International

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

December 5, 2016 - 5 Kislev 5777

anniversarieS

Jews from Arab Lands: the Forgotten Exodus

By Daniel Reichel

On November 30, Israel and Jewish communities all over the world including Italy, remembered the expulsion of the Jews from Arab countries.
Half a century ago, between 850,000 and one million people were forced to leave their homelands - Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Libya and others - to find refuge in Israel, Europe and America.
The emergence of Arab nationalism in the forties stirred violence against the Jewish minorities of the area. The birth of the State of Israel, a symbol of hope for Jews, deepened the anger and increased the violence of the Arab and Islamic world against Jews: confiscations, attacks, pogroms, forced thousands of families to flee their homes.

newS

Italian Schoolbook for Third-Grader
Presents Anti-Semitic Stereotypes

By Ada Treves

"Once upon a time there were two brothers, Joshua, who was very rich, and Biagio, who was extremely poor. Joshua, the rich one, was miserly (written in bold) and grudgingly helped his brother. "
The choice of the miser's name might sound strange, but if the illustration that appears in the page shows him with a nasty grin, richly dressed and wearing a very evident kippah, it's hard not to have bad thoughts. The story, "Why the sea is salty", is a reduction (a deformation, to be honest) of a traditional Norwegian fairytale that contains no trace of anti-Semitism, and it is published in a school book dedicated to the third grade.
In a schoolbook published in September 2014. Not in 1938.

NEWS

Catholic Church Criticized Denial
of Jewish Ties to Temple Mount

By Pagine Ebraiche Staff

The delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews met in Rome last week. Among the topics discussed were the recent documents promoted in international forums which deny the ties between Judaism and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Bet Hamikdash used to stand.
“In discussions on current issues the principle of universal respect for the holy sites of each religion was affirmed; and note was made of attempts to deny the historical attachment of the Jewish people to their holiest site. The bilateral commission vigorously cautioned against the political and polemical denial of biblical history and called on all nations and faiths to respect this historic religious bond,” highlights the final joint statement.

bECHOL LASHON - Français

L’UE et Israël veulent revaloriser leurs liens

Raphael Ahren*

Après des années au cours desquelles les relations entre l’Union européenne et Israël ont été plutôt fraîches, les liens bilatéraux prendront un tour significatif en 2017, ont indiqué de hauts responsables des deux côtés cette semaine.
Signe notable d’un tel réchauffement, Jérusalem et l’UE sont en train de mener des pourparlers avancés concernant une convocation du Conseil d’association UE – Israël, sommet bilatéral au niveau ministériel, qui aurait lieu au début de la prochaine année. La dernière rencontre de ce type avait eu lieu en 2012.
“Il y a beaucoup de bonnes choses qui sont en train de survenir. Elles sont souvent invisibles à l’oeil nu, mais elles existent”, a expliqué Nicholas Westcott, Directeur général Afrique du Service européen pour l’Action extérieure, alors qu’il était cette semaine en visite à Tel Aviv.

*Times of Israel FR, 2.12.2016.

Lire la suite

pilpul

The Forgotten Jews
from Arab Lands

By David Harris*

I am a forgotten Jew.
My roots are nearly 2,600 years old, my ancestors made landmark contributions to world civilization, and my presence was felt from North Africa to the Fertile Crescent — but I barely exist today. You see, I am a Jew from the Arab world. No, that’s not entirely accurate. I’ve fallen into a semantic trap. I predated the Arab conquest in just about every country in which I lived. When Arab invaders conquered North Africa, for example, I had already been present there for more than six centuries.
Today, you cannot find a trace of me in most of this vast region.

*David Harris is the American Jewish Committee Chief Executive Officer. This article was published in the Huffington Post, on November 26, 2016.

Read more

IT HAPPENED TOMORROW

Wahlen sind kein Spiel

By Guido Vitale

"Vielen ist bewusst geworden, dass Wahlen kein Spiel sind. Sie sind viel zu wichtig”. (Christian Oxonitsch,Wiener Sozialdemokraten)

Read more

italics

50 Years Ago, ‘Mud Angels’ Came to Flooded Florence

By Rossella Tercatin*

On the morning of Friday, November 4, 1966, 18-year-old Andrea Belgrado was fast asleep in his family’s home across the street from the Great Synagogue of Florence. It was the Italian national holiday marking the World War I armistice, and like most teenagers, Belgrado was taking advantage of the occasion to sleep in. But his dreams came to an abrupt end when his father — Fernando Belgrado, the chief rabbi of Florence — woke him up and rushed him to the synagogue. Rumors were flying that the Arno River had flooded its banks and its waters had started to cover the city.

*This article was published in The Times of Israel on November 30, 2016.

Read more

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

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