“Mountain has always been a place of meeting, respect and coexistence. It is a unifying place, not a dividing one.” This is the message of the president of the Abruzzo Region in a letter to the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) president Antonio Montani. The issue is the dedication by CAI, in 2025, of the Alpine …
In his book The Resistance in Western Europe, Olivier Wieviorka writes, “From Belgium to the Netherlands and from France to Norway, all countries celebrated their own internal Resistance in the postwar period, seeking to emphasize the prominent role these patriotic forces played in liberating their national territories. This led to a minimization of the Allies’ contribution.” …
On Sunday, April 26, the flags of the Jewish Brigade and the United States flew at the Military Cemetery in Milan to honor Italy’s Liberation Day from Nazi-fascism. The ceremony, organized by the Jewish Community of Milan under the auspices of the UCEI, took place the day after April 25 because the actual date fell …
A video is circulating on Facebook in which a young man asks Hassidic Jews in New York why some of them are anti-Zionist. As he asks, the video shows images of Neturei Karta members wrapped in Palestinian flag colors. “They are a minority,” answers one of those questioned. Another evokes a clear image: “When you …
Three weeks after her election, Livia Ottolenghi, president of UCEI, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, presented the strategic priorities of her term. On March 3, at a press conference held at the Italian National Library of Judaism “Tullia Zevi” in Rome, she outlined her short- and long-term goals, the actions she intends to take, …
The Jewish hospice in Turin, which was located in Piazza Santa Giulia, no longer exists. It was bombed during World War II and demolished after the war. Another building replaced it. However, some Jewish lives were lost during the demolition: Aida Sara Montagnana, Rosa Vita Finzi, Teresita Teglio, Ercolina Levi, Sara Colombo, Eugenia Treves (later …
“It’s better to live it here in Israel. Being far away is much more painful.” These are the words of Renzo Ventura, a retired lawyer who immigrated from Florence to Israel. Speaking with Pagine Ebraiche from Jerusalem, he sums up the sentiment of many Israelis born in Italy who still maintain a strong connection with …
This year, a Megillah reading took place at the Winter Olympic Village. On Purim evening, a delegation from Chabad in Milan, the European Jewish Association (EJA), and the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) met with Shaina Vaspi, a Paralympic skier and the only Israeli athlete participating in the 2026 games. Rabbi Eli Edelkof, the …
Books are essential to understanding Italian Jewish history. They are not just objects of study, but also instruments of identity, memory, and social integration. This is the main theme of Am HaSefer: Readers and Bibliophiles in Jewish Italy Between the 17th and 20th Centuries. The book collects the proceedings of the conference organized by the …
Jewish book collecting is a field that has not been extensively researched, yet some important initiatives are underway to interpret, catalog, and valorize it. One such initiative is the catalog of printed Jewish volumes by I-Tal-Ya Books. This project is coordinated by the Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy, in collaboration with the Union …
What does “kosher” mean? When did Jews first arrive in Italy? What role did they play in the Risorgimento? The new UCEI project for high schools answers these questions and many more. Designed to help students discover Jewish history and culture, the project aims to make them “potential promoters of this heritage.” The initiative is …
From Warsaw under the Communist regime to the discovery of Southern Italy. From lecturing at American universities to academic and civic engagement in the Calabria region. This was the human and intellectual journey of Marta Petrusewicz, an internationally renowned historian who passed away on February 4 at the age of 77. A professor at the …
“Buchenwald was a place of pain for everyone. For many, it was pain and death. For many others, it became a seed for profound and exceptional reflection.” It took Gilberto Salmoni almost half a century to find the words. For years, he tried to bury that horror in his everyday life: Work, family, and the …
Never before have so many Israelis been seen together in Italian soccer. Following in the footsteps of players Manor Solomon and Omri Gandelman, who recently signed with Fiorentina and Lecce, respectively, is coach Avraham Grant. After a forty-year coaching career, which culminated in Chelsea’s 2008 Champions League final victory and a recent stint coaching the …
“For more than forty years, Betty devoted her life to the State of Israel, working with passion, dedication, and endless energy. Even after her retirement four years ago, her example lived on in the halls of the Embassy and in the memory of those who knew her.” The Embassy of Israel in Italy announced the …
“In the Italian Republic, there is no place for the poison of racial hatred, the germs of discrimination, the antisemitism that still comes dangerously to the surface, those who preach violence, or those who cultivate ideologies of oppression.” These were the words of Italian President Sergio Mattarella as he commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day at the …
Those expecting the election of a new UCEI president and executive board will have to wait until the next meeting of the Board of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities. Elected on December 14, the UCEI Board met for the first time in Rome on January 11. The meeting was convened by Andrea Pesaro, the …
The Jewish Museum in Rome is among the Italian and international institutions contributing to the exhibition Shared Sacred Sites, which is open until January 19 at the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici. Curated by Dionigi Albera, Raphaël Bories, and Manoël Pénicaud, the show uses works of art to shed light on a religious …
“If you came here to see Woody Allen, Jerry Lewis, Borat, or Mrs. Maisel, then you’ve come to the wrong exhibition.” This warning opens the La casa del ridere (The House of Laughter) exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Bologna. Curated by father-and-son team Alberto and Emanuele Cavaglion, the show aims to rediscover the roots of a …
An appeal for solidarity and coexistence among different faiths emerged from the traditional interfaith prayer organized by City Angels, an Italian volunteer association, in front of Milan’s Central Rail Station. Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Buddhists, and Hare Krishnas participated in the ceremony, as well as volunteers and residents. “This is a day that …