Italy -- Medieval Jewish Cemetery in Terni Remembered

An Italian news source reports that a plaque is going to be unveiled this week marking the site of the medieval Jewish cemetery in Terni, a city in central Italy's Umbria region. Not only that, there will be a little seminar about medieval Jewish history in Umbria. (Typically, the web site running the story illustrates it with a picture of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague!)

Una lapide in ricordo del cimitero ebraico medievale di Terni sarà scoperta giovedì 26 marzo nel parco Ciaurro, sotto le mura della Passeggiata. Alla cerimonia, che avrà inizio alle ore 16, prenderanno parte il sindaco Paolo Raffaelli, il rabbino capo della comunità ebraica di Roma Riccardo Di Segni, il vescovo di Terni Vincenzo Paglia.

La lapide sarà apposta sulle mura, all'interno del parco nei pressi dell'ingresso dal largo Atleti Azzurri d'Italia ed è stata fatta realizzare a cura dell'ufficio toponomastica del Comune di Terni con la forma delle lapidi dei cimiteri ebraici. Riporterà la scritta: "Qui si trovava il cimitero ebraico che questa terra accolse nel tardo medioevo" in italiano e in caratteri ebraici.

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Umbria -- Terni province in particular -- is where I have a house and spend a good chunk of my time. There may be a few dozen Jews in Terni province today... when my extended family is there, we probably make up the largest "Jewish community." Passover is coming soon, and I'm already thinking of where to scrape up people to come to the seder....

There was never a huge Jewish population in Umbria, which was part of the Papal States -- maybe 500 people at its peak in the 14th to 16th centuries. But in the middle ages, there were a number of active communities, most of which have left no trace -- in Orvieto, Assisi, Todi... Today, there is a tiny Jewish community in Perugia and a few scattered families, but that's about it. (In Perugia, you can see a trace of the old synagogue and Jewish cemetery.)

A wonderful book describes medieval Jewish life in Umbria -- Love, Work and Death: Jewish Life in Medieval Umbria, by Ariel Toaff, translated by Judith Landry (Littman Library, 1996). It reads like a novel.

Hmm... "Ebraismo Virtuale" - virtually "Virtually Jewish?"

I've just discovered that the Israeli scholar Ariel Toaff has published a book called "Ebraismo Virtuale" -- or "Virtual Judaism."

I haven't seen the book yet, but there have been comments in the Italian media noting that he drew the title from my own "Virtually Jewish."

In "Il Sole 24 Ore," Giulio Busi wrote Sept. 14, "Unfortunately, the title of the book is copied from 'Virtually Jewish' by Ruth Ellen Gruber, and as for new ideas, there are not many."

Well, at least someone has read my book!

Toaff's book seems to be about how the memory of the Shoah holds Judaism "hostage." Toaff (accoring to Busi) apparently stigmatizes "the current state of Judaism and its image in the media on a global level."

Toaff, the son of Rome's emeritus chief rabbi, is the author of some wonderful books, including a terrific history of Jewish life in medieval Umbria. But last year he caused a huge scandal with his "Pasque di Sangue," in which he said there was evidence to back up blood libel allegations that Jews in medieval times murdered Christians.