“Piazza Giudia: la retata degli ebrei, 1943” by Sergio Zavoli, is one of the most fascinating documentaries about the dramatic day Roman Jews were rounded up by the SS in the Ghetto and deported to Auschwitz. Shot in 1963 and now in streaming on RayPlay (until October 30, with Hebrew subtitles), the film tells the …
By Pagine Ebraiche staff * Arrigo Levi dedicated his whole life to journalism and institutions. As a great Italian Jew who was a protagonist in times of intellectual engagement, he left a permanent mark, becoming one of the most appreciated journalists of his generation as well as a close advisor for two Presidents of Italy. …
By Ada Treves* The history of a thousand-year old presence, which dates back to the destruction of the second Temple, the characteristics and the traditions of a special island. A presence recognized as an integral and essential part of the local history and the consequences of an Edict of Expulsion which, in 1492, affected thousands …
By Ada Treves There is an expression in Italian, that has a magic musicality and a deep meaning at the same time. “Carta canta” is one of those idioms that are difficult to translate without losing the many layers its specific words imply, so even if “What is spoken flies what is written never dies” …
By Guido Vitale and Jelica Raseta* In 2010, Pagine Ebraiche editor-in-chief Guido Vitale interviewed the great European author Predrag Matvejevic. He was born in Mostar (currently in Bosnia) in 1932, his father was Russian and his mother was Bosnian, and he himself became an Italian citizen later in life. Matvejevic passed away at the beginning …
The January issue of Pagine Ebraiche features a special section about the figure of the Golem, edited by journalist Ada Treves. The following is the introduction to the special section. By Ada Treves So rooted in collective phantasy as to be virtually omnipresent, the Golem has a role in all media, from film to sculpture, …
By Jonathan Benedek* In the age of the Internet and social media, news updates arrive instantaneously through the paperless Internet as well as through the diverse array of social media platforms. “Newspapers find themselves to be in a state with dwindling subscribers,” noted Richard Ferrer, a writer and editor for Britain’s Jewish News publication, to …
By Daniel Reichel On November 30, Israel and Jewish communities all over the world including Italy, remembered the expulsion of the Jews from Arab countries. Half a century ago, between 850,000 and one million people were forced to leave their homelands – Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Libya and others – to find refuge in Israel, …
After Italy abstained in the vote on a resolution that fails to recognize the bond between Jerusalem and the Jewish people in October, the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities Noemi Di Segni sent a letter to the highest ranking state officials. She further launched an appeal to Italian President Sergio Mattarella ahead …
By Ada Treves A remarkable year, an extraordinary coincidence: the 500th anniversary of the formation of the Jewish Ghetto in Venice – still a symbol of all exclusions – and the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, the playwright who created the most famous Venetian Jew. A great opportunity, enriched by a cultural …
By Ada Treves Seventy. DafDaf, the Jewish magazine for kids has arrived to its seventieth issue, with a special header by Paolo Bacilieri. When asked to write something for the occasion Guido Vitale, the editor-in-chief, has actually cheated: “The fact is that I am in trouble, and I am trapped in my calendar. It happened …
By Ada Treves Filò is the protagonist of issue 69 of DafDaf, the Jewish magazine for kids, that at the very end of the school year has decided to offer young readers new pages, on philosophy. And Filò – this is the name that the author, Sara Gomel, has chosen for the the character that …
By Hannah Roberts* Sitting outside her retirement home in the Venetian Ghetto, wrapped in scarves and a coat, Virginia Gattegno shivers in the spring sunlight. More than 70 years after enduring the Polish winter of 1944, the Auschwitz survivor still feels the cold. She explains: “For us Mediterranean people, who hadn’t experienced cold, that was …
By Pagine Ebraiche staff The state of Israel was chosen among the countries portrayed in the Italian TV show, “L’Erba dei Vicini,” which is broadcast in prime time on the Channel 3 on Italian public TV (Rai). Each episode of the show, anchored by Corriere della Sera and New York Times journalist Beppe Severgnini, compares …
By Ada Treves Venice is the main star of issue 66 of DafDaf, the Jewish magazine for kids, in time for the first initiatives organized for the fifth centenary of the Jewish Ghetto, the area that has become a universal symbol of exclusion. “Campo del Ghetto, in Venice, is surrounded by canals, and it resembles …
By Pagine Ebraiche staff* The year 2016 marks the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Ghetto of Venice. The March issue of Pagine Ebraiche features a special section devoted to the event; edited by journalist Ada Treves. The articles are going to be translated for Pagine Ebraiche International Edition by the students of the …
By Rachel Silvera “The delicate situation of Venetian Jews is the metaphor of a crossroad that required strong choices and, at the same time, openness to the world.” 500 years after the establishment of the Ghetto of Venice, rabbi Roberto Della Rocca (former Chief Rabbi of the city) reflects on its meaning in the Pagine …
By Rachel Silvera The new issue of Pagine Ebraiche was printed just a few hours after Jorge Bergoglio’s visit to the main synagogue of Rome and features many special articles on the event. The meaningful Pope’s visit to the synagogue (the third, after John Paul II and Benedict XVI) is commented by historian Anna Foa, …
By Ada Treves Sheva, seven, as the seven days of the week. It is under this new common name that the weekly newsletters produced by the editorial staff of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) reach their readers. Two of them, now "sheva – melamed" and "sheva – international", even if less known …
By Ada Treves Part of the wide offer that the staff of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities produces every day, the weekly newsletter “melamed” – dedicated to education and schools – is taking another step forward. Melamed has been identified for more than three years with a specific section of UCEI’s press review. Each …