January 15, 2021

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Operation Grateful Goodies

Remembering Joan Micklin Silver Page 4

SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND

Educator Spotlight: Paul Smith KAEL SAGHEER Institute for Holocaust Education Education Coordinator Many words can be used to describe Paul Smith: beloved teacher, Holocaust education veteran, founding IHE council member, Nebraska Holocaust Consortium cocreator, are just a few of them.

Having taught English for 37 years, Holocaust education has been part of his world for well over half of that time. While he currently teaches with Crete Public Schools, he spent 13 years teaching in Wyoming and another 22 in Lincoln.

The Kaplan Book Group looks to warm things up with Lake on Fire Page 5

Tamar, Ian, Connor and Maeve Yellin deliver a gift box to Omaha Fire Department Station #3.

LINDA SALTZMAN Operation Grateful Goodies Chairman ot even a pandemic could prevent an army of Jewish volunteers from sparking joy to those working to save lives on Dec. 25, apart from their families.

In total, 70 volunteers helped fill, sort and deliver 236 gift boxes to 112 locations throughout the region. Volunteers covered more than 30 miles, from Bellevue to Waterloo.

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Russian-speaking Jews bolster unique Jewish identity Page 12

Among the locations receiving gift boxes were 17 hospitals, 12 police stations, 29 fire stations, 15 urgent care clinics, 19 nursing homes and three emergency veterinary clinics. Volunteers also delivered gift boxes to Ronald McDonald House, Rainbow House, the Boys Town campus, Offutt Air Force Base and the control tower at Eppley Airfield, among others. All recipients had a common denominator; they were working to save or preserve lives.

See Operation Grateful Goodies page 2

Post-inaugural roundtable to feature Dr. Rhonda Saferstein REGULARS

Spotlight Voices Synagogues

7 8 10

JOANIE JACOBSON She earned a business degree from Boston University and became a stockbroker for seven years. Then she was a stay-at-home mom. Then in 2000, the Supreme Court decided that George Bush would be the next President of the United States and that got her attention. “I couldn’t under-

Dr. Rhonda Saferstein

stand how the Supreme Court could overturn an election in a state!” And that was the first day of the rest of Rhonda Saferstein’s professional life.

On Sunday, Jan. 24, Beth El Syna-

gogue’s Miriam Initiative will feature Dr. Saferstein, Adjunct Professor in Political Science at UNO, in a post-inaugural roundtable Getting The Lay Of The Land: What is and what might be? from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Zoom. “I’m looking forward to the roundtable,” Saferstein said. “I like talking about government — I don’t care when or where it is” she said. “I like being a participant in the exchange of ideas... people telling me something I didn’t know. Fundamentally, I’m a student not a teacher. I mean that sincerely.”

Saferstein’s is a love story. She fell in love with political science and teaching. One month after the 2000 election, Saferstein enrolled herself in an See Roundtable discussion page 2

Paul Smith

While in Wyoming, Paul had a dear friend, a Holocaust survivor, who lived in western Nebraska. The friend passed away in 1996, the year Paul moved to Lincoln. With his death, Paul saw the reality that the memories and stories of this terrible time would soon be lost unless educators took action. It was then that he created a semester long course studying the literature of the Holocaust, other genocides, current issues about man’s inhumanity to man and social justice.

“I have always been interested in the Holocaust - I guess in reasons for it when man has such a potential for good, why do we choose evil?”

When Paul met Beth Dotan in 2000, she was just beginning her work at the newly formed IHE. They discovered their shared passion for Holocaust education, and Beth asked Paul to be on the Governance Council. He has been there ever since, engaging with teacher education workshops, Yom HaShaoh Commemorations, working with the Holocaust Memorial Project that culminated in the dedication of the memorial located in Wyuka Cemetery, and more. His list of Holocaust educator achievements is long, including Belfer and other USHMM conferences, as well as being named Nebraska’s first Freedom Writer teacher. He organized trips to USHMM for his students and was invited to go on The March of the Living to commemorate See Paul Smith page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021

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Roundtable discussion

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Operation Grateful Goodies Continued from page 1 Operation Grateful Goodies began in 2018 through the Miriam Initiative at Beth El Synagogue. The program is a partnership between Beth El Synagogue, Temple Israel, Beth Israel, Chabad of Nebraska and the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Joanie Jacobson, chairman of the Miriam Initiative, described this year’s project as “exceptional in many ways.

Despite a raging pandemic and the biggest snowstorm of the season a day before packing day, the numbers of Goodie boxes and Grateful Goodies recipients set a new record.”

Due to COVID-19, organizers had to make adjustments in order for Operation Grateful Goodies to move forward.

For example, in the past two years, the gift boxes have been filled with homemade goodies prepared by Omaha’s Jewish community.

But for 2020, the model changed.

Homemade goods were no longer allowed in medical facilities. Only storebought, single serve items were permitted. And the community rose to the challenge.

Volunteers donated dozens of boxes of single-serve chips, cookies, granola bars, candy bars and even hot chocolate.

In total, 3,772 items, large and small, were donated to the cause.

Helen Kay, who has volunteered for Operation Grateful Goodies since its inception, was heartened by the turnout from the community. “I personally felt gratitude this year because of the Jewish community’s outpouring of donated purchased treats for the gift boxes,” she said. “The OGG project is a meaningful tribute to the dedicated and hard-working people who protect and serve our community daily... including all holidays.”

To add a personal touch, volunteers

Judah, Talia, Micah and Daniel Kohen deliver a gift box to a Papillion/La Vista fire department.

wrote thank-you notes, which were attached to the gift boxes.

While the gift boxes looked different inside, the message to recipients remained the same: We thank you for all you do for our community, on Dec. 25 and every day.

For the second straight year, Mindi Marburg, Temple Israel’s Director of Engagement and Events, spearheaded operations at Temple Israel, the home base for Operation Grateful Goodies. Delivery of items, arrangement of boxes and pickup of route assignments took place at Temple Israel. Facial coverings were mandatory, and no more than ten people could be in the same room at the same time.

Volunteers signed up via SignUp Genius to provide goodies, sort items, write thank-you notes and/or deliver gift boxes. Anyone who indicated they would be delivering boxes with children

was guaranteed to visit a police station and/or fire station.

The experience proved to be powerful for the volunteers who delivered gift boxes. “It was one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done!” said Pat Mogil, who delivered boxes with her son, Scott Tatelman. “The smiles on the receiver’s faces and the ‘Thank you’s’ were so inspiring! It gave my son and I a ‘glow’ that we felt all day!”

Joan Shapiro said the frontline workers she met were grateful for the recognition. “The people who received the goodies were appreciative. I felt our words of heartfelt thanks for the tough job they do meant a lot to them.”

Amy Reynolds, who delivered boxes with her daughter, Liora, echoed the sentiment. “Those that answered personally were overwhelmingly touched See Grateful Goodies page 3

Continued from page 1 American Government undergraduate course at UNO. “I had a great professor, it was a great class and I realized I could still go to school,” she said. “At the same time, I applied to UNO’s master’s program, but because I was a business major with no poli sci classes, I had to take two additional courses.

I chose two graduate courses and realized I could go to school and do well!”

It took Saferstein 2 1/2 years to get her Master’s and ten years to earn a Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Earning a Ph.D. was everything to me. I was The Miriam Initiative going to school in Lincoln, teaching part-time at UNO and still raising my kids. It wasn’t easy, but thanks to my husband Jeff who picked up the slack at home, I was able to finish.

Thinking about it now, I don’t know how I did it!”

Saferstein was an impassioned student. Her thesis was on the Nebraska State Legislature. It was my professor’s area of expertise and I enjoyed working with him,” she continued.

“The fact Nebraska had the only non-partisan unicameral in the country fascinated me. I wanted to know who or what influenced their vote. I surveyed every legislator and over half responded. The result? Mostly colleagues and constituents, same as my hypothesis.”

Looking for partisanship in a non-partisan setting was the subject of her dissertation in 2015. “I recorded every single roll call for over 10 years,” said Saferstein. “It showed the legislature had become polarized under the radar. The media didn’t cover it much, because political party was not a factor.

Polarization didn’t have much of an effect on the public because the public didn’t know about it.

“I want my students to value American government and understand how it works; to know that good decision-making is based on facts accumulated over time, not snap decisions rooted in emotion. It’s true for all of us: stay curious, read the news, do your own research and think critically.”

Commenting on the program, Beth El’s Rabbi Steven Abraham added, “As Jews, we have a responsibility to care for and about the country where we live. We are blessed to live in a country that allows us to practice our religion freely and openly, a country that has made us an integral part of the melting pot. As a new administration takes office, we pray they, too, will have the knowledge and facts to make good decisions and lead with honor.”

To register for Getting The Lay Of The Land: What is and what might be? visit www.bethelomaha.org. Zoom invitation to follow.

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The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021 | 3

The visiting Israeli ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Patty Nogg is a historian of sorts. Salvaging family papers, photos, memories is something she relishes, so when she began working on the Council Bluffs Cemetery project, she took the time to send relevant items to people in the community. When she looks at her old Sunday School photos, she remembers every single name.

“My grandmother, Annie Cohen, made wonderful scrapbooks,” she said. “I’ve always been the historian of the family, so when she passed away 20 years ago, I kept everything—and laminated where necessary.”

When she discovered an October 1965 Council Bluffs Nonpareil article about Hannah Schwalb, she sent it to Hannah and her husband Nate.

“I wasn’t even sure if Hannah had ever seen this; it was from before she met Nate,” Patty said.

What happened next: Nate was talking to JFO Foundation Executive Director Howard Epstein about some unrelated Foundation business when the topic of the article came up. Howard shared it with the Jewish Press. We called Nate and asked if he and Hannah would agree to have us reprint the article, we then spoke with Patty and here we are.

“The article was written when Hannah visited her uncle, aunt and the rest of the Suvalsky family,” Patty remembers. “I was 12 years old and Hannah’s family lived a few doors down from some of my cousins. When Hannah came from Israel, we were all just so impressed. She had a cool accent and was beautiful, she was exotic; as 12-year-olds, we were blown away by how fabulous she was. I didn’t remember what was in the actual article, but I remember how we all loved Hannah.”

The headline reads: “Israeli teachers paid poorly,” which tells you something about the focus of the writer (who isn’t identified). We’ll reprint it here.

Hannah Schwalb is, of course, still beautiful-but she is no longer a visitor. At the end of the article, she said she didn’t want to stay in the United States forever. She didn’t—then, after Council Bluffs, she went to London and Glasgow, after which she moved back to Israel where she worked as a special education teacher in Tel Aviv. Then the SixDay War broke out, and it became impossible to travel. Eventually, she did visit Omaha again—and ended up marrying Nate and making a life in Omaha.

ISRAELI TEACHERS PAID POORLY When Miss Hannah Ben Shlomo returns to her native Israel her salary as a school teacher will be doubled.

Miss Ben Shlomo is the guest of her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Saul Suvalsky, for her first trip to America.

For the past two years she has been a teacher of immigrant children in a primitive area outside Tel Aviv.

She has also been a member of the army of Israel.

Hannah explains that Israel maintains a defensive army and all young women upon reaching 18 years are required to serve.

After completing high school, she spent two months in an army camp where she received her “basic training” in various types of weapons and defensive warfare.

“Women are trained like men,” she said, “but not so hard.”

Since teachers are badly needed in her country the army then permitted her to attend a seminar for two years, at her own expense, after which she received her certificate to teach See The visiting Israeli page 4

Grateful Goodies to be together in a big room with masks. But even with masks on we did not hide from each other. We did our part in the puzzle to send goodies to some of our heroes.”

Operation Grateful Goodies is set to return for its fourth year in 2021. “Put it on your calendar today -- Dec. 25, 2021,” advises Jacobson. “Children welcome -- it’s a fabulous experience for kids. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s rewarding, and it’s good for the soul.”

Anyone who would like more information about Operation Grateful Goodies can contact Linda Saltzman at Linda_ Saltzman@hotmail.com.

Paul Smith Joan Shapiro drops off goodies at Omaha Fire Department Station 78.

Continued from page 2 and grateful. It was a little hard to tell facial expressions due to masks, so they were very vocal in their thanks, not just for the gifts but for the acknowledgment of their service.”

The opportunity to work together for a common cause was an added bonus for Bonnie Leiserowitz. “Meeting people I did not know and seeing people I already love. Each of us happy

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Continued from page 1 the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. His passion for teaching the Holocaust, however, has shaped more than just his classroom and professional life. Paul is an active member of Southern Heights Presbyterian Church social justice committee and regularly visits prisoners on death row in the Nebraska State Penitentiary. He tries to embody his favorite quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

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Remembering Joan Micklin Silver

box office, a significant haul at the time. Jewish actress Carol GABE FRIEDMAN Kane was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal JTA Joan Micklin Silver, a pioneering female filmmaker who di- of the protagonist Gitl. rected two of Hollywood’s most Jewish films, has died at 85. The In 1988, Silver directed Crossing Delancey, which was written cause was vascular dementia, according to The New York Times. by Susan Sandler. Amy Irving starred as a New Yorker descended Silver was best known for difrom but detached from her recting Crossing Delancey, the Jewish immigrant heritage.

Lower East Side rom-com inPeter Riegert played her love involving a pickle maker, and terest, a pickle man named Sam Hester Street, an influential who represents a more modern low-budget tale about Yiddishincarnation of the Jewish Lower speaking Jewish immigrants.

East Side. It remains one of HolBut she was also recognized as lywood’s most quintessentially one of the only female direcJewish romances. tors working in Hollywood Silver also directed several through the 1970s and ’80s.

TV movies and wrote multiple After moving to New York in musicals that were staged Off 1967, Silver began making Broadway. short educational films for “I had such blatantly sexist children. One of them was tithings said to me by studio extled The Immigrant Experience, ecutives when I started,” she about Polish immigrants to the said in a 1979 American Film United States. After working Institute interview, adding that on Hollywood movie scripts one man told her: “Feature and selling some, Silver confilms are very expensive to ceived of her first feature, mount and distribute, and which picked up on the same women directors are one more Jewish immigrant theme. problem we don’t need.”

Hester Street, released in Ray Silver died in 2013. He 1975, was based on a story by Joan Micklin Silver at the premiere of the film A Private Matter was the son of Rabbi Abba HilAbraham Cahan, an influential at the Director’s Guild Theater in Hollywood, Calif., June 14, lel Silver, an American rabbi socialist writer who helped 1992. Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty who was a key figure in the found the Forward newspaper. Images early Zionist movement.

The script’s dialogue was entirely in Yiddish, something that Joan Micklin was born on May 24, 1935, in Omaha. She was she said turned off Hollywood producers. Her husband Ray, a the second of three daughters of Maurice David Micklin, who real estate developer, helped her finance the project, albeit on operated a lumber company that he and his father had a low budget. founded, and Doris (Shoshone) Micklin. She graduated from The film earned rave reviews and earned $5 million at the Central High in 1952.

The visiting Israeli Continued from page 3 elementary grades. She will need further training if she wishes to teach on a high school level.

Although Israel is said to have the finest schools in the Middle East, it is a new country, Miss Ben Shlomo explained, and those teachers with certificates are the elite of the corps.

In her work she served two masters—the army and the office of education. Her salary schedule was unique, by American standards, and by the same standards, meager. Her monthly wages were paid by the office of education to the army, which in turn reimbursed her in the amount of approximately $50.

Hannah taught third and fourth grades and Hebrew grammar and literature in the sixth grade. She speaks English well.

Schools in Israel begin teaching English in the sixth grade and continue it through high school as a compulsory subject.

In high school, children must also study French or Arabic with their choice an elective.

NOW IN RESERVES Having completed her term of active service, with three stripes, Hannah is now entitled to her full pay (about $100 a month) as a teacher. She must, however, remain in the reserves until she has a child.

The attractive, 22-year-old Miss Ben Shlomo strenuously objects to the custom of wearing a uniform in the classroom.

As to her future status—she prefers teaching to an army career.

“To be a soldier—this is not a career for a girl,” she explained, “Even army career girls stay only until the time of marriage.”

Relaxing for Hannah means listening to music, Israeli songs in particular, and painting.

Would she like to remain in the United States?

“For a while—yes. Forever? No.”

Who Am I?

The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society (NJHS) requests help from the community in identifying photographs from the archives. Please contact Kathy Weiner at 402.334.6441 or kweiner@jewishomaha.org if you are able to assist in the effort to preserve Jewish Omaha history.

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The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021 | 5

Fellman and Kooper scholarships available

News LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

The Kaplan Book Group looks to warm things up with Lake on Fire

JAN ROOS The Bruce M. Fellman Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year. The scholarships will be based on financial needs of students pursuing their post-secondary education.

This scholarship has a four-year cap and is limited to undergraduate studies only. Graduate programs are not included.

Bruce, son of Tom and Darlynn Fellman, was a 1982 graduate of Westside High School. He was active in BBYO and served as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of Chaim Weizmann AZA. He attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and was participating in the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea at the time of his death in 1984.

The Robert H. & Dorothy G. Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year. It will be based on financial need for Jewish students with ties to the Omaha community who are pursuing their post-secondary education. This scholarship has a four-year cap and is limited to undergraduate studies only. Graduate programs are not included.

Robert Kooper had a long history of service to the Jewish community. He was elected B’nai B’rith president in 1929; headed Beth El Synagogue in 1941; was president of Highland Country Club in 1951; and was President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha 1958-1960. He died in 1961.

Mrs. Kooper was a strong supporter and worked with the Jewish Federation and Beth El Sisterhood. She passed away in May, 1995.

“Awarding a scholarship to a young Jewish person is a very appropriate way of honoring my parents” Howard Kooper noted.

Applications may be obtained by contacting Jan Roos in Mr. Kooper’s office at 402.384.6471 or jroos@broad moor.cc or downloaded from the Jewish Federation of Omaha website, click on Community & Education, then Scholarships and Grants, then Additional Scholarship Opportunities. The application packet must be received back in Mr. Kooper’s office no later than March 1, 2021.

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SHIRLY BANNER Library Specialist, Kripke Jewish Federation Library In keeping with social distancing, the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will be using Zoom to meet until further notice. To join the Zoom Meeting, contact sbanner@jewishomaha.org for the link and meeting ID. On Jan. 21 the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will start the year off with Rosellen Brown’s novel Lake on Fire. This epic tale gives us an insight into 19th century immigrants who are seeking the American Dream of a better life for themselves. The novel examines this through the lives of Chaya and her precocious younger brother Asher who run off to Chicago from the family’s failing Wisconsin farm.

When the brother and sister first arrive, they make their way to Chicago’s Jewish quarter and secure a room in a recent widow’s meager flat. Chaya manages to find work in a cigar sweatshop factory for little wages to support them. Chaya works long hours, and soon takes on a second cigar sweatshop job to help meet their expenses. Asher meanwhile roams the streets and businesses of Chicago as a shoplifter and pickpocket. But much like Robin Hood in the stories he has read, he steals from the rich and gives most of his spoils to the poor and downtrodden. He is also a prolific reader who becomes a party entertainer who, while giving his reading recitations to Chicago’s elite, is stealing valuables from their homes at the same time.

Both siblings become more and more involved in the political and social disparities of the poor immigrants like themselves and the rich who run the city. Asher becomes a strong advocate for the workers of the World’s Columbian Exposition where he once worked as a sideshow novelty act and whose workers are displaced with its closing. Through Gregory Stillman, Chaya’s well-to-do Socialist-leaning boyfriend and future husband, she becomes involved with Progressivist Jane Ad-

dams and Hull House.

Ultimately, both Chaya and Asher undergo many changes both economically and socially and question who they are and just how realistically achieving the American Dream is for an immigrant. Does money buy happiness or is money the root of all evil? Join us for what is sure to be a lively discussion.

In pre-COVID times, the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion group met in person on the third Thursday of every month at 1 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, but we will continue to “meet” online using Zoom on the third Thursday of each month until further notice. New members are always welcome. The group receives administrative support from the Community Engagement & Education arm of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. For information about the group, contact Shirly Banner at 402.334.6462 or sbanner@jewish omaha.org. To view books discussed by the group over the past several years, go to www.jewishom aha.org, click on the “Community & Education” pulldown tab and navigate to “Kripke Jewish Federation Library,” then to “Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group.”

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. For specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com or leave a message at the B’nai B’rith JCC office 402.334.6443.

6 | The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021

News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D

Apply now: Interest-free student loans DIANE WALKER Fund & Scholarship Administrator, Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation The Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Financial Aid Committee administers the Benjamin & Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Stern Scholarship Loan Fund. The committee is pleased to announce that substantial interest-free loans are available for Jewish graduate students, regardless of geographic origin.

This need-based fund was created to make academic loans available to graduate level students in the following fields: • mathematics, physics, astronomy*, meteorology*, astrophysics, engineering or a field related to any of the foregoing; • journalism, including and photo journalism; • finance and economics; • architecture* and related fields, including city planning; • classical music (limited to piano, flute, cello and violin); and • scientific research in rare and incurable human diseases.

Loan recipients need not be residents of the Omaha metropolitan area but must be Jewish and must be attending either University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center or Creighton University. *In addition, loans are available for coursework at the University of Nebraska Lincoln in the fields of Architecture, Astronomy and Meteorology.

Awards are interest-free loans, payable in full over 15 years, beginning one year after graduation.

The Benjamin and Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Stern Scholarship Loan

Fund was established at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation by sisters Louise H. Stern and Naomi Stern Jaffer in memory of their parents. Bess Stern was a descendant of Benjamin Stock, the brother of Devoshe (Mrs. Samuel) Riekes.

Benjamin’s granddaughter, Gertrude Brodkey, was married to Justice Donald Brodkey, the first Jew to serve on the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Colonel Benjamin Stern taught mathematics and physics at Omaha University after his retirement from the U.S. Army.

An Omaha native with military decorations including the Air Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm Leaf, Col. Stern founded the Cadet Corps at Creighton University, the foundation for Creighton ROTC. Col. Stern was the first Jewish person from Omaha to receive an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1923, did graduate work at Rutgers University, and earned a master’s degree in science from the California Institute of Technology.

Certainly, education was important to both Benjamin and Elizabeth Stern.

Loans will be made based on demonstrated financial need and character to qualified Jewish graduate students. The application deadline is March 1, 2021. The application is available on the Jewish Federation website – www.jewishomaha. org. Please contact Diane Walker at 402.334.6551 or dwalker @jewishomaha.org with any questions.

Ken Munzesheimer hosts book discussion

ROBBY ERLICH Beth El Engagement Coordinator Beth El Synagogue invites you to join host Ken Munzesheimer on Monday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. on Zoom, for a discussion of the book We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel by Daniel Gordis.

We Stand Divided examines the growing rift between American Jews and Israelis. The author takes readers beyond the headlines and explains how Israel and the United States have different issues ranging from democracy, and history, to religion and identity.

Gordis argues that as a first step to healing the breach, the two communities must acknowledge and discuss their profound differences.

This is an important conversation we can all participate in, and everyone is welcome to attend whether or not you have had the opportunity to read the book.

To register for this evening discussion, please visit www.bethel-omaha.org. Questions can be e-mailed to Robby Erlich, Engagement Coordinator, at rerlich@bethelomaha.org.

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The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021 | 7

Above: Joseph Fischer serves Dax and Tova Ortmeyer some “Parking Latkes.”

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.

Top, above, below and bottom: RBJH Residents and many of the staff received the COVID vaccination shot on New Year’s Day! A perfect beginning to 2021.

Above: Dina Saltzman frying up latkes with Bilu USY.

Above: Amy Dworin’s Beth El Hanukkah display for the Girl Scouts of Nebraska Holiday in Headlights.

8 | The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021

Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Abby Kutler President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Mary Bachteler Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp.

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Color and identity ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor With all the noise, it was easy to miss this short update on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s website.

“A white supremacist group from New Jersey posted more than a dozen anti-Semitic flyers on Staten Island,” Ben Sales wrote. “The flyers, found in the New York City borough, are emblazoned with a Jewish star and falsely claim that Antifa, the loose anti-fascist network, is a Jewish organization that is anti-white.”

The New Jersey European Heritage Association distributed the flyers. According to the Anti Defamation League, “NJEHA is a small white supremacist group whose members see themselves as defenders of white European people and white culture. Members hold the white supremacist worldview that unless immediate action is taken, the white race is doomed to extinction by a "rising tide of color" purportedly controlled and manipulated by Jews.”

This is hardly news, but it does, once again, raise the question: what does “white” mean? If it purely refers to skin color, none of this makes sense. Although many non-Jews still think there exists a ‘Jewish type,’ Jews come in all colors. Maybe thinking of us as ethnically homogenous makes it easier to stereotype us? I once had someone ask me how I could be Jewish “when all Jews have red hair.” The same kinds of ethnically-inspired stereotypes live in our own community. Simply Google ‘Jews of color’ and you will see what I mean. Most of us, both within our community and outside of it, struggle when talking about color.

“Being white is not just a matter of identifying as

white;” Kwame Anthony Appiah wrote in NYT Magazine, “it involves being treated as white, and that isn’t up to you.”

In this context, ‘white’ is more than just skin color. It refers to the social acceptance that accompanies how we look. To neo-Nazis, Jews aren’t white, because they won’t acknowledge us as equal.

not how society works. What we personally aspire to be or what we think we are, is rarely the same as how society labels us. What’s more: how we are labeled relies heavily on what company we keep. Just think of how different you feel when attending a function where you are ‘the only Jew in the room’ versus when you are surrounded by other Jews. Our identity is fluid, elastic. Many of us have experienced both privilege and discrimination.

That does not mean we have to experience an identity crisis. When we acknowledge that whatever box we mark at any given moment is just that, a ‘moment,’ we can maybe relax a little about the This is us, too: Ethiopian Jews gather at a makeshift synagogue in Gondar to see if they way we look. Our have been given a date to move to Israel. Credit: Jenny Vaughan/AFP via Getty Images identity cannot be In their worldview, ‘white’ means good, acceptable, just one thing. It certainly cannot be identified by honorable. But when that box pops up on the cen- those who hate us. In fact, it cannot be identified sus, we don’t ask ourselves what others think; we by the color of our skin at all. answer to the best of our own knowledge. For some Rather than asking us if we are black, brown or of us, that is ‘white.’ Or, in some cases, ‘Caucasian.’ white, ask us if we are kind. Ask us what we have Some of us mark ‘Hispanic,’ ‘Black’ or ‘Pacific Is- done for others lately, how we make the world betlander.’ With more and more of us of mixed heritage, ter. Ask us how we help, how we stand up for jusit can be a challenge to know where we fit. Really, tice, how we spread love. Because our real identity there should be a box for ‘ethnically ambiguous.’ can only be marked by the actions we take and by Ultimately, the choice should be our’s, but that’s how we treat others.

My rabbis taught me to keep distance from my non-Jewish family. As an adult, I’m learning to love them again.

AHARON SCHRIEBER JTA It was early in the evening on Christmas Day in 2018, and I was driving somewhere along the dark, winding roads of sleepy, suburban Long Island. It was a road that I had once known well. On the radio, Nat King Cole crooned along to “The Christmas Song,” and I did my best to hum along. For the first time in more than 10 years, I was going to see the Catholic side of my family on Christmas.

For most Jews, Christmas Day is filled with takeout food and movies. Growing up, mine were not.

Each year, my parents and I would pile into the station wagon en route for my aunt’s annual Christmas party. My mother grew up Catholic, converted before marrying my father and had remained close with her sister, mom and, for my childhood mind, an impossibly complex family tree of cousins and extended relatives.

So, once a year, I found myself eating a sad, flimsy tuna fish sandwich among a boisterous crowd of men and women who, despite the kippah on my head and tzitzit sticking out beyond my shirt, loved me all the same. Sure, there was some playful teasing and confusion about why I couldn’t eat the same food as them. But they made every accommodation to make me feel comfortable and ensure I had a fun time. It made me so proud to have a family that was unique from all my friends.

As the child of a convert growing up in an Orthodox community, my thoughts and feelings were often in conflict with what I was taught and told by my rabbis and teachers. Communal truths, like that Esau hates Jacob, and the accompanying interpretation that Esau is Rome, were confusing to me. How could Rome hate me? Rome — Catholics and Italians — are my family. The Torah even clearly tells us that Esau kissed and hugged Jacob when they reunited, later commentaries notwithstanding. So it was easy to ignore teachings of that ilk because they were so obviously not true.

The teachings about Hanukkah were harder to

ignore. Because on Hanukkah, the threat to the Jewish nation was not to the body, as it was on Purim and Passover, but to the Jewish soul. The Hellenists did not seek to kill Jews. Rather they sought to warp Judaism itself.

My yeshiva rabbis were quick to point out that this was particularly important to be mindful of in the melting pot of American society. Be wary of the friendliness of non-Jews, I was taught. While well meaning, it could lead to a dilution of a person’s Jewish identity, or worse, a complete abandonment of Judaism.

This teaching caused me to view my Christian family a little differently.

While it was perfectly OK to be cordial with this side of my family, I started to keep a certain distance between us. I still remained Credit: Getty Images close with my grandmother, but Christmas after Christmas, for more than a decade, I found some excuse or another why I couldn’t see the rest of my family. Even though I knew it hurt them, my grandmother especially.

There were only so many times I could say no, though. After years of absence, I found myself again sitting at a table with a family that worships a foreign God. My family. I suddenly felt great comfort to be in the company of people that I share the common bonds of ancestry with. And my heart cried that I had feared these feelings for so long.

They gave their love to me freely and without want.

It is no threat to my Jewish identity or observance.

I do not blame my yeshiva rabbis for what they taught me. Judaism, and particularly Orthodox Ju-

daism, is inherently a tribal religion. It is filled with rules and regulations that govern interactions between Jews and non-Jews, many of which are explicitly geared toward a preservation of peoplehood. But I regret that I was taught to fear the love of people who do not worship as I do, and to believe that I was betraying my God and my people by celebrating with my family on a day that is meaningful to them.

The gulf of world and family history is a wide and

great expanse. It is worth wondering how much of it is our own making.

But there is also a very narrow bridge. And love is what can help us cross it. The main thing is to just not be afraid to try. I will always believe that Esau kissed Jacob with nothing but a pure heart.

Why couldn’t Jacob kiss him back?

When it was all over and goodbyes were exchanged, I walked out into the night and got into the car. Through the window I could see my family waving to me. I waved back.

Aharon Schrieber is an attorney living in New York City.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021 | 9

I resisted the call to include non-male voices every time I taught Torah. Then I tried it.

AVIGAYIL HALPERN JTA Many of my fellow rabbinical students and friends are enthusiastic about a new strategy for elevating women’s voices in Torah study into the beit midrash.

The Kranjec Test — named for Danielle Kranjec, the Jewish educator who created it — holds that collections of texts known as source sheets must include at least one non-male voice. It’s the Jewish studies equivalent of the well-known Bechdel test for film, in which movies pass if they include two women having a conversation about something other than men, and it quickly gained currency among my colleagues.

On paper, I perhaps ought to have leapt at this new framework. I have been committed to women’s Torah study since I spent summers during high school studying at the Drisha Institute, one of the first institutions in America to open the doors of Talmud study to Orthodox women, and I wrote my undergraduate thesis on finding new modes for feminist Talmud study. I’m currently blessed to spend my days immersed in full-time Torah study as a rabbinical student, and questions of what feminist and queer Torah are and ought to be are at the forefront of my interests.

And yet I balked.

My reservations were primarily practical. My current Torah learning involves intense study of Jewish law, and for the course of Jewish history, the vast quantity of received wisdom on areas like kashrut and Shabbat simply has not included writing by people other than men. I worried that adding texts in those areas to meet the Kranjec Test would amount to tokenism at best.

My instinct was to look at the absence of non-men’s voices with clear eyes. Yes, it’s a canon written by men! That problem can’t be solved, I thought, by pretending that’s not the case.

I am not the first to point out that the problem is not a failure to include existing voices in the Jewish canon but the fact that these voices don’t yet exist. Some of my Orthodox women friends argued that meeting the test would require turning too often to texts from outside the traditional rabbinic canon.

I also had another concern: Learning Torah as a queer woman is already at times hard, and teaching it can be harder.

There are the inevitable moments of hurt and alienation that come from loving a vast body of wisdom that was not created by people who share some of my most fundamental experiences. Along with that comes the workaday burden of sexism I face as a young woman trying to hold the attention of a classroom: interruptions, a student implying that I’m unqualified

A Jewish woman holding a Jewish Tanakh, which includes the books of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. Credit: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

and the whole genre of experience so familiar to so many of us.

Should I now make that process even harder by also taking extra time and energy to seek out a source I otherwise would not have and try to integrate it into my work? Would my voice as the teacher then be made invisible? After all, I was contributing to the Torah I offered by putting it together and teaching it, and I am a woman: Did I really need to put another non-man on the source sheet on top of that?

In the middle of all this thinking, I looked around and realized I had unwittingly been adhering to the Kranjec Test without meaning to. At my yeshiva, we start each day of Zoom learning with a 10-minute dvar Torah on the parsha from a student, and every other Tuesday it was my turn. The first time, I posted to Facebook looking for specific sources about the few verses of Lech Lecha I was planning to speak on. A friend recommended a recorded sermon from a woman teacher, and her Torah was exactly the insight I had been seek-

ing. Two weeks later, preparing to teach my 10 minutes on Chayei Sarah, I was at a loss looking at the commentaries on the page of my Chumash. I turned to the bookshelf behind me and pulled out a book of essays on the parsha, and again the crystallizing insight I needed came from a woman.

After that, I committed to myself that each turn I had to teach on the parsha, I would include the voice of someone who was not a man in my dvar Torah. I made this commitment gently, tentatively — every time I told myself, “Well, I’ll see what I can find, and if it becomes too hard, I won’t hold myself to it.” And every time I was able to turn up exciting, fresh Torah with minimal difficulty.

Thank God, there is such a wealth of weekly divrei Torah by people of all genders across every stream of Judaism, and the weekly parsha is an area where even Orthodox women have been recording their teaching for decades now. But what this gentle, experimental commitment taught me was not just that it might be easier than I thought to find this kind of Torah on the parsha, but that I felt different when I sought it out.

What I was not considering when I felt so much resistance to the Kranjec Test was what it might feel like to regularly learn and teach Torah from people who reminded me of myself in a deep way. I have always been blessed, in many spaces and for much of my life, to learn Torah — often from women and sometimes from queer teachers as well — in frameworks that taught me I was its inheritor and part of the vast conversation of the Jewish textual tradition. I felt close to the Torah, and like I had every right to learn and teach it. I would have told you I was extremely well-adjusted when it comes to learning texts almost exclusively by men.

But when I started to regularly learn and teach written Torah from people who were not men, something in me almost imperceptibly began to feel different there myself.

Avigayil Halpern is studying for rabbinic ordination at the Hadar Institute in New York, and can be found on Twitter at @avigayiln.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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Synagogues

10 | The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

CHABAD HOUSE

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN

South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

TEMPLE ISRAEL

Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org

B’NAI ISRAEL Join us via Zoom on Friday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m. for evening services. Our service leader is Larry Blass.

Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin and Sissy Silber.

Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

VIRTUAL MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9 a.m. and Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shabbat To-Go Pick Up, 10 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.; No BESTT — MLK Weekend; Author Book Talk with Danny Siegel, 7 p.m.

MONDAY: Jewish Law with Rabbi Abraham, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY: Biblical Literacy with Rabbi Abraham, 11:30 a.m.; Virtual Office Hours with Eadie and Amy, 2 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Coffee & Conversation with Rabbi Abraham, 2 p.m.; Virtual Tai Chi with Beth Staenberg, 3:30 p.m.; BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:30 p.m.; Dead Sea Scrolls, 6 p.m. with Dr. Rami Arav; Beit Midrash — Judaism & The Glass Ceiling, 7 p.m.; Hebrew High (Grades 8-12), 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Virtual Office Hours with Eadie and Amy, 2 p.m.; Pearls of Jewish Prayer with Hazzan Krausman, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-Jan. 22: Shabbat To-Go Pick Up, 10 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-Jan. 23: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 6:05 p.m.

Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.

BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

Classes, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah on Zoom, Whatsapp or Facebook Live. On site services held outside in Sukkah, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required.

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Candlelighting, 5:02 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha, 5:10 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:07 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Jewish Law in Depth, 9:45 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:10 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:10 p.m.; Board of Directors Meeting, 6:30 p.m. (Zoom).

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 am. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:10 p.m.

FRIDAY-Jan. 22: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Candlelighting, 5:10 p.m.

SATURDAY-Jan. 23: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha, 5:10 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:14 p.m.

Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.

CHABAD HOUSE Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Due to Coronavirus, all services and classes have moved online. For schedules and more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.org or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Lechayim, 4:30 p.m. with Rabbi Blotner; Candlelighting, 5:02 p.m.

SATURDAY: Minyan, 10 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 6:06 p.m.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.

MONDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.

WEDNESDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen; Introduction to Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen.

THURSDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Professor David Cohen; Talmud Study, noon with Rabbi Katzman; Fun with Yiddish, 1 p.m. with Shani Katzman.

FRIDAY-Jan. 22: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Lechayim, 4:30 p.m. with Rabbi Blotner; Candlelighting, 5:10 p.m.

SATURDAY-Jan. 23: Minyan, 10 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 6:13 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Virtual services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch.

FRIDAY: Candlelighting, 5:04 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex,

Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex via Zoom; Torah Study on Parashat Vaera, 11:30 a.m. via Zoom; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:08 p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan-Gesher, 10 a.m. via Zoom; Adult Ed: Intro to Judaism Class, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex via Zoom; Jewish Book Club, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

MONDAY: Makers of Jewish Things, 7 p.m. via Zoom.

TUESDAY: Synagogue Staff Meeting, 10 a.m.; Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

FRIDAY-Jan. 22: Candlelighting, 5:12 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat Service from SST, service leaders/ music: Rabbi Alex, Nathaniel & Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

SATURDAY-Jan. 23: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex via Zoom; Torah Study on Parashat Bo, 11:30 a.m. via Zoom; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:15 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE All services canceled until further notice.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.

Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat, 5:30 p.m. Join us via Zoom; Shabbat Service: Celebrating Temple Israel’s 150th Anniversary: The Evolution of Reform Judaism, 6 p.m.

Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Bat Mitzvah of Fiona Eide.

MONDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, 11 a.m. Join us via Zoom TUESDAY: Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Youth Learning Programs: Grades 36, 4-6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6-8 p.m.; Community Beit Midrash: Judaism & the Glass Ceiling — Challenges Facing Modern Women & Families, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Discussion, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe. Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY-Jan. 22: Shabbat Service: Celebrating Temple Israel’s 150th Anniversary: Social Justice at Temple — Past, Present and Future, 6 p.m. Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAYJan. 23: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

Netanyahu condemns Capitol violence — and then praises Trump BEN SALES JTA Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the pro-Trump mob violence that engulfed the U.S. Capitol, as did other Israeli leaders, but hours later Thursday released another statement praising Trump.

Neither statement mentioned Trump’s role encouraging the mob.

“American democracy has always inspired me,” Netanyahu said in his initial statement alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is in Israel on a visit. “Lawlessness and violence are the opposite of the values we know Americans and Israelis cherish. The rampage at the Capitol yesterday was a disgraceful act that must be vigorously condemned.”

Later, however, Netanyahu lauded Trump for facilitating normalization agreements recently between Israel and four Arab countries. Netanyahu and Trump have had a close relationship during the past four years and the prime minister generally is careful not to criticize the president publicly.

“I want to thank President Trump and all of you in the administration for all you have done and are doing for peace,” Netanyahu said.

“You’ve made a real difference, achieving one breakthrough after another, bringing the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan into the circle of peace.”

Netanyahu’s recent election campaigns have included large banners featuring photos of the prime minister with Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and President Donald Trump on and his current Twitter ban- the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 15, 2020. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty ner shows Trump as well. Images Among other Israeli leaders to condemn the mob Trump has granted several of the Netanyahu government’s wishes, including moving the U.S. Em- violence was Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who bassy to Jerusalem, withdrawing from the Iran said “the photos from Washington hurt the heart nuclear agreement and recognizing Israel’s sover- of anyone who believes in democracy,” according to The Jerusalem Post. eignty over the Golan Heights,

News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D

ADL statement on violence at U.S. Capitol Building New York, NY ADL (Anti-Defamation League) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt issued the following statement regarding today’s violence at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.: As ADL has said again and again, extremists must be taken at their word. First there was volatile rhetoric online, then explicit calls to violence and now people are acting on those calls in the nation’s capital and flagrantly breaking the law. It must end now.

The President has promoted sedition and incited violence.

People assaulting law enforcement officers or breaching government buildings must be arrested and held accountable.

More than anything, what is happening right now at the Capitol is a direct result of the fear and disinformation that has been spewed consistently from the Oval Office. President Trump has a responsibility to call for an end to this violence

and unrest that he has sowed. His campaign of disinformation is a clear and present danger to our democracy.

But until such time as that happens, social media companies should suspend his accounts ASAP as they would do for anyone else advocating disinformation and promoting violence. It’s time.

ADL is the world’s leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion.

A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education, and fighting hate online, ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.

DHHS COVID-19 update ADI POUR, PH.D., DIRECTOR Douglas County Health Department As of Jan. 11, the Douglas County Health Department was continuing to vaccinate healthcare providers and is not getting enough vaccine to move forward on vaccinating our 75-plus citizens. That is expected, but not guaranteed, to change by February and we plan to open a registration system in the next weeks.

When vaccine is available, you will be offered multiple options to be served, including some pharmacies, many healthcare providers and community-based clinics.

An extensive effort will be made to inform you. so please be patient and continue to wash your hands, avoid crowds and people you don’t live with and wear a mask.

The slow arrival of vaccine in Douglas County is a potential game changer in the effort to return to normal after the pandemic. But until there is more vaccine it continues to be important for people to be tested.

The Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) encourages anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms, is known to have been exposed to a positive case, or who has traveled to consider being tested for the disease.

One of the easiest ways to address this is by contacting Test Nebraska. You can schedule online at www.testnebraska. com and expect results within a couple days. There is no outof-pocket cost to the testing.

You are strongly encouraged to continue to wear a mask, wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer, avoid crowds and keep your distance from people outside your household.

On Thursday, Jan. 7, the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) reported 382 new cases of COVID-19 that were received over the past day ending at midnight. The total number of cases in the county since the start of the pandemic in March is 55,252. While most schools have been out of session for the holidays, DCHD has received five reports of students and 24 staff who tested positive for COVID-19 plus three additional individuals who are quarantined and six who are self-monitoring.

The Health Department received two death certificates related to the pandemic during the past day. A man in his 80s and a woman in her 30s have passed from the disease. The number of deaths in the county connected to the pandemic now totals 509. DCHD reports that 37,324 Douglas County residents have recovered from the disease.

According to the most recent local hospital report received, medical and surgical beds were at 81% occupancy with 293 beds available and adult ICU beds are occupied at a 73% rate

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that Birch and Brick LLC, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 14217 Pine Street, Omaha, NE 68144. The initial agent for service of process of the Company is Registered Agents Inc., 530 S. 13th Street, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE, 68508. The Company is member-managed. Nature of the Company is retail.

with 91 beds available. There were 261 individuals hospitalized who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with 87 of them receiving adult ICU level care. There are also 22 more persons of interest (generally waiting for test results). Thirty-eight individuals who were confirmed or suspected of having COVID19 were on ventilators.

Some frequently asked questions include: What is an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)?

How do vaccines work?

What are the benefits of getting the vaccine?

Can you still infect others even if you get vaccinated?

How do I make sure that I will receive the vaccine? Is there a list?

What if I miss my second dose of the vaccine?

How long does it take for the vaccine to protect me from COVID-19?

How do I know that the vaccine is safe?

How can a safe vaccine be made so quickly?

Can I get COVID-19 from getting a COVID-19 vaccination?

What side effects have been reported for the vaccine? If I get vaccinated and have a bad reaction, how do I report it?

Can other vaccines, including flu vaccines, be administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccines?

Should I get the COVID vaccine if I have allergies?

Should I get the COVID vaccine if I have severe allergies and carry an Epi-Pen? What are the differences between the vaccines?

Will getting a COVID-19 vaccination be mandatory?

How much does it cost to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

For answers to these questions and more information, please visit our website at www.douglascountyhealth.com.

The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021 | 11

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12 | The Jewish Press | January 15, 2021

News LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D

Russian-speaking Jews bolster unique Jewish identity Belarus native Igor Litvin cares about the Earth. He’s also passionate about his Jewish identity. Not long ago, the Minsk resident decided to start a Torah-based ecology project called Cactus. Each month, a group of young Jews in Minsk meet either in person or online to consider a specific environmental dilemma and what Judaism has to say about it.

“Our goal was to find new people who had not been involved in Jewish community activities,” said Litvin, 25, a graphic designer. “We realized that one angle that had not been explored before was ecology.”

For Tu b’Shvat, the Jewish Arbor Day, which this year falls on Jan. 28, Cactus will be holding a celebration dubbed To Be Green. The group recently organized a kibbutz-style eco-festival along the bank of a river near Minsk. Group discussion topics have ranged from climate change to the wastefulness of plastic shopping bags to the long-term repercussions of COVID-19.

“The pandemic itself is causing an ecological disaster because of all the masks being used,” Litvin said. “So we’ve been collecting plastic bottles and we bring them to a factory, which produces masks from them.”

Another club in the remote Siberian city of Yekaterinburg called CinemaMidrash aims to develop a sense of identity among local Jews through Jewish-themed movies. Among the films the group has watched and discussed: “Ushpizin,” “Footnote,” “Menashe” and “An American Pickle.”

“In Yekaterinburg, there’s a sizable number of people who don’t come regularly to Jewish activities, so we looked for a format that would encourage them to attend,” said Alexey Zeydman, 35, who heads the group.

Both the Minsk and Yekaterinburg projects are among 35 locally run Limmud FSU Labs being jointly financed by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Limmud FSU, a nonprofit international Jewish organization that seeks to help Jews from the former Soviet Union enrich their Jewish life and

strengthen their Jewish identity. It was founded in 2006 by Chaim Chesler and Sandy Cahn, and is supported by institutions, foundations and philanthropists including Matthew Bronfman, its chairman; Aaron Frenkel, its president; and Diane Wohl and Tom Blumberg.

The idea is to develop a year-round, ongoing calendar of meaningful Jewish activities for Russian-speaking Jews beyond the Limmud FSU annual conferences in the nine countries

A 2020 Purim event for Russian-speaking Jews in Berlin was organized by local community members with funding from the new Limmud Labs program. Credit: Elya Yalonetski

where the organization is currently active, including in the former Soviet Union, North America, Europe and Australia.

The hope is that in addition to the annual conferences, these activities will create consequential connections among Russian-speaking Jews, and between them and the Jewish world at large, including Israel.

“In the face of challenges brought on by the coronavirus, it is moving to see how Limmud FSU continues to develop the connection of so many young people to their Jewish identity,” said Omer Yankelevich, Israel’s minister of Diaspora affairs.

Limmud FSU Labs projects are now underway in the former Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, as

well as in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany and the United States.

“Many of these people know they have some Jewish heritage,” said Limmud FSU Labs project manager Gabi Farberov, a Latvia native who moved to Israel in the 1990s. “They just need something attractive and social to bring them in.”

All the projects were selected for funding through an online process that attracted 140 entries. The plan is that each year, 35-50 initiatives will receive up to $14,000 each. Thus far, 160 projects are vying for financial support in 2021. Genesis Philanthropy Group is among the program’s supporters.

“These leaders have great ideas and motivation but lack support,” Farberov said. “Our model is unique in that we provide them with assistance to lead their own projects, not come with our own program and decide what’s good for them.”

In Sydney, Australia — home to some 20,000 Russian-speaking Jews known affectionately as Kangarusskis — psychology student Sean Torban, 20, runs a group called Talking Holocaust that holds workshops and panel discussions for young adults to learn how the younger generation can talk to their parents and grandparents about the Holocaust.

Similarly, in Philadelphia, Moldova-born art historian Katerina Romanenko, 46, runs Khatul Madan (Hebrew for “learned cat”) — a project to teach Russian-speaking Jews about the American Jewish experience. She organizes lectures, social events and intellectual games in Russian — an amalgam of culture and history and socializing that’s now held via Zoom due to the pandemic.

Farberov said she has been amazed by how the projects have adapted to the pandemic era.

“Many activities have successfully made the transition to online programming, or to offline settings,” Farberov said. “Their persistence despite this challenge is a testament to just how committed and motivated these young people are to deepening their connections to Judaism and the Jewish community.”