“What it means to me is that [Gottlieb is] a Jewish-American who’s getting this marker, and Jewish-Americans are underrepresented with historical markers in Philadelphia,” said Morello, a Catholic.
“I believe in my heart that Jews who have achieved what Eddie Gottlieb did should be on historical markers. When you’re talking about Gottlieb, you’re talking about achievement. I’m happy he got it.”
Morello has traced her roots to 17th-century Sicily, and said her family research indicates that her ancestors were Jewish before being forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition.
“I’m not of the Jewish faith, but I’m of the Jewish bloodline,” she said.
As to more contemporary history, Morello sees historical markers in her state, and generally, as bringing the valued past to anyone willing to gaze at them.
“These markers are a form of public history,” Morello said. “It doesn’t take anything to learn what these markers show.”