VZCZCXRO3605
OO RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHRO #0363 0891048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301048Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1848
INFO RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY 9938
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 3550
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 3728

UNCLAS ROME 000363 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SCUL OVIP IT
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PRESIDENTIAL DELEGATION: 65TH 
ANNIVERSARY OF ALLIED LIBERATION OF ROME AND RE-OPENING OF 
THE GREAT SYNAGOGUE 
 
¶1. (U) This in an action message; see paras 2-6.  This 
message is sensitive but unclassified; please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post requests the designation of a Presidential 
Delegation to attend events in Rome on June 4, 2009, 
commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Allied liberation 
of Rome and the reopening of Rome's synagogue, hosted by the 
Rome Jewish community. 
 
¶3. (SBU) This ceremony will mark the first time Italy's 
Jewish community, in company with high-level Italian 
officials, will pay a tribute to the role played by U.S. and 
Allied forces in restoring Jewish life to Rome, and more 
broadly, defeating fascism in Italy.  Annual commemorations 
of the liberation of Italy have typically focused primarily 
on the role of Italian partisans, while the June 4 ceremonies 
commemorating the liberation of Rome have been low-key 
affairs attended by the mayor.  This year, President 
Napolitano and Prime Minister Berlusconi have accepted the 
invitation of Rome's Jewish community leadership to attend 
the ceremony, which will take place at Rome's main synagogue 
in the city's ancient Jewish quarter.  Rome Mayor Gianni 
Alemanno will co-host the event. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The genesis of this event is the desire of Riccardo 
Pacifici, President of the Rome Jewish Community, to 
re-introduce Italian youth to the central role of the Allies 
-- and particularly America -- in liberating Italy, and in so 
doing, bringing Italy's Jewish communities back to life.  In 
a recent meeting with post, Pacifici noted that elderly Roman 
Jewish survivors of fascist persecution say that they were 
born twice -- "once from their mothers, and once when the 
Americans arrived in Rome."  Pacifici feels a deep personal 
connection to the project of reacquainting Italian youth with 
their war-time history.  His grandfather, for whom he was 
named, is revered for his war-time efforts as chief rabbi of 
Genoa to protect the community from German and Italian 
fascist persecution.  Refusing the counsel of many to flee 
and save himself, he was picked up in December 1943 and sent 
to Auschwitz, where he was executed upon arrival. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Post has already initiated the process of 
identifying a U.S. military unit to render honors during the 
ceremony, and the Italian, British, and Canadian armed forces 
are also being asked to participate.  Organizers are seeking 
senior political-level representation from all Allies who 
participated in the liberation of Rome.  Post believes an 
appropriate U.S. Presidential Delegation is warranted due to 
the solemnity of the occasion and the centrality of the U.S. 
role in this seminal moment in modern Italian history. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Post believes a cabinet-level head of delegation 
would be appropriate given the level of representation on the 
part of the GOI.  Post believes that Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, for example, could be an excellent 
head of delegation, if his schedule permits. 
 
¶7. (U) Post appreciates Department's assistance and stands 
ready to provide any further information necessary to support 
this request. 
DIBBLE