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President of the Jewish Historical Society of SWFL reflects on the work they do & the times we're inWe meet southwest Florida resident Marina Berkovich. She’s a native of Kiev, Ukraine, who fled the Soviet Union and Communism with her mother at the age of 18. Trained as a CPA, Ms. Berkovich was chief financial officer of a New York City-based hotel and property management company before she began teaming up with her husband Alex Goldstein, a renowned Russian-American cinematic composer, to make documentary films -- many of which help tell the story of Jewish people who made, and make, a positive impact on life in Southwest Florida. Ms. Berkovich is an oral visual history interviewer for the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida. She and her husband moved here from New York in 2004, and in 2010 helped found the nonprofit Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida, where she remains president. We sit down with her to hear her thoughts on the world today — including Russia's war against Ukraine, and the Hamas attack on Israel and what has unfolded since — as well as the work they do at the Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida.
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Antisemitism has been on the rise in the United States for about the past two decades – and 2021 was the highest year on record for documented reports of violence, harassment, and vandalism directed toward Jews. That’s according to data from the nonprofit Anti-Defamation League, which has been actively monitoring and documenting incidents of antisemitism and publishing this information since 1979. We go back into history to add some context to the world we find ourselves in, to an incident that unfolded in France in the late 1800s and early 1900s known as The Dreyfus Affair.
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Naples community event features a memorial service and Gulfshore Playhouse performance.
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The Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center opened January 15th in Naples.
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Event commemorates sacrifice, tragedy and heroism in the face of the Nazi Holocaust as well as 9/11 victims and heroes.
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In 2003, Jeb Bush designated January as Florida Jewish History Month. To commemorate this month, WGCU looks into the history of what Jewish people have done to impact Southwest Florida.
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Wednesday night marked the start of Purim. WGCU's Rachel Iacovone spoke with Rabbi Nicole Luna of Temple Beth-El in Fort Myers ahead of the holiday…
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The Naples Holocaust Museum and Education Center is hosting an exhibit of violins once owned and played by victims of Nazi concentration camps. This week…
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For more than 70 years Naples resident Ben Alalouf has carried with him memories of being a child refugee, after he and his Jewish family spent three…
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Retired engineer, Cesare Frustaci, was just eight years old when his family was forced out of their home in Budapest, Hungary -- and forced into an…