In 2017, the Archdiocese of Palermo\u2019s decision to grant the free use of an ecclesiastical property to establish a synagogue made headlines worldwide. The\u00a0New York Times\u00a0captured the moment with the headline: \u201c500 Years After Expulsion, Sicily\u2019s Jews Reclaim a Lost History,\u201d underscoring the symbolic weight of this gesture more than five centuries after the expulsion of Jews from the island.
\nNow, a new agreement signed in the Sicilian capital breathes fresh life into the initiative to transform the former Oratory of Santa Maria del Sabato into a Jewish place of worship and life. The document stipulates that the city of Palermo will cover all restoration costs, as outlined in the original accord. This breakthrough was made possible through a protocol signed by Palermo\u2019s mayor, Roberto Lagalla; Archbishop Corrado Lorefice; Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI); and Lydia Schapirer, president of the Naples Jewish Community.
\n\u201cWe are very pleased,\u201d said Di Segni. \u201cFor a long time, this \u2018gift\u2019 remained in a limbo, awaiting the means to begin the restoration. This is now possible thanks to the city\u2019s intervention. In collaboration with the Italian rabbinate, we aim to make this space not only a place of worship but also a hub for Jewish culture\u2014a vital resource this city deserves. We must remember that culture fosters coexistence and dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
A tribute to Evelyne Aouate<\/strong>
\nDi Segni dedicated the day to Evelyne Aouate, founder of the Sicilian Institute of Jewish Studies and representative of the Naples Jewish Community in Palermo until her passing in 2022.\u00a0 The institute itself will also find a home within the synagogue\u2019s walls. \u201cEvelyne was the driving force behind all of this, weaving crucial connections,\u201d acknowledged Di Segni.
\nGiulio Disegni, UCEI vice president said that this project is especially significant, \u201cas the history of Southern Italy\u2019s Jews is often one of synagogues turned into churches. Here, we see a church becoming a synagogue in a district that was once the city\u2019s Jewish quarter.\u201d He also praised Mayor Lagalla for his commitment to preserving Jewish memory, recalling that as rector of the University of Palermo, Lagalla oversaw the installation of a plaque at Palazzo Steri to honor Jewish professors expelled by Fascist laws in 1938, including Emilio Segr\u00e8, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1959.<\/p>\n