NEWS

Noemi Di Segni Appointed as New President
of Union of Italian Jewish Communities

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

Noemi Di Segni, 47, is the new president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI).
Di Segni was born in Jerusalem but has been living in Rome for a long time. She was appointed by the new Council formed by the representatives elected in the communities of Rome, Milan, Florence, Livorno and Trieste on June 19, and by the representatives designated by the boards of the rest of the 21 Italian communities all over the country.
The new president served as the member of the board in charge of the budget for the past four years. She succeeds former president Renzo Gattegna, who held the post for ten years.

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obituary

Italy Mourns Elie Wiesel

By Pagine Ebraiche staff
 
Italy and the Italian Jewish community join the rest of the world in mourning the Shoah survivor, writer and Nobel peace prize winner, Elie Wiesel, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 87. 
“Wiesel worked ceaselessly to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, to fight indifference, lying and injustice all of which are unfortunately still common today,” said the president of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. “He was a defender of freedom, he stood by the side of the oppressed and his lesson will live on. In a time when humanity faces epochal challenges, such as the barbarism of terrorism and the tragedy of migration, his example pushes us not to defect from pursuing the goal of building free, just and equal societies.” 
Among the leaders who expressed their condolences were some prominent historians.

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SPORTS

The Israeli Ghost of an Italian Champion

By Adam Smulevich
 
He was one of the most skillful and creative offensive playmakers of his generation, and also one of the legendary players who won the 1982 FIFA World Cup title for Italy. Giancarlo Antognoni at age of 62 seems to be experiencing a new youth: the same hair and the slim physique of an athlete.
Interviewed by Pagine Ebraiche, he revealed that he has recently closed with a ghost from his past. Curiously, an Israeli ghost: former referee Abraham Klein, who directed the epic match between Italy and Brazil in '82 (the match was won by "Azzurri" by 3–2).

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bechol lashon - Deutsch

David Beckham »Mein Großvater war Jude«

von Daniel Zylbersztajn*

Schon vor zwölf Jahren brachte David Beckham Fußballfans mit der Information zum Staunen, gelegentlich eine Kippa zu tragen und auf so mancher Chassene gewesen zu sein. Jahre später schickten er und seine Frau Victoria ihren dritten Sohn – das Ehepaar hat vier Kinder – in den jüdischen Kindergarten einer Reformgemeinde in Los Angeles.
Der einstige Spieler von Manchester United, Los Angeles Galaxy und Paris Saint-Germain bezeichnete sich schon damals als »zur Hälfte jüdisch«, obwohl Fragen danach, ob er oder seine Söhne je einen Mohel sahen, unbeantwortet blieben.

*Jüdische Allgemeine 30.06.16.


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pilpul

Responsibilities

By Benedetto Carucci Viterbi*

When Aaron, the High Priest and main actor in the inauguration of the Tabernacle, sees that the presence of God does not descend upon it, he exclusively blames himself. This is an exceptional quality, rabbi Yerucham Levi of Mir comments, in a world of people who, whatever happens, tend to blame others.








*Benedetto Carucci Viterbi is a rabbi. The article has been translated by Annette Leckart.

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FEATURES

Arts and Resilience at the Venice Biennale

By Francesca Matalon

Resilience is the central theme of this year’s exhibition at the Israel Pavilion at the Biennale in Venice, called "LifeObject: Merging Architecture and Biology." The exhibition explores the relation between architecture and biology. The Biennale is a contemporary visual art exhibition, so called as it is held biannually, in odd-numbered years.  The Israeli Pavilion was founded in 1952, just four years after the declaration of Independence. This year the inauguration ceremony was attended by among others, the Israeli Ambassador to Italy, Naor Gilon, the Chief Rabbi of Venice, Scialom Bahbout, and the Israeli scientist, Dan Stechtman, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011.

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IT HAPPENED TOMORROW

Entebbe

By Guido Vitale

In seinen Büchern und Reden empfahl Benjamin Netanjahu Härte und Unnachgiebigkeit gegen Terroristen, wie einst in Uganda. Während seiner zweiten Amtszeit als Ministerpräsident war er jedoch für den größten Gefangenenaustausch in der Geschichte Israels verantwortlich. Im Gegenzug für den von der Hamas nach Gaza verschleppten israelischen Soldaten Gilad Schalit ließ Netanjahu vor fünf Jahren 1027 palästinensische Gefangene frei. Der ehemalige Entebbe-Soldat Dani Adriti, der für kurze Zeit unter Netanjahu Vorsitzender des nationalen Sicherheitsrats war, hält das für einen "großen Fehler". (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).





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italics

Celebrating 500 Years of Jewish History in Venice

By Joe Freeman*

After climbing the famed golden staircase at Venice’s Palazzo Ducale, I came upon the princely apartment of the bygone Doge (chief magistrate) and was greeted by a rumbling, clanking sound from within. The noise was the audio component of a dome-shaped installation that glowed a fiery orange. The piece, which greets visitors upon entering an ambitious new exhibition called “Venice, the Jews and Europe 1516-2016,” hosted in the very apartment, was meant to evoke a foundry, where metals are poured and cast.
The exhibition, which opened June 19, is described by organizers as “the highlight” of dozens of events commemorating the 500th anniversary of Venice’s Jewish Ghetto.

*This article has been published in Tablet Magazine on June 24, 2016.

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