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

This article examines the former Jewish ghetto (ex-ghetto ebraico) in Bolog na, 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 examin es the relationship between racism and the Jewish heritage industry in Ital y. Third, it describes the Former Jewish Ghetto Business Association (Assoc iazione Operatori Economici Ex Ghetto Ebraico) as an example of cultural ec onomic activity framing a confrontation between Jewish cultural heritage an d the heroin trade. The concluding discussion then focuses on the problemat ic relationship between the ghetto, immigrants, Jews, and racism emphasizin g conflicting visions of the city and new modes of consumption.