Fourth Annual Local Jewish History Film Festival

Sponsored by Rosalee and Jerry Bogo

Marina Berkovich, JHSSWF President

The September 14 presentation of Timelines of SWFL Jewish History to the JCC of Valencia Lakes community in Bonita Springs drew a crowd of 50 residents. Our history in Florida began in 1513, and we are just getting started on documenting it. We are always happy to take our presentations on the road to your community.

On September 29, together with Jewish-Russian Cultural Alliance, JHSSWF presented Antisemitism: From Babi Yar to Our Backyards. This event commemorated the anniversary of the Babi Yar Massacre in Kiev, USSR (now Kyiv, Ukraine) that was perpetrated by Nazi occupiers and their Ukrainian collaborators on September 29-30, 1941. There are many significant parallels between that event and all subsequent acts of violent antisemitism, including other mass murders, nonexistent or meek media coverage, and absence of worldwide public outrage or condemnation.

Jews are still less than .2% of the planet’s humans. Yet, we are the most targeted ethnic and religious group. Antisemitism is an unending story of our people. Rebranding it into anti-Zionism or Jew-hatred to suit the changing times and politicized opinions will not alter its impact on history and the safety of our people or the mental health of our future generations. Educating them differently may.

After the Holocaust, survivors preferred not to discuss it with their children. In Israel, studying the Holocaust was limited to specific acts of heroism. We consider every Holocaust survivor a hero. Each of their stories is unique. Similarly, every Soviet Jew who survived complete discrimination is a hero, whether or not they think of themselves as one. Growing up with the fear of persecution made them so. Every survivor of October 7 is definitely a hero. And in a sense, each of us is an October 7 survivor.

The worldwide fear of escalating antisemitism is once again pulling the younger generations away from their roots, continuing the ancient pattern of persecution and migration. Is emulating young Israelis and gearing up for a standoff our responsibility? We think, yes. And we think being armed with historical facts is imperative.

We are proud to partake in establishing the historical base for our present and future Jewish community and to hold an Annual Local Jewish History Film Festival, comprised of documentary films produced by The Jewish Historical Society of SWFL based on the eyewitness interviews we conduct. To date there are 26 such films in existence and each year we bring to you five or six of them during a month-long festival that is hosted at Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center. Each film is a brief encounter with the wonderful, resilient individuals who had the fortitude to come to the Southwest Florida region at a time when Jewish people were unwelcomed and chased out. Jewish community was but a distant dream, and even most of the practical conveniences, including infrastructure, were in their infancy.

These Jews formed small, close-knit communities of like-minded people, hired rabbis or led services as lay people. They invested in their own and developed outreach to educate the community-at-large about the Jewish people.

Our Fourth Annual Local Jewish History Film Festival will take place three dates during November. Details are in the events section on page 5A Attendance is free, thanks to the extreme generosity of Rosalee and Jerry Bogo. Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is our location sponsor.

Please accept our apology for the inadvertent misprinting of our telephone number in past issues of the Fed Star. Our correct telephone number is 833-347-7935 (833-JHS-SWFL).

Direct all correspondence, including contributions and renewals, to The Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida, PO Box 10075, Naples, FL 34101; 833-347-7935 (833-JHSSWFL); www.jhsswf.org.

Section 501(c)3 charitable organization, contributions are deductible to the full extent allowed by law.