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Tobia Zevi is a rising star in Rome’s Jewish community. Can he become the city’s next mayor?

Tobia Zevi is a rising star in Rome’s Jewish community. Can he become the city’s next mayor?

(JTA) — Tobia Zevi is candid: He wants to become the next mayor of Rome. “I’ve dreamed of becoming mayor of my city my entire life,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview. “For years, I’ve been thinking about how to transform it and make it more liveable for its residents and more attractive for its tourists.”

If he succeeds, he is set to make history, becoming the second-ever Jewish mayor of the Italian capital, the first in over a century.

The 36-year-old, who has been involved in both local and national politics for 15 years, announced this summer his run for the capital’s mayoral primary in 2021. Since the announcement, he has gained momentum in the crowded field thanks to a series of high-profile newspaper interviews and social media posts. Over the summer, Zevi took advantage of the city’s relatively low infection rate to start campaigning, after the country was severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic in the spring. Continue reading…

What American Jews can learn from my Italian Jewish community’s response to the coronavirus

What American Jews can learn from my Italian Jewish community’s response to the coronavirus

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Italian people’s first reaction to the coronavirus was to have a good laugh. Not because they didn’t believe the virus was a real issue, but because that’s just how we like to process big changes in my home country.

By Feb. 23, there were 152 confirmed cases in Italy. Yet many people were still skeptical, assuming the virus was probably no different than the regular flu.