The commemoration ceremony for Holocaust victims organised by the Italian Embassy in Israel and the Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv to honour the International Holocaust Remembrance Day was held at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem.
The event was attended by all the employees of the Italian Institutions operating in Israel and numerous members of the Italian Israeli Community. “Especially this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the foundation of Israel and the enforcement of the Italian Constitution, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day reminds us of the pain we caused and the abyss in which we plunged, but also of the efforts made to climb out of it and to give solidity to our free and democratic institutions, also supported by the mutual and genuine friendship between Italy and Israel” – said Ambassador Sergio Barbanti.
The ceremony, held in the Hall of Remembrance, was followed by a lecture entitled “Miei cari, sono vivo – Prime lettere dopo la liberazione” (“My loved ones, I am alive – First letters after the liberation”), given by Iael Orvieto, Director of the International Institute for Holocaust Research in Yad Vashem. This event is part of a rich series of initiatives promoted by Italian Institutions in Israel to commemorate the Victims of the Holocaust. Among others, the Italian Cultural Institutes of Tel Aviv and Haifa will house the Conference “Intellettuali ebrei italiani del Novecento – Luciana Nissim Momigliano (1919-1998)” (“Italian Jewish Intellectuals of the 19th century – Luciana Nissim Momigliano (1919-1998)”), organised by Mrs. Sarah Parenzo, and the screening of the documentary Diari dall’Olocausto. La Shoah degli adolescenti (Holocaust Diaries. The Adolescents’ Shoah) (Italy, 2022), directed by Massimo Vincenzi. The documentary describes the racial persecution perpetrated by the Nazis through the words teenagers wrote in their diaries, thus providing a sincere and truthful testimony of the Holocaust.
