Italian mayor apologizes after nearly 100 Jewish educators cancel Italy trip over demand to condemn Israel

The planned visit was thrown into controversy when participants were asked to sign a statement condemning Israel’s defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

An Italian mayor apologized Wednesday after a group of nearly 100 Jewish early childhood educators from the United States canceled a planned study trip to Italy over a controversial demand that they condemn Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Reggio Emilia Mayor Marco Massari issued a public apology amid mounting outrage from Jewish leaders and political figures after the Paradigm Project — a US-based professional learning network for early childhood educators — canceled its planned Oct. 11–16 visit to the northern Italian city.

“I acknowledge it was a mistake to seek an agreement with the two delegations through a declaration concerning Gaza and the occupied territories,” the Italian official said in a statement, adding that the proposal was subsequently abandoned.

“I want to apologize, especially to those who did not feel welcome in Reggio Emilia.”

However, Massari rejected accusations of antisemitism as “unfounded,” defending the city against criticism over the request and the circumstances that led the Jewish delegation to abandon its visit.

As part of the program, the group of educators were set to explore the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy that emphasizes children’s curiosity, creativity, and active role in learning, and to learn how to apply its principles and teaching methods in their own classrooms.

Developed in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia in the years following World War II, the approach views children as active participants in their own learning rather than passive recipients of instruction.

Through hands-on exploration, collaboration, and creative activities, the approach encourages teachers to observe children’s interests and create classroom environments that support discovery and the development of ideas rather than rely on a rigid, predetermined curriculum.

The planned visit was thrown into controversy when participants were asked to sign a statement condemning Israel’s defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza before they could take part in the program.

“I distance myself from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of children’s and human beings’ rights in the occupied territories as well as in every place in the world,” the statement read, according to a screenshot obtained by Jewish Insider.

Reggio Children spokesperson Francesca Severini acknowledged to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the proposed statement had been discussed as a way to appease local pro-Palestinian activists, but said it had never become an official requirement for participation in the program.

Even before the trip, parents affiliated with Reggio Children, the organization overseeing the educational approach and a longtime partner of Paradigm Project, objected to the Jewish delegation’s planned visit, alleging that some participants supported the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Reggio Children had also reportedly organized a protest targeting the delegation over the participants’ Jewish identity and ties to Israel, and drafted a document for visiting groups that called for keeping “militarization out of schools.”