ROME- Ambassadors, politicians and writers descended on the MAXXI Museum of 21^st Century Arts in Rome to celebrate the 69^th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.

The Israeli Ambassador, Ofer Sachs, together with his wife Rony, were on hand to welcome the well-respected members of the worlds of politics, culture, economics, religion and diplomacy.

The venue, the MAXXI, is a museum managed by a foundation created by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, headed by Dario Franceschini. Recently, the museum hosted an exhibition on digital media art, including an 3D video installation by Israeli artist Sigalit Landau.

Ambassador Sachs, thanked the president of the museum, Giovanna Melandri, as well as Marco Minniti the Italian Interior Minister; Valeria Fedeli the Minister of Education; the Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat and the president of the Union of The Jewish Italian Community Noemi Di Segni, among others.

“Welcome to the birthday of the State of Israel,” said the ambassador.

“I am very excited and happy to be here with you at the MAXXI, the crowd this evening represents the great variety of sectors that are involved: culture, economy, public affairs, politics, the Jewish community and many more.”

“The choice of the MAXXI is not by chance, beyond the artisistic relationships between our countries, this museum is situated in one of the oldest cities in the world and forms a bridge between the old and the modern,” added Sachs.

The event was also attended by the Dutch Ambassador Joep Wijnands and his wife, the Canadian Ambassador Peter McGovern and the Greek Ambassador Themistoklis Demiris.

“The oldest Jewish community is that of Rome. Italy and Israel are very united countries, they also do strong research together. Our’s is a free nation that welcomes all religions and people,” continued Sachs.

The ambassador’s speech was followed by applause, warm embraces and toasts to the State of Israel.

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