UCEI Council: second meeting

The emotion of arriving at the UCEI plenary session for the second time is intense. Seeing the representatives of Italian Jewish life gathered in the same room to decide the policies that will guide us in the coming years is a responsibility I feel deeply, fundamentally.
We arrived somewhat helter-skelter—some with significant delays due to sabotage of the high-speed train—but on January 15th at 11:00 a.m., almost everyone was present.
The initial excitement began to dissipate, slowly turning into tension. The diplomatic work carried out by the three presidential candidates and their trusted associates should have produced the desired result, at least for the Habait list, to which Livia Ottolenghi belongs and supported by, among others, the medium-sized and small communities.
And indeed, after the declarations of vote, upon reaching the absolute majority, the new President burst into tears of relief, embracing her father Enzo, who was present in the room, while the Councilors applauded thunderously, as if they had reached the summit.
Subsequently, the members of the Council and the Arbitration Committee were voted on, including—among others—two expert Turin jurists: Bianca Gardella Tedeschi and Gaia Bertolin. This is definitely a good result for Turin.
It won’t be an easy path. We are faced with a government composed of four different positions, after a very heated election campaign.
Therefore, a sort of grand coalition has been reached, similar to that in Germany, with carefully balanced positions among large, small, and medium-sized communities, but also among issues essential to Italian Judaism viewed from different perspectives in a four-year period that certainly doesn’t look like the easiest.
As for me, I would like to contribute to the commissions or roundtables regarding the fight against anti-Semitism, the relationship between memory and the future, and the involvement of young people.
Regarding the newly elected President, Livia Ottolenghi, my impression is of a person of great value, determined, and gifted with a calm yet incisive approach. She managed to maintain her candidacy in a highly competitive environment, demonstrating poise and determination, thus successfully bringing Habait the presidency of the Union.