JFest: ‘Italian Jews Through The Generations’ Sweet, Intimate Event

Story and photos by Sandi Masori

LA JOLLA, California — Did you know that the history of the Italian Jews goes all the way back to the Maccabees? It is, in fact, one of the very oldest diaspora Jewish communities, and while there may only be 27,000 Jews left there, their history and culture is interwoven with the fabric of the country itself.

Like Jewish history in other countries, the Italian Jews were at times enslaved, persecuted, tolerated, celebrated, ghettoized, and massacred. These Jews didn’t speak Yiddish, in fact they spoke the various Italian dialects of the communities in which they lived- Venetian, Roman, etc. While some of the Jews came over as free people in the Maccabean period, 97,000 of them were brought over as slaves after the Roman general Titus besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 CE.

Among other things, these slaves built the colosseum. They later were purchased and freed by the free Jews that had come during Maccabean times.

This is some of what we learned during the JFest2024 presentation of “Italian Jews Through the Generations” on Thursday, June 20.  Ali Viterbi, whose grandfather Andrew Viterbi (of Qualcomm fame) came to America from Italy as a young boy, told fascinating stories of the rich history of the Italian Jews from 70 CE through the Holocaust.

Did you know, for example, that medieval Italy was the center of Hebrew book production, and that so many records of the Italian Jewish community survived because the only Jewish printing press in the world was there?

The program was an entire multi-sensory experience. Something I’ve learned about JFest is that the printed program’s descriptions do not do justice to the actual programs themselves. This was an evening of food, culture, art, poetry and theater. It sounds like a lot, but it really was a cozy intimate event.

As guests entered the UCSD Hillel, they had a chance to get a Jewish Italian food cookbook signed by the author Chef Benedetta Jasmine Guetta who was also the evening’s chef.

Walking into the room, the salad course was already on the table, and beautiful blue and white floral arrangements and tablescapes designed by Julia Ramirez Stone greeted everyone.

 

JFest artistic director Todd Salovey opened the evening and then turned the floor over to Viterbi, who took us through a captivating and informative presentation about the long history of the Italian Jews.

There was a short break in the presentation while the main course of Apollo ai peperoni (chicken thighs with bell peppers) was served. Usually, I take a picture of the food, but I have to admit I was so engrossed in discussing what we had just learned with my tablemates that I completely forgot to feed the camera before my face.

And then we were treated to a reading of an excerpt of Viterbi’s play In Every Generation by actors Marco Barricelli and Beatrice Basso. The excerpt was both funny and heart wrenching, and the real-life husband-wife actors were compelling in their roles. The play has been shown in its entirety in other places, but sadly has not yet premiered in full in San Diego.  I really hope that we get the chance to see the full thing. The excerpt was enjoyable and well-done and whet my appetite to see the rest of the performance. It’s opening last year was sadly delayed by the closing of the theater in which it was to debut.

After the performance there were some readings of poems by Italian Jewish writer Primo Levy, which were read by Barricelli, Basso and Viterbi.

And then it was time for dessert of Torta Tenerina (parve chocolate cake) and a few more stories from Viterbi that brought us from World War II into modern times.

While we were eating there were projections of famous Italian Jewish paintings and architecture to feast our eyes on.

JFest is coming to a close June 30, with only a handful of events left for this iteration. The artistic team does a great job putting together interesting, fun and informative events and I highly recommend checking out the remaining events this year and getting on their mailing list to be in the know for next year. I also recommend just picking some events to try out even if the descriptions don’t really tell you what’s in store. In my experience, you’ll be pleasantly surprised once you get there.

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Sandi Masori is a theater and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.