Pope Pius XII is set in front of a letter sent to the Vatican from a Jew

Vatican Archives Opened; Letters From Jews Revealed

On April 24, 1940, Arthur Pick typed out a letter in crisp black ink and sent it to the Vatican. In the letter, which can now be read on the Vatican library website, he requested help from the pope in securing permission for both him and his wife, Pauline, to flee Italy and enter Brazil. While they were both of the Catholic faith, both had Jewish fathers and were classified as mixed race under Italian law. In his letter (translated from Italian), he writes, “Thanks to the goodness of Reverend Monsignor , I have been given the attached recommendation to which I permit myself to join my deep and devoted prayer in order that Your Excellency may benevolently care to extend to me and my wife His help to make it possible for us to...

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Deep Dive | The Difference Between Hating Jews and Antisemitism

What speech or action qualifies as antisemitic? And is this different than hatred of Jewish people? An expert on contemporary antisemitism and the curator of Moment's Antisemitism Monitor, Ira N. Forman delves into the clear and the gray areas. How do you define antisemitism? First, I think it is important to acknowledge that when it comes to classifying speech as antisemitic there is a significant amount of gray area. One of the reasons I believe the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is so useful is because it acknowledges that there are gray areas. Moreover, speech that may not be antisemitic can often be justly criticized as false, irresponsible and even dangerous. There is a fair amount of false or questionable charges of antisemitism out there. For example, an article about pro-Palestinian activism on campus that...

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South Africa: Triumphs and Troubles Since the End of Apartheid with Eve Fairbanks, Steve Friedman and Glenn Frankel

What really happens when a country resolves to end white supremacy? Eve Fairbanks, former Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative Fellow and author of the new book, The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa’s Racial Reckoning and Steve Friedman, political scientist at the University of Johannesburg and author of Race, Class and Power: Harold Wolpe and the Radical Critique of Apartheid, speak about the tumultuous three decades since the end of Apartheid, the role Jews played in ending Apartheid and the nation’s triumphs and ongoing troubles. In conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Frankel, author of Rivonia’s Children: Three Families and the Cost of Conscience in White South Africa.

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