In class today we discussed different instances of genocide that are happening around the world.

I had researched the Israel-Palestine conflict, and how it is verging on becoming a genocide of the Arab people.

After class and lunch, we took a bus to meet Agnes, who would be our tour guide for that day. Our tour started right on the spot where Julius Caesar was assassinated. From there we walked to the Jewish Ghetto. We learned about the history of the Italian Jews, how they were moved into the ghetto and walled in, and how they are still living there today. The ghetto is scattered with ancient ruins.

After wandering through a little bit of the town, we went to see the Synagogue. It is huge and opulent, and looks a lot like some of the cathedrals and churches we have seen. One difference is that there are balconies on the sides of the synagogue where women sit, so they do not distract the men during worship.

It was interesting to learn about Judaism after the last few days which focused on mostly Catholicism. It was interesting to see how the histories of other religions intertwined with Judaism. One interesting fact I learned was that when the Romans were persecuting Christians, they were not persecuting the Jewish people. This is because the Christians were so eager to convert. The Jews mainly stayed in their group and did not try to convert others. The Romans wanted to keep their religion. They were happy with diversity, but they did not like the Christians trying to dominate everything.

After the tour, we went to dinner. It was my birthday today, and I got a piece of cake with a candle on it from the restaurant. It was interesting that our waiter, who did not know any English, knew the happy birthday song in perfect English.

After dinner we again searched for the market, but did not find it, so we got gelato and went back to our rooms for the night.