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FEBRUARY 14, 2020 | 1 9 S H E VAT 578 0 | VO L. 1 00 | NO. 1 8 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 5 : 38 P.M.
Something Beautiful ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor, Jewish Press omething beautiful happens when community comes together! Please join us for a luncheon and moderated discussion with author Yvette Manessis Corporan and entrepreneur Mindy Corporan. Hear the story of how these remarkable women, although not Jewish themselves, have had their lives forever altered by anti-Semitism. The event will take place Tuesday March 3, at the Champions Club, 13800 Eagle Run Drive. We will start with a Patron Reception at 11 a.m. The doors will open at 11:30 a.m. and the program runs from noon to 1:30 p.m. The community-wide event is chaired by Kelly Kirk and Stephanie Petsalis and will honor Zoë Riekes and Peggy Payne. In her book, Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Manessis Corporan tells a story that begins in Greece during World War II and takes us to Kansas City in 2014. Yvette’s grandmother, Yia-Yia, grew up on the small Greek island of Erikousa. Yvette describes a childhood full of Greek family, transplanted to the United States, summers spent back in Greece with endless cousins and aunts and uncles; she paints a vivid picture of what it was like to grow up Greek during the latter part of the 20th century: “It was always a feast. Yia-Yia and Papou loved nothing more than to have a house full of family and friends, eating and drinking, talking and laughing. The vinyl banquette against one wall made the room look like a saloon, always packed with visitors who would slide in and over to make See Something Beautiful page 2
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Kindergarten Roundup is coming Page 4
Kirk Douglas, iconic movie star that reconnected with Judaism Page 9
Yvette Manessis Corporan
You are going to crave this easy Israeli quiche Page 16
REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
11 12 14 15
Ken Freed to speak at B’nai Israel
Birmingham hires Danny Cohn as Federation CEO
and the Caribbean, as well as several HOWARD KUTLER On Friday Feb. 14, B’nai Israel will tours in the Middle East and Africa. After leaving the Los Angeles Times host Ken Freed. Freed began reportin 1996, he briefly ing as an Associated worked as a staff writer Press staff writer in for the Omaha World1963. After seven years Herald before being as an editor in West named to endowed Virginia, New York and chairs of journalism as Washington, D.C, he the University of Caliwas assigned to be fornia-Berkeley and at diplomatic corresponOhio University. In dent covering three 2000, he was named to presidents and secrethe faculty at taries of state. After a Lebanese-American year as a Neiman FelUniversity-Beirut and low at Harvard, he Ken Freed special editorial advijoined the Los Angeles Times as a foreign correspondent in sor to the Daily Star, Beirut, a position 1978, serving first in Iran, then South he holds to this day. In 2014, he beAmerica, Canada, Central America came a founding editor of the Weekly Observer in Kampala, Uganda. Upon returning to the United States, he served as a consultant for the International Crisis Group in Haiti. Ken Freed graduated from Central High School and the Universities of Nebraska and Oklahoma and did his post-graduate studies at Harvard and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Don’t miss what is certain to be a very engaging presentation! See Ken Freed page 2
The Birmingteams at Zeno ham Jewish FedGroup in eration is Chicago, IL and honored to anStrata-G in nounce the selecCincinnati, OH. tion of a new Most notably, Chief Professional Danny led the deExecutive Officer, velopment and Danny Cohn, efexecution of Allfective March 8. state FoundaDanny has more tion’s Purple than 18 years of Purse Initiative to experience as a raise funds and strategic leader in awareness surmarketing, operarounding domestions, fundraising, tic violence and branding, public financial abuse. relations and soDanny also Danny Cohn cial media for inbrings a deep list tegrated marketing agencies and of lay leadership non-profit experinational foundations. ence to the BJF position. He reDanny comes to the Birmingham launched The Ben Gurion Society community most recently from at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Omaha, Nebraska where he was Di- where he successfully engaged a rector of Marketing and Communi- large group of new young adult cations for Arbor Day Foundation. donors. He was also the Board While there, he developed two na- Chair of the Anti-Defamation tional annual programs that netted League, Plains States Region, where revenue of over $1 million. Prior to he was responsible for raising funds his move into the non-profit arena, to support ADL nationally and also Danny led integrated marketing See Danny Cohn page 2
2 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
Something Beautiful
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2020 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND PARENTS We will be publishing our annual High School Graduation Class pages on May 15, 2020. To be included, fill out the form below with a photo and send it to us or you can email the information and photo to: jpress@jewishomaha.org by May 1, 2020. HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR INFORMATION ________________________________________________ Name ________________________________________________ Parent(s)’ Name(s) ________________________________________________ Current High School ________________________________________________ College you plan to attend Send by May 1, 2019 to: The Jewish Press | 333 So. 132 St. | Omaha, NE 68154
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Continued from page 1 room when the next guest arrived. When not covered in platters of pastas, stews or Yia-Yia’s signature pitas, the dark wood table overflowed with ashtrays and glasses of ouzo and whiskey.” Back on Erikousa, Yvette knew, life hadn’t been easy for her grandmother. From time to time, Yia-Yia would mention the war years, and the Jewish family hidden on the island. There had been a man named Savvas, accompanied by three girls: his daughters Spera and Nina, plus a third girl, unrelated, named Rosa. But it was much later, after her grandmother passed away, that Yvette decided to find out more about the people whose lives were saved by the tight-knit community on the island. Where had they gone after the liberation? Did they have any descendants? All she knew were snippets of conversations. Yvette met dead end after dead end, but refused to give up the search. Then, on April 13, 2014, two shootings occurred at the JCC of Greater Kansas City and Village Shalom, a Jewish retirement community, both located in Overland Park, Kansas. A total of three people were killed in the shootings, two at the community center and one at the retirement community. The victims were 14-year-old Reat Griffin Underwood, his 69-year-old grandfather Dr. William Lewis Corporon and Terri LaManno. Reat was Yvette Manessis Corporan’s nephew and Mindy Corporan’s son; William ‘Bill’ Lewis was Mindy’s father. The perpetrator said afterwards he “wanted to kill Jews before he died.” Yet the people whose lives he cut short that day were all devout Christians. “On April 13, 2014, everything changed,” Yvette wrote. “Teaching my children about standing up in the face of evil, finding hope in even the darkest moment and not allowing hate to have the last word, was no longer about our family’s history. It was our family’s present and it was our future.” She continued: “Much of our family’s story has already been written. The lives of Reat, Bill and Terri ended in a parking lot that rainy Kansas Sunday with the words of the neo-Nazi attached to their
names, but that doesn’t mean their stories end there. It can’t. We won’t let them. Just like my Yia-Yia and her fellow islanders 70 years before, we are determined to write a different ending.” The complicated path to what will eventually become a reunion between the descendants of the people her grandmother helped save and her own extended family is a story best experienced for yourself. Yvette Manessis Corporon’s book is an emotional tour-de-force that is all the more powerful because the author takes the reader along on her journey. While her story begins 70 years earlier, before the author was born, it continues and shifts during the writing. One cannot help but be there in that parking lot, when Yvette first hears the news about the shooting in Overland Park. Many of us in Omaha remember that day vividly. Mindy Corporan responded with grace and determination; after their loss, she and her family started the ‘Faith Always Wins Foundation.’ Its mission is to promote dialogue for the betterment of our world through kindness, faith and healing. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Yvette and Mindy speak. As Yvette wrote towards the end of her book: “Now, more than ever, I understand the power of sharing stories, speaking out loud the names of those who have passed on, making sure they are honored, remembered and never forgotten.” Educators who teach about the Holocaust or anti-bias training have been invited to this event at no charge. The ADL will facilitate a real conversation, giving participants an opportunity to learn how to recognize bigotry and bias, how to act when it occurs. You will leave with useful tools to counter hate speech and other acts of bigotry. Support for this event is generously provided by these Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Funds: the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation, the Milton and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation Fund and the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation. All proceeds from this event benefit the Anti-Defamation League and the Institute for Holocaust Education. For more information and to RSVP, please contact lsullivan@jewishomaha.org.
Danny Cohn Continued from page 1 the Jewish community of Omaha’s Community Relations Committee. The Search Committee of the Birmingham Jewish Federation engaged in a CEO search over a nine-month period under the leadership of Co-Chairs Steve Greene and Jesse Unkenholz. Greene said, “The Search Committee chose Danny Cohn because we felt he was the most inspirational candidate with the most progressive ideas to move our Federation and community forward.” The Birmingham Jewish Federation Board of Directors voted unanimously to sign a contract with new CEO, Danny Cohn. President, Lisa Engel, is excited to welcome Danny to Birmingham. “Danny brings to our Federation a new vision of community-wide engagement along with creative strategies to involve donors of all ages in the important work of the BJF,” said Lisa. “Together, Danny and our Board look forward to collaborating with all of the agencies and synagogues in our Jewish community to enrich the vibrancy of Jewish life at home and abroad.” Danny looks forward to leading the Birmingham Jewish
Federation and to making Birmingham his home along with husband, Andrew Miller, and their daughter, Nora. “I am humbled and honored at the board’s decision to bring me on as the next CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation. Birmingham is a very special place and felt like home immediately during our first visit – we instantly knew we wanted to be part of the community,” said Cohn. “I look forward to diving in and meeting each and every one of you as we work side by side to build a dynamic future for generations to come.” Danny received his Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Kansas and his Master of Public Administration from Ohio University.
Ken Freed Continued from page 1 Larry Blass will be our service leader and of course, there will be an Oneg after the service. Come meet new friends, or visit with old friends. You’re always welcome at B’nai Israel!
The year of the woman LORRAINE SEIDEL DIMARTINO, CLU, IAR DiMartino & Associates, Inc. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it. Let’s change that to... the year of THIS woman – that’s you! Let this be the year that you organize your finances and put a structure and strategy in place to achieve your goals – what you need and what you want. Having worked predominantly with women of all ages for 23 years (and, of course, being one myself), I bring knowledge, expertise and authenticity to the table... whether my client has a little or a lot. We will develop a strategy that suits your comfort level and abilities. It’s as simple as that! Since DiMartino & Associates is independent and not tied to any particular set of expectations or pressures by investment or
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What if there was no ADL? I recognize that ADL is sometimes perceived, as they say, “a hammer in search of a nail”, but then again, to carry the analogy further, how would you deal with a world of nails and no hammers? I like to think that ADL is more a beacon of light. It shines brighter in some places than others, but it has the important role of needing to spot injustice like a lighthouse GARY NACHMAN warning of danger. If the light didn’t Regional Director, ADL-Plains States exist, many would be harmed. To share a theme with John Region Lennon, imagine if there was no ADL? I wonder if you can? Think about the lives that have been saved, unjust laws that have been changed, recognizing those who have committed their lives to making a positive change and leading the fight against all forms of hate. Who would lead the charge against the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all? For over 100 years, ADL has been the backstop, the safe place, the voice at the other end of the line for those who cry out in need of help and understanding. ADL has understood that our laws have not always protected the vulnerable, the underserved and the voiceless. If this organization did not exist, Jewish people would not be as safe as they are today. To that end, it is apparent today that the need for the diligence of ADL is most critical. Tracking those who hate, coordinating security in Jewish communities in cooperation with law enforcement and educating students to learn fair treatment and understanding, are just some of the critical functions that are indispensable. Thank you for supporting ADL. Your continued attention, diligence and respect will ensure we will strive to live in a better place.
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Artist-in-Residence Jacob “Spike” Kraus CASSANDRA WEISENBURGER Director of Communications, Temple Israel Come experience a Shir Chadash, a new song, as we kick off our pathways to worship experiments with this amazing guest artist! There will be many opportunities to learn, sing, and pray during this exciting weekend. Jacob “Spike” Kraus is a 28-year-old singer/songwriter, educator, and innovator. Jacob has been song leading for over a decade at synagogues, day schools, and summer camps. Jacob’s music is eclectic, drawing on themes from Pop, Rock, Folk, and Rhythm and Blues genres. Jacob brings more than musicality to his work. His intimate knowledge of the Hebrew language and Jewish texts and culture add depth to his songs and authenticity to his role as a musical educator. On Friday, Feb. 21, Jacob Kraus will help lead us in worship and give his sermon in song Clay and Lights in the Window. Jacob will lead Torah study at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, followed by Shabbat service at 10:30 a.m. All of our tot families are invited to join us for Tot Havdalah with Spike at 4:30 p.m. at Temple Israel. We’ll join together for music, activities, a story by PJ Library, snacks, and havdalah. Older siblings are welcome. RSVP for Tot Hav-
Jacob “Spike” Kraus
dalah to Temple Israel, RSVP@temple israelomaha.com or 402.556.6536. On Sunday, Feb. 23, Jacob will work with our youth learning program students to learn some new music and take
part in our Community Concert at 11 a.m. We are very excited for this spiritual and fun-filled weekend with Jacob Kraus! Learn more and listen to Jacob’s music online at www.jacobspikekraus.com.
4 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
News
Kindergarten Roundup is coming!
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Fellman and Kooper scholarships available The Bruce M. Fellman Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year. The scholarships will be based on financial needs of students pursuing their post-secondary education. This is limited to undergraduate studies only and does not include any graduate programs. Bruce, son of Tom and Darlynn Fellman, was a 1982 graduate of Westside High School. He was active in BBYO and served as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of Chaim Weizmann AZA. He attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and was participating in the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea at the time of his death in 1984. The Robert H. & Dorothy G. Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year. They will be based on financial need for Jewish students with ties to the Omaha community who are pursuing their post-secondary education. This is limited
to undergraduate studies only and does not include any graduate programs. 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 19581960. He died in 1961. Dorothy Kooper was a strong supporter and worked with the Jewish Federation and Beth El Sisterhood. She passed away in May, 1995. “Awarding a scholarship to a young Jewish person is a very appropriate way of honoring my parents,” Howard Kooper noted. Applications for the Bruce M. Fellman Charitable Foundation Trust and the Robert H. & Dorothy G. Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust scholarships may be obtained by contacting Jan Roos in Mr. Kooper’s office 402.384.6471 or jroos@broadmoor.cc. The application packet must be received back in Mr. Kooper’s office no later than March 1, 2020.
Join us for a Night in the “Country” JAMIE SKOG-BURKE Jewish Federation of Omaha, Director of Development Come have fun and celebrate community on Saturday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m. in Countryside Village. This will be the 4th Annual FED event which, in its initial year, was the brainchild of Danny Cohn. "When I moved back to Omaha, I wanted to create an opportunity for the next generation of Jewish Omaha to meet new friends, reconnect with old ones and have fun together. I am proud that four years later this initiative has continued on." This year's event is being chaired by Jessie Feinstein and
Mike Chapman. According to Feinstein, "Our goal was to create a causal and authentic opportunity that allowed Jewish young adults from all walks of life a chance to get to know one another. We thought what better way than a Pub Crawl!" This year's A Night in the “Country” will be a whimsical winter night with cuisine from Timber and drinks at the Causal Pint and Cedar and an outdoor bonfire. The cost is $25 per person. “After all, the best way to weather the winter and make new friends is over cocktails and s'mores!” said Chapman. Please register at www.tinyurl.com/FEDevent
SARA KOHEN Director of Advancement, Friedel Jewish Academy Friedel Jewish Academy is uniquely amazing: The school’s optimal 10:1 student–teacher ratio, immersive foreign language instruction, and cutting-edge STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum are just a few of the reasons parents—and kids—in our community love Friedel. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, children who will be entering kindergarten in fall 2020 are invited to visit Friedel to preview the kindergarten experience during Kindergarten Roundup. Parents may either drop off their child at Friedel or have Friedel staff bring their child to and from the CDC for Kindergarten Roundup. To sign up, or with questions, please contact Sara Kohen at skohen@fjaomaha.com. Please also let CDC staff know if you would like for us to pick up your child. Enrollment for new students opens on Feb 26, with a deadline of March 12. Early enrollment is open to current Friedel families from March 2–11. Families should complete and return the enrollment application form and enrollment agreement along with a $100 per student refundable deposit by the applicable deadline. Applications received after the enrollment deadline will be processed as space is available.
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“Fat, Jewish, clumsy, short” Up until recently, I assumed that the State of Israel would have by now significantly impacted American stereotypes of Jews. Surely something must have shifted in the 50 years since I grew up? Surely after decades of Jewish fighter-jet pilots and tank gunners, the American Jewish man could not be stereotyped as the weak nebbish that I grew up on? Surely Wonder Woman Gal TEDDY Gadot has exorcised the whining, unat- WEINBERGER tractive Jewish American Princess? As you have probably surmised from the title to this column, I was wrong. The quotation is taken from Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, a woman who grew up Orthodox, left Orthodoxy as a young adult, and who now leads a fairly traditional Jewish life thanks to her gentile-born husband who decided to take his conversion seriously. Like Brodesser-Akner herself, the protagonist grew up in the 80s and early 90s. “Fat, Jewish, clumsy, short,” we learn, is how Toby Fleishman thought of himself in high school. Yes, it turns out that the stereotypes confronting and even embodied by Philip Roth’s characters in the 1950s (Brenda in Goodbye, Columbus is a prototype for the J.A.P.) are still present in American society. Toby is a brainy, nerdy, doctor with an emasculating Jewish mother, and his ex-wife is, in the words of the narrator, “a bitch.” Toby forces his two children to attend Friday night services with him; they don’t like going to synagogue, and the narrator adds: “no one does.” The fertility decisions of Toby’s sister, who is religious, are described in almost racist terms (she “breeds” children), and her traditional Jewish life is depicted as almost pathological. Brodesser-Akner was, of course, under no obligation to present a more nuanced depiction of Jews and Judaism in her novel. Still, most authors write out of their own experience, and indeed in some respects Brodesser-Akner does so here; for example, the narrator is a woman who wrote for a men’s magazine and Brodesser-Akner wrote celebrity profiles for GQ. I thus find myself asking: Why did an author like
Brodesser-Akner, who, unlike Roth, received a Jewish education, and who (again unlike Roth) finds a lot in Judaic religious tradition to be personally meaningful, not write more from her own experience of Jews and Judaism? Answer: Americans would not have responded to such a book, and it would not have become what it did: One of the “must reads” of this past summer. As something of an expert on celebrities, BrodesserAkner knows what Americans like and want. And so she writes about Jews the way America likes to read about Jews. To see a case in point from a truly great American writer, one has to go no further than Elizabeth Strout’s Olive, Again, published this past October. The last chapter has 86-year-old Olive living in a senior citizens community. Retired lawyer Bernie Green is a fellow resident; his wife is in the community’s Alzheimer’s unit, and “whenever Olive saw him he had tears in his eyes, and sometimes they were just coming straight down his face.” An astonished Olive asks her son over the phone: “What was that all about?” Christopher tells Olive that “the guy was Jewish, and Jewish men weren’t ashamed to cry.” Never mind that this particular Jewish man has lived most of his life in a small town in Maine sans Jews and that his existence is totally divorced from Jews and Jewish practice. He is a Jew and may be safely subsumed within a stereotype of the Jewish man—but even “positive” stereotypes are demeaning. I am sad that old stereotypes still and apparently will always prevail in America. True, if you are brought up with a proud Jewish identity you know that “fat, Jewish, clumsy, short” is a stereotype. But you still have to deal with it. Slim Jews, dexterous Jews, tall Jews are all departures from the stereotype, but they don’t eliminate the stereotype. Jewish stereotypes are apparently hard-wired into American culture and are inescapable. My children grew up in Israel without reference to these pernicious stereotypes. My children grew up without experiencing “Jewish” as negative. Teddy Weinberger, Ph.D., made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Jane Ross, and their five children, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie, Ezra, and Elie, all of whom are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@netvision. net.il.
Fiddling workshop
DEBORAH GREENBLATT The Old Avoca Schoolhouse, in Avoca, Nebraska, is offering a Twin Fiddling Workshop, on Saturday, April 11, from 1- 3 p.m., in the Old Avoca Schoolhouse. This workshop, led by championship fiddler and author, Deborah Greenblatt, is perfect for fiddlers who want to learn to play duets with other fiddlers. Students of all ages will learn how to construct their own harmony parts by ear, and by writing the notes down in standard notation. Tunes will range in difficulty from easy to intermediate. Fiddle tunes from many traditions will be explored, including Irish, Swedish, Klezmer, Cajun, Scottish, etc. Enrollment is limited to 10 fiddlers, and pre-registration is
required. The fee is $20 per fiddler. To sign up, or to ask questions, e-mail debby@greenblattandseay.com.
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS
B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers meets weekly on Wednesdays at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium from noon to 1 p.m. For specific speaker information, please email Gary.Javitch@Gmail.com, Breadbreakers chairman. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.
reTREEing Cole Creek Growing Community, Not Just Plants Sponsored Content: #010 in the Series
Dear Friends of the Environment, Plant Rescue were happy to welcome members of the Omaha Jewish Community in a joint celebration of Tu B’Shevat last Sunday evening. A big THANK YOU goes out once again to Ron Lugasi of the Jewish Community Center for helping facilitate this event. And as you may have heard, I took advantage of the occasion to announce that Benson Plant Rescue is formally proposing reTREEing Cole Creek as Phase 1 of a plan to implement such reforestation not just in Omaha but state-wide and even nationally. All along Cole Creek and other tributaries in Omaha are small parcels of land in the flood plain that have been purchased with federal dollars for flood relief. No permanent structures can ever again be built on these lots, and even raised beds and the like require quasi-federal approval. They are, however, a perfect place for creating new urban forests by planting trees. And not just “trees” in general, but “Native Trees” in particular. Trees well-suited to looking after themselves once they’ve had time to root while protected from nibbling rodents for the first few precious years. What BPR advocates is a scientific as well as aesthetic spacing of these trees, plus a coordinated mix of species best adapted to particulars of any given lot. BPR feels that developing these urban forests on marginal lands is of immense value to improving a neighborhood’s personality while also providing the ecological benefit of offsetting carbon and releasing oxygen. BPR plans to work with neighborhood and other civic groups in advancing this proposal through all regulatory bodies. Notes from the Tu B’Shevat Celebration The nicest thing on Tu B’Shevat was how relaxed it felt. The fellowship was contagious. Getting your hands into the dirt breaks down social barriers. Everyone got to plant at least one tree and all participated in transplanting some succulents that were so terribly root bound it was necessary to cut the plastic containers so as not to damage the roots. Fox 42 showed up, so maybe you saw it on the News at 9 or on their web site. In these challenging times when the Public at Large hears mainly Bad News about growing racism and hatred toward Jews, it is good to see young Jews making a positive public statement for the environment in conjunction with a traditional Jewish feast. Good News Is Good News Is Good News
Passover We’re Happy In The Neighborhood! There’s something for everyone KHULWDJHFRPPXQLWLHVFRP 402-504-3111 |WK 3DFL¿FLQ2PDKD
Please be so kind as to give serious thought to becoming a Sustaining Member of Benson Plant Rescue/Community Produce Rescue. Your generous donation will assist us in taking our Omaha-based model nationwide. Thank You.
by Dr. D, Co-Founder & President Benson Plant Rescue/Community Produce Rescue (BPR-CPR) 7224 Maple, Omaha, NE 68134
(402) 933-3867
BensonPlantRescue.org.
6 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
Redrawing maps while wearing a red string: Takeaways from Jared Kushner’s interview
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Who can forget Trump’s grand escalator LAURA E. ADKINS slide into the 2016 presidential race — and NEW YORK | JTA Jared Kushner didn’t realize his father-in-law the colorful speech that followed? was serious about running for president until Kushner suggested that Ivanka Trump Donald Trump asked his daughter Ivanka, wrote it. Kushner’s wife, to help launch his campaign. “We thought [Trump] was pretty serious in That’s one revelation in Kushner’s exclusive interview with the Orthodox weekly Ami Magazine about his role in the Trump administration. We took a look at the full interview (available only in print or online with a subscription) and five things stood out. Kushner didn’t know he’d be working on a peace plan, either Apparently the president asked Kushner to spearhead the effort toward Israeli-Palestinian peace during the transition based on his real estate experience. As Kushner told Jake Turx, Ami’s senior White House correspondent:“We talked a lot about our deals. Whenever I Jared Kushner at the State of the Union address, Feb. 4, made a good deal he would say, ‘I 2020. Credit: Getty Images would have loved to have done that. How’d the lead-up to the [2016] election, which we you do it?’ He would always joke about how I knew for sure when he asked Ivanka to write got a lot of deals that other people might not a speech for his official announcement,” he have. He just threw me into it.” told Turx. “So he never sat down and told you he was Jerusalem, the undivided capital During the announcement of his Middle running; you just figured it out when he asked East proposal, Trump said that under his your wife to write that speech,” Turx said he plan, Jerusalem will “remain Israel’s undivided responded. capital” but that a Palestinian capital will be “Yes. I believe we got together on a Sunday located in East Jerusalem, seemingly altering for lunch.” the historical position of the United States. He’s ready to talk tachlis — after the IsKushner elaborated: raeli elections “If you look at the municipal boundary of Kushner told Turx that he’s ready to start Jerusalem, it’s very different from the way it working on a “technical map” of the peace was in 1967, and I believe it’s possible to say plan — in his words, “going line by line and that the part of Jerusalem Israel will retain as street by street to decide where to put the an undivided city in the context of the people borders” — as soon as Israel has settled its to whom that statement is important. third round of elections in less than a year. “It’s also possible that a portion of what is The vote is in March. technically the municipal boundary of Later Kushner explained why the details Jerusalem in East Jerusalem can become the matter so much to him. capital of a Palestinian state. But becoming “When you disagree about a concept, you the capital of a state isn’t something that’s have to figure out the details and then figure based on a religious claim, it’s just a claim out what’s the bid and what’s the ask — the they put in their charter back when they unbridgeable factors,” he said. “If I can take a formed their organization. When Jordan con- big conceptual gap and narrow it down to a trolled the West Bank, its capital was Amman, few technical details, it’s much easier to find not East Jerusalem. When they relinquished a compromise.” that claim and the Palestinians took over, they He’s still wearing a red string created a new claim that they wanted to have In kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, wearing their capital in East Jerusalem. The world a thin red string around the wrist is said to signed on because people said, ‘Why not?’” ward off bad luck. Kushner and Ivanka He then clarifies: “It means that the portion Trump, not to mention celebrities like that would be in Israel’s control is an undi- Madonna, have been spotted wearing the talvided capital of Jerusalem.” isman before. According to this interview, Ivanka might have written that famous Kushner is still maintaining the practice — escalator speech and his kids are now, too.
Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert
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JERUSALEM | JTA Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will make a joint appearance in opposition to the Trump administration’s peace plan. The two will speak together on Tuesday in New York, near the United Nations building. The appearance reportedly will be held at the same time as the U.N. Security Council takes up a discussion of the plan. The United States is expected to veto any resolution against the long-awaited proposal unveiled last week. Abbas will speak to the Security Council about the plan in coming days, Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters last week, according to Reuters. Olmert is expected to say that he was on
the cusp of reaching an agreement with the Palestinians in 2008. Palestinian sources told Yaari that what Olmert is planning to say will help Abbas in gaining international support against the plan, since it would prove that the Palestinians do not reject out of hand reaching any peace agreement with Israel. In the ’08 negotiations, Olmert offered Abbas the most generous offer by an Israeli prime minister, including a near-total withdrawal from the West Bank, relinquishing eastern Jerusalem and putting the Old City of Jerusalem under international control. Abbas initially rejected the offer, though further talks broke down when Olmert’s legal troubles led to his resignation. Olmert stepped down while under investigation on corruption charges, then later was imprisoned after being found guilty.
The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020 | 7
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JCC Aquatics Did you know that our outdoor and indoor aquatic facilities provide year-round accessibility? Swim lessons, programs, and American Red Cross Training are open to all levels of swimmers, ages youth through adult. There’s even a Swim Team for swimmers to compete in city-wide leagues. Members have access to our free Water Fitness classes. Whether you swim for fitness or swim for fun, we have something for everyone. BABY & ME SWIM LESSONS Member & Non Member; Ages 6 mo – 2.5 yr + adult family member By encouraging play, this class builds a foundation for future swimming skills and lessons in a comforting environment. Parents must be in the water with their child during this class. GROUP LESSONS: LEVEL 1 Member & Non Member; Ages 3-6 Level Goal: Full underwater head submersion Skills Taught: Going Under Water, Floating, Basic Arm and Leg Movements, Water Safety GROUP LESSONS: LEVEL 2 Member & Non Member; Ages 4-9 Level Goal: Swimming 10 yards unassisted. Skills Taught: Glides, Basic Arm and Leg Movements, Swimming Unassisted on Front and Back, Introduction to Elementary Back Stroke. GROUP LESSONS: LEVEL 3 Member & Non Member; Ages 5-12 Level Goal: Swimming 25 yards unassisted without stopping. Skills Taught: Front Stroke, Back Stroke, Treading, Introduction to Breast Stroke. The Jewish Community Center has been a big part of Omaha for more than eight decades! We opened our doors in 1925 and still, today continue to serve everyone in the community with our state-of-the-art facilities, outstanding programs, and dedicated staff. We’ve been here in the past, we’re here today and we’ll be here tomorrow. For more information and to see additional swim classes, including private and semi-private lessons for adults, please visit our website at jccomaha.org. We can’t wait to see you here!
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Welcome to Summer Camp at the J Get ready for a summer of Olympic sized fun! We welcome campers of all backgrounds, regardless of race, faith, or national origin. We believe in teaching responsibility, cooperation, community, and service in a way that goes hand-in-hand with splashing in the pool, enjoying the perfect popsicle and shouting a camp cheer. Campers make new friends, learn new skills, and have a blast engaging in our structured activities. We’re the only day camp in Omaha to carry ACA accreditation! The Jewish Community Center of Omaha’s summer camp is proud to be the only day camp in Omaha that is accredited by the American Camp Association. Developed exclusively for the camp industry, this nationally recognized accreditation focuses on program quality, health, safety, and risk management aspects of a camp’s operation. This certification means we adhere to their strict standards for a safe, enjoyable and enriching camp experience for every participant. J CAMP 2020: JUNE 1 – AUG. 7 J Camp is for K-7th grade members and non members who want a well-rounded day camp experience. J Camp provides a little bit of everything. Based mostly outdoors in our Day Camp Pavilion, activities include arts and crafts, sports, nature, cooking, science, Israeli culture and team building. Campers are generally grouped by grade to allow for age-appropriate activities. NEW! If all mandatory forms are completed and returned by April 30 you will receive a free color changing water bottle! One bottle per child per completed set of forms. Our Kindergarten and 1st grade camps embrace the natural
Passover A Greetings
enthusiasm and energy of kids at this grade level. Our programs are scheduled to provide a day full of excitement and learning. Campers engage in a wide range of activities throughout the week. Swimming, art activities, nature activities, and song sessions are just some of the things campers can look forward to. Our 2nd and 3rd grade level of J Camp caters to kids creativity and emerging independence. Each Monday campers will select one of two chugim (choice activities) that they will participate in for that week. The chugim are designed to let campers explore specific areas of interest more thoroughly. In addition to their selected chugim, campers will participate in other daily and weekly activities. 4th-7th grade J Camp is designed to encourage independent thinking, decision-making, social and community engagement. Each week the campers will go on field trips and engage in special activities. When not on field trips campers will have time to swim in our beautiful aquatic facilities, meet with our Shaliach, plan all-camp events, and spend time in the gym. In addition, you can now register your child for Summer Fun Days at $40 per day for members and $52 for non-members.. Summer Fun Days offer the same engaging activities, but allow for greater flexibility in scheduling, as per-day registration is available. Summer Fun Days are open to Members and Non Members in K-7th grade. They are offered in June and also during the week of July 4th. Register for the entire week or individual days. Member registration is now open. Non Member registration will open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 3. All “early” registration rates expire April 6. Interested in becoming a Member? Contact Tracy Modra at 402.334.6427 or tmodra@jccoma ha.org for details! Please visit our website at jccomaha.org for more information and to register.
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8 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D
A visit from Naale Elite Academy ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor, Jewish Press During a recent Sunday afternoon, Israeli visitors Chaim Meyers and Gidon Berman spent some time with the teens (and their parents) at Beth Israel. Chaim and Gidon represent Naale Elite Acad-
$600, and an additional $600 upon acceptance; there are no additional costs. The program includes full airfare to Israel at the beginning of the program, room and board, off-campus travel expenses, spending money and more, and is fully funded by the Israeli Government
begin in 9th, but the testing is quite thorough because of the young age. If a student is entering 11th grade, they can still apply, as long as they are willing to do 10th grade again. Hebrew is gradually integrated into the classroom from day one. During the
Ethiopian Israeli represents Israel in Eurovision
JERUSALEM | JTA For the first time, an Ethiopian Israeli will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. Eden Alene became the pick for the May contest being held in the Netherlands after winning the Channel 12 reality contest HaKochav HaBa, or The Next Star, on Tuesday night. Her performance in the finals was Beyonce’s Halo.
Eden Alene sings on the final of the Israeli reality show HaKochav HaBa, or The Next Star, Feb. 4, 2020. Credit: Shlomi Cohen/Flash90
Members of Beth Israel with visitors Chaim Meyers, second from left, and Gidon Berman, third from left.
emy, an Israeli boarding school that offers thorough education for Jewish teens in the Diaspora. Naale is a program co-funded by the State of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel with a network of over 25 affiliated high schools throughout Israel. The schools absorb Naale students from over 50 countries. Each school caters to a different demographic based on religious preference and common language. Naale high schools are available for both religious and secular students. The secular schools are co-ed, while the religious schools are separate for boys and girls. But: Naale has never had a student from Nebraska. Gidon and Chaim hope to change that. There are only two payments: A onetime nonrefundable application fee of
and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Travel home during the longer school breaks does need to be paid for by the student’s family. While students are enrolled, volunteer host families from surrounding communities are assigned to Naale students who don’t have relatives in Israel for free weekends and holidays. “Initially,” Chaim Meyers said, “Naale was ideal for students from the Former Soviet Union. Parents often were already planning to make Aliyah and would send their kids ahead to join them later. No matter your level of Hebrew, at Naale the students are immersed and learn Hebrew fast. It also teaches them a level of responsibility and independence that is unmatched.” Ideally, students come to Naale when they enter 10th grade. It is possible to
first semester teachers translate and use basic Hebrew. From the second Semester most classes are completely taught in basic Hebrew. By the time the students finish their first year they are expected to have basic reading, writing and conversational Hebrew skills. From the second year onward students are taught, tested and expected to write reports and converse exclusively in Hebrew. Nowadays, teens come from all over the world—and not always because the family plans Aliyah. Ideally, they start in 9th grade and stay until graduation, after which they can either stay or go back home, where their Israeli high school diploma is fully recognized. Please visit www.naale-elite-acade my.com for more information.
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She was the choice of the panel of judges and Israeli viewers who texted their votes. Alene, 19, of Kiryat Gat, is no stranger to victory. Two years ago, she won the Israeli version of X-Factor. “It is an insane honor to represent my country. It is amazing that an Ethiopian is doing it for the first time,” she said after her victory. “Think about where we were when the Ethiopians first started making aliyah and look at where we are now. It’s a whole new world.” Alene currently is fulfilling her mandatory army service. The Jerusalem native was raised in the capital city by her Orthodox Jewish single mother after her parents divorced when she was 4. She released several singles for radio after X-Factor. Her song for Eurovision will be selected in a nationally televised program in March, when a panel of judges and Israeli viewers can vote on one of four songs chosen from public submissions. Israeli singer Netta Barzilai won Eurovision in 2018, which made Israel the contest host the following year.
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The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020 | 9
Kirk Douglas, iconic movie star who reconnected to Judaism later in life, dies at 103 TOM TUGEND LOS ANGELES | JTA Kirk Douglas, the legendary actor who portrayed legions of tough guys and embraced his Jewish heritage later in life, died at his home in Beverly Hills on Feb. 5. He was 103. Over a career that spanned 87 films — including 73 big screen features and 14 on television — the blond, blue-eyed Douglas, dimpled chin thrust forward, was often cast as the toughest guy around, vanquishing hordes of Romans, Vikings and assorted bad guys. Thrice nominated for an Academy Award and a recipient of an Oscar for lifetime achievement and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, Douglas evolved from an egocentric and promiscuous young man into a multi-talented actor, director, author, philanthropist and student of Torah who left a deep imprint on both Hollywood and the Jewish people. Douglas also was the author of 11 books, ranging from personal memoirs and a Holocaust-themed novel for young readers to a collection of poetry dedicated to his wife. “Most stars of his stature are shaped out of mythic clay,� the director Steven Spielberg said in presenting Douglas with the lifetime achievement Oscar in 1996. “Kirk Douglas never chose that. He doesn’t have a single character that makes him unique. Instead he has a singular honesty, a drive to be inimitable.� Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch in 1916 in the upstate New York town of Amsterdam, the son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish immigrant who supported his six daughters and one son as a rag picker and junk man. A chance to escape came shortly after his bar mitzvah, when the Sons of Israel Synagogue offered to underwrite his rabbinical studies. Douglas firmly declined, declaring that he would become an actor. He held fast to that ambition while attending Saint Lawrence University on a wrestling scholarship and during World War II service in the U.S. Navy. His first movie role came in 1946, when he played Barbara Stanwyck’s husband in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Douglas received favorable reviews, but his career wouldn’t really take off until three years (and six films) later, when he portrayed Midge Kelly, a ferocious and amoral boxer in Champion. The performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. During the 1950s and ’60s, Douglas ranked consistently as one of Hollywood’s top male stars for his single-minded focus on his craft, while also squeezing in Broadway and television appearances. He was also known for egocentricity in a town with no shortage of oversize egos and for bedding an endless string of women, from movie queens to casual pickups. In the 1950s, he starred in 23 movies. He earned best actor Oscar nominations for The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life. And in 1953, he starred as a Holocaust survivor in The Juggler, the first Hollywood feature to be filmed in Israel. He opened the decade of the 1960s with Spartacus, perhaps his most enduring movie, in which he played the leader of a slave rebellion in ancient Rome. The film won four Oscars, though none for Douglas. But Douglas did distinguish himself for insisting that writer Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted as a communist for a decade but continued to write under a pseudonym, be credited onscreen despite dire warnings that such a
provocation would end his own Hollywood career. Douglas was honored for that stance in 2011 by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. With increasing fame and fortune, Douglas showed little interest in Jewish practice, though there were exceptions. “I always fasted on Yom Kippur,� he told a reporter. “I still worked on the movie set, but I fasted. And let me tell you, it’s not easy making love to Lana Turner on an empty stomach.� In his later years, Douglas would come to embrace his Jewishness, a shift he dates to a near-fatal collision in 1991 between his helicopter and a stunt plane in which two
Make everyday extraordinary
Kirk Douglas poses in 1950. Credit: PhotoQuest/Getty Images
younger men died. The crash compressed his spine by three inches. While lying in a hospital bed with excruciating back pain, he started pondering the meaning of his life. “I came to believe that I was spared because I had never come to grips with what it means to be Jewish,� he said. Douglas embarked on an intensive regime of Torah study with a number of young rabbis and celebrated a second bar mitzvah at age 83, telling the Hollywood luminaries crammed into the 200-seat chapel at Sinai Temple for the occasion: “Today, I am a man.� Neither of his two wives — the late actress Diana Dill and Anne Buydens, whom he married in 1954 — were Jewish, and none of his children were raised in the faith. But his oldest son, the actor-director Michael Douglas, has reconnected with Judaism and won the 2015 Genesis Prize, a $1 million award recognizing Jews of great accomplishment who exhibit Jewish values. In 2014, at Douglas’ 50th wedding anniversary, Buydens startled the guests by announcing that she had converted to Judaism. “Kirk has been married to two shiksas and it’s about time he married a nice Jewish girl,� she proclaimed. In 1996, Douglas suffered a stroke that left him speechless. He fell into a deep depression that nearly led him to take his own life. A few months later, he made his first public appearance to accept the lifetime achievement award. “Whether he’s dealing with a character on screen or with the all-too-real effect of a recent stroke, courage remains Kirk Douglas’ personal and professional hallmark,� Spielberg said in presenting the award. In 1981, Douglas received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian award, from President Jimmy Carter. Along with his wife and son Michael, Douglas is survived by sons Peter and Joel Douglas, seven grandchildren – Cameron, Dylan, Carys Zeta, Kelsey, Jason, Tyler and Ryan – and a sister, Ida Sahr of Schenectady, New York.
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10 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
How Native American Jewish justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis made history
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cally very long tables set up in the biggest room of the house, EMILY BURACK and take a seat and eat with everyone else. It’s been my expeThis story originally appeared on Kveller. When Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis was sworn in to Wash- rience over my life when I’ve done that, that you are always ington’s Supreme Court recently, she became the second Na- sitting with people you don’t know, and often in houses where tive American person to serve on a state Supreme Court. you don’t know the people who are feeding you,” MontoyaUpon hearing of her appointment by Gov. Jay Inslee, her reac- Lewis says. “That tradition, to me, is kind of the essence of tion was “disbelief,” she says. You see, Montoya-Lewis never what it means to be Native: Our homes are open, our hearts intended to be a lawyer or a judge. are open and we feed people. The spirit of that is something “My intention when I went to law school was to study how in- that’s very important to me.” stitutions impact people,” she says. “The law was something that Her judicial career began with her own tribe. Montoya-Lewis I looked at as being an institution that had incredibly widespread graduated from the University of Washington School of Law impact. My goal was to be a professor rather than be a lawyer.” in 1992, then she earned a master’s degree in social work. After Montoya-Lewis was born in Spain in 1968 to a Native Amer- graduating, however, she quickly started her judicial career. ican father and an Australian-Jewish mother. Growing up, the “I was asked by my own tribe to hear one case, a very comimportance of education was plex civil litigation case that instilled in her by her parents. the tribal court didn’t have a “I think that [my] story is an judge with my kind of legal unusual story and also a very training to hear it,” she recalls. American story,” she explains. “It was really advised by my fa“My father grew up in the ther, as well as Justice Pamela Pueblo of Isleta in New Mexico, Minzner, the justice I had and joined the Air Force as a clerked for right after law means of being able to go to school and before I started college. He never really had a practicing law, that I needed plan of staying in the Air Force more time to be a lawyer belong term, but that was what fore I became a judge. And that he ended up doing. He loved was good advice. Gov. Jay Inslee meets with Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis. “But I didn’t take that advice,” the military.” Due to her father’s career, Credit: Office of the Governor photo she adds, laughing. “I chose to the family moved around. Some of the stops: Spain, England, do it anyway.” Texas and South Carolina. But they always returned to New It started out with just one case, then another, and eventually Mexico to the family’s reservation for important times in her being a tribal judge became a consistent part of Montoya-Lewis’ life. Her father retired when she was a junior in high school, work. While working as a tribal judge, Montoya-Lewis also and they moved to New Mexico permanently. taught at the University of New Mexico Law School. She then Moving to New Mexico “was an opportunity for me to really ended up in Washington as a professor at Western Washington connect with my Native community,” she says. “Growing up, I University. Soon enough, in Washington, she served as a chief had a lot of connection with my culturally Jewish heritage judge for the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Indian Tribe and the from my mother’s side of the family.” Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, as well as an appellate judge for the Montoya-Lewis sees an overlap of her Jewish and Native Nisqually Tribe and the Northwest Intertribal Court System. identities — namely, persistence and resilience, which is It is rare for tribal judges to enter the state and federal court something she hopes to transmit to her own children. systems. In fact, she says, “It’s completely atypical.” “On both sides of my family, governments, other entities, According to Montoya-Lewis, there are only a handful of sought to wipe us out,” she says. “My father instilled in me the state court judges who are Native Americans, and “maybe one importance of recognizing that I came from people who per- other” who worked for tribes then moved to the state court sisted, people who were lucky enough to survive, and that my system. And in the federal court system, Montoya-Lewis existence is dependent upon those people’s persistence and named the two other Native people she knows of currently resilience. It is a very important concept for both the Jewish working: Diane Humetewa, a U.S. District Judge who is curside of my family and the Native side of my family.” rently in Arizona, and Anne McKeig, a justice in Minnesota As it happens, there are very few Native American Jewish who has Native heritage and is currently on the Minnesota people. State Supreme Court. (Michael Burrage, a member of the “I have met maybe three others,” Montoya-Lewis says. “So I Choctaw nation, served as a federal judge from 1994 to 2001.) certainly can’t call that number a community. But we do exist, “And then there’s me,” Montoya-Lewis says. and I think that those communities have a lot in common Montoya-Lewis is acutely aware of the struggles facing many with respect to those awful histories and those powerful his- Native Americans in the judicial system. While Native judges tories of survival.” are rare, Native Americans are “disproportionately represented Her favorite Jewish tradition is displaying the menorah in on every level of the criminal justice system,” she says. In her the window at Hanukkah. new role, she is continuing her commitment to justice for all. “There’s a lot of power in the menorah in the window,” she “Before you called, I was downstairs by the Supreme Court says. “I really felt that strongly this past holiday season. After courtroom, and there was a classroom of third- or fourththe horrible events in New York, I really felt it was really im- graders, getting a lesson on the way the court system works,” portant to be visible in that way. I like the idea of having a pres- Montoya-Lewis says. ence that says that we’re still here.” “It gives me hope that those kids will see themselves as havAnd her favorite Pueblo tradition is at “the essence of what ing any courthouse in their own communities as being a place it means to be Native,” as she calls it: a feast day. where they belong. What gives me hope is that there are many “On those days, many homes are open to anyone — not just doors that are opening that have been closed.” tribal members — who can come in, and sit at what are typiNote: This article was edited for length.
Signs of hearing loss might mean it’s time for a hearing aid HEARING SELF-CHECK: • Do you have to strain to listen? • Do you have the television volume turned up louder than others prefer? • Do you have trouble hearing in background noise? • Do you feel frustrated when you are talking with someone? • Do you find yourself withdrawing from social activities because it is difficult to hear? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it may be a sign that you are experiencing hearing loss. WHAT NEXT? If you suspect that you have hearing loss, the first step is to schedule a hearing evaluation with an audiologist. Following the hearing evaluation, the audiologist will make recommendations which may include a visit with an ear, nose and throat physician and/or a hearing aid evaluation. WHAT IS A HEARING AID EVALUATION? During a hearing aid evaluation, you will work with your audiologist to determine your listening needs. Your audiologist will
recommend hearing aid features based on your listening goals and your hearing evaluation results. In most cases, you may be able to listen to hearing aids at the appointment. You will also discuss the style and cost of the hearing aids. HOW DO HEARING AIDS HELP? Hearing aids amplify sound in your environment, with an intention to provide more volume for speech. Hearing aids also work to reduce background noise and other unwanted noises in your environment. People who have worn hearing aids report that they experience better relationships with their families, improved mental health, greater independence and security, and better feelings about themselves. GET BACK TO HEARING LIFE NOW During March and April 2020, Boys Town National Research Hospital is extending the Friends and Family Discount on hearing aids to the community. Hearing aids purchased during that time are eligible for a 25% self-pay discount. Call 531.355.0815 to schedule your appointment.
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The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020 | 11
Above: Sasha and Sima Denenberg, Brad Berman and Evelyn Smith at Beth Israel. Above and below: Critter Close Ups brought their exotic animals to the Residents at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.
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Above and below: Rabbi Master Chef Yoni Dryer leading the Beth Israel Tasty Torah class offered on Monday’s at noon and Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
Above left: Beth Israel’s first official Jr session for tots 18 months-5 years. The kids did a bit of morning prayers and then learned about the upcoming holiday of Purim through stories, songs and crafts.
Above: Sara Kohen with youngest son Daniel during the CDC Family Shabbat.
Left: Youth Director Ben Mazur and Rabbi Deana Berezin from Temple Israel visit the CDC.
Above: Temple Israel’s Rabbi Brian Stoller, left, recording a podcast with Tri-Faith colleagues Imam Jamal Daoudi and Dr. Eric Elnes.
12 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
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Abby Kutler President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Michael Ivey Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Jill Idelman, Andy Isaacson, Natasha Kraft, Andrew Miller, Eric Shapiro, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha. org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, 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. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@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: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced 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. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. 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 information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 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 email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
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Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole.
Echo chambers ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor, Jewish Press You probably weren’t aware, but there’s a rumor going around that the coronavirus is our fault. According to the ADL, “Extremists are using the coronavirus to advance their anti-Semitic theories that Jews are responsible for creating the virus and are spreading it to increase their control or profiting from it.” I know it’s not the first time- I’m thinking, switch the word “coronavirus” for “black plague” and go back a few hundred years and it’s pretty much the same thing. Which leads me to think the people who need to believe this lunacy haven’t evolved much. I mean, really? Why on earth do people want to believe this stuff ? Never mind. There is, of course, plenty of other misinformation out there. The government (which government? Ours? The Chinese? Who knows) is covering up how bad it is, they are hiding the antidote, the disease was developed in a secret lab. I always wonder about the psychological need for such paranoia. Why are there so many random people who feel the need to believe these things? In discussing the anti-Semitic backlash after the recent UK elections, Daniella Peled wrote: “There’s something peculiarly freeing about social media’s immediacy and anonymity. For ordinary, mild-mannered Brits, it offers the chance to give full rein to instincts and prejudices usually kept safely restrained and repressed.” (Haaretz) I think that is true not just for those ‘mild-mannered Brits,’ but for people in general. We are all a little less filtered when we think we can get away with it. And yes, nowadays, no matter how crazy
your ideas, you can find a community out there lieve the coronavirus is far away and will never afwho will agree with you; it’s possible to live a quiet fect us. We can stop worrying about it—or, as the and unremarkable life and go online during your case may be, refuse to consider it a real, personal spare time to spew hatred. threat. Why, then, do some rather believe it is a real But we’ve talked all that chat-room behavior to danger, designed by the “other,” (in this case, the death. Yes, there is a lot of misinformation to be Jews) for ill purposes? Because, apparently, none of found online, but there is just as much good, trust- us really change our beliefs based on what we read worthy info—it still depends on what you want to believe. It’s still a choice who you run with, who you listen to. And most of the time, we’ve already made up our minds before we even open Google search. “It turns out judging facts isn't nearly as black-and-white as your third-grade teacher might have had you believe,” Kristen Weir wrote for the American Psychology Association. “In reality, we rely on a biased set of cognitive processes to arrive at Commuters with protective face masks in Bangkok, Thailand, to proa given conclusion or belief. This tect from the coronavirus, Jan. 30, 2020. Credit: Mladen Antonov/AFP natural tendency to cherry pick and via Getty Images twist the facts to fit with our existing beliefs is known in the headlines? As in, if you’re already anti-Seas motivated reasoning—and we all do it.” mitic and think deep down the Jews are looking for Weir continued: “Much of the early research on world domination, that coronavirus fits neatly into motivated reasoning showed that people weigh your line of thinking. facts differently when those facts are personally It’s not about the virus. It’s about what it reprethreatening.” According to Dr. Ditto Lopez, “It takes sents: a new version of ‘someone poisoned the well.’ more information to make you believe something And before we think we are too smart to ever be you don't want to believe than something you do. wrong, consider this: We don't just delude ourselves when it comes to “People often dismiss those who hold opposing our health and well-being. Research shows we also views as idiots (or worse),” Weir wrote. “Yet highly edinterpret facts differently if they challenge our per- ucated people are just as likely to make biased judgsonal beliefs, group identity or moral values.” ments—and they might actually do it more often.” Some of us, according to that rationale, will beThere is an echo chamber for all of us.
I’ve been an Israeli settler for 30 years. Trump’s peace plan puts our communities in danger DAVID HA’IVRI KFAR TAPUACH, WEST BANK | JTA Put simply, President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” is bad news for Israel. In a historic event last week, Trump revealed his vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he says has been one of the most difficult and complex problems to solve. He claims that his plan offers “the most detailed proposal ever put forward by far,” and that it’s a “‘win-win’ opportunity for both sides.” As a Jewish Israeli who has lived in the heart of the Shomron area of the West Bank for the past 30 years, as a local activist and community leader, I am sad to say that the above statements are questionable from almost any conceivable angle. For Israelis who have supported and built Israeli towns or settlements here, this plan is dreadful and the results may be disastrous. In many ways it puts us back 30 years. Similar plans have been proposed by the left since Israel regained possession of the West Bank in 1967. Maps envisioned by Israeli Labor party leaders from Yigal Allon through Yitzhak Rabin were almost identical to the one presented by Trump’s team last week. These plans suggested that the highly Arab-populated mountain ridge from Jenin to the hills of Hebron would be given to the Arabs and the Jordan Valley would remain under Israel’s control. Parts of the lower lying areas on the western side, which are less populated by Arabs and closer to the Israeli population centers along the Mediterranean, would also become part of Israel. President Trump says that in his plan, no Israelis or Palestinians will be forced to leave their homes. However, it also lists 15 Israeli towns that would become isolated enclaves deep within the proposed Palestinian state. These towns would be under siege by the Palestinian Authority and would almost certainly be placed under a building freeze. In effect, towns that are not allowed to grow will slowly dry up.
Their residents won’t be forced to leave by law, but when forced to live in detached islands within a hostile Palestinian Authority, chances are that many would leave on their own.
tional behaviors, are rejecting the proposal in spite of it being the best deal they could ever get. On the other hand, Netanyahu’s endorsement of the deal traps Israel into the very worst of terms that will forever be the starting point for any future arrangements or negotiations. It should be no surprise, then, that Jared Kushner proudly told Egyptian TV that the Trump administration is the only U.S. administration that has succeeded in convincing the Israelis to concede land to the Palestinians. Some still argue that President Trump’s announcement was a historic recognition of the connection of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria and a sign that he acThe settlement Neve Menachem in the local council Karnei cepts Israeli towns here as legitimate, Shomron. Credit: Gili Yaari/Flash 90 rather than “illegal” settlements or obstaToday, Israelis are not even allowed to drive cles to peace. This recognition follows decades in through the Palestinian Area controlled Area A, be- which countries, including the United States, have cause doing so is life threatening. Placing a small Is- declared that Israelis should not be allowed to live raeli town deep in a Palestinian domain is simply a in these areas, denying the indigenous rights of the death warrant for both the individuals living in these Jewish people to our historical homeland. communities and for the communities themselves. I can understand the feelings of relief on the part Some mistakenly take some consolation in the of my brothers and sisters who have felt for years thought that the plan lists only 15 small towns to that they were treated like criminals for their pasbe isolated and cut off from Israel. A closer look at sion to return and rebuild our ancestral lands, years the Trump map reveals that another 40 larger Is- of being told that they were to blame for the lack raeli towns, including my own, share a very similar of peace in the Middle East — and even in the enfate. They will find themselves like isolated outposts tire world. By contrast, it is refreshing to hear the connected to the rest of Israel by very narrow cor- president of the United States recognize the anridors, surrounded by Palestinian controlled space. cient connection of the Jews to this land. Towns like Kiryat Arba and Hebron that are now But we cannot ignore the maps and detailed about a one hour drive south of Jerusalem will, in plans behind the words that, in effect, decree a the vision of “the deal of the century,” only be ac- building freeze and a slow death to some 60 Israeli cessible via a narrow artery north of Be’er Sheva, towns in the heart of Judea and Samaria. which will likely take about two and a half hours to David Ha’ivri serves on the Shomron Regional reach from Jerusalem. Council. If the art of the deal is calling the other side’s The views and opinions expressed in this article are bluff, so far, Trump has succeeded in calling both those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the sides’ bluffs. The Palestinians, true to their tradi- views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020 | 13
Pete Buttigieg: My adminisration will devote $1 billion to combat anti-Semitism and other violent extremism
PETE BUTTIGIEG JTA This is the second op-ed in a series of pieces about antiSemitism and Jewish issues written by 2020 presidential candidates. This one is by Pete Buttigieg, 38, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions on the topic to all of the registered candidates from both parties. You can read Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s responses here. 1. Anti-Semitic hate crimes are currently on the rise across the United States. In 2018, there were two deadly shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway, violent attacks now regularly plague the Jews of New York City and Jews continue to be the target of most religion-based hate crimes across the country. What is your plan to address the rise in anti-Semitism across the U.S.? Addressing anti-Semitism must begin, first and foremost, with a president who is committed to opposing bigotry and hate in all its forms and who will forcefully condemn antiSemitism wherever and whenever it arises. We currently have the opposite — a president who has refused to condemn white nationalists, brought individuals holding anti-Semitic views into his administration, and unapologetically employed anti-Semitic tropes himself. I recently met with rabbis and other Jewish leaders in New York City to express my solidarity with the Jewish community following the recent anti-Semitic attacks there and to discuss how to combat rising anti-Semitism there and throughout our nation. What I heard most forcefully from the leaders with whom I met is the need for leadership that works to reduce fears rather than play to them. We have a president who exploits divisiveness for his own ends when we urgently need one who works to elevate discourse and heal divisions throughout our nation. Using the presidency as a platform for making clear that anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry and hatred have no place in our nation or, for that matter, throughout the world is absolutely crucial, but it is not sufficient. My administration will combat anti-Semitism using the full range of tools available to the federal government. First, my administration will devote $1 billion to prevent and combat radicalization and violent extremism. We will empower law enforcement by increasing the FBI’s domestic counterterrorism field staff and pass federal legislation to expand our ability to track hate. Additionally, to combat the violent extremism that continues metastasizing online, we will dedicate federal funding for technology innovation and training to improve the software tools that track extremism. Second, the central role of education in addressing antiSemitism and bigotry must not be understated. Intolerance springs from ignorance, and an informed citizenry is a foundation of democracy. Holocaust education is a critical component of addressing anti-Semitism. I will support the Never Again Ed-
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ucation Act, bipartisan legislation that would authorize new There is ample room for respectful disagreement and defunding for teaching children about the Holocaust, and I will bate around the policies of the Israeli government, just as we support legislative efforts to make sure that this dark chapter encourage vigorous debate about policy of our U.S. governin history is part of the history that is taught in our schools. ment. I have not hesitated to express my disagreement with Third, I will support increased funding for the Department right-wing political figures in Israel to the extent that their of Homeland Security’s programs that increase the safety and statements and policies are inconsistent with longstanding security of our communities. This includes the Nonprofit Se- U.S. policy and have undermined the prospects for achieving curity Grants Program, which provides houses of worship and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as other nonprofit faith-based community institutions, including threats of annexation. Israel is an essential ally for America synagogues, temples, churches, mosques and Jewish commu- and, as I have said before, when we have disagreements, it is nity centers, with grants to improve their security. incumbent upon us to put our arm around our ally, as one Fourth, I will direct the Departwould do with a friend, and offer ment of Justice to make prosecuting wise and honest counsel. hate crimes a departmental priorAt the same time, criticism of Isity. This includes actively investigatrael that is expressed, for example, ing and prosecuting hate crimes in by invoking dangerous tropes and violation of federal laws, as well as invidious stereotypes about Jews or supporting state and local hate by denying the Jewish people the crimes enforcement, as most vioright to self-determination are exlent crime is prosecuted at the state amples of criticism that crosses the and local levels. I will support fully line from legitimate criticism into funding the landmark Matthew anti-Semitism. Shepard, James Byrd, Jr. Hate With respect to the Boycott, DiCrimes Prevention Act by providing Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg vestment and Sanctions, movethe $5 million that the law author- speaks to voters in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2020. ment against Israel, or BDS, I izes for DOJ to provide “technical, Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images disagree with BDS as a strategy proforensic, prosecutorial or any other form of assistance” to moting a resolution to the conflict because it lays all of the state and local law officials in investigating and prosecuting blame at the feet of Israel and advocates for maximalist dehate crimes, as well as make grants for extraordinary ex- mands that push the prospects for peace further away. At the penses associated with the investigation or prosecution of a same time, efforts to counter BDS must respect the freedom hate crime. And in addition to enforcing our hate crimes laws, of speech and expression that is protected by the First Amendwe need to prevent them from occurring in the first place. I ment of the U.S. Constitution. will direct the Justice Department’s Community Relations 3. Countless politicians have tried to broker peace beService, which works to strengthen the ability of communities tween Israel and the Palestinians, and yet a two-state outto prevent and solve conflicts, to prioritize its efforts to com- come now seems more dream than possibility. What are bat anti-Semitism and reduce tensions in communities where your concrete plans to address the conflict between Israel anti-Semitic incidents occur. and the Palestinians? Finally, I will create an interagency task force that works on When I visited Israel with the American Jewish Committee, combating all forms of bigotry and hate, including rising anti- I saw on the ground the significant security threats Israel Semitism. This task force will coordinate and leverage the re- faces. I also recognize the toll of the status quo on Palestinians’ sources of the federal government to address anti-Semitism dignity and self-determination. domestically. Anti-Semitism is not limited to the U.S., of In my campaign I have often stressed the shared human course, so I will direct my administration to take steps to en- value of freedom. Both Israeli and Palestinian citizens should sure that agencies throughout the federal government, includ- be able to enjoy the freedom to go about their daily lives withing embassies and consulates, law enforcement officials who out fear, and to work to achieve economic well-being for their participate in providing training to their counterparts in other families. That is why I continue to believe a two-state solution countries, and educational initiatives to identify how they can that achieves legitimate Palestinian aspirations and meets Isbest combat anti-Semitism in their programs. rael’s security needs remains the only viable way forward. 2. A number of Democratic lawmakers have recently Neither side has yet stepped up to make the difficult comcritiqued Israel in ways that some have characterized as promises that are necessary to achieve an enduring peace. As anti-Semitic. What is the line between legitimate criticism Israel’s most powerful and most reliable ally, the United States of Israel and anti-Semitism to you? See Pete Buttigieg page 15.
Synagogues
14 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE
Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
CHABAD HOUSE
An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
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
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE
Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com
TIFERETH ISRAEL
Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org
B’NAI ISRAEL Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on Friday, Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker Ken Freed. Our service leader is Larry Blass, and as always, an Oneg wil follow the service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, MaryBeth Muskin and Sissy Silber. Handicap Accessible.
BETH EL Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; No Jr. Congregation — President’s Weekend; Kiddush following services. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: No BESTT — President’s Weekend; Torah Study, 10 a.m. TUESDAY: Mahjong, 1 p.m.; Chesed Committee Visits Sterling Ridge, 2:30 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Hamantashen Bake, 4 p.m.; BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:15 p.m.; USY Lounge Night, 5:15 p.m.; Community Hebrew High (Grades 8-12), 5:30 p.m. at the JCC; Beit Midrash: Gender Roles and Identity in Modern Jewish Thought, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel. THURSDAY: Brachot and Breakfast, 7 a.m.; Read & Feed, 5 p.m. at Millard Boys & Girls Club, Omaha. Pre-Neg and Six-String Shabbat, Friday, Feb. 21, 5:30 p.m. Our Shabbat Tables, Friday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. at Beth El. Shabbat’s Cool (Grades K-7), Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m. followed by Mini Shul-In (Grades 3-7), 12:15 p.m. USY/Kadima Sleepover, Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 p.m. Meals that Heal — Cook and Serve Dinner, Sunday, Feb. 23, 4:30-7 p.m. at Ronald McDonald House.
BETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer FRIDAY: Laws of Shabbos, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 7:40 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Lights of Teshuva, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Mincha/Candle Lighting, 5:39 p.m. SATURDAY: Open Beit Midrash — All welcome to learn the Torah and Dance, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Tot Shabbat, 10:50 a.m.; Insights into the Weekly Torah Portion, 4:40 p.m.; Teen-led Youth Group, 5:25 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 5:25 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:41 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 am.; Works of Maimonides, 9:45 am.; JYE BI., 10 am.; JYE BI Jr., 10:15 am.; Mincha/ Daf Yomi/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. at RBJH. MONDAY: Laws of Shabbos, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 7:40 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Lights of Teshuva, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Tasty Torah, noon at Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Daf Yomi/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. at RBJH. TUESDAY: Laws of Shabbos, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 7:40 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Lights of Teshuva, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Mincha/Daf Yomi/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. at RBJH; Men’s Pick-up Basketball, 8 p.m. at the JCC. WEDNESDAY: Laws of Shabbos, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 7:40 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Lights of Teshuva, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Mincha/Daf Yomi/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. at RBJH. THURSDAY: Laws of Shabbos, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 7:40 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Lights of Teshuva, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Character Development, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Daf Yomi/Ma’ariv, 5:50 p.m. at RBJH.
CHABAD HOUSE Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Sunday Secrets, 9:15 p.m. following Minyan. MONDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani; Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi
Katzman; Introduction to Reading Hebrew, 10:30 a.m. THURSDAY: Intermediate Hebrew Reading and Prayer, 11 a.m.; Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Katzman. All programs are open to the community. For more information call 402.330.1800 or visit www.Ochabad.com.
B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Teri Appleby. FRIDAY: Pop-up Shabbat Dinners — No Services at the Temple.; Candlelighting, 5:42 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:45 a.m. on Parashat Yitro; Potluck Dinner and Game Night, 6 p.m. All ages welcome; Havdalah (72 minutes), 7:13 p.m. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; LJCS Teacher Development Day, 9 a.m. at Temple; Adult Hebrew Class, 11:30 a.m.; Feeding the Kids at F Street Rec Center, 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact Aimee Hyten at aimee. hyten@gmail.com. MONDAY: Temple Office Closed TUESDAY: Ladies’ Lunch, noon at Napoli’s, 5571 S. 48th St. (west side, between Hwy 2 and Old Cheney). Let Deborah Swearingen (402.475.7528) know if you plan to attend and if you need a ride; Intro to Judaism, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. Movie Night, Saturday, Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. This month’s double feature is UHF followed by Top Secret. 2020 Federation Camp Grants: All Federation families are eligible for Camp Incentive Grants of $300 per camper to pay the initial camp registration deposit. Additional camp scholarships beyond the incentive grants are available based on need and require submission of a scholarship application.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service: You Have Made Our Bodies with Wisdom: Physical Activity as Spiritual Practice , 6 p.m. with Rabbi Stoller. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SUNDAY: No Youth Learning Programs. TUESDAY: Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY: More Than a Joke: A Tri-Faith Symposium: Caution: May Be Habit Forming Ritual in Judaism, Christianity & Islam, noon at Countryside Community Church; Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; Community Dinner, 6 p.m. Menu: chili and potato bar, enhanced salad bar, dessert. RSVP to Temple Israel, 402.556.6536.; Grades 7-12, 6-8 p.m.; Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue”: Social Justice as a Pathway to Jewish Meaning, 6:30 p.m.; Omaha Jewish Community Beit Midrash: Gender Roles and Identity in Modern Jewish Thought, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel. THURSDAY: Israel Forum, 10 a.m. Artist-in-Residence Weekend with Jacob “Spike” Kraus: Shabbat Evening Service, Friday, Feb. 21, 6 p.m.; Torah Study, 9:15 a.m., Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m., and Tot Havdalah, 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22; Youth Learning Programs, 10 a.m. and Community Concert featuring our Students, 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23. Taste of Tri-Faith, Sunday, Feb. 23, 4 p.m. at AMI.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: No Shabbat Service; Candlelighting, 5:42 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Service, 10 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 11 a.m. followed by a light Kiddush luncheon; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:43 p.m. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; LJCS Teacher Development Day, 9 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Congregational Meeting, 10 a.m.; Come learn and play Pickleball, 7 p.m. MONDAY: Tifereth Israel Office Closed WEDNESDAY: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. Farbrengen — A Meeting of Souls, Sunday, Feb.23, 3:30-5:30 p.m. with Rabbi Mendel and Shani Katzman at Tifereth Israel. Please join us for an afternoon of song and soulful conversation as we journey to reconnect to ourselves and each other. This event is best for congregants ages 21 and older. Please RSVP to ncoren@tifere thisraellincoln.org no later than Sunday Feb. 16. It’s not too soon to be thinking about summer camp! All Federation families are eligible for Camp Incentive Grants of $300 per camper to pay the initial camp registration deposit. Application packets are availible in the Tifereth Israel foyer. Please submit all applications no later than Monday, March 16. Thanks to the generosity of The Michael and Anita Siegal One Happy Camper Fund, limited $1,000 incentive grants are available. Any Jewish child who would like to have a first-time experience at a Jewish overnight camp and who lives in a community that is part of JFNA's Network of Independent Communities is eligible to apply. Please see the link below for more information. https://www.jewishcamp.org/one-happy-camper/
Alexander Vindman is a victim of Trump’s ‘campaign of intimidation,’ his lawyer says “The truth has cost Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman MARCY OSTER his job, his career, and his privacy,” his attorney, JTA The Feb. 7 removal of Alexander Vindman from David Pressman, said in a statement, adding that the National Security Council reflects President Trump had “made a series of obviously false statements concerning LieuDonald Trump’s “camtenant Colonel Vindman.” paign of intimidation” The same day, Vindman’s against those who testified twin brother, Lt. Col. in impeachment hearings, Yevgeny Vindman, was Vindman’s attorney said. asked to leave his job as a Trump removed VindWhite House lawyer. Both man, a high-ranking U.S. Vindmans, Jews who imarmy official, from his pomigrated with their father sition as an expert on U.S. from Ukraine in 1979, were policy in Ukraine. He also reassigned to the Army. recalled Gordon Sondland, Trump defended his deciU.S. ambassador to the Eusion in a series of tweets. ropean Union. Rep. Adam Schiff, D- Calif., The moves offered an Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images who was lead prosecutor answer to the question of who would pay a price for offering damaging tes- in Trump’s impeachment hearing in the Senate, timony about Trump’s Ukraine dealings. Both criticized the firings. “President Trump is exacting his retribution, reVindman and Sondland testified against Trump in the House of Representatives, providing dam- moving those who complied with subpoenas, aging testimony that led to Trump’s impeach- came forward, and testified about his misconduct. ment. Their removal comes just days after Trump These are the actions of a man who believes he is was acquitted by the Republican-led U.S. Senate above the law — Precisely the kind of conduct Congressional Republicans enabled,” he tweeted. in an impeachment trial.
Life cycles IN MEMORIAM ROBERT E. BRAMSON Robert E. Bramson passed away peacefully on Jan. 24 at age 98 at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He was preceded in death by Beverly, his college sweetheart and beloved wife of 59 years and his brother, Alan. He is survived by his four children, daughter and son-in-law, Bobbe Bramson Goodman and Martin Goodman, son, David, and sons and daughters-in-law, Danny and Julee, Tom and Stephanie; grandchildren: Gregory, Stephanie and Grant Jones, Joshua, Jesse and Nicole. Robert was born in Omaha to Jack and Freda Bramson. He attended Omaha Central HS where he was a basketball and tennis star, as well as sports editor of the school paper. Bob played varsity basketball at the University of Nebraska and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. A commissioned officer in WWII he lead his platoon as a paratrooper and pathfinder in the 82nd Airborne. He was badly wounded by enemy fire in the Battle of the Bulge, and was awarded two purple hearts, a bronze star and combat infantryman's badge. Following a one year hospitalization for his wounds, as a 1st Lt, he returned to NU Law School where he earned his law degree. Rather than practice law, he became an FBI agent working in New York City. He left the Bureau to start his long career with MCA initially as an attorney in their NY office and then Chicago to work in their television distribution division. He transferred to LA when the company acquired Universal Studios and became President of MCA's International Television Division. After retiring from MCA he consulted for MGM and bought a second home at Ironwood Country Club in Palm Desert. Bob and Beverly loved living there, playing golf and tennis and enjoyed a very active social life. In later years he pursued his passions for tennis, playing into his 90s at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club and for voracious reading.
Man shouts anti-Semitic epithets in Philadelphia kosher market MARCY OSTER JTA A man shouted anti-Semitic comments inside a kosher supermarket in northeast Philadelphia. The man later fled in a tractor-trailer he had parked in the parking lot of House of Kosher for an extended period of time, Fox 29 Philadelphia reported Feb. 6. A nationwide search is ongoing, the report said. Surveillance cameras caught images of the man as he left the store, got into the 18-wheeler and drove off. A witness saw the license number, Fox reported. The incident comes less than two months after an attack on a kosher supermarket in Jersey City that left one of the shop’s owners, a customer and an employee dead. Security at area synagogues was increased in the wake of the Jersey City market attack, Fox 29 reported. Shira Goodman, regional director of ADL of Philadelphia, told the Jewish Exponent that while such threats must be taken “extremely seriously, we believe the police are on top of this, that there is not an imminent threat.” It is not clear in the Fox account when the incident occurred, nor were details of what the man said reported. The Jewish Exponent reported that the incident took place late in January.
Pete Buttigieg See Pete Buttigieg page 15 has the opportunity to shape a more constructive path with the tough and honest guidance that friendship and fairness require. To preserve stability in the region, my administration will support robust security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which both sides have used effectively to combat terrorism. President Trump’s punitive aid cuts to the Palestinians have been dangerous. When he cut security assistance to the Palestinian Authority, aid that is used for close coordination with Israel, he threatened Israeli and Palestinian security. When he cut humanitarian assistance for Palestinian hospitals and aid for people-to-people initiatives between Israelis and Palestinians, he diminished the prospects for peace. Preserving the viability of a two-state solution for the future means speaking out when either side takes steps that would decrease its likelihood. The United States of America must be guided by an unwavering commitment to the values of peace and security. 4. Is there any part of American Jewish culture, or Jewish figure from history, that has been particularly meaningful to you in your life? As the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, I had the privilege of leading a wonderfully diverse community that includes South Bend’s strong Jewish community. As in many cities throughout the U.S., Jews who emigrated to America traveled to the cities and towns where they had relatives. South Bend was no
The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020 | 15
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exception, and the Jewish community there developed and has played a leading role in virtually every aspect of civic life. I have gotten to know our Jewish community well. There are multiple temples and synagogues, representing the different denominations throughout our city, including Temple BethEl, which is just a few blocks from our home, and where Chasten and I have enjoyed attending Shabbat services. Close friends, supporters, colleagues and mentors who are Jewish have helped me to learn about the American Jewish experience and the richness of Jewish culture that adds so much to our communities and our country. 5. Have you participated in a Passover seder or other Jewish holiday ritual? If so, what were the circumstances, and what was the experience like for you? I was honored to participate in a Passover seder last year with a Jewish family in New Hampshire. In the course of the observance, I witnessed how it can draw families closer together, as well as be a source of community and tradition that links observers to others around the world, and to past and future generations. It was a moving experience that calls to mind many of the most meaningful elements of the practices in my own religious tradition, and opened my understanding to different ways of upholding faith, culture and values. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media
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Lifestyle
16 | The Jewish Press | February 14, 2020
FOOD | E N TE RTA I N ME N T | C ULT URE
You are going to crave this easy Israeli quiche LEANNE SCHOR This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher. Americans don’t have nearly the appreciation that Israelis do for quiche. In the States, it’s an unimaginative brunch addition that never really shines. But in Israel, it’s the star of many lunch tables and an incredible dairy dinner. Not to mention Shavuot, which could literally be called the “quiche holiday.” So what makes this Israeli-style quiche, known as a pashtida, so different than what you find elsewhere? First, the filling is far more creamy rather than eggy. A combination of three different cheeses, milk and a touch of cream make this pashtida luxurious and rich. Second, most traditional quiches have a pie crust bottom and are open on the top. In Israel, you can find many types of quiche —with crispy layers of phyllo dough, flaky puff pastry or even thinly sliced potatoes. The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily switch up the vegetables in the filling depending on your taste and what you have. As long as you keep the cheese and milk ratios the same, you can be creative. Other combinations I love are sauteed mushrooms and onion, and leek and goat cheese.
PASHTIDA (ISRAELI QUICHE) Ingredients: 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but cold 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, partially steamed and thinly sliced 3 Tbsp. olive oil 3 eggs 1 zucchini 1 onion 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup shredded Manchego 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan 3-4 Tbsp. Boursin cheese 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper beaten egg for egg wash sesame seeds Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Saute the onion and zucchini in 2 Tbsp. olive oil until tender and slightly caramelized. Set aside in a bowl to cool slightly. Spray a 9- or 10-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray, then drizzle the remaining tablespoons olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Spread the thinly sliced potatoes over the bottom of the pan in a circular pattern, each piece overlapping slightly. Set aside. In a medium size bowl, whisk the 3 eggs, cream, milk, Parmesan, Manchego and Boursin to combine. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Add the sauteed vegetables to the egg and milk mixture, stir to combine. Pour the mixture
Zucchini, potato and Manchego pashtida Credit: Leanne Shor over the potatoes in the pan. Cut a large 11-inch circle out of the puff pastry. Place the pastry on top of the filling in the pan. Gently fold the edges under and crimp. Brush the beaten egg on top and sprinkle generously
with sesame seeds. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown. Serve with a big leafy salad and fried eggplant.
The Jewish Federation of Omaha is excited to be a part of this amazing grant opportunity! A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TO
FUNDED BY THE
STAENBERG FAMILY FOUNDATION
Fund your Jewish organization’s* operations, project or program with an Anything Grant.
& Friends of the Jewish Federation of Omaha
Applications are available at https://tinyurl.com/doanything2020 Due Date: February 28, 2020 Selection complete by: March 29, 2020
Eligible grant applications could be for anything, including: • Hiring a nonprofit consultant • Purchasing technology • Staff/Board professional development • Building beautification/improvement
These one-time matching grants will range from $1,000 to $5,000, equal to 50 percent of the project budget. Organizations are responsible for raising the remaining 50 percent from other sources. Project budget not to exceed $10,000. Your project must be completed, matching funds raised and paperwork submitted by March 31, 2021 in order to receive your funds.
*Available to Jewish organizations in Omaha, Lincoln and Council Bluffs, IA
For more information visit www.jewishomaha.org/education/scholarships-and-grants/view/anything-grants/ Questions? Contact Louri Sullivan at lsullivan@jewishomaha.org
