Having trouble viewing this email? Click here December 28, 2020/ 13 Tevet, 5781

By Pagine Ebraiche staff

The Slovenian city of Nova Gorica and Italy's Gorizia, just across the border from each other, will be the 2025 European Capital of Culture and their shared Jewish heritage, which include the 18th century synagogue and former Jewish ghetto in Gorizia and the historical Jewish cemetery a few hundred meters away on the Slovenian side, will play an important role. One of the strengths of the cultural program submitted by the twin cities is a project, spearheaded by Italy’s Foundation for Italian Jewish Cultural Heritage and developed from an idea of Pagine Ebraiche, to fully document and restore the historical Jewish cemetery of Valdirose, where many notable Jewish figures are buried.
The restoration plan, with the architect Andrea Morpurgo as project leader and architect Renzo Funaro as coordinator, will start at the beginning of 2021 and is expected to last some years entailing several stages. “We are very excited about this project, which really shows the meaning of a united Europe”, said the president of the Foundation Dario Disegni. “Ours is definitely among the key projects. So, there is also some pride in being part of this historical result”. (Top, a recent visit at the site of Valdirose cemetery)

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By Pagine Ebraiche staff

During World War II, San Marino, a small land locked country in central Italy, provided a harbor for thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. Among them, there were many Jews looking for a neutral country to weather the Nazi and Fascist persecutions. The solidarity shown by the most ancient republic of the world has been so impressive that in 1949 the Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion officially gave thanks to the rulers.
The director of the immigration research center of the University of San Marino, Patrizia De Luca, has studied this at length. “More than ten years ago, we started our research aimed at reconstructing scientifically both the complexity and the contradictions of this history of welcoming. We already analyzed many documents, which are in part preserved in crucial archives of Jewish institutions, such as the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation - Cdec. We signed an agreement with the Museum of Yashem in order to work on a joint study and gathered some testimonies of family history”.  

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By Pagine Ebraiche staff

Launching an English language, online, open–access journal devoted to publishing contributions on any aspect of Jewish history from the 18th century onwards was not an easy challenge at all. But ten years later “Quest. Issues in Jewish Contemporary History”, the periodical published by the Fondazione Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea - CDEC of Milan has definitely made it.
“This anniversary shows us that the project was valuable. In the last ten years we saw the journal get progressively known and appreciated by the international scientific community”, explains to Pagine Ebraiche Guri Schwarz, historian of the University of Genoa, Quest co-founder and current scientific director. “Thanks to CDEC’s support and long-term vision, we had the opportunity to pursue our goal of promoting a dialogue between different academic traditions, which is working”. A remarkable achievement came last spring, when Quest was acknowledged as a class A scientific periodical.

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The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee-JDC Archives is accepting applications for its 2021 fellowship program. The deadline for submission is January 26, 2021. In 2021 up to seven fellowships will be awarded to senior scholars, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and independent researchers to conduct research in the JDC Archives, either in New York or in Jerusalem. Topics in the fields of twentieth century Jewish history, modern history, social welfare, migration, and humanitarian assistance will be considered, as well as other areas of academic research covered in the JDC archival collections. The repository houses one of the most significant collections in the world for the study of modern Jewish history. 

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By Yossi Lepkowicz*

Ruth Dureghello is the President of the Jewish community of Rome, the oldest Jewish community of Europe and the most numerous of Italy. Between ten and fifteen thousand Jews live in the city.
After being elected for the first time in 2015, President Dureghello has been confirmed in 2019 with an outstanding 49% of the votes. Currently, she is also running for the UCEI (Italian Union of Jewish Communities) Executive Board, as leader of the “For Israel” list.
In an interview with European Jewish Press, she explains her motivations for the Jewish community.

*This article was published on European Jewish Press on December 25, 2020.

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