Stuart Gitlitz grew up in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, ventured upstate to attend college at SUNY Binghamton, then escaped the cold to come to Miami for law school and stayed put after he earned his JD.
What kind of law did you practice before you retired?
In the beginning of my career I did criminal defense work, during the crazy “Miami Vice” days, then I switched to representing banks and mortgage companies.
That’s a big pivot – why did you make the change?
Because the nature of the defendants and situation changed and I didn’t like where things were going. The drug trade, which was very big and pervasive here, moved into cocaine and the cocaine cowboys era, and these people were very corrupt – they were killers – and they thought they owned you. And I was very uncomfortable about that. I had the opportunity to learn about a different kind of law and took it. I did and do miss jury trials, though; I loved trying cases before a jury.
You were recently in Poland for a very special and meaningful purpose. Tell me about that.
Yes, it was for the International March of the Living and it was my fourth time going. It was started here in Miami by Gene Greenzweig; he felt that young people, high school seniors, should learn about the history of the Jewish people – the low points and the high points. So you start in Poland in Krakow and see how Jews lived there. Before the war there were 3.3 million Jews in Poland, and Krakow was one of the centers of Jewish education and culture. Then you visit Auschwitz on the day of Yom Hashoah, a Holocaust remembrance day, and march about 3 kilometers from there to Auschwitz II, which is also known as Birkenau. It’s usually about 10,000 Jewish teenagers all wearing blue jackets with a Star of David on the back.
That must be such an overwhelming thing to see and experience.
The kids march together and sing and – forgive my language – it’s basically saying “F–k you Hitler. You tried to get rid of us and we’re still here.” At Birkenau, where the main crematoriums and gas chambers were, there’s a ceremony. Then after Poland – the lowest point of Jewish life with the death camps – you go directly to Israel, the site of the rebirth of the Jews, and you’re there for Israel Memorial Day and Israel Independence Day.
How did you get involved with the organization?
I got involved because my daughter did the march in 2000 and it really affected her. I’d always wanted to do it myself, so when I went with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation to Israel in 2012, 2013, for the state’s 65th birthday and the tour offered a pre-mission to Poland, I went. During the mission I became friendly with a couple of survivors. And when I went a second time in 2018 for Israel’s 70th, I made a promise to a survivor that I would keep his story alive. I’ve since worked at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach and studied at Yad Vashem Holocaust Center and I kind of feel a responsibility to go back to Poland and Israel whenever I can. Each time you go you have a different experience.
Thank you so much for sharing that. And there’s really no smooth segue from that to talking about books and Book Fair, but –
I’ve got a segue for you. Right before you called I was watching The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which is now a series on Peacock. It’s about a man named Lale Sokolov and the story of his experience at Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the only one of the killing camps where they actually tattooed the prisoners.
Did you read the book before seeing the show?
Yes. I always like to read the book before seeing the movie or TV show it’s based on, because what’s on the screen is just what the director thought. But when you read the book you get your own experience of the story.
Exactly!
I was just in Washington, D.C., for the American Jewish Committee global forum, and on one of my flights I watched The Boys in the Boat. Have you seen it?
No – because I haven’t read the book yet – but it’s in my Amazon Prime queue.
I’d read it for my book club so I started watching the movie on the plane, but of course – this always happens – we landed about 15 minutes before it ended. [laughs]
I watched the end later at my son’s house when I was visiting him in New York.
When did you first become aware of Miami Book Fair?
At an event that was held at Temple Judea. I’m good friends with Mitch Kaplan and he used to do some of his author events there – I’ve met Roslyn Carter, Tom Brokaw, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Anyway, Lisa Better was there and she said to me, “Are you a member of the Fair?” I said “I don’t think so,” and she said, “Well you need to be,” and she signed me up. That was about 10-15 years ago.
After so many years of being a Friend and coming to the Fair, what’s your favorite benefit?
I appreciate being able to experience more of it, like being invited to preview events, sitting up front, and just supporting it, really. I’m a Friend because supporting the Fair is important.
How do you usually Book Fair – solo or with family and friends?
Well, the Brooklyn genes run deep because both my son and daughter now live up in New York after being raised in Miami. They’re both very much into reading. My daughter always had to have a second book with her when she was a child, because she had to have something else to read right away after finishing the first one. My grandchildren are also all big readers. So to answer your question, I go to the Fair by myself.
Tell me about a standout moment or program you’ve experienced at the Fair.
It’s recent – at the last one I met Cassidy Hutchinson.
Oh, yes – she was one of our Evenings With authors; you can still see her session online.
Being a lawyer, I’ve been obsessed with all the January 6 stuff. She signed my copy of her book and was so personable and friendly; we also took a picture together. Kerry Washington was great, too. She was interviewed by … what’s her name again?
Eva Longoria.
Yes! And I also went to the David Brooks session – this last Fair was amazing.
What’s a really good book that you’ve recently read?
There are two that I really loved. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – that was so heartwarming and unique. The narrator of the story is an octopus named Marcellus. It was such an interesting way to do it. The other one is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. That’s also been made into a series, on Apple TV+. I thought it was such a good statement against male chauvinism and how upsetting it is that women were treated that way.
If you could add any author to the MBF24 lineup, who would it be?
John Grisham. I’ve done a lot of trial work and I have a lot of stories, but I don’t know how to put them into a narrative. He’s able to do that, time after time. I’ve read every single thing he’s written.
Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.
