February 25, 2011

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

First Tunisia, then Egypt: Which Mideast autocracy will be next to fall?

February 25, 2011 21 Adar 1 5771 Vol. 90 | No. 25

This Week

Arts & Entertainment: this week’s special focus

Jewish Federation of Omaha to host “Newcomers Nosh” Page 8

Kaleidoscope Event at University Hospital

Israel Grants lead to incredible Israel experiences Page 9

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Coming March 4 Green Living See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

by URIEL HEILMAN in the streets. In the West NEW YORK (JTA) -- With Bank, the Palestinian popular uprisings having topAuthority announced that it pled two Arab dictators in the would hold long-overdue parspace of just a few weeks and liamentary and presidential unrest reverberating across elections by September, and the Middle East, are other this week the PA prime minisregimes likely to fall, too? ter dismissed his Cabinet.

Nearly everywhere in the Long a mostly impotent region, autocratic leaders force in Arab politics, the seem to be on the defensive.

Arab street suddenly has disUsing carrots or sticks, and covered its power, and it’s sometimes both, they’re ushering in change from struggling to curb growing Tunis to Amman -- not to protest movements. mention fraying nerves in In Jordan two weeks ago, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. amid spreading protests, King “Activists in other countries Abdullah II dismissed his are trying to use the example prime minister and Cabinet, of Egypt and Tunisia to mobipromising reforms. In the lize large numbers of people to Persian Gulf kingdom of the streets,” said David Bahrain, police countered Siddhartha Patel, a political protesters’ “Day of Rage” this scientist at Cornell University. week with rubber bullets and Despite the spreading tear gas, while the king tried Algerian protesters face off against riot police in the capital city of Algiers, Feb. 14, 2011. protests, experts cautioned Credit: magharebia/Creative Commons against predicting the collapse to defuse opposition by prommain squares, despite Tehran’s of additional regimes. While the ising a $2,650 payment of “apprecia- zen.

In Iran this week, government rhetorical support for the uprisings Arab street has drawn lessons from tion” to every Bahraini family. In Kuwait, too, the ruling emir forces used violence to block in Tunisia and Egypt. In Yemen and Egypt and Tunisia, so have their announced cash grants to every citi- demonstrators from massing in Algeria, protesters and police battled Continued on page 2

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by ANDREA MCMASTER Media Consultant for The Nebraska Medical Center Dr. Bonnie Bloch and Dr. Howard E. Gendelman have been named as honorary chairs for the 2011 University Hospital Auxiliary Kaleidoscope event.

Dr. Gendelman is the Director of Neurovirology and Neurodegenerative Disorders at UNMC. The event will be held Saturday, March 12 at the LaVista Conference Center; it starts with cocktails and a silent auction at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 8 pm. During the program, the Honorary Kaleido-scope Award will be presented to Dr. James Armitage, who is a Professor of Internal Medicine in the Department of Oncology and Hematology at UNMC; he receives the award for his community and world contributions.

Funds raised this evening will benefit the new Clinical Research Center, which will be located at the Nebraska Medical Center’s main campus. The Kaleidoscope proceeds

will mainly be used to create a comfortable space within the Center for patients and their families. This space will have a global feel with art reflecting many cultures. It will also include communication devices for patients’ use to connect with loved

Dr. Bonnie Bloch and Dr. Howard E. Gendelman ones and to seek access to electronic medical resource libraries. Overall, the University Hospital Auxiliary group hopes the space will create an environment that encourages patients to participate in clinical trials. The hope is that, ultimately, this will lead to the discovery of new treatments for a variety of diseases and medical conditions.

The theme for this year’s Kaleidoscope Event is “An international affair, advancing science for a global purpose.” Event co-chairs are Lori Gigantelli, Gerri Plautz, and Lise Sasson. Tickets can be purchased by calling Leanne Cahill 402.552.3510 or lcahill@nebraskamed.com.

Temple Brooks Institute-UNO lecturer to relate Jewish Bible, New Testament

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Rabbi Norman M. Cohen, founding rabbi and spiritual leader of Bet Shalom Congregation in Minnetonka, Minnesota, will open the Rabbi Sidney H. and Jane Brooks Institute on Judaism for Clergy and Educators with the topic, “What are Nice Jewish Boys Like Moses and Abraham Doing in a Book like the New Testament?”

The Brooks Institute on Friday, March 4, begins at 10 a.m. at Temple Israel. Clergy, educators, and leaders of churches and professors at local colleges and universities in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota have been invited to attend.

“Anybody reading the New Testament can recognize the overwhelming amount of material that comes from the Jewish Bible, what some Christians call the Old Testament,” Rabbi Cohen pointed out. “But many are unaware that biblical characters like Moses and Abraham are mentioned 400 times in the New Testament. In some cases, they even appear there in person. There are a variety of reasons for this and many theories about why the Jewish Bible plays such a prominent role in Christian writings. From a Jewish perspective, this raises many challenging questions.”

Rabbi Cohen will address the

role of midrash in a Jewish understanding of scripture and how the New Testament employs similar methodology in achieving its ideological goals.

Rabbi Norman Cohen, an authority on Jewish-Christian relations, will speak at Temple Israel and UNO. After the 11:45 a.m. luncheon hosted and served by members of Women of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Cohen will lead text study, along with Temple’s clergy, at 1 p.m., comparing relevant excerpts from the Jewish Bible with the New Testament.

Rabbi Cohen is also the speaker for this year’s Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 3 at the Thompson Alumni Center, 6705 Dodge Street, at the University of Continued on page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

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Continued from page 1 autocratic rulers.

“Will people demonstrate and protest? Yes,” said Barry Rubin, an Israeli scholar at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center’s program of Global Research in International Affairs. “Will people overthrow governments? I think the answer is no.”

In Israel, the sudden change in Egypt has ignited a sharp debate along partisan lines about lessons to be learned and the efficacy of peacemaking with the Arab world.

“The right wing says you cannot really negotiate agreements with Arabs because the agreements will not be kept because their states are not stable,” said retired Israeli Brig.Gen Shlomo Brom, an expert on Arab politics at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.

“The left will say, the lesson is that because of the instability of the Middle East, we should be interested in minimizing friction between us and the Arab world by having ongoing negotiations for peace.”

The calculus for every country is different, and the elements that made for the success of Egypt’s uprising were a uniquely combustible combination that may not transfer elsewhere.

High unemployment, a yawning rich-poor gap, widespread government corruption and deteriorating quality-oflife metrics made Hosni Mubarak almost universally despised in his country, uniting Islamists and secularists in opposition. Egypt faced a looming succession crisis that undermined the legitimacy of the 82-year-old president, who wanted to hand over power to his son, Gamal.

Once the protests began in earnest, Egypt’s government, which receives $1.3 billion in annual U.S. aid, was subject to American pressure on how to confront the demonstrators.

Perhaps most significant, the Egyptian army opted to side with the protesters over the regime, declining to use violence against the people and essentially turning what had begun as a popular uprising into a military coup.

That stands in stark contrast to Iran, which put down mass protests a year-and-a-half ago following the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The key state security forces did the government’s bidding at the time, and with gusto: They beat and shot demonstrators, jailed dissenters and executed organizers.

This time, the regime is making sure that mass protests never materialize by choking off main arteries leading to central squares, deploying hundreds of riot officers and banning marches in solidarity with the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Already pariahs in the West, Tehran’s rulers have little to hold them back from unleashing the full might of their security apparatus to stay in power.

“The Iranian regime acted decisively early on, using security forces ruthlessly against the opposition, unlike Mubarak who hesitated and vacillated,” said Manochehr Dorraj, an Iran expert at Texas Christian University. “In Iran, the use of the security forces put shivers in the heart of the demonstrators who knew that they might be killed or executed.

And because Iran has oil and gas reserves, it could afford to act autonomously and ignore public opinion and take that defiant posture.”

Likewise in Syria, the state security services moved firmly to stifle budding protests, scaring potential opponents into submission through arrests, intimidation and a zero-tolerance policy even for small protest gatherings. Furthermore,

the broad popular discontent that fueled the Egyptian protests is less salient in Syria, where quality-of-life measures have improved in recent years under Bashar Assad.

Syria and Iran have another card to play when it comes to staunching opposition.

“Their anti-U.S. and anti-Israel posture lends them the claim that whoever rises against them are agents of the U.S. and Israel,” Dorraj said. “This was not available to Mubarak.”

Algeria in many ways looks similar to Egypt, with broad disaffection for the government of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, youth-led protests gaining steam and widespread strikes. But Algeria’s army is unlikely to side with the people against the regime, many analysts say. The same goes for Algeria’s neighbor to the east, Muammar Gadhafi’s Libya, where dissidents called for a protest to take place Thursday in Tripoli.

Jordan, the only Arab country besides Egypt to have a peace treaty with Israel, is seen to be in a more vulnerable position. Its ruler hails from a minority group in a country whose population is mostly Palestinian. In recent weeks, even the native Jordanian tribes in the minority that comprise the king’s traditional power base went public with charges of corruption against Abdullah’s wife, Queen Rania.

Also, the painful domestic effects of the global economic crisis have increased popular discontent in Jordan.

As protests -- a recurring presence in the kingdom -gained steam following the unrest in Egypt, Abdullah moved quickly to announce political reforms, firing his government and installing a new, conservative Cabinet designed to placate Jordan’s powerful tribes. The moves, and the king’s relative popularity compared with Mubarak in Egypt, weigh in Abdullah’s favor.

“Here we see a difference between Jordan on the one hand and Iran and Syria on the other: Jordan made some concessions, where the governments of Iran and Syria will not give an inch,” Rubin observed.

“In Jordan, it’s different from Egypt and Tunisia -- everybody likes the king,” Faisal Al-Rfouh, a former Jordanian culture minister and now a professor of political science at the University of Jordan, told JTA in an interview from Amman.

“There is no problem with the king, but with the corrupted government and corrupted people,” Al-Rfouh said. “We need to change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy under the leadership of His Majesty the King.”

Perhaps the Middle Eastern country most vulnerable to revolution is Yemen, which like Mubarak’s Egypt is plagued by high poverty, unemployment, discontent with the regime led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh and, until a few days ago, a looming succession crisis.

Saleh has tried to use both sticks and carrots to quell protests, dispatching his security forces to put down protests while offering a host of concessions, including a pledge to relinquish power in 2013 and not install his son as successor.

Long ravaged by internal conflicts, Yemen is seen as a key front in the war against al-Qaeda and terrorism. If Saleh goes, it’s not clear that Yemen’s government will remain allied with the West against Islamic extremism.

The future of Yemen, like so much in the Middle East, remains uncertain.

“There is one lesson we can learn from the Tunisian and Egyptian cases,” Brom said. “That is that nobody is immune and there are strong limitations to our ability to make forecasts.”

Javitch to step down as B’nai B’rith president

by BETH GERSHOVICH for B’nai B’rith After nearly 12 years as president of the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, Gary Javitch has tendered his resignation, effective June 30, 2011.

“What a glorious run it has been for me,” Javitch said. “But now it’s time to pass the torch.”

In his letter to the board, he thanked the members who had helped him run one of the most active lodges in the country. He cited as great successes two signature Lodge programs, the Annual Charity Sports Banquet and Breadbreakers.

Gary Javitch “Before the recession hit,” he wrote, “the Lodge had banquet audiences in excess of 1000 people. And this year’s banquet will be better than ever.

“And our weekly Breadbreaker speakers have attracted numbers that exceeded 50 people on quite a few occasions.

Our overall programming won an award from B’nai B’rith International.”

He added, “That despite hard economic times, our Lodge income has always exceeded our expenses. We are in really good financial shape.

“In addition, we established a stronger relationship with BBYO (providing them with subsidies and scholarships), the Federation, other Jewish organizations in the city and the Omaha community in general.

“Moreover, we have had a great number of cultural arts programs that included movies, deli nights, and discussions.

Other programs included a Jewish Trivia Quiz and a very successful baseball night program, to name just a few.

“Our success has led to national recognition. Indeed, it even was helpful in me being placed on the Board of Governors of B’nai B’rith International.

“I have been extremely proud and humbled to have served as the leader of the Lodge. Together with our board, which provided me with great support and guidance, we have accomplished a great deal,” Javitch concluded in his note.

Javitch highlighted the key Board members who propelled the Lodge to community prominence: Al Abramson (Advisor and Finance), Aaron Weiner (Banquet Sales), Mike Abramson (Banquet treasurer), Marty Ricks (Breadbreakers), Rich Juro (Banquet Sales) Howard Shandell (Banquet Chair), Gerald Meyer, (Police and Fire Recognition), and thanked the many volunteers who helped the organization.

Javitch said he would remain on the International Board of Governors and continue as co-chair of Breadbreakers.

A search committee has been formed and interested persons should contact the B’nai B’rith office at 334.6443.

February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 3

Jewish High School Athlete of the Year and JCC Athletic Wall of Fame nominations

by LISA SHKOLNICK JCC Associate Executive Director The Jewish Community Center is now accepting applications and nominations for the 2011 “Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” and the “JCC Athletic Wall of Fame” Awards. All Athletes and Wall of Fame nominations that meet their respective criteria will be honored with a plaque and presentation at the JCC Board Meeting on Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. Award winners will also be recognized in the Jewish Press and in the Centerpiece.

The “Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s elite Jewish ath-

letes in high school.

Criteria: 1. Must be Jewish.

2. Must be a senior in High School.

3. Must have lettered in a sport at the varsity level.

The “JCC Athletic Wall of Fame” award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s Jewish athletes who participated in JCC sports programs in their youth and went on to make significant contributions to the Jewish community, the general community and/or the Jewish Community Center.

Nominations for this award will be approved and judged by the JCC Health and Fitness

Committee.

C r i t e r i a : (Persons nominated must meet all four) 1. Must be Jewish.

2. Participated in at least one JCC sponsored sports program.

3. Lettered and excelled in a varsity sport for a high school or university, and/or won a city or state championship in a particular sport.

4. Community service criteria: Devoted at least 3-5 years of service towards the betterment of the community. This service is contribution to the Jewish Community Center

and/or the Jewish community by being active on committees, a volunteer leader through a program, acting as chairman on committees, or promotion of programs.

Nomination/Application forms for both awards can be downloaded online at www. jccomaha.org. Questions or applications for the Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year can be directed to Diane Malashock, JCC Sports and Recreation Program Supervisor at 402.334.6424 or dmalashock@jccomaha.org. Questions or nominations for the JCC Wall of Fame Award can be directed to Ed Heller, JCC Fitness Center Director at 402.334.6580 or eheller@jccomaha.org.

Temple Brooks Institute-UNO lecturer Rabbi Norman Cohen and mutual respect. True dialogue can lead us to a place where we are secure enough in our own faith that we can respect other paths even where we do not share particular beliefs. A healthy dialogue advances to a place where differences are respectfully acknowledged and affirmed.

“I will address some of the issues we have in common and the important differences that make us distinct. I’ll spend time discussing the stereotypes and misconceptions we have of each other and how they lead to xenophobia that makes growth and mutual respect extremely difficult,” he said.

Rabbi Cohen started Minnetonka’s Bet Shalom Congregation with 30 families in 1981, and it now serves 850 families. A native of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Cohen received his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Holy

Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and his master’s degree and doctorate of divinity from Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati.

He has taught at Edgecliff College, Xavier University, HUC-JIR, the College of St. Catherine, United Theological Seminary, Macalester College, and St. Olaf College. He spends a week or two each year at Holy Cross working with the chaplain’s office and the growing number of Jewish students and faculty there. In addition to his congregational duties, Rabbi Cohen is the chaplain for the Minnetonka Police Department. A student of Jewish-Christian relations, he has written numerous magazine and newspaper articles as well as the book, Jewish Bible Personages in the New Testament.

A past president of the Midwest Association of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Cohen has also served on the board and several committees of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). Currently, he’s the CCAR representative on the Reform Movement’s Joint Placement Commission. In 33 years as a rabbi, he has been on numerous boards of Jewish and inter-religious organizations both in his own area and nationally including the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), the Center for Victims of Torture, and the National Council of Jewish Women Foundation.

Rabbi Sidney Brooks was Temple Israel’s spiritual leader from 1952 to 1985 and served as Rabbi Emeritus from 1985 until his death in 1999. His wife, Jane, a member of Temple Israel, lives in Massachusetts.

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Continued from page 1 Nebraska at Omaha. The lecture, sponsored by the UNO Religious Studies Program, the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, and Temple Israel, is open to the public free of charge.

Speaking on the topic, Judaism and Christianity: Two Different Paths to the Same God, Rabbi Cohen explained that “long before the modern era’s climate of interfaith dialogue, most interaction between faiths consisted of hostile proselytizing and disrespectful polemics. Interfaith dialogue historically began with a recognition of the many things that we have in common.

“However, too often in the attempt to build bridges, we ignore the things about which we cannot agree. That sometimes results in a syncretism that prevents growth

4 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

Federation educates with humor at community events

by SHERRIE SAAG Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha Joel Chasnoff, author and comedian, arrives in Omaha March 2 for a series of community-wide appearances. With humor that is clever, sharp and more than a tad on edge, Joel’s message is one of respect and admiration for his religion, people and homeland. His act examines his own Jewish experiences and is one to which many can relate.

His 2010 book, The 188th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah, documents his time in a combat unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a tank gunner in the Armored Corps. “It’s not a typical army story,� said Chasnoff, who now lives in the Bronx with his Israeli wife and three children, 8-year-old twin girls and a 2-year-old daughter. “It’s about Jewish identity, it’s about a father/son relationship, it’s about the way Judaism is changing and how the Israel that we mythologize isn’t the real Israel.�

Chasnoff will speak at the Wednesday, March 2 B’nai B’rith Breadbeakers luncheon at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium at noon.

Wednesday evening, Joel will speak to students at the Omaha Jewish Chai School before joining Young Jewish Omaha (YJO) at its monthly Cocktails & Conversations. “He is an eagerly anticipated presenter at our award-winning Breadbreakers speaker series,� commented Gary Javitch, president of the B’nai B’rith Henry Monsky Lodge. “We are lucky to have him. I already feel ferklempt that our group is on his itinerary,� he added.

On Thursday, March 3, Joel will speak to the residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home at an appropriately titled “Blumkin Comedy Hour�. Afterwards, he caps his visit in Omaha with a comedic performance during a Federation event honoring the Lois Jeanne Schrager & Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award recipients, Danielle S. Gordman and Patrick Jensen. Featuring Joel’s show, live music, and a catered burrito bar, the event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at The Waiting Room Lounge. The cost of this event is $18 per person. Reservations are required by email to bgoldberg@jewishomaha.org.

Chasnoff ’s visit to Omaha is made possible by a generous grant from the Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation, Inc. in honor of its long time trustee, Jerry

Hoberman.

According to Howard Epstein, Executive Director of the Livingston Foundation, the Foundation wanted to honor Jerry for his 18 years of dedicated service as trustee, from 1991-2009. “As a very active and dedicated trustee, Jerry was instrumental in the Foundations’ decision making,� he said.

Upon learning of his plans to retire, the Foundation

Schedule of Events Wednesday, March 2 B’nai Brith Breadbreakers Noon, The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium Optional Kosher buffet lunch $10, beverage service, $3 Omaha Jewish Chai School 7:15-7:45 p.m., Kripke Jewish Federation Library Young Jewish Omaha Cocktails & Conversations 8:30 p.m., Location to be Announced Thursday, March 3 Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 1:30 p.m., The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium Comedy Night Presenting the Young Leadership Awards 7:30 p.m., The Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple Street Mexican buffet and two drink tickets, $18 at the door trustees looked for a way to recognize “his passion for furthering education and encouraging involvement, activity and growth of Omaha’s Jewish community� according to a resolution passed by its members.

Epstein added: “Because of his interest in education and the Jewish community, Jerry looked to the Jewish Federation of Omaha for ideas. Events that support the Federation’s Jewish Omaha Leadership Training (JOLT) and its Young Jewish Omaha (YJO) programs was a perfect match. Both initiatives seek to educate and engage the younger generation in our community.� “Jerry’s passion for education will always be remembered and respected. This is one more example of how he is able to make one gift benefit so many,� remarked Bob Kully, President of the Livingston Foundation.

As a speaker and entertainer, Joel Chasnoff meets this criteria to a “Tâ€?. He has said, “In retrospect, I am grateful I joined the IDF because, at the end of the day, I simply love Israel. On just a physical land level, I love being in a place where I know my history happened. When you’re on Masada, that revolt actually happened there‌I know I have something in common with just about everyone in Israel.

When I get off the plane in Israel, I just feel like I’m home.�

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Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Joel Chasnoff, author and comedian on Wednesday, March 3, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $10; beverage service is $3. For more information or to be placed on the e-mail list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@ jewishomaha.org.

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

MAINSTREETERS AARP Driver Safety Program is on Monday, March 7 at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home board room from noon-4 p.m. The cost for AARP member is $12 and $14 for a nonmember. Brush up on your driving skills to stay safe. This course may qualify older drivers for an auto insurance discount. Make check payable to Jewish Social Services. Send reservation form with full payment to Mainstreeters, c/o Maggie Conti, 323 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For questions call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521.

Sign up for a fresh new musical comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Bellevue Little Theater on Sunday, March 20. Dinner following at the Greek Islands (dinner is on your own). The cost of $14 per person for show admissions – transportation is sponsored by Jewish Social Services. Be at the JCC by 12:45 p.m. to depart at 1 p.m. and return approximately 7 p.m. Make check payable to Jewish Social Services and send to Mainstreeters, c/o Maggie Conti at 323 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For information call Rose Pitlor at 402.558.5144.

Mainstreeters Luncheon is Monday, March 21 at 12:30 p.m. at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium. The guest speaker will be Greg Wagner from the Nebraska Games and Parks. Come enjoy this outdoor enthusiast and Discover the Good Life! The cost is $10 per plate. Make check payable to Jewish Social Services and send to Mainstreeters, c/o Maggie Conti, 323 South 132nd Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For information call Linda Abrams Tederman at 402.468.4939.

JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra presents “Song and Dance� on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 1:45 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center auditorium. There is no admission fee.

The concert is titled “Song & Dance� because each of the works is from a great 19th century dramatic stage work. The Heartland Philharmonic Orchestra is comprised of 70 students from UNO and community players. This performance is sponsored by Jewish Social Services. All are welcome and bring a friend. For information call Mary Heiman, Activities Director at 402.334.6520.

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February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 5

STAR Deli serves Prime Rib

by OZZIE NOGG Patrons of the STAR Deli aren’t surprised to learn that the word delicatessen comes from the French délicatesse which means ‘delicious things (to eat).’ And the list of upcoming STAR Deli menu offerings is, indeed, full of tasty delights.

On Tuesday evening, March 1, the STAR Deli Dinner will feature Prime Rib in all its glory. This toothsome entree, accompanied by matzoh ball or kreplach soup, baked potato and mixed vegetables, will be available from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium on Main Street.

The cost of the very special Prime Rib Deli Dinner is $15.99 a plate. The meal will be served by members of National Council of Jewish Women. “NCJW is always happy to volunteer at the Blumkin Home and to help the community in any way we can,” said Wendy Raffel, NCJW co-president. “We’re looking forward to a fun time at the Deli Dinner, schmoozing with everyone and being a partner in this culinary experience.”

Regular Friday STAR Deli lunches continue to draw appreciative crowds. On Feb. 25, diners can dig into the Molto Buona Italian Meatball Sub, and on March 4, Chef Mike Aparo’s Israeli Chicken Schnitzel a la

Dare to wear a chicken hat to the Star Deli Friday lunch and you receive a free appetizer. Aryeh Epstein, left, and Guy Matalon prove they’re game.

Sesame returns, by popular demand. These specials are subject to change, but the tip top taste factor remains constant.

The STAR Deli is open every Friday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. In addition, the Deli is happy to host special occasions and will reserve private dining spaces in the RBJH for large groups. For more information on how STAR Deli Catering can add spice to your meetings, parties and life cycle events, please contact Mike Aparo at 402.334.6522.

Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group to bake for Nebraska AIDS Project

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Interested in rolling up your sleeves and baking for a great cause? Then head to Beth El on Monday, March 7, 7 p.m., and help the synagogue’s Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group bake sweets to be served throughout the year to guests at the Nebraska AIDS Project, located at 250 S 77th St. Hosts for the evening are Joan Marcus and Janie Kulakofsky. This service project has been planned as part of the group’s “Year of the Mitzvah” theme.

During the evening, a variety of cakes, bars, cookies and other desserts will be

baked, packaged and prepared for Marcus to take to the Project each month when she serves lunch. Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite recipes; all baking materials will be supplied by the synagogue.

All women in the Jewish community are invited to join the baking brigade. To RSVP, contact Marcus at 402.333.5995, or hmarcom@juno.com; or Kulakofsky, at or 402.333.7394, or nwumom@cox.net.

Anyone needing a ride to the synagogue may contact Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group coordinator Julianne Dunn-Herzog at 402.341.5541, or JMDHerzog@aol.com.

Teachers and Social Networking

by ANDREW MALASHOCK Administrative Assistant, Center for Jewish Education It seems one can’t turn on the television or radio without seeing advertisements about the different variations of social networking.

It is amazing that with all the tweets, blogs, and status updates that people are able to keep everything together. However, as social networking sites have become more and more prevalent in society, they seem to have become a necessary means of communication. While sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkdIn are thought of as only social sites by many, there are also great opportunities for teachers to use them for educational purposes.

On March 6, Instructional Technologist Jeff Ingraham will be the guest speaker for Limmud for Teachers Part 2: Social Networking and Technology in the Classroom.

Ingraham has a masters in Technology Education and is currently a Doctor of Education candidate at Walden University.

He has been teaching graduate level college courses since 1992, and has given lectures at numerous teacher conferences on how using technology in the classroom can improve learning.

“We know very little about the future we are preparing our students for, but what is

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clear is it will be a place that is filled with information and new challenges,” says Ingraham. “Effectively using information and creatively responding to new situations and tasks is how our 21st Century learners will make their living.”

Ron Giller, principal of Friedel Jewish Academy, has been working with Ingraham to help better understand what technology could be used to increase the learning potential of the students. “Mr. Ingraham has been working with the Friedel Technology Committee and staff to provide guidance in the use of 21st century technology in our classrooms,” said Giller. “He is an excellent resource for our teachers and students as we continue to provide students with the very best technology tools available.”

The event is open to all educators from Beth El, Beth Israel, the Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center, Friedel Jewish Academy and Temple Israel. The program is free of charge and includes lunch and babysitting. Reservations are needed by March 1 to amalashock@jewishomaha.org or by phone at 402.334.6463. Limmud for Teachers is presented by The Center for Jewish Education and is funded by the Murray H. & Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation and the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation.

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues (early deadlines and office closings for holidays will be announced in advance).

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6 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

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Week of Understanding

by HILLARY FLETCHER Institute for Holocaust Education Encouraged by Omaha Public Schools’ North High School educator, Laura Geiger, The Institute for Holocaust Education and Omaha Public Schools have partnered to bring stories of Holocaust survivors to approximately 2,000 students in Omaha and to encourage a Week of Understanding which will begin on Feb. 28 and conclude on March 4. The Omaha Public Schools Foundation and the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation, along with private donors, have contributed generously to making this program possible.

Geiger, an English teacher, became interested in sharing the stories of survivors after she attended the Freedom Writers Institute in Long Beach, California. While attending the Institute, Geiger was inspired to do exactly as Erin Gruwell, founder of the Freedom Writers, had done: to go above and beyond the classroom. Upon returning to Omaha, Geiger was determined that more students hear the stories of Holocaust survivors. Said Geiger, “As educators, we talk about students relating to what we teach, making connections, making education relevant. What better a way for them to relate to the Holocaust, than to hear it from the source. I also think it is a way for our students to be empowered. To hear someone’s story about the trials and tribulations of their life gives them hope that they too can overcome their struggles. Once I returned to Omaha, I contacted my professor from my summer class. I took Religious Diversity at UNO from Beth Katz. I told her about my inspiring experience with the FWI and asked how I could bring three Holocaust survivors to Omaha. She put me in contact with Beth Seldin Dotan [Director of the Institute for Holocaust Education], and everything evolved from there.”

The speakers for the Week of Understanding include Rene Firestone a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp and founding lecturer for the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Education Outreach Program in Los Angeles. Mrs. Firestone resides in California and spoke with the original group of Freedom Writers students. Additional survivors from California will speak to the Omaha students via video

conferencing from the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Survivors giving testimony from Omaha will include Bea Karp, Rachel Rosenberg and Fred Kader. Kitty Williams from Council Bluffs and Dr. Lou Leviticus from Lincoln will also address the students. Hosting OPS schools will include Omaha North, Omaha South, Central, and Burke High.

Students from Benson, Northwest, Millard South, Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln Southwest will join the host schools during the survivor visits. In addition, Ralston will host a speaker at the end of the week. Institute for Holocaust Director Beth Seldin Dotan is excited for this effort to reach more than 2,000 students in Nebraska. Firestone will also speak to the community at CPACS Auditorium at UNO on March 2 at 7 p.m. Please call the campus for parking information.

Gruwell’s original Freedom Writer’s, made famous in the 2001 movie starring Hillary Swank, were at-risk students who Gruwell inspired by connecting them to stories of Holocaust survivors. Her work with these students eventually lead to the Institute each year in Los Angeles where educators are trained in promoting tolerance to encourage Engagement, Enlightenment, and Empowerment in the classroom and community.

The Freedom Writers Institute has trained over 200 teachers in the U.S. and Canada. Omaha Public Schools currently has 30 trained Freedom Writer Teachers, including several Avenue Scholar program mentors. Ralston also has one trained Freedom Writer educator, and Lincoln Public Schools has two. The Freedom Writers Foundation and OPS are working together to continue training more educators in these methods in an effort to meet the needs of students in urban Nebraska schools.

The Institute for Holocaust Education has served the greater Nebraska community for over a decade providing Holocaust educational resources, workshops and community events. Having provided workshops and classes to over 700 Nebraska educators, the IHE estimates that close to 100,000 students have benefited from our work using the lessons of the Holocaust to understand human behavior.

Temple’s Kol Rina and St. Paul Choirs to sing “Something for Everyone”

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Library Administrator Kripke Jewish Federation Library The Center for Jewish Education A beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Applicants are being sought for the position of Library Administrator with the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. The library, located in Omaha, Nebraska, has one of the Midwest’s largest collections of Judaica with over 40,000 volumes.

Responsibilities will include selection and purchasing of materials, cataloging, providing all facets of library service, program planning for all ages, working with local Jewish educational entities and assisting with other agency programs.

Applicants must have strong oral and written communication skills, be comfortable working with volunteers, professional staff and patrons and be well organized. Proficiency in Microsoft Office required. Experience with Follett Destiny library software preferred.

MLS preferred. Minimum qualifications include a graduate degree in English, literature, Jewish Studies or a related field. A working knowledge of Judaism is required.

Please submit resume to Tina Story, Human Resources Specialist, 333 S. 132 Street, Omaha NE 68154-2198. Resumes may also be faxed to (402) 334-6484 or emailed to tstory@jewishomaha.org.

Equal Opportunity Employer; background check required.

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Cantor Wendy Shermet of Temple Israel and the Rev. Jerry Brabec of St. Paul United Methodist Church are once again combining their congregations’ choirs which will blend their voices on Friday, March 4 at the 6 p.m. Shabbat worship service at Temple Israel. Then they’ll add an encore at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 5410 Corby Street, on Sunday, March 6 at 11:05 a.m. The Jewish community is invited to attend both services.

The Rev. Brabec, who conducts the combined 35-voice choir, promises the music will have “something for everyone” whether it’s spiritual, contemporary, or classic.

“We do it for fellowship, to sing new music, and for fun,” mentioned Cantor Shermet.

Friday evening’s Shabbat service will feature the musical skill of the River City Ringers, Omaha’s premier hand bell ensemble. The ringers will offer “foot stomping renditions,” said the Rev. Brabec, of Hava N’gilah and Down by the Riverside as well as an Adon Olam set for cantor and bells by Meir Finkelstein.

Again this year, the choir exchange will include a musical work composed specifically for the weekend occasion.

“Festival Psalm” was commissioned in memory of Harvey K.

Engagement FLETCHER/SAYLAN Courtneay Leigh Fletcher and David Arthur Saylan have announced their engagement.

The bride-to-be received her BA in Communication from St. Louis University and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Maryville University. She is an elementary school teacher in the Maplewood/Richmond Heights, MO school district.

She is the daughter of Joyce and Jim Cockrell of St. Louis.

Her fiancé graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in Communication. He works for UMB Bank in St. Louis. He is the son of Jacki and Steve Saylan.

A May 29, 2011 wedding is planned in St. Louis.

and Marion Owens Mead by their daughter Linda, a member of St. Paul, for the Rev. Brabec and Cantor Shermet and the respective choirs. Omaha composer and organist, Michael McCabe, chose to combine the texts of Psalm 99 and the traditional Hebrew Sh’ma for his work. The Solid Brass Quartet will join the choirs, Cantor Shermet, the River City Ringers, and McCabe who will be playing the organ.

Worship services will be followed by a congregational dinner at Temple Israel. The menu includes chicken Marbella, couscous, a green vegetable, challah, and a salad bar. To make reservations, contact the Temple office at 556.6536 or mkube@templeisraelomaha.com by Monday, Feb. 28. The charge for dinner is $10 for adults; $8 for children, no charge for children five and younger.

Sunday morning’s service at St. Paul United Methodist Church will highlight McCabe as guest organist and his Three Pieces for Ceremony performed by the Solid Brass Quartet. The choirs will be joined by members of the St. Paul Joy Bell Ensemble in a repeat of the Festival Psalm.

Cantor Shermet will sing a cantorial piece with the organist, and Temple Israel accompanist Julie Sandene on piano will join the choirs as they sing Halleluyah! by Doug Cotler.

“Truly God’s gift of music for everyone!” declared the Rev. Brabec.

In the news Lauren Kirk was named 2010 Highpoint Champion of the Academy Walk/Trot 10 and under division by the Nebraska American Saddlebred Association. Lauren has been riding saddle seat for two and a half years at Cheradon Acres in Springfield, Nebraska. In April, she will begin her third season showing in the Academy Division.

Lauren is 9 years old and is the daughter of Kelly and Thomas Kirk.

On March 4 and 5, the Department of Veterans Affairs will be partnering with the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs, veteran service agencies, county veteran service officers and military transition advisors, to bring information and services to the Veterans Open House at the fairgrounds expo building at 8420 114th St., Weeping Water, from noon to 7 p.m. on March 4, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 5. For more information, please contact William Ackerman at William.Ackerman@va.gov, or call 402.995.4719 during office hours.

February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 7

Arts+Entertainment From Generation to Generation, a musical written by Karen Sokolof Javitch and Elaine Jabenis, will be performed in Chicago from March 30 - May 1, at Stage 773. The show is about a Jewish Grandmother-to-be and her efforts to create a unique gift for her unborn grandchild. Both humorous and heartwarming, it won the TAG award for Best Original Script and has 17 songs written by Karen. Joanie Jacobson also contributed to the writing of the songs. Tickets are available by phone: 773.327.5252 or by going online: www.stage773.com.

Entries are now being accepted to the American String Teacher’s Association’s annual fiddle composition contest.

Deadline is March 31; the winners will be announced May 28, during the fiddling championship in Beatrice, NE. For rules and guidelines, email debby@greenblattandseay. com, or visit www.neasta.org.

The hit musical Mamma Mia! will return to Omaha's Orpheum Theater for additional performances from Thursday, March 3 through Sunday, March 6. The cast will feature native Omahan John-Michael Zuerlein.

Tickets start at $28 and are now on sale through the ticket office at the Holland Performing Arts Center. To order, please call 402.345.0606 or visit www.TicketOmaha.com.

Birth Stacey and Brett Atlas announce the Jan. 11 birth of Marley Quinn.

She has two brothers, Zach and Noah.

Grandparents are Zoë and Carl Riekes, Ellen and Don Israel of Wheeling, IL, and Ron and Lauren Atlas of Wilmette, IL. Great-grandparents are Dorothy Riekes and the late Henry Riekes, the late Edith and Nathan Meltzer, the late Sylvia and Sol Ender, and the late Thelma and Gerry Atlas.

REMINDER: NEW AREA CODE Omaha will be getting a new area code, 531. The new area code will be an addition to the 402 area code. Any new numbers issued will come with a 531 area code; beginning Feb. 26 you will be required to dial all 10digits in order to make any phone call.

Once the mandatory dialing begins, you must use the new dialing procedure for all local calls. After Feb. 26, if you do not use the new dialing procedure, your call will not be completed, and a recording will provide instructions on how to redial your call.

You should still dial just three digits to reach 911.

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How to throw a Jewish Oscar party

by EDMON J. RODMAN Oscars, for the “motion picture figure mover” -- a device LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- With so many famous Jewish that was used to animate a puppet of ET in the famous names among the Academy Awards nominees this year -- scene when the extraterrestrial and Elliott ride a bicycle Coen, Cohen, Eisenberg, Aronofsky, Sorkin and Newman, into the air in front of the moon. to name a few -- it seems like a good time for a Jewish I was in the hands of a maker of movie magic.

Oscar party.

To honor Portman, who was nominated for Best Actress But how to make an Oscar party Jewish? for her role in Black Swan, Ziff suggested a goose made of In case someone like Joan Rivers asks what I’ll be wear- chopped liver. ing, I have my total Jewish designer outfit pressed and “Maybe we can figure out a way to make it move,” he ready: Calvin Klein pants, Ralph Lauren shirt and Dov said, again showing his award-winning chops.

Charney (American “Maybe it doesn’t Apparel) T-shirt. But need to move,” I that’s not going to be responded, thinking the nearly enough. chopped liver sculpture Should there be a set could double as an hors order and ritual, like the d’oeuvre. seder? Or, like Purim, Now that I had table an evening filled with art and food, what about costumes, beauty pagthe awards? eants, shouting at bad The pre-show Oscar guys and lots to drink? balloting, the heart of Do I need a red carpet any real Oscar party, or a black-and-white gives the guests a shot at tallit? voicing their opinions Clearly I needed help. and picking the winners.

Who ya gonna call?

Could I call them the No, not Ghostbusters.

Mazels? What would be With plenty of Jews among the nominees, is this the right year for a Rabbi Sara Goodman, my categories: Best Credit: Edmon J. Rodman little l’chayim at your Oscar party? a Los Angeles chaplain, Jewish actor who had a has been holding Oscar parties for almost 25 years, even bar mitzvah? Best actress who identifies as being Jewish? through rabbinic school.

Best name variation of Cohen? Best screenplay with char“I can’t say that I am at my holiest during the party,” acters who are not stereotypically Jewish?

Goodman told JTA. “But I do see the show as a holy event,” Things were getting complicated, so I needed to consult she added with a note of melodrama. with someone who could put things in perspective. I called Her parties feature a nice buffet, and a friend brings my uncle, a Director’s Guild member who votes for the Oscars ballots. And then there are the tableaus: Goodman Academy Awards and has won an Emmy for Best Director. makes sure her table is graced each year with a few “I agonize over the process,” Alexander Singer said. thought-provoking, Oscar-related creations that keep her In the Best Picture category, Singer said he was torn guests guessing. between Inception, which he loved for its inventiveness; “One year I had a Koran on the table,” she recalls. “It was The Social Network, for its great characters; and The Kings for the movie Babel.”

Speech, for great storytelling.

Another year Goodman put out a Princess Diana mug, a How to decide? Change the ballot. royal collector’s spoon and a soap box with Buckingham On my rejiggered Jewish ballot, if I recast the category a Palace pictured on it. That was in 2007, when director bit, the answer became easy: Best movie featuring the porStephen Frears’ The Queen was nominated in three cate- trayal of a character who had a bar mitzvah but now congories. Helen Mirren won the Best Actress award. siders himself an atheist (so what’s new?), and though he With Jewish actress Natalie Portman up for an award invented a new form of social media seems coolly distant Feb. 27, I asked my special-effects friend Stuart Ziff for an just like your crazy cousin who sits in front of the computidea for my table. er all day.

Ziff worked in the first three Star Wars movies, and in The envelope please?

1982 he won a Technical Achievement Academy Award.

Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on He picked up the little-known industry honor, which is Jewish life from Los Angeles. He sees the Hollywood sign handed out at a special ceremony and dinner prior to the every morning as he walks out the door to get the paper.

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8 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

Community invited to Beth El’s second “Simchat Shabbat” celebration

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El’s first “Simchat Shabbat” celebration last month saw over 140 attendees singing, praying, learning and sharing a unique, meaningful Shabbat experience. Now, on Saturday, March 5, at 10:30 a.m., the entire community is invited to the synagogue’s second Simchat Shabbat experience, in the synagogue’s social hall. This innovative and spiritual program, created coordinated and led by a group of talented congregants, will once again feature music, poetry, readings, narratives, as well as some selections from the traditional liturgy.

Eadie Tsabari will reprise her role as service leader. As a special treat this month, Beth El’s Kids Klezmer Band, under the direction of Tuffy Epstein, will welcome attendees with their music before the service; the group will also provide entertainment during lunch.

The initial service was applauded by many for its warm and engaging atmosphere.

Pam Friedlander, who attended with her husband, Bruce, shared that they both “loved the service. It was very moving to watch not only the service leaders but also the congregants. The prayers and music were carefully selected and it brought a special, warm feeling to everyone in the room.

We loved it and look forward to the March service.”

Tsabari, who not only led but also played guitar during the service, noted that, “The fact that there were 140 people in the chapel before we even started just shows that people are interested in coming to services and that we need to provide an alternative to the traditional service or make our services more participatory,” Tsabari said. “Everyone in the room was part of the service and that made people feel like they belonged to something.”

Newcomer’s Nosh

For Ari Brodkey, the service “was particularly enjoyable for those who sought to gain a better understanding of the meaning behind some of the prayers and rituals of Shabbat services. Not only did the service consist of moments of humor and fun, but there was also a great emphasis placed on the meanings of certain prayers, that week’s parsha, and how we could all benefit by making Shabbat a regular part of our lives.

“I know that it took a lot of planning and people coming together to make this work, including some of our Beth El USYers leading ruach songs during ‘Cafe Schmooze,’ and I know that we can look forward to great programming like this at Beth El in the near future.”

Following Simchat Shabbat (as well as the traditional service in the sanctuary), a festive luncheon at the synagogue’s Café Schmooze will once again welcome all diners. This month’s menu will feature brisket and chicken with a variety of sides; organizers also noted that for quicker service, more buffet lines will be set up. The luncheon is free of charge, and service attendance is not required for those wishing to share a Shabbat meal with friends and loved ones at the synagogue. For planning purposes, reservations are requested, and may be made by contacting the synagogue office, 402.492.8550, or via email, at programming@bethel-omaha.org.

“All congregants are invited, no matter where they’ve spent their morning,” emphasized Ozzie Nogg, one of the Simchat Shabbat coordinators. “Whether you attend the traditional service, Simchat Shabbat or you’re coming from home, soccer or ballet lessons, you’re welcome to share in this spirited and song-filled meal with family and friends.

Cafe Schmooze promises the wonderful tastes and smells of Shabbat, cooked with love.”

by SHERRIE SAAG Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha The rising influx of new Jewish families and young professionals moving to Omaha has us excited and energized. Welcoming phone calls have been made and meet and greets have occurred almost every week on the Federation campus.

Now, it’s time to welcome them in a group setting, where they have an opportunity to meet each other, learn about the Omaha Jewish community and forge new relationships.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha will host a Welcome Newcomers!

Newcomer’s Nosh on Sunday, March 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the JCC Community Room.

“If you are new to Omaha, we sincerely encourage you to attend our Newcomer’s brunch! It is a wonderful opportunity to meet with and network with other individuals and families who are new to the area, as well as professionals and volunteers from all of the synagogues and Jewish agencies,” said Denise Ipock, Membership Services Director, Jewish Community Center.

“The Federation campus is the kind of place where, if you walk past someone you don’t know, you stop, say hi and welcome,” said Bob Goldberg, Communications Director, Jewish Federation of Omaha. “We want everyone new to the community to feel welcome and learn about what makes the Omaha Jewish community so great,” he added.

“This is a great opportunity for those new to the area.

If you haven’t yet discovered, it will soon be apparent that you have moved to one of the most exceptional Jewish communities in the country! We really do want to meet you, welcome you, and assist you in making connections with your Jewish community,” Ipock said.

For more information, please contact Bob Goldberg at 402.334.6431 or bgoldberg@jewishomaha.org.

Passover Greetings This year you can send your greetings through these very special ads that will run in our annual Passover issue. Each ad can be personalized with your name, the names of your children or your grandchildren.

Just fill out the form below and send or bring it to the Jewish Press office. But hurry these ads will only be accepted through March 21, 2011.

A $52

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Passover Greetings Ads Name __________________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________________________ City _________________________________________ State ______________ Zip _____________ Check the size of ad you would like: O A O B O C Use the lines below to list your family members names you would like on your Passover ad. _______________________________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ Please send a check for the amount listed along side the different sized ads with this form at the Jewish Press office in the JCC or mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154

Out

Dining

February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 9

Israel Grants lead to incredible Israel experiences

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Director of Operations and Programming, Center for Jewish Education Each year, many teens and young adults have the experience of a lifetime, traveling to Israel on a wide variety of programs.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha is delighted to support these experiences through the Israel Experience Grant program.

The Israel Experience Grant is a one-time gift from the Federation for students in grades 9-12 or young adults ages 18 to 25 for an approved Israel experience. The grant is available to anyone in the Omaha Jewish community.

The following articles were written by teens who participated in programs in the summer of 2010. Each was a recipient of an Israel Experience Grant.

up on your first day.

On a normal day, we would start the day with shakshuka for breakfast and head to class for an extremely intense lesson. We learned the history of the Jewish people from the time of Abraham in 2,000 B.C.E through the election of Benyamin Netanyahu earlier last year.

My teachers were amazing to say the least. One was an Israeli hero who liberated the Kotel and was written about in many books. Another was a Jewish kid from Pennsylvania who felt the urge to move to Israel after college. My other two teachers were amazing as well. An Israeli woman taught us everything there was to know about being an Israeli, and a religious musician showed us how we can use music to be spiritual. After our lessons each day we would hop on our buses and Ezra Potash go directly to what we were Alexander Muss High School studying that day. For exam“From Homeless to Israel” ple we learned about If you have ever seen a Kabbalah one morning and Lifetime movie, you always visited the grave of all of the remember the corny titles that beginners of the movement in sometimes relate to the mesSafed later that day. And when sage of the video. We might all we returned we had a few Adeev and Ezra Potash know the movie From hours in our town of Hod Homeless to Harvard, the story of a homeless girl who later Hasharon to explore Israeli society. applies herself in school and is finally accepted into Harvard.

I could say many things about my experience in Israel. I I feel that the moral of that movie relates to me in no way, but could say that I learned a lot of history. I could say that I now the title is a carbon copy of my feelings. know the geography of Israel better than I know the geograHaving moved around a lot as a kid, I never really felt at phy of Nebraska. I could say that I made amazing friends home anywhere. I was born in Omaha, then after a year or and connections that I will have for the rest of my life. But I two moved to West Lafayette, IN, then Champaign/Urbana, can say that I have a home, and home for every Jew. IL, then Austin, TX and eventually back to Omaha. With forcibly making friends at a quick pace, it always seemed as Adeev Potash though right when I really became friends with people, the Alexander Muss High School world decided to move me as far away from them as possiOn my first trip to Israel several years ago, I landed in a ble. I had been accustomed to this friend “routine” for years country far from home, bearing only knowledge of my now and I knew that moving non-stop was a pleasure in kindergarten and first-grade Hebrew school classes. I rememmany ways such as experiencing many different places, but ber walking off the tarmac, getting into a taxi and going to an also a curse in the way that I knew I couldn’t be attached to apartment. We were in Israel for what felt like a week, but was any plot of land for long. truly a month. Unfortunately for my parents, I took an As a young child I always remember my parents talking insignificant amount of personal benefit from that trip comabout places they’ve visited. If I had a kippah for every coun- pared to the experience that I encountered this summer. try to which my parents have traveled I’d easily have the This summer, I attended an eight week high school educalargest collection of kippot in Omaha. The only place that tional trip around Israel. My group of about 70 high school came up in conversation about seven times a day was this teenagers from around the United States somehow created unusual place called “Israel.” For those of you who don’t perfect chemistry. We had kids who spoke five languages, kids know, both my parents lived in Israel for many years. who were extremely observant orthodox Jews, and even nonHearing them talk about it with such passion made me feel Jewish kids. This diverse atmosphere brought in scores of left out and even more isolated. Having been there at a opinions during our long four-and-a-half hour daily classes. younger age, I had an idea of what they were discussing. I felt The significance of the program was not just in our long like I understood the Israel they were speaking of, but really educational routine, but the fact that minutes after we had Israel is something you can’t understand until you are been in our classroom, we could enjoy the pure history that mature enough or ready to experience something that will was under our feet. Nearly four times a week our classroom take you to a new chapter in your life. would be in various locations. One of my favorite “tiyulim” or When I signed up for Alexander Muss High School in trips that we took was visiting the Southern Wall. While most Israel, I was fully expecting a tour of Israel. Although I did tourists were staring at the Western Wall, we would be hiking manage to see every site possible for a country of only 10,000 with our pens and notebooks at hand looking at a piece of square miles (around the size of New Jersey), I got much history that we had covered extensively earlier that day. But more than just a tour. When you live in Israel for two full nothing beats the day where we held our notebooks like months with your own room, your own computer, a teacher shields, our pens like swords, and pretending to gallop and a free cafeteria with authentic Israeli food, you start to around the oldest Crusader fortress at Belvoir while our view life differently. Having basically all the identical fea- “Madrichim” (counselors) threw candy at us pretending to be tures of being in America, the experience was nothing even archers hiding behind enemy lines. Or the day where we suitclose. When you live in a city with all Israelis, eat at Israeli ed up for battle and sparred on the top of the Shomer muserestaurants, go to Israeli movie theaters, shop at Israeli malls, um, pretending to be the first soldiers of Aliyah movement. you feel immersed in Israeli society the moment you wake Continued on page 10

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10 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

Sephard, Sephardi, Sephardim

Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER Walk into any synagogue in Israel and you are liable to hear the following unfamiliar phrase toward the beginning of every recitation of the Kaddish: “ve-yatzmach purkaneh ve-yekarev meshichay” (“may God bring redemption and hasten the coming of the Messiah”). This phrase tells you that you are not attending an Ashkenazic synagogue service.

Indeed “pure” Ashkenazic services, though the overwhelming norm in synagogues in America, are hard to come by in Israel. The reason for this is that most Ashkenazim in Israel pray using Nusach Sephard (the Sephard version), which draws inspiration from the teachings of the great kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) and contains that additional phrase in the Kaddish, among other small differences from the Asheknazic rite. As for the large Sephardic populations in Israel, they have a number of different prayer traditions (all of which include the extra phrase in the Kaddish). The main version is called Nusach Sephardi, also known as Nusach Edot Hamizrach (literally, “the version of the Communities of the East”). In an upcoming column I will explore some fascinating additions in the Sephardi rite to the central Jewish prayer known as the Amidah. Here I want to make a few observations about living with Sephardim.

As my friend Yaron Harel, a senior lecturer in the department of Jewish history at Bar Ilan University tells me, there is no easy way of designating non-Ashkenazic Jewry.

Literally, “Sephardim” only denotes those who came from Spain—i.e., after the expulsion in 1492--and does not include the different non-Ashkenazic Jewish communities in Asia and Africa. Practically speaking, however, when one speaks of “Sephardim” in Israel one is indeed speaking of any non-Ashkenazic community, the larger ones being from Morocco and from Yemen and the smaller ones being from places like Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, and Kurdistan.

Sephardim have put their stamp on the cultural map in Israel. There are cliches and caricatures of the differences between Moroccans and Yemenites, there is the Middle Eastern beat of the Mizrahi music that so encourages dancing (indeed, Sarah used to take a bellydancing class mainly with Sephardic women at the local JCC), there are Sephardi Pop Stars like Ayal Golan and Rita, there is the peppery “zchug” and other spicy relishes and foods, and there is also what the Sephardim do to the conception of what it means to look like a Jew. One of the fitness center instructors in Givat Ze’ev was a Sephardic woman named Zahava (“Golda”). When Sarah first began to work out at the Center, she asked me how she would know how to recognize the instructor. I told her: “That’s easy. Walk in, look around for a woman who looks

Your Look...

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like a Native American Indian, and you’ve found her.”

I’ve written in the past about how in Israel there is no such thing as a Jewish nose, but the truth is more encompassing: there is no such thing in Israel as a Jewish body or a Jewish “look.” Why, there are various Sephardic Jews in Givat Ze’ev who in the U.S. would easily pass for Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Hispanics. I miss this Israeli multiplicity of Jewish looks when I visit the States, I miss the Sephardim.

Because let’s not forget: with the relative monochromatic Jewish body in the States come certain implications about this body (yes, even in the States)--many of them negative.

In Israel, as with other aspects of Jewish life, your Jewish body is what you make of it. And oh, what bodies! Though my life in America had not prepared me for it, after a few years of living in Israel it suddenly became clear to me: the Jews are a very beautiful people. And for this realization, I mainly have to thank all those gorgeous Sephardim.

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

Community Mission

by SHERRIE SAAG Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha The Jewish Federation of Omaha is heading to Israel on a community mission this Sept. For details join Kathy McGauvran, Mission Director, at a recruitment meeting on Monday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in the JCC Social Hall.

The trip dates – Sept. 13 through the 21st – includes 8 nights in Israel with visits to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea. The itinerary includes a wide range of activities and attractions designed to immerse you in the Israeli community -- from religious landmarks to historical monuments to cultural must-sees. Enjoy an unforgettable Shabbat at the Kotel and visit one of Israel’s premier wineries in the Galilee.

“Each mission brings together new groups of people and becomes truly unique in its sense of purpose. Travelers have a really personal experience and a heightened appreciation and connection to their Jewish identity,” explained McGauvran.

“Jewish Federation Missions are travel experiences unlike any other,” said Jan Goldstein, Jewish Federation of Omaha Executive Director. “Our missions are not passive experiences. They are active adventures, engaging the mind, heart, soul and body. You will truly experience the many marvels of Jewish existence in a way unlike any other,” she added.

An optional post mission of four nights in the historic city of Budapest is also available. Mission participants will visit the famous Dohany Street Synagogue and the surrounding Jewish Quarter, among other Budapest highlights.

For more information call or email Kathy McGauvran at 402.334.6427 or kmcgauvran@jewishomaha.org.

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Israel Grants lead to incredible Israel experiences Continued from page 9 Day War. If the students were Alexander Muss High the passengers on a plane School in Israel is truly an You must meet the following requirements: then our teachers were the educational experience, an 1. The applicant must be a resident of the Omaha metro- pilots, they pointed us in the experience that can only be politan area right direction. Besides being possible in Israel. On this trip, 2. The applicant, or his/her family, is a donor in good great teachers, they invited us we relived the history of the standing to the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of to their homes for Shabbat.

Jewish people from the cre- Omaha These were not just people ation story all the way through 3. The applicant will provide an article and pictures of the who graduated college to find the Israeli-Palestinian con- experience within one month of return to Omaha for publi- a job teaching; they found a flict. This couldn’t have been cation in the Jewish Press job where if it meant having done without the biggest help 4. The applicant will participate in any required prepara- to travel to Eilat and back to of all, our teachers. help a student receive an A in tory program Our teachers didn’t stand at Applying for an Israel Experience Grant is a simple one- the class, they would do it a chalkboard and write things page application. The applications are available on the without a second thought. down only to bore the stu- Scholarships and Grants page of the Center for Jewish Alexander Muss gave me dents in the classroom. Our Education on the Jewish Federation of Omaha website at tools that will help me build teachers were enthusiastic to www.jewishomaha.org. Applications may also be requested my future and for that I will the point where a five-hour via email at scholarship@jewishomaha.org. Return com- always be thankful. With this class on the migration of Jews pleted applications to the Center for Jewish Education, 333 experience, I didn’t just take from Ashkenaz would seem South 132nd Street, Omaha NE 68154. away knowledge that will help like twenty-five minutes, and Those in need of additional financial assistance can also me in my history classes, or even so, we all wanted to apply for financial need-based scholarships. Scholarship help me advocate for Israel; I learn more. Our teachers applications are available as described in the previous para- learned life lessons that only were people who I will talk to graph. For additional information on all grant and scholar- an experience in Israel could for the rest of my life, not just ship programs, please call 402.334.6445 or email mgross- provide. Although I am in until the end of the semester. man@jewishomaha.org.

Omaha, Nebraska, of all The teachers included people places, the Jewish community of a diverse background; we had a teacher who was a will help me remember the amazing experience that I had in Knesset Member, a teacher who was a twenty-eight year old Israel this summer. With any luck, more kids will benefit modern orthodox Jew from Philly, and a teacher who was an from the amazing opportunity that I was given by Alexander Israeli renowned hero who liberated the Kotel during the Six Muss.

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February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 11

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Community Calendar FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Everyday Holiness with Dr. Guy Matalon, noon USY Shabbat Dinner, 6 p.m. at Shiri Tene’s Home Birthday Blessings, 6 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 BBYO Rush #3, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, FEBUARY 27 Pancake Man, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Fifth Grade Family History Program, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El WRJ Hamentaschen Baking, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel RBJH Community Concert, 1:45 p.m.

Beth El USY Scavenger Hunt around Omaha, 6 p.m.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m.

Hebrew 101, 6 p.m.

Toward a Meaningful Life class, 7 p.m. at Chabad Senior NCSY Latte & Learning, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 1 Eye on Israel, noon Scholar’s Club, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home BBYO AZA Council Rush, 6 p.m.

Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel The Taming of the Two with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, 7 p.m.

Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers featuring Joel Chasnoff, noon Jewish Tradition, Rituals & Belief, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Community High School featuring Joel Chasnoff, 6:30 p.m. YJO Cocktails & Conversations, Joel Chasnoff, 8:30 p.m.

Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 3 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Pop Theology with Rabbi Linder, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El WRJ Nominating Meeting, noon,Temple Israel Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m.

RBJH Comedy Hour, 1:30 p.m. featuring Joel Chasnoff JCC Musical Theatre Community Acting Group, 6:30 p.m.

JFO Young Leadership Awards, 7:30 p.m., The Waiting Room FRIDAY, MARCH 4 Women of the Talmud with Miriam Gross, noon Say Shalom to Shabbat & Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El Temple Israel Brooks Lecture, 7 p.m. at UNO SUNDAY, MARCH 6 Third Grade Family Siddur Program, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Revitalizing the Festivals, 10:30 a.m. at Temple Israel CJE Teacher Training, 12:30 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 7 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m.

AARP Drive Safety Course, noon ADL IHE Essay Contest Judging, 4:30 p.m.

Hebrew 101, 6 p.m.

Toward a Meaningful Life, 7 p.m. at Chabad Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8 Eye on Israel, noon ADL/CRC Executive Committee Meeting, noon Scholar’s Club, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home BBYO New Member Pledge Night, 6 p.m.

Pizza & Parasha with Cantor Beth, 6:15 p.m. at Beth El Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Community High School Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9 Rabbis & Presidents Meeting, noon Women’s Book Group, 3:30 p.m. at Beth El Jewish Tradition, Rituals & Belief, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Community High School, 6:30 p.m.

Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 10 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Pop Theology, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Kindergarten Round-up, 10:30 a.m. at Friedel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El CJE Board Meeting, noon Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m.

JCC Musical Theatre Community Acting Group, 6:30 p.m.

Everyday Holiness with Dr. Guy Matalon, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 11 Let’s Do Lunch with Rabbi Levin, noon at Blumkin Home Women of the Talmud with Miriam Gross, noon SUNDAY, MARCH 13 Blood Drive, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Jewish Federation Newcomers Lunch, 11:30 a.m.

OTYG Board Meeting, noon at Temple Israel Club 56 Israeli Cooking, noon at Temple Israel RESPECT Program, 2 p.m. at Beth Israel MONDAY, MARCH 14 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m.

Hebrew 101, 6 p.m.

Lets Wine About It!, Cantor Schlossberg, 6:30 p.m.

Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

Toward a Meaningful Life, 7 p.m. at Chabad Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 15 Eye on Israel, noon Scholar’s Club, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Board of Trustees, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m. at Friedel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16 CDC Omaha Symphony Concert, 9:30 a.m.

39 Forever Factory Tour, noon NJHS Board Meeting, 3:30 p.m.

Community High School, 6:30 p.m.

Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 17 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Pop Theology, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel School Directors Committee Meeting, 10 a.m.

Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El D. Kaplan Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m.

Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m.

NJHS Board Meeting, 4 p.m.

JCC Musical Theatre Community Acting Group, 6:30 p.m.

Everyday Holiness, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 18 Women of the Talmud with Miriam Gross, noon Purim Talent Show, 1 p.m. at Friedel SATURDAY, MARCH 19 Ice Cream Social & Megillah Reading, 7 p.m. at Beth El Havdalah, Megillah Reading & Ice Cream Social, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel

SUNDAY, MARCH 20 BESTT Classes 11:30 a.m. dismissal at Beth EL Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El USY Purim Carnival, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El l Mainstreeters Show & Dinner, 1 p.m.

RBJH Purim Parade and Party, 1:30 p.m.

Purim Seuda & Costume Contest, 5 p.m. at Beth Israel MONDAY, MARCH 21 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m.

CDC Purim Parade, 11:15 a.m.

IHE Governance Council Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

Mainstreeters Luncheon Program, 12:30 p.m.

Senior NCSY Latte & Learning, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 22 Eye on Israel, noon Scholar’s Club, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home BBYO Chapter Elections, 6 p.m.

JFO Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.

Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

JFO Board of Directors Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23 AIPAC Community Briefing and Lunch, 11:45 a.m.

Community High School, 6:30 p.m.

Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel

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THURSDAY, MARCH 24 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Psalms with Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m.

Parent/Teacher Conferences, 5 p.m. at Friedel JCC Musical Theatre Community Acting Group, 6:30 p.m.

Everyday Holiness, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25 No School Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8 a.m. at Friedel Women of the Talmud with Miriam Gross, noon Birthday Blessings, 6 p.m. at Beth El

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SUNDAY, MARCH 27 Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El WRJ Book Sorting Day, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Third Grade Consecration, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El Zio’s Pizza School Fundraiser, noon at Temple Israel OTYG Lunch and Program, noon at Temple Israel Javitch Music Fund Concert The Master Singers, 6 p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 28 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m.

CJE Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.

Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 29 Eye on Israel, noon Scholar’s Club, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home BBYO Installations, 6 p.m.

Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel JCC Board Meeting, 7p.m.

Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 The Torah is a Parenting Guide?, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Fair, 6 p.m. at the Blumkin Home Community High School, 6:30 p.m.

Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, MARCH 31 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Psalms with Rabbi Azriel, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m.

JCC Musical Theatre Community Acting Group, 6:30 p.m.

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Peony Park All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

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12 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

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Saving the cows

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Being from Holland, I always take notice whenever my country is mentioned in Jewish news. Needless to say, I gasped loudly upon reading the following headline on the JTA website: “A bill that would ban kosher slaughter is set to be presented to the Dutch Parliament”.

Say it ain’t so! “If the legislation passes”, the story continued, “it would make Holland the first European Union country to ban shechita, according to the European Jewish Congress”. (JTA.com) Well, that’s just wrong. Never mind the fact that every time I travel home my sister, in spite of enthusiastic promises, forgets to buy and cook me that very nice kosher piece of meat.

Never mind that, if you want kosher meat in Holland, you have to take three different trains, unless you live in Amsterdam.

Allow me to explain something about my country. It’s one of the smallest in Europe, but it’s also the most important one. The Dutch are funnier than all other Europeans, are more tolerant, have better teeth and dress cooler. Their music is more inspired, they write better books, and build prettier things. In other words, the Dutch are smarter and better at everything. Totally unrelated, they are also the most arrogant. (What do you mean, the French have Paris?).

What they (okay, ‘we’) are most arrogant about is our tolerance. We claim to accept everybody, regardless of creed, color, religion, orientation, what-have-you. That is to say, except for the neighbor across the street, but she always lets her dog go where he shouldn’t, and listens to Kenny G. at seven in the morning. We also don’t like postal workers or taxi drivers. Tolerance reigns, until we are confronted with someone we don’t like.

The article continued: “Holland has always presented itself as an accepting society and a ban on a central part of Jewish identity would mean that Dutch politicians are turning their

backs on the tolerant Holland that we admire,” European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor said in a statement. “It is a slippery slope to populism, extremism and anti-Semitism,” Kantor continued.”

Ouch! Holland, home of those unthreatening tulips, leading the way in intolerance? Aiming to save the cows at the expense of Kashrut? Luckily, unlike most editors of Jewish newspapers in the United States, I was able to go online and check out the story in its native habitat. Because I know this is not a new thing. The attack on Kashrut is something that pops up around the planet on a regular basis. If it is now showing up in my country, I want to know.

Here’s the skinny: there are approximately 16 million people in the Netherlands. For those 16 million, we have about 51 national political parties.

11 of those are currently represented in the national government, nine are represented locally, and 31 are not represented anywhere. In addition, we have provincial parties, who can only be represented in provincial elections, and local parties for city-level government. You see where this is going: In Holland, anyone can start a party.

The attempt to save the cows came from something called Party for the Animals.

In 2010, they had 10,310 members, approximately 0.06% of the Dutch population. It considers itself a ‘testimonial party’, which means they don’t aim for political

power, but simply want to have their voice heard. Personally, I think the fact that we think animals need their own political party is way more worrisome than the Kashrut ban this group is proposing. And although having more than two parties is nice, the fact that we think it acceptable to have over 230 city-level parties is absurd.

So I shouldn’t be surprised that every once in a while someone in Dutch politics has a dumb idea. And make no mistake, suggesting that ritual slaughter is cruel enough to outlaw, when the vast majority of meat in Holland continues to come from slaughter-factories is unreasonable at best.

Which is why, at the end of the day, I have to agree with Moshe Kantor: are these people saving cows, or are they breeding a different kind of animal?

Community Purim Project

Behind the headlines RABBI JONATHAN GROSS, Beth Israel Synagogue In addition to reading Megillat Esther, there are three mitzvoth that everyone is obligated to observe on the day of Purim: participation in a festive meal (Seudah), gift baskets to friends (mishloach manot), and monetary gifts to the poor (matanot l’evyonim). When discussing the laws of Purim, the Rambam addresses what many of us refer to as the Purim dilemma, namely: of the three great mitzvoth of Purim, if I had to choose the one that deserves the most attention, which should it be?

“It is best,” rules the Rambam, “for one to exceed in the mitzvah of matanot l’evyonim, rather than to exceed in the festive meal or in mishloach manot to your friends.” His reason is because the mitzvah of the holiday of Purim is to rejoice and, “there is no greater or more wonderful joy than to gladden the hearts of the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the disenfranchised. For one who gladdens the hearts of these unfortunates imitates the divine.”

As part of the Partnership 2000 program, Omaha and fourteen other cities in the U.S. work in partnership with the Israeli city of Akko and the area of Mateh Asher in the Western Galilee. While most American tourists spend their time in Israel in the larger and more well-known cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the partnership program has taken our Jewish community on the road less traveled to see a city

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

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and community whose beauty we may otherwise have missed.

Akko’s uniqueness comes from the stark contrast between its ancient and fascinating history juxtaposed to its vibrant modern revival of artistic expression and creativity.

Here at home and in Israel, Omaha Jews have encountered their Akko and Western Galilee counterparts and our community has made an intimate connection with a piece of our homeland. Just as the relationships that have been formed have impacted our lives, we in Omaha have made a significant impact on the growth and development of what has become our special portion of the Jewish State.

This Purim we will have a great opportunity to further our impact to Israel. While we have seen the magnificent achievements of Akko over the last ten years, poverty is still a formidable challenge that faces the city. Unemployment is high and the social services are spread thin trying to meet the city’s many needs. The city has great potential, but the cycle of poverty threatens to impede social progress. Many school age children were going hungry and those hungry children were underperforming at school. A child with a sound education has the best chance to break free from multigenerational poverty, while a child without is more likely to continue down the road of his or her parents.

Fortunately hope is not lost. In the last decade, volunteer organizations have sprung up in Akko with the specific mission of combating hunger and poverty. Through Partnership 2000, Omaha was introduced to Orot Chesed, a volunteer run organization that provides sandwiches for school age children and food baskets for individuals and families.

Every day the organization gives away hundreds of sandwiches and delivers weekly food baskets all over the city. The children who are properly fed because of Orot Chesed are

given a chance to succeed in school and prepare for a life of achievement.

Part of the itinerary of the Omaha Federation missions to Israel is to help out at Orot Chesed. Many members of our community have experienced firsthand the incredible work done every day by this special organization.

Orot Chesed could not exist without the generous donations of food by Israel’s major food manufacturers as well as the dedicated efforts of an army of volunteers who run the organization. Despite all of these contributions, the program still costs about $2000 a week to operate.

This Purim our 15-city consortium wants to work towards eradicating hunger in Akko. Imagine if 50 synagogues chose to dedicate their matanot l’evyonim to Orot Chesed.

If each synagogue in our 15 city consortium reaches a modest goal of $2000 we could support this worthwhile program for an entire year. By working together, each of us can contribute our share to significantly fight poverty and hunger in our piece of Israel. If we are successful, perhaps other partnership regions will be inspired to try similar initiatives. Imagine, all of us taking care of our region, the American Jewish community can help to eradicate hunger throughout Israel!

So please participate. Find out from your Rabbi who is in charge of the matanot l’evyonim partnership program at your synagogue. Help promote the idea throughout your synagogue and throughout your community. This year make your matanot l’evyonim on Purim count more than ever before.

Working together, we can all make a difference. This Purim, let’s join together to gladden the hearts of the poor of Akko and make this the happiest Purim ever!

ries and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’

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February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 13

LB 48 raises many questions

Behind the headlines ALAN POTASH, Plains States Regional Director of the ADL Several bills pending in the Nebraska legislature attempt to address a problem better solved by the federal government: immigration. But our country's immigration issues can only be solved through uniform comprehensive, federal reform, rather than a patchwork of piecemeal state and local initiatives.

Two immigration bills sponsored by Senator Janssen are worth particular mention: LB 657, which would repeal a grant of in-state tuition to undocumented, local students, and LB 48, a local law enforcement initiative that would affect civil rights and safety. LB 657 would repeal a 2006 Nebraska law that allows undocumented students who grad-

uate from a Nebraska high school, meet acceptance requirements, and are on a path to permanent residence, to enroll and pay the same tuition as residents.

Allowing young students who were raised here but are undocumented to attend college is good policy. It provides an incentive to complete public K-12 education and better equips these students to contribute to Nebraska's economy.

We are gratified that the Education Committee recognized the value of providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants and rejected LB 657. We are concerned, however, by another bill, LB 48, that is gaining traction.

The Judiciary Committee will soon take up LB 48, a pernicious bill that mirrors Arizona’s SB 1070. This bill would make being undocumented in Nebraska a state crime and would require local law enforcement officers who have “reasonable suspicion” that someone is unlawfully in the country to determine that person's immigration status. While we recognize that local governments struggle with many of the impacts of a broken immigration system, our view is these laws do not provide local governments with any constructive answers.

These types of bills undermine community trust in local law enforcement and have a chilling effect on victims and witnesses coming forward to cooperate with police, thus deterring police and sheriff ’s departments from keeping the community safe while doing nothing to enhance border security.

The Police Foundation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major Cities Chiefs Association have all expressed grave concerns that deputizing local law enforcement officers to enforce immigration law undermines the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities.

According to the Police Foundation, “Immigration enforcement by local police undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in the community.”

The ADL supports border security. But fear-based legislation that undermines local law enforcement is not the answer.

What we need is comprehensive, federal immigration reform that balances fairness, compassion and security. Please contact your state senator and tell them to reject LB 48.

Post-Mubarak, Obama embraces Middle East reform

Behind the headlines RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) – A combination of calculation, luck and principles are steering the Obama administration to emphasize democracy and human rights in the Middle East in the post-Mubarak era.

On Tuesday, President Obama laid out a revamped strategy that takes into account U.S. strategic interests in the region while also emphasizing the need to accommodate uprisings that have swept away governments in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as protests nipping at U.S. allies in Barhain, Jordan and Yemen.

“I think my administration’s approach is the approach that jibes with how most Americans think about this region, which is that each country is different, each country has its own traditions,” Obama said at a White House news conference that was supposed to have been devoted to his proposed budget.

“America can’t dictate how they run their societies, but there are certain universal principles that we adhere to,” he said. “One of them is we don’t believe in violence -- and coercion -- as a way of maintaining control. And so we think it’s very important that in all the protests that we’re seeing - throughout the region -- that governments respond to peaceful protesters peacefully.”

The shift from a policy that had emphasized working with powers-that-be in the region to one urging accommodation of human rights on the ground, resulted in part from the high-risk game Obama played as the grass-roots effort to unseat President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years of rule unfolded in Egypt.

Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, at first had expressed confidence in Mubarak, a longtime ally valued in part for maintaining peace with Israel.

When Mubarak proved defiant, however, and offered only limited concessions to protesters, the White House managed to get out a condemnation in the narrow window before it became clear that Mubarak was on his way out.

On Feb. 10, after Mubarak repeated that he would stay

until September, Obama put out a statement within an hour calling on Egyptian authorities “to spell out in clear and unambiguous language the step-by-step process that will lead to democracy and the representative government that the Egyptian people seek.”

Within a day Mubarak had resigned, and the White House was able to bask in the impression that its most recent statement had urged him to go -- pronto.

That has led to a dynamic of Washington pressing for greater liberties throughout the region while gently reminding the parties that the United States will continue to preserve its interests, said Steve Clemons, an influential foreign policy analyst who has attended National Security Council meetings on Egypt.

“The focus now is to preserve core national interests with other governments, particularly in the Middle East, and at the same time not to put ourselves at odds with the public in the Middle East,” he said.

That means insinuating reminders of where American interests lie in the regions, while supporting the rights of protesters to hold their governments accountable.

Obama, in his remarks Tuesday, was careful to praise Egypt’s transitional military government for offering reassurances that it would preserve the peace treaty with Israel - a signal to candidates in Egyptian elections to take place later this year that the United States would expect the same assurances from an elected government.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done in Egypt itself, but what we’ve seen so far is positive,” Obama said. “The military council that is in charge has reaffirmed its treaties with countries like Israel and international treaties.”

More such pronouncements expressing U.S. strategic interests should be forthcoming, said Steve Rosen, a former top analyst with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“There’s great anxiety in Israel about all this, although the Israelis have restrained themselves,” Rosen said. “The simple reality is Israel and America’s alliances are with the thin strata of the elite, not with the masses.”

Rosen said that Republicans are not checking Obama because they are under the influence of the party’s neoconservative wing, which for ideological reasons also is embrac-

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ing the pro-democracy forces in the region.

“Lacking any kind of criticism for its failure to bring up strategic issues, the administration has had a free ride politically,” he observed.

In at least one area, Iran, the Obama administration is using its embrace of democratization to advance strategic goals. Obama and Clinton have referred to the success in Egypt as an example that should spur forward similar protests this week in Iran.

“We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region, saying let’s look at Egypt’s example as opposed to Iran’s example,” Obama said. “I find it ironic that you’ve got the Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt when, in fact, they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully in Iran.”

Administration officials also are using the crises and change in the region to hit back at congressional Republicans who before the upheaval spoke of slashing foreign assistance. Clinton made the Middle East changes a focal point of her congressional meetings this week.

“Events in Egypt show how important it is that we have a global diplomatic presence, a presence that will be ready to handle crises, prevent conflicts, protect American citizens overseas, and protect American economic and strategic interests,” Clinton said after meeting Monday with Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

To Submit Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org or online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on Jewish Press and go to Submit Announcements; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: avandekamp@ jewishomaha.org.

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14 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

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

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Daniel Levy, son of Deborah and Steven Levy will become a Bar Mitzvah this evening and tomorrow morning.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; BESTT Family History Program, 10 a.m. for fifth graders and their parents will expolore their family history; Jewish Images on the Big Screen, 10:30 a.m. with Susi Frydman-Levin.

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

BESTT PASSOVER CANDY SALE: The BESTT Passover Candy Sale is offering a large variety of treats; every item will have a certification of Passover Kosher Supervision.

Orders, which must be accompanied by a check are being taken until Feb. 25; order forms may be picked up in the BESTT school office or in the synagogue office. For more information, call the BESTT office, 498.0904.

PARSHA & PIZZA: Monthly mini course, led by Cantor Schlossberg, continues on Tuesday, March 8, 6:15 p.m.

Cost is $3 per session for members, $4 for non-members. To register, call the office.

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

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:53 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; The Laws of Shabbat, 3:45 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 4:45 p.m.; Mincha, 5:45 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 6:54 p.m.

SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Contact the office to get the dial-in number and access code; Senior NCSY Latte & Learning, 7:30 p.m. at Starbuck’s, 114th and Dodge.

Bat Mitzvah Gavin Corbet Rogers, son of Marcelyn and Charles Rogers, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 5, at Temple Israel.

Gavin is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Beveridge Magnet School. He was a geography bee contest finalist and is recognized by the Duke Talent Identification Program.

He received the Presidential Academic Achievement Award and earned swimming trophies and ribbons.

His interests include playing the saxophone in jazz band, piano, competitive swimming, football, basketball, sailing, kayaking, biking and drawing caricatures.

For his mitzvah project, Gavin is volunteering at Sarah Care (an adult day program). He played his saxophone, the piano and led recreation therapy activities.

He has a two sisters, Mallory and Renatta.

Grandparents are Don and Karolyn (Kagan) Marti, and Patricia and Charles Rogers.

Great-grandparents are the late Moses and Gertrude Kagan, and Elizabeth and Lloyd Marti.

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

WEDNESDAY: Advanced Halchic Kollel, 9 p.m.

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

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

FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m.

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

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

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

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

All programs are open to the entire community.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Marc Shkolnick, with oneg following hosted by Rich Lombardi and Stephanie and Dennis Dohner.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. led by Rabbi Lawrence Karol.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teachers, 12:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Traveling Jewish, 4 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Winter Lecture Series, 7 p.m. at Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street: “Russia and the PostSoviet States” with Kyle Scott, Director, Office of Russian Affars, United States Department of State.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Dimona: The Story of a ‘Development Town’ Taking its Place in Israel with Meir Cohen, Mayor of Dimona speaking about its Lunch and Learn Program for early elementary school children. This event, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Lincoln, is free and open to the public and will be held at Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Blvd.

Book Club Organizational Meeting, Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. at Marcia Kushner’s home. Please contact her at 402.423.5959 to let her know if you are coming.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

Candlelighting Friday, February 25, 5:53 p.m.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP 1317 North 57 Street | Omaha, NE 68132 | 402.551.6609 FRIDAY: Minyan, 5:45 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Chabad Members.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg.

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

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

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.; Sarah and Jessica Pfrenger, daughters of Bonnie and Jochen Pfrenger, will celebrate their B’not Mitzvah.

SUNDAY: Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; Hamentaschen Baking, 10 a.m.

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

WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-8, 6-8 p.m.; Rituals and Beliefs: Death and Mourning, 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy, 10-11:30 a.m.; WRJ Nominating Meeting, noon; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 6 p.m.

Kol Rina and St. Paul Choir to sing Something for Everyone on Friday, March 4, 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 6, 11 a.m. (see full story on page 6.)

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat service, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Learners Minyan, 9:30 a.m.; Morning Service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon and Talmud study.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teachers, 12:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Traveling Jewish, 4 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Dimona: The Story of a ‘Development Town’ Taking its Place in Israel with Meir Cohen, Mayor of Dimona speaking about its Lunch and Learn Program for early elementary school children. This event, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Lincoln, is free and open to the public and will be held at Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Blvd.

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues (early deadlines and office closings for holidays will be announced in advance). Questions? Call 334.6448.

Gadhafi was ready to work with Diaspora Libyan Jews

by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The uprising in Libya has come at a time when Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi seemed willing to address some of the former Libyan Jewish community’s grievances.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Raphael Luzon, chairman of the Jewish Libyan Diaspora in Britain, said he had met twice with Gadhafi, who said he was willing to give a proper burial to Jews buried in common graves and to come to a settlement over Jewish money left in the country. Gadhafi also approved a meeting between Jews and Muslims in Tripoli, Luzon told the newspaper.

There were about 25,000 Jews in Libya in the 1930s.

Today there are no Jews left in Libya, the last moving to Italy in 2003.

Protesters in Libya are calling for an end to Gadhafi’s 41year reign; Gadhafi took power in a 1969 coup. Anti-government protests began Monday for the first time in Libya’s capital, Tripoli. Media reported that pro-Gadhafi supporters were firing into crowds of demonstrators and govern-

ment buildings were set on fire.

Luzon told the Post that he is in touch with people in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and the scene of deadly violence during four days of protests, and that the situation was worse than it appeared in the press and on television. News reports Monday night said that city residents with the help of a defecting army unit had taken over the city.

Unconfirmed rumors Monday night said that Gadhafi had fled to Venezuela, which Libyan officials denied.

Gadhafi’s son Saif al-Islam went on state television late Sunday saying that his father remained in power and that the government would fight until “the last man, the last woman, and the last bullet” to stay in power.

Gadhafi last week called on Palestinians to mass on Israel’s borders until their demands are met. “Fleets of boats should take Palestinians ... and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved. This is a time of popular revolutions,” Gaddafi said in a speech Feb 14 on state television.

February 25, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 15

The Mishkan: a traveling Sanctuary

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Va’yakhel Our Sidrah tells us that Moses assembled all the people to see what their contributions of gold, silver, acacia wood and beautiful drapes could do to make a Sanctuary, which could travel in the wilderness, along with the Israelite people.

The Sanctuary had no walls. Except in the elaborate curtains. These curtains could be taken up whenever the children of Israel were told to go from one place to another.

These drapes were very large and very beautiful. In an American city of great size, which has a synagogue or temple of great size, these drapes might have seemed nothing unusual. But in the wilderness, they were impressive enough.

The gold and silver, the bronze, the acacia wood and the very large curtain hangings seemed like an unusual array, arranged in a quadrilateral form to impress anyone who viewed it as a holy place. It was a Mishkan (a tabernacle) where the people could assemble to hear the Lord’s instructions to them as they were handed out to them by Moses.

Further, there were exact directions given to prepare garments of distinction for Aaron and his sons, the priests.

I remind the reader that we are not to question how all the gold, silver, semi precious stones and acacia wood were at hand in the wilderness. We are to assume that all of these things were carried from Egypt as though details were given to the Israelites while they were still in Egypt, and to bring these things with them when they left in triumph.

Further, incense was to be prepared for the Mishkan, to create a pleasing odor to overcome whatever odors the wilderness had by itself.

To repeat, Moses assembled all the people, so they could view a traveling Sanctuary so beautiful; no one had ever seen such a thing before.

Now the people could tell what happened to the gold, silver, and bronze, the special wood and the beautiful fabrics they had given: what all of them were used for. The moveable Mishkan was not merely usable: it was a place of astonishing beauty.

To read details, which cannot be included here, go to the bible and read chapters 35 through 39, and most of chapter 40, for yourself.

Do read these chapters, in Hebrew or English, or whatever translation you may be familiar with, to get the sense of extreme joy and astonishment that the traveling exiles from Egypt might have had when they saw what they had produced.

We ought to remember the name of the chief artificer of all this, and his first assistant: Betzalel and Oholiab.

Obama taps Rudman, Grossman for key diplomatic spots

by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration has tapped veteran Jewish diplomats Mara Rudman and Marc Grossman for senior posts.

President Obama said Wednesday that he is nominating Rudman to the top State Department post administering assistance to the Middle East through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Rudman, who has served in senior posts on both the Clinton and Obama National Security Councils, has been involved in a number of groups promoting peace talks in the Middle East and was a senior official with the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims.

Should she be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would likely play a key role in defending the allocation of about $500 million in assistance to the Palestinians against attempts by congressional Republicans to roll back some Palestinian aid.

Grossman reportedly is set to replace Richard Holbrooke, who died in December, as the administration's top envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A career diplomat until he retired in 2005, Grossman has served in senior State Department positions and was the ambassador to Turkey in the mid-1990s.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was set to announce Grossman's appointment on Friday, The Washington Post reported this week.

Grossman and Rudman outside of government have served in senior positions at the Cohen Group, a lobbying outfit established by William Cohen, a former defense secretary.

In memoriam IDELLA MARION GAER Idella Marion Gaer passed away on Feb. 9 at age 95.

Services will be held on March 6 at 3 pm in the Rose Blumkin Home Chapel.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Albert.

She is survived sons and daughters-in-law Jerry Gaer and Adele Verkamp of Scottsdale, AZ, Leonard and Audre Gaer of Edina, MN; and son, Dick Gaer; grandchildren: Robert and Bridget Gaer, Stephanie Gaer; and great-grandson Nathaniel Gaer, all of Minneapolis, MN. Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Home.

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Remembering film scholar Miriam Hansen

by ALAN D. ABBEY Miriam Hansen, a pioneering film scholar who studied “not only film itself but also the early 20th-century creation known as the film audience,” died on Feb. 5 at 61.

Hansen founded the University of Chicago Cinema and Media Studies Department and was Ferdinand Schevill Distinguished Service Professor in the Humanities.

“She was in the first generation of scholars to see film viewing as a historically defined and shaped activity,” said Daniel Morgan, an assistant professor of film studies at the University of Pittsburgh and a former doctoral student of Hansen’s. “And also to understand that that meant we had to look at older films through the lens of the viewers they were intended for.”

Hansen was born in Germany in 1949. Her parents had met in exile during the World War II and returned to Germany. She received her PhD in 1975 from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt, and taught at Yale and Rutgers Universities before coming to Chicago in 1990.

Hansen worked out “an intersection between film history, film analysis and film theory few have ever matched,” said Tom Gunning, a professor in the Chicago cinema department. He said that Hansen continued new scholarly and theoretical work, and to mentor and advise students even as she battled cancer for a decade.

Hansen was known in particular for her 1991 book Babel and Babylon: Spectatorship in American Silent Film. She said that even the earliest, most mainstream Hollywood films could contain “quietly subversive elements,” such as how the moviegoers who swooned over silent film star Rudolph Valentino were “a permissible outlet for the expression of women’s erotic desires, something traditionally considered taboo.”

She also wrote on the cinematic representation of the Holocaust. In the essay, Schindler’s List Is Not Shoah: The Second Commandment, Popular Modernism, and Public Memory, she critiqued intellectual dismissal of the film and discussed how her experience of seeing the film in Germany affected her understanding of the film’s true value and impact, even though she critiqued the film’s conception and romanticizing of Schindler.

Israeli lawmakers discuss Google Street View

by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A team of Knesset Cabinet members met to discuss security and privacy concerns surrounding the operation of Google Street View in Israel.

Google Street View, an on-line mapping tool which provides a three-dimensional view of buildings, landmarks, and streets around the world, is set to be operated in Israel in coming months.

The ministerial team on Monday instructed experts to work to protect vital public interests and decided that cooperation with Google would continue in order to operate the service in Israel as soon as possible, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

Israeli officials reportedly are concerned that the service would be used by terrorists to help them carry out attacks on Israel.

Google reportedly plans to photograph only Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa. Certain areas of the cities reportedly will not be allowed to be photographed for security reasons.

The ministers were expected to discuss whether to allow Google to photograph the streets where the prime minister's and president's residences, the government compound and foreign embassies are located.

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16 | The Jewish Press | February 25, 2011

Who is in the military junta ruling Egypt? More unknowns than knowns

by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One guy we know, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pretty sure heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not in charge.

The other guy we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know so well, and it looks like he might be in charge.

The other three guys -- who knows?

The five figures comprising Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Supreme Military Council are commanding the rapt attention of a world already transfixed by the unrest that last week unseated President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s autocratic leader for 30 years.

They appeared on state television in a pose typical of the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaders: sitting along a table, ramrod straight and inscrutable. They are now running the Egyptian show, although they have promised speedy elections to replace Mubarak and the parliament they dissolved.

The Sphinx-like TV pose accrued a Sphinx-like riddle in the wake of the sudden transfer of power: Who exactly are they?

Extraordinarily, the Egyptian sources routinely tapped by Westerners for inside information were responding to queries this week with a shrug emblematic of the degree of how much has changed in Egypt. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to know much either.

Ehud Yaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ari, an Arab affairs expert with Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Channel 2, said it was because Mubarak for years had played his cards close to his vest. He and a small circle of advisers were the only interlocutors with Israel and the West. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a big problem here: We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know the Egyptian army,â&#x20AC;? Yaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ari told a conference call convened by the Jewish Federations of North America. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Egyptian army was kept

by Mubarak outside all dealing with Israel except for liaison officers in the Sinai. Israelis do not know the Egyptian generals who now form what I would describe as a military junta.â&#x20AC;?

For the record they are Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister; Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, the military chief of staff; Vice Adm. Mohab Mamish, commander of the Navy; Air Marshal Rada Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed, commander of the Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Abd El Aziz Seif-Eideen, commander of the Air Defense.

The two figures emerging as the ones to watch are Tantawi and Enan. They both are known to have served in wars against Israel, in 1967 and 1973. What they did, however, is hardly known, much less the stuff of legend.

Mubarak, by contrast, made his name between those two

wars when he resisted Soviet pressure, as Air Force commander, to run raids over the Sinai. That made his reputation as a man wise enough to pick his battles -- one that served him well until his fruitless effort to resist calls to resign.

Tantawi, who is in his mid-70s, already has been dubbed

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, right, the Egyptian defense minister, greets Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Cairo, Feb. 14, 2010.

Credit: Department of Defense - Chad J. McNeeley â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mubarakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poodle,â&#x20AC;? although this might derive simply from his having served in the outgoing government. He is, in any case, a known quantity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We know a lot more about Tantawi than Enan in terms of roles they played in the former regime and this regime,â&#x20AC;? said J. Scott Carpenter, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2004 to 2007 and now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

What is known about Tantawi suggests that he is not in control, although he is nominally the most senior officer on the council. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The officers, from a number of generals and colonels on down, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hold him in high regard,â&#x20AC;? Carpenter said.

Tantawi, trained by the Soviets, is seen as the old guard by a younger generation of officers trained by the United States to be forward thinking, according to Joel Rubin, an analyst with the National Security Network who during the last Bush administration headed the State Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Egypt desk. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceived as a yes man to Mubarak -- not charismat-

ic, not someone perceived as leading a rebellion,â&#x20AC;? Rubin said.

Tantawi was visible but did not make himself known, Carpenter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only met him a couple of times,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and both times I have been struck how heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not dynamic, hard to converse with, not forthcoming -- he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to get it.â&#x20AC;?

Worse, he apparently had a tin ear when it came to cultivating loyalty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mishandled some of the relations heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had with senior military officers, being late with salary payments, holiday bonuses,â&#x20AC;? Carpenter said.

Rubin said Enan, believed to be between 64 and 68, had better relations with U.S. officials. He was the point man for military relations with the United States, meaning he handled the requests for equipment through the $1.3 billion in U.S. defense assistance Egypt gets annually -- that is believed to comprise as much as 80 percent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s materiel.

Enan was in Washington on just such a consultation with his Pentagon counterparts when the protests erupted on Jan. 25. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He understands our culture, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s someone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seen as responsible and responsive,â&#x20AC;? Rubin said. Carpenter said that was the impression he got from the Americans he spoke to, but he noted that outside of the interactions on defense assistance, not much else was known about Enan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our military perceives him as thoughtful and very active,â&#x20AC;? Carpenter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was one of the people they were talking to during the run-upâ&#x20AC;? to Mubarakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ouster, â&#x20AC;&#x153;when they thought there would be real violence.â&#x20AC;?

One narrative, as related by Rubin, has it that Enan clashed with Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman over who controlled the transition. Under the Suleiman plan, Mubarak would have remained as a purely titular president.

Suleiman had the upper hand until Mubarak, in a defiant Feb. 10 speech, went off script and insisted he was keeping some powers. That led to his formal ouster -- and Enan emerging triumphant. Suleiman is now out of the picture.

Carpenter heard the same story, but from American officials. From Egyptian interlocutors he heard that Enan had argued within the military for a tougher line against protesters. The fact that the military held back, according to this narrative, suggests that Enan was overruled.

But by whom? â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one knows,â&#x20AC;? Carpenter said.

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