A giant paper-mache carnival with a Gorilla representing war and misery of the world float moves ... [+] through the streets of Viareggio during the 150 years of traditional Carnival in Viareggio ...

The float, titled “Shabbat Year,” was prepared by the Vismooil’n carnival group. It featured two giant puppets with sidelocks and streimels, hats favored by some Orthodox Jews, in pink suits.

One had a rat on his shoulder. The float spurred UNESCO to strip the carnival of its credentials as a world heritage event. The group that prepared the float insisted that it wasn’t meant to offend.

A float featuring stereotyped Jewish figures at a carnival near Brussels has been widely criticised as anti-Semitic. The float in the town of Aalst, 25km (15 miles) from the European Parliament ...