{"id":3457,"date":"2016-09-26T09:49:52","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T07:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moked.it\/international\/?p=3457"},"modified":"2016-09-26T09:49:52","modified_gmt":"2016-09-26T07:49:52","slug":"italics-celebrating-a-distant-sephardic-past-in-sicily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2016\/09\/26\/italics-celebrating-a-distant-sephardic-past-in-sicily\/","title":{"rendered":"Italics – Celebrating a Distant Sephardic Past in Sicily"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"italics\"<\/a>By Sam Kestenbaum*<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 300 men and women who identify as descendants of Jews whose families were forced during the Spanish Inquisition gathered in the Sicilian capital of Palermo on Sunday to celebrate their shared bond of Jewish history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis celebration of Jewish culture in the heart of Palermo underlines the resilience of the Jewish spirit,\u201d said Michael Freund, chairman of Shavei Israel, an Israeli organization that seeks out \u201clost\u201d and \u201chidden\u201d Jews around the world \u2014 often also assisting with immigration to Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither the expulsion nor the Inquisition was able to extinguish the eternal Jewish spark,\u201d Freund said.<\/p>\n

The crowd gathered for the European Days of Jewish Culture were identified by Shavei Israel as Bnei Anousim, descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition, but have preserved some remnant of Jewish identity over the centuries.<\/p>\n

With Shavei\u2019s assistance they are reconnecting with what they believe are their Jewish roots.<\/p>\n

Shavei was formed in 2002 and is the most high profile and active Jewish group doing outreach to \u201clost\u201d or \u201chidden\u201d Jews, individuals or groups who claim distant Jewish roots.<\/p>\n

Shavei is not solely focused on immigration and also promote educational programs to bolster Jewish identity \u2014- such as the Palermo event.<\/p>\n

The events on Sunday were coordinated by Rabbi Pinhas Punturello, Shavei Israel\u2019s \u201cemissary\u201d to the Bnei Anousim of southern Italy and Sicily.<\/p>\n

Other scholars spoke, too. Luciana Pepi, a lecturer at the University of Palermo, led tours of Palermo\u2019s old Jewish neighborhoods. A troupe of actors reenacted Spain\u2019s 1492 Edict of Expulsion, which ordered Sicily\u2019s Jews to leave or convert \u2014 causing Sephardic Jews to scatter to Turkey and other parts of Europe and the Arab world.<\/p>\n

A growing number of individuals in southern Italy and Sicily have come to identify as Jewish descendants in recent years, according to Shavei Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility to them and their ancestors to reach out to the Bnei Anousim and welcome them back with open arms,\u201d Freund said in a release.<\/p>\n

European Days of Jewish Culture is a program of the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage.<\/p>\n

*The article was published in The Forward on September 20, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam Kestenbaum* More than 300 men and women who identify as descendants of Jews whose families were forced during the Spanish Inquisition gathered in the Sicilian capital of Palermo on Sunday to celebrate their shared bond of Jewish history. \u201cThis celebration of Jewish culture in the heart of Palermo underlines the resilience of the… leggi <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4296,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7613],"tags":[],"position":[],"class_list":["post-3457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-italian-word-of-the-week"],"yoast_head":"\nItalics - Celebrating a Distant Sephardic Past in Sicily - Pagine Ebraiche International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/moked.it\/international\/2016\/09\/26\/italics-celebrating-a-distant-sephardic-past-in-sicily\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Italics - 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