Jews in Rome

 We are now off the ship and in Rome until Tuesday when we fly home We spent today in Rome’s Jewish quarter. Our guide claims the Jewish community is the oldest continuous Roman citizens. Just to let you know, he said a lot of things about the Jewish population that I’m not 100% sure I agree with but what do I know? Wikipedia does say the history of the Jews in Italy spans more than two thousand years to the present.

We all (most) know the story of The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah which commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BC after Judah Maccabee removed all of the statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and purified it.

After the war and the miracle of Hanukkah  139 BCE, Simon Maccabeus sent people to Rome in order to strengthen his alliance with the Roman Republic against the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom. The ambassadors received a cordial welcome from their coreligionists already established in Rome. Large numbers of Jews even lived in Rome during the late Roman Republican period (from around 150 BC). They were largely Greek-speaking and poor. As Rome had increasing contact with and military/trade dealings with the Greek-speaking Levant, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, many Greeks, as well as Jews, came to Rome as merchants. 

The Romans appear to have viewed the Jews as followers of peculiar, backward religious customs, but antisemitism as it would come to be in the Christian and Islamic worlds did not exist (see Anti-Judaism in the pre-Christian Roman Empire).[6] Despite their disdain, the Romans did recognize and respect the antiquity of the Jews' religion and the fame of their Temple in Jerusalem.   Julius Caesar was known as a great friend to the Jews, and they were among the first to mourn his assassination. 

So the Jews moved to Rome right after the Maccabees fight.  Actually, they moved to the suburbs of Rome, but shortly after moved into Central Rome. They were able to live in Rome with no restrictions other than the usual pay taxes, vote etc. Then came. Emperor Constantine (boo),  (reigned 306-337 CE) who became Christian after seeing a vision while on the crusades.  He came back from the crusades and banned the persecution of Christians. But he didn’t stop there.

He also legalized a growing division between Jews and Christians that laid the foundation for nearly two millennia of anti-Semitism

Jews living in the Roman Empire were legally obliged to pay the Fiscus Judaicus tax since the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE. This tax continued during his reign. Constantine established oppressive laws for the Jews According to our guide, Jews could then only be money lenders, tailors, or find broken objects and fix them and resell them. They could not own land and could only rent. At that point many of the Jews were wealthy and had to sell their house at a great loss. The position of Jews in Italy worsened considerably under Pope Innocent III (1198–1216). The Fourth Council of the Lateran, which restricted Jewish life even more. As an aside it also restricted Muslims. In 1235 Pope Gregory IX published the first bull against the ritual murder accusation (an antisemitic trope which falsely accuses Jews of murdering Christians in order to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals. Other popes followed his example. 

Isn’t it interesting that when a group is able to stop persecution of themselves, they turn around and start to persecute other groups. 

The entire point of prosecuting Jews was to get them to convert. It became clear that the Jews were not willing to convert. Then the pope, who was really in charge of the persecution at this point, went after the young Jewish children. The Jews had been rounded up and put in the Jewish quarter. Surrounding the Jewish quarter were five churches. There was no way to leave the Jewish quarter without seeing a church where inscriptions written in Hebrew (yes Hebrew) said how wonderful it was to be Christian. The second way the Pope got Jews to convert was through the Jewish kids nannies. Because Jews were so poor both the mother and father had to work and they hired Nanny’s. The nannies would take the kids to a church and have them baptized without the parents not knowing. Shortly thereafter, the police would come to the Jewish house and take the child away from the parents and bring them up Christian. This is something our guy told us, but to be honest I haven’t found anything on the web that says that’s true. I’m not saying he made it up. I clearly didn’t research this a great deal. Anyway 75% of the Jews still refused to convert. By the way, the Jews were only allowed one synagogue under the when they were being oppressed. So the Jews build a built a big building and within the building were five synagogues. Then there could be a Roman synagogue and Sephardic synagogue and Ashkenazi synagogue and orthodox synagogue, etc.. 

This went on for hundreds of years. At this point during this time, Italy was city states and not united.  Then came Victor Emmanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele II), who was already King of Sardinia and united Italy in 1861 with the help of Giuseppe Garibaldi. Who else helped the king? The Jews, of course. Aren’t you following along this blog? Italian Jews were active participants, disproportionately represented in military, journalism, and secret societies, advocating for unity and emancipation. Jewish soldiers served in the army, with many rising to high ranks, demonstrating commitment to the new nation. They strongly supported unification and Jewish emancipation. Jewish communities saw unification as a path to citizenship, equality, and an end to discrimination, aligning with the liberal goals of the king.

Below is an explanation and also a video of the active Orthodox synagogue within this building. This building is now a museum except for the Orthodox and Roman synagogues. By the way, our guide who is a Roman Jew is very clear that way before there were Ashkenazi or Sephardic there were Roman Jews. He can trace his family back to one AD in Rome. 

Then see a panoramic video of the Roman synagogue

Here are pictures of the Roman synagogue. Quite spectacular and ornate in a church like way 

We had an incredible lunch at a Kosher Italian restaurant. I had homemade pasta with tomatoes and anchovies. Elliot, missed you and wished I could share the anchovy sauce with you.

And finally, Happy Birthday David 

I think I’m done with posting. All we have left is the Colosseum today and let’s hope David posts about it or you’ll have to look it up yourself.

Shabbat and off to Naples

After 13,000 steps in Syracuse we limped back to the ship for Shabbat. 

They lay out a nice setting and a nice group of people gathered with a few new faces. Some had become familiar as we kept running into them at places of Jewish interest. And the ship bakes the challah for us each week  This evening we met a couple from Uzbekistan who moved to NYC with their 2 girls 1999. Interesting people. Interesting stories. 

Speaking of girls, I had a nice conversation with a woman working on the ship from Zimbabwe who informed me that in Zimbabwe I’d be loaded . I’d have three cows and a decent amount of cash as the husbands still all have to pay a bride price.Traditionally it was livestock. Now it is more common for it to be a combination of animals and cash.  While many people now live in the city the community where they come from still has the  family plot with some family still on it. Also learned about the chickens they keep.  They call them roadrunners because they’re so damn fast and it’s such a pain to catch them.  But they survive scratching for themselves  while the grain fed  pullets die more often than not.  

Day after Thanksgiving the Xmas decoration went up. I was impressed with this tree from recycled lumber 

Of course there is the more traditional stuff around along with a Chanukia.  

This brings me to the thought that only Americans seem to be so afraid of offending and we tip toe around words. One of the guides was from Odessa, Russia. I (Melanie) told her my family was from Odessa and she matter of fact said “they must be Jewish”. She wasn’t. That’s the kind of comment you’d never hear in the US 

Also, when waiting for a light to change, I met this nice young man who asked where I was from. I said Ithaca, New York, and he said Mandami, yes! We had a moment together cheering. I’m not sure why I cheered. 

  

Living in another world

Melanie was not impressed with the driving and parking  

This is how they Park in Sorento. Even walking around you take your life in your hands. 

We were walking around the old city of Syracusea. The streets were all narrow and wind-y.

There was no room for cars, which of course didn’t stop the cars from driving on the narrow roads. I’ve flattened myself against the wall and did Hail Marys as they passed. Anyway, we managed to get lost. Our guide said if you get lost just find the port and you’ll see the ship but we couldn’t find the port. We have AirTags we put in our luggage. David had the brilliant idea of going on his phone and saying find my luggage. We followed that back to the ship. Hooray for David.

What were the best shore excursions you ask? Without a doubt, the Acropolis in Athens and Pompeii. A special shout out to Caroline & Bill who told us we should make sure we go to Pompei. Thanks it was amazing. It was really affected me to see how devastating this was. I remember doing a third grade report on Pompeii but didn’t realize the devastation until I saw the plaster casts of how the people died, covering their eyes, trying not to breathe in the gases. 

There was no warning that Vesuvius was about to blow.  More on that later. 

By the way, both the Acropolis and Pompeii were the most difficult tours and at times I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it back to the bus. But who’s complaining? The issue is the uneven cobblestones in all of these places.

Another issue I had with mobility was walking in and out of the churches on the stairs with no railings. 

Anyway, I made it. Below is how far I had a walk in Pompeii. I expect a few of you to write back to me poor baby.

So those in Pompeii had running water although they used to lead pipes. Kate, do you have anything to say about that? 

Two ways you know you’re not in the US.

   The amount of smoking all over. 

   The number of dogs in places where you never see dogs in the US. We saw them in restaurants and even  in the synagogue. 

Siracusa

12/5/25. Awoke to the last “Supermoon” of 2025 over Syracuse Sicily this morning 

And looking to the north through the mist you can make out (what I think is) Mt Etnna. 

And at 8:30 off we go to the 11th century BCE Greek settlement of the small island of Syracuse called Ortigia .  
 Apparently when they showed up they saw quail here this the name. There is also a bunch of mythological stuff tied in which you can look up if you like as at this point my mind is fried.  

 

And of course much was made of the name Siracusa which 

Is commonly thought to refer to the fact that this is a place of abundant fresh water. Water comes from the mountains, filtered through the rock and then appears in spring throughout the area. 

We stoped first at the Temple of Athena which over the years became Roman, Catholic, Muslim …..  Like many of these archeological finds this area was covered with apartment house before someone recognized a column in a wall and started to dig  

While there is water, there is no soil so if you want plants you have to grow them in pots which line the streets. Cars mostly miss them.  

And of course we visited a number of Churches 

 

And fountains (this one is not ancient) 

Oh, and then another Church. 

This one is the Dome of Syracuse. Originally identified as another temple To Athena  from 5th century bce because of the Doric columns.  Then the Roman’s dedicated to Minerva then Constantine made it a church for Christians. This was the capital of Sicily until the 9th century. Then this building became a mosque. Apparently it’s only the columns that survived the 17th century earthquake. 

Check out the various columns

The tile floors were varied and quite splendid

 

Check out the light reflection from the stained glass. 

This was the home of Archemedies but that would require another book. 

Remember I mentioned the abundance of fresh water? 

The first picture is of a spring in the foreground  (famous as the meeting place of two love struck gods) In the background is the salt water of the Ionian Sea. 

Now  back to the Jewish street. 

It’s estimated there may have been up to 3500 Jews 1/5 of the population at its height. There was an active congregation here until 1492. Sicily was part of Spain, and subject to the inquisition. .

. Interesting story about how in 1989 a woman who bought a hotel wanted to do some extension and discovered Europe’s oldest Mikvah some 38 feet below the hotel.  58 steps hewn through rock. At the time of the inquisition the community filled it in and buried the entrance to prevent it being found. It stayed hidden for centuries. 

https://www.visitjewishitaly.it/en/listing/syracuse-ritual-bath-at-casa-bianca/

And, if you bring your own chaperone you can still make arrangements to use the mikvah. 

And some other random shots:

I think the HickeysMusic building would look great with a few arms sticking out to support plants 

 

Zadar and the Sea Organ

 No, not that type of organ- a pipe organ played by the sea.

But we’ll get to that. 

Zadar, another city which we never heard of, is known in Croatia as the place having the best work life balance.  Of course this tour guide was from Zadar.

He also mentioned that it’s the only place on the East Coast of the Adriatic where a city is flat. There’s about 30 to 40 miles of flatland to the north south and east and at the far end of the east side, there is a range of high mountains. This keeps the cold winter winds and the accompanying snow from coming to the coast. Now there’s a tunnel that goes through the mountain so if you want to ski you drive 40 miles go through the tunnel and you’re in winter.

The beach was considered the soul of the city. Having been called the Montecarlo of the Adriatic the city was very popular but repeatedly destroyed. The last time 16 of the 18 building in the area were destroyed.  The community decided to take advantage of the natural beauty of the place and rebuild it as a park: after all, Alfred Hitchcock claim this spot had the most beautiful sunset in the world, better than those of Key West. 

Of course this shot is of Sunrise as we missed sunset.  

Now these are not just steps going into the sea. The genius of this idea was to bury organ pipes up to 16 feet long under the steps and as the waves played upon the steps these various pipes would be triggered.  Thus the “Sea Organ”. 

Take a listen: 

And next to these steps are  9 solar panels built into the plaza: replicating the 9 planets. These each  absorb sunlight all day and at night become a colorful display. And this display is controlled by the music generated by the Sea Organ.  Unfortunately we were too high up on the ship for you to be able to hear it  with the display. (And the sea was pretty calm so no huge color spikes. 

When the Roman were here it was a city of  100000. Now there are 1000 in the old city and 74000 in the new town. 

The guide described his people as stubborn. Their mascot being the donkey. Every generation since the 7th century has had a war until the 2000.  

The guide like to joke about the contrast between the styles - including the “social realist concrete style” 

If you are thinking of coming to Zadar I can recommend this guy. 

And here is the column of shame. If you we been found guilty of a civil crime you’d be chained face out to the public to feel your shame  

Where these folks are standing shows the original base of the city. 

You can see below how they recycled building material on the old foundations. 

They’ve avoided turning the waterfront into a hotel zone. The guide attributes it to a natural resistance to capitalism and to a love of nature. 

Upon return to the ship I took a tour of the bridge. 

Me thinks the ships wheel is a bit  small for a 48 ton vessel.