Changing History

By Marina Berkovich, JHSSWF President

Simon Wiesenthal famously said, “Humor is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them.”

Like you, I have been oppressed by COVID-19, masks and lockdowns, but I decided to retain my sense of humor as I tell you that we are moving the longplanned Jewish Historical Society’s 10th Anniversary Celebration with former Naples Mayor Bill Barnett from an inperson live event to a virtual live event. The new time is Monday, Jan. 7, 2021, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Zoom. This event will premiere the 13th film in the Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers documentary series, “The Mayor with a Heart,” about Bill Barnett, four-time Mayor of the City of Naples. Tickets to this annual fundraiser can be purchased by emailing office@jhsswf.org or at Eventbrite.

Throughout my turbulent road through life, I have always deferred to the unfortunate, tragic experiences of the immediately preceding generations of Jews to fully absorb and appreciate the blessings that were bestowed upon me.

I am lucky, I always thought, not to be born in the midst of revolutions and pogroms, like my grandparents, or severest famine of her birth region, like my mom, or the Holocaust, like so many people whose names are lost forever, because their entire families perished. Born just several weeks after Gagarin’s space flight, I always lived with an idealistic hope of humanity working toward learning the lessons from history, so as not to repeat the same mistakes; not to become trapped in someone’s power play that would certainly be viewed by history quite differently from the way it looks to the people caught in it.

“Survival is a privilege which entails obligations. I am forever asking myself what I can do for those who have not survived,” is another wisdom from Simon Wiesenthal that I take seriously as a survivor and escapee from socialism.

In 1947, the entire population of Naples, Florida was about 500 families, not one of them Jewish. By comparison, a medieval Jewish traveler visited the city of Naples, Italy in 1159 A.D. and recorded that 500 Jewish families lived there.

Everything is fluid in today’s world, but at the rate of current migration to SWFL, it is quite possible that the Jewish community will grow to well beyond 10,000 people over the next two decades. It’s important that this expansion doesn’t destroy the quality of general and Jewish life that Jews, like Irving Berzon and Stuart Kaye, featured in our Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers series, were instrumental in structuring.

Our local Jewish heroes are honored and remembered thanks to your interest, generosity and support.

Join us on Wednesdays in December, at 3 p.m., when we will be Zooming Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers documentaries, the broadcast-quality films JHSSWF created from eyewitness testimonies The Society records. Please sign up at jhsswf.org for these December documentaries: Chief Plager, Sanibel, Dec. 2; Florence Hertzman, Naples, Dec. 9; and Irv Berzon, Collier County, Dec. 16.

We thank you for 10 years of your unwavering support of our small, allvolunteer, local organization. Our common fight against COVID-19 may take us elsewhere than we now envision, but ultimately, it will be good.

Become a JHSSWF member today

Family Membership $54; Individual Membership $36. Please mail checks to The Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida, 8805 Tamiami Trail North, Suite # 255, Naples FL 34108. Contact us at 833-547-7935 (833-JHS-SWFL),

Virtual Museum of SWFL Jewish History is located at http://jewishhistorysouthwestflorida.org.

The Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida is a section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions are deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.