A book written by a well-known anti-Semitic priest in Italy during the early 16th century Italy and printed by Gershom Ben Moshe, a member of the Soncino family, was uncovered several days ago. Gershom was known as the most active printer in his family, who traveled from place to place with his printing machine. The book is part of a private collection belonging to Rabbi Daniel Sperber, a scholar in Talmud and Judaism as well as a professor emeritus at Bar Ilan University.
The book, titled "Anti-Jewish Essay" and printed in 1518, was written by the Rev. Pietro Galatino, who became well-known for his anti-Semitic views, as indicated by the book. Soncino may very well have wanted to print the book during one of his trips. This book, which was the first of three he printed in the city of Ortona, is the only one with a distinctly anti-Semitic character. However, the book also contains the hallmark characteristics typical of books printed by Soncino, such as the addition of an illustration with a woodcut border at the beginning of each chapter.
Full Story (The Jerusalem Post)
