Ghetto association: Jewish heritage, heroin, and racism in Bologna

Abstract

This article examines the former Jewish ghetto (ex‐ghetto ebraico) in Bologna, Italy as a social field where racialized heritage discourses come into conflict. First, it considers how the racist assumption that North African immigrants run the heroin trade is elaborated in Bologna. Second, it examines the relationship between racism and the Jewish heritage industry in Italy. Third, it describes the Former Jewish Ghetto Business Association (Associazione Operatori Economici Ex Ghetto Ebraico) as an example of cultural economic activity framing a confrontation between Jewish cultural heritage and the heroin trade. The concluding discussion then focuses on the problematic relationship between the ghetto, immigrants, Jews, and racism emphasizing conflicting visions of the city and new modes of consumption.