By Benjamin Ravid* The word “ghetto” initially referred to the copper foundry of the Venetian government, il ghetto (sometimes spelled gheto, getto, or geto) where cannon balls were cast, from the root gettare, to cast or to throw, encountered in English words such as eject, jet, and trajectory. Eventually, an adjacent island was used to …
By Henry Abramson* Azariah de’ Rossi was an entirely unremarkable Italian Jew in his late 50s when the earth shook beneath his feet in the great Ferrara earthquake of November 1570. Narrowly escaping the collapse of his home that Shabbat night, he and his family sought refuge with other survivors, Jews and Christians alike, in …
By Cnaan Liphshiz* In a major policy reversal by Western members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, all its European Union member states voted against a permanent item singling out Israel. The vote Friday was the first time that EU members states, plus Brazil and Japan, have voted against Item 7 — a recurrent …
By Yvette Alt Miller* On March 29, 1516, the Government of the city-state of Venice issued a new decree: henceforth all Jews must be confined to a small, polluted island within the city. The foul-smelling island was the former site of Venice’s foundries, or “ghettos”. The island was known as the Ghetto, and gave us …
By Katherine Keener* Coinciding with the beginning of the 58th edition of the Venice Biennale happening this year, an installation by author and ceramicist Edmund de Waal will highlight the floating city’s 500-year-old Jewish Ghetto. psalm, which will run from May 7th until September 29th, will consist of two exhibitions between two different locations within …
By Elisa Scarton* Pitigliano’s last Jewish nonna is a survivor, an advocate, a local celebrity and pretty much exactly what you’d imagine an Italian grandmother to be like. It’s wet and windy Thursday morning when I finally manage to get a hold of Elena Servi. She is endearingly sweet as I apologize for my less …
By Diego Courchay* The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is not a real place. We should say that first. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it is, and you wouldn’t be alone. It was invented in Giorgio Bassani’s 1962 historical novel of the same name, and in the 1970 Oscar-winning movie adaptation. It is a place …
By Gabrielle Apuzzo* The Charles and Joan Alberto Italian Studies Institute is co-sponsoring a two-day symposium: “New Italy and the Jews: From Massimo D’Azeglio to Primo Levi”, from February 28th to March 1st in partnership with the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University. This symposium is taking place in conjunction with the …
By Joel S. Davidi Weisberger* Poland, the place where the majority of the world’s Jewish population could be found by the eve of the First World War, was, of course, a land once dotted with thousands of Jewish houses of worship. Many of the original synagogues were constructed out of wood, others out of stone. …
By Debby Segura* I read “The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews” by Edda Servi Machlin cover to cover, something I’ve done perhaps twice in my entire life. I just couldn’t put it down. Machlin tells the story of her community of Livorno Jews. Livorno Jews were originally brought from Jerusalem to Italy by the …
By Ofir Haivry* This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Paris peace conference that formally terminated World War I and led, among other things, to international recognition by the victorious allies of the national rights of the Jewish people. Much has been written about these events and, where Zionist activity is concerned, about the …
By AFP and TOI staff Italian soccer club Lazio was embroiled in controversy on Saturday after racist and anti-Semitic chanting broke out during a Coppa Italia match. Lazio crushed third-division Novara 4-1 in their last-16 game at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico. However, their hardcore ultra fans aimed a series of ugly barbs at the club’s bitter …
By Rob Streit* Ancestry and genealogy have seen a recent boom in popularity. With a host of services available to those wanting to trace their lineage, the curious can swab their mouths, send their DNA away and have the past illuminated in six to eight weeks. Matthew Larcinese of West Bloomfield has a different approach. …
By Jenni Frazer* Golders Green Mosque is to host a unique one-day Yad Vashem exhibition at the beginning of the new year, highlighting the Muslim Albanians who helped, protected and rescued their Jewish neighbours during the Holocaust. The exhibition, to be held under the auspices of the Faiths Forum for London, is part of the …
By Michael Fraiman* In Rome’s Piazza Barberini, Israelis are huddling around a towering nine-metre-tall hanukkiah, besieged by colonial buildings adorned with pine-needle garlands and bulbous red ornaments. A small group of loud Hebrew speakers making a scene in the Catholic capital of the world – if ever there was a metaphor for Judaism, this is …
By Alain Elkann* Michele Sarfatti is a scholar of contemporary history with particular regard to the history of Jews in the twentieth century events of fascist Italy. He has just republished the definitive edition of his book “The Jews in Mussolini’s Italy” with Einaudi. Recently at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem he participated in the …
By Saviona Mane* Hidden in the guts of Stazione Centrale, Milan’s impressive train station, which was inaugurated during the fascist era and now serves 120 million railway passengers per year, is the point where fascist Italy converges with Nazi Germany: Platform 21. This is the platform where postal items were loaded onto freight trains, heading …
By Stuart Weiner* Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter won the Florence Marathon Sunday in a time that shaved over 11 minutes off the previous Israeli women’s record for the distance. Chemtai crossed the rain-soaked finishing line in 2:24:17, smashing the previous record of 2:35.59 set two years ago by Elena Dolinin. Chemtai already holds Israeli …
By Julie Carbonara* The 80th anniversary of Mussolini’s anti-Jewish Racial Laws have been marked in Italy with ceremonies and exhibitions. The 1938 Royal Decree — which excluded Jews from public office and higher education, saw their civil rights restricted and their books banned — took effect on November 17, ending centuries of peaceful Jewish integration …
By Menachem Levine* A world-famous personality, Sir Moses Montefiore was highly respected both in his native England and abroad. Until today, his name continues to be mentioned among his people with admiration and love. For the Jews of the 19th Century, he was known simply as “The Protector.” Sir Moses Montefiore, was born on the …