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October 10, 2016 - Tishrei 8, 5777

NEWS

Rome Remembers Stefano Gaj Tachè

By Francesca Matalon

A ceremony to commemorate the Palestinian terror attack perpetrated at the Great Synagogue of Rome on October 9, 1982, was held last Sunday in the Italian capital city. Many people gathered to light a candle in the square that is now named after Stefano Gaj Taché, the two-year-old murdered in the attack.
Ruth Dureghello, the president of the Jewish Community of Rome, in particular welcomed those who survived the injuries after the attack; among them was Gadiel Gaj Taché, brother of Stefano. "Today I am speaking on behalf of all the injured, but I am persuaded that what happened 34 years ago is an injury for everyone in this Community," he said.
Noemi di Segni, the president of Italian Jewish Communities, said that “Together we commemorate that tragic day, when Palestinian terrorists struck in a most deadly way not only a family, but all citizens in Rome and Italy who fight hate, extremism and violence.”

NEWS

UCEI President Meets President
of Italian Chamber

By Adam Smulevich

The president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) Noemi Di Segni met with the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini last week.
The meeting was friendly and constructive. It focused on the need to respond to new forms of intolerance, including anti-Semitism, which often mark the public debate, particularly in social media. Attention was also devoted to new forms of hatred against Israel and in particular on the boycott of its culture, universities and companies.
"Your community is part of Italy and should be involved in the issues that are central to the debate within Italian society," Boldrini said at the beginning of the meeting.

NEWS

Italian Leaders Send Rosh HaShanah Wishes

By Rossella Tercatin

The Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, sent his wishes for the new Jewish year.
“To the Jewish community in Italy and in the rest of the world, my best wishes for a happy new year. #ShanaTova to everyone,” he tweeted.
Also Jorge Bergoglio reached out to the chief rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni.
“May God grant us Peace and the indefatigable desire to promote it, and in His eternal mercy may He give us hope and serenity in our days, and strengthen the warm bonds of friendship between us,” the Pope wrote in his message ahead of the new year.
Wishes were sent out also by some Italian mayors, including the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala and the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella.

bechol lashon - Español

El último obstáculo
de los sefardíes

P. Cervilla*

Un año después de la entrada en vigor de la ley que concede la nacionalidad española a los sefardíes, este colectivo reclama algunas mejoras para hacerla más efectiva y limar así las deficiencias detectadas en su aplicación. Aunque desde la Federación de Comunidades Judías en España se pone en valor la importancia histórica de esta norma, también se admite que «trabajamos con la Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado del Ministerio de Justicia para mejorar el procedimiento». Uno de los principales problemas es la dificultad de completar los trámites, y ello puede explicar el escaso número de expedientes que han finalizado este año, aplicando el nuevo sistema.

*ABC, 9.10.2016.

Leia mas

pilpul

For a (Religious) Pedagogy of Freedom

By Yaakov Mascetti*

A few weeks ago, in a parents' meeting at my son's religious boys high-school in Jerusalem, a couple of father expressed, each in his own way, the concern for "our boys" abandoning the religious lifestyle, taking off their kippot and not respecting the sanctity of Shabbat. They we concerned with their (our) boys not continuing the tradition of a religious lifestyle, making choices they do not agree with, and forcing them to accept a change they are not so eager to accept. This is my own, very personal response – let them go, dear parents, let them make their choices (in due measure) and fashion their own lives.

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

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VENICE AND THE GHETTO

A Jewish Island

By Eli Mendelbaum*

It has been 500 years since the founding of the Jewish Ghetto, the first in the world, in Venice in 1516. “People don’t understand the significance of the word ghetto, where it comes from and how the Jews lived there,” explained Gioia Sztulman of the Israel Museum, where an exhibition showing artifacts that survived centuries of exile and ghettos is currently on display.
One of the more moving artifacts is a curtain from 1601, not long after the ghetto was established, displaying symbols from the family to which it belonged— the Cohen family. The curtain is embroidered with silk and gold thread on velvet fabric and reads: “Alms for God, in honor of Dr. Joseph Cohen.” The curtain is embroidered with a coat of arms, hands in a priestly blessing, and five small medallions in a decorative pattern.

*The article was published in Ynet on September 27, 2016.

IT HAPPENED TOMORROW

Notre besoin de héros

Guido Vitale

Le grand homme d'Etat israélien dont la disparition a été saluée d'une manière quasi planétaire Shimon Peres n'est mort ni sous les balles ni sous la torture. Ni Gandhi, ni Mandela, ni Luther King ni Kennedy et ni Itzhak Rabin, le compagnon martyr, il n'était que lui-même. Si bien que le retentissement du cérémonial qui a accompagné ses obsèques n'est explicable que par le besoin que nous avons aujourd'hui, plus encore qu'hier, d'icônes, d'idoles et de héros. (Jean Daniel, Le Nouvel Observateur 6 octobre 2016).

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italics

Italy’s national soccer team fined for anti-Semitic fans

By JTA*

The international soccer governing body FIFA slapped a more than $30,000 fine on Italy’s national soccer team for the anti-Semitic behavior of some of its fans at a match in Haifa.
FIFA fined the Italian team 30,000 Swiss francs, or about $31,000, for the “improper and discriminatory” behavior of team Italy fans who gave the fascist salute during the playing of the national anthems ahead of the Italy-Israel match held in Haifa on Sept. 5.
“A fine is never good news, but I am very proud to have raised the case on our portal,” said a spokesman for the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, or UCEI, which had first brought attention to the incident on its news website, www.moked.it.

*This article was published in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on October 5, 2016.

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moked è il portale dell'ebraismo italiano

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, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan.

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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, Michael Sierra, Rachel Silvera, Adam Smulevich, Simone Somekh, Rossella Tercatin, Ada Treves, Lauren Waldman, Sahar Zivan.