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May 4th, 2015 - Iyar 14th, 5775

Europe Needs Us
By Guido Vitale*

For a long time we have been convinced that we needed Europe. The teaching of the Grand Rabbin of France Rav Haim Korsia in this extraordinary Spring edition of Moked helped us to understand that it is Europe that needs us.

(Moked is the conference of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities organized by rabbi Roberto Della Rocca in Milano Marittima). 

*Guido Vitale is the editor-in-chief of Pagine Ebraiche.
 
Sad Insults
By Daniela Gross

“On Liberation Day, flags with the Star of David should be welcomed with joy, relief, contentment - and some regrets, looking back to the past. They should be the heart of the march, not just a marginal component, that, moreover, requires to be protected against offenses and insults.” So wrote on Monday, on the Corriere della Sera, the philosopher Donatella Di Cesare in an essay titled “The Insults to Jews – A Break at Left”, which analyzes a terrific and paradoxical situation.

In Milan, the celebrations of the end of the Second World War on 25th April were marked, again this year, by verbal attacks on the people marching under the banners of the Jewish Brigade. The Brigade, which employed Jewish volunteers from the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine, decisively contributed to the liberation of Italy. So, why are these insults repeated every year?

As Donatella Di Cesare explained, “The flags with David’s shield are not only the symbol of the Jewish Brigade … in the view of many, those flags are also the symbol of the State of Israel. Here is, then, the perverse mechanism that ensues: the awkward victim of the past becomes the easy butcher of today. Israel is Nazified to Judaizing the Palestinians.”
This way, Di Cesare wrote, Jews are accused to be “immoral”, or better “inhuman”. As a consequence, they deserve to be expelled not only from the march, but also from the human consortium. It reminds you of something, doesn’t it? This is an illuminating article, but of the kind we would never have wanted to read.

 
  davar
NEWS
The Grand Rabbin and the Future of European Jewry
By Francesca Matalon

Hope and pride are high even in a difficult historical period. French Jewry is conscious of both its French values and flag. It is a complex identity that the Chief Rabbi of France Haim Korsia presented in Milano Marittima. Recently the rabbi was a special guest at the Moked, the annual spring gathering organized by the Union of Italian Jewish Communities.
Introducing himself equally as a spiritual guide of a hurt and yet strong people and as a proud and active citizen, he answered many questions about the feelings of French Jewry and the responsibilities of its leaders. He did it in the wake of the Paris terror attacks as well as about the new wave of emigration to Israel and the challenges for those who have decided to stay. "My values are Jewish, together with the values of the Republic I live in - freedom, equality and fraternity - which happen to be deeply shared with Judaism", Rabbi Korsia said.

Read more

NEWS
Expo 2015 Opens in Milan

By Daniel Reichel

On May 1, Milan celebrated the opening of Expo 2015 (May 1 – October 31). More than 200,000 people visited the site and the Pavilions, which represent more than 140 countries. “Today the future begins,” said the prime minister of Italy Matteo Renzi on Friday, during the official ceremony that took place in the Open Air Theater of Expo. “In these coming months, the world will be able to taste Italy, not only its specialties but especially the profound desire of writing a new chapter of hope”, added Renzi. The Prime minister explained that Expo is not only a chance for Italy to restart the country's economy but is also a challenge for all the nations to provide answers to the world food problems. 


LEADERS -
Memories of Rabbi Elio Toaff

By Rachel Silvera and Francesca Matalon

Among the hundreds of people who gathered for a last farewell to Rabbi Elio Toaff, some knew him well, some had never met him but valued his work in the wake of the tragedies of World War II. There also were many who cherished a memory of their own wedding ceremony and most certainly everyone remembered Rabbo Toaff's positive personality and  affection. Pagine Ebraiche collected some of their stories.
"I want to say the last goodbye to my rabbi, but I'm in a hurry" Elisabetta Calò told Pagine Ebraiche. "I have to go back to work, I'm late." Elisabetta works at Boccione, the old Jewish Ghetto bakery, universally known for its delicious 'Pizza Romana', a sweet pizza made with candied fruit. "I will never forget Rabbi Elio Toaff. When he walked through the Ghetto, He always blessed me and my family. He was really a good man."

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MEDIA
A Month with DafDaf: Wild Things, Boats and Cartoons
 
By Ada Treves

Readers of DafDaf know that Spring is the season when the pages of the Jewish magazine for kids are devoted to books, with even more attention than normal. Not only the regular pages by the writer Nadia Terranova, not only news, in May any excuse is valid to give more space to the pleasure of reading. So after writing about some strange libraries in the world, that go find their readers on a donkey, by bike or taking a boat, and after the success of coloring books, this month DafDaf presents two occasions where everything speaks of books: the Festa del Libro Ebraico di Ferrara, now in its sixth year, and the International Book Fair in Turin, during which an entire pavilion will be dedicated to young readers.

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Português

por Eliezer Di Martino*

Fala a toda a congregação dos filhos de Israel, e diz-lhes: Sereis santos, porque Eu, o Senhor Vosso D-us, sou Santo.” (Levitico 19)
No seu comentário ao primeiro versículo da nossa Parashá, Ramban NaHmanides, faz uma importante observação:
“A Torá nos avisou de estar cuidados com a imoralidade e alimentos proibidos, mas ao mesmo tempo permite as relações maritais entre marido e mulher e a consumpção de certos alimentos. Sendo isto assim, uma pessoa poderia achar que seja permitido ser apaixonadamente adicto às relações maritais com a própria mulher, ou muitas mulheres, ou ser “…entre os beberrões de vinho…os comilões de carne (Provérbios, 23,20) ” ou falar livremente de qualquer profanidade, pois isso não está explicitamente proibido.

*O rabino Eliezer di Martino é o rabino-chefe de Trieste




pilpul
Earthquakes and Belief
By Yaacov Mascetti*

6621 and counting. I am writing this article on May 2nd 2015, and that is the number of deaths in the Nepal earthquake. And as the authorities have declared that there is no longer any chance of finding survivors under the rubbles, the death toll keeps rising. As usual in cases like this, where tragedy is so mindboggling that one cannot even come to terms with the event and its consequences, there is always someone around me who has the lack of tact to say the magic words: "It is God's will – he is angry at us!" In this case it was my daughter's geography teacher, who in a religious elementary school in Jerusalem told the pupils in her class that earthquakes like this happen because of God's wrath. She's just the local example of a trend – rabbis of haredi denomination and from the national religious framework usually race towards this kind of event, with very inappropriate declarations.   


*Yaakov Mascetti holds a Ph.D. and teaches at the Department of Comparative Literature, Bar Ilan University.
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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 
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© 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

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© 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.