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March 30th, 2015 - Nissan 10, 5775
Words and Illustrations By Guido Vitale* There are children books, as well as TV shows, which are created from scratch based on the availability of already existing illustrations. “The Book With No Pictures” by B.J. Novak shows the uncomfortable opposite truth: If we want to enhance the value of books and reading in the eyes of the young, words are enough. Let us avoid stuffing the pages with the superabundance of illustrations. Words, more than images, have strength and give free reins to one’s imagination. *Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.   Great Politicians  By Daniela Gross “Italians are great politicians, but in the United States.” That headline appeared on Monday on the daily Il Fatto Quotidiano. There is obviously a joke, in the title, which alludes to troublesome Italian politics. But this is not the subject of the long essay by Francesco Chiamulera. On the contrary, he goes back in time, showing us how many prominent American politicians were Italian. The list is impressive, and, includes Mario Cuomo, Rudy Giuliani, and Bill De Blasio. Among them, Mr. Chiamulera cited Fiorello La Guardia. He was the first Italian-American to become mayor of New York, but it is less known that he was born to an Italian father from Puglia and to “an Italian Jewish woman from Trieste, Irene Coen.” The essay emphasized that Fiorello’s path is not really surprising, in the unifying melting pot of the United States. Mainly in New York, the Italian community mixed up with other ethnicities, and very frequently with Jews. It is a connection often aimed at social justice. Not by chance, Chiamulera reminded “…the united strike, organized by Jewish and Italian women in the winter 1909-1910, to protest against working conditions in New York clothing industries.” “Italian and Jewish sisters” – he wrote – died together “in an awful fire … when in 1911, in Manhattan’s  Greenwich Village, a building burned down, and 146 women workers lost their lives, being locked in by their employers: Albina Caruso siding with Ester Goldstein, Lucia Maltese alongside Rose Manofsky.”		EVENTS DafDaf and Pagine Ebraiche at the Bologna Children's Book Fair By Ada Treves Spring in Italy is a season for book fairs, opening with the prestigious Bologna Children's Book Fair (March 30-April 2), the most important international event for children literature. Last year’s experiment, when the initiative called "Do not tell the adults" opened hall 33 to the public, had such a success with its international library and its more than one hundred events organized in collaboration with the Cooperativa culturale Giannino Stoppani, that this year the Fiera di Bologna has organized a "Young readers weekend". Elena Pasoli and Roberta Chinni, responsible for the event, have decided to open the Fair - normally reserved to professionals - to teachers, with a special program dedicated to education, teaching and young people culture. And the collaboration between Pagine Ebraiche and DafDaf, the Jewish magazine for kids, and the Bologna Children's Book Fair is getting stronger year after year. Read more MEDIA - DAFDAF To Read, to Grow   By Ada Treves "I think it’s clear: a book is like a seed, and it creates many readers." It was a few weeks ago when Luisa Valenti wrote these words about her cover for DafDaf, the Jewish magazine for kids. A very special issue, with many pages devoted to books and readers, to honour the Bologna Children's Book Fair. The program opens this year with an evolution of that initiative that in 2014 had a great success and opened the doors of the Bologna Fair to thousands of young readers: the huge international library this year is even bigger, and there have been hundreds of event. Read more NEWS A Very Special Honorary Degree By Adam Smulevich The University of Molise in southern Italy gave an honorary degree to Piero Terracina, a Roman Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Terracina, 86 years old, made it his life’s mission to tell young people his story and about how he survived. This is why professor Enzo Di Nuoscio suggested awarding him a degree in Primary Education; a course of study reserved for those who aspire to work teaching the new generations. Read more NEWS - Bidussa (Italian Jewish Students): "The UN Discriminates Israel" By Francesca Matalon Talia Bidussa, the president of the Italian Union of Jewish Students (UGEI), addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday afternoon. She spoke on behalf of the European Union of Jewish Students, an umbrella organization of 35 national Jewish student unions based in Brussels. Bidussa delivered her oral statement under Item 7 of the agenda: About “the Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories”. The main point of Bidussa's speech was asserting the biased nature of controversial Item 7. Read more NEWS Shimon Peres to Visit Expo By Rossella Tercatin Expo 2015, the Universal Exhibition that will take place in Milan between May 1 and October 31, 2015, is set to have another very special guest to add to the remarkable guest-list: the former president of Israel, Shimon Peres. Peres, 91, was invited by the governor of Regione Lombardia (the region where Milan is located) Roberto Maroni, who visited Israel last week. Read more Português Pessach - Quatro filhos por Eliezer Di Martino* A Hagadá de Pessach apresenta um formato dramático para lidar com as questões relativas à observância religiosa. Apresenta quatro filhos, que representam diferentes atitudes para com a crença e ritual judaico, junto com o quadro de como responder a cada um dos interlocutores. O "rasha" (malvado) é antagônico à tradição judaica. Ele não se sente parte dela, e pergunta: qual é o sentido de todo este ritual ? Por que vocês fazem estas coisas ? A Hagadá acha que não vale a pena argumentar com tal pessoa, ou tentar convencer o "rasha" através da discussão lógica. Em vez disso, a Hagadá fornece um tipo diferente de resposta: Eu faço essas coisas porque Deus Me trouxe a mim fora do Egito. Eu não vou discutir com ele; mas vou dizer-lhe porque isso é tão significativo para mim. Através do meu testemunho pessoal, talvez poderá ter uma noção de por que a crença e observância judaica são tão significativas. *O rabino Eliezer di Martino é o rabino-chefe de Trieste Leia mais Israel By Sergio Della Pergola* Noted author Amos Oz said something which I quote here from memory and which is worthy of reflection: “If I were to fall in the street in any other country in the world there is a risk that people would pass me by without stopping. If I were to fall in the street in Israel, someone would be there immediately to help me up. That is why, if I must fall in the street, I would prefer to fall in an Israeli street. Even if the person who helped me up were to recognise me and as a result trip me up again, I know that another person would immediately help me to get up. That is why Israel is the country I call home. *Sergio Della Pergola is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The article was translated by Sahar Zivan.
Follow us on    This newsletter is published under difficult conditions. The editors of this newsletter are Italian journalists whose native language is Italian. They are willing to offer their energy and their skills to give international readers the opportunity of learning more about the Italian Jewish world, its values, its culture and its traditions. In spite of all our efforts to avoid this, readers may find an occasional language mistake. We count on your understanding and on your help and advice to correct these mistakes and improve our publication. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition is published by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). UCEI publications encourage an understanding of the Jewish world and the debate within it. The articles and opinions published by Pagine Ebraiche International Edition, unless expressly stated otherwise, cannot be interpreted as the official position of UCEI, but only as the self-expression of the people who sign them, offering their comments to UCEI publications. Readers who are interested in making their own contribution should email us at desk@ucei.it  You received this newsletter because you authorized UCEI to contact you. If you would like to remove your email address from our list, or if you would like to subscribe using a new email address, please send a blank email to  desk@ucei.it stating "unsubscribe" or "subscribe" in the subject field. © UCEI - All rights reserved - The articles may only be reproduced after obtaining the written permission of the editor-in-chief. Pagine Ebraiche - Reg Rome Court 199/2009 – Editor in Chief: Guido Vitale - Managing Editor: Daniela Gross. Special thanks to: Francesco Moises Bassano, Susanna Barki, Amanda Benjamin, Monica Bizzio, Angelica Edna Calò Livne, Eliezer Di Martino, Alain Elkann, Dori Fleekop, Daniela Fubini, Benedetta Guetta, Sarah Kaminski, Daniel Leisawitz, Annette Leckart, Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, Yaakov Mascetti, Francesca Matalon, Jonathan Misrachi, Anna Momigliano, Giovanni Montenero, Elèna Mortara, Sabina Muccigrosso, Lisa Palmieri Billig, Jazmine Pignatello, Shirley Piperno, Giandomenico Pozzi, Daniel Reichel, Colby Robbins,  Danielle Rockman, Lindsay Shedlin, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan. Questo notiziario è realizzato in condizioni di particolare difficoltà. I redattori di questo notiziario sono giornalisti italiani di madrelingua italiana. Mettono a disposizione le loro energie e le loro competenze per raccontare in lingua inglese l'ebraismo italiano, i suoi valori, la sua cultura e i suoi valori. Nonostante il nostro impegno il lettore potrebbe trovare errori e imperfezioni nell'utilizzo del linguaggio che faremo del nostro meglio per evitare. Contiamo sulla vostra comprensione e soprattutto sul vostro aiuto e sul vostro consiglio per correggere gli errori e migliorare. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition è una pubblicazione edita dall'Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane. L'UCEI sviluppa mezzi di comunicazione che incoraggiano la conoscenza e il confronto delle realtà ebraiche. Gli articoli e i commenti pubblicati, a meno che non sia espressamente indicato il contrario, non possono essere intesi come una presa di posizione ufficiale, ma solo come la autonoma espressione delle persone che li firmano e che si sono rese gratuitamente disponibili. Gli utenti che fossero interessati a offrire un proprio contributo possono rivolgersi all'indirizzo  desk@ucei.it Avete ricevuto questo messaggio perché avete trasmesso a Ucei l'autorizzazione a comunicare con voi. Se non desiderate ricevere ulteriori comunicazioni o se volete comunicare un nuovo indirizzo email, scrivete a: desk@ucei.it indicando nell'oggetto del messaggio "cancella" o "modifica". © UCEI - Tutti i diritti riservati - I testi possono essere riprodotti solo dopo aver ottenuto l'autorizzazione scritta della Direzione. Pagine Ebraiche International Edition - notiziario dell'ebraismo italiano - Reg. Tribunale di Roma 199/2009 - direttore responsabile: Guido Vitale - Coordinamento: Daniela Gross. Realizzato con il contributo di: Francesco Moises Bassano, Susanna Barki, Amanda Benjamin, Monica Bizzio, Angelica Edna Calò Livne, Eliezer Di Martino, Alain Elkann, Dori Fleekop, Daniela Fubini, Benedetta Guetta, Sarah Kaminski, Daniel Leisawitz, Annette Leckart, Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, Yaakov Mascetti, Francesca Matalon, Jonathan Misrachi, Anna Momigliano, Giovanni Montenero, Elèna Mortara, Sabina Muccigrosso, Lisa Palmieri Billig, Jazmine Pignatello, Shirley Piperno, Giandomenico Pozzi, Daniel Reichel, Colby Robbins,  Danielle Rockman, Lindsay Shedlin, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan.