FEATURES Redazione Aperta, an Open Workshop

By Ada Treves

Working as a journalist for the newsroom of the Union of the Jewish Communities of Italy is a challenging experience. Apart for the compelling evidence that you have to add to the moral and ethical principle of the job itself those of Judaism – and regular seminars on these subjects are part of the journalists’ life – being the lucky few dealing professionally with information in such a contest is not easy. Not easy in normal times, and frankly difficult during these sad and worrying days when the journalists working for the portal of Italian Jewry have added special initiatives to cover the situation in Israel, on top of normal, everyday work.

One lucky coincidence has made all this possible: for once all the journalists working for Pagine Ebraiche, DafDaf, Italia Ebraica and moked.it were together. Every year since the Information Department of Ucei was born, two weeks – the second half of July – are devoted to a special experience, cherished by everyone: Redazione Aperta, a sort of an open workshop, a special time for working together, discussing problems and finding solutions. A time to explore new projects, and to confront with all those colleagues and with those many friends that are invited to take part in it. Rabbis, scholars, writers, journalists have been spending hours or days with the journalists of the Union of the Jewish Communities of Italy, bringing in their ideas, their energy, their will of being together. Working together, being together, participating not only in everyone’s professional life but also – even if only for a few days – in one another’s emotions, problems, doubts.

This is exactly the spirit of Redazione Aperta, that sense of community that has helped all of us to put quickly in place a few initiatives to cover the sad and worrying events of these days, events that we all wished not to have to deal with, but that is our task to cover at the best of our possibilities.