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Philip Roth, The Last Interview

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

Two years ago on December 21, 2017, Italian scholar Elèna Mortara walked through Manhattan’s Upper West Side on her way to her appointment for a historic interview with American legendary writer Philip Roth.
The result of that very special meeting, which apparently marked the last interview granted by Roth was published in the journal of the Philip Roth Society, the “Philip Roth Studies.”
“Up on the twelfth floor, near the threshold, just outside his open door, there is Philip Roth, welcoming me. When I enter, I am flooded with the light of the bright and spacious living room, with large balcony-windows over the opposite wall open to the sight of the city. Roth is wearing a slate-blue shirt and brown wool trousers. We sit in this light-flooded space, with a low table filled with books next to us, and start our conversation. It’s a friendly conversation, moving from memories of his experience in Rome as a young man to family recollections, from his encounters with other writers to reflections on his books. There are moments of great laughter and sometimes surprising discoveries to be made in this conversation. Roth is not only welcoming, but also looks in great shape. “I’m happy,” he admits with all simplicity, when I ask him how he feels, now that he has just published a new splendid collection of essays (Why Write?, 2017) in the United States,” Mortara wrote.

A Professor of American Literature at the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, Mortara is the editor of the first volume of Roth’s works in the most prestigious Italian literary series, Meridiani Mondadori.

At the time of the interview, the first volume had been published only two months before.

Among the topics they covered, were Kafka’s influence on Roth’s work, as well as his Jewish roots.

“The Jewish families, they had a right to leave between 1880 and 1900. And the first generation struggled, but their children, who had a step up, who were more middle class, formed these family associations. They were very common among Jews. They were kind of welfare societies, they would loan money for burials, if someone was sick, they had a scholarship fund for kids going to college, who didn’t happen to have money. And then there was great family feeling among them. I, as a little child, I loved going; when I was a little one, I loved going. I think by the time this one was taken, I was too sophisticated!” Roth told Mortara showing her a picture —with about 150 people sitting at long tables in an elegant dining room, all relatives of his.

“You know, my parents, they were very important to me, because they were so good and raised my brother and me with such warmth and love. But also the community where I grew up, that neighborhood, was a big neighborhood, Jewish neighborhood, was like a larger parent. Because they were all Jews, there were a few Gentile families, but not very many. I guess I was speaking to one of my old high-school friends on the phone, he lives in Florida, and we speak once in a while, and he said to me about Weequahic, our neighborhood: ‘It was so safe,’ he said, ‘we felt so safe.’ And we really felt so safe,” he added.

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NEWS

“Hanukkah, the festival of lights”,
a short film on Rai Gulp  

By Pagine Ebraiche staff*

Rome, 1945. The Jewish Community is trying to recover from the destruction caused by the Shoah, but their return to life and normality meets several obstacles. The one met by Anna, a young baker, is Antioco, an unscrupulous man who has eyed her business and would give his right arm to get it. A true miracle is needed for her not to fall in his schemes. Much like it happened at the time of the Maccabees. 
“Hanukkah – La festa delle luci (The festival of lights)”, an animated short film directed by Maurizio Forestieri and dubbed by Luisa Ranieri and Francesco Pannofino, is about new manifestations of courage which still have in oil, which is now necessary to make thousands of sufganiyot, a traditional cake served on that day, their source of salvation..

Translated by Sara Facelli and revised by Claudia Azzalini, both students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University and interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

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NEWS

Italian Minister for Education visits
Jewish school in Rome ahead of Hanukkah 

By Pagine Ebraiche staff*

Lorenzo Fioramonti, the Italian Minister for Education, University and Research visited the Jewish schools in Rome last week. He was welcomed by Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni; Ruth Dureghello, the President of the Jewish Community; Noemi Di Segni, the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities.
“Three exceptional guides – Rebecca, 10 years old; Fabio, 13 years old; Martina, 17 years old – took me on a journey through Jewish culture and traditions. There are many ongoing projects in Jewish schools: on environmental education, international mobility, and the learning of the English and Hebrew languages. Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, “which symbolizes the union of cultures, peoples, and nations”, said the Minister at the end of the visit. The headmasters Rabbi Benedetto Carucci Viterbi and Milena Pavoncello were also there to accompany him.

Translated by Sara Facelli and revised by Claudia Azzalini, both students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of Trieste University and interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

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NEWS

Israel Cycling Academy to race
in the Tour de France 

By Adam Smulevich*

“Our team will be made up of four Israelis and sixteen non-Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims. Diversity is in our DNA and the strength of Israel-Start Up Nation. We’re ready for some brand new challenges and we will participate for the first time ever in the Tour de France”. Sylvan Adams, full of enthusiasm, has recently presented in Tel Aviv the new team formed by Israel-Start Up Nation (the new name of Israel Cycling Academy), the first Israeli professional cycling team.
After participating in the Giro d’Italia, they have announced in style their intention to run in the Tour de France and UCI World Tour.

Translated by Mattia Stefani and revised by Claudia Azzalini, both students at the Advanced School of Modern Languages for Interpreting and Translation of Trieste University and interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.

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bechol lashon - Français  

Qu’est-ce que la liberté? 

Anna Foa*

Je ne sais pas quoi dire. Je n’ai envie de parler de rien d’autre que de la mort de Piero Terracina, mais je vois qu’on a tout dit à ce sujet dans ces dernières heures. Je voudrais donc évoquer un épisode qui a eu lieu il y a beaucoup d’années lors de la journée du Souvenir dans une école sarde qu’on a visitée ensemble. On avait demandé à Piero de parler aux élèves plus âgés ainsi qu’aux enfants de 8-10 ans. Il avait peur de les choquer avec ses mémoires du camp de concentration et de trop s’émouvoir en parlant avec de petits enfants.

*Anna Foa, historienne. Traduit par Mattia Stefani, étudiant de l’École Supérieure pour les Interprètes et les Traducteurs de Trieste et stagiaire dans le bureau du journal de l’Union des communautés juives italiennes.

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pilpul

Persecution

By David Bidussa*

Many years ago, in the late 1950s, Hannah Arendt argued that the only painful fragment of reality granted to a pariah was the reality of persecution. I have a feeling that, made sixty years in advance, this reflection concerns us.








*David Bidussa is a historian of social ideas.





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ITALICS

Josephus’s The Jewish War, a Biography

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