ROME – October 7, October 9: a remembrance that unifies

On October 6, the Italian citizen Victor Green, 33 years old, was identified as the seventh victim of the Jaffa terror shooting. “The link between Italy and Israel unfortunately also goes through this,” said Jonathan Peled, the designate ambassador of the Jewish state in Rome, speaking at a packed Great Synagogue in remembrance of two tragic events: the October 7 attacks and the Palestinian attack on the synagogue in Rome on October 9, 1982. There is a connection, the Jewish Community recalled in announcing the commemoration. Not just because in both cases it was Shemini Atzeret, a joyous holiday turned into a tragedy, but because the same existential threat of terrorism remains.
“Israel did not want this war,” said the ambassador in his first public address since taking office. “But we cannot afford to lose it, and for this reason, we will win. We will do everything to bring home our brothers and sisters who are being held hostages in Gaza; we will continue to fight against extremism, the threat of Iran, and antisemitism in Italy and around the world. We will succeed, all together.” The concept of unity was evoked also by Gadiel Gaj Taché, brother of little Stefano, the two-year-old victim of Palestinian terrorism in Rome, who was severely injured in the attack on the Temple.
“We needed to come together, to unite,” was the message with which he opened his address. “Today, the masks of the so-called ‘peace pretenders’ have fallen,” he said. “The idea of ‘two peoples, two states’ has always been a joke—not because we don’t want it, but because the Palestinians have never desired it.” Paraphrasing the writer Primo Levi, Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni criticized those who, “safe in their comfortable homes, think they can teach morality to those who risk their lives.” The intent of many anti-Israel protesters is clear, he continued with bitter sarcasm: “They want to destroy Israel; they are not antisemites, but they want to kill another six million Jews.”
Victor Fadlun, president of the Rome Jewish Community, questioned “how students from schools and universities can be so foolish,” failing to understand “the homophobic and illiberal world” for which they are protesting. Nevertheless, Israel “will win because it is not isolated.” Fadlun noted this was evident “with many Sunni Arabs celebrating after the killing of Hamas leader Nasrallah” and with the expressions of support from the White House ally. The evening, hosted by journalist David Parenzo and featuring contributions from youth groups and recorded testimonies from Israel, concluded with a reflection from Eitan Della Rocca: “A year of hard trials has come to an end. We must recognize that Hashem is with us, guiding us toward hope.”