Enzo Sereni (, 17 April 190518 November 1944) was an Italian

Labor Zionist Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the Left-wing politics, left-wing, socialism, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist ...

and one of the co-founders of

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Givat Brenner Givat Brenner (), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional Council. Founded in 1928, it is named after writer Yosef Haim Brenner, who was killed in t ...

. He was involved in promoting Jewish-Arab co-existence in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

and served as an officer in the

Jewish Brigade The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the World War II, Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv, Y ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1944, he was parachuted into Nazi-occupied Italy, where he was captured by German forces and later executed at the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

Early life

Sereni was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to an assimilated Italian Jewish family.Enzo Sereni (1905–1944)
.

Jewish Virtual Library The Jewish Virtual Library (JVL, formerly known as JSOURCE) is an online encyclopedia published by the American foreign policy analyst Mitchell Bard's non-profit organization American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). It is a website cove ...

. jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 19 August 2023. His father was physician to the

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

. At the age of eighteen he attended the 13th

Zionist Congress The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( ''HaKongres HaTsioni HaOlami'') and Wor ...

in Carlsbad (

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

), and subsequently became a Zionist; he was one of the first Italian Zionists.Castel, Calev (2007).
Sereni, Enzo Hayyim
. ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. 2nd ed. Retrieved via

Encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

19 August 2023. He married his high school sweetheart Ada Sereni in 1926, who would continue his work after his passing.

Zionist activity

After obtaining his PhD in philosophy from the University of Rome, he along with his wife and infant daughter, emigrated to

Mandate Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

in 1927. He worked in orange groves in

Rehovot Rehovot (, / ) is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu (movement), Bilu movement, proposed the name "Rehovot ...

and soon helped found

. As an enthusiastic Labor Zionist, Sereni was also active in the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

trade union. He was a pacifist, who advocated Jewish co-existence with the Arabs,Cashman, Greer Fay (16 April 2015).
Grapevine: Remembering Enzo Sereni
. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

''. jpost.com. Retrieved 19 August 2023. and integration of Jewish and Arab society. Sereni was sent to Europe in 1931–1934 to help bring people to Palestine through the

Youth Aliyah Youth Aliyah (Hebrew: עלית הנוער, ''Aliyat Hano'ar'', German: Jugend-Alijah, Youth Immigration) is a Jewish organization that rescued thousands of Jewish children from the Nazis during the Third Reich. Youth Aliyah arranged for their r ...

, and was briefly detained by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. He helped to organize the

Hechalutz HeHalutz or HeChalutz (, lit. "The Pioneer") was a Jewish youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. It became an umbrella organization of the pioneering Zionist youth movements. History Before W ...

movement in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and was also involved in helping to smuggle money and people out of Germany. Sereni was also sent to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to help organize the Zionist movement there. During

, he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and was involved in disseminating anti-fascist propaganda in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The British sent him to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and Sereni spent part of his time organizing clandestine

Jewish immigration to Palestine ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

. In 1942, Sereni became one of the first Jewish emissaries from Palestine to Iraq and visited Sandur, a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

village in northern Iraq and described it in detail. The village was located an hour and a half's drive from

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, in a valley between two walls of rock. It was completely green and "full of gardens of fruit, pears, grapes, plums, pomegranates, apples". Sereni got in trouble with his British superior officers for his Zionist views and was imprisoned briefly for forging passports. Sereni then helped organize the Jewish parachute unit of the British

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE) that sent agents into occupied Europe. Of about 250 volunteer trainees, about 110 were selected for training, and 33 were actually parachuted into Europe, including Sereni, despite his relatively advanced age. On 15 May 1944, he was parachuted into Northern Italy but was captured immediately. According to records, he was shot in Dachau concentration camp on 18 November 1944. Other famous martyrs who parachuted into Europe with this unit include

Hannah Szenes Hannah Szenes (often anglicized as Hannah Senesh or Chanah Senesh; ; ; 17 July 1921 – 7 November 1944) was a Hungarian-born poet, playwright, and resistance operative trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). In 1944, she was ...

and Haviva Reik. Kibbutz

Netzer Sereni Netzer Sereni () is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah between Be'er Ya'akov and Ness Ziona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kibbutz Netzer Sereni was founded in ...

is named after him, as are many streets throughout

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

.Hareuveni, Imanuel (2010).
Eretz Israel Lexicon
' (in Hebrew). Matach. p. 701. Sereni wrote several books and numerous articles.

References

External links

at JewishVirtualLibrary.org

(in World War II); at zionism-israel.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sereni, Enzo 1905 births 1944 deaths Special Operations Executive personnel killed in World War II Spies who died in Nazi concentration camps Italian Jews who died in the Holocaust Italian Zionists Italian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine People from Givat Brenner Italian people who died in Dachau concentration camp Mandatory Palestine military personnel killed in World War II Jewish Brigade personnel Jewish parachutists of Mandate Palestine