Italian town’s official resigns over Holocaust joke

A crude joke about the Holocaust has cost a public health official in the town of Pavia his job, according to Italian media reports.

Giuseppe Imbalzano, 59, submitted his resignation Monday after a meeting with Pavia’s public health service director, according to reports.

At a meeting last week with local and regional officials, Imbalzano reportedly told a joke that asked the difference between Jews and cakes. The punch line stated, “When you put cakes in the oven they don’t scream.”

Imbalzano told the newspaper Il Giorno that he had not meant any harm.

“It was a silly joke that didn’t have any offensive spirit,” he said. “I never would have imagined that such nonsense would have stirred up such a storm.”

Imbalzano said others at the meeting smiled at the joke.