Barbara Aiello, at The Blogs

Barbara Aiello

Oct 7, 2024, 12:16 AM

Several years ago I wrote an article, “Hijacking the Holocaust,” where I outlined how many worldwide Holocaust commemorations had diluted the memory of six million murdered Jews and instead had turned these memorial events into a forum on genocide. ...

Jan 7, 2024, 3:02 PM

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What happens when the kippah comes off?

Following an attack on a fellow rabbi, going bareheaded in public may make me safer, but it also diminishes me

Nov 20, 2023, 6:39 PM

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Buffy Sainte-Marie may not be native but she could be Jewish

Buffy St. Marie at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Concert, Ottawa, Canada, June 3, 2015 (Drpeterstockdale via Wikimedia / CC)

Santamaria, her real, very Christian name, actually points to the strong possibility of Sephardic heritage

Sep 4, 2023, 6:22 PM

Oliver Anthony’s Working Class Anthem – A Labor Day Lament

In the early 1900’s my grandfather died. I never met him but his untimely death was the talk of the neighborhood for years – so much so that I felt I knew him. Zayde (as I probably would have called...

May 19, 2023, 6:34 PM

What Brushed Up Hair Says about Toxic Masculinity and Fear

Not long ago a stray cat pranced into my garden, something my own cat, Tomasino was not too happy about. As the interloper approached, I watched as Tomasino reacted. He was terrified and like many animals faced with a...

Jan 24, 2023, 9:13 PM

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Imposter syndrome and b’nei anusim

Used for centuries as a church, the former synagogue in Trani, Italy, has returned to its original role as a Jewish house of worship. (Ruth Ellen Gruber/JTA, via The Times of Israel)

That time the rabbi told the young woman with Jewish roots going back to the Spanish Inquisition that she feels like an imposter because she is one

Aug 26, 2022, 1:46 AM

Trucks, Tanks and Gelato – Ukrainian Refugees in Bella Italia

As the Ukrainians who remained in Kyiv commemorated both Ukrainian Flag Day and Independence Day this week, the celebrations were somber. The usual military parades were scrapped and instead residents viewed and children climbed on the scrap metal monuments...

May 6, 2022, 8:29 PM

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5 Ukrainian refugee mothers help Italians redefine Mother’s Day

Illustrative: Children from Ukraine sleep on luggage at a railway station in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

Ahead of Mothers Day in Italy, these 5 courageous women are a shining light of optimism in the face of difficulty, and hope in the face of uncertainty

Apr 22, 2022, 5:25 PM

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Cuzzupa: Jewish traditions hide in South Italy’s easter bread

Cuzzupa, traditional Easter cake from Calabria (iStock)

The post-Passover Mimouna was celebrated throughout the Mediterranean, while non-Jewish neighbors looked on and adopted the art of braiding dough

Mar 19, 2022, 12:01 AM

Europe’s Second Chance

In an iconic scene in Steven Spielberg’s classic film, “Schindler’s List”, cattle cars filled to capacity with Jewish men, women and children, rumbled through the outskirts of German towns and villages, often with local residents gawking at the sight....

About Me

Rabbi Barbara Aiello is the first woman and first non-orthodox rabbi in Italy. She opened the first active synagogue in Calabria since Inquisition times and is the founder of the B'nei Anousim movement in Calabria and Sicily that helps Italians discover and embrace their Jewish roots