Mazal Tov to our Sephardic Community member & Auschwitz Holocaust survivor Stella Levi on receiving one of the highest honors of the Italian Republic from Italian Ambassador to the United States Mariangela Zappia.
Stella was born in 1923 on the island of Rhodes, once a thriving hub of Sephardic Jewish life with multiple yeshivot, schools, synagogues, community centers, and social clubs. Under Italian occupation until 1943, Stella learned Italian as a native language in addition to Ladino, French, and eventually English. The situation all changed for the Jews in September 1943, when the Nazis occupied Rhodes. In July 1944, they deported the entire Jewish population, save for 50 who had Turkish citizenship. The other 1,650 were rounded up and sent to the SS-operated transit camp Haidary on mainland Greece, and then to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only 151 Jews from Rhodes survived the Holocaust. Despite facing the horrors of Auschwitz, Stella has spent her life telling the story of the Jews of Rhodes and ensuring their memory, identity, and legacy are never forgotten. The newly published Book - One Hundred Saturdays, now tell her story and the story of Jewish Rhodes
Now 100 years young, Stella is still actively telling her story. We wish her Para Munchos Anyos - Many more years!
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