A delegation of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) met last week with the Holy See Undersecretary for Relations with States, Mgr. Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski, to share the concerns of Jewish communities about the impact of the media reports on Pope Francis’ forthcoming book Hope Never Disappoints. In the book Pope Francis states: “According to some experts what …
The Italian Jewish community has expressed dismay and unease following Pope Francis’ decision to display a Nativity scene in the Vatican featuring the infant Jesus resting on a cloth evocative of the Palestinian keffiyeh. This is not new within ecclesiastical contexts, but the latest instance is seen as “particularly troubling” because “the protagonist is the Pope” …
The year 2025 will mark the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (Latin for “In Our Time,”) the document that revolutionized the Catholic Church’s approach to non-Christian religions with a specific section devoted to Judaism. Antisemitism, the document declared, has no theological basis. This pivotal moment in Vatican history will be the focus of the next …
The first record of the Jewish presence in Turin dates to 1424. Over the course of six centuries, this community has experienced a history rich in culture, but also marked by suffering, discrimination, exclusion, and atrocities. Yet, it has also fostered strong traditions and a continuity of Jewish life that should not be forgotten. In …
Ten years ago, the Israeli Parliament set November 30 as a day to commemorate the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries and Iran. Between 1948 and 1970, 800,000 Jews were forced to leave their ancestral homes in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Gulf region–communities that had existed for centuries, and in some cases …
“The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women has come and gone this year in total and shameful silence from Italian and international feminist organizations regarding Jewish women still held captive by Hamas terrorists,” declared Susanna Sciaky, national president of the Jewish association Adei Wizo. In an open letter, Sciaky highlighted the plight …
In 2014, on the centennial of the Di Castro Sinagogue, Rome’s Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni described the place known as the “Temple in Via Balbo” as something fundamentally different from the Great Synagogue, which was completed a decade earlier. Nevertheless, a close relationship has always existed between the two synagogues: “Anything that could not …
Maffeo Pantaleoni, a prominent Italian economist and jurist of the early 20th century, was also a relentless antisemite dedicated to spreading the lies of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’s. Despite his notable contributions to economics, the stain of blatant antisemitism continues to taint his legacy. Nonetheless, on October 29, the Italian Ministry of …
Tamar Herzig, an Israeli historian specializing in Renaissance history, has spent over a year publicly challenging the silence from some parts of the feminist movement, including in Italy, regarding the atrocities of October 7. She observes that there was “a profound silence” surrounding the reports of Israeli women raped by Hamas, adding that in Italy …
It is a challenging time for Israeli tourism. Apart from the national airline, few carriers currently operate flights to and from Israel, and active conflicts in the region further complicate the situation. “But next year will be a year of peace, I feel it,” said Dani Shahar, the Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, …
More than 1,500 rare printed volumes from the Jewish community of Mantua have been cataloged as part of the international I-TAL-YA Books project, led by the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). Architectural photographer and visual artist Giulia Flavia Baczynski, a graduate of the Polytechnic University of Milan, spent “eight hours a day, for …
Viviana Kasam, journalist, science communicator, and co-founder of the non-profit association Brain Circle Italy with Rita Levi-Montalcini, has passed away in Rome. Kasam, a prominent advocate for Holocaust remembrance, created numerous projects on the Shoah and collaborated closely with Pagine Ebraiche, where she regularly addressed contemporary issues related to Judaism and explained scientific advancements, with …
“Limmud does not seek to legitimize or delegitimize any religious or political stance within the Jewish world. Anyone attending Limmud with this intention will be disappointed.” In line with its tradition, the ninth edition of Limmud Italy Days – a study and dialogue event that concluded on Sunday in Florence – has focused on fostering …
A nation that sustains itself on war, profiting from it economically. A country that doesn’t distinguish between civilians and terrorists, indiscriminately targeting both. A nation with genocidal intentions. A political testing ground for the global far right. This is the portrayal of Israel presented by the RAI’s (Italy’s public broadcaster) Report. The program’s in-depth segment …
“In Trieste, where sorrows abound amidst the beauty of sky and land, there is a slope called Via del Monte. It begins with a synagogue,” wrote the poet Umberto Saba in his youth, between 1910 and 1912. Years later, not far from “his” Via del Monte, the poet would take over the historic Libreria Antica …
“I’ve been telling my story in schools for 60 years. Recently, I injured myself, so now I mostly do it through Zoom. But it is always worth it.” Holocaust survivor and writer Edith Bruck received applause from dozens of young people gathered at Rome’s National Library of Italian Judaism for the opening day of the …
For the past three decades, Italian composer and pianist Francesco Lotoro has been on a mission to rescue music pieces composed in concentration, labor and POW camps in Germany and elsewhere between 1933 and 1953. He documents his findings in The Lost music of the Holocaust: Bringing the music of the camps to the ears …
A detailed assessment of the current state of Jewish catacombs from Venosa, followed by those in Rome, Malta, Sicily, and Sardinia, is the primary goal of the international conference Jewish Catacombs in Italy : Research, Experiences, and Methodologies, organized by the L’Orientale University of Naples on October 29 and 30. This event, led by coordinator …
Livorno in Tuscany is primarily known for a congress, the one held from January 15 to 21, 1921, which marked the major split within the Socialist left and the birth of the Italian Communist Party. Three years later, from November 2 to 4, 1924, another congress in Livorno also played a significant role, at least …
A disease is spreading through the Western world: wokism, a form of self-hatred, now directed at Israel. This was the shared perspective among speakers at the Rome presentation of Italian journalist Fiamma Nirenstein’s latest book, La guerra antisemita contro l’Occidente (The antisemitic war against the West), co-authored with Nicoletta Tiliacos and published by Giubilei Regnani. …