The Embassy of Italy in Israel, in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute, organized the commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jerusalem today.

As usual, the ceremony was held at the Shoah-Yad Vashem Memorial in the presence of the Italian Ambassador, Luca Ferrari, with the participation of staff from Italian institutions and numerous members of the Italian community in Israel.

After the solemn lighting of the torch of remembrance by the Ambassador at the Tent of Remembrance, Simonetta della Seta, a member of the Italian delegation of Ihra (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) gave a lecture entitled: “The memorialization of the Shoah in Italy: the Italian network of museumsʺ.
“The Shoah was not a sudden event but the extreme and systematic outcome of a hatred that in several countries turned into racial ideology and state policy,” the Ambassador recalled. “Today it seems to us,” Ferrari continued, “that history does not teach, does not guide, does not brake as events repeat themselves. Primo Levi’s warning resounds topical and tragic: it happened, so it can happen again.” “In the past year alone, we have had to witness the horror of the attacks in Manchester, Bondi Beach and too many other disturbing episodes. Commemoration and remembrance remain dutiful but we need a commitment that goes beyond that,” the Ambassador said. “It is time to admit no more distancing or reticence in condemning all forms of anti-Semitism. Our democracy was also founded on the memory of the survivors who forced the nation to look without alibi at one of the darkest pages of its history. Turning the other way or underestimating anti-Semitic words and phenomena represents a direct threat to our democratic values and security today more than ever,” Ferrari said, citing recent statements by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Credito immagine: Ambasciata dell’Italia in Israele

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