Liliana Segre blasts vaccine-Holocaust comparisons “Anti-vaxxers should stay home and not harm others”

By Daniel Reichel Holocaust survivor and Life Senator Liliana Segre has blasted people who have compared COVID-19 vaccinations to the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. On Monday, the 90-year-old told Jewish newspaper Pagine Ebraiche that these comparisons were “crazy” and a mix of “bad taste and ignorance”. A small but vocal minority has staged… leggi 

How a Jewish lawyer protected Giotto frescoes when they were being sold to a foreign company

The exquisite fresco cycle painted between 1302 and 1397 by different artists in the northern Italian city of Padua has been added to Unesco’s World Heritage List on Saturday. The accomplishment was welcomed in Italy with enthusiasm. “The proclamation is a cause for joy and pride for the whole country”, stressed the Prime Minister Mario… leggi 

Ricardo Levi wants to make Italy better through literature and culture

By Adam Smulevich The journalist and former Jewish parliamentarian Ricardo Franco Levi, 72, has been confirmed as president of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), the trade association of publishers of books, scientific journals, products and contents of digital publishing which represents 90% of the Italian book market. His unanimous designation for a further two years… leggi 

Bar Mitzvah, legacy and life of Piedmontese Jews

Joy and emotion in the suggestive synagogue of Biella Piazzo for Tuvia Cattaneo Treves’s Bar Mitzvah. On those benches, witnesses of his maternal ancestors’ prayers, the miracle of life and the continuity of the glorious, however small, Jewish communities in Piedmont has repeated itself once again. Accompanied by Rabbi Alberto Moshe Somekh and Rabbi Ariel… leggi 

“My mother’s face and Christian Boltanski”, when art and memory become a family matter

Christian Boltanski, the French conceptual artist deceased a few days ago, was known internationally for his work exploring notions of memory, loss and cultural history through a process of free artistic appropriation. But what does it mean when your own mother and your most intimate memories are part of this process? After having discovered her… leggi 

The best mayor of Rome

By Anna Foa* As the municipal elections of the city of Rome get closer and closer, a new book by Fabio Martini recalls the figure of Ernesto Nathan, mayor of Rome from 1907 to 1913, thought to be the best mayor of the city. Several initiatives, conferences and publications have recently been dedicated to him,… leggi 

The other Europe

By David Bidussa* It is not true that the Charter of Values recently signed by 16 right-wing political groups is “against Europe”. That text is the voice and convictions of the “other Europe”. The one that does not have as “livre de chevet” the Encyclopeadia by d’Alembert and Diderot but Memories illustrating the history of… leggi 

Intent, mutuality and transcendence in the educational process

By David Meghnagi* Immerse yourself fully while working with students, in the hic et nunc of the lesson time. Do not expect solutions to come from others. It is still possible, by this means, to save the Italian school system. Although this seems “romantic” and despite legislative delays and never-ending reforms, the Italian school system… leggi 

Ticketless – Mattir Assurim

By Alberto Cavaglion* In my long and tortuous career as a teacher, the years that helped me grow the most were those spent at “Le Vallette” prison, where I held a class for the inmates that the professional school where I taught had introduced. Those were three years which, I believe, gave me much more… leggi 

Influencers and antisemitism

By Gadi Luzzatto Voghera* Recent episodes of communication on social media, characterized by decidedly anti-Israeli messages and containing evident antisemitic implications, force us to look with great concern at a growing dynamic of hate speech. One cannot but severely contest both Michela Murgia’s claims in support of Hamas (a fascist and fundamentalist regime that does… leggi