16 February 2026

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The Council of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities has elected the new President of the UCEI.

The Council of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities has elected the new President of the UCEI. The appointment comes at the end of Noemi Di Segni’s nine-and-a-half-year presidency, which led the Union through a particularly complex and transformative period for Italian Judaism. The elected President is Livia Ottolenghi, 63, a Roman, married mother of three. She is a professor of Dentistry at Sapienza University of Rome and has always been active in Jewish institutions: kindergartens, schools, CER (Research Center for Education), and UCEI. Over the years, as Councilor for Schools and Education, she has worked with pedagogy and training experts, both internal and external to the UCEI, as well as with the relevant leadership and institutions, also coordinating youth empowerment initiatives. Livia Ottolenghi, elected to the Council on the Habait list, was voted in by an absolute majority and with a broad governance plan that is representative of all the members of the Council.
The new Board of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, approved today by the Council, is composed of the newly elected President Livia Ottolenghi; Vice Presidents Milo Hasbani (Milan), responsible for the promotion of Jewish Italy, relations with Israel, and fundraising, and Monique Sasson (Rome), responsible for policies to combat anti-Semitism, international relations, and fundraising; Alessandro Benedetto Sermoneta (Rome), appointed Councilor for Welfare; Rabbi Ariel Di Porto, responsible for Education and Schools; Paolo Gnignati (Venice), Councilor for Legal Affairs; David Menasci (Bologna), Councilor for Community Relations; Davide Romanin Jacur (Padua), Councilor for the Budget; and Alex Zarfati (Rome), Councilor for Youth.

The new President of the UCEI, Livia Ottolenghi

The new President of the UCEI, Livia Ottolenghi

From right to left, the members of the Council, Rabbi Ariel Di Porto, David Menasci, Alex Zarfati, Paolo Gnignati, the president Livia Ottolenghi, Davide Romanin Jacur, Milo Hasbani, Monique Sasson, Benedetto Alessandro Sermoneta, and the councilors outside the Council Riccardo Joshua Moretti and Davide Jona Falco

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