This two-part series will focus on a history of the Italian Jews. There have been Jews living in that region continuously since at least the time of the Maccabbean revolt in the Holy Land, and probably earlier. Their history is quite different and generally more benign that that of the Jews from central and eastern Europe.

Part 2 dives into the dramatic transformations of Jewish life in Italy from the mid-1600s to World War II. We’ll explore the realities of the ghetto period, the liberation that followed, and the astonishing rise of Jews to positions of influence as Italy evolved from scattered principalities into a unified nation.

We’ll end with a powerful look at one of history’s most surprising chapters—how the vast majority of Italian Jews managed to survive the Holocaust.

Tickets for Part 1 are available here.

George Sacerdote is a first generation American of Italian Jewish descent., Branches of his family have lived in Italy since Roman times, while others arrived in the 1400s, mostly from Spain. After careers in academia and management consulting, George has set about documenting his family’s history and the broader history of the Italian Jews. It is a history that differs markedly from that of the majority of American Jews, most of whom trace the ancestry back to Eastern Europe. He has written three books on the subject and given lectures at synagogues and other Jewish Institutions.