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April 13th, 2015 - Nissan 24th, 5775
Au dessus de nous meme By Guido Vitale* "Nous avons appris par l'exprerience vécue que nous etions capables de nous hisser au-dessus de nous-nemes" (Beate, Serge Klarsfeld "Memoires" - Fayard Flammarion 2015) *Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.   Our Art in Auschwitz  By Daniela Gross “The Italian Memorial must stay in Auschwitz”. With this strong headline, an essay on the Corriere della Sera re-launched the issue regarding the Italian monument set up the concentration camp back in 1980, in Block 21, to honor the Italians who died in the Nazi lager. The problem dates back some months, when the Auschwitz Museum and the Polish government decided to remove the artifact, considered no longer coherent with the renovated didactic of the exhibition. Many, and among them the association Gherush92 - Committee for Human Rights, raised their voices to preserve the Memorial, which is considered among the most important and representative Italian artwork of the 20th century. There was no way to solve the problem, so finally the decision was made to dismantle it, moving it to Italy. Removed from Auschwitz, however, the monument obviously would not preserve its original meaning. Artists, intellectuals, professional, and politicians of all parties thus signed an international document, aimed at maintaining that masterwork in situ. According to the members of the Parliament who signed the related query addressed to the Italian Prime Minister and to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the removal of the Auschwitz Memorial would be motivated by some artistic features which recall Communism. Among them, the red flag, “today considered outlawed, in Poland”, reads the article on Corriere della Sera. In this way, it continued, they want “to erase, from history and consciences, the sacrifice of men and women who gave their life for the liberation.”		EVENTS Expo 2015, Behind the Scene  By Daniel Reichel “Expo Milano 2015 is going to be an extraordinarily unique laboratory-showcase of agricultural, technological, scientific, and architectural excellence. From May 1 to October 31, Milan and Italy will be leading actors in the international debate about how healthy, safe and sufficient food needs to be guaranteed to everyone.” The Special Commissioner for Expo 2015, Francesco Sala, explained to Pagine Ebraiche what this huge international event will mean for Milan and the whole country. “The theme, ‘Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life,’ contains a crucial challenge that over 130 countries will try to take on through their exhibitions, events and agri-food traditions,” Sala said. Read more NEWS April 25, a Day to Overcome Divisions By Adam Smulevich The Italian Partisans National Association (ANPI) has asked the municipality of Rome to organize the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 and the Nazi occupation of Italy. The anniversary is April 25. Usually, the ceremony is organized by the Rome section of the ANPI itself. The decision, announced after a talk between the national president of ANPI Carlo Smuraglia and the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) Renzo Gattegna, was made due to a controversy began by the National Association of Former Deportees (ANED). The ANED denounced the growing intolerance felt in the Rome demonstration towards the presence of representatives of the Jewish Brigade. Read more  CULTURE - A New Museum for Jewish Padua By Francesca Matalon A new museum of the Jewish community of Padua will open simultaneously with Expo 2015. The exhibition will focus on the history and the present of Judaism in the city of northeastern Italy. Three elements inspired the creation of the museum: First of all the great cultural heritage of the Jewish community, as well as its rich history. “At one time our Jewish heritage had been kept hidden, but in the last years the atmosphere has changed and exhibitions started being held to spread the knowledge about Judaism and to fight ignorance,” said Davide Jacur, president of the Padua Jewish Community and board member of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities. Read more Out of the Boot Shooting in Singapore with Lorenzo By Simone Somekh* Lorenzo Hassan, 32, has always been fascinated by foreign cultures, in particular Asian and Oriental heritages. “It all started when I got interested in Japanese anime and manga,” he said. “Then I got into martial arts, and later I developed an interest in Hong Kong’s thriving movie industry.” Lorenzo had visited Japan numerous times  – where his cousin, who is married to a local, resides – and had been eager to leave Italy and explore Asia not as a tourist, rather as a student gaining experience in the industry. *Simone Somekh is a student at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and works as a freelance writer. Shirly Piperno, fashion styling and communication student at Istituto Marangoni, London, contributed reporting. Read more Hrvatski Djete Mirna Ilijic “Danas je rođen moj sin. Susan Geller pomagala je uz doktora Glazera iz našeg sirotišta. Sylvia se sjajno držala za ženu od četrdeset godina.       Izvana moram pokazivati nepomucenu radost. U sebi sam zabrinut. Ovo je loše vrijeme za rođenje židovskog djeteta”.  (Leon Uris - Mila 18). Double Life - Mimouna By Daniela Fubini* Pesach is the best Jewish holiday, ask anyone. Family reunions, trips abroad or in the surrounding areas with or without hastily organized picnics, family recipes repeated year after year, and over all, Spring, finally here. This year, two basic components were lacking to my perfect Pesach: the recently discovered and now fundamental mimouna, and the beginning of spring. Both, due to the fact that I spent the whole holiday in my hometown Turin, in the deep North of Italy. Or so I though, until I found out that in Israel the weather has been quite unseasonal, and after the steamy chamsin, it was again quite chilly and it rained even in Tel Aviv apparently - unless someone just wanted to make me jealous while I was still abroad. Spring is far away to come.   *Daniela Fubini (Twitter @d_fubini) lives and writes in Tel Aviv, where she arrived in 2008 from Turin via New York. Read more
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, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman. 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, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman.