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Watch PBS » | About WLRN TV » | TV Schedules » | Producing for WLRN »About WLRN Public TelevisionWLRN-TV Channel 17 is a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) member station licensed to the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida. During an average month, Channel 17 reaches over 600,000 TV households in the Miami - Ft. Lauderdale area with a viewing audience in four South Florida counties, from Palm Beach to Key West. WLRN is South Florida’s leading PBS Ready to Learn station airing thirteen hours of award-winning children’s programming daily. WLRN-TV also presents the best of the PBS nationally recognized series to compliment locally produced content. Our prime time schedule features an eclectic array of arts, performance, science, and WLRN original documentary specials to address the diverse interests of the South Florida community.Printable Monthly Schedules »WLRN Original DocumentariesProducing award winning original programs remains a high priority for WLRN. Take a closer look at some of the incredible stories that we have had the pleasure of producing for our South Florida viewers.Learn More »

The Jewish Journey

7:30 pm THE JEWISH JOURNEY: America - Historical Documentary

Narrated by Martha Teichner, the film follows the trajectory of Jewish American life from the earliest arrivals in the mid-17th century through the impact of the Nazi regime in World War II, the creation of Israel, and the new challenges of 21st century assimilation. Explore the personal stories many faced as they migrated to America, whether for economic opportunity or to escape persecution. 

"The Jewish Journey: America" begins by exploring what it meant to be part of a tight-knit Jewish community in this diverse range of countries, and what prompted those families to leave their enclaves for America. Some left the warmth of multi-generational Eastern European shtetls or cities for the experience of life in a land with seemingly unending horizons. As the film explains, contrary to common belief, most of these Jewish families and those from Russia came not to escape pogroms but actually for economic opportunity.

 
Others made the “Jewish Journey” from the Islamic World. In these lands many Jews had to leave when the politics and treatment of Jews changed with the creation of Israel in 1948, and for other political and economic reasons in the years and decades that followed. More recently, Persian Jews who left Iran in the late 1970s recall hiding their identity under the Ayatollah’s regime until they could escape.
 
Whatever the reason, these families and those who came in other waves made a leap of faith in search of the American Dream. For them, staying was not an option, yet leaving meant unimaginable heartbreak as parents said goodbye to children they knew they would never see again. As historians and first to fourth generation Americans relate in the film, the risk came with the hope that this trek by foot, train, boat or plane would be rewarded with a better life for themselves and future generations.
 

Mia Laurenzo is a 35-year veteran of public television in Miami. She began her career learning every aspect of video production. Currently she is a writer, producer, on-air host and promotions coordinator for TV, radio and the web.  Her experiences include producing for a series, special events and historical documentaries.  As a native Floridian, she is a perfect fit for South Florida's Storyteller Station, WLRN.  She has produced several award winning, nationally distributed documentaries and is the recipient of three Suncoast Regional Emmys.  
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