NAZIONE IN PATRIA. GLI EBREI ITALIANI E LA SFIDA DELL'IDENTITÀ (1918-1938)

The dissertation deals with the confrontation of Italian Zionism with the question of identity between 1918 and 1938. During that period the semantics of the Italian nation narrowed for Italian Jews as consequence of the raise and the consolidation of the fascist regime, while, on the other hand, the semantics of the Jewish nation enlarged, mainly as a result of the growth and the internal differentiation of the Zionist movement. In the dissertation light is shed on the effort made by Zionism to redefine and to rejuvinate the Jewish identity through a form of nationalism which acted in two complementary directions: reinforcing the Jewish belonging and confirming the patriotism of Italian Jews. The work couples two methodological approaches: a general one, with an overview on the Zionist debate on the meaning of Jewish identity, and a particular one, focusing on thepolitical reflection and the historical experience of two prominent Zionist thinkers, Enzo Sereni and Alfonso Pacifici, who resolved their anxieties by emigration in the Land of Israel.