SOCIETY – Limmud in Florence commemorates Jewish youth Livorno Congress 100 years ago

Livorno in Tuscany is primarily known for a congress, the one held from January 15 to 21, 1921, which marked the major split within the Socialist left and the birth of the Italian Communist Party. Three years later, from November 2 to 4, 1924, another congress in Livorno also played a significant role, at least in the history of its Jewish minority.
From Enzo Sereni to Nello Rosselli, from Alfonso Pacifici to Dante Lattes: distinguished figures animated the 4th Jewish Youth Conference held in the coastal city for three days, bringing diverse perspectives on Jewish identity and civic engagement. These ranged from the view of Judaism as a “religious conception of life” in which “the national question has no connection,” expressed by the younger Rosselli brother, to the starkly different position of a committed Zionist like Enzo Sereni. Both men, at different points, were later assassinated by Nazi-fascist forces.
A hundred years after the 1924 Youth Conference, the atmosphere and topics discussed during that historic event will be revisited at the Limmud Italia Days, scheduled in Florence from on November 1–3. The event will have both a “commemorative” and “reflective” nature, as announced by the organizing committee of the study community, which will be gathering for the ninth time in the Tuscan capital, with support from UCEI among others.