Vol. LXXXV No. 19 Omaha, NE
Federation Launches Internship Program for College Students by JANIE MUROW Federation Community Development Director The Jewish Federation of Omaha has announced a new program offering summer job opportunities/internships to young adults who have completed at least one year of college. Any college student living in Omaha or Lincoln or any Omaha students attending colleges outside Nebraska are welcome to participate. “Opportunity Omaha, It’s More Than Just a Job” is a pilot program that has been developed to introduce our young people to Omaha’s business, cultural and Jewish communities with the ultimate goal being to get them to stay in or return to Omaha after college graduation. Thanks to the generosity of the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman and Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundations this program will be offered during the summer of 2006. Each student will be matched with a professional internship in a local business or organization. In addition to working in area companies, the participants will be exposed to all that Omaha and the Jewish community have to offer through specially designed Judaic, social, educational and cultural programs. On a weekly basis, interns will be brought together for a variety of activities including: attendance at cultural events, synagogue participation, informal education about the Jewish community and social action projects. Omaha, as a community, is thriving and growing with wonderful business, cultural and recreational opportunities. The Federation is eager to reach out to this age group and help expose them to all that Omaha has to offer to ensure that they return or stay here. The goal is to give our young people the tools necessary to become successful, contributing members of our community. If you are interested in participating in the program as a student or employer, please call me at 334.6566 or jmurow@jewishomaha.org. There are limited student internship spaces available. The deadline for consideration is Feb.15.
Waiting for News
The weather around Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem reflects the gloom of most people over the demise of Ariel Sharon. The media outside the hospital has thinned as everyone realizes there is little improvement in their patient. As far as Hadassah Hospital is concerned, their VIP patient has given the hospital world-wide media exposure that is beyond what any advertising agency or public relations firm could even dream. Nearly every press briefing shows the Hadassah Hospital sign behind the spokespersons. From Vladivostok to Vancouver and from Pyong Yang to Paris everybody now knows the name of Israel’s leading hospital. Above: the entrance to the hospital is now masked by the multitude of media tents. Copyright: ISRANET
Inside Opinion Page see page 12
Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
20 Tevet, 5766 January 20, 2006
Based on Per Capita Dollars,
Omaha’s Federation Foundation Second Largest in U.S. and Canada able agencies, including Jewish Family Service (JFS), Jewish Senior Services (JSS)/Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the Jewish Community Center (JCC), the Center for Jewish Education, and the ADL/Community Relations Council. Marty Ricks, Foundation Executive Director, is proud of the Foundation’s growth since he arrived in Omaha in 1998, from $28 million to almost $60 million as of June 30, 2005. “I am amazed as I compare my experience in Omaha to the difficulties I encountered in California fundraising as a volunteer,” said Ricks. He went on to say, “It’s great to accumulate the assets, but the important thing is the wisdom of how the money is spent. “Generally our endowments are clear in their descriptions of how the annual income is to be spent. My staff and I are very careful about following the language of the endowment. When someone in our community wants to establish an endowment fund, I meet with the prospective donor and suggest some pressing community needs. For example, we always have need for additional funds to fulfill the mission of Jewish Family Service. In the 2004-2005 fiscal year, thanks to the generosity of donors, our office was able to disperse almost $130,000 for Jewish Family Steve Bloch, President of the Federation Foundation, left, and Marty Ricks, Service, mostly to help Jews in Omaha Executive Director, attribute much of their success in doubling the with temporary financial needs.” Foundation’s endowments to their regular meetings--this one at Bagel Bin. Continued on page 2
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Foundation Public Relations Coordinator For 2004, based on 80 reporting U.S. and Canada foundations within the United Jewish Communities (UJC) federation system, Omaha ascended to number two behind only Cleveland, Ohio, in endowment assets per Jewish resident. Omaha’s per capita figure is $8,679 versus Cleveland’s $17,328. According to Steven Bloch, President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, “This standing is a testament to the strong feelings Omaha’s Jewish population has for its 104-year-old Federation and its remark-
Last Surviving AZA Founder Honored on His 100th Birthday by GARY JAVITCH Ben Kaslow and others, launched a movement that over It was just a casual conversation in early December the years would expand regionally, nationally and interbetween B’nai B’rith board member Marty Ricks and his nationally. Moreover, their triumph helped shaped the friend, Dr. Milton Simons. Yet it launched a whirlwind lives of Jewish boys and--a few years later--girls. From “thank you” project. Dr. Simons mentioned that he and the perspective of history, the groups, under the auspices his wife Maxine were going to Los Angeles in January to of B’nai B’rith, influenced hundreds of thousands of teens over the years. celebrate the 100th birth“Bon’s two sons, day of his brother-in-law, Michael and Shel, Bernard “Bon” Theodore. planned the birthday “The idea of us becomgathering on Jan. 8, four ing a part of Bon’s special days after his birthday. day hit me,” Ricks told The family of 25 held the everyone at the birthday festivities in a Laguna party. “I knew that Bon was the last surviving Hills restaurant. We were very thankful that they let member of the group that founded AZA. The us participate in their thought immediately came family get-together,” to me that this was an Ricks explained. I began the brief cereimportant opportunity to Rabbi Dan Moskovitz, left, of Tarzana, CA, 1989-90 Grand Aleph mony. As President of the honor Bon and highlight Godol; and Marty Ricks, head of the Federation Foundation; conB’nai B’rith Omaha the function in a very spegratulate Bon Theodore, an AZA Founder; as do Gary Javitch, Henry Monsky Lodge cial way.” Monsky Lodge President; the current Grand Aleph Godol Brandon and Mid-America Ricks did more than Rattiner; and Gary Doshay of Los Angeles, President of B’nai B’rith Regional president, I that. Spurred on by him, Southern California Region. coordinated the ceremoseveral other organizations quickly got involved. They included the local B’nai ny and explained how four people traveled from other B’rith, and both BBYO and B’nai B’rith on the interna- parts of the country to help commemorate this occasion. I mentioned the significance and ramifications of the tional level. Bon’s birthday provided a perfect occasion to reflect event that took place on May 3, 1924. In addition, it on a simple event that occurred almost 82 years ago; was noted that Bon, who later ran his own graphic arts that was the signing of a charter to start the first AZA in business, designed the original AZA logo. the country. Bon and his friends, including Sam Beber, Continued on page 9
This Week: Community Work Important to Comeback: Pages 8-9 Next Month: Simchas & Celebrations on Feb. 10 URJ Social Action Chairman Talks About Church-State: Page 2
Despite Holocaust Denial, Iran Worked with Nazis: Page 3
People of the Byte Column-Football and the Jews: Page 7
Pros and Cons of Judge Alito: Page 13
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
Reform Judaism’s Social Action Chairman to Discuss Changes in Church-State Separation Carrie Fingold – Volunteer Caller February 5, 2006
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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Since 2004, Jane Wishner has been the chairperson of the Commission on Social Action (CSA) of Reform Judaism, a joint body of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). CSA seeks to apply insights of Jewish tradition to such domestic and foreign issues as human rights, world peace, civil liberties, religious freedom, famine, poverty, inter-group relations as well as other major societal concerns. Jane Wishner Religious freedom will be the topic Wishner focuses on when she visits Omaha for a conversation on “Government and Religion: The Changing Law and Politics of Church-State Separation.” The community is invited to engage in discussion with her at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Temple Israel at a seminar sponsored by the Plains States Region Anti-Defamation League and the Nebraska Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Wishner will provide a “brief overview of the religion clauses of the First Amendment, the difference between the ‘free exercise’ clause and the ‘establishment’ clause and how they are often in tension, and how the Supreme Court’s interpretation of both clauses has been changing in recent years. I will also address President Bush’s faithbased initiative and the implications of widespread government funding of pervasively sectarian organizations whose core missions include worship, religious education, and proselytization.” She plans to accept questions as well. “At no time in our recent history has the ‘wall’ between church and state been more under siege,” said Rosie Zweiback, program director of Temple Israel. “As Americans, and as Jews, gaining insight on this national debate is a priority if we are to protect our liberties as a
religious minority in this country,” she added. Wishner was one of the first legislative assistants at the Religious Action Center in the 1970s when she was a student at Harvard University. She received her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. She clerked for Circuit Judge Abner J. Mikva, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and worked on the national staff of Common Cause, a nonpartisan advocacy organization committed to honest, open, and accountable government and to encouraging citizen participation in democracy. She is currently a member of the national Board of Trustees of URJ and has served on the national Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee and continues on several of its national committees including the National Legal Committee. For the past ten years, she has held many leadership positions on the CSA including chair of task forces on women and minorities and on domestic policy. Founder and president of a newly-formed organization, the Southwest Women’s Law Center in New Mexico, Wishner was a litigation attorney in private practice and also served as an assistant attorney general of the State of New Mexico prosecuting white collar crimes. The Women’s Law Center is engaged in research, education, advocacy, and impact litigation on behalf of women and girls in New Mexico. Also a member of the Board of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Wishner is a member of the Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque. She has been on numerous committees and held leadership positions in both organizations. Currently she is vice president for community at Congregation Albert. She chaired the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Israel Task Force, and both the Operation Exodus and general campaigns for the Federation. In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors of Chamber Music Albuquerque. Wishner and her husband Robert Rosenberg have two children, Zach, 16, and Leah, 14.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Foundation Second Largest FRIDAY, JAN 20 Midwest Association of Reform Rabbi, Jan. 20-25 at Temple Israel Top 100 Words of the Parsha, 11 a.m. Visions Luncheon Meeting at Venice Inn, 12:30 p.m. Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El
C SUNDAY, JANUARY 22 L Living Hebrew and Bible Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El I Rabbi and Cantor Plaque Dedication, 11:30 a.m. P
C L I P
V E
V E
at Beth El Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel & & Torah Training, Prayer Class and Jewish Potpouri, 11 a.m. at Beth El S S A BESTT Chaverim, 12:30 p.m. A MONDAY, JANUARY 23 JSS Nurse, 8 a.m. Advanced Conversational Hebrew Class, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, JANUARY 24 The Guy & Bob Show, noon Federation Executive Committee Meeting, 5:30 p.m . BBYO Night, 6 p.m. A History of Israel, 7 p.m. Federation Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25 PATTER, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El C L American Jewish Writers, 11 a.m. I NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. P
C L I P
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 & Walk-in Drop-in, 10 a.m.
Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel S Rabbi Levin Study Class, noon at Beth El A Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. V Lecture Series with Rabbi Gross, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel
&
S A V E All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not E 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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Continued from page 1 Becki Brenner, Executive Director of JFS, emphasized that “through the work of the Foundation and Marty Ricks’ leadership and innovative approach, JFS is able to meet the requests for assistance for those less fortunate in our community. Working through the Federation, donors can direct their charitable gifts to the agencies that reflect their personal support of Federation programs and services.” “Another way our Foundation benefited the community was through our many scholarship endowment funds,” noted Ricks. “College and university tuition, Jewish summer camps, pre-school tuition at our Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center (CDC), and our Friedel Jewish Academy, without a doubt, are all very expensive. Through the kindness and generosity of many families and foundations, in the 2004-05 fiscal year, the Foundation disbursed $216,000 for scholarships. Corey Kirshenbaum, Director of the CDC, remarked that “words are replaced with tears of gratitude when a family receives financial assistance at the CDC. This is due to the Foundation’s commitment to search for funds to help subsidize Jewish families in order to make sure that no Jewish family in need is turned away from the CDC. The Foundation provides this community with an unbelievable commitment to Jewish education.” “The Foundation is absolutely essential in working throughout the community to establish and maintain funding for the wide array of scholarships awarded by the Financial Aid Committee, pointed out Aveva Shukert, chairman of that committee for the Center for Jewish Education. The committee is able to continue its mission of assisting families for camp experiences, Israel trips, day school, youth group activities, and undergraduate and graduate studies directly because of the efforts of the Foundation.” JCC Executive Director Jeffrey Aizenberg added, “The Foundation has consistently, over many years, provided the JCC with much needed financial support in programming, scholarships, and operations. I just can’t imagine being able to carry out the JCC’s mission without the generous support of all of the Foundation donors.” In addition, Blumkin Home and JSS have “developed an outstanding relationship with the Foundation over
the years,” reported Mike Silverman, JSS/Blumkin Home Executive Director. “Funds being stewarded by the Foundation are closely watched and the endowments earmarked for our agencies continue to grow, and because of this, we have experienced the ability to go above and beyond in our programs and services. Ultimately, the Jewish community seniors are the beneficiaries of the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening our financial position.” In total, for the 2004-05 fiscal year, the Foundation dispersed almost $1.8 million, including the aforementioned $216,000 in scholarships, mostly for the Federation and its agencies, as well as a portion to local synagogues, Jewish organizations, and internationally to select programs in Israel. “Our crowning achievement is that the Foundation now operates without the need of any subvention from the Federation annual campaign. We are totally self-supporting by charging the individual endowment and donor-advised funds a small annual administrative fee.” Ricks pointed out, “The individual funds also absorb an even smaller allocation of investment management fees. When all is said and done, the cost to operate the Foundation is about seven-tenths of one percent of the total assets held by the Foundation.” Jan Goldstein, Executive Director of the Federation, observed that the Foundation “is important to the Federation, because it creates and protects the financial resources that will ensure the programming of our agencies for future generations. Programs vital to the community like leadership development, Israel awareness and advocacy, and young adult programming could not happen without the support of the Foundation. “The Foundation is the Federation’s partner in developing PACE (Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowments). We are fortunate that the Foundation and its Board have been prudent and sound in their investments and endowment programs so that we will be able to replace future campaign dollars which will likely be lost in the future through attrition and a changing donor base,” Goldstein commented. For additional information about the Foundation, its biennial 2003-05 report is enclosed in this edition of the Jewish Press.
January 20, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Despite Holocaust Denial, Iran Seen to Have Worked with Nazis Europe, predicated on support for a Pan-Arab state and advocated implementing in Iran what had failed months by EDWIN BLACK earlier in Iraq. The plan once again was for a total diverWASHINGTON (JTA)--Iran’s president has shot to Arab rule over Palestine. During the war years, Iran became a haven and head- sion of oil from the Allies to the Nazis in exchange for the forefront of Holocaust denial in recent days, but it may seem more like self-denial: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad quarters for Gestapo agents and German operatives. It the accelerated destruction of the Jews in Eastern need only look to his country’s Hitler-era past to dis- was from Iran that the seeds of the abortive 1941 pro- Europe and support for an Arab state. Through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Iran cover that Iran and Iranians were connected to the Nazi coup in Baghdad were planted. After Churchill’s forces booted the Nazis out of Iraq already had been supplying Hitler’s forces in occupied Holocaust and the Nazi regime, as was the larger Arab and Islamic world under the leadership of the mufti of in June 1941, the German air crews supporting Nazi Czechoslovakia and Austria. Now the mufti agitated to bombers escaped across the northern border back into cut off the British and the Allies completely and supply Jerusalem. Germany in its push against Russia and the Iran’s links to the Third Reich began during East. the pre-World War II years when it welcomed In October, 1941, British, Russians and other Gestapo agents and other operatives to Tehran, Allied forces invaded Iran to break up the Iranallowing them to use it as a Middle East base Nazi alliance. Pro-Nazi generals and ministers for agitation against the British and the were arrested and the Shah’s Western-leaning region’s Jews. son was installed. Key among these Gestapo men was Fritz The mufti scampered into the Italian Grobba, Berlin’s envoy to the Middle East, and Embassy, where he shaved his beard and dyed often called “the German Lawrence” because his hair, and was then allowed to exit the counhe promised a Pan-Arab state stretching from try along with the rest of the Italian delegation. Casablanca to Tehran. Once the mufti relocated permanently to Relations between Berlin and Tehran were Berlin, where he established his own Reichstrong from the moment Hitler came to power supported “bureau,” he was given airtime on in 1933, when Reza Shah Pahlavi’s nation was Radio Berlin. From Berlin and other fascist still known as Persia. capitals in Europe, the mufti continued to agiThe shah became a stalwart admirer of Hitler, tate for the destruction of international Jewry, Nazism and the concept of the Aryan master as well as a pan-Arab and pan-Islamic alliance race. He also sought the Nazis’ help in reducwith the Nazi regime. ing British petro-political domination. So intense was the shah’s identification with Iranian leader Reza Shah Pahlavi, pic- The mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed He called upon all Muslims to “kill the Jews the Third Reich that in 1935 he renamed his tured, aligned his country with Germany Amin al-Husseini, on the cover of a 1944 wherever you see them.” In Tehran’s marketpro-Nazi Austrian publication. place, it was common to see placards that ancient country “Iran,” which in Farsi means after Hitler's rise to power. Credit: Reza Pahlavi's Secretariat Credit: Courtesy Edwin Black declared, “In heaven, Allah is your master. On Aryan and refers to the Proto-Indo-European lineage that Nazi racial theorists and Persian ethnolo- Iran. Likewise, the mufti of Jerusalem was spirited across Earth, it is Adolf Hitler.” When the mufti organized three Islamic Waffen SS the border to Tehran, where he continued to call for the gists cherished. The idea for the name change was suggested by the destruction of the Jews and the defeat of the British. His divisions to undertake operations in Bosnia, among the Iranian ambassador to Germany, who came under the venomous rhetoric filled the newspapers and radio 30,000 killers were some volunteer contingents from Iran. Iranian Nazis, along with the other Muslim Waffen influence of Hitler’s trusted banker Hjalmar Schacht. broadcasts of Tehran. From Tehran and elsewhere, the Mufti was a vocal and SS, operated under the direct supervision of Heinrich From that point, all Iranians were constantly reminded that their country shared a bond with the Nazi regime. vigilant opponent of allowing Jewish refugees to be Himmler and were responsible for barbarous actions Shortly after World War II began in 1939, the mufti of transported or ransomed into Palestine. Instead, he against Jews and others in Bosnia. Recruitment for the murderous “Handschar Divisions” was open and public Jerusalem crafted a strategic alliance with Hitler to wanted them shipped to the gas chambers of Poland. In the summer of 1941, with the support of key in Iran. exchange Iraqi oil for active Arab and Islamic participation in the murder of Jews in the Mideast and Eastern Iranian military and government leaders, the mufti Continued on page 4
Summer Internships for College Students
Professional Internships Career Counseling Workshops Cultural Events Jewish Networking Space is Limited! Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to gain valuable career experience while seeing first-hand what makes the Omaha Jewish Community thrive! Deadline for consideration is February 15, 2006 Contact Janie Murow at 402.334.6566 or jmurow@jewishomaha.org
Social Connections
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
Omaha Area High School Students to Visit U.S. Omaha JCC Going to Phoenix for 2006 JCC Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Grinberg, Blair High; Matthew Hauck, Benson High; by SHARON BRODKEY Maccabi Games in August Communications & Community Development Luke Hill, Creighton Prep; Nyamuoch Jock, Millard by RACHEL BLUM The Omaha Jewish Community Center Maccabi Team has officially been invited to attend the 2006 JCC Maccabi Games in Phoenix, Arizona Aug. 6-11. The JCC Maccabi Games are a week-long sporting event, which includes Judaic education, community service projects, and social programming for Jewish teens, 13-16. Omaha will be sending 28 athletes who will participate in either a 14 and under boys’ basketball team, a girls’ 16 and under basketball team, or a variety of individual sports, which include bowling, dance, golf, swimming, table tennis, and tennis. An informational meeting for all athletes and parents will be held at the JCC on Monday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m. Dinner will be served. In addition to our own 28 athletes, Omaha will host three athletes from Israel. For the fifth consecutive year, Omaha is participating in the JCC Maccabi Sister City Program. The Sister City Program was established in order to create more significant and meaningful opportunities for participants in the JCC Maccabi Games to interact, learn about, and share some warm experiences with their Israeli counterparts. North American Delegations have an opportunity to work with and build on their existing relationships with their Partnership with Israel communities. This is accomplished by inviting Israeli teens from these communities to join their North American counterpart’s local delegation to spend time with them before the Games, and travel to the Games with the team. This experience of meeting a peer from a different country is interesting and special to all of the teens involved, and it is especially exciting for our local teens to identify with the common heritage which Jewish teenagers from around the world share. Omaha will be hosting three teens and an adult chaperone from our sister city of Akko in the Western Galilee. Our local Sister City Program is funded in part by the Morton A. Richards Endowment Fund, the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Omaha, and the Jewish Community Center of Omaha. The cost to participate in the 2006 JCC Maccabi Games is $900; there is a 20% discount for JCC members who register by Feb. 28, bringing the total fees to $720. Only 28 spots are open, so be sure to register this month! To sign up for the Games, you may register online at www.jccomaha.org, stop by Member Services, or contact Cindy Reed at 334.6419. For more information about the JCC Maccabi Games, please contact me at 334.6404 or rblum@jccomaha.org.
for the Anti-Defamation League For nearly a century the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has been fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and worked to foster understanding among diverse communities. In one of its many creative approaches to outreach and education, the ADL Mountain States and Plains States regional offices will host the sixth annual Youth Leadership Mission to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. The museum’s dramatic portrayal of the events of the Holocaust offers a substantive and effective vehicle toward teaching about the lessons learned from the Holocaust and how they relate to issues of bigotry in today’s society. The Youth Leadership Mission emphasizes the role that young people can play in breaking the cycle of hate. Twenty delegates have been selected from each region to participate in the 2006 Youth Leadership Mission. This diverse group of high school sophomores and juniors will participate in an intensive three and one-half day program in our nation’s capital. The mission is provided to the participants at no cost thanks to a Robert B. Sturm grant from Omaha Westside High School alumnus Robert B. Sturm. This year’s participants are: Michael Atkins, Millard South; Colin Dorwart, Gross Catholic; Nadia English, Omaha North; Aaron French, Central High; Karlene
North; Emily Lien, Mercy High; Michael Lin, Millard North; Katherine Mac-Holmes, Benson; Julia Joy Moertl, Burke; Wesley Morrison-Sloat, Fremont; Ben Nachman, Westside; Aaron Passer, Brownell-Talbot; Michael Reynolds, Omaha South; Catherine Tran, Duchesne Academy; and Michelle Woodruff, Marian. The March 26-29 mission includes educational exercises that provide a history of the Holocaust and the nature of bigotry and prejudice. After touring the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, participants debrief and hear first-hand testimony from a Holocaust survivor. Through the survivor’s experience, the delegates learn about the impact and difference that can be made by just one person. Delegates also examine contemporary incidents of bigotry and learn about individuals and organizations that are working to eliminate hate and bias. Youth Leadership Mission participants are required to commit to educating themselves and others on these issues. They are reminded that individually and collectively they possess the power to make a difference in the lives of others through their actions and behavior. The students fulfill their commitment through completing an action plan for how they will put the lessons they have learned into action when they return to their homes, schools and larger communities. In the year following the mission to Washington, Youth Leadership Mission delegates participate in a variety of structured and informal follow-up activities that build upon and reinforce the message of their trip to Washington and provide them with opportunities to act. Many alumni of previous Youth Leadership Mission trips have gone on to be leaders in their schools and active volunteers in the community.
Iran Seen to Have Worked with Nazis Continued from page 3 Iran and its leaders not only were aware of the Holocaust, they played both sides. The country offered overland escape routes for refugee Jews fleeing Nazi persecution to Israel--and later fleeing postwar Iraqi fascist persecution--but only in exchange for extortionary passage fees. Thousands of Jews made Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresstheir way to Israel via Iran both es the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 15, 2005. during the Holocaust and after Credit: Paulo Filgueiras/UN
the fall of Hitler, when Arab leaders, especially in Iraq, tried to continue Germany’s antiJewish program. Iran profited handsomely. To play all sides of the Holocaust drama--and now to deny that the Holocaust even happened--should be very difficult in a nation named for Hitler’s master race. Edwin Black is the author of “Banking on Baghdad,’’ which revealed the extent of the Arab-Nazi alliance.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
“Israel must be wiped off the map.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad October 25, 2005
NOW is the time to stop Iran The AIPAC Policy Conference March 5 –7, 2006 The Washington, D.C. Convention Center
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not only routinely threatens Israel…he also threatens the entire world by refusing to give up Iran’s nuclear program. Now is the time to tell Iran that the world will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons. At AIPAC’s Policy Conference in Washington—we will. At the Conference, pro-Israel activists from around the country will take part in the largest grassroots effort to date in order to stop Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency—the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog organization—meets in Geneva on March 6th. If it once again fails to take appropriate steps against Iran, we will visit Capitol Hill on March 7th to call for the immediate referral of Iran to the U.N. Security Council. But that’s not all. We will also make the case for a far-reaching legislative package designed to stall Iran’s drive toward the bomb. This could be the most important Policy Conference you ever attend. We need you to be a part of it. To register for the AIPAC Policy Conference, please visit www.aipac.org/pc2006. To get involved locally, contact Melanie Pearlman at 303-864-9464 or mpearlman@aipac.org
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
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Sun, Sun, Sun, Here We Come Snowbirds Please let the Jewish Press know in advance when you are leaving and when you are returning. Sometimes several papers are sent to your “old” address before we are notified by the Post Office. Every time they return a paper to us, you miss the Jewish Press and we are charged 70¢! Use the form on page 10, call us at 402.334.6448 or email us at jpress@jewishomaha.org.
Union Pacific Railroad has immediate openings in North Platte, Nebraska! Diesel Mechanics - Responsible for the inspection, repair, and maintenance of the engine and mechanical components on diesel electric locomotives. Locomotive Electronic Technician (Diesel Electrician) - Responsible for the inspection, repair and maintenance of the electrical components on diesel electric locomotives. Technicians diagnose electrical malfunctions and determine need for corrective actions by using blueprints, schematics, and location circuit plans.
Paradise Now, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, opens at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center on Friday, Jan. 20, delves deeply into the minds of suicide bombers with unsettling results. “This taut, ingeniously calculated thriller fixates on the flashpoint where psychology and politics ignite in self-destructive martyrdom,” according to New York Times film critic Stephen Holden. New York Daily News film critic Jack Mathews writes, “Hany Abu-Assad’s stark, minimalist portrait of two young Palestinian men preparing for a suicide-bombing mission in Tel Aviv is the kind of movie that takes away both your breath and your ability to get out of your seat.” Winner of Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes Monday night, Paradise Now is showing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center through Thursday, Feb. 2. Show times are available at www.TheRoss.org, or by calling the MRRMAC film information line at 402.472.5353.
IN THE NEWS In the latest NCAA statistics report, the Grinnell women’s basketball team retained its spot as the top three-point shooting squad in Division III. Leading the charge is All-Midwest Conference sophomore guard Hannah Wolf, daughter of Nancy and Phil Wolf, who ranks first in Division III with 4.6 threepointers per outing. She also ranks 45th in the nation in scoring with 17.9 ppg. A year ago, Wolf’s average of 4.3 three-pointers per game ranked as the best in NCAA Division III history by a freshman and the fourth-best single-season effort in NCAA history across all playing levels.
ORGANIZATIONS BREADBREAKERS Bob Freeman and Harley Schrager will discuss their roles in the formation and success of the Omaha Sports Commission at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Jan. 25, noon at the Regency Lodge. The Omaha Sports Commission is bringing the NCAA Women’s volleyball finals and the Olympic swimming trials to Omaha. Cost is $11 for lunch and $2 for beverage service only. All Breadbreakers discussions are open to the community. WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the day trip to the Ameristar Casino this Thursday, please meet at the JCC by 8:45 a.m. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638 for more information. VISIONS Join your fellow Visionaires on Feb. 14, 1-3 p.m., at Hooters (12405 W. Center) at 11:15 for lunch and then off to the movies at Westwood Cinema. Send reservations to Sissy Silber, 311 Oakridge Ct., Bellevue, NE 68005 by Feb. 7. For information, call Doris Alloy at 698.8709, Rosalie Meiches at 556.5507 or Sissy at 292.8062. At all Visions events there will be a Mitzvah Box to collect a donation for new adaptive computer equipment for the residents of the Blumkin Home. Please bring your donation to any Visions function or send to Betty Kolnick at 1031 Hillcrest Dr., Omaha, NE 68132. Visions membership dues of $7.50 are due for 2006. Please mail check, payable to Visions, to Visions, c/o Beverly Gilinsky, 1406 No. 126 St., Omaha, NE 68154.
Work Equipment Mechanics - Heavy equipment mechanics are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of heavy equipment used by track laborers to lay rail. Train Service - Assure safe, on-time/on-plan train operations and movement, perform switching operations for on-time/on-plan car routing, delivery and pickup, conduct train and equipment inspections, communicate and report information concerning train movements and work orders, and interpret and assure compliance with signals. APPLY ON-LINE TODAY! For more information, on these and many other opportunities visit our web site at: WWW.UP.COM When applying, click on "Jobs at UP", then click on "View Positions".
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BIRTH Mike and Kimberly Levitan of Leawood, KS, announce the Dec. 27, 2005, birth of their son, Dylan Matthew. Grandparents are Cliff and Barb Levitan and Dr. Ron and Margaret Hines, Edmond, OK. Great-grandparents are Rose Garber, and Mike and Pauli Baxt, Edmond, OK.
for Bluejays’ Game by DUANE J. PIEPER For the second consecutive year Yachad has been invited to the Qwest Center as guests of the Creighton basketball team. As part of the crowd of 14,796--the fourth largest in school history, the Yachad group was entertained by an explosive performance by the team and a subsequent Creighton 82-69 victory over Drake. The team was lead by the exciting play of Johnny Mathies, who hit six three-point shots and scored a career high 32 points. The Yachad members were an integral part of the sixth man performance, with their cheering and encouragement. After the game, it was on to the Vinardi Athletic Center on the Creighton campus to celebrate the victory. Yachad, along with the members of Tom Osbornes’ Teamates mentoring program, were treated to pizza and an opportunity to meet the Bluejay basketball players. There were long lines, but it was worth the wait to meet the team members and Coach Dana Altman face-to-face and get their autographs. It was a memorable afternoon for the team and fans alike enjoying the comraderie of being together and celebrating a victory that they all participated in. Alan Freidman enjoys a moment with Creighton basketball coach Altman Dana after their victory over Drake earlier this month. It was the second time Creighton invited Yachad to attend one of their games. On Jan. 29 the Yachad group will be entertained by Omaha’s newest hockey team, the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. The BBYO group will join Yachad in the upcoming event at the Civic Center. Remember: everyone in the Jewish community is always welcome to join us. Call 334.6491 to reserve your tickets. Pro hockey is back!
Fellman and Kooper Scholarships Available by JAN ROOS The Bruce M. Fellman Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2006-07 academic year. The scholarships will be based on financial needs of students pursuing their post-secondary education. 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. Trustees for the Foundation are Darlynn Fellman, Terri Schrager, and Howard Kooper. The Robert H. & Dorothy G. Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust also has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2006-07 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. 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 from 1958-1960. He died in 1961. Dorothy Kooper was a strong supporter and worked with the Jewish Federation and Beth El Sisterhood. She died in May of 1995. “Awarding a scholarship to a young Jewish person is a very appropriate way of honoring my parents,” Howard Kooper noted. He and his wife, Sharon, fund the Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust. Tom Fellman also serves as trustee for the Foundation. Applications for the Bruce M. Fellman and Robert H. & Dorothy G. Kooper scholarships are available by contacting Kooper’s office, in writing, at 809 No. 96 St., Omaha, NE 68114. The packet will be mailed to applicants and must be received back no later than April 1.
January 20, 2006
Football and the Jews PEOPLE OF THE
BYTE
by MARK MIETKIEWICZ Football fans are gearing up for the Super Bowl, America’s largest annual professional sporting event. As the country’s best football teams prepare to meet in Detroit for Super Bowl XL, let’s take a few moments to look at the Jewish contributions to the game on both sides of the border. But first, a bit of Torah. A good rabbi is able to look at practically any phenomenon and teach a Torah lesson from it. Simcha Barnett and Eric Coopersmith must be a couple of good rabbis because of the lesson learned from the New England Patriots’ surprise win over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. “Throughout the entire season, the Patriots players refused to be introduced individually, as is traditionally done at the start of NFL games. Even fines from the league office could not deter their statement that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In the process, the Patriots discovered perhaps the greatest human tool: the power of unity.” The rabbis continue with examples of how united Jews have excelled whether they were receiving the Torah at Sinai, fighting in the Six Day War or struggling on behalf of Soviet Jewry. And then the rabbis conclude that “the most memorable moments in sports are those where the talents of individuals fuse into the almost mystical indivisibility of the whole, as the harmonious interplay leaves us awed and lifted.” [http://tinyurl.com/buwrl] The Patriots went on to make history by winning two of the next three Super Bowls under the leadership of owner Robert Kraft. Shortly after this year’s win, Kraft was in Israel to attend the unveiling of the newly refurbished Kraft Family Stadium, donated to the local league, American Football in Israel. As Kraft said, “My mother and father would’ve been proud of our Super Bowl wins, but much more of the work we’ve done in Israel.” [http://tinyurl.com/crs9d] Former NFL Coach of the Year Marv Levy presided over the NFL’s Buffalo Bills (as well the Canadian Football
C o m i n g
League’s Montreal Alouettes north of the border.) [http://tinyurl.com/de6yn] In a 2002 interview with Sports Illustrated, Levy was asked to name the three other Jewish men in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was able to remember two. Do you know them all – not counting Benny Friedman who was elected to the Hall of Fame just this year? You’ll find their profiles along with bios of over 400 other Jewish football players at the JewsInSports.org website. [www.jewsinsports.org/list.asp?sport=football] I was fascinated to come across the story of one college football player who keeps kosher. Eyoseph Efseaff is not Jewish but a member of the Russian Molokan church which broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. Russian Molokans follow the Bible literally including its dietary laws--as did Efseaff, an offensive lineman with the UCLA Bruins. According to an article in the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, he picked UCLA “because the presence of a small Molokan and large Jewish community in Los Angeles would assure a ready supply of kosher food.” [http://tinyurl.com/ 9svrq] Former pro Alan Veingrad sports a Super Bowl championship ring along with a kippa and tzitzit. For six years, Veingrad was an offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. While playing, Veingrad never encountered anti-Semitism but “in the rough and tumble environment of an NFL team, a Jew is an outsider.” After retiring--and particularly after the birth of his daughter--Veingrad felt himself drawn to his Jewish roots and traditional observance. [http:// tinyurl.com/axo7w] But have these nice Jewish boys--and girls [http://tinyurl.com/9enml]--been breaking a Torah prohibition by enjoying their game while tossing around a football made from pigskin? Rabbi David Samson says there’s nothing to worry about. “One is not allowed to eat the flesh of a pig, but a Jew could make a football from its skin.” [http://tinyurl.com/7ple6] Truth be told, there really is no problem. Pigskins, you see, contain no pigskin. [http://tinyurl.com/e4m3e] Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet producer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish Internet. He can be reached at highway@rogers.com.
S p e c i a l
Publishes » February10 Addeadline » January 26
S e c t i o n s
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Beth Israel’s Junior NCSY to Attend Shabbaton Next Month in St. Louis by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Calling all sixth, seventh and eighth graders! Beth Israel’s Junior National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) will fly to St. Louis for an amazing weekend when they attend the Junior NCSY District Shabbaton, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 3-5. According to Brooke Shrago, NCSY Director, “This District Shabbaton will include middle-school students from Omaha, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Iowa and Kansas. The focus is definitely on fun. They’ll make friends with kids from other cities, visit the St. Louis Arch, do exciting activities and, of course, eat lots of great food. NCSY’s famous “Entemann’s and Ice Cream Kiddush” is not to be missed!” Reflecting on Junior NCSY Shabbaton’s she’s attended in the past, Shrago noted, “One of the highlights has to be the ‘Shtick Contest.’ The kids get together in small groups and come up with absolutely hilarious skits that are so funny! They all have such a great time during the entire weekend.” NCSY also offers an extra incentive to attendees. “Each time kids attend a NCSY Shabbaton, their names are entered in a raffle for a chance to win an iPod Nano,” explained Shrago. “The more times your name is entered increases your chances to win. The drawing will be held during the Junior NCSY Regional Convention at Camp Chi, this spring.” Omaha’s Junior NCSYers will fly to St. Louis for the Shabbaton, with Beth Israel covering the costs of transportation. As for housing, Shrago said, “The kids will stay with Sabbath-observant hosts who live within walking distance of a St. Louis synagogue. Anyone who would like to attend should contact me right away so we can make travel and housing arrangements.” For more information about the Shabbaton, call Shrago at 556.6288.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
Community Work Important Part of Amputee’s Comeback
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“I found in the group that I could maintain sobriety; I could be me, and I could be accepted here for who I was. I could also share problems and not be judged.” Feeling stronger emotionally, got she involved in the internal functioning of the AA program. “Because of my life experiences, I felt Lisa Becker, right, recovered from a double leg amputation at the Blumkin I could make Home; her daughter, Ashley, 16, is a big help to her. a difference pot, too. I passed out. I stopped breath- in the lives of some of the other recovering; I was suffering from alcohol poison- ing alcoholics,” she said. “The leaders put ing,” she recounted. Her friend went to a me on a steering committee and I helped pay phone, called 911, and got her to a in the group decision-making process. hospital. On the trip, she lost her vital Every group has its own committee, as signs. She survived but remained in the AA is divided up into different districts. hospital overnight. While in the program, she met Walter The impact of her brush with death Brunkhorst, her future husband. Still, she finally helped her realize the enormity of didn’t rush into marriage. She knew him her problem. That epiphany unleashed in two years before they wed. After the nupher a desire to change her way of life and tials, they moved to Arkansas. do something with it. She has never taken The marriage lasted seven years and proanother drink. duced a daughter, Ashley, now 16. Lisa’s A Bumpy Road problem with diabetes created difficulties Yet, while sober ever since that awful within the marriage and was “one of the evening, Lisa has not found the road back reasons the union fell apart.” Recently to be an easy one to follow. Nevertheless, Ashley returned from Arkansas to live with she got off to a great start by attending her mother. Ashley’s father remains in Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings and Arkansas and all have a good relationship. began to draw upon the hope the group Working for the Community support inspired. “Three things have helped give me a
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purpose in life,” Lisa explained. “They are the Jewish Burial Society--The Chevra Kadisha, AA, and my family. I got involved with the burial society at the time I was going to Beth Israel. I wanted to help out, because helping lay to rest a deceased person is one of the highest honors a Jewish person could perform. I have been doing this four years and have participated in at least 20 ritual ceremonies this year.” Within the tradition of Chevra Kadisha, the helpers only work with a person of the same sex. Lisa described her duties: “The women who have died come to us at the Jewish Funeral Home from the hospital or residence. “We perform a ‘tahara’ (ritual washing and dressing), lovingly bathing them and then pouring water from three buckets over their bodies from head to toe. We then towel them off. We take care to cover the personal parts of the body to respect the privacy of the individual and preserve the sacredness of what we do. “We remove all nail polish and place any jewelry in a bag. We say a ritual prayer and dress them in a white shroud. From a pottery bucket, we place a stone over each eye and over their mouth. We conclude by sprinkling sand from Israel around their heart.” Equally important in her desire to give back to the community is her work with those who are recovering from their addiction to alcohol. While her work with alcoholics stands in sharp contrast to her religious work under pristine conditions with the Jewish Funeral Home, Lisa finds both duties very rewarding. Lisa teaches the traditional 12-step AA program at the Douglas County work release center. She counsels four women, giving them guidance by encouraging them to share their experiences in the group; in private sessions she also reveals her personal story. Continued on page 9
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by GARY JAVITCH The beginning of the New Year can be compared to the beginning of spring. It signals a time of renewal, hope, anticipation, and excitement. For Lisa Becker, 46, a divorcee and single-mother, a recovering alcoholic and a double amputee, it is that and more. Despite growing up in a loving family, Lisa’s early life was filled with insecurities. Diagnosed with diabetes at the age of nine, average in appearance and a little overweight, Lisa rarely felt like she fit in among her peers. Only a marginal student, she seemed unable to get her life in order. Following her graduation from Westside High School in 1977, she did not attend college. Bad things followed. She could not find a job she liked or could hold. “I was sexually assaulted by an ex-boyfriend’s brother at age 19, and by 21, I was an alcoholic,” she stated. Indeed, alcohol had taken over her life, and she couldn’t pay bills. Without help from her grandmother, Bess Becker, her parents Marshall and Ginny, and her sister Jody, she would truly have been lost. “During this period, I worked at so many places,” she related. “I had a job once at Majors Plastics--I worked on an assembly line there.” She was also a Happy Cab dispatcher, and a french fry cook at McDonald’s--for a week. She recollected working at a factory and also as a security officer, where she sat in a little shack and checked employee badges. “I found great comfort in the bottle. I was in and out of a lot of jobs, as alcohol became the most important thing in my life. My twenties were a mess.” All that changed on March 23, 1984. She was 25 years old. The Turning Point “I was at a friend’s birthday party and tried to kill myself. There was lots of booze. I drank all I could. I took a hit of
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Last Surviving AZA Founder nent standing as a founder of the first AZA. In support Continued from page 1 I then introduced Brandon Rattiner, the 81st--and of the accolades, the president of B’nai B’rith current--Grand Aleph Godol, the titular student leader International, Joel S. Kaplan, the Board Chair of BBYO, Inc. Lynn Schusterman, Brandon Rattiner, Marty Ricks, of all AZAs around the world. Brandon had arrived earlier in the day from Denver, and I signed it. After the last comment, Bon was invited to say a few CO, and had recently returned from Europe where he had been visiting with other AZA chapters. He words. In a quiet, yet firm voice, Bon said, “I didn’t addressed Bon by saying “The name Bernard Theodore know I was going to be given all these honors (on my has reached a mythical status among the thousands in 100th birthday).” And then he added. “But it makes me glad that I stuck around!” BBYO. The organizationThat brought him a al effect on its members is round of applause and only equaled by its impact much laughter. on the Jewish people. I For the non-family am humbled to meet you, participants, in particular, and on behalf of AZA, the celebration of this thank you.” B’nai B’rith legacy with a He was followed by founder was quite elating. Gary Doshay, the B’nai Ricks, a former B’rith regional president California resident, perof Southern California, haps summed it up best. who described the won“Without a doubt, our derful experiences he had participation in Bon’s in AZA and as an Advisor to B’nai B’rith. “If it were AZA Mother Chapter #1 (81 years after the founding) members 100th birthday was a highnot for AZA,” he stated, show off their banner at the regional BBYO convention in Omaha light of my seven-and-ahalf years back in Omaha,” “I would not have gone last month. on to work in other B’nai B’rith activities, or even obtain Ricks reflected. “Bon is an amazing man, still physically active and mentally sharp. And I, along with my wife Iris, this office.” Next, Dan Moskovitz strode to the front. The were overwhelmingly moved during the party.” A picture entitled “Charter Members of AZA Installed Tarzana-based associate rabbi of Temple Judea was himself a Grand Aleph Godol (1989-90) and still very active at Omaha, Nebraska, May 3, 1924” is prominently disin BBYO. He presented Bon with a certificate for a tree played on the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society’s “Wall planted in Israel in his honor. “You have been a planter of History,” located near the Health Club entrance; Bon of so many seeds. Now look how your seeds have grown. is in the back row. (Sharon Mishler, Rabbi Moskovitz’s Look at the scope and depth of BBYO, the fruit of your wife, took the pictures.) When Ricks returned to Omaha, he found a message labors.” He accompanied his comments with a traditional blessing which he recited one sentence at a time, on his voice mail from Mike Theodore: “I wanted to let first in Hebrew and then in English, each time personal- you know how much we appreciated you and your crew for being there. It meant so much to my father. He has izing it by mentioning Bernard’s name. Ricks was the last guest speaker and related how this not stopped talking about this party. To him it was the celebration came to be. Then to help memorialize Bon’s culmination of his life. He is so excited about it. Wanted historical contribution, he presented the centenarian to let you know how important it was and how much I with a beautiful glass-engraved plaque. The special appreciated you being there. It really was a wonderful award of appreciation and recognition noted Bon’s emi- gesture on your part. Many thanks!”
Amputee’s Comeback Continued from page 8 Lisa describes her role in a typical AA group she leads. The group of about 15 sits around a table and we introduce ourselves. “I then open the meeting with the serenity prayer and read the traditions in the 12 steps; I also ask for any birthdays and give out special reward tokens for continuous weeks, months, or years of sobriety. They then choose a topic such as acceptance, gratitude, or anger and we discuss it. Lisa mentors them through the anger, one of the most common feelings an alcoholic has. To do that, she frequently assigns her mentees a task: describe in writing what your anger looks like. She emphasizes the importance of doing that as a way to help them avoid “stuffing” their feelings inside themselves. Then, they talk about it. Lisa, too, has a sponsor and attends her own meetings as a participant. While still unemployed, her volunteer work allows her to feel that she is contributing to society. She chips in time at another place also, Saint Gabriel’s Alcohol Treatment Center, where she serves as a unit coordinator. As a “Tech,” she oversees people who need to be detoxed and have come to the Center to “sweat it out.” The Amputee Her quest for a paying job has been difficult, as her diabetes disability has often interrupted her search efforts. Five years ago, for example, complications from her illness forced her doctors to remove her leg, six inches below her knee. During her lengthy convalescence, she recovered at her parents’ home with the help of the VNA (The Visiting Nurses Association). Recuperating from an amputation, she learned, was both painful and time consuming. “It was very tough learning how to walk on the artificial leg. “Even with the ache, I could not stop the rehab efforts. I just had to press on.” Still unable to abate the debilitating effects of her illness, Lisa underwent a second amputation procedure about two years ago, again six inches below the knee. This time she recovered at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. As uncomfortable as the process was she enjoyed her recuperation in that facility. At the Home, she could see people and could participate in many activities. She was the youngest patient there, so she hung out with the nurses. During the lengthy healing process, she met sev-
eral staff that have had an impact on her life. They literally helped her get back on her feet, and they helped reduce her suffering. She became very friendly with a number of them, and Deedee Sortino, the receptionist became her buddy. While there she went through rehab to strengthen muscles and maintain upper body strength; She frequently wheeled her way over to the JCC to help pass the time. “I think Mike Silverman (the Home’s Executive Director) is a great guy. He makes you feel like you are very special and a part of everything,” she fondly recalled. Out of this harrowing four-month recovery process, Lisa increased her resolve and determination to get better. She needed it because learning to walk with prostheses was difficult for her, and she was confined to a wheel chair for long periods. “Without the Blumkin Home, I would have been socially isolated,” she confided. As they do with their residents, Lisa was able to use the van for doctor appointments and AA meetings. Financially assisted by Medicaid, she felt extremely happy with the care she received at the Home. A new attitude and a new life Meanwhile she doesn’t sit around and feel sorry for herself . “There’s not a purpose in that,” she concluded. She hangs out with friends. “Life is great and beautiful,” she remarked. And even though there are down days and down time, I still press on. I want to get a job; I want to see my daughter succeed. Eventually Ashley wants to be the owner of her own business. She is extremely bright, creative and has a great imagination.” For now, Lisa fills her day by helping people. “I have G-d in my life, people who love me and care about me--my parents and my family, my sister and her kids and family; I have my best friend, Amanda Rothstein, and her family,” she observed, commenting on those who played an important part in her recovery. “And I have my daughter. You know diabetics are not supposed to have kids because the pregnancies are dangerous. But Ashley,” she concluded, “is ‘My Miracle.’” Add to Lisa’s life a job, and that would make her life better than ever. In this New Year, she has a lot of hope that that will happen soon.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 9
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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The Ultimate Trip to Israel for Jewish Teens entering the 10th–12th grades in the fall of 2006 The deadline is approaching, so sign up today!
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• The Jewish Federation of Omaha • The Milton S. and Corrine N. Livingston Foundation • The HerbertGoldsten Trust • The Carl Frohm Memorial Foundation
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Look Who’s Going on Artza! (as of January 13, 2006)
Amanda Bucher Salomon Cemaj Jessie Danon Scott Egermayer Devon Gilinsky Daniel Grossman Max Halsted Zach Helm
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Stereotypes of Jewish women abound-some good, some comical, and some downright degrading. “Let’s Talk About It,” a Jewish literature book discussion group, by Temple sponsored Israel’s Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning in partnership with the Council Bluffs Public Library, will present a more realistic view of Jewish women with a series entitled, “A Mind of Her Own: Fathers and Daughters in a Changing World.” Professor Joan Latchaw, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Gary Katz, of the Kripke Jewish Federation Library, will lead five book discussion beginning on groups Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Avenue. Subsequent meetings of the group will be on Sundays, one per month, from 2-3:30 p.m. alternating between the Council Bluffs Library and Temple Israel. Sholem Aleichem’s “Tevye the Dairyman” will be the subject of the first discussion followed on Feb. 26 by Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska, 1185 Park Avenue: A Memoir by Anne Roiphe on March 26, American Pastoral by Philip Roth on April 23, and Bee Season by Myla Goldberg on May 28. Each book depicts the journey of Jewish daughters struggling to reconcile a sense of family loyalty and obligation with a desire for independence and selfidentity set against a background of Jewish life from tsarist Russia to postwar America. In Sholem Aleichem’s beloved story, transformed into the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, the daughters of Tevye, the dairyman, present him with an array of troubles as they marry for love and become entangled with anti-religious socialists, class struggle, superstitious ignorance, and finally the anti-Semitism that drives the family from their shtetl homes. Through it all, Tevye’s belief in his special connection to God remains unshakable.
In Bread Givers, Yezierska tells the story of Sara Smolinsky, the youngest of five daughters living on the Lower East Side’s Hester Street in the 1920s. Her father is a rabbi who studies undisturbed while his wife and daughters struggle to cobble together a meager existence. Sara escapes her sisters’ fate of loveless marriage arrangements to breathe in “the new air of America.” What seems like a girlhood fairy tale of Chanel suits, chauffeur-driven shopping trips, and canasta games is actually author Roiphe’s memoir of an unhappy family in 1185 Park Avenue: A Memoir. Fifty years after high school, Seymour “Swede” Levov’s charming façade of marriage to a beauty queen and running a prosperous business obscures complicated and tragic events in Roth’s American Pastoral. Eliza, the least brainy of the Naumann family, surprises them all, especially her father, a cantor, by nearly the national winning spelling bee. As Eliza gallops towards enlightenment, her older brother turns his back on his family and faith in Goldberg’s Bee Season. With deadpan humor and lyricism, the author chronicles an extraordinary year in the life of a seemingly ordinary family. Extra copies of all five selections have been stocked at the Council Bluffs Library especially for participants of “Let’s Talk About It.” Associate Professor Joan Latchaw teaches computers and composition, cultural studies, and critical theory at UNO. Gary Katz, administrator of the Kripke Federation Library, was an adjunct professor of world literature at Creighton University and English at Metropolitan Community College. He is working on his master’s degree in library science from the University of Missouri. To register for “Let’s Talk About It,” call the Council Bluffs Library at 712.323.7553, extension 132 or by email at lfriesner@cbpl.lib.ia.us. There is no fee for this adult education opportunity which is offered to the entire Jewish community.
Andrea Holmberg Marty Kaplan Max Katz Jeffrey Malashock Charles Parsow Danny Raznick Rachel Reno Alexander Solomon Sarah Spooner
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David Trubnikov Guy Weinstein
To register for Artza, or for more information, please contact Lisa Shkolnick, JCC Assistant Executive Director at 334-6425.
Temple Teams with Council Bluffs Library for Jewish Book Discussions on “Fathers and Daughters in a Changing World”
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What Makes a Good Jew? Add Your Two Cents at Beth El’s Next Women’s Rosh Hodesh Meeting by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Everyone’s two-cents will be worth a million bucks at the next Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh meeting, as attendees share their views on “Everybody Has an Opinion: What Makes a Good Jew?” Scheduled for Monday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m., the gettogether will be held at the home of Sylvia Wagner, 1349 So. 101 St.; Susan Paley is serving as co-host. According to Wagner, the evening’s theme is based on the book Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, by Dennis Prager and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, and both hosts look forward to hearing a vari-
ety of opinions and beliefs. “What does Judaism say about what makes a good Jew?” Paley asked. “The topic certainly lends itself to juicy discussion.” Encouraging all Beth El women to attend, Wagner added that “People can be thoughtful and come away with having learned something. This is a great opportunity to be part of an interesting and interactive get-together--you might come away with something you hadn’t thought about before and change your mind!” Reservations may be made by contacting Wagner at 392.0600, or via e-mail at sy@lady8.com.
January 20, 2006
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
Temple Mentors Offer a Hand to Cross the Bridge to Judaism by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator For those who are new to Judaism, Temple Israel has created “a bridge� to ease the passage. Sarah Swarts, who converted in May 2005, said Temple’s “Bridges,� group has been “a way to be connected, to learn about experiences in the community, and to experience things that are Jewish.� Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Temple congregant John Dacey launched “Bridges� for people who are considering conversion, are well on their way to converting, or have recently converted. Not everyone who makes the decision to embrace Judaism has family ties to the Jewish community, said Dacey. So “mentoring relationships have been formulated. Some individuals have been introduced to members of Temple, some individuals have found their own mentors and others have established family relations and have been socialized into the norms, rituals, and traditions that breathe life into the Jewish community,� Dacey explained. “There are no set activities for the pair,� according to Swarts who has been matched with Lee Needelman. “Each person’s needs are individualized based on where he or she is in the (conversion) process,� Swarts said. “Since I’ve already converted, it has been more of a way to be connected, to learn about experiences in the community, and to experience things that are Jewish. We meet for lunch, discuss books, take field trips -- we went to the Kripke Library together--and have baked challa together. It’s been fabulous. I know a few other pairs who are in frequent phone contact or who connect at Bagels and Sacred Books (a study group that meets on Saturday mornings prior to Shabbat worship services) or at services.� Needelman, when in training to become an Outreach
fellow several years ago, learned that “welcoming the stranger is of high value in Judaism.� It’s “the only mitzvah mentioned 36 times in the Torah.� “Involvement in ‘Bridges’ is an exceptional way to fulfill this commandment,� Needelman pointed out. “Having converted myself just seven years ago, I personally know the incredibly interesting journey one takes to become a Jew. The energy, the spirituality, the curiosity, and the enthusiasm of the convert create a light that shines on anyone around them. Just being with people interested in this type of spiritual exploration and commitment as an adult is fascinating and intrinsically rewarding, and frankly, a privilege,� she said. As a mentor, “you are able to support their new Jewish growth and Mentor Ducky Milder, left. and Don'L development, to Dacey, mentoree, enjoy an adult educabe a resource in tion class at Temple Israel together. any way you can from your own experience and connections, and to be a bridge into the greater Jewish community. Sharing your Jewish history and your family traditions, your recipes, your Jewish experiences and know-how can give your mentoree the gift of your personal insight.� She also suggested that “your involvement can be as simple as email or phone calls if that is all the time you can find to make connections.� Needelman continued, “Or you can have lunch or coffee or meet for services or
a class at Temple, go on a field trip, discuss Jewish themed movies, share Shabbat dinner, Passover, or break-the-fast together after Yom Kippur.� Meeting monthly “has been a good way to get to know each other and, at least for me,� Swarts mentioned, “all of a sudden, I know more people at services, because we have a core group of people who have been attending meetings. “We’ve identified a few basic goals and have been working on them,� said Swarts. “One is an educational type forum and another is facilitating people in terms of coming to services for the first few times. We’re planning a question and answer session on ‘everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask.’� Several people mentioned their fear or anxiety of going to services without knowing anyone or knowing where to sit as “a kind of barrier at first. Now we have a nascent system in place to address this,� Swarts explained. “With time,� she added, “I suspect more goals will emerge, but those are what we have identified and are tackling at the current time.� Dacey has been the “matchmaker� for “Bridges� and suggested that other members of Temple who would like to become a mentor contact Program Director Rosie Zweiback or via email at rzweiback@templeisraelomaha.com. “There are no set requirements of what is involved in a mentoring relationship,� Dacey said. “That is entirely left to the discretion of the mentor and the mentoree.� “A willingness to open yourself to become a mentor will indeed ‘welcome the stranger,’� mentioned Needelman, “and if you are lucky, you might gain a new friend.� Questions may also be addressed to Dacey at jtd213@cox.net or to Swarts at sarahjmd@cox.net.
The Whole Foods Market Cookbook (Potter, $25.95) “Literature of Judaism� Lecture Series at Beth Israel array of ever changing selections for your take home by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue During the Fall semester of 2005, Beth Israel Synagogue’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross taught a Judaic studies course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Since the course was a survey of Judaic literature, Gross found that a number of people in Omaha expressed curiosity about the class. “A lot of people have asked me about what I was teaching at UNL,� he said. “So, I thought ‘why not give a quick sampling of the units I covered, here at Beth Israel?’� Gross will present “Literature of Judaism� in a twopart Thursday evening lecture series, on Jan. 26 and Feb. 2, 7:30 p.m. The first lecture will address “What is Midrash?� and his second lecture will discuss “What is Aggadah?� According to Gross, “During both lectures, we’ll begin by looking at the history and significance of the texts, and then analyze an example. You don’t have to prepare for either lecture. Just be ready to interact and discuss the ideas we examine. And,� he said with a smile, “unlike my UNL students, you won’t be graded.� For further details about the “Literature of Judaism� lecture series, call the Beth Israel office at 556.6288.
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READ IT AND E AT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN
So, do you remember the corner markets? What about the many grocery stores run by Jewish merchants of yesteryear...I.W. Rosenblatt’s, Central Market, Omaha Potato Market, Food City, Hinky Dinky, Harold’s, Baker’s...and now the evergrowing Bag ’N Save and No Frills chains? Fast forward to today and box stores, super stores and the recent opening of the new store in town, Whole Foods Market, a natural food store celebrating its 25th anniversary and 170 locations (“the world’s largest chain of natural and organic food supermarkets�). The opening of this new store gave me an opportunity to tour all the various departments and answered lots of questions. Yes, there is a small kosher section. I sampled their wares--from their in-store smokers, gelato machine, coffee bar, candy shop complete with a chocolate fountain, and prepared food sections--including their store brand products with a kid tested brand. All those who consider grocery shopping a chore may be transformed into consummate shoppers. Consider the abundant samples, in-store chefs whipping up an
pleasure, scratch bakery, thousands of products, plus a plethora of recipes, entertaining ideas and the latest food information. Whole Foods has been created like the old public markets as “meeting place where friends can gather, interact and learnâ€? and discover the joys of eating and sharing food. All that and their cookbook...the first two dozen pages are packed with reader-friendly information and sidebars. Each of the chapters from “Hand to Mouthâ€? to “Dessertsâ€? feature an introduction page plus a listing of the recipes. The 350 recipes have helpful headnotes, often with information about an ingredient, clear directions, nutritional data, variations, Recipe Bonus, and Tips from the Team, who are credited with creating the cookbook. The extensive glossary briefly defines 150 items, helpful while walking around the store. DECO PINK BEET DRESSING 2 cups shredded peeled raw beets 1 cup roughly chopped yellow onions 1/2 cup honey 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon) 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 cup mayonnaise Place the all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. PurĂŠe until the mixture is smooth. Makes three cups.
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Page 12
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
It’s About Time We Put Pressure on Syria, Now What About Iran? Independent Media Review and Analysis-IMRA--on which this newspaper relies for much of its information on the Middle East-released a short story this week that the United States is finally placing a line of troops along the Syrian-Iraqi border to prevent insurgents (translation: terrorists) from crossing into Iraq. We’ve known for more than two years that the Syrian border was porous. That is to say that terrorists from all over the globe: Pakistanis, Al Qaeda operatives, Palestinians, Libyans, Iranians, and others of dubious intent have been seeking to create havoc in Iraq since before the American military toppled Saddam Hussein. Why we didn’t seal the border with Syria before we started this latest Gulf War is beyond anyone’s guess. And the current administration bears the responsibility for this. Rumors have been floating around for more than two years that Syrians helped Iraqis carrying either chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction or the components of said weapons across the border to Syria. Additional reports have intimated that under the tons of Iraqi sands in the western part of that country is where we will someday find those WMDs. Regardless of the WMDs, the rumors, and the innuendo, at least that the reports of terrorists sneaking into Iraq from Syria are true. According to the IMRA reports from Middle East Newsline, “U.S. officials said that over the last year U.S. Marines and special forces units have been patrolling the 600-kilometer IraqiSyrian border. They said the units have been allowed to fire into Syria as part of their effort to stop the influx of Sunni insurgents into Iraq...One official explained that troops are allowed to fire over the border to stop the insurgents from entering Iraq. However, there have not been any directives that would allow ground troops to enter Syria. “Most of the time, Syrian troops refused to respond to U.S. fire, officials said. The excep-
tion was in July 2005, when several Syrians were killed in a battle with U.S. Army Rangers along the border area. Later, Syria relayed a protest to the U.S. embassy in Damascus.” Let Syria protest all it wants. There is almost certainly a tie between the government of Bashar Assad, the weak son of the former dictator, and the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, an opposition party politician who posed a real electoral threat to Assad. Assad’s government is corrupt, ineffective, dictatorial, and worst of all, indifferent to the needs of its own people. MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) has reported that Iraqi oil smuggling to Syria started shortly after a trade protocol with Iraq was signed in May of 2002. “In addition to the Kirkuk-Banyas pipeline which carried approximately 200,000 barrels per day, there were also truck and rail shipments of oil to Syria. The protocol provided that 60 percent of the oil sale proceeds was to be devoted for the purchase of Syrian goods, and the remaining 40 percent was to go to Iraq in cash. SOMO records supplied to the Volker Committee investigating the United Nations-managed Oil-for-Food Program show that Syria paid Iraq more than $2.81 billion for oil smuggled through the pipeline and by truck or by rail.” Syrian representatives denied this at a United Nations Security Council hearing. No surprise there. Syria not only
faces a high birthrate (like many Arab and/or Muslim countries), but increasing unemployment. With oil profits lagging, censorship of the press, a business climate that is not friendly--let alone free, and a mostly untrained workforce in the technology sector, the outlook for improvement in the Syrain economy is not good. This, unfortunately, continues to have repurcussions in the political arena. Another bizarre relationship the U.S. should be pursuing is the developing one between Iran and Venezuela. Both are oil-producing countries; both have leaders who have admitted hating the U.S. (and the West for that matter). Recent anti-Semitic remarks by both Iran’s Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s Chavez are reminiscent of 1930s Germany (read the JTA story on pages 3-4 this week for a historical look at Iran’s ties to Nazi Germany). This is sliding into a situation reminiscent of 1930s Europe. The United States stood up to the Axis dictators then; it still remains America’s responsibility to lead the fight against today’s threats to humankind.
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.
Winning the Propaganda War
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by DANIEL PIPES It comes as a relief to learn that Karen Hughes, who runs the public diplomacy shop at the U.S. State Department, has suspended the pathetic effort to reach out to Arab and other foreign audiences via a taxpayer-funded magazine named Hi International (best remembered for a notorious June 2005 article, “Sharp-dressed Men,” that told how “real men” moisturize. It’s startling to realize that $4.5 million a year produced a mere 55,000 monthly copies of Hi and (according to alexa.com), a website that ranks about 900,000th from the top, suggesting it gets about a hundred hits per day. The magazine has been an embarrassment and a waste of money. (When did the war on terror become the war on wrinkles?) But even had Hi been better conceived and executed, it--and to a lesser degree, such U.S. government efforts as Radio Sawa and AlHurra Television--is misconceived. Like generals fighting the last war, diplomats recall the successes of Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe in providing precious information to Soviet bloc peoples and thereby helping to bring about the demise of the Soviet Union and its satellites. Doing what they know worked once, they largely adopted the same informational model for Hi, Sawa, and AlHurra. But Muslims generally and Islamists specifi-
cally do not lack for reliable information; much less do they (as did Sovietbloc populations) prefer Western sources of information to their own. To the contrary, many indications suggest that Muslims favor tuning in to or reading media prepared by their coreligionists, trusting these more than what comes from non-Muslims. The clearest proof comes from Muslims living in Western countries (including Israel) who are fluent in one or more Western languages. Enjoying access to a huge array of television stations and Internet sites, they generally get their news not from these but seek out Muslim sources.
...many indications suggest that Muslims favor tuning in to or reading media prepared by their coreligionists, trusting these more than what comes from non-Muslims. One sign of this pattern is the intense effort by such television stations as Al-Jazeera (in Canada) or Al-Manar (in France) to reach Muslim audiences; or Al-Jazeera’s plan to begin broadcasting in English in early 2006. An even more compelling piece of evidence comes from Islamist terrorists living in the West, who practically block out non-Muslim sources of information. For example, consider the background to the March 1, 1994, assault by a Lebanese
(Founded in 1920) Joanie Jacobson Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Jason Rich Sales & Marketing Intern Jewish Press Committee Howard K. Marcus, Vice-Chairman; Bobbi Leibowitz, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Finance Chairman; Steve Simon, Treasurer; Fred Tichauer, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Jamie Meyerson; Stanley Mitchell; George Quittner; Linda Saltzman; Joe Shyken; Michael Siegal; Nancy Skid; Dorothy Spizman; and Melany Weinstine. 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.
immigrant, Rashid Baz, against a Jewish boy, Ari Halberstam, on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. As Uriel Heilman recounts in the Middle East Quarterly, Baz shot and murdered Halberstam four days after Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli, killed 29 Muslims in a mosque in Hebron. The Goldstein massacre had prompted riots throughout the Middle East and incensed Muslims in the United States, who “interpreted the events unfolding in the Middle East very differently from most of America.” Although the Israeli government unstintingly condemned Goldstein’s act, the Arabic press “almost without exception” portrayed the massacre as a responsibility of the Israeli people and government. It broadcast the Palestinian representative telling the United Nations that “The government of Israel is accountable for what has taken place...and one can say it even participated in the act.” Islamist sources declared that “anybody or anything remotely linked with Israel” was a legitimate target for revenge. Baz lived and breathed this interpretation: American media was irrelevant to him. Although living in the world press capital, he inhabited a mental environment shaped by near and distant Arabic-language editors. With an anger “fueled by reports from Arabic sources that painted the killer Goldstein as an agent of Israeli will, rather than as a deranged gunman acting alone,” he equipped himself with a small arsenal of weapons, searched out a target related to Israel, found it in a van full of Hasidic boys, and embarked on his murderous rampage. Continued on page 13
Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, noon, 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 20, 2006
NCJW: Alito Isn’t Good for Jews, While Protecting Minority Rights Is
FOCUS ON ISSUES PHYLLIS SNYDER by
NEW YORK (JTA)--“But is it good for the Jews?” That was the question many of our grandparents voiced when they perused the morning papers--a question we may have dismissed, even with affection, as a narrow or parochial expression. Today, we know that what’s “good for the Jews” extends beyond ourselves: It encompasses a concern for the well-being of society as a whole and the fate of our constitutional freedoms. After all, we Jews are unquestionably part of the general community, thriving largely thanks to the protections afforded to us as a minority religion. the National For Council of Jewish Women, this has led us to take sides in the national debate on the direction of our courts, which are the guardians of our liberty and our wellbeing as Jews and as Americans. And it has led us to oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. to fill the Supreme Court seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. When a Supreme Court nominee decides that the First Amendment permits the majority religion to impose its beliefs and symbols on the rest of us in the public square --it’s not good for the Jews. When he reveals his lifelong ambition to overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, preventing a woman from following her conscience and religious beliefs when exercising her legal right to choose abortion--it’s not good for the Jews. And, when he consistently rules against victims of employment discrimination, narrowing civil rights protections--that too isn’t good for the Jews. Judge Alito has a record of conservatism that is far to the right of our national consensus. He’s the candidate President Bush promised us when he said in 2000 that he would appoint justices like Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. By his own account in 1985, Judge Alito entered law school “motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the area of criminal procedure, the Establishment clause, and reapportionment.” Further clarifying his views on the Supreme Court’s past decisions regarding religion, in November 2005 he told his supporter, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), that these rulings “were incoherent in this area of the law in a way that really gives the impression of hostility to religious speech and religious expression.” Alito’s judicial record supports this statement. He disagreed with the majority of the Third Circuit when it decided
that students could not include a prayer in their graduation programs simply because they had voted to have one. He also argued that teachers public-school could be forced to distribute materials of the Child Evangelism Project for their weekly after-school meetings. In contrast, the Supreme Court concluded that religious meetings may be held on school grounds only “where no school officials actively participate.” As for a woman’s right to choose an abortion, Judge Alito’s views seem oblivious to the religious convictions of others. His hostility to the right to choose has been unwavering. While working in the Solicitor General’s office, Alito wrote a 17-page memo on using Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as an “opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effects.” He later expressed pride in his role in that case. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, he wanted to uphold a requirement that a woman notify her husband before obtaining an abortion, a proposition Justice O’Connor and the majority rejected, declaring “A State may not give to a man the kind of dominion over his wife that parents exercise over their children.” His strategy of pressing for more and more restrictions on Roe clearly became the ongoing strategy of the anti-choice movement--a movement that would restrict religious freedom by imposing one religion’s view on all women. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism recently repeated its support for legislation “maintaining the legality and accessibility of abortion so that in those cases where our religious authorities determine that an abortion is warranted halachically, obtaining that abortion will not be hindered by our civil law.” It’s clear that as a Supreme Court judge, Alito would threaten this principle. So, what is “good for the Jews?” It’s a Supreme Court committed to upholding the rights and liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights, to upholding the letter and spirit of pluralism and to upholding basic values of inclusion and fairness. The protections we seek as members of a minority religious group cannot exist in a vacuum, but only in the context of a larger society in which everyone’s rights and liberties are protected. For that reason, the National Council of Jewish Women urges all Jews and Jewish organizations to join with us in the fight to defeat Alito’s nomination to a lifetime seat on the highest court in the land.
Judge Alito has a record of conservatism that is far to the right of our national consensus.
Phyllis Snyder is National President of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Winning the Propaganda War Continued from page 12 Unlike the Soviet bloc, the Muslim world lacks not access to reliable information but interest in it. The reasons are many but perhaps the most salient of them are a disposition to believe in conspiracy theories and an attraction to totalitarian solutions. Rather than try to purvey information to Muslims, State (and its counterparts
elsewhere) should instead assert the case for liberal, secular, and humane values. More than facts, the Muslim world needs to understand the basics of what makes the West thrive--and thereby be inspired to emulate it. Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and author of Miniatures (Transaction Publishers); he can be reached at: www.DanielPipes.org.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Is Alito Good for the Jews? Yes, Says a Lawyer Who Worked for Him I would extend that metaphor to all minority religious groups. Judge Alito has considerably more sensitivity to members of by JEFFREY N. WASSERSTEIN minority religions than some of the conservative WASHINGTON (JTA)--It’s justices currently serving on axiomatic that Jews tend to view all news the Supreme Court. through the lens of “but is it good for the The current Supreme Court standard Jews?” It’s therefore no surprise that this for determining religious discrimination filter now is being brought to bear on my cases under the First Amendment’s “Free former boss and mentor, Judge Samuel Exercise” clause is Employment Division Alito, Jr., who has been nominated to the v. Smith, in which Justice Antonin Scalia U.S. Supreme Court. wrote that a law that does not target reliBased on my experience working close- gion does not violate the First ly with Judge Alito, I can answer Amendment. In other words, if the unequivocally that yes, Judge Alito will statute is not targeting a religious pracbe good for the Jews--and, tice, it’s constitutional by extension, for all Contrary to attempts to even if it has the effect Americans. of banning that pracI’m a pro-choice, regis- paint Judge Alito as a tice. tered Democrat who supRabbi David ports progressive candidates. conservative ideologue, Saperstein of the I’m also a graduate of the I can attest to the fact Religious Action Theological Jewish Center of Reform Seminary and an observant that Judge Alito is an Judaism declared that Jew who is active in my the Smith line of cases community. Notwithstand- open-minded judge who would “go down in ing numerous areas of comhistory with Dred monality I have with the lib- does not come to cases Scott and Korematsu eral groups opposing Judge with preconceived as among the worst Alito’s nomination, I wholemistakes this Court has heartedly disagree with their notions. ever made”--Dred position on the nomination. Scott was the case that First, while the Jewish community may held that slaves were not people and be suspicious that certain statements Korematsu was the case that allowed the made when Judge Alito worked in the U.S. government to intern JapaneseReagan-era Justice Department show Americans without suspicion of wronghim to be a dyed-in-the-wool conserva- doing during World War II. tive intent on enacting a conservative By way of contrast, Judge Alito has agenda, I believe such fears are mis- written numerous opinions protecting placed. the right of minority religious groups to Regardless of Judge Alito’s personal be free from religious discrimination. beliefs or positions that he advocated One example of his greater sensitivity to while a litigator with the Justice religious discrimination cases is a case Department, he takes great pains to set involving Muslim police officers in aside his personal opinions when judging. Newark, NJ. In that case, Judge Alito To be frank, he did such a good job of held that the city violated police officers's setting aside his personal beliefs that I did Free Exercise rights by requiring them to not know what they were when I clerked shave their beards in violation of their for him. Sunni Muslim religious beliefs. In this era in which nearly everything is In another case, Judge Alito wrote an subject to partisan politicization, it is opinion stating that a university could hard to understand that someone can put not discriminate against a Shabbat-obseraside one’s personal views. Yet Judge vant professor, since “criticism of an Alito is so committed to the judicial employee’s effort to reconcile his or her process, including the principle of schedule with the observance of Jewish respecting prior precedent, that he suc- holidays delivers the message that the ceeds in doing so. religious observer is not welcome at the Contrary to attempts to paint Judge place of employment.” Alito as a conservative ideologue, I can In another case involving a member of attest to the fact that Judge Alito is an a Native American religion, Judge Alito open-minded judge who does not come wrote that a civic ordinance may not “tarto cases with preconceived notions. One get religiously motivated conduct either time, while working on a criminal appeal, on its face or as applied in practice.” I made the mistake of commenting that The American Jewish community owes the case should be fairly easy to decide in its vibrancy and continued viability to the favor of the government, in light of the constitutional protections of the First extremely slipshod brief submitted by Amendment. These cases clearly demondefense counsel. strate that Judge Alito is more protective Even though he was a former federal of the rights of members of minority reliprosecutor with considerable experience gions than some justices currently on the with criminal cases, Judge Alito rebuked court. me for my attitude, and made it known As someone who believes that the that we were to carefully read all briefs Jewish community is best served by and the appellate record, and conduct judges who limit their roles to deciding any additional research needed to ensure specific cases and not enacting their perthat all parties received fair hearings sonal agendas, I’m convinced that Judge before the court of appeals. Like Judge Alito is by far the best person for this Alito, we were expected to keep an open position. Is he good for the Jews? mind and not prejudge any case. Absolutely. Second, in areas of religious freedom, Judge Alito has a proven record of being Jeffrey Wasserstein was a law clerk for sensitive to the needs of minority reli- Judge Alito from 1997-98. He currently gions. It’s often said that Jews are the is a principal in the law firm of Hyman, canaries in the mineshaft of civilization: Phelps & McNamara, P.C., in One can tell how well a civilization is Washington. doing by the way it treats the Jews.
FOCUS ON ISSUES
Page 14
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
Candlelighting Friday, Jan. 20, 5:08 p.m.
Synagogue Listings
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
B’nai Israel Synagogue
FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
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.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. in the chapel. SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. led by Hazak; Junior Congregation (3-7), and K’tantan (K-2), 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Beth and Amnon Dotan, in honor of their son, Yonatan becoming a Bar Mitzvah; Evening Service, 5:15 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Living Hebrew, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah class, 10 a.m.; Jewish Pot Pourri Class, 11 a.m.; and From Your Heart to God’s Ears, 11 a.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m./5:30 p.m.; Weekdays, 6:55 a.m./5:30 p.m. PATTER: Wednesdays, 10:30 -11:45 a.m. led by Helen Epstein THURSDAY, noon: Discovering the Talmud: Lessons for Everyday Living, with Rabbi Levin. PASSOVER CANDY SALES: Bartons Passover candy will be sold from now-Feb. 12. Order forms are available at the synagogue and BESTT offices, through the Beth El web site www.bethel-omaha.org, and through all BESTT students. NASHIR CHOIR: On Sundays, 10-11 a.m. Open to the Omaha Jewish community, ages 14 and up. For more information, contact Cantor Gastón Bogomolni at cantor@bethel-omaha.org. WALL OF HONOR UNVEILING: On Sunday, Jan. 22, 11:30 a.m., this special ceremony will mark the unveiling of the synagogue’s Wall of Honor, recognizing Beth El’s past and present clergy members. A congregational brunch will follow. KADIMA SHABBATON: Sign up for Kadima (Sixth to Eighth grade) Shabbaton, on Jan. 27-29 at Gretna’s 4-H Camp. Cost is $85 (financial assistance is available through BESTT); registration forms are available in the synagogue and BESTT offices. For more information, contact Education Director Judy Rubin at 498.0904, or eddir@bethel-
omaha.org, or Youth Director Jamie Skog at 492.8550, or youthdir@bethel-omaha.org. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Will meet on Monday, Jan. 30, at the home of Sylvia Wagner, 1349 South 101st St., to discuss “Everybody Has an Opinion: What Makes a Good Jew?” Susan Paley will serve as co-host for the evening. To RSVP for the 7 p.m. meeting, contact Wagner at 392.0600, or via e-mail at sy@lady8.com.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 5 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free Babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Dr. Ira and Sheila Priluck in honor of Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah; Mincha, 5 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:12 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Contact the office for Mincha/Ma’ariv time. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Sisterhood’s “Make-It-andTake-It” class, 10 a.m. Learn how to crochet…or have fun trying!; NCSY attends the Creighton Blue Jays Basketball Game in the Pepsi Skybox. Meet at Beth Israel at 1:30 p.m. to drive to the Qwest Center for the game; Contact the office for Mincha/Ma’ariv time. MONDAY: NCSY Latte & Learning, 7 p.m. at Scooter’s, 120th & Blondo. THURSDAY: Lecture Series, 7:30 p.m. discussion on “What is Midrash” led by Rabbi Gross.
BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.; Ima & Me, 10–11:30 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon marking the first Yartzheit of Michael Blyakher follows the service. SUNDAY: Services, 8:30 a.m.;
“Rare Opportunity” Planned for Shabbat Shira at Temple by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Cantor Wendy Shermet announced that Valerie Shields, musical accompanist and director of the adult choir at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, WA, has been commissioned to write a composition especially for Temple Israel’s Shabbat Shira worship service on Friday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m. Cantor Shermet along with Kol Rina, Temple’s choir, and the choir of St. Paul United Methodist Church, under the direction of Jerry Brabec, will present the compositions’s premier performance arrangement for the first time. Shields has composed more than 85 pieces published by 14 publishers, and her work has been performed and recorded in Italy, Germany, China, and South Africa as well as in the United States. She consistently receives outstanding reviews in national journals. Cantor Shermet described the music as “absolutely beautiful” and this year’s Shabbat Shira service as “an exciting and rare opportunity for the Omaha Jewish community.”
Torah Studies, 10-11:30 a.m. Join us for this first session of The Exodus Series, a 10-week course in which we will explore themes of leadership, liberty, law, and growth in the Book of Exodus; Chabad Cheder and Aleph Champions (K-6), 10 a.m.-noon. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Women of Worth Prayer Circle, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m.; Torah Tots (ages 35), 4:15 p.m. For information about programs or to register for classes, call the office or visit: www.nebraska-judaism.com.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m., led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg provided by Randi Emanuel. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: Gan Simcha, grades K, and 4-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon, at Tifereth Israel; grades 1-3 and Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at B’nai Jeshurun; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 1-3 p.m.; Winter Lecture Series, 7 p.m. at Unitarain Church, 6300 A Street, and the topic is “Chinese History and Culture” with Janet Lu of Nebraska Wesleyan. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew class (grades 2-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m., led by Beyt Shalom Congregation.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6
p.m.; Rabbi Marantz and Cantor Shermet will officiate. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Religious School (K6), 10 a.m.-noon; Club 56 Meshugana Bowling, Noon-2 p.m. All 5th and 6th graders are invited! Well eat lunch at Temple Israel, then walk over to West Lanes for a game like you’ve never bowled before! Cost-$5. Contact Lynne Jensen at 556.6536 or ljensen@templeisraelomaha.com for additional information. SITTER SERVICE: Available at each Friday evening service, Saturday mornings when there is a bar or bat mitzvah, and Sunday mornings when there is Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation are appreciated. Sorry, there are no facilities for infants. TUESDAY, Jan 24: Family School and Dinner, 5:30 WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25: Religious School, 4-6, 4 p.m.; No Middle/High School ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAY, Jan. 22, 10 a.m.: Love and Logic, lead by Karen Gustafson. To register contact Rosie Zweiback at 556.6536 or rzweiback@templeisraelomaha.com; Beyond the Aleph Bet, 10:15 a.m. Colleen Kennealy will teach Ivrit. THURSDAY, Jan. 26: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Rabbi Marantz, 10-11:30 a.m.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 5 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY & THURSDAY, 7 a.m., followed by breakfast. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. with a Shabbat dinner following. SATURDAY: Parashat Hashavu’a class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, at 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew class (grades 2-7), 4-6 p.m.
BAR MITZVAH Joshua Evan Moran, son of Miriam and Don Moran, will become Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 28, at Temple Israel. Joshua is a seventh grade High Ability Learner student at Anderson Middle School. He was chosen to play in Jazz Band and select Concert Band at Anderson Middle School. He plays piano and saxophone and is involved with Boy Scouts
and soccer. He is a member of Troop 218, Omaha’s Jewish Boy Scout troop, where he is the Assistant Senior Patrol leader. He will be receiving his Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) award during the service. For his mitzvah project, Joshua was the teacher’s assistant in the second grade classroom on Sunday mornings at Temple Israel’s Religious School. Grandparents are Elaine and Peter Lipsman of Las Vegas, NV.
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January 20, 2006
Nefsky Receives South Street Temple Mitzvah Award by DAVID FEINGOLD South Street Temple is our smallest Torah, which Life-long member, Robert L. Nefsky, received the belonged to his great-grandfather, David Nefsky. It is 2006 Mitzvah Award at the annual meeting of believed that the Nefsky Family Torah was written in Congregation B’nai Jeshurun. A generous and steadfast Silesia (now southwestern Poland) about 150 years ago. “The Nefsky Torah is always the Torah of choice in supporter of the congregation, Nefsky is also a leader in many important local and state-wide organizations and our congregation,” Zlotsky said. “Because of its small size, our youngest and oldinitiatives. est members can manage to “Bob has been the face of carry it. In some way we all our congregation and the feel a little more connected face of the Jewish communito this Torah because it has a ty in Lincoln,” said Amy story, the intertwined story Zlotsky, past President of of the Nefsky family and Congregation B’nai B’nai Jeshurun, a story that Jeshurun, in her remarks at has become a part of our the Jan. 15 annual meeting. communal heritage. “He represents the fifth genIn accepting the award, eration of his family in Nefsky graciously spoke Nebraska and is deeply comabout his continuing enthumitted to the long-term viasiasm for the work of the bility of his congregation. A congregation and its leaderstrong supporter of the ship, noting, “Our congreReform Movement, he valgation is as strong as it has ues diversity within the Sarah Kelen, Vice President, left; Mary Nefsky; Amy Zlotsky, ever been. The importance Jewish community and Past President; and Rabbi Ilan Emanuel congratulate Bob of progressive Judaism in a understands how important Nefsky, center, on his award. city of this size cannot be it is for the well-being of overestimated. We have a lot to add to life in Lincoln Lincoln and its Jewish community. “As I know first hand, Bob is a wonderful sounding and across our entire state.” A partner in the law firm of Rembolt Ludtke LLP, board for ideas and issues. He always offers well thought out advice, often illustrated with examples from the Nefsky was instrumental in establishing the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, a first-of-its kind effort in the Temple’s past.” Nefsky joined the Temple Board in the early 1980s nation. He served as the endowment’s president and and represented the third generation of his family as currently sits on its board. A former chairman of the Nebraska Humanities congregation president. During a very difficult period of time, he held together a congregation that had no full- Council and past president of the Nebraska Foundation time rabbi and was badly divided. And he did the same for Humanities, he is now president of the board of the for the Lincoln Jewish Federation, helping to revive it Nebraska Art Association, the foundation that supports the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. In addition, Bob after it lay dormant for several years. “We deeply appreciate Bob’s and Mary’s continuing serves on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Lincoln to provide major financial support for the congregation, and the Cooper Foundation, and is an active supporter and recognize Bob’s key participation on the search of the Anti-Defamation League. “Our congregation is very fortunate to have someone committee for our successful selection of our new rabbi, along his leadership in revising the congregation’s fund- as dedicated to the Temple, the Jewish community and the State of Nebraska as Bob Nefsky,” concluded ing strategy,” Zlotsky added. Another very special contribution he made to the Zlotsky.
Parashat Shemot This week we open the second Book of Torah, the Book of Shemot. In English, or that is to say, the Greek then translated to Latin and then English, we have the Book of Exodus, the escape of our ancestors from Egyptian slavery. Shemot, of course, means “the names of...” And names are given of the Israelites who accompanied Jacob to Egypt. One wonders if these names were of actual people who were identifiable in their time. The reader who was trained, as I was as a youngster, to take every word of the Bible as literally true, assumed that these were actual people and if you counted correctly, you could be inspired to find 70 people who accompanied to Jacob-Israel to Egypt. The book deserves our attention, especially because in it, without saying so, the book calls our attention to the people of Israel. This is in sharp contrast to the Book of Genesis, which dealt entirely with the history of families: the family of Abraham, the family of Isaac, and the family of Jacob and his most important son, Joseph. It is taken for granted that once we have focused
attention on the people of Israel, we will hereafter see the people as a unit, not a collection of families. So it is here that the name Israel generally refers to the people, rather than to Jacob himself who was called Israel. The emphasis of the Book is on freedom. Our ancestors, according to the account given here, had become slaves to the Egyptians, who regularly mistreated them. It is in our Book that Moses appears. Although he is not found in Genesis at all, he dominates the rest of the Penteteuch, all four books. I may have noted before that had Moses not been mentioned, we would have had to invent him. If I recall correctly, this was a reflection of Tolstoy, who famously said that Mount Sinai appears very small when Moses is upon it. Exodus gives us the story of the parting of the Sea of Reeds so that Israelites could walk through on dry land, while Egyptians and their chariots and steeds were overcome and drowned in the tumultuous waters. It is not for naught that a very substantial part of the story is told in the daily prayers of our people. It is a constant reminder that we are under the protection of Israel’s God. It is no great feat of mental gymnastics, but of simple reflection that the God of Israel, loving all mankind, shows individual concern for Israel. One might say, indeed, that the Bible is essentially a history of Israel, the people, their theology, and the development of Israel’s thought.
1439 So. 13th 341-2452
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Steve Redler – Volunteer Caller February 5, 2006
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Statewide Classified CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING works! Place your 25 word ad into thousands of Nebraska homes for $195. Contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6451 or call 1-800369-2850. BANKRUPTCY: FAST relief from creditors. Statewide filing. Affordable rates. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. ALL CASH candy route. Do you earn $800 in a day? Your own local candy route. Includes 30 machines and candy all for $9,995. 1-888-755-1356. BE AN auctioneer & personal property appraiser. Take one or both courses. Next 1-week term starts February 6. Free catalog. Continental Auctioneers School, Mankato, MN 56002-0346, 507-625-5595. www.auctioneerschool.com. NO-TILL on the Plains Winter Conference. January 30-31, Salina, Kansas. Improve your business management and agronomy skills! Multiple sessions and exhibits. Information: www.notill.org or 888-330-5142. HOT TUBS, last chance to save on 2005 models. 12 tubs $2,495 - $4,995, also several trade-ins priced from $995 to $1,995. For price list call 1-800-869-0406, goodlifespa.com. USED POOL tables for sale. Over 200 tables starting at $495. 7', 8', 9' pocket tables and 10' snooker tables. Call today 402-326-1227. 1953 CORVETTE to be auctioned at the 25th Annual Cox Collector Car Auction, Branson, Missouri, April 21, 22, 23. Consignment or billing information: 800-335-3063, www.bransonauction.com. STEEL BUILDING sale! Sentinel Building Systems. Agricultural, commercial, specialty. Free quote & estimated erection costs. www.sentinelbuildings.com, 800-327-0790.
HELP WANTED: Experienced scraper/dozer/excavator operator needed. Ag related earthmoving. CDL preferred. Home nights. Excellent pay/benefits. Call 402-395-2301. EOE. FRIESEN CHEVROLET in Sutton, Nebraska, seeks a Service Manager. Benefits are available. If interested, call 402-773-5538 and ask to speak with Jason. BECOME A mystery shopper! GAPbuster is currently recruiting mystery shoppers. Get paid to shop and improve customer service. Apply now at: www.gapbuster.com/xec. AIRLINE MECHANIC: Rapid training for high paying aviation career. FAA predicts severe shortage. Financial aid if qualify. Job placement assistance. Call AIM 877-5385627. EXPERIENCED HVAC Installer wanted. Minimum 4 years experience, 401K, paid vacation and holidays, wages based on skill and experience, company tool replacement. Mail resume to: Schelkopf Inc., 239 N 7th, Geneva, NE 68361. NEED GAS? Mystery Shoppers needed throughout Nebraska. Apply online at www.secretshopnet.com. STAFF MEDICAL laboratory technologist position available at the Cherry County Hospital in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Competitive benefits package. Send resumes to Cherry County Hospital, Box 410, Valentine, NE 69201. JEFFERSON COUNTY Ambulance District #33 is looking for a full time Paramedic. Jefferson County is an equal opportunity employer. For an application or questions call 1-888-325-0911. DRIVER: COVENANT Transport. Excellent pay & benefits for experienced drivers, O/O, solos, teams & graduate students. Bonuses available. Refrigerated now available. 1-888MORE PAY (1-888-667-3729). DRIVER: JTI division of US Express. CDL-A, HazMat required. Driver opportunities. Company OTR, contractors. We offer great pay, home time and benefits. Call us at 800562-3584. COMPANY DRIVERS & O/ops: Only 2 positions to fill! Join Grand Island Express for: competitive pay, outstanding benefits! CDL-A/clean MVR required. 6 months experience. 866-472-6347. DRIVER & trainees. Earn great $$$$ when Driver Trak puts you to work! Local & OTR routes! Swift, Covenant, Navajo & Yellow have great jobs! Hometime! No CDL needed. 1-888-844-1151. www.drivetrak.com.
DEATH LAWRENCE GIMPLE Lawrence Gimple died Jan. 2 in San Francisco, CA, at the age of 59. Services were held there. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, John and Barbara Gimple; aunt, Geraldine LaPierre; nieces and nephews, Shelly Gimple, Brent Gimple of Florida, and David and Moon Gimple of Portsmouth, RI; and many cousins. Memorials to charity of choice.
60 Years Experience With Jewish Lettering and Memorials
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HARDWARE MANAGER: Seeking energetic individual to manage one of our Ace Hardware stores. Management experience required. Salary, Insurance, 401K. Resumes to Box 465, Chamberlain, SD 57325.
History of Our People
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
To Submit an Obituary Notice: Send full name, age, date of death, location of service and burial site, as well as other pertinent information to the Jewish Press via e-mail: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; fax, 402.4.5422; or mail, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68114. Obituaries--as well as engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies, and births--also can be submitted at the Jewish Federation’s website. Just go to: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press and click on “Submit Announcements.”
O/Os & Company drivers wanted! Flatbeds & Van. 48 states. Home weekly. Invest 5 minutes, call 1-800-228-9842 "for drivers with high standards," Fremont Contract Carriers. Since 1966. www.fcc-inc.com. DRIVER: OWNER operators average $1.64 loaded & empty. 985 mile load average 99% same day loading. Company drivers welcome. E.W. Wylie Corporation Flatbed Fleet, 1-877-967-7648, www.wylietrucking.com. DRIVERS: FIND a new dedicated job for the new year at www.HotDDJ.com. Spend more time at home in 2006! Search jobs and enter online to win a Polaris ATV & other prizes. Hear about jobs and enter by phone at 1-888-423-8446. TRACTOR/TRAILER Diesel mechanic: Experience with Cat/Detroits, A/C, Trans/Rears, etc. Competitive wages plus benefit package. Hinz Trucking, Inc., 308-2373116.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
January 20, 2006
Beth El’s “What’s Jewish About Winter?” Sure to Delight Community’s Preschoolers by JILL BELMONT on activities during the noon to 2 p.m. Beth El Publicity Coordinator program will include a variety of arts and Mark Sunday, Feb. 5, on your calendar crafts projects, making matzoh ball soup and come to and cookies, planting, Beth El for a storytelling, music, crefun-filled eduative movement, and a cational activiTu B’Shevat celebraty geared to tion. Epstein said her Jewish parents idea to hold these funtheir and filled “What’s Jewish preschoolers About ...” events came throughout from a book by Maxine our communiHandleman entitled “What’s ty. What’s Jewish about Jewish About Butterflies? “The book Winter?” a creties Jewish learning into ative program everyday subjects,” she Last August, 22 preschool-age children and led by longexplained. “In addition their parents from throughout the community time teacher to all of our great enjoyed “What’s Jewish About Summer?”, which and earlyhands-on activities, I’m included a lively storytelling session. Beth El will childhood spehoping that everyone reprise the program on Jan. 22. cialist Helen will learn some new Epstein, will offer children ages two to Hebrew words which relate to winter, five the opportunity to create art projects and we’ll all have a great time!” and sing along with Jewish songs in a kidJewish families throughout the Omaha sized, kid-friendly atmosphere! area are invited to participate, Epstein “We’re reprising ‘What’s Jewish About noted, adding that, “I would encourage Winter’ after the success of our ‘What’s everyone in the community to attend Jewish About Summer?’ program last because it’s a great way to meet people August,” Epstein said. “We also thought from all of our synagogues and make that it would be fun to have something some new friends.” during the cold winter months when Cost is $5 per person (and includes people are confined to their homes lunch); reservations may be made by conbecause of the weather and illnesses. tacting Beth El Program Director Margie “Our goal is to offer something that is Gutnik at 492.8550, or at programpurely fun that parents and children can ming@bethel-omaha.org. Gutnik noted enjoy together,” she added. “I really like to that volunteers (excluding parents attendsee parents interacting with their kids in ing with their children) are needed to help such a positive manner, and this is a won- run the activity stations during the afterderful Jewish experience for everyone.” noon; all those interested in helping out Following a kid-friendly lunch, hands- are encouraged to contact her.
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BBYO Hosts Winter Regional Convention by RACHEL BLUM JCC Program Director Omaha BBYO hosted the Mid-America Region Winter convention from Dec. 2629 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Our theme was “The Space Between,” and local teen coordinators Leslie Graul and Marty Nachman spent months prior to the event working with other teens in planning quality programming for all 145 participants from Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The weekend was filled with Judaic programming including weekday services, dreidel making, a Yitzhak Rabin educational program, and the Bob and Guy Show about Israeli current events. Staff from the Anti-Defamation League also came out to convention and ran a workshop for the teens. They began with the showing of the short film, The Art of Farewell, about a holocaust survivor who has to bury his wife, who is also a survivor. The workshop focused on the con-
cept of Midrash storytelling and facilitators helped the teens look deep into the context of the film to explore a variety of topics related to the Holocaust, characters in the film and points of view. Throughout the week, teens also participated in community service projects, including making sandwiches for the Siena Francis House and New Years gift bags for kids at Children’s Hospital and for parents whose infants are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Participants also took a trip to the JCC to see The Late Night Players, a popular comedy group out of Boston. The week was extremely successful, and our BBYO teens learned much, made new friends, and are eagerly awaiting Spring Regional Convention, which will be held at Camp Sabra April 6-9. For more information or to find out how your teen can get involved with BBYO, contact me at 334.6404.
Left: Former AZA #1 members Robert Mosenkis, left, and Alex Raksin pose with Council President Andy Siref and member
Eugene Turetsky after hearing Siref’s Cornbelt Council Mid-State report; right: the girls of Ediar take a break from the dance.