NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) — Nearly 70 American Jewish educators canceled a trip to Reggio Emilia, Italy, after the group said an Italian organization sought to sign statements distancing educators from the occupation of Gaza and rights abuses in the occupied territories.
The educators planned to visit Reggio Emilia, a city in northern Italy known for its approach to early childhood education. Among the group were Jen Schiffer, director of a Jewish preschool in Port Washington, and Dr. Pesha Kletenik of Manhattan Day School on the Upper West Side.
“It was an innocent trip that turned anti-Semitic,” Schiffer said.
Kletenik described the experience similarly.
“This is one of the most painful experiences I have had as a Jew. It seems extremely anti-Semitic to me,” she said.
The educators said they learned that their social media profiles were being scanned for possible links to Israel, its army and the occupation of Gaza. They also learned of threats of protest in Italy upon their arrival.
“They couldn’t guarantee our safety, I think that’s the number one thing,” Schiffer said.
According to the educators, the Italian organization also requested a statement signed by each Jewish teacher pledging to “hereby declare that they distance themselves from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of the rights of children and human beings in the occupied territories.”
“I didn’t understand why, as an American citizen, I was being asked to comment on a foreign government,” Kletenik said.
The group canceled their trip. Schechter School in Bergen County, New Jersey, which planned to send a teacher in November, also canceled.
“We’re very sad, and it’s very personal, because they were willing to target 68 American Jews,” said Steve Freedman of Schechter Bergen School.
The mayor of Reggio Emilia responded to the controversy by declaring: “Reggio Emilia is always open to schools from all over the world. But faced with the dramatic situation in the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, we wanted to share with these educators an additional commitment to defending the rights of children, both in the occupied territories and in the rest of the world.”
Schiffer said the experience changed his feelings about returning to the city.
“And now I don’t go and I don’t think I’ll ever go back,” she said.
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