Enzo Sereni

Enzo Sereni

Enzo Sereni (17 April 1905–18 November 1944) was an Italian Zionist, co-founder of kibbutz Givat Brenner, scholar, advocate of Jewish-Arab co-existence and a resistance fighter who was parachuted into Nazi-occupied Italy in World War II, captured by the Germans and executed in Dachau concentration camp.

Sereni was born in Rome. His father was physician to the King of Italy. He grew up in an assimilated household but became a Zionist as a teenager and was one of the first Italian Zionists. After obtaining his PhD. from the University of Rome, he made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1927. He worked in the orange groves in Rehovot and soon helped found kibbutz Givat Brenner. As he was an enthusiastic socialist, Sereni was also active in the Histadrut trade union. He was a pacifist who advocated co-existence with the Arabs 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, and was arrested briefly by the Gestapo. He helped to organize the Hechalutz movement in Nazi Germany and was also involved in helping to smuggle money and people out of Germany. Sereni was also sent to the United States to help organize the Zionist movement there. During World War II, he joined the British Army, and was involved n disseminating anti-fascist propaganda in Egypt. The British sent him to Iraq, and Sereni spent part of his time organizing clandestine aliyah. 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 parachute unit of the British Special Operations Executive (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 and Haviva Reik. Kibbutz Netzer Sereni is named after him.

Sereni wrote several books and numerous articles.

External references

* [http://www.zionism-israel.com/bio/biography_enzo_sereni.htm Biography of Enzo Sereni] Zionism-Israel
* [http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Parachutists.htm Zionist Parachutists in World War II] Zionism-Israel


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  • Enzo Sereni — (né le 17 avril 1905, mort le 18 novembre 1944) fut un sioniste italien, co fondateur du Kibboutz Guivat Brener, intellectuel, avocat de la coexistence Juifs Arabes et pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, un combattant de la Résistance qui fut… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Enzo Sereni — Enzo Chaim Sereni (* 17. April 1905 in Rom; † 18. November 1944 im KZ Dachau) war ein italienischer Zionist und einer der Gründer von Givat Brenner. Er war als Pazifist um die friedliche Koexistenz von arabischen und jüdischen Bürgerinnen und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • SERENI, ENZO ḤAYYIM — (1905–1944), Italian pioneer in Palestine, labor leader, writer, and one of the haganah emissaries parachuted into Europe during World War II. Born in Rome, the descendant of the distinguished and assimilated sereni family, he discovered Zionism… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • SERENI, ANGELO PIERO — (1908–1967), Italian jurist. Born in Rome, Sereni became professor of international law at the universities of Ferrara and Bologna. After the promulgation of antisemitic legislation in 1938, he left Italy for the United States where he wrote his… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Enzo — ist ein italienischer männlicher Vorname[1], der auch in Lateinamerika, Spanien und Frankreich vorkommt. Abgeleitet ist der Name von Enrico und entspricht dem deutschen Vornamen Heinz. Gelegentlich kann er aber auch eine Kurzform der Namen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Enzo — Infobox Given name 2 gender = maleEnzo is an Italian given name. Well known examples include: * Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari and Ferrari S.p.A. * Enzo Ferrari (car), a vehicle named after Enzo Ferrari * Enzo Sereni, Jewish… …   Wikipedia

  • Sereni, Enzo Chaim — (1905–44)    War hero. Sereni was born into an old Roman Jewish family and became an enthusiastic Zionist, settling in Palestine in 1927, as one of the founders of Givat Brenner, a kibbutz in the southern coastal plain. In World War II he was the …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Netzer Sereni — Beit Allenby Founded 20 June 1948 …   Wikipedia

  • NEẒER SERENI — (Heb. נֶצֶר סִירֶנִי), kibbutz in central Israel, between Nes Ẓiyyonah and Ramleh, founded on June 20, 1948, during a short cease fire of the Israel war of independence , by Kibbutz Buchenwald, composed of young survivors of the Holocaust who,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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