500 year anniversary of the world's first ghetto

When I think about the word ‘ghetto’, I normally think of an unsafe neighborhood or a run down part of town. It is crazy to think that to many Jewish people, the word ‘ghetto’ is an automatic trigger of being oppressed. The word "ghetto" is derived from a community in Venice, Italy, where the first ghetto ever was. Now, 500 years later, although ghettos are no longer a threat to the Jewish people, they remind us of the hardships Jews had to face. This article illustrates that this 7 - acre piece of land was used to keep Jews captive. In the beginning, they had no rights, but were eventually able to trade during the day, and ultimately become free. Although free today, very few live on the land that used to assimilate the Jews. I believe this is because the land is a physical and tangible symbol of what the Jews went through. It is a constant reminder, and living on the land is still too hard for many. I think this shows how important it is to have time to heal. Even 500 years later, the ghettos still remain a soft spot for the Jews, showing how difficult it can be to recover from being put down for hundreds of years. The photos of the ghetto showed its dark beauty. It illustrates the memories of the jews that are no longer with us by painting the land in such a grim light. I really liked the pictures because they showed that even though time moves forward, sometimes it takes longer to overcome the past.