Tra due diaspore: ebrei levantini ed egiziani in Italia (1948-1957) [Between two different diasporas: Levantine and Egyptian Jews in Italy (1948-1957)]

The contacts between the Italian Jewish communities and the Eastern and Southern coasts of Mediterranean consolidated since the Early Modern Period. After the collapse and fall of the Ottoman Empire, due to these old links, Italy became one of the host countries for the Oriental Jews from the former Ottoman territories and cities, escaping from increasing nationalism. This migration began in the interwar period when some Turkish Jews arrived in Italy. After WWII, such a movement restarted stronger, despite Italy remained always a second choice compared to Israel, France, the US or the Latin American countries. However, between the 1940s and the 1980s, some different waves of Middle-Eastern Jews arrived in Italy. Against this complex picture, the essay wants to highlight the first two main arrivals of Levantine and Egyptian Jews. The first in 1948-1949, in coincidence with the first Arab-Israeli war, and the second, bigger, in 1956-1957, during the Suez Crisis.