Understanding Jewish indigeneity to Israel – in Rome
- Allied Voices for Israel (AVI)
- Jul 8
- 4 min read
Highlights from the second half of our Common Ground Italy trip!
Earlier this week, our Common Ground Ambassadors returned home to Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and around Ontario from an unforgettable trip to Italy, where they learned about Jewish history and indigeneity to Israel at strategic locations and historical sites throughout the country.
Days 3 and 4 brought our cohort of university students to Florence, where we visited the Great Synagogue of Florence. Designed in the midst of the “emancipation” of Italian Jews, it is one of the most important examples anywhere in Europe of the exotic Moresque style combining elements of Arab, Romanesque, and Byzantine art.
Upon visiting the Jewish Museum of Florence, our students learned about Moise Vita Cafsuto, a wealthy merchant from Florence who left behind a detailed diary of his travels, titled “Diary of a Journey to the Holy Land.” It tells the story of a year-and-a-half journey to Jerusalem between 1733 and 1735, which also took him through Alexandria, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, the Balkans, Hungria, Austria, and Northern Italy.
Moise Vita Cafsuto’s travel diary demonstrates an Italian Jew’s yearning to go home to Israel. As our tour guide explained to our students, the text was written in the 1700s and predates the era of Theodore Herzl, political Zionism, and the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It emphasizes that Israel has always been the Jewish homeland, and that Jews have wanted to go home to Israel for millennia.
To read more about our trip to Florence, please click here.
We were sure to highlight the important connection between Italy and how it ties to Jewish history and the Land of Israel throughout our trip.
During our “Understanding why Jews are Indigenous to Israel” workshop, we distributed our resources on Jewish indigeneity to our students. The resources became a useful reference point for them throughout the rest of their journey.
Day 4 of our trip was spent exploring the great city of Rome. Students learned why Jews are indigenous to Israel via historical, biblical, genetic, and archaeological evidence (including artifacts and structures in Rome).
Students were in awe after visiting the Arch of Titus, a Roman triumphal arch depicting the Roman victory in the Jewish War (66-74 CE) and the destruction of Jerusalem. It depicts scenes of the Romans conquering Jerusalem and leaving with “The Spoils of Jerusalem,” including the Second Temple menorah. It is archaeological evidence of Jewish indigeneity to Israel.
The arch has become a symbol of the Jewish diaspora and a source of both mourning and defiance for Jewish communities.
Our Common Ground Ambassadors also visited the Roman Colosseum, which was made possible by Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. As in inscription on the Colosseum read, it was built with “the spoils of war.”
Known as the largest amphitheater in the ancient world, the Colosseum was built to commemorate the sacking and destruction of Jerusalem in 63 BCE, and was funded by loot stolen from the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
To learn more about the the first instalment of our visit to Rome, please click here.
Our Israeli-Italian tour guide also led our students to Hadrian’s Temple, a structure built in honour of Roman Emperor Hadrian in 145.
Emperor Hadrian's reign is deeply intertwined with Jewish history due to his suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt and subsequent policies that impacted the Jewish population in Judea. He built a temple dedicated to Jupiter on the ruins of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and possibly banned circumcision, which fuelled the revolt.
Hadrian further solidified Roman rule by renaming the province Syria Palaestina to sever ties with Jewish history.
To learn more about the the second instalment of our visit to Rome, please click here.
During the trip, our Common Ground Ambassadors Tiauna and Gracie shared their reflections from Verona.
Tiauna was deeply impacted by connecting with so many people from different backgrounds and the meaningful conversations they shared. Gracie loved learning about the history of Jews in Italy, especially stories of allyship throughout the centuries.
These moments remind us why building understanding matters.
To watch the video, please click here.
We would like to thank our incredible benefactors The Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, Rise & Alex Glasenberg, Toddy & Irving Granovsky, The Diamond Foundation, The Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan Family Foundation, The Goodman Family Foundation, and other supporters who helped make Common Ground possible.
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