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April 20th, 2015 - Iyar 1st, 5775
La place de l’etoile By Guido Vitale* "Au mois de juin 1942, un officier allemand s’avance vers un jeune homme et lui dit: “Pardon, monsieur, où se trouve la place de l’Etoile?”. Le jeune homme désigne la côté gauche de sa poitrine. (Patrick Modiano, “La place de l’etoile”) *Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.   We, the Partisans   By Daniela Gross Seventy years have passed, but the Resistance is still a discussion topic in Italy, as the recent controversy about the Jewish Brigade participation to April 25th celebrations demonstrated. Therefore, the new book by journalist Aldo Cazzullo seems like a necessary read. Entitled “Possa il mio sangue servire – Uomini e donne della Resistenza” (“May my blood be of service – Men and Women of the Resistance”), it focuses on the partisan fight, specifically on the dramatic experiences of those who chose to take up arms against Hitler and Mussolini. In a review by Mirella Serri on Sette, the magazine of the Corriere della Sera, Aldo Cazzullo pointed out that, “the Resistance has long been considered, although with some exceptions, something ‘lefty’, a communist thing”. “On the contrary, in the last ten years partisans have been presented as bloody executioners, who raged against innocent victims, the ‘Salò guys’.” “Both versions are one-sided and false,” said Cazzullo. In addition, he highlighted, the opposition to Nazis and Fascists cannot be identified exclusively with the partisan fight, because it involved many categories, nowadays often forgotten. “It was something more expansive, which included religious men, civilians, women, service men, prisoners in Germany, Jews, workers on strike, and industrialists”.  So, he concluded, “The Resistance is not the heritage of a single side, but of the entire nation”.		NEWS Elio Toaff (1915-2015)  By Rossella Tercatin Elio Toaff, emeritus Chief Rabbi of Rome passed away on Sunday night. He was born in Leghorn in 1915 and he would have celebrated his hundredth birthday in a few days. Rabbi Toaff was appointed Chief Rabbi of Rome in 1951. He had an essential role in rebuilding Italian Jewish life in the aftermath of the Second World War and of the Shoah. In 1986, he welcomed Karol Wojtyla in his historic visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome. “In these hours we mourn the death of an extraordinary man. He was a leader, a spiritual guide capable of making an impact on his times and the time of the future generations,” said the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities Renzo Gattegna. Read more CULTURE - Celebrating Jewish Books in Ferrara By Adam Smulevich A new edition  of the Ferrara Jewish Book Festival will take place this from April 25 to 28.The festival is organized by the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS) directed by Riccardo Calimani. It is also supported by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities and local institutions. The four day Festival will include prestigious guests who will talk about their books and the main issues of contemporary society. Among them will be Patrick Modiano, the  Nobel Prize winner for literature in 2014. Mr. Modiano will receive a special award named the “Pardes” along with with Auschwitz survivor, Sami Modiano and scholar Anna Foa. “Freedom” is the keyword of the Festival which will begin at the exact moment that Italy  commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end the Second World War and  the end of Nazi occupation of the country.  Read more LEADERS Two Presidents for the Jewish Community of Milan By Daniel Reichel The Jewish Community of Milan will have two presidents: Raffaele Besso and Milo Hasbani. The Community council opted for this unprecedented solution of a two-headed presidency to govern the Community at its first meeting last week. The decision was a result of the final voting that ended in a tie. Eight members were elected for each of the two main lists (WellCommunity and Lechaim). And finally the independent candidate, Antonella Musatti was appointed vice-president. Read more CULTURE Israeli Cartoons on the Bay By Ada Treves The satisfaction and joy of the delegation representing Israeli animation in Venice, for Cartoons on the Bay were already great, but the official closing ceremony had one more surprise: the Pulcinella Award for the "Best educational and social work" went to the Israeli short film "Anafim Shvurim" (Broken branches), by Ayala Sharot. The award, given “For having given such a vivid touch to the memory of the Diaspora, through a true story that has been told in a tough but very touching style" has thus added to the others. The Pulcinella award to the most interesting country has been accepted by the Ambassador of Israel in Italy, Naor Gilon, while the Pulcinella Award for Lifetime Achievement went to Hanan Kaminski, the Belgian-Israeli author and director that has been rewarded not only for his work but also for having trained a generation of animators.   Read more EVENTS Italians in Israel Commemorate the Shoah By Michael Sierra The annual  ceremony of Yom HaShoah  organized by the youth of the Italian Jewish community of Jerusalem was held on Thursday at the Italian synagogue  in Jerusalem. Among the participants were the Italian Ambassador, Francesco Maria Talò, the General Consul  David La Cecilia, Consul Elena Clemente, the President of the "Hevrat Yehudei Italia”( Italian community in Israel)  Angelo Piattelli  and the vice president and head of culture Cecilia Nizza. The highlight of the ceremony was the reading of testimonials by the families of the Community. . Read more Français Sans lunettes Francesca Matalon "Les coutours des gens et des choses perdaient leur acuité, tout devenait flou, les sons eux-mêmes étaient de plus en plus étouffés. Le monde, quand je le voyais sans lunettes, n'avait plus d'aspérités, il était aussi doux et duveteux qu'un gros oreiller contre lequel j'appuyais ma joue, et je finissais par m'endormir. –A quoi rêves-tu, Catherine? me demandait papa. Tu devrais mettre tes lunettes. Je lui obéissais et tout retrouvait sa dureté et sa précision coutumières. Avec mes lunettes, je voyais le monde tel qu'il est. Je ne pouvais plus rêver". (Catherine Certitude, de Patrik Modiano et illustré par Jean-Jacques Sempé, Gallimard Jeunesse) Liberation By Anna Foa* In the controversy surrounding the rally to mark 70 years of Italian liberation on April 25, it has finally been brought to public attention that during Hitler’s war on the free world, the Palestinians were aligned with the Nazis. Although unknown to many, this is an incontestable historical fact. Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem from 1921-1937, was the undisputed leader of the revolts against the Jews of Mandate-era Palestine from 1920 through until the Arab Revolt of 1936. *Anna Foa is a scholar and historian.The article was translated by Sahar Zivan. 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.