KKL Italy hosted a special event on January 20th at the Julius Caesar School in Rome, where an olive tree was planted to honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which takes place in Europe on January 27th.
The event was attended by HE Stefania Giannini, the Education Minister of Italy, who had returned the day before from a visit to Auschwitz; the Israeli Ambassador to Italy, HE Naor Gilon; the Italian Ambassador to Israel, HE Francesco Maria Talò; the President of KKL Italy, Raffaele Sassun; the President of the Jewish Community in Rome, Ruth Dureghello; the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni; and the Headmaster of the Liceo Classico Statale Giulio Cesare, Prof. Micaela Ricciardi.
The event was also attended by executive board members of the United Jewish Communities (UJC); executive board members of KKL Rome; family members of Jews in Italy who had been expelled and then killed in Auschwitz; and approximately 150 high school and middle school students from the Giulio Cesare School.
The event was initiated by Italian Ambassador to Israel Francesco Maria Talò, who is a graduate of the Julius Caesar School. The ambassador suggested holding an event there for International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Europe, to commemorate two students from the Finzi family who had studied in that school and had perished in Auschwitz.
At the ceremony, Education Minister Stefania Giannini said she had returned only yesterday from a visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp with a group of teenagers. More than 70,000 Italians have visited Auschwitz this year, 80% of them teenagers who went under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Education.
The Education Minister also spoke about the importance of planting trees, which symbolize peace and connection to the earth, and said she is planning to personally promote the project for planting trees in Israel initiated by KKL Italy. All schoolchildren in Italy, especially those that visit Auschwitz for Holocaust Remembrance Day, are expected to take part in the tree planting project for Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In his greetings, Raffaele Sassun spoke about the importance of the day for the sake of Holocaust remembrance, especially for young people, because as the years pass, more resources need to be invested in preserving the memories of that time. He also said that the olive tree and the corresponding sign contributed by KKL Italy were meant to preserve the memory of the Jewish students expelled from this school many years ago. “In the Jewish tradition, planting a tree is a symbol of peace, love and brotherhood. Tree planting signifies the important connection to the earth and the continuity of life. The tree commemorates the dead, but practically, it also symbolizes life. With the passing of the years, a tree, unlike man, becomes more beautiful and more powerful.”
In his greetings, Israeli Ambassador to Italy Naor Gilon said that trees represent the values of the Jewish nation, and as the Pope said last week when he visited the Jewish synagogue in Rome (17/1/16), “The past must serve as an important lesson for us, for the present and for the future.”
Italian Ambassador to Israel Francesco Maria Talò said that as an alumnus of the school, he had initiated the event in memory of Enrico and Luciana Finzi, the brother and sister who had been expelled from the school and had then been killed in Auschwitz. “From my many years of familiarity with the work of KKL-JNF and with the significance of planting trees in the Jewish tradition, I thought this would be the right place to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, at this event. Many thanks to KKL-JNF and to all who took part for their cooperation, which made this event a success.”
During the ceremony, the testimonies of relatives of the two students from the school who had perished at Auschwitz were heard, as well as testimonies of relatives of students expelled from other schools in Rome during the Holocaust. A student representative spoke about the importance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and when all the addresses and testimonies were spoken, the olive tree was planted in the schoolyard.