<MILAN, city in
Lombardy, N. Italy.
[Pogroms
and synagogue burnt down two times by Christians]
The presence of Jews in Milan in the Roman period is
attested by three Jewish inscriptions, two of which refer
to the "father of the community". In 388, *ambrose, bishop
of Milan, expressed regret for failing to lead his
congregation in burning down the synagogue which instead
had been destroyed "by acto of God". It was soon rebuilt,
but about 507 was sacked by the Christian mob, whose
action was condemned by the Ostrogothic ruler Theodoric.
The community presumably continued inexistence, though
there is little evidence in succeeding centuries except
for vague references to Jewish merchants and farmers in
the tenth century.
[Expulsion
of the Jews in 1320 - privileges for the Jews in 1387]
With the spread of Jewish communities through northern
Italy in the 13th century that of Milan was also revived,
but in 1320 the podestà
[[first mayor]] issued a decree expelling the Jews, in
1387 Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti granted (col. 1545)
privileges to the Jews in the whole of *Lombardy; these
were confirmed by Francesco Sforza and his successors.
[Synagogue
- war pope Pius II wants 20% of Jewish properties
financing a Crusade in 1459 - expulsion of the Jews in
1489]
When in 1452 Pope Nicholas V approved the Jewish right of
residence in the duchy, he specifically authorized the
construction of a synagogue in Milan. Pope Pius II
demanded a levy [[tax]] of one-fifth on the possessions of
the Jews to subsidize a Crusade (1459), but was opposed by
Duke Francesco Sforza. In 1489, under Ludovico il Moro
[[otro duque de Milan]], the Jews were expelled from the
entire Duchy.
[3
days stay in Milan for Jews - Spanish rule - Charles V
rules allowing Jews in some towns - expulsion of the
Jews in 1597]
They were soon readmitted, except to Milan itself where a
Jew could only stay for three days. Similar conditions
continued under the last Sforza dukes and after 1535, when
the duchy of Milan came under Spanish rule. In 1541
Emperor Charles V confirmed that Jews were allowed
to live in various towns of the territory, but not in
Milan. Thus, when the Jews were finally expelled in 1597,
there were none in Milan itself.
[Austrian
rule - new Jewish community and synagogue - Italy since
1859 with full rights for Jews]
In 1714, when Lombardy came under Austrian rule, Jews
began to return to Milan, and by the middle of the 19th
century they numbered approximately 500; a synagogue was
built in 1840. In 1848 some were active in the rising
against Austrian rule. In 1859 Milan became a part of the
new Italian kingdom and the Jews received full rights.
Because of the great commercial and industrial development
around Milan which now followed, the city became a center
of attraction for new immigrants. In 1900, 2,000 Jews
resided there and in 1931, 6,490.
[A.MIL.]
Holocaust
Period. [Jewish refugees from NS territories]
After Hitler assumed power many refugees arrived from
Central and Eastern European countries; this flow
continued illegally during the first years of war.
[[Under Mussolini were discriminating laws, but no
deportation or massacres. Then in 1943 the Mussolini
government was brought down and North Italian republic
"Salo" was installed, with persecutions and deportations
of the Jews. There was a special right radical North
Italian police for that. Also all industrial plants were
shifted to Germany passing neutral Switzerland]].
About 800 Jews were deported from Milan during the war.
Many were captured and killed by the Germans [[and their
collaborators]] in the towns and villages where they had
taken refuge. During the autumn of 1943, the Germans [[and
their collaborators]] carried out an anti-Jewish raid, in
the course of which the community synagogue was destroyed.
Contemporary
Period. [Jewish emigration - and new Jewish
immigration].
At the end of the war, 4,484 Jews were living in Milan and
were joined temporarily by many refugees from camps in
Lombardy. A number of Jewish immigrants came to Italy
after 1949 from Egypt and, to a lesser degree, from other
Arab countries; 4% came from Israel.
[[Many Italian Jews who had emigrated to racist Free Mason
Zionist anti-Muslim CIA governed Israel came back to Italy
because they did not accept the war trap in Palestine
which was organized by the racist Zionist program for a
Jewish Empire from Nile to Euphrates]].
The Jewish population of Milan in 1965 numbered 8,488
persons out of total of 1,670,000 inhabitants, with the
Sephardi and Oriental element predominating. After the
*Six-Day War (1967), some 3,000 Jews, who fled persecution
in Egypt, and above all in Libya, sought temporary refuge
in Italy. Assimilation was widespread, especially among
the Italian element, with the proportion of mixed
marriages fluctuating around 50%.
[Economy]
The general socioeconomic status of the community was
middle class or upper-middle class, with the
characteristic concentration in the wholesale and
export-import business. (col. 1546)
The community of Milan has a Hebrew school with about
1,000 students. Beside the central synagogue, which
follows the Italian rite, there are seven other synagogues
and houses of prayer of Italian, Oriental, Persian, and
Ashkenazi rites, as well as a rest home for elderly
people. In 1967 there were 8,700 Jews in Milan, making the
community the second in importance in Italy. The following
Jewish journals appear irregularly:
-- La Rassegna Mensile d'israel
-- Il Bollettino della Comunità di Milano
-- Hed ha-Ḥinnukh ha-Yehudi
-- and Quaderni del Bollettino.
[S.D.P.]
Bibliography
-- Milano, Library (orig. Italian: Bibliotheca), index
-- Kaufmann, in: REJ, 20 (1890), 34-72
-- Ferorelli, in: Israeli Flag (orig. Italian: "Vessillo
Israelitico"), 63 (1925), 227-38, 337-9
-- A. Sarano: Seven years of life and work of Israeli
community of Milan (orig. Italian: "Sette anni di vita e
di opere della communità israelitica di Milano") (1945-52)
(1952).
See also bibliography to *Lombardy.>
