The Israeli team set to compete in the Tour de France on Wednesday honoured two-time winner of cycling's premier race Gino Bartali for helping save Italian Jews under Nazi occupation. Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) riders participated in a ceremony in the garden of the Tempio Maggiore Israelitico di Firenze Synagogue, along with two survivors of Hamas's October 7 massacre flown in from Israel, representatives of the local Jewish community and relatives of Bartali. “The Jews of Florence feel deeply connected to Israel,” Enrico Fink, the president of the Italian city's Jewish community, told the .
“We have been suffering for months after October 7 together with our friends, family members and loved ones in Israel. For us, every opportunity to show our appreciation for what Israel stands for and bring our love to those who have been so terribly affected is welcome,” Fink added. “We also want to share the happiness of having Israel’s biking team competing here.
This difficult year is giving it even more significance,” he said. Ahead of the Tour’s first stage in Florence on Saturday, Sylvan Adams, co-owner of Israel-Premier Tech, stressed to the aboard his private jet en route from Tel Aviv to Italy the importance of connecting with Jews across the globe. “The Grand Depart [of the Tour] will take place in Firenze, a very interesting place with a beautiful synagogue.
Mixing with the Jewish community in Florence, at this time and given the worldwide surge of antisemitis.
