Political Quotes

“I rise today to honor the achievements of Marcia Jo Zerivitz, the founding executive director and chief curator of the Jewish Museum of Florida. Marcia has been a leader in the organized Florida Jewish community for more than 40 years. Originally from West Virginia, she has been a leader in Jewish organizations since her work with Hillel during her college years. Since the 1970s, Marcia has held various leadership roles within organizations such as Israel Bonds, AIPAC, ORT, and Hadassah. Throughout her lifetime, Marcia has broken the glass ceiling as the first woman in many positions, including as president of the Greater Orlando Jewish Federation. She is one of the first women nationally to hold this office. She was also the first woman to chair the Florida Association of Jewish Federations Conference in 1979. In 1993, Marcia guided the restoration of an abandoned 1936 art deco building on Miami Beach, which served as an Orthodox synagogue for 50 years, and she opened the Jewish Museum of Florida in 1995. She led the effort to get the museum accredited and has presented more than 50 exhibits in 15 years. The museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has collected, preserved, and interpreted the Jewish experience in Florida since at least 1763, when Jews were first allowed to live in the State. In 2003, she initiated State legislation for a Florida Jewish History Month, which is now recognized each January.…”