The annual European Day of Jewish Culture takes place next Sunday, Sept. 6 — and events are scheduled in more than 30 countries: in some countries the “day” has become “days” or even a full week of events; in some countries, however, there are only one or two events.
The chosen theme of this year’s Day is “Bridges” — and many events stress aspects of dialogue and inter-religious cooperation:
It’s a very general concept, adaptable to anything that joins or connects.
The two shores joined by a bridge fully retain their identity, yet they are enriched and subtly changed by their communication.
Thanks to social media, word seems to have spread more widely than in the past. There are hundreds of individual events to choose from — lectures, concerts, food-tastings, book fairs, and more — plus many guided tours and informal visits to Jewish heritage sites that are generally closed to the public or limited in access.
Events are geared primarily for local people — Jews, but also, in some cases overwhelmingly, non-Jews: the Day is aimed at education as well as tourism.
You can access some programs in participating countries at the web site of the European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ). (Unfortunately the program search does not always function correctly.)
Italy, whose Jewish history goes back more than 2000 years, is one of the main countries taking part in the EDJC — this year events are scheduled in some 72 locales up and down the peninsula, with Florence the focus of central events. (It is important to remember that there are Jewish communities in only about 20 towns and cities in Italy, with total membership in Jewish communities under 25,000 people.)
Highlights include everything from the opening of a Jewish bookstore in Rome, to conferences, to book launches, to concerts, to round-table discussions, to guided tours of historic Jewish quarters; the ancient synagogue in Ostia Antica; Jewish catacombs; the medieval mikvah in Siracusa, Sicily; synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.
See full Italian program here (in Italian)
Spain also has a very rich program, coordinated by the 24-member Network of Jewish Quarters.
The UK also has a very extensive schedule of events, over several days.