Indonesian academic Sapri Sale defied geopolitical tensions to write the first Hebrew-Bahasa Indonesia dictionary in 2015 he’s now breaking cultural taboos by teaching Hebrew at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque "Spigolatrice di Sapri," a bronze sculpture based on a famous Italian poem of the same name in the presence of local officials and former Premier Giuseppe Conte The "spigolatrice," or wheat gatherer is shown wearing a snug off-the-shoulder dress that clings tightly to her buttocks much less the fictional heroine of the poem — she leaves her back-breaking work in the fields to join a Sicilian revolt against the Bourbon dynasty — would have looked like that "It is an inappropriate statue, out of context, and also offensive," Italian lawmaker Laura Boldrini said. "You take away from that woman the story and the dignity that she had." a professor at Rome's Academy of Fine Arts said all his works feature figures with as little clothing as possible Given the waterfront location of the statue he envisaged his "spigolatrice" as being buffeted by a sea breeze that made her dress clingy Stifano wrote in a Facebook post this week The aim was not to make a faithful snapshot of a 19th-century peasant but to "represent an ideal of a woman all in a moment of great pathos," he wrote The artist said he was "shocked and disheartened" by the criticism and noted that his client Sapri Mayor Antonio Gentile said any perceived sexism "is in the eye of the beholder." Other modern works of public art have produced outcries in Italy which counts some of the West's greatest artistic treasures as part of its cultural heritage When Rome city officials unveiled a statue of St John Paul II in front of the Italian capital's main train station in 2011 which looked more like the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini than the beloved late pope the artist reworked the sculpture and gave it a new head that looked more like John Paul's your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Italian authorities in Sapri have defended a new bronze statue of a woman wearing a transparent dress The sculpture is a tribute to La Spigolatrice di Sapri (The Gleaner of Sapri) The poem refers to a female gleaner who leaves her job to join Italian revolutionary Carlo Pisacane's failed expedition against the Kingdom of Naples It was unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday in the province of Salerno at a ceremony featuring local officials and former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte But the statue has generated some backlash on social media with many labeling its design "sexist" and others calling for it to be taken down an MP with the centre-left Democratic party said the monument was "an offense to women and to the history it is supposed to celebrate" "How can even the institutions accept the representation of women as sexualised bodies," she added on Twitter also stated that it was a "slap in the face to history and to women who are still only sexualised bodies." "This statue of the Gleaner says nothing about the self-determination of the woman who chose not to go to work in order to stand up against the Bourbon oppressor" The mayor of Sapriu has defended the statue as "a very important work of art which will be a great tourist attraction for our town" Antonio Gentile said that critics of the statue held "a lack of knowledge of local history" "Our community...has always been committed to combating all forms of gender violence," he added La nuova statua della Spigolatrice di Sapri è stata realizzata con maestria e impeccabile interpretazione dall’artista.. the sculptor Emanuele Stifano stated that he was "appalled and disheartened" by the criticism "All kinds of accusations have been made against me which have nothing to do with my person and my story," Stifano said on Facebook I always tend to cover the human body as little as possible when he talks about the challenges he faced in compiling his [Hebrew dictionary.] His biggest one came when deciding how best to translate Hebrew into Bahasa No dual language references existed before Sale’s dictionary Sale’s own Hebrew is largely book-learnt and non-colloquial Undeniably useful was his fluency in Arabic Arabic and Hebrew closely resemble Bahasa in tone and cultural orientation “Take the word we know in English as ‘charity,’” Sale says the Hebrew ‘tzedaka,’ which English-speaking translators call ‘charity,’ actually indicates a mandatory religious obligation to donate money no matter what your financial situation is They’re closer to ‘tzedaka’ than ‘charity.’” who has held jobs in the United Nations diplomatic corps and the Indonesian airline industry says his own attraction to Hebrew and Jewish life began in 1992 at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University where he studied Arabic literature “Everything I read in school was anti-Jewish and anti-Israel,” Sale says “But painting an entire group of people as bad made no sense to me I had learned about the Arab world by studying Arabic and I decided to learn about Jews and Israel by studying Hebrew.” He managed to borrow a second-hand Hebrew grammar book from a friend “The pronouns and syntax alone made Hebrew and Arabic ‘twin sisters.’ I thought ‘Maybe I can promote peace by making a connection between Hebrew and Bahasa Sale stumbled upon another Hebrew education opportunity with eTeacher One of Sale’s Israeli teachers facilitated a virtual meeting between Sale and an Egyptian student named Mohammed meeting via Skype every Saturday to read Torah together but he continues to advance his Hebrew comprehension by reading Israeli newspapers and watching Hebrew-language videos on YouTube Sale also fine-tunes his skills by teaching Hebrew three times a week His students meet in a building that houses the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace a fraternal organization founded by Gus Dur Most of Sale’s students have an hour to kill between the end of their working day and the beginning of class But what’s an hour to motivated students who tell Sale they waited ten years for him to complete his dictionary “After a lifetime of anti-Jewish propaganda many of my students have preconceived political ideas about Israel and Jews,” Sale says and they enroll in my classes because they are curious about Torah and Israeli culture especially as regards literature and hi-tech I have been interested in Hebrew for about a hundred years!” He peels off an exuberant laugh Sale says in earnest that studying Hebrew changed his life “I am a little bit famous in Jakarta for being the teacher of Hebrew,” he says “I have ‘value-add’ because I am willing to say openly that Hebrew is a beautiful language.” Sale concedes with a self-deprecatory laugh Nobody will learn Hebrew in this country.’ But one day Indonesia and Israel will need a way to speak to each other Through my dictionary and my Hebrew classes I have built a bridge that will facilitate a relationship between the only Jewish nation in the world and the country with the world’s biggest Muslim population I’m blessed to have accomplished something that people told me was impossible.” Barbara Finkelstein is a regular contributor to the Forverts She is at work on a book about mental illness and housing in the Bronx I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association Sculpture based on the poem The Gleaner of Sapri was unveiled by former PM Giuseppe Conte on Saturday A statue depicting a scantily dressed woman from a 19th-century poem has sparked a sexism row in Italy which portrays the woman in a transparent dress was unveiled on Saturday during a ceremony attended by the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte in Sapri The work by the sculptor Emanuele Stifano is a tribute to La Spigolatrice di Sapri (The Gleaner of Sapri) written by the poet Luigi Mercantini in 1857 The poem is based on the story of a failed expedition against the Kingdom of Naples by Carlo Pisacane one of the first Italian socialist thinkers Laura Boldrini, a deputy with the centre-left Democratic party, said the statue was an “offence to women and the history it should celebrate”. She wrote on Twitter: “But how can even the institutions accept the representation of a woman as a sexualised body?” A group of female politicians from the Democratic party’s unit in Palermo called for the statue to be knocked down. “Once again, we have to suffer the humiliation of seeing ourselves represented in the form of a sexualised body, devoid of soul and without any connection with the social and political issues of the story,” the group said in a statement. They argued that the statue reflected nothing of the anti-Bourbon revolution nor the “self-determination of a woman who chooses not to go to work in order to take sides against the oppressor”. Stifano defended his work, writing on Facebook that if it had been up to him the statue would have been “completely naked … simply because I am a lover of the human body”. He said it was “useless” to try to explain artwork to those “who absolutely only want to see depravity”. Antonio Gentile, the mayor of Sapri, said that until the row erupted “nobody had criticised or distorted the work of art”. In photos of the ceremony, Conte, now the leader of the Five Star Movement, appeared puzzled as he looked at the statue, surrounded by a mostly male entourage. Support non-profit journalism and perspectives from around the world. See all those languages? The Lingua project at Global Voices works to bring down barriers to understanding through translation. The cover of the Hebrew-Indonesian Dictionary Could the Hebrew language be the common thread that ties Israel and Indonesia — the world's largest Muslim-majority nation — together who studied Arabic at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo wanted to establish a better understanding between Indonesians and Israelis by teaching Hebrew to Bahasa-speaking students Indonesia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic ties. In fact, Israel is often portrayed negatively in Indonesian media because of its policies towards Palestine. En route to his historic state visit to Australia in 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to avoid the Indonesian airspace Could something as simple as a language be the key to discovering commonalities Global Voices talked to Sapri Sale about how he came to learn Hebrew while studying Arabic his inspiration for teaching Hebrew in Indonesia and the struggles he faced in writing and publishing the first Indonesian-Hebrew dictionary Global Voices (GV): How and why did you come to learn Hebrew in the first place Sapri Sale (SS): I want the world to know that not all Indonesians are (Muslim) militants Hebrew culture and language are no different to Arabic ones and if Arabic can exist (in Indonesia) among Indonesian local languages and culture then Hebrew has an equal right to exist in the country as well I was an Arabic Literature student at Al Azhar University of Cairo I was very much interested in Middle Eastern geopolitics; however the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt was already going on for about a decade the media fuel anti-semitism sentiments among the general population I refused to concur with hate and decided that to truly understand what was happening I needed to learn Hebrew to know what Israel is all about without prejudice despite the Egypt-Israel diplomatic relationship trying to get my hands on Hebrew language books was not easy my sojourn took place during the pre-Internet era; I had no clue if there was an Israeli cultural center and asking the Israeli Embassy was too daunting I found some Hebrew books and started learning autodidactically by the Israeli communities at the center: I look Asian and furthermore There were 600 Indonesian students in Cairo and I was the only one who developed an interest in Hebrew language and culture I found a new job with the Permanent Mission in New York I'm free to rekindle my passion for learning Hebrew and began to draft the Indonesian-Hebrew bilingual dictionary in 2006 What have been some of the challenges in having your hard work printed SS: It's a 450-page bilingual dictionary of modern Hebrew and Indonesian It's a reference for Indonesians who want to learn Hebrew and for Hebrew speakers who want to learn Indonesian This is the answer to my calling to bridge Indonesia and Israel The Indonesian and Hebrew languages are worlds apart This is where my Arabic knowledge came in handy Arabic became my reference in translating Hebrew words into Indonesian In 2016, once I finished writing, I had to deal with rejections. Popular publishers aren't so keen on anything Israeli, so naturally, my dictionary was dismissed as irrelevant, unmarketable, and politically incorrect. One day, I discovered an indie publisher in Yogyakarta, who was willing to do the job, once I personally funded the print run. But I encountered another roadblock while registering the ISBN ISBNs are assigned in less than a month; I had to wait three months to obtain the ISBN for my dictionary Have you experienced any uncomfortable situations as a Muslim Hebrew teacher and author SS: I don't care about being mocked or bullied cynics have nicknamed me ‘Sapri the Jew’ my former Al Azhar classmates have shunned me who has followed every dictionary draft since day one kindly reminded me that it's a waste of time But I'm in top deep: 25 years of learning and practicing — it's too late to stop now I'm also being called a fraud; that my works are phony I'll just speak matter-of-factly — that my work is I told my family that what I'm doing might have uncertain consequences but it's something that needs to be done GV: If we were to attend your Hebrew class the only organization that's willing to take me in I developed a learning method for my fellow Indonesians so that after eight meetings they can read modern Hebrew and after that they can learn autodidactically My modern Hebrew grammar book is on the way and will be ready for printing soon I also plan to publish another book: conversational Hebrew for Indonesian speakers The modern Hebrew-Indonesian dictionary is available by ordering directly from the author. 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For more information please read our Fundraising Ethics Policy Special thanks to our many sponsors and funders The leading authority for the Architecture & Design community Recharge in a Restored Spanish Farmhouse in Menorca Tresoldi recreated it as an enormous yet ghostly architectural form an installation that floated like a phantom sailboat off the shore at the southern town of Sapri was a partnership with the Italian electronic pop musician Iosonouncane Part of an audio-visual performance at the Derive festival in July 2017 the ethereal structure was the source of a sound landscape that reverberated across the water to the audience dancing on the beach The collaboration fulfilled Tresoldi’s central goal: finding the point at which different modes of artistic expression intersect > See more from Interior Design’s list of 40 up-and-comers > See more from the November 2017 issue of Interior Design Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don’t miss our weekly town hall. 'An offense to women': Scantily-clad statue sparks sexism debateby WKRC SAPRI, Italy (Italia2TV/CNN Newsource) - A newly-revealed bronze statue in southern Italy is getting some criticism for being too revealing. This statue in Sapri portrays a woman from the poem "The Gleaner of Sapri" by Luigi Mercantini. She's shown in a clingy dress with her arm over her breasts. The poem describes an attempted coup by insurgents in 1857 that was put down by locals. The statue depicts a peasant woman from the poem. Backlash was swift. Laura Boldrini, a former Speaker of the Italian Senate, called it "an offense to women," adding "male chauvinism is one of the evils of Italy." Monica Cirinna, a senator in Italy's center-left Democratic Party, called for the statue's removal and deemed it "a slap on the face of history and of women, who are still (treated as) sexualized bodies." The town's mayor is defending the statue,which he said was "made with skill and impeccable interpretation" by the artist Emanuele Stifano. Its unveiling was attended by many local and national Italian leaders. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Statue in Sapri an ‘offence to women and to the history it should celebrate’ I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A bronze statue of a scantily-clothed woman from a famous 19th-century poem has triggered a sexism row in Italy The statue of the woman in a transparent dress was unveiled on Saturday in the town of Sapri by an entourage of men, including former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte. The statue is sculptor Emanuele Stifano’s tribute to poet Luigi Mercantini's poem La spigolatrice di Sapri (The Gleaner of Sapri). The poem is based on Italian revolutionary and socialist thinker Carlo Pisacane's failed expedition against the Kingdom of Naples in 1857, where 300 people lost their lives. Calling out what they described as the sexism of the artwork, several Italian politicians have demanded that the statue be “knocked down”. Laura Boldrini of the Democratic Party said the statue was “an offence to women and to the history it should celebrate”. “But how can even institutions accept the representation of women as a sexualised body? Male chauvinism is one of the evils of Italy,” Ms Boldrini wrote on Twitter. “Once again, we have to suffer the humiliation of seeing ourselves represented in the form of a sexualised body, devoid of soul and without any connection with the social and political issues of the story,” a group of female politicians from the Democratic Party’s unit in Palermo said in a statement calling for the demolition of the statue. Monica Cirinnà, a member of the Senate, criticised Stifano’s work and rallied behind her colleagues to seek its removal. “A slap to history and to women who are still only sexualised bodies. This statue of the Gleaner says nothing of the self-determination of the one who chose not to go to work to take sides against the Bourbon oppressor,” she wrote. Sapri mayor Antonello Gentile said that “no social or political party has criticised the work or distorted the concept of work created by the artist”. The sculptor defended his work through a statement on Monday, where he claimed that he covered the human body “as little as possible, regardless of gender” whenever he made a sculpture. In the case of the Gleaner of Sapri, Stifano said he “took advantage of the sea breeze” to “highlight the body”. “This is to underline an anatomy that should not have been a faithful snapshot of a 19th century peasant woman, but rather to represent an ideal of a woman, evoke her pride, the awakening of a conscience, all in a moment of great pathos,” he wrote on Facebook. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies govt and politics","score":0.754075},{"label":"/law Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time The statue has sparked heated controversy as it is believed by some to be sexist A newly-unveiled bronze statue in a small Italian town has been called "sexist" and "an offence to women" however supporters say it is an "impeccable interpretation" of a woman from a famous 19th century poem Sculptor Emanuele Stifano's statue called La Spigolatrice was unveiled this week on the waterfront of the Italian town of Sapri The sculpture is a tribute to La Spigolatrice di Sapri (The Gleaner of Sapri) from poet Luigi Mercantini and features a female gleaner (someone who collects grain left in fields by harvesters) who leaves to join a doomed expedition of revolutionary Carlo Pisacane The statue of Emanuele Stifano dedicated to the Spigolatrice (Gleaner) in Sapri the statue with a transparent dress has been condemned by some politicians an MP with the centre-left Democratic Party called it "an offence to women and to the history it is supposed to celebrate" She added on Twitter: "How can even the institutions accept the representation of women as sexualised bodies Male chauvinism is one of the evils of Italy." called it "a slap on the face of history and of women who are still (treated as) sexualised bodies" is "made with skill and impeccable interpretation" and he hoped it would become a major tourist attraction An "appalled and disheartened" Stifano took to Facebook to respond to the criticism "When I make a sculpture I always tend to cover the human body as little as possible He added that the statue on the seafront "takes advantage of a breeze" to highlight the body and that it "represents an ideal of a woman Stuff.co.nz See also: Florence's medieval wine windows used during the plague are being revived See also: Once borders open, this is the first country I'll be visiting Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now Sculptor Emanuele Stifano's statue called La Spigolatrice was unveiled this week on the waterfront of the Italian town of Sapri An "appalled and disheartened" to respond to the criticism ‘locus’ is a floating installation that hosts IOSONOUNCANE’s unreleased composition within an ethereal wire mesh sailboat visitors on the nearby beach experienced the performance from shore forming new ways for the public to engage with sound and the sea.  all images by roberto conte creating symphonies amplified by the reverb of the sea and redefining the relationship between artist and audience edoardo tresoldi and IOSONOUNCANE collaborated on an audio-visual performance in southern italy the installation brings together art and music in a marine dimension ‘locus’ is a floating installation that hosts IOSONOUNCANE’s unreleased composition the intervention is set within an ethereal wire mesh sailboat visitors on the nearby beach experienced the performance from shore the project forms new ways for the public to engage with sound and the sea ‘locus’ has been presented for derive festival in sapri AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style The stunning graffiti mural in Sliema depicting a man scrambling into a hole in a wall of a building has emerged in the south of Italy the figure of a bearded grey man emerged on a building in the town of Sapri It is the continuation of the four-storey high mural It is meant to portray the struggle of migrants who leave southern shores and head to northern Europe in search of a better life the artist captions the picture: ‘Malta takes the dead and sends the living to Italy’ MTO's mural ‘The Mediterranean Door’ was performed for the Sliema Arts Festival MTO was invited to Malta by one of the island's own top street artists please register for free or log in to your account.