Beshert | In Italy, “Destinato”
Writer Carolyn Ariella Sofia longs for a deeper connection to her Italian Jewish heritage. Finally, after years of waiting, she finds home.
31
Dec
22
Apr
Milan Jewish Community United to Battle COVID-19
In the days leading up to the lockdown, the Milanese Jewish community behaved “like good soldiers,” Gadi Luzzatto Voghera, director of the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (CDEC), tells Moment, respecting public health ordinances and avoiding scenes reminiscent of those coming out of Brooklyn and Bnei Brak of minyanim gone rogue.
09
Jul
Jews With Better Food?
by Daniela Enriquez
Have you ever wondered if you have Italian Jewish roots? Or, do you think you have an Italian Jewish last name? You may be right. In spite of the fact that 90 percent of Italians are Catholic, much of the remaining 10 percent is Jewish.
In fact, many Italian Catholics have Jewish genetic markers of which they are unaware.
According to some historical studies, 50 percent of the population of Sicily and Calabria (two southern Italian regions) were Jewish before the Inquisition. Those Jews were Sephardi, and connected with the Spanish and North African communities. During the Inquisition, some families left these regions of southern Italy and moved to northern Italy and other countries, including Greece and some Islamic countries. Others were forced to convert to Christianity and thus became anusim, the Hebrew term for...
07
Nov
World Leaders React to Obama—Drama Ensues
Everyone is talking about Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to president-elect Barack Obama. The letter, according to Iranian news agency ISNA, congratulates Obama and expresses Ahmadinejad's wish for real change in US policy towards Iran. Every major newspaper has an emphatic headline for Ahmadinejad's letter, which reflects the world's on-edge expectations for the new administration.
We Jews are definitely waiting to see how Obama's campaign promises play out in Iran. Will Obama shun Ahmadinejad the way President Bush did when the former sent a long-winded letter that many perceived as a tendril of friendlier relations?
And the other great piece of news from world leaders comes out of Italy, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called Obama "young, handsome and also tanned." Of course, it's a dubious racial reference that has been rightly protested across the globe. But...