Interfaith Kristallnacht commemorative service, lecture returns to Naples

Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County hosts visiting scholar, Holocaust remembrance for “Night of Broken Glass”

NAPLES, Fla.  The Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier County (CJD) invites the community to its annual commemorative service of Kristallnacht or “Night of Broken Glass,” which historians consider the beginning of the Holocaust.

The free public event takes place on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 5225 Golden Gate Parkway in Naples. Advance registration at jfgn.regfox.com/kristallnacht-2023-program is requested.

Kristallnacht recounts the attacks on Jewish communities throughout Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938. The Kristallnacht commemorative event memorializes the six million Jews and millions of others who were exterminated during the Holocaust.

“For more than 20 years, members of our two faiths have gathered together in search of a deeper understanding of the forces that bring us together, not drive us apart,” said Ginny Segaloff, chair of the commemoration program. “And a full 85 years later, amid growing antisemitism and violent hate crimes, the lessons of the Holocaust remain as vital – and necessary – than ever.”

The event’s speaker will be Rabbi David Maayan, assistant director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at St. Leo University in Tampa. The topic: Theologies of the “Other”: Catholics and Jews After the Holocaust.

“Many factors made the Holocaust possible, but a crucial element was the casting of the Jew as the demonized ‘other,’” Maayan said. “Confronted by this horrific reality, some Catholics as well as Jews, were led to reflect upon – and seek to correct – the sources of such charged, negative understandings of others.”

The CJD is affiliated with Jewish Federation of Greater Naples and the Collier County parishes of the Diocese of Venice. Its purpose is to engage Catholics and Jews in understanding history and advancing the cause of mutual understanding and appreciation of differences as well as commonalities.

The event, which is marking its return to in-person gatherings after several years as virtual-only, is sponsored by CJD, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, the Diocese of Venice in Florida, GenShoah of SWFL, and the Holocaust Museum & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Education Center. The host location rotates annually between Jewish temples and community centers and Catholic parishes.

About Jewish Federation of Greater Naples

The Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is the thread that runs through the fabric of the Jewish community, its organizations and services, connecting us all. The Federation supports programs for Jewish people and the entire community in need in the greater Naples area, Israel and throughout the world, providing food for the hungry and counseling for the troubled, spearheading rescue and relief efforts for isolated Jews in distressed regions, and funding innovative Jewish educational and unity initiatives. The Federation creates a sense of community for thousands of Jewish residents in Greater Naples and its surrounding areas by creating and supporting programs to further Jewish learning, identity, pride and culture. Federation meets the challenge of providing for the needs of our Jewish brethren, wherever they may be, from young children and families to seniors. For information, visit jewishnaples.org, call 239-263-4205 or email info@jewishnaples.org.