CULTURE A Window on Jewish Literature in Rome

By Rachel Silvera

What happens when The Festival of Jewish Culture and Literature meets European Day of Jewish Culture? Visitors have the opportunity to celebrate a special night and day with guest stars, music and traditional Jewish Roman cuisine samples. The festival opened on Saturday, after the end of Shabbat with the Kabbalah Nigh. The theme chosen for this year is “Around the future”.

Architect Daniel Libeskind (who designed the Berlin Jewish Museum and the New York Freedom Tower) spoke about the role of architects in the society: “Architects are citizens who strive to create better cities. Architecture is not a technique but a philosophy, a means to tell a story”.

Israeli writer Etgar Keret spoke about the city of future: Tel Aviv, the haven of startups and high tech geeks.

During the week-long festival, Simonetta Della Seta and Marco Panella will introduce the masterpieces of Isaac Asimov, Marco Molinari and Ruggero Raccah will explain the Israeli technology of Rewalk and the futurist David Passig and Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni will discuss about the future of Italian Jewry.

“Judaism has always looked to the future with some caution – said publisher Shulim Vogelmann, the organizer of the event together with Raffaella Spizzichino, Ariela Piattelli and Marco Panella – We are not allowed to ask fortune-tellers about it. When Jonah predicted the destruction of Nineveh because of the bad behavior of its inhabitants, they changed their attitude and the city was kept intact. The future for Judaism in fact is not already written, it can be changed by men with their choices. It is in our hands.”