Tempi difficili. Note sugli ebrei italiani nei primi anni del fascismo (1922-1925)

The article analyzes the complex position of Italian Jews, the Union's leaders, and the principal animators of the Jewish culture in the face of the fascist government in its early years, namely before the building of the authoritarian regime. In particular, the essay focuses on the reaction to Gentile's school reform, which had Catholicized primary public education. The Jewish senator Vittorio Polacco harshly criticized this law by representing it as a "moral pogrom." In addition to this, through the analysis of various publications and archival documents, the essay shows that many Italian Judaism exponents did not condemn the basic approach of the reform. On the contrary, Jewish intellectuals and representatives of the Union and the community of Rome affirmed that a method similar to that of Gentile's reform should inspire the establishment of Jewish schools. This approach would have helped consolidate the Jewish identity, strengthen the community belonging, and combat assimilation.