“GIRL POWER – HOW WOMEN IMPACTED THE HOLOCAUST AND BEYOND”
ON DISPLAY THROUGH MAY 25 AT THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM & JANET G. AND HARVEY D. COHEN EDUCATION CENTER
Celebrating Jewish Life in Greater Naples, Israel and the World
Federation Star Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Serving Naples, Marco Island and the surrounding communities
www.JewishNaples.org Y May 2021 – Iyar/Sivan 5781 Y Vol. 30 #9
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 8 Men’s Cultural Alliance 10 Women’s Cultural Alliance 12 Community Focus 14 Tributes 17 Jewish Interest 21 Israel & the Jewish World 22 Organizations 24 Commentary 25 Synagogue News 27 Focus on Youth 31 Community Directory
Book Talk with Julie Gray Join us for this author discussion of “The True Adventures of Gidon Lev,” an inspirational story of hope and a primer on Jewish culture and history.
7 Southwest Florida Jewish Pioneers Celebrate national Jewish Heritage Month with six more documentaries presented by the Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida. 16
h in 2012. A editor,BBYO’s Julie’sNaples Leadership Hall Fame the Timesof of Announcing both our n Post, the 2019-20 and 2020-21 NY Post and Hall of Fame awardees. 27
Nobles, or The Book Depository
State of the Federation Jane Schiff Federation Board Chair
L
ast year, I ended my report by stating, “Our Federation is growing and thriving despite difficult times. We need each other more now than ever, even though the social distancing makes it impossible to be close. We can still be close virtually and emotionally.” And that is how I choose to start this year’s report. We are close, while being physically distant; we need each other more now than ever; and our Federation is growing and thriving. This past year was one of adaptation. We learned to Zoom without ever leaving our homes. The most used phrase of the year was “you have to unmute yourself so we can hear you.” We Zoomed for life cycle events, we Zoomed for holidays, and we Zoomed for all our Federation meetings and programs. We stayed in touch and we learned, we connected, and we moved forward. All that Zooming meant some fancy footwork to learn how to make large and small gatherings happen. Our staff figured it out, and because of our staff, we found ways to be together. Again this year, as in past years, the Federation thrives because of our staff and the way they work so closely with our volunteers.
Thank you to our staff Jeffrey Feld, our President and CEO, is
Jewish Federation of Greater Naples 2500 Vanderbilt Beach Rd., Ste. 2201 Naples, FL 34109
OF GREATER NAPLES
the quiet, driving force that keeps it all together. He is the most diplomatic and effective CEO I can imagine. He produces large-city results with small-city resources. His staff adores him and we all deeply appreciate his tenacity, his vision, his results and his warm inclusive personality. Feld is tireless, dedicated and passionate. He is respected throughout our community and we are indeed lucky to have him as our leader. Thank you, Jeffrey, for all that you do for our community. Our Community Program Director, Reneé Bialek, is the force behind the majority of our Zoom events. She staffs our Jewish Book Festival, the IAC (Israel Advocacy Committee), JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council), PJ Library, Mix and Mingle, Jewish Professionals, Catholic-Jewish Dialogue, Yom HaShoah, Jewish Day of Learning, and more. She has been busier than ever, with everything being online. Thank you, Reneé.
Marcy Friedland is our Capital Campaign Director and Planned Giving Director. We have been in high gear with our Capital Campaign fundraising, and Marcy has overseen every detail. We hired an outside fundraising firm, Amplify Partners, with whom Marcy has worked very closely in addition to our ongoing efforts. Thank you, Marcy. Teresa Zimmerman, our Finance and Operations Manager, works with our Finance and Audit Committee to keep our books transparent. In addition, she oversees, fixes and manages the day-to-day operations necessary to run our organization. Teresa works with the Treasurer of Federation, WCA and MCA as well as being on call for any questions that arise. Thank you, Teresa. Never has technology been so important to us all. It is our link to each other and the world, and Nathan Ricklefs, our Database Manager, keeps it all running continued on page 2
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