VENICE – Italkim appeal to city’s leaders: “Be vigilant against antisemitism”

“The institutions’ prompt condemnation is not enough. We must open our eyes and be vigilant so that history does not repeat itself.” This is the message of Vito Anav, president of the Hevrat Yehudé Italia Be-Israel (Association of Jews of Italian Origin in Israel), in a note addressed to Venice’s mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, and the Municipal Council. The message comes in the wake of a recent antisemitic incident reported in the city. Anav explained that the victim attends the Italkim Synagogue in Jerusalem. The synagogue has long been a beloved place of worship for the Italian Jewish community in Israel, and it maintains a direct bond with the Veneto region. Its beautifully carved Holy Ark, the cabinet that houses the Torah scrolls in synagogues, was relocated there from Conegliano Veneto (Treviso) in the 1950s and is still used during services. The president of the Hevrat Yehudé Italia also recalled that the ritual objects of the antique synagogues of Padua and Vittorio Veneto have also found new homes in Jerusalem, at the Central Synagogue and the Museum of Israel.

According to Anav, these bonds testify both to the secular Jewish contribution to Veneto history and culture and to the respect and tolerance that, in many moments of history, allowed the Jewish community to flourish there. Thus, he invited the city leaders not to lower their guard against antisemitism. “The strength of democracy lies in respect for minorities, freedom of worship, and the ability to educate young people to see every human being as a source of enrichment and a brother to respect and love.”