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Federation Star
JEWISH FEDERATION
November 2020
Happy Thanksgiving! Reneé Bialek Program Director
T
he Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is honored to offer The PJ Library, sharing books and programs with young Jewish families and their children. Thank you to the Naples Senior Center at JFCS for hosting PJ Library for the last several years. PJ Library sends free Jewish children’s books to families across the world every month. Jewish families raising kids from birth through 8½ years old, are welcome to sign up via our website or our weekly e-blasts.
Important upcoming programs • Sunday, Nov. 8 is the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, “The Night
of Broken Glass.” The Catholic Jewish Dialogue of Collier County invites the entire community to the annual commemoration service at 2:30 p.m. • Sunday, Nov. 22 at 8:15 p.m.: Internationally acclaimed cellist Amit Peled presents “A Jewish Journey Through Music.”
Please save the dates for these upcoming programs • Monday, Dec. 7 at 7 pm: Ambassador Dennis Ross and David Makovsky in conversation. • Thursday, Dec. 10 is the community-wide Chanukah Celebration. Let’s light our menorahs together. The program begins at 5 p.m. Free event. • The Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival begins on Thursday, Dec. 3. You can find more information on the Jewish Book Festival throughout this Federation Star issue. The above programs are just a sample of programs being offered at the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples. Additional
Celebrating Jewish Life in Collier County, Israel and the World
programs can be found in our weekly e-blast. If you are not receiving the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples e-blast every Monday, please let me know. It is important that you read the updated news on a weekly basis. All of these virtual programs will take place on Zoom. Some programs are free, while others have a fee. More information on all of the above can be found throughout this Federation Star and in our Monday weekly e-blast. Please make sure to register via the link that is provided in the weekly eblasts. If you need help registering, please ask me. A confirmation email will be sent to you immediately after you register. The Zoom link is emailed to you about one to two hours prior to the start of each program. Please like us on Facebook! I look forward to Zooming with you at the next program. If you have any questions or need help with the use of Zoom, please do not hesitate to ask me. Please contact me at rbialek@ jewishnaples.org with any questions.
Jewish Book Festival offers a spectacular “virtual” season By Susan Pittelman, Jewish Book Festival Co-chair and Carole J Greene, Jewish Book Festival Author Selection Team
B
eginning in December and concluding in March, the annual Greater Naples Jewish Book Festival will once again offer our community a dazzling series of author events. This year’s festival, however, will be quite different from previous festivals. Challenged by the social distancing requirements of the pandemic, we are offering this year’s book festival virtually rather than canceling it. So, instead of driving to the Hilton Naples or Temple Shalom, you will be able to enjoy this vast array of literary events from the comfort of your own home. By offering the events through Zoom, the Jewish Book Festival, a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples in cooperation with the Jewish Book Council, will continue to be a key contributor to the cultural life of our community. Our Sixth Annual Jewish Book Festival will offer a Zoom-tastic variety of 19 events, scheduled at various times and days of the week—and will certainly help fill your calendar. You will have the opportunity to hear 21 authors talk about their books, which reflect a variety of genres. From fact to fiction, history to mystery and so much more, we have scheduled something for everyone to enjoy. Most of the festival events will feature a solo presenter giving a dynamic 25- to 35-minute talk, followed by approximately 10 to 15 minutes of Q&A. Two book festival events will include two authors, matched by a common theme or genre, with each author speaking separately. Plan for single-author events to run approximately one hour, and two-author events to run an hour and 15 minutes. Put a “reserved sign” on your favorite chair and be ready to join us as we “zoom along together” through our festival.
The 2020-21 Festival will kick off on Thursday evening, Dec. 3, at 7:30 with author and psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb discussing her best selling book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. Cary Barbor, host of local (WGCU) NPR’s “All Things Considered,” will moderate. Gottlieb was to be the featured speaker at last year’s Evy Lipp People of the Book Cultural event, so we are thrilled that she will open this year’s festival. Her book peeks behind the curtains to discover the world of both clinician and patient.
Funny and thought-provoking, it reveals what it means to be human, presents an illuminating account of our own mysterious lives, and identifies our power to transform them. Gottlieb is well known for her many television appearances and contributions to such periodicals as The New York Times and The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” column. And she will become even better known when the TV series based on her book premieres! Ginsberg Eye is sponsoring this very special event. The following is an overview of the remaining events in date order for your reference.
Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy a bit of nostalgia as Andrew Michael Blauner shares his book, The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Gang, and the
Meaning of Life. The Peanuts comic strip by the brilliant Charles Schultz celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Blauner came up with a unique way to pay tribute. He gathered a star-studded roster of 33 writers to dig into the personal truths revealed in Peanuts and the comic strip’s impact on their lives and the broader culture. The result will blanket you in warm-puppy happiness.
Friday, Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m. Tw o au tho r s w i l l discuss their novels. Ne s s a R a p o p o r t’s Evening, which was featured in the September/October issue of Hadassah Magazine and exposes complicated family dynamics among three generations of women. The story unfolds day-by-day as a griefstricken family sits shiva. The revelations illuminate the past, shape the present and affect the future. Elayne Klasson’s Love is a Rebellious Bird, is a fictional account of a 60-year love affair. It examines the perennial question of why we love the people we do. This program is sponsored by Collier/Lee Chapter of Hadassah.
Thursday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. Be sure to finish lunch in time to hear Lew Paper, author of In The Cauldron, reveal this never-before-told story, that recounts the American ambassador to continued on page 5
Federation Star Published by the Jewish Federation of Collier County serving Naples, Marco Island and the surrounding communities
Published by
2500 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 2201 Naples, Florida 34109-0613 Phone: 239.263.4205 Fax: 239.263.3813 www.jewishnaples.org Email: info@jewishnaples.org Officers Board Chair: Jane Schiff Vice Chairs: Karen Deutsch, Marc Saperstein, Phyllis Seaman Secretary: Rosalee Bogo Treasurer: Elliot Lerner Immediate Past Chair: Alvin Becker
Board of Directors Patti Boochever, Harvey Cohen, Amanda Dorio, Paula Filler, Merlin Lickhalter, Robin Mintz, Les Nizin, William Petasnick, Joel Pittelman, Stuart Price, Nat Ritter, Michael Rubenstein, Jamie Satz, Betty Schwartz, Arlene Sobol, Michael Sobol, Steve Strome, Jay Weiss, Beth Wolff, Jeff Zalasky Past Presidents Gerald Flagel, Dr. William Ettinger, Ann Jacobson, Sheldon Starman, Bobbie Katz, Rosalee Bogo, Judge Norman Krivosha Synagogue Representatives Cantor Donna Azu, Sue Baum, Rabbi Ariel Boxman, Rabbi Ammos Chorny, Shelley Goodman, Rabbi Mark Gross, Sue Hammerman, Rabbi Howard Herman, Stephen P. McCloskey, Rabbi Adam Miller, Rabbi James Perman, Dr. Arthur Seigel, Daryl Sissman, Rabbi Fishel Zaklos Staff Federation CEO/President Jeffrey Feld Renee’ Bialek: Program Director Marcy Friedland: Capital Campaign & Planned Giving Director Janine Hudak: Admin. Coordinator Nathan Ricklefs: Database Manager Teresa Zimmerman: Finance & Operations Manager Federation is the central Jewish community-building organization for Greater Naples, providing a social service network that helps Jewish people locally, in Israel and around the world. As the central fundraising organization for Jewish communal life in our area, strength is drawn from organized committees of dedicated volunteers. Programs include: • Annual Campaign & Endowment Fund • Celebrate Israel • Educational & Cultural Programs • Israel Advocacy Committee • Israel Scouts • Jewish Book Festival • Jewish Community Relations Council • Jewish Young Professionals • Jewish Russian Cultural Alliance • Men’s Cultural Alliance
• PJ Library
• Publication of the Federation Star, Connections and Community Directory • Women’s Cultural Alliance • Women’s Division • Youth Activities Committee – sponsoring youth education and scholarships for Jewish Summer Camp and the Israel Experience
