Jews of Europe

“Without the presence of Jewish culture, the history of Europe would undoubtedly have been different”; and yet this culture “is often known only vaguely or exclusively in terms of the tragic events that tried to eliminate its presence and memory”, says SILVANO FACIONI , professor at the University of Calabria, in presenting the theme of the 29th week of studies on the religious history of Europe due to be held at Villa Cagnola di Gazzada (Varese – Italy) from 3 to 7 September. THE “EUROPEANISM” OF PAUL VI. The summer study week promoted by the Paul VI Ambrosian Foundation in collaboration with the Catholic University of Milan, forms part of a project begun in 1979, “aimed – explains the Foundation’s secretary, LUCIANO VACCARO – at examining the religious and cultural roots of the various countries of Europe”. The “Europeanism” of Giovanni Battista Montini, particularly cultivated in the period when he was archbishop of Milan (1955-1963) and further developed when he ascended the throne of Peter (1963-1978), lies at the origin of the project. The study weeks have hitherto led to studying, in a multidisciplinary perspective, the religious history and contribution of faiths and religious communities to the development of almost all the countries of the Old Continent, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Poland and Russia. Specific attention has also been devoted to the Scandinavian, Baltic and Balkan regions. Great interest was aroused by last year’s study week on “Religious history of Islam in the Balkans”, which brought together scholars of various nationalities. The great interest aroused by the meeting – explains Vaccaro – was also “due to the actuality of the theme it proposed, its implications for present-day social and political developments and for European integration”. Apart from the late summer residential courses, the Foundation promotes other annual events and publishes the proceedings of the annual European weeks, which by now form a scholarly resource of great scientific value, though without ignoring the educational aspect of the themes tackled.FROM HISTORY TO CURRENT AFFAIRS. This year’s study week will focus on “The Jews of Europe”. “It will offer a panoramic view of a highly variegated reality – adds Pacioni – ranging from ancient Rome to our own day, and examining all the geographical areas” of the continent, in each of which Judaism “left its own stamp of originality on thought and knowledge and never yielded to too easy forms of standardization”. “The interweaving of the Jewish tradition with the other cultural and religious forms present in Europe – continues Pacioni – represents the vantage point from which the participants at the study week will observe the past and present of a process that experienced, through the centuries, both phases of fruitful exchange and of violent repression, the reasons and scale of which we are only now beginning to recognize, though not without difficulty”. AT THE HEART OF THE OLD CONTINENT. Jewish experts and Judaic scholars from Italy and from elsewhere in Europe “will be called to present the multiple and inseparable aspects of Judaism experienced and developed in Spain and in Poland, in Italy and in Eastern Europe”. The reports will concentrate on political developments, on philosophic reflections, on the contributions of science and art, and on the relations between Jewish faith and Christianity. The challenges of Judaism in contemporary Europe will also be tackled. “The resulting analysis – concludes Pacioni – will enable us to discover little-known aspects of a reality that has not only strengthened the West, but continues to be one of the vital sources of our being Europeans today”. SCHOLARS AND SPEAKERS FROM ALL OVER EUROPE. The main speakers at the study week will include well-known experts in the religious history of the continent: Maurice Ruben Hayoun (Switzerland), Catherine Horel (France), Darko Tanaskovic (Serbia), Konstanty Gebert (Poland), Sante Graciotti and Giuseppe Laras (Italy). The individual aspects of Judaism in Europe treated are also interesting: from the spread of Judaism through the centuries (Spain, Poland, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mediterranean area) to its “geographical presence” at the start of the third millennium; the study of Holy Scriptures; religion and philosophy; ritual traditions; faith, law and ethics; religious festivities and the family. The participants will also analyse such aspects as the contribution of Jews to national liberation movements; pogroms and persecutions; and the dialogue now underway between Judaism and other faiths. The Ambrosian Foundation recently opened bookings for the study week, reserving ten places for meritorious students (for further information and bookings: contact the Foundation on fapgazzada@tin.it).