For a long time, Jewish institutions have warned the public about the infiltration of Islamic radicalism into democratic societies by disguising hatred as solidarity. On Saturday, this was confirmed by the arrest of nine people in Italy suspected of funding Hamas through local charities. “Months of investigations have finally shed light on donations collected under …
On the last day of Hanukkah, the Jewish community of Viareggio “rediscovered” its synagogue. The only Beth Keneseth in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, it had been closed to the public for eight years while undergoing renovations. On the day of the reopening, the Torah scrolls were returned, and the menorah was lit in a …
The Italian Jewish community mourns the passing of Eva Ruth Palmieri. A translator and interpreter, she also served as a councilor of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities. Born in New York in 1967, she was the mother of Elisabetta and Leonardo. She was passionately dedicated to improving interfaith dialogue and fostering encounters between different …
St. Peter’s Basilica, the Great Synagogue, and the Grand Mosque. These three Roman religious buildings are depicted on the silver coin triptych, “The Three Monotheistic Religions Under the Sky of Rome.” The Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute produced the set, which was issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. “In Abraham, three faiths, …
Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German-Israeli woman, unwillingly has become a symbol of the violence that Hamas perpetrated against women on October 7, 2023. She was murdered at the Nova Music Festival. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Union of Italian Jewish Communities honored her story with a special dedication: …
The exterior of the Beth Michael Synagogue in Monteverde, Rome, was vandalized by unknown individuals. The plaque commemorating Stefano Gaj Taché, a two-year-old boy who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the attack on the Great Synagogue of Rome on October 9, 1982, was also defaced with black paint. The synagogue is dedicated to him. …
Bruno Morpurgo (1875-1917), a Viennese composer with Trieste roots who died during the Great War, was “as great as he was little known”. Trieste conductor Davide Casali has launched a project to promote the work of this talented Jewish artist who was a pupil of Robert Fuchs — a teacher of Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, …
There is a “hidden treasure” in Livorno. It is the Talmud Torah library, which is preserved under the local Jewish Museum in Via Micali. This Sephardic library contains 3,925 volumes, 1,878 of which are rare. Guido Servi, a former Culture Councillor of the Jewish Community of Livorno, worked on the library with Duccio Bedarida and …
Hateful words against Jews and Israel lead to physical violence. The proof is in the eleven attacks documented by the CDEC Foundation’s Anti-Semitism Observatory between January and September 2025. “An alarming figure, but one that does not surprise us,” comments Stefano Gatti, a researcher at the Observatory. “The demonization of Jews and ‘Zionists’ by politicians, …
From Merano to Naples and from Genoa to Trieste (pictured), Italian synagogues were illuminated in memory of the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass.” On that night, between November 9 and 10, 1938, Jewish homes, synagogues, and shops in Germany and Austria were looted and destroyed, and hundreds of people were …
Over the course of her almost century-long life, Ada Feinberg-Sereni fought in Israel’s War of Independence, saw comrades and friends fall in battle, founded the kibbutz Yir’on with a small group of young people in the middle of nowhere, just a few meters from the Lebanese border, and served one term in the Knesset, Israel’s …
“Journey Through Italy: Discovering Italy’s Jewish Cultural Heritage.” This is the title of a new exhibition at the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS) in Ferrara. The exhibition features two remarkable photographic collections from the 1930s and 1940s: the Ernő Munkácsi collection, which documents Jewish life in Italy; and the Fund of …
“Here commenced the cruel hunt of the Jewish people.” This is the inscription on a plaque outside the Casina dei Vallati in Rome’s ancient Jewish ghetto. It commemorates the “Black Saturday” of the Jews of Rome. On the morning of October 16, 1943, the Nazi SS invaded the ancient Jewish neighborhood and later extended their …
Five years after the death of rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020), five books will be published in Italy to share the spiritual and philosophical legacy of this “worldwide recognized religious figure, philosopher, and moral voice of our times.” This is the goal of Alleanza e conversazione (Alliance and Conversation), a project promoted by Giuntina, the same publisher that …
Four students from the UCEI’s three-year university degree program in Jewish Studies, “Renzo Gattegna,” defended their dissertations in Rome. A commission of educators, rabbis, and Union of Italian Jewish Communities representatives evaluated their work. Naama Calderón dedicated her thesis to the controversy that arose regarding the commentary Em La-Miqra by Elia Benamozegh, a prominent 19th-century rabbi in …
Taranto, a coastal city in Apulia in southern Italy, preserves an ancient and contemporary Jewish history waiting to be discovered. It is a history made of millenary traces and more recent initiatives: language courses, cultural events, commemorations, born from grassroots engagement. At the end of July, a new chapter was added to this history with …
On the eve of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jewish community of Naples announced the establishment of a Section in Matera. This is the first in the Basilicata region and the seventh in Southern Italy, following those in San Nicandro Garganico, Taranto, and Trani in Apulia; Palmi in Calabria; Catania and Palermo in Sicily. …
Parole in conflitto (Words in Conflict), a compendium created by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, is now available online. Its goal is “to denounce the linguistic distortions that have emerged in public conversations after October 7, 2023, and to clarify the meaning of terms of absolute relevance, the abuse of which is part of antisemitic …
“I have many projects in mind. I told myself, I will deal with them once I retire. In theory, I have been retired for thirty years, but I always have a lot to do.” Luciano Meir Caro, the dean of the Italian rabbis, still faces life with a smile. Born in Turin in 1935, he …
Last week in Rome, the office of lawyer Alessandro Luzon was vandalized. Threatening messages were found alongside an Israeli flag equated to a swastika. The attack sparked a wide debate in Italy. Luzon, the current vice-president of the Jewish Community of Rome, is the former president of the UCEI Commission for Relations with Israel and …