H EADLINES
Catherine Regehr
Trunk Show
Daytime to Evening
Cocktail, Gowns & Evening Separates
Thursday to Saturday
February 10-12
The garage workshop on the estate grounds has vintage Ford vehicles
on display.

Jewish Fort Myers
AS WE TOURED the Edison-Ford Winter Estate, we were
mindful of Henry Ford’s reputation as an antisemite. Aft er
the tour, we did some research and found a 2002 Chicago
Tribune article (“A Revealing Look at Henry Ford and
Anti-Semitism”) by Ron Grossman that detailed some of the
inventor’s anti-Jewish views.

Grossman wrote: “Ford, the father of the modern
assembly line, was convinced that the Jews were the source
of whatever ailed America. He wasn’t alone in the thought.

Among his peers, the great business tycoons of the early 20th
Century, anti-Semitism was common table talk … berating
the Jews was a frequent practice … Edison, who was in a
close friendship with the antisemitic industrialist Henry
Ford, nevertheless resisted falling into anti-Jewish stereo-
typing in most instances, although he was not impervious to
the widespread exaggerations about Jewish economic power
in Europe and was not above indulging in antisemitism in
some of his early fi lms.”
Interestingly, the political and religious views of the
former residents of the estate are neither mentioned nor
denied in the self-guided tour app or the historical site’s
website. While antisemitism can be found in Florida, as well as
elsewhere, the anti-Jewish infl uence of Ford and friends has
not had a signifi cant impact on the contemporary region
surrounding the estate.

Today the three-county region that includes Fort Myers
has a signifi cant Jewish population. Th e 2019 “American
Jewish Year Book” estimated the year-round Jewish popula-
tion of Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties at approximately
12,000 individuals, with a few thousand more Jews likely as
part-time residents. Th ere are 15 Jewish congregations in
the area, at least two Jewish humanistic groups and a full
variety of Jewish social, cultural and educational organi-
zations, including the Jewish Federation of Lee County in
Fort Myers.

Th e region did not have a signifi cant organized Jewish
community until the mid-20th century. Jewish World War
II trainees were introduced to the region by several bases in
the area, and the Jewish presence in southwest Florida has
increased with continued growth and the infl ux of retirees
from the northern United States. ●
— Jeff rey and Virginia Orenstein
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 11-5 pm
19th & Sansom Streets 215-567-4662
Discounted Parking
Regehr TS Ad 2202.indd 1
12/15/21 9:03 AM
We Provide
Peace of Mind! Visit!
Come Your loved one can remain living at
The Hearth through all of their care needs,
staying in the place they know as home.

For additional information and to schedule
your in-person or virtual tour, please go to
www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org/Visit or
call 1-877-205-9428.

238 Belmont Ave. | Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
JEWISH EXPONENT
www.TheHearthAtDrexel.org JANUARY 27, 2022
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