The Italian Jewish World

Explore Italian Jewish studies and culture in Italy, Israel, and the Americas. The weekly and monthly features of CPL include: Printed Matter by Alessandro Cassin, The Centaur by Franco Baldasso, Books, and Academia.  To know more about Primo Levi and his work visit Centro Internazionale di Studi Primo Levi in Turin.
From the Jerusalem Post
Roman Jews, Benedict XVI, and the Shadow of Pius XII.

"The visit of Benedict XVI, to which the Jews look forward with great expectations, must not be interpreted as an approval of the controversial historical interpretations of Pius XII's choice of silence. We await for the truth to emerge through research and a historical evaluation of all the documents of that era." Read more

Once Again Roman Jews Welcome the Pope

Interview with Daniela Di Castro, director of the Jewish Museum of Rome and world-renowned expert in decorative arts.

On January 17th the Jewish Community of Rome will welcome Pope Benedict XVI for a visit to the Tempio Maggiore and its splendidly designed museum.

This is the first time that a Pope visits a Jewish Museum, thus paying tribute to the history of a community whose establishment in the capital of the Roman Empire predates by two centuries that of the Christian Church. For the occasion, the Museum and the Jewish Historical Archive have mounted the exhibition Et ecce gaudium: Roman Jews and the ceremonies of installation of the Popes, featuring a series of 18th century panels produced by the Jewish Community of Rome for the Popes' inaugural parades. Like many of the treasures preserved by Roman Jews, these ephemeral decorations not only testify to the history of a minority but are also a rare example of artifacts that belong to the larger history of the city. Read more
Giovanni Palatucci: Between History and Hagiography 

Of the trends that have characterized the debate on the Shoah in Italy, the one focusing on the "rescuers" or alleged rescuers has recently come back in fashion. Among these, the story of Giovanni Palatucci holds a special place. A police officer at the Questura in Fiume between 1937 and 1945, Palatucci was arrested by the Nazis and deported to Dachau, where he died. Starting in 1953 the State of Israel followed by the Catholic Church, the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities, and the Italian Police have identified Palatucci as a hero who allegedly saved thousands of Jews. Following these initiatives, on this side of the ocean, the Anti-Defamation League paid tribute to Palatucci with a full educational curriculum.

However, the lack of historical research substantiating the extent of the rescue actions attributed to Palatucci, raises important questions on the convergence of history, memory, and politics.

Alessandro Cassin discusses the case with the historian Marco Coslovich who dedicated 15 years to researching the records on Palatucci. Read more.

This interview is part of a series of articles on history and memory,  published on the CPL website in connection with Giorno della Memoria.
Mussolini's Camps
Sunday, January 31 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Italian Jews, Foreign Jews: Common Destiny and Plurality
of Experiences in Fascist Italy

Film Screening: The Jews of Fossoli (Ruggero Gabbai, Marcello Pezzetti, Liliana Picciotto Fargion, Courtesy CDEC).
Speakers: Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, Doris Schechter, Moderator: Alessandro Cassin.

During the five years from 1938 to 1943, Jews residing in Italy were subjected to increasingly harsh persecution, as a result of both the racial laws and the  state run anti-Semitic propaganda.
This program will provide an overview of the wide range of radically different experiences of Jews in Italy during this period, as well as various attitudes of the gentile population, from help and solidarity to hostility and betrayal.View program
Memories of Roman Jews: Beyond Inquisition and Persecution

February 1 | NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Mariṃ, February 2 | JCC of Manhattan, February 3 | Museum of Jewish Heritage, February 16 | Italian Academy at Columbia

A journey through fragments of memory of a vital and distinctly independent Jewish community in whose traditions and history the antique and the modern coexist, as in a jewelry box handed  down through generations. Through film, lectures, and discussion, this series of four programs opens a window on the rich cultural landscape of Roman Jewry while exposing tragic moments in its history: the round up of the community in 1943 and the abuses and forced baptisms of the times of the ghetto. View program