Good evening everyone, and thank you.
Thank you for this invitation and for these words.
I wish to say a huge thank you to President Dureghello, and my sincerest thanks also go to Chief Rabbi Di Segni, to the President of the Jewish Museum, Olga Melasecchi, and to all of you, for this evening and for this invitation.
It is a great pleasure to be here this evening for this ceremony, to celebrate this festival. I have reflected a lot, and I heard many of my thoughts conveyed in the words of President Dureghello. I have reflected on the many extraordinary meanings embodied in this celebration, and I believe it is worth disseminating these teachings as widely as possible.
The history of this festival is a story of courage and hope; it is the story of a people fighting to defend their identity, their traditions, their faith, their freedom. At a time when identity, traditions and faith are often considered a limitation, or even an enemy, I believe it is extremely valuable to remember that, without the things that define us, without the things we carry with us, that give depth to our existence, we can have neither the strength, nor the awareness, nor the right reasons to adequately address the many challenges we are facing. 
Jewish people have always known this, more than many others, and this is why their identity and traditions have spanned millennia and are still so alive. After all, this ability is what has made the Jewish people so resilient, despite having experienced so many difficulties and atrocities, as President Dureghello recalled, including the disgrace of the racial laws, as far as we are concerned. It is the strength of that identity that has allowed Jewish people to do what others have been unable to do: I believe this is a very important lesson indeed.
Another very important lesson is that identity is not ‘exclusionary’. The fact that we are proud of what we are and of our traditions does not prevent us from sharing them and accepting those of others. This is the other great strength that you convey and represent, because you are a fundamental part also of the Italian identity, which is an added value and has become part of what we all are.
This means that identity does not exclude, but rather adds value: feeling proud of that identity is something that strengthens everyone. Indeed, the word ‘respect’ derives from the Latin ‘respicere’, to look at in-depth. It is only when I am aware of what I am, of who I am, that I am able to look, without fear, at what is around me, to be enriched and to enrich others.
This is the great lesson of the value of identity and you are able to represent this more than anyone else; it is an extraordinary lesson. The Menorah must be visible to those outside. This is something that really struck me. You have to tell its story, you have to be proud of it, because that symbol, that value, that celebration embody a world, they embody the sacrifices made. This also makes a difference when it comes to the value of each of us: freedom.
Today, we take freedom for granted, as if it were owed to us. Our freedom is not a given. Freedom can be lost at any time unless it is defended. We are seeing this today in Ukraine, which is not too far from here, where there is a population with just as much courage and just as much resilience; no one expected they could put up such a resistance. It is will that makes the difference, the will to defend who you are, the will that comes from a love for who you are – this is what gives you the value of freedom. This is something we must never forget. This is the message of this celebration, teaching us that all the darkness in the world cannot put out the light of a candle, which represents hope and our ability to believe that each of us can make a difference, in the smallest of gestures as in the largest. 
This is an extraordinary lesson and, today, we need that small light, that hope, in what seem like such dark times, to try and live life every day. This is how I endeavour to fulfil my role, trying to do what, at times, seems difficult to achieve and even destined for failure. You must continue believing that you can succeed. From the sacred to the secular, I am here today after a small but important victory: we have succeeded in getting a gas price cap at EU level. Many thought that this battle was done for, but we have succeeded.
It’s all about having spirit, and awareness, but this must always be based on one important thing: being aware and proud of who you are, because it is only when you have that awareness that you have the ability to tell your story and teach things to others, and to learn from others. This is what is valuable. Without our stories, without our traditions and without our faith (for those who believe), we are nothing but numbers. These identities, these stories, these roots and often this faith  (for me it is faith), are what give us so much more depth, so much more greatness. 
This is what this celebration means for me, and it truly is a great pleasure to be here, at the home of what is a fundamental part of our identity and our culture as Italians, allowing me to also remember a part of my identity too. Thank you.

[Courtesy translation]