March 24, 2006

Vol. LXXXV No. 28 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

24 Adar, 5766 March 24, 2006

After Experience of Holocaust, Jewish Groups out Front on Darfur

Exhibit Showcases 85 Years of Jewish Press History

by DAVID J. SILVERMAN and RACHEL SILVERMAN WASHINGTON (JTA) -- One genocide nearly annihilated the Jewish people. Another has made them into leading voices in the struggle against human cruelty. The ongoing atrocities in Sudan, which have killed an estimated 300,000 black Muslims and left millions more homeless, have galvanized a community that knows the lessons of persecution all too well. “We know what it means to be victims of those who want to wipe another people off the face of the earth,” Rabbi Robert Levine, President of the New York Board of Rabbis, told roughly 150 rabbis last week at a Darfur rally in New York City. “It was only two generations ago when we looked around and wondered, where was everyone?” Continued on page 4

by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Gently turn the fragile pages of the 1924 bound volume of the Jewish Press and you’ll find the dedication of the old Jewish Community Center on 20th and Dodge. Fast-forward and you’ll come across the opening of the new facility 50 years later on 132 Street. Along with other major events in the history of this Jewish community--like the birth of the State of Israel in 1948 and successive wars in ’56, ’67 and ’73--120 front pages of Omaha’s weekly Jewish newspaper are to be displayed in a unique exhibit opening next month. Collaborating for the first time with the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society (NJHS), the Press will also showcase 72 front pages from Passover and New Year editions published since 1968. The exhibit is co-chaired by former Jewish Press President Silvia Roffman, and NJHS Vice-president Midge Bowers, and their husbands, Larry Roffman and Bill Bowers. In the Gallery of the Jewish Community Center through mid-May, the exhibit opens Sunday,

Protesters attend a rally of rabbis representing all four major denominations of American Judaism against the genocide in Darfur, near the United Nations in New York City Credit: David Scull on March 13.

April 9, 3-5 p.m., with a wine and cheese reception. The project began nearly a year ago with grant-writing, measuring the gallery walls in the JCC, exploring options of scanning and photographing pages, and the all-important research. “The research was probably the most difficult part of putting together this exhibit,” said Renee Corcoran, NJHS Executive Director. “In addition to fragile and missing pages, our team of volunteers had to learn how to use the microfilm reader and printer in the Kripke Library. Aministrator Gary Katz was very helpful, but we still wound up with more front pages than we could possibly use for the exhibit.” Corcoran and volunteer Nan Katz culled through the more than 200 front pages originally selected by the team of researchers to find those most suitable for framing and displaying. “Remember,” added Press chairman Joanie Jacobson, “these had to be visually interesting as well as historically important. So, a small item on a 1941 front page about Jews in Europe being forced to wear a yellow Star Continued on page 8

Cream of the Crop: One Woman’s Remarkable Journey in the Free Soviet Jewry Movement Part I: The Education of Shirley Goldstein by LEO ADAM BIGA EDITOR’S NOTE: In this extended, two-part Jewish Press exclusive, freelance journalist Leo Adam Biga tells the remarkable journey of Omahan Shirley Goldstein in the Free Soviet Jewry movement and how this historic campaign changed her life and is remembered today. In Part One: The Education of Shirley Goldstein, learn about how this “typical” housewife became politicized and educated in the movement is explored. Next week in, Part II: Activist, Humanitarian, Philanthropist, discover the lengths Goldstein went to in her human rights activist work and the generosity displayed, then and now, by her and her husband, Leonard “Buddy” Goldstein. Housewives and Students and... They were housewives and students and teachers...They called America and many other Western nations home. Galvanized by the plight of Soviet Jews, this army of everyday citizens, together with activists inside the former Soviet Union, formed a grassroots human rights movement that began modestly enough but grew in force. Activists within the movement wanted nothing less than to make the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics stop its systematic persecution of oppressed minorities. What made the task so daunting is that the target of this action was an authori-

Inside Opinion Page see page 20

tarian super power engaged in an ideprovides a useful insider’s look ological Cold War with the West. at how the movement evolved Nothing suggested this intractable and operated. juggernaut would ever bend. Like many who got involved But bend it did. in the fight, she found in it a Some say the freedom movement higher purpose. As she put it even contributed to the Soviet state’s recently, “What does one do with their life?” Serving others eventual collapse. It’s one of the great became a calling. “And I’ve triumphs over tyranny in human hisloved every minute of it,” she tory. added. And Omaha’s own Shirley Her politicalization and Goldstein played a part in this epoch. activism mirrored that of others But she could only do it after she who came to the cause. transformed herself from causal “Shirley was typical of the observer to in-the-trenches activist. middle class women who norIn a remarkable journey, she went mally would not take any part from zero political involvement to in politics as such. They were fervent militant. Once caught up in really concerned to do somethe movement, she devoted much of thing to help the Soviet Jews. her time to it, as she has to other They felt it very deeply. I have a causes since then. The experience great deal of admiration for changed her life. Shirley Goldstein. She was a “It opened up a whole new world,” leading light for giving morale Goldstein said. and financial assistance to Her diverse work on behalf of refuseniks and for helping them Soviet Jews found her, variously: get out, and she did a great deal meeting refuseniks and dissidents in for those who managed to get Russian apartments or hotel suites; Soviet Jewry activist Shirley Goldstein dons a t-shirt in preparaout to resettle in Nebraska,” lobbying U.S. government leaders tion for the March on Washington in 1987. said Michael Sherbourne, a back home to voice criticism of Soviet London-based activist who fed human rights violations; discussing and picketing on the streets, almost anyGoldstein information from contacts in conditions and strategies with world where, the latest Soviet transgressions. statesmen and fellow activists at conferShe saw and did so many things in the the Soviet Union. ences in Washington, D.C., and overseas; course of her involvement that her story Continued on page 16

This Week: Purim Around the Heartland: Page 10 Newman Foundation Funds Eight Programs: Page 2

Temple Israel Takes Lead on Save Darfur Campaign: Page 4

Next Month: Passover Issue on April 7 Part II: Unmasking UNRWA Staff Come in for Scrutiny: Page 19

See Front Page Stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

Newman Foundation Allocates Funds to Eight Local Programs

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Maintaining Independence is an Option. CLIP & SAVE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, MARCH 24 Tot Shabbat & Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, MARCH 25 Men’s Club Shabbat Honoring Ray Goldstein, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El BELLS, 12:30 p.m. at Beth El Jewish Film Festival, 7 p.m.

C L I P & S A V E

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 Nashir Choir, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El How to Tovel Your Dishes, 10:30 a.m. at the Mikvah Third Grade Consecration, 11 a.m. at Beth El Shiptuznick Teen Mitzvah Day, noon Workshop for Children at Risk, 12:30 p.m. at Beth El Adult Education, 1 p.m. at Temple Israel Yachad at Bellevue Little Theatre, 2 p.m. Sunday Story Time, 2 p.m. at Kripke Library Jewish Literature Book Group, 2 p.m. at Temple Israel ARTZA/SHIPUTZNICK Dinner & a Movie, 4 p.m. HAZAK Deli Night, 5 p.m. at Beth El Live from the 92nd Street Y, 7 p.m.

C L I P & S A V E

MONDAY, MARCH 27 How to Kasher Your Kitchen for Pesach, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel A History of Israel, 7 p.m. Derech Torah Class, 7:30 p.m. TUESDAY, MARCH 28 Women of Worth Prayer Circle, 9 a.m. at Chabad Federation Executive Committee Meeting, 5:30 p.m. BBYO Council Elections, 6 p.m. Adult Education, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Federation Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m.

C L I P

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 PATTER, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Belly Dancing, 7 p.m. at Beth El Bad Boys of the Bible, 7 p.m. THURSDAY, MARCH 30

C L I P

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

& Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Kindergarten Round-up, 10:30 a.m. at Friedel Rabbi Levin Study Class, noon at Beth El Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. JFS Love & Logic, 6 p.m. Beth El Rosh Chodesh Group, 7 p.m.

S A V E All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Foundation Public Relations Coordinator Members of the Murray and Sharee Newman Supporting Foundation unanimously voted at their annual meeting in the fall to adopt resolutions to fund eight programs requested by the Jewish Federation and some of its agencies, the National Conference for Community and Justice, and the National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha Section. Requested by the Anti-Defamation League/ Community Relations Council, funds for the Prejudice Elimination Workshop (P.E.W.) scheduled for November 2006, were awarded to help subsidize a one-day workshop for approximately 250 public, parochial, and private high school juniors. They represent 26 schools from the Omaha metropolitan area. About 50 school counselors, teachers, and staff who accompany the students will participate in the workshop and attend a small group session geared specifically to their needs. In addition, P.E.W. provides a training session for 40 professionals recruited from Omaha education, business, and agency communities to facilitate small student group sessions. P.E.W.’s objectives are to provide an understanding of prejudice and discrimination and the harm they inflect upon individuals and society, to recognize biases and to take personal responsibility for combating prejudice and discrimination, to challenge stereotypes and biases which inhibit inter-group understand, and to build bridges of understanding and new friendships among students who represent a diversity of cultures, races, religions, sexuality, and abilities. Another recipient of a Newman Supporting Foundation grant is the Institute for Holocaust Education and the Anti-Defamation League which will again co-host a Catholic Educators Program with the Omaha Archdiocese. “Bearing Witness: Anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, and Contemporary Issues,” provides Catholic school teachers with training and resources to teach their students about anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. The educators explore the history of antiSemitism including during biblical times, the Catholic Church’s role during the Holocaust, recent changes in Catholic teaching about Jews and Judaism, prejudice in contemporary society, and Holocaust denial. Five hundred Catholic teachers across the United States, including 22 Omaha area educators, have attended “Bearing Witness.” On behalf of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, Jan Goldstein, Executive Director, requested a grant for a 12day community mission to explore Jewish roots in Prague, Czechoslavakia, and Israel. The October mission is planned especially for members of the community who are under the age of 45. Granted its request, the Federation intends to educate mission participants about the relationship and partnership with Israel and to encourage them to visit and educate themselves about world Jewish communities and global Jewish needs. The Federation will inform donors about its significant overseas allocation through the annual Federation campaign and create a first-hand experience that demonstrates how contributions and volunteers help Jews worldwide. While expanding mission members’ awareness of Jewish issues and needs and encouraging increased Jewish learning, the Federation also hopes to educate participants about the need for annual campaign giving.

The Newman Supporting Foundation also gave the Federation funds to develop a program that offers summer job opportunities to 19 to 23-year-olds living in Omaha and/or attending colleges in the Midwest. Each young adult will be offered a paid, professional internship sponsored by and funded by a local business or organization. The participants will also be exposed to Omaha’s and the Jewish community’s social and cultural programs. On a weekly basis, the interns will meet for a variety of activities including visits to museums, theaters, and parks. In this way, the Jewish community can begin to address the issue of the community’s aging and declining population as these young adults are encouraged to return or move to Omaha after their college years. Next summer, The Jewish Press will use the grant it received to hire a fulltime editorial intern whose job will entail interviewing and writing stories for the 2006 New Year’s issue. If time permits, the intern will also cover local events. Carol Katzman, editor of The Jewish Press, said, the internship will “enhance the profession of Jewish journalism” and provide a real life job experience to a local Jewish college student. Unitown 2006, sponsored by the National Conference for Community and Justice of the Midlands (NCCJ), embraces cultural diversity and the ideals of inclusion and civility for all people. NCCJ will use its Newman Foundation grant to empower students by offering them the knowledge, awareness, and skills to address issues of differences in race, faith, sexual orientation, gender, age, ability, class, etc. By confronting their own biases and prejudices, delegates are challenged to combat injustice, resolve conflict, and build communities that are mutually respectful and inclusive for all people. Since 1997, the National Council of Jewish Women, Omaha Section, has been delivering free dictionaries to school children, building bridges among the Hispanic, African American, and Sudanese populations with the Jewish community. More than 1,500 students have received dictionaries, often the first book the youngsters have ever owned. The full color, hardbound dictionaries are incorporated by Omaha Public Schools teachers into the curriculum as the children learn pronunciation and spelling, explore definitions, and expand vocabulary. At the end of the school year, students take their dictionaries home, than ks to a Newman Fund grant. An on-going program of Jewish Family Service, assistance to Jews in the community who face financial hardship will be subsidized by a grant from the Newman Supporting Foundation. According to Becki Brenner, JFS executive director, “the demand for assistance has shown significant yearly increases.” JFS provided emergency rent and utility payments, grocery certificates, payment of medical prescriptions, food pantry items, and gasoline vouchers. “Many of our clients are faced with decisions regarding choices between groceries or medications. We also assist people who cannot afford eyeglasses, emergency dental care, and medical equipment. Without financial assistance from the Jewish community,” she said, “the quality of life would be greatly decreased for these Jews in need.” Those in attendance at the Supporting Foundation annual meeting were the late Harlan Noddle, president; Sharee Newman, vice president; Lisa Lewis, secretary/treasurer; Murray Newman, David Friedland, and Patricia Newman.

Blumkin Home Purchases New State of the Art Nursing Equipment by SHOSHANNA SCHECHTER-SHAFFIN Jewish Senior Services In accordance with their commitment to excellent geriatric care, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home has recently purchased two new pieces of state-of-theart nursing equipment, the EZLift and the EZStand. As the name suggests, the EZLift is a total lifting device that comfortably transports residents with extremely limited mobility between their bed, bath, toilet, and wheelchair. The harness for the EZLift is fashioned from a very soft cloth and can be positioned in different ways depending on the medical needs of the individual resident.

Additionally, the EZLift has a built in scale system that allows nurses to weigh the residents on a consistent basis. In contrast, the EZStand allows residents who have the ability to support their own weight to stand securely and comfortably while they are being moved between their wheelchair and bed. According to Shelly Cash, Director of Nursing, both of these pieces of nursing equipment are “absolutely essential, they really are so much safer and comfortable for the residents as well as the staff.” The purchases of the EZLift and the EZStand were made possible by the support of the Norma and Stanley Silverman Foundation Fund.

March 24, 2006

Beth El Women Treated to ‘A Taste of Passover’ During Rosh Hodesh Meeting by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator With Passover just around the corner, the Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh group will offer an entertaining and relaxing evening to help prepare for the holiday. Hosted by Margo Riekes and Jan Wayne, the Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m. meeting will be held at at the synagogue.

Margo Riekes, left, and Jan Wayne look through Passover cookbooks and haggadot in Beth El’s Judaica Shop, in preparation for the synagogue’s upcoming Women’s Rosh Hodesh meeting they’re co-hosting on March 30. To kick off the evening, attendees will be treated to the film “A Taste of Passover,” which features music, commentary by Theodore Bikel and a lesson on making matzoh balls. “Its purpose is to entertain and relax us before the work of preparing our seders begins,” Riekes said. She added that discussion during the meeting will revolve around “our favorite things which make each of our seders unique; we’ll also share seder menus and ideas.” Reservations for the upcoming gathering may be made by contacting Riekes at 333.8498, or at mriekes@bbbnebraska.org.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Musician to Combine the Best of Klezmer and Bluegrass at Temple by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Klezmer and bluegrass might make unlikely musical partners but not if you’re familiar with Margot Leverett. On Wednesday night, March 29, Leverett, one of the foremost musicians of the new generation of klezmer clarinetists, will work with Temple Israel high school students during their usual class time which begins at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday morning, March 30, 10-11:30 a.m., Leverett will meet with the adult education class at Temple. Anyone can attend, even those who aren’t regular participants. “I heard her play at a masters recital while I was at school,” commented Cantor Wendy Shermet who invited Leverett to Temple. Classically trained at Indiana University School of Music, Leverett was involved in avant-garde music when she first heard klezmer, the dynamic East European music traditionally played at Jewish weddings. She was a founding member of the Klezmatics in 1985 before establishing a solo career. Her first CD, “The Art of Klezmer Clarinet,” a tribute to classic klezmer of the 20s and 30s, was released in 2001 on Traditional Crossroads (CD4296) to glowing reviews. Her current project, “Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys,” is an all-star band combining

the best of bluegrass and klezmer. Released in 2002, the CD has been selected by the Paul Taylor Dance Company for a new work entitled, “Klezmerbluegrass.” A staff instructor at KlezKamp for more than ten years, Leverett has also taught at KlezKanada, Klezkamp West, Klezmerquerque, and at colleges, music festivals, and Jewish organizations across the country. She leads a monthly community Klezmer jam session at her synagogue in Astoria, Queens. Rhythm Magazine wrote that Leverett “is a true Klezmer virtuoso and has a unique connection to the Klezmer clarinet style because of her relationship and studies with the famous Klezmer clarinetist Sid Beckerman. Margot also Margot Leverett makes Klezmer music accessible and enjoyable for all types and ages of musicians.” Dr. Hal M. Lewis, dean of public programming at The Spertus Institute, said, “Our audience was captivated by (Leverett’s) talk and inspired work.”

Travelin’ Toddlers Will Ride “Ollie” and Visit Children’s Museum by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Take an exciting ride out on the town and explore a hands-on museum with Beth Israel Synagogue’s Travelin’ Toddlers on their next excursion! The event is scheduled for Sunday, April 2, 2:30-5 p.m., and will include a ride on Ollie the Trolley and a visit to Omaha Children’s Museum. “The seats on Ollie will fill up quickly,” noted Youth Director Brooke Shrago. “We’re taking reservations for the trolley on a first come, first served basis. Parents should also keep in mind that the trolley doesn’t have seat belts and can’t accommodate children’s car seats. So, for those who decide to skip the trolley ride, they can meet us at the museum at 3 p.m. We have a group

rate, with Beth Israel helping to cover part of the costs, so admission to the Children’s Museum for our group will only be $3 per child and free for grown-ups.” Travelin’ Toddlers is for children under the age of 5 and their families, including parents, grandparents and older siblings. The group gets together for fun trips to interesting places or share exciting experiences at the synagogue. Previous get-togethers have included Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and My Gym, as well as an afternoon of Mad Science at Beth Israel. Travelin’ Toddlers is open to the community; Beth Israel membership is not a requirement. For your reservations or to be placed on the mailing list, please call or e-mail the office at 556.6288 or BethIsrael@Orthodox Omaha.org.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

Jewish Groups out Front on Darfur Continued from page 1 movements. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, a representative of the Central Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, an Episcopal Priest and direcConference of American Rabbis, picked up the theme. tor of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard “The safe havens for the Darfur refugees are beginning College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., acknowledged to look more and more like the Warsaw ghetto,” Jacobs that Darfur doesn’t top many church agendas. said, speaking in front of a Holocaust memorial around “I think the resources of compassion are still there,” he the corner from the United Nations. “If history is any said, but most Christians believe the only solution in indication, then the African murderers have nothing to Darfur would involve the military. fear.” “The fatigue is, in my view, that we are spent where it But as the past few months have demonstrated, the concerns military intervention,” he said. “Our will for Jewish community, at least, refuses to stand idly by. As that kind of action has been exhausted.” activists across the country prepare for an April 30 “Save The road to Jewish involvement also has not been Darfur” rally in Washington, the call has become even without stumbling blocks. more pronounced, prompting increased Jewish involveAt the JCPA Washington conference, David ment and mobilization. Rubenstein, the Save Darfur coordinator, hinted at colMuch of the effort centers around the Save Darfur liding agendas. Coalition, a collection of 150 faith-based advocacy and “Politically, it has been a real challenge to take other humanitarian aid organizations, which was initiated in resources away without Americans expressing a commit2004 by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ment to the safety and security of people who are culturand the American Jewish World Service. ally and geographically so distant,” he said. The AJWS and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Les Bronstein, a Reconstructionist rabbi at Bet Am the umbrella body for Jewish community relations coun- Shalom in White Plains, NY, said galvanizing support has cils across the nation, are responsible for anchoring the posed a struggle at the local level. Jewish response to the Darfur crisis. “I’m going to plead with my congregation not to be so coordinating They’re insular,” he said. “Not to Jewish efforts in the “Million worry so much about raising Voices for Darfur” camthe building fund and the paign, an effort launched by governance of the organizaSave Darfur to collect one tion. But it’s really hard,” he million handwritten and added. “There’s so many electronic postcards calling demands on the congregaon President Bush to suption.” port a stronger, multinationSlowly but surely, Jewish al effort to protect Darfur lobbying efforts are yielding residents. results. The letters will be deliv- Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action The White House has ered to the White House on Center of Reform Judaism, speaks at a rally of rabbis from labeled the killings a genoApril 30, the day of the rally all four major denominations of American Judaism against cide, and Bush won plaudits near the U.S. Capitol. the genocide in Darfur, near the United Nations in New York from Jewish Darfur activists Credit: David Scull last month for requesting Intense efforts are under way on March 13. throughout the country to galvanize Jews for the rally, $514 million as part of an emergency supplemental fundaccording to several activists. ing package. He also called for a substantial increase in the Even before the protest, however, the Jewish commu- number of international troops in the region and an nity had rallied around Darfur. expansion of NATO’s presence. Last month, Darfur topped the national Jewish agenda Rabbi Steve Gutow, JCPA’s Executive Director, at an annual JCPA plenum, which sets national priorities extolled the administration for “taking the lead” over all for local community relations councils. This coveted spot other nations on Darfur, even while the United States is is usually reserved for things like Israel, poverty or social bogged down with Iraq and rebuilding after Hurricane service issues. Katrina. “The plenum made Darfur a national priority for the “We tend to love to criticize in this country,” he said. Jewish community," said Marlene Gorin, director of the “But this is a time for applause, especially in the last couJewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas ple of weeks.” and the Dallas Jewish Coalition to Save Darfur. Others were less lavish in their praise of the president. The topic also took center stage last month at a Jewish AJWS President Ruth Messinger said the Bush adminisCommunity Relations Council of Greater Boston meet- tration went from “assiduously not talking about ing in Washington, when Nancy Kaufman, the organiza- Darfur” to “saying that things needed to be done.” tion’s director, chaired a strategy meeting on Darfur of While welcoming the president’s efforts as a “first 40 JCRC directors. step,” she cautioned that his overtures smack of the On March 12, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New “words, not action” approach she says she has seen in the York devoted a day to the Sudanese crisis, bringing togeth- past. er Jewish and non-Jewish groups to discuss strategies to “Our united and decisive action will be the measure of stop the genocide and bring relief to survivors. The after- us and will form the moral legacy we leave our children,” noon lineup included a speech by a former Marine captain Messinger told the audience in a featured speech at the who previously served as the U.S. representative to the JCPA plenum. “At some point in the future, those chilAfrican Union’s peacekeeping mission in Sudan. dren or their children will ask what we did to stop the Some note that the Jewish community’s coordinated first genocide of the 21st century. Let’s be sure we have response has not been replicated by other religious an answer.”

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Temple Israel Takes Local Lead to Save Darfur by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Heeding the call of its national organization--the Union for Reform Judaism--Temple Israel’s Social Justice Committee met Wednesday to finalize plans for a rally in Omaha on Sunday, April 30, the same day thousands are expected to march in the nation’s capital. “We, the Jewish community in Omaha, must stand up against the slaughter in Darfur,” said Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. Social Justice Chairman Joan Marcus, agrees. “Our committee would like to organize a rally after Sunday school that day,” she said, requesting that other Jewish organizations and synagogues join with them. Last year, Bob Wolfson, Director of the Anti-Defamation League, spoke an event downtown to educate the public about Darfur. Representatives of the Sudanese community and Omaha synagogues also participated The Reform Jewish Movement’s Religious Action Center is one of 150 co-sponsors of the national rally in Washington, D.C. In an e-mail to member congregations, Rabbi David Saperstein, wrote, “We are determined to raise awareness about this terrible situation and to continue demanding stronger action by the U.N. and the U.S. to stop the atrocities being perpetrated by the Janjaweed, the militia backed by the Sudanese government.” The RAC also is coordinating advocacy visits of the “Save Darfur” coalition with members of Congress on Monday, May 1, following the rally. In a related development, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs commended House of Representatives vote (213-208) on March 16 to include an amendment in a supplemental spending bill that would provide an additional $50 million for peacekeeping in Darfur. Lois Frank, chairman of the JCPA, the community relations arm of the organized American Jewish community, released the following statement: “This is a step in the right direction. It is an acknowledgment, that while the United States has been at the forefront of ending the atrocities in Darfur, more must be done to halt the genocide. We hope that our Senators will understand the urgency and also quickly pass a bill that includes funding.” Temple Israel is working on plans to distribute postcards for “A Million Voices for Darfur”, possibly at its second seder, in order to gather signatures and present them to the White House on April 30. Wendy Goldberg, Temple’s President, said, “It appears to me that the season of Passover is the perfect to remember and tell the story of freedom to our children. I hope all of us ask our children at the seder to recall the Exodus and relate it to the people caught in places like Darfur.” And when Temple’s youth group hosts the Spring Chavurah of the MOVTY region, OTYG leaders will ask fellow teens to sign the postcards, which also are available to everyone in the community in the ADL office. Magda Peck, a member of URJ’s national commission on social justice, added. “I will be participating in the national Darfur rally in Washington, D.C., and would be happy to speak to others who would consider joining me.” Interested persons can e-mail her at magdapeck@hotmail.com. For more information, call Temple at 556.6536, visit the RAC website at: www.rac.org/rallyfordarfur, or visit the Save Darfur website at: www.savedarfur.org.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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March 24, 2006

Not Just a Pretty Face, Model Tries to Open Doors for Ethiopians by LOOLWA KHAZZOOM TEL AVIV (JTA)--It was early evening on Ma’ze Street in central Tel Aviv, and drivers were impatiently honking at the small white car stalled in the middle of the street. A young Ethiopian couple was peering out of the car in excitement, watching the outdoor photo shoot nearby, where Esti Mamo--one of Israel’s top supermodels and the first Ethiopian-Israeli to make it in the industry--was being photographed in a Nike swimsuit, decorated with silver flowers and beaded jewelry. The photo shoot was part of a local campaign to bring together stylists, make-up artists, photographers and models in a creative adaptation of Nike athletic wear. For her contribution to the exhibit, celebrity stylist Dorin Atias chose to work with Mamo for the first time. “I saw authenticity in her, a rare beauty that most people don’t have--an inner light,” Atias says. Mamo “is very connected to herself. She’s classy. She embodies both strength and softness.” That classiness is what first got Mamo noticed in Tel Aviv eight years ago, when she was just 15 years old. “A modeling agent saw me in a supermarket and said, ‘You’re beautiful. I want you to model for me,’” Mamo recalls. “I said I’d think about it. He pursued me for two months, so I finally decided to go along with it, just to do him a favor.” Mamo soon was approached by another agent, who referred her to the prestigious Image Modeling center. “I’ve brought the Queen of Sheba!” the agent declared. Mamo signed with Image and her career took off-leading not only to personal success, but opening doors for additional models from the Ethiopian community. “I can say with certainty that Esti was the first Ethiopian model in Israel,” supermodel photographer Avi Harel said. “She’s made a tremendous impact on the industry, opening doors to women following her. Before

Esti, you couldn’t find any Ethiopian models getting work. Esti did a great service to her community.” Mamo’s confidence and success may have created opportunities for dark-skinned women from other communities in Israel as well. “In the last few years since Esti opened the doors, the general taste of the fashion world has expanded to embrace models of all colors,” Harel said. “Today it’s a normal part of Israeli culture.” Despite her success, Mamo remains downto-earth. Maybe that’s because every time she graces the cover of a magazine, she feels she’s doing it for her entire community. Mamo radiates confidence, with a graceful stride and an easy laugh. Yet she’s friendly and approachable, and seems grounded. When she speaks Esti Mamo, the first Ethiopian- about the Ethiopian Israeli to make it big as a model in community, she leans Israel. Credit: Avi Harel forward passionately. “I am a role model for a lot of Ethiopians who want to go in this direction,” Mamo says. “I’m not getting rid of my culture, just adding new things to it, and educating society about who Ethiopians are.” When she rubs elbows with individuals in powerful and privileged positions, Mamo says, it’s often the first time they’ve spoken to an Ethiopian. “We’re living in one country. How can it be that someone still hasn’t come to know us or our culture?”

she asks. “We’re so much on the periphery here. We gave up everything we had. We dreamed of coming to Israel, because it’s our home. We sacrificed so much -people died on the way. If this is what comes to us in the end, it’s very sad. It hurts me terribly.” “I speak about Ethiopians wherever I can. I teach people about the music, history, food,” she says. “We have to work on the government’s relationship to the community. There is a very serious problem in how Ethiopians are absorbed into society here.” Israeli officials acknowledge that Ethiopian immigrants have not integrated as quickly as other communities, but say it’s because of the cultural gap that these newcomers, who often come from poor villages in Africa, face in dealing with established Israeli society. Poverty, drug abuse and violence have stalked the Ethiopian immigrant community -- because the community feels degraded in Israel, Mamo says. Ethiopian youth have come to feel so rejected by Israeli society, she says, that many become depressed and a number have committed suicide--like Mamo’s brother. Mamo pauses to gather herself, tears in her eyes, as she speaks about her younger brother’s death in 2004. “I don’t like to talk about it, because it’s very painful,” she says, “but I have to speak out, because it’s not just my brother who was a victim--it’s happening to Ethiopian youth across the country.” Using her status and power as a supermodel, Mamo hopes to put her community’s issues on the map -- not only in Israel, but across the globe. She has done photo shoots in Paris and is now in negotiation with modeling agencies in New York. Wherever she models, she promises, she will educate those around her about Ethiopian-Israelis. And when she finishes with her modeling career? “I’ll come back to Israel and run for Knesset,” she says.

Summer of Love: Turn Left at the End of the World by GARY KATZ Library Administrator Unlikely romances develop in the Israeli desert in the excellent Turn Left at the End of the World (108 minutes). This movie is the fourth and last in a series of films to be selected by the Omaha Jewish Film Festival, shown on April 8 and 9, 7 p.m. in the JCC Theater. Turn Left at the End of the World takes us back to 1969 to a tiny isolated Israeli village on the edge of the Negev where two Jewish immigrant families, one from Morocco and the other from India become unlikely neighbors who share nothing but the dream of a new life. Obliged to live side by side, they become embroiled in a culture war trying to assert their identities, the

Indian family by putting together a cricket team, the Moroccan family by trying to disrupt the game. Meanwhile, each family has a teenage daughter negotiating the landscape of the sexual revolution. When the sultry Moroccan Nicole and the heady Indian Sara become friends, their youth and desire for freedom help them overcome their differences. In this isolated place, the road to harmony takes many surprising and comical twists and turns. It is beautifully filmed against a desert background. There is no shortage of thought-provoking dialogue in the film, and as it is positioned at such a critical moment in history, there are many issues to be addressed and every one of them is handled with charm, humor

and sophistication. The film is hilarious and devastating, bleak and beautiful. The narrative flows between emotional family sagas and comic community events effortlessly. This lovable and sexy story is the highest-grossing Israeli film of the last decade and includes an international cast from France, India and Israel with standout performances by striking newcomers Liraz Charhi and Garti Netta. (This movie contains mature content and adult themes.) Tickets are $5 each. For tickets or information call the Kripke Jewish Federation Library at 334.6462. The Omaha Jewish Film Festival is sponsored by the Avy L. and Roberta L. Miller Foundation by Lindsey MillerLerman and The Center for Jewish Education.

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ORGANIZATIONS WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the day trip to the Ameristar Casino, please meet at the JCC by 8:45 a.m. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC in the Social Hall on Thursdays from 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. VISIONS Reminder: The day trip to Des Moines to see Lion King on stage at the Civic Center is Thursday, April 6. For those members going, please be at the JCC by 9:30 a.m. Join us for a fternoon of fun on Wednesday, April 26, 11:15 a.m. for lunch at Rick’s Boatyard Café. We will continue on to the Hot Shops Art Center for a guided

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tour to observe glass blowers, potters, metal workers, art and a newly opened gift shop. Cost of $15 includes lunch, beverage, tax, tip and admittance to Hot Shops. Send reservations by April 17 to: Rosalie Meiches, 5036 Parker, Omaha, NE 68104 We’re goin’ to Kansas City Tourwith Elite Tours on June 6-7. Cost is $180 double occupancy/per person or $210 single. Send reservations with full payment to: Anne Skolkin, 1010 Regency Parkway #302, Omaha, NE 68114 by April 20. Make all checks payable to Visions.

Cost is $11 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only. All men and women in the community are invited to attend Breadbreakers.

BREADBREAKERS Rod Shkolnick will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, March 29, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. Shkolnick is the former Dean of the Law School at Creighton University.

Erika and Noah Pollak of Berkeley, CA announce the March 5 birth of their son, Zev Dodi Marty. Grandparents are Dr. Oliver and Karen Pollak, Helen and Bernard Blair of Woodland Hills, CA, and Dr. Steve Yabek and Ellen Goldstein of Albuquerque, NM.

JEWISH WOMEN INTERNATIONAL Sweetheart Day at the Rose Blumkin Home has been rescheduled again, this time to Thursday, April 6, 1 p.m.

BIRTH

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

Exhibit Showcases 85 Years of Press History Continued from page 1 of David didn’t make it into the exhibit if it didn’t have a dominant headline or large photograph.” “We chose front pages that would make an impact on the visitor to the exhibit,” Corcoran added. “Although the exhibit doesn’t display every important event that happened in the life of this community, it’s pretty representative. We’re very appreciative of the work the researchers accomplished.” In addition to Katz, volunteers who came week after week to read through volumes of the Jewish Press include: Joanie Bernstein, KayLynn Goldner, Jenny Gordon, Art Jacobson Gloria Shukert Jones, Ira Nathan, Caryn Rifkin, Dottie Rosenblum and Silvia Roffman. Press Committee members Jamie Meyerson and Dorothy Spizman researched past editors, presidents and chairmen. Funding for the exhibit came from a number of sources, the largest of which are: the Special Donoradvised Fund of the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, the Herbert Goldsten Trust, and

the Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Supporting Foundation. Additional funds were provided Sandra Belgrade and Stanford Lipsey (a former president of the Jewish Press, now publisher of the Buffalo News). Joel Alperson, President of Omaha Fixture, Inc., has donated the grids on which many of the framed pieces will be displayed; wine for the reception is being donated by Sandy and Paul Epstein. Other funding has come from: Hugo Kahn of New Orleans, LA, and Joanie and Richard Jacobson; and from out-of-town subscribers: Naomi and Bernard Bloom, Joe Burstein, Jay Chance, Jeri Falk and Peter Fitz, Linda Simons Gepford, Kathy Kirshenbaum, Ben and Elinore Kutler, Allan Levine, Roland Lewis, Shirley and James Lipsey, DeDe Hurwitz Monowitz, Elaine and Robert Nacron, John and Sydney Rosenberg, Miriam Simon, and Matlee Yadin. Ducky Milder will be in charge of hanging the exhibit, assisted by Marge and Bill Bowers, Ron Brodkey, Joanie Jacobson, Kevee Kirshenbaum, and Silvia and Larry Roffman. For information, call NJHS at 334.6442.

Press Committee Influenced by Results of Website Survey by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Nearly four percent of subscribers responded to last month’s website survey, enough to assist the Jewish Press Committee in formulating future plans about its presence on the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s website. According to the results of the survey, nearly all respondents (99%) read the print edition of the Press each week, but less than half either knew about or read the front page stories posted weekly on the Federation’s website--www.jewishomaha.org. Respondents also indicated an interest in having other announcements-obituaries, weddings, engagements, births, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs--posted on the web. “That tells us two things,” said chairman Joanie Jacobson. “We have to do a better job of publicizing our presence on the web, and ‘hometown’ news is very important to our readers, especially our out-of-town readers who don’t have immediate access to the print edition.” For now, she added, the Press will not create a separate website but rather maintain its presence on the

Federation website while working to satisfy the requests from respondents. The survey was available on the Federation website via a link on the Jewish Press page, as an insert in the Feb. 10 issue of the Press, and enclosed in a letter to Press advertisers. The Committee discussed the preliminary results at it Feb. 27 meeting; further analysis will be done by committee members Linda Saltzman and Jamie Meyerson and the final tabulation is expected to be available next month. “While the overall response was less than 4%, the results have been pretty conclusive,” Jacobson noted. “It was important to the Committee to get some kind of interest indicator--real data from the community-before charting a course that could require additional staff time and dollars to maintain. “There were, however, some individual responses that have already proven helpful and have led us to change for the better,” she added. “We value the input and appreciate the time of those in the community who participated. “There’s no question--it made a difference.”

Live from NY’s 92 Street Y Returns with “Sex, Love and Spirit: a Modern Jewish View” by RACHEL BLUM JCC Program Director Hear a modern Jewish view of sex, love, and spirit as Rabbi David Wolpe will discuss what Judaism can teach us about sexuality and relationships in the popular “Live from New York’s 92 St. Y” on Sunday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. Wolpe will explore how Judaism both complements and contradicts the assumptions of popular psychology in the satellite broadcast series in the theater at the Jewish Community Center. He also will discuss the ways in which tradition leads us beyond the purely physical. Rabbi David Wolpe Wolpe is the rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Previously, he taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also served as assistant to the chancellor. He has taught at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and at Hunter College in New York. Rabbi Wolpe lectures widely at universities, synagogues, and institutes throughout the country. He was a King David scholar for the United Jewish Appeal and currently serves on the editorial board of the Conservative movement’s Torah commentary. Rabbi Wolpe is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers on subjects of Jewish and general religious interest. He writes two columns, which run in Jewish newspapers throughout the country. His own writing, as well as profiles of him and reviews of his work, have appeared in such publications as Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He has also made frequent television appearances on CNN and on “CBS This Morning” as a commentator on spiritual questions. He has been featured most recently in a series on A&E called “Mysteries of the Bible.” Rabbi Wolpe is the author of six books: The Healer of Shattered Hearts: A Jewish View of God, In Speech and in Silence: The Jewish Quest for God, Teaching Your Children About God, Why Be Jewish?, Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times, and most recently, Floating Takes Faith: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World. This broadcast is co-sponsored by the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and is funded in part by the Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Supporting Foundation. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance by calling Cindy Reed, Registration Associate, at 334.6419. For information about the series, call me at 334.6404.

Front Page:

85 Years of Jewish Press History Please join us at the opening of the Press exhibit...

Sunday, April 9, 3-5 p.m. in the Gallery of the Jewish Community Center

co-sponsored by NJHS Donors: Donor-advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation The Herbert Goldsten Trust | The Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Supporting Foundation Sandra Belgrade | Joel Alperson and Omaha Fixture, Inc. | Stanford J. Lipsey Sandy and Paul Epstein | Joanie and Richard Jacobson | Hugo Kahn Naomi and Bernard Bloom | Joe Burstein | Jay Chance | Jeri Falk and Peter Fitz | Linda Simons Gepford | Kathy Kirshenbaum | Ben and Elinore Kutler | Allan Levine Roland Lewis | James and Shirley Lipsey | DeDe Hurwitz Monowitz | Elaine and Robert Nacron | John and Sydney Rosenberg | Miriam Simon | Matlee Yadin

March 24, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

Shiputznick Teens to Perform Mitzvot This Sunday by URI LEVIN JCC Community Shaliach Instead of watching movies, and despite heavy homework schedules, Jewish teens in Omaha spent fall performing the mitzvot. In the program called Shiputznick, which in Hebrew means “repairman” these Jewish teens were involved in community service projects around Omaha to repair the world “one job at a time.” Sponsored by the Jewish Community Center, Spiputznick will hold its second annual Teen Mitzvah Day this Sunday, March 26, 12:30 p.m. More than 50 Jewish teens will gather at the JCC to get instructions about their project, as well as directions to the site (each site will have an adult chaperone

present at all times). Participants will also receive a free Shiputznick t-shirt to wear during the project if they don’t have one already. Teens will then break into groups to carpool to a variety of community service projects around the Omaha area. Some of these projects include forest and yard clean up for the Boys and Girls Club at three locations, helping National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha Section pack tote bags filled with supplies for children for the Child Saving Institute, reorganizing shelves at the Kripke Jewish Library, and working with residents at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Teen Mitzvah Day will end with all participants and chaperones returning to the

JCC for a complimentary “thank you” dinner. All local youth groups are participating, but all Jewish teens, including those who are unaffiliated with a youth group, are

encouraged to attend. Meet at the JCC Leon Fellman Teen Lounge; parents are also invited to help chaperone the projects. For more information, contact me at 334.6403 or ulevin@jccomaha.org.

David Trubnikov, left, Devon Gilinsky, and Sean Bernstein pick up trash at Memorial Park as part of Keep Omaha Beautiful’s Fall Clean Up.

Alyson Friedman, left, and Sam Long sweep leaves to brush up Temple Israel Cemetery.

Temple Israel Again Presents “A Taste of Judaism” to Great Reviews by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator “A Taste of Judaism: Are You Curious?” is a three-session class offered by Temple Israel that explores Judaism’s relevancy in today’s world. About 50 adults enrolled in the course to learn about Jewish perspectives on topics of spirituality, values, and community on three consecutive Thursday nights which began Feb. 23 at Temple Israel. Designed for beginners, course content is not dependent upon previous knowledge about Judaism. Temple Israel’s Rabbi Aryeh Azriel taught the class in an

informal atmosphere to encourage free and lively discussions of Reform Judaism’s approach to living in today’s rapidly changing society. In other cities across the country and in Omaha four years ago, Jews unaffiliated with a congregation, non-Jews, interfaith couples and non-Jewish in-laws, children of interfaith couples--anyone seeking more knowledge about Judaism--found the class to be a good beginning. Participants registered for the class for a variety of reasons. One woman, who is considering converting to Judaism, said, “The classes were exceptional! The rabbi

is entertaining and informative.” After taking the course, she feels “more certain about converting.” Another participant commented that the class met his expectations, “but it has left me wanting more. I feel better about how I want to live my life. I feel more positive.” Someone else commented, “‘A Taste of Judaism’ lived up to its name. I now have a taste but have developed a hunger to learn more.” She went on to say, “I have more of a feel of how deep Jewish roots or way of life and faith go. I am astounded by the depths of both the individual

O M A H A

4th Annual

and community and by what it means to be a Jew.” Others said that what they learned as a Christian “makes more sense” after taking “A Taste of Judaism.” They felt “so welcomed to your Temple. You are a great community.” “It was a pleasure to be a member of the class,” wrote one participant in her evaluation. “Learning more about Judaism helps me be a better person in my personal and work life.” First offered in March of 1994, the class was sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism.

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Saturday, April 1, 2006, 7:00 p.m. Friday, March 24, 2006, 7:30 p.m. Peter Kiewit Concert Hall Holland Performing Arts Center Part of the Omaha Performing Arts Presents Speakers Series Sponsored by Creighton University Medical Center Media Partners: 1290 KKAR, Omaha Magazine, and The Reader

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Page 10

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

Purim Around the Heartland

Above: The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home was filled with Purim fun as Isidore Tretiak and Pearl Herzog received the royal treatment when they were crowned this year’s Purim King and Queen. Left: The bride--or could that be Rabbi Jonathan Gross--is escorted into Beth Israel’s sanctuary for the Megillah reading Monday evening by a politician (AKA Howard Gendelman). The 2006 costume theme at Beth Israel was “And You Thought You’d Never Wear It Again!” Below: Eunie Denenberg and her daughter, Debbie, enjoyed a delicious dinner at Chabad House. More than 120 concluded Purim with a Seudah (a festive meal) on Tuesday. Above: Cantor Gastón Bogomolni (AKA ‘Mr. Smee’) added merriment to the shenanigans of Shushan, along with Alex Solomon, Seth Rich, Effie Tsabari and Lydia Stern, players in Beth El’s “Purim Shmurim” shpiel; Jordyn, Nikki, Kathleen, and Laura Kirshenbaum enjoy the Temple Israel carnival with Gramma Kate. Right: Randi and Rabbi Ilan Emanuel reverse roles as King Ahasueras and Queen Esther for the Lincoln’s Purim Spiel. Left: At the Purim spiel at Temple Israel on Monday, giant-size Haman stood silently in the hall at Temple, his pockets filled with ideas to help others in need. Congregants picked his pockets and, in response, donated books, food, handmade get well cards, portable CD players, and supplies for the Gordon School in Akko, Israel. Children as well as adults, including Steve and Deirdre Evans, came dressed for the occasion. In full Purim regalia, Tal Margalit, Eva Phillips and Eliana Schuller mugged for the camera following Beth El’s Family Megillah reading. Below left: USY member Jessie Morris supervised as Beth El’s youngsters aimed for ‘nothing but net’ in the basketball toss. Below right: Lisa Salomon, Grace Isler, Jill Salomon and Nancy Isler enjoy Purim at Temple with Rabbi Craig Marantz, center. Yachad’s next event this Sunday, will focus on another Biblical story. They will attend the Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat musical production at the Bellevue Little Theater. Please RSVP by calling Jewish Family Service at 334.6491.

Above from left: Rabbi Mendel Katzman assists Jeff Taxman with the blessing before reading the Megillah at the seudah at Chabad House on Tuesday. Taxman performed an updated version of the Abbott and Costello routine (Who’s on First) with Phil Wolf. Amanda, Josh and Leah Gurock won a gift certificate for “best family” costume for the second year in a row at Beth Israel. Other winners included: Best Adult Costume, Annette Fettman; Best Child Costume, Rachel Kricsfeld; and Best Theme Costume, Lynne Saltzman. Scott Stanfield, left, who played guitar at the spiel in Lincoln, schmoozes with Rabbi Royi Shaffin of Tifereth Israel (yes, he’s dressed as a priest) and Rabbi Ilan Emanuel of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun. Patrick McNamara holds up his little queen, daughter Leora, at Chabad’s seudah.

March 24, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 11

Friedel Open House Showcases Alums by JORDANA L. KURTZMAN Friedel Jewish Academy held its open house recently, giving parents of incoming and potential students a chance to meet Friedel alumni, teachers, and other parents. Principal Cookie Katskee told the audience about the academic processes of multi-age grouping and looping--where children have the same teachers for multiple years. Speaking about the typical incoming kindergarten classes, Katskee said that some new kindergartners come in “with a pull-up diaper tucked in their back pocket while others come in already knowing how to write their names.” Katskee emphasized how the small size of the classes allows the teachers to address various learning levels. Yaffa Schuller, who organized the open house, introduced the panel of Friedel alumni who spoke from personal perspectives about their experiences at Friedel and their academic lives afterwards. Recent graduate Noam Margalit told the crowd that “each child can have their individual needs met” at Friedel. Noam began her education at Friedel in fifth grade, and her younger sister, Tal, was in third grade. Both girls had attended public schools in New York and Omaha, but their parents wanted them to attend a school where “they didn’t have to be like everybody else.” At Friedel, they could “have their own personalities,” said Noam’s mothers, Ruti. Noam is currently an honors student at Beveridge Middle School. Seth Rich, who graduated from the school in 2001, spoke of how he learned to trust teachers at an early age, as did his fellow schoolmates, due to the smaller class size and the fact that he had each

teacher two or three years. teachers and fellow students of like-mindSeth said this close relationship helps ed values enhanced his “decisiveness, students “adjust well to middle school honesty, and integrity”--values that because children feel more comfortable remain with him to this day. in approaching teachers for help.” This The open house also included a panel readiness to approach new teachers in of Friedel teachers who discussed their classes where there are a minimum of 20 own experiences at the school. students per class helped him excel in Art teacher Julie Phillips opened the both academdiscussion ic and social with the settings. Seth ar tist-based has been an curriculum ever-present she teaches. Phillips face in the places an young Jewish “emphasis on leadership Jewish artists community as through pracwell as having tice, theory, par ticipated and appreciain speech tion.” contests on a Denise national level. Many of Trevor Gerson, left, Robert Mosenkis, Seth Rich, and Noam B e n n e t t , fourth, fifth, the students Margalit are alumni of Friedel Jewish Academy. who attended Friedel have immigrated and sixth grade teacher, spoke about her own childhood, when she attended a from the former Soviet Union. One such student is Robert Mosenkis, country school with combined classes of who first learned English at Friedel, yet first through fourth and fifth through went on to win many spelling bees after eighth grades. “After college, I hoped to graduating from the school. Currently a teach in a similar setting.” Bennett was sophomore at the University of thrilled to find a position a Friedel where Nebraska-Omaha, Robert feels his years the classes are organized using the same at Friedel helped solidify his Jewish iden- practice. The second and third grade teacher, tity. In high school, he became actively involved in BBYO, USY, and other Barb Sather, said the teacher-student relationship at Friedel is unique because “we Jewish youth groups. Creighton Univesity student Trevor help dress them for swimming, feed them Gerson said that learning Hebrew and lunch, and give them hugs when they go English together was a more intuitive home. We give each child a piece of our process than learning each in separate hearts.” When discussing the advantages environments. When asked how attend- of students attending a small school, ing Friedel affected his core values, Sather emphasized that for the children, Trevor said that being surrounded by “there’s no place to hide--they have to

answer the questions.” Diana Zeman, the kindergarten and first grade teacher, said that she had “the privilege of teaching children in their first years at Friedel, who learn at their different paces. Having a small group allows me to help them individually.” Zeman makes efforts to incorporate Judaic studies into her class, such as matching the letter they are learning to write to the Jewish holidays the children are learning about that week. Judaic studies teacher Anna Besser also discussed this interdisciplinary mode of teaching. She and Bennett work together at the beginning of the year to plan out which time periods they will be teaching, so that the Judaic studies curriculum builds upon the general studies area and vice versa. Besser often has her students lead the class with their presentations, such as when the students studied Rashi earlier in the year. Na’ama Arzi, who teaches the Hebrew portion of the Judaic curriculum, including the Tal Am program, illustrated to the audience how she teaches all aspects of her class in Hebrew. Along with students Sophie Cemaj, Aaron Kurtzman, Lily Phillips, and Cleo Rogers-Markovitz, Arzi demonstrated how she uses auditory and visual methodologies to teach body parts to the children through song and active participation. Friedel will be holding its annual kindergarten roundup on Thursday, March 30. All families with children entering kindergarten in the fall are welcome to attend. Anyone interested in visiting to meet with the teachers or principal can call Friedel’s Administrative Assistant, Mary Jane Tweedy, for more information at 334.0517.

Beth El Children Ready to Celebrate Family and friends are invited to celebrate with members of Beth El Synagogue Talmud Torah’s third grade class, as they are honored during a special consecration ceremony this Sunday, a.m. 11:15 Celebrants include, front row: Sammy Lieb, left, Elissa Wiener, Alexandra Pichik, Jacob Levy, Max Weiner, Sarah Kutler; mid-

dle row: Alec Epstein, Robert Levitan, Benjamin Dietrich, Ethan Barnes, Andrew Klein; back row: teacher D e b o r a h Kronick, B E S T T Education Director Judy and Rubin teacher Eadie Tsabari. Not pictured: Veronica Dubov, Jennifer Libov, Jessica Shandell, Zachary Stein, Madison Weaver.

Two Special Sections

Coming May 5

Mother’s

Day

IN THE NEWS Former Beth El President and current International President of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Dr. Ray Goldstein will be honored during Beth El’s annual Men’s Club Shabbat service tomorrow, March 25, 9:30 a.m. Goldstein, a longtime Beth El congregant who now resides in Rochester MN, will also deliver the D’var Torah during the service. Beth El, an affiliate of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, is joining conservative congregations around the country in celebrating this Shabbat, “Heroic Jewish Journeys: Who are Your Hometown Heroes?” The entire community is welcome to attend. The Orthodox Union’s Take Five for Torah program on www.ouradio.org,

will go into an exclusive Passover mode this week until the conclusion of the holiday. This new format follows the precept, “It’s time to begin thinking about Passover 30 days before it arrives (Talmud Pesachim 6a).” Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross is the featured speaker Friday, March 31. Take Five for Torah is a program of the OU’s Department of Community and Synagogue Services, in which OU member rabbis from across North America share their wisdom with a worldwide audience. The five minute recordings usually follow a set schedule,. Broadcasts are archived on OU Radio and www.ou.org. Nobbies, was recently named “Party Retailer of the Year” at the third annual National Party Retailing Awards ceremony. With the competition from big box stores, this is evidence that family owned establishments can and do compete successfully against such competition by operating a business with great customer service and “out-of-the-box” thinking on the part of its owners and staff.

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2006 Primary Election Publishes » May 5 Ad deadline » April 18 Camera ready deadline » April 25

Call Allan Handleman at 402/334-6451 or email: ahandleman@jewishomaha.org

Call Terri Greenwood at 402/334-6559 or email: terrigreenwood@jewishomaha.org

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

March 24, 2006

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March 24, 2006

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by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Dr. Mark Washofsky, associate professor of rabbinics at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, recognizes that Reform Judaism is a modern development of two millennia of Jewish thinking. He draws upon traditional Jewish texts and sources as well as on the Reform literature that has emerged as a response to that tradition. Dr. Washofsky will be the scholar-in-residence from Friday, March 31 through Sunday, April 2 at Temple Israel. His teachings that weekend will focus on “The Talmud, the Halakhah, and Reform Judaism: Old Sources and New Problems.” Temple welcomes the entire community to attend at any time during the weekend. Halakhah is made up of mitzvot from the Torah as well as from laws instituted by the rabbis and longstanding customs. In an article in Reform Judaism, Rabbi Walter Jacob, former president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), wrote that “Reform Judaism is a noble expression of Judaism, presenting us with lofty ideals.” However, he added, “we need to formulate clear standards for Reform Jewish practice. We can begin this process of reforming Reform by coupling Judaism’s prophetic message with its legal moorings--the halakhah. There should be a Reform Jewish ethical standard for each of us, whether we are a chemist, a homemaker, a lawyer, or a stock broker.” While at Temple Israel, Dr. Washofsky will give the sermon on commandments and choices at the Shabbat worship service on Friday, March 31, 7:30 p.m., and speak on Saturday, April 1, 9 a.m., on what Jewish law has to say about the Terry Schiavo case. In his capacity as chair of the Responsa Committee of the CCAR, Dr. Washofsky oversees the group that issues advisory opinions on questions of Jewish practice. Responsa literature is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. He will talk about how Reform tradition responds to modern problems as he concludes his residency at a discussion on Sunday, April 2, 10 a.m. Dr. Washofsky’s residency is sponsored by the Temple’s Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning and John A. Gentleman Mortuaries and Tom Belford.

Beth Israel’s Senior NCSY Travels to Regional Shabbaton by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Beth Israel Synagogue’s Senior National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) traveled to Indianapolis, March 10-12, to attend a NCSY Regional Shabbaton. Over 135 teens from Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee enjoyed a busy weekend of food, fun and activities.

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NCSYer Nate Joseph, left, meets new friends and KC-NSCY Director Todd Cohen, during the trip to Indianapolis. “After Shabbat, we all went Cosmic Bowling, which was very cool!” stated Beth Israel’s NCSY Director Brooke Shrago. “And, there was the impromptu highlight of the trip during our 12-hour bus ride home, when we drove through extremely stormy weather. The kids were treated to a rare opportunity to make the blessing when you see lightening. Saying ‘we remember God’s creation’ together, on a bus, during a huge thunderstorm, felt so meaningful.” The next NCSY Senior Shabbaton will be held during Memorial weekend at Camp Chi. For information, please call Beth Israel at 556.6288.

Classical Series. Grammy-winner Leonard Slatkin will lead the symphony during a week of arts residency. Tickets, priced from $19-$65, are available by calling 402.345.0606 or online at: www.ticketomaha.org. Celebrate your baby’s healthy arrival. Whether you’re a new parent or still expecting, Omaha Children’s Museum and Alegent Health invite you to a free, fun, and interactive opportunity for the latest tips on giving baby a healthy start on Monday, April 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the useum, 500 So. 20 St. Noted Latin jazz performer and scholar Benjamin Lapidus brings his guitar and his insight of the musical genre to the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Tuesday, April 4, 5:30 p.m., or a special night of music and history. Part of the Durham’s Smithsonian Scholar program, the visit of Lapidus coincides with Latin Jazz: la combinación perfecta, now on display at the museum from the Smithsonian Institution. The program begins atwith Latin dance lessons and refreshments, and the opening of the Latin Jazz exhibit. Lapidus will then present his lecture and demonstration on Latin jazz at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer period. The event is free to museum members; regular admission fees apply for non-members. Lapidus is leader of the Latin jazz group Solido Isleno and has performed with many of the top names in both jazz and Latin music. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Lapidus earned his Ph.D. in Music at the CUNY Graduate Center in May, 2002. He currently teaches tres and guitar in the Jazz and Contemporary Music program at The New School.

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READ IT AND E AT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN The whole spectrum of muffins to please each and every palate...from humble comfort food to over-the-top indulgent. A bit of muffin history and development, a guide to the low down on muffin tins, ingredients and sources. Seventeen tips and tricks of the trade for success and how to compensate...muffin texture is affected by the weather (“quick breads suffer under high humidity”) and the temperature of the butter (cool after melting) and eggs (at room temperature). You can make yummy muffins each and every time. Then 600 sweet and savory alphabetical recipes include Almond (with seven variations) to Zucchini (with five variations). Most of the recipes are for 12 muffins and have detailed numerical instructions that cover a couple of pages. Some recipes are for special concerns...wheat, gluten or dairy free, non-fat or low-fat. Try one of several that feature drinks--daiquiri, margarita or piña colada. There’s also S’mores, Roasted Garlic, Rice Pudding, Red Velvet, Lemon Poppy Seed, Pizza, Black Forest, Pineapple Upside-down and PB&J and more. And for this Passover, try either the Matzo Brie Muffins with five variations or the Haroset Muffins (what do you do with leftover haroset?). From the Toppings section is this drizzle that would be delicious on either recipe. LEMON DRIZZLE 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. grated lemon zest Stir the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth. Set aside for 15 minutes to firm up a bit. Drizzle approximately 1 teaspoon on top of each cooled, baked muffin. Alternatively, dip the cooled muffin tops into the drizzle, allow all the excess to drip back off, then turn the muffin right side up and allow the drizzle to set. Makes about 2/3 cup, enough for 12 muffins.

March 24, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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March 24, 2006

Cream of the Crop: One Woman’s Remarkable Journey in the Free Soviet Jewry Movement Part I: The Education of Shirley Goldstein Continued from page 1 No Place to Be a Jew Life behind the Iron Curtain was harsh for the mainstream populace, but even more intolerable for racial, ethnic and religious minorities. Long the target of anti-Semitic pogroms and policies, Soviet Jews were routinely denied such basic rights as the practice of their faith, employment in certain jobs, free travel within the country and emigration outside the USSR. An internal passport all Soviets carried was used to target Jews, whose documents, and whose documents alone, denoted their religion. Jews and sympathizers protesting such discriminatory practices could be arrested, interrogated, harassed or imprisoned. By the mid-1960s the pleas of a few Jewish dissidents were heard--enough to coalesce the Free Soviet Jewry Movement. But much of the world remained unaware of or apathetic to just how bad things were and just how many Jews wanted out. Compared to the trickle allowed to leave each year, millions more wished to go but were refused. Once a visa was denied, the applicant was branded and blacklisted. Refuseniks automatically lost their jobs and what few privileges they enjoyed. Even more than before, they became outcasts in their own society. From the mid-’60s through the early ‘90s, the movement--both within the Soviet Union and outside it--forged ahead despite political setbacks. Free Soviet Jewry committees organized. Under Goldstein’s leadership, Omaha had a particularly active one. Agitators like her from the West, both Jews and non-Jews, made pilgrimages to the Soviet Union to meet with refuseniks and dissidents and activists. She and other Western visitors smuggled in banned materials, such as Judaica, along with items like Levi jeans and Marlboro cigarettes, which brought much on the black market. They also made audio recordings of individuals, whose messages--testifying to the tough conditions and rallying support for freedom--were snuck out and then disseminated to Western media outlets. Defying initial opposition from the Jewish establishment and the Israeli government and flying in the face of official U.S.-Soviet diplomatic channels, the campaign eventually gained widespread support. The pressure applied by the campaign and by detente succeeded in doing exactly what it set out to. Faced with sanctions and growing world condemnations, the stubborn Soviets finally ended reprisals and eased restrictions. The sweeping changes ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev under Glasnost and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet state, opened the borders for a flood of people to legally emigrate. In the end, 1.5 million Jews left, most for the U.S. and Israel. Some 300 families resettled in Omaha.

snapped pictures, concealing castapes sette and film cartridges under her clothes. She sneaked things in and out with a kind of mischievous glee. A true believer unafraid to upset the Politburo or defy KGB agents, who knew of her and tried Shirley Goldstein began collecting newspaper and magazine articles about discouraging her, she carrefuseniks and dissidents in the USSR in the early 1970s. ried on anyBecoming an Activist Shirley Goldstein (formerly Gershun) seemed an unlikely candidate to make history. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native did part of her growing up in Schuyler, NE, where her family moved, before returning to the Bluffs to complete her schooling. Upon graduation from Abraham Lincoln High School she did what any good Jewish girl did then--she worked (at the Martin bomber plant), got married, and stayed home to raise their three children. Her husband, Leonard “Buddy” Goldstein, had his own car and truck rental business. An “ordinary” housewife, mother and grandmother, she only became politicized in middle-age. It was the early ’70s when the Free Soviet Jewry movement overtook her, and she morphed into an impassioned advocate. There was a precedent in her past. Her merchant father, Ben Gershun, led the Council Bluffs resettlement of Jewish refugees from post-World War II Europe. She recalls refugees at his general store and at her parents’ home. Much like she’s embraced diversity in her own home, her family’s home was “always open to everybody.” She feels she may also have been prepared for her activist role by the many way. She was on a mission. years she and Buddy hosted international “The world had to know what was hapstudents and dignitaries, many from Asia, pening. It was a priority. I would have in their home. The couple even spon- rather done this than anything else,” she sored a Cambodian refugee family. She said. said, “I’ve always been interested in other As her involvement deepened, she peoples and cultures.” made more contacts and increased the Not content with merely educating scope of her activities. She organized herself on the subject, she went to the Omaha’s Free Soviet Jewry Committee USSR seven times, meeting with leaders and served on the board of the national and rank and file Jews alike. She took Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. She chances, brazenly ignoring U.S. State led demonstrations (including ones outDepartment warnings and Soviet orders side the Orpheum Theatre and Joslyn Art to steer clear of “troublemakers.” Museum, using the appearances of Indeed, she became a familiar figure to Russian performing artists as the pretext refuseniks in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, or stage to protest Soviet policies), she Odessa and other cities. A benevolent walked in marches and she participated in angel from the West bearing contraband vigils. She called on members of gifts. A tiny rebel with the brass of a cat Congress. She attended meetings in burglar. She recorded testimonies and Washington, D.C. and in Madrid, Spain

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(for the Helsinki Accords). She raised awareness and funds. When not educating elected leaders herself, she recruited new blood, such as the late Ally Milder, to do so. In her role as an aide to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (D-Iowa), Milder brought him on board with the movement. Goldstein also spearheaded letter writing campaigns that sent morale-boosting notes to refuseniks and that made appeals for support to public officials. She organized relief drives that collected goods and shipped them to families in the USSR. “In the big picture of the Soviet Jewry movement, Shirley was a really great foot soldier and the leaders knew that,” said former Omahan Stephanie (Seldin) Howard, co-producer of Let My People Go, a new documentary on the movement. “Shirley’s is a great story because she rallied a whole Jewish community and they did great things, and they’re recognized for it. You talk to people in New York or San Francisco or Chicago who were in the movement and everybody knows Shirley.” Goldstein never strayed from the fight. When Soviet Jews began coming, she picked up the mantle again and immersed herself in all facets of the resettlement program. Through it all, Buddy Above left: Shirley meets with Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson at a fundraiser at the home of Mrs. Dahlquist, wife of an Omaha fire chief. Left: Sen. Charles Grassley, (R-IA) was instrumental in helping Shirley get Jews out of the USSR. Goldstein, was by her side, just as he remains today. He didn’t always accompany her on her far-flung travels, but he supported her and underwrote her activism, sharing her concerns and encouraging her efforts, even when some friends questioned if she was going too far. In a recent interview at their home, the couple recounted her remarkable journey from uniformed innocent to well-traveled activist. It all started when the two returned from a 1972 trip to the USSR frustrated by the limited access they’d had to the Jewish proletariat and their daily lives. “I’d been doing a lot of reading. I was interested. But I wasn’t able to see anybody--I didn’t know how to do it. Being tourists, it was all surface. It was definitely controlled. We only saw what the government wanted us to see,” she said. She itched for a way to bypass approved itineraries in order to connect, on a human level, with Jews and learn firsthand their struggles. “I wanted to see the real Russia and visit with some refusenik families.” Continued on next page

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Part I: The Education of Shirley Goldstein personal contacts which we all developed. Continued from previous page “Dogged, committed, focused, interest- Rep. John Cavanaugh, and others). Enter Glenn Richter. A veteran of the Shirley was quite interested. She's a good ed would be understatements when it It was crucial for Congress to see prescivil rights movement and a founder of listener--and a good questioner,” he said. came to Shirley’s advocacy for Soviet sure not only from the traditionally large He added she and Buddy were well- Jews,” he said. “I see the same traits in my areas of Jewish population, but from a wide the Student Struggle for Soviet Jews, Richter is a relative of Goldstein’s. He’s positioned to serve the cause. wife Lenore. Perhaps it’s family genes.” swath of communities with smaller Jewish married to her cousin populations, as in Lenore. The couple live Minnesota, Nebraska, in New York. Iowa, Colorado. “Glenn and Lenore had “Politicians will stick been to Omaha (on a their necks out only if cross-country speaking they believe their contour) not too much stituents are with them, before we took our trip and Shirley and her coltalking about a lot of the leagues made sure of things that were going on that,” Richter added. in the Soviet Union,” she Richter said the famous recalled. “After we got Soviet dissident, Anatoly back, I called Glenn and (now Natan) Sharansky, said, ‘I want to know “often tells the story that more about what’s haphis KGB interrogators pening.’ But first I registried to torment him by tered for a couple courses Lenore Richter, right, flew to Omaha last fall when Shirley and Muriel and Michael Sherbourne, Soviet Jewry activists from telling him he was only on Russia at the universi- Buddy Goldstein were honored by Chabad of Nebraska for their London, meet Shirley for a meeting in Israel in 1982, stopping supported by Western ty (then Omaha work on behalf of Soviet Jewry. Credit: Tom O’Connor, UNMC in Yamit, in the Sinai, the day before its return to Egypt. ‘students and houseUniversity--now part of the state system: University of Nebraska-Omaha).” The courses culminated in a 1973 trip to the USSR led by chancellor Ron Roskens. “I decided I wanted to go. I called Glenn and said, ‘I want to know how to meet these people, by which I meant refuseniks. We spoke every Sunday morning for weeks. Then he outlined it all for me on a sheet of yellow paper (now in the archives of “Remember and Save,” an Israeli-based initiative documenting the Jewish Aliya Movement of the From left: Shirley and dissident Vladimir Buckovsky, rallying for the release of USSR). Natan Sharansky; one of 11 refuseniks who came to Aba and Ida Taratuta’s “Glenn told me what to do, what items apartment in the USSR; Sharansky is released and appears in D.C., 1987. to take, who to visit, what things to tell them and what information to bring “One of the great strengths of Jews in Goldstein’s involvement in back. He gave very good directions. smaller Jewish communities, such as the movement came just as it Without Glenn’s help I never would have Omaha or Denver, is the long-term was picking up steam. Or, as gotten into this as I did,” she said. “I did friendships they may have with people she likes to put it, “When I exactly as he told me and it was very suc- who get into political power. came into it, everything was already wives.’ But that was the strength of the cessful. I met many people. Each time I Shirley and Buddy were excellent exam- going on. Soviet Jewry movement. We utterly went it made me hungry to learn more. ples. Their Congressmen and Senators “I don’t think anyone of us in the early believed in what we were doing. We didAnd that was the beginning of it.” became their advocates. Shirley knew 1970s knew where the Soviet Jewry n’t let considerations that would sidetrack Richter recalled Goldstein being an which political buttons to press, and did movement would take us,” Richter said. a ‘professional’ get in the way.” avid student. so on behalf of individual refuseniks and “By ’73-74 we were in the big leagues, From what he saw, Shirley was “We were dealing at that time with prisoners and of the Jackson-Vanik utilizing Congress to take on the Kremlin absolutely typical of the Jewish housewife what was largely a hardly-understood sit- Amendment--the landmark legislation head-to-head over the Jackson-Vanik who devoted the same focus and energy uation, with few appeals coming out from linking Jewish emigration with trade Amendment. Shirley was in the thick of to Soviet Jews thousands of miles away as the USSR, relying basically on facts credits for the USSR.” things, using all the political connections she did to her own family. Continued on next page known to us at that point, rather than the He admired her dedication. she developed” (with Sen. Jim Exon,

Documenting History by LEO ADAM BIGA When Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker Laura Bialis was in town a few years ago with her film Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit, she was approached by some locals about making Omaha resident Shirley Goldstein the subject of her next film. As soon as Bialis learned of Goldstein’s considerable activist role in the Free Soviet Jewry movement, she was sold. But when asked permission to tell her story, Goldstein made one thing perfectly clear, Bialis recalled. Shirley said, “Well, you can’t make a film about me. It’s not about me at all. It’s about this huge movement,’ and many people in it were more important than me.” After being educated about the Free Soviet Jewry movement by Goldstein, Bialis agreed the film needed to tell the larger story of this international campaign. For her co-producer, Bialis teamed with Omaha native Stephanie Howard (formerly Seldin), a Los Angeles television news producer and writer. Their film, Let My People Go, is now in the editing suite and slated for a spring release. Bialis said the spirit and generosity of Goldstein and her husband Buddy have made the film possible. “She and Buddy have been so supportive. They provided the seed money to begin production. It was incredibly noble of them. And Shirley’s personal story was the inspiration to make the film. She provided a list of names of people to talk to who were colleagues in the movement. The film kind of grew and grew, because each person we’d interview would give us more names of people to talk to,” Bialis said. “Shirley warned us it was going to be a lot of work,” Howard said, “but little did we know it had become this

to focus on her alone. “What I’ve found in interviewing huge project. There her and others like her from the movement is that these are veterare very humble, unassuming people who truly do not ans of the think they did anything extraordinary,” she said. But Howard and Bialis know different. movement all over “Shirley’s a hero to the Soviet Jews,” Howard said. this coun“and she’s become really involved in other human rights issues. She spearheads stuff. She doesn’t slow try and in down either.” Canada, in Even when she had heart surgery a couple years ago, Europe it was a temporary thing. Nothing keeps her down. and in Israel. So, “I think what keeps her young is all the things she’s it became involved in. And she wants to learn more all the time. this interShe and Buddy give to so many projects in the Jewish national community. They’re so devoted to each other and to their community. And they’ve instilled that sense of effort. community and philanthropy to others.” Our first She hasn’t yet met one of the grassroots activists from interviews this movement that is not extraordinary. were in “There were many people involved in this movement, Omaha but Shirley was one of the leaders and one of the and Des extraordinary people that contributed so much,” Bialis Moines. said. She’s well respected by the other leaders in the We interv i e w e d Rabbi Myer Kripke and Shirley Goldstein protest at movement. She was incredible at galvanizing support S h i r l e y , the Orpheum Theater when a Russian group per- and getting people excited about it. She still feels so deeply in the movement and in what its values were. And the late forms in 1979. Ally Milder, ADL Director Bob Wolfson, Jews from the she wants to see it remembered, not for her own personFSU, like Lydia Linde, Anna Yuz-Mosenkis)...We’ve got al aggrandizement, but for what it was able to achieve.” Let My People Go is a production of the Foundation for quite a bit of funding from Omaha, a lot because of Shirley. People respect her so much that when they hear Documentary Projects. Its been funded in part by a she’s going to be in the film they want to honor her and prestigious grant from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The filmmakers expect to screen the film see her story told.” Howard’s not surprised Goldstein didn’t want the film in Omaha next spring.

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Part I: The Education of Shirley Goldstein Continued from previous page trinkets. “Shirley visited us in Leningrad several Because, he said, “indeed, these Soviet times and she was interested in seeing Jews, became our family. I’d sit at meetmore people, more refuseniks. And for a ings of the Union of Councils in foreigner in Russia it was not so easy to Washington, D.C., and marvel at the do,” Aba Taratuta said. “So we tried to truly diverse dozens of women and men gather as many people in our apartment who, for whatever personal reasons, simas possible. She was interested in every ply decided that they had to get involved one and taped the story of everyone and and became heroines and heroes of the smuggled the tapes out on her person. movement.” And it was really dangerous.” Most people watch history go by. In turn, Goldstein said Aba “was one of “Shirley and her colleagues simply the main figures in Leningrad. Gail and I decided, each on her/his own, that they were the first Americans to ever visit him, were going to shape history. The core but he was already well known in the group of activists, like Shirley, seemed to West.” She said he’d “have so many utilize every waking hour to create new activists come to his apartment...they ways of advocating on behalf of our crowded to get into the rooms. I kept friends trapped in the USSR and to keep coming back to hear their stories. I made their spirits up,” he said. To Russia with Love tapes.” By the time she made that ’73 UNO The couple were classic refusenikstrip to the USSR, accompanied by her turned-activists. Their situation symboldaughter Gail Raznick, she was well-read ized the problem, Goldstein said. on the Soviet Jewry issue. She’d been “They’d applied to emigrate and were briefed by Glenn Richter and other released from their jobs. They were wellUnion of Councils’ members and been Shirley meets Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem in 1980. educated people. Both spoke good Credit: Carol Gooter. English. He had been a professor. She given contact names. But her real education began abroad, meeting Russian Jews whose lives were filled with hardships in the totalitarian and anti-Semitic regime. She met them in their homes or in her hotel suites. She visited their synagogues and schools. Despite little hope for change, Soviet Jews yearned and struggled for freedom. That’s when it all hit home. That’s when the cause got in her blood. Until then, the problems faced by Soviet Jews were still abstract and far removed. “Then you meet people, like I did, who can’t get out and, well...Once I met this young family--Aba and Ida Taratuta--I became totally committed, not only to work for Soviet Jews but people in all the Iron Curtain countries.” In an interview she gave during the Refuseniks Lena, Boris and Gregory Zilber, 1987, a family Shirley 1973 trip to the USSR with her mother, Gail Goldstein Raznick, visits height of the movement, Goldstein helped get out of the USSR and emigrate to Israel. Right: During a a Russian cab driver who promised to take her to visit refuseniks. explained why she threw herself into the their lives sitting around waiting to get help,” Aba Taratuta said. “She was ready fray: “These people cannot speak out for out.” to do everything to help us. And from was a translator. He was reduced to being themselves, so other people must do it for She was also dismayed by the travel that visit there was just a constant contact a caretaker where they lived. She was them. I feel like what I am doing is some- strictures and identity tags foisted on between our families. She wrote a lot of doing some translating on the side. Their thing important. It’s hard for people in Jews. letters describing what she did to help us son was taunted at school. I think maybe the U.S. to grasp what all they have to Refuseniks she met expressed their and other refuseniks. She became very they were receiving some packages from the West and selling things on the black give up just for wanting to leave and how despair. Sensing she was someone they active in the struggle on our behalf.” market. Mail and phone service was commuch support they need just to survive. could trust to get the truth out, they conGoldstein came bearing gifts. Seeing all they endure makes you want to fided in her. The fact-finding and report“Shirley brought many items--books, promised. That’s the way it was.” Goldstein’s good friend, Miriam Simon help just one more case. You get hooked. ing she and others did there helped the records, tape recorders--that helped us in It’s like an addiction.” accompanied Shirley and her daughter on movement gain momentum. Through studying Hebrew or in supporting She and Buddy were also alarmed by networking and communication, the Free Zionist activities. The same with cameras, the ’73 trip. how the world kept relatively silent as the Soviet Jewry issue was kept alive. Simon well recalls what it was like as watches and jeans, which we sold. And repression went unchecked. It was an Shirley went off to attend “clandestine Getting information out meant taking every time she would bring something ugly reminder of what happened during risks. meetings late at night.” “She took a lot of personally for us, for our family,” Aba the Holocaust. risks. We didn’t know for sure, but we Taratuta said. “People didn’t speak out thought everything was bugged. We were Let My People Go producer Stephanie then about the oppresvery careful what we said to each sion,” he said. “Those other,” said Simon. were atrocities,” she interWhen Goldstein made later trips to jected. “Atrocities, yes, but the Soviet Union, Simon added, “We a lot of people felt anyalways worried if she would come thing could happen” in the back. They (Soviet authorities) got to Soviet Union. know her and didn’t like her.” “That’s right,” she “Shirley often did dangerous things,” added, “because people Aba Taratuta confirmed. “For examwere disappearing in ple, on her first visit to us, she and her Russia. They’d just be daughter Gail brought some very taken off the street...for important books and hid them in no reason. And we Gail’s boots. These visits were very thought if they can do important for us refuseniks. We felt, Left: Miriam Simon and Shirley Goldstein, representing the Omaha Committee for Soviet Jewry, present a poster to ‘We are not forgotten...there are peothat, they can do anyCatholic activist, Sister Anne Gillen, 1986; right: Shirley obtains a key to the city and an admiralty in the Nebraska thing.” ple who care and want to help.’ We felt Navy from Mayor Hal Daub and Gov. J.J. Exon to present to Natan Sharansky in 1986. Then there was the outIf we were known abroad, it was our rageous situation of a government holdbest defense from the Soviet government. Testing the Limits, Courting Danger Howard said Ida Taratuta recounted how ing hostage, in effect, some of its own Then they could not do with us what Just how far Goldstein was prepared to once Shirley “came with a suitcase full of people, preventing them from practicing go would be tested on that ’73 trip and embroidered towels, fine soaps and they wanted.” their professions and thus depriving the on later trips. Refuseniks Aba and Ida things, and Ida told her, ‘I can’t accept country of their talents--all as punish- Taratuta, whom she met in Leningrad, this,’ to which Shirley said, ‘But for a Next week, the series Cream of the ment for wanting to leave. Crop, One Woman’s Remarkable witnessed her resolve. She’d been given twist of fate, I could have been in your “I never understood why,” Shirley said. their names by Glenn Richter. They were place and you could have been in mine. Journey in the Free Soviet Jewry “The Soviets weren’t using them. It was- soon impressed by her sincerity and Wouldn’t you do the same for me?’ And Movement concludes with Part II: n’t as if the refuseniks kept their jobs and tenacity. Ida replied, ‘How can I argue with that? Activist, Humanitarian, Philanthropist, when we learn just how far Shirley were still vital to the economy. They “She was interested in our life, financial Of course’” weren’t. They lost their jobs. They were situation, the possibility to leave the But the little Jewish woman from Goldstein has gone for the cause of having a hard time. They were wasting country and what to do and how to Omaha came with an agenda far beyond human rights.

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UNMASKING UNRWA

Neutral Aides or Active Partisans? UNRWA Staff Comes in for Scrutiny by MICHAEL J. JORDAN deputy and who has now succeeded him. JTA that he meant Hamas sympathizers, not members. NEW YORK (JTA) -- There may be no greater test of Then there are instances of Palestinian violence that “Don’t judge people by what you think they may or the United Nations’ vaunted neutrality than to be a may not believe; judge them by what they do, in their target UNRWA itself. Palestinian staffer of the United Nations Relief and actions and in their behavior,” he told JTA. “And there Last August, three UNRWA staffers--two Europeans Works Agency in the Gaza Strip or West Bank. we get back to the very strict behavior code we have in and a Palestinian--were kidnapped in the Khan Younis UNRWA has 12,000-plus employees in those areas-- the agency for what staff members are to do and not to camp in Gaza by what UNRWA described as a “militant where it’s the second-largest employer after the do in their behavior.” group.” UNRWA protested, and the staffers were Palestinian Authority--and similar numbers in camps in Israel, however, says the question isn’t just staff mem- released later in the day, unharmed. Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In all, more than 99 percent bers’ political allegiances but, sometimes, their actions. On New Year’s Day 2006, Palestinians firebombed the of its staff members are Palestinian. In recent years, Israel has arrested dozens of UNRWA U.N. club in Gaza City, which flies the UNRWA flag No other U.N. agency boasts such an overwhelming staffers--31 from mid-2004 to mid-2005 alone, accord- and is said to be the only establishment in town that ratio of local to foreign field staff. And nine of 10 UNRWA ing to UNRWA--for alleged involvement in terrorism serves alcohol, drawing the ire of Islamic fundamentalemployees are themselves refugees, the agency says. and other activities. Most are released within days or ists. The club’s guard was tied up and beaten. UNRWA employees and their families in the weeks, without charges -but not all. UNRWA staffers who venture into the fray may risk Palestinian territories go through everything that socieNahed Attalah, an UNRWA official arrested by Israeli repercussions. ty at large endures, which during the intifada meant the forces in 2002, reportedly confessed to using his U.N. In April 2004, Israel’s assassination of Hamas leaders self-described “daily humiliations” of restricted move- travel permit and his UNRWA car to transport terrorists Sheik Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz Rantissi sparked an ment, material deprivation and Israeli anti-terrorist raids. to attack sites, and to entering Syria and Lebanon to outpouring of emotion among Palestinian refugees in Nevertheless, UNRWA employees must sign a code of arrange weapons purchases for terrorist groups. Lebanon. conduct that compels them to avoid actions that “may According to The Daily Star of Beirut, the UNRWA In August 2002, Israel arrested UNRWA ambulance adversely affect on their status, or on the integrity, inde- driver Nidal Abd Al Fatah Abdallah Nazal, whom offi- chief in Lebanon, Richard Cook, ordered his staff to go pendence and impartiality which are required by that cials later said confessed to being a Hamas member and into agency schools and tear down posters glorifying “marstatus.” using his ambulance to transport arms and messages to tyrdom.” Refugee leaders declared Cook persona non Realistically, though, some observers ask: Would it be Hamas activists. grata and reportedly barred him briefly from the camps. surprising if UNRWA employees were to loathe Israel “We have to take the safety of our staff into account,” In 2003, Israel convicted three staffers: A Hamas and embrace the Palestinian cause--and have it influence member got 32 months for having a machine gun and AbuZayd explained to the Report in her 2002 interview. their work? delivering chemicals to a bombmaker; an Islamic Jihad “If we were to ask our staff to do certain things, we realSome of UNRWA’s harsher critics speak as if the agency member received two and a half years for possessing ize that would get them into big trouble.” At the very least, the United States expects UNRWA were actively complicit in terrorism, but others say the sit- materials for possible use in explosives; and a third peruation isn’t black and white. With lawlessness, intimidation son was sentenced to seven and a half years for shooting to speak up. Washington is UNRWA’s largest donor, providing about 30 percent of the agency’s roughly and violence now widespread--UNRWA itself has relocat- a gun and firebombing an Israeli bus. ed some international staff from Gaza to Jerusalem-In May 2004, Israeli television showed gunmen piling $400 million budget in both 2004 and 2005. Section 301(c) of the 1961 U.S. Foreign Assistance Act Palestinian staff members may simply find it prudent to into an UNRWA ambulance. compels UNRWA to “take all possible measures to avert their eyes from the militancy around them. assure that no part of the United States contribution UNRWA officials note that the U.N. General shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who Assembly never gave the agency policing or intelliis receiving military training as a member of the sogence-gathering responsibilities in its camps. called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerrilMoreover, UNRWA officials say, it could be dangerla type organization or who has engaged in any act of ous to ask too many questions about what’s going on terrorism.” around them. That pressure to vet seems to make the UNRWA Yet staff certainly can make a difference, says Astrid hierarchy squirm. Van Genderen Stort, a spokeswoman for the U.N. In a November 2003 report, the U.S. General High Commission for Refugees, which takes care of Accounting Office noted that UNRWA balked at the the world’s 19 million non-Palestinian refugees. obligation to report what staff members see and hear, In some cases, Van Genderen Stort says, UNHCR “owing to concerns for its staff’s safety” and the teams with local military, police or foreign peacekeep“inability to verify beneficiary responses.” ers to look out for armed elements stirring up trouble. In other cases, camp residents have established The U.N.’s High Commission for Refugees, which has policies against UNRWA’s lawyers countered with a proposal that hiring the populations it serves, has a much lower staff-to-refugee ratio staffers not “knowingly” provide assistance to those something of a “nightwatch.” “It’s not that we have intelligence on the ground or than UNRWA, which hires primarily Palestinian staff. Source: AIPAC involved with terrorist activities--a standard that critics that they’re spying on their neighbors, but they know UNRWA officials say it’s unfair to tarnish an organiza- say sets the bar too high, allowing for plausible deniabiliwho’s in their community and they keep an eye out,” tion of thousands for the actions of a few. They also claim ty. But UNRWA’s request that Congress clarify the meansays Van Genderen Stort, who recently worked in the Israeli judicial system is biased, with UNRWA denied Liberia’s refugee camps. “We of course want to help access to both detainees and the evidence against them-- ing of “all possible measures” is a cop-out, said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who chairs the House Committee only those who are refugees and in need of help. We so they’re skeptical about staff arrests and convictions. don’t want to be an agency that helps rebels who go out Even a former Israeli diplomat chastises his govern- on International Relations’ at night and fight.” ment’s policy of claiming it has a smoking gun that Middle East and South Asia When it comes to UNRWA, at least some staffers seem proves UNRWA’s terrorist links, then withholding the subcommittee. to share their clients’ more extreme views. “The representatives of evidence on grounds of “national security.” That fuels The UNRWA teachers’ union, for example, reported- speculation that Israel doesn’t have the goods, the diplo- this U.N. agency will argue ly is dominated by members affiliated with Hamas, list- mat said. that they cannot account for ed as a terrorist organization in much of the West. “When the U.N. asks for proof and Israel says it’s clas- their employees’ activities Observers have cited numerous instances where suicide sified, to me, that’s like not having any evidence at all,” given the large number of bombers and other terrorists were glorified in UNRWA the official, who requested anonymity, told JTA. Palestinians on their payschools, whether through graffiti on school walls or The most notorious instance occurred in early rolls,” Ros-Lehtinen told posters in the classrooms. October 2004, when Israel announced it had footage of JTA. “If they are not exertIn one incident, Hamas convened a July 2001 confer- a Kassam rocket being loaded into an UNRWA ambu- ing oversight over what is ence in an UNRWA junior high school in Gaza’s Jabalya lance. UNRWA asserted that the object in question was taking place in the institurefugee camp. tions run by their agency, Rep. Rep. Ileana Rosa rolled-up stretcher. “The road to Palestine passes through the blood of the After further scrutiny, Israel conceded it had blun- then the U.S. must exert Lehtinen (R-FL) on a fallen, and these fallen have written history with parts of dered: It was indeed a stretcher. But the incident reflect- strict oversight over its con- February 2003 visit to Israel. Credit: Office their flesh and their bodies,” one UNRWA teacher, ed how, after years of tension with UNRWA, Israel was tributions to this agency.” of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Saheil Alhinadi, said in praise of “martyrdom,” a euphe- inclined to believe the worst about the agency. UNRWA camps also have mism for suicide terrorism. Even UNRWA leaders, however, admit their camps are seen a slew of “workplace accidents,” a euphemism for The former UNRWA bombs that explode prematurely as terrorists prepare them. heavily militarized. chief, Peter Hansen, got into “We talked to UNRWA about it, that if it happens “Of course I don’t condone it, but it’s a fact of life,” hot water in October 2004 Hansen said of the presence of heavily armed militants at an that’s prima facie evidence the person was a terrorist,” a when he told Canadian teleagency function, according to The Associated Press. “Look State Department official told JTA. “But UNRWA’s vision, “I’m sure there are lawyer says, ‘Well, not really. It’s not a terrorist act simaround the camp. We can’t stop it: We don’t have guns.” Hamas members on the As Hansen later confided to the Danish paper ply to make a bomb.’ “ UNRWA payroll, and I “We say that’s really getting into the weeds legally,” Politiken, “Who in this camp dares to speak up against the official continued. “We don’t know what other purdon’t see that as a crime. an armed man?” Though U.N. resolutions require armed elements to poses they would be constructing a bomb for, and they Hamas as a political organisteer clear of refugee camps, Karen Koning AbuZayd fall into our definition for what ought to be excluded. zation does not mean that conceded, in an August 2002 Jerusalem Report, that UNRWA agreed in the end, and one reason they did, every member is a militant, expelling gunmen from the camps would be “difficult in frankly, is we’re the biggest donors and they don’t want and we do not do political to get into a spat with us.” this region.” vetting and exclude people Part III: Refugee Head Faces Greatest Test, and a In Gaza and the West Bank, everything is “upside from one persuasion as Peter Hansen, then-commisagainst another.” sioner-general of UNRWA, in down. The refugees are the armed elements,” said short sidebar on the history of UNWRA will be in next Hansen later explained to 2004. Credit: UNRWA AbuZayd, who at the time of the interview was Hansen’s week’s Jewish Press.

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Worlds Collide Sometimes the stars and planets align themselves perfectly and an issue of the Jewish Peess appears with related--yet unplanned--stories. This is such an issue. Several months ago, we hired one of our award-winning freelance writers, Leo Adam Biga, to write a magazine length profile of Soviet Jewry activist and humanitarian Shirley Goldstein. He eagerly agreed. Because the two issues prior to the Passover issue are usually large due to the number of food ads, we penciled in the lengthy two-part feature for March 24 and 31. Little did we know then that we’d be running several other stories that relate, in a cruel sort of way. While Biga’s story about Goldstein is a profound look at the transformation of a “regular housewife”, as she called herself, into a sophisticated activist for human rights--two other stories in this week’s Jewish Press tell a different story. In Part II of the JTA series, “Unmasking UNWRA,” we learn of the relief agency’s use of members of Hamas and Palestinian terror groups as local staff in Gaza and the West Bank. Though the former director, Peter Hansen, who made no secret of his dislike of Israelis, has been replaced, it remains to be seen if this supposed “humanitarian” agency can truly fulfill its mission. After all, while the United Nations saw fit to keep Palestinians in “refugee” camps for close to 60 years, an equal number of Jews from Arab lands were resettled in Israel, the United States, Europe and Australia during that same time period. Readers also will find a story about last week’s rally in front of the UN by more than 150 rabbis from all four major denominations protesting the continuing genocide in Darfur. Though the violence among tribes has been ongoing for more than three decades, Jewish leaders are saying, “Enough is enough.” They are in the forefront of a movement to stop the killings, punish the perpetrators and attempt

to restore order to a part of the world in which no one seems interested. And that, dear readers, is the theme that connects these three stories: Apathy. Goldstein--perhaps in reaction to the world’s indifference to the six million Jews and five million mentally and phsyically challenged, the Gypsies, political dissidents, and others who were systematically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators--reacted almost with a gut instinct in trying to help refuseniks under Soviet domination. She was anything but apathetic and proved that one person not only can make a difference, but involve others in her cause. Goldstein still has, in her massive pile of documents, letters and photos, an original copy of Look magainze with the memorable photo of Premier Nikita Krushchev banging his shoe on the podium at the United Nations, shouting “We will bury you!” The USSR is no more today--and some say it was people like Goldstein and their dogged persistence on behalf of Soviet Jews--who helped bring it down. Which brings us, sadly, to the UN. This once venerable institution has been so weakened by cronyism, the Oil for Food the scandal, presistant antiIsrael resolutions, the promotion of representatives of fascist governments to sit on such committees as the Human Rights Commission,

and the lack of response to genuine crises--like Darfur--that it almost seems beyond reform. Jonathan Tobin, in his editorial on the opposite page--actually calls for the United States to withdraw its financial support from the UN’s Relief Works Agency. “Sadly, it may take another Palestinian terror offensive--in which UNRWA camps will again serve as bases for suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians--to remind the world of the ‘humanitarian’ fraud it’s been subsidizing,” he writes. And that brings us to what’s happening in the Sudan. The UN can prove that it’s still the “peacemaker” of the world, while regaining some of its lost prestige, by reacting not with apathy, but with a strong military force that will protect the vulnerable in Darfur. It may take more than a rally or a letter-writing campaign, but to sit back and do nothing is no longer acceptable. If we as Jews have learned anything from our history it’s that injustice is intolerable.

Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

Take a Deep Breath Here

FOCUS ON ISSUES by THOMAS NEUMANN Remember the Jenin Massacre? Jeningrad-you know--where, in 2002, the Israel Defense Force killed more than 500 defenseless Palestinians, mainly women and children? How could you forget? All the important newspapers ran headlines about mass graves and carpet-bombing; Jenin was destroyed. A reporter on a reputable American paper called Jenin a “bone yard,” and a British reporter wrote, “Rarely, in more than a decade of war reporting from Bosnia, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, have I seen such deliberate destruction, such disrespect for human life.” Oh, no--wait. The subsequent United Nations investigation (hardly Israel’s friend in this) discovered that, in fact, 56 Palestinians, mainly men between 20 and 45, died in battles that claimed 23 IDF soldiers--13 of whom were lured into a booby trap by a little boy. So, after the bombing of an important Shiite mosque in Iraq last month, it was not surprising that violence convulsed the country from the Kurdish areas of the north to Basra in the south; 1,300 people were killed (said the Washington Post); and hundreds of mosques were burned to the ground in what the cognoscenti called the beginning of Iraq’s civil war. Immediately thereupon, a Washington Post-ABC News poll asked Americans whether they believed civil war was likely in Iraq (80 percent said yes). Oh, no--wait, again. In fact, after the mosque bombing, sporadic violence flared mainly in Baghdad and Basra. Some 300 peo-

ple were killed (according to Knight Ridder newspapers). Fewer than 25 mosques were attacked; six suffered significant damage. City government councils in Baghdad and Basra and key Shiite leaders, including Muqtada Sadr, called for calm. Dozens of peaceful demonstrations occurred around the country--only three of which apparently became violent. Iraq’s political leaders dispatched Iraqi police and security forces to the streets. And, most amazingly, the Iraqis handled the violence and did not split along sectarian lines or join the troublemakers.

“... I’m looking for the civil war that ‘The New York Times’ declared. And I just can’t find it. Maybe actually being on the ground in Iraq prevents me from seeing it. Perhaps the view’s clearer from Manhattan...” Syndicated columnist Ralph Peters wrote from Baghdad: “I’m trying. I’ve been trying all week. The other day, I drove another 30 miles or so on the streets and alleys of Baghdad. I’m looking for the civil war that The New York Times declared. And I just can’t find it. Maybe actually being on the ground in Iraq prevents me from seeing it. Perhaps the view’s clearer from Manhattan... Instead of a civil war, something very different happened because of the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. The fanatic attempt to stir up Sunni-vs.-Shia strife, and the

(Founded in 1920) Joanie Jacobson Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Terri Greenwood Advertising Executive Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Jewish Press Committee Howard K. Marcus, Vice-Chairman; Bobbi Leibowitz, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Finance Chairman; Fred Tichauer, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Jamie Meyerson; Stanley Mitchell; George Quittner; Linda Saltzman; Joe Shyken; Michael Siegal; Nancy Skid; Dorothy Spizman; and Melany Weinstine. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation.

subsequent spate of violent attacks, caused popular support for the U.S. presence to spike upward.” This is not to minimize the precipice upon which Iraqi society stands, nor the potential for continued murder and mayhem. The outcome of the experiment in civil-society-building remains unclear, although it is clear that most of the violence was of the bomb-throwing-in-the-marketplace variety, a sure sign of the weakness of the insurgents, not their strength. It is to suggest that both American politicians and consumers of 24-hour news channels take a deep breath before making policy or answering polls respectively. Tom Neumann is the Executive Director of JINSA, The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. He can be reached at: www.jinsa.org.

LETTER TO THE

EDITOR

To the Editor: Last month, the Jewish Press honored me by printing an article about me, “Legacy of Giving Finds a Perfect Fit.” I am humbled and proud to be chosen to have my life’s work presented this way to the readers of the Press. Thanks to Leo Adam Biga for the beautiful words, the in-depth record of my life as well as the accolades. I am truly blessed with a magnificent family that shares my commitment to helping others. Louise Abrahamson

Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, noon, eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $36 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE or e-mail to: 68154-2198 jpress@jewishomaha. org.

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March 24, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 21

Pull the Plug on UNRWA!

Halting Aid to the P.A. Means Nothing if Funds Shift to the ‘Humanitarian’ Front of Israel’s independence), UNRWA’s primary mission has never been to help the Palestinians deal with the reality of the post-1948 world. Resettling the Palestinians wasn’t the point. UNRWA exists to keep the Palestinians alive exactly where they are, so they can serve as justification for continued conflict with Israel. by JONATHAN S. TOBIN A Terror Stronghold detailed in a new JTA series of reports on the topic, As The current debate over a cutoff of UNRWA’s record is one of complicity not only with the aid to the Palestinian Authority is a classic case of good ends of the Palestinian movement, but with its political news and bad news coming together in the same package. violent tactics as well. The good news is that the United States appears to be Many of UNRWA’s employees are members not only holding firm on its refusal to keep money flowing to the of mainstream Palestinian terror factions such as Fatah, P.A. once the recently elected Hamas terrorists are in of the Islamist Hamas group as well. UNRWA sufbut charge. fered a major embarrassment when its former many Though director, the Norwegian bureaucrat Peter UNRWA employees have used thought Washington Hansen, admitted as much two years ago, saywould quickly fold on its facilities to shield terrorists ing it was no big deal. Indeed, in the recent this issue, the adminisfrom Israel, and even used its Palestinian election, a number of UNRWA tration is sticking to its ambulances to transport both the workers were Hamas parliamentary candidates. hard line against sendOf course, why should Hansen--who helped ing a cent to Hamas. killers and the weapons. spread the lie that Israeli forces had committed And Congress is massacre of civilians in the Jenin refugee camp in a poised to enact aid restrictions that may act as a break on 2002--worry about terrorist infiltration? any State Department impulse to weaken on the issue. The man lied not only about the casualties of Jenin, in But along with this comes the bad news. The United which Hamas and Fatah gunmen fought pitched battles States and the European Union (which is also considering Israelis who were seeking to destroy terror bases against an aid cutoff to the P.A.) will be diverting a lot of the Palestinian suicide bombings, but also told tales after money that supported the P.A. kleptocracy to humanitarian about the fact that this and other UNRWA camps were, aid. That way, it is reasoned, innocent Palestinians won’t be in fact, longstanding U.N.-subsidized strongholds of forced to suffer from the crimes of their new masters. Palestinian terror groups. That rationale sounds compassionate and logical. The Hansen and UNRWA have used the prestige of their only problem is that the humanitarian group that will “humanitarian” perch to routinely bash Israel for its receive the lion’s share of the aid is one of the most thorattacks on the camps, but almost never mention the fact oughly politicized and terrorist-infiltrated organizations in that Israel is reacting to Palestinian terror. But again, this the world: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. because the U.N. has always turned a blind eye to the is For 56 years, UNRWA has been the symbol of the fact that the camps under its jurisdiction were the places world’s double standard about the war on Israel by the where terrorist atrocities are planned and launched. Arab world. UNRWA employees have used its facilities to shield While the United Nations deals with the rest of the terrorists from Israel, and even used its ambulances to world’s refugees with a single agency--the U.N. High transport both the killers and the weapons. Hamas also Commission for Refugees--the Palestinian refugees have operates its new television station from the relative safetheir very own agency--UNRWA--with a particular mission. ty of a mosque in the UNRWA Jabalya camp. Unfortunately, unlike virtually every other refugee aid And if nothing else serves to alert the world to the group (including those that dealt with the hundreds of reality of the UNRWA camps, the steady toll of thousands of Jews who fled Arab lands in the aftermath

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

Palestinian casualties from “work accidents”--mishaps with explosives during the manufacture of terrorist bombs--at these places ought to pierce the illusions of even the most gullible foreign observers. Complete Overhaul Needed What should the United States do about this? Let’s start with the fact that the plentiful cash that flows from the United States Treasury to UNRWA (30 percent of the agency’s $400 million budget comes courtesy of American taxpayers) is actually a violation of U.S. law. The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act requires UNRWA to assure that American money does not go to terrorists. That is an assurance that UNRWA cannot credibly give. Superficial reforms of the group won’t work. Given the almost complete infiltration of UNRWA’s bureaucracy by terrorist supporters, nothing short of a complete overhaul will do. Can the plug be pulled on UNRWA? Given the current pressure on the Bush administration to mend fences with the Arab world, it’s unlikely. But if this cause gets a bipartisan push from Congress, it might help the White House focus on the way the agency is spending our money on reinforcing terrorist strongholds. Congress must follow up its legislation on aid to the P.A. with further hearings and action to halt subsidies to UNRWA. Sadly, it may take another Palestinian terror offensive -in which UNRWA camps will again serve as bases for suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians--to remind the world of the “humanitarian” fraud it’s been subsidizing. Even then, the Palestinian propaganda machine, of which UNRWA is an integral part, will do its utmost to prevent the truth from being heard. But Americans have no excuse for continuing to be complicit in this deception. We--the funders of this halfcentury-old U.N. fiasco--must face up to the fact that this monster must be decapitated, and then rebuilt as a genuine humanitarian group. That may seem like an impossible task. But if the pain and grief that UNRWA helps inflict on the region is to be stopped, both the White House and Congress must stop buying into the myth of UNRWA’s lies. Jonathan S. Tobin is Executive Editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. He can be reached via email at jtobin@jewishexponent.com.

Formerly Loyal to Ariel Sharon, Russian Vote is Now Up for Grabs

BEHIND THE HEADLINES by DINA KRAFT JERUSALEM (JTA)--Rows of posters of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stare down at a group of Russian immigrant voters gathered in the cramped front room of the Kadima Party’s Jerusalem headquarters. Casting glances at Sharon’s image, the immigrants take turns firing off questions to Kadima candidates on healthcare, housing, and Hamas. Zhanna Nosiakov, 27, who emigrated from Moscow in 1991 listens to the politicians but leaves as undecided as when she arrived. “It all just seems like talk. We’ve seen other elections and see that nothing ever changes,” said Nosiakov, who works as a secretary. She says there is a similar lack of enthusiasm among her Russian-speaking friends and colleagues. Before Sharon--whom she calls a “a father figure”--fell into a coma, Nosiakov’s vote was safe with his new party, Kadima. Now, like many of her counterparts, she is uncertain. Kadima’s support among the Russian speaking community has been steadily slipping since Sharon became incapacitated by a stroke in January. Israel’s political parties are in the midst of a battle for the votes of the Russian-speaking community that arrived since 1989. They represent some 720,000 votes, a large chunk of the diverse Israeli electorate, which heads to the polls on Tuesday. “This is what has been going on since

1992. Israeli society is split almost equally on economy and class issues, and so the Russian vote is a decisive vote,” said Ze’ev Khanin, who lectures on political science at Bar-Ilan University. During their years in Israel, the community has begun to vote less as a bloc. As a whole, its members tend to be predominately right and center in their political views, but the younger generation is beginning to vote along similar lines to the general Israeli population. Furthermore, the community is a diverse group, coming from different educational and economic backgrounds. Geographically, their homes span the entire former Soviet Union, from small towns in Ukraine and mountain villages in the Caucusus to major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. “It is not a united community,” said Sergei Podrazhansky, the editor of Vesti, a large Russian daily newspaper in Israel. According to a new survey by Mutagim, a major Israeli polling company, the Russian vote will fall this way: Yisrael Beitenu--29 percent; Kadima--18 percent; Likud--13 percent; Labor--less than 1 percent. The remaining vote went to other parties or was undecided. One issue that does appear to bind Russians is their desire for a strong leader. Feeling adrift without Sharon and spooked by the rise of Hamas, many are turning to Yisrael Beitenu, a hawkish party with an immigrant rights focus led by Avigdor Lieberman, who emigrated in 1978 from Moldova. Lieberman’s party, which has been gaining steadily in the polls in recent weeks, may be the surprise success story of the election. According to recent surveys, the

party could take as many as 10 seats. Russian-speaking voters appear to be drawn to Lieberman’s tough-talking approach to the conflict with the Palestinians and marketing that portrays him as focused. Lieberman’s platform is considered controversial. One of his main proposals has been to redraw Israel’s borders to

Posters of Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert are displayed as prospective Russian voters take part in a political meeting at Kadima’s Jerusalem office last month. Credit: Brian Hendler/JTA include large Jewish settlements in the West Bank and exclude large Arab Israeli populations. Some 90 percent of those supporting Lieberman’s party are Russian speakers, said Eliezer Feldman, who oversees surveys of the community for the Israeli polling company Mutagim. Feldman says that when Russian speakers first began voting in Israel, absorption issues were the most pressing issue for them. About 40 percent of them voted for Natan Sharansky’s immigrant-rights party, Yisrael B’Aliyah in 1996. Now,

they are focused on security issues. The Kadima Party is trying to woo the Russian-speaking vote through its six Russian-speaking candidates, who were presented in ads as the “commando force” of the community. Marina Slodkin, the deputy minister of absorption, was made No. 6 on the list. At the recent Kadima meeting with Russian voters, Slodkin, formerly of Yisrael B’Aliyah, tried to convince the attendees that their interests would best be represented by having so many of their own within the party most likely to be in power. “Being part of the party in power, I can still care for the immigrant voice but this way I have the tools to make things happen,’’ said Slodkin, a former professor of economics who emigrated from Moscow 15 years ago. The Labor Party, meanwhile, led by former trade union leader Amir Peretz, has virtually no support among the Russian speakers. Jokingly they say that with his mustache, he looks too much like Stalin. Other points against him are that he has no higher education and that he ran the Histadrut, the umbrella union organization which reminds them of communism. Likud, meanwhile is gaining momentum in the community. Likud campaign volunteers are going to Russian-speaking areas, trying to appeal to the Russians as a smart, thinking community that when considering the security situation, will want Netanyahu as their leader. Netanyahu cut back social spending during his term as finance minister and now will have to work hard to erase his negative image among many in the community.

Page 22

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006

Candlelighting Friday, March 24, 6:23 p.m.

Synagogue Listings

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

B’nai Israel Synagogue

FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org

Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.org

Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org

Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org

The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609

Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethlincoln.org

If you’re looking at this space, so are others! YOUR AD CAN GO HERE...

to reserve space, call

Allan Handleman, 334.6451, or Terri Greenwood, 334.6559.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m., in the chapel; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. dinner following, open to the community. SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. Men’s Club will lead services; former Beth El president and current USCJ International President Ray Goldstein will be honored; Junior Congregation (37), 10 a.m.; K’tantan (K-2), 10:45 a.m.; Evening Service, 6:30 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Weekdays, 6:55 a.m./5:30 p.m. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAY, 10 a.m.: Bible Discussion Group, Living Hebrew, and The Blessing of Good Parenting, (babysitting is available); Nashir Choir, 10-11 a.m.; Jewish Pot Pourri Class, Adult Torah Trope Class and From Your Heart to God’s Ears, 11 a.m. THURSDAYS, noon: Rabbi Levin leads Discovering the Talmud: Lessons for Everyday Living. PATTER: Wednesdays, 10:30 -11:45 a.m., for parents and toddlers, 18 months to age three. BAD BOYS OF THE BIBLE: Wednesdays, March 29, 7-8 p.m. Cost is $18; RSVP to Margie Gutnik in the office. BESTT THIRD GRADE CONSECRATION: Sunday March 26, 11:15 a.m. BESTT WORKSHOP: Session addresses atypical classroom behaviors, on March 26, 12:45 p.m. facilitated by Aveva Shukert. To register, contact Education Director Judy Rubin. HAZAK DELI NIGHT: Sunday, March 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. For information, contact Gloria Goodman at 333.3351. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m. at the synagogue. For reservations, contact Margo Riekes at 333.8498 or mriekes@bbbnebraska.org.

conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Bar Mitzvah of David Potash, son of Bruce and Linda Potash; Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush sponsored by Beth Tibor and Erika Newmann in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson; Mincha, 6:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:24 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m.; Keeping your Kitchen Kosher class, 3 p.m. at the community mikvah in the Blumkin Home. Meet at the front entrance of the Blumkin Home; Contact the office for Mincha/ Ma’ariv time. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m; Contact the office for Mincha/Ma’ariv time. MONDAY: Keeping Your Kitchen Kosher class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel. THURSDAY: Advanced Parsha class, 9 p.m.

BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.; Ima & Me, 10–11:30 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Services, 8:30 a.m.; Torah Studies, 10-11:30 a.m. The Exodus Series; Chabad Cheder and Aleph Champ, 10 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: HALACHA, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Women of Worth Prayer Circle, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m.; Torah Tots (ages 35), 4:15 p.m. For information or to register for classes, call the office or visit: www.nebraska-judaism.com.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN

Office Hours: MondayThursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services

Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening

Service, 7:45 p.m., led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg provided by Elaine and Ben Gelber. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: Gan Simcha, grades K, and 4-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon, at Tifereth Israel; grades 1-3 and Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at B’nai Jeshurun; Lincoln Jewish Community School Board Meeting, 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew class (grades 2-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Services, 6 p.m., led by Nancy Rips and Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m.; Rabbi Craig Marantz and Cantor Wendy Shermet will officiate. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; Religious School (K-6), 10 a.m.-noon. TUESDAY, March 28: Family School and Dinner, 5:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, March 29: Religious School (3-6), 4 p.m.; Scrapbook Club, 5:30 p.m.; Informal Dinner, 6 p.m.; Middle/High School (7-12), 6:30 p.m. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAY, March 26, 10 a.m. Beyond Matzah: A Mini University About Passover in Temple Israel’s Milder Center. A class on preparing for Passover with Rabbi Marantz, Stephanie Grossman, and Cantor Shermet. They will focus on Temple’s new Haggadah, The Open Door: A Passover Haggadah, and the practicalities of the Seder table and the spirituality of preparing the Pesach meal.

Grade Two Seder, honoring the “Very Special People in Our Lives,” 10:30 a.m.-noon. At 2 p.m., join us for Jewish Book Talk at Council Bluffs Public Library. 1185 Park Avenue: A Memoir by Anne Roiphe is the third selection in the Jewish Literature Book Discuss-ion Group in partnership with the Council Bluffs Public Library. Register at: lfriesner@cbpl.lib.ia. us or call 712.323.7553, ext. 132. THURSDAY, March 30: Adult Study with the Clergy with Rabbi Marantz, 10-11:30 a.m. along with Margot Leverett. WEDNESDAY, March 29, 6:30-7:30 p.m.: Klezmer Jam, Grades 6-12. (See full article on page 3.) CONGREGATIONAL SEDER Second Night, Thursday, April 13, 6 p.m. A traditional seder meal and a vegetarian option will be served. Adults, $19; Children in sixth grade and younger, $8; children two years old and younger, no charge. Call 556.6536 to make reservations by Friday, April 7. Reservations open for non-members Friday, April 7-Tuesday, April 11.

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 6:15 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY & THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Parashat Hashavu’a class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m., followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. SUNDAY: Gan Simcha, grades K, and 4-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon, at Tifereth Israel; grades 1-3 and Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at B’nai Jeshurun. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, at 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066. WEDNESDAY: No Hebrew classes this week. ADULT EDUCATION Monday and Thursday evenings, 7-9 p.m, and Thursdays, noon-2 p.m Friday, March 31: The last Friday of the month we will have services at 6:30 p.m., with a Shabbat dinner following.

Enrich Your Seder through Beth El’s Upcoming Passover Class by Jill Belmont Beth El Publicity Coordinator Whether this year’s Passover seder will be your first or your 61st, you’re sure to get some valuable holiday tips from Beth El’s Rabbi Mordechai Levin during his upcoming class, “How to Enrich Your Pesach Seder.” The class at the synagogue, will be offered twice: on Sunday, April 2, 10-11 a.m., and again on Thursday, April 6, noon. “More American Jews take part in a Seder than in practically any other religious ritual, but how many of those seder-goers spend time preparing themselves for the holiday?” Rabbi Levin asked. “If you want a better grasp of what it’s all about and would like to feel more comfortable participating, this is a perfect class

for you. “We’ll discuss the logic of the seder, read parts of the Haggadah and explore its themes and deeper meaning,” he explained, adding that “the class is for Jews who would like to learn more about Judaism or refresh their knowledge, as well as interfaith couples who would like to explore Jewish options for their family. I encourage all attendees to bring questions for discussion.” While Pesach celebrates the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian bondage, Rabbi Levin noted that the holiday “also offers an equally good opportunity for people to take a look at what enslaves them personally, to free themselves from that slavery, and to look at what enslaves others, such as poverty, discrimina-

tion--and work to liberate them.” “How to Enrich Your Pesach Seder” is open to the community, free of charge. To register, contact Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or via e-mail at programming@bethel-omaha.org.

Jewish Heritage for the Blind Offers Free Hagaddah This year, the Passover Seders will be celebrated on April 12 and 13. If you are expecting guests who are seniors or visually impaired, you many obtain a Braille or large print Haggadah free of charge by contacting the Jewish Heritage for the Blind at 800.995.1888; or fax 718.388.0653; or e-mail to jhb.ny@verizon.net.

March 24, 2006

Snow in the Spring

DEATHS EVE C. BERNSTEIN Eve C. Bernstein died at the age of 98 on March 3 at the Rose Blumkin Home, following a stroke. Services were held March 6 at Beth El Cemetery. She lived in Corpus Christi, TX, for more than 20 years before returning to Omaha. At Remington Heights, she managed the residents convenience store one day a week and was the volunteer bookkeeper. Bernstein was active in the Red Cross, Hadassah and Temple Israel. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Bernstein. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Martin and Martha Bernstein of Troy, MI, and daughter and son-in-law, Lois and Sol Friedman; five grandchildren, Michael and Jennifer Bernstein of Troy, MI, Steve Friedman and Douglas Friedman, Rob and Kelly Friedman of Dallas, TX, and Nancy Friedman and Stuart Rakley of New York City; three great-grandchildren. Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or Hospice Service of Visiting Nurses Association. CHARLOTTE KITNER Former Omahan Charlotte Kitner died March 14 at the age of 81 in Hallandale, FL. Services took place there. She is survived by her husband, Murray Kitner of Hallandale; children, Naomi, Michael and Helen, and Bart and Bonnie; grandchildren, Erica, Ryan, Nikki, Mariah and Portia. Memorials to JAFCO (Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options), 954.749.7230, or the Lillian and Jacob Brookstein Foundation, c/o the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. JEANNE GLAZER DVORKIN Jeanne Glazer Dvorkin died March 21 at age of 94. Services were held at Temple Israel on March 22 with interment at Temple Israel Cemetery. She is survived by husband of 67 years, David Dvorkin; and daughters and sons-in-law, Marilyn and Marty Warren of Chesterfield, MO, and Lois and Mel Epstein; grandchildren, Marc Warren and Barbara Benenson of New York City, Mitchell Warren and Alice Kriz of Nyack, NY, Randi and Michael Poscover of Chesterfield, MO, Robyn and Will Wolper of Cedar Rapids, IA, and Rikki and Alon Mor of Aurora, CO; 11 great-grandchildren; sister, Mollye Rimmerman; sisterin-law, Eve Lasensky of Beverly Hills, CA; and brotherin-law and sister-in-law, Nate and Ruby Dvorkin of Sioux City, IA. Memorials to Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or Temple Israel’s Caring Committee.

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat VaYakhel-Pekudei If Omahans were surprised to find that the only real snow of winter 2006 came when winter was over, they are no less surprised by the fact that we jumped the gun and named the double parasha VaYakhel-Pekudei for last week’s Torah reading. It should have been this week’s. I am nonplussed. I do not know how to interpret the fact that no one among all these pious and bright people called my mistake to my attention. It means either that you, my vast readership, has implicit faith in me, or it means that my vast readership does not exist. At any rate, Shabbat this week will close the Book of Exodus in the cycle of Torah readings, with the two Sidrot VaYakhel and Pekudei. Furthermore, it will be the third of the four special Shabbatot before Pesach, Passover, namely Shabbat HaHodesh, the Sabbath preceding the new moon of Nisan, in which Passover occurs. I have been writing this column since about 1980, an so far as I can recollect, this is the first time that I have made so egregious an error. My rabbi friends, who certainly caught the error if they read this part of the Jewish Press, were kind enough to refrain from pointing out the mistake. I repeat, “If they read this column in the Press.” It isn’t so surprising however; I made a mistake once before. I think it was in 1962, before this column was born, indeed, before I set foot in Omaha. And the good people of New London, CT, did not call it to my attention. Nor have I any idea, at this point, what the error was. I will remember, as Yom Kippur approaches in the fall to beg forgiveness.

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HUC Commemorates Fallen in Iraq

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Students, alumni and faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion sing March 20, during a memorial ceremony in New York commemorating coalition troops and Iraqi civilians killed during the war in Iraq.The service, which included reading the names of more than 5,000 wartime casualties, marked the third anniversary of fighting in Iraq. Among the roughly two dozen participants was Sharon Kunitz, a secondyear cantorial student whose 20-year-old son, Brian Parker, is serving as a Marine in Fallujah. Kunitz expressed conflicted feelings on the country’s continued role in Iraq. “I’ve never supported the war,” the Huntsville, AL, native said. “But supporting our troops and being in support of the war are two completely different things.” “I’m incredibly proud of him for his decision to serve his country,” she continued. “I hope he feels he’s doing good work there and that he’s there for a reason.” Credit: HUC

B’nai Israel welcomed local television personality Mike Sigmond to the synagogue in Council Bluffs earlier this month. He discussed issues of concern to Jewish consumers--kosher meat, organic vegetables and labels on packaged food. While explaining these matters, he also informed the group about warranties, consumer protection and identity theft. The next presentation of the SecondFriday-of-the-Month Series will be Barry Rubin, Executive Director of the Nebraska State Democratic Party, who will speak on “Democratic Politics: a Jewish Perspective” on Friday, April 14, 7:30 p.m., during services. An Oneg Shabbat will follow and the community is invited. To Submit an Obituary Notice: Send full name, age, date of death, location of service and burial site, as well as other pertinent information to the Jewish Press via e-mail: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; fax, 402.334.5422; or mail, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68114. Obituaries--as well as engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies, and births--also can be submitted at the Federation’s website. Just go to: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press and click on “Submit Announcements.”

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 24, 2006