The chief rabbi of Naples, Italy, refused to meet the mayor over comments he made on the Middle East.
Rabbi Pierpaolo Pinhas Punturello said in a letter that he would not attend a city event commemorating the Holocaust after Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino compared the Israel-Palestinian situation to the Nazi occupation when meeting with a delegation of Palestinian guests last October, the Adnkronos International news service reported.
“I want the dead to rest in peace: for this I cannot meet those who are capable of such statements,” the rabbi’s letter said.
Following the rabbi’s lead, Fabrizio Gallichi, adviser to the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, also absented himself from the event, Adnkronos reported.
The Naples City Council also sponsored two exhibits on Nazi atrocities to mark International Holocaust Memorial Day, which was Sunday.
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