An event that unites, celebrating the Resistance

On July 12th, as every year on the second Sunday of the month, the Commemoration of the Fallen of the Resistance was held in Montoso di Bagnolo (Cuneo). For 81 years, this event has brought together institutions and citizens around the monument, commemorating over four hundred fallen Resistance fighters in the area.
This year, after greetings from Roberto Baldi, Mayor of Bagnolo Piemonte, and Paolo Allemano, President of the Cuneo Provincial A.N.P.I., the official speech was delivered by Alberto Cirio, President of the Piedmont Region, who emphasized the value of our republican and anti-fascist Constitution, born from the Resistance.
As every year, space was given to representatives of the religions to which the fallen commemorated at the monument belonged. Vice President Anna Segre was present for the Jewish Community of Turin. Below is the text of her speech.

Good morning everyone,

In the Jewish calendar, this is the time of year known as “between the straits,” falling between two fasts, both linked to the destruction of the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Romans, respectively: mournful events from over two millennia ago that are reinterpreted in a contemporary light, as a reminder of our responsibilities.
Specifically, it is said that the Second Temple was destroyed because of “gratuitous hatred” between people. Gratuitous hatred is not the legitimate cry of pain from a victim demanding justice; it is not the conflict, even heated, between differing opinions; it is not discussion, which instead has a positive value. Gratuitous hatred is the inability to recognize others, to accept that they may be different from us, that their ideas do not coincide entirely with our own.
The Resistance in Italy was the opposite of gratuitous hatred: it united all those who opposed Nazism and Fascism, all those who fought for freedom and democracy, people of different origins, professions, religions, political opinions, and much more. They fought together, they were killed together, and we remember them together, in an event that still unites us today, people of different religions, backgrounds, and political orientations, making the values ​​that unite us prevail and overcoming the ever-present temptation of “gratuitous hatred.” All of this is far from a given, and therefore particularly precious.
So, a sincere thank you to those who organize this wonderful moment every year. And thank you all for being here today.

Anna Segre
Vice President of the Jewish Community of Turin