Cowardly gesture against Ferrara's Museum of Judaism: letter delivered with anti-Semitic slurs

There is no limit to ignorance: the Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara found a letter with anti-Semitic slurs and a picture of a death camp in its box upon returning from the vacations. The letter is stamped but unstamped, so it was hand-carried to the museum between Dec. 22 and Jan. 6, a period when the museum was completely closed, including for staff. Digos is investigating the matter: surveillance cameras will be examined to trace the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

“We immediately filed a complaint with the relevant authorities and have the utmost confidence in the investigative activity that is still ongoing,” reads a note from the MEIS. “We will continue to pursue the cultural and educational mission of the museum without being impressed or intimidated by such acts.” Firm condemnation also from the mayor of Ferrara, Alan Fabbri (Lega): “Full solidarity with the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara, the target of insults and threats. Violence will not prevail, but the perseverance and commitment of those who work every day to preserve and pass on the memory of what has been. So thank you to the director Amedeo Spagnoletto and all the Meis staff for the valuable mission they carry out, thank you to the Digos for the investigative work on the trail of the perpetrators and to all the law enforcement agencies engaged in the protection and security services. We stand by their side. Meis is a national heritage that is not coincidentally based in Ferrara. Indeed, the history of our city is strongly intertwined with and enriched by Jewish culture. And it is the commitment of our Administration to protect, promote and enhance this heritage. The anti-Semitic ravings contained in the letter, whatever their origin, can neither be tolerated nor underestimated and must have heavy consequences for those responsible. It is time to put a definitive end to episodes of this kind.”

Words of contempt towards the gesture also came from the region’s president, Stefano Bonaccini (Pd), and the councillor for culture, Mauro Felicori. “Disdain. This is what we feel, first of all as people. And then as representatives of the institutions. In the face of gestures such as these, it is important to cling to those who, in this case the Museum of Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara, are made targets of unspeakable rantings. Anti-Semitism was a huge drama, a wound for all humanity, and we must be firm in not underestimating and condemning gestures that harken back to one of the darkest pages of history. We must say enough to hatred and to those who fuel a climate of anger, of closure, of confrontation. The Museum of Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara enriches, with its testimonies and the memory of the Shoah, the historical heritage of our region, constituting also an important part of its identity. Culture is also a powerful antidote to dispose of the dross of the last century. We believe in it, the institutions are committed to this common goal. And there will be no room for hatred and intolerance.”

Then also came the harsh condemnation of Cultural Heritage Minister Dario Franceschini: “Firm and resolute condemnation of the anti-Semitic gesture addressed to the Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara. A cowardly and despicable act, which strikes a cultural institution intended to remember the suffering, persecution and atrocities suffered by the Italian Jewish community because of the infamous racial laws.”

Pictured: the MEIS headquarters in Ferrara.

Cowardly gesture against Ferrara's Museum of Judaism: letter delivered with anti-Semitic slurs

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