February 4, 2011

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

Friedel leads on youth wellness

February 4, 2011 30 Shevat 5771 Vol. 90 | No. 22

This Week Sports+Recreation

The Odd Couple at Omaha Community Playhouse Page 4

Rabbi Katzman celebrates fifty years Page 7

Beth El’s “Say Shalom! to Shabbat” welcomes new leader Page 12

by OZZIE NOGG Can you have your cake and eat it, too? The Friedel Jewish Academy thinks so. The school recently adopted a Wellness Program that keeps the fun in food while offering healthier choices to students in an effort to fight childhood diabetes and obesity. Debbie Denenberg and pediatrician Dr. Michael Cohen, Friedel parents, co-chair the Wellness Committee that helps advocate for change.

“As a community, we’re all part of the problem,” Denenberg said. “A piece of penny candy seems innocent. But when candy is offered to our children by everyone—teachers, hairdressers, bank tellers and athletic coaches—the sugar can become a physiological need. But the good news is, we can also be part of a powerful and successful solution, one that protects our children from Nebraska’s raging diabetes and obesity epidemic. We know the trend is preventable, so Friedel decided to take a stand. We surveyed the parents on wellness issues, and with their input we’re now modeling a new approach to nutrition and fitness. We invite other Jewish educational institutions to follow our example.”

by DENISE IPOCK Member Services Director Iris Ricks has never had a weight problem and has generally taken pretty good care of herself. For many years she resisted her husband Marty’s advice about working out at the “J.” She has always walked to stay in shape, and she was reluctant about any other type of workout.

8 10 11

Coming Next Week Simchas+Celebrations See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

JCC Personal Trainer, Beth Cutsor and Iris Ricks.

once-a-week treat. “Schools that cut down on sugar enjoy higher test scores and reduced absenteeism,”

Peyton Kelln gets his exercise during recess. ommended that the school become soda-pop free and also change its milk program. Instead of serving chocolate milk daily, Friedel will offer only plain white milk and water, saving chocolate milk for a

Personal Training at the JCC

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

In an effort to give its students real whole foods and cut down on sugar, the Friedel Wellness Committee rec-

In 2009, after some strong persuasion, Iris agreed to share a few personal training sessions with a good friend. Iris was pleasantly surprised when she discovered that this thing called “working out” wasn’t so bad after all. Her friend now lives out-oftown, but one and a half years later, Iris continues to work out with JCC Personal Trainer, Beth Cutsor.

Iris is amazed at the impact working with a trainer is having on her life, and she is in the best physical shape she has ever been. She never considered herself as athletic, but Beth has helped her see that she is actually quite coordinated, with excellent balance. In addition to the benefits of weight loss and trimming inches, Iris is stronger, more confident, and more conscious about the importance of good nutrition.

“Working with Beth is never boring, and she has a bag of tricks which add variety to each work out, and a hundred different ways of working all of the muscle groups,” says Iris. “I have more energy, increased flexibility and am more aware of the way in which my body moves.”

The benefits of personal training are evident in many aspects of daily living while Iris is at home, at work, and even while traveling. In a recent work assignment, Iris found she was able to do filing, reaching, and bending with ease, and she uses the stairs, two at a time, whenever possible for increased activity.

Continued on page 2

said Dr. Cohen. “We wanted those benefits at Friedel.” Denenberg added, “We also enjoy the huge advantage that Chefs Laura Bair and Mike Aparo are cooking our hot lunches fresh from scratch at the

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Anyone who has eaten at the Star Deli knows their cooking is both yummy and infused with love.”

In addition, the school eliminated dessert from its lunch program, planted a vegetable garden, and provided teachers with ‘cool’ non-food rewards including books, Hebrew pencils and rulers, polished stones, shark teeth and fossils. Friedel also scheduled recess before lunch.

“Studies show that children are hungrier and eat more fruits, vegetables and nutritious food when recess precedes lunch,” explained Susan Witkowski, pediatrician and Wellness Committee member. “This was a terrific example of applying real wellness research to our own environment.”

“I see the effects of the obesity and juvenile diabetes epidemic in my office everyday,” Dr. Cohen said.

“These can be life-altering diseases, lead to lower quality of life, and even early death. We need to be advocates for our children and make changes that protect them. Classrooms should be nutrition safe havens, where teachers provide nutrientdense snacks that will help kids be Continued on page 2

Young Leadership Awards to be presented

by SHERRIE SAAG Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha This year’s Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial and Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Awards will be presented to Danielle S. Gordman and Patrick Jensen on Thursday, March 3 at a

In addition to the awards presentation, author and comedian Joel Chasnoff will perform. He is the author of The 188th Crybaby Brigade, a comic account of his year serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. His unique brand of humor is evident when he describes his decision to join the Israeli Army as,

Patrick Jensen and Danielle S. Gordman special Federation event at The Waiting Room Lounge, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

“Come help us celebrate with Danielle and Patrick as we honor them for giving their time and talent to better our community. What better way to do that than with food, music, friends and fun? The evening will be a blast!” said Bob Goldberg, Communications and YJO Director, Jewish Federation of Omaha.

“a way to relax after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania.”

The young leadership recognition is awarded annually to honor a young man and woman (under the age of 45) who have demonstrated “personal commitment, dedicated involvement, and exemplary leadership qualities in service to the Jewish and general communities.”

Continued on page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2011

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Continued from page 1 Denenberg says Friedel has already succeeded in changing ready to learn. I think the new Wellness Guidelines are in the food choices at school birthday parties. “In the past, our keeping with Friedel’s excellence in academics and progres- Parent Handbook suggested certain types of donuts, because sive thinking. The school and the community can be proud they’re kosher. We also used to suggest that parents purchase of what has been accomplished with the passage of these ice cream from the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home ice cream new recommendations.” cart. Last year, we served our Along with good nutrition, We will strive to eliminate from the foods we offer students ice cream 21 times. exercise is an essential part of children: chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial This year, we re-wrote our the Wellness Guidelines. ingredients, high fructose corn-syrup, trans fats, Parent Handbook to suggest Ashley Johnson teaches sec- and anything a third grader cannot pronounce. healthier options, like donatond grade general studies and Friedel Food Guidelines ing a book to the Friedel is the teacher representative library, or donating fun recess on the Wellness Committee. equipment. We made special “Athletics are a big part of my celebrations available for a life. I believe that health and modest donation -- $36 could wellness play a huge role in ‘buy’ a uniform-free day for student performance, keeping your child’s class. This year our young learners attentive we haven’t seen that ice cream and energetic. Less than 10% cart once, and the school has of schools nationally provide raised over $300. That’s a students with daily P.E. We win-win.” want to make sure our kids In addition to Dr. Michael aren’t sedentary, so during Cohen, Debbie Denenberg, recess there’ll be lots of jumpAshley Johnson, and Dr. ing rope, hula hooping and Susan Fellman Witkowski, relay races. We’re also starting the Friedel Wellness a Walking Club, which I’ll be Committee includes Dr. leading. Hopefully soon, Karen Cohen (pediatrician), you’ll see Friedel students and Tippi Denenberg (DVM), their parents in the gym at 8 Silvia Herszkop (a registered a.m. We’re going to have fun dietician), Alan Kohll, (CEO, and get some exercise before Deb Johnson, top left, Friedel’s current P.E. teacher, accompa- TotalWellness), and Dr. Paul nied by Principal Ron Giller, and first graders Talya Matalon, Shyken (dentist). Parents are we settle down to study.”

But how can Friedel kids left, Isaac Clarke, Leah Gurock, and Phoenix Mavropoulos. also an integral part of the celebrate Jewish holidays change. Aviva Segal said, “We without the traditional, calo- It’s pretty clear that the Standard American Diet sent our daughters to Friedel rie-laden, foods? What’s (SAD) of sugary, salty and highly processed foods for the Jewish values they Hanukkah without deep-fried is responsible for the fact that we’re raising the would gain, and that includes latkes? “Friedel is Omaha’s first generation of children with a shorter life taking care of body as well as hottest spot for Jewish cele- expectancy than their parents. Friedel decided to soul. We’re so glad to see wellbrations,” Denenberg said. take action. ness added to our rich learn“We’ll continue to fry latkes Dr. Michael Cohen ing environment.” and soufganyot, bake hamenSpeaking for the entire comtashen and challah, but we’ll do it with real eggs, milk and mittee, Dr. Michael Cohen said, “We believe in the power of reasonable amounts of sugar. And we’ll resist the American modeling at Friedel. We teach our students to perform trend to supersize.” In keeping with the new Wellness mitzvot, to give tzedakah, to take care of the youngest stuGuidelines, the reception after this year’s Hanukkah play fea- dents and to respect the folks they visit at the Rose Blumkin tured cheese, crackers and fruit kabobs. “Some parents com- Jewish Home. Now our Wellness Guidelines will powerfully plained because we didn’t serve a plate of cookies. Some par- model good nutrition and good habits that can benefit them ents thanked us. Clearly, wellness is a work in progress, a ‘to 120.’ The Friedel Board of Directors adoption of our striving to do better, a demand for change. It takes education, guidelines was a monumental step, one that we hope other consensus-building and creativity.”

Jewish organizations will replicate.”

Personal Training at the JCC Continued from page 1 smaller pant size!

She enjoys staying fit with her husband Marty, (who also “Our trainer has encouraged us to set goals and challenge works out at the JCC with Fitness Center Director Ed ourselves in ways we would never do on our own. She keeps Heller). Marty and Iris work out together when they travel, these sessions new and exciting every week, including kick and even during visits with their adult children and grand- boxing, circuit training, and utilizing all of the weight children. Recently, Iris has a machines in a variety of bone density test: the results ways.” Both Holly and Sonia where phenomenal. After state how much fun it is to working out for a year and a work out together; they half, he bone density has siglaugh, sometimes giggle nifcantly improved. throughout their workouts, Iris continues to work with and sweat to stay in shape Beth twice weekly, and very together. rarely cancels an appointThe families of these two ment, as she just doesn’t feel ladies certainly benefit from good when she misses her their personal training as workout. She states that “Beth well, as they have so much is a partner who really works more energy to play with with me, and has my best their children and are good interests at heart.” role models in encouraging Friendship has taken on a their kids to stay active and whole new meaning for Sonia physically fit! On a recent Tipp and Holly Weill. They roller skating outing, Holly both also began to train at the was amazed at her endurance Sonia Tipp, left, JCC Personal Trainer Beth Cutsor, and Holly JCC in 2009 and have found in keeping up with her Weill. that their weekly time traindaughter! Sonia and her husing together has changed their lives as well. For starters, they band enjoy working out together on Sunday mornings while both agree that training together weekly creates built-in their daughter attends Sunday school and their son is in Fit accountability, stating that “we share sessions and count on and Sit at the “J”. Their husbands and children also benefit each other to be there, and wouldn’t want to disappoint a from the healthier eating that is happening in both of these friend.” households.

These two young moms whose children attend the Pennie Thinking about getting healthier in 2011? Call the JCC Z. Davis Child Development Center at the JCC, have seen Fitness Center for more information on training with any positive results over the past year and a half. For Sonia it has one of the highly qualified male or female personal trainers been in the lowering of her cholesterol by 50 points, and for at the “J”.

Holly it has meant a weight loss of ten pounds, as well as a

February 4, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 3

Temple Israel to host novelist Rebecca Goldstein

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Rebecca Goldstein grew up in White Plains, New York, in an Orthodox Jewish family. She has an older brother who is an Orthodox rabbi and a younger sister.

After earning her Ph.D. from Princeton Un i v e r s i t y, she returned to Barnard C o l l e g e where she Author Rebecca Goldstein graduated summa cum laude. She was awarded the Montague Prize for Excellence in Philosophy at Barnard and a National Science Foundation Fellowship and a Whiting Foundation Fellowship at Princeton. She taught courses in various philosophical studies at Barnard.

Goldstein will be the guest speaker at Temple Israel at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Her presentation at Temple Israel is sponsored by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning. The Jewish community is welcome to attend.

In addition to Barnard, Goldstein has taught at Columbia, Rutgers, and Trinity College, and has been a visiting scholar at Brandeis University.

While she was teaching at Barnard, Goldstein published her first novel, The Mind-Body Problem in 1983, a seriouscomic tale of the conflict between emotion and intelligence combined with an examination of Jewish tradition and identity. She said she wrote the book to “…insert ‘real life’

intimately into the intellectual struggle. In short, I wanted to write a philosophically motivated novel.”

“Her books have big ideas,” according to Jeremy Wright, “but for me, it’s the characters that keep me turning the pages. I’m excited that Temple is bringing Ms. Goldstein to Omaha. It’s a great opportunity for us. Her characters are so recognizable in the way they relate to each other.”

Her second novel, The Late-Summer Passion of a Woman of Mind (1989), was set in academia, though with a far darker tone than her first, followed by the compelling, The Dark Sister in 1993. Then came Mazel in 1995 and Properties of Light, a ghost story about love, betrayal, and quantum physics, in 2000.

Her latest novel, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction (2010), will be the subject of her Feb. 16 discussion as Goldstein confronts one of the great debates of our day: the clash between faith and reason. The book’s protagonist, a professor of psychology, has written a surprise best seller. He’s been described as “the atheist with a soul,” and his sudden celebrity has upended his life. He loses himself in a spiritually expansive infatuation and is then invited by a former girlfriend, an anthropologist, to join in her quest for immortality through biochemistry. But he is haunted by reminders of his teacher, a renowned literary scholar with a mysterious obsession with messianism and by a six-year-old mathematical genius who is heir to the leadership of an exotic Hasidic sect.

Goldstein explores the rapture and torment of religious experience in the novel which is at once hilarious, heartbreaking, and intellectually captivating.

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“36 Arguments radiates all the humor and erudition we’ve come to expect from Goldstein, and despite the novel’s attention to the oldest questions, it has arrived at exactly the right moment. ... One of the funniest (academic satires) ever written.”

Goldstein has also published a collection of short stories, Strange Attractors, and biographies on Kurt Gödel, (The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel) in 2005 and on Spinoza (Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity) in 2006. Her books reflect her continuing interests in the relationship between the life of the mind and the demands of everyday existence and in Jewish perspectives and history.

In 1996, upon naming Goldstein a MacArthur Fellow, known as the “Genius Award,” the MacArthur Foundation described her as “a writer whose novels and short stories dramatize the concerns of philosophy without sacrificing the demands of imaginative storytelling. Her books tell a compelling story as they describe with wit, compassion, and originality the interaction of mind and heart. ... Goldstein’s writings emerge as brilliant arguments for the belief that fiction in our time may be the best vehicle for involving readers in questions of morality and existence.”

Now living in Boston and Truro, Massachusetts, Goldstein is a research associate in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Married to Harvard cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, Goldstein is the mother of the novelist Yael Goldstein Love and the poet Danielle Blau.

Young Leadership Awards Continued from page 1 This year, Danielle and Patrick are being honored for their volunteer work in the Omaha Jewish community and their shared desire to see it flourish and prosper.

Currently, Patrick serves as the Center for Jewish Education Board Vice President and Chairman of its Adult Education Committee. He is also President-elect of the Anti-Defamation League Board and a supporter of its No Place for Hate campaign.

Dr. Guy Matalon, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Education, praised Patrick as “always promoting new avenues of learning and advocating for strong Jewish education.”

Danielle is grateful she can do her part to serve her community. She has volunteered with Project Dreidel and Project Tzedakah through Jewish Family Service and Friedel Jewish Academy, serving in numerous capacities. She has served on the Boards at Temple Israel and Nebraskans for Research. Last summer Danielle co-chaired a committee for the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games.

The cost of the event is $18 per person and also includes music by Andrew Malashock, food by Star Catering and two drink tickets. Reservations are required by email to bgoldberg@jewish omaha.org.

This event is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Omaha and made possible with a generous grant from the Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation.

Do you know an outstanding Jewish teacher currently teaching K-12 in the Omaha metro area? Just write a letter describing this teacher (who has been teaching at least 3 years) and tell us why she/he deserves this special recognition.

Encourage others (students, former students, parents, teachers) to do so also. There is no limit to the number of times a teacher can be nominated.

Be sure to include the name of the teacher’s school as well as your name and phone number.

$10,000 Sokolof Teacher’s Award

Send your letter by March 1 to Janet Henthorn at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, 333 So. 132nd St., Omaha, NE 68154. Contact her at 402/334-6551 or jhenthorn@jewishomaha.org.

$10,000 Sokolof Merit Scholarships 4th Annual

Winter Festival Orchestra Concert Saturday, February 12, 2011 | 7 pm | Jewish Community Center Free Admission

Sokolof Javitch Merit Scholarships for Music Majors

Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings OCM Winter Festival Orchestra 80 talented young string players from Omaha and surrounding states, conducted by Conservatory’s Director of Orchestras, David Barg Open Rehearsals at St. Paul, 5410 Corby Street Friday, Feb. 11: 1:30-5:30 pm; 6:30-8 pm Saturday, Feb. 12: 9 am-12 pm; 1:30-3:30 pm

for 2011 College-bound Seniors and Students in Health Care Fields

Applications due by March 1, 2011 David Barg

Sponsored by the Omaha Conservatory of Music and the Karen Sokolof Jewish Music Fund

For details and an application, go to www.jewishomaha.org Center for Jewish Education Scholarships and Grants page or call Janet Henthorn at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, 402/334-6551

4 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2011

Scout Shabbat planned at Beth El; Scout director Roitstein to be honored

The Odd Couple

Theater review ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT, Editor, Jewish Press

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator For the past 19 years, Lloyd Roitstein has served as Scout Executive/President of the Boy Scouts of America - MidAmerica Council, and has worked for the organization for 40 years. He has been involved in scouting – in one way or another, for 57 years. Now, with his retirement this June, it is most fitting that Roitstein will be honored at the annual Scout Shabbat service to be held at Beth El Synagogue on Saturday, Feb 12. During this 9:30 a.m. service, Jewish Boy Scouts from around the metro area –- as well as adults involved in scouting -- will help to Lloyd Roitstein lead services. Sandy and Jeff Passer, co-chairs of the Jewish Committee on Scouting, are coordinating the morning.

Roitstein’s career with the Scouts began in 1971, when he assumed the position of District Executive, Wagon Wheel District in Omaha. Prior to assuming the position of Scout Executive in 1992, he served in the capacities as field director and director of field service in Omaha; Scout Executive in Belleville, Illinois; and Area Director for the North Central Region.

His local volunteer activities have included serving as Beth El vice president, president of the Jewish Press Board, and the Friedel Jewish Academy Board. He has also served as a board member of the Omaha Rotary Club, UNO Alumni Association, Jewish Federation of Omaha, and the Kiwanis Club. In addition, Roitstein is a past recipient of the UNO Citation for Alumnus Achievement.

Underlying this longtime dedication to the BSA has been the opportunity “to witness thousands of young adults benefit from scouting’s program.” Roitstein said. “That makes it easy to come to work excited every day.” Over the years, he added, the most satisfying part of his job has been “watching young adults grow, mature, and become leaders of our community; also recruiting adult leaders who get energized about leading our program.”

With retirement just around the corner, Roitstein is reflective of leaving his longtime livelihood.

“I will miss the satisfaction of leading the #1 Boy Scout Council in the USA, and working with the greatest, most supportive, generous leaders in our community,” he said.

“On the other hand, I will be able to spend the 60-70 hours a week volunteering in scouting, Friedel Jewish Academy, Beth El Synagogue, UNO Athletics, and other organiza-

tions, in addition to traveling.”

The upcoming Scout Shabbat has become a tradition over the years, rotating among the three synagogues in town, he noted. These services are meaningful to the participants, highlighting the connection between scouting and Judaism.

“The BSA promotes duty to God. The Scout Oath and Law also have God in them,” Roitstein explained. “We promote religious awards to youth and adults. We have great relations with most religions. Religion helps round a young person out.”

In addition to Roitstein, several other adults will be recognized during the morning. For their dedication and commitment to scouting, David Stein and Amy Rabinovitz will be presented with the Shofar Award. According to its web site, the National Jewish Committee on Scouting established this award “to recognize outstanding service by adults in the promotion of Scouting among Jewish youth.

Just as the Shofar (Ram’s Horn) calls people to the service of God, so the Shofar Award is a recognition of the individual who has answered the call to serve Jewish youth in Scouting.”

Following the service, a Kiddush reception will be held in Roitstein’s honor. The entire community is invited to attend.

In the news Jon Simons, owner of Backyard Playworld of Omaha, has been named “Dealer of the Year” by Woodplay Playset Company. “It’s an honor to receive this recognition,” said Simons. “We are pleased to be a part of the Woodplay company, and share its goal to provide quality play sets that give children a way to use their imaginations and get plenty of exercise.”

Backyard Playworld is also the authorized dealer of Dogwatch Hidden Fence systems.

Radio Ink Magazine, the trade publication for the management sector of the radio broadcasting industry, released its annual “Best Managers” issue promoting the readership’s top picks for the best leaders in the industry from across the nation. NRG Media-Lincoln General Manager Andy Ruback has been named to the short list of only five managers for the small-market category (media market size 100-199) and the only General Manager represented West of the Mississippi on the annual “Best Of ” list of honorees.

The Omaha Community Playhouse presents The Odd Couple, directed by Judith K. Hart through Feb. 13. This Neil Simon play is well known, and perhaps his most successful. Two men, whose marriages end in disaster, move in together; their differences provide the audience with joke after joke.

In this stage version, Edward Cutler is the slovenly Oscar, a recently divorced s p o r t s w r i t e r.

Anthony ClarkKaczmarek plays Felix, a neurotic news-writer who is an absolute neat freak. Felix’ cleaning tendencies drive Oscar crazy, while Oscar’s sloppiness drives Felix over the edge.

“The humor of The Odd Couple is rooted in watching ordinary guys, equipped with an extraordinary arsenal of zingers, turn each other into caricatures,” Guest Director Judith Hart said. “This story of iconic opposites has become part of our culture since the play’s 1966 Broadway debut.”

In 1968, a film version, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau followed; after that came a TV series.

It is now more than 45 years later, and Cutler and ClarkKaczmarek do Neil Simon proud. Both actors are very convincing in their roles, and an absolute pleasure to watch.

Clark-Kaczmarek previously appeared at the Omaha Community Playhouse in Death of a Salesman, among other plays. In addition, he has guest directed three shows at OCP. For Edward Cutler, this is the first appearance at the OCP. It can be difficult to give new life to characters that have been around for this long. Still, the lead actors pull it off.

That is due to the fact that these two seem to know what they are doing, and partially because Simon’s writing is just plain funny.

For more information and to order tickets, visit www.omahaplayhouse.org, or call the box office at 402.553.0800.

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February 4, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 5

Bringing forth bread in Israel

Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER I wanted to write your basic bread-and-butter type of column; however, since Israel is only slowly coming out of the worst butter shortage in the country’s history, I’ll stick to bread. (Note to self: Possible future topic: “Butter.”) The bread I bought in the States came in plastic bags at my local supermarket. I assume it was baked on the day I purchased it, although it never tasted like fresh-baked bread. Because of this, all the bread I bought in the States went right from my shopping bag directly into my freezer--the “quality” of the bread hardly suffered and the bread could be preserved this way for a long period of time. Here in Israel I have learned the joys of eating fresh-baked bread. One of the best food buys in Israel is the standard Israeli loaf of “white bread.” This bread is subsidized by the government (the current price is 4.76 shekels--about $1.20); it is baked at private, industrial-sized bakeries and can be found with hardly any deviation in supermarkets and small grocery stores throughout Israel. It is approximately 16 inches long with a hard crust, and soft, fluffy, chewy white bread on the inside.

I would never think of bringing this bread home and putting it directly in the freezer--the quality would suffer immensely. In fact, because the bread is so cheap it is tempting to buy a new loaf every day and throw out the leftovers at day’s end.

What kids really like to take for their 10:00 a.m. snack in school, however, is not sandwiches using white bread, but their own individual roll. The basic Israeli roll looks like a hot-dog bun and costs 2.10 shekels (about 58 cents). On their way to school every day, many children in Israel buy a fresh roll with a bag of “choco” (chocolate milk--7.5 ounces, 66 cents) at the neighborhood grocery store.

Challahs in Israel are delivered on Thursdays and Fridays (and on holiday eves) to all the regular grocery stores and supermarkets (you don’t have to go to a special bakery for

them). As I did in the States, I continue to make my own challahs here; although, thanks to my being spoiled with the fresh bread I eat, I try to time it so that my challah comes out of the oven just before Shabbat--and even then I am disappointed by its quality come Saturday lunch.

The culture of fresh bread in Israel has encouraged me to bake more of my own during the week. It’s amazing how much pleasure a fresh-baked loaf can give. On those rare occasions when we entertain during the middle of the week, I try to begin the meal with my own fresh bread. And wouldn’t you know it, none of the painstaking courses of the meal usually garner as much appreciation as that fresh bread. Plus, while my kids absolutely refuse to let me put non-white flour into my challah, they happily devour my mid-week breads that are always much healthier, since these typically contain whole wheat, rye, spelt or oat flour. [Full disclosure: The more I learn about the benefits of whole grains, the less likely I am to purchase white bread. The loaf currently in my bread box: the “5-Grain” from “Lehem Ha’aretz”--NIS 15.95, but worth every shekel.]

There is a certain reverence that people here have for bread. What, then, are you supposed to do with your stale bread? Some people place leftover bread in front of their door (for the birds); others put their unwanted bread on top of garbage dumpsters (theoretically, for needy people, though it usually gets carted away with the garbage).

Something I once saw in the shuk points to bread’s special place in Israeli life. A mound of rolls had just been delivered to the seller and a few of them had dropped off the tray onto the ground. The seller quickly picked them off the ground, kissed them up to God (yes, putting his lips directly onto the bread) and placed them back on the tray to be sold along with the others. Now I know that this man’s actions here were more business than piety, but that kiss is emblematic to me of the Israeli attitude toward bread.

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest two, Nathan and Rebecca, recently completed mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces; their daughter Ruthie is still serving in the IDF. Weinberger can be reached at weinross@netvision.net.il.

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Jewish Community Foundation announces deadline for Alperson Summer Experience Fund

by BEATRICE FINE Director of Funder Services & Education, Jewish Community Foundation The Margie and Paul Alperson Summer Experience Award Fund makes an annual award to Jewish high school or college student(s) from the Omaha area who are seeking to participate in an approved Jewish summer travel experience which encompasses leadership development, community development or personal Jewish enrichment.

Awards are based upon merit. Financial need may be taken into consideration.

The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage students who have potential, but who are marginally “connected” to

the Jewish community through participation in youth groups, their congregation, JCC programs, or in Hillel/other Jewish organizations on their college campus, to consider spending the summer immersed in a Jewish environment.

Applications and letters of recommendations are due by Feb. 28, 2011. Applications are available on the “Scholarships and Grants” page of the Center for Jewish Education on the Jewish Federation of Omaha website at www.jewishomaha.org. Previous scholarship recipients may not reapply. For more information, call Beatrice Fine at 913.327.4618.

Hoofers and hearty lunch headline Mainstreeters event

by OZZIE NOGG The Dancing Grannies will set set your toes a-tapping when they perform at the Mainstreeters Luncheon on Monday, Feb. 21, in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium on Main Street. The fun begins at 12:30 p.m.

For the past twenty-five years, this enthusiastic group of hoofers has tap-danced throughout the area to rave reviews.

The Grannie’s ages range from the late sixties to the mideighties. “Their spirit and energy is infectious, and they always give a great performance,” said Maggie Conti, Community Outreach Director for Jewish Senior Services.

“Their routines are set to music we all love -- Fred Astaire’s Puttin’ on the Ritz, Gene Kelly’s Singing in the Rain, plus show tunes like All that Jazz from Chicago and One from Chorus Line. The only requirement for membership in the Dancing Grannies is that they keep the beat. They practice once a week, almost year-round, and their dedication shows. Their costumes are terrific, too.”

The cold-weather luncheon menu features Hearty Beef Barley Soup and your choice of either Mandarin Oriental Salad with homemade vinaigrette and a roll, or Egg Salad Sandwich and a fresh baked cookie. Cost is $10 a plate, and

Chief Financial Officer Jewish Federation of Omaha Jewish Federation of Omaha has an immediate opening for a Chief Financial Officer. We are looking for an experienced finance leader who will be responsible for all financial and fiscal management aspects of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and its agencies. The CFO will provide leadership and coordination in the administrative, planning, accounting and budgeting efforts of the Federation and its agencies.

Successful candidates must possess: • Masters Degree in Finance or Accounting, and • Extensive experience in a senior-level finance • or accounting position, and • CPA Qualified candidates, please send resume with cover letter to: Tina Story, Human Resources Specialist at tstory@jewishomaha.org. Equal Opportunity Employer; background check required.

reservations are appreciated by Monday, Feb. 11.

Call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 for reservations and transportation.

6 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2011

OTYGlee Spaghetti Dinner and Auction: Fun for a good cause

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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN them watch Glee. When discussing a theme Temple Israel Communications Coordinator for the Spaghetti Dinner, Hannah Budwig It’s Omaha Temple Youth Group’s told us her grandmother, Susan Rothholz, (OTYG) version of the hit TV show, Glee. watches the show. We all jumped on it. It’s a OTYGlee, inspired by the Fox television joyful spirit that seems to reflect our goals series that focuses on a high school glee for assisting Camp Rainbow,” one of the club, will be a night of spaghetti, salad, gar- recipients of the money raised at the lic bread, Starbucks coffee, and cookies on Spaghetti Dinner.

Sunday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. at Temple. And A la Glee, according to Sophia, “the dinner that’s just the meal.

Patrons will have a chance to bid on silent auction items ranging from Husker, College World Series, Lancer, Maverick, and Blue Jay game tickets; restaurant gift cards from places like Marks Bistro, Pitch Pizzeria, The Market Basket, El Basha, and OTYG members, Emily Katz and Jordan Jensen, were among Delice European Bakery; the Camp Rainbow counselors who helped make it possible for themed baskets for coffee kids who wouldn’t have been able to attend summer camp due and tea lovers, wine, to illnesses to go last year.

Italian food and cookie aficionados; and movie theatre, zoo, spa, will be full of music. We’re going to play hiking, and dog lover packages. There are albums from Glee. The auction will be great. even baskets of merchandise from As Seen The kids will do everything. The adults can on TV, for summer fun, and for knitting and relax and give to a great cause.” needlepoint artists. Two glass Hamsas will Camp Rainbow in Missouri and Camp also be up for bid. The silent auction begins CoHoLo, near Gretna, were created for chilat 10 a.m. and continues until the live auc- dren who have life threatening conditions tion begins at 6 p.m. such as cancer and blood disorders. These Live auction items include an Xbox Kinect youngsters were deprived of summer camp System, a Kindle eReader, a flat screen TV, a due to their serious illnesses. Emily Katz, DJ package from Complete Music including one of the Temple youth group members laser lights, five hours of music worth $475, who has volunteered at Camp Rainbow, will two Husker sky box tickets complemented talk about her experience there. She is the by a parking pass, a portrait package from North American Federation of Temple professional photographer David Radler, Youth (NFTY) Missouri Valley Regional and some old favorites such as parking pass- Special Projects Coordinator. Proceeds from es, bedtime stories with Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, the Spaghetti Dinner are donated to the and babysitting by OTYG members. camps and are used for OTYG programSophia Miller, OTYG special projects ming as well. coordinator, is chair of the Spaghetti Dinner To reserve a place at the table, call Temple in which the entire youth group is participat- Israel at 402.556.6536. The charge is $10 for ing. Sophia is guiding each member in his or adults or a table for ten for $80; $4 for chilher specific responsibility for the event. dren. Two-year-olds and younger are free.

Parents are helping, too, Katz added, “This is a big event for the kids,” said Amy including Jeff Slutzky, Mike Halsted, Len Katz. “They take great pride in it, and in the Burrell, Dick Katz, and John Burns, “our stel- past few years have created clever decoralar kitchen crew.” Steve Danon returns as auc- tions and carried off the theme through the tioneer for the live segment. Helen Burns and decorations. It’s a big team building experiRosie Zweiback are supervising donations ence as well as a good cause. Camps while Wendy Goldberg handles communica- Rainbow and CoHoLo depend heavily on tions, and Lisa Scheet, Lynne Jensen, Lori our annual donations. We have been very Bennett, and Gretchen Radler organize the consistent in our giving and that is well reception and checkout table volunteers. Paul appreciated in a bad economy. The Temple Miller and Larry Budwig are also pitching in. community has supported this by attending “A lot of our OTYGers are in show choir at the event and donating to it, and we really their schools,” mentioned Katz, “and a lot of are grateful for that support.”

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Mace Hack, State Director of the Nature Conservancy will talk on “Nature’s Services – How a Healthy Environment Contributes to a Healthy Economy” on Wednesday, Feb. 9, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $10; beverage service is $3. For more information or to be placed on the e-mail list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish words have made their way into every phase of modern life, show biz, law, classrooms, etc. Come join us at our new meeting room (across from the beauty salon) at the Blumkin Home, every Thursday, 1-3 pm. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

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MAINSTREETERS Mainstreeters Luncheon Meeting is Monday, Feb. 21 at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium at 12:30 p.m. The

cost is $10 per plate. The Omaha Dancing Grannies will perform. For the past 20 years, this enthusiastic group of grannies performs several times each year for various events.

For information call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521. Send reservation form to Mainstreeters, c/o Maggie Conti at 323 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. Make check payable to Jewish Social Services.

JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra presents “Song and Dance” on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 1:45 p.m. at the JCC auditorium. There is no admission fee. The concert is titled “Song & Dance” because each of the works is from a great 19th century dramatic stage work.

The Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra is comprised of 70 students from UNO and community players. This performance is sponsored by Jewish Social Services. All are welcome. For information call Mary Heiman, Activities Director at 402.334.6520.

February 4, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 7

Rabbi Katzman celebrates fifty years

by CHANI KATZMAN have enriched my life and the life of my family. You have The Chabad Center helped to make us a stronger Jewish community with your Snow was coming down hard on January 18, with a cold pride for and focus on all things Jewish.”

Omaha wind blowing; yet inside the Chabad Center it was Mayor Suttle spoke as well, and said Rabbi has always very warm. The atmosphere was cozy, the feelings intense “treated him like an adopted son.” and brotherhood was strongly felt in the room. Many Dr. Dan Schuller said, “You have been a friend and a menOmahans, including Mayor Suttle, braved the storm to come tor… a healer without being a doctor.” celebrate Rabbi Katzman’s 50th birthday. The party was Robert Mosenkis met Rabbi Katzman when he first immihosted by the Rebetzin, the grated to the U.S. At the time, Katzman children, and Robert was only four years friends who wanted to honor old. He shared some thoughts Rabbi and bring the commuabout his experiences with nity together. the Rabbi and his family. “My Many have asked: Why a life has definitely been public birthday celebration? inspired, at certain moments, Why turn a birthday into a

by Rabbi Katzman. A very communal event? Jewish traimportant moment in my life dition attaches great imporwas the very first Shabbat tance to a birthday. We are dinner after we moved here taught that one’s birthday is a from Russia. We came on time when the powers of the Sunday, and that very first celebrant’s soul receive a Friday we were invited to greater measure of strength Shabbos dinner at the and vitality from above. It is a Katzmans. At the same time, day of G-d’s affirmation of the we were invited to our very celebrant’s life’s mission -- a Rabbi Katzman, left, with guests Eric Phillips, middle, and Sol first tornado alarm.” personal Rosh Hashana of Bloom, right, being honored with a letter in the new Torah.

He continued: “Rabbi sorts. Customarily, birthdays Katzman is an important and are marked in a manner that beautiful part of this commuinspires the individual and nity. It’s been an honor and a others around him or her to privilege to have known him reinforce the relationship for the past 20 years, and to with G-d and add more have heard many wise words meaning to one’s life. spoken by him. So I give this The event, initially planned toast to your 120th birthday” to be a surprise, was orchesThree men and one cute kid trated mindful of Rabbi prepared another surprise for Katzman’s ideals. “We knew Rabbi.

With Danny that Rabbi would appreciate Denenberg at the keyboard, our inviting many people, the Bochur Boys sang an origsharing words of inspiration, inal song titled Let’s go to and offering the community a Chabad! The crowd hummed special opportunity,” said The Fabulous Bochur Boys along to the familiar tune of Mushka Katzman, one of his daughters who came from New Let’s go to the Hop and the Bochur Boys did a little dance York for the party. “We see how deeply our father cares for dressed in Chasidic garb. Many thanks to Steve and Danny the individuals in the Omaha Jewish community and were Denenberg, Jim Fried, and Gary Nachman who added some certain he would appreciate yet another opportunity to spunk, entertainment and fun to the party. share his life and love of Yiddishkeit with them at this major The program ended with Rabbi Katzman writing the first personal milestone,” she added. few lines of the Torah, using an authentic quill. It is a great Hence the idea for the Rabbi Katzman CommUNITY Mitzvah and honor to take part in the writing of a Torah.

Torah was born.

This honor was given to friends and family who handed the The theme of the event was writing a Torah. The inscrip- quill to the Rabbi, enabling him to write a letter for them. In tion of the first several lines was done by the Rabbi, who is a the coming months, an educational venture will be unveiled trained scribe. He honored participants with letters in the community in an effort to involve, educate and inspire inscribed. The parchment panel has been sent to Israel all regarding the writing of a Torah and the great Mitzvah where Rabbi Volf, a veteran scribe, will painstakingly com- involved. plete the Torah within the year.

The Katzman Family would like to thank the Omaha There was a beautiful dessert buffet and at its center stood community for being such a great support over the years a crown of gold to adorn a Torah scroll. Warm wishes were and for braving the storm to come and celebrate with us. We shared and L’Chaims were toasted. Bob Goldberg said: “You look forward to sharing many simchas in good health.

Rousing ruach on tap for Beth El’s first “Simchat Shabbat”

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator

Taking a break from their rehearsal for the upcoming “Simchat Shabbat” experience at Beth El are, back row, Gloria Kaslow, left, Tuffy Epstein, Helen Epstein, Margo Riekes, Eadie Tsabari and Patty Nogg; front row, Joanie Jacobson, left, and Ozzie Nogg. “Simchat Shabbat,” the synagogue’s new, monthly, lay-led Shabbat celebration, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel, featuring music, poetry and the creative Readers’ Theater Torah Tales. Following the service, the spirited Shabbat morning will continue during a family-friendly, community luncheon at the synagogue’s Café Schmooze. There is no charge for the lunch; the entire Jewish community is invited to attend this special celebration.

Fraser Stryker to award Diversity Scholarships in 2011

by STEPHEN BRUCKNER Fraser Stryker will award two college-level scholarships in 2011 through the Fraser Stryker Diversity Scholarship Program. This Program provides college tuition assistance for students of African-American, Asian, Latino and Native-American origins from lowincome families in the metro area interested in a career in law. In addition, scholarship recipients will be provided the opportunity to have a paid internship at the firm.

The deadline to apply for the 2011 Fraser Stryker Diversity Scholarships is March 11, 2011. Applications are available at all metro high schools and on the firm’s website, www.fraserstryker.com. Each scholarship will be in the amount of $2,500 per academic year and can be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment to further education.

For more information, please visit www.fraserstryker. com.

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8 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2011

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Sticks and stones

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Glenn Beck is not my favorite television personality, and so I don’t watch him. In general, this works quite well as a solution: when you get annoyed, you walk away. Other people can still watch, to each his own. I’m convinced there are just as many people who feel that way about whatever it is I choose to watch; at least, I hope so. After all, living in a democracy means allowing a variety of opinions to co-exist, without faulting one another for thinking independently.

Still, in the face of the current backlash against Beck, I find I automatically default to a high-school attitude: “I think he’s, like, such a jerk!” “Oh, me too!”

The issue at hand: Beck’s use of the word “Nazi” on his TV show. Combined with Fox News chief Roger Ailes’ misuse of the term, it raised the ire of a number of Jewish leaders. In late January, a coalition of rabbis took out a full-page ad in both the Wall Street Journal and the Forward. The ad was signed by hundreds of rabbis, and paid for by the Jewish Funds for Justice, which is a non-profit advocacy group.

Earlier in January, the JFJ delivered a petition to Fox calling for Beck’s ouster. They also organized a response in 2010 after Beck said the term “social justice” was a code for Nazism and Communism.

“Ailes, in a November interview with the Daily Beast website, defended Beck’s use of Nazi references to describe his political opponents by attributing outrage over such remarks to ‘left wing rabbis who basically don’t think that anybody can ever use the word ‘Holocaust’ on the air’.” (Washington Post.com) That statement was not only wrong; it added unnecessary insult to injury.

The ad was not signed by a mere bunch of left wing rabbis, but by the heads of the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements, as well as a number of Orthodox rabbis. It stated: “We share a belief that the Holocaust, of course, can and should be discussed appropri-

ately in the media. But that is not what we have seen at Fox News,” as reported in the Washington Post on January 26.

Rather than focusing on Beck or Ailes, this debate should live within the larger context of our changing English language. The Tea Party now is not the Tea Party then; ‘Democrat’ and ‘Republican’ mean something very different in 2011 than in 1911, ‘Conservative’ means ‘filibuster-forhire,’ and ‘Social Action’ has become code for ‘crazy-leftwing-liberal.’ Don’t like the debate? Change the language, and you’ll change the discourse.

‘Nazi,’ for many decades the worst thing one could be called, is now being thrown around to mean merely someone who has a dictatorial attitude, someone who has political ideals that don’t find resonance with the people.

American society has been through this with the discussion of who gets to use the N-word: depending on who says it and in what context, the term changes meaning as well as sentiment. Anybody who thought Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi was hilarious is (oops) maybe a little guilty.

English is a living language, and thus constantly in flux. Sometimes that is acceptable, and sometimes it is merely annoying. Most of us cringe at the sound of ‘wassup’ and ‘lol’, and we hope they will disappear forever, preferably soon. I still don’t think ‘Refudiate’ should be a word. But

every once in a while, a certain term is so powerful that we should all protect it from being misused or diluted. ‘Nazi’ is such a word. It means what it means, and that’s that. Those who actually carried that moniker have caused too much grief; we should not use it whenever we feel like it. This time, it is too serious to merely shut off the TV. I don’t think that necessarily means Glenn Beck and others like him should become unemployed. Too often, when offensive words are spoken, the knee jerk reaction is to fire the pundit. Instead, we should use this as an opportunity to educate, and have a public discussion about how to preserve our dignity in the political arena. Once we can have a debate without inflicting pain, we can move forward. Agreeing on the language is only the beginning.

In speech, Obama misses some Jewish priorities: poverty, abortion rights, Israel

Focus on issues RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) – Civility? Check. Clean energy?

Check. Health care?

Check. Immigration? Check.

Education? You bet.

Isolating Iran? That’s in there.

Poverty, guns, reproductive rights? Israel? Ummm …

President Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night was as notable for what it excluded as what made it in.

Obama abjured the traditional checklist and delivered a speech centered on a grand theme, American renewal, after an election that left government splintered, with a Democratic White House and Senate and a Republican House of Representatives.

“What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow,” the president said. “We will move forward together, or not at all, for the challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics.”

That was a recipe for stirring rhetoric, but it left out the manna for groups that watch the speech to cheer on their special interests.

“What NCJW missed?” the National Council of Jewish Women tweeted on the Internet within seconds of the speech’s conclusion. “Mention of poor, middle class, reproductive rights, gun violence prevention -- to name some.”

The absences were telling. Obama focused on areas where he might persuade the Republican-controlled House to join him. The missing pieces all portend clashes with the Republicans: There are increased demands to tighten the

(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Eric Dunning, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Past President; Daphne Pollak Alperson; Marc Brodkey; Phyllis Brown; Jason Epstein; Mel Epstein; Scott Farkas; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman; Nancy Wolf.

The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press.

Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page sto-

regulating of automatic weapons in the wake of the shooting earlier this month in Tucson. Democrats want Obama to push back against a national Republican campaign to further restrict abortion rights. House Republicans have vowed to slash funding to the Palestinian Authority, a key element of Obama’s efforts to prop up moderates in the region.

Instead, Obama used the speech to emphasize bipartisan consensus issues, some of which are Jewish community priorities, too. He outlined a plan to boost education, including preparing 100,000 new teachers of science and technology and making a $10,000 tuition tax credit permanent. He called for 80 percent of electricity to be powered by “clean energy” by 2035 and for a million electric vehicles to be on the roads by 2015.

Obama did not entirely leave out liberal causes. He offered some compromise with the Republicans on health care, but he vowed to leave in place the coverage guarantees for people with preconditions, which became law with last year’s reform bill. Obama also pledged to revive his effort, failed in the last Congress, to create paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as children.

He noted the success -- spearheaded by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- in the final hours of the last Congress repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule that kept gays from serving openly in the military.

Troops, he said, are “Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay.

Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”

The slew of brief Jewish organizational news releases late Tuesday and early Wednesday were reduced to praising the speech’s general tone. What they’re really waiting for are the

details of the president’s budget, to be released at the beginning of February. The Jewish Federations of North America pleaded for special consideration for needs of the elderly.

“President Obama is right when he says we must be cautious of the deficit,” the Jewish Federations’ Washington director, William Daroff, said in a statement. “But there are certain social services that must be preserved now more than ever. Creating more crises for our seniors and poor is not the way to stop the crisis facing our nation.”

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs sought to highlight the issue of poverty.

“With the President’s budget forthcoming, we are anxious to see that he follows through on his call not to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable,” the public policy umbrella group said in a statement. “President Obama must listen to his own advice and avoid a hatchet where a scalpel is called for.”

Obama reassured Americans that he would not touch Social Security except to “strengthen” it, which got him plaudits from B’nai B’rith International.

“The benefits to seniors are modest in the big picture, but a lifeline for too many individuals, and we must continue to provide benefits at fair levels,” B’nai B’rith said. “An acrossthe-board domestic spending freeze could have devastating results for many of our most vulnerable citizens.”

The Reform movement’s Religious Action Center set up a checklist on its website to comment on 10 signature issues as they came up in the speech. On at least five of them, including Israel, gun control and Gulf Coast recovery, the RAC ended up regurgitating its past statements because they did not get a mention.

Continued on page 9

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February 4, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 9

Jewish community at the forefront of child nutrition fight

Focus on issues TOM VILSACK WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Few things should be more important to America than the health and well-being of our children. Yet an astounding 30 percent of them are overweight or obese, and last year, kids in more than 500,000 American families went without the food they needed.

This means that many kids are not learning as well as they should. In the long term, it threatens the safety and prosperity of our nation.

In December, President Obama took action to help us combat hunger and improve nutrition nationwide, signing into law the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. Together with the president and first lady Michelle Obama, I have been fighting for this major victory for our kids since the earliest days of the administration. Of the organizations that joined us, many were from the Jewish community and communities of faith from across the country.

Since then, the first lady has launched the Let’s Move! initiative to help solve childhood obesity within a generation, and we have reaffirmed our commitment to ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act strengthens our safety net against hunger. It will increase the number of eligible children enrolled in the school meals programs. In select high-poverty communities, we will eliminate paper applications altogether -- freeing up school district resources and parent time while ensuring that kids who face some of the highest barriers to success in life never go to school hungry.

Finally, we know that hunger doesn’t end when the school bell rings, and this legislation will provide more meals for at-risk children nationwide by reimbursing providers of afterschool meals in all 50 states.

We will update the nutritional standards for school meals so that they include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy -- and less sodium, sugar and fat.

This landmark legislation would not have been possible without the incredible support from communities of faith all over the country.

The Jewish community in North America was at the forefront of advocating for a stronger child nutrition safety net.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger helped to lead that charge. JCPA and their chapters hosted child nutrition seders across the country to raise awareness, and they helped to spearhead

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the interfaith effort “Fighting Poverty with Faith.”

“This bill is an acknowledgement that in a nation as bountiful as ours, no child should worry about when their next meal will be,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, the head of JCPA. “We are grateful for the hard work of our coalition partners, the White House and Congress.”

Mazon asked its donors to raise their voice like the prophets of old on behalf of poor and vulnerable children.

Beyond advocating for this legislation, synagogues and Jewish organizations play a vital role in fighting hunger in our communities every day. Mazon provides critical support to organizations that serve those struggling with hunger. The Jewish Community Centers of North America is a Let’s Move! partner and promised the first lady that it would expand its community gardens throughout the country.

JCCs are encouraged to join the effort to end childhood obesity and hunger through the establishment of community gardens and donation of a percentage of their respective harvests, an updated version of the commandment to glean the edges of one’s fields for the widow and the orphan.

Individual synagogues are actively involved in running food pantries, gleaning extra food, helping spread the word about USDA’s nutrition assistance programs like SNAP (formerly food stamps) and serving meals to those in need.

Congregations also play an important role in teaching kids and their parents about healthy eating.

We all want to raise a generation of healthy Americans ready to learn, innovate, prosper and lead our nation. Our nation will not succeed if our children are not learning because they are hungry or are not achieving because they are unhealthy.

Thanks to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, we will take important strides in improving school meals, combating hunger and supporting families. And to ensure a healthier future for our children and our nation, we must all continue to work together -- from the local to the national level - to build on this success. USDA looks forward to being an even better partner in our mutual efforts to respond to the call to repair the world.

Tom Vilsack is the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States.

In speech, Obama misses some Jewish priorities

Focus on issues RON KAMPEAS Continued from page 8 Israel was missing in his speech, but Obama noted his success in an area that pro-Israel groups consider key: isolating Iran.

“Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before,” he said.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wanted to know what he planned to do going forward -- and wondered why he didn’t mention other threats in the region.

“The President also did not mention the threat posed by Iran and Syria’s sponsorship of terrorism and efforts to undermine its neighbors, on the very day that the IranSyria-Hezbollah axis took a severe step to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty,” she said in a statement.

Obama started by noting perhaps the most poignant element of the evening: The empty seat of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ.). “As we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and pray for

the health of our colleague and our friend Gabby Giffords,” Obama said.

TV stations cut later to a photo of Giffords’ husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, holding her hand in her Houston hospital room.

Marking the civil tone, lawmakers wore black and white ribbons, traditionally used to protest gun violence and in this case designated for the victims of the Tucson shooting.

Republicans and Democrats also sat together. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who since his freshman year in Congress in 1989 has arrived early to secure an aisle-side seat so he can be among the first to shake hands with the president, partnered this year with Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio.), who adopted the same habit in her freshman year, 2005.

The long hours spent watching out for their seats on the House floor have made the two buddies, despite ideological differences.

“In the wake of Tucson, and all the incivility, we want to make the place more civil, and we’ll be heated and passionate about it,” Engel told JTA before the speech.

Schmidt, grabbing Obama on his way out, made sure he signed her program for the evening and added: “Eliot needs one too! It’s bipartisan!”

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Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg.

FRIDAY: Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group lunch, noon at the Blumkin Home’s Star Deli. RSVP to host Sherry Taxman at 397.5816, or taxman@cox.net; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat & Say Shalom to Shabbat, 6 p.m. Dinner follows. Dinner cost is $10 for Beth El members, $15 for nonmembers. No charge for children six and younger. To RSVP, contact the office.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Worldwide Wrap, 9 a.m., Congregants join Jews from across the globe to participate in the annual Worldwide Wrap, sponsored by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. This event offers an opportunity to learn how to wrap tefillin. For those who would like to learn, volunteers will offer assistance at 8:30 a.m. Minyan begins at 9 a.m., followed by breakfast and a discussion about the importance of tallit and tefillin. The entire community is invited to participate; The Mystique of Judaism, with Andy Greenberg, and Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Jewish Images on the Big Screen, 10:30 a.m. with Susi Frydman-Levin.

THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Life Lessons from the Hebrew Bible, noon. Cost is $36 for members and $45 for non-members. Open to all adults in the Jewish community. To register, contact the office.

All Beth El classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:27 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Dr. Howard Gendelman and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi as a siyum in honor of graduates, Aden Matalon, Talia Matalon, Leo Kohll, Shmuel Aaron Shyken, Leah Gurock and Danny Stein; The Laws of Shabbat, 3:15 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 4:15 p.m.; Mincha, 5:15 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate

Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Sunday Night Dinner Super Bowl Party, 5 p.m. Kick-off and appetizers. Dinner, 6 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Contact the office to get the dial-in number and access code; Searching for Torah in Ayn Rand, 7:30 p.m. with Rabbi Gross.

TUESDAY: Scholars Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Board of Commissioner’s Meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Advanced Halchic Kollel, 9 p.m.

THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class with Rabbi Gross, 9:30 a.m.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Mini Mensch title will be awarded. Kiddush luncheon follows. Join Rabbi Katzman, noon-1 p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets and Prayer, 12:45 p.m.

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: After school teen program, 2:40-4 p.m.; JLI class, Toward a meaningful life, 7 p.m. Register at www.my jli.com or call 402.330.1800. To request you first class free or have qustions contact JLI@OChabad.com.

THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com with any questions or to recive a guest pass.

All programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

FRIDAY: Kiddush, 6 p.m.; Early Family Shabbat Service, 6:15 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; LJCS Pajama Havdalah, 6:30 p.m. led by grades six & seven at South Street Temple.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m. at South Street Temple; Traveling Jewishly, 1:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP 1317 North 57 Street | Omaha, NE 68132 | 402.551.6609 FRIDAY: Minyan, 5:27 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend Services.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Linder and Cantor Shermet.

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Grade Six Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Teachers Meeting, 9 a.m.; Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.-noon; OTYG Spaghetti Dinner work session, noon.

TUESDAY: Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-8, 6 p.m.; Rebecca Goldstein Book Club, 6:30 p.m. with Rabbi Linder.

THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy, 10-11:30 a.m.

Spaghetti Dinner and Live & Silent Auction, Sunday, Feb. 13, 5-8 p.m. (see full story on page 6.)

Scholar-in-Residence Rebecca Goldstein, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 6:30-8 p.m. (see full story on page 3.)

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shabbat service, 6:30 p.m. with a minyan for Miriam Wallick’s father.

SATURDAY: Learners Minyan, 9:30 a.m.; Morning Service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush lunch sponsored by Miriam Wallick and Torah study; LJCS Pajama Havdalah, 6:30 p.m. led by grades six & seven at South Street Temple.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m. at South Street Temple; Traveling Jewishly, 1:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

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Israel ‘anxiously monitoring’ Egyptian riots, Netanyahu says

by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel is "anxiously monitoring" developments in Egypt throughout the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his first official comments on the situation.

Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that he had spoken the previous night with President Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and held consultations with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, as well as with Israeli intelligence officials.

"Our efforts are designed to continue and maintain stability and security in our region," Netanyahu said. "I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has endured for over three decades, and our goal is to ensure that these relations continue."

Israel on Saturday evacuated the families of its diplomats stationed in Egypt, though its diplomats remained, as well as other Israelis wishing to leave Egypt.

On Sunday, the United States announced that it would begin evacuating its citizens from the country, offering voluntary flights to Europe beginning Monday. Turkey reportedly sent two planes to Egypt to evacuate its citizens.

Reportedly there are thousands of Americans in Egypt.

Egyptian troops on the same day began to enter the resort

Candlelighting Friday, February 4, 5:27 p.m.

town of Sharm El Sheik, according to Al Jazeera. The peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt restricts the movement of Egyptian troops into the Sinai Peninsula, but Israel approved the entrance of troops, according to The New York Times.

As many as 100 people have been killed in the violence and more than 3,000 arrested.

Also Sunday, the Egyptian government shut down the local operations of Al Jazeera, which has been blamed for the current violence, according to reports.

Egypt also reportedly closed its border with Gaza, according to The New York Times, citing Palestinian sources.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday named a vice president for the first time in his 30-year rule -- Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian chief of intelligence -- hoping to placate protesters calling for his ouster. It had been widely expected that Mubarak's son, Gamal, would take over power when the time came. Mubarak also dismissed his cabinet and named replacements.

On Sunday, more than 20,000 protesters gathered at Cairo square for a sixth day of protesting.

Reports indicate that there has been some looting and that two mummies were vandalized at Egypt's national museum.

Prisoners reportedly have escaped, including one Gaza man who was able to return home, according to reports.

Beth El’s ‘bubble-icious’ PJ Havdalah delights youngsters

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator

PJs and slippers were the garb of choice, and bubbles galore provided the entertainment during last week’s funfilled PJ Havdalah program at Beth El Synagogue.

Following a brief Havdalah service led by Education Director Judy Rubin, and a kid-friendly dinner, youngsters and their favorite adults were treated to the science and the wonders of bubbles during “The Amazing Bubble Show,” presented by Christine, the Bubble Lady, from the Omaha Children’s Museum.

Pulverent e

February 4, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 11

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Terumah Our Parsha introduces the notion of building a sanctuary that could be movable, i.e. a sacred place that could travel with the Children of Israel in the wilderness, from place to place.

That would mean, of course, that it could not be too heavy, nor too bulky.

It had to be impressive enough so that the casual visitor would see that it was a holy place. So the instructions had to be simple enough so that the structure, when complete, should not be too large, and not too heavy.

Therefore, the people were asked to bring gifts of gold, silver, bronze, acacia wood, and beautiful fabrics to make drapes.

All of that completed, it needed long poles so that strong men could carry it. It was to be a Sanctuary, a holy place; but it must be portable.

It was not long before Moses had to tell the people: “There is enough already. Enough, and perhaps too much.

Therefore, bring no more.”

Any fundraiser today would be envious. Oh, to be able to say: “We have enough, bring no more.”

Notice also the root of the word Teruma, which means, “to raise on high.” Interesting, no? As late as today, we still talk about ‘raising’ funds for this purpose or that.

Arts+Entertainment From Feb. 3 through 13, the Rose Theater will present the Misfits.Recommended for ages 10 and up, the play addresses issues of bullying. Tickets are $16 each; for more information, call the Rose at 402.345.4849, or visit www.rose theater.org.

Israel denies sending riot gear to Egypt

by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel has denied an Al Jazeera report that Egypt had requested Israel to send riot-dispersal gear and that two airplanes had landed in Cairo with the equipment.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry denied both that Egypt had made the request and that Israel had sent the equipment.

Some 250,000 protesters gathered Monday, Jan. 31 in Tahrir Square in Cairo as Egypt entered its seventh day of protests against the government of President Hosni Mubarak.

That same day, two El Al flights left Cairo filled with Israelis who wanted to leave the country. The United States was scheduled to begin evacuating its citizens from Egypt on Monday, offering voluntary flights to Europe.

Egyptian opposition leaders are calling for a million people to march through Cairo on Tuesday in an effort to convince Mubarak, who has been in power for three decades, to step down.

Meanwhile, Mubarak reportedly ordered his new government to begin talks with the opposition that has been backing the uprising against him. Approximately 100 people have been killed in the revolt and thousands have been arrested.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Israel has called on the United States and several European countries to control its criticism of Mubarak in order to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime and in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday ordered his government ministers not to comment publicly on the issue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Focus on Egypt during special Eye On Israel

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Director of Operations & Programming, Center for Jewish Education With the uprising in Egypt, the world is again focused on the Middle East. Will the anticipated fall of Mubarak mean a new chapter in the on-going challenges facing Israel? First Tunisia and now Egypt – will other Arab countries follow suit?

Join Dr. Guy Matalon and Dr. Moshe Gershovich in a discussion of the situation at a special edition of Eye on Israel on Tuesday evening, Feb. 8. The session will begin at 7 p.m. in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. The event is presented by the Center for Jewish Education and the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO. “The situation is of great concern to Israeli and to the United States” comments Matalon. “This happening is very volatile and predicting the outcome is quite difficult.” Matalon is the Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Education and director of the Schwalb Center.

Dr. Moshe Gershovich is a professor of history and coordinator Director of the “Middle Eastern Project Fund” project at UNO’s History Department. “The events unfolding are truly historic and will have far reaching effects on the entire Middle Eastern region and beyond” states Gershovich. “The use of social media by the citizens in sharing their message and organizing their protests has been a fascinating situation to watch. While the manner in which events are developing remains fluid at this point, we need to start attempting to put them in some perspectives. This offers a new avenue that the government most certainly did not anticipate.”

The program is open to the community, free of charge.

For more information, call 402.334.6445 or email mgrossman@jewishomaha.org.

Jewish film contenders garner Oscar nominations

by JTA NEWS STAFF LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- With The King’s Speech garnering 12 nods, royalty led the Oscar nomination parade, but Jewish contenders had their shining moments.

Three of the Best Picture nominations for Academy Awards had Jewish producers: Scott Rudin for The Social Network; Ethan and Joel Coen for True Grit; and Mike Medavoy for The Black Swan.

Jesse Eisenberg was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in Social Network, which received eight nominations.

Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman, an Israel native, was a Best Actress pick for her role as a tortured ballerina in The Black Swan.

Hailee Steinfeld, who has a Jewish father, was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category. She played the 14year-old hero of True Grit, which garnered 10 nominations.

The Best Director category included the Coen brothers for True Grit and Darren Aronofsky for The Black Swan.

Among foreign language films, Israel’s entry, The Human Resources Manager, was eliminated early on, but Susanne Bier, an outspokenly Jewish director, won a nod for Denmark’s In a Better World.

Israel’s pride received some balm with the nomination of the short documentary Strangers No More, which is set in Tel Aviv’s Bialik-Rogozin School, and was made by American filmmakers Kirk Simon and Karen Goodman.

As usual, Jewish writers did exceedingly well: Aaron Sorkin for Social Network and the Coen brothers for True Grit were named for their adapted screenplays.

Nominations for best original screenplay went to David Seidler for The King’s Speech, and Lisa Cholodenko with Stuart Blumberg for The Kids Are Alright.

Oscar winners will be announced Feb. 27 at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre.

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12 | The Jewish Press | February 4, 2011

Beth El’s “Say Shalom! to Shabbat” welcomes new leader

ADL’s Jessica Gall honored

by JILL BELMONT at Beth El, and this is a fun way to accomplish this goal.”

Beth El Publicity Coordinator Ultimately, her hope for “Say Shalom!” is for the children Deborah Kronick is a familiar face at Beth El as an active to make a connection to this holy time, and to show them congregant, volunteer and faculty member at the religious ways Shabbat, Jewish holidays and different mitzvot are relschool. And, as of last month, evant and important to their Kronick has put on a new hat lives. For instance, last for the synagogue as facilitamonth, she focused on Tu tor of “Say Shalom! to B’Shevat and the wildfire that Shabbat,” an innovative recently swept through monthly program created Carmel Forest near Haifa, so especially for children ages that families could support six to ten. the re-planting efforts as part “Say Shalom!” is a casual of their mitzvah list. get-together, taking place in a During the upcoming prosmall, cozy meeting area near gram, the kids will take a tour the synagogue’s social hall; of their “Say Shalom! to there, participants can be Shabbat Museum,” Kronick found singing, discussing, said. Exhibits will be presentlearning and sharing their ed by fourth and fifth graders, own Shabbat celebration. she explained, including disKronick is assisted by Jeff Surrounded by a group of Beth El’s third and fourth-grade plays of the Shabbat table, Taxman, who serves as the students, teacher Deborah Kronick is enjoying her new role challah, Kiddush, Havdalah, program’s song leader. The at the synagogue as the leader of “Say Shalom! to Shabbat,” tzedakah, ‘What the Torah next celebration will take place a special monthly Shabbat celebration for children ages six Says,’ candle-lighting, and to ten. on Friday, Feb. 4, at 6 p.m.

‘The 39 No-Nos of Shabbat.’

Leading this program is a perfect fit for Kronick, who calls All in all, Kronick wants to make sure that each month, “we it “a new adventure for me. This is a wonderful way for me can combine Shabbat, the current holiday and one importo reconnect with my previous students and to get to know tant mitzvah to emphasize that Judaism is a guide to living new children and parents.” in the 21st century.” She also extended an open invitation to When she was introduced to it several months ago, the “Come learn, sing and nosh with us every month.” program immediately grabbed her interest. “When I attend“Say Shalom!” is open to all families in the Jewish comed my first “Say Shalom!” service last December, I saw the munity, at no charge. Following each service, a special, kidfamilies coming together to enjoy the Sabbath celebration,” friendly dinner is served for all attendees. Cost for this she said. “They brought their children, and their voices Friday’s dinner is $10 for Beth El members; $15 for nonfilled the room with joy as we joined to say the Shabbat members; no charge for children ages six and younger. blessings. Judaism is about community in the synagogue (Each month’s dinners also offer early-bird pricing of $5 for and in the home and this program helps to fulfill this part. members and $7.50, non-members, for reservations made “I love Shabbat,” she added. “Being Jewish, we’re lucky that up to three days before the event.) To RSVP, contact we’re able to celebrate a joyful holiday every week. I want to Program Director Margie Gutnik at 402.492.8550, or bring ‘reJEWvenation’ into the lives of our family members programming@bethel-omaha.org.

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press The Omaha Junior Chamber of Commerce, better known as the Omaha Jaycees, has selected the AntiDefamation League’s Jessica Gall as one of its annual Outstanding Young Omahans.

Each year, the Jaycees select ten men and women who strive for excellence and have a strong commitment to both community service and personal and professional development. The awards were presented Jan. 26 at the Qwest Center.

Jessica is the ADL’s Education Project Director. “This award is Jessica Gall very appropriate,” says Alan Potash, Director of the ADL Plains States Region. “Jessica does very important work, both for our agency, for the Jewish community, and for the wider community. This award puts a spotlight on issues like bullying and promoting tolerance.”

Before joining the ADL, Jessica taught high school English for six years at Fremont High School in Fremont, NE, and Burke High School in Omaha. She currently serves with, among other organizations, the Community Advisory Council for RESPECT 2, the Nebraska Holocaust Education Consortium, and One Fremont, One Future.

Jessica is pleased with the recognition for a variety of reasons. “To me, it is always wonderful to be recognized for the work I do with the ADL,” she says. “Anytime attention is drawn to having respect for others, it is a positive thing. This only helps us to get out the message.”

As Education Project Director for the Plains States Region Anti-Defamation League, Jessica has served as a resource on issues of cyberbullying and anti-bias and diversity education. For more information about what the ADL has to offer, visit http://regions.adl.org/plainsstates/programs.

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