Naples – Scialom Bahbout, former chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Naples, has announced that he is renouncing the honorary citizenship awarded to him by the Neapolitan municipality.
The decision is based on the motion approved by the City Council on July 2, which asks Mayor Gaetano Manfredi to sever all institutional relations with entities linked to the Israeli government, following the bombing of Gaza.
In a letter addressed to the mayor, Bahbout explains the reasons for his choice, defining the resolution as “an act of boycott against the only democracy in the Middle East”. And he harshly attacks:
“With this vote the Neapolitan administration intended to support criminal assassins and terrorists, who adopt methods and aims not dissimilar from those that the Neapolitan population rejected in 1943, during the Four Days”.
Bahbout, who has been a reference figure for interreligious dialogue for years, bitterly underlines the distance between the Naples that awarded him the honor and the current one:
“I no longer intend to be a citizen of a city that today, at the hands of those who govern it, betrays the values of Freedom, Justice and Truth that once made it a beacon in the world, and not only for the heroism demonstrated during the Four Days”.
The City Council's motion sparked debate in the city and nationwide, igniting tensions over the conflict in the Middle East and its political and symbolic repercussions, including in local institutions.
I agree with you, but it is also true that the situation in the Middle East is complex and requires understanding. Bahbout's choice, although controversial, reflects a personal position that deserves respect.
I do not agree with Bahbout's decision, I think it is wrong to give up honorary citizenship. Every person has the right to have their own opinions, but such an important place should not be left.