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No events for The Longest Journey: The Last Days of the Jews of Rhodes

About The Film

THE LONGEST JOURNEY: THE LAST DAYS OF THE JEWS OF RHODES is a powerful cinematic tribute to a “paradise lost.” The Greek island of Rhodes was an important center of Jewish life from the second century BCE until 1938, when the racial laws of Italy (in control of Rhodes since 1912) stripped the resident Jews of their civil rights. They were removed from their jobs, deprived of their assets and businesses, and expelled from schools.

Isolated, impoverished and largely ignorant of events in Europe, the Jews of Rhodes were caught unprepared when the Nazis took over and then ordered their deportation on July 23, 1944. Even with German defeat in sight, Italian authorities stood idly by as nearly the entire Jewish population of the island was rounded up and put on boats for the long and arduous journey from their sunny home to the dark hell of Auschwitz. Of the approximately 1,800 Jews forced from their homes, only 151 survived.

Today, little remains of the culture and history of this once unique and vibrant community. Italian director Ruggero Gabbai brings three survivors back to the narrow streets of Rhodes to recount stories of family and communal celebrations, interactions with the other communities on the island, and the last days of Jewish life. This film is an important contribution in preserving that lost world.

 


Guest Roundtable

Panel: “Ladino: Past, Present & Future” presented by the Sephardic Studies Program of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington.

  • Prof. David Bunis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Prof. Devin Naar, Sephardic Studies Program at University of Washington
  • Dr. Eliezer Papo, Sephardic Studies Research Institute, Ben Gurion of the Negev University
  • Karen Gerson Şarhon, Ottoman-Turkish Sephardic Culture Research Center, Istanbul

Followed by an echar lashon (Ladino: coffee klatch) in the lobby after the program ends. 

 

poster LongestJourney

Film Details:

Original Title: il viaggio più lungo, gli ebrei di Rodi
Director
: Ruggero Gabbai
Country: Italy
Language: Italian w/English subtitles
Running Time: 50
Year: 2013
Genre: Documentary

Subjects:

  • Sephardic Jews
  • Holocaust
  • Jewish Heritage and History
  • WWII
  • Academic

 Sponsors:

 Community Partners: