Palestinian groups have set up a permanent protest in Piazza Duomo in Florence with the slogan “Chase out the Zionist Marco Carrai.” Let us get to the bottom of it. We can win.”
Andrea Gottfried, president of the Jewish Community of Pisa, said that “once again, there has been no attempt in an institutional forum to build bridges, but rather a unilateral hiding behind barricades.” The motion’s content, he said, is “totally unbalanced” because it talks about weapons for Israel and not for Hamas, as if Hamas did not exist.
He is also concerned “about how this motion is likely to be interpreted in some quarters, where it could be seen as a green light to pursue antisemitic views to the bitter end.” Instead of lowering the tone, Gottfried points out that a different choice was made: The choice to “continue to foment them.”
“What the Regional Council decided to do not only contribute to fueling the climate of hatred against Jews, but also implicitly legitimate the strategy of Hamas terrorists.” It is a precise design that led to the organization of the 7 October 2023 pogrom,” stated the Florence-based Italy-Israel Association in a note after the vote.
Adam Smulevich