The Church of st Gregory of Divine Pity which stood next to the Portico d’Attavia of the Ghetto.The inscription in hebrew from 1858 is from Isaiah LXv. 2-3 “I have stretched out my hands to a rebellious people who walk in an evil way... a people who continually provoke me to wrath”.


democracy. However, when Pope Pius IX returns to Rome, fearful of revolutionary zeal, Jews are forced back into the Ghetto and old restrictions are reimposed.


1864 Ayoung Jewish cobbler’s apprentice, Giuseppe Coen, is kidnapped and converted, a case similar to the kidnapping of EdgardoMortara in Bologna in 1858 which had led to an international outcry. The Roman community remains one of the poorest in Europe.


LIBERATION fROM ThE GhETTO


1870 The storming of Porta Pia by Garibaldi’s troops on 20 September marks the end of the Pope as temporal ruler. The Ghetto is finally pulled down and Jews enjoy full equality. SamueleAlatri, a Jew, is elected city councillor and laterMember of Parliament.


1904 The Great Temple is erected in Via del Portico d’Ottavia.


1814 French troops leave and Pope Pius VII returns. The Ghetto is reinstated.


1823 The Ghetto is enlarged to Via Della Reginella, but the wretched conditions in the Ghetto encourage anyone who can to move out of Rome.


1847 2,000 Romans march to show solidarity with the Jews.


1848 On 17April on the eve of Passover Pope Pius IX orders the gates and the Ghetto to be pulled down.


1849 The Republic ofMazzini grants Jews full equality and Roman Jews meet Jewish patriots fighting for independence and


ernesto nathan was born in London to the english sara Levi and German mayer moses Nathan. the family moved to Italy and ernesto lived in various parts of the country until, attracted by the ideas of Giuseppe mazzini, he moved to Rome in 1848 to work on the left-wing newspaper La Roma del Popolo. his home became a centre of political debate. Nathan became a town councillor in


1889 and was elected mayor for two terms, in 1907 and 1911. he was the first mayor who did not


belong to the land-owning elite. he fought against the Catholic establishment to introduce secular ethical politics and was particularly active in promoting a secular educational system and in regulating the building programmes that erupted round the city when it became the capital in 1871.


Nathan died in 1921. Rome: The Ghetto Deluged London Illustrated News, 1870 16 JewIsh ReNAIssANCe oCtoBeR 2011


1910 Luigi Luzzatti, a Jew, becomes Prime Minister.


1907-1913 Ernesto Nathan, a Jew, is Mayor of Rome.


UNDER fAsCIsM


1938 Mussolini’s racial laws exclude Jews from public office, schools and work. Within a month in Rome Jewish schools are set up for 600 children with many excluded university professors as teachers.


1941 Jews have effectively become second-class citizens.


1943 To protect the community, the Jews of Rome in September collect 50 kilos of gold in 36 hours as ransom money demanded by the German Commander Kappler. Sadly, it does not save any lives.


1943 16 October (Shabbat) German soldiers surround the Ghetto and round up more than a thousand Jews for deportation toAuschwitz. Only about 23 return.


1944 24MarchAs a reprisal for an attack on a German convoy on 23March in Via Rasella, 355 men, including 75 Jews, are shot at theArdeatine caves.


POsT-WAR


1944 On 4 June Rome is liberated by the Allies.


1945 Much criticised by the Jewish community for his behaviour during the Occupation of Rome, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Rabbi Israel Zolli, converts to Catholicism.


1948 The founding of the State of Israel is celebrated by the Jews of Rome at theArch of Titus.


1956 Eastern EuropeanAshkenazi Jews flee to Rome.The Hungarian uprising brings new immigrants. The Rome Jewish community becomes more cosmopolitan.


1962-5 The Second Vatican Council in its document Nostra Aetate absolves Jews of the murder of Jesus.


1967 Libyan Jews flee to Rome.


1982 On 9 October Palestinian terrorists attack the Great Synagogue in Via del Portico d’Ottavia killing a young child, Stefano Gaj Tache, and injuring worshippers.


1986 13 April The first Papal visit to a synagogue takes place when Pope John Paul II visits the Great Temple and refers to Jews as “elder brothers”.


1987 An agreement is signed between the


t h e J e w s o f R o m e


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