CANTONI, RAFFAELE

CANTONI, RAFFAELE
CANTONI, RAFFAELE (1896–1971), economist and communal leader. Born in Venice, Cantoni studied economics and became counselor to the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro and president of the Fiduciaria. He participated heroically in World War I and took part in the conquest of Fiume, led by Gabriele D'Annunzio. For his participation in antifascist actions he was arrested in 1930 with other opponents of the regime like Riccardo Bauer and Ferruccio Parri. In 1933 he became a leader of the Comitato Assistenza Ebrei Italiani (Committee for Assistance of Italian Jews) of DELASEM (Delegation for the Assistance of Immigrants) and other Jewish relief institutions. He was connected with the american joint distribution committee and the world jewish congress ; he founded many Italian hakhsharot. During World War II he strongly and continuously assisted Italian and European Jews; he was arrested by the Fascists in 1940 and interned in Urbisaglia (a town near Macerata) and in the Tremiti Islands, but he continued his activities. In 1943 he was betrayed and captured in Florence by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz, but during the journey he jumped from the train near Padua and saved himself. He escaped to Switzerland and there began to reorganize the life of Italian Jews, establishing Jewish schools and various activities with the Milanese Astorre Mayer. After the liberation in 1945 he assumed the position of president of the Jewish community of Milan and was an active member of the CLNAI (Committee for National Liberation of North Italy). He was also the Italian leader of the OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants). While organizing Jewish life in Milan, he was also a strong supporter the Aliyah Bet ("illegal" immigration to Ereẓ Israel), raising substantial funds. He held other posts in the Italian Zionist Federation and in the keren hayesod . He was a member of the executive of the World Jewish Congress. From 1946 to 1954 Cantoni was president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities and worked to obtain from the Italian government freedom of Jewish worship equal to that of the Catholics, without complete success. He was also president of the Organizzazione Sanitaria Ebraica (Jewish Health Organization) from the inception of its activities in Italy. Until his death, he spared no effort to maintain relations between the Jews of the Diaspora and Israel and to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and other countries. -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: S.I. Minerbi, Un ebreo fra D'Annunzio e il sionismo: Raffaele Cantoni (1992). (Sergio DellaPergola / Federica Francesconi (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • DELASEM — Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants (Delegazione per l Assistenza degli Emigranti Ebrei) or DELASEM, was a Jewish resistance organization that worked in Italy between 1939 and 1947. It is estimated that during World War II, DELASEM… …   Wikipedia

  • FLORENCE — (It. Firenze) city in Tuscany, central Italy. There is no evidence of a Jewish community in the Roman City of Florentia. Early medieval documents preserved in the Florence Archives mention names that can be Jewish. The first evidence of a Jewish… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Liste des participants à l'expédition des Mille — Les Mille (en italien i Mille) constitue la formation garibaldienne qui a pris part, en 1860, à la campagne militaire en Italie méridionale connue sous le nom de l expédition des Mille afin de conquérir le Royaume des Deux Siciles et de l annexer …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Discontinued ISSF shooting events — This article includes the ISSF World Shooting Championships medal tables of currently discontinued shooting events. The events that International Shooting Sport Federation presently includes in World Championships and Olympic Games are listed in… …   Wikipedia

  • Forza Italia — Former leaders Silvio Berlusconi, Giulio Tremonti Founded 18 January 1994 …   Wikipedia

  • Architecture néoclassique en Italie — L architecture néoclassique en Italie est, dans la péninsule, comme dans tous les pays occidentaux, la phase de l histoire de l architecture qui, après l époque du baroque et du rococo, s est orientée vers l âge classique de la Grèce et de la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Forza Italia leading members by political origin — This is a list of various exponents of Forza Italia (current and former deputies, senators, , MEPs, regional presidents, leading regional level politicians, mayors of big and medium sized cities and important members of party s national organs),… …   Wikipedia

  • Université de Milan — 45°27′39.56″N 9°11′40.53″E / 45.4609889, 9.1945917 L’université de Milan (en italien …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Italian Socialist Party — Infobox Italian former political party name english = Italian Socialist Party foundation = 1892 dissolution = 1994 newspaper = Avanti! leaders = Filippo Turati, Pietro Nenni, Sandro Pertini, Francesco De Martino, Giacomo Mancini, Bettino Craxi… …   Wikipedia

  • Senato della Repubblica — Sénat de la République Senato della Repubblica XVIe législature Type …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”