{"id":1235,"date":"2024-11-18T10:22:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T09:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trame.cdec.it\/?post_type=storie&p=1235"},"modified":"2025-08-12T13:17:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T11:17:14","slug":"alfonso-arbib","status":"publish","type":"storie","link":"https:\/\/trame.cdec.it\/en\/stories\/alfonso-arbib\/","title":{"rendered":"Alfonso Arbib"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Alfonso Arbib, now the chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Milan, was born in Tripoli in 1958 as the eldest child of Yusef and Ester (Rina) Baranes. His original name is Hlafo, a very common name among Tripolitan Jews that is derived from the Judeo-Arabic version of the Arabic name Halfalla, which means \u201che whom God has redeemed\u201d (Pedatzur in Hebrew). He grew up in central Tripoli in a family of Italian culture and language that was deeply immersed in Jewish traditions: <\/span>kashrut<\/span><\/i>, Shabbat, and attending the Bet-El synagogue. Although he only spent his childhood in Libya, Rav Arbib clearly recalls the difference between the Jews of the old city, the <\/span>hara<\/span><\/i>, known for their stricter religious observance, and those in the modern part, who took a more flexible approach to maintaining traditions.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Installation ceremony of Rabbi Arbib at the Via Guastalla Synagogue, Milan, 2005. Archives CDEC Foundation<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Until June 1967, Rav Arbib and his three sisters attended the Italian school. With his family, he experienced a peaceful and affluent childhood, thanks to the economic boom generated by the discovery of oil in Libya in the 1960s. This was a different Libya from the one experienced by previous generations, who had faced greater hardships. He learned from his mother\u2019s stories about the life of Libyan Jews before his birth when the community was rebuilt by Jewish soldiers from Palestine, who promoted the teaching of Hebrew and youth associations. However, it was only in adulthood that he found out about the internment measures and deportations that the Jewish community had suffered during World War II.<\/span><\/p>

On June 5, 1967, while Rav Arbib was at school, the Six-Day War broke out. Violent anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli demonstrations swept through the streets of Tripoli. His father picked him up from school, but it was too dangerous to cross the capital\u2019s streets, so they took refuge with friends living nearby. Once they had finally managed to return home, the Arbib family was forced to stay confined for twenty days, surviving thanks to food brought by Yusef\u2019s friends. The local authorities unsuccessfully attempted to transfer them to a gathering camp on the outskirts of Tripoli, where many other Jews had agreed to move in search of refuge. Shortly after, on June 25, the Arbib family left Libya for Rome, arriving as stateless persons \u2014 a situation common to many other Libyan Jews.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

We didn\u2019t have passports, Jews didn\u2019t have passports<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n