Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws

Italian and Italian American Studies Stanislao G. Pugliese Hofstra University Series Editor This publishing initiative ...

Author: Cristina M. Bettin

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Italian and Italian American Studies Stanislao G. Pugliese Hofstra University Series Editor This publishing initiative seeks to bring the latest scholarship in Italian and Italian American history, literature, cinema, and cultural studies to a large audience of specialists, general readers, and students. I&IAS will feature works on modern Italy (Renaissance to the present) and Italian American culture and society by established scholars as well as new voices in the academy. This endeavor will help to shape the evolving fields of Italian and Italian American Studies by reemphasizing the connection between the two. The following editorial board consists of esteemed senior scholars who act as advisors to the series editor. REBECCA WEST University of Chicago

JOSEPHINE GATTUSO HENDIN New York University

FRED GARDAPHÉ Queens College, CUNY

PHILIP V. CANNISTRARO† Queens College and the Graduate School, CUNY

ALESSANDRO PORTELLI Università di Roma “La Sapienza” Queer Italia: Same-Sex Desire in Italian Literature and Film edited by Gary P. Cestaro, July 2004 Frank Sinatra: History, Identity, and Italian American Culture edited by Stanislao G. Pugliese, October 2004 The Legacy of Primo Levi edited by Stanislao G. Pugliese, December 2004 Italian Colonialism edited by Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Mia Fuller, July 2005 Mussolini’s Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City Borden W. Painter Jr., July 2005 Representing Sacco and Vanzetti edited by Jerome H. Delamater and Mary Anne Trasciatti, September 2005 Carlo Tresca: Portrait of a Rebel Nunzio Pernicone, October 2005 Italy in the Age of Pinocchio: Children and Danger in the Liberal Era Carl Ipsen, April 2006 The Empire of Stereotypes: Germaine de Staël and the Idea of Italy Robert Casillo, May 2006 Race and the Nation in Liberal Italy, 1861–1911: Meridionalism, Empire, and Diaspora Aliza S. Wong, October 2006 Women in Italy, 1945–1960: An Interdisciplinary Study edited by Penelope Morris, October 2006 Debating Divorce in Italy: Marriage and the Making of Modern Italians, 1860–1974 Mark Seymour, December 2006

A New Guide to Italian Cinema Carlo Celli and Marga Cottino-Jones, January 2007 Human Nature in Rural Tuscany: An Early Modern History Gregory Hanlon, March 2007 The Missing Italian Nuremberg: Cultural Amnesia and Postwar Politics Michele Battini, September 2007 Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy: Transformations in Society and Culture edited by Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi, October 2007 Piero Gobetti and the Politics of Liberal Revolution James Martin, December 2008 Primo Levi and Humanism after Auschwitz: Posthumanist Reflections Jonathan Druker, June 2009 Oral History, Oral Culture, and Italian Americans edited by Luisa Del Giudice, November 2009 Italy’s Divided Memory John Foot, January 2010 Women, Desire, and Power in Italian Cinema Marga Cottino-Jones, March 2010 Gregory Hanlon, March 2007 The Missing Italian Nuremberg: Cultural Amnesia and Postwar Politics Michele Battini, September 2007 Assassinations and Murder in Modern Italy: Transformations in Society and Culture edited by Stephen Gundle and Lucia Rinaldi, October 2007 Piero Gobetti and the Politics of Liberal Revolution James Martin, December 2008 Primo Levi and Humanism after Auschwitz: Posthumanist Reflections Jonathan Druker, June 2009 Oral History, Oral Culture, and Italian Americans edited by Luisa Del Giudice, November 2009 Italy’s Divided Memory John Foot, January 2010 Women, Desire, and Power in Italian Cinema Marga Cottino-Jones, March 2010 The Failure of Italian Nationhood: The Geopolitics of a Troubled Identity Manlio Graziano, September 2010 Women and the Great War: Femininity under Fire in Italy Allison Scardino Belzer, October 2010 Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws Cristina M. Bettin, November 2010

Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws Cristina M. Bettin

italian jews from emancipation to the racial laws Copyright © Cristina M. Bettin, 2010. All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–0–230–10476–1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: November 2010 10â•‡ 9â•‡ 8â•‡ 7â•‡ 6â•‡ 5â•‡ 4â•‡ 3â•‡ 2â•‡ 1 Printed in the United States of America.

To my parents

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Contents Introduction

1

1

Background of the Jews in Italy

9

2

Assimilation or Integration of the Jews in Italy

47

3

Jewish Youths in Italy

79

4

Italian Youth Movements and Jewish Youth Movements

97

5

Jewish Youths and Jewish Identity

139

Conclusion

153

Appendix A: Program for Venetian Jewish Schools

159

Appendix B: Letter from the President of the Jewish Community of Venice to the Director of Education in Venice

163

Appendix C: Statute of the Venetian Zionist Group

165

Appendix D: Letter to the Zionist Federation of Italy Regarding the Inauguration of Hebrew University

171

Appendix E: Letter to the Zionist Organization Regarding Group Activities

173

Notes

177

Bibliography

193

Index

205


Introduction

A

t the beginning of the twentieth century, the numerous existing Jewish youth movements, cultural societies, and newspapers in Italy aimed to encourage the rebirth of Judaism and to attempt to define its “essence.” This aspect of Italian Jewish history is still largely unfamiliar to the American and English public. To date, there are only a small number of studies about Jewish youths in Italy, and these have been published mainly in the Italian language. With the exception of the translation to English of Mario Toscano’s essay “Italian Jewish Identity from the Risorgimento to Fascism 1848–1938” (2005), the works published in recent years in English on Italian Jewish history have not taken into account the initiatives of Italian Jews; their origins, motivations, and aims; and their relations with the gentile world and the culture from the time of the Emancipation to the advent of the racial laws in 1938.1 All of these factors contributed to the so-called rebirth of Italian Judaism. It is for this reason, Toscano argues, that the history of Italian Judaism, especially in the age of Emancipation, is perceived by most historians2 as the complete assimilation of the Jews into the Italian nation. According to such renowned historians as Guido Bedarida, Andrew Canepa, Bruno Di Porto, and others,3 the process of Jewish integration or assimilation in Italy began with the Emancipation and continued with the process of Italy’s unification, when Jews began to take an active part in the political and public life of Italy. In 1869, 87 of the 14,108 officers in the Italian army were Jewish, as were three hundred of its 170,000 soldiers. These numbers are extremely high, particularly if we consider the fact that at this time Jews living in Italy

2 Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws

numbered 30 thousand out of an overall population of 25 million. By 1900, the number of Jewish officers in the Italian army had risen to 163 out of a total of 14 thousand. In 1901, 18.7 percent of Italian Jews belonged to the liberal professions or were employed as civil servants, compared with 6.4 percent of the rest of the population. In 1919, 6.3 percent of all university professors were Jews (61 out of a total of 965). By 1930, Jewish professors constituted 8 percent of the educational sector. In 1861, Giuseppe Finzi and two other Jews were elected to serve in the first Italian Parliament, and in 1874, 11 Jews served as deputies.4 In 1927, of a total of 352 senators, 17 were Jews. During Mussolini’s first year in power, the position of Jews remained ostensibly much as it had been before, and their place in Italian life was hardly affected; they were not yet persecuted and were allowed to work in public offices and to join the Fascist Party like other Italians.5 If with the Emancipation we see the process of Jewish integration into the nation on the one hand, we also witness the beginnings of the process of Judaism’s rebirth, realized by the formation of Jewish youth movements, cultural movements, and newspapers, on the other. Beginning in 1861, two newspapers, L’Educatore Israelita, founded in Vercelli by Giuseppe Levi and Esdra Pontremoli, and Corriere Israelitico, founded in Trieste by Abram Morpurgo, were published for a Jewish population of 39,202. By 1911, there was a total of five Jewish newspapers for a population of 46,878 Jews, and in 1937, seven newspapers served a Jewish population of 55,605. These newspapers aimed to promote Jewish culture in Italy and to disseminate its values as instruments of Jewish education among Jewish youths. In 1907, the Pro-Cultura society, designed to promote knowledge of the history and culture of Israel, was founded in Florence by Shemuel Zvi Margulies. The first Jewish youth meetings, held in Florence in October 1911 and in Turin in December 1912, had the same aims in mind. Two years later, a third meeting took place in Rome. These meetings all resulted

Introduction 3

in a significant increase in Jewish awareness of the issue of Judaism; it was largely due to these societies, their meetings, and their activities that many Jews became aware of their rich cultural and historical identity. In 1913, a Jewish youth group and Jewish newspaper, Giovane Israele (Young Israel) were founded in Milan, and a Jewish youth association, also called Giovane Israele (FGEI), was founded in Florence by Alfonso Pacifici. At the end of 1916, the Jewish Youth Roman Association (AGIR) was established in Rome. Additional branches were opened in 1917 in Genoa and Pisa, although compared with the Milan and Rome branches their activities took place on a smaller scale. In 1919, the Fascio Giovanile Ebraico (Jewish Youth Fasce) movement, promoted by Ciro Glass, was founded in Trieste. From 1922 to 1924, additional Jewish youth groups were founded, among them Avodah (Labor), established in Florence and Rome through the initiative of Dante Lattes, Moshe Beilinson, and Enzo Sereni. In 1924, the fourth Jewish youth meeting was held in Leghorn. It differed from previous meetings in that it was directed at promoting Zionist politics in Italy. In 1922, and later in 1925, the teacher Angelo Da Fano established a Jewish youth movement in Gorizia and Modena and organized recreational activities and educational projects for the young people of Gorizia. In order to reflect the Zionist nature of the movement, Da Fano encouraged the teaching of Hebrew songs, stories about the land of Israel, and the activities undertaken by the Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund). Jewish Activities included games, parties, and frequent hikes in the mountains. Da Fano’s aim was to encourage the concept of a “total Judaism,” or “a greater sense of self awareness of being Jewish and feeling Jewish.”6 The practical result of this approach was further played out in the Jewish camps promoted by Leo Levi, one of Da Fano’s students. Two of the phenomena characteristic of Italian Jewish youths in the 1930s were the camping experiences, which enjoyed great popularity, and the hachsharot (agricultural centers). Camping vacations, held twice a year until 1939, were


attended by young people between the ages of 17 and 30 who represented every Jewish community in Italy. These vacations marked an upward swing in the development of Jewish youth movements in Italy. The first hachshara, a small kibbutz-like center, was settled in 1934, and others followed until 1937. The hachsharot provided an opportunity for young people wishing to immigrate to Palestine to prepare themselves for the lifestyle that awaited them. The aim of this book is to analyze these youth activities and to demonstrate that the history of Italian Jews is a history of integration rather than assimilation. With the exception of Mario Toscano’s work and a short article by Attilio Milano, the majority of historians of Italian Judaism, among them Cecil Roth, Lea Sestieri, and Guido Bedarida, have not sufficiently analyzed Jewish youths in Italy or addressed the important contribution of these movements and cultural societies to the rebirth of Italian Judaism. It is for this reason, as Toscano aptly argues, that the historiography of Italian Judaism, especially in the age of Emancipation, is usually seen as a complete assimilation of the Jews into the Italian nation. In this regard, the historiographical approach of this study will differ significantly from the existing historiography of Italian Judaism. An additional aim of this study is to go beyond the research and analysis of Jewish history and culture to explore the relationship of Italian Jews to non-Jewish Italian culture and to review Italian and Jewish social and cultural history as a whole, with the internal differences and motivations that resulted from different religious beliefs but not from different feelings regarding the Italian nation. This study relates to several central issues concerning the history of the Italian Jewish community: • The relationship of Italian Jews to their native country • The question of assimilation or integration into the peninsula • Jewish identity and integration into the Italian nation

Introduction 5

• The attitude of Italian Jews to Zionism at the beginning of the twentieth century The concept of Jewish identity and ethnic and national identity has been studied in many different ways by many scholars worldwide using various approaches. For the historian Simon Herman, the distinction between the act of Jewish identification, on the one hand, and identity, on the other, delineates the process by which the individual comes to see himself or herself as part of the Jewish group and the Jewish identity—to understand what being Jewish means in the life of the individual. Social anthropologist Jonathan Webber, who explores the ethnic and religious elements of European Jewish identity over the last two hundred years, argues that although Jews have internalized ethnic and religious models of their identity, they also function as full citizens of their respective countries. Historical consciousness, rather than religion, has become the central factor in Jewish identity, therefore Jewish identity is continually being redefined.7 The analysis of this issue raises many crucial questions: What is the nature of identity? On what it is based? How can it be interpreted? Is it possible to speak about universal identity, common to all the Jews despite their different geographical locations? And to what extent is cultural identity universal? Furthermore, to what extent does personal identity help to shape collective identity? The aim of this book is to answer to these questions and to show that the history of Italian Jews is unique and should be studied as an integral part of the social and cultural history of Italy. The concept of Jewish identity cannot be generalized: there is no such thing as universal cultural identity. There are variations in Jewish identity that stem from peculiarities in the historical development of various communities; these include the need to adjust to changes in the Jewish situation in the non-Jewish world due to the impact of social movements, both of a Jewish and a general character, on Jewish life. Jewish life is the product of historical evolution. The


history of the Jews in Italy is integral to the social and cultural history of Italy as a whole and is a part of the dynamic process that took place during a time of political and social change, not only in Italy, but also throughout Europe. Beginning with these assumptions, and with an eye toward developing the new historiography of Italian Judaism represented by the works of Mario Toscano, Francesca Sofia, Maurizio Molinari, and others, I will demonstrate the following points: first, the origin of the youth movements and cultural societies does not prove that Italian Jews were assimilated, but rather suggests the integration of the Jews into the Italian nation, and second, the tendency of the majority of historiographers of Italian Judaism to view the Jews in Italy as having a history separate from that of the gentiles must be thoroughly reexamined. The concept of Jewish identity is multifaceted and embraces not only the community as a whole but also individuals. In order to better understand this distinction between individual and community, I have utilized autobiographies and memoirs, such as Vittorio Segre’s Storia di un Ebreo Fortunato, Natalia Ginzburg’s Lessico Famigliare, Vittorio Foa’s Cavallo e la Torre, Elio Toaff ’s Perfidi Giudei Fratelli Maggiore, Alexander Stille’s Uno Su Mille, Grazia Servadio’s Una Infanzia Diversa, and Augusto Segre’s Memorie di Vita Ebraica. The data on which this study is based were taken from archive documentation. A wide range of archival material, as well as published sources, newspapers, minutes of meetings, internal reports, and other publications, was used to analyze early twentieth-century Jewish youth organizations and their relations with the Italian government and non-Jewish youth organizations. These sources were supplemented by detailed documents, such as correspondence and interviews with individuals who belonged to some of these organizations, or who lived in Italy at that time. Documentation was found in various archives, including the Jewish Institute of Jewish Italian Studies in Jerusalem, the Jewish archives of Rome and Milan, the Jewish Bibliographical Center in Rome, the Center of

Introduction 7

Contemporary Jewish Studies in Milan (CDEC), the Jewish archive of Venice, and the archives of various Italian Jewish communities, such as Trieste, Florence, and more. For the historical aspect of the study, I found a wide range of publications at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Italian Cultural Institutes in Tel Aviv and Haifa.


1

Background of the Jews in Italy

T

he history of the Jews in Italy dates to antiquity. Jews have resided in the Italian peninsula since the time of the Roman Empire. Archeological evidence proves that Jews entered southern Italy, including Sicily, during the third century BCE from Palestine. The number of Jews in Italy during the imperial period stood at about 50 thousand. In the aftermath of the various revolts in Palestine, this figure was temporarily swollen by consignments of captives, many of whom were exported or assimilated or else died. For Rome, the largest center, estimates of the Jewish population vary from 12 thousand to as many as 40 thousand out of a total population that probably did not exceed one million.1 Throughout the centuries, the number of Jews living in Italy fluctuated. To better understand this point, one must take into consideration the historical events that took place in Italy during those times, since these affected, directly and indirectly, the Jews’ political status and shaped their sociodemographic characteristics. The history of Italy is quite complex. Until the nineteenth century, the time of the unification of the Italian peninsula, Italy was divided into different regions, each characterized by its own customs, dialects, and political regime. Accordingly, the status of the Jews differed from region to region, with some regions being more tolerant than others.


The Sociodemographic and Judicial Status of the Jews prior to the Emancipation The geographical distribution of the Jews throughout the Italian territories depends, to a surprisingly great extent, on the situation created during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, through a series of expulsions of Jews from certain Italian regions, their concentration in others, and their forced segregation into ghettos, a state that was to last some three hundred years.2 In 1600, some 28.5 percent of the Jews resided in ghettos. By 1700 this number had grown to 75.4 percent, and in 1797 the Jewish population in the ghettos reached 76.4 percent. In the sixteenth century, Jews were deported from the cities of Milan and Genoa, while in the Papal States they were confined to the ghettos of Rome and Ancona. In other regions, such as Piedmont (particularly in the Monferrato region), Lombardy (in the Duchy of Mantua), Emilia and Romagna (in the western dukedoms and in Ferrara), Venice, Friuli, VeniceGiulia, and particularly in Tuscany, the Jews had obtained a privileged status that recognized them as a semiautonomous minority, and no ghetto conditions were required. Under Austrian Emperor Joseph II, the Jews were awarded relatively agreeable conditions. In 1781, the reforms carried out by Emperor Joseph II abolished some of the restrictions relating to Jews: the use of the Hebrew language was no longer prohibited, and Jews could now attend all public schools and universities (with the exception of the Faculty of Theology), acquire real estate, deal in agriculture, employ Jewish workers, and engage in all types of manufacture as well as in the arts. The distinctive Jewish garb, a derivative of the ghetto institution, was abolished. Similar legislation was applied in all the provinces under the rule of the Austrian Empire and was thus applied in the Duchy of Mantua in September 1781 and in Trieste in December of that year.

Background of the Jews in Italy 11

The emancipation of the Jews in Italy saw its beginnings prior to the French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man in September 1781. Five years later, the French forces invaded Italy, bringing with them the ideals of the Revolution, and finally emancipated the region of Piedmont, which was under French rule. Their first actions were to abolish religious discrimination, to destroy the ghetto gates, and to give the Jews the rights of free men. The act of destroying the ghetto gates, however, did not entirely eliminate some anti-Semitic tendencies, which still ranked Jews as secondclass citizens, especially in Lombardy and Liguria, both Catholic strongholds.3 In 1806, Napoleon announced a law that applied the principle of justice and equality to all, including the French Jews and all Jews living under French rule. The same year, Napoleon held an assembly of Jewish notables that was the prelude to his grandiose Sanhedrin, ostensibly the culmination of Jewish emancipation, where the Jewish communities of the kingdom of Italy, not including Tuscany and the Papal States, were requested to send 16 representatives, in addition to 13 from Piedmont, considered an integral part of France.4 In 1808, consistories covering several communities were founded. One of these, in Turin, was founded for the departments of the Po and Stura. These included various Università Israelitiche (communities), such as those of Turin, Soluzzo, Cuneo, Savigliano, Chieri, Carmagnola, Cherasco, and Fossano. The second consistory was at Casale, and was formed for the departments of Marenga and Monferrato (Monferrat). It included the Università Israelitiche of Casale, Vercelli, Trino Vercellese, Ivrea, Biella, Alessandria, Asti, Moncalvo, Genoa, Acqui e Nizza, and Monferrato. Other consistories were established in Tuscany in 1810 and in Rome in 1811. “The consistories did little but supervise conscriptions, inculcate patriotism, issue an appeal in 1812 for the establishment of religious schools, and suggest a few trivial ameliorations in matters of organizations.”5


With the fall in 1814 of Napoleon’s empire, the Italian peninsula reverted to a dark age, similar to its state prior to the French Revolution, with the difference that now the Italian states, reconstituted according to their prerevolutionary structure, were under Austrian domination. “Deepest degradation was established over the great part of the Peninsula. Everywhere the Jews lost not only the political rights, but also the social rights they had achieved and the civil rights conferred on them since the French invasion.”6 In Sicily and southern Italy, the prohibition of religions other than Catholicism was reinstated and continued until the unification of Italy. Conditions were very much the same in the other Italian states, where Jews were again confined to ghettos and obligated to wear distinctive garb. They were excluded also from all educational institutions and not allowed to construct new synagogues or to employ Christian workers. They were no longer allowed to become notaries, lawyers, apothecaries, or physicians, and special taxes were reimposed on them. They were once again forbidden to hold governmental, municipal, administrative, or military offices. Mixed marriages and sexual relations between Jews and Christians were banned. The worst conditions to which the Jews were subjected were those imposed in the Papal States, where, according to Pope Paolo IV’s 1555 constitution Cum nimis absurdum, in 1870 Jews were still confined to the ghetto and had extreme restrictions imposed on them. The conditions of the Jews in Tuscany were slightly better. They were permitted to enroll in the Faculty of Medicine in Pisa (to a limited extent), and to treat Christian patients, according to a decree of 1808. Similar conditions were awarded the Jews under the Lombardo Veneto reign. Based on edicts of Joseph II (the Toleranzpatent), Jews were allowed to attend all university faculties except for the Faculty of Theology. Nevertheless, the Jews were not awarded full civil rights, since they were prevented from holding public office. In some states Jews were baptized by force. “In the time


of 1801–1810, for example, only one Jew was converted to Christianity in the duchy of Modena, while from 1831 to 1840, there were forty-eight [converts].”7 According to some demographers on Italian Jewry, “Conversions, different marriage, fertility, and mortality levels among the Jews contributed to the different growths or reductions of the Jewish populations in Italian towns.”8 The Italians Jews have long been a typically urban population. For the demographer Roberto Bachi, juridical and economical factors determined the settlement of the Jews in certain cities or localities, for example Tuscany, where in 1840, of the 7,300 Jews living in the state, 4,800 resided in Leghorn. About one-third of the entire Jewish Italian population lived in 38 communities in northern Italy, while in southern Italy, no Jewish community remained after their expulsion from the territories under Spanish rule. The demographer Sergio Della Pergola notes, Important structural changes in the geography of Italian Jewry were caused by internal migrations. During the middle ages, the economic life of the Jews was subject to the risk of residential instability. After an initial migration, several others followed, providing a character of nomadism to the whole existence and great uncertainty to the economic activity of the Jews. After the segregation of the Jews into ghettos, internal migration was usually scarce. Starting after the French revolution, and slowly spreading throughout Italy, the emancipation of the Jews brought about freedom of movement, as a consequence of the abolition of existing residential limitations. Many Jews felt the necessity to settle in localities that offered economic opportunities more congenial to their professional and financial capacities than the localities in which they were living at the time of the emancipation. Many decided to leave smaller, semi-rural localities for larger towns, at first within the specific province, and later on, with the region, and eventually throughout the entire area of the country.9


The Economic and Political Status of the Jews prior to the Emancipation Throughout the centuries, the character of the economic activity of the Jews has been directly linked to their judicial status. During the ghetto period, the Jews lived under many restrictions and were prohibited from operating businesses outside the ghetto, working in any organized handicraft, having a liberal profession, or employing Christian workers. Only in some regions were the Jews allowed to engage in business involving the textile industry. With the exception of a limited elite of importers and textile magnates, the majority of the Jews were laborers, hawkers, rag pickers, and secondhand dealers, and many, mainly women, engaged in needlework and the mending of old clothes. In some regions, particularly in the north, Jews also dealt in the manufacture of paper or distilled water, or in the sale of tobacco. Another common profession was that of sensale (commission agent). These agents operated as representatives of the seaports and distribution centers. With the publication of the Toleranzpatent of Emperor Joseph II of Austria (1781), and later the Declaration of Human Rights (1791), the economic situation of the Jews improved significantly. The first of these edicts, the Toleranzpatent, gave the Jews the possibility of engaging in large-scale commerce and manufacture, even outside the ghetto walls, to deal in foodstuffs, to engage in various handicrafts, to acquire land, to work the fields, to borrow money at the public Monte di Pietà (pawnshop), and to work as physicians. The Declaration of Human Rights further opened the ghetto gates by giving Italian Jews the opportunity to participate in the country’s public life. With the unification of Italy, Italian Jewry finally obtained civil, political, and legal rights. This explains in part the active participation of the Jews in patriotic movements. This point has also been recognized by several Fascist and anti-Semitic historians, such as Paolo Orano in 1937 and Roger Lambelin in 1928. This has been clearly apparent since the time of the movement


known as the Risorgimento (Reawakening), to which modern Italy owes its existence. Jews began taking part in the activities of the Carboneria (the secret liberation movement)10 and also participated in a new liberation movement called Giovine Italia (Young Italy), headed by Giuseppe Mazzini.11 At this time, Jews also started contributing to patriotic journals and reviews such as the Corriere Livornese (The Leghorn Courier) of Leghorn, the Antologia (Anthology) of Florence, and Giovine Italia (Young Italy), edited by Giuseppe Mazzini. The contribution of the Jews to these patriotic revolts is well illustrated in Cecil Roth’s book The History of the Jews in Italy (1946), and later in Storia degli Ebrei d’Italia by Attilio Milano (1963). The number of Jews who participated in these unification processes is of great importance, as is the underlying reason for their participation. It is thus necessary to analyze the existing relations between Italian society and Italian Jewry of that time regarding the political and economic situation of Italy and European countries. The second half of the eighteenth century saw the dawning of a new era in Europe. The French Revolution undermined the social structures that for centuries were maintained by absolutist and feudal rules, while the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1781) awarded all men, including Jews, human and social equality. The French Revolution (and later the Napoleonic Wars) changed the entire European order. Napoleon’s troops spread the ideas of the revolution—freedom, equality, and fraternity—across Europe. These notions persisted even after Napoleon’s army had been vanquished. The aspiration to national freedom and the new spirit of patriotism and fraternity influenced the Jews as well, leading to their active participation in the liberation movement, as described above. For the Jews, the Risorgimento represented not only the unification of Italy but also their emancipation. Moreover, this emancipation was directed not only at the Austrian enemy but also toward those prejudices and antiSemitic tendencies that persisted in some conservative social


classes. It was in this liberal climate that Italian political circles, impressed by the Jews’ patriotic actions, began to take an interest in the Jews’ inferior social status. This interest can be noted in a series of articles printed at that time.12 The aim of these writers and politicians was to direct public attention and the attention of the monarchical regime of Carlo Alberto to the situation of the Jews; their actions arose from a fundamental principle that aimed to secure religious liberty for all. In 1846, some of the restrictions placed on the Jews were rescinded in the Papal States by Pope Pio IX. Similar changes were taking place in other regions. In Tuscany, for example, non-Catholics were being admitted to municipal office. In 1847, Jewish university students were allowed to compete for scholarships for the first time. On March 29, 1848, Carlo Alberto signed the Edict of Emancipation, extending civil rights to Jews and other non-Catholics in his domains. With this edict, Jews were finally admitted to the universities and to military service. Outside Piedmont (which was under the rule of Carlo Alberto di Savoia), the situation of the Jews was less good. This was especially true of the states under Austrian rule, such as Lombardo-Veneto and Trieste, or in Modena and Mantua, where restrictions were reimposed as punishment for the Jews’ part in the patriotic uprising. Even in Tuscany, the liberal constitution was rescinded and religious equality canceled. Only in 1859, with the help of the French, were the Austrians ejected from Milan and the greater part of Lombardy. This gave the signal for popular uprisings in Parma, Modena, Tuscany, and Romagna (which had been occupied by Austrian troops since 1849), where the old rulers were overthrown and representative assemblies voted for the annexation of the kingdom of Sardinia. In Modena, Reggio, Bologna, and Ferrara, Jews served in the interim administrations and everywhere in the field.13 In March 1861, the kingdom of Italy, under the house of Savoy, was proclaimed by the Italian parliament, naming


Vittorio Emanuele as king and defining a system of government based on the Piedmont Constitutions of 1848. The emancipation of the Jews was complete, except for the regions of Mantua, Venice, and Trieste, which remained under Austrian rule and, of course, Rome. Nevertheless, liberation was not far off. In 1866, Vittorio Emanuele declared war against the Austrians with the aim of liberating these territories. The Jewish communities of Padua, Rovigo, Venice, Verona, and Mantua were awarded their freedom, as was Rome, in October 1870. Thus, with the exception of Trieste, which remained under Austrian rule for another generation, the liberation of Italy and Italian Jewry was finally complete. Jewish Education and Culture Prior to the Emancipation Throughout the centuries, education and culture have been the central axes of the Jewish way of life. The study of the Torah and the holy books, which requires the skills of reading and writing, has always been a mainstay of Jewish life. Since the period of the ghetto, and even prior to it, the problem of illiteracy was almost nonexistent in the Jewish population (with the exception of the poverty-stricken Jews of the ghetto in Rome). This situation was doubly striking when compared to that of the surrounding gentile population. In 1861, 64.5 percent of the total population of Italy was illiterate, while the level of illiteracy among the Jews reached only 5.8 percent.14 Almost all Jews were literate, including a proportion of the female population. Jewish life in the ghetto revolved around the synagogue, to which the school was attached. The school was usually attended by both boys and girls and was free of charge.15 All expenses were covered with the help of voluntary contributions and were not charged to the parents of the pupils. Pupils from the poorer families also received free meals, footwear, and clothing, especially in winter. The


community also operated a kind of kindergarten where children up to the age of three were taught to read and write. At the age of five, the children were enrolled in a free school, the Talmud Torah (religious school). In the smaller communities, the teacher was a rabbi, while in the larger centers, the instruction at the school was undertaken by a group of teachers. In some cases, especially in wealthy families, the teacher was the head of the family, the father himself. The primary curriculum of the Talmud Torah was divided into four classes. During the first year, pupils were taught to read and speak Hebrew. The second year included readings of the Pentateuch, the third year addressed the books of the Prophets, and in the last year the pupils dealt with biblical commentaries. Contemporary studies included mathematics and the reading and writing of Italian. Private tutors were also employed at times for complementary studies of literature, music, and dancing. The pupils who completed this course were admitted to the second level of education, called the Hesgher (Inside). This level was also divided into four sublevels and, as in the case of Talmud Torah, the pupils passed from one sublevel to the next based on their merits rather than on their age. This level comprised day-long studies (and not the six hours offered by the Talmud Torah), and the minimum age for graduation was 16. Most of the subjects studied were religious, while the remainder, deemed less important, consisted of Italian grammar and literature, subjects that were sometimes taught by Christian teachers. The graduates of this school received the diploma of a maskil (educated one), which offered the possibility of being accepted to a yeshiva, also composed of four classes.16 Among these students were not only Italian Jews but also Jews who came from Germany and Poland. As mentioned above, until the Emancipation, the number of Jews enrolled in the universities was restricted by law, and in the case of La Sapienza University in Rome, since 1676, the university fees required of a Jewish student had been triple those of a gentile student. Only in 1779, three years prior to the


Toleranzpatent of Joseph II, were the Jews allowed to attend the public schools. The Demographic, Political, and Judicial Status of the Jews after the Emancipation Many changes took place within Italian Jewry following the Emancipation. One particularly notable change was an increase in internal migrations. In the last century, many Jews (with the exception of those in Rome) began to migrate to the important urban centers in each province and, later, to the regional centers. Small rural communities, such as those in Piedmont, Mantovano, Friuli, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany, disappeared.17 Some Jews moved in new directions, particularly to cities that had not permitted a Jewish presence in the past. In this manner, large Jewish communities were established during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Milan, Bologna, Fiume, Genoa (whose Jewish population increased from 84 in 1809 to 1,600 in 1931), and Naples. Demographic studies of Jewish communities in southern Italy and the surrounding islands are insufficient. The fact that the new demographic assets of the Jews were concentrated in highly developed centers contributed to their rapid economic and educational ascent. According to demographer Eitan Sabatello, two complementary trends characterized the internal migration movement. The first is the “outflow from small settlements, as a response to the artificial nature of the geographical division imposed during the ghetto period and the unsuitability of such a division to the economic and social character of the Jews. It can be assumed that when such limitations were removed, market potential in the provinces was insufficient for the numerous and expanding Jewish traders. The second, migrations to highly developed centers where the demand for commercial and professional services, was substantial.”18


Shopkeepers expanded into every branch of the retail trade, several important manufacturing ventures and private banks were established, and insurance businesses were developed, including the Assicurazioni Generali (General Insurance) of Trieste, founded by Giuseppe Lazzaro Morpurgo. Many Jews, with the exception of those in the poor community of Rome, which was characterized by simple shopkeepers and members of the working class, became members of the professional class, working as managers and clerks. Nevertheless, only a few Jews were outstanding names, whether in industry or in finance, and hardly any of the handful of Italians known in international business circles were Jews.19 Scholars of Italian Jewish social demography, such as Bachi and Della Pergola, maintain that the transformation of Jewish society after the Emancipation must be chronologically linked to a larger transformation that involved Italian society as a whole. For this reason, in order to better understand the economic development of Italian Jews and their differences from Jews in other European countries, we have to take into consideration Jewish relations with the non-Jewish Italian population and to analyze both of the groups, Jews and gentiles, as a whole rather than as separate units. In order to understand the relationship between the state (the Italian nation) and the Jewish question, we must analyze Italian history after the unification, the historiography of the Italia liberale (the period of Italian history that dates from Italy’s unification until World War I, characterized by the prevalence of conservative and center-right political parties), as well as its myths. Until the death of Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of Italy, in 1878, Italian society had been strongly anticlerical. One of the most important myths, the myth of the Italian nation, was created during the Risorgimento. This concept incorporated nationalism as its basic tenet. By the nineteenth century, nationalism was common not only in Italy but also in many other European countries, where it was embraced by the


bourgeoisie. Italy’s unification was finally completed with the incorporation of Rome in 1870 and Trieste in 1918. Nevertheless, the unification of Italy was merely an elitist concept, a sterile political event, rather than the bonding of preexisting states. The differences between regions, particularly between north and south, were economically and culturally enormous. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, Italy was a predominantly agricultural country with a large rural population, especially in the south. The suffering of this population was widespread. Poverty and disease motivated the people to migrate north to industrial cities, where opportunities for economic improvement were available. Millions of people, especially from the south, emigrated to North and South America. Internal migration, therefore, was not only a Jewish phenomenon but also one that characterized all disadvantaged classes in postunification Italy. Moreover, as Bachi noted, the industrial and freetrade development of some cities in the north of Italy gave rise to the immigration of many people, particularly Jews, from eastern Europe, the Balkans, and North Africa. The immigration of these newcomers was caused by the appalling political, economic, and social conditions of the Jewish communities in these areas. At the beginning of the twentieth century, major Italian industries, such as Fiat of Turin, which in 1911 employed 6,500 workers, Ansaldo of Genoa, and the Ilva steelworks of Terni, were established in northern Italy. Despite these developments, Italy remained predominantly agricultural. In 1911, 55 percent of the gross national product came from agricultural sources. In some regions, agriculture was undergoing modernization. In 1892, the Federconsorzi (an association of land owners and producers of agricultural machinery) was established, and in 1910 the Confindustria (manufacturers’ association) was founded. Parallel to those associations were others, such as the Federterra, the peasants’ Socialist labor union, established in 1900, which had 500,000 branches by 1914.


As already noted, Jews were almost entirely absent from the agricultural sector and its attendant associations.20 The majority of Jews in Italy were employed in commerce and industry and in the liberal professions.21 The improvement of sanitary conditions, a higher level of education, and better socioeconomic integration transformed the character of Italian Jewry, with the following results: (1) greater control of the birth rate, which created a more adult population, compared to the nonJewish sector; (2) a distancing from religious practices; and (3) a rise in mixed marriages, due to the establishment of civil marriages without the need for prior conversion. Mixed marriage was a growing phenomenon: in Trieste between 1869 and 1870, 3.7 percent of all married couples came from different backgrounds. From 1881 to 1890, the number rose to 22.9 percent, and from 1901 to 1910 to 38.4 percent, peaking at 59.2 percent in the years from 1921 to 1927. Between 1930 and 1935, 47 percent of marriages in Italy, were “mixed.” It is very difficult to arrive at precise statistics, due to the fact that, at the time, many mixed marriages occurred outside the community. From 1930 to 1935, out of one hundred Jewish bridegrooms only 54.3 percent were married in synagogue, while 58.6 percent of brides celebrated marriages in synagogue. Another complicating factor was the phenomenon of conversion, on which there is insufficient data, since conversions were often performed in secret or not reported. In communities such as Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia, and Friuli, intermarriages comprised 40 percent of total marriages, and this figure rose over time. In Rome, mixed marriages were not widespread. With the unification of Italy, Jews received full civil and juridical rights. The Urbano Rattazzi Law, named for the minister who authored it, decreed the status of the Jewish communities: “The Jewish communities were thus constituted into autonomous corporations, empowered to hold property and having as their object the performance of public worship and religious instruction. The administration was entrusted to councils


elected triennially by all literate adult male members, who contributed 20 lire or more each year towards expenditures. All Jews were legally obliged to pay the amounts assessed on them for the maintenance of essential religious services, unless they formally dissolved their connection and renounced thereby the benefits of organized Judaism.”22 Between 1861 and 1870, the Parliament attempted to draw up new universal political and administrative legislations. The principal issue was to unify the various legal systems of the previously separate states, which by now had been reunited. In 1865, the Codice Civile Unitario (Civil Unitarian Law) recognized mixed marriages and the abrogation of divorce for all Italian citizens, not only Jews. In 1883, the statutes of the Università Israelitica, which reorganized its own structure and administration, were approved. According to the norms of 1890, the Università Israelitica of Siena, for example, became a voluntary association, composed of any Jews living in town who wished to become members. The minimum contribution of 12 lire was also voluntary. This change had also taken place in other communities, such as Pisa in 1901. The Jewish communities in the former kingdom of Lombardo-Veneto were more traditional. In 1912, their statutes still declared that Jewish citizens could not dissociate themselves from Jewish institutions and required them to pay a tax to the community. In July 1888, L’Opera del Tempio Israelitico (Opera of the Israelite Temple) was established in Milan and operated more as a welfare institution than an association. The same happened in Venice, where the Jewish community, called Fraterna (Fraternity) became a voluntary association with a charitable aim. In 1891, another association, L’Associazione Israelitica di Previdenza Cuore e Concordia, was established in Venice. Its founder, Cavalier Mario Ancona, authored the association’s statutes, which provided to sick members a daily allowance taken from the modest monthly fee paid by all the association’s members. Money was also given to aid bereaved families with funeral expenses. From the age of 70, members were


exempt from paying the monthly contribution to the association, although their rights were maintained. Another form of social assistance was the monthly sick benefit paid to the chronically ill. An additional charitable grant was the Fondo Seder (Seder Fund), which provided money to enable poor children or orphans to celebrate the seder on Passover eve. This fund was later extended to anyone in need. The activities of the association were interrupted during World War I, when almost all the members of the Venetian Jewish community went temporarily to Leghorn. After the war, the association began to operate again and continued to do so until the legislation of the racial laws. In 1903, the Grazia Consiglio Ricchetti Foundation was established by Davide Ricchetti, who bequeathed five hundred lire to help poor Jewish families in Venice. Other communities followed the path of Milan and Venice. In Rome, for example, a similar association was founded in 1883. Toward the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, communities slowly developed systems of mutual aid, which changed from corporations of public law to voluntary associations. This evolution reflected changes within the state, which was becoming increasingly secular. This metamorphosis influenced the congress of the communities held at Ferrara in 1865, although the trend toward liberalization was terminated with the rise to power of the Fascist regime. The Concordat concluded with the Vatican in 1929, which restored Roman Catholicism as the state religion, also had certain untoward implications, notwithstanding the fact that one of its authors was the Jewish jurist Federico Cammeo. Not only did it strengthen the hands of the clerical elements throughout the country; it also extended totalitarianism to the field of religion and put an end to the secular education system that had been in place for generations. As the result of a speech given in the Senate by eminent jurist Vittorio Polacco, special provisions were made under the scheme for the benefit of the Jews, who were empowered to withdraw their children


from Catholic religious instruction and, if they wished, even to open their own schools, which were given government subsidies. The fact that many communities were too small or to apathetic to do so could not be considered the fault of the system. Mussolini personally intervened to suppress manifestations of Jew baiting on more than one occasion. He intermittently condemned anti-Semitism, received foreign Jewish representatives, and was readily accessible to Italian Jewish leaders, such as Angelo Sacerdote, the lion-hearted Chief Rabbi of Rome, whom he assured in 1924 that anti-Semitism was a growth that could not obtain a foothold in Italy. The Concordat with the Vatican made it necessary to clarify the position of non-Catholics. For the past 70-odd years, the majority of the Jewish communities had been administered in accordance with the terms of the Rattazzi Law. In 1930, a comprehensive law on the Jewish communities was put into force, setting up a new organization. They were henceforth given full juridical rights, including that of levying taxation on their members for religious and cultural purposes. The voluntary basis of association was abolished; membership was henceforth compulsory on all persons of Jewish birth, provided that they did not formally renounce Judaism or embrace another faith. Uniform regulations were laid down for organization and administration and the appointment of all officials, ecclesiastical and lay. At the same time, a Union of Italian Jewish Communities was set up in Rome. This new body was given a considerable influence in the general affairs of Italian Jewry, which it represented henceforth before the government and the public, the chief rabbi of Rome thus becoming in effect chief rabbi of Italy.23 With the rise of Fascism, Catholicism was reaffirmed as the state religion. All Jewish communities, or Università Israelitiche, once again became Enti di Diritto Pubblico (public institutions). Nevertheless, the 1930 law and the previous Sardinian Law of 1857 were not clear regarding who was to be considered Jewish. The law of 1930 defined a Jew according to rabbinical


rules, that is, anyone born to a Jewish mother.24 On July 14, 1938, the legislation of the racial law was followed by the Manifesto del Razzismo (Manifest of Racism). Other restrictions followed the Manifesto. The government set up the Bureau for Demography and Race Protection, and a new popular review, La Difesa della Razza (The Defense of Race), headed by Telesio Interlandi, began to appear. At the end of August, orders were issued for the exclusion of foreign Jews and even their children from all universities and educational institutions. This was only the beginning. Hitherto, Jewish immigration had generally been encouraged, so that there were now some 15 thousand Jews of foreign birth in the country, comprising about one-quarter of the total community. Most of these were very recent arrivals, perhaps five thousand Germans, as many Levantines, and the rest Poles, Austrians, and others. The most important Jewish center was Milan. As the result of the press campaign protesting against the “Jewish invasion” an investigation was conducted. It revealed that approximately fifteen hundred refugees had settled in Italy, in a total population of something like one million, since the German occupation of Austria. On August 30, orders were issued for them to leave two days later, and a decree was issued prohibiting Jewish immigration henceforth and ordering all foreigners of Jewish birth to evacuate the country within 6 months, including even those naturalized during the past 20 years. Meanwhile, a general census of Italian Jews on a racial basis was ordered. On September 5, a decree was issued, effective from the start of the academic year, excluding persons of Jewish birth from all educational and cultural institutions under government control, from the kindergarten to the university, whether as students, teachers, or employees. No textbooks written by Jews were to be used henceforth. To compensate for the exclusion of Jewish pupils from the public schools, the communities were empowered to set up their own schools. The main points of the new legislation were embodied in a series of decrees adopted by the Fascist Grand Council on October 7.


The new law reduced the position of the Italian Jews to that of pariahs. Marriage between Jews and non-Jews was prohibited. Jews were forbidden to enter military service, to own more than 50 hectares (about 130 acres) of land, to own or manage enterprises employing more than a hundred persons. They were ejected from the Fascist Party. They were forbidden to have any interest, even as shareholders, in enterprises of importance to national defense; they were excluded from all positions in the stock exchange and in joint-stock bank and insurance companies. They were forbidden to open new businesses. Only early Fascists and the families of those with especially meritorious military records were exempted from some of these restrictions. The new corpus of legislation was summarized in a decree on November 17. The law applied not only to Italy itself but also to the Italian possessions of Libya and the Aegean Islands.25 A large number of Jews, in an attempt to avoid persecution, sought refuge in baptism. Others immigrated to America, and a small percentage escaped to Palestine. However, there is not enough data to quantify exactly how many converted to Catholicism or moved elsewhere. Nevertheless, during Mussolini’s first years of power, the position of the Jews remained ostensibly much as it had been before. Mussolini’s policies regarding Italian Jewry were ambiguous. At first, Mussolini did not take into consideration the Questione Ebraica (Jewish question) because antiSemitism did not have a relevant political value within the Italian context. According to historian Renzo De Felice, Mussolini cannot be considered to have been wholly anti-Semitic. Until 1937, De Felice asserts, Mussolini did not entertain the notion of anti-Semitism. De Felice’s assertion could be considered true if the Duce’s anti-Semitic feelings are considered only within the context of the legislation of the racial law of 1938. However, a previous declaration made by Mussolini himself in the early 1920s contradicts this notion. Mussolini’s ambiguity on the Jewish question can be explained by a number


of factors. Early on, he seems to have supported and encouraged the Zionist movement, for political rather than ideological motives. His support of the Jewish national movement was intended to undermine British influence in the Middle East and to encourage the establishment of Italian hegemony in the Mediterranean, thereby reviving the Roman Empire. For this reason, the Italian government supported the aid activities organized by the Jews and Italian Zionists to provide relief for German Jewish refugees. In the early 1930s, the minister of foreign affairs approved the emigration of Jewish refugees to Palestine. A committee to assist German Jewish refugees was founded in Milan in 1933. Between 1935 and 1936, some Hachsharot (agricultural centers) were established in Italy for the refugees, and later on for the Italians in order to prepare them for their move to Palestine. In the seaside town of Civitavecchia, Betar, the revisionist Zionist movement led by Leone Carpi, held courses at the naval school to prepare Zionist youths for living in the future Jewish state. The school had also non-Jewish Italian teachers and, like all the other above-mentioned activities, was approved by the regime. This approval suggests that Italy did not support an anti-Semitic policy. However, some of Mussolini’s declarations, as well as anti-Jewish propaganda propounded by the intelligentsia of the Fascist regime, which resulted in a number of violent conflicts, suggest the existence of at least a certain level of intolerance toward the Jews, if not yet a virulent anti-Semitism. It is possible to divide Mussolini’s policies on the Jewish question into two distinct stages. The first, espoused in the early 1920s, consisted of an intolerant attitude and equally intolerant policies toward the Jews, while the second, later state was anti-Semitic and resulted in the legislation of the racial law. Michele Sarfatti, in his article “Gli Ebrei negli anni del Fascismo” (The Jews in Mussolini’s Italy), sees in Mussolini’s declaration of November 16, 1922, some inequality on the matter of civil rights. The Duce, in this declaration, as in


his previous one of November 8, 1921, recognized Catholicism as the official religion of the Italian state. This recognition comprised a first step toward the Concordat of June 7, 1929. In this manner, religious intolerance was legitimized. In 1921, I Protocolli dei Savi Anziani di Sion (The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion), in which the Jews were accused of manipulating the world, were translated and edited in the newspaper La Vita Italiana by Giovanni Preziosi. The famous Internazionale Ebraica (Jewish Lobby) was accused of Freemasonry and Bolshevism, and thus considered dangerous and subversive to the European order. Mussolini, in 1919, in an article titled “I complici” (The Fellows) published in Il Popolo d’Italia (People of Italy) defined the Jews in a similar manner. In a later article, “Ebrei, Bolscevismo e Sionismo” (Jews, Bolshevism and Zionism), published in Il Popolo d’Italia on October 19, 1920, Jews were not considered by him to be Bolshevist because “L’Italia non conosce l’antisemitismo e crediamo non lo conoscerà mai.Speriamo che gli Ebrei Italiani continueranno ad essere abbastanza intelligenti per non suscitare l’antisemitismo nell’unico Paese dove non c’è mai stato” (Italy does not know anti-Semitism, and we believe that it never will know it. We hope that the Italian Jews will continue to be smart enough not to create anti-Semitism in the only country where it never existed). Although the Fascist leaders insisted that antiSemitism did not flourish in Italy, Jews were considered by many to be a dangerous minority, not only for their religious and cultural diversity but also for their connection with or support of Freemasonry. Meanwhile, the tone of articles in the anti-Semitic newspaper La Vita Italiana (Italian Life), edited by Giovanni Preziosi, became increasingly shrill and menacing. By 1938, at least five periodicals published in Italy could be considered actively anti-Jewish. In Tripoli, in August 1923, and in Padua, in November 1926, violent episodes against the Jews took place. In Tripoli, following the death of an Italian soldier in a fight between Libyan Jews and the Italian authorities, a punitive


expedition was launched in the Jewish quarter. In Padua, following an attempt to kill Mussolini, 50 Fascists took revenge by destroying the synagogue and its contents. At this point, one may ask how a Jew could have been a Fascist in these years. In order to better understand this phenomenon, we have to look back at the political situation of Italy after the unification. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, popular political movements were established, including the first organization of the proletariat, the Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (Work General Confederation; CGL), in 1906. In 1892, an alliance between workers and a group of intellectuals was founded. This first modern party, at first called Il Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani (Italian Workers’ Party) changed its name in 1893 to Il Partito Socialista in Italia (Socialist Party in Italy). It won five seats in the Parliament in 1892 and 79 seats in the election of 1913. Members included Jews such as Giuseppe Modigliani (1872–1947); Claudio Treves (1869–1933), a member of the Parliament and director of the socialist newspaper Avanti; and Anna Kuliscioff (1875–1925), a Russian exile and Turati’s friend, who founded the Italian Socialist Party. As historian Cecil Roth has noted, “In political life, there was perhaps one significant difference between the scene in Italy and in other lands, where the Jews were mainly, or even, except perhaps in the English speaking countries, overwhelmingly identified with the parties of the Left. Here, owing to the fact that prejudice against which they had to contend by reason of their origin was so slight, and they had first entered into prominence in public life in connection with the nationalist movement of the Risorgimento, they tended to be fairly impartially recruited from all the political factions, from one wing to other.”26 The most important Jew in Italian public life during the Risorgimento was Isac Artom, who served as Camillo Cavour’s private secretary and chief secretary in the Italian Foreign Office, and later, in 1876, as senator. In 1861, Giuseppe Finzi, together with two other Jews, was elected to serve in the first


Italian Parliament, and in 1874, 11 Jews served as deputies. In 1891, Luigi Luzzati, who was a member of a prominent and patriotic Venetian Jewish family, served as minister of finance until 1892, from 1896 to 1898, and again from 1903 to 1906. From 1900 to 1903, another Jew, Leone Wollemberg, held the same position. In 1910, Luzzati was appointed prime minister. Other Jews also attained positions of power; in 1890 an irredentist journalist from Trieste, Salvatore Barzilai, the deputato di Trieste al Parlamento Italiano (member of the Parliament of Trieste to the Italian Parliament), was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, where he remained for eight terms, serving in the Cabinet before and during World War I. He was a member of the Italian delegation to the Peace Conference at Versailles after the war. Treves and Modigliani served as Socialist deputies for many years before, during, and after World War I. In 1888, Giuseppe Ottolenghi was elected senator. In 1902, he was appointed Italy’s first Jewish general. He was senator and later minister of war from 1902 to 1903, while the Venetian Gabriele Pincherle was honorary president of the Council of State. In 1907, Ernesto Nathan was elected mayor of Rome. Leopoldo Franchetti served as a conservative senator for many years before committing suicide in despair after the Italian debacle of Caporetto. Sidney Sonnino, who was born a Jew in Pisa in 1847 and converted to Protestantism, served as finance minister and later as foreign minister. In 1906, and again from 1908 to 1910, he held the position of prime minister. Lodovico Mortara was minister of justice and religious cults from June 1919 to May 1920. These men were the best-known Jewish politicians, and there were many others. According to historian Guido Bedarida, there were 24 Jewish senators in 1919. In 1923, the number rose to 26, out of a total of 406 (about 5 percent), and in 1927, of a total of 352 senators, 17 were Jewish. When, at the beginning of 1919, Benito Mussolini, who was a former Socialist journalist and former director of the Socialist newspaper Avanti (Forward) founded the Fascist Party, he had Jewish support. The new party was founded as a response


to the dominant oligarchy, which in 1905 pushed Italy into World War I, causing widespread economic and social crises. For many historians, L’età Giolittiana (the Giolitti age), the period from 1900 to 1914, dominated by Giovanni Giolitti, represented the fall of the liberalismo (liberalism) that gave rise to the advent of Fascism. At its inception, Fascism was a nationalist movement, and Jews had supported Italian nationalism even before the Emancipation. The party was also antiSocialist, and Italian Jews were now part of the bourgeoisie. Most Italian Jews, with the exception of many in Rome, were solidly middle class, and by late 1921, Fascism had become a basically middle-class, antiworker movement. Its early revolutionary aspects had declined, leaving as primary goals antiSocialism, union busting, strike breaking, and the restoration of law and order at the workers’ expense. These objectives pleased both the Jewish and non-Jewish middle classes—conservative men and women who had loyally supported the war and suffered from war-induced inflation, and who now felt threatened by industrial and agricultural workers with their powerful trade unions, inflation-adjusted wages, and antipatriotic revolutionary rhetoric. In addition, many middle-class Jews felt more comfortable with Fascism’s anticlerical strain, a remnant of its radical origins, than with Catholic conservative factions.27 According to Sarfatti, the census of August 22, 1938, listed 590 Jews as members of the PNF (Partito Nazionale Fascista; Fascist National Party) before October 28, 1922. Sixteen years later, they were still members. Sarfatti explains the participation of the Jews in the PNF as legitimization for them to behave like the gentili (gentiles) rather than specific support of the Fascists. Some Jews rose to prominent positions in the new party.28 The Jew Aldo Finzi, who acted as the Duce’s righthand man for a long period, suppressed an anti-Fascist uprising in Milan and became assistant minister of interior and a member of the first Fascist Grand Council. Carlo Foà was editor of the Fascist review Gerarchia (Hierarchy). Guido Jung


was finance minister for some years, while Margherita Sarfatti, one of the Duce’s favorites, collaborated with him in his work as a journalist and later became his biographer. Sarfatti converted to Catholicism in 1928, as did another activist Fascist Jew, Gino Arias, in 1932. In 1925, of the 24 people who participated in the meeting on Fascist culture in Bologna, 5 were Jews (Gino Arias, Margherita Sarfatti, Angelo Olivetti, Carlo Foà, and Guido Jung). In 1934, a group of Jews founded the Fascist newspaper La Nostra Bandiera (Our Banner), headed by Ettore Ovazza. This publication strongly supported the regime, denying Zionism and betraying the trust of the Jewish community.29 Between October 1928 and October 1933, 4,920 Italian Jews joined the Fascist Party. They represented slightly more than 10 percent of the Italian Jewish population as a whole. The membership percentage of the non-Jewish population was roughly the same. Obviously not all, or even most, middle-class Jews were Fascist, any more than most non-Jews. A majority of all thoughtful, educated adults understood the danger of an authoritarian regime that employed violence to convince doubters and intimidate opponents. A majority of Jewish adults understood the particular danger of such a regime to themselves.30 Some Jews also immigrated to Palestine. I interviewed a number of them, who declared that their decision to emigrate was motivated primarily by their anti-Fascist feelings and only subsequently for Zionist-related motives. Jewish Education and Culture after the Emancipation As I wrote in the section titled “Jewish Education and Culture prior to the Emancipation,” education and culture were always the main axes of the Jewish way of life. Since the period of the ghetto, Jewish schools such the Talmud Torah were established. After the Emancipation, however, the situation changed. The phenomenon of emigration to the important urban centers,


or at least the abandonment of the ghetto for better neighborhoods, had important consequences in religious, cultural, and educational life. According to Cecil Roth, The impact of Emancipation upon the internal life of Italian Jewry was immediate; in most respects it was deleterious. Within a generation of the great edict of Carlo Alberto, assimilation had made appalling progress. Synagogues that were formerly open for services twice a day now had difficulty in assembling the necessary quorum once a week. In places which had formerly a plurality of synagogues expressing variations of origin or tradition (such as Mantua or Venice), one alone, was now sufficient in most instances to supply all possible requirements.Â€.Â€.Â€. Jewish education was generally neglected, ignorance reaching a point that a prayer book transliterated into Latin characters was published for the solemn festivals. The old yeshivot (rabbinical colleges) for adult studies, ceased to exist or survived only as institutions for benevolent purposes or mechanical ritual recitals.31

This, as I confirmed through interviews conducted with people born at the beginning of the twentieth century, was a reaction to the restrictions imposed on the Jews for many years during the ghetto period. In the words of one of these interviewees, the “new freedom inebriated everybody.” Once they had the same legal footing as other citizens, Italian Jews wanted to be just like them. At this time, immediately after the unification, Italy was an anticlerical society governed by an oligarchia liberale (liberal oligarchy). Nevertheless, in 1829, the Collegio Rabbinico (Rabbinical College) was opened in Padua for the purpose of educating rabbis in a modern sense. For many years it was the center of Jewish studies in Italy. The Collegio was directed by Samuele David Luzzato, born in Trieste to working-class parents of Venetian origins.32 Another center of scholarship, rival to Padua, was Leghorn, which represented a completely different ideology. The Collegio Rabbinico of Leghorn was directed by Rabbi Elia Benamozegh, who was another important figure in Italian Hebrew studies. In 1899, the Collegio Rabbinico of Florence was


revived and directed by a German rabbi of Galician origin, Samuel Hirsch Margulies, until his death in 1922. This period is considered one of the most significant in the history of the Florentine Jewish community. Under the guidance of Margulies, an “integral Judaism” was formed. At the beginning of the century, a number of Jewish cultural societies were established, such as Pro-Cultura, founded by Margulies himself in 1907. Four years later, a Jewish youth congress was held in Florence. The second congress was held in Turin in 1912, the third in Rome in 1914, and the fourth, considered one of the most important due to the number of participants, in Leghorn in 1924. The Consorzio (Association) of Italian Jewish Communities, with cultural rather than administrative or political objectives, was established in 1911, and can be seen as another outcome of this movement of intellectual revival. New periodicals were founded. One of these was Israel, established and headed by Florentine lawyer Alfonso Pacifici, who had worked in close association with one of the famous Italian Zionists, Dante Lattes. A scientific Jewish review was set up in Florence, as well as a new Rivista Israelitica (Jewish Review), which published important material in the field of Jewish studies. The foremost member of the circle was Umberto Cassuto, historian, biblical scholar, and author of The Jews of Renaissance Florence. Another important figure in the rebirth of Judaism was Rabbi David Prato, a teacher of Jewish subjects in the Talmud Torah of Florence between 1903 and 1904 and the director of the school from 1907. For Prato, the instruction of Hebrew as a modern spoken language was extremely important. After World War I, the teacher Nathan Shalem, who lived in Palestine, was invited to teach Hebrew. Related to the study of the language, Hebrew songs and poems as well as dances were performed by the children during the Jewish holidays. Hebrew courses for adults and children enrolled in public schools were organized by the Talmud Torah. In 1919, Nathan Shalem, together with David Prato, published the bimonthly magazine Israel dei Ragazzi (Israel of the Youth) in Florence.


Information and details about Jewish education in Italy after the unification can be gathered by reading these journals as well as the minutes of the youth congresses. During the first such congress, in 1911, it was decided to produce a report on the state of Jewish schools in Italy. Three people were elected to carry out this mission: Elia Artom, Umberto Cassuto, and Alfonso Pacifici. The establishment of Jewish schools was one of the most important issues in those years, as secularization was considered a dangerous phenomenon, potentially opening the doors to assimilation. Many Jews distanced themselves from Judaism, so the rebuilding of new Jewish schools was a vital first step toward the rebirth of Judaism. During the second youth congress, held in Turin in 1912, the results of the inquiry were publicized. The wealthier families had already left the ghetto, leaving only the more impoverished Jews who enrolled their children in Jewish schools. According to the results of the inquiry, sent by the commission to each community in Italy in 1911, only 1,493 children were enrolled in the Jewish elementary schools. If we take into consideration that not all the communities provided information to the commission, we can assume that approximately 1,600 Jewish children, or 4 percent of the total 40 thousand Jews then living in Italy, were enrolled in Jewish schools. Only a few years before the number had been 163,328. In some communities there was an increase in the number of children attending Jewish schools. In Alexandria, for example, there was an increase of 5.26 percent compared to the previous year. The Talmud Torah of Florence registered a 1.78 percent increase in enrollment; the Polacco Institute of Padua had an increase of 7.59 percent; the school of Pitigliano had an increase of 19.71 percent; the religious-moral school of Venice, 13.85 percent; the girls’ school of Venice, 5.14 percent; and the school of Verona, 39.21 percent. Moreover, only two elementary schools, those of Florence and Leghorn, filled all six classes, according to government requirements. The schools of Acqui, Pisa, and Turin had five


classes; the girls’ school of Florence, the Female Institute of Castelfranco of Padua, and the school of Verona each had only four classes. The school of Asti and the school of Venice filled three classes. The schools of Milan and Casale Monferrato had only one class each, annexed to the kindergarten. Other communities didn’t have any Jewish classes at all. Secondary schools existed only in Turin and Leghorn. In Turin a technical school was founded in 1912. In short, the inquiry determined that no single Jewish school resembled another. Schools in different communities had different methods of organization and teaching. These differences stemmed from the varying needs of the communities, with their individual economic and social considerations. The schools subsidized by the communities were established in large apartments but were hardly ever in normal school buildings. The children did not have standardized textbooks. An appeal was made by Joseph Colombo to the fourth youth congress in 1924, which focused on the problem of Jewish schools in Italy, to write textbooks for the Jewish elementary schools and employ Jewish teachers of a high standard. It is interesting to note that some teachers at elementary schools were non-Jews. In Rome in 1911, three out of six teachers were gentiles who taught secular subjects and gymnastics. Colombo declared the importance of encouraging all Jews, not just the poor, to send their children to Jewish schools in which secular as well as Jewish subjects were taught. The Jewish schools must be no longer philanthropic institutions, but rather cultural ones. It was necessary to open after-school courses where children might study or enjoy recreational activities. Jewish summer courses for teachers must be organized. The Jewish schools must receive recognition and financial aid from the state. The foci of the study program of the Jewish elementary schools should be language, history, religion, and general culture, because the goal of the Jewish school must be the integration of the Jewish and gentile cultures. In 1920, Umberto Cassuto published an article in Giovane Israele (Young Israel), in which he wrote


of the importance of the school and Jewish culture in Italy as a weapon against assimilation. He considered it important to open not only rabbinical colleges but also nondenominational Jewish schools, with free admission even to gentiles. Cassuto, like Artom and Colombo, supported the need to distribute new books, with a new Hebrew grammar and an Italian-Hebrew dictionary. In May 1936, l’Unione delle Comunità Israelitiche (Union of Jewish Communities) of Rome published instructional guides and programs for Jewish elementary schools.33 After 1925, an integral fascistizzazione (fascistization) of the schools took place, and Fascist doctrines were imposed. Between 1919 and 1921, with the introduction of national examinations, a conflict emerged regarding the ecumenical nature of schools. In 1923, Minister Giovanni Gentile proposed a new reform, considered by Mussolini to be the most Fascist of reforms. It established a hierarchical and authoritarian educational doctrine. In 1926, as a first step of this reform, the Opera Nazionale Balilla (the Fascist National Organization called Balilla) was instituted to prepare young people to take part in the Fascist regime. Great emphasis was placed on physical education, which became an obligatory part of the elementary- and secondary-school curricula. But, until 1938, despite interest in Jewish schools and their contribution to forming a different kind of Jew, a Jew able to maintain his Judaism and to live in harmony with the gentile society, a Jew interested in Zionism and future aliya to Palestine, enrollment in the Jewish schools remained low. Italian Jews were still not interested in aliya or Zionism, and still preferred to enroll their children in Italian schools. Almost none of my interviewees reported having studied at a Jewish school. Some of them had private tutors for the study of Jewish religion at home, and one or two of them spent one year in a Jewish school, while all of them had attended public school. Some told me that they had been the only Jew in a class of 40 or 45 students, but this was not a problem for them. Even if the teachers were Catholic, these pupils were excused from the


obligatory religious teachings. One of the people I interviewed recounted a curious experience. This woman was born in Turin in 1906, and was brought up in an assimilated environment in a bourgeois family. She was awarded the prize of merit for having been the best student of the year, despite the fact that she was the only Jew in a class of 40 Catholic children. During World War I, her teacher, who was very religious, gave a holy picture of the Virgin Mary to each of her pupils, but the teacher knew that she was Jewish, so she gave her a holy picture of Saint George, the protector of soldiers. This woman, who immigrated to Israel a few years later, told me that she kept this picture as a memento of her teacher, who had treated her as an equal. Similar events occurred in other public schools; all the people I interviewed told me that they never felt any kind of religious discrimination against them. This attitude continued until the legislation of the racial law of 1938, when suddenly everyone related to Jewish pupils as if they were different. In 1938, expelled from all the Italian schools, Jews had no choice but to continue their studies in Jewish schools. The Language of the Jews before and after the Emancipation Vernacular Italian dialects were developed during the centuries of the Middle Ages, emerging from the evolution of Latin during that period. The Jews also began, at first, to use vernacular Italian as a spoken language and subsequently as a tool for written communication. In the case of the Jews, however, alongside the use of local dialects, not only was Latin used as the language of high culture, but also Hebrew was endowed with a similar function (in other words, as the language of culture and study). Therefore, parallel to every vernacular dialect, one can assume the existence of a Hebrew dialect with its own particular characteristics, which evolved through the


centuries side by side with local dialects, until the beginning of this century.34 From the thirteenth century, documentation records that the spoken language of the Italian Jews became increasingly richer. A particular characteristic of the Italian Jews was the singsong lullaby, a singular spoken intonation in which Hebrew terms were amalgamated with local colloquialisms borrowed from the dialect particular to the place in which the Jews lived. According to scholar Attilio Milano, the inflection used by the Jews in their spoken language derived from the cadence or manner in which they read their traditional books. This specific dialect was particularly diffuse among the less cultured strata of the community. In private, the Jews tended to use their local dialect, composed of words or similes garnered from their sacred literature, so those beyond their own community would not understand them. This specific dialect, like a private language, was the vehicle used to describe people and their faults, while Hebrew was used for business and commercial affairs. It would be true to say that Italian as well as the Jewish Italian dialect was used as a vehicle for the spoken language, while Hebrew was employed as a written language and was “a little-used discursive tool, analogous to the Latin used amongst the Christians. From the beginning of the sixteenth century sermons, delivered by the rabbis in synagogue on Saturdays and religious holidays, were expressed in Italian, unless the rabbi was a foreigner. Hebrew was used only to quote from the sacred literature. The first translations of specific books from the Bible or of prayers, executed principally for use by women, can be dated to the beginning of the thirteenth century.”35 The segregation of the Jews in the ghetto gave rise to stagnation in their spoken language, as opposed to the dynamism of that used by those living freely in the surrounding areas. The first rudiments of reading and writing were taught in two languages until the Jews were admitted into the local public schools. Those Jews who continued their studies did so in both


Italian and Hebrew, although preference was given to the latter. All Jews were certainly capable of understanding both languages, and many were able to both read and write Italian as well as Hebrew more or less accurately. From the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Church obliged bankers to keep their records in Italian. The Church endeavored to compel the Jewish community to similarly maintain their business records in Italian to facilitate inspection. From that period, the use of Italian in the recording of personal papers began to spread, although many Hebrew words were inserted.36 After the Emancipation, the use of the spoken Jewish Italian dialect ceased, and there was a general distancing from many Jewish customs, which were considered painful reminders of the segregation in ghettos. With the destruction of the ghettos, Jews were permitted to mingle with the rest of the population. In this period, there emerged a process of “Italianization” throughout the country, which reached its zenith in the last century, threatening the survival of all dialects. It is this sensation of the impending loss of specific traits significant to identity and heritage that prompted some people to collect testimonies of the Jewish Italian dialect. In 1893, a Jewish journal, Il Vessillo Israelitico (The Jewish Banner) was published by Rabbi C. Cammeo, in an attempt to collect idioms and expressions that he defined as “the dialect of the ghettos.”37 The first scholar who posed the problem of the origin of the diverse variety of the Jewish Italians was the Tuscan Jewish historian Umberto Cassuto. In 1909, he published an article in Vessillo Israelitico, in which he presented the problem of the disappearance of dialects, underscoring the necessity to collect records of local dialects on the point of extinction. In this article the term “Jewish Italian” was used for the first time. In 1929, Cassuto embarked on a systematic study describing the characteristics of the Jewish Italian dialect. In the same year, Riccardo Bachi published an account of the Piedmontese Jews and called for the collection and study of the spoken


language, which was at the point of disappearance. This appeal was published in the journal La Rassegna Mensile di Israel (The Monthly Review of Israel). The journal itself published an appeal to every single Jewish community to gather and list words, typical expressions, and colloquialisms. With the advent of Fascism and the war, this work was abandoned and was subsequently taken up again only in 1951. The problem of the language, or the study of the Hebrew language, was dealt with in a systematic manner in the journal La Settimana Israelitica (The Jewish Week). The journal began focusing on this subject in 1911, with a report of the five lectures presented by Elia S. Artom on the Hebrew language at the youth congress in Florence on November 9, 1911. Artom emphasized the importance of the Hebrew language as a vehicle to unite all Jews. “In Italy the Hebrew language is neglected,” wrote Artom: Our fathers knew Hebrew and we do not. What will happen with our children?Â€.Â€.Â€. Just as Israel is immortal, so should our language be immortal.Â€.Â€.Â€. one of the principal symbols of the Jews is the Hebrew language. The study of Hebrew for us is a necessity and an obligation. The Hebrew language represents the life of the Jewish people from its origins until the present.Â€ .Â€ .Â€ . Beyond the fact that we do not understand the Jewish literature, we are not even aware of a new literature which lives and flourishes. There is no school in Italy where one can study Hebrew except for isolated private schools or tutors.Â€.Â€.Â€. Without our language we are not, nor can we be, Jews. In the first place, translations of Hebrew literature are crucial so that we may know and understand them.

The author opened a debate with the other participants of the congress, who espoused different ideas. Some affirmed the need to translate works already existent in other languages, while others, such as Rabbi Prato, spoke of the importance of translations of grammar books, since in the following year a project to study Hebrew as a spoken language was to be held in Florence, giving rise to an urgent need for books and schools.


In 1912, La Settimana Israelitica published an anonymous article titled “For the Reconquest of our Language,” in which the importance of the Hebrew language was emphasized. In the words of the author, “Only with the full reconquest of our language can our national feelings become a thing of solidity and of self assurance. There are two ways to study the language, one way, propounded by Pacifici, is to go to the place where the language is spoken (in other words, to Palestine), and the second way is to import teachers from the place where the language is spoken.” To realize this objective, continued the author, it was necessary to collect money in order to create a scholarship in Palestine for those who wished to study the Hebrew language. In 1913, the same journal published a report of the lecture presented at the second youth congress in Turin on December 22, 1913. The report was written by Alfonso Pacifici and had been the subject of discussions held at the first youth congress in Florence in the previous year. Pacifici wrote that Artom’s proposal of 1912 was now a concrete fact; the scholarship in Palestine, which he had initiated, had been established. The author continued by stating that the Jews must speak Hebrew, “for the Jewish awareness is lost and our great program must be based upon the rebirth of Hebrew. In order to realize this, it is imperative to first restore the language.”38 In his response, Pacifici cited the attempt of Eliezer Ben Yehudah, a Russian Jew who had immigrated to Palestine 25 years earlier, to restore Hebrew as a spoken language. He had proposed that he and his family should speak Hebrew. Moreover, he maintained that everyone living in Palestine should converse in Hebrew. So, today, continued Pacifici, all of Palestine speaks Hebrew. The author cited as examples other foreign nations, such as Galicia, where 70 schools were in operation in which Hebrew was taught as a living language (and the number was rising). In 1912, a school in Lemberg was opened for teachers. In Salonicco, two thousand students of the Talmud Torah school spoke Hebrew in their study hours, thanks to the efforts of their director. Pacifici


asked whether it was not possible to do the same in Italy as was being done abroad. We could be bilingual should we only want to be, he asserted. In response, Professor Felice Momigliano stated in the journal, “Notwithstanding the interest of the subject, one should ask oneself what precipitated the decline of the Hebrew spirit from 1848 onwards, and to ascertain whether there still is Hebrew awareness. It is vital to recite and teach prayer in Hebrew.” The Zionist Rabbi Dante Lattes became involved in the discourse, stating that he did not agree with either Pacifici or Momigliano, and, in his opinion, the Jews in Italy were living in exile; their only true homeland was Palestine. Professor Kraùterkraft proposed the notion of forming centers for Jewish culture. In 1914, La Settimana Israelitica published an anonymous article, “The First Novel of the Rebirth of Hebrew in the Italian Language.” In 1915, the complete version of Small Modern Novel was published by E. D. Colonna. The book describes the life of a Jewish married couple, one of whom is observant and the other not. With the passage of time, the couple exchanges roles; the secular partner becomes religious and the formerly observant partner ceases to observe religious rituals until, finally, the two draw closer, with a renewed intensity, to Judaism, naming their new son Israel. Critics regard this book as an attempt to write Hebrew literature. It was the first Jewish novel in the Italian language that, unlike Castelnuovo’s I Moncalvo, which dealt with Jewish decadence and decline, focused on Jewish rebirth. The book contains expressions and quotations of Hebrew verse. Nevertheless, the motive for the profound religious epiphanies that prompted the protagonists to distance themselves and subsequently embrace their religion was not sufficiently explained. In 1916 Il Vessillo Israelitico published an article by Dr. Kopciowski titled “The Language as a National Characteristic.” The author wrote of the importance of language as the


unifying feature of a nation, claiming that the language of the Jews must be Hebrew, and only the language in which the Bible was written should be used by Jews. Clearly, the spoken language of Italian Jews and the linguistic variety that depends on social conditions and assumes differing forms in different locations reflects the historical events experienced by different communities.39 As S. Hughes writes, “To pass from Ghetto speech to normal Italian speech required no particular effort. Nor did it mean to close off a reservoir of memory; after all, memories of the Italian Jewish communities were linked by the tie of language to the larger world beyond them.”40 I conducted numerous interviews in order to confirm the historical truth of the rejection of spoken Hebrew after the opening of the ghettos during the Emancipation period. Italian Jews born at the beginning of the last century informed me that neither they nor their parents spoke Hebrew except in situations in which they did not want to be understood by the wider community or when using specific quotes or colloquial expressions within vernacular Italian. Their grandparents, on the contrary, tended to use the Hebrew language, particularly when praying. Therefore, only at the beginning of this century was the importance of the use of Hebrew recognized. This led to a phenomenon that is explored in the course of my research, namely, the rebirth of Hebrew.


2

Assimilation or Integration of the Jews in Italy

T

he process of Jewish integration began with the Emancipation and continued until the unification of Italy (1860– 70). The Emancipation of the Jews in Italy began prior to the French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man in September 1791, which, together with the Napoleonic Wars, changed the entire European order. Napoleon’s troops spread the ideas of the Revolution—freedom, equality, and fraternity—throughout Europe, and these persisted even after his army was vanquished. The aspiration for national freedom and the new spirit of patriotism and fraternity influenced the Jews as well, leading to their active participation in the Italian liberation movement, the Risorgimento (Reawakening) and, subsequently, in World War I. The Participation of the Jews in Italian Wars of Independence before and after the Unification of Italy The active participation of the Jews in the struggle for independence began before 1848. In fact, there is evidence of Jews being involved in the movements that emerged after the French Revolution and from the first years of the eighteenth century in the clandestine movements Carboneria and Giovine Italia (Young Italy). Beyond a number of attempts at insurrection, whether isolated or collective, such as the Napoleonic movements of 1820–21 and 1831, which took place in Sicily,


Piedmont, and Emilia, the history of the Italian Risorgimento included three wars of independence. Until the eighteenth century, Italy was divided into small states and principalities with the Church at its center. The numerous monarchies and principalities initially fell under the sway of the French and Spanish and, subsequently, under Hapsburg influence. In 1720, the Duke of Savoy, Vittorio Amedeo II, obtained the title of king, and acquired dominion over Sardinia, augmenting his power and prestige, which became ever more Italianate in manner. A large number of Jews took part in the wars of independence.1 The first of these occurred in 1848–49 and the last broke out in 1866 and resulted in Venice being annexed to the new Italy. According to statistician Erminio Servi, beyond the regular armies, the proportion of Jewish volunteers during the war of 1848–49 in relation to the Jewish population was 1:55; in 1859 it was 1:115; in the war of 1860–61 the proportion was 1:110 and in 1866, 1:74. In the war of 1859, among the 12 thousand men who enlisted with Garibaldi, at least four hundred soldiers were Jewish. Among Garibaldi’s famous “Thousand” (Mille) there were eight Jews, of whom two were officers, Captain David Uziel (1835–90) of Venice, and Colonel Enrico Guastalla (1826–1923) from the city of Guastalla. These two men participated in the insurrection at Mantua in 1848, fought in Rome in 1849, directed the Giustizia e Liberta’ (Justice and Freedom) movement in Genoa, served as secretaries of the committee Pel milione di fucili (A Thousand Rifles), fought with Garibaldi from 1859 to 1866, and reorganized the Risorgimento Museum in Milan. Jews participated in the subsequent war, as they did in the first war of Africa, where they were awarded 2 crosses of the Mauritian Cavalier, 6 silver medals, and 16 bronze medals for their efforts during the Libyan conquest. The participation of Jews in the battle for the unification of Italy and, later, during World War I, is clearly explained in the initial discourse given by Hon. Francesco Arca in 1919. The

Assimilation or Integration of the Jews in Italy 49

lecture is documented in a pamphlet titled The Italian Jews in the War of 1915–1918, published by F. Servi in 1921. In this work he writes, “In no other country except for Italy have the Jews become spiritually fused with the nation as equal citizens, they have suffered the agonies of war, where, as equal citizens, they participated in the exultation of victory. Generous quantities of Jewish blood have bathed the rocks of Trentino and Cadore (mountainous regions in the north of Italy on the border with Austria and ex-Yugoslavia), the stones of Carso, the banks of Piave, in a sacrifice without boundaries, for the liberty of Italy, for the liberty of the world.” One should not be surprised, therefore, by the behavior of the many rabbis who, as is testified to by the chronicles of the Jewish journals, enlisted as military chaplains in the various forces, or included Italian and patriotic sentiments in their sermons, as did Rabbi David Levi and Rabbi Giuseppe Revere. Many Jewish volunteers participated in World War I, among them, as one reads in the Military Encyclopedia published by the Popolo d’Italia, (Italian Nation) a number of officers. At least 15 Jewish volunteers attained the rank of general; the same number served as colonels and some reached the rank of admiral. Many of these men died: 261 fell in the battlefields, while others were seriously wounded. They merited 2 gold medals, 207 silver medals, and 238 bronze medals, as well as 28 solemn commendations. Who were these Jews who were first and foremost insurrectionists and secondly nationalists? As we can see in the text of the February 20, 1930, report of the investigation in the archive of the Commune of Venice, Chief Rabbi Adolfo Ottolenghi of Venice circulated a letter to the Consortium of Venetian Jews and Rabbis in which, at the initiative of the Chief Rabbi of Rome, he expressed the desire to publish a book documenting the widespread participation of the Italian Jews in the Great War of 1915–18. The Chief Rabbi expressed his desire to collect as much material on the subject as possible, in order to demonstrate that the Italian Jews had fulfilled their patriotic duty. The response, found in many letters from people


who responded to this investigation, was quite unexpected. In fact, all the Venetian Jews sent data relating to the loss of family and friends to the Rabbi Ottolenghi and to the Fraterna Generale Israelita di Venezia (General Brotherhood Israelite Association of Venice). This information supports the fact that the majority of these Jews hailed from an upper middle-class background, having completed some sort of higher education and often obtained degrees, some in jurisprudence or, as in the case of the deceased lance corporal Tullio Lowy, in business and economics. In his article “The War,” published in 1918 in Vessillo Israelitico (Jewish Banner), a bimonthly Jewish magazine, Augusto Maroni listed the names of the fallen and summaries of their life histories and the military honors they received. The bourgeois background from which these young Jewish volunteers came comes to light here. Furthermore, a number of interviews I have conducted over the last 15 years of people born at the beginning of the twentieth century corroborates the fact that most of these Jewish soldiers hailed from middle-class backgrounds. Many of those interviewed lost their loved ones on the battlefields of World War I, and all of them belonged to the bourgeoisie, if not to the upper bourgeois class. All were fervent patriots, and when I asked why this was so, the answers were the same as those published in the journals of the time; briefly, equality and gratitude, that is, gratitude toward Italy, the country that granted them civil, political, and legal rights. This attitude may explain the position of the Jews in World War I from 1915 to 1918, when they responded to Italy’s entry into the war with waves of overflowing patriotism. Among the recurrent motifs of Jewish publications was a precise awareness of the Jewish soldier and the worthiness of his military actions. When asked about the aims of the war, one Jewish soldier replied, “We [Jews] fight strenuously together with our brothers [Italian gentiles] for the salvation and the greatness of this land, blessed by God, in order to fulfill the work of the great,


in order to affirm the right of justice on earth, against violence and excess.”2 The Emancipation allowed the Jews the possibility of integrating into all aspects of society, including economic, cultural, and social aspects. In Italy furthermore, the Jews, during the Risorgimento, considered themselves cofounders with other Italian patriots of the new Italian state. Thus, Jews were not adopted into a preexisting economic, social, and political system but, like the rest of the population, took an active part in establishing the new order. The history of Italian Jews since the establishment of the first ghetto (Venice, 1516) was not uniform, since until the unification, Italy was divided into different regions, each with its own customs, dialect, and political administration, and was closely related to that of their gentile neighbors. The historical events that took place in Italy before and after its unification had direct and indirect effects on the political status of the Jews and shaped their sociodemographic characteristics in a variety of ways that will be discussed below. The Jews and Their Relations with the Gentiles before and after the Unification of Italy The active participation of the Italian Jews in the numerous conflicts that gave rise to the Risorgimento and, subsequently, in World War I, is regarded by some scholars as an attempt by the Jews to assimilate themselves into the new Italy, the state formed after the unification. The debate on integration and assimilation characterized the first decade of the twentieth century and took place in a variety of forms. It continued until the legislation of the racial laws of 1938. Assimilation and integration are profoundly different terms, applied in a variety of circumstances, both historical and environmental, to indicate the type of relationship that a minority group wants to establish with the indigenous majority in a given state.3 Clarifying the distinction between these words


is a prerequisite for understanding whether Italian Jews were assimilated/acculturated or integrated/socialized. In sociology, assimilation is defined as the process by which immigrants or other newcomers are encouraged to adopt the attitudes and cultural patterns of the society in which they live. This process demands that the group undergoing assimilation give up its former cultural patterns and customs. In contrast, integration refers to the harmonious arrangement of external ideas, responses, behaviors, and so forth of a minority in the host society, which prevents them from losing their former social identity but which nevertheless constitutes a comprehensive whole. Acculturation, in turn, refers to an individual’s or group’s adoption of the culture, or elements of it, of another group as part of the process of social change caused by the interaction of diverse cultures, cultural leveling, or homogeneity. It follows that acculturation is quite close to assimilation, while socialization, the identification of a person with the welfare of other persons, with his or her group, and with other groups, is closer to integration. As I have noted, the national identity of the Italian Jews was formed during the Risorgimento, at the same time as the unification process was taking place. Emancipation led the Jews to redefine themselves in fundamentally new ways. During the Risorgimento, at the moment of emancipation and equality, Italian Judaism was undergoing a phase of great activity and ferment: the assimilated and those who defended Judaism to the last, innovators and traditionalists, free thinkers and the rigidly Orthodox engaged in fiery debates on the value and duties of Judaism within the new historical and social circumstances.4 According to many historians, including Renzo De Felice and Francesca Sofia, the process of integration of Italian Jews into the fabric of Italian society or, as defined by De Felice, their assimilation, was characterized by three motifs. The first of these was the numerous mixed marriages that took place in the first decade of the twentieth century (the exact number is imprecise as many mixed marriages were not registered).


The second was the conversion of Jews to Catholicism, about which there is insufficient data, as these conversions were often performed in secret or not reported. The third is the tendency toward dissociation from religious practices. This last phenomenon occurred at the same time as the opening of the ghettos, when religion became the distinguishing element of diversity. The historian Mario Toscano concurs with this point of view, and writes that Italian Judaism, until the beginning of the twentieth century, seemed to be characterized by an accelerated process of national integration, divested of the more traumatic forms associated with the rejection of an identity and, conversely, rich with nuances and differing components, turning about the central node of the loss of the cornerstone of religious Jewish identity.5 In the new liberal Italian society, religiosity was viewed as an archaic relic, part of a traditional culture incapable of modernization or adaptation. The position of certain sectors of the Jewish bourgeoisie can be placed within the context of the broader Italian Jewish community, steadfast in its compromise between patriotism and a tenuous formal religiosity, and the roots of the flowering of Jewish awareness within the intellectual world, as is well analyzed by Henry Stuart Hughes in his book, Prisoners of Hope. Thus, as De Felice suggests, in order to fully comprehend the Jews’ position between integration and assimilation, a thorough understanding of the culture of the period is necessary. This was a culture dominated by positivism, scientism, Darwinism, laicism, and agnosticism, which considered the essential elements of a nation to be the existence of a territory, of a tradition and a common language, while ignoring religion and race, concepts that were incomprehensible at the time.6 It is within the context of this new faith in human perfection, progress, and the transformation of moral and civil behavior that we can locate the position of Italian Jews. Italian Jews were not separate from the surrounding gentile society, but rather linked to it and inseparable from it, making their case


unique among nations. However, many scholars have ignored this uniqueness. A number of scholars, including Andrew Canepa, have based their research on seemingly self-evident conclusions, though these may be lacking in historical foundation. These scholars claim that the liberal state, beyond combating antiSemitism and fully respecting the identity of the Jews, assumed that their economic and cultural metamorphosis, a byproduct of their emancipation, would bring about an end to their particularism. This would, in turn, facilitate their complete assimilation, due to the abandonment of their religion, and encourage a move toward a complete Italianization that would resolve the Jewish question by resulting in the disappearance of the Jews as a separate entity. According to these analyses, such tendencies dominated the first decade of the unitarian process. Subsequently, the appearance of Zionism gave rise to a profound hostility on the part of the general population as well as liberal Italians, who began to question the relationship between Jews and Italians.7 In fact, a persistent form of anti-Semitism characterized the Italy of this period,8 American scholar Lyn Gunzberg concludes through her analyses of various works of popular literature. In the introduction to her book Strangers at Home, she notes that in Italy Jews were assigned a prescribed social role that they could abandon only by surrendering their Jewishness. Gunzberg discusses the iconography of Italian Jews contained in works of popular literature written by non-Jews from the beginning of the Risorgimento movement in the early nineteenth century to the enactment of the Fascist racial laws in 1938. She views “popular literature [as] the best source material for our attempt to assess the nature and recent history of underlying opinions about Jews in Italian mass culture between roughly 1800 and 1938.”9 If it is true to say that the history of literature or, as Gunzberg claims, of particular authors, complements historical research, it is likewise true that taking only one line of research is not sufficient for arriving at particular


conclusions such as those cited above. Without the historical context and background on the social and cultural relations between the two groups, Jews and gentiles, Gunzberg’s conclusions are only partially reliable. In order to arrive at a better understanding of the integration of Italian Jews in Italy, it is necessary to use primary and first-hand sources such as biographies, memoirs, and interviews. The memoirs of Jewish writers born and raised in Italy during this period suggest that anti-Semitism, in its true sense, did not exist. The racial laws of 1938 took the Jewish community by surprise. The Jewish question did not exist in Italy at the time, at least from the standpoint of regarding Jews as a foreign body within the Italian nation. Neither was their presence seen as a burden on the economy. There was no Jewish monopoly of any type proportionate to the Jewish presence in the various sectors of national life, from culture to politics, and their influence was not disproportionate to their limited numbers. The situation in Italy was always different than that of Jews in other countries. This fact explains why many Eastern European Jews immigrated to Italy during the nineteenth century, even before the Nazi era. This was the case of Leone Ginzburg, literary critic and essayist, one of the greatest exponents of Russian literature in Italy.10 Many Jewish immigrants made serious contributions to the political and cultural life in Italy during this period. Such was the case of Israel Kalk, of Latvian origin, who was the founder of the Mensa dei bambini (children’s refectory), an aid operation instrumental in saving hundreds of young refugees in Milan and in detention centers during the period of racial persecution.11 Other well-known immigrants included the historian and academic Bernard Davidsohn; Herman Loewinson, originally from Berlin, who was a historian and the director of the state archive of Parma; and perhaps the best known among the German-Jewish immigrants, Leo Olschki, founder of the antique book shop of the same name and of a publishing house in Florence.


Unfortunately, there is no record of the exact number of foreign Jews who settled in Italy, due to the fact that Italy was, more often than not, regarded as a transit stop on the way to other destinations such as the United States or Israel. Jewish immigrants and Italian Jews were on excellent terms with one another, as verified by people I interviewed. These refugees were often given hospitality in the houses of Italian Jews during the Sabbath and the festivals. The Oneg Shabbat (Sabbath celebration) held in Turin was a time when many Jewish families invited young immigrants, for the most part students, for the weekend. Likewise, both the Italian Jews and Jewish refugees had positive relations with the gentiles. As I have noted, the concept of the Jewish question did not exist; the Jew was not perceived as being any different from his nonJewish neighbor. Thus, the Jews were considered by other Italians to be the same as they were. One cannot deny that there were sporadic outbreaks of anti-Semitism, and it is certainly true, as noted in the previous chapter, that there were acts of violence of a Fascist nature at the beginning of the dictatorship. Fascist historian Paolo Orano is enlightening on this point. Yet there was never a deep-seated form of anti-Semitism in Italy of the type that was widespread in eastern or western Europe, for example in Austria, Germany, and France. This was because, as De Felice writes, “If there was anti-Semitism in Italy, it was limited to a restricted environment where the social composition was made up of rather backward people and never went beyond extremely traditional communes whose origins were sunk deeply in the preceding centuries when the Jew was perceived as being a ‘miser,’ a ‘profiteer.’ The popular psychology as much as the culture (neither that of the middle class as well as the more provincial society) never really knew racial incitement or racism in Italy.”12 If there was no perceived difference between Jew and non-Jew, why was the term “integration” used? The answer to this question can be found through research conducted


on autobiographical books such as that written by historian Michele Luzzati, titled Memoria Familiare e identità (Family Memoirs and Identity), and other important studies conducted by historians such as Mario Toscano, Francesca Sofia, David Bidussa, and Amos Luzzato. Beyond the historiographical and bibliographical elements, the numerous interviews I have conducted both in Italy and in Israel with Italian Jews who lived during the period under consideration shed additional light on the field. The early memories that I recorded in the 1990s unite with bibliographical and archival material to provide an extremely rich and detailed addition to bibliographical and archival material, in the context of historical events as well as that of the personal relationships between Jews and non-Jews. I interviewed Italian Jews over 75 years old, the majority of whom were female and belonged to the middle and upper middle class, since the majority of Italian Jews, especially those who immigrated to Israel at the end of the 1930s, belonged to these classes. Many of them were anti-Fascist rather than Zionist, secular, well educated, and professional. Furthermore, upper middle-class Italian Jews actively participated in the anti-Fascist movement and in the rebirth of Judaism in the early years of the twentieth century. It is thanks to them, especially the youths, that there was a Jewish revival in Italy. Their memoirs attest to their integration rather than assimilation in Italian society. Bourgeois Jews in Italy at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century conducted themselves, outside of their own homes, in the same manner as gentiles of the same social class. Their ways of life were the same, in the sense that both the Jew and the gentile lived in comfortable homes and employed nursemaids and servants. Their wives were dedicated to household management, they indulged in fashionable leisure activities such as theater and concerts, whether produced by Jews or gentiles, and conducted an intense cultural life whereby the children of the household received dancing lessons at home, studied the piano, and learned to speak


French and German. School attendance varied from city to city or, to be more precise, from community to community. For example, in Leghorn, according to Michele Luzzati, Jews of the upper bourgeoisie sent their children, first the boys and soon after the girls as well, to Jewish elementary schools and subsequently to public schools and university. However, in Venice the upper bourgeoisie employed tutors to give elementary instruction at home because Jewish schools in that region were designated for the Jews of lesser means. In general, the Hebrew language was not studied, and the traditional Hebrew name given to a child at birth fell out of use with the passage of time, to be replaced by another name. This point is emphasized in the autobiography of Vittorio Segre, Storia di un Ebreo fortunato (History of a Fortunate Jew), in which he writes that Jews of the period in question were a society that had emerged from the ghetto hardly a generation ago. His paternal great-grandfather grew up in the ghetto of Ivrea; his maternal great-grandparents were from the ghetto of Turin. They did not belong to any of the families who distinguished themselves during the wars of the Italian Risorgimento. They supported Emancipation and were loyal to the house of Savoy due to the promulgation of the Albertine Statute of 1848, which sanctioned equality between the Jews and the rest of the Piedmontese population. Within a time span of 30 years, they lost their ancestral faith and values along with the anxieties and political passions connected to the creation of Italy. All that remained was the observance of formal rituals and practices. Segre’s grandparents rejected the study of the Hebrew language that had been a vehicle for verbal and written communication for the Jews of the previous generations. Only Segre’s paternal grandfather used to read the morning and evening ritual prayers, although he did so in an abridged manner and without comprehending their significance. He had recited the morning blessings for 70 years in which he thanked God “for having made me a man.” The Judaism practiced by Segre’s grandparents was formalistic, ever more lacking its


ancient content. They still considered mixed marriage to be a crime. However, the young ladies of good families, such as his mother and sister, were educated in convents, where it was thought that a more refined education was imparted. No self-respecting Jewish family would have dared to eat bread during the seven days of Passover. Both grandmothers were proud to display their Passover dinner sets. Occasionally, out of respect to older or more conservative relatives, other commandments were observed but in a ritualistic manner only, for every vestige of the laws’ original significance had been lost. However, assimilated families, such as Segre’s, did not cease in their praise of traditional values. Aside from some vague notions received while being prepared for her initiation into the religious world, nobody ever taught Hebrew to Segre’s mother. His father, who recited a short passage from the Bible (the Shema) from memory every morning and evening, kept the text of the Kaddish in his wallet, printed in Latin characters on a card with gaps left for the name of the deceased and date of his passing. Even the less observant Jews did their duty by attending the synagogue on the anniversary of the death of a relative. The boys were sent to study at the Talmud Torah before they reached the age of 13 when they could take part in a minyan. They were exempted from Catholic instruction in school.13 Segre’s autobiography is relevant to the situation pertaining to many other Jewish communities at the turn of the twentieth century. While Jews distanced themselves from religious practices and ceased their observance of ritual food laws (kashrut), all Jews considered Yom Kippur the most salient moment of religious experience. Eating unleavened bread during the festival of Passover was fairly common. The traditional Jewish rituals in the event of a birth or a death were still practiced, and particular importance was given to the bar mitzvah ceremony marking the entry of a Jewish boy into manhood. Giulia Luzzati’s 1914 study of the level of patriotism among Jews is of particular interest, as it sheds further light on the integration of Jews in Italy. Presented in Pisa at the conference


held by the Israelite Society, titled Patriottismo e Coscienza Ebraica (Patriotism and Jewish Conscience), Luzzati wrote, The Jews could love their homeland with great passion whilst at the same time harbor a sincere love for their family. The Jew, a product of a strong nation, is the willing laborer who, after suffering all the persecutions aimed at him, knows how to remain firm in his resolutions of virtue and abnegation. He mixes with the wider society but does not become assimilated, he maintains his sentiments, which we can define as the sense of self; he was prepared to live in common with those who practiced a different religion but being as civil as he was, he took part in general commerce and accepted high administrative positions because he had the capacity to disengage himself from the officeÂ€.Â€.Â€. the Italian Jew will be wholly Italian in his fulfillment of his duties, he will love his country and will serve it with both love and disinterest, why not?Â€.Â€.Â€. We, having a Jewish awareness and fulfilling the duties imposed upon us by our religion, are obliged to love the nation which absorbed us, we must not disturb the civic and political order because we have no right to harm the nation in which we live. If, for a moment, we think of our brothers who fought, not just for Italian independence but also, in the Franco-Germanic war of 1870, or to be more precise, the Franco-Prussian war, how can we say that the Jew is not patriotic?Â€.Â€.Â€. The Jews harbor feelings of mercy for everyoneÂ€.Â€.Â€. it is true that in his last days the Jew feels the need for his co-religionist for the sole reason that only a fellow Jew would understand the last dying thoughts that are directed towards divinity, only from a fellow Jew could one ask for the last religious comforts, only with him could the “Shema” be recited for the last time. In 1870, whilst the German and French soldiers were fighting at Metz, our co-religionists got permission to separate themselves from the rank and file in order to spend the holy day of Yom Kippur in prayer. The great strength of the Jewish conscience was most apparent when officers and soldiers, rabbis and those who had never studied the Jewish laws, felt the need to join together to seek comfort by reading the Holy Bible and reciting prayers. The dual sentiments of patriotism and religion do not obscure each other, but shine in a brilliant light, growing ever greater in turn. The Jew has a soul all of his own, and for that reason does not assimilate himself with other nations, he can be an Italian Jew, a French Jew, a German Jew. We are Jews and patriots, we love our brother and, Oh dear! We go against them!14


Further evidence that supports the notion of Jewish integration appears in an article titled “Chippur di Guerra” (Kippur of War), published in the journal Vessillo Israelitico in September 1918, reporting on the approval of the supreme military commander of the commemoration of Yom Kippur for all Jewish soldiers, as had been done in the past, for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), when Jewish soldiers were permitted to assemble with the military rabbis in a day of prayer. The description of the Yom Kippur service celebrated in Verona is of great interest. High-ranking military officers, as well as various generals, participated in the prayers led by the rabbi: As soon as those in authority took their places the military rabbi offered his salutations and his thanks to the officers of the upper echelons for having honored the congregation, as well as the rabbi himself, with their presence in the ceremony, he (the rabbi) directed warm words of praise to the Jewish Italian soldiers, always ready to fulfill their duty in relation to the well-being of the State as it has always been recognized by the superior authorities. The civilian rabbi followed on from the military rabbi, having offered a copy of the pamphlet, Pro-Israele to the authorities, by welcoming the unredeemed people of Israel who would assert and consolidate their rights with the aid of powerful allied nations. General Bompiani responded to the previous speakers with warm and elegant words, emphasizing the deep patriotic significance of the festival and extending his good wishes and support for the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny as expressed by the other speakers. The national anthem was then struck up, followed by a rendition of the Hatikva sung by a group of soldiers. The military authorities followed the words of Hatikva, the national anthem of Israel, from texts that had been presented to them. According to another article, a similar event took place in the city of Ferrara on the occasion of the fourth Yom Kippur service held during the period of the war when the non-Jewish population of Ferrara wished to offer hospitality and courtesy to the soldiers gathered from various regiments for the celebration of the festival. The president of the Casa del soldato (soldier’s house) took the initiative and invited them to the community center, situated in the archbishop’s palace, for refreshments and musical entertainment. This noble move gave rise to a resounding and unanimous burst of applause as well as


extensive coverage in the local newspapers as well as those published in neighboring Bologna.15

These accounts and others enable the reader to appreciate how the Italian Jew, as much as he had distanced himself from religious orthodoxy, still maintained a sense of Jewish identity. Attilio Milano’s assertion that many Jews detached themselves from their religion upon contact with the Italian culture of the time seems somewhat forced and simplistic. Milano suggests that the shedding of Jewish identity was manifested in the rejection, on the part of many Jews, of their particular cultural heritage, in the assimilation of sociocultural elements from the surrounding environment, and subsequently in their conversion to Catholicism and their espousal of Fascism.16 Milano’s statements can be questioned by quoting the contents of a will, read out loud to me by one of my interviewees who had been born at the beginning of the twentieth century to an upperclass family from northern Italy. She graduated from the university at the end of the 1930s and moved to Israel in the early 1940s. The will in question was that of her grandfather, and it came to light in 1913. The first few paragraphs have a spiritual content and are directed to the entire family, particularly to the young grandchildren, whom he requests to forever honor the Jewish faith because, at this time, people are abandoning the religion, and one must never forget that hostility born toward any of the religious principles will result in the absorption into the interfering clerical parties resulting in humiliating conversions, and if this does not happen to you it will happen to your children, as is witnessed every day. Take care to inculcate into your children the dual love, to protect them from such absorption; and do not doubt that by respecting others, those holding other beliefs will respect yours, because it is not true that anti-Semitism is found everywhere and in everyone.

While this particular family was not Orthodox, they were, in some ways, traditionalists. The introductory statements


of the will emphasize the obligation to protect and pass on a sense of Jewish identity, or at least the awareness of Jewish identity, to future generations. It is necessary, therefore, to regard the duality of integration/socialization from a new perspective and bear in mind, as Luzzati suggests, that the secularization and distancing from religion prevalent between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were far from exclusively Jewish phenomena, and in fact affected large numbers of Catholics as well. In retrospect, it may seem that the Jewish community of a hundred years ago was more distanced from religious traditions than it appeared to the Catholic world to which the Jews were bound. However, one cannot exclude the possibility that the process of secularization on the part of both Jews and Christians was occurring on an equal level. In fact, the Jews remained closer to their religious roots than many Christians and were, therefore, less assimilated into the secular, liberal state. They were a more compact and cohesive group in comparison to their secularized Christian brothers. At the beginning of 1980, Henry Stuart Hughes discussed the problem of the development of Italian Judaism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and suggested the possibility that a high level of assimilation could coexist with the tendency to set store by the Jewish heritage. He prefers to talk of integration rather than assimilation. Similarly, L. Allegra has interpreted a process of integration in the evolution of Judaism in Turin, in the period leading up to the first 20 years of the twentieth century, as possibly being somewhat accelerated but not threatening the foundation of ethnic identity in any way. Mario Toscano mentions “the reliable, if not somewhat generalized, assertion regarding the rapid and indisputable assimilation of Italian Jews and of the same assimilation which could be better defined as integration.”17 David Bidussa, however, regarded the evolution not as a process of assimilation, but rather as one of integration, according to a nonhomogeneous dynamic: “total assimilation in the world of work, easily inserted into the academic world, as in that of the intellectual


professions, but slowly amalgamated on the level of social relations and matrimonial exchanges.”18 In accordance with Bidussa’s thesis, one can conclude that there was an integrative dynamic facilitated by a diffuse sense of reciprocity with Italian history and, in particular, with the process of national unity. This conclusion is verified by the situation prevalent in Italy during the period under analysis. Historian Arnaldo Momigliano, who wrote that the national identity of Italian Jews was formed during the Risorgimento at the same time as the unification process, supports this supposition.19 Jewish Newspapers and Their Contribution to the New Italy In contrast to Jewish newspapers in circulation in other European countries, those in Italy were established relatively late. According to Attilio Milano, this was the result of two centuries of segregation in the ghetto, where life revolved around the synagogue and no need to establish a publishing house was felt. However, with the opening of the ghetto, the need to create a vehicle through which Judaism could be kept alive was felt more keenly. The origin of Italian Jewish periodicals is to be found in the article published in Venice in 1821 titled “L’Educazione della femmina Israelitica” (The Education of the Israelite Female), by Leon Vita Romanini, a teacher active in the community of Trieste. The author puts forward a compendium of female education and morals. The first truly Jewish periodical to emerge during the Risorgimento period was La Rivista Israelitica, established in Parma in 1845 and edited by Colonel Cesare Rovighi. Publication of this monthly journal ceased, however, in 1847. It was in the pages of this journal that the debate surrounding Jewish emancipation among those who retained an ultra-Orthodox position and those who had moved to a position of indifference took place; the publication attempted to extend a line of conciliation between the two opposing groups. Evidently, the


strength of La Rivista Israelitica created a new trend in Jewish publications, providing Judaism with a new image linked to the liberal and democratic ideals of a progressive bourgeoisie who advocated a reevaluation of Jewish rituals they felt would be more in keeping with the new times. Those who took the initiative in the rebirth of Jewish publications did not have a journalistic background but were, for the most part, rabbis and teachers.20 Between 1853 and 1867 six Jewish newspapers were established in Piedmont (an area that, from the beginning of the nineteenth century, gave rise to great political, cultural, and intellectual debate). Only two of these papers, Educatore Israelita (Israelite Educator) and Il Corriere Israelitico (The Israelite Courier), were still in circulation in the following century. Articles published in Vessillo, particularly from 1913 onward, reflect how the paper promoted the devotion, loyalty, and dedication of Italian Jews to the house of Savoy and Italy. The periodical was anti-Zionist insofar as it was of a nationalist bent. Il Vessillo Israelitico claimed that Italian Jews, in contrast to Jews living in other countries, enjoyed more complete freedom in Italy, and that therefore there was no reason to repudiate the country in which they lived and enjoyed full rights. The articles published in Vessillo Israelitico on June 15, 1915, can facilitate our understanding of the contribution of the Jewish press to a new Italy.21 One of them stated, Italy arises through great patriotic vindicationÂ€.Â€.Â€. and amongst the dead are also numbered Jewish Italian heroes, those who fought, under the royal banner, the epic battles of independence and the legendary enterprises undertaken by the soldiers. Above all supplications, we include the wish for a great Italy in our prayers; the vow of all vows, the hope of all hopes, the glory of Italy!Â€.Â€.Â€. and you, Saint of Saints, you bless our flag, ensure that the wisdom of Cavour, the flames of Mazzini, the heroism of Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuele II will preside over earth and sea and heavens through the deeds and the memorable battles; ensure that the bravery of the Italians and the sons of Israel glitter as it did during the Risorgimento and in the fields of


the conquered Libya. The two great forces which, until the Middle Ages, prepared for the unity and greatness of Italy can be seen, today, near the Pantheon in Rome. They live on: Count Rosso of the house of Savoy: the knightly, military hero and ancient Talmudist, the ideal of justice.22

Other articles in the same periodical praise the Italian Jews for holding the country’s tricolors flag tightly in their hands: “The sacred standard is impressed upon your hearts. Give it all your blood. All your soul, with all your strengthÂ€.Â€.Â€. the beam of gratitude will shine in your hearts. All of you are beholden to the country of Italy! Defend her, render her ever greaterÂ€.Â€.Â€. and the unity of the great land entirely redeemed from the powers that still keep you oppressed as foretold by your liberty or that of the Jews.”23 An analysis of these articles raises two points of particular interest: the first is found in the monthly publication of 1915 and subsequently in those written by various authors and published during 1917 and 1918, in which the term “JewishItalians” is used, and never “Italian-Jews.” The second is the comparison of Italy with other countries. Italy has always been regarded as one of the first countries to have enfranchised the Jews, offering them full civil rights and opportunities. Modern Italy has demonstrated, on the sociopolitical level, that it will not admit any religious or ethnic differentiation: “The reform that in England and in France is subject to several deplorable exceptions is, in Italy, applied once and for all with a generous gestureÂ€.Â€.Â€. all the movements that raised the Italian peninsula above its oppressors have found fervent and spirited allies among the JewsÂ€.Â€.Â€. every page of the Italian Risorgimento contains a Jewish name.”24 On June 31, with the advent of Italy’s entry into the war, another anonymous article was published in Vessillo in which it was stated: “The hour has come. Our Italy has declared war. We will not search for the reasons for they are evident. For us the fait accompli is sufficient. Italy is at war and we must give


our all to Italy. Its honor as well as our own is at stake. Our country must win and triumph even if we fall and die.”25 The article concludes with the exhortation, “To work, everyone—to war.” These articles demonstrate that Jewish participation not only was due to the nationalist and liberal spirit of the time and to the internalization of the notion that Jews were no different than their gentile neighbors but, in addition, emanated from the feeling of gratitude toward the “Savoy dynasty, admirable exemplar of every virtue.”26 This sentiment is reflected in the words of the anonymous author when he writes about “our honor.” Other articles published in the same edition of Vessillo Israelitico discussed issues such as the importance of providing moral and religious education for young people. An article by Anselmo Colombo, published in August 1916, titled “Facciamo gli Ebrei” (Being Jews),27 considered the return to religion and Jewish precepts to be the only way to combat assimilation. His article, which reaffirmed the importance of religious observance and living in a Jewish environment, was published in numerous editions of Vessillo Israelitico. Another paper, Il Corriere Israelitico, was established in Trieste in 1862 by Abram Vita Morpurgo. Initially, this publication shared the aims of the Vessillo Israelitico in its elevation of Jewish education and morals. Its program of instruction and edification is suggested by the paper’s subtitle, “for the [furtherance] of Jewish history and literature.” In 1867, the editor, Morpurgo, died and was succeeded by his son-in-law, S. Curiel, whose editorial line, like that of his predecessor, was instructional rather than argumentative. No new periodicals were published between the years 1867 and 1895. Toward the end of the century, with the emergence of the revolutionary Zionist movement, Italian Judaism and the Jewish press underwent a radical change. Beginning in 1896, the Corriere Israelitico, in collaboration with Dante Lattes (one of the spiritual fathers of Italian Zionism), imparted a new and vital attitude reflected in the paper’s support of and adherence


to the new movement, illustrating its historical and political value and seeking to inject a Jewish spirit into the younger generation.28 Lattes ensured that Jewish journalism moved from a defensive position to a more confrontational one, directly standing up to the progressive threat of Jewish decadence and its attendant problems while providing a solution to them. Italian Jews began to become interested in the concept of political Zionism when, in 1897, the Corriere Israelitico published the circular in which Herzl presented the program of the first World Zionist Congress. The journal allied itself with the movement, while Il Vessillo Israelitico assumed a stand of open hostility to Herzl’s program. Il Vessillo Israelitico, in contrast to Il Corriere Israelitico, was unable to evaluate the importance of the new movement; it appointed itself the voice of incomprehension for a generation of Italian Jews with regard to the Zionism that had followed Emancipation. Political Zionism, whose origins lay with the great masses of persecuted Jews, did not meet with much favor in Italy, where anti-Semitism was almost nonexistent and, in consequence, the social problems arising from the persecution of Jews in other countries were insignificant in Italy.29 The short-lived periodical L’Israelita was first published in 1866 in Leghorn under the directorship of Leone Racah. In the following year, the bimonthly journal Il Romanziere Israelitico (The Israelite Novelist) was published, once again in Leghorn. No copies of this journal have survived. The existence of the journal is confirmed by a notice printed on the cover of the Educatore, on April 15, 1867, and by a short paragraph on page 367 of Il Corriere Israelitico of 1867, which mentions two issues of this journal. The years 1865 and 1885 marked a boom period for the publishing industry.30 Only three periodicals survived: Il Vessillo Israelitico, Il Corriere Israelitico, and the new Rivista Israelitica.31 Toward the end of 1913, Margulies withdrew from his post as editor of La Settimana Israelitica (The Israelite Weekly) and was replaced by Alfonso Pacifici, who was followed by Quinto Senigaglia


and Carlo Alberto Viterbo. The Messaggero Israelitico (The Israelite Messanger), edited by Chief Rabbi P. Chajes, had been of local importance in Trieste but ceased publication with the outbreak of World War I. In 1916, the weekly journal Israel was founded in Florence, edited by Dante Lattes and Antonio Pacifici. The publication had a number of head offices, depending on where the various editors were established. The title of the journal explained its editorial program, as was put forward in its first edition of January 7: “Israel, historically conceived, is like the unity of blood, tradition, civility, and aspirations that, although today is split into distant parts, firmly awaits the recognition of its rights of a historical personality within the world of popular civilization.”32 The paper covered a wide range of interests that touched on many different aspects of Jewish life, the nobility of its ideas, the aspirations of Israel, and the revival of Zion. Israel aspired to be a Jewish periodical directed toward everyone, to be read and understood by everyone—Jews and non-Jews alike. It was, in fact, the first Jewish newspaper sold daily at local kiosks and was considered for this reason to be the mouthpiece of Italian Jewry. Established during a period of almost worldwide conflict, the contribution of the periodical was in directing Italian Jewry toward a deeper understanding of itself. It contained new initiatives without neglecting Jewish ideals, overtly supporting Zionist ideals to the extent that during the 20 years of Fascist rule, it was described as the organ of Zionist Jews. In 1919 the paper L’Israel dei ragazzi (Israel of the Youth), edited by David Prato and later by a board consisting of a number of people, was established and directed toward younger readers. Meeting the needs of its young readership, the paper published stories, moral tales, poetry, vignettes, and games, all of a Jewish nature. The paper included a correspondence section in which young people were able to direct letters to other readers. In 1925, the newspaper Rassegna Mensile di Israele (Israel Monthly Review) was published, edited by Dante Lattes and Alfonso Pacifici. The editorial line of this


paper was wide ranging and was, for many years, considered to have expounded the elitist viewpoint of Italian Jews because of its emphasis on cultural issues. The paper included biblical studies; essays on the history of Italian Jews and Jews of other countries (including Palestine); and research on literature, art, and the economy, all written in a manner that made it accessible to all. Due to Fascist censorship, these last two papers stopped being circulated in 1938. The paper Israel also closed the same year although, during the Fascist period, it was accepted, or at least tolerated, by the regime. Mussolini was an avid reader of this paper. In addition to the three Zionist publications discussed above, three other Zionist newspapers had been established: L’Idea Sionista (Zionist Idea), L’Eco Sionista (Zionist Echo), and Giovane Israele (Young Israel). Giovane Israele was founded in Milan in October 1913 and edited by Corinaldi, with the intention of introducing cultural issues to younger readers, involving Jews in a discourse relating to the daily problems of Italian life, and finding solutions to Zionism on a national rather than a colonial basis. The Zionist propaganda publicized by the paper was presented in a moderate tone. Circulation of the paper ended in 1923. The most recent publication of this nature was L’Idea Sionistica, established in Milan in 1930 by Leone Carpi, who was also the editor. This monthly periodical was the organ of the Italian Assembly of Zionist Revisionists. In 1932, two other periodicals began publication, Davar (Thing) and the trimonthly La Comunità Israelitica (Israelite Community). The last of the Jewish periodicals to be published was La Nostra Bandiera (Our Banner), which began circulation in 1934 from its base in Turin. This Jewish Fascist paper was edited by Ettore Ovazza. The articles in this newspaper attest to the contribution of the Jewish press to the new Italy, as well as the patriotic feelings of many Italian Jews toward the nation: We (Jews) are soldiers, we are Fascists, we feel the same as all other citizens, particularly in our duties towards our common country


[Â€ .Â€ .Â€ . ] Benito Mussolini, through his multifaceted and thoughtful statistical work, has given a law to those Italians of the Jewish religion to regulate the life of the community, that is, today, the most impartial amongst those of all the countries in Europe. It will be our responsibility to ensure that all of our fellow-Jews are aware of the nature of Fascist legislation. Today, we have a clear and defined legal position: Abusing it or rendering it unworthy will result in a deserving blow from the severe justice system of the regime.33

According to De Felice, the position of these Jewish Fascists, founders of the magazine, can be understood and historically evaluated by starting from the premise that, first of all, most were staunch Fascists, Jews who were profoundly assimilated although not indifferent, and thus were relatively deaf to certain of the most profoundly moral-cultural issues related to Zionism. Convinced, on the one hand, by the good faith of the Fascist attitude toward the Jews, Italian or not, and, on the other hand, by the precarious nature of the political situation in Palestine, linked to and determined by British interests, they retained in good faith the conviction that the Italian Fascists represented the best option for the Jews and that Zionism consciously was playing the British game.34 Leaving aside this consideration, we can find an analogy in the attitudes of the first journalists of the Vessillo Israelitico, who encouraged Italian Jews to become involved in the war, although the historical context, in this case, is politically and ideologically different. Beyond the ideology and political credos of these men, we can detect sentiments of “gratitude” and “recognition” toward the nation that was the first to offer freedom and equality to the Jews, sentiments they expressed on numerous occasions and that were similar in nature to those expounded by Ovazza. De Felice’s opinion is comprehensible when viewed in this manner, and it is crucial that these articles be understood in light of those sociopolitical upsets that occurred in Italy and the rest of Europe until the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.


Above and beyond the influence of the newspapers, many Jewish journalists contributed to the creation of a new Italy or at least supported the revolutionary ideas of the period, in Jewish and non-Jewish papers.35 The biographies of these journalists suggest that, whether affiliated with the left or the right, they always regarded themselves not only as Italians but also as Jews. This point confirms once again that the Jew of that period was integrated, rather than assimilated, into Italian society. It is not by chance that the term “Jew” was placed before “Italian,” for it demonstrates that, notwithstanding an apparent trend toward assimilation, there was, in fact, no such thing occurring in Italy. There was no assimilation according to the definition used in this study. Jewish Newspapers and Their Contribution to a Rebirth of Italian Judaism The establishment of Jewish newspaper publications coincided with the Emancipation.36 Initially, Jewish journalism was manned by men of culture, rabbis, and teachers. These people provided a dogmatic and educational bent to journalism, expressed in an erudite manner, which meant that this type of press was accessible to only a limited number of intellectuals, who were of the same mold as the journalists themselves, but not to the great masses. It was only at the beginning of the twentieth century that the press modified its tone and enriched itself with fresh contents, thereby becoming an objective instrument of information and increasing its accessibility to a broader public. The aims of these newspapers were the promotion of Jewish culture in Italy and the dissemination of its values as an instrument of Jewish education among Jewish youths. The birth of the Jewish press derived its main justification from this need, on the part of Judaism, to continue to be a constant voice in the lives of individuals by maintaining


a constructive dialogue with them. Through the press, that part of Jewish society already strongly identified with a specific historical and cultural tradition attempted to neutralize the effects of an emancipation that was as much feared as it was desired. Numerous articles were dedicated to the problem of religious indifference within families and of the progressive erosion of women’s awareness regarding their role and their mission, the result of the fact that Judaism functioned on differing planes as the community continued to shape itself in a strictly Jewish manner, avoiding the danger of capsizing under the wave of enthusiasm for the participation that characterized the lives of many Italian Jews after civil and political equality.37 An example of this trend can be found in Educatore Israelitico (Israelite Educator).38 The newspaper was the mouthpiece for a number of important proposals for change, for example in the area of religious instruction, and it managed to maintain a balance between the rigors of observance and a stand of open consensus about progress. With this initiative, the Educatore proposed to recreate cohesion within the community and to heal the conflicts created between the older generation who persisted in maintaining a rigidly closed society, and the younger generation who defined themselves in the total rejection of tradition. While the younger generation was politically marginal within the Jewish world, among the themes recurrent within Jewish journalism was the awareness of the Jewish soldier, with respect to his comrades, of the value of his actions during war, as I have mentioned above. It is important to see how the press contributed to a reawakening of the Jewish conscience, and what has come to be defined as a reemergence of Judaism. It did so first by denouncing the phenomenon defined as the “ills of Judaism.” Giuseppe Ottolenghi, author of an article published in Giovane Israele in 1914, stated,


We (Jews) do not wish to safeguard the dim glimmer of Judaism, we wish to reawaken that which is dead in the companions of the faithful, we aspire to the creation of a vigorous people of Israel. Therefore, everyone comes to us, even if they do not share our ideas regarding nationality and tradition, for various reasons. During these times of skepticism and tumult which surrounds every activity, anybody who feels within them some vestige of Judaism is worthy of every respect and of our friendship; we embrace him, we gradually awaken in him feelings of Jewish sentiment, we operate so that the small band of true Jews shall grow and become ever stronger.39

Beyond the various debates regarding the identity crisis that pervaded Judaism of the period and the danger of assimilation, one of the major contributions of these newspapers was the dissemination to their readers of new projects devised by the group of youngsters who, under the guidance of Margulies, founded a new movement called Pro-cultura in 1908. The newspaper that took charge of this was La Settimana Israelitica (The Israelite Weekly). The aim of this group of young people can be understood by reading the articles of this paper that provide the only documentation of the analysis of the various youth congresses that took place during these years. Their aim, or programma (program), was expressed by Emilio Bachi: “To have taken upon ourselves the duty to report on the new wave of Judaism in Italy, Judaism which is not based around the synagogue, not just religious, but scientific and historical. And, as far as I am concerned, I insist that the Jewish religious problem is inseparable from the Jewish historical problem and that religious practices develop with the restoration of an ethnic Jewish awareness.”40 Bachi further explained in a later article published on July 15, 1913, about Il Nostro Programma (Our Program): “I repeat here, loud and clear, that while I consider myself to be profoundly Italian, I do not reject the country of my origin where our ancestors were born and grew up and where a great part of our history takes place, and that if there is a land where the emigration of our brothers who do not have a country must


be directed to, this is Palestine, which should be conquered, with full rights, for Judaism.”41 The debate over integration and assimilation was conducted in the Jewish press from the end of the nineteenth century. These articles affirm that Italian Jews, at this stage, were not Zionists and did not take part in the Jewish awakening, nor were they initially associated with the Zionist movement. In order to encourage the Jews to return to their roots, the editorial board of Settimana Israelitica launched an appeal in a July 14, 1911, article titled “Appello ai Giovani” (Call to the Youth), calling for a congress for young Jews. Its aim was to provide a forum for young Jews throughout the peninsula to meet one another: Young people, above all, should get to know and learn to get on with one another. Coming from different schools, different fields of study and work, they ought to be at ease in the cordial exchange of their ideas regarding religion, individual ways in which they understand and feel their Judaism, beyond any official obstruction and any antagonistic preoccupations or personnel. The discussions ought to focus upon two or three important papers relating to the practice of Jewish life, read by two or three participants and expounded with a high level of intellectual maturity. The place for this meeting could be one of the cities of the exposition, Rome, Turin or Florence. The provisional committee could decide upon the format of the congress after having agreed upon its central ideas. The most important factor, at the moment, is to have the greatest amount of support.42

If this was the stand adopted by the Settimana Israelitica in 1911, the discourse conducted in the two newspapers Il Corriere Israelitico and Il Vessillo Israelitico was completely different, and the two papers were in opposition to one another. The former paper wholly supported the Zionist movement, while the latter opposed it for many years. In fact, articles about Zionism resurfaced by the end of the nineteenth century, directly after the first world congress, held in Basel. Italian Jews felt to varying degrees the effect of the turmoil that marked the beginning of the twentieth century, and


found themselves facing the novelty of the Zionist movement, which, whether accepted or battled against on various levels, jolted the community by putting the spotlight once again on the problematic nature of Judaism. It is possible to distinguish five elements that characterize the opposing camp: (1) the discomfort experienced by relatively assimilated Jews when faced with the emphasis on the diversity and specific nature of Judaism (discomfort that, in certain cases, accelerated the tendency toward a rejection of Judaism); (2) the fear of rekindling antiSemitism and nationalist separation; (3) an ideological aversion to the prevalent Marxist ideology (but not to all Marxists) inasmuch as it talks of nationalist separation; (4) incredulity in relation to the prospect of a successful Zionist project; and (5) the reaction to the turbulence affecting national security in Italy, acquired during the Risorgimento, and to the distinction between national and religious affiliation. In fact, Italian Zionism frequently presented itself in a philanthropic guise (to raise money in order to procure asylum for those fellow Jews who were persecuted in other countries), whether this was due to its limited intentions or because of diplomatic precautions, it often disturbed the Italocentric nature of those generations that had only recently emerged from the Risorgimento and the certainty of having found in that country the ubi consistam, which resulted in a happy ending enjoyed after great suffering. This position, expressed in the paper Il Vessillo Israelitico, edited by Rabbi Flaminio Servi, was sincerely expressed in a paper presented by Nello Rosselli during the Congress of Young Jews in Leghorn in 1924.43 Nevertheless, despite these problems, the Zionist movement took hold in Italy and needed to establish its own newspaper in order to disseminate its ideas in a more coherent manner than had been achieved by the few articles published sporadically in various publications. Thus, a newspaper whose content was entirely related to Zionism, such as the periodical L’Idea Sionista, was published in 1901; the Eco Sionista d’Italia


was published in 1904; Giovane Israele was established in 1913; and finally, in 1930, L’idea Sionistica was founded. However, the activities of study and debate and projects to revive Jewish Italian life, implemented by the young generation of the prewar period, did not succeed in arousing a precise awareness of its motives. This holds true for the majority of Jewish Italians who were also not certain about their Jewish identities, their position within the gentile world, and the possible solutions to their crises and difficulties. The outbreak of the war, absorbing the attention and energies of all until the end of the military effort in the country, hindered the development of this process of renewal that, only ten years later, arrived at one of the most important stages in its evolution.44


3

Jewish Youths in Italy

The Cultural Societies of Jewish Youths

A

s we have seen, the end of the nineteenth century saw the establishment in Italy of numerous Jewish newspapers, Jewish youth movements, and Jewish cultural societies whose aim was to encourage the rebirth of Judaism and define its essence. The first cultural society, Pro-Cultura, was established in Florence in 1907, shortly after a conference held in Florence on the significance of Jewish culture. The conference emphasized the Jewish approach that viewed faith and science, religion and culture as intimately related, to the extent that these phenomena were regarded as a homogeneous unit. Discussions during the conference focused on the study of Jewish eclecticism, and the Pro-Cultura society intended to put this program of study into practice. The members of the society were all Florentine Jews, among them Umberto Cassuto, Angelo Sacerdoti, David Prato, and Gustavo Castelbolognesi. These young men had all been students at the Rabbinical College of Florence, directed by Shemuel Zvi Margulies, where they studied the history and literature of Israel according to a specific scientific viewpoint that led to critical analyses conducted within a modern context. In 1909, a committee whose aim was to put Pro-Cultura’s program into practice was established in Bologna, followed by the establishment of similar committees in Venice and Ferrara in 1910.


The aim of the Pro-Cultura society was to instruct Jewish children and youths in Jewish history and literature, to teach them the value and importance of Jewish morals, and to reawaken feelings of dignity and solidarity among young Jewish students. The statute of the society, set out on January 5, 1908, stated the following: The committee will make every attempt to increase the domain of its instruction in order to develop a sense of Jewish awareness within young people. It will organize conferences and scientific lectures for youth and provide courses in history and Jewish literature for adults. It will search for the means to establish a Jewish library, where original documents will be analyzed according to modern methods of research and criticism. It will support the establishment of a central cultural committee which will advance these two aims: first, to encourage the study of Jewish language, history and literature among young people and, second, to supervise and care for Jewish monuments and documents. Such a committee should, in our humble opinion, support the establishment and instruction of regional culture committees in the important city centers and draw up a coherent manifesto disseminating information and conducting activities.1

The Jewish periodicals of the period contain the only documentary evidence of Pro-Cultura’s activities.2 It is worth noting that almost all the subjects expounded on during the conferences relate to Jewish history and contemporary literature. There seems to have been little interest in theology, biblical exegeses, literary criticism of more traditional books, or illustrations of rituals. Many descriptions of the past and of literary manifestations of Jewish life were studied in a scholarly manner and with a unique clarity of purpose. The scientific orientation adopted by Pro-Cultura corresponds to the trend of the period in which the application of scientific research to all fields reached its height. As a consequence of this orientation, several Jews and non-Jews, attracted by the revival of Jewish scholarship supported by the young people of Pro-Cultura, began to examine the history of

Jewish Youths in Italy 81

Italian Jewry, publishing notable scholarly works on the history of particular events within specific Jewish communities. One positive aspect of the Pro-Cultura was its success in interesting the younger generation in Judaism. The youth congresses established by the Pro-Cultura accustomed the younger generation to examining issues pertaining to Jewish culture and making relevant decisions based on the needs and requirements of the Jewish community throughout Italy, as opposed to those of particular communities.3 In the wake of the affirmation of this cultural movement, a series of annual congresses brought together the directors of the various Pro-Cultura committees. As Toscano aptly observes, in order to understand the origin and nature of the reawakening of Jewish youths from its inception in 1911 until its maturation, as well as its successive phases that continued into the 1920s, we must take into consideration the function of Zionism. Zionism was adopted by a certain segment of the young population, particularly in relation to the return to Judaism, through the study of Hebrew language and Jewish culture and history. The presence of teachers such as Zvi Perez Chajes and Shemuel Zvi Margulies was highly significant, particularly in their representation of a different kind of Judaism that was far more vibrant than the Judaism practiced in Italy, as well as in their support of Zionist ideology. They transformed the Rabbinical College of Florence into a central institution for the Italian Diaspora. Thanks to Dante Lattes, who wrote for the Corriere Israelitico (Israelite Courier) in Trieste, and to Margulies, who in 1910 became editor of the new Settimana Israelitica (Israeli Weekly), a renewal of Jewish journalism took place. Margulies entrusted the publication of the paper to the many young people who attended his Rabbinical College in Florence. As a result, the newspaper was influenced by young people whose objective was the creation of a cultural reawakening and renewal of Italian Judaism that would be the vehicle for new ideas and suggestions put forth by the Florentine group, and therefore would become


a catalyst for discussion and the exchange of ideas. The new ideology that emerged in consequence was strong enough to mobilize student sectors and empathetic elements of the intellectual bourgeoisie as well as teachers able to relate it to the cultural tradition in a sufficiently academic manner to excite the young intellectuals. On the basis of this premise, the issues that young people were obliged to address from the start and that remained constant were those of culture and organization, issues that preoccupied the meeting’s participants. For the first time, on July 14, 1911, the newspaper Settimana Israelitica launched a campaign in support of the youth conference, thus giving it a huge boost. The conference was born as a result of the foresight of members of the Jewish youth groups in Italy and constituted the basis of a phenomenon whose influence extended to the beginning of the 1920s.4 In 1911, the first youth congress was held in Florence. Additional congresses were held in 1912 in Turin, 1914 in Rome, and, finally, in 1924 in Leghorn. In the meantime, new cultural societies were being formed in cities such as Rome, Verona, Pisa, and Casale Monferrato. The first phase in the history of the Jewish cultural movements in Italy was concluded in 1915, when World War I broke out, and all the energies and concerns of the Jewish communities were focused on its events. The Pro-Cultura movement began to reduce its activities, as many of its members voluntarily joined the Italian army. Following the war, many societies that had ceased to function during the war years resumed activity. In 1921, societies in Venice, Ferrara, Ancon, Padua, and Florence began their work once again, as did those in Turin and Milan in the following year. Between the years 1922 and 1925, Jewish cultural societies were established in almost every large city with a Jewish presence.5 In 1922, the concept of congresses on Jewish studies began to be discussed once again. In that year, in Florence, a group of youngsters founded a cultural association called Avodah


(Work). Its aim was to put young people in touch with a lively and modern form of Judaism through discussions that focused on contemporary problems. The issues they discussed pertained to Palestine, spoken Hebrew, and works on the economy and society that related specifically to the Jews. Their program was therefore of interest only to a small number of particularly intellectual young people. The association existed for two or three years in Rome and Florence. The significance of the Avodah movement lay in the work of a number of young idealists who, after 1922, worked to free Italian Judaism from the spiritual dead end in which it found itself. This goal was achieved through the organization of conferences and other cultural activities. Another initiative took place in Rome from 1931 to 1936 when a group of young people undertook to spread information about Jewish cultural issues in an attempt to stem the tide of assimilation and alienation from the more spiritual aspects of Judaism. They hosted a series of meetings on Thursday nights, and developed into the group referred to as Amici del Giovedi (Friends of Thursday). Another, similar institution, which held its informal meetings in the homes of Jewish idealists in many Italian cities, was the Oneg Shabbat. The Oneg Shabbat was an institution created in Palestine by the Hebrew poet Haim Nachman Bialik, with the aim of making the ritual celebration of the Sabbath comprehensible to all; it spread rapidly throughout the world. It is important to emphasize that at the beginning of the 1930s, under the Fascist regime, it was forbidden to Jews and non-Jews alike to assemble in meetings or to be involved in any sort of political, cultural, and even, at times, religious activity outside of the Fascist parameters. Occasionally, clandestine meetings where the ideas of freedom were expounded on were held by anti-Fascists. However, even these meetings became impossible for the Jewish population after 1938. The generation born and raised under the Fascist regime was represented by the direct descendants of those “Italians of Mosaic


faith” who were already integrated after the Emancipation, or at least so they believed. World War I restored the glorious deeds of the Risorgimento (Reawakening), and the contribution of the Italian Jews was no less courageous and selfless than that of other Italians. Many Jews were committed to the democratic ideals of the Risorgimento, as in the case of Ernesto Nathan.6 In 1886, Nathan joined the Masons and became a Grand Master. He was also the first Jew to be elected mayor of Rome, a post he occupied from 1907 to 1913. The relationship between Judaism and Masonic Lodges has been much discussed. Mussolini and his followers often used the term “Mason” as part of the antiSemitic propaganda campaign.7 On January 25, 1914, Nathan published an article in the Rassegna Contemporanea (Contemporary Review) stating, “Just as the Jews, in areas where antiSemitism flourishes, must find pride in their roots in direct relation to the unjust persecution to which they are subjected, the Masons, who suffer from the ignorance and misconceptions (of the public), and were viewed as hooligans or enemies of the public wellbeing, must adopt a sense of pride.”8 Nathan’s statement that “Jews must take pride in their roots” provides an explanation for the “reawakening” of Judaism that came to light at the beginning of the twentieth century. This renewal had its praxis in the Jewish youth congresses. A sense of pride in one’s Jewish identity, the rejection of assimilation that was contaminating the new generation, and the birth of Italian Zionism were all factors that acted as catalysts for the group of Jewish intellectuals (who were, as Toscano noted, not always young in years but were certainly youthful in spirit and in their sense of awareness) who brought about the establishment of youth movements, including the new Pro-Cultura movement. It is not easy to determine exactly the practical results of the formation of these cultural societies, many of which were considered to be too elitist and intellectual in comparison with the more popular Jewish youth movements. Yet, it is possible to say that it was solely due to these societies and the congresses


organized by them that many Jews became aware of their cultural identity, not in a religious sense, but rather in a cultural, historical, and scientific sense. A feeling emerged that Judaism was not simply a local phenomenon, but rather a global one, as exemplified by the contents of the congresses. It is almost impossible to quantify the number of participants who were involved with or who dedicated themselves to the rebirth of Judaism and the work of renewal beyond those who are always quoted and were associated with the Rabbinical College of Florence. Notwithstanding this fact, the Jewish press reported the presence of hundreds of participants at these conferences. Jewish Youth Meetings The first Jewish youth conference was held in Florence from October 29 to 30, 1911. The aim of this conference, like other conferences that followed, was to “to call upon young Jews” to unite against anti-Semitism and assimilation and to renew their Jewish spirit and moral values. “The call to young Jews” to gather at a conference was launched by the Settimana Israelitica on July 14, 1911.9 The response to the article was overwhelming. During a period of three and a half months, numerous letters of support were sent to the newspaper. In some of these letters, feelings of isolation suffered by Jews living in small communities are apparent, as are feelings of anxiety and frustration generated by the bureaucracy and by the indifferent attitude displayed by Jews living in larger centers in relation to the serious problems affecting Jewish education and charitable works, the conservation of monuments and Jewish documents, the organization of a number of Jewish universities, and, above all, the moral obligation to combat antiSemitism and assimilation, as Edgardo Morpurgo wrote in his letter of August 4, 1911, to Settimana Israelitica. His opinion was shared by the conference’s organizers, Alfonso Pacifici and


Enzo Bonaventura, who, as we can see once again in the Jewish press, hoped that the conference would bring about “the revelation, to all, of the unrecognized Judaism which lies in hiding in the deepest part of the soul, and to discuss Zionism, language, and the practice of religion, while Bonaventura hoped to discuss the moral question of dual nationality: Jewish and Italian.”10 Moise Foa of Turin proposed to hold the conference in his hometown, in order to bridge the gap between “the concept of a Jewish revival and that of the Italian revival.”11 The success of this idea, which was given wide coverage in articles published in the weekly paper that supported its ideological stand, hinged on an idealistic revival whose object was the affirmation of Jewish spiritual and moral values: “We believe that the time has come to stir up a new spirituality, a spirituality which one cannot help but feel vibrating in all the forms and expressions of daily life, a renewal which cannot be refuted by any JewÂ€.Â€.Â€. we declare it clearly, we repeat it loudly, the conference must be the sign and the symptom of this revival.”12 To mark the end of the conference, on November 9, 1911, La Settimana Israelitica published an article summarizing its first impressions in the single word Trionfo (triumph), where an anonymous author writes, “No other Jewish Italian conference ever carried the importance, the significance and the modest tone of this youth conference. No other conference has ever realized such wholehearted success.”13 The importance of La Settimana Israelitica is that it drew attention to the new sense of Judaism that was emerging, particularly influenced by the experiences of Alfonso Pacifici and his book, Israele l’Unico (Unique Israel), in which his ideas were characterized by the need to recover an “integral Jewish consciousness that transcends a purely religious concept of Judaism, that creates a vital sense of the continuity of Jewish history in succeeding generations, that utilizes the new atmosphere generated by Zionism.”14 Pacifici and other


lecturers, including Sorani, Umberto Cassuto, Elia Artom, and Edgardo Morpurgo, supported two concrete ideas: the study of Hebrew and the study of Jewish history. Sorani was concerned with demonstrating that Judaism was more than a religion, more than a nation. It was therefore necessary to reawaken the Jewish consciousness and to exhort young people to rediscover the richness of Judaism as a specific value, both personal and universal. Toscano has correctly noted that the funds required for realizing the activities proposed in the Florentine conference were sadly lacking. Nevertheless, the movement and the youth conferences continued, with La Settimana Israelitica and the Florentine group remaining the driving forces for the activities and providing the debate with a privileged position.15 On September 6, 1912, after a long silence (punctuated by the publication of Pacifici’s book, Israele l’Unico) La Settimana Israelitica once again devoted space to a debate on the objectives of Jewish youths and proposed a new conference that would be “an intrinsic continuation of the first.” The recovery of an integral Jewish consciousness was the foundation for any practical Jewish option. The paper claimed that the Zionist problem itself motivated the need to resolve the Jewish problem because Zionism emerged from the Jewish problem. The debate promoted by La Settimana Israelitica was, even then, limited to a restricted discussion on the organization of a new conference. Nonetheless, it is possible to retrace the development of ideas through the continuity that carried over from one conference to the next based on the quest for a greater pragmatism. This point is underlined by the change in spirit that moved away from the enthusiasm of the Florentine group to a more accurate, considered, and realistic vision of the situation in which Italian Jews found themselves. The second youth conference took place in Turin from November 22 to 25, 1912. La Settimana Israelitica carried full coverage of the discussions as did another newspaper, Il Vessillo Israelitico (The Jewish Banner), whose edition of


December 31, 1912, included the texts of the lectures delivered during the conference as well as a summary of all the conference activities.16 The content of the second youth conference was far more culturally oriented than that of the first, and its debates were covered by the Jewish press, which was stirred by the creativity and innovation generated by the conferences. Discussions regarding the possibility of arranging a third conference were published. Once again, La Settimana Israelitica functioned as the vehicle of the debate that coordinated the activities of the Jewish youths. At the end of January 1914, the paper announced the plan to hold a third youth conference.17 The paper regarded the passage from theory to praxis as crucial if the proposals put forward by the third conference were to be realized. By now, the Florentine group had accomplished its objective of shaking up the Jewish environment. Their aims had been to rephrase the problems that beset Jewish communities in concrete terms, addressing issues such as culture and nationhood in a manner that would overcome the impasse between theory and action. The Florentine group opposed the tendency to confine Jewish affiliation and practice to the domestic environment. However, at the same time, the leading group was unable to bring its ideological discourse to a final, and extremist, conclusion, both on the religious and Zionist planes. It was not possible to break down the intellectual, bourgeois limitations of the group’s ruling elite that attracted, involved, and, to a certain extent, conditioned the mass of Jewish youths. These young people initially orchestrated an “ideological” revolution. However, the era in which new ideas would be absorbed and transformed into coherent works was a long time coming and would occur only in the subsequent generation. The general tone of the conference was very different from that of the previous two conferences. The papers were duller, and the subjects focused on the two extremes of the religious aspects of Judaism and Zionism. The intellectual rigor, lucidity, and efficiency that had characterized the papers at the previous


conferences were entirely absent. The political confrontation between the “nationalists” and “nonnationalists” seemed to be less pronounced than before. The ideas presented by Anselmo Colombo in his paper discussing the Jewish communities can be seen as an attempt to mediate between traditionally based philanthropy and nationalism. The ideological confrontation was represented by the position espoused by Enrico Eisemann, who claimed that the religious component of Judaism should be considered more important than other components, and David Krinkin, who believed in the supreme importance of Zionism. The second issue that preoccupied the conference members was that of organization, to which Alfonso Pacifici dedicated a paper. At the conclusion of Pacifici’s talk, it was decided, after intense debate, to create a new youth association called Giovane Israele (Young Israel). The conclusion reached by the conference in Rome concerning cultural issues was regarded by Jewish youths as a backward step. Aside from an elaboration on the subjects of autonomy and the revival of Jewish society in Italy, little was accomplished. The first phase of the youth movement and the revival of Italian Jewry came to a close in 1915. At the beginning of 1920, another youth conference took place, this time in Bologna, held by the Federation of Young Jews and attended by affiliated groups and invitees. If the aims of earlier conferences were defined within cultural and ideological parameters, those proposed in Bologna were of an organizational nature, and its limited objectives were to be realized in concrete terms. This initiative was born of a referendum held among existing youth groups rather than being generated by individuals. La Nuova Federazione Giovanile Ebraica Italiana (FGEI; New Federation of Young Italian Jews) proposed a program that would be easily instituted due to its concrete nature and limited scope: “The organization and integration of Jewish youth movements, the organization of cultural and social activities, the clearing of the path which would unite Judaism with Zionism without intransigent ideology, the link between


those who are young in age with those who are young in spirit, the revival of the communitiesÂ€.Â€.Â€. (compared to the previous conferences which took place before the war) in comparison to the didactic and doctrinaire nature of the pre-war conferences, now, the view taken of the situation in which Italian Jews found themselves was more realistic.”18 The fourth Jewish youth conference, which took place in Leghorn from November 2 to 4, 1924, was the most important such conference, both because of its wide attendance and because of the kinds of papers presented there. The fourth conference was considered to have been “a revolution in the breast of Judaism in Italy,” the title of an important article that focused on an interview with one of the participants, Carlo Alberto Viterbo. The conference was proposed by the newspaper Israel, just as the previous one had been announced by La Settimana Israelitica, in response to the need to effect a cultural and national accord between local societies. However, the resubmission of the proposal was actually due to the work of Alfonso Pacifici. Utilizing his own experiences, Pacifici studied the events of the years 1911 to 1914 in order to identify the organizational limits that had dogged the previous conferences, considering the difficulty of finding an underlying intellectual definition binding all three conferences. Any definition was problematic, given the ambiguous boundaries that existed between a social meeting and a congressional assembly and, in consequence, the meeting between people whose Jewish consciousness had developed at differing paces. However, Pacifici did emphasize the need for a comprehensive, introspective investigation and for an institutional debate, maintaining that if the “debate on Judaism is a good thing, and even a necessary thing, when conducted with those who have doubts, it is not to be forgotten, at least by those in the know, that Judaism is a state of being.”19 Above all, Pacifici underlined the need to focus on the organizational problems so that the conference would succeed in establishing a true, amicable, permanent, and healthy organization.


This conference has, without doubt, been subject to the greatest quantity of research in the entire history of Italian Jews or of Zionism, due to the presence of so many different people and currents of opinion representing the political and cultural attitudes of the Jews at the dawn of the regime. The heads and prominent figures of the Italian Jewish communities participated. The main speakers were Alfonso Pacifici, Nello Rosselli, Enzo Sereni, Enzo Bonaventura, Ciro Glass (founder of the Fascio Giovanile Ebraico [Young Jewish Fascist Group] in Trieste in 1919), Angelo Sacerdoti, Joseph Colombo, Guido Bedarida, and Enzo Olivetti. The common denominator that united the people of different backgrounds, ages, and cultural and political affiliations consisted of the questions that had, for many years, occupied the Italian Diaspora: What is Judaism? How does it or should it manifest itself in Italian Jews? What work is needed in order to defend Italian Jewry from the “degeneration” of assimilation and to reach an accord with regard to the creation of a Jewish Palestine? The position taken by Enzo Sereni was relatively radical. Sereni was a staunch Zionist and superseded Pacifici’s platform, which he considered to be overly limited and cultural. Sereni believed the sole solution to the Jewish problem and the problem facing the Italian Diaspora was to effectuate an aliya chalutzistica, immediate emigration to Palestine to achieve pioneering goals. This position displaced Pacifici’s vision, for it offered Jewish youths a practical solution to their problems. The non-Zionists, particularly Nello Rosselli, rose up against this Zionist vision. Rosselli was one of those Jews who had little to do with either Zionism or with organized Judaism, and the debate became extremely heated following his intervention. Rosselli did not regard the nationalist issue as a fundamental problem. He did not consider himself an “integral” Jew and he saw Judaism as the practice of daily religious precepts. The nationalist issue, in terms of reconquering the homeland, was not of any interest to him, nor did he intend to discuss his sense of patriotism for Italy. His Judaism expressed itself in an


indestructible belief in monotheism as well as a serious consideration of the Jew’s earthly task, a family conscience from both the religious and social point of view that was a fundamental touchstone of Jewish life. The replies of the protagonists of this debate were little more than repetitions of previously declared opinions, supported by the other speakers involved in the debate, such as Enzo Bonaventura, who answered Rosselli with an exhortation to support a Zionist-oriented Judaism.20 The importance of the conference was emphasized by the lawyer Carlo Alberto Viterbo, one of the participants, in an interview he gave to Aldo Astrologo and Francesco Del Canuto. In response to a question regarding the reaction of Italian Jewry to the conference, Viterbo stated that it had made a huge impression. Although the conference had been organized by young people, the presence of many older people and, in particular, the participation of many rabbis was regarded as a mark of their approval and support for the revivalist measures taken by the younger members of the Jewish communities, and as Viterbo put it, If the conference was successful, one of the reasons was that it was essentially, although not entirely, organized by, and for, young people. The conference represented the revival of a class of people different from that which came before. That is to say, for the first time the voice of the young has been heard, loud and clear, and the message is not at all ill-prepared, for its ideas are based upon solid foundations. The proposal that won the greatest amount of support, at least on a psychological level, was that of the revival of an integral Judaism that incorporated religious and nationalist sentiments, in which there was no boundary between the religious Jew and the nationalist Jew. In other words, the Zionist will not neglect the observance of Jewish laws and traditions, and the traditionalist will not reject the wonder of the nationalist revival. This is the fruit of the tree which had its seeds in the attitudes of the Florentine teachers, Margulies and Chajes and the Rabbinical College in Florence.21

The Leghorn youth conference represented the culminating, though not conclusive, moment in the history of the


Italian Jewish youth movements. The conference marked a historical turning point in the delineation of new positions and new trends. A congress of Jewish students was held in Florence from April 12 to 13, 1925 with the aim of bringing about a debate on the problems shared by thousands of foreign Jewish students who lived in Italy. It was hoped that these debates would engender a rich cultural and religious rapport between the foreign students and their Italian counterparts. The only newspaper that published accounts of the conference and its task list was, once again, Israel, although few concrete facts were actually known. According to Toscano, there were two reasons for the paucity of information regarding the conference. The first was because this conference was a unique and independent entity and there is little documentary material about it. The second reason was that the revival of Jewish awareness and Jewish culture had not yet occurred within the youth movement itself, notwithstanding new developments that would lead the more sensitive members of the communities to foresee the expulsion of Jewish students from schools— a prophecy that was fulfilled, in relation to Italian Jews, with the introduction of the racial laws of 1938. Nonetheless, during the 1930s, a new generation emerged that developed the teachings of the first exponents of the Jewish revival movement as well as the early Italian Zionists, translating them into action. This was effected by the organization of camping vacations whose purpose was the creation of a specifically Jewish atmosphere, generated by the living out of a traditional way of life and by the establishment of agricultural centers, Haksharot, and, finally, by the emigration to Palestine during the harsh years of Fascism and the racial laws. The congresses promoted a purely “Jewish” spirit. Gentiles were admitted if they wished—in fact, the national press had a certain interest in these congresses. For the most part, the non-Jewish participants, such as philosopher Benedetto Croce, were members of the Italian intelligentsia. They took part in cultural meetings, including the Oneg Shabbat. There


is no doubt that the congresses and the Jewish movements, as well as various Jewish cultural groups sponsored by many Jewish communities in Italy, exhibited an element of sectarianism in comparison with the atmosphere prevailing in the country. The term “sectarianism” is not used here negatively, suggesting that there was a concerted wish to detach from the non-Jewish population. Gentiles were freely admitted to meetings and clubs and even warmly welcomed. Therefore, it seems clear that the aim of these Jewish groups was to foster a Jewish spirit, regardless of the religious affiliation of participants, rather than to promote any sense of isolation or rejection of the larger society. On the other hand, the discourse that predominated within the non-Jewish organizations and movements was very different, despite the presence in them of a large number of Jews. Any attempt to explain the phenomenon that the historian Federico Chabod called “Jewish nationalism” requires the examination of another significant issue regarding the importance of Jewish youngsters meeting and discussing issues of Jewish concern. In fact, the term “Jewish nationalism” is both ambiguous and misleading in its allusion to the growth and expansion of a splinter group within the large Italian community; this was not the intention of Italian Judaism. A more accurate definition of the term “nationalism” relates to the growing fervor for a homeland, rather than to the desire to form an ethnic minority in a foreign country. The term “homeland” was, however, problematic for Italian Jews. While they could long for a return to Zion, emigration to Palestine was an untenable option. The rebirth of Italian Judaism and the desire on the part of many young people to participate in meetings and congresses was prompted by the existence of profound crises. In an article titled “Origini e sviluppo del nazionalismo in Italia” (Origins and Development of Nationalism in Italy), Giancarlo Lehner reconstructs the historical events that surrounded the rise of Italian nationalism, highlighting the consistent elements seen in the early testimonies


of nineteenth-century nationalist literature and manifestos— a romantic notion of nationhood founded on the precepts of territory, race, and blood; a conscious attempt to erase the political and social elements of Rousseau’s philosophy; and the utilization of this conceptual scheme by influencing the masses for the defense of class interests. Consequently, a spiritual void was created and drew in the younger generation, irrespective of their religious affiliations. In 1909, Luigi Pirandello, Sicilian author, playwright, and 1934 Nobel Prize winner, published a novel titled I vecchi e I giovani (The Old and the New), in which the generational dissonance felt during these years was richly characterized. “The old” in this case referred to the generation that had participated in the Risorgimento only to have forgotten or betrayed their earlier affiliations. Those who still retained their links with Risorgimento traditions felt marginalized and disillusioned. In 1911, the generation that still looked to the historical roots of the state born of the Risorgimento celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the unification. The members of this generation, which included Mussolini and others born between 1880 and 1890, had reached their twenties and early thirties and felt dislocated from the ideals of the Risorgimento. Indifferent to the dusty memories of the past, they looked forward to a different future.22 The end of the nineteenth century saw a rise in the number of magazines and literary circles in Rome and Florence that, motivated by a sense of collective conscience, denounced the political conduct of the country. In 1903, three magazines were established in Florence: Il Leonardo, Il Regno (The Kingdom), and La Voce (The Voice). A fourth, L’acerba (Unripe) published a little later, also dealt with philosophical and literary issues and took a stand against nationalist ideology. The burgeoning nationalist movement that defined itself within a bourgeois matrix and was, by definition, anti-Socialist, prospered in this climate.


In December 1910, the first Nationalist Congress was held in Florence. It was attended by approximately three hundred people hailing from various associations and cultural clubs, including Dante Alighieri, Lega Navale, Trento, and Trieste. The congress culminated in the foundation of the Associazione Nazionalistica Italiana (Italian Nationalist Association). In the following year, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti established the revolutionary movement, Futurista (Futurism), whose leitmotifs included the exaltation of modern machinery, a rupture with the past, the beginning of a new era, and entry into World War I. It is within this context of an ambience deprived of meaning and values that the rebirth of Italian Judaism must be assessed. In cities such as Florence, Turin, and Rome, which were the foci of Italian culture, small groups of young Jews organized Jewish clubs and conferences. The desire to return to Jewish roots through the study of Judaism and the Hebrew language and the organization of conferences was a testimony to the growing sense of malaise that characterized all Italians, Jews and gentiles alike. The quest for a meaningful life brought some Jews to Zionism, others to religion, and still others to adopting an anti-Fascist, Socialist stand. All this confirms the notion that the situation of Italian Jews was one of integration rather than assimilation. It seems likely that young people would not have felt the need to establish Jewish movements and associations had they become assimilated, despite the fact that some of them did affiliate themselves with the burgeoning Italian movements. However, having turned their back on assimilation, young Jews embarked on a search for a way of life different from that offered by their surrounding environment.

4

Italian Youth Movements and Jewish Youth Movements

T

he first federation of young Italian Jews was established in 1914 and created the nucleus for the third conference held in Rome in the same year. The federation’s aim was to “revive Jewish awareness with every type of propaganda and to organize Jewish youth,” as Alfonso Pacifici wrote in his paper at the third congress in Rome in February 1914. In his lecture, Pacifici emphasized the need to establish cultural organizations and made suggestions regarding their goals and principles, as well as their formation via elected body of representatives. A proposal to establish a set of bylaws for the federation was launched, but although it was accepted by the Jewish community on a de facto basis, it was never completely put into practice for two probable reasons. The first of these was the political situation prevailing in Italy. With Italy’s entry into World War I, young people began to concern themselves with the events gripping the country rather than involving themselves with the revival movement. The second reason had to do with the cultural and economic diversity that characterized the Italian Jewish communities. The articles published in Giovane Israele (Young Israel) on the youth movement and the evolution of Judaism and young people are of great interest in this regard. On the one hand, they do acknowledge the importance of the Federation of Young Jews as an expression of the youngsters’ deep commitment to “the aim of bringing the spiritual significance of


nationality and a nation state to the attention of all Jews.”1 On the other hand, these articles exhorted the movement to extend its activities “through a well-considered programme for culture and propaganda that would deepen the spiritual feeling that Jews harboured for Judaism and prepare them for the advent of the Messiah.”2 Various articles published in 19203 confirm that, at least at the beginning, one of the main difficulties in creating a homogeneous Jewish youth movement that would bring about a “rebirth of Italian Judaism” was the cultural and economic diversity that characterized the Jewish communities in Italy. It was not by chance that the first cultural society, ProCultura, was founded in Florence, and that many of its members, including Pacifici and Cassuto, were among the founders of the first Jewish youth movement. These people formed a defined circle and hailed from a bourgeois intellectual background. A circle dedicated to Jewish thought and philosophy centered around the chief rabbi. A number of people belonging to this circle established a movement called Israel Segulla, which was dedicated to the return to Judaism. This movement was characterized by its strong commitment to Judaism and Zionism. Pacifici noted that “given the many-faceted nature of Italian Judaism, any group activity, on a wide scale, is doomed to failureÂ€ .Â€ .Â€ . what will be lost to Judaism on a quantitative basis must be regained qualitatively; where the great mass is non-existent, individuals must be encouraged; the quality of individuals will come in place of large numbers of supporters.”4 In fact, there were no more mass activities organized by Jewish communities or by the Zionist movement in Italy; the revivalist movement was mainly composed of intellectuals whose activities were relevant only to the minority. Weizmann referred to it as “a miniature.”5 Despite the diversity of the Roman Jewish community,6 the Association of Young Roman Jews was established in the city in 1916 with the aim of elevating the intellectual and moral

Italian Youth Movements and Jewish Youth Movements 99

aspects of Judaism and creating a strong sense of brotherhood among Jewish families. The association was principally occupied with the organization of congresses on religious, political, and social topics, as well as courses in general culture that were tailored for young participants. The association had a library with a reading room and a recreation room. Its activities had a more popular appeal than those run by Pro-Cultura and were accessible to all. The association was active until 1922. During the winter of 1921 and 1922, two groups came into existence in Rome and Florence respectively. One of these groups was Avodah (Work). The idea of establishing Avodah was proposed by a certain Professor Reichert, who had arrived in Italy in 1921 for a lecture series in Rome and Florence. Unlike the followers of the Zionist movement, the members of the Avodah group did not content themselves with a generic affinity to Zionism, but prepared for the future by performing manual labor, preferably of an agricultural nature. The group was led by Dante Lattes, Moshe Beilinson, and Enzo Sereni. The founders did not intend to establish a new party or branch of Italian Zionism, but rather to gather Zionists together, particularly Zionist youths, to form a group that would realize an active form of Zionism. Avodah differentiated itself from other Zionist organizations by adopting three fundamental tenets that made the group autonomous: 1. Members of the group must accept that Zionism involves a commitment greater than an affiliation with a political party and an acceptance, in a more or less formal manner, of its manifesto. The group understands Zionism to mean being part of the Jewish nation and having a deepseated and personal interest in Jewish affairs. 2. The regeneration of the Jewish people, which has occurred as much in the Diaspora as it has in Palestine, is not regarded by the group as a regeneration solely of


the wretched mass of eastern European Jews, but as its own regeneration. 3. The group regards Palestine not just as the focus for a people, a rather abstract entity for most, but as a focus for their lives. The young members of Avodah maintained that Zionist action could not be effected simply through propaganda, since propaganda loses its value if it is not bolstered by practical example. Activity in Italy could not be limited to fundraising and cultural activities; it had to embrace concrete social action. The younger members were dissatisfied with the philanthropic and cultural facets of Zionism and looked to Avodah to initiate practical, “hands-on” projects. It was, however, not easy to find a way in which these projects could be realized. In Florence, young people were involved in the circulation and mailing of the weekly paper Israel, and in Rome, members met weekly to study the Hebrew language and prepare conferences. Lattes and Beilinson spoke of issues such as “the Jewish problems,” or “the duty of the Jews of the west in relation to the rebirth of the people’s nation.” Later, each participant in turn was given a topic to prepare and discuss with the group. The Roman group was involved with five projects, all of them of a practical nature: the education of children, adult education, propaganda and Jewish culture, involvement with young Jewish intellectuals, and activities on behalf of Palestine, including the distribution of the Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) charity boxes and other similar occupations. A group of 8 young girls and 12 boys was organized, with similar groups established for high school students in the ghetto. The objective was to educate the children of this social stratum in Jewish matters. According to the accounts in the column “The Zionism of Work” published in Israel, the work that was carried out was less impressive than it seemed. Enzo Sereni dedicated his body and soul to the work of the group, but he was the only one who really believed in its importance.


The enormous difficulties encountered made it impossible for him to achieve concrete results. In retrospect, it is clear that Avodah did not even succeed in realizing its proposed aim of introducing a practically applied Zionism, much less in introducing agricultural labor. Notwithstanding this failure, the movement was successful in uniting young people within a Jewish-Zionist framework and imparting to them a sense of responsibility and duty toward Zionism. Above all, the movement strengthened their Jewish awareness. The fact that most of the active members of Avodah immigrated to Palestine indirectly attests to the influence of the movement.7 In 1922, a new movement, Ha’Tikvah (The Hope), was established in Gorizia and three years later in Modena, as a result of the work of Angelo Da Fano, a teacher from Gorizia. Before examining the nature of this movement, it is important to analyze the composition of Italian youths, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In order to comprehend the character of Italian Judaism, one must take into consideration the general history of Italy and its often conflicting, nonlinear dynamics. The emergence of the new generation was a salient feature of the end of Giolitti’s period, the entry into the war and the emergence of the Fascist movement. By the end of 1921, the Fascist movement had a section specifically for youths that included groups of university students and young members of the Fascist avant-garde. In June 1922, the Balilla groups, aimed at children between ages 10 and 15, joined the Fascist forces. Members were required to make a statement of ideological belief based on patriotic values, obedience, and religion, and to participate in paramilitary activities that included wearing uniforms and being part of paramilitary assemblies and gymnastic performances. Among the Fascist avant-garde, the military officials conducted regular paramilitary exercises. In 1924, the Avanguardie and Balilla groups had only a few thousand adherents because the Fascist youth movements were not yet well organized. On April 3, 1924, the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was established for young people under the


age of 18 and led by Renato Ricci, head of the Carrara Fascist action squad who, from 1924, acted as the vice secretary of the adult party. He remained the leader of the ONB until 1937. The organizational development of this movement was conducted efficiently and in a very public manner. In 1927, there were 280,000 members of the Avanguardist movement and 400,000 members of the Balilla. These new movements created a series of conflicts with the Catholic Scouts movement, resulting in the imposition of a number of restrictions on the Scouts between December 1926 and January 1927, and limiting their freedom to operate.8 By May 1931, these youth movements provided official legitimization for conflicts with the Azione Cattolica (Catholic Association or ACI).9 Between 1922 and 1925, the depoliticization of ACI was complete, a fact that exacerbated tensions with the Popular Party, which accused ACI of being Fascist in nature due to its alignment with the Fascist attitude to morality, education, social politics, and corporative regulations. The major area of conflict took place in relation to the attempt to obtain complete control over the education of young people; on this point the Fascist movement allied itself with the ONB. In 1927, the ONB succeeded in suppressing the Associazione Scautistica Italiana (Italian Scouts Movement), which had been affiliated with the ACI. Article 34 of the Concordat (the agreement between the Italian State and the Vatican) recognized the ACI as an organization that depended on the hierarchy of the Church. In 1931, as a result of another major conflict, the state disbanded the Catholic youth organizations. Nonetheless, ACI did manage to maintain an element of autonomy by restricting its activities to the religious sphere and emphasizing its parochial character.10 By November 1927, the ONB had incorporated the activities of L’Ente Nazionale per l’educazione fisica (National Institution for Physical Education), which had been established in 1923. In September 1928, this movement also took over the running of rural schools and evening classes. In September


1929, Balilla, including the party’s youth organization, came under the auspices of the Ministry of National Education. The youth organizations were by then divided into two groups: Piccole Italiane (Little Italians) and Giovani Italiane (Young Italians). In the course of the 1930s, another youth group, Figli della lupa (Children of the Wolf), was established for children between the ages of six and eight. By 1932, pupils of rural schools were obliged to participate in Balilla activities on the last Saturday of every month. Such activities included wearing a specific uniform, swearing allegiance to the organization, and studying Fascist culture. By 1934, the ONB had become one of the major structures of the regime. It included nearly 2,000 members of the Balilla movement and more than 1,500 members of the Piccole Italiane group, 500 Avanguardisti, and 200,000 members of Giovani Italiane. On October 27, 1937, the ONB came under the direct authority of the party and changed its name to Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (Italian Youth of the Littorio or GIL). Its purpose was to train young people from the ages of 6 to 21 within a paramilitary structure. This move put an end to the dualism between ONB, which was dependent on the Ministry of National Education, and the Fasci Giovanili (Fascist youth movements), which was directly controlled by the party, with the result that education of the youths was now conducted in a homogeneous manner. GIL boasted a membership of almost eight thousand whose motto was “to believe, to obey, and to fight.” Its members were obliged to swear to defend the revolutionary Fascist cause with their blood. Their main activities were military preparation and participation in competitive sports as well as cultural programs. Fascist activities penetrated every aspect of daily life and every community, including Jewish communities, in which Jewish schoolchildren were obliged to participate in Fascist programs in order to receive the same Fascist membership cards as other citizens. GIL was established for young people from the ages of 6 to 21, while boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 8 joined the Figli della Lupa (Children of the Wolf) or


Fratelli di Romolo e Remo (Brothers of Romulus and Remus). From the age of 8, there was a strict division between the sexes: the boys were divided into (1) Balilla (8–11 years); (2) Balilla Moschettieri (11–13); (3) Avanguardisti (13–15); (4) Avanguardisti Moschettieri (15–17); and (5) Giovanni Fascisti (17–21). The girls were divided into (1) Piccole Italiane (8–14 years); (2) Giovani Italiane (14–17); and (3) Giovani Fasciste (17–21). After the age of 21, the girls transferred to the military fasci where there continued to be a strict division of the sexes. Nonetheless, as mentioned above, a Jewish youth movement was established by the teacher Angelo Da Fano in Gorizia in 1922 and later in Modena in 1925.11 Despite superficial similarities that existed between the ONB and Da Fano’s movement, including the decision to establish groups according to age and the emphasis on physical activities, the two groups had entirely different objectives. The ONB’s aim was to disseminate a totalitarian education whose product was entirely in keeping with Fascist exigencies. Da Fano’s aim, on the other hand, was to effect the return of Jewish youths to an “integral Judaism,” or at least to make the concept known to them. It could be claimed that Da Fano hoped to shape the character of Jewish Italian youths, an objective that brought about the establishment of Jewish camps and successfully promoted the idea of immigration to Palestine. The Jews of Gorizia, who considered themselves wholly Italian, were not amenable to their children being educated for the purpose of being different from non-Jewish Italians and refuted the practices of the movement. Da Fano introduced the idea of rebelling against the assimilation of the parents’ generation by winning back their children to a Jewish way of life. He organized recreational activities and educational projects for the young Jews of Gorizia, dividing them into two age groups. When he realized that it was too late to inculcate the tenets of Judaism into the older group (aged 14 to 17), Da Fano disbanded it and concentrated his energies on the


younger group. In order to reflect its Zionist nature, the group changed its name from Ha-Tikva to Tikvath-Hechalutz (Hope of the Pioneer). Da Fano taught the children the Hebrew alphabet and spoken Hebrew. As opposed to the traditional study of the Torah and Mishnah in translation, Da Fano insisted on the importance of understanding the text through the living language. The meaning of prayers was explained alongside the teaching of the communities’ ancient, traditional melodies. The children began to participate in the prayers, and many of them became religiously observant at home. The Zionist element was introduced through the teaching of Hebrew songs, stories about the Land of Israel, and the activities undertaken by the Keren Kayemet, all of which were taught by the children themselves. Activities included games, parties, and frequent hikes in the mountains, giving the movement a particularly rustic character. The community allocated a small plot of land to Da Fano, who encouraged the children to cultivate a kitchen garden. Despite its limited scale, the plot offered the children the opportunity to experience hachshara chalutzistica (pioneer’s camp). They learned about agriculture both as an ideal and as a viable way of earning a living. This small movement incorporated many widely differing elements of daily life and taught a homogeneous form of Judaism that included the observance of commandments, study, prayer, the Hebrew language, songs, festivals, pioneering Zionism, sports activities, and trips. Pacifici’s idea of an integral Judaism was adopted by the movement but interpreted differently. While Pacifici’s ideas were manifested in philosophical and intellectual concerns, Da Fano’s movement appropriated the idea and applied it to practical ends. His educational objective was to bring together the youngsters of the community on an equal footing, integrating the children of immigrants with those of the bourgeois intellectuals. Ha-Tikva based its program on the community’s Jewish activities. The youngest members of the movement took turns officiating as chazzan (cantor) and read the haftara (a selection


from the Book of Prophets in the Hebrew Bible); funds were raised for Keren Hakayemet and Keren Hayesod (Foundation Fundraising Organization for Israel) and investments were made in the shekel. Leaving Gorizia after four years, Da Fano summarized his achievements: “On my arrival to Gorizia I could not find a single observant child; today, I leave behind fifteen such children.”12 Da Fano’s movement continued in its program until 1939. A small group of his younger followers, aged between 10 and 14, continued to study the Torah and the Hebrew language. They were assisted in their efforts by a teacher who corresponded with them. In 1927, the older students organized sports activities and established a small orchestra for their peers, who were mainly children of immigrants. In 1930, a new generation of children was studying the elements of Jewish life, including the commandments, under the supervision of Da Fano’s followers, in a friendly and pleasant environment. Previously, in 1925, Da Fano established a similar youth movement in Modena. Instead of mountain hikes, which were difficult to organize given the geographical location of the city, regular meetings took place between the members of the Modena movement and those from other cities, such as Ferrara and Verona. It is evident in tracing the achievements of Da Fano, the Rabbinical College in Florence, and the work of Margulies and Chajes that the earliest inspiration came from people who brought Judaism and Zionism from the vibrant Jewish centers to the indifferent members of the Italian communities. The ideas of both Margulies and Da Fano met the needs of Italian Jewry, and their support of an integral kind of Judaism was greeted with enthusiasm by Pacifici’s followers. Da Fano’s influence, however indirect, permeated the nature of Jewish camping with its combination of traditional observance and pioneering Zionism. Leo Levi, one of the members of HaTikva and later a cofounder of the camping project, claimed that “without Da Fano’s contribution the idea of holding camping sessions would never have been raised. The camping


experiences and the movement itself, from which the camping projects derive, are moulded by the educational philosophies of this man.”13 In 1924, the Federazione Associazioni Culturali Ebraiche (FACE; Federation of Cultural Jewish Associations) was established as a result of a proposal made by Guido Bedarida during the fourth youth conference held in Leghorn. The aim of the federation was to coordinate the projects being undertaken by various congresses and to supervise the exchange of lecturers as well as to support any suggestions for cultural activities. In 1927, the Associazione Femminile Ebraica (ADEI; Jewish Women’s Association), was founded in Milan. World War I had empowered women. They organized themselves into secular Socialist associations under a joint Jewish-Catholic leadership that included the Jewish Anna Kuliscioff. These women were politically active, involving themselves in municipal organizations and making demands for civil equality in the workplace and in the political arena, where they called for universal suffrage through organizations such as Il Consiglio Nazionale delle Donne Italiane (National Council for Italian Women), L’Associazione della Donna di Roma (Association of Roman Women), and L’Unione Femminile Nazionale (Women’s National Union), with their headquarters in Milan, Catania, and Florence, respectively. On March 23, 1919, Mussolini addressed a rally in Milan expounding his San Sepolcro program, in which he introduced the fasci notion of combat and supported women’s rights to both active and passive suffrage. The first Fascio Femminile d’Italia (Italian Women’s Fascio) was established in March 1920 by Elisa Savoia in Monza. It was disbanded in the same year, together with other women’s groups, and reformed in 1921 after its more subversive members had been ejected. In the same year, spurred by support for the Fiume enterprise and in opposition to the nationalist stand against women’s emancipation, a widespread mobilization of women took place, culminating in the establishment of the Associazione Nazionale


delle Sorelle dei Legionari di Fiume (National Association of Sisters of the Fiume Legions), committees for the care of invalids and tuberculosis sufferers, committees of mothers and widows of the fallen, and the Associazione Nazionale Italiana Irredenta (Italian National Irredentist Association). After the 1921 elections, the fasci women’s groups spread to Rome and to the north of Italy, attracting the participation of the bourgeoisie and the nobility, Jews and Catholics, secular and religious. With the formation of the PNF (Partito Nazionale Fascista—National Fascist party), the women’s groups were reorganized, and the more politically oriented ones were disbanded. A statute was passed prohibiting these groups from engaging in politics and limiting their activities to the dissemination of propaganda and charitable works. At first, the women viewed Fascism favorably and saw it as a new movement that would bring about modernization.14 One of the most controversial and renowned figures of this new movement was the Venetian Margherita Grassini Sarfatti, who was born in 1880 into a rich Jewish family. In 1899 she married Cesare Sarfatti, a Jewish militant Socialist and lawyer, who at that time, together with another Jew, Elia Musatti, reestablished the Venetian branch of the Socialist party.15 Toward the end of 1922, Margherita became close to Benito Mussolini and, in 1926, wrote his biography, Dux. Between 1918 and the end of the 1920s, she was a regular contributor to the arts and literature section of Popolo d’Italia (Italian People). From 1922 until 1933, she coedited the magazine Gerarchia (Hierarchy), which dealt with the theoretical aspects of Mussolini’s Fascism. Margherita’s prominent position in Mussolini’s cultural milieu allowed her to organize exhibitions both in Italy and abroad during the 1920s. The popularity of these exhibitions and the fact that her biography of Mussolini was translated into 18 languages led to her being regarded abroad as the representative of modern Italian fascism. However, in 1938, following the promulgation of the racial laws, Sarfatti was obliged to flee to South America, and returned to Italy only in 1947.


Not all women, however, were Fascists. After 1922 and the violent attacks conducted by the Fascists on any woman who refused to use the Fascist salute, attacks that included the drawing of blood, and after the initial laws restricting female employment, many women abandoned the Fascist party and drew closer to the Liberals. In January 1925, women’s groups were reestablished on the basis of a new statute. Its objectives included an emphasis on women’s physical education aimed at preventing the decline of the race, the reconstitution of the family, and involvement in charitable activities. The fasci directed the organization of the various branches of Piccole Italiane (Young Italian Girls). The young female members attended after-school courses on first aid and charitable work, domestic science, childrearing, flower arrangement, and dance. Meanwhile, in accordance with the strict division of roles between the sexes, the male members of the Balilla participated in competitive sports and military exercises. The newspaper that represented the interests of the female fasci, La Rassegna Femminile Italiana, was edited by Elisa Majer Rizzoli, who was appointed inspector by the fasci in 1925. It is worth noting that women still did not have the vote at this point. The female fasci groups became the executive arm of the Fascist propaganda directed at women. The inferior and subordinate status of women was sanctioned in a new codicil published in 1931, in which capital punishment, previously imposed solely for political crimes, was extended to include “crimes of honor” committed by women against their husband’s property.16 In 1927, the ADEI was established in Milan. The association, under the direction of Berna Bernstein Cammeo, maintained close relations with a number of sympathetic Catholics, including Ersilia Majno. Rooms belonging to the Unione Femminile (Woman’s Union), the non-Jewish sister group of the ADEI, were offered by Majno to the association for their use. Meanwhile, in the rooms of another non-Jewish association, the Lyceum, Gabriela Falco Ravenna presented


the federation’s program and objectives. The statute regulating the ADEI’s affairs was composed in the Lyceum’s grand hall. The federation dedicated itself to a number of activities, including charitable work, courses in Jewish history, and other such activities. Two Jewish history courses were established in Milan and attended by classes of approximately 30 children. The ADEI was not a Zionist organization. It was established during the Fascist years when anti-Semitism had not yet become manifest, when, in fact, it seemed entirely forgotten. Nonetheless, the November–December 1928 edition of the newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia carried an article that sharply opposed the Zionist movement. The movement feared that the Italian authorities would regard them as antinational in nature. It was additionally concerned that, given this attitude, many members would renounce their affiliation with the association in fear of the potential dangers that might befall them or their families. In order to avoid either of these difficulties, the association decided to eliminate the Zionist elements from their program and manifesto. This situation remained the same for many years. In 1931, the ADEI was incorporated into the WIZO movement (Women’s International Zionist Organization, established in London in 1920). As a result of the activities of Rosa Pavia, the Jewish Women’s Association was established in Genoa even before the one in Milan. By 1928, branches of the ADEI had been established in Genoa, Ferrara, Venice, Florence, Leghorn, Padua, Modena, and Tripoli. Two years later, branches were established in Rome and Alexandria. Thanks to the work of Vera Weizman, a Women’s Zionist association was established in Rome in 1927, independent of the ADEI. By 1931, the association had branches in Trieste, Pisa, and Bologna. Additionally, a women’s association sprang up in Trieste independently of the ADEI. In 1932, the ADEI had one thousand members and concerned itself with two basic objectives, Jewish charitable work and the spread of Jewish culture. Charitable work was to be carried out in Palestine and in the Italian colony of Tripoli. In order to realize these objectives,


two subcommittees were established in 1929, the SIB (Soccorso Israelitico di Beneficenza, or Palestine Charitable Aid) and a subcommittee responsible for charitable work in Tripoli. Until 1928, ADEI supported the FACE (Federazione Associazioni Culturali Ebraiche) with an annual contribution of 125 lire. In July 1928, the ADEI sent two representatives to the cultural congress organized by the FACE in Venice. The papers presented at the congress were of great importance. The first, by Professor Jarach, was “Textbooks in the Jewish Schools,” and the second, by Vittoria Cantoni Pisa, addressed the issue of the ADEI’s children’s groups. These subjects were highly relevant given the context of the revolutionary gentile reform that marked the passage from secular to religious schools. In 1928, the city council of Milan authorized the teaching of a course in Jewish religion to be held in a girls’ elementary school. The course was, however, considered an extracurricular subject and was taught after school hours. In 1930, new legislation empowered the Jewish communities to supervise religious instruction. Beginning in 1932, religious education in schools was supervised by WIZO. It has been estimated that there were more than three hundred students in various local schools. The ADEI operated a very different kind of program, one that focused on manual labor, and established the Gruppo Femminile dell’Ago (Women of the Needle Group). The group met at its headquarters or in members’ homes to make clothes or other domestic objects destined for charitable distribution in Palestine or Tripoli. Jewish children of the 1930s read the monthly L’Israel dei Ragazzi (Israel of the Youth), a magazine that contained stories about Jewish history and customs, poetry and current events. The magazine’s objective, explained by one of the members of ADEI, Rachele Levi Hirsch, was to embrace all Jewish children in the shared sentiments toward the ideals of Judaism and Zionism. Levi Hirsch traveled from branch to branch, establishing youth movements. A member was nominated from every branch, to be known as “swallow”


(including the branches of Tripoli and Rodi). The “brood” (the name of the organization) had a headquarters where the rondinini (little male swallows, the boys) and the rondinelle (little female swallows, the girls) met together monthly. Every member of the boys’ group was obliged to take turns discussing a topic of a Jewish nature. One young person was chosen to write the articles, which were sent to Bath Zevi, the pseudonym of Rachele’s daughter Carla, a journalist of the magazine L’Israel dei Ragazzi, or L’Israellino. The magazine included accounts of meetings, festive celebrations, trips to other cities taken by the group members, and correspondence among the readers. According to figures published on April 26, 1938, the ADEI had 1,299 members, fewer than in the previous year, when the group had numbered 1,334. The drop in numbers had much to do with the members’ identification with Zionism. This drop in numbers became an increasingly central issue as the ADEI strengthened its ties with WIZO out of fear of a Fascist backlash. In addition to WIZO, ADEI worked together with the DELASM (Delegazione Assistenza Emigranti, or Delegation for Aid to Immigrants), a movement that dedicated itself to helping Jewish refugees from Germany and central and eastern Europe. It was also involved with hachsharot, organizations that came into being during the 1930s and whose purpose was to provide charitable assistance as well as following a Zionist program. The hachsharot were like kibbutzim in microcosm, and provided an opportunity for young people (many of whom were refugees) wishing to immigrate to Palestine to prepare themselves for the lifestyle that awaited them. For the most part, these minikibbutzim, such as those in Varesotto and Piacentino, were agricultural centers, but on January 27, 1937, a settlement in Civitavecchia was founded to provide practical experience of a seafaring life. Although these hachsharot did not function as part of the work of ADEI, its members immediately became involved by forming part of the Committee of the Friends of the hachsharot, which began


its activities in Milan in 1936. Other members of the committee included representatives from institutions such as Jewish communities, Zionist groups, the ADEI, and the committee for German refugees (founded by the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy). An additional committee to aid Jewish refugees was established in Milan in 1933 by Raffaele Cantoni. In November 1938, Cantoni’s committee changed its focus, concentrating on charitable work in aid of Jews in Italy (COMASEBIT). The committee, led by Federico Jarach and Renzo Luisada, was dedicated to the aid of Jewish immigrants and operated in Trieste from as early as 1921. Under the leadership of Giuseppe Fano, it was active in helping 82,843 refugees in their passage to Palestine from 1935 to 1940. Some of the organizations mentioned, including ADEI and the committee for German refugees, made small annual contributions to support the hachsharot. During these years, there was a significant increase in the number of women associated with militant Fascism. In 1929, female Fascist groups recorded a total membership of 793,295, and by 1935 the number rose to 1,334,751, of which 588,833 women were registered with the fasci, 189,260 with the Giovani Italiane, and 571,658 with the Massaie Rurali (Rural Housewives). These statistics include both Jewish and nonJewish membership. It is impossible to arrive at an accurate assessment regarding the exact number of Jewish members since, until 1938, the Fascist campaign was directed at all Italian citizens, as has been noted above. Participation in the GIL was not obligatory (as was the situation regarding all organizations of this nature), but nonparticipation would have been highly imprudent both in the short and long terms. The membership card (which cost five lire) proved one’s status as a loyal Fascist and an honest and patriotic citizen and provided access to the benefits of the Cassa Mutua Assistenza Arnaldo Mussolini, the social security fund that first came under the aegis of the ONB and later, of the GIL. The Balilla, unlike any other governing body of the past, administered every aspect of


social welfare, including subsidized canteens for students, free notebooks for those unable to buy their own, summer camps by the sea or in the mountains, winter camps, and gymnastic classes for tuberculosis patients. In 1936, 772,000 children attended summer camps.17 Between 1922 and 1938, the Jews lived under more or less the same conditions as other Italians, the only exception being the position assumed by Zionists and the internal differences between them and the rest of the Jewish population. Growing up during the years of Mussolini’s dictatorship, the younger generation of Jews went through the same educational system as other Italian youths. From kindergarten age, with enrollment to the Figli della Lupa through to university, membership in Fascist groups was obligatory, creating a complete and almost inevitable kind of Fascist life cycle.18 The same situation existed in the colonies (Libya, Rhodes), where Fascist administration was imposed on the school system. Nevertheless, relations between Italian Fascists and Jews living in the colonies, at least in the early 1920s, were amicable. An article published in Israel on October 20, 1927, reported an account of the visit of the Italian Avanguardisti to a Jewish neighborhood in Tripoli where they were enthusiastically received by the Jews, including the students of the Talmud Torah who, out of respect, sung the Fascist anthem “Giovinezza” (“Youth”). The Avanguardisti were not the first Fascists from Italy that visited the colonies, in fact, the first Italian state visit made to Libya was by Mussolini in 1926. An article titled “Gli Avanguardisti ebrei dei Fasci Italiani all’estero al Tempio Maggiore”19 sheds light on the relationship between those young Jews who were Fascists and those who were not, and the rapport between the Jewish community and the Fascist party. The article describes the ceremony that took place in the Synagogue of Lungo Tevere Cenci in Rome for the Giovani Italiane and the Avanguardisti Israeliti dei Fasci Italiani all’estero (Jewish Avanguardisti of the Italian Fasci Abroad): “Rabbi Doctor Aldo Lattes welcomed the


young guests on behalf of the local Chief Rabbi and the Jews of Rome. After the speech, Lattes led the prayer for the King, the Duce and for the fatherland, while Rabbi S. Perugia led the blessing for the young fascists and Avanguardisti.”20 On December 9, 1930, the paper Israel published an article titled “L’omaggio del Fascio Romano agli Ebrei Caduti nella Grande Guerra” (The Roman Fascio’s Homage to the Jews Who Fell in the Great War). A ceremony commemorating the Jews who had fallen in battle during World War I was conducted in the Great Synagogue in Rome. Participants included various members of the community and representatives of the four Fascist groups dressed in their respective uniforms and decorations, as well as Vittorio Polacco, the centurion of the Jewish elementary school, Balilla. The importance of these articles lies in their attention to the historical events of this period, an acquaintance with which is essential to understanding the nature and development of Jewish youth movements. The two phenomena—that is, the historical events and the development of the Jewish movements—are not distinct from one another, but intersect at many points. Returning to the case of Da Fano, one might wonder how he arrived at the concept of organizing Jewish youth groups. Very little is known about Da Fano’s personal life beyond the fact that he studied mathematics at the University of Graz in Austria, where he specialized in geometry. With the outbreak of World War I, after having taught in Trieste for a number of years, he moved to Zurich. He continued his involvement with Jewish and Zionist educational programs, organizing the children of eastern European refugees into youth groups. In the absence of historical or bibliographical documentation, the influences that acted on Da Fano and the manner in which he mobilized young people are matters for speculation. While there was a clear parallel between the organization of young Fascist movements and Hitler’s youth groups (Hitlerjugend) that multiplied during the 1920s, it seems that Da Fano was not influenced by either phenomenon in his mobilization


of young people. Like the Italian Balilla, the HJ and the BdM (League of German youths) focused on paramilitary activities conducted in the open air. The members of the association’s two divisions (from 10 to 14 years old and from 14 to 18 years old) participated in excursions, camps, public projects, meetings, parades, marches, gymnastic performances, and nocturnal ceremonies. Uniforms, flags, and military bands played important roles, and the students were given the honor of carrying a dagger that symbolized their defense, till death, of the Third Reich and the Fuhrer. Similar to that of the Italians, the oath sworn by Hitler Youth was “to believe, to obey and to fight.”21 Unlike the Fascist and Nazi youth movements, which organized themselves according to the demands of political dictatorship, Da Fano’s objective was neither to homogenize young people nor to impose a Fascist doctrine on them, but rather to effect the return of Jewish youths to an integral Judaism, or at least to familiarize them with this concept. The practical results of this objective were played out in the Jewish camps promoted by one of Da Fano’s students. One of the phenomena peculiar to the Italian Jewish youths of the 1930s was the extremely popular camping experience. These camping vacations were held twice a year from 1930 until 1939. They were attended by young people between the ages of 17 and 30, representing every Jewish community in Italy. With the passage of time, a nucleus of camping enthusiasts was established. Beyond attending every camp, the members of this nucleus maintained contact with each other during the year. Marcello Savaldi, in his article “I Campeggi Ebraici (1931–39),” wrote that these camps marked an upward swing in the development of the Jewish youth movements in Italy. None of the initiatives proposed before the institution of these biannual camps had succeeded in maintaining any continuity, nor had they engendered the formation of an active nucleus sharing common goals in the way the camping activists succeeded in doing.22


It is not simple to ascertain the exact number of people who participated in the camps because their presence was exclusively based on ties of friendship rather than on any formal organization that might require registration. The first Jewish camp was organized by Leo Levi in August 1931 and held in Plampincieux, near Courmayeur.23 After the end of the camp, Levi published a single pamphlet dedicated to the event and titled “The White-Blue Mountain.” This was the only publication dedicated to the camps, aside from the pamphlets that announced their program from time to time. In this pamphlet, Leo Levi wrote a long and detailed article in which he discussed the goals and the ideals of the camp.24 Although not all the campers shared Levi’s enthusiasm or adhered completely to his ideology, the first camp was considered a great success. A few months later, a winter ski camp was held at Rhuilly, publicized by Israel as an opportunity “to gain from the experience of the summer camp.” A second camp was held at Fraina, near Cortina, in the summer of 1932. The organization of this camp, according to one of many announcements published in Israel, “will be even better than that of the camp held last year due to the experience gathered, which will ensure that earlier mistakes are avoided.” Alfonso Pacifici commented in a newspaper article on the second camp: The camp is a huge success, the greatest advancement on the first camp is the presence, this time, of the Sefer Torah. Because this represents the greatest virtue of the camp, in the creation of an ambience where a certain number of Torah precepts are revived and restored for the common good of all, an actual sense of good—not described or imagined. The main difference between the camp and the individual societies is this, a re-conquest, from a Jewish point of view; one talks and listens at the societies and conferences, however, at camp one puts ideas into practice.25

The camps advanced two proposals that were adopted in 1932. The first was the organization of a youth conference to be modeled on the four preceding conferences (Florence, 1911;


Turin, 1912; Rome, 1914; Leghorn, 1924), with the intention of imbuing it with a new content that would, as Pacifici said, differentiate it from the others. This new content was summarized by Pacifici in just two words: “study and authority.” The lecturers had to be teachers of the Cercatori della Torah (Seekers of the Torah) so that discussions would be limited, guided, and supervised. This conference was titled “Study Week in Honor of Margulies” and took place in Florence from March 23 to 27, 1932. Despite many expectations, this conference was not the sensation that Pacifici had hoped for. It did not generate any new institutions, and the existing ones did not evolve, therefore the conference was quickly forgotten. The second initiative was the students’ trip to Palestine, which was, according to Leo Levi, the most notable manifestation of Italian Zionism. In fact, this was the first time a group of young Italian Jewish students traveled to the land of their forefathers, to live the life of the pioneers in a kibbutz, the life of people who were faithful to the Torah. The third camp was held at a hotel in Madonna di Campiglio. This camp drew much criticism for not having a spiritual leader. According to Guilio Bonfiglioli, one of the organizers of the second and third camps, the atmosphere was not specifically Jewish, despite the presence of a large number of young Jews. The fourth camp, held in the summer of 1934, was very different in character from the previous ones. It was held in the simple house of an agricultural laborer, near Cortina, rather than in a hotel. Rabbi Gustavo Castelbolognesi participated in the camp with his entire family. Many of the people I interviewed commented that this rabbi, who had taken part in many camps with great enthusiasm, was considered one of the most important figures in the revival of Italian Judaism. A pupil of Margulies at the Rabbinical College of Florence, Castelbolognesi had held several rabbinical posts in a number of cities, including Cuneo, Ferrara, Padua, and Milan. He was an ardent Zionist and had the facility, as did his wife, to attract young people to him and to spark cultural revivals in


the communities in which he worked. The presence of Castelbolognesi meant that the practice of kashrut was adopted and, without calculated programming, the cultural and ideological aspects of Judaism seemed more lively and attractive. Thanks to the success of this camp, a group formed by the above-mentioned “camp enthusiasts” assumed responsibility for organizing future camps, without this task having been allocated to the members in any formal manner. The fifth summer camp was held in 1935 at Sappada. The camps did not owe their original existence to a formal organization, with registration, membership cards, and so on. This was partly due to the fact that the regime in force at the time in Italy did not permit the existence of any youth group that was not under the aegis of the Fascist party, and, to a greater extent, because of the repugnance of the young campers toward any formulation and bureaucratic organization of fixed ideological points. In the formation of the group of “camp enthusiasts,” within which the bonds of friendship were ever intensified, one can see the realization, in a certain sense, of Pacifici’s inspiration when he hoped for “a liberal gathering of young people, reunited in order to ponder and discuss spiritual issues,” and “days of great friendship, of immediacy, of a meeting of hearts, in which everyone found themselves extremely involved.” The young campers certainly rejected any form of emotional expression in their interaction but, without doubt, their relationships were characterized by a deep friendship and a kind of trust unusual in this dark period. The communal ideology to which Pacifici aspired was, to some extent, put into practice in the daily life of the camps. Pacifici’s book, Israel l’Unico, provided the ideological platform for many of the camps’ activities. Each person felt the compelling obligation to spread Judaism and to attract to it the largest number of young people possible from the cities in which they lived. The camp activists were aware that they were acting as “missionaries.” During the 1930s, they were the most active members of the Jewish community, attracting young people to their


camps and maintaining relations with young German Jews who were preparing themselves in Italy for a new life of work in Palestine. They were also involved in the Zionist movement as well as in cultural activities.26 As one of the participants, the author of the article about Jewish camps, wrote, One always found something extra at these camps, there was a particular atmosphere, a different ambience than that found in the city. Above all, there was the meeting between so many young people, all gifted with an intellectual liveliness that was entirely different from the banality and superficiality which the constraints of Fascism had imposed upon student life. Then, there were the many hikes through beautiful countryside which encouraged the establishment of relationships that were characterized by their simple immediacy, sincerity and trust, free from the nightmare of suspicion which dogged any new friendship made during those years. Added to this was a certain religious mysticism; activities were conducted in the camps with simplicity, the prayers were recited with warmth as opposed to the cold and pompous solemnity of prayers in the synagogue.27

The participants of the camps came from different cities and differing social classes. What brought these widely disparate people to the camps was not necessarily a personal antiSemitic experience, because such a phenomenon did not exist, but a growing sense of estrangement from the society in which they lived, an estrangement from the Fascist introduction of all that was theatrical and bombastic, and a feeling that made them thirsty for something above and beyond the grandiose pronouncements, for something concrete and practical, something like the colonization of Palestine. Naturally, the sense of estrangement was most acutely felt by young people living in small communities, where it was impossible to lead any kind of Jewish life or to find a Jewish partner with whom to build a family. (The camps were a catalyst for the formation of Jewish families, among other things.)28 The aim of the camps was “to shake Italian Jewish youth into directing themselves towards new goals” in the wake of Leo Levi’s proposal of 1931. Levi had suggested the formation of a


nucleus of young Jews for whom Judaism, was the touchstone of their lives and aliyah was regarded as the pinnacle of their aspirations. During the fifth winter camp it was proposed that a seminar be organized. The ten-day seminar was to precede the camp and focus on four fundamental points: Torah and its observance; a historical profile of Israel within the Diaspora; the status of Israel in relation to the Diaspora; and Zionism, aliya, and kibbutz. There were to be approximately 12 entirely self-sufficient participants, without the services of cooks or chambermaids, as in a kibbutz. The seminar did take place, although for a week, rather than ten days, and was called a “precamp.” Six young women and two young men took part. Nevertheless, Leo Levi’s dream was not to be realized because, as Savaldi states, “his notion of whole Judaism was not shared by any of the youth groups in Italy.”29 The fifth camp, held in the summer of 1936 in Meida di Fossa, was hailed as another great success. The rapport among the participants was felt very deeply and intensified by the fact that the young people maintained contact with one another during the year, organizing meetings, frequent visits, conferences dedicated to cultural issues during the Jewish congresses, and, above all, constant correspondence. Ideological and practical problems were discussed in their letters; the less informed asked the experts for advice and direction regarding what subjects should be studied and how these studies should be conducted, how to attract young people and provide courses for them. They expressed their doubts about Zionism and how it conflicted with patriotic feelings for Italy, or about Zionism as an exclusively nationalist movement that caused damage to the universal brotherhood.30 The “precamp” experiment was a one-time event, but efforts to implement the urban study project, with its exchange of information and directives, were redoubled. The subjects for discussion were the same as those focused on during the “precamp”: the Bible, Jewish history, Zionism, and the kibbutz. Another initiative proposed during this period was the


publication of a circular of the Zionist Federation that would publish articles addressing the same issues as those discussed in the paper Israel, developing and deepening the discourse. The circular was an internal publication, printed by the association itself and, because it was not sold on the market, it was free of government authorization and control. Eight issues were printed, from February 4, 1937, to September 6, 1938. The circular published both informative articles and articles with a strong ideological line, such as “il Compito della Diaspora” (The Obligation of the Diaspora), which triggered a great deal of argument. In 1937, the seventh winter camp took place in Solda and the seventh summer camp was held in Sesto in Pusteria. The meeting at Fiesole from March 19 to 21, 1937, was perhaps of greater importance to the “camp enthusiasts” than the camps themselves. Twenty-one youngsters took part in the meeting in which pages were read out from Pacifici’s Israele l’Unico, sparking discussion about the “totalitarian life.” Discussions were held regarding the work to be carried out in the Diaspora—the preparation for immigration to Palestine. It was concluded that the problems facing Judaism could be fully addressed only in Palestine. The term “problems of Judaism” was applied to the issues relating to tradition and the observance of religious precepts. Leo Levi traveled from Palestine to attend the meeting and presented his program, which centered on the necessity of aliya that would lead to a social inversion, exemplified by kibbutz life. In addition, papers were presented in which the urban community projects were discussed and a program was formulated for their continuation. A trip to Palestine was proposed and took place in August of the same year, with the participation of four young women and two young men. One of the young men, Berti Eckert, gave a talk about his impressions of his experience during the second congress, held in Fiesole at the beginning of November 1937. One of the central issues was the establishment of a kibbutz for Italians, with a particular character and particular tasks. Since his


voyage in 1932, Leo Levi had emphasized the importance of an Italian kibbutz that would “have only one thing to declare and would bring about an original contribution, because our specifically Jewish conscience, observant but not religious, integral and violently anti-clerical, is a treasured value, it has been adopted because there has been a need for it to be adopted and it will bear fruit.”31 Many young Italians who did immigrate to Palestine considered Levi’s aspirations “for a specifically Italian Jewish mission” unrealistic, and preferred to involve themselves in constructive work and in a new social life. Many joined Enzo Sereni, who by then had lived in Kibbutz Givat Brenner for a number of years. Kashrut and the laws of Shabbat were observed in the kibbutz. Others joined religious kibbutzim. In 1937, the seventh winter camp was held in Crissolo. The eighth camp was held in Champsil in the summer of 1938, ten days after the publication, on July 26, of the Manifesto degli Scienziati Razzisti (Manifesto of Racist Scientists). The disorientation and consternation of the campers can only be imagined. The ninth camp was held in the summer of 1939 at the same mountain resort as in previous years. This camp differed from the preceding ones in two ways: the age of the campers, who were students of Jewish junior high schools, and the urgent need to determine a response to the changed political situation in Italy. A winter camp was organized at Canazei at the end of 1939. The issues that concerned the participants were different from those of the past. Palestine had been the subject of ideological discussions and had been viewed as a goal so distant it seemed like a mirage. Now, it was regarded as a concrete aim whose realization was hindered by external difficulties. The events occurring in Italy and in the rest of the world preoccupied everyone. Despite the entry of Italy into the war, a secret camp was organized in Caviola in the summer of 1940 with the participation of about 15 youngsters. Following the war, the camps were reinstituted, although they were of a very different spirit and character.32


Another phenomenon peculiar to the 1930s, in addition to the camps, was the emergence of the hachsharot. The first hachshara took place in 1934 at Ricavo di Castellina in Chianti and was open to members of a religious pioneering movement that originated in Germany, BAHAD. Thanks to the work of Mario Ottolenghi, editor of the weekly journal Israel, the hachsharot continued to operate until the middle of 1938 when Ottolenghi immigrated to Palestine. Other agricultural centers were established between 1935 and 1937 in Ferrara and a number of small localities in the regions of Belluno, Vercelli, Como, and Novara. As a result of an initiative launched by Max Varadi, president of the Keren Kayemet from 1938, two hachsharot were established at San Marco and Orciano, in the region of Pontedera, as well as at two farms owned by Giulio Racah. Until the beginning of 1940, young Italian pioneers came to these farms to take part in agricultural and manual labor, obtaining emigration certificates for Palestine that were allocated by the British authorities until the eve of Italy’s entry into the war, by which time the certificates could no longer be used. A hachshara of a specifically professional nature was established at Civitavecchia, where courses were given to members of the young Zionist revolutionary movement, BETAR, at a local maritime school. A five hundred–ton boat was acquired for the courses held during the years 1935 to 1938 under the supervision of Captain Nicola Fusco and attended by approximately two hundred people who, upon graduation, received diplomas in mechanics and seamanship. The establishment and continuation of the courses was made possible in large part thanks to the work of Leone Carpi. The final activity of the youth camp was conducted within the framework of Aliyat ha’noar (Youth Emigration), the Zionist organization that dedicated itself to the emigration and education of youngsters up to the age of 18. Two education centers for Italian youths were opened in 1938 at Valdengo, near Biella, and at Alano di Piave. In the same year, the first group of 16 youngsters made a trip to Palestine in


the company of Berti Eckert. A second group, consisting of 21 members under the leadership of Franca Muggia, arrived at Haifa in January 1940. They too were taken into a school run by Aliyat ha’noar.33 Zionism in Italy The Zionist movement appeared in Italy toward the end of nineteenth century, as result of the effort of a small number of young people who wanted to defend Italian Judaism from assimilation. Much has been written on the subject of Italian Zionism. Particularly significant is the work of Italian historians, among them Daniel Carpi and Mario Toscano. I will depart from the conventional approach of these historians by addressing the Zionist movement in Italy as one of the pretwentieth-century revivalist movements of Italian Judaism. My intention is to show that Italian Judaism of the time was integrated into the social, economic, and historical reality of the country, notwithstanding the many internal differences and conflicts between the older and younger generations that, as I have mentioned, were not generated from any desire to assimilate. At first, Italian Zionism manifested itself as a cultural and philanthropic movement. According to Dante Lattes, Italian Zionism emerged in Italy in 1898 after the First Zionist Congress in Basel, although the phenomenon had been noted by the Jewish Italian press in some communities prior this date.34 At first, the concept of Zionism was understood by Italian Jews in a number of conflicting ways. The nationalist Jewish movement that emerged out of northern European countries and was continually expanding would have seemed peculiar and even incomprehensible to most Italian Jews, since many people considered Jewish nationalism to be a reaction to anti-Semitism, but clearly this is not the only motivating factor. An article by anti-Zionist rabbi Eude Lolli


published in Corriere Israelitico in July 1898 is enlightening on this point. In it, Lolli cited the reasons why a return to Palestine was impossible: economic, intellectual, and moral conditions would prevent Jewish emigration; a Jewish state would be prey to mysticism and hatred; and conflicts would give rise to civil wars and total destruction. The spirit of separatism to which Zionism tended would, he claimed, have a detrimental effect on the future of Israel. His conclusion was therefore totally opposed to the idea of a Jewish state: “Any notion of nationality must be put to one side because it does not reflect either Jewish sentiments or requirements, and simply creates a threat to the realization of this project.”35 The danger, according to Toscano, was that the first affirmation of political Zionism would accelerate the disintegration of identity in the sense that an affiliation with a national state would carry with it the collapse of Judaism on both religious and cultural levels.36 This explains why many leaders of Jewish communities, fearing a potential collapse, rushed to proclaim that Zionism had nothing to do with Italian Jews and was relevant only for the victims of eastern European persecution.37 The anti-Zionist stand was taken up by uppermiddle-class Jews, while the lower middle class, composed of teachers and small-scale merchants who lived in communities such as Rome and Trieste where there was a Jewish proletariat, did not relate to the issue of dual loyalties. The Jewish newspaper Vessillo Israelitico (Jewish Banner), edited by Servi and published in Casale Monferrato, aligned itself with the antiZionism stand and called on the various Italian communities to protest this new movement. The Zionist movement, however, did mobilize a significant following that included Italian rabbis of authority as well as important members of the lay community such as Cesare Lombroso, his daughter Gina, and Professor Guglielmo Lattes. Zionist propaganda of a serious nature began in 1898, with the arrival in Italy of the Romanian Joseph Marco Baruch.38 What attracted Baruch to Italy was his admiration for the many battles conducted against foreigners


for the liberation and unification of Italy. The phenomenon of solidarity that united the Italian Risorgimento during the period of the wars of independence was analogous to that experienced by the Poles or the Hungarians.39 On July 16, Professor Guglielmo Lattes held a public conference in which he presented Zionism as a nationalist and religious movement. This conference was followed by others, such as that held in Leghorn and organized by maskilim (very knowledgeable people) such as Amleto Servi, Dante Lattes, Arrigo Lattes, and Professor G. Lattes. The minutes of the conference were published in Corriere Israelitico, the official organ of this movement, supporting and publicizing its ideas as a tool for the reawakening of Italian Judaism, a means of shaking up the apathy and indifference that reigned throughout the Jewish world.40 In 1898, a representative of Italian Zionism, Rabbi Giuseppe Sonnino of Naples, participated for the first time in the second Zionist Congress in Basel. For Sonnino, the movement was primarily a philanthropic and humanitarian movement committed to liberating the eastern European Jews from their miserable political and social conditions rather than an ideological and political movement aimed at a return to Zion (or Palestine). In his analysis of the history of the Zionist movement, Lattes states that at first some Italian Jews were opposed to the new movement because they wished to hide their ethnic origins, while others regarded Zionism as a movement that could damage their status quo, and saw it as a phenomenon that would exacerbate anti-Semitism. Orthodox Jews regarded Zionism as an enemy of Jewish tradition, as we have seen in Rabbi Lolli’s article. Not withstanding this resistance to the Zionist movement, in 1901 the Zionist Federation was established in Italy and had a large following in Turin, Ferrara, Leghorn, Rome, and Venice. In the second and third decades of the twentieth century, Italian Zionism underwent a transformation. The concern of movements such as Avodah, Israel Segullah, and Ha-Tikvà with


the fundamental transformation of the concept of Zionism led them to organize groups, hold meetings, and offer cultural activities. These activities laid the foundation for the eventual realization of a pioneering spirit on the part of the new generation of the 1930s41 and the emergence of the hachsharot. The aims of the Italian Zionist groups were the same in every community, as seen in the statute of the Venetian Zionist Group in the community of Venice.42 The new Zionists, led by rabbis who had studied with Margulies and Chajes in Florence, rejected the philanthropic aspects of Zionism that had been dominant at the beginning of the century. As an example, I quote and translate the statute of the Venetian Zionist Group, established in 1922, and found in the archive of this community (see Appendix C). In the statute, which was the same in all the Italian Jewish communities, the members were obliged to pay a membership fee of one shekel, which in 1922 was equivalent to six lire. It was possible to pay this money in the office of the local Zionist group or to the main Zionist office in Florence. The reason for this payment is explained by Herman in his book, published in 1922 in Florence, by the Italian Zionist Federation: Each Jew who lives and suffers in sympathy with his people, must, as his ancestors did in the past in the Temple Treasury, give his donations. This offer must be in shekels, which have been re-established and paid since 1897 by all the Jews belonging to the Zionist faith. David Wolffsohn, follower and friend of Herzl, was the originator of this idea. For Wolffsohn, the return in Palestine entailed the use of the historical, traditional shekel. According to him, each Jew who wanted the redemption of the Jewish people and the re-establishment of his national home in Palestine was obliged to be a member of the Zionist Organization and to pay his participation fee in shekels. Those who paid a shekel had the right to be elected representatives of the Zionist Congress. Every two years this Jewish Congress drew up a balance sheet of the achievements and results in Palestine and abroad, determined the directives of the movement, and so on. The shekel must be paid


in each country. By 1920, the number of shekel payers had grown to many thousands. The Zionist Conference held in London in 1920 decided that the Zionist administration must use only the shekel, in order that this money be used exclusively in Palestine.43

As can be seen in a circular published on June 6, 1922, by the Florentine Zionist group, the collection of funds in shekels was one of the main duties of the Zionist group. Another duty of the Zionist local groups was the distribution in each community of Zionist publications in Italian, in order to keep Zionism alive and always remind Jewish people of the activities, in particular the cultural activities, of the Zionist movement in Palestine. One example of such a publication is a circular of the Italian Zionist Federation published in 1925 (see Appendix D). To better understand the duties of the Italian Zionist movement, another circular must be mentioned and translated (see Appendix E). Nevertheless, as historian Renzo De Felice stated, Italian Zionism was more intellectual than practical; despite Da Fano’s initiative and the Avodah group, the number of Italians who immigrated to Palestine between 1926 and 1938 was only 151. The majority of these Jews were living in Florence and Trieste, centers with many Zionist members.44 These statistics demonstrate the difference between Italian Zionism and Zionism in other countries. Italian Zionism was, as Da Fano suggested, an intellectual movement more than a practical one. One of the most common reasons for immigration to Palestine by Italian Jews, as my interviewees testified, was an anti-Fascist awareness in addition to Zionist ideology. This phenomenon is also apparent in the participation of many Italian Jews in the Resistance movement, and in their collaboration with the Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom) movement. This movement was established in Paris in 1929 by Italian Jew Carlo Rosselli. Giustizia e Libertà was a revolutionary, anti-Fascist movement with democratic and republican


tendencies. Its platform was based on the political ideology expressed in Rosselli’s book Socialismo Liberale (Liberal Socialism). Socialism was, for Rosselli, a moral revolution, closely linked to the realization of democracy and freedom.45 Rosselli’s brothers’ Florence home had become a center for intellectual anti-Fascists.46 Nevertheless, Italian Judaism of the 1930s was not homogeneous and was characterized by internal ideological and political conflicts. On one hand, there were groups of Italian anti-Fascist Jews, like Rosselli’s group, yet on the other, there was also an active group of Fascist Jews who, in 1934, published a Fascist magazine, La Nostra Bandiera (Our Banner) in Turin. The existence and the development of a journal such as La Nostra Bandiera confirmed that in Italy, the behavior of the victims of persecution was not uniform, despite shared culture, religion, and suffering, but was structured according to different political ideologies. La Nostra Bandiera mirrored the Italian reality of 1934–38. Its editorial staff based itself on the principle of being “Italian (Fascist) Jews,” and, with the support of the regime, assumed, especially at first, an attitude of superiority. Many articles published in La Nostra Bandiera consisted of Fascist speeches regarding Judaism, and articles from other journals, such as Il Popolo d’Italia, Milizia Fascista (Fascist Militia), Gerarchia, Quadrivio, La Vita Italiana, Venti Anni (Twenty Year), Il Tevere (Tiber), Il Marc’Aurelio, and La Gazzetta del Popolo (People’s Gazette).47 The aim of this publication was to denounce the antinationalist activity of some Jews and to attack the Zionists, who were considered dangerous and unpatriotic.48 Other newspapers associated with the regime constantly attacked the Zionist movement. One of these, Il Tevere, pointed out the large number of Jews among writers, philosophers, and politicians. A statement to this effect was also quoted in Informazione Diplomatica (Diplomatic Information) in September 1938. This magazine suggested that the political, cultural, and social participation of the Jews in the Italian state


should be proportionate to the number of Jews in the population. With the intention of encouraging a boycott of Jews in commerce and business and the assertion that all the Jews were Bolshevist, on April 9 Il Tevere published a list of businesses owned by people with Jewish surnames.49 According to historian Sergio Minerbi, this press campaign against the Jews was orchestrated and approved by the Fascist regime, although this was always denied by its leaders. On May 4, 1937, the Italian foreign minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, in his last meeting with Zionist leader Nahum Goldman, asserted in Mussolini’s name that nothing had changed in Italy regarding the Jewish question and Zionism. Ciano told Goldman, “The Fascist government has sympathy for the Jews and will be like that forever. The press is not too serious in Italy, and that is why it is better not to pay too much attention to this.”50 Nevertheless, a few days following this meeting, the Italian press continued its attack on the Jews and the Zionism. In 1937, the newspaper Popolo d’Italia reviewed and supported the theories of anti-Semitic historian Paolo Orano. Orano’s book Gli Ebrei in Italia (Jews in Italy) posed the question of whether Italian Jews considered themselves guests in Italy or an integral part of the population. The Fascist regime, wrote Orano, recognized all the Jewish communities as part of Italy, but those communities ungratefully became centers of antiFascist propaganda. Il Popolo d’Italia, which was considered the leading newspaper of the Fascist regime, published many articles against Zionism, asserting that it was impossible and absurd to think of tolerating such a movement as Zionism in Italy. Believing that Zionism intended to establish a permanent British expansion on the Mediterranean against Italian interests, this anti-Zionist press generated a division in the Italian Jewish communities between Jews who declared themselves to have nothing to do with the Zionist movement and those who were proud to be Zionists. On June 11, 1937, the newspaper Israel reported that the Italian Zionists had flown the Italian flag in the Palestinian


ports, even during the sanctions, because it was important that Italy be present and active in the reconstruction of the Jewish nation.51 Previously, in 1934, the Union of the Jewish Community, in answer to the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic press campaign, had declared, “Regarding the accusation of being unpatriotic, because of their Zionism, we assert that all Italian Jews, Zionist or not, are by tradition and faith purely Italians, as they have proved in the past by actively participating to the Unification of Italy. This declaration is made not for fear of returning to a period of coercion and violence, but only to remark on the perfect harmony that Zionism has with the Italian nation.”52 As historian Alberto Cavaglion affirms, there are a number of studies, diaries of key players, and memoirs that discuss the Zionist movement as an institution. On Zionism as a movement, as it was practiced by Enzo Sereni in a pioneering form, or by Leo Levi (a follower of Da Fano), in the 1930s with the Jewish camps, few documents are available, with the exception of several oral testimonials by members who attended those camps, or rare autobiographical notes. Yet even these materials are concerned only with the Zionist movement of the second (Sereni) or third (Leo Levi, Voghera) generation.53 Nevertheless, I claim that even these rare sources can aid us in our understanding of the development and metamorphosis of the Italian Zionist movement during these years. What is important is not only the movement’s aims but also its achievements. On one hand, it is true, as De Felice stated, that Italian Jewish emigration to Palestine was less than that from other European countries. Yet it is also true that in a country like Italy, where there was Jewish integration at least until the racial laws were completely realized, it was, for many, unthinkable to leave the first country in modern Europe to fully emancipate its Jews. Therefore, those who decided to follow the Zionist movement, especially in its second and third stages, did so for political reasons more than for Zionistic ideals. People such as Lattes, Sereni, Levi, and Pacifici were among those who lived


Zionism in an integral way as pioneers. Pacifici lived his experience differently; he was a religious man so his Zionism was not a political matter, but rather a religious one. Other Italian Jews who immigrated to Palestine were motivated more by anti-Fascism than by Zionism, as is demonstrated by the fact that many of them did not go to live in kibbutzim, but in cities such as Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, where they contributed as people of culture, academicians (such as Bachi, Tedeschi, and others), and in the professions. Analyzing the Italian Zionist movement, it is possible to say that it was an Italian Jewish movement, typically Italian in that it manifested itself first as a philanthropic movement and only later in a political manner. It seems clear, then, that the Fascist regime facilitated the choice of Jews to become Zionists or not. This point raises the question as to how the dual forces of Zionism and anti-Semitism interacted. In Italy, as we saw in the previous chapter, there was no real anti-Semitism until 1938, at least not in institutional terms. It is true that some intolerance of Jews was present, but there was never social or economic discrimination. Notwithstanding this fact, we must conclude that the Italian Zionist movement was a direct consequence of anti-Semitism in other countries, especially in eastern Europe. I suggest, then, that the Zionism of the second and third generation was also a consequence of a nondemocratic rather than an anti-Semitic dictatorial regime, and that Italian Jews, before they became Zionists, were anti-Fascists, as I have been told by many of my interviewees. The Jewish camps attest to this. These appeared first as meeting places for youths, where they could be among people who professed the same religion as they, and where they could feel free to think as they liked. What those youths were looking for was not only a purely Jewish environment but, above all, a place where they could think freely. The Oneg Shabath group was established in 1931, after the first Jewish camp of Courmajeur through the initiative of Leo Levi, Cesare Colombo, Anna Foà, Corrado Corinaldi, and later by Emanuele Artom. At these meetings,


each Friday night, Jewish and Chassidic songs were sung, and lectures, commentary, and discussion regarding Eretz Israel and Torah took place. Zionism in this context seemed a farreaching ideal but not unattainable. The intellectuals who attended these meetings were looking for a refuge from the vulgarity of Fascism. Moreover, in the conformist, conventional, and patriotic environment of the Jewish community and in the military a-cultural surroundings of the GUF of Turin, this group was an informal one.54 The group often invited important Italian cultural figures, Jews and non-Jews, to lecture. Among these speakers were the philosopher Benedetto Croce; Enzo Sereni, who spoke about Jewish-Arab relations; and Alfonso Pacifici. Levi’s above-mentioned article is very revealing on this subject, and attests to the fact that the young people’s cultural societies sought to break off with the past, which, as Levi wrote, they saw as “antiquated, conventional and static.” In these movements we can see evidence of the intergenerational conflict that has always existed and always will. The breaking off with the past and the conflict between fathers and sons were typically Jewish phenomena, but they were also typically Italian, especially in the generation born at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. The beginning of the twentieth century was characterized by various youth initiatives, meetings, newspapers, and groups among Jews and non-Jews, for example Barbara Allason’s non-Jewish group. This group was linked to the Giustizia e Libertà movement and the anti-Fascist intellectuals, such as the Rosselli brothers, living in Paris. The Barbara Allason group consisted of anti-Fascist intellectuals and had many Jewish members, who also took part in the weekly meetings of the Oneg Shabath. The meetings took place each Thursday evening at Barbara Allason’s home, and often featured lectures by prominent intellectuals, including Leone Ginzburg and others. From the time of the unification of Italy, many political and social movements and groups had been established. One of


these was the Socialist movement, established by members of the bourgeoisie but aimed at the needs of the working class. This movement spread particularly among the Pianura Padana peasants in Tuscany and the workers of the industrial cities in northern Italy. Another movement, established in Leghorn in 1921 as a political party, was the Partito Comunista d’Italia (Communist Party of Italy), which changed its name during World War I to Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI; Italian Communist Party). The PCI was established by extreme left-wing members of the Socialist party, who collaborated, during the Fascist period, with the Giustizia e Libertà movement. Another movement was the Il Partito dei Lavoratori (Workers’ Movement), which at first did not recognize itself in the doctrines of Marx and Engels, which were based on sympathy with the organization of the proletariat. The Italian Workers Movement concerned itself more with freedom of thought and humanitarianism than with political experience. The weakness and fragility of the first experience of labor organizations and politics of the Italian workers, in the years following Italy’s unification, were the result of an undeveloped capitalism that was based on the agricultural sector. In 1861, 445 workers’ societies with approximately 120,000 members were present in Italy. By 1871, membership in these societies had increased to 218,000. The main focus of these societies was charitable works. At the end of 1870, the industrial structure began to change, initiating a process that would intensify over the course of the following years. The result of this process was a major focus on industry and a strengthening of the Italian economy. It is important in the context of this discussion to mention the Cattolico (Catholic) movement. During the ten years following the unification of the peninsula, the forces of the Catholics had been rejected by the political leadership. The new state, based on secularism, challenged the Church on two important issues: (1) the expropriation of all Church properties and (2) compulsory education. The Catholics then decided


to refrain from participation in political life. This was the position of the so-called intransigents, whose aim was to take a critical position against the modern world and its bourgeois ethics and to criticize the position of other Catholics, whose opinions were more moderate and who collaborated with the new state, representing the moderate wing of the liberal political class. Economic crises, particularly in the agrarian sector, altered the rural status quo, revealing the contradictions and limitations of a capitalism that had grown in terms of economic liberalism, encouraging individualism, social and human degradation, dissolution of the community, and utilitarianism. Moreover, this liberalism created, with its industrial system, one of its own worst enemies, the Labor movement. It was in this climate that the Catholics decided to establish the Movimento Popolare (Popular Movement), based on two principles: (1) the typically Catholic values of solidarity and charity, as opposed to the industrial competition of capitalism; and (2) the respect for social hierarchies as an alternative to the theory of class struggle. In 1874, the organization Opera dei Congressi (Congress Union) was established in Venice with the aim of bringing Catholics into society. In 1889, L’Unione Cattolica per gli Studi Sociali in Italia (Catholic Union for Social Studies in Italy) was founded through the initiative of economist Giuseppe Toniolo. In 1897, L’Opera dei Congressi controlled 558 rural banks, 668 labor societies, and 708 youth divisions. Nevertheless, internal conflict in this social Catholicism led to the establishment of a new movement, Democratico Cristiano (Christian Democrats). Its founder was a priest, Romolo Murri, who believed in a convergence between the social doctrines of the Church and the Socialist movement. Murri’s answer to the problems of industrialization was the renewal of the political and social praxis of Catholicism, which he believed would include the direct organization of subaltern classes and the support of the social conflict. In 1899, Murri’s movement went up against the repressive


politics of the government, generating a break with the official political attitude of the Church, based on absolute interclass collaboration. The relationship between Murri’s movement and the Church was further complicated when Murri, in the name of fundamental freedoms and rights for all social classes, supported the same battles as the left wing, asking for the immediate legitimization of his movement as a politically autonomous party. In response, in 1901 Pope Leone XIII enacted an encyclical Graves De Communi, which prohibited Murri’s Democratic Christian movement from taking on a political character. In 1904, L’Opera dei Congressi was dissolved because its director, Grisoli, supported Murri’s ideology. In 1907, Murri established the Lega Democratica Nazionale (National Democratic League). In 1909 he was excommunicated. In these Catholic movements, including Murri’s, there was apparently no Jewish participation or membership, for obvious reasons. The case was different for other movements, such as Socialism, Communism, and Fascism, all of which had a high percentage of Jewish members. Many Jews, including Giuseppe Emanuele Modigliani and Claudio Treves, among others, were involved in the Socialist movement. It is not possible to precisely quantify the number of Jews present in each of these movements. It is possible to affirm that if the Jewish movements were exclusively Jewish in membership, other movements were composed of Catholics and Jews. This short historical review of the Italian movements from the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries confirms my theory that Jewish integration in Italy was “praxis” and not “theory.” That is, Jews in Italy were undergoing a process of “integration” and not “assimilation,” according to the definitions that I apply to these terms, as illustrated in the second chapter. Clearly, if the Jews of Italy had been assimilated, there would have been no reason or need to establish Jewish youth movements.


5

Jewish Youths and Jewish Identity

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he debate over Jewish identity and the definition of who is a Jew has been ongoing for many years. Much has been written regarding Jewish identity, and there are a variety of conceptions of identity and identification.1 For sociologist Michael A. Meyer, Jewish identity falls into three basic categories.2 His work aims to explicate a dynamic of Jewish identity in modernity that, with some variations, is universally applicable. The forces Meyer believes have shaped Jewish identity more than any others are (1) enlightenment (the ongoing process), (2) anti-Semitism, and (3) the sense of Jewish peoplehood represented by Zion.3 In varying combinations, these three forces have compelled Jews to rethink and reevaluate their Jewish self-definition and the role of Jewishness in their lives. Nevertheless, there is another extremely important force that Meyer seems not to have taken into consideration: emancipation. Emancipation is an important factor influencing Jewish identity, especially in the case of Italian Jews. The Emancipation changed completely the way of living and thought of the Jews and put them, more or less, in a situation of choice between loyalty to Judaism and the advantages of assimilation. Nevertheless, in Italy the Emancipation followed a different course than it did in other Jewish communities in Europe. The analysis of this issue raises a number of crucial questions: What


is the nature of identity? On what is it based? How can it be interpreted? Is it possible to speak of a universal Jewish identity, common to all the Jews, despite their different geographical locations? To what extent is the cultural identity formed on the basis of universal socioeconomic factors? And, further, to what extent does personal identity shape collective identity? For historian Simon Herman, the distinction between the act of Jewish identification, on the one hand, and identity, on the other, delineates the process by which the individual comes to see himself or herself as part of the Jewish group and identity—in other words, what being Jewish means in the life of the individual. Social anthropologist Jonathan Webber, who has explored the ethnic and religious elements of European Jewish identity over the last two hundred years, argues that although Jews have internalized ethnic and religious models of their identity, they also function as full citizens of their respective countries. Historical consciousness, rather than religion, has become the central factor in Jewish identity, so Jewish identity is continually being redefined. There are variations in Jewish identity that stem from peculiarities in the historical development of various communities or from the need to adjust to changes in the Jewish situation in the non-Jewish world. The impact of political and social movements, both of a Jewish and a general character, influences Jewish life. Jewish life is the product of historical evolution. Jewish identity in the Diaspora must be viewed in the context of the gentile society in which it is located and with which it interacts. As sociologist Seymour Lipset has pointed out, “The comparative study of the Jew must be linked inseparably with the comparative study of the Gentile. Jewish identity is a peculiar blend of religious and national elements inextricably interwoven.”4 According to Simon Herman, Jewish life should be viewed in its totality, as one field, as a constellation of interdependent factors. It is only when Jewish identity is studied in a historical context that the unique interweaving of religious and national

Jewish Youths and Jewish Identity 141

components in that identity may be properly understood from a comparative perspective. Following from the theories of Herman and Lipset, in this study I analyze Italian Judaism based on the above-mentioned terms, arguing that it is impossible to undertake an appropriate study without taking into consideration the influence of the historical changes that influenced the cultural environment. The history of Italian Jews is closely linked to the history of Italy and must be seen as part of that whole, not separate, but connected to this broader context. In accordance with this perspective, I employ a historical approach in this study. In the first chapter, on the history of Italian Jews, we saw that since the establishment of the first ghetto, their history has not been uniform. Until Italy’s unification there was no Italian national history, but rather various regional histories of different states and regions dominated by various countries, such as France or Spain. Historian Dan Segre has observed that during the Risorgimento, Italian Jews had the feeling that they had not been admitted to a pre-existing economic, social, and political system but had created it, they were cofounders together with the other Italian patriots of something totally new. To be a Jew in Italy meant, like for many Jews in America, to feel or believe oneself to be fully integrated in the non Jewish society, whereas for the other Jews in Europe and the Islamic world, being a Jew meant never being 100 percent German, French, or Arab, because they could not claim to be part of the host nation from its origin.5

As the Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci aptly put it, “The formulation of the national consciousness of the Jews of Italy developed parallel with the formation of the Italian national consciousness of the Piedmontese, Venetians, Neapolitans, and therefore, it did not insert itself into an already existing national consciousness.”6 All of this lends a particular character and uniqueness to Italian Judaism and is the reason the Jewish identity of Italian Jews must be seen from a different perspective than the


identities of other European Jews. Italy, until its unification, had never had a homogeneous national culture, but rather different cultures and people with different regional identities. We should ask then, how this situation influenced Italian Jewish identity. In this context, it is important to define the term “culture,” which embraces not only language but other elements as well. It is also important to define Judaism and to clarify the question of who is a Jew. Before answering this question, I would like to specify another difference that has distinguished Italian Judaism from Judaism in other European countries. Italian Jews, like other Jews in the nineteenth century, had to face the great internal problems of their time, including assimilation, reform, antiSemitism, Zionism, Marxism, and secularism. Some of these problems never deeply influenced the Italian communities. The distinction between Sephardim and Ashkenazim did not arouse in Italy even a folkloristic interest. The same can be said of Hasidism. The Reform movement, so important in Germany and Anglo-Saxon countries, struck no roots in Italy, although it aroused debates in the Jewish press. Its major victory was the introduction of the organ into Italian synagogues and played on the high holidays by non-Jews. The Italian Jews and their rabbis remained faithful to the Orthodox trend in the same manner that many Italians clung to Catholicism: they did not fight against tradition but neither did they respect it much. Assimilation produced its effects, but most of the nonobservant, traditional Italian Jews expressed their Judaism, up to World War II, through family attachment that was often more a demonstration of elitism than of religious particularism.7 This perspective is shared by historian of Italian Judaism Gadi Luzzato Voghera, who sees the history of Italian Jewish communities as different than that of other European communities. An opposing view is held by American scholar Andrew Canepa, who claims that there is nothing special in the Italian Jewish Emancipation experience. For Canepa, the apparent singularity of the case is due both to the fact that Italian Jews


were relatively few compared to the larger Jewish communities of Europe and the fact that anti-Semitism had always existed in Italy, but took a less apparent form than it did in other communities in Europe because of the liberal lay regime of the Piedmontese state that conquered the rest of the peninsula.8 My contention, as I have elaborated in Chapter 1, is that Italian emancipation had unique characteristics. Thus, the history of Italian Jews must be studied in light of the social and cultural history of Italy, as a dynamic process that took place during a time of political and social change not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. If Italian Judaism was different from that of other countries so much so that it was considered particularistic and elitist, can we can say then that there is a common Jewish identity that pertains to Italian Jews and to Jews of other nations? This is a critical question because it concerns the question of “who is a Jew?” There are many contemporary answers to this question: the classical rabbinic definition (descent from a Jewish mother or via conversion by an Orthodox court of rabbis), the modern Progressive rabbinic definitions (descent from a Jewish mother or father, or via conversion from a Progressive court of rabbis), Nazi definitions (a given number of Jewish grandparents, regardless of the individual’s personal religious or communal affiliations or identity), and modern personal ad hoc definitions (self-identification with the Jewish people, for whatever reason, such as being married to or related to a Jew, or being labeled by others as Jewish). For the philosopher Hanna Arendt, being a Jew meant belonging to a tradition, as a first step for political action in the world. According to Amos Luzzato, former President of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities, “The influence and the pressure from the outside world might have caused the typical Jewish selfawareness, or generally speaking, Jewish awareness; it might as well have been caused by a cultural strength, typical of the Jewish nucleus. It is quite likely that indirectly Jewish awareness is the consequence of the influence of great events and ideas


which were born and which manifested themselves, as elsewhere, on the compactness of Italian Jewish communities.”9 I consider this statement acceptable if we interpret Jewish identity in religious terms. We may be able to find a common religious identity between observant and secular Jews, but not a cultural or sociological one, that is to say that in this respect there are no grounds for distinction between Italian Jews and Jews of other countries. What brings Jewish people together is a common descent, a historical continuity with their ancestors, with biblical and postbiblical Jewish culture. There exists a feeling of belonging to a collectivity that must observe specific rules, from birth or through conversion. On the other hand, speaking about Jewish cultural identity, we must consider the influence of the surroundings. And in this aspect, the case of Italian Judaism seems to be quite different from the Judaism of other European countries. The term “identity” can have different interpretations: religious, cultural, social, philosophical, and psychological, so it is important to clarify this concept. The concept of Jewish identity and ethnic and national identity has been studied, as we have seen, in many different ways, using various approaches in many studies worldwide. The results differ, due to the fact that there is no one, generalized definition of Jewish identity, or because, indeed, as modern history and especially Italy’s history show us, we cannot arrive at a definition of a socially universal and cultural identity. As I have suggested, we might find a common religious identity, but not a cultural or sociological one. According to sociologist Stuart Hall, “Cultural identity is a matter of becoming as well of being. It is not something which already exists, transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities came from someplace, have histories, they undergo constant transformations. The subject assumes different identities at different times, identities which are not unified around a coherent self. Within us are


contradictory identities, pulling in different directions, so that our identifications are continuously being shifted out.”10 The criteria by which Jews identify themselves cover a very wide range and, moreover, change over time. The identity of the individual incorporates many elements, and the Jewish elements are never more than part of a whole. That is why we need to analyze Italian Jewish identity in a historical context and within the gentile society in which it is located and with which it interacts. The history of Italian Jews is closely related to the history of their gentile neighbors. The historical events that took place in Italy before and after the unification had both direct and indirect effects on the political status of the Jews and shaped their sociodemographic characteristics. Until the unification, Italy was divided into different regions, each with its own customs, dialect, and political administration. The situation of the Jews therefore differed from region to region. Some regions were more tolerant than others. Differences between Jewish communities also reflected the level of prosperity of the towns where they settled. The racial laws of 1938 forced Italian Jews to confront the question of their Jewish identities. According to a 1930 law, Italian Jews were defined in terms of religious identity. This definition, which considered the Jews a religious minority, forced them to identify themselves with the nation, like all the other Italians. One of the results of this “Italianization” was that some Jews became Fascists, others, a minority (a total of fourteen hundred, according to Dante Lattes) became Zionists, and some others became religiously observant. The Fascist persecution led the Jews to face two choices: to assimilate themselves into the society around them or to recover their identity. Italian Jews chose the second option, first, with the establishment of their own aid organizations, which allowed them contact with Jews of other countries where Jewish identity was stronger than it was in Italy, and second, with the establishment of Jewish schools.11


If the racial laws forced Italian Jews to redefine themselves in their Jewishness, this was not the first time this had occurred. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, some Jews, particularly young Jews, had debated this issue. Early in the twentieth century there were numerous Jewish youth movements, cultural societies, and newspapers that aimed to facilitate the rebirth of Judaism and attempted to define its essence. If the Jews were so well integrated or, according to some historians, even assimilated, how can we explain and interpret the youth movements’ search for a new Jewish identity? It is possible to answer this question through the study and analysis of Jewish youths and their initiatives. As I have shown, Italian Jewish youths of this period had a different awareness of identity than did their parents and grandparents. This phenomenon can be explained in two different ways. The first one is historical and is linked with Italy’s history. According to American scholar Robert Dombroski, The turn of the twentieth century in Italy was a time of great upheaval. Modernization and expanding industry, while producing unprecedented prosperity, had disrupted the existing political and social institutions and alienated the popular masses. The modern, industrial society formed by economic liberalism was blamed for leading the country to the brink of collapse. The many intellectual currents of social activism that flourished between 1900 and 1915 (Futurism, Nationalism, Irredentism, Interventionism, and so on) were designed to restore a human and social dignity believed to be lost, and at the same time to improve the lot of particular class and group formations in relation to others.12

Anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss defined the crises of identity as a “mal du siècle,” stating, “When secular habits are collapsing, when ways of life are disappearing, when all solidarity is in ruins, this frequently produces a crisis of identity, or an identity crisis appears.”13 We may suppose that one of the reasons for the rise and success of the Jewish youth movements


and a factor that led Italian Jewish youths to a rebirth of Judaism was a search for an identity that had been considered lost and that was able to give more meaning to their existence. We may ask what would have happened to Judaism if, at the end of the nineteenth century, these crises of identities and values had not occurred. It is not my intention to claim that the rebirth of Italian Judaism was produced by crises embracing the new Italian generation (Jewish and non-Jewish), but, unquestionably, historical events supported it. Accordingly, I would like to stress the element that demonstrates the integration of the Jews in Italy, rather than assimilation. The youths reacted to this identity crisis by going back to their origins, increasing the value of their Judaism and seeking a new identity. These responses are evident in initiatives such as the reestablishment of Jewish schools that had been abandoned following the Emancipation. This was considered one of the most important issues and was a first step toward the rebirth of Judaism. Another related initiative was the establishment of cultural societies for Jewish youths that aimed to instruct Jewish children and youths in Jewish history and literature, to educate them to recognize the value and the importance of Jewish morals, and to reawaken feelings of dignity and solidarity among them. Conferences in this spirit were held on topics relating to Jewish history and contemporary literature, with hundred of participants (see Chapter 3). In 1911, the first youth congress was held in Florence, followed by others in 1912, 1914, and 1924. Their common aims were “to call the young Jews” to gather together, to combat anti-Semitism and assimilation, to renew their Jewish spirit and their moral values. One of the achievements of these conferences was the establishment of a federation of Jewish youths that aimed to revive Jewish awareness with every type of propaganda. In these years and until the beginning of the 1930s, Italian youth movements, Jewish and not, were many (see Chapter 4). What is important to stress is that these movements had only Jewish members, while other movements had


both Jewish and Catholic members. Similarly, the Jewish camps brought together these young people with their growing sense of estrangement from the society in which they lived, a feeling that made them thirsty for something above and beyond the bombastic pronouncements of Fascism, for something concrete and practical, such as emigration to Palestine. The reinstitution of Hebrew language was another important initiative and was considered an important vehicle of Jewish unity. Following the Emancipation, the use of spoken Jewish Italian dialect ceased and there was a general distancing from many Jewish customs that were considered to be painful reminders of the ghettos. The sense of loss of specific traits significant to identity and heritage led Jewish youths in Italy to rediscover spoken Hebrew, through the institution of language courses in almost every Jewish community. The study of the Hebrew language was dealt with in a systematic manner in Jewish newspapers, which also contributed enormously to the rebirth of Italian Judaism. The Jewish press acted as a determining factor in the rebirth of Judaism and a constant voice in the lives of individuals by maintaining a constructive dialogue with them. Through the press, Jewish society, already strongly identified with a specific historical and cultural tradition, attempted to neutralize the effect of an emancipation that was as much feared as it was desired. Beyond the contents of these newspapers, what is important is the very fact of their establishment, because their existence proved that Italian Jews, or at least the majority of them, were not assimilated but actually integrated. lf a minority group has been completely absorbed by the majority, it does not need to establish a parochial press such as the Jewish press. Some kind of Jewish identity was always present both before and after the Emancipation, yet determining its character is not easy because of its many different interpretations. The position taken by Elli Benamozeg, Rabbi of Leghorn and an influential philosopher and moralist who was admired by Jews


and gentiles alike, is enlightening in this regard. In a March 20, 1898, publication in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation of the Jews he wrote, “The more the Jew will be a Jew, the more he will be an Italian, a Frenchman, an Englishman. The more he will love Palestine, the more he will love Italy, France, England, and vice versa, because this is the new message: particularism and universalism grow up in Judaism in a direct relationship with one another.”14 In this statement it is possible to discern a notion of Jewish identity different from the one discussed above. The importance of this declaration lies not only in the fact that it was made by Rabbi Benamozeg but also in its historical context of 1898. At this time, use of the terms “particularism” and “universalism” by one of the major representatives of Italian Jewry and a proponent of cultural rebirth is notable. The term “particularism” suggests that being a Jew comprises both religious and social elements. Using the term “universalism” implies the recognition that since Jews live in a non-Jewish sociocultural environment, they accept and integrate themselves into the society into which they are born. This confirms Webber’s theory that although Jews have internalized ethnic and religious models of their identity, they also function as full citizens of their respective countries.15. What was the role of Jewish youths in the metamorphosis of Italian Judaism? How did Italian youths of this period identify themselves as Jewish? According to Toscano, Italian Judaism was altered by the Emancipation, which encouraged Judaism to redefine and modernize itself, beginning with the establishment of the Rabbinical College of Padua. What is defined as the “rebirth of Judaism” explains the Jewish identity of these youths. It was thanks to these Jewish youths that a rebirth of Italian Judaism occurred. All the Jewish initiatives (meetings, movements, and so on), were conducted by youths with a few exceptions, such as Pacifici, Lattes, Prato, and Da Fano, who belonged to another generation.


According to some data, we can assume that the maximum average age at Jewish meetings was not over 30. At the Jewish camps, the average age was lower. These camps were also aimed at youths of 13 and 14 years of age. The participation of those youths in all these activities proved that their identification with Judaism was stronger than that of their parents. There are two reasons for this phenomenon. The first can be found in the different Jewish way of life and Jewish identity of the previous generation. The generation of the Emancipation, the grandparents of these young people, were those who had left the ghetto and participated in the Risorgimento (Reawakening) and, later, the unification of Italy. As a reaction to freedom and full civil rights, they had abandoned Judaism. Their children, the next generation, were raised in a secular environment, and in an Italian reality that admitted them completely to the economical, political, and social life of the state, providing them with the same opportunities available to other citizens. The result of this integration was a certain abandonment of their Judaism. There is no evidence to support the notion that they entirely abandoned Judaism, as historians who follow the assimilationist view imply. The many interviews I conducted demonstrate that for those leaving the ghetto, this was considered normative behavior. It was practically impossible to behave otherwise. Psychologically, their reaction was quite normal, and their Jewish identities needed to be redefined. If we use the term “abandon” or “reject,” as some historians do in their discussions of the behavior of this generation toward Judaism, we might ask not only what they were supposedly rejecting or abandoning but also how they were doing so. Abandonment is subjective and multilayered, and it is impossible to make generalizations about it. Abandonment does not necessarily imply rejection or negation; it is necessary to define and clarify these terms before making generalizations, as some historians have done. It is possible to state that religious practice was sometimes abandoned, but, going back to the definition of identity,


the postghetto generation was closer to a concept of cultural Jewish identity than a spiritual or religious one. I learned through my many interviews with the descendants of this generation that their grandparents never stopped considering themselves Jewish. At home, even without knowing Hebrew, they continued to read the daily prayers, observe kashrut to some extent, and attend synagogue during the Jewish holidays. The second reason for this generation’s stronger sense of Jewish identity concerned the historical period and the reality of Italian society. Italy at the end of the nineteenth century was a liberal, secular state, and Catholicism played a marginal role in Italian society. Like other Italians, Italian Jews experienced this new situation. The abandonment of their religiosity should be explained in the context of this situation, which affected Jews and non-Jews alike. Once again, we see that Italian history is closely interconnected to the history of Italian Jews. Similarly, Jewish youths and their Jewish identities are connected to this historical context. Another interpretation, based on psychological considerations, might explain the level of identification of Jewish youths with their Jewish identities; this is the eternal conflict between different generations. There are always irreconcilable gaps between generations. The young have no intention of becoming like their grandparents; rather, they want to reconstruct their identities. According to this, we might think that each generation has a different concept of identity, but this is not so. Spiritual or religious identity is always the same. Judaism, like many other religions, never changes beyond the singularity of the individual, who may or may not be observant. What changes is cultural identity, because this might depend on historical events of different countries. Despite their common religion, a Jew born and raised in France or Germany is in many ways not like Jews born in other countries. The identity of Italian Jews is influenced by their having been born and raised in a specific sociocultural environment. This


environment might influence their upbringing and also their way of living a Jewish life, as I have shown in this book. Cultural and social identity is produced and reproduced against a complex background of historical, social, political, and economic conditions. This production is always in process and changes over time, as the study of Jewish youths has shown. Italian Jewish identity has been transformed by the push and the pull of political ideology and economy and by the identities of others with whom Italian Jews interact. The identification of the youths with being a Jew was a result of this. This is the reason I used the historical approach, following Herman’s theory in analyzing Italian Jewish identity; it is in a historical context and from a comparative perspective that the rebirth of Judaism must be assessed.

Conclusion

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his book has explored the struggle of Italian Jews with the issue of Jewish national identity in the period spanning the years 1870 to 1938. Special attention was given to Italian Jewish youths, based on my belief that the formation of Jewish movements, cultural societies, and newspapers in Italy at the beginning of the twentieth century, and Judaism’s rebirth took place largely thanks to them. The study of Jewish youths and their initiatives suggests, first, that the history of Italian Jews is a history of integration rather than assimilation into the peninsula. Second, the Jewish emancipation, seen by previous historiographers of Italian Judaism as if there were two histories, one Jewish and one gentile, must be reviewed. Jewish identity in the Diaspora should be viewed in the context of the gentile society in which it is located and with which it interacts. Jewish identity is a blend of religious and national elements, inextricably woven together. As I demonstrate in this book, it is impossible to undertake an appropriate study of this subject without considering the influence of the historical changes that influenced the cultural environment. This book reveals that these histories are not, after all, separate. Rather, both are integral to the social and cultural history of Italy as a dynamic process that took place during a time of political and social change not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. This specific period was chosen due to its significance with regard to the events of Italian history and the Jews of Italy. The process of Jewish integration in Italy began with the Emancipation and continued with the process of Italy’s unification. The national identity of the Italian Jews was forged during the


Risorgimento (Reawakening), as we saw in their active participation in the numerous conflicts that gave rise to the Risorgimento and subsequently in World War I. Jews contributed greatly to the nation-building of Italy from the very beginning of the process. The Emancipation in Italy led Jews to redefine themselves in fundamental ways. The debate on integration and assimilation characterized the first decade of the new century and took place in various forms, continuing until the racial legislation of 1938. In the second chapter, “Assimilation or Integration of the Jews in Italy,” the terms “integration” and “assimilation” were clarified, since distinguishing between these words is a prerequisite to answering the fundamental question posed by this book, that is, whether Italian Jews were assimilated and acculturated or integrated into Italian society and culture. I have shown that integration and assimilation are profoundly differing terms that are applied to various historical and environmental circumstances to indicate the type of relationship that the Jewish minority within a country wished to establish with the indigenous majority. Integration is one of the most important and fundamental issues that the new world order must face today, particularly in the enlarged Europe. Managing cultural diversity and the integration of many different minorities and attempting to construct a new European identity raises many questions and suggests many interpretations of identity not only in Europe but also around the world. The multitude and diversity of autochthonous people, cultures, religions, and languages of different countries are liable to create myriad social problems and barriers to communications rather than peaceful and equal coexistence. The process of building a new Europe seems to bring with it a process of inclusion and exclusion, which produces intolerance or even forms of racism against so-called ethnic minorities. If we analyze in depth the history of Judaism in Italy, from the Emancipation to the legislation of the racial laws, we might

Conclusion 155

see that is possible to construct new forms of identity without losing original identities, as the Italian Jews did. According to these assumptions, I proceeded in a historical manner, studying in depth the culture of the period. Through research conducted on autobiographical books and bibliographical and archival material, as well numerous interviews conducted both in Italy and in Israel with people who lived during the period under consideration, I arrived at the conclusion that the Italian Jews were integrated rather than assimilated into Italian society and culture. If Emancipation brought with it a process of Jewish integration into the nation on the one hand, it brought as well the beginnings of the process of Judaism’s rebirth, realized by the formation of Jewish youth movements, cultural societies, youth meetings, newspapers, and so on. The common goal of these initiatives was the return to Jewish roots. Jewish camps aimed, as Leo Levi, one of their advocates, put it, “to shake Italian Jewish youth into directing themselves towards new goals”: Zionism, aliya, and kibbutz. The culminating activity of the youth camp was conducted within the framework of aliyat ha’noar (youth emigration), the Zionist organization that dedicated itself to the emigration and education of youngsters up to the age of 18. In 1938, the first group of 16 youngsters made a trip to Palestine. In the same year, two educational centers for Italian youths were opened. Prior to the establishment of the camps, in the early 1930s, several hachsharot were established. These agricultural centers were attended by young Italian pioneers who wanted to take part in agricultural and manual labor before they immigrated to Palestine. The Zionist movement appeared in Italy toward the end of the nineteenth century as a result of the effort of a small number of young people who wanted to defend Italian Judaism from the danger of assimilation. The fourth chapter presents an overview of the Zionist movement and addresses it as one of the revivalist movements of Italian Judaism before the


twentieth century. Italian Zionism had the peculiarity, as De Felice asserted, of being an intellectual movement rather than a practical one. Not many Italian Jews immigrated to Palestine and, as many of my interviewees testified, those who did were motivated more by anti-Fascist considerations than by Zionist ideology. This phenomenon can be seen, too, in the participation of many Italian Jews in the Resistance movement as well as in their collaboration with the Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom) movement. Analyzing Italian social movements, with the exception of the Catholic one, we saw a constant presence of Jews, impartially recruited from all the political factions, from the left to the right, as was illustrated in the first chapter. It is possible to state that the unique character of the Jewish movements was expressed in the fact that they consisted of Jewish members, while the other movements were composed of Catholics and Jews. This point further supports the hypothesis that the establishment of Jewish youth movements demonstrates integration rather than assimilation. Only integration can explain the search of those Jewish youths for a new Jewish identity. Jewish identity and the various interpretations given it by different historians were explored in the fifth chapter. We have seen that the criteria by which Jews identify themselves cover a very wide range and, moreover, change over time. The identity of the individual incorporates many elements, and the Jewish elements are never more than part of the whole. For this reason, I chose to analyze Italian Jewish identity in a historical context, within the gentile society in which it is located and with which it interacts. As sociologist Seymour Lipset has pointed out, the comparative study of the Jews must be linked inseparably with the comparative study of the gentiles. The history of Italian Jews is closely linked to the history of Italy, with the result that Italian Judaism has several peculiarities and unique qualities compared with Judaism in other countries. The histories of European countries differ greatly from one another. Italy itself never had a homogeneous national culture until the

Conclusion 157

unification, but rather different cultures and people with different identities. In light of these facts, we cannot generalize the concept of Jewish identity, because it is impossible to find a social, universal, and cultural identity. We might find a religious common identity, but not a cultural or sociological one. Another point that this book has demonstrated is that the rebirth of Italian Judaism and the desire on the part of many young people to participate in meetings and congresses was prompted by the existence of profound crises. The desire to return to Jewish roots through the study of Judaism and Hebrew language, with all the initiatives mentioned above, was also a testimony to the growing sense of malaise that characterized the generation that, by then, was almost entirely emancipated. The quest for a meaningful life brought some Jews to Zionism, others to religion, and still others to adopt an anti-Fascist, Socialist stand. All of these responses stemmed from the decline of liberal values and the rise of totalitarian regimes. It is in this historical context that the rebirth of Judaism must be assessed. Based on this assumption, I have presented in this book a different historiographical approach, departing from previous literature of Italian Judaism; the only way to analyze Jewish youths in Italy in their struggle with their Jewish national identity is in a comparative manner. This means examining the history of Italian Jews and the history of Italy as one history, as a whole, not separate, but connected in a larger context.


Appendix A

Program for Venetian Jewish Schools Comunita Israelitica di Venezia Decreto 30 Ottobre 1930–IX N. 1731 Decreto 19 Novembre 1931–X N. 1561 Venezia, le 1936–1937 193__ Via VittorioEmanuele 3833 – Tel. 24–705 N.° di Prot. ________________________ Classe I° - 5 ore settimanali. OGGETTO: Lettura dell’ebraico nel carattere quadrato vocalizzato. Apprendimento del nome delle lettere e delle vocali. Apprendimento a memoria del primo verso dello Scemà delle principali benedizioni sui cibi, e di quella ‘al netilàth jadaim. Apprendimento del significato delle frasi apprese a memoria. Apprendimento di un piccolo numero di vocali che si trovino nelle frasi apprese a memoria, e che riguardino oggetti di uso comune. Formazione di frasi coi vocaboli appresi. Facili narrazioni di fatti, aneddoti leggende del periodo a cui si riferisce il Pentateuco, mettendone in evidenze il significato morale e tutti quegli elementi che possono servire a raggiungere lo scopo di cui alla lettura “a” dell’introduzione. Note.: quanto alla lettura, si deve tendere a una lettura sicura e corretta, anche se non corretta. Gli alunni debbono avere idea del doppio valore del nome e dello scemà ma non si può pretendere che essi siano del tutto sicuro nel distinguerli praticamente, ed è assolutamente inutile far loro apprendere regole complicate che essi non potrebbero ritenere, nè di volta in volta applicare.


Classe II° - 5 ore settimanali. OGGETTO: Esercizi di lettura. Lettura spedita e corrente dello Scemà della ‘amidà dei giorni feriali. Scrittura ebraica corsiva. Apprendimento a memoria delle benedizioni relative alle principali mizvoth e cenni sui precetti a cui esse si riferiscono. Apprendimento di vocaboli e formazioni di frasi. Gli alunni debbono essere in grado di scrivere senza vocali_ le frasi composte coi vocaboli a loro noti e di leggere_ tali frasi scritte senza vocali. Facili nozioni grammaticali date occasionalmente. Facili narrazioni come in prima, ma tenendo conto del maggiore sviluppo degli alunni. L’insegnante ritornerà sulle narrazioni già disposte nella classe precedente e ne aggiungerà delle nuove, tratte daí vari libri biblici. Cenni su alcuni dei principali doveri: rispetto ai genitori ed ai maestri: la preghiera, il Sabato, notizie occasionali sulle feste ed i digiuni. Numerazione ebraica da uno a dieci. Classe III° - 8 ore settimanali. OGGETTO: Esercizi di lettura. Lettura spedita e corrente delle benedizioni del jozer e del ‘arvith ha mazõn la nearim della cheriath Sce mà ‘al ha=mittàh la=nearim Elohai nesciamah è delle berahoth seguenti. Elementi di grammatica ebraica: articolo determinativo, pronomi personali, prefissi ‫ב‬, ‫כ‬, ‫ל‬, ‫ן‬, ‫ק‬. Numerazione dal 10 al 100. Verbo regolare qàl. Formazione del plurale dei nomi. Stato assoluto e costrutto. Suffissi possessivi. Note. L’insegnante si limiterà a dare della vocalizzazione piu’ regolare, e per i nomi, si limitera’ a quelli di tipo Scir, Torà. Farà pero notare agli alunni che in certi casi vi sono dei cambiamenti senza dar loro le regole complicate secondo cui essi avvengono. Vocaboli e frasi composte con essi. Nelle frasi sarà fornita l’occasione di applicare le regolare grammaticali apprese. L’insegnante dovrà addestrare gli alunni a vocalizzare esattamente le parole e le frasi, dando loro

Program for Venetian Jewish Schools 161

occasionalmente i suggerimenti per quanto essi non possono rilevare dalle regole apprese. Esposizione ordinata del contenuto narrativo della Bibbia fino alla istituzione della monarchia. Cenni sui vari doveri quotidiani e su quelli relativi alle feste e ai digiuni: date, motivi e riti. Cenni sul calendario ebraico. Lettura in traduzione italiana e spiegazione di alcuni fra i più importanti e significativi passi delle Tefillot. Traduzione letterale di alcuni facili passi di Tefillot dei quali gli alunni già conoscono il significato attraverso la lettura di cui al paragrafo precedente (Scemà, berahoth, scelte dalla ‘amidah feriale). Classe Quarta - 8 ore settimanali. OGGETTO: Lettura spedita delle Zemiroth da baruh sce-amar a jantabbach e della ‘amidoth dei sabati e delle feste. Elementi di grammatica ebraica: caratteristiche delle varie forme verbali e loro uso: Numerazione da 100 in poi. Vocaboli e frasi con le norme di cui alle classe precedente. Esposizione ordinata del contenuto narrativo della Bibbia dalla instituzione della Monarchia in poi. Avvenimenti più importanti sino alla distruzione del secondo Tempio. Cenni sui principali doveri: cibi proibiti, culto domestivo (qiddusch havdalah Sèder) lettura pubblica della toràh e dei Profeti: norme più importanti dell’ufficiatura publica. Traduzione di passi delle tefillot (passi scelti dal jozer ‘arvith qualche facile salmo, ‘amidàh dei Scialòsh negalim) Traduzione di facili passi narrativi della torah.


Classe V° - 8 ore settimanali. OGGETTO: Lettura spedita del libro di tefillah. Orientamento generale nel libro stesso. Elementi di grammatica ebraica: caratteristiche principali delle varie classi dei verbi irregolari. Vocaboli e frasi, con le norme date per le classi precedenti. Cenni sui principali personaggi ed avvenimenti della storia d’Israele in esilio (Misnah e Talmud, Geonima, Giuda Levita, Maimonide: R.S.I. fioritura spagnola: persecuzioni del medio evo, espulsione dalla Spagna; Comunità italiane nel medio evo e nel rinascimento, i Ghetti la Rivoluzione francese, l’emancipazione, l’assimilazione, il sionismo, la rinascita). Cenni sulle principali norme sociali (schiavitù, anno sabbatico, giubileo, peàh, doveri di beneficenza) e famigliari milah pidjonbar mizrah. Ripetizione generale sui doveri.

Appendix B

Letter from the President of the Jewish Community of Venice to the Director of Education in Venice Comunita’ Israelitica di Venezia Venezia, le ____________193__ N° 221 Prot. ILL. Mo SIGNOR PROVVEDITORE AGLI STUDI PER IL VENETO VENEZIA Questa Comunità Israelitica, nel domandare che per l’autorevole interessanento della S.V., la propria scuola Elementare venga dalla competente Superiore Autorità scolastica riconosciuta come sede die same a tutti gli effetti legali, si onora di esporre quanto segue: Per l’Art. L del R° Decreto 30 Ottobrre 1930 N° 1731 le Comunità Israelitiche, compresa quella di Venezia (come dall’elenco Comunità in R°Decreto 2 Settembre 1931 N° 1279) sono corpi morali i quali, fra l’altra, (capoverso predeto Art. 1) devono curare l’istruzione e l’educazione religiosa, promuovere l’ebraica cultura. Ora in Venezia da tempo immemorabile esiste una scuola maschile e femminile che fino all’anno scorso limitava l’insegnamento alle materie religiose. (lingua, storia e catechismo ebraici). Dall’anno scorso, a similianza ed in conformità di quanto é avvenuto ed avviene in tutte le altre principali Comunità del Regno, anche nella nostra, per rispondere ad un sentito bisogno di questa popolazione ebraica, si é costituita una scuola elementare limitata per l’anno scolastico corrente alle prime tre classi, cui pero succederanno con regolarità le altre classi a completamento dell’intero corso elementare obbligatorio. In scuola é stata regolarmente approvata dal 3° primo Ispettore Scolastico della seconda circoscrizione con nota N° 416 in data 27 Settembre 1932.

164 Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws Detto Sig. Ispettore ed il Sig. Direttore Centrale delle scuole del Comune hanno visitato ed ispezionato i locali, interessandosi di tutto l’andamento della Scuola; e sia per quanto concerne le esigenze igieniche come per quanto si riferisce alle vigenti norme in materia didattica, i sunnominati hanno espresso agli organi direttivi del nostro Istituto il Loro vivo compiacimento e la Loro piena approvazione. L’orario é quello delle Scuole Comunali; i libri di testo sono quelli approvati dallo Stato per le Scuole Elementari dei Culti ammessi; i programmi furono esaminati ed approvati dal R° Ispettore; gli Insegnanti attuali (come quelli che abbiamo in animo di assumere nel prossimo anno) sono cittadini Italiani e debitamente forniti del diploma di abilitazione Magistrale. In particolare le due Maestre attualmente in funzione sono vincitrici di concorsi Regionali. La nostra Scuola dunque, al pari di quelle delle altre Comunità, come vuole la lettera e lo spirito della Legge precitata, deve considerarsi quale parte integrale dell’Ente “Comunità”, corpo morale legalmente riconosciuto dallo Stato. Perciò in considerazione a questa sua bene definita figura giuridica, in considerazione al fatto che essa vuole perseguire le finalità che si propone la Scuola Elementare della nuova Italia voluta dal Duce, e per la esistenza in essa delle altre particolari condizioni suggerite dalle disposizioni igienico didattiche, domandiamo, come abbiamo detto in principio, che il nostro Istituto venga riconosciuto quale sede di esami (quest’anno limitatamente alle prime tre classi), a tutti gli effetti legali. Con osservanza P.Il Presidente della Comunità Israelitica di Venezia Venezia, 21 Marzo 1933 X1

Appendix C

Statute of the Venetian Zionist Group Italian Text Statuto del Gruppo Sionistico Veneziano

1. E’ costitutito in Venezia il Gruppo Sionistico Veneziano aderente alla Federazione Sionistica Italiana e, per tramite di questa, all’Organizzazione Sionistica Mondiale, sulla base del Programma di Basilea e delle risoluzioni dei Congressi Sionistici Mondiali ed Italiani. 2. Il programma di Basilea così si esprime: “Il Sionismo mira alla creazione di una Sede Nazionale per il Popolo Ebraico in Palestina garantita dal diritto pubblico.” Tale Programma, che è base intangibile del movimento Sionistico, ha trovato nella Dichiarazione di Balfour del 2 Novembre 1917, in quelle successive di Pichon e di Sonnino, nell’accordo di S.Remo (24 Aprile 1920) e nella decisione del 24 Luglio 1922 della Lega delle Nazioni la sua sanzione internazionale ed il principio della sua realizzazione. Scopo del Gruppo è quello di cooperare all’attuazione delle secolari aspirazioni d’Israele ed alla ricostruzione di una Palestina ebraica, tenendosi in diretto contatto ed in rapporti di disciplinata ed attiva subordinazione verso la Federazione Sionsitica Italiana. In particolare il Gruppo dovrà curare: (a) L’approfondimento della coscienza sionistica dei Soci, mediante riunioni periodiche, conferenze, lezioni di lingua ebraica, sulla storia del Sionismo e sui problemi sionistici, recensioni orali ecc. = (b) La propaganda dell’idea Sionistica tra gli Ebrei di Venezia. (c) La propoganda tra i non Ebrei e la difesa della dignita, del nome e degli Ideali ebraici.


(d) L’attuazione nell’ambito della propria circoscrizione dei deliberati del Consiglio Federale. (e) Il fiancheggiamento delle azioni particolari dei Fondi generali Sionistici come, il Keren Kajemeth ed il Keren Hajessod. 3. Fanno parte del Gruppo coloro, uomini e donne, i quali accettino il programma sionistico e siano pronti a sostenerlo, come pure accettino il presente Statuto e dichiarino di voler uniformarsi alle decisioni del Gruppo, firmando regolare domanda di amissione. 4. I soci pagano una quota annuale di L.30 = (ivi compreso l’importo dello Shekel e del contributo Federale) da corrispondersi in due rate scadenti in Tishri e Nissan. Il Consiglio 5. Il Gruppo è retto da un Consiglio di cinque Membri, eletto dall’Assemblea Generale dei Soci, e che dura in carica un anno. 6. Sono elettori tutti i Soci del Gruppo, eleggibili tutti coloro tra i Soci che saranno alla data delle elezioni in regola con gli obblighi verso il Keren Hajessod. 7. Tutti i componenti del Consiglio, scaduti sono rieleggibili. Il Consiglio elegge nel proprio seno un Presidente, un vice-Presidente, un Segretario-Cassiere. 8. Fanno parte di diritto del Consiglio con voto consultivo, il Presidente in carica del Fondo Nazionale e quello della Commissione del Keren Hajessod che venga eventualmente costituita. 9. Al Consiglio può di volta in volta aggregarsi uno o più Soci per lo svolgimento di mansioni speciali o per la costituzione di speciali commissioni. Tali soci, o nel caso di Commissioni, i capi di queste, prendono parte con voto consultivo alle riunioni del Consiglio esclusivamente per quanto riguarda il lavoro speciale loro affidato. 10. Il Consiglio si riunisce una volta al mese e complessivamente non meno di 10 volte all’anno. Esso promuove, cura e coordina lo svolgimento dell’attività sionistica in conformita’ del presente Statuto e di quello della Federazione Sionistica Italiana, como pure delle disposizioni che vengano impartite dagli Organi Centrali del movimiento. 11. Qualora un terzo del Consiglio sia dimissionario, il Consiglio deve convocare un’Assemblea ed indire nuove elezioni. 12. Il Consiglio convoca le Assemblee ordinarie e straordinarie; organizza riunioni periodiche di soci, possibilmente ogni 15 giorni, ma non meno di una volta al mese, e comunica a nome del Gruppo

Statute of the Venetian Zionist Group 167

veneziano a mezzo del suo Segretario alla Federazione Sionistica Italiana quanto riguarda il Sionismo locale. Le Assemblee 13. I Soci si riuniscono in Assemblea Generale Ordinaria una volta all’anno, per esaminare la gestione dell’anno decorso ed eleggere il nuovo Consiglio. 14. Ad iniziativa del Consiglio del Gruppo, come pure a richiesta di almeno 2/5 dei Soci del Gruppo possono essere convocate delle Assemblee Generali Straordinarie. 15. Le Assemblee Ordinarie e Straordinarie per avere valore deliberativo debbono essere convocate almeno 5 giorni prima e sono valide qualunque sia il numero dei Soci intervenuti. Ad analoga richiesta di almeno un terzo dei Soci avanzata non oltre 9 giorni prima della data fissata devono venire informati tutti i Soci con i limiti di tempo fissati nel presente articolo per la convocazione dell’Assemblea. 16. Le decisioni dell’Assemblea vengono prese a maggioranza assoluta salvo la riserva contenuta nell’Art. 17 del presente Statuto. 17. Il presente Statuto può essere modificato da una Assemblea regolarmente convocata con decisione presa alla maggioranza di almeno 2/3 dei Soci presenti. Le modificazioni de introdursi eventualmente non devono contrastare con le disposizioni dello Statuto Federale. Di qualunque modificazione allo Statuto il Consiglio in carica è tenuto a dare comunicazione al Consiglio della Federazione Sionistica Italiana attraverso il Segretario di questa entro 8 giorni dalla data dell’Assemblea. Il Consiglio Federale può non riconoscere l’avvenuta modificazione qualora essa contrasti con una qualunque della disposizioni dello Statuto Federale. 18. Il Gruppo non può essere sciolto qualora vi si oppongano 8 Soci. In caso di scioglimento, i fondi e tutto quanto è patrimonio del Gruppo, vanno di diritto alla Federazione Sionistica Italiana. English Translation 1. It is established inÂ€.Â€.Â€. Zionist groupÂ€.Â€.Â€. members of the Italian Zionist Federation and the World Zionist Organisation, based upon the Basle manifesto and upon the resolutions of the World Zionist Congress and the Italian Congress. 2. The Basle manifesto states that: “Zionism aspires to the creation of a national homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine based upon


basic human rights.” This is the inalienable foundation upon which the Zionist movement is based and is reflected in the Balfour Declaration of 2nd November 1917 as well as in the successive declarations formed by Pichon and Sonnino, in the Treaty of S. Remo of 24th April 1920 and the declaration of the League of Nations on 24th July 1924, which marked the beginning of the realisation (of this aspiration) through the application of an international sanction. The objective of the group is to collaborate in the actualisation of this ancient aspiration and the reconstruction of a Jewish Palestine by maintaining direct contact with the Italian Zionist Federation to which it is subordinate. The group must be responsible for (a) raising the level of Zionist awareness among its members through the organisation of regular meetings, conferences, Hebrew language classes, the teaching of Zionist history and related issues, oral reviews, and so on; (b) the dissemination of Zionist propaganda among the Jews within the Venetian Jewish community; (c) outside propaganda directed at non-Jews aimed at defending Jewish dignity, reputation, and ideals; (d) the actualisation within the community of decisions taken by the federal councils and the contribution to federal finances; (e) the support of particular Zionist funds such as Keren-Hajesed and Keren Kayemet. 3. The members of the groups, both men and women, are obliged to accept and support the Zionist manifesto and this statute. They must accept the decisions taken by the group, the Directive Assembly of the Italian Zionist Federation, and the World Zionist Organisation. Upon joining the group, each member is obliged to sign a declaration stating his or her acceptance and support of the present statute as well as the Basle manifesto. Any action undertaken by members must be based upon the decisions and measures taken by the World Zionist Congresses, Italian Congresses and the Directive Assembly of the Zionist movement. 4. Members are obliged to pay an annual subscription of not less than 17 lire that will include a contribution to the provincial party as well as shekel donation, an annual payment of two lire.

Statute of the Venetian Zionist Group 169

The Council 5. The group is directed by a Council composed of five members, elected by the General Assembly and will serve for one year. 6. All group members who have made their contribution to the Keren Hajesod are entitled to elect Council members. 7. Council members are eligible for reelection. The Council will choose a President, a Vice President, and a Treasurer. 8. The President of the local Commission of National Funds and the President of the Commission of Keren Hajesod will form part of the Council’s directive and have the right to an advisory vote. 9. From time to time, group members may be co-opted onto the Council in order to execute specific tasks or form part of a special working party. These members will be accorded the right to an advisory vote during Council meetings held to discuss issues relating to the work carried out by these members of commissions. 10. The Council will meet once a month and not less than ten times a year. The Council is responsible for the promotion and coordination of Zionist activities as set out in this statute and the statute of the Italian Zionist Federation as well as that of the central organs of the movement. 11. In the event that one third of the Council members are obliged to resign, the Council must call an assembly in order to hold new elections. 12. The Council may call ordinary and extraordinary assemblies, it organizes regular meetings for its members—it is recommended that these meetings take place fortnightly and should not meet less than once a month. The local group secretary is obliged to update the Italian Zionist Federation regarding the state of local Zionism. The Assemblies 13. Members are obliged to attend the Annual General Meeting in which the previous year’s management will be examined and a new Council elected. 14. An extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the group Council or by two-fifths of the group members.


15. In order to have deliberative validity, ordinary and extraordinary Assemblies must meet at least one week before General Meetings irrespective of the number of participants. At the request of one third of the members, that must be put forward not less than four days before date established for the Assembly, the date may be changed and a new date proposed that must be communicated to all members within the time limit established in this clause for the convocation of a new Assembly. 16. Decisions taken in the Assembly must receive an absolute majority vote except in circumstances outlined in article 17 of this statute. 17. The present statute may be modified during a regular Assembly by a majority vote of two-thirds of the members. The modifications may not contravene the Federal Statute. The Secretary of the Council of the Italian Zionist Federation must be notified within eight days of any modifications accepted by the Assembly. The Federal Council is not obliged to accept the modifications if they contradict any clause of the Federal Statute. 18. The group cannot be dissolved if more than eight members oppose the motion. In the event of dissolution, the funds and any other possessions belonging to the group will pass to the Italian Zionist Federation.

Appendix D

Letter to the Zionist Federation of Italy Regarding the Inauguration of Hebrew University Italian Text Organizzazione e Propaganda Interna Milano 23 Marzo 1925 AI GRUPPI SIONISTICI ITALIANI, Come già è stato comunicato, il Iº Aprile prossimo si inaugurerà a Gerusalemme l’Universita’ ebraica che è destinata ad essere il faro luminoso della nostra cultura, ed un centro intelletuale tra più importanti del mondo. E’desiderio di questa Federazione che le Associazioni aderenti convochino in tale fausta ricorrenza i compagni di fede delle singole città, ricordino loro l’opera che il sionismo sta svolgendo in Palestina, specialmente del punto di vista culturale, richiamandoli ad una più completa comprensione dei problemi ebraici dell’ora. Non dubito che ovunque saranno organizzate manifestazioni nel senso desiderato. E gradirò ricevere notizia dettagliate in proposito. Qualora poi si desiderasse la designazione di qualche oratore per l’occasione, prego di volermi telegrafare ed io mi faro’ premura di provvedere. Coi migliori saluti ebraici IL CONSIGLIERE DELEGATO Avv. GIUSEPPE OTTOLENGHI


English Translation Zionist Federation of Italy Organization and Internal Propaganda Milan, 23rd March 1925 TO: ITALIAN ZIONIST GROUPS You have already been notified that the inauguration of the Hebrew University, in Jerusalem, will be held on April 1st. The objective is to establish an intellectual centre, second to none, for the promotion of our culture. It is the wish of this Federation that Associations in each city will convene its members to celebrate this joyful and important event that reflects the work that Zionist movement is carrying out in Palestine on a cultural sphere. It is our hope that, in celebrating (this momentous event), the members of the various Associations will be brought to a more complete understanding of the contemporary problems besetting Jews. I have no doubt that suitable demonstrations will be organised and would appreciate being in receipt of all relevant information. Please telegraph me if you require a speaker for the occasion and I shall do my best to find the appropriate person. With best Jewish wishes, Avv. Giuseppe Ottolenghi Delegated Councillor

Appendix E

Letter to the Zionist Organization Regarding Group Activities Italian Text ORGANIZZAZIONE SIONISTICA UFFICIO DI ROMA TELEFONO 20–720 INDIRIZZO TELEGRAFICO: “MISRAD, ROMA” Via Treviso 31, ROMA (50) 29 Adar I 5687 3.III.1927 Ai Gruppi Con nostra circolare del 17 ottobre 1926 pregavamo i gruppi sionistici a voler comunicare a questo Ufficio alcuni dati che dovevano offrire materiale necessario per il lavoro alla Commissione incaricata di imprimere Sionismo in Italia una vita più intensa. Solo due Gruppi hanno con gran premura corrisposto a questa nostra richiesta; sicchè finora la Commissione non ha potuto farsi un’idea dell’estensione e della vita del Sionismo in Italia. sappiamo che i nostri amici hanno lodevolemnte lavorato in questi mesi e che vari Gruppi hanno dimostrato una interessante attività. Desideriamo però che un contatto più vivo si stabilisca fra loro e noi. Ci permettiamo perciò di pregare gli egregi Colleghi a volerci trasmettere:

1. 2. 3. 4.

i nomi e gli indirizzi dei soci di ciascun Gruppo la nota dei componenti del Consiglio l’indirizzo preciso della loro sede un breve sintetico rapporto delle loro attività (sedute, riunioni, conferenze, discussioni ecc.)

174 Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws II. Richiamiano poi alla mente dei Consigli la necessità di provvedere al collocamento degli scekalim. L’adesione che anche i non sionisti si preparano a dare alle opere di rinascita palestinese e l’apporto di entusiasmo e di danaro che essi son disposti ad offrire, aumentano la responsabilità dei sionisti e c’impongono maggiore intensità di opere. Noi dobbiamo dimostrare che il Sionismo è forte e cosciente dei suoi doveri, e che aumentano d’anno in anno le conquiste di spirito ch’esso finora è andato facendo. Collo scekel noi contiamo sulla forza del Sionismo collo scekel dimostriamo la nostra volontà di dare ad Israele una Sede in cui si crei qualche cosa di ebraico per l’eternita. Preghiamo quindi i Gruppi di porsi all’opera di collocamento degli skalim con amoroso zelo e di darci relazione di quanto mensilmente raccoglieranno. III. Uscirà a giorni, a cura di questa Federazione, il discorso tenuto a Boston dal Presidente dell’Organizzazione Sionistica. Il discorso, che offre un’idea acuta e precisa della situazione sionistica in Palestina e nel mondo è offerto da noi a tutti quanti si preoccupano delle sorti d’Israele. Chiediamo quindi ai Gruppi che vogliano dirci quante copie dell’opuscolo sono desiderate per la diffusione gratuita a sionisti e a non sionisti della loro città, affinchè possiamo fare la spedizione relativa. Cogliamo l’occasione per raccomandare ai nostri egregi Colleghi la diffusione delle pubblicazioni sionistiche edite in italiano negli ultimi anni. Nessun sionista deve ignorare la storia, l’ideologia, le conquiste del nostro movimento. Segnaliamo fra le opere fondamentali che non debbono mancare sul tavolo di nessun sionista le seguenti:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Pinsker e Achad Ha am: Autoemancipazione ebraica Teodoro Herzl: Lo Stato ebraico Baruch Hagani: La vita di Teodoro Herzl Herzl, Nordan, Weizmann, Sokolow: Il Sionismo Nordau: La tragedia dell’assimilazione Ch. Weizmann: Saggi e discorsi Achad-Ha am: Al Bivio Rundt e Bermann: Palestina, impressioni di viaggio M. Buber: Sette discorsi sull’Ebraismo Brawer: Il ripopolamento della Palestina con gli Ebrei Memoriali presentati dall’Organizzazione Sionistica alla Commissione dei Mandati presso la lega delle Nazioni (1924)

Nella fiducia che ciascun Gruppo vorrà aiutarci validamente nella nostra opera, ci è gradito inviare i nostri più grati e fraterni saluti.

Letter to the Zionist Organization Regarding Group Activities 175

English Translation ZIONIST ORGANISATION ROME OFFICE 29TH Adar I 5687 3.III.1927 To Groups: On 17th October 1926 a circular letter was distributed requesting Zionist groups to send relevant data required by the Commission established in order to imbue a greater spirit into the Zionist movement in Italy. To date, only two groups have responded to this request and therefore the Commission has not been able to implement the project to enlarge the Zionist movement and intensify its activities. We are aware of the fact that our friends have worked impressively hard over the last few months and many groups have been involved in promoting interesting activities. In an attempt to establish closer contact between ourselves and the group members, we request our honourable colleagues to send us the following information:

1. 2. 3. 4.

The names and addresses of group members. The names of Council members. The exact address of the Council headquarters. A brief report of activities (sessions, meetings, conferences, discussions, and so on).

We would like to remind Council members to take care of the investment of shekalim. The participation of non-Zionists who are prepared to lend their support to the work of recreating a Jewish homeland through financial contributions and emotional commitment, increases the responsibility of Zionists and adds a greater sense of intensity to the project. We must show that Zionism is both strong and aware of its obligations and that, with each year, the spiritual conquest to which we are committed gathers momentum. The strength of the Zionist movement can be assessed through financial contributions, with each shekel we demonstrate our willingness to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel in which Judaism will flourish for eternity. We request each group to zealously commit itself to the collection of shekalim and inform us how much money is realised each month. The speech, given by the President of the Zionist organisation in Boston and edited by this Federation, will be sent out today. The speech gives a detailed description of the exact nature of Zionism in Palestine and in the rest of the world. It will be distributed to all those who are preoccupied by

176 Italian Jews from Emancipation to the Racial Laws the destiny of Israel. We ask each group to let us know how many copies of the speech they require. The copies will be provided free of charge to both Zionists and non-Zionists in each city. We take this opportunity to ask our honourable colleagues to distribute the Zionist publications that have been translated into Italian during the last few years. No Zionist can ignore the history, ideology and successes of our movement. A list of recommended reading includes the following titles:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Pinsker and Achad Ha’am, “Jewish Self-Emancipation” Theodore Herzel, “The Jewish State” Baruch Hagani, “The Life of Theodore Herzel” Herzel, Nordeau, Weizman, Sokolow, “Zionism” Nordeau, “The Tragedy of Assimilation” Ch. Weizmann, “Essays and Speeches” Achad Ha’am, “At the Crossroads” Rundt and Bermann, “Palestine, Impressions of a Voyage” M. Buber, “Seven Conversations about Judaism” Brawer, “The Jewish Re-population of Palestine” Memoirs presented by the Zionist Organisation to the Mandate Commission of the League of Nations (1924/5/6)

In the belief that each group is committed to our work we send our heartfelt thanks and fraternal salutations.

Notes Introduction 1. See Zimmerman, ed., The Jews of Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule; Zuccotti, The Italian and the Holocaust; Gunzberg, Strangers at Home; or the last book of Michele Sarfatti, The Jews in Mussolini’s Italy. 2. See the interesting work of Toscano and Sofia, Stato Nazionale ed Emancipazione Ebraica, and Toscano, “Gli Ebrei Italiani e la Prima Guerra Mondiale”; Sofia, “Assimilazione e Autocoscienza Ebraica nell’Italia Liberale”; Stille, Uno Su Mille; Molinari, Ebrei in Italia; and several others. 3. Bedarida, Ebrei d‘Italia; Di Porto, “Dopo il Risorgimento al varco del ‘900, 19–41; Canepa, “Considerazioni sulla Seconda Emancipazione e le sue Conseguenze 45–89; and Canepa, “Emancipazione, Integrazione e Antisemitismo Liberale,” 166–706. Important works on the Italian Jewry under Fascism include De Felice, Storia degli Ebrei Italani sotto Il Fascismo; Michaelis, Mussolini and the Jews; Milano, Storia degli Ebrei in Italia; and Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy. 4. The most important Jew in Italian public life during the Risorgimento was Isaac Artom, who served as Cavour’s private secretary and chief secretary in the Italian Foreign Office, and later in 1876 as senator. Other Jewish politicians were Leone Wollemberg, Minister of Finance from 1900 to 1903 and founder of the rural saving banks in Italy; General Giuseppe Ottolenghi, Minister of War from 1902 to 1903; Gabriele Pincherle, honorary President of the Council of State; and Ernesto Artom, diplomat and minister plenipotentiary since 1862. In 1907, Ernesto Nathan, a Jew, was elected mayor of Rome. 5. The Jew Aldo Finzi, who was for a long time Mussolini’s right-hand man, suppressed an anti-Fascist rising in Milan and became Assistant Minister of Interior. Carlo Foa’ was editor of the Fascist review Gerarchia; Guido Jung was for some years Finance Minister; while Margherita Sarfatti was one of Mussolini’s favorites and collaborated with him in his journalistic work and later became his biographer. 6. Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici. 7. Webber, “Modern Jewish Identity,” 74–85.

Chapter 1 1. Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy, 23. 2. Della Pergola, “The Geography of Italian Jews,” 93–128. 3. The constitutions of the Cisalpine Republic (which included the territories of Lombardy, Modena, Reggio, Bologna, Ferrara, Bergamo, Brescia, and Valtellina) of July 1797 and September 1798, and the constitution of the Roman Republic of March 1798 (the State of the Church), awarded each citizen and religion equal rights, providing legal recognition of these by the state. These can be found in decree 343 of the Constitution

178 NOTES

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11.

12.

13. 14. 15.

16.

17.

18. 19.

20.

of the Roman Republic of 1798, or in decrees 354–394 of the Cisalpine Republic. Several years later, in October 1801, the Cisalpine Republic also awarded equal civil and political rights to all, except on matters of religion. This is addressed in decree 98, which states that each citizen can practice his religion, but only the Catholic religion can be practiced in public. A similar condition is found in decrees 117 and 1 of the Italian Republic of January 1802, which recognized Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Decree 13 of June 1802 of the Genovese Republic also presented the same principles. See Roth, The History of the Jews in Italy, 427. Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy, 443. Ibid., 444. Ibid., 446. Ibid., 453. Della Pergola, “Precursori, Convergenti, Emarginati. Trasformazioni Demografiche degli Ebrei in Italia, 1870–1945,”71. Della Pergola, “The Geography of Italian Jews,” 103. For example, in 1817, in Leghorn, 44 of the carbonari were Jews, many of whom were arrested and imprisoned by the police. The work of Giovine Italia was carried on most actively in Piedmont, where a group of Jews from Vercelli, led by a bookseller and a sausage-maker, were the most active agents for the distribution of its message. At Leghorn, an allied society, The True Italians (I veri Italiani) was formed and headed by two Jews, Ottolenghi and Montefiore, who were arrested for their activities. See Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy, 457. See articles such as “Jews’ Social Status” in Antologia (Anthology) by Gabriele Pepe (1830) and in 1836 Economic Researches on the Restrictions Imposed on the Jews by the republican philosopher Carlo Cattaneo, and other similar articles, such as Moral and Civil Primacy of the Italians, by Vincenzo Gioberti, or Civil Emancipation of the Israelites, by Massimo D’Azeglio, published in Florence in 1847. All are found in Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy. Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy, 469. Bedarida, Ebrei D’Italia, 92. In the eighteenth century, at Ferrara, instruction was obligatory up to the age of 13 if the children were educated privately and up to age 16 if they attended the communal free school. See Roth, The History of the Jews of Italy, 363. Since 1564, in Mantua, there was a different academy of advanced studies that offered mainly scientific subjects, as the study of medicine allowed the student the option of being accepted to the medical faculty, where he was required to study a further six to seven years for the degree of magister and even of “doctor.” In the Faculty of Medicine in Padua, 80 Jews graduated as “magister” from 1519–1619, and 149 Jews completed their studies by 1721. See Milano, Storia degli Ebrei in Italia, 625. The communities in provincial towns began to decline after short-term growth at the expense of neighboring communities. Internal migrations were directed to the major Italian cities of this period: Trieste, Venice, Florence, Turin, and Rome. See Sabatello, Social and Occupational Trends, XL. See Franco Sabatello, Op. Cit, LII. According to Roth, the release of their pent-up ability helped them to rise in many cases to the ranks of the bourgeoisie, or even the upper bourgeoisie, but only in very few cases, if any, into the so-called international plutocracy; see History of the Jews of Italy, 487. According to Roth, although the Italian Jews remained predominantly an urban group, the magnet of the countryside exerted a very strong influence on some of them. Even in the first half of the nineteenth century, Jews were responsible for introducing new methods

Notes 179

21.

22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29.

of scientific agriculture in the former Venetian territories, now under Austrian rule. After the Emancipation the same tendency became apparent in Emilia (around Bologna) and Piedmont, where many outstanding families now invested their wealth in land. The fact that the International Institute of Agriculture, set up in Rome in 1905, owed its origin to the enthusiasm and devotion of American Jewish idealist David Lubin; the ready understanding of Italian Jewish statesman Luigi Luzzati, who enlisted the interest of the king, was symbolic; Roth, The History of the Italian Jews of, 486. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the proportion of Jews employed in selected occupations in relation to the general Italian population employed in the same occupations was not parallel. Between 1901 and 1938 and between 1938 and 1965 the following trends were evident: (1) a smaller percentage of Jews in unskilled occupations (such as restaurant and hotel employees, service and domestic workers, etc.) compared with all workers in both periods, which resulted in a decreasing representation of Jews in these sectors; (2) a gradually decreasing overrepresentation of Jews in occupations such as salaried commercial agents, salesmen, and teachers between 1901 and 1965; (3) a rise in the overrepresentation of Jews in the civil service and the army between 1901 and 1938, whereas after 1938 their proportion not only fell, but became underrepresented; (4) a decrease in the proportion of overrepresentation of Jews in many professions between 1938 and 1965 following an increase in the preceding period, but still preserving a substantial overrepresentation; (5) a marked overrepresentation of self-employed in commerce (shopkeepers, peddlers, commercial agents) between 1901 and 1938, but significantly rising again between 1938 and 1965. Sabatello, Social and Occupational Trends, XXXIL. Roth, The History of Italian Jews, 494–95. Ibid., 511–12. Guido Fubini’s book, La Condizione Giuridica dell’Ebraismo Italiano dal Periodo Napoleaonico alla Repubblica, reported the similarities and differences between these two laws. The author wrote, “The Law of October 30, 1930, n° 1731, is the most relevant expression of an historical course, intended to re-establish the inequality of religion, and to return to a jurisdictional state.” (56–57) The inequality of the religious affiliation was the first step toward an inequality of citizens, which will eventually be established in the legislation of the Racial Laws. Roth, The History of Italian Jews, 527, 528, 529. Ibid., 476. Zuccotti, “Italy’s Jews” in The Italians and the Holocaust, 24. Dante Almansi, a prefect before the march on Rome, served as a vice chief of police under Emilio De Bono until his forced retirement after the legislation of the racial law. Maurizio Rava was a vice governor of Libya, governor of Somalia, and a general in the Fascist militia. Renzo Ravenna, a lawyer friend of Italo Balbo and former squadrista (the name given to fanatical Fascist thugs who in 1920 and 1921 roamed the countryside in armed groups beating Socialist workers and peasants) was the podestà, or appointed mayor, of Ferrara for 15 years. Ugo Foà, captain in World War I, winner of a silver medal for military valor, lawyer, and Fascist party member after 1932, served as magistrate from 1939 until, like Almansi, he was forced into retirement. Giorgio Del Vecchio, an eminent professor of international jurisprudence and philosophy, became the first Fascist rector of the University of Rome in 1925. Zuccotti, The Italians and the Holocaust, 26. As Meir Michaelis writes in his article, “Gli Ebrei Italiani sotto il regime Fascista dalla Marcia su Roma alla caduta del Fascismo” (The Italian Jews under Fascist Regime, from Rome’s March to the Fall of Fascism), the anti-Jewish campaign of the Fascist press reached its culmination with the Turin trial of March 30, 1934, in which 17 anti-Fascists,

180 NOTES

30.

31. 32.

33.

most of them Jews, were convicted. Jews with assimilationist tendencies gave vent to their patriotic zeal by setting up an appropriate weekly organ, La Nostra Bandiera,(Our Banner) to differentiate themselves from the Zionist Jews. In La Rassegna Mensile di Israel, 1962–66. Eucardio Momigliani, for example, one of the original Jewish “sansepolcristi” abandoned Fascism almost immediately, proclaimed his opposition, and founded the antiFascist Unione Democratica. Pio Donati, an anti-Fascist Jewish deputy, was twice beaten and finally driven into exile, where he died alone in 1926. Other anti-Fascist Jews in exile in the 1920s and early 1930s included Claudio Treves, Giuseppe Emanuele Modigliani, Leone Ginzburg, Vittorio Foà, and Carlo and Nello Rosselli. The Rossellis were killed in France in 1937 by Fascists. Zuccotti, The Italians and the Holocaust, 25. Roth, 504. “Luzzato was a man of exceptional ability and attainments, he was on the one hand the heir to the enlightened tradition of Italian Jewish scholarship, on the other in close touch owing to the temporary accident of Austrian expansion with the Jewish intellectual revival in northern Europe associated with the birth of the Wissenchaft des Judentums or the ‘Science of Judaism.’ In his person, Italian Jewry was worthily and effectively associated with this movement. He collected and saved from oblivion large numbers of ancient manuscripts. He first edited the works of the medieval Hebrew poet, Jehudah ha-Levi. He wrote the first Jewish biblical commentaries in a modern sense. He translated the Bible and prayer book afresh into Italian. He collaborated in every Jewish learned periodical of the time, whether published in Hebrew or in German or in French. He set the science of Hebrew philology and grammar on a new basis. He edited the traditional liturgy according to the native “Italian” (or Roman) rite.Â€.Â€.Â€. The tradition of Italian poetry was also maintained by his friends, Giuseppe Almanzi, Abraham Salom, Roberto Morpurgo, and so on.”Roth, The History of Italian Jews, 496–98. A program written in May 1935 and 1936 for Venetian Jewish schools has been found in the archive of the Venetian community (see Appendix A). It includes the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Introduzione (introduction) Le vocali (vowels) kindergarten Le donne Ebree (Jewish women) Talmud Torah Le feste (holidays) kindergarten Poesia (poetry) Talmud Torah Monologo (monologue) kindergarten Quello che imparo in Talmud Torah (what I learn in the Talmud Torah) Primavera (spring) kindergarten Napoleone Dialogo (dialogues) kindergarten Patria (State) Inno alla bandiera (the national anthem) Ringraziamento (thanks)

In March 1933, the president of the Jewish community of Venice was asked by the Director of Education of Venice to recognize the Jewish school in Venice during the legal examination (see Appendix B). In March 1934, a year later, according to the newspaper Gazzetta of Venice, 47 membership cards were given to the Balilla and Piccole Italiane (Little Italians) of the Jewish school of Venice. 34. See Nora Galli, “Il giudeo-italiano e i dialetti giudeo-italiani,” in La Cultura Ebraica nell’Editoria Italiana (1955–1990), Ministero per i Beni Culturale e Ambientali, Roma, 1992, 131.

Notes 181 35. 36. 37. 38 39. 40.

Milano, Storia degli Ebrei in Italia, 575. Ibid. Galli, 134. Pacifici, “La Lingua Ebraica,” 3–5. Galli, 141. Hughes, Prisoners of Hope, 10.

Chapter 2 1. In his book The Jews of Italy, Guido Bedarida lists a number of names, such as Angelo Levi, who was killed in Salerno in 1828 and Giacomo Levi who, with Daniele Manin (1804–57) was imprisoned in the Piombi (the infamous Venetian jail situated under the Ducal Palace) after having taken part in uprisings during the same year, together with other coreligionists who ended their lives in jail or in exile. Leone Provenzal, who was part of the Giovine Italia, as well as two other compatriots from Leghorn, Montefiore and Ottolenghi, who cooperated with Guerrazzi in the movement Veri Italiani (True Italians); Israele Levi (1824–1904), who fought in all the wars of independence; Giacomo Levi Civita, born in Rovigo in 1846; Garibaldino, who at the age of 20 was decorated with a gold medal; the Milanese Enrico Fano (1833–99), who was a conspirator and a commissioner of the king in Garibaldi’s camp in 1859; Ciro Finzi of Mantua, who at the age of 15 fought in the five-day battle at Milan and fell while defending Rome; and Angelo Usiglio from Modena (1803–75), a collaborator of Mazzini’s who, together with Marsiglia, established the foundation for the Giovine Italia. He was the driving force behind the uprisings of 1831 together with his brother Emilio. Other Jews were actively involved in uprisings to the extent that the Duke of Modena, returning to his feud in 1848, declared the Jews unworthy of his protection. Sarina Levi Nathan (1812– 82), who hailed from Pesaro, was a devoted friend of Giuseppe Nathan of Mazzini and Garibaldi; she was the founder of the Social Studies Club. Mazzini died in the house of Giannetta Nathan Rosselli (1842–1911) in Pisa. Ernesto Nathan (1845–1921), the brother of Giannetta and the son of Sarina, was the administrator of The People’s Rome, Mazzini’s newspaper. Nathan promoted the national editions of Mazzini’s works and was the director of “The Duty.” He was a Grand Master in the Masonic lodge and mayor of Rome from 1908–17. He volunteered for the military at the age of 70 and fought in World War I. The Rosselli brothers were linked with the patriotic Mazzinian tradition. Carlo, who came from Rome, was a cofounder of the anti-Fascist Social Studies Club together with his fiancée, Marion Cave, in 1922. He was both a writer and a man of action, well known in Italy and Spain. He was martyred, together with his brother Nello, for his participation in the anti-Fascist movement Giustizia e Liberta (Justice and Freedom). His older brother, Aldo, died in World War I. The Rosselli brothers, with all their Socialist inclinations, were the genuine heirs of the liberal bourgeoisie who organized the Risorgimento and subsequently the antiFascist movement. Particularly at the outset, from both the spiritual and materialistic points of view, the anti-Fascist movement was the work of intellectuals and so-called bourgeoisie (as Fascism was defined by others). Another notable name in the history of the Risorgimento was that of Giuseppe Finzi, who was intensely occupied with the movement between the years 1844 and 1860, and was one of the two directors of the committee Pel milione di fucile (For a Thousand Rifles), which aided the undertaking of I Mille (The Thousand). It may be calculated that from 1848 to 1849, out of a total of five thousand men, 180 Piedmontese Jews were conscripted, where they were

182 NOTES

2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

9. 10.

11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

reunited with a company of marksmen who executed acts of extraordinary bravery. Bedarida,Ebrei d’Italia, 226–28. Toscano, “Gli Ebrei Italiani e la Prima Guerra Mondiale,” 290. Ghisalberti, “Stato Nazionale e Minoranze,” 32–33. De Felice, Storia degli Ebrei sotto il Fascismo, 18–19. Toscano, “Gli Ebrei in Italia dalla Emancipazione alle Persecuzioni,” 913–14. See also H. Stuart Hughes’ introduction to Prisoners of Hope: Italian Jewry in the Silver Age. De Felice, “Stato Societa’ e Questione Ebraica nell’Italia Unita,” 427–28. Ibid., 426–27. “Close readings of these texts have revealed a disconcerting similarity of attributes applied both to specific Jewish fictional characters and to Jews in general. Several words and phrases used in connection with Jews appeared over and over again with little or no modification throughout the period in question. The most common of these refer to the Jewish attitude towards money and to Jewish financial dealings. Words like ‘usurers’ or phrases such as ‘perfidious plutocrats who live only to amass wealthÂ€.Â€.Â€.’ In the 1930s, but also well before, religious unity was a central component of nationalism. Thus, Jews were described as ‘outsiders,’ ‘foreigners,’ ‘guests’ (mostly unwelcome), who formed a ‘nation within a nation.’ Even after they left the ghetto behind, they carried their alienness, their racial and cultural differences with them. This was the unshakable ‘stench of the ghetto,’ although that phrase had other possible applications as well.Â€.Â€.Â€. Jews preferred not to mix with their fellow citizens, but instead to live separated among them ‘like oil in water.’” Gunzberg, Strangers at Home, 280–82. Ibid., 27. Born in Odessa, Ginzburg settled permanently in Italy at the beginning of the 1920s and obtained Italian citizenship shortly thereafter. Ginzburg was deprived of an academic career for having refused to swear loyalty to the Fascist regime and was imprisoned in 1934. He obtained permission to remain in Italy (notwithstanding the promulgation of a decree, on September 7, 1938, that threatened the expulsion of all Jews who had immigrated to Italy after 1918) and married the writer Natalia Levi Ginzburg. Following Italy’s entry into World War II, he was confined to Abruzzo, in southern Italy (as were many other Jews and anti-Fascists, among them the writer Carlo Levi; note Levi’s work Christ Stopped at Eboli). Under the German occupation, Ginzburg became active in the Partito d’Azione (Action Party) and collaborated on the journal L’Italia Libera (Free Italy). Ginzburg died in prison at the age of 35, having suffered extensive torture. Following his engineering studies in Milan, Kalk, whose mother tongue was Yiddish, dedicated himself to the dissemination of Yiddish literature in Italy. In Milan he published articles about his favorite poets in the journal Davar (Thing), until the introduction of censorship, one of the byproducts of the racial laws that caused the demise of the periodical. De Felice, Storia degli Ebrei sotto il Fascismo, 26–27. Segre, Storia di un Ebreo Fortunato, 39–40. Luzzati, Patriottismo e Coscienza Ebraica, 8–12. “Chippur di Guerra,” 332–34. Milano, Storia degli Ebrei d’Italia, 371. Luzzati, “Ebrei di Livorno tra due censimenti,” 17–18. Bidussa, “Il Sionismo in Italia nel primo quarto del 900,” 176. Momigliano, “Gli Ebrei d’Italia,” 134. Del Canuto, “La Stampa Ebraica in Italia dall’Emancipazione alla II Guerra Mondiale,” 70.

Notes 183 21. The Educatore Israelita was established in Vercelli by Giuseppe Levi and Esdra Pontremoli in 1853. It continued until 1874, when the paper changed its name, editor, and location. It was subsequently called Vessillo Israelitico, and was published monthly in Casale Monferrato by the Chief Rabbi, Flaminio Servi. After his death, the paper was taken over by Servi’s son, Ferruccio, until 1922. In its infancy, the Educatore Israelita was run mainly by young people as a mouthpiece for education and instruction, with no news or current events content. During its second phase, under new editorial direction, a different stand was introduced based on a religious and moral foundation. The paper attempted to be both orthodox and progressive at the same time. The discourse found in the Vessillo Israelitico was entirely different in the sense that it had no established standpoint or direction and was, therefore, not in a position to reawaken Italian Judaism, which made the paper somewhat superficial. In relation to this point Milano’s observations are of significance when he states that Il Vessillo was not a precise mirror, the living image of the state of religious decadence of Italian Jews living during the last quarter of the previous century and the first years of the present century. Theirs was a Judaism far removed from its lively roots—tired, weak, and vain; that had no interest other than in its material activity; that displayed no aspirations except to penetrate public life; and that was devoid of contact with the few remaining committed Jews, wishing to be flattered by their publications. See Milano, “Un secolo di stampa periodica Ebraica in Italia,” 108. 22. Lattes, “Guerra,” 293. 23. Anonymous, “Guerra,” Il Vessillo Israelitico, June 15, 1915. 24. Prague, “L’Italia e I suoi Patrioti Israeliti,” 295–96. 25. Anonymous, “Guerra,” Vessillo Israelitico, June 30, 1915, 261. 26. Ibid. 27. Colombo, “Facciamo gli Ebrei,” 472–73. The author explained the nature of the title (Being Jews), which he applied to other articles that he had written, by stating, In our day it is somewhat rare to find those people who are effectively Jewish. Approximately 50 years have passed since the liberal conquest and the Jews have benefited by distancing themselves from their religion, which had been of comfort to them, as well as being a guide during periods of misfortune. One could say that the religion is far stronger than the major misfortunes in which humanity has found itself, exemplified by the actual religious revival created by the war in Europe.Â€.Â€.Â€. If there is a period in which we Jews should augment our faith and intensify our gratitude, it is now, when we have moved on from a state of disgraceful servitude to the purest form of liberty; if there is a period in which the leaders of the community ought to render the patriotic sentiment inseparable from that of religion, it is now, when the people and the sovereign, according to the will of God and with His help, have given us this freedom, which is the first and greatest example of civil brotherhood. However, religious principles have been extinguished, secular education has taken the place of religious education, an ostentatious affirmation of secularism has taken the place of the spirit of religious beneficenceÂ€.Â€.Â€. Everyone, or almost everyone, has become confused by the spirit of modernity which causes them to renounce, in the vilest of ways, their forefathers’ inheritance, the traditions of our religion, the religious sentiments which we had conservedÂ€.Â€.Â€. At this moment, the task of our community is grave: its responsibility goes beyond repair, restoration, correction or re-fashioningÂ€.Â€.Â€. Above all, it is vital that the representatives of the communities should be religious peopleÂ€.Â€.Â€. it is painful to observe, although it is, unfortunately, true, that the disappearance of the ghettos has given rise to the collapse of the Jewish way of life: in the ghetto, the environment

184 NOTES was everything, it served to define friendships and business affairs. Now, I am not saying that one ought to regret the removal of the ghettos, but ask whether it might not be possible to reconstitute its atmosphere through reunions, meetings etc. Such events would give opportunities to Jewish youngsters to find, within their ambient, the same diversions and those forms of entertainment which they want without having to search for them elsewhere. Educate them in religious precepts, particularly that of shechita (ritual slaughter), and to remain within their circle of acquaintances in order to avoid unpleasant situations regarding food and customs. How many mixed marriages would have been avoided if families had gathered in Jewish meeting places, if the children had been brought up within a Jewish environment, far from danger and from the enticements of more liberal forms of religion and customs which are more seductive. Now, it is towards these aims that we must focus our communities, the charitable institutions must organize themselves so as to adopt this program if they want to stop what is, by now, the invading scourge of assimilation. Colombo published this article in support of a project to open a Jewish hotel in Rome for tourists and students. The project was proposed by Eugenio Sermoneta, an authoritative member of the Consiglio dell’Associazione Giovanile (Student Youth Association), which was succeeded by the Pro-Cultura. See Del Canuto, La Stampa Ebraica in Italia, 73. 28. Del Canuto, La Stampa Ebraica in Italia, 74. 29. Milano, Un Secolo di Stampa Periodica Ebraica in Italia, 129. 30. The periodical Il Pensiero Israelitico (Jewish Thought) was established in Pitigliano during these years under the direction of Guglielmo Lattes and, subsequently, under Rabbi D. Camerini. Simplicity characterized both its editorial line and its content (populist opinions regarding Jewish literature, history, philology, and theology). Dante Lattes and the Rabbis Cammeo, Jona, and Sonino all made important contributions. Publication ceased after just one year. In 1901, the rabbinical school of Leghorn published Antologia Ebraica (Jewish Anthology), which ran to only two editions. In 1904, the periodical Lux was published in Leghorn. Its subtitle stated that it was a “monthly magazine of Jewish life and thought.” The magazine folded after a year. In the same year the monthly magazine La Rivista Israelitica was published in Florence, closing only in 1915. The publication was founded and edited by the Chief Rabbi, Margulies, who was also the director of the local rabbinical college. The editorial line of the magazine was expressed in its subtitle, “Illustrations of Jewish Science and Life.” Many Jewish students from the college wrote for the magazine, including Margulies, Chajes, and Elbogen, and their students Artom, Cassuto, and Zolli, who contributed scientific essays. In 1910, Margulies, wishing to resolve the problem that arose through the disappearance of the majority of magazines after 1895, founded a new periodical, La Settimana Israelitica. By 1910, most publications that had been established from 1895 onward had ceased circulation. During that period, six periodicals had been founded and, subsequently, closed down: Il Pensiero Israelitico (Israeli Thought), Bibliotheque de l’Hebraisme (Hebrew Library), Antologia Ebraica (Jewish Anthology), Lux (Light), L’Idea Sionista (The Zionist Idea, established in 1901 in Modena under the direction of Carlo Conigliani). The latter journal was credited with informing its readers of the state of Zionism in Italy. Its editorial line was humanitarian, philanthropic, moral, and social rather than political. L’Eco Sionista d’Italia (founded in 1908 in Florence by the collaborators of the Idea Sionista) differed from Idea Sionista in its conception of Zionism as not philanthropic or humanitarian in origin, but rather a movement that intends to resolve the Jewish question, in all its complexity, and extend to the Jewish masses in Palestine neither a ref-

Notes 185 uge nor an asylum, but a governed country, protected by the laws of justice where one can freely conduct a full, nationalist life. See Milano, Un Secolo di Stampa periodica in Italia, 120. 31. La Settimana Israelitica was entrusted almost entirely to the young students of the Florence Rabbinical College, namely, Armando Sorani and David Prato, then to Elia S. Artom, Umberto Cassuto, Alfonso Pacifici, and Israele Zolli. These young men not only were involved in this periodical that was aimed at young people but two years earlier, in 1908, had founded a new movement called Pro-Cultura, which aimed to reawaken awareness and to augment Jewish culture in Italy. In its earliest years of existence, Settimana Israelitica revolved around these two cardinal points, the diffusion of culture and the elevation of Jewish spirit in Italy. 32. Anonymous, “Il Nostro Programma,” 1. 33. In connection with Zionism, Ovazza wrote, There is an international commitment which also involves our country, to give a ‘national focus’ to our co-religionists who are constrained to find an asylum, due to the iniquity of the countries of which they are citizensÂ€.Â€.Â€. but this original Zionism has changed its nature and has given life to a project of the Jewish nation that must constitute itself in PalestineÂ€.Â€.Â€. it is a fact that, with the money donated by the world and, in great part, with English and American money, the creation of a center, inhabited by refugees is occurring. While this constitutes a magnificent proof of solidarity, its political effects, as far as the concept of nationality is concerned, are of absolutely no significance. The reconstitution of a Jewish nation in Palestine is a historical anachronism and an artifice which must be combatedÂ€.Â€.Â€. For us Italians, the problem is cloaked in a particular manner in the sense that in no other European country can Jews live in equality as they do in Italy. It is not acceptable that there are citizens living in our country who entertain nostalgic thoughts for a country other than the soil of Italy. Zionism was an excellent means for exploiting a colonial territory with Jewish money from all over the entire world. We are helping and will help these populations who are rising to a new life. But while we affirm that the creation and vitality of an independent Jewish nation is an absolute impossibility, we recognize the urgency and necessity of re-examining, in an international forum, the entire problemÂ€.Â€.Â€. the best ally of racist policies today is, unfortunately, national Zionism. It is our firm conviction that anti-Semitic policies would never have reached the extreme levels they have, if it had not had the above mentioned ‘national focus’ amongst one of its principal probative arguments. The same religious ideal, from the purely religious point of view, foretold of the return to Zion as a spiritual returnÂ€ .Â€.Â€ . we entirely reject the nationalist Zionists who live amongst all the other citizens of the nations of Europe, respected in the equality of their civil and political rights whilst sighing for PalestineÂ€.Â€.Â€. Anti-Semitism, wherever it exists, is not a sufficient argument to validate the necessity of a Jewish nation. The Fascist government has always participated in every international action for the consolidation of this Jewish, Palestinian colony. With its economic and cultural activity, Italy contributes to exchanges with the East and with Palestine. However, neither as Italians nor as Jews are we able to go any further. Once again, we repeat: Palestine, for us, is a territory under British mandate where an excellent program of Jewish colonization is underway. Ovazza, “La Nostra Bandiera,” 154. 34. De Felice, Storia degli Ebrei Italiani sotto il Fascismo, 155. 35. There were, in fact, Jewish contributors to non-Jewish papers, including David Levi (who used the pseudonym Julius); Aristide Ravà (founder of Il Cittadino [The Citizen])

186 NOTES

36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

in 1860 in Modena, and who was subsequently the main contributor to the Bolognese paper La Gazzetta dell’Emilia); Alessandro Ancona, founder and first editor of the Florentine paper the Nazione (Nation); David Ruben Segre, a soldier in Garibaldi’s army, who was the editor of the Gazzetta Toscana as well as a contributor of political and humorous articles to other papers; Giacomo Dina of Turin (1826–79) who, together with Rabbi Cantoni, came out in favor of the emancipation of the Jews of Turin and was the editor of the Opinione (Opinion); Leone Fortis of Trieste (1828–98), critic, patriotic playwright, and soldier, founder of Il Pungolo (Goad); Carlo Levi, founder of Nuova Roma (New Rome), which later changed its name to Il Popolo Romano (Roman People); the Florentine Edoardo Arbib (1840–1900), who had been a soldier in Garibaldi’s army and was promoted to officer status on the battlefield of Milazzo. He was the editor of Gazzetta di Venezia and of the Florentine Gazzetta del Popolo and, subsequently, of Libertà dell’Italia (Freedom of Italy); published in Rome; Attilio Luzzato of Udine (1848– 1900), editor of the Stampa (Press) of Rome and founder of the Tribuna (Tribune), and his brother Riccardo (1842–1923), who had also served in Garibaldi’s army and was founder of La Ragione (The Reason). Cesare Parenzo (1848–98), a senator and a judge as well as a supporter of Garibaldi, was the editor of the Milanese Il Sole (The Sun), an important economic journal. Some of the most illustrious of the patriotic journalists were Abram Vita Morpurgo, editor of Il Corriere Israelitico; Isidoro Reggio, editor of the Indipendente (Independent), published in Trieste; the senator Teodor Majer of Trieste, founder of Il Piccolo (The Little) in 1881; Salvatore Barzilai, editor of the foreign news desk of the Tribuna and president of the Association of Italian Press for 20 years. He served as minister without portfolio and, in 1919, as a delegate to the Peace Conference. Sidney Sonnino was half Jewish and the editor of the Giornale d’Italia (Italy’s Journal) in Rome and of the Tirreno (Tyrrhenian). Amilcare Zamaroni of Ferrara (1855–1907), the founder and editor of the Bolognese paper, Il Resto del Carlino; and Clemente Levi of Modena, editor of Epoca (Epoch) and La Libertà (Freedom) as well as many other publications. See Del Canuto, La Stampa Ebraica in Italia, 77. Toscano, Gli Ebrei Italiani e la Prima Guerra, 287. Miniati, “Emancipazione Ebraica ed Emancipazione femminile,” 53–54. Bettina, “Le donne Israelite nel cinquantesimo anniversario del Vessillo Israelitico,” 54. Ottolenghi, “I Mali attuali dell’Ebraismo,” 13–14. Bachi, “Il Nostro Programma,” 332. Ibid., 338. “Appello ai Giovani,” 1. Di Porto, “Dopo il Risorgimento, al varco del 900,” 39–40. Toscano, Gli Ebrei Italiani e la Prima Guerra Mondiale, 294.

Chapter 3 1. Morpurgo, “Per la Pro-Cultura,” 6. 2. Generally these conferences were held over a number of days, with various attendees, including many women, university students, and secondary-school pupils. The activities that took place during the 1908 Padua conference were reported in an article published in Corriere Israelitico. The first conference, led by Rabbi D. A. Zammato and titled “Gli Israeliti d’Italia nella Cultura” (“Italian Israelites in Culture”) concluded with the hope that, bearing in mind the decadent state of present-day Italy in comparison to the previous centuries of Jewish culture, the Padua committee, together with those of other regions, would manage to shake up the youth and encourage them to study.

Notes 187 3. See Milano, “Gli Enti Culturali Ebraici In Italia nell’ultimo trentennio,” 257–58. 4. Toscano, “Fermenti Culturali ed esperienze organizzative della gioventù Ebraica Italiana,” 918–19. 5. The year 1928 marked the greatest period of development of these societies that began to operate in Casale Monferrato, Ferrara, Genoa, Leghorn, Mantua, Milan, Modena, Padua, Rome, Siena, Turin, Trieste, and Venice. Ancon, Bologna, and Naples were among the more important communities in which the societies were disbanded or were inactive for a long period. Giovane Israele, November 29, 1928, 2. 6. Ernesto Nathan was the son of Sarina Nathan Levi, friend of Giuseppe Mazzini, and cousin of the Rosselli brothers. 7. See Preziosi, Giudaismo, Bolscevismo, Plutocrazia e Massoneria (1944), where the author states, “The Masons remained constantly dependent upon Judaism both before and after the Unification of Italy. All Jews are Masons and frenetic liberal thinkers, without the slightest shame or element of respect for the customs and religious practices of those who, in fact, constituted by far the greatest majority in the country. All civil servants belonged to Masonic lodges and many of them were Jewish. Those who did not belong to the Masonic movement were in fact few in numbers and not particularly well considered. The most efficient facilitator of the Jewish quest for power was the press, and for this reason the Italian Jews took over journalism” (42–43). This stand reflects Preziosi’s anti-Semitic sentiments. While it cannot be denied that some Jews, such as Nathan, were involved with the Masonic movement, it is exaggerated to assume that all Jews were Masons. In the following years, immediately before the unification of Italy, many people, particularly the leaders of the Italian Democratic movement, such as Crispi and Garibaldi, joined the Masonic movement. 8. Preziosi, Giudaismo, Bolscevismo, Plutocrazia e Massoneria, 44. 9. The article “Appello ai Giovani” (“Call to the Young”) stated: “Fortunately, there are still many young Jews in Italy who guard the Jewish faith. Not that they all actively participate in the Jewish way of lifeÂ€.Â€.Â€. but they do harbor profound and personal sentiments which link them to Judaism, sentiments which bring them to honor the memory of their fathersÂ€.Â€.Â€. some of these young people experience an inexplicable attachment to Judaism and discuss this fact with others and ponder over it when alone. We had thought to launch the idea of a conference for young Jews in some Italian city or other, in order to assess the response of the participants who would be pivotal in supporting the notion that the Jewish religious and moral ideal was relevant. We would like the conference to be held in a spirit of unaffected friendship and warmth, an opportunity for encounters and debate rather than a bureaucratic, overly solemn and officious event.” La Settimana Israelitica 28, 1. 10. Bonaventura, “II Convegno Giovanile,” 3. 11. Toscano, “Fermenti Culturali ed Esperienze Organizzative della Gioventu’ Ebraica Italiana 1911–1925”, 921–22. 12. Eisemann, “Il Convegno Giovanile. Rinascita idealista,” 4. 13. Anonymous, “Trionfo,” 1. 14. Toscano, “Fermenti Culturali ed Esperienze Organizzative della Gioventu’ Ebraica Italiana 1911–1925,” 924. 15. Ibid., 926–27. 16. The four-day program included a paper presented by Pacifici, titled “The Hebrew Language”; a paper by Krinkin, titled “Palestine”; Bachi’s paper, “The Most Practical and Favoured Way to Organize Jewish Youth in Italy”; and Prato’s discussion, “The Jews of Tripoli and Cyrenaica.” Lattes presented a paper titled “Religious Practices”; Artom

188 NOTES spoke on “The Jewish School in Italy”; and Cassuto gave a paper titled “A History of the Jews in Italy.” 17. La Settimana Israelitica aligned itself in support of Pacifici’s followers, publishing a list of objectives that this group hoped to realize through the conference: The third conference must have a distinctive identity if it is not to be condemned to be the last in a series of conferences for young Jews to be held in Italy for many years. The first conference was, in fact, an attempt, a new attempt, which had few supporters, it was everything and nothing, it was the beginning. The second conference was not substantially different fromthe first; there was a greater crowd assembled at the second conference but the participants were as amorphous as those in the first conference. Each of these somewhat unexpected participants returned home to their former ethnic isolation. The second conference was second simply because, numerically, it came after the first, and not because logic placed it there to be an organic continuation of the ideas generated by its predecessor. The conference can not be viewed as a sequel to the first, nor should it be, for both conferences can be seen as nothing more than two moments in time, two isolated points in the lives of Italian Jews. There was no connective tissue binding the two events that would enable them to be perceived as an expression of a whole, living organismÂ€.Â€.Â€. It is, therefore, necessary to change course.Â€.Â€.Â€. Either a lively, functional and practical organization for Jewish youth in Italy will emerge as a consequence of the conference in Rome in such a manner that all subsequent conferences will function as expressions of the same organization united in their shared goals, or Jewish youth in Italy will have to wait a long time before the opportunity arises to reunite. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

“Il Compito del III Convegno. La necessità e la disciplina,” 1. Toscano, La Gioventu’ Ebraica Italiana 1911–1925, 946. Ibid., 950. Astrologo and Del Canuto, “Livorno 1924,” 340–41. Ibid., 341–42. Isnenghi, Breve Storia dell’Italia Unita, 86–87.

Chapter 4 1. Minerbi, “L’evoluzione dell’ebraismo e i giovani,” 12. 2. Ibid. 3. See Minerbi, “L’evoluzione dell’ebraismo e i giovani,” and Colombo, “Per un’opera di cultura,” 13–14. 4. Pacifici, “Un Ebraismo qualitativo,” 52. 5. Weizmann, La mia vita per Israele, 354. 6. The Roman Jews were emancipated only in 1870, and were the last of the Jewish communities to be liberated. The majority of Roman Jews were from working-class or lower middle-class backgrounds and still lived in the ghetto. 7. Eckert, Il movimento sionistico’chalutzistico in Italia, 67–69. 8. Fossati, “Azione Cattolica Italiana,” 174. 9. This was a secular Catholic movement officially established in 1919 by the Church in response to the rise of mass organizations that united ecclesiastic and secular interests, although the latter was always subordinate to the former. The movement was concerned with apostolic religious and cultural purposes, based on the dissemination of Christian

Notes 189

10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

24.

culture, the identification with an observant way of life, and the application of Christian values in every sphere of cultural and social life. Gozzini, “I Giovani,” 328–29. Da Fano returned to his native Gorizia. The Jewish community in Gorizia was composed of northern German Jews who had become refugees in the wake of the Crusades. The community was noted for its dedication to the study of the Torah and was dubbed “the little Jerusalem.” After he had established the Mizrachi (Oriental Jews) movement in Zurich, Da Fano returned to Gorizia where he dedicated himself to the Jewish and Zionist education of eastern European refugees. Ha’Tikvah continued to operate after Da Fano’s departure and was active until 1939. In 1929, Da Fano was appointed director of the Alliance school in Rodi, where he introduced the study of the Hebrew language as well as Zionism. This was effected through the Ha’Tikvah and Menora groups that he organized and supervised during his four years on the island. His project, organizing Jewish youngsters into a youth movement, as he had done in Zurich, was a new phenomenon in Italy. Eckert, Il Movimento sionistico-chalutzistico in Italia, 62. Ibid., 60–63. Brigadeci, “Il voto alle donne e i Fasci femminili,” 260. Margherita Sarfatti began her professional life as a journalist for the arts section of the local daily Socialist newspaper, Secolo Nuovo (New Century). In 1902, she and her husband moved to Milan and became active in the Socialist group, often visiting Anna Kuliscioff in her home. Between 1902 and 1915, Sarfatti was employed as an art critic, first for the socialist journal L’Avanti (Forward) and then for Tempo (Time). She was part of the emancipationist circle and associated herself with the political philanthropist Unione Femminile (Union of Women) under the leadership of Ersilia Majno. Brigadeci, “Il voto delle donne e i Fasci femminili,” 260–61. Guerri, Fascisti, 197–98. Muggia “Movimenti giovanili ebraici,” 384. Anonymous, “Gli Avanguardisti Ebrei dei Fasci Italiani all’estero al Tempio Maggiore,” Israel, 50. Ibid., and Anonymous, “L’Omaggio del Fascio Romano agli Ebrei caduti nella Grande Guerra,” Israel, 10. Bowen, Storia dell’educazione occidentale, 516. The article was given to me by Savaldi’s daughter. It can also be found in Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici. Leo Levi, (1913–82) was the son and grandson of rabbis. He studied under the direction of Da Fano in Gorizia, where he married and had children. He moved from Gorizia to Turin, where he established himself as a leading figure in the Jewish circle. Levi graduated with a degree in agriculture. An ardent Zionist, he published numerous articles of Jewish interest and dedicated himself to the collection of traditional Jewish music from Italy as well as from other Mediterranean communities. Levi immigrated to Palestine in 1935, although he continued to visit Italy frequently, taking an active part in the lives of young Italian Jews and instigating a number of different projects. “The young Jews from every region in Italy, from every social condition, Zionists and non-Zionists of every inclination and of every color, have wanted to re-unite at a camp in order to realize the original synthesis of the sickle and axe with the Star of DavidÂ€.Â€.Â€. it will be possible to create a healthier form of Judaism if a high percentage of committed Jews, rather than assimilated Jews, attend the tennis camps and ski camps. Jews who, knowing that they were the butts of jokes exchanged between the assimilated Jews, participated in all the sports that did not desecrate the Sabbath, in the desire to give the

190 NOTES

25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

35. 36. 37. 38.

39. 40.

impression that practicing Jews were as strong as their assimilated brothers. The assimilated Jews could not conceive of how a return to a more traditional way of life could be reconciled with modern life. It is only by living out the precepts of the Torah within modern life that the OrthodoxÂ€.Â€.Â€. demonstrate that it is not the observant person who is living outside the parameters of his time, but that it is the Torah that exists outside any time limitations. It is not old, but eternal, it does not provide a religious code but a yardstick for one’s life, it bestows a discipline of sanctity without which there is no human activity, and in its eternity one is brought to understand the modern life as well. After four centuries of inertia, the work of reconciliation will begin once again with a renewed vigor to fuse sport activities with the Torah, with living out its precepts in a community, because, for us, sport is the most essential element of modern lifeÂ€.Â€.Â€. however, I repeat, each and every camp will be a futile venture if it does not operate as a moral preparation for the ‘integral’ return to the Torah, which today, as in the past, is the cause, the means and the purpose of our normal conversations.” Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici, 10–11. Savaldi, “Dopo Fraina,” in Israel, 12–13. Ibid., I campeggi ebraici 1931–1939, 19–20. Ibid., 21. Ibid. Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici 1931–1939, 25. Ibid., 26. Letter of Leo Levi to the precamp of July 1936, in Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici 1931–1939, 28. Savaldi, I campeggi ebraici 1931–1939, 32. Della Seta, “Il movimento Sionistico,” 1347. The newspaper Corriere Israelitico, published in Trieste, carried a number of important articles in 1896, for example that written by Leone Racah, a teacher at the Rabbinical College of Leghorn, titled “La Fondazione di uno Stato Giudaico,” in which he discussed the return to Palestine as redemption for the Jewish people. In 1897, Gustavo Racah led a conference on Zionism at the Midrash Lekav Tov of Trieste, as reported by Corriere Israelitico. The paper reported a most enthusiastic response on the part of the attendees. The speaker, who was convinced Zionist opposed the argument of dual homeland, attempted to clarify any misconceptions regarding the movement. Lattes, “Le prime albe del sionismo italiano,” 211. Toscano, “Ebraismo, Sionismo, Società: il caso italiano,” 404. Cavaglion, “Tendenze nazionali e albori sionistici,” 1295. Very little is known about Baruch. He was born in Constantinople in 1872 and, at the age of 24, became a voluntary conscript to the Turkish-Greek war. He joined the Garibaldi legion that was sent to liberate Crete from Turkish domination. The articles he sent to Vessillo Israelitico are among the very few of his writings that are extant. During the two years he spent in Italy before he committed suicide in 1899, he established the Accademia della Nuova Sionnia (Academy of the New Sion) in Turin, with a membership of about 50 young people. He wrote very little, spending much of his time in the company of young people who, in this period, were sympathetic to the ideas of Socialism and radical democracy. Baruch had a problematic relationship with the bureaucratic aspects of Zionism, so much so that Herzl, in diary entries from August 29 and September 13, 1899, referred to him as a “demented anarchist.” In the absence of documentation, it is impossible to ascertain the reason Baruch came to Italy to promote a proselytizing type of Zionism. Cavaglion, “Tendenze nazionali e albori sionistici,” 1313. Lattes, “Le prime albe del Sionismo Italiano,” 211.

Notes 191 41. Eckert, Il movimento sionistico-chalutzistico in Italia fra le due guerre, 78. 42. As an example, I quote and translate the Statute of the Venetian Zionist group, established in 1922. The statute was found in the Jewish archive of the Venetian community (see Appendix C). 43. Herman, Lo shekel, 11. 44. De Felice, Storia degli Ebrei sotto il Fascismo, 26. 45. Rosselli, “Socialismo liberale a altri scritti,” 216. 46. In Gaetano Salvemini’s house in 1924, the first clandestine publication, Non Mollare (Don’t Give Up), was founded. It was published in collaboration with another antiFascist intellectual, Ernesto Rossi. Salvemini, denounced by one of the printers, was arrested. Rossi escaped and immigrated to another country. The members of the local Florentine Masonic lodge, who were accused of sponsoring this magazine, were killed. Meanwhile, in July 1925, the Rossellis’ house was destroyed by the Fascists. The publication of Non Mollare was suspended. Carlo Rosselli, together with Socialist leader Pietro Nenni, established and directed the magazine Quarto Potere (Fourth Power). Moving first to Genoa and later to Milan, Rosselli coordinated a group of intellectuals who were aiding in the clandestine expatriation of anti-Fascists wanted by the OVRA (secret Fascist police). In 1927, Carlo Rosselli was arrested and confined. (During the Fascist period, many anti-Fascist Jews were subjected to political confinement, among them Carlo Levi, Raffaele Cantoni, Vittorio Foà, Emilio Sereni, Leone Ginzburg, and Umberto Terracini.) After escaping his place of confinement, Rosselli went to Paris, where he joined other Italian anti-Fascists living there. Paris had, by 1927, become a center of underground anti-Fascist activities, and an anti-Fascist movement had been established there. It was composed of Il Partito Socialista (Pietro Nenni’s Socialist Party), Filippo Turati’s Il Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani (Socialist Party of the Italian Workers), Il Partito Repubblicano (Republican Party), the League of Human Rights, and the General Italian Federation, directed by Bruno Buozzi. The statute of his underground anti-Fascist movement was drawn up by Giuseppe Modigliani, while the publication of the magazine Libertà (Freedom) was directed until his death in 1933 by Claudio Treves. In Migliau and Tagliacozzo, Gli Ebrei nella storia e nella società contemporanea, 214–15. 47. Valabrega, “Prime notizie sulla Nostra Bandiera,” 22–23. 48. Minerbi, “I prodromi dell’antisemitismo fascista nei documenti dell’Archivio Sionistico,” 336. 49. Ibid., 338. 50. Ibid., 339. 51. Ibid., 343–344. 52. See Israel, 15–22, 20–21. 53. Cavaglion, Tendenze nazionali e albori sionistici, 1319. 54. Levi, “Antifascismo e Sionismo Convergenze e Contrasti,” 53–54.

Chapter 5 1. Variations in Jewish identity arise from the peculiarities in the historical development of various communities. These range from the need to adjust to changes in the Jewish situation in the non-Jewish world due to the impact of political and social movements, whether Jewish or of a general character, on Jewish life. On Jewish life as the product of historical evolution, see Bettin, “Identity and Identification,” 323–45. 2. Meyer, “The Elusive Character of Jewish Identity,” 7–8. 3. Ibid., 8.

192 NOTES 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Herman, “Jews and Judaism in Contemporary Europe,” 257–79. Segre, “The Emancipation of Jews in Italy,” 229. Ibid. Ibid., 233. Canepa, “L’immagine dell’ebreo nel folclore,” 383–89. Luzzato, “Autocoscienza ed identità ebraica,” 1836. Hall, Cultural Identity and Diaspora, 25. Luzzato, “Autocoscienza ed identità ebraica,” 1836–37, 1845–46. Dombroski, “The Rise and Fall of Fascism,” 493–94. Ostrowetski, “Les Quatre Voies De L’Identité,” 24. Segre, The Emancipation of the Jews in Italy, 235. Webber, “Modern Jewish Identity,” 74–75.

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Bibliography 203 Salzano, Teresa. Il bambino e la sua cultura nella Padova Dell’800. Scuole e bambini Ebrei. Assessorato alla Pubblica Istruzione, Padua, 1981. Savaldi, Marcello. I campeggi ebraici (1931–1939). Archivio Kibbutz Netzer Sereni, n.d. Schreiber, Bruna. La scuola media ebraica di Trieste Durante il periodo razziale. La Comunità Israelitica di Trieste, Centro Documentazione Ebraica, Milan, n.d. Sereni, Paolo. La Comunità Ebraica a Venezia Durante il Fascismo. In La Resistenza nel veneziano, 503–38. Comune di Venezia: Università Di Venezia, 1985. Unione Comunita’ Ebraiche Italiane. Istruzione e programmi per le scuole Elementari Ebraiche. Comunità Israelitica di Venezia: Archivio Renato Maestro, 1932.


Index

acculturation, 52 Aegean Islands, 27 agriculture, 3–4, 10, 21–22, 28, 32, 93, 99, 101, 105, 112, 118, 124, 135, 155, 179n20, 192n23 Albertine Statute of 1848, 58 Alberto di Savoia, Carlo, 16, 34 aliya, 38, 121–22, 155 aliya chalutzistica, 91 Aliyat ha’noar (Youth Emigration), 124–25, 155 Allason, Barbara, 134 Allegra, L., 63 Amici del Giovedi (Friends of Thursday), 83 Ancona, Cavalier Mario, 23 anti-Fascist stance, 32–33, 57, 83, 96, 129–31, 133–34, 156–57, 177n5, 180nn29–30, 182n1, 183n10, 194n46 anti-Semitism, 11, 14–15, 25, 27–30, 54–56, 62, 68, 76, 84–85, 110, 120, 126–27, 131–33, 139, 142–43, 147, 180n29, 183n8, 187n33, 189n7; and Jewish writers, 54–55; newspapers, 29; and violence, 29–30 Antologia (Anthology) of Florence, 15 Antologia Ebraica (Jewish Anthology), 186n30 “Appello ai Giovani” (Call to the Youth), 75, 189n9 Arca, Francesco, 48–49 Arendt, Hanna, 143 Arias, Gino, 33 Artom, Elia, 36, 42, 87 Artom, Emanuele, 134 Artom, Ernesto, 177n4 Artom, Isaac, 30, 177n4 Assicurazioni Generali (General Insurance) of Trieste, 20

assimilation, 1, 4, 34, 36, 38, 51–54, 57, 62–63, 67, 72, 74–75, 83–85, 153–55, 180n29; definition of, 52 Association of Young Roman Jews, 98–99 Associazione della Donna di Roma (Association of Roman Women), 107 Associazione Femminile Ebraica (Jewish Women’s Association, ADEI), 107–13 Associazione Israelitica di Previdenza Cuore e Concordia, 23 Associazione Nazionale delle Sorelle dei Legionari di Fiume (National Association of Sisters of the Fiume Legions), 108 Associazione Nazionale Italiana Irredenta (Italian National Irredentist Association), 108Associazione Nazionalistica Italiana (Italian Nationalist Association), 96 Associazione Scautistica Italiana (Italian Scouts Movement), 102 Astrologo, Aldo, 92 Austrian Empire (1804–1867), 10, 12, 14–17 Austrian Jews, 26 Avanguardisti movement, 101–04, 114 Avodah (Work), 3, 82–83, 99–101, 128–29 Azione Cattolica (Catholic Association, ACI), 102, 191n9 Bachi, Emilio, 74 Bachi, Roberto, 13, 20–21, 41–42 Balbo, Italo, 180n28 Baruch, Joseph Marco, 127, 193n38 Barzilai, Salvatore, 31 Bedarida, Guido, 1, 4, 31, 91, 107, 182n1 Beilinson, Moshe, 3, 99–100 Benamozegh, Elia, 35, 148–49 Bialik, Haim Nachman, 83

206 Index Bibliotheque de l’Hebraisme (Hebrew Library), 186n30 Bidussa, David, 57, 63–64 Bologna youth conference, (third, 1920), 89–90 Bolshevism, 29, 131 Bonaventura, Enzo, 85–86, 91–92 Bonfiglioli, Guilio, 118 bourgeoisie class, 20–21, 32, 50, 53, 57–58, 65, 82, 108, 135, 179n19, 182n1 Bureau for Demography and Race Protection, 26 Camerini, D., 186n30 Cammeo, Berna Bernstein, 109 Cammeo, C., 41 Cammeo, Federico, 24 camps (Jewish youth), 3–4, 105, 114, 116–25, 132, 150, 155, 192n24 Canepa, Andrew, 1, 54, 142 Cantoni, Raffaele, 113 Carboneria (the secret liberation movement), 15, 47, 178n10 Carpi, Daniel, 125 Carpi, Leone, 28, 70, 124 Carrara Fascist action squad, 102 Casale Monferrato, 37, 82, 126, 184n21, 189n5 Cassa Mutua Assistenza Arnaldo Mussolini, 113–14 Cassuto, Umberto, 35–38, 41, 79, 87, 98, 186nn30–31, 190n16 Castelbolognesi, Gustavo, 79, 118–19 Catholic Church, 11, 32, 39, 48, 156, 38–39, 136, 191n9 Catholicism, 12, 24–25, 29, 33, 39, 53, 59, 62–63, 102, 137, 151, 178n3; conversion to, 53; education, 24–25, 59; and fascism, 25; and forced baptism, 12; as state religion, 25, 29, 178n3; teaching Jewish children, 39; youth organizations, 102 Catholic Scouts, 102 Cattolico (Catholic) movement, 136 Cavaglion, Alberto, 132 Cavour, Camillo, 30, 177n4 Center of Contemporary Jewish Studies in Milan (CDEC), 7 Cercatori della Torah (Seekers of the Torah), 118

Chabod, Federico, 94 Chajes, Zvi Perez, 69, 81, 92, 106, 128 “Chippur di Guerra” (Kippur of War), 61 Christianity: conversion to, 12–13, 22, 27, 31; and teachers, 18 Ciano, Galeazzo, 131 Cisalpine Republic, constitutions of, 178n3 civil rights (of Italian Jews), 14–16, 22–23, 26–28, 66, 178n3 Civitavecchia settlement, 112–13 Codice Civile Unitario (Civil Unitarian Law, 1865), 23 Collegio Rabbinico (Rabbinical College), 34–35 Colombo, Anselmo, 67, 89, 185n27 Colombo, Cesare, 134 Colombo, Joseph, 37, 91 Colonna, E. D., 44 communism, 137 communities (Italian Jewish), 7, 19, 22–25, 33, 19, 81, 89, 92, 94, 120, 179n17; as corporations, 22–24; and Jewish Fascist newspaper, 33; and the law, 25; rural, 19, 179n17; and social assistance, 23–24; and voluntary association, 24–25 comparative analysis, 156–57 Comunità Israelitica (Israelite Community), 7 Concordat (1929), 24–25, 29, 102 Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (Work General Confederation, CGL), 30 conferences (Jewish youth), 79–93, 96, 97, 100, 107, 117–18, 121, 190nn16–17. See Bologna; Florence; Leghorn; Turin conferences Confindustria, 21 congresses (Jewish Youth), 35, 43, 82–85, 93–94, 97 Congress of Young Jews (Leghorn, 1924), 76 Consiglio Nazionale delle Donne Italiane (National Council for Italian Women), 107 consistories (1808), 11 Consorzio (Association) of Italian Jewish Communities, 35 constitution of Cisalpine Republic (1797 and 1798), 178n3

Index 207 constitution of the Roman Republic (1798), 178n3 Corinaldi, Corrado, 70, 134 Corriere Israelitico (The Israelite Courier), 2, 65, 67–68, 126–27, 188n35, 189n2, 193n34 Corriere Livornese (The Leghorn Courier) of Leghorn, 15 Croce, Benedetto, 93, 134 cultural societies (Jewish), 1–3, 79–85, 94, 97, 153, 189n5. See Pro-Cultura Cum nimis absurdum (1555), 12 Curiel, S., 67 Da Fano, Angelo, 3, 101, 104–07, 115–16, 129, 132, 149, 191n11, 192n23 Davar (Thing), 70, 184n11 Davidsohn, Bernard, 55 De Bono, Emilio, 180n28 Declaration of Human Rights (1791), 14 Declaration of the Rights of Man (1781), 11, 15, 47 De Felice, Renzo, 27, 52–53, 56, 71, 129, 132, 156, 177n3 Del Canuto, Francesco, 92 Delegazione Assistenza Emigranti (Delegation for Aid to Immigrants, DELASM), 112 Della Pergola, Sergio, 13, 20 Del Vecchio, Giorgio, 180n28 Democratico Cristiano (Christian Democrats), 137 Diaspora, 81, 91, 99–100, 121, 140, 153 Difesa della Razza (The Defense of Race), 26 Dombroski, Robert, 146 Donati, Pio, 180n30 Duchy of Mantua, 10 Eastern European immigration, 55 “Ebrei, Bolscevismo e Sionismo” (Jews, Bolshevism and Zionism), 29 Eckert, Berti, 122–23, 125 Eco Sionista (Zionist Echo), 70, Eco Sionista d’Italia, 76–77, 186n30 Edict of Emancipation (1848), 16 education (of Italian Jews), 17–19, 22–23, 26–27, 33–39, 58, 67, 85, 178n15, 181nn32–33; and Hesgher (Inside), 18; and Judaism, 17–19, 34–37, 58,

178n15, 181n32,33; and literacy, 17, 22–23; post-Emancipation, 33–39; pre-Emancipation, 17–19; and racial law, 26–27; and scholarship, 181n32; and schools, 36–39, 58, 181n33; and urban centers, 33–34 Educatore Israelita (Israelite Educator), 2, 65, 68, 73, 184n21 Eisemann, Enrico, 89 Emancipation, 1–2, 4, 10–11, 13–20, 32–34, 39, 41, 45, 47, 51–52, 54, 58, 64, 68, 72–73, 83–84, 139, 142–43, 147–50, 153–55. See also post-Emancipation; pre-Emancipation Emanuele, Vittorio II, 16–17, 20, 65 emigration to Palestine (Italian Jewish), 28, 33, 91, 94, 120, 122–23, 126, 132, 148, 155, 192n23 Engels, Friedrich, 135 England, 66, 149, 187n33 Enti di Diritto Pubblico (public institutions), 25 Eretz Israel, 134 “Facciamo gli Ebrei” (Being Jews), 67 FACE. See Federazione Associazioni Culturali Ebraiche Faculty of Medicine in Padua, 179n16 Faculty of Medicine in Pisa, 12 Faculty of Theology, 10, 12 Fano, Giuseppe, 113 Fasci Giovanili (Fascist youth movements), 101, 103–4 Fascio Femminile d’Italia (Italian Women’s Fascio), 107 Fascio Giovanile Ebraico (Young Jewish Fascist Group), 3, 91 Fascist Grand Council, 26, 32 Fascist Italian Jews, 30–33, 70–71, 130, 180n28, 180n30 fascistizzazione (fascistization), 38 Fascist Party, 2, 14, 24–25, 26–33, 54, 56–57, 69–71, 83, 91, 93, 101–04, 108–10, 112–15, 180nn28–29, 183n10; as anticlerical, 32; as middle class, 32; newspapers, 32–33; and women, 113; and youths, 101, 103. See antiSemitism; Fascist Italian Jews Federation of Young Jews, 89

208 Index Federazione Associazioni Culturali Ebraiche (Federation of Cultural Jewish Associations, FACE), 107, 111 Ferrara, 10, 16, 24, 61, 79, 82, 106, 110, 119, 124, 127, 178n3, 178n15, 180n28, 188n35, 189n5 Figli della lupa (Children of the Wolf), 103–4, 114 Finzi, Aldo, 32, 177n5 Finzi, Giuseppe, 2, 30, 182n1 Florence, 2, 3, 7, 15, 35–37, 42–43, 55, 69, 75, 79, 81–83, 85, 92–93, 95–96, 98–100, 106–7, 110, 118, 128–30, 147, 178n12, 179n17, 186nn30–31 Florence youth conference (first, 1911), 85–87 Foà, Anna, 134 Foà, Carlo, 32–33, 177n5, 180n28, 180n30, 194n46 Foa, Moise, 86 Fondo Seder (Seder Fund), 24 France, 11, 16, 56, 66, 141, 149, 151, Franchetti, Leopoldo, 31 Fratelli di Romolo e Remo (Brothers of Romulus and Remus), 104 Fraterna (Fraternity), 23 Fraterna Generale Israelita di Venezia (General Brotherhood Israelite Association of Venice), 50 Freemasonry, 29, 84, 189n7 French Jews, 11 French Revolution, 11–13, 15, 47 Fubini, Guido, 180n24 Fusco, Nicola, 124 Futurista (Futurism), 96 Galicia, 43 Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 48, 65, 189n7 Gazzetta del Popolo (People’s Gazette), 130 gentiles/gentile society, 4–5, 17, 20, 28, 32, 37, 51–64, 72, 93–94, 96, 114–15, 140, 153–54, 156, 188n35; and illiteracy, 17; Jewish relations with, 51–64; newspapers, 72, 188n35; teachers, 37; and youth camps, 114–15; and youth congresses, 93–94. See majority culture Gerarchia (Hierarchy), 33, 108, 130, 177n5

German Jews, 18, 26, 28, 113, 120 ghetto, 10–14, 17, 19, 33–34, 36, 40–41, 45, 51, 53, 58, 64, 100, 141, 148, 150–51, 183n8, 185n27, 191n6 Ginzburg, Leone, 55, 135, 183n10, 194n46 Ginzburg, Natalia, 6, 183n10 Giolitti, Giovanni, 32 Giovane Israele (FGEI), 3, 89 Giovane Israele (Young Israel), 3, 37–38, 70, 73, 77, 89, 97, 103 Giovani Italiane, 113 Gioventù Italiana del Littorio (Italian Youth of the Littorio, GIL), 103, 114 Giovine Italia (Young Italy), 15, 47, 178n11 Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom), 48, 130, 134–35, 156, 182n1 Glass, Ciro, 3, 91 “Gli Ebrei negli anni del Fascismo” (The Jews in Mussolini’s Italy), 28, 131 Goldman, Nahum, 131 Gorizia, 3, 101, 104, 106, 191n11, 192n23 Gramsci, Antonio, 141 Graves De Communi, 137 Grazia Consiglio Ricchetti Foundation (1903), 24 Great Britain, 28, 71, 124, 131, 187n33 Gruppo Femminile dell’Ago (Women of the Needle Group), 111 Guastalla, Enrico, 48 GUF of Turin, 134 Gunzberg, Lyn, 54–55 hachshara chalutzistica (pioneer’s camp), 105 hachsharot (agricultural centers), 3–4, 28, 93, 112–13, 124, 155 ha-Levi, Jehudah, 181n32 Ha-Tikvah (The Hope), 101, 105–7, 128, 191n11 Hall, Stuart, 144 Hebrew language, 3, 10, 18, 35, 38–45, 58, 81, 83, 96, 100, 105–6, 148, 157, 168n2, 181n32, 190n16, 191n11 Herman, Simon, 5, 140–41 Herzl, Theodor, 68 Hirsch, Rachele Levi, 111–12 History of the Jews in Italy, The (1946), 15 Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend), 115–16

Index 209 Hughes, Henry Stuart, 45, 53, 63 “I complici” (The Fellows), 29 Idea Sionista (The Zionist Idea), 70, 76–77, 186n30 identity, 5, 154. See Jewish identity Il Cittadino (The Citizen), 188n35 Il Leonardo, Il Regno (The Kingdom), 95 immigration (Jewish), 26, 51, 55–56, 112–13 Informazione Diplomatica (Diplomatic Information), 131 “integral” Judaism, 91–92, 104, 116 integration, 1–2, 4–6, 22, 37, 47, 51–53, 55–57, 60–61, 63, 75, 89, 96, 126, 132–33, 137–38, 147, 150, 153–56; and contemporary society, 154; definition of, 52; national, 53. See Emancipation Interlandi, Telesio, 26 International Institute of Agriculture, 179n20 Internazionale Ebraica (Jewish Lobby), 29 I Protocolli dei Savi Anziani di Sion (The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion), 29 Israel, 2, 3, 39, 56–57, 61–62 Israel (periodical), 35, 69, 90, 93, 100, 114, 122, 132 Israel dei Ragazzi (Israel of the Youth, magazine), 36, 69, 111–12 Israele l’Unico (Unique Israel), 86–87, 119–20, 122 Israelita, 68 Israelite Society, 60 Israel Segulla, 98, 128 Italia Libera (Free Italy), 183n10 Italia liberale (unification–WWI), 20 Italian Assembly of Zionist Revisionists, 70 Italian Foreign Office, 30, 177n4 “Italianization,” 41, 54, 145 “Italian Jewish Identity from the Risorgimento to Fascism 1848–1938,” 1 Italian Jewish scholarship, 17–19, 34–35, 178n15, 181n32 Italian Jewry/Jews: background of, 9–45; and civil rights, 14–16; demographics of (see post-Emancipation, pre-

Emancipation); diversity of, 97–98; and the gentiles (see gentiles); history of, 1, 4–6, 9–12, 51, 143–46, 153–57; emigration to America, 27; and Jewish identity (see Jewish identity); language of (see Hebrew language); liberation of (see liberation movement); as middle class (see bourgeoisie); and patriotism, 59–60; population counts, 9; restrictions on, 14, 26–27, 34; as urban population (see urbanity, assimilation, integration); as minority culture (see minority culture); national identity of (see national identity); and political Zionism (see Zionist movement); the term, 66 Italian Jews in the War of 1915–1918, The, 48–49 Italian Judaism, 1–4, 6, 22–23, 52–53, 58–59, 63–65, 67, 72–75, 83–94, 96, 97–99, 101, 104–6, 111–12, 116–19, 121, 125, 127, 141–52, 153–56, 184n21, 189n9, 192n24; awareness of, 2–3; and the danger of assimilation, 155; and dialogue, 72–73; diversity of, 97–98; history of, 1, 154–56 (see assimilation); “integral” Judaism, 91–92, 104, 116; legal obligation to fund, 22–23; and liberal and democratic ideals, 65; modern form of, 83; and newspapers (see newspapers); rebirth of (see rebirth of Judaism); revivalist movements of (see revivalist movements); and Risorgimento (see Risorgimento); “total Judaism,” 3; and youths (see youths) Italian language, 18, 39–40 Italian nation-state. See nation-building; nationalism Italian Parliament, 2, 16, 23, 30–31 Italian Socialist Party, 30 Italian society and culture, 15, 155–56 “Italians of Mosaic faith,” 83–84 Italian state, 24 Italian Zionism. See Zionism (Italian) Italy: and agriculture (see agriculture); dark age of (1804), 12;

210 Index Italy (continued): history of, 47–48, 153, 156–57; independence of, 47–48, 60; and immigration (see immigration); kingdom of (1861), 16–17; as secular, 24. See emancipation; unification I vecchi e I giovani (The Old and the New), 95 Jarach, Federico, 113 Jewish archives, 6–7 Jewish culture, 17–19, 33–39, 70, 72, 79–83, 93, 111, 144, 186n31. See cultural societies; newspapers Jewish education, 17–19, 34–37, 58, 178n15, 181n32,33 Jewish identity, 5–6, 25–26, 53–54, 62–63, 77, 84, 139–52, 153–54, 157, 180n24, 185n27, 195n1; and the Diaspora, 153; generalities about, 5, 157; and gentile society, 153; versus Jewish group identification, 5, 140; and particularism, 149; and rabbinical rules, 25–26, 180n24; redefinition of, 154; and universalism, 149 Jewish Institute of Jewish Italian Studies in Jerusalem, 6 “Jewish invasion,” 26 “Jewish Italian,” 41, 66, 72 Jewish nationalism, 125–26 Jewish question (Questione Ebraica), 20, 27–29, 54–56, 131, 186n30 Jewish roots, 155, 157 Jewish Women’s Association, 110 Jewish Youth Roman Association (AGIR), 3 Jews of Renaissance Florence, The, 35 Joseph II of Austria, 10, 14, 18–19 Judaism, 1, 4, 6, 52–53, 58–59, 63–65, 67, 72–75, 83–94, 96, 97–99, 101, 104–6, 111–12, 116–19, 121, 125, 127, 141–52, 153, 155–56, 184n21, 189n9, 192n24; and abandonment, 150–51; “integral” Judaism, 91–92, 104. See Italian Judaism; rebirth of Judaism Jung, Guido, 33, 177n5 Kalk, Israel, 55, 184n11 Keren Hayesod (Fundraising Organization for Israel), 106 Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund), 3, 100, 105, 124

kibbutz, 121–23, 133, 155 Krinkin, David, 89 Kuliscioff, Anna, 30, 192n15 L’Acerba (Unripe), 95 Lambelin, Roger, 14 Lattes, Aldo, 115 Lattes, Arrigo, 127 Lattes, Dante, 3, 35, 44, 67–69, 81, 99–100, 125, 127, 133, 145, 186n30 Lattes, Guglielmo, 126–27, 186n30 L’Avanti (Forward), 30–31, 192n15 League of German youths (BdM), 116 “L’Educazione della femmina Israelitica” (The Education of the Israelite Female), 64 Lega Democratica Nazionale (National Democratic League), 137 Leghorn, 3, 13, 15, 24, 34–37, 58, 68, 76, 82, 90, 92, 107, 110, 118, 127, 135, 148, 178n10,11, 182n1, 186n30, 189n5, 193n34 Leghorn youth conference (fourth, 1924), 90–93 Lehner, Giancarlo, 94–95 L’Ente Nazionale per l’educazione fisica (National Institution for Physical Education), 102 L’età Giolittiana (the Giolitti age, 1900–1914), 32 Leone XIII, 137 Levantine Jews, 26 Levi, Carlo, 183n10, 194n46 Levi, David, 49, 188n35 Levi, Giuseppe, 2, 184n21 Levi, Leo, 3, 106, 117, 121–23, 132, 134, 155, 192n23 Lévi-Strauss, Claude, 146 liberalism, 24, 32, 109, 157 liberation movement, 15–17, 47, 53–54. See Risorgimento Libya, 27, 65–66, 114, 180n28 Libyan Jews, 29 Lipset, Seymour, 140–41, 156 Loewinson, Herman, 55 Lolli, Eude, 126 Lombardy, 10–11, 16, 22, 178n3 Lowy, Tullio, 50 Lubin, David, 179n20 Luisada, Renzo, 113

Index 211 Lux (Light), 186n30 Luzzati, Giulia, 59–60, 63 Luzzati, Luigi, 31, 179n20 Luzzati, Michele, 57–58 Luzzato, Amos, 57, 143 Luzzato, Samuele David, 34, 181n32 Majno, Ersilia, 109–10, 192n15 majority group, 51, 154 Manifesto degli Scienziati Razzisti (Manifesto of Racist Scientists), 123 Manifesto del Razzismo (Manifest of Racism), 26 Marc’Aurelio, 130 Margulies, Samuel Hirsch, 35 Margulies, Shemuel Zvi, 2, 79, 81, 92, 106, 128 Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso, 96 Maroni, Augusto, 50 Marx, Karl, 76, 135, 141 Massaie Rurali (Rural Housewives), 113 Mazzini, Giuseppe, 15 meetings (Jewish youth), 85–96. See conferences Memoria Familiare e identità (Family Memoirs and Identity), 57 Mensa dei bambini (children’s refectory), 55 Messaggero Israelitico (The Israelite Messanger), 69 methodology, 6–7, 156–57 Meyer, Michael A., 139 Michaelis, Meir, 180n29 Middle Ages, 13, 39, 66 Middle East, 28 migration, 13, 19, 21, 27, 179n17 Milan, 3, 10, 15–16, 19, 23–24, 26, 28, 32, 37, 48, 55, 70, 82, 107, 109–11, 113, 119, 177n5, 182n1, 184n11, 189n5, 192n15, 194n46 Milano, Attilio, 4, 15, 40, 62, 64 Military Encyclopedia, 49 Milizia Fascista (Fascist Militia), 130 Minerbi, Sergio, 131 Ministry of National Education, 103 minority group, 51, 154, 98 mixed marriages, 12, 22–23, 27, 52, 59, 185n27 Modena, 12–13, 16, 101, 104, 106, 110, 178n3, 182n1, 186n30, 188n35, 189n5

Modigliani, Giuseppe, 30–31, 137, 180n30, 194n46 Molinari, Maurizio, 6 Momigliani, Eucardio, 180n30 Momigliano, Arnaldo, 64 Momigliano, Felice, 44 Moncalvo, 44 Monferrato region, 10–11, 37, 82 Morpurgo, Abram Vita, 2, 67, 188n35 Morpurgo, Edgardo, 85, 87 Morpurgo, Giuseppe Lazzaro, 20 Mortara, Lodovico, 31 movements (Jewish youth), 1–4, 84, 97–125, 146–47, 153, 155–56, 191n11, 192n23,24 Movimento Popolare (Popular Movement), 136 Muggia, Franca, 125 Murri, Romolo, 137 Musatti, Elia, 108 Mussolini, Benito, 2, 25, 27–32, 38, 70–71, 84, 95, 107; and the Jewish question, 27–29 Napoleonic Wars, 15, 47 Napoleon I of France, 11–12, 15, 47–48 Nathan, Ernesto, 31, 84, 177n4, 182n1, 189n6,7 national identity (of Italian Jews), 22, 52, 64, 76, 92, 97–98, 125–26, 153–57; and original identity, 154–55; and separation, 76; transformation of, 22, 52. See Risorgimento nationalism (Italian), 20–21, 32, 49, 89, 94–95 Nationalist Congress, first (1910), 96 Nationalist Jewish movement (European), 125–26 nation-building (Italian), 20–21, 154 newspapers (Jewish), 1–3, 15, 33, 64–77, 153, 155, 188n35; Fascist, 33, 70; and the new Italy, 64–72; and rebirth of Italian Judaism, 72–77 Nomadism, 13 Non Mollare (Don’t Give Up), 194n46 North Africa, 21 northern Italy, 13, 21, 62 Nostra Bandiera (Our Banner), 33, 70, 130, 180n29 Nostro Programma (Our Program), 74

212 Index Nuova Federazione Giovanile Ebraica Italiana, La (FGEI; New Federation of Young Italian Jews), 89 oligarchia liberale (liberal oligarchy), 34 Olivetti, Angelo, 33 Olivetti, Enzo, 91 Olschki, Leo, 66 Oneg Shabbat, 83, 93–94, 134–35 Opera dei Congressi (Congress Union), 136–37 Opera del Tempio Israelitico (Opera of the Israelite Temple, 1888), 23 Opera Nazionale Balilla (the Fascist National Organization [Balilla] [ONB]), 38, 101–4, 109, 114–16 Orano, Paolo, 14, 56, 131 “Origini e sviluppo del nazionalismo in Italia” (Origins and Development of Nationalism in Italy), 94–95 Ottolenghi, Adolfo, 49–50 Ottolenghi, Giuseppe, 31, 73, 177n4, 178n11 Ottolenghi, Mario, 124 Ovazza, Ettore, 33, 70–71, 187n33 Pacifici, Alfonso, 3, 35–36, 43–44, 68–69, 85–91, 97–98, 105–6, 117–19, 122, 133–34, 149, 186n31, 190n16,17 Padua, 17, 29–30, 34, 36–37, 82, 110, 119, 149, 179n16, 189n2, 189n5 Palestine, 4, 9, 27–28, 33, 35, 38, 43–44, 70–71, 74–75, 83, 91, 93–94, 99–101, 104, 111–13, 118, 120, 122–29, 132– 33, 148–49, 155–56, 167n2, 187n33. See emigration to Palestine Paolo IV, 12 Papal States, 10–12, 16 Partito Comunista d’Italia (Communist Party of Italy), 135 Partito Comunista Italiano (Italian Communist Party, PCI), 135 Partito d’Azione (Action Party), 183n10 Partito dei Lavoratori Italiani (Italian Workers’ Party), 30, 135, 194n46 Partito Nazionale Fascista; Fascist National Party (PNF), 32, 108 Partito Repubblicano (Republican Party), 194n46

Partito Socialista (Pietro Nenni’s Socialist Party), 194n46 Partito Socialista in Italia (Socialist Party in Italy), 30 Patriottismo e Coscienza Ebraica (Patriotism and Jewish Conscience), 60 Pavia, Rosa, 110 Peace Conference (Versailles), 31, 188n35 Pel milione di fucili (A Thousand Rifles), 48, 182n1 Pensiero Israelitico (Jewish Thought), 186n30 Piccole Italiane (Little Italians), 103, 109 Piedmont, 10–11, 16–17, 19, 41, 47–48, 58, 65, 141, 143, 178n11, 179n20, 182n1 Piedmont Constitutions of 1848, 16–17 Piedmontese Jews, 42 Pincherle, Gabriele, 31, 177n4 Pio IX, 16 Pirandello, Luigi, 95 Pisa, 3, 12, 23, 31, 37, 60, 82, 110–11, 182n1 Pisa, Vittoria Cantoni, 111 PNF. See Partito Nazionale Fascista; Fascist National Party Polacco, Vittorio, 24, 115 Polacco Institute of Padua, 36 Polish Jews, 18, 26 political life (Italian Jews), 30–32. See Partito Nazionale Fascista Pontremoli, Esdra, 2, 184n21 Popolo d’Italia, (Italian People), 29, 49, 108, 110, 130–31 Popular Party, 102 population counts (Italian Jews), 9–10, 48 post-Emancipation Italian Jews, 19–39; general status of, 19–33; and gentiles, 20; Jewish education and culture, 33–39; and language, 39–45; and migration, 13, 19; and professions, 13, 20; and property, 22–23; and southern Italy, 19; transformation of, 22; and university students, 26; urbanity of, 13, 19, 21 Prato, David, 35–36, 42, 69, 79, 149 pre-Emancipation Italian Jews, 1–2, 12–19, 39–45; and conversion to Christianity, 12–13; economic and political status, 14–17; Jewish education and culture, 17–19; judicial status of,

Index 213 14; and language, 39–45; and liberal professions, 2, 14; and migration, 13; and northern Italy, 13; professions of, 2, 14; public life demographics, 1–2; and religious freedom, 14–16; sociodemographic and judicial status, 10–13; and Southern Italy, 13; and university students, 16, 18–19; and work restrictions, 14 Preziosi, Giovanni, 29 Prisoners of Hope, 45, 53 Pro-Cultura society (1907), 2, 35, 74, 79–82, 84, 98–99, 185n27, 186n31, 189n2 professions (of Italian Jews), 1–2, 12, 14, 20, 22, 26–27, 30, 48–50, 57, 179n16,21; commerce and industry, 22, 27; liberal, 2, 14, 22; military, 1–2, 27, 48–50, 179n21; physicians, 12, 14, 179n16; public life, 1–2, 30, 179n21; and racial laws, 26–27; and selfemployment, 179n21; shopkeepers, 20 propaganda, 100, 108–9, 126–27, 131, 147 public life (Italian Jews), 1–2, 30–31, 177nn4–5 Quadrivio, 130 Questione Ebraica. See Jewish question Rabbinical College of Florence, 79, 81, 85, 92, 106, 118, 186n31 Rabbinical College of Leghorn, 193n34 Rabbinical College of Padua, 34, 149 rabbis, 25–26, 34–35, 49, 61, 98, 143, 180n24, 184n21, 186n30 Racah, Giulio, 124 Racah, Gustavo, 193n34 Racah, Leone, 193n34 racial laws (1938), 24, 26–28, 39, 51, 54–55, 93, 109, 132–33, 145–46, 154–55, 180n24, 180n28, 184n11 Rassegna Contemporanea (Contemporary Review), 84 Rassegna Femminile Italiana, 109 Rassegna Mensile di Israele (Israel Monthly Review), 42, 69 Rava, Maurizio, 180n28 Ravenna, Gabriela Falco, 110 Ravenna, Renzo, 180n28

rebirth of Judaism, 1–2, 35–36, 57, 72–77, 79, 85, 96, 98, 148–49, 152, 153, 155, 157, 184n21 religious conversion, 12–13, 22, 27, 31, 53 religious discrimination, 11–13, 29, 39, 54 religious freedom, 14–16 Revere, Giuseppe, 49 revivalist movement, 93, 97–98, 125, 154–56 Ricchetti, Davide, 24 Ricci, Renato, 102 Risorgimento (Reawakening), 1, 14–15, 20, 30, 47–48, 51–52, 54, 58, 64–66, 76, 81, 84, 95, 127, 141, 150, 153–54, 177n4, 182n1 Risorgimento Museum (Milan), 48 Rivista Israelitica (Jewish Review), 35, 64–65, 186n30 Rizzoli, Elisa Majer, 109 Roman Catholicism, 24, 178n3. See Catholic Church; Catholicism Roman Empire, 9, 28 Romanini, Leon Vita, 64 Roman Jews, 98–99, 191n6 Roman Republic, constitution of (1798), 178n3 Romanziere Israelitico (The Israelite Novelist), 68 Rome, 3, 6–7, 9–11, 17–22, 24–25, 31–32, 35, 37–38, 48–49, 66, 75, 82–84, 89, 95–96, 97, 99–100, 108, 110, 179n17 Rosselli, Carlo, 130, 194n46 Rosselli, Nello, 76, 91 Rossi, Ernesto, 194n46 Roth, Cecil, 4, 15, 30, 34, 179n19,20 Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 95 Rovighi, Cesare, 64 Russian Jews, 43 Sabatello, Eitan, 19 Sacerdote, Angelo, 25, 79, 91 Salvemini, Gaetano, 194n46 San Sepolcro program, 107 Sapienza University in Rome, 18 Sardinian Law of 1857, 25 Sarfatti, Cesare, 108 Sarfatti, Michele, 28, 32–33, 108–9, 177n1, 177n5, 192n15 Savaldi, Marcello, 116–17, 121 Savoia, Elisa, 107

214 Index Savoy, house of, 16, 48, 58, 65–67 Secolo Nuovo (New Century), 192n15 sectarianism, 94 secularization, 24, 36–37, 44, 53, 57, 63, 107–8, 111, 136, 142, 144, 146, 150–51, 185n27, 191n9 Segre, Dan, 141 Segre, Vittorio, 6, 58–59 segregation, 10, 13, 40–41, 64. See ghettos Senigaglia, Quinto, 68–69 Sereni, Emilio, 194n46 Sereni, Enzo, 3, 91, 99–100, 123, 132–34 Servadio, Grazia, 6 Servi, Amleto, 127 Servi, Erminio, 48 Servi, Ferruccio, 48–49, 184n21 Servi, Flaminio, 76 Sestieri, Lea, 4 Settimana Israelitica (Israeli Weekly) 42–44, 68, 74–75, 81–82, 85–88, 90, 186n30,31, 189n9, 190n17 Shalem, Nathan, 35–36 SIB. See Soccorso Israelitico di Beneficenza Sicily, 9, 12, 47–48 Small Modern Novel, 44 Soccorso Israelitico di Beneficenza (Palestine Charitable Aid, SIB), 111 socialism, 21, 30–32, 96, 107–8, 130, 135–37, 157, 180n28, 182n1, 192n15, 193n38 Socialismo Liberale (Liberal Socialism), 130 Sofia, Francesca, 6, 52, 57 Sonnino, Giuseppe, 127 Sonnino, Sidney, 31 Sorani, Armando, 87, 186n31 southern Italy, 19 squadrista, 180n28 status of the Jews: after Emancipation (see post-Emancipation); and language, 39–45; prior to Emancipation (see pre-Emancipation); and professions (see professions); and regional diversity, 9–10; as urban population (see urbanity) Stille, Alexander, 6 Storia degli Ebrei d’Italia (1963), 15 Storia di un Ebreo fortunato (History of a Fortunate Jew), 58 Strangers at Home, 54

Talmud Torah (religious school), 18, 33, 35–36, 43–44, 59, 114, 181n33 Tempo (Time), 192n15 Terracini, Umberto, 194n46 Tevere (Tiber), 130–31 “Thousand” (Mille), 48, 182n1 Tikvath-Hechalutz (Hope of the Pioneer), 105 Toaff, Elio, 6 Toleranzpatent, 12, 14, 18–19 Toniolo, Giuseppe, 136 Torah, 17–18, 105–6, 117–18, 121, 134 Toscano, Mario, 1, 4, 6, 53, 57, 63, 81, 84, 87, 93, 125–26, 149, 177n2 totalitarianism, 24, 122, 157 “total Judaism,” 3 Treves, Claudio, 30–31, 137, 180n30, 194n46 Trieste, 2, 3, 7, 10, 16–17, 20–22, 31, 34, 64, 67, 69, 81, 91, 96, 110, 113, 115, 126, 129, 179n17, 188n35, 189n5, 193n34 Tripoli, 29, 110–12, 114, 190n16 True Italians, The (I veri Italiani), 178n11, 182 Turati, Filippo, 194n46 Turin, 2, 11, 21, 35–37, 39, 43, 56, 58, 63, 70, 75, 82, 86–90, 96, 118, 127, 130, 134, 179n17, 180n29, 188n35, 189n5, 192n23, 193n38 Turin youth conference (second, 1912), 87–90 Tuscany, 10–13, 16, 19, 135 unification (of Italy), 1, 9, 12, 14–15, 20–23, 30–31, 34, 36, 47–48, 51–52, 64, 95, 127, 132, 135–36, 141–42, 145, 150, 153, 156–57, 189n7; as anticlerical, 20, 34; and civil rights, 22–23; Jewish participation in, 48; and political parties, 30–31 Unione Cattolica per gli Studi Sociali in Italia (Catholic Union for Social Studies in Italy), 136 Unione delle Comunità Israelitiche (Union of Jewish Communities), 38, 113, 132 Unione Democratica, 180n30 Unione Femminile (Union of Women), 109–10, 192n15 Unione Femminile Nazionale (Women’s National Union), 107

Index 215 Union of Italian Jewish Communities, 25, 143 United States, 56, 187n33 Università Israelitica, 23 Università Israelitiche (communities), 11, 25 university students, 16, 18–19, 26 urbanity (of Italian Jews), 13, 19, 21, 33–34, 179n17, 179n20 Urbano Rattazzi Law, 22, 25 Uziel, David, 48 Varadi, Max, 124 Vatican, 24–25, 102 Venetian Jews, 31, 49–50, 108, 181n33 Veneto, Lombardo, 12 Venice, 7, 10, 17, 23–24, 34, 36–37, 48–51, 58, 64, 79, 82, 110–11, 127–28, 136, 179n17, 179n20 Venti Anni (Twenty Year), 130 Vercelli, 2 vernacular Italian dialects, 39 Vessillo Israelitico (Jewish Banner), 41, 44–45, 50, 61, 65–66, 67–68, 71, 75–76, 87–88, 126, 184n21, 193n38 Vita Italiana, 29, 130 Viterbo, Carlo Alberto, 68–69, 90, 92 Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy, 48 Voce, La (The Voice), 95 wars of independence, 47–51, 182n1 Webber, Jonathan, 5, 140 Weizman, Vera, 110

Weizmann, Chaim, 98 Wissenchaft des Judentums (“Science of Judaism”), 181n32 WIZO movement (Women’s International Zionist Organization), 110 Wollemberg, Leone, 31, 177n4 women, 107–13 World War I, 20, 24, 31–32, 35, 39, 47–51, 66–67, 69, 82, 84, 96–97, 107, 115, 135, 142, 154, 180n28, 182n1, 183n10 World War II, 123, 183n10 World Zionist Congress, 68 Yehudah, Eliezer Ben, 43 Yiddish literature, 184n11 Yom Kippur, 59–61 youths (Jewish, 1930s), 3–4, 43, 57, 79–96, 97–138, 140–52, 153, 156–57. See camps; conferences; congresses; cultural hachsharot; societies; meetings, movements Zammato, D. A., 189n2 Zionism (Italian), 3, 33, 35, 38, 54, 67, 70, 76, 81, 84, 86–88, 91–92, 96, 98–101, 105–06, 110, 114, 118, 121–38, 155– 57, 187n33, 192n23; in Italy, 125–38; practicality of, 101, 129, 156 Zionist Federation, 127–29 Zionist movement (Italian), 28, 67–71, 75–76, 93, 110, 120, 125–28, 155–56, 180n29, 188n33

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