By Pagine Ebraiche staff The representatives of the Jewish communities and institutions of Southern Italy traveled to Rome last week to participate in a conference on the rebirth of Jewish life in their areas organized by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). Attending the event were people from Puglia, Calabria and Sicily, together with …
By Ada Treves Bologna Children’s Book Fair continues to grow, both in quantitative and qualitative terms and along with the Weekend devoted to young readers it now constitutes a whole week filled with books, presentation, round tables and thousands of visitors, both for professional reasons and for the sheer pleasure of being immersed in literature …
By Ada Treves The 53rd edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the most important international event dedicated to books for young readers has opened this morning and Pagine Ebraiche, as it happens every year, is present. The latest issue of the national monthly of Italian Jewry contains eight special pages devoted to the fair …
By Ada Treves* The theater “La Fenice” is a central institution of Venice recent history, and it is also an important place for everyone who loves music, a place with a highly symbolic name. The images of the fire that, twenty years ago, made people believe that one of the most beautiful theaters of the …
By Dario Calimani* The history of Judaism is sprinkled with recurrent harassment and persecutions, whose dreadful peak was the Shoah. In part, Jewish people’s recollection of prejudice and discrimination has strengthened their Jewish identity; I believe that no other community has counted on recollection as ours has. Our memory is not celebration, meaning exaltation or …
By Roberto Della Rocca* Venetian Ghetto has got a very peculiar history, compared to other Jewish communities which have experienced a similar condition of forced segregation during the long Jewish diaspora. Despite being Venice the brain behind the creation of ghettos, inside the physically relegated Venetian Jewish community a cultural environment characterized by the interaction …
By Jerry Brotton* It is nearly 500 years to the day when, on March 29 1516, the Venetian authorities assigned the site of a polluted, disused “geto”, the Italian for foundry, in the north of the city as where Jews would be segregated from the Christian community. Wooden gates were erected, all exits were locked, …
By Rossella Tercatin Among the ancient early printed Haggadot, the Venice Haggadah of 1609 is one of the most beautiful and fascinating. Over 400 years later, a group of international Jewish artists are working on a new Venice Haggadah. It is one of the initiatives marking the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the city’s …
By Rossella Tercatin Teatro La Fenice, one of the most renowned Italian opera houses, will be the venue of the official opening ceremony in remembrance of the creation of the Ghetto of Venice, the first ghetto in history, in 1516 On March 29, 2016, representatives of Italian and international institutions and Jewish leaders from all …
By Rachel Silvera It all started during Hanukkah 1985 and it marked a new challenge for the young people of the Roman Jewish Community. Today the Oratorio Fatucci-Panzieri synagogue, known as “Tempio dei Giovani” (because it was mostly attended by young Jews), located inside the Israelite Hospital on the Tiber Island, facing the Great Synagogue …
By Francesca Matalon During the Fascist regime in Italy, the directions of the Fascist party on racial discrimination were transformed into laws by a group of jurists who worked for the regime. In his new book Le leggi antiebraiche e razziali ed il ceto dei giuristi (The Italian Anti-Jewish and Racial Laws and the Class …
By Rachel Silvera This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican declaration promulgated in 1965, which has consistently improved the relations between Jews and Catholics. A little over 800 years have passed also since the Fourth Council of the Lateran, which in 1213 formalized anti-Jewish measures that brought to the isolation and …
By Ada Treves The board of the World Jewish Congress gathered in Rome last week, for three intense days to discuss key strategic issues and challenges that are of public interest. Among the topics covered were the fight against anti-Semitism, the problem of the delegitimization of Israel and the necessity to raise the general attention …
By Ada Treves For the sixth consecutive year, Pagine Ebraiche has participated in Lucca Comics and Games, the international festival that for a few days transforms every year the medieval town of Lucca in a village of games, comics and animation packed with all sort of events, from roundtables to film screenings, from exhibitions to …
By Daniel Reichel Michelin-starred chefs celebrated Jewish food and traditions as a part of the festival of Jewish culture “La tenda di Abramo” (Abraham’s Tent), which took place in Milan last week. The festival was focused on the concept of food as a sign of welcome, as a concrete gesture of solidarity towards others as …
By Rossella Tercatin Thousands of people all over Italy took part in the European Day of Jewish Culture on September 6. From Florence, selected as the leading city for 2015, to Rome, Milan, Venice, Turin and dozens of other locations, Italian citizens joined the events organized by Jewish communities and institutions. The theme chosen for …
By Rachel Silvera What added values can religions bring to education? How to reconcile the tradition of Jewish studies with new educational models? How to define the right behavior for a teacher and for a student? These questions were the focus of the two-day seminar (September 9-10) “Judaism and European culture. Religions as education systems” …
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 …
By Adam Smulevich The next European Day of Jewish Culture, which will take place on September 6th in over thirty countries, will offer a deep reflection on the meaning of “bridges”, both inside and outside the Jewish world. In Italy, the epicenter of the event is going to be the Jewish Community of Florence. In …
By Ada Treves Beginning today, the seventh edition of Redazione Aperta (Open Newsroom) will bring all the journalists of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) in Trieste, for two weeks of work and lessons with numerous guests. It is the one occasion when all the members of the newsroom can spend long days working …