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Encyclopaedia Judaica

Jews in Italy 05: Reconstruction and migrations 1945-1970

Reconstruction and Jewish migration movements to and from Italy since 1945 - cultural life, assimilation, racist Zionism - relations with racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1139. The old synagogue of Leghorn [[Livorno]], showing the western wall with the reader's desk, at which the hazzan (ḥazzan) [[cantor]] faced the congregation

from: Italy; In: Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 9

presented by Michael Palomino (2008)

[Jewry in Italy since 1945]

[Since 1945: Reconstruction of the Jewish communities - Jewish immigration movements to Italy since 1945]

<Meanwhile, the difficult work of reconstructing the communities was begun, with the help of Jewish [[mostly racist Zionist]] international relief organizations. Politically, the Jewish minority in Italy lived under generally good conditions after World War II. The Italian Jews and their institutions enjoyed full rights guaranteed by the Constitution and by the respect of the greater part of the Italian people.

At the end of World War II, a certain number of refugees settled permanently in Italy. Subsequently, immigrants arrived, mainly from Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries and from North Africa, especially following the persecutions of Jews after the *Sinai Campaign in 1956. At the same time, immigration also took place from Hungary and other east European countries, although to a smaller extent.

Schematically, the following three groups could be distinguished in Italian Jewry:

-- the Jews of Rome, the great majority of whom were born there, who partly still lived in the old ghetto, endowed with a sturdy vitality that could be linked in part to the modest conditions of the community and in part to the survival of strong bonds with Jewish tradition;

-- other Italian-born Jews, widely scattered geographically, with more tenuous links with Jewish culture but steadily growing ties with secular Italian culture, and hence more open to social contacts with non-Jews, mixed marriages, and increasingly rapid assimilation;

-- and Jews born abroad, characterized by greater social cohesion, but inclined to adopt rapidly the habits and customs of the less vital groups of Italian Jewry.

[Numbers 1945-1970: Jewry is not increasing in Italy again]

According to the results of a statistical inquiry carried out, on a national basis, under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 12,000 Jewish families were living in Italy in 1965, comprising about 32,000 Jews out of a total population of 52,000,000 (a density of 0.6 per thousand). The geographical distribution of the Jews was 42.2% in Rome; 7% in Milan; 21.8% in the six medium-sized communities of Turin, Florence, Trieste, Genoa, Venice, and Leghorn [[Livorno]]; and 8.3% in the 15 small communities of Naples, Bologna, Ancona, Mantua, Pisa, Padua, Modena, Ferrara, Verona, Alessandria, Vercelli, Parma, Merano, Gorizia, and Casale Monferrato. Isolated Jews were also spread over more than 200 minor centers. (col. 1138)

A few demographic details from the above survey will suffice to indicate the state of decline of the Jews in Italy. The birth rate for the Jews was 11.4 per 1,000 as against 18.3 per 1,000 for the entire population; the fertility rate (children from birth to four years per 1,000 women of age 15-49) was 210 for the Jews as against 360 for the general population; the marriage rate was 4.6% as against 8.0%; the mortality rate in general was 16.1% as against 9.6%; the Jews were considerably older: the average age was 41 years as against 33 years for the total population;

[[The average age was 41 years because all young Jews went to the war trap of racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel. This migrations was organized by racist Zionist groups with much money from the racist "United States", e.g. from WJC]].

finally, the demographic balance of the Jewish population was negative, -4.7%, as against +8.7% for the general population. In contrast to the general population, the Jewish population was almost entirely urban and limited to the regions of the center and north. Its educational level was higher, with a large proportion of university graduates (14% as against 1.4%). The largest concentration in occupational distribution was to be found in the business and services sectors (80.7% of the Jews as against 30.3% of the general population), with a certain representation in industry (18.7% as against 40.6%) and an almost total absence from agriculture (0.6% as against 29.1%).

The majority were self-employed, followed by those employed in commerce, in the free professions, and as executives and employees. In Rome, the number of hawkers was considerable.

[Jewish cultural life in Italy 1945-1970]

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1137-1138. Pupils in an Italian Jewish school [[the Jewish boys with
Zionist kippa with Jewish Star]]. Courtesy Joint Distribution Committee, New York.

The central organization of Italian Jewry was the Union of Italian Jewish communities, which represented Jewish interests vis-à-vis the government. Under the successive presidencies of R. Cantoni, A. Zevi, R. Boufiglioli, and S. Piperno Beer, the Union intervened on behalf of the Italian Jews in the face of anti-Semitic incidents and acted on behalf of the heirs of the victims of the Holocaust in matters of reparations and compensation.

The Union also had a special section for cultural activities, rabbinical activity, on the other hand, being under the supervision of the Italian Rabbinical Council. Each community was responsible for organizing all religious and welfare services and cultural activities, as well as administering its own property.

Jewish education was carried out through a system of Jewish schools, recognized by the state, in which the syllabus of the state schools was followed with the addition of Jewish subjects. Such schools existed in seven communities in 1970; in 1965-66 the total number of their students amounted to 1,986. The greatest number of pupils, however, was to be found in the elementary schools; in the higher grades the number of Jewish students attending Jewish schools fell drastically in favor of state schools.

Rabbinical training was given at the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano, in (col. 1139)

Rome, and the S.H. Margulies Rabbinical School in Turin. Finally, a few hundred Jewish students attended technical courses at *ORT.

Among Italian-Jewish publications were

-- La Rassegna Mensile d'Israel, a Jewish cultural magazine
-- Israel, a Jewish weekly of moderate Zionist tendencies
-- its cultural monthly, Shalom;
-- and Ha-Tikvah, the monthly organ of the Federation of Jewish Youth.

[Assimilation]

In general, assimilation of young Jews, particularly those born in Italy, was very noticeable and was also evident from the data on mixed marriages. In Milan, during 1952-66, 46 out of 100 Jewish bridegrooms married non-Jewish brides, and 26 of the 100 Jewish brides married non-Jews.

[Emigration to racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel - and return to Italy in many cases]

The Italian [[racist Zionist Free Mason]] Zionist Federation encouraged aliyah [[emigration to racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel]], which, though small in numbers, was well qualified professionally. It also organized various cultural and educational activities concerning [[racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]] Israel, frequently in collaboration with *WIZO (ADEI) and other representatives of world Zionist organizations.

Soon after World War II, due partly to the presence of the *Jewish Brigade, many young Italian Jews were imbued with [[racist]] Zionist enthusiasm [[the Arabs were never mentioned or asked]] which led to their participation in the Israel *War of Independence (1948) [[when Israel was found without definition of any borderlines]] and in some cases to settlement in [[racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]] Israel [[with the aim of a "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the Euphrates according to 1st Mose, chapter 15, phrase 18]]. This however, did not always have strong ideological roots, and as a result a considerable number returned to Italy [[because many Italian Jews said NO to the racist Zionist ideology against all Arabs, and because the towns of Italy were hardly destroyed. The same return movement happened in France. By this the distinction between racist Zionist Jews and tolerant intellectual Jews is very IMPORTANT for all historiography. It's sad that the Arab movements mostly also fight the tolerant Jews]].

During that period also the major part of the population of the Apulian village of *San Nicandro was converted to Judaism under the leadership of D. Manduzio and subsequently settled in Israel.

Jews were more modestly represented in realms of culture and in public life than in the first few decades of the 20th century. It should be noted, however, that many (col. 1140)

representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia had either left Italy because of the racial laws or perished during the persecutions. Among the Jews who rose to distinction in Italy in the post-World War II period in the humanistic field wee the writers C. *Levi, A. *Moravia (Pincherle), G. *Bassani, and P. *Levi; in the field of science, the mathematician G. Castelnuova, president of the Academia Dei Lincei, the physicist E. *Segre, Nobel Prize winner in 1959, and the physicist B. *Pontecorvo, who caused a storm when he defected to the Soviet Union after the war. General G. *Liuzzi was head of the General Staff of the armed forces in the years 1954-59.

On the other hand, there was a more modest Jewish participation in Italy's political life as compared with the period before the rise of Fascism. In the legislatures of the Italian parliament there was a succession of Jewish representatives, on the average about ten out of 1,000 deputies and senators in the two houses. Of special note is a leader of the Communist party, Umberto *Terracini of Turin, who was president of the Constituent Assembly in 1947.

[S.D.P.]


Relations With Israel [with racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]

[[Israel is dominated by racist Zionist Free Mason governments with a racist ideology from racist Theodor Herzl, in connection with criminal CIA. Racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel has about 250 atomic bombs. The Arab world has not one single atomic bomb...]]

[Political relations]

Although Italy was one of the Axis powers during World War II, this fact left no imprint on her relations with [[racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]] Israel. The active help given in Italy to the survivors of the Holocaust from all over Europe - in particular toward their migration to Palestine - and the fact that, even under the Fascist regime, Italy did not participate in the horrors perpetrated by her German ally but rather actually helped in the rescue work, served to place Israel-Italian relations on a regular footing from the outset.

When the young State of [[racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]] Israel [[without definition of any borderline]] approached the question of her foreign ties, Italy was among the first countries in which an Israel diplomatic mission was established. Israel established an embassy in Rome and a consulate-general in Milan (the Israel ambassador also maintains contact with the *Vatican [[which granted Hitler a contract and has never corrected the racist New Testament from it's racist paragraphs]]), and Italy's embassy was located in Tel Aviv.

[[Until now (2008) the Vatican is not strong enough to excommunicate Hitler from the Catholic church, not posthum either]].

The development of essential ties, however, was quite slow due mainly to Italy's postwar policy, the principal aims of which were settlements of territorial questions directly relating to her and a return to a position of equality in the family of nations. Over the years, increased contacts and a strengthening of ties was achieved, because of

-- Italy's rising influence in the various European organizations in which Israel was actively interested
-- the rise in Italy's position as a Mediterranean country,
-- and her anxiety in view of the Soviet Union's increasing penetration into the Mediterranean basin;
-- the decline - from Israel's point of view - in France's influence after her change in policy on the eve of the *Six-Day War (1967)
-- and the great diplomatic ability that Italy displayed when an El Al plane was hijacked to Algeria in 1968 (the release of the plane, its crew, and passengers were secured through Italy's intervention) and when a TWA plane was hijacked to Damascus in 1969 and six Israelis were held prisoners after the release of the rest of the passengers.

[[The "Soviet Union" was fighting with the Arab states against racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl Israel. By this the racist Zionist project of a "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the Euphrates according to 1st Mose, chapter 15, phrase 18, could not be implemented. The hijacked airplanes were helpless signs of Arab Palestinian resistance against the racist Zionist Free Mason governments at Jerusalem]].

[Trade relations]

Objective difficulties existed in some areas, such as that of commercial ties, since the economies of both countries had a certain similarity in important fields of production (e.g., citrus), and it was therefore not easy to realize their mutual desire to increase trade between the two countries.

Italy even placed obstacles in the way of Israel's affiliation with the Common Market because of citrus competition. Italy's active ties with [[racist Zionist Free Mason CIA Herzl]] Israel were linked to her general relationship with the Middle East, in which she had important interests. She did not develop a unilateral policy on the question of the Israel-Arab dispute, and her careful diplomatic initiatives were aimed at advancement toward a negotiated peace.

[Y. ME.]> (col. 1141)