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December 18, 2017 - Kislev 29, 5778

NEWS

The Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah Inaugurated in Ferrara

By Ada Treves

“A masterpiece, a great example of integration and the sign of a strong identity" was the comment made by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella at the end of the visit to the exhibition "Jews, an Italian story. The first thousand years", curated by Anna Foa, Giancarlo Lacerenza and Daniele Jalla that officially inaugurated the Museo dell'Ebraismo italiano e della Shoah (Meis) last week. "President Mattarella asked many questions, he showed a deep knowledge of the subjects and a great interest" explained the President of the Meis Dario Disegni, at the end of a day in which Ferrara has been center of the national attention.

culture

A Jewish Music Celebration
with the UCEI Contest in Parma

By Daniel Reichel

Amid applause from the public in the Casa della Musica (Music House) of Parma, the top prize of the first edition of the “Concorso di composizione musicale nella tradizione ebraica” (Musical Composition in Jewish Tradition Contest) went to the piece ‘Shirah’ of composer Luka Lodi. The contest was organized by the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) in cooperation with Parma OperArt and under the artistic direction of conductor Riccardo Joshua Moretti, drawing musicians from all over Europe and Israel. It ended yesterday, in a very significant moment for the Jewish world: the kindling of the first Hanukkah light that inaugurated the last phase of the contest, dedicated to the fifty years since Jerusalem unification, with the participation of UCEI President Noemi Di Segni, UCEI board member of culture David Meghnagi and rav David Sciunnach. Giorgio Yehuda Giavarini, President of the Jewish Community of Parma, welcomed the visitors and publicly lit the first light of the Hanukkiah.

Translated by Sara Volpe, student at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University, intern at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

news

‘Living Wills’ Bill Passed in Italy
Rav Di Segni: "New Opportunities
to Evaluate on an Ad Hoc Basis"

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

A bill allowing “living wills” to determine end-of-life medical treatment was passed by the Italian Parliament, last week.
“The bill presents new opportunities which we need to evaluate on an ad hoc basis. The starting point will be in Jewish Law, Halakhah, that is never to be set aside. The responsibility to decide will be on the individual rabbi who receives the request. If he does have the appropriate expertise on the topic, which let us not forget, is a very complex one, he will need to talk to a more expert fellow rabbi,” the chief rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni explained to Pagine Ebraiche.
Rav Di Segni is a physician and a former vice-president of the Italian Bio-Ethics National Committee. He added that the Orthodox Rabbinate does not hold unanimous positions on the matters covered by the law, and emphasized the necessity of waiting to see how the law is going to be applied.

news

It’s Hanukkah Every Day Of The Year
In This Picture-Postcard Italian Town

By Ruth Ellen Gruber*

It’s always Hanukkah in this picturesque town in northern Italy’s Piedmont region.
Jews have lived in Casale Monferrato for more than 500 years, with the community reaching its peak of 850 members at about the time Jews here were granted civil rights in 1848. The town still boasts one of Italy’s most ornate synagogues, a rococo gem that dates to the 16th century.
These days, only two Jewish families live in Casale. The synagogue, which is part of a larger museum complex, is now a major tourist attraction – and not only because of its opulent sanctuary with huge chandeliers, colorfully painted walls and lots of gilding.
Hanukkah here is commemorated nonstop with a year-round exhibit featuring dozens of menorahs, or hanukkiyot, created by international contemporary artists. The collection has some 185 menorahs, according to Adriana Ottolenghi, whose husband, Giorgio, has been president of Casale’s Jewish community since the 1950s.

*The article was published in The Forward on December 17, 2017.

bechol lashon - deutsch

Hass

Anna Foa

Es ist wahrhaft schwierig, alle Fälle von Rassismus und neofaschistischer Gewalt aufzulisten, weil das inzwischen tatsächlich äußerst viele sind. Aber ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass der Weg, diese zu verhindern, nicht allein über die Politik gehen kann. Wir müssen uns mit dem Hass auseinandersetzen, der in der Gesellschaft wächst. Angefangen bei der Sprache, über das Internet oder die Realität, bis hin zu wirklichen Gewalttaten, von denen wir, wie ich befürchte, nur die Spitze des Eisbergs kennen. Hass bewegt uns und wird uns schließlich zerstören. Ab und zu, jedoch immer seltener, werden Stimmen des Verständnisses, der Empathie und der Vergebung erhoben. Aber je weniger Gründe wir im Allgemeinen haben, desto mehr werden wir von Hass, Groll und Gewaltfantasien angetrieben. Niemand entgeht diesem Hass, niemand ist immun. Selbst Kinder und bereits Ergraute werden beleidigt und geschlagen wie jeder andere. Warum? Und wie sind wir so tief gesunken?

Übersetzung von Milena Porsch, Studentin der Universität von Regensburg und Praktikantin bei der Zeitungsredaktion der Union der jüdischen Gemeinden von Italien (UCEI).

Mehr

pilpul

Presents and Dreidels

By Susanna Calimani*

In the new division I joined last September there is a high turnover, it is mostly due to rotation with other sections, meaning that new people come from other divisions, old people go to different ones. Every time someone leaves, you sign a “See you soon” card, there is a little farewell party, some drinks, some food, a little speech, even if they might just go one floor below.
Having joined recently, in the last three months I went to about six farewells of people that -I admit- I barely knew. Last week, another colleague went through the offices to say goodbye. He will move two floors up and he kindly brought some chocolates and some little farewell presents for all of us: a little bag with two candies and a little toy he bought at the Christmas Market in the city centre.

*Susanna Calimani is a wandering economist currently based in Frankfurt.

Read more

italics

National Jewish Museum Opens in Italy

By JTA*

Italy got a Hanukkah present – the opening of a national Jewish museum.
The National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah, or MEIS, opened Wednesday with an inaugural temporary exhibit called “Jews, an Italian Story: The First Thousand Years” that illustrates the history of Jewish presence in Italy from ancient Roman times until the Middle Ages.
The exhibit, which will run until Sept. 16, is the first step in a multi-year program of exhibits and events that will culminate in the final form of the museum and its permanent core exhibit, which is expected in late 2020.

*The article was published in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on December 14, 2017.

moked è il portale dell'ebraismo italiano

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