Shavei Israel marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Italy
Italian Holocaust Remembrance Day program
Today (January 27, 2015) is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Held annually since 2006, the date commemorates the liberation by Soviet troops of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. Events all over the world mark the day, including in Italy, where Shavei Israel’s emissary to the Bnei Anousim in Sicily and southern Italy, Rabbi Pinchas Punturello, reports on what’s planned.
“We are holding a study day at the infamous Steri Palace in Palermo,” Rabbi Punturello says. The Steri served as the headquarters of the Inquisition in Palermo from 1601 – 1782, also functioning as a holding cell for Jews awaiting their fate in the terrible auto-da-fe – execution by burning. The theme of the day’s classes and lectures is more recent, Rabbi Punturello adds: “The Expulsion of Jewish professors from universities in Italy following the imposition of Racial Laws during World War II.’”
Participants in the Holocaust Remembrance Day classes in Palermo are to include both members of the Italian Jewish community and a group of Bnei Anousim with whom Shavei Israel and Rabbi Punturello have been working since 2013. This includes Carlo, Marco and Salvo who came to Jerusalem in 2013 on a Shavei Israel-sponsored seminar for Italian Bnei Anousim (see our report here).
“The fact that the two groups are coming together is a sign of pride for us at Shavei Israel,” Rabbi Punturello says. “It shows that the Bnei Anousim are part of the Italian Jewish reality just like everyone else. And it shows that, at Shavei Israel, we not only help people to return to Judaism, we support them to become part of the local Jewish tradition and culture.”
At the end of 2014, there was another meeting point between the communities when a Jewish group from Milan made the 15-hour trip south to get to know the Bnei Anousim in Sicily. “The Milan group met with local Bnei Anousim from Palermo and Catania to hear their stories,” Rabbi Punturello reports. “This was a very important step; it helped to open their eyes to the work we are doing.”
But the best was yet to come: Rabbi Punturello visited a small mountain village called Valguarera Caropepe. “The villagers invited me because they had a fascinating story they wanted to tell me. One of the churches in the county had a Magen David [a Star of David] on the bell tower until a few years ago, when the new priest had it removed as part of a restoration. They still had a picture of the tower with the Magen David, though, which they showed me.”
But even more amazing: “All the people buried in that church have rings on their fingers in the shape of a Star of David! Needless to say, they are very interested in what this means about their own Jewish roots and they want to know more about Judaism and the Bnei Anousim. They are continuing to do research and I will go back to Valguarera Caropepe to help them more next month.”