Vol. LXXXVI No. 18 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 86 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
In season of giving, young adults help war-battered northern Israelis by the Lynn and Charles Schusterman Family Foundation. “When you live abroad and you are a Jew, it is a unique feeling when there is a war going on here -- you feel as if it is your own family that is suffering,” said Gabriel Buznik, 29, a lawyer from Buenos Aires. “Here we can show them they are not alone, we are the same Jewish people.” The young people, drawn from organizations such as their university Hillels and leadership programs sponsored by the Schusterman foundation, spread out over 10 northern communities for 10 days of volunteering and service. They not only worked with their hands, they also interacted with local residents -Jewish, Muslim and Christian -- and heard about their lives during and since the war. The idea for the program followed the successes of Hillel-organized trips last year to areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and similar alternative spring breaks to places like Argentina and Ukraine that the Schusterman foundation helped fund in conjunction with the American Young Jewish volunteers from around the world gather to plant trees in a northern Israeli for- Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). est damaged by Hezbollah rocket fire during this summer’s war. Credit: Itzhak Elharar/Scoop 80 Continued on page 2
22 Tevet, 5767 January 12, 2007
Omaha t-shirt now holds place of honor on Ambassador’s wall
by DINA KRAFT KIRYAT SHEMONA, Israel (JTA) -- They painted flowerbeds and underwater worlds on the walls of bomb shelters. They planted tree saplings and cleared brush on hillside forests scorched by Hezbollah rockets. Hundreds of young adults from across the Jewish world rolled up their sleeves to give back to the residents of Israel’s war-battered North. The group of 550 college students and young professionals from North America and Europe, from India and Australia, joined a mass community service project over the winter holidays called “Leading Up North,” funded
Haggai Alon, senior advisor on foreign affairs in the Ministry of Defense, meets with United States Ambassador to Israel -- Richard Jones of Nebraska. The “Omaha” t-shirt, presented to the Ambassador in November by Jewish Press Editor Carol Katzman, apparently holds a permanent place on his office wall at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Katzman’s interview of Amb. Jones appeared in the Dec. 8, 2006, issue of the Press. Alon, grandson of former Nebraskans Harry and Annie Allen, is the son of Miriam Allen Kluska, Ph.D., and Avram Kluska of Kibbutz Naan. Alon and his wife, Gili, and daughter Mika also live on Kibbutz Naan. The Allens, formerly of Lincoln, were unable to attend the Reception for Nebraskans in Israel, sponsored by the Jewish Press with a grant from the Special Donor-advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Harry Allen is an occasional contributor to the Press; Annie is Mary Fellman’s Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy staff sister.
A quiet woman’s beliefs have a big impact by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Foundation Public Relations Coordinator Dorothy Blacker Rothkop worked for the Jewish Federation-Council (JFC) of Los Angeles for 40 years. She was hired as a temporary clerk in 1948, the same year that Israel became a state. “Everyone broke loose” that day, she recalled. “We brought champagne onto the tennis courts of the grounds. Someone started playing an accordion and we all started dancing the hora. It was exhilarating.” It also made it easy for Rothkop to remember how long she had worked at the Federation, because “Israel and I celebrate our anniversaries together,” she said. Eventually, Rothkop was named operations manager for the United Jewish Welfare Fund Campaign and acted as the liaison with the JFC data processing department. She managed the pulse of the campaign -- more than 100,000 names and more than 50,000 pledges. According to a news story in the May 21, 1979, JFC Bulletin, Rothkop became an ardent supporter of the campaign. “I think it is an obligation for all Jews to help their fellow men,” she said. “I would like to see everyone involved. I truly feel it is a moral obligation.” She continued to believe in this credo for the rest of her life. Her life began in Omaha. The daughter of Isaac and Esther Blacker, Dorothy was the youngest of eight children. Rothkop and her dear friend, Sylvia (Babe) Cohn,
Inside Opinion Page see page 16
had known each other since they were both three years old. They lived across the street from one another and attended Lake School and Central High School together. “We even lockered together,” commented Cohn. “Dorothy” -- or Dodo as Cohn called her -- “was quiet and charming and sweet. She was a good friend.” But Rothkop left Omaha in 1948 with her widowed mother and brother. She met Theodore (Ted) Rothkop, also from Omaha, in 1965 in Los Angeles. They enjoyed an extended courtship before returning to Omaha to be married in 1987. “I went with her to buy her wedding dress,” Babe Cohn recalled. After their wedding, the Rothkops retired to Santa Barbara, California. They enjoyed life and traveled across the United States, to Europe, and to Israel at least once. For short vacations, they rented a house at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean in Summerland, near Santa Barbara. Dorothy taught Ted to fish there -- although she was a little miffed that he never learned to land a fish once he hooked one or to clean them. Ted died in 1998. In a 1999 Omaha Jewish Press article, Dorothy reminisced about their life together: “We had each other, friends, and family. I love him and miss him terribly.” Prior to Ted’s death, the couple had discussed possible beneficiaries of his will in addition to family heirs. They remembered their days at Central High School
Dorothy and Ted Rothkop and the old Jewish Community Center on 20th and Dodge. Dorothy also recalled the “unusual closeness between family and friends” in the Omaha community. “We always had a warm feeling for Omaha, and we know people get involved there,” she said in the 1999 article. Although he had not lived in Omaha for nearly five decades, Ted made bequests to the Jewish Federation here and several Omaha agencies including Jewish Family Service and the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society as well as organizations in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Frank Artusio, an attorney in Santa Barbara, knew the Rothkops for 15 years. “But I knew Dorothy best in the last five years,” he commented. Dorothy moved to
This Week: Tax & Financial Planning Starts on Page 11 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Adventures in the food industry: Starts on Page 3
Leisure Village in Camarillo, California, after Ted died. She derived much pleasure from reading the journals and looking at the photographs from her travels with Ted. Cohn continued to visit Dorothy after Ted died. The close friends always called each other on their birthdays. Artusio visited Dorothy on a fairly regular basis, he said. “She liked growing tomatoes in pots on her back porch.” She also told him stories about her childhood. “She loved Omaha,” he said. Artusio oversaw the people who came to care for Dorothy at Leisure Village and helped her with her financial affairs. “Her mail box was always jammed full with donation envelopes,” he remarked. Marty Ricks, director of the Jewish Federation Foundation, met Dorothy in 2001. “Leisure Village was only a few miles from Thousand Oaks where we lived prior to moving to Omaha in 1998,” said Ricks. At breakfast with Dorothy “she talked a lot about Omaha as well as Ted. She was a wonderful lady and obviously very philanthropic. After that meeting, we spoke to each other about every six months,” Ricks mentioned. When Dorothy died in January of 2005, the balance of her estate, after some family bequests and individual $1,000 gifts to 16 charities, was split equally between the Jewish community foundations of Omaha, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara. Continued on page 2
Coming Next Month: Simchas & Celebrations on Feb. 9 JTA series examines sexual misconduct in the clergy: Page 7
Downtown Jerusalem gets a $100 million facelift: Page 20
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 Friedel Jewish Academy No School/Teacher In Service Temple Israel Shabbat Comes To You, 4 p.m. at Remington Heights SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel SUNDAY, JANUARY 14 Class with Rabbi Nadel, 9:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El BESTT Primary Grades Havdalah Program, 10 a.m. Nashir Community Jewish Choir, 11 a.m. at Beth El Yachad, 1 p.m. at the Omaha Symphony Family Event & Tribute to the Rescuers Lecture, 2 p.m. Tribute to Rescuers Reception, 3:30 p.m.
C L I P
S MONDAY, JANUARY 15 A Women’s Book Group, 1 p.m. at Beth El V Hadassah Board Meeting, 1 p.m. E “Biblical Archeology” Class, 7 p.m. at Beth El
C L I P & S A V E
Jewish Film Festival, 7 p.m. at Beth El Family Mission Information and Recruitment, 7 p.m. Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m. at JCC TUESDAY, JANUARY 16 Eye on Israel, noon at Kripke Library Mah Jongg Players, 12:30 p.m. at Blumkin Home BBYO Night, 6 p.m. “Intro to Jewish Ethics,” 6 p.m. at JCC BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Beginning Hebrew Class, 7 p.m. at Beth El Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel
Young adults help war-battered northern Israelis Continued from page 1 in an effort to comfort the children. And it’s not the only program targeting the North: “We hope they don’t have to use them,” she said, “but The Livnot U’Lehibanot program was recruited by the if they do it will be a less scary place to be.” Israeli army’s Northern Command, the mayor of the city “It’s about creating a movement of people committed of Safed and the UJA-Federation of New York to create to service,” said Lisa Eisen, national program director an educational community service program for citizens for the Schusterman foundation. of the North and volunteers to work together on renoKaroline Henriques, 24, a graduate student from vating bomb shelters. Denmark, said interacting with the residents was her “Empowering the residents to take care of themselves highlight. “To talk to them on a people-to-people level means doing serious ‘tacheles’ work. We need to set up was rich and rewarding,” she said. “They were so surthe shelters so that in time of war they are in full opera- prised to hear we really cared, not just with words. They tion and ready to go,” Aharon Botzer, Livnot’s founder, wanted to know how we followed the war. This was said in a press release. teaching them about how connected you are with Israel Lynn Schusterman, who remembers volunteering in from the Diaspora...here we brought two worlds togeththe community as a young girl alongside her father, said er.” public service is one of the best ways to forge connecOn Jan. 2, the two worlds celebrated together, culmitions and do good in the world. nating in a large nighttime concert of major Israeli “It gives a feeling of self-worth to give back,” she told bands. The event was coordinated by Festival for a JTA while visiting with program participants in Kiryat Shekel, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that Shemona, the Israeli border town hardest hit by brings culture to peripheral areas of the country. Among Hezbollah rocket fire during last summer’s Lebanon other events, a Tel Aviv art gallery set up shop in an old war. “To whom much is given, much is expected,” she said, quoting one of her favorite phrases. Schusterman’s late husband, Charles, acquired his wealth in the oil business in Oklahoma. The petite, silver-haired Schusterman was greeted with wild cheers and applause Tuesday in Kirya Shemona. Wearing a gray “Leading Up North” hooded sweatshirt and a backpack, she quickly joined the circles of hora dancing in the Naftali Hills Forest, where the group had met to plant trees. The forest lost about two-thirds of its trees to fires spread by falling Hezbollah rockets. The $1.5 million project was sponsored by the Young Jewish volunteers from around the world paint a bomb shelter in northern Israel as part Schusterman founda- of a mass community service project over the winter holidays. Credit: Itzhak Elharar/Scoop 80 tion’s Center for Leadership Initiatives. Volunteers paid a fee of $180, but Ottoman stone building. the rest of their costs -- including airfare and hotels -Earlier in the day, a carnival hosted by a Leading Up were covered by the institute. About 2,000 students North group was held in a community center. The parapplied for the 550 spots. ticipants, dressed up in handmade clown costumes of “It’s not just about fixing up and repairing the physi- yellow vinyl pants and hats made from plastic bags, cal side, but the sprit as well,” said Wayne Firestone, walked on stilts among the children. They made balloon president of Hillel. “One of the really nice aspects of this animals and manned arts-and-crafts booths. project is that it is aimed at the people who are living Zvi Bellin, 27, a graduate student in pastoral counselhere.” ing who lives in Silver Spring, MD, came down from his The participants said they were already setting up stilts to make balloon dogs and swords. online networks to stay in touch and continue similar “Doing this is post-trauma work,” he said, handing a service projects in their own communities. balloon to a young boy. “This kind of volunteering is unlike anything else I’ve Shoshana Biton, 51, came to the carnival with her ever done before,” said Aviva Weber, 20, a student from year-and-a-half-old granddaughter. Milwaukee. “They have come here to identify with us and give of Weber and her group painted bomb shelters in the their time,” she said of the visiting young people. town of Shlomi, transforming the dreary underground “This makes us all very happy.” bunkers into colorful places of rainbows and palm trees
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17
C Abba, Eema and ME, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Rabbis & Presidents Meeting, 11:30 a.m. at JCC L I THURSDAY, JANUARY 18 P Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel & S A V E
JSS Walk-in Drop-in, 10 a.m. Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Getting More Out of Prayer, noon at Beth El Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. at Chabad House Yiddush Group, 1 p.m. Kripke Library Book Discussion Group view the film Prime, noon NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Coffee and Conversation with Rabbi Azriel, 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Advanced Parshah Study, 9 p.m. with Rabbi Gross All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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A quiet woman’s beliefs
Mission accomplished
Continued from page 1 Dorothy Rothkop’s gift was the “largest unrestricted gift ever received by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Although we’ve had many larger gifts,” Ricks said, “this one can be used for anything due to its unrestricted nature. The gift will be used to support the annual budget of the Omaha Jewish Federation and its Centers of Excellence.” Steven Bloch, Foundation president, said, “Marty Ricks has done a fantastic job of keeping in touch with former Omahans all over the country. He helps them stay connected to our community, and to all that we are doing here and all that we need to do. He rekindled and enhanced Mrs. Rothkop’s continuing interest in the Federation and the Foundation.” “Dorothy was a very special lady,” Ricks added, “and we will be indebted to her forever for her generosity to her birthplace.”
Tomer Palmon, age 8, began 2007 by making good on a promise he made to fellow students at Beth El: while visiting the Kotel in Jerusalem, he placed their notes in the wall -- a long-held tradition. Photo courtesy of Ophir Palmon.
January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Adventures in the food industry show native son the world by LEO ADAM BIGA Three Omaha brothers. Three company presidents. What are the odds a trio of sons from a Jewish family of humble beginnings would realize the American Dream, and then some? But brothers Harlan, Allan and Jeff Noddle did just that, as one by one they rose to the pinnacle of their respective professions while giving back to their community. It’s an American success story times three, only the real foundation for this accomplishment is rooted in the example set by the brothers’ late parents, Robert and Edith Noddle, who stressed education and charity. Eldest brother Harlan Noddle, who died December, 2005, worked as an executive in the retail food industry until he founded his own real estate development company. Noddle Development is one of the Midwest’s largest developers of shopping centers and office buildings. His son Jay Noddle now runs things. Baby brother Jeff Noddle is president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Supervalu, the nation’s third largest grocery retailer and the leading food distributor in the U.S. Middle brother Allan Noddle, whose story is told here, has enjoyed the most far flung of careers. In the 1960s, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln cum laude graduate went from being a U.S. Army officer to an IBM computer salesman to a Hinky Dinky supermarkets trainee. It was at Hinky Dinky, the now defunct Omahabased chain, he discovered his niche. Within a decade he climbed the corporate ladder to become executive vice president and COO. Courted by other grocery
retailers, Noddle left Hinky Dinky in he stayed put long enough to chart his were kind of shielding my mother to make 1980 for an upper management position journey from schlepper to titan. sure she wasn’t intimidated and she pushwith Giant Food of Carlisle, PA. Perhaps no one appreciated more what es us aside, goes right up, puts her hand Mega Danish food company, Royal the Noddle boys achieved than their late out and says, ‘Mr. Vice President, I want Ahold, acquired Giant in 1981. Often mother. In 1991 the brothers, each hav- you should know I have three presidents referred to as the world’s most successful ing already reached the top, offered Edith - none of them are vice presidents.’ And food provider, Ahold tapped Noddle to anything she wanted for her 80th birth- he just laughed and we hit it off. be president and CEO of its USA day. To their surprise, she told them she “He brought in the White House phoSupport Services division in 1988. wished to visit the White House, the sym- tographer and he took pictures of the After buildbol for all the whole family. This is one of them,” he The way his father dealt with people made opportunities said, indicating a framed photo on his ing its U.S. market, an A m e r i c a office wall. “He gave my mother a special an impression on him. “He treated oppor tunity afforded her broach with a seal of the Vice President of arose he everybody with respect,” Allan Noddle said. and her the United States. He gave us tie tacks never anticiR u s s i a n with the seal.” pated when, “He helped them if they needed money. immigrant That’s not the end of the story, accordin 1998, If you couldn’t pay the rent he’d say, ‘Oh, I’ll parents and ing to Jeff Noddle, who spoke to the Ahold named her own fami- Press by phone from his Minneapolis him executive get it next time.’ I learned some things that ly. office. VP and elect- helped me later in my life and career.” So, as “As we were leaving the White House ed him to the Noddle tells and walking down from the north porticorporate executive board. it, he and his brothers set about to bring co,” he said, “she turned to my oldest He became the first American board the family matriarch to the very seat of brother Harlan and said, ‘So what’s the member in the company’s 114-year histo- power. “It took a lot of doing, but we got matter, the President was too busy?’ ry. The promotion meant moving to a private meeting with then Vice Because the senior Bush was there that Holland, whose culture Noddle President Dan Quayle,” he said. day and she just wanted to know why she embraced. The boys were extra protective of didn’t get to see him. Yeah, she was quite Based in Amsterdam, Noddle traveled mama as they escorted her through the a lady.” the world to oversee Ahold’s operations in White House. After all, Noddle said, Allan Noddle recalls the many lessons Latin-America and Asia. He retired and “She’s this little old Jewish lady -- 5’3, his parents provided. As a boy, his mothreturned to Omaha in 2002 but he’s as 90 pounds, dripping wet. She came from er made the family home a haven for busy as ever today between the teaching he a poor, uneducated background. She was chabads, roaming members of the orthodoes for Ahold and others around the a checker at the old Central market dox sect, who knew they would be welglobe, the many speaking engagements he downtown. We thought our mother comed there. “My mom would say, ‘We makes at food industry forums and his would be intimidated.” They needn’t have to feed these people. We have to duties as adviser and board member for var- have worried, as she soon showed the help them, and that’s what I’m here for.’ ious corporations. moxie her boys got from her. And so she always gave them a hot meal. He offices in the Noddle Companies “When we were finally called into the It had to be kosher, of course.” suite at the One Pacific Place II building west wing and then eventually into the He “looked on in amazement” at these where his nephew Jay runs Noddle Vice President’s office we were coming in devout men dressed all in black and puzDevelopment, but he’s as likely to be in just as he got up from his desk to come zled over how different ones always knew some exotic locale as he is home. In May, around and greet us,” Noddle said. “We Continued on page 10
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January 12, 2007
For advocating ties with Israel, Bangladeshi journalist persecuted by LARRY LUXNER WASHINGTON (JTA) -- For a man who says he could be condemned to death as early as next month, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is surprisingly calm. Choudhury’s crime: calling for diplomatic ties between his native Bangladesh and the State of Israel. “The High Court has ruled that by conveying the message of the rise of Islamic militancy in Bangladesh to Jews and Christians, and by advocating relations between Dhaka and Jerusalem, I have damaged the image of Bangladesh worldwide,” Choudhury said. The 41-year-old journalist and editor spoke to JTA in a 20-minute phone interview from Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital. He said his trial for sedition, blasphemy and treason, which began in September, will resume Jan. 22 after a short break. Choudhury, who is free on bail, said there is little chance of receiving a fair trial, and he probably will be sentenced to death. He spoke from a secure landline since his cell phone is under government surveillance, Choudhury said. “The judicial system is corrupted by Islamic radicals,” he said. “By continuing this trial and convicting me, they want to send the message that anyone else in Bangladesh who thinks as I do will face the same consequences.” Choudhury is the editor and publisher of The Weekly Blitz, an English-language newspaper founded in 2003 that now has 7,500 print subscribers and another 40,000 readers online. Those numbers may not sound impressive for Bangladesh -- a nation of 145 million people packed into an area the size of Wisconsin -- but the newspaper is read regularly by policymakers, businesspeople and other influential Bangladeshis, as well as foreign diplomats. A Muslim, Choudhury first came into contact with Jews in the early 1990s while working as Dhaka correspondent for the Russian news agency Tass. He established friendships with Jewish colleagues despite the anti-Semitic propaganda so prevalent in Bangladesh, which is 85 percent Muslim and ranks as the world’s third-most populous Muslim nation after Indonesia and Pakistan. “When I was a child, my father always encouraged us not to believe the Friday afternoon sermons of hate coming from the mosque,” said Choudhury, who began a dialogue with editors at the Jerusalem Post three years ago and eventually was invited to Israel by the Hebrew Writers Association. But Choudhury never made it to Jerusalem. On Nov. 29, 2003, as he was about to board a plane in Dhaka for the circuitous journey to Israel, Choudhury was arrested and his passport was confiscated, David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, said in a prepared statement. He was accused of espionage and charged with sedition. Choudhury “spent the next 17 months in hellish prison
conditions, including torture, denial of medical attention and isolation” as the government tried to build a case that Choudhury was an Israeli spy, Harris said. He was released in April 2005, thanks largely to the efforts of U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dr. Richard Benkin, a Jewish activist from Chicago. Yet the sedition charge is pending, and in October, a mob of 40 Islamic militants beat Choudhury in his Dhaka office -- three months after the office was firebombed.
Shamsher M. Chowdhury, Bangladesh's ambassador to the United States. Credit: Larry Luxner/JTA In November, Kirk and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) cosponsored a resolution calling on the Bangladeshi government to drop all charges against Choudhury, stop “harassment and intimidation,” and “hold accountable those responsible for attacks” against him. Choudhury initially was charged with passport violations; the sedition charges were added nearly two months later. Among other things, Choudhury was accused of writing an inflammatory column titled “Hello Tel Aviv” for USA Today. “I never wrote any such article,” he insisted. “Even the prosecution said he had no document available because it was never published.” In late October, The Washington Times published an editorial urging the Bush administration to suspend $63 million in annual aid to Bangladesh unless the charges against Choudhury are dropped. Besides the AJCommittee, other organizations that have been outspoken in the case include Reporters Without Borders, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Responding to the attacks, Shamsher Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States, insisted that Choudhury the journalist is a conniving liar with a criminal past. “In Bangladesh, nobody is a prisoner of conscience,” the ambassador told JTA. “There is no such thing as putting a journalist behind bars for expressing his views. We have total freedom of the press. If he’s saying he was arrested for advocating ties with Israel, then he’s not telling the truth. That cannot be a charge. That’s not sedition.”
Exceeding expectations,
Chowdhury said it is “totally untrue” that the journalist was beaten by a mob outside his office as police stood by idly, as Choudhury has claimed. Far from being a “prisoner of conscience” for advocating ties with Israel, Chowdhury said the journalist in the past has been found guilty of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. “In 2003 he leaked very classified information about the government which we thought endangered state security,” Chowdhury said. “So charges of sedition were brought against him, and now the matter is before the court. He’s on bail and free to write and correspond with people. He has a valid passport and is free to travel.” The ambassador claims Bangladeshi journalist Choudhury “is in touch Salah Uddin Shoaib with his friends here and has Choudhury faces a possible even thanked the death penalty for advocatBangladeshi government for ing ties with Israel. creating a situation where he can travel. He doesn’t feel threatened anymore.” Choudhury responded angrily to the ambassador’s claims. “He’s a committed liar,” he said. “This is nothing but a damn lie.” Benkin, the Chicago activist, said the Bangladeshi government -- including the ambassador, whom he met in April 2005 with Kirk -- has lost all credibility. “The government has never produced a scintilla of credible evidence against him,” Benkin said. “Over three years ago they said he was guilty. They tortured him for 17 months and they’re still carrying out this persecution.” He added that the Bangladeshi government demonizes Israel, even naming a bridge after Hezbollah in the wake of the terrorist group’s war against Israel last summer. Nobody practices Judaism openly in Bangladesh, though Choudhury said 150 to 200 Jews live in Dhaka, where they keep an extremely low profile and meet secretly in private homes. Benkin’s Web site, www.freechoudhury.com, calls on Americans to boycott apparel made in Bangladesh -- a crucial industry that employs more than 2 million people -- to pressure the government to drop the Choudhury case. Benkin, who has never met Choudhury, applied three times this year for a visa to Bangladesh but was rejected. Under pressure, however, Chowdhury the ambassador recently changed his mind and granted a visa to Benkin, who plans to fly to Dhaka early next month. In another development, Canadian legislator and human-rights lawyer Irwin Cotler announced he would defend Choudhury in court. A Continued on page 5
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Project Dreidel means holiday happiness for many by JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE STAFF children ranging in age from infants to 18 years, and to Hanukkah was a bit brighter this year for families assemble, sort and box up the donated food items like assisted by Jewish Family Service. JFS organized the fresh fruit, eggs, poultry, and canned goods. These donation of food items to approximately 60 families this groups, along with countless other individual volunyear through project tzedakah, just as they do for every teers, are showing their support for those in the comholiday. Hanukkah gifts were also organized and donat- munity who need it the most. Food boxes and gifts were ed, through project dreidel, to around a dozen families delivered by the volunteers in time for the start of the that would otherwise do without. holiday. What does an effort like The families helped by this take? What does it mean projects tzedakah and dreito the families involved? It del are challenged by many requires the caring, underdifferent types of life diffistanding and support of not culties, including unemployonly the JFS staff, but comment and medical issues. munity volunteers and volAssistance, especially around unteer groups that are willthe holidays, is appreciated ing to give of their hearts so these families can provide and of their time to help for their children and celeothers. Many volunteers are brate a bit during a season children, teaching by their which can be difficult. example to others, of what it In March, JFS will again be means to reach out to those organizing project tzedakah Volunteers like Monica and Tyler Siegel made the “work� of to provide Pesach meals to in need. These volunteer groups sorting and boxing donated food items fun for everyone those who need help. and individuals come out in involved. “We are very proud of force to help with projects dreidel and tzedakah. Groups what we do,� says Karen Gustafson, JFS director. “Our like Visions, a retiree group through Jewish Senior role is to assist community members in caring for one Services, and the Child Development Center donated another; we are the facilitator. We receive many thanks, money to provide hallah, candles and grocery items for which are really thanks to those of you who directly conthe preparation of a holiday meal. JFS staff sponsored a tribute to our assistance programs.� family, as well. If you would like more information on how you or Other groups like Yachad and Burke High School stu- your community group can provide assistance to others, dents gathered to wrap the Hanukkah gifts going out to please contact JFS at 330.2024.
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Continued from page 4 former justice minister of Canada and past president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Cotler has represented prisoners of conscience including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Argentina’s Jacobo Timerman and Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky. Despite the risks, Choudhury said he had no intention of asking for political asylum abroad. “I’m not going to do that because there is no dignity, no pride or honor in quitting,� he said. “I have complete faith and trust in God, and in my brothers and sisters around the world who are working on my behalf.�
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sults and trains teachers and principals in elementary and high schools, focusing on behavior management, conflict resolution, anger management, grief and trauma issues. Goodman received her MSW from Loyola University School of Social Work. “We’re pleased to have Mrs. Goodman come to our special Shabbat,� said Beth Cohen, Executive Director. “She has the expertise to provide us with tangible approaches toward positive Jewish parenting.� There is no charge for lunch if reservations are made by Jan. 15. For reservations made after the 15th, the cost is $5. Babysitting will be provided during the lecture at no charge. The “Positive Jewish Parenting� Shabbat is chaired by Janet Kohll, planned in conjunction with the Orthodox Union (OU) Department of Synagogue Services; it is made possible through a grant from the OU. To make reservations or for more information, call 556.6288.
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by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Most parents will agree that parenting has its challenges. For Jewish parents, there can be additional challenges. For example, how do Jewish religious and cultural values mesh with today’s society? What can parents do to positively instill certain values in their children, when their children interact with different values in other contexts? Beth Israel intends to address these issues during a “Positive Jewish Parenting� Shabbat on Saturday, Jan. 20. After morning services, there will be a Shabbat lunch followed by a lecture with Hadassah Goodman. Goodman will speak about “Instilling Our Children with Positive Values and Resilience in our Contemporary Society.� Goodman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Supervisor at Jewish Family and Community Services specializing in work with families and children. She con-
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
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Beth Israel book club to discuss Dershowitz book by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue “Israel Advocacy Month” continues during January at Beth Israel. Israel advocacy programming includes the Book Club meeting on Thursday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. to discuss The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz, and the community is welcome. Rabbi Jonathan Gross will lead the discussion. Dershowitz is a lawyer and professor at Harvard University and frequently appears in the media to provide commentary on a wide range of topics. “Alan Dershowitz not only is regarded as one of the greatest Jewish modern-day thinkers, but worldwide is considered an expert in civil rights, free speech and law,” noted Gross. Gross strongly encourages people to read The Case for Israel. According to Gross, “In this book, Dershowitz has written the ultimate primer for a person who wants to learn how to respond, articulately and succinctly, to the common accusations from people who criticize Israel --such as Jimmy Carter, Noam Chomsky and others -- will employ. This is not just a book to read; it's a book to own as a reference. It’s a must for any contemporary Jewish library.” The book, published in 2003, was a New York Times bestseller. “I’ve read the book several times and it’s a very easy read,” said Gross. “Each chapter can be read independently and is self-contained. You can begin by selecting the chapters you initially find most compelling. In each
chapter, Dershowtiz addresses a different criticism of Israel, beginning with a question. For example, he’ll ask ‘Is Israel an apartheid state?’ and then proceed to provide researched, fact-based arguments in defense of Israel.” Gross encourages people to read the book prior to the Book Club m e e t i n g . However, reading The Case for Israel is not a prerequisite to attend. “But, after the meeting, you’ll discover you want to read it,” Rabbi Jonathan Gross spoke on “Anti- Rabbi Gross Zionism in Omaha?” at Breadbreakers added. earlier this month, where he used the Another “Israel book, The Case for Israel by Alan A d v o c a c y Dershowitz. Month” program includes a visit by ADL Regional Director Alan Potash at Shabbat services tomorrow, Jan. 13. For more information about the Book Club or other programs, call the office at 556.6288.
Beth El children’s program to answer the question, “What’s Jewish about art?” delight little ones, who are invited to attend with their by JILL BELMONT parents, grandparents, or other special adults in their Beth El Publicity Coordinator Arts and crafts, music and baking will be on tap for the lives. Epstein, who also led “What’s Jewish About youngest members of the Jewish community during Summer?” last June, said that Beth El’s upcoming “I’m looking forward to leading children’s program, this again because it was so much “What’s Jewish fun this past summer. I really like About Art?” Geared to see the parents interacting with to children ages two their kids in such a positive manto six, this fun-filled ner, and this program is a wonderprogram is schedful Jewish experience for all of uled for Sunday, them.” Jan. 21, 12:15 Open to all Jewish families in the p.m., and will be led metro area, she added that “I by early-childhood would encourage everyone in the specialist Helen community to attend because it's Epstein, assisted by a good way to meet people from her husband Tuffy, and Cantor Gastón Tuffy Epstein, seen here performing during last year’s “What’s all of the synagogues and make Jewish About Summer?” event, will again entertain children some new friends.” Bogomolni. The event promis- and their parents with his musical talents during the upcoming Cost is $5 per person (includes lunch); to reserve a spot, contact es an afternoon of “What’s Jewish About Art?” program at Beth El. creative and age-appropriate Jewish art projects, music Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or at and story time. All the planned activities are sure to programming@bethel-omaha.org.
Let’s bring Judaism to life
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“The items we carry in our gift shop are really extraorby CHANA MENDELSOHN dinary,” says Kelly Kirk, coordinator of the project. “But for Chabad of Nebraska Chabad Judaica Boutique, another service of our more importantly, the Judaica at the Chabad Judaica Chabad House is dedicated to making Jewish practices Boutique helps Jews perform more mitzvahs, which is fun, meaningful and aesthetically appealing. The expan- what being a Jew is all about.” sion of the shop is for the purpose of enhancing mitzvah An 18-wheeler rolled into the parking lot at the Chabad House early last week, and delivered three, large display observance throughout the community. cases to showHiddur Mitzvah -- literally the case the eclecbeautification of a Mitzvah is the tic merchanexpress mission of the gift shop. dise that is "We are taught that when one perconstantly forms a mitzvah it is praiseworthy to coming in. utilize a beautiful object. For exam“I am so ple, when lighting Shabbat candles, excited every one should endeavor to use pretty or time the delivvaluable candlesticks, and for the ery man mitzvah of mezuzah -- to procure an arrives,” said impeccably written parchment, E s t i e encased in an attractive frame. Katzman. “It “These would indicate that we are usually means not doing the said mitzvahs that I get to begrudgingly, but that we are honsee all the ored and privileged with the responsibility G-d has placed upon us to A selection of the exquisite collection by Israeli artist Yair Emanuel w o n d e r f u l things that perform,” Shani Katzman explained. is available at the Chabad Judaica Boutique. “We also continue to offer a wide variety of educational our gift shop staff has selected.” “We have items to celebrate all occasions -- weddings, materials in the form of books, games, and audio-visual births, birthdays, and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs,” Kirk resources.” New items are being received daily from all over the added. country, as well as special selections from unique Israeli Call 330.1800 or e-mail boutique@ochabad.com artists. with questions or comments.
January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
REINING IN ABUSE Clergy sexual misconduct: What’s being done to squelch it? by EUGENE L. MEYER and RICHARD GREENBERG NEW YORK (JTA) -- The rabbi in a mid-sized Pennsylvania city was eager to share his congregation’s wrenching experience -- but no names, please. It’s been nearly five years since the synagogue’s cantor pleaded guilty to sexually molesting two girls he was preparing for their bat mitzvahs. He was sentenced to 15 to 30 months in prison and is now on Pennsylvania’s sexual offender list. Still, the rabbi wanted the name of his synagogue and of the abuser, whose crimes are a matter of public record, kept confidential. “We are mindful of not causing addi-
tional trauma to those who suffered here,” he wrote in an e-mail. But the rabbi wanted it known that measures have been instituted to guard against a repeat occurrence. For example, the synagogue now requires that another adult be present during private religious instruction. In that respect, this synagogue typifies many Jewish institutions, which over the past several years have adopted new policies -- or beefed up existing ones -- aimed at cracking down on rogue rabbis and others in positions of trust who sexually exploit congregants, students or others. The issue of clergy sexual abuse has gained increased attention in the 10 years since it was first investigated by JTA. That
earlier investigation, which focused primarily on rabbis who sexually coerce adult congregants, indicated that the problem was more widespread than had been assumed -- and that the Jewish establishment was beginning to grapple with it, but not always effectively. For example, formal denominational policies governing rabbinic conduct were sometimes slow to develop. Although behavioral guidelines are now the norm, some other systemic problems uncovered in that earlier JTA series still persist. Virtually all denominations, except segments of fervent Orthodoxy, now have formal codes on the books that outline unacceptable clergy behavior and mandate precisely how com-
plaints of sexual impropriety are to be investigated and adjudicated by in-house ethics panels. In a threemonth-long investigation, JTA examined those policies with the help of mental health providers, victims’ advocates, rabbis and others whose assessments reflected a mix of encouragement and skepticism. Read the entire series on the web at: www.jewishomaha.org, by clicking on ‘Jewish Press.’
Wayward clergy by the numbers: Is it rampant or an aberration? by EUGENE L. MEYER and RICHARD GREENBERG NEW YORK (JTA) -- How extensive is the problem of clergy sex abuse in the Jewish community? It depends which criteria are used as a yardstick. One possible gauge is the volume of abuse complaints that have been adjudicated by the ethics panels of the major religious denominations. Judging by the tiny caseload, the problem appears to be negligible -- unless, of course, wrongdoing by rabbis and other clergymen is underreported, as some observers maintain. Rabbi Richard Hirsh, executive vice president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, counted three or four investigations into rabbinic sexual misconduct since the 300-member organization adopted a new code of ethics in 1999. The code is again being revised. Hirsh would identify neither the transgressions nor the transgressors. “We’re not allowed to discuss any details,” he explained, although in one instance, he added, the association’s ethics committee merely admonished the accused rabbi to “be careful next time.” Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice president of the Conservative movement’s 1,600-member Rabbinical
Assembly, said in the 17 years he has held his current post, only three rabbis have been asked to leave the R.A. or left on their own due to “inappropriate behavior” of a sexual nature. This year, one rabbi was expelled. In addition, the R.A. insisted that “several” other rabbis found to have engaged in “seductive behavior” undergo therapy. Rabbi Basil Herring, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America, a primarily modern Orthodoxy organization, said the RCA has ruled on so few sexual misconduct complaints over the past 10 years that the number is not statistically significant. The Union for Reform Judaism, which has 900 member congregations, sees no “particular need” to keep records on the numbers or dispositions of sexual misconduct cases, according to its president, Rabbi Eric Yoffie. “I don’t happen to believe there’s any evidence of an epidemic of rabbinic sexual abuse,” Yoffie said. “If you are asking, am I aware of there being some significant numbers of people, my answer is no. We have to keep it in perspective.” The Awareness Center, a controversial Baltimorebased Jewish clearinghouse of clergy sex abuse information, lists on its website scores of Jewish clergy who are
alleged to be sexual predators. Some of them have been convicted of crimes, but some have not even been charged. Although authoritative statistics quantifying the problem appear to be nonexistent, “some experts” estimate that “between 18 and 39% of Jewish clergy are involved in sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and/or sexual misconduct -- the same percentage as non-Jewish clergy,” according to the 2002 book Sex, Lies, and Rabbis: Breaking a Sacred Trust, written by psychotherapist Charlotte Rolnick Schwab. “All denominations are involved,” Schwab wrote. In her book, she said quantitative data were drawn in part from a conversation with the Rev. Marie Fortune, director of the FaithTrust Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that fights sexual and domestic violence. Schwab in her book added: “The large number of cases I, alone, have in my files bears out this estimate.” Contacted later, Fortune said: “To my knowledge there are no definitive statistics in any of our faith groups that quantify the problem, and what we have instead are anecdotes and in some places numbers of complaints brought in that particular jurisdiction.”
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
IN THE NEWS The Mid-America Council Boy Scouts, held its annual business meeting electing Rev. John Schlefel, the President of Creighton University as Council Chairman, Dan Hunt, President of HunTel Systems, Inc. as Council Commissioner, Dan Neary, Chairman of Mutual of Omaha, as Chairman Elect, and Lloyd Roitstein is Scout Executive/President, a position he has held since 1992. Among the Board Members elected were: Ben Nachman (Youth Representative), Dick Fellman, Bob Freeman, Bennett Ginsberg, Hal Maurer, Steve Pitlor, Lee Polikov, Jim Rocklin, Bruce Simon, Charlie Sullivan, Irv Veitzer, Ben Wiesmann, and Mark Wiesmann. Mid-America is one of the largest Scout Councils, serving over 33,000 youth and nearly 10,000 leaders. The due date for entries to the Fifth Annual Bess Streeter Aldrich Short Story Contest is on the author’s birthday, Feb. 17. Send original short stories by Nebraska authors to: Bess Streeter Aldrich House, PO Box 167, Elmwood, NE 68349. Write 1000-2000 words in the spirit displayed by Aldrich in her works. There are three divisions: Adult: First Prize $100; Second Prize $50; Third Prize $25; High School (grades 9-12): First Prize $50; Second Prize $25; Third Prize $15; Middle School (grades 6-8): First Prize $50; Second Prize $25; Third Prize $15 to be awarded at a banquet in the spring. Please send a cover sheet with your name, address, email address, phone number, title of story, and two copies of your story, one with your name and one without. Include a line telling how you learned about the contest. For students, add age, grade, school, and teacher to cover sheet. Enclose SASE for return of results of the contest. Stories will not be returned, so keep a copy. Brig. Gen. Paul G. Cohen, USAFR-Ret. has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), the nation’s largest veteran’s organization for active duty National Guard, Reserve, former, and retired military officers and their surviving spouses. Cohen was elected in November at MOAA’s annual meeting in Arlington, VA, and will serve for six years on the 36-member Board. MOAA has approximately 360,000 members. Cohen earned his undergraduate degree from Union College in 1960 and completed the Air Command and Staff College and the national security management curriculum at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. While on active duty he served in supply, logistics, and management positions in North Dakota and the United Kingdom. He continued to serve in supply and management positions as a Nebraska National Guard officer until retiring in 1995 as Nebraska’s Assistant Adjutant General for Air. He is currently the administrator of the
Omaha Douglas Public Building Commission and is president of the Heartland of America Chapter of MOAA. He also served as coordinator of the Nebraska Military Coalition. Brownell-Talbot College Preparatory School, Nebraska’s only private, independent, coeducational college preparatory school for students in preschool through grade 12, will hold entrance testing day for grades five through 12 on Jan. 20, 9 a.m. Call 5563772 no later than Thursday, Jan. 18, to pre- register their child for the test, though walk-ins are welcome. Stephanie Kaplan graduated summa cum laude from the Honors Program at the University of Denver in November 2006 with a major in Art History and minors in Italian and English. She was awarded Phi Beta Kappa and placed on the Dean’s List each quarter she attended. Kaplan spent her first semester of her Junior year studying in Italy at the John Cabot University in Rome. She completed a senior thesis entitled “In Perpetual Conversation: A Pictorial History of the Medici and Magi Focusing on Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi.” Kaplan plans to pursue a Masters Degree in Art History in the fall of 2007. During her tenure at the University of Denver she received the “Bill Whitley Award” for study in Italy. She also received a grant to study at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Kaplan also taught Italian to gifted students in the Ebert Elementary School. She is the daughter of Bob and Anne Kaplan of Highland Park, IL, and the granddaughter of former Omahan Rosa Richtman, the late Dave Richtman, and the late Carol and Sidney Kaplan.
JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA See Israel through the eyes of your children on Omaha’s Family Mission, June 3-13. The information session is Monday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m., at the Jewish Community Center. For more information, contact Sharon Kirshenbaum at 334.6485. The information session will include special activities for children who attend. WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the day trip to the Ameristar Casino on Thursday, please meet at the JCC by 8:45 a.m. For information call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. The Yiddish Group is now officially a zamler (collector) for the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. If you have any Yiddish books you would like to donate, please call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.
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B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Don Smithey will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Jan. 17, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Marty Ricks, chairman. Smithey is the executive director of the Omaha Airport Authority. All men and women in the community are invited to attend Breadbreakers. Cost is $11 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only.
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VISIONS Reminder: Luncheon Meeting is on Friday, Jan. 19, 12:30 p.m. at the Venice Inn. Celebrate the Installation of New Officers for the year 2007 with guest speaker, Mike Silverman, Executive Director of the Jewish Senior Services. For information about attending Urinetown -- the Musical at the Omaha Community Playhouse, call Rose Pitlor at 558.5144 or Ethel at 393.7358. Membership dues of $7.50 to Visions for 2007 are due. Please mail your check to: Visions, c/o Beverly Gilinsky, 1406 No. 126 St., Omaha, NE 68154.
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by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El’s always-popular Kadima Shabbaton for sixth, seventh and eighth graders will be reprised from Jan. 26-28, at the 4-H Campsite in Gretna. This year’s theme, “Taking the MTV Challenge: Mitzvot, Torah and Values,” will focus on how Jewish values can help middle school students with common anxieties about appearance, self-esteem and social standing as they become mature Jewish adults, according to Youth Director Robert Mosenkis. Throughout the weekend, students will enjoy a variety of engaging and educational activities and games, all sure to nourish the Jewish soul. Attendees will also be treated to a memorable Shabbat experience, featuring a progressive, interactive service, as well as a bonfire and special Havdalah service. Kadima Shabbaton promises friendship and togetherness, rest and renewal -- reservations are being accepted now for this memorable experience. Cost is $85 (financial assistance is available through BESTT); registration forms have been mailed to BESTT families and are also available in the synagogue and BESTT offices. For more information, contact Education Director Judy Rubin at 498.0904, or eddir@bethelomaha.org, or Youth Director Robert Mosenkis at 492.8550, or youthdir@bethel-omaha.org.
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January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Beginning Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 13-14, The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center and NET Radio present The Metropolitan Opera Goes to the Movies with high definition, digital stereo surround sound. Show times are available at www.TheRoss.org, by consulting your newspaper, or by calling the MRRMAC film information line at 402.472.5353. Admission is $18.00 for General Admission; $15 for Students, Seniors, Children, & Members of the Friends of MRRMAC. Sorry, no passes allowed. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center ticket counter or office. The Magic Flute, Saturday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 14: Celebrated director and filmmaker Julie Taymor, who directed The Lion King on Broadway, brings her dynamic theatrical vision to Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Dancing bears, flying birds, a giant serpent -- all are brought vividly to life through Taymor’s ingenious use of puppetry. I Puritani, Saturday, Jan. 20 and Sunday, Jan. 21: The sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has taken the opera world by storm, dazzling audiences in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles. The First Emperor, Saturday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Jan. 28: The world-premiere broadcast of Chinese composer Tan Dun’s epic opera, The First Emperor, features the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who built the Great Wall and gave China its name. Omaha Performing Arts welcomes Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk in the Voice of the Violin Tour at the Peter Kiewit Concert Hall of the Holland Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m. Since his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14, Joshua Bell has earned the rare title of “classical music superstar.” A Grammy Award-winning violinist, Bell was deeply involved in the Academy Awardwinning score for the 1999 film The Red Violin, as well as soundtracks for the films Ladies in Lavender and Iris. He was nicknamed Billboard Magazine’s Classical Artist of the Year in 2004 and inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005. His recent CD, “Voice of the Violin”, after which the tour is named, is the followup to his 2003 best seller, Romance of the Violin. Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Omaha online at www.ticketomaha.org, by phone at 402.345.0606 or walk-up at the Ticket Omaha box office at the Holland Center. Tickets are priced from $19-$45.
25% off with this ad Teens ‘N’ Theater is a unique program at The Rose designed especially for Omaha’s high school and middle school youth. It’s a theater within a theater, which helps students develop strong self-esteem and a solid platform of theater knowledge that can be built upon during college and adult years. The group will present three shows in March and April of 2007. Auditions will be offered as follows: • Broken Mirror 6: Auditions will be held on Thursday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m. at The Rose, 2001 Farnam Street. Girls between the ages 13 and 18, who have not yet graduated from high school, are welcome to audition. Theater games, some improvisation and writing will be used to determine casting. Performances will be offered March 22 (7 pm), March 24 (4:30 pm), and March 25 (4:30 pm). For audition information, please contact the show’s co-director, Mandy Aleksiak, at 402.502.4637 or mandya@rosetheater.org. • Young, Gifted and Black - The Dancing Spider: Auditions will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m. at The Rose. African American students between the ages of 13 to 18, who have not yet graduated from high school, are welcome to audition. Cold script reading will be required. Those interested in being cast for singing/dancing roles should be prepared to sing as part of the audition process. Performances will be offered on March 8 (7 pm), March 10 (4:30 pm), March 11 (4:30 pm). For audition information, please contact the show’s director Sheila Rocha at 402.346.2499 or teatromestizo@msn.com. • 12th Annual Young Playwrights Festival: Script submissions are due to briang@rosetheater.com by Thursday, Feb. 1. Auditions will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 6 p.m. at The Rose. Students between the ages of 13 and 18, who have not yet graduated from high school, are welcome to audition. Script reading will be required as part of the audition process. Performances will be offered April 21 (4:30 and 7 pm) and April 22 (4:30 pm). For information on submitting scripts for consideration, please contact Brian Guerhing, at 402.502.4636 or briang@rosetheater. org. For audition information, please contact the show’s co-director, Amanda Kibler at 402.502.4629 or amandak@ rosetheater.org. Additional information about theTeens ‘N’ Theater program is available on The Rose’s web site at www.rosetheater.org. Sponsors include America First Foundation, The Murray and Sharee Newman Foundation and the Nebraska Arts Council.
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Bracha Bee preparations underway at Beth Israel by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue While 2007 has just begun, it isn’t too soon to look ahead to February. Beth Israel will hold a Tu B’Shevat Seder and Spaghetti Dinner, followed by a Bracha Bee, on Sunday, Feb. 4. Additionally, in preparation for the annual Bracha Bee, the synagogue is offering two special programs in January. A bracha is a blessing that is said over food. “There are different brachas for different foods,” explained Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross. “The kids line up, like in a spelling bee, and it’s lots of fun. We go up the line, saying a particular food, testing the kids’ knowledge of the appropriate bracha. The children say the blessing that matches with the food.” In order to provide children with an opportunity to practice for the Bracha Bee, there will be a Bracha Buffet
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
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Adventures in the food industry Continued from page 3 army officers training that made him “an obligated volto come to their house for the good eats. It was only unteer.” He earned a commission as a second lieutenant years later he came to understand that a red X stenciled in the U.S. Army ordinance corps. Then he graduated on the curb in front of the house served as a marker for with honors from “a tough boot camp for officers” that chabads coming through Omaha. got him assigned to the 24th Infantry Division with The brothers were expected to do for others as well. NATO forces deployed in West Germany. Their mother saw to that. She made sure the family As this was a short time after the Cuban missile crisis, home at 58th and Webster was never without a keren Cold War tensions ran high. The outfit he served with ami or charity box for donations to support the state of represented “the first line of defense” against a Soviet Israel. “We were expected at the end of the week if we ground assault. The responsibility was enormous but he had anything left over from our five or 10 cents responded to it well. The Army gave him the leadership allowance to put something in the pooshkeh (piggy skills he would later use in business. bank),” Allan said. “My mother would take it to the shul “It was a wonderful experience commanding troops,” and, guess what, an empty one appeared the next day. So he said. “I taught a lot in the army. I worked with peothis was ingrained into us...the importance of charity ple from all over the world.” and giving to others.” His superiors tried to get him to make the army his Even as they carved separate paths for themselves, the career. “I was told I was a five percenter. Of all the Army Brothers Noddle shared some common education and officers in the U.S. Army across the world I was in the work experiences in their rise to the top. All three grad- top five percent,” he said. “But I had to come back and uated from Central High School. do something.” Besides, he said, “I had a job waiting for Their Lithuanian immime.” grant father, Robert His preparation for Noddle, was an entrepreleading others -- in the neur before the word had army and in business -much currency. The famicame at UNL, where he ly patriarch worked in the took “probably the single scrap metal business most important course in before opening his own my life--business speech.” small grocery store. Later, he said. “It taught you to he had his own liquor go in front of people, colstore -- Pete’s. Eventually lect and organize your he and a brother bought thoughts, communicate a and managed rental propposition, be understood erties. Robert’s two oldand sum up what you said est sons helped out in the in a few minutes. It was a liquor store as young fabulous course. It boys. Allan recalls using changed my life.” The Noddle sons and their mother Edith meet with then Vice-pres“a feather duster” to wipe IBM kept its promise ident Dan Quayle in his West Wing office in 1991: Harlan, left, all the bottles clean and upon his return home, Edith, Vice-president Quayle, Allan and Jeff. pushing a broom to but after a short time on sweep the floor. the job he realized knowing the ins and outs of comWhen Allan was older he went with his dad to collect puters “just wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t people. It rent from occupants of the apartments his father owned. was board and wiring.” That’s when he “answered a The way his father dealt with people made an impression blind ad in the newspaper” that turned out to be the on him. “He treated everybody with respect,” he said. start of his 40-year career in the retail food field. The ad “He helped them if they needed money. If you couldn’t was placed by Hinky Dinky, whom he broke in with as a pay the rent he’d say, ‘Oh, I’ll get it next time.’ I learned trainee. some things that helped me later in my life and career.” “They were looking to expand the company and they Allan feels it’s no coincidence the Noddle boys fol- wanted to hire more college graduates. A great part of lowed in their father’s footsteps. “I guess it’s the DNA the industry, which had been built on the strong backs we got from our dad,” he said. “Harlan went into the of guys who stocked shelves, was changing. Mom and real estate business. My little brother and I went into the pop grocers were being displaced by modern supermarsupermarket business.” kets with delis and bakeries and all that kind of thing and Life lessons outside the family circle also prepared stores were becoming a helluva lot more complex to Allan for the world and the anti-Semitism that’s a part of run,” he said. it. In grade school he would hear an occasional slur like He was learning the ropes out on the floor when sud“those dirty Jews,” but he really didn’t grasp the insidi- denly promoted to be a buyer, which proved a gateway ous nature of it all until later. For a high school project for his swift ascent to the top. “I came up through the he set out to prove the Gentleman’s Agreement princi- merchandising-marketing side of the business as opposed ple that denied Jews and other religious or ethnic to the store operations side of the business,” he said. minorities equal access. Hinky Dinky, a staple of the area grocery scene under “I wrote letters to 10 very exclusive resorts in the founder J.M. Newman and sons Nick, Murray and Bob, United States requesting reservations for the same week- fit Noddle to a tee. “Yeah, I loved it,” he said, “and after end, for the same dates, for two people I made up -- one 11 years I was the youngest vice president ever made in with a Jewish name and one with a Gentile name,” he the company and four years later I was elected the execsaid. “I got turned down by eight of the ten with the utive vice president and chief operating officer.” Jewish name and I got accepted by ten of ten with the At its peak Hinky Dinky was “doing $300 million a Gentile name, despite the fact I sent these requests after year” in sales, he said. A new Hinky Dinky division I’d already gotten responses saying, ‘Sorry, no rooms.’ Noddle helped launch operated grocery departments So, yeah, I got a glimpse of that experience.” within major retail stores. JC Penny was the primary A more personal experience with discrimination came client and its management was so taken with the concept after he got of college. Despite graduating at the top of that Penny’s bought out the whole division. The resulthis class and with all kinds of extracurricular activities to ing company, Supermarkets Interstate, which grew bighis credit, when he applied for an entry level opening at ger than Hinky Dinky, went bust. Northern Natural Gas Company, they showed no interThe stability of family-owned Hinky Dinky changed est in him. He couldn’t understand why. during that time when, in 1972, it was acquired by the Then he spoke to a local Jewish community elder, Dallas-based Cullum Cos. Norman Hahn, chair of the Omaha Human Relations “That was not a good development because they were Commission, who looked at the application Noddle taking money that we made and sending it as fast as they completed. That’s when Hahn saw the name of the could to Texas,” Noddle said, “where they had a real Jewish fraternity Noddle belonged to, just the kind of competitive battle on their hands. So, the money we red flag employers used to identify and exclude Jews. needed to continue to grow our company and build new Undaunted, Noddle applied with other employers and stores was going to help the Dallas company.” impressed IBM enough to land a job with what was then Those actions, he said, spelled “the beginning of the the gold standard among American businesses. end” for Hinky Dinky. “The suburbs were being formed “My father was so proud that his son got hired by a and if you weren’t going to be a part of that growth you company like IBM,” he said. “They were ‘It.’ They were were going to die. I saw it right away.” doing cutting-edge stuff that nobody else was doing. Disillusioned, he and president Chuck Monasee And they only hired, supposedly, the best and brightest.” resigned the same weekend in 1980. It wasn’t long But the start of his IBM career would be delayed until before Noddle said Cullum “killed” what had been “a he completed a two-year military hitch. IBM was willing fabulous business model” and an Omaha tradition. to hold the job for him. At UNL he’d completed reserve Continued on page 13
January 12, 2007
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
Something to remember me by by JOAN G FRIEDMAN What could be better than the birth of a grandchild! Oh, I know. The births of my own children were the perfect miracles. I have had so many blessings with my son and daughter. But a grandchild! The d’or le d’or (generation to generation) feeling was amazing. It was such a thrill for me to see a tiny baby only one hour old. There she was, the perfect little girl. My parents had provided for their grandchildren and we are not in the same position. We have provisions for our children, but this is quite a different thing.
What is there I can do for a grandchild? With my limited funds, I was perplexed. The early months flew by. When I babysat, she attended many board meetings with me. While Hadassah agendas were discussed, she napped or had a bottle. Deep down, I knew she was listening and one day would have her own suggestions for grandma president. Soon it would be time for Hadassah’s Donor Luncheon. My daughter would attend because her grandmother gifted her with life membership when she was a child. Then I realized the perfect gift for our Leah. At the donor, to celebrate her one-year
birthday, her papa and I gifted her with life membership in Hadassah. For my small sum of money, she received membership in the largest women’s Zionist organization in the United States. At that moment she joined with Jewish women -- over 300,000 strong -- and became a part of history. When she and her mommy were called up to the podium, I presented her with the membership pin. Because all children also receive a Hadassah bear, she was delighted. (And every year, on her birthday, it is also Bear’s birthday!) One day she will visit the Hadassah Medical Centers in Jerusalem (as we all
have-beginning with her great-grandma) and have tears as she realizes the extent of the work Hadassah has achieved. As she grows, her Jewishness will continue. And what could be a better gift for her parents and grandparents! Not long ago, driving in another city, we passed a sign about Hadassah. “Look, Grandma,” Leah exclaimed. “We could stop there and say hello to them!” Note: gifting membership in any organization is wonderful! Joan Greenberger Friedman contributes to newspapers in the U.S. and Canada and may be reached at joan@friedman.net.
The Stretch IRA: an asset transfer strategy Does your investment portfolio contain tax lien by ALAN UNGER UBS Financial Services Inc. Although you initially established an IRA as a nest egg for your retirement years, you may also want to consider using your IRA as a vehicle to pass wealth on to your heirs -- particularly if you have other sources of retirement income and do not need to draw funds from your traditional IRA. You may choose to keep your traditional IRA intact until reaching age 701/2 , at which time you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs). A strategy to withdraw the minimum amount required each year under IRS guidelines and to maximize the tax-deferred compounding on the assets remaining in the IRA for as long as possible is commonly referred to as the “stretch IRA.” Here’s an example: first generation John and Mary includes John’s IRA, $300,000. John is 70 and his RMD amount over two years is $22,649. He dies at age 71. Since Mary has elected to treat John’s IRA as her own, she does not have to take RMDs from the IRA until she turns age
701/2. (Note that this option is only available to a spouse who is named sole primary beneficiary.) Mary takes RMDs from age 70 until she dies at age 77. Mary’s RMD amount over eight years (age 70-77) is $156,123. Son Jack, now age 53, maintains the account as a beneficiary IRA and names his son, Mark, as beneficiary. Jack is required to take distributions from the IRA based on his remaining single life expectancy. He takes distributions every year for another 23 years until his death at age 75. His son Mark, at age 41, now takes distributions each year until the assets in the account are fully depleted. Spanning over three generations, the IRA, which had a beginning balance of $300,000, provided more than $2.1 million in income over a 46-year period of time. The stretch IRA might not be appropriate for everyone. Neither UBS Financial Services Inc. nor its employees provide tax or legal advice. You should to consult with your legal and/or tax advisors when making decisions about retirement plans and retirement plan distributions.
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January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Adventures in the food industry Continued from page 10 Giant Food had wooed Noddle for years and now that he was out of a job he went to work for them. When Royal Ahold took over Giant he feared it was a repeat of what Cullum did to Hinky Dinky. “It turned out I was absolutely, one hundred percent, unequivocally wrong,” he said. “They admitted up front they didn’t understand the American market and they gave us what we needed to grow faster than we ever could have grown on our own.” Grow Giant did, going from a 26-store, $260 million operation to a nearly 75-store, $1.7 billion operation. An assured public speaker, Noddle became Giant’s television spokesman in a series of commercials that made the corporate big-wig a familiar name and face back East. From 1986-88 Ahold assigned him to turn around the struggling operation of another of its U.S. holdings, BiLo, a Greenville, S.C. discount store chain. He did. His career took an international turn when he entered the executive ranks at Ahold. Then came the “stunning” news of his election to its senior board. “That was something no American thought would ever happen,” he said. “When they asked me, I was bowled over.” There was one catch: the move to Amsterdam. “‘Well, that I’ve got to think about,’” he told them. “I slept on it for one night and I told myself, This is an opportunity you absolutely have to take. I talked to my brothers and they said, ‘Go for it. Go do it.’” He did and never looked back. One factor that’s made his career moves less complicated is his single status. “I never have been married. I got married to the business,” he said. “The company was my family. I had a very wonderful family-family, but then I had another family where I worked 60-70 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, and that was the company. We shared our successes and we cried over our failures, but we were together.” He called his time with Ahold “a wonderful experience. My satisfaction was being a mentor and watching the people that make the company go develop over time. It wasn’t much about fancy homes, big boats or any of that stuff. I didn’t care.” Working in Amsterdam he learned first-hand what makes the Dutch such master merchants. “They’re traders. That’s what they do. They have kind of a consensus management style that’s different than the Western style. They’re great people. I have friendships today that will last forever.”
Whether dealing with his Dutch colleagues or with his peers in any of the other 28 countries he’s traveled to, Noddle gained an appreciation for diversity. Too often, he said, “Americans go to foreign countries but they want everything to be done in the American way as opposed to learning about the richness of other cultures and experiences. Our way is sometimes not necessarily the best way. There are different ways of doing things.” Doing business in a foreign marketplace, he said, “you need to be sensitive” to local cultures, “but you’ve got to be successful. So how do you create the best ways? Sometimes you take risks. And if they don’t work, what’s wrong with that? That’s not a mistake -- it’s an experience. A mistake is when you know something doesn’t work and you continue to push, push, push thinking it will work anyway.” He taught in Ahold’s advanced management school for up and coming talent. An instructor from Cornell University, the designer of the curriculum, caught one of his talks and was so taken he invited Noddle to be a guest lecturer at the prestigious institution, a role he still fills at Cornell today. “I give a talk once a year at a special course for graduate level students in the food management school,” he said. “It’s usually about globalization or marketing or the future of the industry.” Today, the “retired” Noddle applies his vast expertise as an adviser to Ahold and other companies. Just don’t call him a consultant. “I’m not a consultant -- I’m a teacher,” he said. “A consultant gets paid a lot of money to develop new projects and to show companies how to get from point A to point B. I do the bulk of my work without pay, helping to teach and train how to build a successful business model -- the philosophies, strategies and tactics. I love it. I teach in the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Portugal.” Much of his time is spent with food industry managers in the field, evaluating store practices, making comparisons to competitors, trying to find the best practices and innovations and the best ways to implement them. “It’s not theoretical. It’s on the book. I’m just thrilled with the opportunity to help people learn,” he said. Having not one but two “high achievers” as older siblings “was a definite plus” for Jeff Noddle, who said his brothers “always put the bar very high for me. They were great role models.” He said Allan continues to be an inspiration. “Among many positive attributes, he has the highest integrity. His word is his bond.”
Give, get and keep it in the family by DAVID P. WILSON Attorney at Law, Marks Clare & Richards, L.L.C. There are many creative techniques for giving money to charity. One such technique allows you to benefit charities, receive a stream of income and income tax benefits, reduce the size of your estate for estate tax purposes, and to keep your family involved in making decisions in how the charitable monies will be used. This involves the combination of a charitable remainder unitrust ("CRUT") and a donor-advised fund ("DAF"). Under this plan, you can contribute highly appreciated assets to a charitable remainder unitrust. The ultimate charitable beneficiary of the CRUT is a DAF. A CRUT is a charitable trust established in writing by you, which has the following attributes and benefits: • You will receive an income tax deduction equal to the value of the remainder interest in the assets contributed to the CRUT. Your ability to deduct these values in any given tax year will be subject to the limit that the deduction cannot exceed thirty percent (30%) of your adjusted gross income. Any unused amounts can be carried forward to future tax years. • You will avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciated assets contributed to the CRUT, even when the CRUT sells those assets. Once the assets are transferred to the CRUT, their value and any future appreciation are removed from your estate for Federal and State estate and inheritance tax purposes. A DAF is a charitable fund established by you during your lifetime which has the following attributes and benefits:
• Such funds are generally administered by large charitable organizations, such as the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. • The agreement establishing a DAF typically specifies that the donor will make recommendations concerning the annual distribution of monies in the fund to charities each year. In addition, these agreements may also provide that, upon the death of the donor, certain family members (i.e., surviving spouse, children) may make annual recommendations concerning the distribution, as long as they are living, of amounts in the fund to charities. Besides the tax and financial benefits detailed above, this technique allows you to continue your legacy of charitable giving through the future involvement of family members through a DAF. This creative planning tool is a win-win situation for those who are charitably inclined, their families, and the charities which will ultimately benefit from its use. If you are interested in considering the use of any of these creative charitable giving strategies as a part of your charitable planning, the tax attorneys at the law firm of Marks Clare & Richards, L.L.C. would be happy to provide you with assistance in planning and implementing these and many other kinds of charitable strategies which best suit your needs and desires. You may also contact Marty Ricks at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation at 402.334.6440 for more information on donor-advised funds administered through the Federation.
Watch your mail for Medicare news by JANE BEERMAN Communications Manager, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare prescription drug coverage was brand new to everyone this year, So, like many of our MedicareBlue Rx members, you may be wondering “What happens next?” And what, if anything, you need to do to keep your current drug coverage in place. Your current MedicareBlue Rx (or other Medicare prescription drug plan) costs and benefits were effective as of Dec. 31. In October, Blue Cross (or your prescription drug plan company) should have notified you by mail of any changes to your plan effective Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2007. This is your “Annual Notice of
Change.” If you’re a MedicareBlue Rx member and you’re happy with your plan, you’re encouraged to “Stick with Blue.” If you choose another company for your Medicare prescription drug plan and are interested in switching to Blue Cross, contact us by visiting your Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative; call 1.866.456.1604; or visit our website at www.Your MedicareSolutions.com. MedicareBlue Rx is a regional Medicare Prescription Drug Plan with a Medicare contract. This article was excerpted from Living Well, a publication of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
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I married a lawyer A JEWISH GLIMPSE AT DAILY LIFE by JANE ULMAN First, let me say that by the time I announced to my family that I was actually getting married, at the already questionable child-bearing age of 34, they would have been ecstatic had I said I was marrying a Martian. The fact that Larry was a lawyer, on the partner track at a reputable Los Angeles law firm, was a bonus. The fact that he was a Jewish lawyer, strongly identified as a Member of the Tribe and actively engaged in the community, was beyond their wildest hopes. But, hey, what do you think happens when you meet your future spouse at a Jewish Federation-sponsored Gala Singles Dance at the Hillcrest Country Club? I’ll tell you.You have three tables or more of lawyers at your wedding. At ours, even the rabbi who performed the ceremony, Ben Zion Bergman, was a licensed lawyer. And, after almost 24 years of marriage, here’s what else happens. I can tell you that there’s no contract that can’t be broken, that the law is not always just and that gift certificates and gift cards in California cannot expire (see California Code Sections 1749.45 – 1794.6). I can also tell you about Regulation Z (the federal Truth in Lending law), about the legal doctrine of estoppel and about movie slate financing for hedge funds investing in films (well, maybe I’m reaching here). In short, I’m pretty much a practicing lawyer myself. Sure, I sat for the Law School Admission Test back in 1980 and even progressed as far as requesting applications from several Southern California law schools. But I didn’t need to endure the rigors of a Constitutional Law class to learn about separation of church and state as outlined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. And I didn’t need to spend three months holed up with a California Bar Exam review tutorial and another three months nervously awaiting the Bar Exam results before I could evict a tenant who wasn’t paying rent or sue American Savings in Small Claims Court for a consumer fraud violation. Nope, I just needed to marry Larry. Now I can look up any law I need on www.findlaw.com and then check my legal interpretation with my resident expert. And here’s the best part: no hourly rate to pay. There’s only the small price of feigning interest when, after answering my question, he goes didactic on me, printing out a compendium of relevant case summaries which he expects me to enthusiastically read. But in our litigation-driven society having a bona fide lawyer on “till-death-do-us- part� retainer can be a handy asset. Larry can expertly negotiate any sale, be it house, car or mortgage refinance; he can read and
understand the small print on any document (without glasses, no less); and he can make all investment and insurance decisions. But what’s the downside? Surely, there’s a reason for all those lawyer jokes. In other words, what’s it like -- day after day, year after year -- trying to have discussions with someone who is trained and gets paid for poking holes in any argument? Who reads articles word by painstaking word with one hand guiding a ruler underneath each line and the other hand holding a red pen? And who seamlessly inserts phrases such as “nunc pro tunc� and “res ipsa loquitur� into what passes for normal conversation? That’s the key phrase, normal conversation. Can you just chitchat over morning coffee with someone who is reputedly aggressive, analytic and always watching the clock? With someone who values objectivity and reason over emotion and intuition? Who listens carefully to a complicated and long-deliberated observation and then matter of factly responds, “That makes no sense.� “What makes no sense?� I ask. “Look, why would someone do that?� he invariably says, pointing out that he’s trained to ferret out the motivation behind any action. “So,� I answer, using my own keen rebuttal skills, “who cares.� After all, just because his clients pay large sums of money for his advice and then actually follow it, I’m not obligated to do the same. And that’s the secret. Different strokes. While Larry resorts to what I lovingly call his “lawyer tricks,� relentlessly bombarding me with logical arguments and making normal marital melees an impossibility, I rely on irrationality. And that makes perfect sense. After all, Larry is a JD (juris doctor) and I’m an INFJ (introverted, intuitive, feeling and judgmental person, based on the Myers-Briggs psychological profile). But opposites attract. They even complement each other. And I have to say that it’s been my left-brained, logical and level-headed husband who has ethically enlightened me. It’s Larry, contrary to the cutthroat and merciless legal stereotype, who has taught me about the sanctity of human life, the cruelty of sarcasm and ridicule, the power of kindness, the virtue of patience and the paramount importance of family. It’s also Larry who’s taught me that journalists need their spouses’ permission to quote them in print (I learned that one the hard way) and that, yes, spouses can sue spouses (so far, this has not been necessary). And it’s Larry who has already carefully vetted this column and, in accordance with the Communication Act’s equal opportunity provision, is probably already drafting his response. It will be titled “I Married a Journalist.� Look for it in your local legal newspaper. Jane Ulman is a freelance writer living in Encino, CA. She can be reached at: jane.ulman@gmail.com.
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by BILL NEUMAN When it comes time to add up those 1099-INT’s for your taxes this year, consider how much taxable interest you report to the IRS. Those savings accounts and certificates of deposit that are paying you interest are also increasing your tax liability. We all need to have a liquid emergency fund (usually three to six months of living expenses). We also like the safety and security of bank deposits. However, it is easy for that money in the bank to grow to levels that may not make good financial sense. One solution to this problem that also offers safety and security is fixed annuities. A fixed annuity is an annuity that guarantees your principal plus a certain rate of return over a given period of time when the annuity is held for the term of the contract. Annuities grow tax-deferred. In other words, you don't pay tax on the interest until you actually withdraw the money. If it is rolled into another annuity, the tax deferral continues until you actually take a check from the issuing company. One important
note: If you withdraw money out of an annuity prior to age 591/2, the gains are subject to a 10% IRS penalty. Fixed annuities basically come in two flavors. The first and more conventional is the multi-year rate guarantee. Similar to a CD at the bank, an interest rate is guaranteed for a certain number of years (usually three to six). The second type is an index annuity. These have become very popular in the past several years while interest rates have been low. Index annuities have a minimum guaranteed rate of return, but also have increased upside potential that is tied to a stock market index. Usually, they also offer added liquidity in the form of annual penalty-free withdrawals and other riders to help offset their longer contract terms (usually five years or more). Whichever type you prefer, there are no income requirements or limits as to how much can be invested as there are with IRAs. For more information, call me at Neuman Financial, 991.2894.
Looking for a way to spend your tax return money? by RALPH WILLIAMS Welcome to the world of cruising and cruise planners! Cruising is an amazing way to relax, adventure to unique and exotic places and thoroughly enjoy a well earned vacation. As your Cruise Planners, Cruise Specialists, it is our job to make your dream cruise vacation a reality anywhere in the world and on any cruise line. Whether you are a first time cruiser or have sailed the seven seas, Cruise Planners strives to exceed your expectations. We specialize in personal service to help you decide what cruise best fits your exact needs. Ready to go? Just navigate our site www.cornerstoneglobalcruising.com or call us at 402.334.4120 to start planning your dream vacation today. Cruise Planners not only specializes in individual dream
cruise vacations, but also specializes in group cruising (a group is as few as eight cabins). We will plan your: family reunions; company annual meetings at sea, company incentive group cruises, non-profit organization fund raisers, high school or college reunions, special interest groups (collectors, music lovers, wine & food lovers, car lovers, etc.), or resort vacation anywhere in the world. Is there a wedding in your future? Cruise Planners will also help you plan a wedding and your honeymoon at sea! Why not allow yourself to be treated with care while getting the best value afloat! Call us today to begin the journey of your dreams. Cruise Planners is locally owned and operated by Laura Williams and myself, long time Nebraska residents and experienced travelers.
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January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 15
Tzedakah and your money PEOPLE OF THE
BYTE
by MARK MIETKIEWICZ So many worthy causes. So little money. You’ll find many wonderful tzedakah organizations on the Web. I couldn’t possibly list even a fraction of them. Nor would I dare recommend one over another. However, I would like to examine a few sites with advice about how to give and what to look for in a well run charity. Thankfully, there are a few people who research charities (many of which of lesser known) and recommend the ones that are truly making a difference. First, a few words of caution. There are many worthwhile charitable institutions on the Internet. However, I strongly advise further investigation before you donate. If a charitable donation receipt is important to you, find out whether one is available before you give. Also, there is much debate about whether you should send a credit card donation on-line. If you are hesitant, no charity would turn down a donation by mail. Just-Tzedakah.org is a great resource which has developed a set of voluntary standards for Jewish charities which go beyond the requirements of the American government. As well, there are a couple of downloadable
documents which I recommend, especially “Smart Tzedakah: How to Evaluate Charities Before You Give” and “Principles of Ethics, Governance and Accountability for Jewish Philanthropies.” That one takes traditional Jewish sources about tzedakah and applies them to the modern marketplace. For example, on the (sometimes controversial) issue of fundraising expenses, it looks to T’shuvot v’Hanhagot Yoreh De’ah. “The practice that the tzedakah solicitor takes a portion of the proceeds for himself is certainly permitted. That is for the benefit of the poor. If the collector did not receive compensation for his effort, there would be no solicitors...However, the donors don’t intend that the majority should go to the collector.” [www.just-tzedakah.org/bpb.pdf] If you are unfamiliar with a charity, you may want to research its goals, its overhead and the amount of money it raises. Registered charities file documentation which can easily be retrieved from Guidestar, The National Database of Nonprofit Organizations. It allows you to search online for information about more than 1.5 million IRS-recognized nonprofits [www.guidestar. org] When I typed in the word “Jewish” I got over 8,200 matches; “Israel” had 2,300. You can also go directly to the IRS’s Search for Charities page. [http://tinyurl. com/fn4bj To learn about Israeli charities, visit Giving Wisely: The Internet Directory of Israeli Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations. Unfortunately, this helpful resource doesn’t seem to have been updated recently.
[www. givingwisely.org.il/] One of the most incredible advocates of tzedakah is mitzvah maven Danny Siegel. Siegel is based in Rockville, Maryland and operates the Ziv Tzedakah Fund Inc. Siegel likes to proclaim his “Mitzvah Heroes” such as Elana Erdstein from Detroit, who requested and received for her bat mitzvah 25,000 hotel-size soaps, shampoos and conditioners to be given to the poor. [www.ziv.org/] Similar to Ziv, the Nebraska-based Kavod (dignity, honor) describes itself as a “non-profit tzedakah collective. We are a group of individuals who have chosen to pool our tzedakah resources together so that, as a community, we can have a greater impact in our efforts to repair the world.” [http://kavod.org/] Still looking for more information about how and where to give? Try these Tzedakah Links Tzedaka.org [www.tzedaka.org] and Maven. [www.maven.co.il/ subjects.asp?S=172] There may never be enough money for all the worthy institutions and individuals who deserve it. But Brandeis University Professor Reuven Kimelman suggests that the recipient of the donation is not the only one who gains. “Tzedakah may not save us, but it makes us worth saving.” [http://tinyurl.com/yk59d8] Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based website producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be contacted at highway@rogers.com.
Preserve your choices with long-term care insurance by AMY M. HUCK State Farm agent Choices. Most people value the ability to make choices. Whether choosing the car you drive or where you live, choices mean flexibility. You probably want that same flexibility when making choices about your future -- especially when it comes to health care. Having long-term care insurance will help preserve your ability to make these important choices. What is long-term care? Simply stated, longterm care refers to the services you may need when you're no longer able to care for yourself and need assistance with the activities of daily living. You may need assistance after an injury, illness, stroke or disease. Long-term care insurance can help pay the cost of care for services in your home, in the community, or in a nursing home.
Paying for long-term care services could affect your future plans and choices in health care if you aren't properly prepared. In my opinion, serious consideration should be given to long-term care insurance as part of a solid financial plan. This means taking steps to help protect what you've worked so hard to accumulate through saving and investing. Anyone, no matter what age, may need longterm care services at some point in life. Consider these statistics regarding the potential need for long-term care: • 40% of people receiving long-term care services are working-age adults under age 65. (Source: General Accounting Office) • More than 70% of people over the age of 65 may need some form of home health care. (Source: Lewin Group) Most Americans are unable to save enough
to cover the high cost of long-term care services on their own. Nationally, the annual cost of a nursing home stay is about $56,000 and is expected to quadruple by 2030. (Source: Health Care Financing Administration) Long term care insurance can help pay these costs and allows you to maintain control while preserving your choices. How will you afford it? Will you pay for it yourself? If you have a large estate, you may be able to cover potential costs on your own. However, for most people, long-term care services could quickly devastate income, retirement savings and other assets. Will you depend on Medicare or Medicaid? Medicare does not cover most long-term care services. Medicaid is designed to help the poorest in our community; you have to meet strict guidelines for your income and assets.
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Will you depend on your family? For many people, this may be the only option. Talking with your family will help you decide if they have the resources, expertise, time and willingness to provide for your care. Should long-term care insurance be part of your plan? It can be a cost-effective way to ensure you have choices in your heath care. As a State Farm agent, my mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. I believe long-term care insurance is part of this mission. Even if you don't talk to me about long-term care insurance, talk with someone. It's that important. To learn more, contact me at 682.9334 or a State Farm agent where you live.
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Page 16
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
Investing in the Jewish community Making a contribution to the Jewish Federation, your synagogue and other Jewish organizations are the first thing that comes to mind when the phrase “Investing in the Jewish community” is the topic. Another way of fulfilling that goal is to create any number of different funds at the Jewish Federation Foundation; that would include a PACE or LOJE endowment -- gifts that would pay a Pacesetter or Lion of Judah pledge for the foreseeable future to the Federation’s Annual Campaign. Creating a restricted fund as a foundation, a supporting foundation or a donor-advised fund that would direct monies to the programs, projects, agencies and organizations about which the donor cares -- is another “investment” that can help ensure that a donor’s wishes are carried out both in his or her lifetime -- and after the donor is deceased. But there are several other ways to invest in the Jewish commuity -- and, as this is our annual Tax and Financial Planning Issue, it seems logical to mention them here: • Make all your children --and grandchildren (and great-grandchildren if you’re lucky enough to have them) -- life members in the organizations in which you’re active. Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, B’nai B’rith and Jewish Women International will probably be on your list; you also might want to consider the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and/or your synagogue’s Sisterhood or Men’s Club. Your favorite organizations can benefit now from the extra funds and who knows -- maybe your
grandchild will actually read Hadassah Magazine or the NCJW Journal! And maybe, just maybe, one or two of them will consider volunteering for that organization on his or her own. • Connect your college student to the Jewish Press. For decades, the Press has provided this award-winning newspaper free to college students. We have many of them on our subscribers’ list, however our Editorial Intern Anne Muskin found a whopping 200 additional names that were not only not our our list, but not in the Federation’s database either. It’s pretty hard to expect the Jewish college-age members of our community to participate in programs and activities, when we can’t reach them. If you’re a parent of a Jewish student, we hope you’ll respond to our recent mailing and send us the name and address of your son or daughter. We’ll add them to our list immediately, so they can find out what’s going on locally, nationally and internationally in the Jewish world. For some of our readers (including adults), the Jewish Press is their only source of Jewish news -- a necessity in balancing the often biased news in the secular media. • If your child has graduated college, you can still “invest” in the Jewish community by making a gift of a subscription to the Press. It’s a mere $33 a year for 52 weekly issues --
including our large Passover and New Year’s special themed issues. Call us at 402.334.6448 or e-mail jpress@jewishomaha.org to order a gift subscription today. Investing in the Jewish community is a wise course of action. A $350 life membership in a Jewish organization, a $33 annual Jewish Press subscription -- small prices to pay when it comes to the future of Jewish Omaha.
Jewish Press Committee Bobbi Leibowitz, Vice-Chairman; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Treasurer; Michael Siegel, Finance Chairman; Joanie Jacobson, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Melissa Schop; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.
ADL lists Top 10 issues affecting Jews in 2006
FOCUS ON ISSUES by MYRNA SHINBAUM for the Anti-Defamation League Israel fights to protect itself from Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, growing violence among Islamic extremists; the Iranian threat to Israel, Jews and the world; and concerns about global anti-Semitism and antiIsrael bias at the United Nations were among the issues most affecting the Jewish community in 2006, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual list. “The attacks on Israel this summer demonstrated the country’s vulnerability on all sides, and highlighted the urgent problem of support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups among rogue leaders in the Middle East,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “Islamic extremism reared its ugly head over and over again, leading to violent clashes and the deaths of many innocent victims all over the world. The anti-Israel rhetoric and Holocaust denial of the Iranian president sent chills down the spine of Jews and all right-thinking people, as did the repeated unfounded condemnation of Israel by the U.N.” Israel Under Attack from the North and South In the North, Hezbollah’s unprovoked cross-border raid into Israel and the kidnapping of two Israel Defense Forces reservists triggered a monthlong war in Lebanon, with thousands of Hezbollah rockets raining down on northern Israel. The intense shelling of southern Israeli towns, following the election of Hamas, led Israel to carry out a series of incursions and air strikes in Gaza. The increasingly violent infighting between Hamas and Fatah added to regional instability. Israeli Soldiers Remain in Captivity Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian terrorists who tunneled under the Gaza-Israel border in June, and IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped
by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid in July. To date, no one, including the Red Cross, has been permitted to check on the condition of the three captured soldiers. The Growing Violence of Islamic Extremism The problem of violent Jihadist Islamists grew. Following Pope Benedict XVI’s comments about Islam, the Muslim world erupted in unprecedented violence; churches were attacked and an Italian nun was murdered. The earlier publication of cartoons in a Danish newspaper depicting Mohammed resulted in rioting across the Muslim world and in Europe. The Iranian Threat to Israel, Jews and the World Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rants, coupled with his nuclear ambitions, placed him and the Iranian regime among the foremost threats to Jews, Israel and the world. The Iranian regime sponsored anti-Zionism conferences and pseudo-academic lectures and exhibits denying the Holocaust. An encouraging sign, however, was the denunciation of Iran’s Holocaust denial conference by many world leaders.
...attacks on Israel this summer demonstrated the country’s vulnerability on all sides, and highlighted the urgent problem of support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups... Reform at the U.N. A Failure Despite hopes that the U.N. might start treating Israel fairly, 2006 featured poor leadership on the issue from Secretary-General Kofi Annan and uncorrected anti-Israel bias in the General Assembly and other U.N. bodies. Annan leveled outrageous accusations against Israel, including that of violating international law, while leaving Israel’s extremist enemies relatively unscathed. The new Human Rights
(Founded in 1920) Howard K. Marcus Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Terri Greenwood Advertising Executive Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Anne Muskin Editorial Intern
Council proved to be no better than its corrupt predecessor by passing a multitude of one-sided resolutions against Israel in regular and special sessions, while ignoring other more pressing problems around the world. Rising Concerns about Global Anti-Semitism Despite good-faith efforts by governments and the international community, anti-Semitic acts persisted around the world. In Poland, anti-Semitism rose to new levels since the formation of a coalition government that included two extremist parties. In Moscow, eight worshippers were attacked inside a synagogue by a knife-wielding skinhead. In France, Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man, was kidnapped, brutally tortured and murdered by a Muslim gang. Venezuela, under President Hugo Chavez, experienced a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism fostered in part by Chavez’s own rhetoric, which included anti-Israel statements, open support for Hamas and Hezbollah and collusion with radical Islamic leaders. The Anti-Semitic Myth of the “Israel Lobby” The age-old anti-Semitic canard of Jewish control was re-introduced and re-enforced by two professors who claimed that the “Israel Lobby” (i.e. American Jews) controls U.S. foreign policy. Professors Stephen Walt of Harvard and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago blamed American Jews for promoting the Iraq war. Joining them was former President Jimmy Carter, who, in promoting his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, claimed that the power of the Israel lobby stifles debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Anti-Semitism in America The shooting attack at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle showed the vulnerability of American Jews, especially at a time of crisis in the Middle East. Support for neo-Nazi groups who use Nazi imagery, symbols and rhetoric continued to grow, while anti-Semitic incidents, graffiti and vandalism occurred regularly across the country. Continued on page 17
Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $36 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.
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January 12, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 17
Ancient lies no basis for a policy: Saddam’s words and Arafat document illustrate the distorted visions of a region
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by JONATHAN S. TOBIN Two seemingly unrelated events in the waning days and hours of 2006 pretty much summed up everything you need to know about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Their meaning can be characterized simply: The Arab world’s obsession with eradicating the State of Israel and the West’s willingness to deceive itself about the character of Arab leaders and their intentions both are based on lies. The more famous of the two events was the hanging of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In his final moments before he got his just desserts, the doomed Iraqi once again played the card that he and other Arab despots have always used with impunity: Israel. Thus, among his final comments on the gallows came this declaration: “Palestine is Arab!” Why invoke this cause with his last breath? Because even at that moment he still thought it worth a try to deflect discussion of his comeuppance to that of the conflict with Israel. All-Purpose Excuse The Arab world has used the fight against Zionism as an excuse for every problem that exists within their societies. Whether it is the domination of tyrants like Saddam or the lack of economic progress and the rest of the standards by which they lag behind the West, the answer is always the same: It would be different if only there were no Israel. That this thesis is nonsense has been no deterrent to its frequent use. This diversionary tactic is so deeply ingrained in the culture of the Arab world that it is routinely repeated not just by spokesmen for the regimes that run roughshod over their own people but also by their intellectuals and would-be reformers who ought to know better. By focusing on the external enemy -- and a state ruled by a despised minority of dhimmi Jews at that -- the Arabs have given themselves as well as their leaders a ready-made excuse for all of their failures. Though he spent his career terrorizing his own people, Saddam was always careful to pose as a pan-Arab antiZionist. When his troops were evicted from Kuwait in 1991 with little resistance on the part of his army, it was no surprise that he used his SCUD missiles to attack
Israel. Though Israel had nothing to do with Saddam’s looting of Kuwait and was excluded from the international coalition organized to oppose him by the first President Bush, it was imperative for him to make it appear as if Israel was actually a belligerent in that war. This earned him the cheers of Palestinians, who took to their rooftops to cheer the missiles headed for Tel Aviv. He reinforced that impression with his subsequent payments to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. But this was, like everything else he did, a lie. Like the rest of the Arab world, Iraq did nothing useful for the Palestinians other than to encourage them to continue in a pointless war. But by doing so, he deflected criticism from Muslims who still prefer to embrace canards about the Jews rather than to examine their own faults. And by saying “Palestine” before the trap door opened, Saddam gave Arabs another excuse to ignore the truth about the campaign to remove his regime.
All this also helps to feed the fallacy -- still widely believed in the West -- that the Arab-Israeli dispute is the source of all the region’s problems. But as Saddam’s life and death proved, intra-Arab warfare and atrocities have little to do with the Jews. Another event that was received with far less fanfare took place only days before Hussein’s death. It was the release of a 33-year-old classified document by the United States State Department. It confirmed what had long been rumored: that the late Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat personally ordered the murders of two kidnapped American diplomats in March 1973. Members of a PLO-front group called “Black September gunned down the two, Cleo Noel, U.S. ambassador to Sudan, and the embassy’s Charge d’Affaires George Moore, along with Guy Eid, a Belgian envoy, in cold blood.” The supposed separate identity of the group -which was also responsible for the 1972 massacre of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich -- from that of Arafat’s Fatah was a cover story intended to separate the Palestinian mainstream from its more egregious crimes. Arafat denied any role in these murders to the day of
his own death in 2004. Though he was the godfather of modern terror, he sought to burnish his mythical image as a statesman to the West. But this was nothing compared to the self-deception of Western governments who knew better, particularly the employers of Noel and Moore, the United States State Department. Though the Sudan murders were invoked by critics of America’s policy of engagement of Arafat throughout the era of the Oslo peace process, the State Department always denied there was any proof of Arafat’s direct involvement. But, as the document released late last month proved, this denial was as brazen a falsehood as any ever uttered by the Palestinians. In fact, the National Security Agency had intercepted a transmission from Arafat’s headquarters in Beirut to Khartoum, Sudan, ordering the murders of the Americans. Evidence of Murder Thus, even though the United States had in its possession direct evidence of his responsibility for the murder of two its diplomats, Arafat not only was never charged with these crimes but also enjoyed the hospitality of the White House more than any other foreign leader during the Clinton administration. Yet with Arafat now as dead as Noel and Moore, is there any point in rehearsing this sorry chapter of history? Yes, because the State Department cover-up of this crime (a whitewash that ought to have prompted at least a fraction of the outrage that the contemporaneous Watergate cover-up did) was an act of policy. It was important to generations of American diplomats and their political masters not to publish the truth about Arafat because they believed making deals with him was more important than combating terror. Their subversion of justice was for a cause they thought to be nobler than justice for slain Americans -- peace. And in the name of this illusion a long list of cabinet secretaries and a president of the United States willfully ignored not only the lies that Arafat told during peace talks but abandoned their duty to apprehend and punish a terrorist. Hussein’s last words and the Arafat transcript both illustrate how lies told by Arab despots have been abetted by the lies of their willing dupes. Those willing to embrace future deceptions, whether on the part of “moderates” such as Mahmoud Abbas (Arafat’s longtime deputy) or his “extremist” Hamas rivals, would do well to study both incidents and realize that a peace will never be built upon falsehoods. Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. He can be contacted via email at: jtobin@jewishexponent.com.
channeled to faith-based organizations, the Government Accountability Office reported that the federal government does not have procedures to see whether these organizations have adequate procedures to ensure constitutional safeguards against religious coercion. Efforts to coerce children, the homeless, and prisoners into engaging in religious worship continued unabated. Divestment and Boycotts Target Israel and Israelis While the Church of Canada rejected anti-Israel divestment resolutions and the Presbyterians overturned theirs, others continued to adopt policies unfairly target-
ing Israel. The Church of England voted to divest from companies whose products are used by Israel in the Palestinian territories, a move later vetoed by Church leaders. The Church of Scotland General Assembly asked European authorities and the World Council of Churches to identify products made in the West Bank. Britain’s National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education called for a boycott of Israeli academics, and British architects urged that Israel be banned from the 10th International Architecture Biennale in Venice.
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...in the name of this illusion a long list of cabinet secretaries and a president of the United States willfully ignored not only the lies that Arafat told during peace talks but abandoned their duty to apprehend and punish a terrorist.
ADL’s Top 10 issues for 2006 Continued from page 16 Church-State Separation The U.S. House of Representatives passed a number of bills that sought to undermine religious freedom, including several that attempted to strip courts of their power to hear cases involving religious freedom. Fortunately, the Senate rejected many of these bills. However, both the House and Senate made a successful last-minute maneuver to restore troubling rules allowing unconstitutional proselytizing at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Also, despite $2.1 billion in government dollars being
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Page 18
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
Candlelighting Friday, January 12, 4:59 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Staff Sergeant Jay Benton. The community is invited.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethlincoln.org
If you’re looking at this space, so are others! YOUR AD CAN GO HERE...
to reserve space, call
Allan Handleman, 334.6451, or Terri Greenwood, 334.6559.
FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; K’tantan (K-2), 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Beth El; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:05 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. W E E K D AY S E R V I C E S : Sundays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; weekdays 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Living Hebrew, 10 a.m., with Susi FrydmanLevin; “The Weekly Parasha: It’s All About Me?!,” 10 a.m., led by Andy Greenberg; “Jewish Pot Pourri,” 11 a.m., led by Frydman-Levin. BESTT INTERGENERATIONAL HAVDALAH PROGRAM: Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon. For families of students in pre-K to second grade, participants will learn how to conduct Havdalah in their homes. Led by Rabbi Levin, Cantor Bogomolni, Judy Rubin and Daniel Christensen. BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY MINI-COURSE: Mondays in January, 7 p.m., led by UNO Professor Dr. Rami Arav. Cost is $18. Contact the synagogue office to register. THURSDAYS, noon: Rabbi Levin leads Getting More Out of Prayer: Insights into the Siddur. JEWISH FILM SERIES: Jan. 15, 7 p.m., led by Dr. Stephen Skulsky. Cost is $6 per session. For more information, contact Margie Gutnik. ABBA, EEMA & ME: From birth to three, and their parents on Wednesday, 9:30 a.m-11 a.m. Guest presenter will be dance teacher Cheryl Lerner, leading creative movement. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Meets again on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m., at the synagogue. Theme is Tu
B’Shevat and flower arranging. RSVP to co-hosts Diane Axler Baum, Hypelady@aol.com, or Lea Grunkin, 445.2809. KADIMA SHABBATON: Jan. 26-28. To register or for more information, contact Judy Rubin at 498.0904 or eddir@ bethel-omaha.org, or Robert Mosenkis, 492.8550 or youthdir @bethel-omaha.org.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Junior NCSY travels to Chicago for the Winter Shabbaton; Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:59 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 10 a.m. (call the office for schedule); Alan Potash, ADL Regional Director, will speak at services as part of our “Israel Advocacy Month.”; Kiddush is sponsored by Gary & Liat Shyken; Mincha, 4:45 p.m. followed by Suedat Shlishit with Gemara class; Suedat Shlishit is sponsored by Jon and Gisele Wine in commemoration of the yahrzeit of Dave Wine; Havdalah, 6:04 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Nadel follows breakfast, 9:45 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; NCSY Latte & Learning, 7 p.m. at Scooter’s, 120th & Blondo. Rabbi Nadel will talk about “G-d, Judaism and Rock ‘n Roll.”; Beth Israel Book Club, 7:30 p.m., discusses The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz.
BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service.
SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Living Torah, 9:30 a.m., 20minute video broadcast. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Maamar Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer Circle Tehillim & More, 9 a.m. Kabbalah WEDNESDAY: Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. Events and programs are open to the community. For information or to register, call 330.1800 or visit www. Ochabad.com.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Martin Luther King Freedom Breakfast, 7 a.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg provided by Allen Schreiber. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 2-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; K-1, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Tifereth Israel. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew class (grades 2-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. The Temple Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m., in the Social Hall. ADULT EDUCATION “Israel: State of the Nation,” Sundays, Jan. 14 and 28, from 7 -9 p.m.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m., led by Andy Greenberg and Nancy Rips. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m., led by Andy Greenberg.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes To You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m.; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Rabbi Eric Linder and Cantor
Wendy Shermet will lead the service. Sandy Nogg will give the D’var Torah on “Gift Shop Lady Tells All.” SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Jonathan Baker, son of Amber and Thomas Baker, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. SUNDAY: No Religious School. TUESDAY: Executive Committee meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees meeting, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 46 p.m.; Family School, 6-8 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6-8 p.m. LIFE LONG LEARNING TUESDAY, Jan. 16: Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30–8 p.m. THURSDAY, Jan. 18: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Rabbi Linder, 10-11:30 a.m.; “Theology Café”, 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 144th and West Center Road. Join Cantor Shermet in an intimate, warm environment for coffee and conversation about the God you believe in as well as the God you don’t believe in.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 5 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY and THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. with a Shabbat dinner following. SATURDAY: Weekly Parashah class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 2-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; K-1, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; General meeting, 12:15 p.m. at the synagogue. TUESDAY: The Ladies’ Lunch Group will meet at Red Lobster, noon. If you need a ride, call Marcia Kushner. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; Hebrew class (grades 27), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.
Rescuer Svend Christensen recalls efforts to save Jews in Denmark during WWII by BETH SELDIN DOTAN Director, IHE The Institute for Holocaust Education and the Plains States Anti-Defamation League will bring Svend Christensen to the Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2-4 p.m. Christensen will address the community about his experiences as a policeman in Copenhagen, Denmark where he was a part of concerted effort to save fellow Danish citizens who were Jewish during World War II. Eventually, he was also forced to flee to Sweden -- leaving his pregnant wife and young son with family
for nine months. After the war, Christensen returned to his first job of photo engraving, but then immigrated to the United States in 1954. Still living in Des Moines, IA, Christensen enjoys spending time with his three children and four grandchildren in Nevada and Iowa. The Institute for Holocaust Education brings many meaningful programs to the community including the Tribute to the Rescuers Essay Contest. In its fourth year, the contest uses lessons of the Holocaust as a framework to view moral behavior and
explore current and historical events, individuals and groups that illustrate moral courage. The competition is open to all high school students in the greater Omaha area and anyone who reads about it on the website, www.adl.org/tribute_to_rescuers/. Using a curriculum that conforms to state standards, participants study the courageous and inspiring efforts of Holocaust rescuers and are required to relate these stories to a personal experience or event in their own lives to which the lesson of moral courage can be applied. The contest is funded through
the support of the Frohm Foundation. For information on participating in the essay competition, contact coordinator, Jessica Gall, at jessica.gall@ops.org or call 402.333.1303.
LOST Someone accidentally picked up and left with the wrong ladies’ black coat at the Dec. 6 women’s luncheon in the JCC Auditorium. If found, please contact Gary Katz at the Kripke Library 334-6462.
January 12, 2007
Israel’s History Begins
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Shemot As we finished the Book of Genesis, we finished the history of the Patriarchs. And, as we begin the Book of Exodus, Shemot, we find ourselves now discussing no longer a family -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their issue -- but we are dealing with a people, the Children of Israel, the People of Israel. It is not for nothing that the Septuagint called this new book by a name which we have “corrected” for our own use into “Exodus.” The Exodus itself is a highwater event in Jewish history. It is referred to again and again in our liturgy. Jewish history takes it for granted that the Exodus marks the beginning not only of the Israelite people, but also the beginning of morality as a national -- and universal -aspect of human life. In our book, though not in our Sidra, we have the “Ten Utterances”, that is to say, the so-called Ten Commandments. Oddly enough, the Ten Commandments occur in a Sidra which goes by the name of Jethro, Moses’ pagan father-in-law, himself a priest of some ancient religion or other. Our own Sidra begins this sad tale of Israel’s enslavement in Mitzrayim. The Mitzrim were subjected to consummate punishment, and eventually were obliged to send the Hebrew slaves to their freedom and their right to worship. We ought to remember that last phrase, God’s demand was not “Let My People go,” but rather, “Let My People go that they may worship.” American Jews, glorying in our freedom in this blessed land, ought to remember that our freedom here has obligations as well as privileges. We ought to study Judaism and steep ourselves in its history and in the values that Jewish life developed over the centuries. It is encouraging to note that sociologists who have put American Jews under their microscope, have recognized that in the last few decades our JEwish community has matured. Instead of divesting ourselves of everything that is our heritage, as it was feared that we would do, we have now recognized the importance of what we have inherited as Jews. It has become clear to us that the deeper we involve ourselves in Judaism and its values, the deeper we involve ourselves in the values of American democracy. That is as it should be, and we glory in it. (Editor’s note: this column was originally published in the Jewish Press on Jan. 4, 2002.)
DEATHS DOROTHY PLATT Dorothy Platt died at the age of 95. Services were held Jan. 5 at the chapel at Beth El Cemetery. She was preceded in death by her husband, Max. She is survived by her daughter, Connie Stilwell; son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Barbara Platt; grandchildren, Jeff and Ellen Platt, Kim and Jay Noddle, Lisa and Julian Leopold of Sioux City, IA, Jill and Bill Swanberg of Leawood, KS, Joe and Katy Platt of Shawnee Mission, KS, Scott Singer of Seattle, WA, Carolyn and Lyle Zastera, Margie Singer of Dallas, TX; and 11 great-grandchildren. Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. NATHAN BERG Nathan Norman Berg died at the age of 88. A graveside service was held Jan 10 at Temple Israel Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ida; and sisters Sara Zorinsky and Mildred “Midge” Kayes. He is survived by son, Michael Berg of Seattle, WA; daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and William Glover; and sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Ralph Katz. Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Home, Beth Israel Synagogue or the American Heart Association.
Senator Lieberman visits absorption center
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Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, together with his wife Hadassah, visited the Mevaseret Zion Absorption Center, in company of newly arrived immigrants from Ethiopia. He was in Israel last month as part of a five-man congressional delegation, which visited Afghanistan and Iraq on a fact-finding mission. Speaking at the absorption center, he said he hoped that the more moderate voices in the Arab world were beginning to realize that the threats of destruction were not emanating from Israel, but rather from Iran and other extreme Copyright: ISRANET fundamentalist elements.
to symbolically bind themselves to their former homeland by eating foods that could be found in Israel. During the upcoming Rosh Hodesh meeting, flower arranging techniques will be demonstrated by Amy Blumenthal, owner of floral shop, Blossom; she will be assisted by Krista Endelman. Attendees wishing to create their own arrangements are encouraged to bring a vase (or a similar container), items such as wheat grasses, and fresh or silk flowers, plus fruits such as lemons or oranges, which may serve as foundations. To make reservations for the evening, contact Baum at Hypelady@aol.com, or Grunkin, at 445.2809 (during the evening).
Rabbi Azriel to host conversation about God at Theology Café by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator The Talmud states that there are 100 names for God in the Bible. Yet God is unknowable and nameless. Maimonides explains that the names do not reveal the identity or essence of God but are only ways for human beings to relate to God and to achieve a limited understanding of the Almighty. In order to better understand the God we believe in as well as the God that we don't believe in, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel of Temple Israel will host a "Theology Café," better known as the coffee shop at Barnes & Noble Booksellers across from Oak View Mall at 144th and West Center Road, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. In
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Beth El Rosh Hodesh group members to put a little ‘spring’ in their steps by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator There may be a chill in the air, but at the next meeting of the Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, all eyes will turn to Tu B’Shevat, springtime and flower arranging. Scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m., the meeting will be held at Beth El; co-hosts Diane Axler Baum and Lea Grunkin will share their thoughts about the upcoming festival of Tu B’Shevat, also known as “The Jewish Arbor Day” or “New Year of the Trees.” Originally an agricultural festival, Tu B’Shevat marked the emergence of spring. Following the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., the holiday was a way for Jews
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
this warm, intimate environment over a cup of Starbuck’s, Rabbi Azriel will start a dialogue with anyone who is interested in talking about God. If you miss the January conversation, Theology Café is also scheduled for Feb. 15 and March 15. There is no fee, and members of the community are welcome to attend all or any of these chats. To Submit an Obituary Notice: Send to the Jewish Press via e-mail: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; fax: 402.334.5422; or mail, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; or log on to www.jewishomaha.org and click on ‘Jewish Press’, and then Submit announcements. Call the Press office at 402.334.6448 for more information.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 12, 2007
Downtown Jerusalem getting $100 million facelift by GAIL LICHTMAN JERUSALEM, (IPS) -- Throughout history, no other city has been as beloved and fought over as Jerusalem, having been besieged dozens of times and destroyed, at least partially, on 32 different occasions. The countless terror attacks of the past two decades have also left their mark on the city with a siphoning off of shopping and entertainment to suburban malls and a switch from residential to business use. Compounding the problem has been Jerusalem’s high poverty rate (33% as compared to 19.5% nationwide) and the urban flight of some 150,000 residents, mostly young families and singles. All that, however, is about to change as downtown Jerusalem, from Jaffa Gate to the Mahane Yehuda market, looks forward to getting a $100 million facelift! The revitalization is being spearheaded by the Eden Company (a subsidiary of the municipally-owned Jerusalem Development Authority set up specifically to rehabilitate the downtown area), in partnership with the Jerusalem Foundation. This facelift is in addition to $450 million being invested by the Jerusalem municipality in a new light rail system that will ease access to the city center and turn Jaffa Road into a pedestrian mall. “Jerusalem is aiming for a total revitalization of the city center -- to make it more accessible transportation-wise, to renovate and upgrade infrastructure and to bring residents, culture, employment and business back into the area,” says Asaf Vitman, CEO of the Eden Company. “Already more than 1 million square meters of new building have been approved for the area.” Working in tandem with Eden, the Jerusalem Foundation, now celebrating its
40th year, has committed itself to financing much of the project. “Since 1967, the Jerusalem Foundation has taken an active role in the development of all areas of Jerusalem, particularly the city center,” notes Foundation president Ruth Cheshin. “So it was natural that we would be involved in the city center rejuvenation too.” To bring residents, and especially young people, back to downtown Jerusalem, two new initiatives are in the pipeline --the relocation of the Bezalel Art Academy to the Russian Compound and the building of subsidized student housing in the Hillel Street area. The Bezalel Art Academy, Israel’s foremost academy of fine arts, design and architecture, was founded in 1903. For years, the academy func- An alleyway off Ben Yehuda Street in downtown Photo by Avi Katzman tioned out of its original historic build- Jerusalem. ing in the heart of downtown. In the offering grants of $100 a month to early 1990s, Bezalel relocated to modern, encourage students to rent apartments in more spacious premises on Mount the center. In 2004, only 150 students Scopus, next to the Hebrew University. were living downtown. With the initiation Its departure, however, created a cul- of the grants in 2005, that number jumped tural hole in the city’s urban fabric. The to 600 and in 2006 to 1,000. “This is one return of Bezalel to the city, to a new of the biggest revolutions in the city center campus in the Russian Compound, the in recent years,” states Vitman. center of Jerusalem’s nightlife, aims to As an additional boost to culture in the repair this hole. city center, a new museum of contempoThe new campus will house classrooms, rary art is being developed, also to be workshops, studios, a library, TV and located in the Russian Compound. sound recording rooms and a multipurIn addition, the three main squares pose auditorium, as well as host public along Jaffa Road -- Zahal, Zion and the exhibits. The $12 million project will also Davidka -- will also undergo major renoinclude a commercial area. vations and redesign. A six-story, 120-unit student dormitory, “We chose to adopt the redevelopment to be built on Ben Sira Street, just off Hillel of the city’s central squares as our major Street, will provide subsidized housing and contribution to downtown revitalizaserve as a center for youth programming. tion,” says Cheshin. “Each of these Construction is set to begin in 2007. squares has its own unique character, In the meantime, the Eden Company is which we feel is important to develop.”
Zahal Square, located at the junction where city hall meets the Old City walls, is being redesigned by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The Jerusalem Foundation of Canada, whose President David J. Azrieli is himself a noted Jerusalem architect, has committed itself to raising $2 million for the project, which will include green passages, stone-paved walkways and an amphitheater. In addition, the Canadians will be donating $200,000 toward social services for youth at risk. Zion Square, where Ben Yehuda Street and Jaffa Road meet, was once “the” meeting place for Jerusalemites, but is now more commonly known as a hangout for disenfranchised youth. Israeli-born architect/sculptor Ron Arad, a professor at London’s Royal College of Art, has developed a plan to return the square to its former glory, which centers around one of his contemporary sculptures. Combining playful forms and advanced technologies, Arad wants to send a message to the youth who gather in the square, to challenge them to explore new horizons as he does in his work. Davidka Square commemorates the homemade mortar weapon that saved Jerusalem during the War of Independence. The new design of the square, by award-winning Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, will combine stone columns and water elements to create a pleasant oasis in the center of the city. The mixture of red stone, blue water and green trees will create a feeling of space, air and color. With the decline of the downtown area, many upscale businesses left for the suburban malls. The revitalization of the center, plus the long-awaited opening of the Mamilla Mall across from the Jaffa Gate (now set for April 2007) have upped the attractiveness of this area.
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