The following is a translation of a press release put out by UCEI – Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane. 

The inaugural online meeting of the Mi Dor Le Dor Europe heritage educational program took place on Sunday, June 6 with 16 participants from across Italy, and an international team of coordinators and educators.

Modeled on Mi Dor Le Dor Poland, a successful initiative of the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning Foundation (2012-2016), Mi Dor Le Dor Italy serves as a platform for in-depth study and conversations with experts and practitioners about national and local Jewish heritage and how to transmit them. Innovative ways of addressing and interpreting the Italian Jewish heritage will be explored and adapted for the needs of the communities and Jewish educational institutions in particular. Best practices will be collected, documented, and shared with a range of institutions. 

The opening session was led by the two Italian coordinators, Michelle Nahum Sembira and Valeria Milano, with introductory remarks by Noemi di Segni (President of the UCEI), Annie Sacerdoti (Board Member, AEPJ and FBCEI), Sira Fatucci (Head, Memoria della Shoah, dell’Antisemitismo e della Giornata Europea della Cultura Ebraica, UCEI), Victor Sorenssen (Director, AEPJ), and Helise Lieberman (Director, Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning). Ruth Ellen Gruber, an accomplished author, journalist, and scholar, who manages the Jewish Heritage Europe website, gave introductory remarks about heritage, which was followed by a lively discussion among the participants.  The session closed with a Torah study session about the concept of kehilah, Jewish community, led by Marta Eichelberger-Jankowska (MDLD Italy Educational Director).

The program is made possible through the international and inter-institutional among the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning Foundation in Poland, the UCEI (Union of Italian Jewish Communities) in Italy, and the AEPJ  (European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage).