February 21, 2003

Vol. LXXXII

No. 25

Omaha, NE

19 Adar 1, 5763

February 21, 2003

CELEBRATING 82 YEARS OF SERVICE TO NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA

Funds from Israel Terror Relief Campaign to Benefit Western Galilee

by PAM MONSKY, Federation Communications Director Members of the Partnership 2000 Midwest Galilee College, the Mate Asher Regional Council Consortium, which includes Omaha’s Jewish com- (similar to our city governments), the city of Akko, munity, met in November and recommendand the Western Galilee Medical Center in ed that 20% of the money raised by the Nahariyah.

Israel Terror Relief Campaigns be The breakdown is as follows: earmarked for terror relief projWestern Galilee College Western ects in our P2K area in Israel’s total, $103,000-Western Galilee.

• Central control and surWestern Galilee College Omaha’s Jewish community veillance equipment, $20,000; Galilee has been active in • Internal radio communicaMedical Partnership 2000 since its tion system, $3000; Center Mate Asher inception four years ago. The • Student stipends for secuRegional program matches regions in rity guarding 30 students for the United States with simi2002-03, $30,000; Council lar areas in Israel. Many • Student stipend for security members of the Omaha Jewish guarding 50 students for 2003community have developed rela04, $50,000.

Akko tionships with Israelis who have Mate Asher Regional Council come to our city, most recently with total, $204,690-the Israeli athletes and art teachers • Equipment for regional council’s alert from the Western Galilee College who particteam, $55,650; ipated in the JCC Maccabi games last August and • 4x4 security vehicle (budgeted directly by Dayton, members of the Akko Vocal Youth Ensemble and OH), $50,000; Quartet who performed here in December.

• Upgrade for Emergency Command Center, Omaha’s contribution to the Partnership’s emer- $50,000; gency needs is $180,000, which is 20% of the • upgrade for 20 shelters, $26,000; $940,00 our community raised for Israel Terror • equipment for bomb shelters, $11,200; Relief last spring. The Israel/Overseas Committee • stress release workshop, $11,840. of the Federation Board, chaired by Zoë Riekes and Akko, total, $158,00-Jan Schneiderman, met to carefully consider what • Vehicle for community policing, $32,500 (plus the most pressing terror relief needs are and how to direct allocation from Dayton, OH, $32,500); best allocate the money. The 13 Partnership com• Building rentals, equipment and implementamunities raised $793,761 for the Western Galilee tion costs for community police outpost, $44,500; and met in Dallas in mid-December to finalize the • Enrichment workshops for youth, $31,000; allocations.

• JDC--Pele--Enrichment programs for junior Riekes, who also serves as the Social/Cultural high, $50,000.

Chairman for the entire Consortium, insisted there Western Galilee Medical Center total, were four major areas with pressing needs as a $240,000-result of the continuing intifada: the Western • SAT scan and mobile radiology lab, $240,000.

As World Prepares for Iraq War, American Jews Prepare to Help Israel

by RACHEL POMERANCE NEW YORK (JTA)--Phillip Miller calls it his “hot war” list. And in one week, he has enlisted seven American Jews to aid Israel at a time of need.

The 75-year old New Jerseyan is recruiting volunteers to jet to Israel if an American war with Iraq brings an attack on the Jewish state.

“If a hot war breaks out and Iraq starts messing with Israel in any way, shape or form, then I and the others will probably be on the first plane we can get to Israel,” Miller said. “The Israelis will proba-

bly need as much help as they can get, and we'll do our part to help them.”

(Editor’s note: Omaha’s Dr. Wayne Lainof was trained by the Western Galilee Hospital last fall and will fly to Israel within a week to 10 days, if needed, to fill in for pediatricians who are called up for military duty.)

As an American war on Iraq appears imminent, some U.S. Jews anticipate a repeat performance of America’s 1991 Gulf War with Iraq, when Saddam Hussein lobbed Scud missiles into the thick of Tel Aviv. At the time, Israel abided by America’s request not to strike back.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has stated Israel might not take another round of attacks lying down.

In any case, many American Jews and American Jewish organizations are responding to the threat of a U.S. war on Iraq by trying to fortify Israel. The efforts include An Israeli family looks over emergency equipment at a store near Tel shoring up Israel’s blood Aviv. The store manager says that the sales of emergency items such as supply, readying volunteer flashlights, generators, and plastic sheeting for sealing windows and doctors and assembling doors against possible chemical and biological attack are way up. gas masks.

Photo by JTA/Brian Hendler. (Continued on page 8)

Omaha Represented at Annual UJC Young Leadership Conference

by PAM MONSKY Federation Communications Director What happens when you update Theodore Herzl’s famous quote, “If you will it, it is no dream”?

You get the United Jewish Communities’ Young Leadership Conference theme, “Don’t Just Stand There, Make it Happen!” The 2003 Young Leadership Conference will be held in San Francisco from March 7-9 and Omaha will be resented by last year’s Young Leadership Award winners: David Goldberg and Kimberly Robinson.

David Goldberg and Kimberly Robinson will represent Omaha at the UJC Young Leadership conference in San Francisco.

Topics at the conference will include spirituality, social activism, media and entertainment, relationships, and Israel advocacy as well as many others.

More than 800 young leaders from the western region of the United States are expected to attend the conference, which is considered to be one of the best Jewish conclaves in the country.

Robinson and Goldberg, winners of the 2001 Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award and the 2001 Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award respectively, are looking forward to participating in exciting and meaningful sessions at the conference.

“From all I’ve heard, the Young Leadership Conference will be energizing,” said Robinson.

“There are so many complex Jewish issues right now and I want to talk to other young Jewish leaders who want to make a difference.”

Goldberg is also excited about connecting with the hundreds of young Jews at the conference. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to educate myself both spiritually and politically. It’s a rare chance to get together with Jews of my generation, who are from all over the county.”

The Conference kicks off Friday, March 7, with a Magical Mystery bus tour around San Francisco.

Participants will hear keynote speakers, including radio personality Dennis Prager and Freedom Writer founder Erin Gruwell. Session topics include Israel, philanthropy, the Middle East crisis and Jewish cooking.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha has received a grant from the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation to pay for the $375 registration. Participants are responsible for their airfare and hotel.

For registration details or more information, please contact Sharon Kirshenbaum, Federation Young Leadership Director, 334-6431, or email her at: skirshenbaum@jewishomaha.org.

INSIDE: The History Footprint .......................... page 7 Results of FJA Survey .......................... page 8 Melton Adds Graduate Program ........ page 9 Eilat Looks Ahead .......................... pages 10-11

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

Persnickety Pets

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

Pet Sitting & House Sitting

Don’t Blow These Horns!

Daily visits to care for your pets and home while you are away Bonded & Insured • References

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat KiTissa Our Sidra begins with the census of the people and goes on to more interesting things. This is the Sidra in which the people, afraid that Moses, who had climbed the mountain, would never come back, created a god who could be worshiped because he could be seen. This is the Golden Calf.

I had always wondered whether the Bible was poking a little fun at the Golden Calf, aside from its disdain of worship of visible idols. In the Middle East, pagans worshiped bulls, not calves. The bull was a symbol both of strength and power on the one hand, and fertility on the other. Bull-worship was common in the ancient Near East. The Bible calls this one a calf, having a little joke about this pagan worship, quite aside from its disdain of it.

The Israelites are ordered to destroy pagan worship in the land. It offers no apologies for this intolerance. From this point of view, tolerance is not always a good thing. It depends what you choose to tolerate. And the Children of Israel are ordered to make no covenants with the indigenous people, pagans, lest they induce you, the Bible says, to follow their practices.

This is the Sidra that led to Michaelangelo’s statue of Moses with horns protruding from his forehead. The text says that when Moses came down from the mountain, his face was radiant, was shining, so much so that he had to wear a veil when he appeared before the Children of Israel. But the word for radiance has the same root letters as the word for horn (k-r-n) and the Vulgate translator did not distinguish the two and pictured Moses as descending from the mountain with horns.

Somewhere in 19th century America, a farm woman met a Jew for the first time and looked him up and down, commenting that she thought that all Jews had horns. Oh, the calumnies that stem from this misreading of scripture: children of the devil, servants of Satan, and such.

Be sure to wear a big hat, with no built-in holes for protrusions!

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

L I MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24 P YES Program, 10 a.m.

C L I P

& Florence Melton Adult Mini School, 11 a.m.

&

E

S A V E

& 7 p.m.

S JCC Budget Committee Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

A Talmud Class with Rabbi Kutner, 7 p.m., V at Beth Israel TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

JCC Budget Committee Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

JFS Couples Interfaith Group, 7 p.m.

Federation Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Melton Mini School, 11 a.m.

Jewish Educational & Library Services board meeting, noon.

B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers, noon, at Park Inn Regency JCC Budget Committee Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

C Federation Planning & Evaluation committee L meeting, 7 p.m.

I P

& S A V E

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Temple Israel Congregational Trip to Spain, 8 a.m.

Walk-in Drop-in Activity, 10 a.m.

Yiddish Group Meeting, 1 p.m.

Press Club Rehearsal, 6 p.m.

All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events.To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437.

FOR A COMPLETE LISTING,VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

Kohll’s Pharmacy & Homecare Citywide Delivery

7 Locations

DORIS KATELMAN GEFFEN Doris Katelman Geffen died Feb. 8 at the age of 79. Services were held Feb. 10 at Temple Israel Cemetery.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Milton Katelman.

She is survived by her son, John S. Katelman; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Howard and Susan Katelman of Des Moines, IA; and grandchildren, Joshua, Julie and Jay of Omaha, and Michael, John and Joe of Des Moines.

Memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association.

LOUIS T. ORLOFF Louis T. Orloff died Dec. 27, 2002, in Lincoln.

Services were held Dec. 29 at Mount Carmel Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Orloff and sister and brother-in-law, Ruth and Irwin Goldenberg, all of Lincoln; sister, Janet Orloff of Portland, OR; nieces and nephews, Martha Lerner and JoAnn Gold, Omaha, Robin Hill, Chicago, Gwen Stevens, Denver, Mark Dann, Upper Sandusky, OH, Carol and Chet Orloff, Oregon, Jon Orloff, Washington, D.C., Chet Stoler, Minneapolis, MN, and Howard Stoler, Madrid, Spain.

Memorials to Tifereth Israel Synagogue in Lincoln or the Lincoln Tennis Club.

INEZ KATELMAN Former Omahan Inez Katelman died Feb. 14 in Scottsdale, AZ at the age of 93. Services were held Feb. 16 at Messinger Mortuary.

She is survived by sons Stephen J. Cohen and James M. Cohen, both of Scottsdale; grandchildren, Margo Cohen of Scottsdale and Andrew Cohen of Flagstaff; sister Dorothy Wilcox of Memphis, TN. Memorials to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85014.

To submit an obituary to the Jewish Press...

Fax the obit to the Press (1-402-334-5422) or e-mail it to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org--or remind the funeral home handling the deceased to fax or e-mail the obit.

For more information, call the Press at 334-6448.

Purim in Outer Space

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Boy Scout Overnight, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Visions Concert, L’Chaim. at Millard West High School, 2:30 p.m.

C

DEATHS

C L I P & S A V E

by JENNIFER KELLEY Have you ever considered what an experience it might be to spend Purim in outer space? Here’s your chance to find out what it might feel like, taste like, and look like.

“Purim in Outer Space” is a community-wide Purim celebration which will take place on Tuesday, March 18, 5 p.m., at the JCC. “The event will include a festive Purim dinner for all ages with a menu that will be simply out of this world,” said Bonnie Bloch, one of the event coordinators. The decor and ambience will feature stars, the galaxies and props to fit the occasion.

Participants are invited to “space-out this Purim.”

“This play on words really connects to the Talmudic injunction to be merry on Purim--to the extent one can’t differentiate between Mordechai and Haman,” she added.

“Our previous Purim plans were changed when we heard of the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia, “ explained Rabbi Mendel Katzman. “We wanted to pay tribute to our own brother Ilan Ramon--and to his fellow astronauts and to do mitzvot in their honor. We could not proceed with business as usual,” he added.

Shani Katzman, educator at Chabad House commented “Ilan Ramon was a modern day hero. He was a proud committed Jew representing Israel.

The media covered how he took a special Torah scroll aboard Columbia, ordered kosher food and

donned tefillin with the local Chabad rabbi prior to take off. I believe this is an important lesson for our children.

“They must know that to be successful and popular does not mean to relinquish Jewish values,” she added.

“Purim in Outer Space” is co-sponsored by Chabad House and Beth Israel Synagogue. Cost $12 for adults, $7 for children and students, and free for children three and under. All are encouraged to come dressed in “space gear” or as their favorite Jewish hero.

The cover charge includes dinner, a multimedia megillah reading, opportunities to create and send Moshiach Manot and Matanot L’evyonim (these are the four mitzvot of Purim). Additionally children are invited to don a special Mordechai costume and enjoy horseback rides outdoors, led by Haman. A photograph will be presented to each child as a memento to remember this Purim celebration.

For reservations or more information call Chabad House at 330-1800 or Beth Israel at 556-6288.

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February 21, 2003

SYNAGOGUES

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Candlelighting Friday, Feb. 21 ..............................................5:47 p.m.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

Member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism

7023 Cass Street, Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556-6536 templeisrael-ne.org

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

1502 No. 52 St., Omaha, NE. 68104 -5013 556-6288 BethIsrael@novia.net

14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492-8550 WEB--www.bethel-omaha.org

FRIDAY: Men’s Club, 11:45 a.m. All male members of Temple Israel are invited to a weekly informal get together at Spirit World, 7517 Pacific St. Join us for some relaxation and great conversation; Early Worship Service, 5:30 p.m., Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Jeffrey Taxman will officiate using the Union Prayer Book; Family Service, 5:30 p.m., Rabbi Craig Marantz and Cantor Wendy Shermet will officiate.

SATURDAY: Bagels and Sacred Books, 9:30 a.m., in the Milder Center. Please join us as we continue study of Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries: The Amidah; Morning service, 10:30 a.m.

DIAGNOSIS: CRISIS IN HEALTH CARE SUNDAY, Feb. 23, 10 a.m., The Social Justice Education Forum presents a panel on assuring access to health care in Nebraska. Panelists are Dr. Magda Peck, Dr. Keith J. Mueller, Dr. Stacie Bleicher and Darlene Golbitz, R.N. ADULT EDUCATION WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26 The Jews of Spain: History and Culture, 6:45-8:15 p.m. with Prof. Guy Matalon.

THURSDAY, Feb. 27: Beyond Basic Hebrew, 9:15-10 a.m.; Adult Study with Rabbi Craig Marantz, 10-11:30 a.m.

Office hours: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Howard Kutner.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:50 p.m.; The West Minyan is at the home of Jack and Bette Kozlen, at 5:50 p.m. A weekly e-mail update is now being sent out, listing synagogue events. Please email the office to be on the list.

SATURDAY: Morning Services, 8:45 a.m. Free babysitting begins at 10 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m., Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood.

Shabbos House, 3-5 p.m. Parents and children in grades K-12 are invited to the home of Drs. Howard Gendelman and Bonnie Bloch for an afternoon of schmoozing and learning; Mincha, 5:40 p.m., followed by Shalosh Suedot and Ma’ariv; Havdalah, 6:47 p.m.

SUNDAY: Services, 9 a.m. and 5:50 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m MONDAY: Rabbi Kutner’s Talmud Class, 7 p.m.

Office hours are: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Shabbat Services are conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Cantor Emil Berkovits and Ritual Director Gastón Bogomolni.

FRIDAY: Come join a joyous, musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m., Ben Nachman, son of Beth Staenberg and Gary Nachman, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. Kiddush is sponsored by Beth Staenberg and Gary Nachman in honor of Ben’s Bar Mitzvah. Rabbi Levin’s Torah Class, 5:25 p.m. informal discussion and snack, followed by services at 5:55 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; weekdays at 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

A THOUGHT FOR SHABBAT To receive Rabbi Levin’s weekly “Thought For Shabbat” e-mail message, please send your e-mail address to Exec@bethel-omaha.org.

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman.

Monday-Friday, services at 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m., followed by a Kiddush luncheon.

SUNDAY: Morning Service, 8:30 a.m.

ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY: Parsha HaShavuah (weekly Torah portion), 7-8:30 p.m., led by rabbinic student Mendel Hecht.

Unmasking the Purim Mystery: a three-part series exploring the text of the Megillah, begins Feb. 24, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch included. RSVP by Feb. 23.

Remaining classes will be March 3 and 10. Cost is $18. To register for any class, please call Jennifer at 330-1800, or e-mail chabadoffice@aol.com.

618 Mynster St., Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 Phone: 322-4705 e-mail: doc jeb @aol.com FRIDAY: Evening Service, 7:30 p.m. Oneg will follow.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway, Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294-6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Howard Needelman to Lead Temple’s Jewish Journey Group Comparing Biomedical Ethics

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator There’s more to health care than getting well.

Just ask Dr. Howard Needelman, a physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. On Wednesdays, March 5, 12, 19, April 2 and 9, he will lead a Jewish Journey Group at Temple Israel comparing Jewish biomedical ethics with other philosophies of religious and secular biomedical ethics.

“I’ve had a longtime interest in the field of bioethics,” said Dr. Needelman, the previous chairman of the Ethics Committee at Children’s Hospital and a member of Temple Israel. He added that there are variations in how different religions teach the right and wrong use of medicine.

Jewish Journey Groups share a common structure and seek to foster deep connections, openness to growth, and an awareness of the Divine Presence.

The groups begin and end with a moment of prayer in word, song, or silence. In addition to the Jewish theme that is unique to each group, participants have an opportunity to share what is meaningful in their lives at each session.

In addition, this Journey Group, which will meet from 7-8:30 p.m., will provide an introduction for Temple’s next scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Elliot Dorff, who will be here in May. His topics will involve genetic bioethics and the ethics of human intimacy.

Anyone in the community is welcome to register online at: rzweiback@qwest.net or by calling Program Director Rosie Zweiback at 556-6536.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of the Worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch Movement

1866 So. 120th St., Omaha, NE 68144-1646 Phone: 330-1800 E-MAIL--chabad@aol.com WEBSITE: www.nebraskajudaism.com

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 tiferethisraellincoln.org

423-8569

Services conducted by Rabbi Stanley M. Rosenbaum.

Minyan, Monday & Thursday, 7:15 a.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m., Junior Congregation, 11 a.m.

SUNDAY, Feb. 23: Pirke Avot, 10 a.m.; Adult Book Club, 2:30 p.m.

MEN’S GROUP Meets at The Knolls every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

ARTRAGEOUS EVENING OF ART Saturday, March 8, 7:30 p.m., Art auction, hors d’oevres and desserts, $5 in advance; $7 at the door.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: 7 p.m., services led by Nancy Rips.

SATURDAY: 9 a.m., services conducted by Alan Shulewitz. All services are open to the community.

PERSONALS To my wonderful family and friends: thank you, thank you, thank you for the donations, cards, telephone calls, flowers, gifts and most of all for your care and concern during my surgery and recuperation. You are the best!

Dorothy Kaplan I want to thank all of my family and friends for your kind wishes during my recent hospitalization. I appreciate all of your visits, calls, cards, flowers and donations. Special thanks to Rabbi Levin and Cantor Berkovits for your support and prayers.

Marian Miller

BEYT SHALOM

An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

3012 S. 119th St., P.O. Box 241130 Omaha, NE 68124-5130 592-4082 http://welcome.to/beytshalom/ FRIDAY: Family Shabbat services for young children and their families, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Havdallah, 6 p.m. at Maya and Alex Trubnikov’s home. Volunteers please contact the Board members.

SUNDAY: Religious Hebrew School, 3:30 p.m. at the JCC. TUESDAY: Religious Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at the JCC.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURAN SOUTH STREET TEMPLE

Member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations

2061 S. 20th St., Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435-8004 jewishnebraska.org FRIDAY: Shabbat service, 7:45 p.m., David and Jennifer Williss will lead services; Sarah Kelen will give a d’var Torah, Callie Feingold will chant t’fillah; services followed by an Oneg.

SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m., Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. Deborah Swearingen will lead services and Torah Study.

SUNDAY: Hebrew School, 9 a.m.; Religious School, 10 a.m.; Megillah rehearsal, 12:30 p.m.; Gan Simcha at Tifereth Israel, 10 a.m.-noon.

MONDAY: Hebrew, 7 p.m. at Temple TUESDAY: Mishna with Rabbi Milder, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: B’nai Mitzvah class, 5 p.m.

BAKERS NEEDED Volunteers are needed to bake hamantashen for the Purim Shpiel on March 16. Call the synagogue office for details.

COMMUNITY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The Jewish community of Sioux City, Iowa is seeking a Community Executive Director for its population of 375 Jewish people. Duties will include administration of all but the pulpit and education. A strong social service and business background would be important. We seek a person capable of serving as a Federation Director and Synagogue Administrator. The position is open May, 2003. Annual compensation package is $40’s plus, depending upon experience and qualifications. Send resumes to A. Frank Baron, P.O. Box 717, Sioux City, Iowa 51102. Direct questions to A. Frank Baron at 712/277-1015.

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

EDITORIAL

When Arab States Form Peace Now... ...then pigs will fly. (Well, maybe not pigs, not in Arab countries, or in Israel, for that matter, but you get the point.)

More than 100,000 demonstrators turned out for an anti-war rally in New York City last Saturday, just 36 hours before a crippling snow storm shut down the city. Instead of being outraged that protesters had the temerity to speak against a war with Iraq, we should be grateful that we live in a country that permits such peaceful demonstrations.

We can’t wait to see that happen in Iraq, the West Bank, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and North Korea--just to name a few places where the idea of forming a branch of Peace Now is laughable (and punishable by years in jail!).

We’ll know that serious diplomats, statesmen and a population hungry for democracy is ready for representative government when peace demonstrators aren’t gunned down a la Tienneman Square in Beijing.

Is it possible for Israel’s neighbors in the Middle East to actually entertain the possibility of government reform, democratic processes, universal voting and a representative parliament?

Maybe. Word leaked out of Saudi Arabia last week, that “certain reforms” would be discussed by the royal family. What those reforms will be--like giving women the right to

drive a car, along with the right to vote--has not yet been revealed, but some members of the U.S. State Department expressed “cautious optimism.”

Israeli officials, however, are numb to cautious optimism these days. With Hizbollah poised on its northern border to lob katyusha rockets at kibbutzim in the Northern Galilee and Hamas urging its members to continue their suicide attacks at Israeli civilians, it’s difficult for any Israeli to imagine a peaceful demonstration on the West Bank of Arabs calling for an end to violence.

While Americans rush to hardware stores for plastic sheeting, duct tape and battery-operated radios, Israelis have been living with the daily consequences of violent neighbors. Instead of acting like ninnies here in the U.S., we should learn a lesson from our Israeli friends and relatives about going about our business--and trying to revive the business economy, while we’re at it.

It’s time for Americans to realize that peace isn’t going to come through “cautious optimism.” With Purim only a few weeks from now, we Jews should know by now that you don’t sit back and wait for a change of heart from the likes of Haman or Hussein or Arafat or bin Laden.

When pigs fly--that’s when evil men like them can be trusted.

Settlement Removal: a Blueprint

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

by DAVID NEWMAN, The Jerusalem Post Any future territorial agreement will necessitate evacuating a large number of Israeli settlements. Beyond the political discussion, there is no existing blueprint dealing with the practicalities of settlement removal in such a way as to ensure that it will not turn into a traumatic experience for our society as a whole.

The idea that an Israeli government could announce that all settlers must voluntarily get up and leave at a certain point in time, and that those who refuse to leave will have to be responsible for their own safety is not an option. Neither is the idea that they will remain as residents of a Palestinian state.

Living as Jews in a Palestinian state is not the same as living as Arabs in Israel; we should not fool ourselves.

While the freezing of settlement expansion should take place as a confidence-building measure prior to the signing of any agreement, evacuation can only take place afterwards.

Options for settlement evacuation must include: • Enough time for settlers to prepare an orderly evacuation; • Building alternative communities inside Israel,

especially in the Negev; • Establishing a public agency to deal with the wide range of relocation problems: housing, education and employment, especially for those working in the public sector of the settlement network; • Providing psychological services, especially for those who perceive evacuation as shattering their political and religious dreams; • Adequate financial compensation to help settlers get their new lives in order.

Unlike the Sinai experience, this should be worked out in advance and not be subject to a long period of negotiation between settler leaders and government officials. In the Sinai case, this only served to cheapen the process in the public eye, making the settlers out as a group of economic opportunists prepared eventually to sacrifice all their political beliefs for the sake of an inflated compensation package.

As much as possible, settler leaders should be involved in the detailed stages of any planned evacuation.

While many will refuse to undertake what they see as an act of “collaboration,” it is reasonable to assume that

once reality sinks in there will be pragmatists ready to become involved to ensure the least possible disruption to normal life.

• As much as possible, relocation should occur during the summer months, when children are on vacation, so they can be in place for the start of the new school year. No school ought to be disrupted by sudden closure or a gradual loss of students over an extended period.

• No settlements should be razed to the ground, as happened in Sinai, especially in the Yamit region. The settlements can either be sold or handed over to the Palestinian State/Authority as potential housing solutions for some of the refugee population.

• Nothing should be done to drive a wedge between different sectors of the settler population, between those who are prepared to move and those who are determined to stay and resist. At the same time, the agreement of some settlers to move is expected to have a snowball effect, gradually drawing in wider and wider circles of people who were previously not prepared to leave their homes.

• Settlements remaining in situ as a

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result of boundary redrawing should be encouraged to adopt residents from evacuated settlements.

• It must be made clear to the settler population that many new challenges face the State of Israel in a post-conflict era--challenges in education, welfare and health policies, and in developing the country’s peripheral regions, especially the Negev. The settler population, with its ideological fervor and commitment to the state, is ideally suited to meet many of these new challenges for the benefit of society as a whole.

Groups of young, committed religious students-- those who normally act as the political vanguard for the right wing in demonstrations and the construction of new settlement outposts--have a role to play in doing precisely the opposite: assisting families in their move, and bridging the gaps between different sectors of society in favor of, or opposed to, settlement activity.

David Newman is professor of political geography at Ben-Gurion University and is editor of the International Journal of Geopolitics.

JEWISH PRESS COMMITTEE Joanie Jacobson, Vice-Chairman; Penny Endelman, Secretary; Steve Simon, Treasurer; Elyce Azriel; Jill Belmont; Jean Duitch; Kip Gordman; Bobbi Leibowitz; Howard K. Marcus; Scott Meyerson; Linda Saltzman; Joey Shyken; Melanie Weinstein; Amee Zetzman; George Schapiro (Honorary Committee Member).

Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish Community as a whole.

The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

February 21, 2003

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

by MICHAEL FREUND, The Jerusalem Post French President Jacques Chirac has, at last, outdone his predecessors. Not since June 1940, when Marshal Henri Petain signed an armistice agreement with Hitler’s Germany shamelessly agreeing to collaborate with the Nazis, has a French leader demonstrated such moral cowardice and political opportunism.

Driven perhaps by faded memories of his country’s once-glorious past, the French president has sought to make a name for himself by standing in the way of America’s just, and necessary, war against Iraq.

But rather than burnishing France’s image, Chirac has only succeeded in doing the opposite, reminding the world that while his nation may once have been a great power, it will never again bear that title.

For, rather than standing by the US as it stands up to Saddam Hussein, France has chosen to sit back and engage in diplomatic obstructionism, feigning concern over the morality and wisdom of such a move. Consequently, its primary objective has been to sow doubt about the righteousness of America’s cause, in effect serving as Saddam Hussein’s chief defender in the West.

But for anyone who has followed Chirac’s policy toward Israel and the Palestinians, this latest bout of French hypocrisy hardly comes as much of a surprise.

Chirac, after all, has long been one of Yasser Arafat’s most ardent cheerleaders, frequently coming to the PLO leader’s defense despite the ongoing wave of terror he has been directing against Israel.

In September 2002, after Israeli troops surrounded Arafat’s compound in Ramallah, Chirac was among the first European heads of state to speak with him by telephone, offering support to the Palestinian leader. Chirac’s office then issued a statement blasting Israel for having the nerve to defend itself, saying that the French president was “appalled” at the way Arafat was being treated.

Similarly, in December 2001, after Palestinian suicide bombings in Haifa and Jerusalem killed 26 Israelis and wounded 220 others, leading Israel to launch military strikes in Gaza, the bulk of Chirac’s wrath was directed not against the perpetrators of terror but against its victims.

Incredibly, he accused Israel of “destroying what is left of the Palestinian Authority and the Oslo Accords,” as though the wanton murder of innocent Jews was somehow not deserving of a response.

In that sense, then, one can at least say that

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

The Occupied Territories: France’s, That Is Chirac is an equal-opportunity appeaser. He doesn’t quite care if the casualties of terror are Israeli or American. Either way, you can be certain he will always come out on the side of the despots.

But if there is one issue where French hypocrisy been even more glaring, it is that of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. France has long been among the more vocal European supporters of rewarding Palestinian terror with national sovereignty, frequently hectoring Israel to yield control over what Paris refers to as the “occupied territories.”

Yet, oddly enough, when it comes to France’s own “occupied territories,” Chirac and his government are decidedly unwilling to make concessions.

What “French-occupied territories?” you might be asking. Well, how about Corsica, where separatist violence has been going on for three decades? Just last month, a group seeking Corsican independence from France detonated two bombs on the Mediterranean island.

While Chirac’s government has agreed to grant the Corsicans some limited elements of autonomy, France has stubbornly refused to yield control over the territory.

Then there are the Basques, who long to establish their own state in the area of the Pyrenees, covering parts of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. But rather than greet the Basque cause with cries of Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Paris has instead sought to repress it, intensifying cooperation with Spanish police in an effort to thwart Basque aims of achieving independence.

And on at least three other continents, far away from mainland Europe, France is involved in territorial disputes thanks to its own intractability.

Tromelin Island, located in the Indian Ocean off southern Africa, is an uninhabited sea-turtle sanctuary under French control; but both Madagascar and Mauritius assert it belongs to them. Paris, however, remains unmoved by their claims.

In South America, the state of French Guiana, which lies north of Brazil, is an overseas department of France. The neighboring country of Suriname lays claim to a strip of land in the western portion of the French territory--but there is no indication that France will agree to hand it over any time soon.

Even in cold and forbidding Antarctica, France has demonstrated an insatiable desire for territory.

Though they signed the December 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which bars nations from making claims to

the region, the French insist that a 500,000 sq. km. area known as “Adelie Land” belongs to them.

There are several other examples of French territorial obstinacy, all of which raise the obvious question: If France is so concerned about the morality of Israel’s “occupation,” why doesn’t it step forward and practice what it preaches?

Why does it continue to press its claims to far-off sea-turtle sanctuaries and frozen Antarctic wastelands rather than relinquish them forthwith?

The answer, it appears, lies in a remark made by author Mark Twain over a century ago. “France,” he noted, “has neither winter nor summer, nor morals.

Apart from these drawbacks, it is a fine country.”

Thanks to Chirac’s pro-Iraqi and pro-Palestinian stance, even that observation, once made in jest, now seems right on target.

Michael Freund served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office from 1996 to 1999.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: Yad Sarah, an extraordinary Israeli grassroots organization, manned by 6,000 Jewish and Arab volunteers, is preparing a nation-wide emergency assistance program in the event of war.

With the possibility of war increasing daily, Yad Sarah is getting ready to provide large amounts of immediately available oxygen, medicines, and medical equipment for the homebound, while simultaneously increasing and enlarging the operations at the 24-hour a day alarm center.

Operating in 97 branches throughout Israel, Yad Sarah loans medical equipment from wheel chairs to oxygen, provides transportation to the homebound and injured, delivers homecare equipment, supplies legal aid, geriatric dentistry, works with children who have special needs, including victims of terror attacks, provides meals on wheels to the homebound, operates a 24-hour a day alarm center, and much more. All these services and many more are provided free or at a nominal fee for everyone in (temporary) need whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and even tourists. Yad Sarah saves the Israeli economy an estimated $300 million a year while providing services to its citizens.

Barry Battelstein www.yadsarah.org

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

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ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Bruce Barrett--AIPAC’s Mountain West Regional Director--will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, February 26, noon, at Ironwood Country Club, according to Rich Juro, Chairman. This special presentation is co-sponsored by the ADL-CRC. Cost is $9 for lunch for Ironwood members and $15 for non-members. Breadbreakers is open to the community.

VISIONS Join us this Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. for L’Chaim, with Jim Elsberry and the MasterSingers at Millard West High School.

Get ready to rock n’ roll with The Marvelous Wonderettes at the FondaMcGuire Series at the Omaha Community Playhouse, Sunday, March 23, 2 p.m. Cost is $19.26 per person. Dinner on your own follows the show at the Olive Garden. Send reservations to: Ethel Goldston at 10530 Pacific #104, Omaha, NE 68114. Please indicate on reservation form if you are a Fonda-McGuire member and if you plan to join us for dinner. Deadline is March 3.

Looking for a tasteful way to spend your lunchtime? See Appetite for Art! Featured artwork is Galaxy by Jackson Pollock on Tuesday, May 27. Cost is $15 per person and includes lunch and lecture. Lunch begins at noon and lecture at 1:15 p.m. Send reservations to Fred and Sandy Bromley. Deadline is March 4.

Membership dues to Visions for 2003 are due. Mail your $5 check to Gilda Pieck, 6955 Cuming, Omaha, NE 68132 by March 1. Make all checks for Visions programs payable to JSS. HADASSAH Stan Widman will entertain residants of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home tomorrow, Feb. 22, 2 p.m. during the Oneg Shabbat sponsored by the Omaha Chapter of Hadassah. The musical program will be followed by George Washington Day tea.

Hadassah voluteers are asked to arrive at 1 p.m. to assist the residents.

OMAHA CENTER FOR TORAH LEARNING Rabbi Aryeh Blum leads a parasha shiur at the OCTL House, 1313 No. 58 St., Saturday, Feb. 22, 4:35 p.m.

Torah Tots is Monday, Feb. 24, 10 a.m. with Shari Blum (parents can learn with Rabbi Blum at the same time); Time for Talmud with Rabbi Blum is at 7 p.m.; learn at the Beis Midrash, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. The Wednesday Women’s Class is Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., all at the OCTL house.

Join OCTL for the weekly discussion of the Torah portion at Lunch ’n Learn, Wednesday, Feb. 26, noon, at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library; the Wednesday Teen Class meets at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Brooke Shrago, 805 So. 120 Ave. Don’t know what a Kumsitz is? Find out tomorrow evening, Feb. 22, 8 p.m., at the OCTL House. And save the date--Sunday, March 9--when a video of Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski will be presented as an introduction to Purim.

For more information about OCTL or to schedule one-on-one or small group learning, call Rabbi Blum at 320-8055.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH The Yiddish Conversation Group will meet on Thursday from 1-3 p.m. at the JCC. Call Anne Skolkin for information at 343-1638.

Y.E.S. Members will meet Monday at the JCC. Play bingo at 10 a.m. with Eileen Remer or exercise with Stacey Paskert at 10:30 a.m. Bring articles to share for “YES Talk” at 11 a.m.

Following lunch at noon, join us for Music of the Rat Pack with Michael Walker. For transportation call Dee Dee at 330-4272.

WALK-IN, DROP-IN For members going to Bluffs Run Casino on Thursday, please meet at the JCC front entrance at 8:45 a.m.

For transportation call Maggie Conti at 334-6521.

BBG Chapters Select Beau Candidates; Weizmann Dance Set for March 2

by RACHEL BLUM, BBYO Director Earlier this month, members of Ediar BBG #710 and MZ Yonshanah BBG #2053, the girls chapters of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, met to choose their Beau candidates for the upcoming Beau Dance, scheduled for May. Beau candidates for Ediar include: Brad Abramson, Nate Fineman and Corey Green; honoraries are Keith Graul and Ben Sherman.

Beau candidates for MZ Yoshanah are: Eugene Ayol, Jon Gates and Alex Raksin; honoraries are Ben Delman and Alex Katz.

BIRTH Keri and Phillip Bahar of Chicago, IL, announce the Feb. 4 birth of a son, Zachary Cohen Bahar, named for his maternal great-grandmother and for his paternal greatgrandfather.

Grandparents are Rosalie and Ernie Saltzman, Sandy and Alan Nogg, all of Omaha, and Hadi and Laurel Bahar of Potomac, MD.

On the boys’ side of BBYO--Chaim Weizmann AZA’s Sweetheart Dance is set for next weekend, Saturday night, March 1, 8 p.m., at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Sweetheart candidates include: Naomi Fox, Betsy Goodman, Shayna Kurland and Gal Tsabari; honoraries include Aliya Katskee and Rachel Katzman. Their current sweetheart is Lana Kinarsky.

There is still time to purchase an ad for the Weizmann Sweetheart Dance; for ad forms or information, please call me at 334-6404.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Nebraska native Janine Hawley returns to the Orpheum to sing in a Masterworks Series program, “Romance and Tragedy” with the Omaha Symphony, tonight and tomorrow, Feb. 21 and 22, 8 p.m. For tickets, call 342-3836 or go online to: www.omahasymphony.org.

February 21, 2003

Oscar Nominations Play Israel in Miniature

by JEWISH PRESS News Service Jewish Tune as Pianist Gets a Best Picture Nod

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

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by TOM TUGEND LOS ANGELES (JTA)--It could be another Jewish night at the Oscars this year.

The Pianist, a searing film about one Jewish musician’s survival in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation, earned seven Oscar nominations, including best picture, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced last week.

Roman Polanski, the movie’s director, and Adrien Brody, in the title role of Wladyslaw Szpilman, were nominated in the directing and best actor categories, respectively.

The film is based on a memoir by Szpilman.

In recent years, several Holocaust-themed films, beginning with Schindler’s List, have won Oscars.

There had been considerable speculation whether Polanski, who escaped from the Krakow Ghetto as a boy of seven, would be nominated.

He is officially a fugitive from the United States for having had unlawful sexual relations with a minor. He currently lives in Paris.

Polanski was previously nominated for his films Tess, Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby.

The German entry, Nowhere in Africa, was nominated for best foreign language film. It describes the struggles of a German Jewish refugee family in the 1930s to adapt to life in Kenya.

Israel’s entry, Broken Wings, was not nominated.

Nominated in the documentary feature category was Prisoner of Paradise. Its central character is Kurt Gerron, a popular Jewish entertainer in preHitler Berlin who directed a Nazi propaganda film about Theresienstadt. Gerron was later killed in Auschwitz.

The 2002 Academy Awards will be presented on March 23.

THE HISTORY FOOTPRINT

by OLIVER B. POLLAK When the last member of a household dies the house is closed down, affairs wrapped up and property disposed of.

Letters, books, photographs and greeting cards reflect a lifetime of activity. Family and friends claim the tip of the iceberg carrying off sentimental and practical items. The executor, usually a close family member, makes the difficult ultimate disposal decisions--trash, donate and recycle, sell, or keep.

This is a story about the dispersal of a family library.

Reva and Joe married in 1940. Their faith is identified by the presence of Jewish books. There were Jewish Bibles in English and Hebrew, an assortment of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform prayer books. Two posters of Marc Chagall’s Jerusalem stained glass windows where matched by a coffee table book about the windows. Among the Passover Hagaddahs was the ubiquitous blue Maxwell House and a mid-1940s Baskin edition.

They purchased books. Books on Death Valley, the Pacific Coast and Israel were acquired on travels there. Cookbooks accumulated from close to the year of Reva’s and Joe’s marriage to Reva’s death in 1990. Early self-help books included household fixit books for plumbing and gardening. They are followed by diet books, and in their last years, responses to failing health, books on fighting cancer.

Reva maintained the intellectual acuteness of her writer father. Joe was an avid bowler and softball player, to within a few months of his death at the age of 87.

They received gifts. I typically gave Joe books on sports by sports columnist Jim Murray. Most recently I sent John Feinstein’s A Civil War, Army vs. Navy. If I did not inscribe it, Joe would write on the flyleaf that it came from Karen and me.

Mixed in were books from Karen’s and her brother Marty’s youth including their Sunday and Hebrew School prize books. A Feb. 7, 1983 receipt from Dignity Center records the donation of five boxes of books. Marty, a poet, died in January, 1983, and his parents, Reva and Joe, moved from suburban Sherman Oaks to Laguna Hills in February, 1983. I do not know whose books were donated.

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Just recently opened on a 14-acre site midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is an exiting new project named Mini Israel.

Although it will be some months before the project is complete, visitors can now tour the park and see 350 models of some of Israel’s most famous buildings, archaeological sites, religious sites and natural scenes, all reduced to 1:25 scale. The project, which is very similar in concept to the miniature world of Madurodam in Holland, will have 14 trains running along 1.4 kilometers of track, 700 vehicles moving along highways, naval and civilian boats in Haifa port and 32 planes at Ben Gurion Airport.

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Books, Death and Dispersal Marty published in The Five of Us, and Karen maintains his archives that hold a rich trove of unpublished creativity.

Karen returned some gift books to the giver. She gave some books to children. I took books that were emblematic of my in-laws, and books I gave them.

Some books were given to friends who had scholarly interest in the subjects. Some books, yucky dusty to the touch, were trashed.

An unwieldy out of date three post binder subscription Webster’s Encyclopedia Dictionary, probably purchased in alphabetical installments at Ralphs supermarket in the early 1950s, almost made it to the dumpster before I realized the significance of publishers and supermarkets joining encyclopedia salesmen purveying middle brow culture.

A hundred years of photographs were drawn together from various corners and boxes in the house. At the reception after the funeral, the cousins went over the photographs and identified parents, uncles and aunts; many faces were still a mystery. Photographs were given away; promises were made to provide copies with assistance of Kinko’s and scanners.

A 20 year accumulation of greeting cards covered birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Jewish New Year, Hanukkah, and wedding anniversaries. Year after year the same friends and family remembered each other; telling testimony to love, affection, and loyalty.

When Reva died bereavement cards ran the gamut of organized Jewish life. Donations were sent in her name to Mount Sinai Hospital, Hadassah, Anti Defamation League, Brandeis University Women’s Committee, Pioneer Women/Na’amat, Simon Wiesenthal Center, ORT, B’nai B’rith, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, Valley Beth Shalom Sisterhood, Temple Judea Sisterhood, City of Hope, and the American Cancer Society.

Reva’s family in Winnipeg and Toronto directed their remembrances to Canadian institutions, including: The Leo Baeck Day School Library Fund, Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, B’nai B’rith Women of Canada, Women’s Canadian ORT, and Jewish National Fund of Canada.

May their lives be as a blessing.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

‘Outstanding Academics’ Priority of FJA Survey Respondents

by DIANE AXLER BAUM Ninety respondents have completed and returned a survey regarding community opinion on Jewish day schools in general, and Friedel Jewish Academy in particular, which appeared as an insert in a recent issue of the Jewish Press. The survey is a project of Friedel’s Task Force on Recruitment and Public Relations, chaired by Aveva Shukert and Julie Phillips.

Margo Riekes, co-chair of the Friedel Board and a member of the Task Force, is collating the responses and will address them in a comprehensive report.

She commented on one key finding in a preliminary statement, as follows: “The survey showed that parents regard ‘outstanding general academics’ to be the most significant factor in considering a Jewish day school for their children.”

This response is gratifying in light of Friedel’s current emphasis on its general studies curriculum.

Recent work has assured that Friedel is meeting the changed Nebraska State standards for elementary schools. Also in place are ongoing evaluations of the general studies curriculum, subject by subject.

“In order to be on top of education, it’s ‘a must’ that we evaluate our programs, our curriculums, and our

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school continually,” according to Cookie Katskee, who became Friedel’s principal in January.

In a recent interview, Katskee expressed her approval of the Academy’s new reading curriculum.

“The test scores that I’ve seen so far, in regard to the McGraw -Hill reading curriculum, prove that learning is taking place,” she noted.

At this point, one of Katskee’s top priorities is to look into a new math curriculum. The two math programs already under consideration are Harcourt-Brace, which is currently being piloted in the Omaha Public Schools, and Everyday Mathematics, used by the Millard Public Schools and District 66.

Katskee paid tribute to the recent work accomplished by Friedel’s curriculum committee, chaired

by Pam Cohn, a veteran elementary principal in OPS. Committee members include Helen Epstein, Cathy Christensen, Gloria Kaslow, Karin Levine, and Stan Mitchell, all experts in the educational arena, and Juliana Reno, Co-chairman of the Friedel Board.

One of Cohn’s first projects was creation of a contract. The contract, entered into by parents, students, and school, represents an important trend in education, she said, and thus brings Friedel “to the cutting edge.”

Its existence acknowledges, she added, that “you

can’t have a workable school unless there’s agreement among the parties in respect to common goals.”

The curriculum committee also developed excellent, sequential grade level units for kindergarten through grade six, and Cohn sent them to Dr. Saundra Sterling Epstein.

Epstein, a nationally recognized consultant on Cookie Katskee Jewish day schools, was FJA Principal retained last year by the Academy. She has been instrumental in strengthening the Judaic curriculum and developing improved means of reaching a complete integration of general studies and Jewish studies.

In Katskee’s view, complete integration of excellent general studies and Jewish studies will depend on increased team teaching, which is one of her goals. She has every confidence it will be the next phase of Friedel’s excellence, she said.

It is Katskee’s intention to provide “the guidance, coordination, organization, and consistency” to make it happen.

American Jews Prepared to Help (Continued from page 1) In the past few weeks, American Red Magen David for Israel, the U.S. organization supporting Magen David Adom, Israel’s equivalent of the Red Cross, has stepped up its activities. Among its efforts, it has funded additional security at Israel’s blood banks, fearing they could be targeted; trained Israeli paramedics and bought them armored vests; and purchased packages for collecting blood and freezers for plasma storage along with 12 new machines to extract and separate blood parts to function for more than one patient and purpose like creating antibodies.

The group encourages solidarity missions in Israel to donate blood to Magen David Adom, in some cases shuttling bloodmobiles to groups’ hotels. It has also brokered a deal with the American Red Cross to enable Americans to designate donated blood for Israel. The Red Cross will credit the amount for future use by Magen David Adom.

During the last few months, the U.S.-based

Volunteers for Israel has also seen an increased demand by Americans eager to assist Israel in crisis. Atop its regular two- or three-week stints for volunteers to aid army bases or hospitals, the group, known as Sar-El in Israel, has added a special one-week program to assemble gas masks.

“Just as during the Gulf War, the number of volunteers who went through us increased, so now we are getting a lot of volunteers who are anxious to go to Israel to help out because they know they're needed now,” said Jeanne Schacter, the national president of Volunteers for Israel.

For David Rendsburg, 20, volunteering in Israel with 24 other students from the University of Pennsylvania on his winter break was laden with meaning. The group labored in a warehouse with stacks of thousands of gas masks to be assembled.

“We felt that our presence there was needed in order to prepare the country,” said Rendsburg, who helped coordinate the trip.

February 21, 2003

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

Melton Adds Graduate School Program

by SUSAN PALEY, Melton School Director Melton students are clamoring for more. In response to protests of “We don’t ever want this to end”, “My Melton class is the highlight of my week” and “We’ve just begun to learn”, the College of Jewish Learning (CJL) will add a graduate program to the Florence Melton Adult Mini School (FMAMS) repertoire of outstanding curriculum beginning fall semester, 2003.

The Melton School International has entered into a joint venture with the Great Books Foundation (GBF) to offer a course for Melton graduates based on the GBF’s newest publication The Soul of the Text. Omaha will be among the many Melton schools world-wide to participate.

The Soul of the Text is an anthology of Jewish literature that captures the richness and diversity of Jewish literary tradition.

It includes 23 selections that range from the Bible to 20th century fiction and poetry. Each selection is accompanied by author biographies and questions for use in the Great Books Shared Inquiry Discussion method.

Each of the book’s four sections includes an introductory essay by a

and most enduring literary traditions.

“In shared inquiry, students are guided by a leader's questions to explore problems of meaning in challenging texts,” he added. “In both instructional strategies and content, The Soul of the Text is a perfect instrument for learning for FMAMS graduates.”

Like the entire Melton curriculum, The Soul of the Text is text-based, pluralistic, interactive and non-prescriptive. Dr. Betsy Katz, North American Executive Director of the FMAMS stated, “We have found the Great Books Foundation good partners for FMAMS. The basis we share is commitment to the careful study of texts with the goal of uncovering great

noted scholar.

According to Steve Craig, VicePresident for Alliances for the GBF, “The collaboration between the GBF and the FMAMS is based on a handin-glove alignment of mission and method. The Soul of the Text unites the Great Books’ methodology for discussion of outstanding works of literature with one of the world’s richest

BERT’S EYE VIEW

by BERT LEWIS If you aren’t a person who uses the computer regularly, you probably won’t be interested in what I have to say. More to the point, if you aren’t on familiar terms with the Internet, don’t bother to read this. It’ll just be a waste of time.

If, however, you spend as much time as I do, connected to the Internet, and/or using the e-mail feature, you know I’m about to complain. About what? All the unwanted advertising that comes in the form of personal mail, that’s what. Free offers, invitations, coupons, junk I can’t even remember and that I certainly don’t want to know about.

Not a days goes by that I don’t get at least one offer from some outfit that wants to help me do something about my appearance. My name (which sounds masculine if you don’t know me) attracts the attention of those who offer to help me increase some of my sizes, as well as how to make myself more alluring to the ladies.

Have I got a bulletin for them!

There are those who will introduce me to every diet known to the world, and those who want me to read about the beautiful resort which just happens to have bargain rates right now.

The mortgage companies who offer special deals are just waiting for my answers, as are the special long distance folks. And don’t forget those cellular phone people, who just know I need one of their products.

You know what I mean, I’m sure.

They are intrusive, invasive and a royal pain in the neck. Surely they must know by now that everyone quickly hits the “delete” button as quickly as possible, to get rid of this junk.

When I first turn on the computer, I generally look for my mail right away.

It’s like going to the mailbox outside and looking to see if some of your

friends have written. When you do that and find only circulars and advertisements, it’s very disappointing.

That’s the way I feel when I look for something from Elly in Colorado or Steve in Florida or Ger in Texas, and instead, I’ve got somebody who wants me to subscribe to some pornographic garbage! It’s infuriating, to say the least.

And if that isn’t bad enough, if you happen to have a Fax machine on your desk, be prepared for unwanted mail there, too. Everything from aluminum siding to cheap airline tickets shows up in that handy form. Who needs this kind of annoyance?

Here’s a cute little sidebar to the FAX problem: many carry a small advisory on the very bottom of the paper, which says if you want to be taken “off” their list, call the number such-and-such and they won’t ever bother you again. Ha! That’s a laugh. I’ve recently read it’s best not to do that, because if you do, the advertiser knows for certain he got to somebody and will make you a permanent member of the list. How’s that for entrapment?

Well, that’s my entry for the complaint department today, kiddies. I know I have lots of company who feel just as I do, but while everyone boorches about it, nobody knows how to make it stop. Including me. So I do the next best thing: I tell you about it.

The last fortune cookie message I got said: “You will soon hear from an interested stranger.” Yeah. Right.

Some idiot who wants to sell me something, no doubt.

Together, let’s hope that somebody, someplace figures out a way to put a stop to all this, without infringing on the rights of those who are exercising their legal power to bother the heck out of the rest of us.

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ideas and bringing students into the great (Jewish) conversation. The material is academically sound and pluralistic in its philosophical approach. It’s a match!”

Steve Riekes, chairman of the CJL, noted, “The goal of the Melton School is to create a community of life-long adult learners of Judaism. Our students who are finishing the regular two-year Melton coursework are eager to continue their learning after their graduation later this spring.

“The Soul of the Text is rich with thought-provoking ideas and issues that resonate for everyone,” he added.

“We are thrilled to offer this course as an extension of our wonderfully successful Melton School.”

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Page 10

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

Eilat Looks Ahead

by EDGAR ASHER Despite the dramatic drop in tourism over the past two years, Israel’s premier sea resort of Eilat still looks forward with optimism to the future.

In the first nine months of 2002 a total of 630,000 foreign tourists entered Israel. This is 37% lower than was recorded in the previous year. Although Eilat had a higher share of both Israeli and foreign tourists over the same period than any other Israeli seaside destination, it also showed a marked drop in tourist numbers.

Eilat’s energetic mayor Gabi Kadosh expounds these figures with equanimity. He is a man with a mission. He does not dwell on what he sees as the negative impact of the intifada, he always has one eye to the future which he sees in a very positive light--not without its hurdles, but these hurdles have nothing to do with the present security situation.

“If people want to relax from the situation they should relax in Eilat,” says Kadosh with a big smile.

“The situation is not different in New York, London or Sydney. It’s hard to differentiate between terrorists. Terrorism is in the whole world and nobody knows where it is going to hit. Today the whole world understands Israel’s problems much better.

Lots of communities in Israel are having a very hard time because the terror situation has been going on for so long.”

Originally Eilat was intended to be a strategic outpost on the southernmost tip of Israel with its economic basis being its port. But things have changed and now the main industry is tourism, with the city having some of the finest resort hotels found anywhere in the world.

Seven years ago there were 24,000 thousand people living in Eilat. In the following years many people came to Eilat who had difficulty in finding jobs in other parts of the country and this brought the population up to the 54,000 it is today.

“The atmosphere among the residents is proportionate to the number of hotel rooms that are occupied,” points out Kadosh. “If the rooms are unoccupied it affects the whole community even if they are not directly involved with tourism. The smaller non-tourist industries don’t have any impact on the economy of the town.”

Today industry, other than tourism, utilizes is only about 5% of the city’s total work force. The port, which in the main exports phosphates and other chemicals from the Dead Sea and imports many of the nation’s vehicles, despite its financial importance, is not a labor intensive industry like tourism.

The mayor would like to see Eilat expand in other directions. “What I am thinking is what is going to be in Eilat in the next 50 years. We want to be an academic town and industry will develop itself

accordingly. We now have a campus of Ben Gurion University in Eilat which opened in October with 280 students studying for a first degree in either business administration, tourism or behavioral science. Another 700 study for non academic courses.

“It is the only univerEilat Mayor sity in Israel that has Gabi Kadosh tourism as one of its special subjects. Soon we will also introduce a special course of ocean science.”

Students come from all over Israel and the aim is also to encourage students to come from overseas.

With a developed academic culture there will be a new impetus towards more employment and a higher general level of education.

Kadosh describes himself as a ‘green mayor’. He is proud to point out that one of the first things he did when he became mayor in 1995 was to build a sewage farm so that today not one drop of sewage goes into the sea.

The swimming pool complex of the Royal Garden Hotel. Most of the city’s hotels have excellent swimming facilities, with the larger hotels having several types of pools. Photo by ISRANET.

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“This cost the city 140 million shekels. The port is now free of human waste and phosphates are not allowed to run into the sea during the loading phase onto the ships in the port.”

But now Mayor Kadosh is facing what might be one of the biggest hurdles in his municipal role--fish agriculture. This is something that can turn on its head all the advances made in preservation of the ecology of the gulf, particularly its coral, which are one of its major tourist attractions.

A company set up by a consortium of kibbutzim from the Arava was established 10 years ago to experiment in fish agriculture. Huge underwater cages were set up a short distance off the eastern beach, close to the Jordanian border. The experiment produced many tons of fish and became very profitable, but soon there were warnings by scientists and ecologists that the Gulf of Eilat was not suitable for such a venture and it should be stopped or moved inland.

The basic problem is that the currents in this part of the gulf are not active enough to remove the debris from the tons of special animal feed that is given to the fish every month. This feed, together with the waste products from the fish themselves, is irreversibly killing the coral.

(Continued on next page)

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Eilat Looks Ahead (Continued from previous page) “The fish farms soon became ‘permanent’ and the kibbutzim refused to stop the venture or consider moving it inland even though the municipality promised financial help. The whole venture only represents about 2000 people and they are irreparably harming the gulf ’s ecology and natural balance.

Every day there’s more damage to the gulf and remember it takes more than 100 years to replace coral. It also takes about the same passage of time to completely change the water in the Gulf because the sea has almost nowhere to go and depends on natural forces to maintain its purity and clarity,” explained Kadosh waving a warning finger.

The fish farmers and their settlements have a

ed airport will be an open park area.

“The two sides of the city will be joined by two transverse roads which will make the city more homogeneous,” said Kadosh. “We are not going to replace the airport site with a multitude of buildings, we want a ‘green’ city with just a few public buildings.”

The mayor’s projections for Eilat’s future also include a place for the railway.

“We have a plan as to exactly where the train will run. Today the government calculates only the economic value of the railway. I think this is a fundamental mistake. It is very important to link Eilat with the settlements in the Arava and onwards to

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 11

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very strong political lobby behind them, despite their relatively small numbers. Politicians vie for their support and do not want to be seen as the ones instrumental in closing down the venture.

Some politicians say, ‘give it another year’, some say, ‘give it another three years’, but few will admit the fact that Israel’s major tourist attraction is shooting itself in the foot and will pay dearly for its temporary financial windfall.

There is also an arrogance in the statements being currently made by the farmers. They say that if their venture is closed down they will simply move the whole industry across to neighboring Akaba in Jordan, just a kilometer or two from the present site. This would of course effectively remove them from Israeli jurisdiction, but the Gulf of Eilat knows no such niceties and the damage would be exactly the same wherever the farms are situated in the immediate area.

Eilat’s airport is right in the center of the city and effectively divides the city in half. The dramatic increase in passenger traffic before the intifada and the hope of increasing number of visitors when things return to normal has encouraged the municipality to introduce plans to move the airport to Be’er Ora, twenty kilometers due north of the city.

“This will be a municipal airport and will not be in partnership with Jordan as was previously discussed,” the mayor explained. “The project will take between five and seven years to complete. In the meantime we will carry out certain improvements of the existing airport, in particular those things connected with safety and better passenger terminal facilities. Also we are going to extend the runway so that we can accept bigger jets.”

When the present city airport is moved the vacat-

the rest of Israel.

“If the government are really interested, as they say they are, to open up the Arava, then the railway is an essential part of this process. The railway will come after the new airport, but will not be in place of the airport.”

Even with today’s high security in Israel, Eilat offers the visitor the all-year round possibility of spending a wonderful holiday in its fine hotels and a choice of outstanding restaurants. There are hotels, spas and restaurants to suit every pocket and taste.

There are well organized tours from the city to the nearby nature reserve of the Hai Bar and the incredible natural beauty of Timna Park and its famous Pillars of Solomon.

For the diving enthusiast there is instruction available for all levels of proficiency to enjoy diving among the coral and the multi-colored tropical fish.

The coral and the fish can also be seen from a variety of glass bottomed boats or on a special submarine equipped with big portholes along its whole length. There is also an underwater observatory, which is part of a large complex that includes aquaria containing a big variety of tropical fish plus a large shark pool, stingrays and turtles.

You can also cruise at leisure along the Red Sea to enjoy the view, or visit the dolphin reef and watch these incredible animals from a special observation platform set up on the beach.

Hopefully the optimism and enthusiasm of Mayor Kadosh and his hope for a ‘green’ Eilat will prevail.

As far as the fish agriculture is concerned there has to be a prompt, equitable solution to this problem, if not, Eilat will be marked as being one of the world’s worst irreversible man-made ecological disasters.

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IN THE NEWS Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, holder of the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, has recently edited, with Ronald A. Simkins, Studies in Jewish Civilization, Volume 12: Millennialism from the Hebrew Bible to the Present.

The volume is published by the University of Nebraska Press and is available at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library.

KVNO, Classical radio station, 90.7 FM, has recently selected Jessalyn Gotsdiner as the July “Classical Kid.” Jessie studies piano and plays flute in the Westside Middle School band. She is the 12year-old daughter of Gary Gotsdiner and the late Judy Gotsdiner.

The Junior League of Omaha will present the American Girl Fashion Show on Thursday, March 6, 4:30 p.m.; Friday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.,

Saturday, March 8, 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 9, 12:30 p.m. at the Champions Club, in Eagle Run. Tickets are available by calling the JLO, 493-8818. Proceeds from benefit JLO projects including Bright Spaces, Youth Emergency Services and Campfire Boys & Girls.

The United Way is seeking nominations for its Volunteer of the Year awards. Categories include: education, health, business, cultural, elderly, ethnicity, youth, religion, and special needs. Adult, youth, and family volunteering groups are eligible.

Volunteers may be nominated by calling the office, 522-7931, or on an official form located on the United Way website: www.uwmidlands.org/volunteer/vrl_nom.htm. The deadline for nominations is March 20. Winners will be recognized at the annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, April 30, at the DoubleTree Hotel.

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

February 21, 2003

“Celebrating a Century of Jewish Community” Proud to be Centennial Patrons!

The following people have made increased gifts to the 2003 Centennial Campaign. Names in bold indicate an increased gift of $100 or more in honor of the Centennial of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Senior Division donors are automatically included when they make their gift to the 2003 Campaign.

MEN’S MAJOR GIFTS Joel Alperson Baker Family Norman Batt Harold Bernstein Steven Bloch Irv Blumkin Ron Blumkin Barry Broder Marc Brodkey Sherman Brodkey Jack Cohen Harold Cooperman Gary Epstein Harold Epstein Paul Epstein Joe Erman Mike Erman Tom Fellman David Friedland Willard Friedman Morton Glass Richard Glazer Don Goldstein Herbert Goldsten Trust Nelson Gordman Don Greenberg David Gross Ike & Roz Friedman Family Foundation Gary Javitch Arnold Joffe Howard Kaslow Maurice Katzman Jeff Kirshenbaum Kevee Kirshenbaum Jerry Kohll Howard Kooper Forrest Krutter John Lehr Martin Lehr Leonard Lewis Livingston Foundation Lynn Roberts International Edward Malashock Bernie Meyers Jerry Milder N. Pitlor & Son Sherman Neff Murray Newman Allan Noddle# Jay Noddle Steve Nogg Omaha Bedding Company Omaha Steaks Anne and Alan Simon Eve and Fred Simon Kathryn and Stephen Simon Stacy and Bruce Simon Todd Simon Alan Parsow Sol Parsow Carl Riekes Henry Riekes Steve Riekes Andrew Robinson Blaine Roffman Larry Roffman Harley Schrager Bruce Shackman Noddle Development Joe Kirshenbaum Harlan Noddle Norm Sheldon* Stuart Simon Gerald Simons Milton Simons Mark Singer

MEN’S MAJOR GIFTS cont.

Slosburg Family Jerry Slusky Phil Sokolof Swartzbaugh FarberAssociates Isidore Tretiak Maury Udes John Waldbaum Benjamin & Anna E. Wiesman Family Foundation Arnold Weitz Speedy Zweiback Tim Zweiback WOMEN’S MAJOR GIFTS Margie Alperson Phyllis Aronson Judy Baker Frances Batt Sandra Belgrade Marcia Cohen Susie Cohn Sandy Epstein Ruth Erman Judy Feldman Darlynn Fellman Nancy Friedland Roz Friedman Carol Gendler Janet Glass Jan Goldstein** Nancy Greenberg Deborah & Arthur Greene** Rose Gross Andi Kavich Maxine Kirshenbaum Sharon Kooper Bobbi Leibowitz Joanie Lehz Frances Milder Lyra Ann Monasee** Jeanie Neff Sharee Newman Nancy Noddle Patty Nogg Carol Parsow Dorothy Riekes Zoë Riekes Jan Schneiderman Beth Schrager Terri Schrager Bev Seldin Sarah Seldin Anne Shackman Ellen Slosburg Gail Veitzer Joodi Veitzer MEN’S CAMPAIGN Alvin Abramson Jeff Aizenberg James Anderson George Aufseeser Rabbi Aryeh Azriel Dennis Baack Irving Babendir Tom Baker Jim Belgrade Mark Belmont David Berman Harry Berman Jerry Berman Mike Blatt Albert Bloch Howard Borden Morris Bresel Bruce Brodkey Pete Brodkey Ron Brodkey Joel Brezack David Bucksner Sam Bukenholts Jeff Cannon Jerry Chesen

MEN’S CAMPAIGN cont.

Dave Chorney Gary Christensen Alan Cohen Bob Cohen Martin Cohen Michael Cohen Paul Cohen William Cohen Edward Cohn Gerald Cohn Stephen Cohn Jerry Dann Arthur Davidson Larry DeBruin Gregory Dubov Arthur Dutky Scott Eisenman Gary Emenitove Randy Endelman Robert Engel Howard Epstein Irv Epstein Ronald Epstein Abram Erlich Leonid Etus Richard Fellman Paul Fine Steve Fingold Doug Finnicum Joel Finkel Harris Finkelstein Glen Fineman Pierre Flatowicz Jim Folsom Robert Freeman Sam Fried Ted Friedland Bruce Friedlander Arthur Friedman Sanford Friedman Scott Friedman Harry Gates Judge Larry Gendler Donald Gerber Moshe Gershovich David Gilinsky Kevin Gilinsky Ron Giller Bennett Ginsberg Arkadiy Ginzburg Sherman Golbitz Bruce Goldberg Bob Goldberg David Goldberg Richard Goldberg Jim Goldfaden Howard Goldstein Joseph Goldstein Michael Goldstein Brad Goldstrom Mark Goldsrom Robert Goodman Thomas Goodman Jay Gordman Jeff Gordman Kip Gordman Gary Gotsdiner Richard Grant Brad Green Joshua Greenbaum Barton Greenberg Bud Greenspan Leonard Greenspoon Alexander Grossman Jerome Grossman Victor Gutman Michael Halsted Alan Handleman Richard Heyman Donald Hoberman Kenneth Hoberman David Hoffman Mark Hoffman Todd Hutton Ron Ipock

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David Jacobson Richard Jacobson Sorin Juster Fred Kader Bob Kahn Marc Kahn Jerome Kaiman Gary Kaplan Myron Kaplan Robert Kaplan Yale Kaplan John Katelman Rick Katelman Gary Katz Ralph Katz Richard Katzman Leslie Kay Adam Kirshenbaum Joe Kirshenbaum Scott Kirshenbaum Don Klein Harry Klein Milton Kleinberg Sidney Klopper John Kolm Alan Kohll David Kotok Jack Kozlen Howard Krantz Barry Kricsfeld Rabbi Myer Kripke Gary Kudym Allen Kurland Ben Kutler Howard Kutler Sol Kutler Rabbi Howard Kutner Paul Landow Wayne Lainof Jeffrey Laudin David Lercher Michael Leibowitz Robert Lepp Michael Levine Mike Levine Steve Levinger Roland Lewis Dmitriy Libov Trenton Magid Ben Magzamin Robert Malashock Harold Mann Todd Manvitz Dan Marburg Howard Martin Leon Martin Sheldon C. Masnek Guy Matalon Dmitriy Masyuk John McGauvran Bruce Meyers Joseph Meyers Larry Meyerson Paul Militzer Michael Miller Efraim Milestone Sidney Mirvish Stanley Mitchell Henry Monsky Allan Murow Alan Muskin Anthony Nogg Don Nogg Michael Norton Harold Novak Don Novicoff Mark Ocheretyanskiy Dennis Paley Marvin Parilman Jeffrey Passer Mark Passer Steve Perelman Eric Pisetsky Aleksandr Poluektova Merle Potash Lawrence Raful Leonid Raksin Gerald Raznick

MEN’S CAMPAIGN cont.

Steve Redler Rob Reiss Don Rice Tom Rice Joel Rich Phil Rich Louis Rich Marty Ricks Sheldon Rips Dick Rochman Paul Roffman Lloyd Roitstein Bill Rosen David Rosen Gerald Rosenblatt Stephen Rosenberg Jerry Rosinsk Steven Rothenberg Altan Ruback Michael Sadofsky Mark Saferstein Ernie Saltzman Kevin Saltman Mark Sanford Milton Saylan Edward A. Schneider Seymour Schneider Scott Schneiderman Dan Schuller Michael Schwartz Jeffrey Schweid Richard Schrager Mark Schwartz Howard Shandell David Shapiro Oleg Shats Leonard Shefren Rodney Shkolnick Rabbi Maximo Shechet Dan Sherman Leon Shrago Howard Shrier Michael Shrier Martin Shukert Alan Shulewitz Paul Shyken Howard Sibler Mike Siegel Mike Silverman Paul Silverstein Mickey Simon Larry Siref Jeffrey Smedland Norman Smeerin Stuart Smoler Barry Snyder Nicholas Spellman Jim Spooner Ray Somberg Steve Stiel Walter Sternberg Mark Sweet Charles Sullivan Scott Tatelman Alain Taylon Charles Taylon Gady Tene Fred Tichauer Max Tomchin Gregory Tsyrlin Lazar Turetsky Michael Walts Jim Wax Raymond Weinberg Guenther Wesch Larry Widman Scott Widman David Willensky Norman Wine Ernest Wintroub Bob Wolfson Doug Wolfson Irvin Yaffe Harold Zabin Jerome Zeffren Ted Zetzman Todd Zimmerman Igor Zinkov Steve Zuber

WOMEN’S CAMPAIGN Doris Abramson Bettie Adams Bernice Adler Charlotte Adler Susan Aizenberg Dena Altman Phyllis Aron Joyce Ashley Madeline Aufseeser Debra Baack Shelly Ban Jill Baron Diane Baum Kathryn Beauchaine Robyn Belgrade Jill Belmont Mary Berman Helene Blair Carol Bloch Margaret Block Rachel Blum Chris Blumkin Susie Blumkin Paula Boggust Marian Bookey Midge Bowers Beth Brodkey Helen Brodkey Sharon Brodkey Stacie Brodkey Florence Brody Heather Bucksner Elaine Bukenholts Maralyn Burr Esther Canar Sharon Cannon Edith Chesen Vicki Chesen Laurie Clark Anne Cohen Arlene Cohen Beth Cohen Elberta Cohen Elizabeth Cohen Karen Cohen Marla Cohen Toba Cohen Doris Cohn Linda Cohn Pam Cohn Soralee Cohn Cheryl Cooper Rose Cooper Janey Dann Hanna DeBruin Eunie Denenberg Minde Diamond Esta Dubov Julia Elkin Penny Endelman Renee Engel Edith Epstein Etta Epstein Harriet Epstein Helen Epstein Jean Epstein Lisa Epstein Jill Erman Leona Eveloff Estelle Faier Ida Fedman Judith Feigin Bev Fellman Mary Fellman Carrie Fingold Helen Finkel Lois Finkle Kate Finkelstein Hollie Fineman Deborah Finnicum Claire Flatowicz Jill Folsom Frances Fox Shelly Fox Sally Fredricks Robyn Freeman Frances Fried Phyllis Fried Amy Friedman Debbie Friedman Sheryl Friedman Jamie Friedland Pam Friedlander

WOMEN’S CAMPAIGN cont.

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WOMEN’S CAMPAIGN cont.

Susan Rothholz Faye Ruback Jayne Ruback Jennifer Rubin Suzy Rubin Monica Sacks Marina Sadofsky Linda Saltzman Lynne Saltzman Rosalie Saltzman Chantel Samuel Vicki Sanford Deborah Saulsbury Rosalie Saylan Nancy Schlessinger Carol Ann Schneider Margy Schneider Heidi Schneiderman Tracy Schrier Kim Schwartz Phyllis Schwartz Yaffa Schuller Andi Scioli Janette Shaffer Diane Shandell Cantor Wendy Shermet Dani Shrago Cindy Shulewitz Susie Shyken Lisa Shkolnick Sissy Silber Mary Silver Mimi Silverman Susie Silverman Esther Simon Tootie Simon Judy Simons Maxine Simons Suzanne Singer Kathy Siref Nancy Skid Martha Slosburg Cari Sommer Audrey Sophir Harriett Sperling Edith Stein Melissa Steiner Rocky Stern Mary Sternberg Phyllis Steinberg Marlene Sukiennik Louri Sullivan Jill Swanberg Susan Swartz Sherry Taxman Elaine Tepperman Helena Tichauer Ellina Tomchin Sheila Tomps Selma Tretiak Eadie Tsabari Jane Tsyrlin Elizabeth Tully Hazel Turchen Margaret Turetsky Yuliya Vishnevskiy Mimi Waldbaum Patsy Wallace Beth Walts Esther Wax Helen Weber Shirley Weinstein Devorah Wesch Andi Willensky Sibby Wolfson Sara Wolfson Keri Workman Dena Yosfan Galina Yurikov Phyllis Zabin Terri Zacharia Amee Zetzman Inna Zevakin Linda Zimmerman Debbi Zweiback MEN’S SENIORS Bill Abrahams Morris Adler Sam Alloy

MEN’S SENIORS cont.

Jack Brody Irving Chudacoff Samuel Cooper Jack Diamond David Dvorkin Bob Endelman Jack Epstein Sam Epstein Abraham Faier Canter Leo Fettman Hersz Flatowicz Irving Forbes Jerry Freeman Stuart Fried Walter Friedlander Julius Froom Saul Graetz Robert Gerelick Henry Greenberg Dan Greenfield Gerald Gross Joe Guss Yale Halperin Ben Heisler Art Jacobson Leonard Jacobson Kevee Kirshenbaum Leonard Krasne Manfred Kreitstein Abram Kukawka Morey Landman Ben Lebowich Irving Marcus Reverend Mendel Landsman Ben H. Magzamin Nate Mandell Victor Mashbein Carl Milder Ben Miller Paul Nathan Stanley Passer Joseph Polonski Phil Ratner Elmer Rimerman Abe Schloff Ben Schneider George Shafer Harold Siporin Morton Soiref Richard Spiegal Eli Stone Maynard Tatelman Zeph Telpner Kenneth Weiner George Weise Norman Whitman Harry Wolfson Norman Zevitz

WOMEN’S SENIORS cont.

Doris Alloy Millie Altman Sally Clayman Doris Cohn Minnie Cutler Rose Davis Jeanne Dvorkin Kay Ferer Annette Fettman Rose Fine Paulette Flatowicz Ida Forbes Sonia Forbes Esther Graetz Jean Gendler Anne Gerber Bernice Gerber Hilda Gottlieb Sara Harding Pauline Hoberman Toby Kagan Charlotte Kaplan Myllee Katelman Eve Katskee Betty Kelberg Ruth Klein Myrna Kirshenbaum Charlotte Slutzky Koom Gertrude Korney Dorothy Kotok Peggy Krasne Frieda Krizelman Harriet Kutler Grace Lebowich Vera Lewis Marjorie Lincoln Louise Lippett Marcia Lipsman Ann Margolin Bernice Milder Harriet Miller Reva Oruch Betty Perelman Gilda Pieck Lola Reinglas Floraine Rice Marjorie Rosen Natalie Rubin Reva Ruderman Audrey Schapiro Julia Schapiro Lillian Schrager Sophie Schulman Celia Schwartz Doris Shukert Leah Siegal Esther Silver Helen Soiref Marion Strauss Sally Venger Rosalyn Zeffren

WOMEN’S SENIORS Helen Abrahamson Louise Abrahamson

$3.1 Million $2.8 Million

2003 Campaign Update

* New Pacesetter ($6,000 and above) ** New Lion of Judah ($5,000 and above)

Watch for our final ad coming March 21!

Get your donation in. There’s still time for your name to appear in the final ad!

To the generous supporters of the Men’s and Women’s General Campaign: In honor of the Centennial year of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, we hope you’ll consider becoming a Centennial Patron. If you raise your pledge $100 or more, your name will be listed and highlighted in this “PROUD TO BE A CENTENNIAL PATRON” ad. If you increase your pledge by less than $100, we will be proud to list your name as a contributor. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate 100 years of success in our community and a meaningful way to guarantee its future!

The 2003 Jewish Federation of Omaha Centennial Campaign 333 South 132nd Street Omaha, NE 68154 402/334-8200 www.jewishomaha.org Campaign Hotline 334-6594