November 8, online event

The Congregation Schara Tzedeck of Vancouver, in partnership with the MEIS, presents the online lecture “The Jewish Brigade. Courage, Memory and Liberation.”

The event will take place online via Zoom on November 8 at 7:00 PM CEST/10 am Pacific Time/1 pm Eastern Time.

In this lecture, Samuele Rocca will explore the origins and development of the Jewish Brigade.
During the Second World War, some 30,000 Jews from Mandatory Palestine volunteered for the British armed forces. Initially employed mainly in support units, including the Royal Army Pioneer Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, and Royal Engineers, they subsequently served in the Royal Artillery, infantry, the Palestine Regiment, as well as in the Commandos, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and Royal Army Medical Corps. Thousands of women also volunteered, particularly for the Auxiliary Territorial Service and Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. A further 15,000 served in the Jewish Settlement Police. This growing military involvement culminated in September 1944 with the establishment of the Jewish Brigade Group, a Jewish combat formation that fought on the Italian front, facing and defeating possibly the best crack unit of the German army, and playing a successful and often underestimated role in the breakthrough of the Gothic Line, during the final Allied offensive against Nazi Germany. The contribution of these volunteers was threefold: as Allied soldiers, they participated directly in the war against Germany; during and after the conflict, they assisted Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors; and they contributed to the reconstruction of Jewish life in Italy and, through the military training, operational experience, and professional expertise they acquired in British service, they played a significant role in laying the foundations for the establishment and professionalization of the Israel Defense Forces.

Samuele Rocca, born in Milan in 1968, earned his PhD from Bar-Ilan University in the history of the Jewish people in Classical Antiquity, under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Albert Baumgarten.
In 2008, he undertook postdoctoral studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, under the supervision of Professor Joseph Sievers.
Since 2017, he has been an adjunct professor of architectural history at Ariel University, in the Faculty of Architecture, and teaches at the University of Haifa, at the Neri Bloomfield School of Design.

If you want to attend the event, click here and fill out the form. The Zoom link will be sent to the subscribers on the same day of the live event. If you don’t receive it, please also check your spam folder. If you still don’t receive it, please contact ufficio.stampa@meisweb.it.