March 25, 2016

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

Amernet Quartet performs at JCC

March 25, 2016 15 Adar II 5776 Vol. 96 | No. 28

This Week

by OZZIE NOGG April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Jewish Family Service will again join Prevent Child Abuse Nebraska’s Pinwheels for Prevention® campaign to promote healthy child development and positive parenting. “Even if abuse doesn’t affect you directly, everyone can take steps to build a more

Building relationships Page 2

Kids Campaign Purim Carnival Pages 6 & 7

The Amernet String Quartet: Jason Calloway, cello, left; Misha Vitenson, violin; Michael Klotz, viola; Tomas Cotik, violin.

Credit: So-Min Kang Photography

by DIANE AXLER-BAUM afterward will be free, and open to the enfor Omaha Chamber Music Society tire Omaha community, thanks to generous For its fifth annual concert at the JCC, support from the Sokolof Javitch Music Sunday, April 10, at 7 p.m., the Omaha Fund. Based on the past four years, a standChamber Music Society will present the ing-room-only audience is expected.

Amernet String Quartet, Ensemble-in-ResA “sneak preview” will take place on idence at Florida International University, April 10, from 11:30 a.m. to noon, in Temwhose repertoire includes works by com- ple Israel’s Community Court. The preview posers who were silenced or ignored be- event, also made possible by the Sokolof cause they were Jewish or of Jewish descent. Javitch Music Fund, will highlight passages Titled Heritage: Chamber Music from from the concert enhanced by remarks by Prague to Terezín, the concert and reception Continued on page 2

Open pulpit: Overcoming the challenge of our time Page 12

Rocky Mountain Jewgrass

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Month The Food Issue See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

JFS plants pinwheels against child abuse

9 10 11

Rocky Mountain Jewgrass are Eric Roberts, left, Saul Rosenthal, Gail deVore and Ben Cohen

by LINDA POLLARD ily Legacy of Laughter Endowment, diences. Former Omahan Saul Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation will be held on Sunday, April 3, at Rosenthal, founder and lead vocalist Rocky Mountain Jewgrass is coming 1:30 p.m., in the Jewish Community of the group, said, “Our shows are to Omaha. The Jewgrass concert, part Center Auditorium. Rocky Mountain very family-friendly. To truly appreof the Joy of Laughter Live Comedy Jewgrass will deliver a family-friendly ciate our humorous lyrics, I think Series sponsored by the Meyers Fam- concert for the entire community. A you would need to be about 10 years reception with light refreshments will old.” He went on to say that his 10follow the performance. year-old grandson laughs at their Rocky Mountain Jewgrass, a four- songs, while his 3-year-old grandmember group from Denver, brings daughter does not. “Little kids often their unique style of music to Omaha dance at our shows, which is perfor the second concert in the Joy of fectly fine,” Rosenthal concluded.

Saul Rosenthal composes all the Laughter comedy series. Jewgrass is a mixture of bluegrass instrumentals, music for their original songs and Jewish-content lyrics, and a healthy usually writes all the lyrics, while dose of irreverence. The results are other band members often help. The great music, witty lyrics and an enter- other members of the band are Ben taining afternoon suitable for all au- Continued on page 3

positive environment for our children,” said Teresa Drelicharz, MS and registered play therapist at Jewish Family Service. “We’ll be planting our Pinwheel Garden on the Jewish Community Center front lawn on Sunday, April 3, at 1 p.m. and invite the community to join us.”

The most recently available statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimate that in 2014, 702,000 children in the nation were victims of abuse and neglect. The majority of victims consisted of three races or ethnicities: white, 44.0%; Hispanic, 22.7%; African-American, 21.4%. The report, Child Maltreatment 2014, was published in January of 2016. “Nebraska reflects a microcosm of those numbers,” Drelicharz said. “In 2014 we had 4,137 substantiated victims, 2,546 of whom were white, 634 of whom were Hispanic, and 587 of whom were African-American. In Nebraska, 20.7% of all victims were under the age of two. And,” Drelicharz continued, “although the national and state statistics are not broken down by religion, there are plenty of news stories, articles, personal accounts, and other very reliable sources that support the notion that abuse crosses all races, religions, and socio-economic levels.”

These numbers have many of us asking, “If I knew someone who was harming a child, what would I do?” According to Karen Gustafson, Director of Jewish Family Service, “Local law gives a Continued on page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

Amernet Quartet

Jewish Religious Life in the Ghetto

by MARK KIRCHHOFF Center for Jewish Life The Center for Jewish Life welcomes Scott Littky, Program Director for Temple Israel, as the presenter for its Friday Learning Series when he presents a three-part series titled The Ends of the Circle: Jewish Religious Life in the Ghetto. Sessions will meet April 1, 8, and 15 from 11 a.m. – noon in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library.

The class fee is $26 reduced to $21 for those in good standing with their contribution to the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Scott Littky To register, contact Mark at 402.334.6463 or mkirchhoff@jewishomah.org Scott is a seasoned Jewish professional. He began his career in Jewish education in 1985 as a religious school teacher.

From 1988 until 1996, he served the then Bureau of Jewish Education of Omaha as a Community Teacher. He taught at Friedel Jewish Academy in addition to afternoon religious school programs. Scott later served 17 years as a Director of Education beginning at Beth El Synagogue in Omaha. He later was with Beth Israel Synagogue in Ann Arbor, MI, and

then at Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, VA. During the summer of 2014, Scott returned to Omaha with his position at Temple Israel. Scott is married to Felicia and they have two children, Sarah and Avi. Rounding out the family are two bloodhounds, Irving and Ruby.

This Friday Learning Series will be a study of Jewish religious life in the Warsaw Ghetto during the time of the Holocaust. After the rapid conquest of Poland by the Nazi army in 1939, Jews were imprisoned in areas that became ghettos. Scott explains, “When one thinks about resistance, what comes to mind? In terms of the Shoah, we often think of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Upon investigation, one will find that there were many forms of resistance during the dark days of the Shoah. With the use of educational material from Yad Vashem, we will investigate how the celebration of Jewish holidays in the ghettos took on their own form of spiritual resistance to the situations faced by the Jews of Eastern Europe.”

In drawing upon his experiences as an educator and the wealth of information available through Yad Vashem, Scott promises to present classes that will be interesting and informative. The Friday Learning Series is presented through the Center for Jewish Life whose mission is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences. To register or to ask additional questions, contact Mark at 402.334.6463 or mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org.

Building relationships

by MAGGIE CONTI Jewish age groups together.

Director of Activities and Outreach The relationship building was Programs, JSS/RBJH fun to observe, especially when participants became The five day artist-in-resifriendly and comfortable with dency program with each other. Seniors and stuResidents of the Rose dents helped each other make Blumkin Jewish Home and both a rain stick and a drum the 5th and 6th grade studuring the class sessions, and dents of the Friedel Jewish they benefitted from the Academy completed a weeklong exposure and interPercussion Workshop with international performing action with each other. The artist Michael Fitzsimmons at final performance called the end of February. The resiPercussion Conversation dency kicked off the week incorporated a multi-part with an all-campus invitation rhythm while students were to join Michael’s Drums of the paired with residents. It was a World. The JCC auditorium lively jam session while parwas filled with students from ticipants rocked the house.

Friedel student Ari Finkelstein and resident Annette Fettman Friedel and the Child This project was a rousing Development Center, residents from the Rose Blumkin success thanks to the generosity of the Esther K. Newman Home and Livingston Plaza all jamming in unison. This Fund and the J.S.O. Budget Subvention Fund of the Jewish workshop exceeded all expectation in joining the diverse Federation of Omaha Foundation.

A New Choice in Senior Living

Continued from page 1 the musicians: Misha Vitenson, violin; Tomas Cotik, violin; Michael Klotz, viola; and Jason Calloway, cello.

The Amernet String Quartet has toured in the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and will tour Israel this coming May into June. Last year in Miami Beach, a series exploring the rich musical heritage of the Diaspora was inaugurated by the Amernet in collaboration with Florida International University, the Jewish Museum of Florida, Florida Grand Opera and distinguished guest artists.

“The Omaha Chamber Music Society is proud to bring to the JCC an internationally acclaimed ensemble offering a unique program,” said Stacie Haneline, OCMS executive director. “We are especially excited that Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, a favorite of Omaha audiences, is represented alongside important but lesser known composers. All offer beautiful examples of ways that musical works express a composer’s life experience and heritage.”

The concert will feature Dvorak’s Quartet in D-minor, opus 34; Viktor Ullmann’s Quartet #3; Ernest Bloch’s Paysages; Leo Smit’s Unfinished Quartet; and Aleksandr Zhitomirskii’s Dem Rebens Nigun.

Dvorak, who composed in Prague, had a strong interest in Slavic music, often incorporating folk melodies and dances into his work. While classical in form, his String Quartet in D-minor exhibits strong influences of his Czech homeland. Ullman, also Prague-based, was a leading composer of the interwar period before being interned at Terezín, where he wrote his third string quartet, the only one that survived, before his deportation to Auschwitz.

Bloch was born in Switzerland to Jewish parents but moved to the U.S. in 1916. He is regarded as the best of the Jewish composers who devoted considerable effort to Jewish identified music. Leo Smit enjoyed a place in the musical circle that included Milhaud and Poulenc before he was sent to Sobibor, where he perished. He left behind an example of his original voice in the first movement of an unfinished string quartet.

Zhitomirskii, a Russian Jew, played a vital role in the dissemination of Jewish music during the early part of the 20th Century. His Dem Rebens Nigun transforms a Hasidic melody into a classical string fantasia.

With the JCC concert, the Amernet String Quartet will culminate a three-day residency of performing, teaching and outreach made possible by the cooperation of numerous schools and groups committed to nurturing classical music in Omaha.

Visit us on facebook: ps://www.facebook.com/ShalomahaPress Your computer: is it a blessing or a curse?

Need help with your Computer, iPad, or iPhone?

----We offer private lessons at your home.

Resident First Focus: Omaha’s first senior living community where Independent Living apartments are licensed for Assisted Living, so residents don’t have to move when they need more care.

1111 Sterling Ridge Drive Phone: 402-504-3111 heritage-communities.com Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Support

Now Open

• Learn all about email and sending • attachments.

• Learn how to run APPs on your • computer, iPad or iPhone • Learn how to use the INTERNET • safely David M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Call DR. DAVE at 402-637-3935 to schedule a lesson with the Home Technology Tutor

Apartments Available!

www.JQoffice.com 402.339.5003 CONTACT

Ben Heaston: bheaston @JQoffice.com SERVING THE GREATER OMAHA BUSINESS COMMUNITY

PRINTERS POSTAGE METERS COPIERS DIGITAL DISPLAYS FOLDING & INSERTING EQUIPMENT INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS

March 25, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 3

Beth Israel Scholar-in-Residence Chaim Silberstein

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Publicity Chair, Beth Israel Synagogue Beth Israel Synagogue will welcome Chaim Silberstein for a Scholar-in-Residence weekend, April 1-2. The weekend begins Friday evening and will continue throughout Shabbat, featuring three presentations by Chaim.

Chaim Silberstein is the founder and president of “Im Eshkachech/Keep Jerusalem,” a public diplomacy and advocacy organization specializing in Jerusalem. He is president of the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund and a former senior adviser to Israel’s Chaim Silberstein minister of tourism. He has lived in Jerusalem and now resides in Beit El. A geo-political expert, he has vast experience in government, marketing and informal education, ingredients that make him a sought after and dynamic speaker around the world. (For more information, visit www.keepjerusalem.org.)

“Chaim is a great speaker who will tell about the amazing work of Keep Jerusalem,” shares Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. “The organization shows East Jerusalem to groups, sharing the hidden parts of Jerusalem, all with a non-political view.

What they are doing is amazing, as showing the beauty and value of the areas.” He continued: “Chaim is the only person doing this, and he and the Keep Jerusalem staff share their amazing expertise to educate people. Those who have gone on the tours truly appreciate what they learn and the way it is presented.”

Chaim’s presentations convey in a powerful and fascinating manner, a deeper and clear understanding of the abovementioned issues. He uses maps, tables, aerial photographs and structured and concise briefings to remove the confusion as well as shares insights and suggestions as to possible future scenarios.

The weekend will begin on Friday, April 1 with Mincha, Maariv and Kabbalat Shabbat services at 7p.m. Shabbat dinner will begin at 8 p.m., followed by a presentation titled A Brief Journey Through the Jerusalem You Never Knew. The cost for dinner will be $12 for adults, $6 for ages 4-12 and free for those under 4.

On Saturday, April 2, services will begin at 9 a.m., with the Torah parade and introduction to the parsha at 9:45 a.m. Chaim will speak following kiddush. His talk is titled Whose Jerusalem Is It? To Whom Does Jerusalem Belong – Historically, Morally and Under International Law. A preMincha talk on Saturday evening at 6:15 p.m. will complete Chaim’s presentations with the topic The Current Jerusalem Intifada (Uprising): ts Goals and Methods and How to Deal With It. Mincha and Seudah Shlishit will follow at 7:15 p.m.

Rabbi Ari will also teach throughout Shabbat, discussing the spiritual significance of Jerusalem and trying to answer the questions Why do we pray towards Jerusalem? and What does holiness in space mean?

The entire community is invited to take part in the weekend. “This will be a fascinating opportunity to look and learn about Jerusalem in a different way,” said Rabbi Ari. “Please join us!”

Dinner reservations can be made at www.orthodoxomaha.org, by emailing bethisrael@orthodoxomaha.org or by calling the synagogue office at 402.556.6288.

Tritz Plumbing Inc. 402-894-0300 www.tritz.com repair • remodel

commercial • residential

family owned and operated since 1945

Jackson Home Appliance “OMAHA’S MOST TRUSTED NAME IN APPLIANCE REPAIR” NOW BRINGS THAT SAME ATTENTION TO HEATING & COOLING

Jackson Heating & Cooling FEATURES CARRIER HOME HEATING & COOLING PRODUCTS CALL TODAY FOR YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM ONE OF OUR HVAC SPECIALISTS ON A NEW FURNACE, AIR CONDITIONER OR HEAT PUMP 8827 Maple Street Omaha, NE 68134

402-391-4287Carrier Factory Authorized Nate Certified Technicians

Endowment funds help to ensure a summer full of activities at the Jewish Community Center. Establish an endowment fund and keep the fun going.

Life and Legacy update

by HOWARD EPSTEIN Executive Director, Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation From Roget’s Thesaurus: Legacy: heritage, inheritance, tradition.

From the American Heritage Dictionary: Legacy: (1) money or property bequeathed to someone by will, (2) something handed down from an ancestor or from the past.

From the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation letterhead: “It’s more than a donation. It’s your legacy.”

Rose Lillian Fine and Rose Katzman certainly did more than make a donation. They left their legacies, and Omaha’s Jewish community continues to benefit from their generosity.

In 1989, to honor the memory of her husband, Rose Katzman established the David Katzman Endowment Fund at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. For the past 26 years, income from the David Katzman Endowment Fund has funded special projects and activities that benefit residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, and for the past six years has also funded college and university scholarships for Omaha-area Jewish students. This year, two Jewish students received college scholarships and the Blumkin Home

residents took part in eight different activities and programs funded by the endowment.

Nathan and Rose Lilllian Fine believed in the power of education and the power of Tzedakah to assist the needy.

Upon her death in 2009, Rose Lillian Fine established three endowment funds at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation which have paid out income each year for the past six years and will continue each year in the future. The first fund subvents the salary and benefits of one of the fulltime teachers at the Friedel Jewish Academy. The second fund provides undergraduate and graduate tuition grants to further the education of students of the Jewish faith. The third endowment provides food, medication and other necessities of life to financially needy families in the Omaha metropolitan area. Collectively, this year the three Nathan and Rose Lillian Fine Endowment Funds provided $13,800 for college scholarships, Friedel teacher salaries and the necessities of life for needy Omaha Jews.

What will your legacy be?

Please feel free to contact me at 402.334.6466 or by email at hepstein@jewishomaha.org.

Rocky Mountain Jewgrass

JFS plants pinwheels

Continued from page 1 Cohen, who plays banjo and a multitude of other instruments, Gail deVore who plays fiddle and washboard, and Eric Roberts on bass guitar.

Rosenthal is also the cantor of Congregation Rodef Shalom, and while jamming before services in 2007, the band accidently fell into the bluegrass beat when Ben Cohen started playing his banjo. Soon they found their new sound, and they started performing for groups outside of the synagogue.

Rosenthal lived in Omaha from 1976 through 1982 and taught at Creighton University. In 1982 Rosenthal changed careers to join the Denver office of the AntiDefamation League, where he worked until he retired as regional director in 2001. Not ready for full retirement, he made another career change when he opened his own public relations firm, which is still operating today.

The Meyers Family Legacy of Laughter Endowment Fund at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation was established by Vicki Perlmeter and Bruce and Mike Meyers in loving tribute to their parents, Bernie and Roie Meyers. With a broad smile, Mike Meyers talked about the endowment fund, “The mission of the Meyers Family Legacy of Laughter Endowment is to keep that laughter alive, to spread joy to the residents of the Rose Blumkin Home and the Jewish community it serves. If we can bring a smile, a chuckle, a giggle, or a guffaw to people who have earned the right to have a good, healthy laugh, then the full and happy lives of Roro and Bobo will have added up to something truly meaningful: The Joy of Laughter.”

Continued from page 1 clear answer: In the State of Nebraska, every adult is a ‘mandatory reporter’ of child abuse. Every adult, nineteen or older, who has reason to suspect that a child is being harmed must report it to the Child Abuse Hotline or to law enforcement. All reports are confidential, and the Nebraska statutes protect the reporter from any liability. JFS is the mental health agency on the Omaha Jewish Federation campus, and we need to make sure the right information gets out to the community. In a word, each of us has a duty to report child abuse. We can’t expect youngsters to defend themselves. All of us -- not just licensed therapists -- need to step up as adults to protect kids. We don’t have a choice.”

The Pinwheel Gardens honor and celebrate the kids in their communities, and serve as the national symbol for child abuse prevention. “They reflect hope, health and safety which JFS wants for our children and for children everywhere,” Gustafson said. “We give a special thank you to the Pennie Z. Davis Family Life Education Fund for underwriting this program.”

The Pinwheels for Prevention Garden will bloom on the Jewish Community Center front lawn through the end of April. For more information, call Teresa Drelicharz at 402.330.2024.

If you suspect a child is being abused, please speak to the proper authorities. Call Law Enforcement at 911, or The Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.652.1999 in Nebraska, and 1.800.362.2178 in Iowa. Additional community resources are available through Jewish Family Service at 402.330.2024.

Contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466 | hepstein@jewishomaha.org | www.jfofoundation.org

ANTI-AGING THERAPY HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY THYROID REPLACEMENT THERAPY WEIGHT LOSS | HAIR REMOVAL 10170 NICHOLAS STREET OMAHA, NE 68114

402-391-3800 WWW.JEFFREYPASSERMD.COM

Are you searching for help with...

Home Health Care | Companion Care Running Errands | Housekeeping

Bring this ad for a discount 21 Years Experience Call Rena Olsen

402-594-8177

omahamama12@gmail.com

4 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

FIRST CLASS ENTERTAIN

HONEYMAN RENT-ALL The Party Place WITH

FOR THE FINEST IN ENTERTAINING ACCESSORIES, HOW CAN YOU THROW A PARTY AND NOT INVITE US? • Tables • Chairs • Linens • Skirting • China • Glassware • Champaign Fountains • Chafing Dishes • Party Canopies • Wedding & Church Displays • Dance Floors • BBQ Grills • Coat Racks • Candelabras • Margarita Machines • Chocolate Fountains

Our Visit room w o h S

11226 Wright Circle

402-333-2882 (1 Block South of 114th & Center)

We Disp dding Sup lays & plies

Join us for Sunday Brunch!

Please join us for Omaha’s newest Sunday Brunch.

Our menu includes Chef Archie’s famous fluffy omelette, eggs benedict, and chicken and waffles, which is a huge hit on the east and west coasts. We open at 10 a.m. and serve brunch until 2 p.m.

We want to thank the Jewish community for their support, and we look forward to serving all of you in the future.

We hope to see you at brunch on Sunday.

R E S TA U R A N T

April Community Calendar FRIDAY, MARCH 25 Beth El Serves Lunch at NE AIDS Coalition, 11:30 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Mainstreeters Movie: The Martian, 1 p.m.

Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to Blumkin, 2:30 p.m. at RBJH SATURDAY, MARCH 26 Tot Shabbat, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, MARCH 27 BESTT Sunday Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m. at Beth Israel Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. at Beth Israel MONDAY, MARCH 28 JFO Board of Directors, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH The Mitzvah Play and Lecture, 7 p.m. at the Omaha Community Playhouse Maccabee Meeting, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, MARCH 29 BBYO Meeting, 6 p.m.

Week of Understanding Testimony, 7 p.m. at Countryside Community Church

655 North 114th Street • Omaha, NE

402/496-2090 Mon. - Thurs. 11 am - close • Fri. 11 am - 9 pm Sat. 4 pm - 9 pm • Sun. 11:30 am - 9 pm

FOR A LIMITED TIME!

nal o i t sa

n e S CD Rates Ask an Enterprise Banker about our latest CD Special and let us help put your money to work for you!

12800 West Center Road

330-0200 210 Regency Parkway

392-0400 N.A., MEMBER F.D.I.C. MEMBER F.D.I.C.

Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant CARRY OUT AVAILABLE

402-498-8833 Beer and Wine Available 2068 N. 117 Ave.

North Park (117th & Blondo) M-Th: 11-9:30 • Fri & Sat. 11-10:30 • Sun. Noon-9:30

DR. KRISTINE B. SIMONSON CHIROPRACTOR 132nd & Dodge (Next to Hy-Vee)

402/496-6090 Back & Neck Pain Headache Arm & Leg Pain Auto & Work Related Injuries Sports Injuries Mon & Wed: 8 a.m.-Noon & 2-6 p.m.

Tues: 2-6:30 p.m. Thurs: 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fri: 9 a.m.-Noon & 2-5 p.m. Sat: 9-11 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 Breadbreakers, noon at RBJH BESTT Hebrew High, 4 p.m. meets at Beth El goes to Sienna Francis House to serve dinner BESTT Weekday Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El THURSDAY, MARCH 31 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Rabbi Dembitzer w/Friedel kids, 3:30 p.m.

Love & Logic Childcare, 6 p.m.

Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Women’s Community Wide Celebration, 7 p.m. at Chabad Center Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, APRIL 1 Chaim Silberstein, Scholar In Residence at Beth Israel Sr. NCSY Shabbaton in Kansas City Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m. at RBJH Judaism in Ghettos During Shoah Class with Scott Littky, 11 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH First Friday Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel Monthly Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat & Dinner, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel SATURDAY, APRIL 2 Chaim Silberstein, Scholar In Residence at Beth Israel Sr. NCSY Shabbaton in Kansas City Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El JCC Dance Party, 5:30 p.m.

Shabbat Day NCSY led classes for kids & adults, 6 p.m. at Beth Israel NCSY Seudah Shlishit, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel SUNDAY, APRIL 3 Chaim Silberstein, Scholar In Residence at Beth Israel Sr. NCSY Shabbaton in Kansas City 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament, 8 a.m.

BESTT Sunday Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El The Basics of Sign Language, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Parent/Toddler Program, 10:30 a.m. at Temple Israel Beth El Kibbutz Chaverim, 12:15 p.m.

Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m. at Beth Israel Joy of Laughter Program, 1:30 p.m.

Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Musical Theater Rehearsals, 3 p.m.

Six13 - Beth El’s Scholarship Cantor’s Concert, 4 p.m. at Beth El MONDAY, APRIL 4 Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY, APRIL 5 BBYO Meeting, 6 p.m.

JFO and UNO Schwalb Center Guest Speaker, Dennis Ross, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 Breadbreakers, noon at RBJH Monthly Kids Learning Chabura Class, 3:30 p.m. at Beth Israel BESTT Weekday Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Sports Banquet Committee, 5:15 p.m.

BESTT Hebrew High & Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Israel Here and Now Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel THURSDAY, APRIL 7 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel The Writings of Maimonides Class, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Dembitzer w/Friedel kids, 3:30 p.m.

Love & Logic Childcare, 6 p.m.

Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Women’s Community Wide Celebration, 7 p.m. at Chabad Center Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, APRIL 8 Judaism in Ghettos During Shoah Class with Scott Littky, 11 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Kids Night Out, 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, APRIL 10 Babies, Bigger Kids & Bagels, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El BESTT Sunday Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Book Club with Scott Littky, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel The Basics of Sign Language, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m. at Beth Israel Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. at Beth Israel OCMS Concert: Heritage, Chamber music from Prague to Terezín Performance, 7 p.m.

MONDAY, APRIL 11 JFS Project Tzedakah, 6:30 p.m.

NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at RBJH TUESDAY, APRIL 12 Russian Cultural Club (Breakfast and Movie), 10 a.m.

Russian Cultural Club (The Last Station), 11 a.m.

Eye on Israel with Eliad Eliyahu, noon BBYO Meeting, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 Breadbreakers, noon at RBJH Beth El BESTT Hebrew High, 4 p.m. goes to the Rose Blumkin Home BESTT Weekday Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Israel Here and Now Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel THURSDAY, APRIL 14 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel The Writings of Maimonides Class, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Center for Jewish Life Board Meeting, noon Rabbi Dembitzer w/Friedel kids, 3:30 p.m.

Planning & Community Engagement Committee, 4:30 p.m.

Love & Logic Childcare, 6 p.m.

Art & the Holocaust - Artists’ Reception, 7 p.m.

Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, APRIL 15 Temple Israel Scholar in Residence Danny Masseng Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m. at RBJH Judaism in Ghettos During Shoah Class with Scott Littky, 11 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Mainstreeters Movie (Brooklyn), 1 p.m.

SUNDAY, APRIL 17 Blood Drive, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Sunday Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El The Basics of Sign Language, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m. at Beth Israel Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Musical Theater Rehearsals, 3 p.m.

Paysie & Susie’s Pre-Pesach Pasta Party, 6 p.m. at Beth Israel MONDAY, APRIL 18 Mainstreeters Lunch, 11 a.m. at RBJH JFO Board of Directors, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Friedel Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at FJA TUESDAY, APRIL 19 BBYO Meeting, 6 p.m.

Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 Breadbreakers, noon at RBJH BESTT Weekday Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Israel Here and Now Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El THURSDAY, APRIL 21 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel The Writings of Maimonides Class, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Dembitzer w/Friedel kids, 3:30 p.m.

Love & Logic Childcare, 6 p.m.

Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, APRIL 22 Beth El Serves Lunch at NE AIDS Coalition, 11:30 a.m.

Passover Seder, 4 p.m. at RBJH SATURDAY, APRIL 23 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Passover Seder, 4 p.m. at RBJH Second Seder, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel SUNDAY, APRIL 24 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El TED Talk, 11 a.m. at Temple Israel Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m. at Beth Israel Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Musical Theater Rehearsals, 3 p.m.

MONDAY, APRIL 25 IHE Tribute to the Rescuers Essay Contest Ceremony, 7 p.m. at RBJH TUESDAY, APRIL 26 JSS Board, 11:15 a.m. at RBJH BBYO Meeting, 6 p.m.

JCC Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 Breadbreakers, noon at RBJH Israel Here and Now Class, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Swimming in Auschwitz Film Screening, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28 Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel The Writings of Maimonides Class, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Dembitzer w/Friedel kids, 3:30 p.m.

Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Talmud Learning, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, APRIL 29 Alzheimer’s Support Group, 11 a.m. at RBJH Temple Israel JYG/OTYG Lock In and Elections SATURDAY, APRIL 30 Temple Israel JYG/OTYG Lock In and Elections Tot Shabbat, 9 a.m. at Temple Israel Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El

SATURDAY, APRIL 16 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Shabbat’s Cool Gr. 3-7, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Shabbat Hagadol & Friday Night Dinner, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Temple Israel Scholar Danny Maseng in Concert, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel

All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Pat Anson at 402.334.8200. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

March 25, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 5

LOVE continues to grow at the Blumkin Home

by OZZIE NOGG In October of 1971, Lee Jane Parsow, Miriam Simon, Mrs. Henry Appel and Mrs. Jack Cohn sat down to form a group of volunteers who would provide programs and activities for the residents of the Dr. Philip Sher Home. After a lengthy meeting, these four founders named their new group, LOVE: League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly. The Sher Home served the community until 1982, when it was replaced by the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, where LOVE continues to bloom.

“Forty-five years ago, those four women probably couldn’t envision how LOVE would grow into the organization it is today,” said Linda Cogen, RBJH Volunteer Coordinator. “Their dream to bring exceptional experiences to the residents of the Home is now being fulfilled by over 400 members. Their generosity allows LOVE to continue its mission to support the programs and services of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home through volunteerism and fundraising efforts.”

Donations to LOVE provide needed items on the Blumkin Home’s wish list. In past years the organization has raised funds for the purchase of laptop computers for the nursing staff, therapy room equipment, new patio furniture and awnings for the RBJH courtyard, induction cooking systems for the Home’s kitchen, vans and utility vehicles, television sets with DVD players for room-bound residents, and prayer books. LOVE also underwrites gifts

for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, resident birthdays and Hanukkah, plus ice cream socials and special holiday celebrations.

“The many gifts provided to the Home through contributions from the community are tangible evidence of love, from LOVE,” Cogen said. “Our volunteers’ contributions of time are equally important and they interact with the residents in so many ways.

Whether it’s accompanying residents to medical appointments or programs at the JCC, leading a religious service in the Blumkin Home Chapel, reading the newspaper to residents or having conversations with them, sitting by residents at Bingo games and other activities, volunteering in our new Coffee Bar or simply holding a resident’s hand to make sure he or she feels safe -- the LOVE volunteers’ smiling faces and companionship certainly improve the lives of residents in every area of the Home.”

Volunteers come from the community at large, local schools and professional organizations. “We pride ourselves on reaching out to the special needs of the elderly in the Jewish community,” Cogen said. “Our volunteer program provides opportunities for any schedule, and you can choose to visit once a week or once or twice a year.

Volunteers of all ages, abilities and talents are welcome. If you have an interest in giving the precious gift of your time, please consider becoming a LOVE volunteer.”

For more information contact Linda Cogen at 402.334.6519, or email her at lcog en@rbjh.com.

Snowbirds Organizations

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Scott Hazelrigg, founder and CEO of NorthStar, the organization to help North Omaha youth, will discuss his recent suc-

cesses on Wednesday, March 30, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@ jewishomaha.org.

THE CANTOR’S CONCERT: “unplugged” to offer free workshop

by SHERRIE SAAG for Beth El Synagogue The Annual Cantor’s Concert on Sunday, April 3 at 4 p.m. is the only fundraiser for the Youth Scholarship Fund, which supports Jewish summer experiences for Beth El kids including summer camp and trips to Israel.

This year the entire community will be treated to the sights and sounds of Six13, an award winning a capella beat box group from New York City making its Omaha debut.

As an added bonus, the group will conduct a beat box workshop from 3:153:45 p.m. on the day of the show. The workshop, funded by the Joanie Jacobson Jewish Cultural Arts Fund, is available free of charge to Kindergarten through 12th grade concert ticket holders ($5 per ticket). Workshop participants will make a cameo appearance with Six13 in the concert.

Six13 is a six-man vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City-based group sound like a full band -- while using nothing but their voices.

“You can view Six13’s entertaining music online,” said Joanie Jacobson, “See for yourself. They’re amazing and fun no matter your age! Their tag line says it best: ‘like nothing you’ve heard or seen’. They’re a wow.”

Pam Friedlander, together with her husband Bruce, are the concert’s co-chairs.

“Working with Joanie Jacobson this year brings new excitement to the event, and it’s great to have a group like Six13 coming to Omaha. These young men are so talented and their music is terrific. Bruce and I are especially thrilled to be part of this year’s concert.”

In the spirit of “unplugged”, performers Karen and Eva Cohen, Beth Friedman, Joanie Jacobson, Nancy Rips, Caryn and Cadee Scheer and Holly and Julia Weill will

be accompanied by acoustic guitarists Bob Adler, Jill Belmont, Ed Clignett, Jeff Dworkin, Jacob Spivack and Eadie Tsabari.

“Cantor and Company,” featuring Hazzan Michael Krausman and vocalists Anna Yuz

Six13 Mosenkis, Ben Shapiro, Holly Weill, Howard Marcus, Jay Durmaskin, Lauren Tam, Lisa Marcus, Lisa Senal, Marty Shukert and Tuffy Epstein will perform three Debbie Friedman favorites.

Tickets are available online at www.bethel-omaha.org or at the door.

Don’t miss this truly unique opportunity to enjoy the best of Jewish music in a whole new way. Join Beth El Synagogue on Sunday, April 3.

Engagement PONTE/KOOM Georgine and Larry Koom announced the engagement of their son, Ryan Koom to Samantha Ponte, daughter of Andrea Ponte.

The bride-to-be is the granddaughter of Eva Zahony Rice.

Her fiancé is the grandson of Rhoda and Pete Milder.

A wedding is planned for April 30, 2016, in Stilwell, KS.

Serving Generations…

Bill Cutler III

402-391-3900 7805 W. Center Rd.

Please let the Jewish Press know in advance when you are leaving and when you are returning.

Sometimes several papers are sent to your “old” address before we are notified by the Post Office. Every time they return a paper to us, you miss the Jewish Press and we are charged!

Please call us at 402.334.6448 or email us at jpress@jewishomaha.org.

NORM’S DOOR SERVICE

WHY NOT DO IT THE EASY WAY?

GARAGE DOOR SPECIALISTS SALES AND SERVICE COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL RESIDENTIAL

6200 South 90TH St. at 90th & Washington

Omaha, Nebraska

402-331-8920

BELLEVUE CHAPEL 402-291-5000 Bellevue DWORAK CHAPEL 402-346-1144 16th & Vinton

Bill Cutler IV

www.heafeyheafey.com

6 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

March 25, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 7

Purim Carnival Community-wide

8 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

Voices of Beth El: Howard Kaslow

Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc.

Providing over 3 decades of investment experience in Nebraska

Call today at 402-614-1321

Visit us on Facebook

Personalized customer service, ensuring your financial plan meets YOUR lifestyle needs.

Consultations free. www.russkaplaninvestments.com

Freelance Writer wanted The Jewish Press staff seeks a local freelance writer for original story assignments, $0.10 per word.

If you are interested, email cover letter and writing sample to the editor at avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.

No phone calls please.

BULL SALE?

Run this size ad in over 160 Newspapers for just $5.95*/newspaper!

RANCH AUCTION! Blue Creek Land Company

April 22, 2016 • Ogallala, NE

Place your 1x4 display ad in over 160 Nebraska newspapers & get your message to over 750,000 readers. Statewide coverage for just $975*. Regional ads also available in Central, Northeast, Southeast or Western Nebraska.

Other sizes available upon request.

Call this newspaper or 1-800-369-2850 for more information.

11,293 acres See details + images & Maps at LashleyLand.com Scott Saults • 308-289-1383

Nebraska 2x2/2x4 Display Ad Network

by SHERRIE SAAG “Mine was a time when parents allowed their children to for Beth El Synagogue play unsupervised outdoors and we walked alone to and When reminiscing about their connection to Beth El from school. I can recall only one time that my mother Synagogue, many previous Voices participants describe the picked me up from Dundee School in the nine years that I Synagogue’s influence in shaping their adult views. For attended and only because of a blizzard.”

Howard Kaslow, that influence manifested itself in the classAt the time, Talmud Torah ended at 7 p.m. for the older sturoom. “I have always felt a strong connection to Judaism, dents and in winter that meant well after dark. Still, Howard and I think my education at Beth El played an important says, he walked home alone. “I could leave my home on a part in that outcome.”

Howard’s parents were Ben and Sophia Kaslow who raised Howard at Beth El. “My parents were members of Beth El and I grew up at Beth El. My father was president of the congregation during several of the years that I attended Talmud Torah.”

Howard and his wife Gloria joined Beth El Howard Kaslow when they moved back to The Kaslow Family: Aaron, left, Joanna, Gloria, Howard, and Omaha after Howard’s law school graduation.

David.

As such, they weren’t married at Beth El as so many other Voices participants were. Instead, they were the first to summer morning and spend the day in Elmwood Park withbe married in a suburban synagogue in Woodbridge, CT, in out regular communication with my mother, take the streetspite of a wrong turn on Howard’s part that kept everyone in car downtown, go to the Saturday matinee at the Dundee the sanctuary waiting.

Theatre, and play outdoors with friends until well after dark.

Howard remembered his religious education very well. “At The 1940s and 1950s were far from perfect in many ways, but that time Beth El was still located at 49th and Farnam the freedom that children had to be children (and teenagers Streets. The Talmud Torah classes were held in an old house to be teenagers), well, there’s nothing quite like it today.” just north of the Synagogue (the school wing had not yet The Kaslow children all attended Beth El Talmud Torah been built). I attended Talmud Torah three days a week (two and were all B’nai Mitzvah. During most of those years, days after school and on Sunday). I went to grade school at Gloria was a Beth El teacher and the Kaslows participated in Dundee School so I could walk (or ride my bicycle) from a Chavurah that was formed, independent of the Synagogue, Dundee School to the Synagogue and go home to 55th and by a number of families whose children were contempoHarney Street.” raries and classmates of theirs.

He continued, “I confess to being part of the occasional Today, the Kaslows enjoy Friday evening services, the discipline problems the teachers encountered, and I’ve Cantor’s Concerts, and other special synagogue events. “I am enjoyed reading other Voices of Beth El profiles where con- pleased to see the Synagogue attracting new members, pargregants confessed to that as well. ticularly young families. Conservative Judaism seems right “Several of my Talmud Torah teachers were immigrants for Gloria and me. We appreciate the Conservative movefrom Europe (these were the years just after World War II) ment’s efforts to honor the principles of Conservative and may have been Holocaust survivors; the pedagogic skills Judaism while at the same time welcoming non-traditional of some were quite limited, and for several their English lan- members and generally being more inclusive,” Howard said. guage skills were as well. In that era, the terms Holocaust or Howard is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Shoah had not begun to be used, and there was no such Omaha in addition to numerous other involvements with its thing as Holocaust education. While the adult world was agencies, the JFO Foundation and the Institute for Holocaust very much aware of what had occurred to the Jews of Education. More broad-based Omaha community volunEurope, to my recollection there was no mention of such teering includes the Omaha Community Foundation, events in our Talmud Torah classes.

Fontenelle Forest, Inclusive Communities and Boys Town.

“I was 9 years old when the State of Israel came into exis“Volunteerism is a very important aspect of Omaha, and tence, and to a limited extent our curriculum included some in my experience and observation the community is welinformation about Israel. Rabbi Kripke was our Rabbi and coming to those who want to be involved. The cooperative Aaron Edgar was Beth El’s Cantor. Rabbi Alexander Katz, spirit of the Jewish community and its synagogue congregawhom we referred to as Mr. Katz (since only later was he tions, along with the wonderful opportunities that the recognized as a rabbi, notwithstanding the depth of his Jewish community provides for its younger members learning and knowledge of Torah), was largely responsible through scholarships and group trips, are important attribfor training the Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. He was a gen- utes that one may not always find elsewhere,” Howard said. tle soul and a sweet man and I have fond memories of my In particular, Howard said, Beth El is welcoming of all Bar Mitzvah studies with him, not the least of which is ben- who want to be a part of synagogue life. “It has very dediefitting from his infinite patience!” cated lay leadership and clergy who are genuinely commitHoward says the Hebrew School environment was much ted to making Beth El a place where anyone who is seeking different than today, where the school runs a variety of a connection to Judaism can find that connection in a way enrichment and extra-curricular activities and has older that best fits him or her.” students working as TAs in the classrooms. “As best I can To join the esteemed alumni of the Voices of Beth El recall, there were no Tot Shabbats, Shabbatons, and other Speaker Series, have your profile featured in an upcoming family activities that today serve to help connect young fam- edition of the Jewish Press. Call the Beth El Synagogue office ilies with the synagogue and each other. at 402.492.8550 for details.

Temple Israel’s College Care packages for Passover Accredited. College-Prep. Online.

This summer students can pursue their interests and meet their academic goals with online high school courses from the University of Nebraska.

• Pre-Engineering • Introduction to Health Care • Introduction to Web Design • Entrepreneurship • Many more!

Credits earned easily transfer to local schools.

highschool.nebraska.edu

by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel Being away from your family and friends for the Jewish holidays can be a stressful time. For many of us, Passover is our favorite holiday, being with family, eating the traditional foods and joining together for a Seder. Unfortunately it is not always possible for our college-age students to return home to their family Seder. School work, finals and distance often keep them away from home during a time that they are used to being home. Beginning with Passover this year, Temple Israel hopes to add a little joy and celebration into the lives of our college students by providing them with Pesach Survival Kits!

Earlier this year, Aliyah Lasky, Director of Youth and Young Adult Engagement at Temple Israel, formed a College Care Committee with Sandy Nogg, Susie Norton, Marcelyn Rodgers and Rosie Zweiback to plan ways to provide outreach to our college students and to let them know how much we care

about them. Further, Aliyah wanted our students to know that they will always have a home at Temple Israel. It is also hoped that through the College Care Committee and the sending of holiday care packages that our students will also begin to build an ongoing relationship with Aliyah Lasky.

This year’s Pesach Care Package will include dried fruit, macaroons, matzah and information to help our students celebrate Passover on their own. “I remember when I was a freshman in college and I received a holiday care package from my home Temple” stated Aliyah Lasky. “It felt so wonderful to realize that my Temple still cared about me and wanted me to have a meaningful Passover experience even though I could not come home!”

If your son or daughter will be beginning college in the fall and you would like them to receive a holiday care package from Temple Israel, please send their contact information to Aliyah at alasky@templeisraelomaha.com.

March 25, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 9

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Merrick Garland deserves better

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Imagine the following scenario: I go to my Board of Directors and my CEO, and tell them I plan to retire within a year (and before I inadvertently start any rumors, I’m not).

They tell me mazal tov, you are now a lame duck editor, and even though we don’t plan on replacing you until next February, we’d prefer it if you made no more important decisions. In fact, we think you should accomplish close to nothing between now and then.

Then, by some horrible coincidence, someone on my staff leaves. I’d replace them (in fact, I know an absolutely marvelous candidate) but my Board members tell me, no, let’s not do that. We’ll leave the position vacant until the next editor comes in-- you’re a lame duck, remember?

It’s a crazy idea, and it would never happen. I cannot imagine anyone running a business this way. And yet, one of the most important people in the nation is facing exactly this. It doesn’t matter whether you are a fan of President Barack Obama or not; this is not how Congress should treat his office.

Since 1975, the average waiting time for a Supreme Court nominee has been 67 days. Ronald Reagan confirmed a judge during the last year of his presidency. We may be inundated with election coverage and the fight for the primaries is in full swing, but we’re nowhere close to the general election. Are we really, as a country, okay with not having a complete Supreme Court for the better part of a year?

Senator Mitch McConnell (who took less than an hour after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death to announce he would block any nominee before the end of Obama’s Presidency) recently told FOX News: “I can’t imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame duck session, a nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association, the National Federation of Independent Business that repre-

sents small businesses. I can’t imagine that a Republicanmajority Senate, even if it were assumed to be a minority, would want to confirm a judge who would move the court dramatically to the left.”

Judge Merrick Garland

Credit JTA.org

This is not governance; it’s playground bullying. It is not how adults should act. It hurts us at home, and it hurts our image abroad. We desperately need an adult in the room.

Senator Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois said his fellow Republicans should “just man up and cast a vote,” according to an article in the New York Times. But his is a lonely voice.

Besides, he’s facing a tough re-election, and knows McConnell’s position diminishes his chances.

This is about more than the office of the U.S. President.

The real, and often overlooked, problem is that with all this noise about whether we will confirm or not, we’re forgetting to pay attention to the actual candidate. While everybody

talks about obstruction and lack of compromise, and McConnell and his supporters dominate the headlines, we’re not talking about what Scalia’s replacement should look like, should act like, why we all benefit from a functioning Supreme Court, and what it is that Merrick Garland brings to the table. And that is a real shame, because Garland is worthy of conversation.

We should, as a nation, take a look at his track record, evaluate his judgements and his overall career, and we should get to know him. Now that would be a worthy use of our time. The chances of that happening are slim; there are too many roadblocks in place.

Judge Merrick Garland has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit. He is a native of the Chicago area; a Harvard graduate (summa cum laude and Valedictorian!) and played a leading role in the investigation and prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombers.

He made the shortlist before: in 2009 and 2010, and received the actual nomination on March 16 of this year.

When Bill Clinton nominated Garland to his current D.C Circuit seat, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave him a unanimously well-qualified rating. He was voted into that seat with a 76-23 vote; among the 23 ‘no-’ votes was, you guessed it, Senator Mitch McConnell, who questioned whether the D.C Circuit Court even needed an eleventh seat.

Garland has more federal judiciary experience than any SCOTUS nominee in history. He is known as a neutral, moderate, and his record is vast and admirable.

I wonder what goes through his mind right now. To do everything right, to be admired by all who have worked with him, to have a track record that would have made his grandparents (who fled Russia in the early 20th century) proud, only to end up facing a schoolyard bully with a grudge.

It’s shameful, and it’s bad for all of us. Merrick Garland deserves better, and so does the country as a whole.

Mob mentality at Vassar BDS vote typical of school’s Israel climate

by JASON STORCH POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (JTA) -- At many colleges and universities today, Jewish students are often pitted against students of color when it comes to Israel.

In my three years at Vassar College, I have been told – by a Jewish student leader, no less – that supporting Israel is tantamount to supporting oppression. I have watched Jewish friends bullied into silence by aggressive anti-Israel activists who call the Jews racists. I have seen many anti-Semitic comments from fellow students on social media. Although I have had many good experiences at Vassar and have made many friends, it can be uncomfortable to be Jewish here, especially if one supports Israel.

But nothing prepared me for the mob mentality that prevailed here on March 6, when Vassar's student government, the Vassar Student Association, voted 15-7 to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, against Israel.

Other than members of Vassar’s J Street U chapter, which offered an alternative resolution endorsing a two-state solution and calling for the creation of a student committee to educate the campus about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -a resolution overwhelmingly rejected by the student association -- few showed up to oppose BDS. They did not stay away because they were busy or because Vassar lacks anti-BDS students. They stayed away because they were afraid of pro-BDS students who have, over the past two years, pursued an aggressive campaign of intimidation at Vassar.

BDS supporters have picketed a class that was to travel to Israel and the West Bank, tweeted a Nazi cartoon, sold Tshirts celebrating a gun-toting Palestinian hijacker and

(Founded in 1920) Eric Dunning President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Accounting

Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Andrew Boehm, Scott Farkas, Sandy Friedman, Paul Gerber, Alex Grossman, David Kotok, Debbie Kricsfeld, Abby Kutler, Pam Monsky, Paul Rabinovitz, Nancy Wolf and Barry Zoob.

The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world.

Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press.

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

sought to deny funding to J Street U to attend a conference sponsored by Haaretz.

Perhaps most damaging of all, they have divided the campus by portraying the territorial conflict between Israel and the Palestinians as a case of white colonialists oppressing people of color. Few charges on college campuses today are as incendiary as calling someone a racist, and BDS supporters routinely direct it at their opponents, regardless of their political inclinations.

The behavior of BDS supporters at the March 6 vote was typical. One after another, members of groups representing students of color stood up to denounce Israel for oppressing people of color. One student from Vassar’s Multiracial/Biracial Student Alliance claimed supporting BDS was necessary to support the “black and Arab population of Gaza.”

Those who attempted to challenge the resolution's intellectual basis were mocked.

“Jesus Christ,” exclaimed a pro-BDS student in response to a question about the resolution's claim that BDS is based in intersectional feminism.

“Does that question even have to be answered?” sneered another.

Most disturbingly, students who raised concerns about the effects of the unending BDS campaign on Vassar’s Jewish community were heckled and laughed at. One Jewish student talked about how the BDS campaign had invoked every anxiety nightmare she had ever had. She was crying as she spoke. Pro-BDS students laughed at her.

Religious minority groups were pitted against one another as well. When a Jewish member of the student association's council reminded the gallery that Jewish students at

Vassar had suffered the most during the BDS campaign, a pro-BDS student responded that Jews on campus had a Jewish studies program and a rabbi, as if her concerns hardly mattered. Muslim students, this BDS supporter argued, lacked an imam and similar classes.

Another Jewish student talked about Israel’s founding in the wake of the Holocaust. He was immediately accused of using the Holocaust as a political tool to justify the “genocide” of another people. The diminishment of the Holocaust has become routine at Vassar. Many students here think of the Holocaust as an event that affected white victims rather than people of color, and they argue that it therefore receives too much attention compared to other atrocities.

At the meeting’s conclusion, one non-Jewish council member said she felt "very complicit in the anti-Semitism that was occurring tonight." Some, at least, feel shame about what happened on March 6.

Pro-BDS students do not constitute a majority at Vassar.

They accomplish things by being highly aggressive, highly vocal and highly organized. And they bully opponents into silence by accusing them of racism, as they did on March 6.

It is time that Vassar students and professors who, one hopes, reject tactics like these, stand up and reject the divisiveness that BDS has brought to Vassar and so many other campuses. Vassar students, particularly its Jewish students who have suffered the most during this debate, deserve to feel safe, and they deserve not to have their identities and their fears dismissed by those with an extreme political agenda.

Jason Storch is a junior at Vassar College who serves as co-president of the local Chabad center and treasurer of the Vassar Jewish Union.

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

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

News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.”

The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf.

Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the

Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Deadline for copy, ads and photos

is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.org.

Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jew ishomaha.org.

Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events.

Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de Kamp-Wright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450.

Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422.

Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.

10 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com Join us for our Monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on April 8, at 7:30 p.m. Carole and Wayne Lainof will share a slide presentation and speak about their recent trip to with the Beth El Mission to Cuba. They will share their impressions of Jewish life today. Oneg to follow the service. Come enjoy homemade hamantaschen baked to perfection by Debbie Friedman and Sue Katelman. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

Larry Blass will officiate the Speaker Series Service.

For information on our historic synagogue, or to arrange a visit, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf. Tribute cards for any occasion are available. Contact Sissy at 311 Oakridge Ct., Bellevue, NE 68005 or 402.292.8062.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

FRIDAY: Lunch at Nebraska AIDS Coalition, 11:30 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:15 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Learn to Read Hebrew with the Hazzan, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m.; USY Movie Madness, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY: Lunch and Learn with Eliad Eliyahu, “The Real Reality -- Israel’s Diversity, noon; Women’s Book Club, 7 p.m. at the home of Judith Barnes.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT Hebrew High Grades 8-10 visit the food pantry, 4 p.m.; BESTT Hebrew High Grades 11-12 visit Sienna Francis House, 4 p.m.; BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Minyan & More, 6:15 p.m. with Rabbi Abraham.

Our Shabbat Tables, Friday, April 1 in congregants’ homes.

BeatBox Workshop with Six13, Sunday, April 3, 3:15 p.m.

Cantor’s Concert featuring Six13, Sunday, April 3, 4 p.m. followed by a reception.

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

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Parade and Kids Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Program for kids in grades 5-8, 6 p.m.; Insights in the Weekly Torah Portion, 6:25 p.m.; Mincha/ Seudah Shlishit, 8:10 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:26 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m.; Shavua Tov Israel, 1 p.m.; Caffe Ivrit, 2:30 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

THURSDAY: Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m.; Scholar’s Club for 6th Grade, 3:30 p.m.; Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m.; Talmud Learning, 8 p.m.

Friday Night Shabbat dinner with Scholar-in-Residence: Chaim Silberstein, Friday, April 1, 8 p.m., followed by a presentation titled A Brief Journey Through the Jerusalem You Never Knew. The cost for dinner will be $12 for adults, $6 for ages 4-12 and free for those under 4.

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

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office.

WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The

Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak.

THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu.

All programs are open to the entire community.

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

FRIDAY: Sha-ba-ba-bat family dinner and kid-friendly service, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Elaine Monnier.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. with guest speaker Dr. Zachary Smith, Assistant Professor of Theology at Creighton University.

SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; Board of Trustees, 1:30 p.m.

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

Jewish Book Club, Sunday, April 3, 1:30 p.m. at the home of Zoya Zeman, 5510 Union Hill Road #407 and will discuss The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer and The Beast by Faye Kellerman. Please call Zoya at 402.435.3001 and tell her you plan to attend. If you bring refreshments, please bring them ready to serve. If you have any questions, please contact Deb Swearingen.

Lincoln Jewish Community School CAMP ISRAEL, July 11–July 22, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Kosher lunch and snack provided. LJCS enrolled students entering Kindergarten through 7th grade are eligible to attend Camp Israel. Those in 8th grade and up can participate as Counselors in Training. Contact Andrea Halpern or Tracy Gordon if you are interested!

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. with Temple Israel.

SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz.

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

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to You at Rose Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel; Shabbat Evening Services, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel and Tami Field.

SATURDAY: Tot Shabbat, 9 a.m. for families with children ages five and under; Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: No Religious School WEDNESDAY: No Grades 3-6, Grades 7-12 and Family Night.

Candlelighting Friday, March 25, 7:25 p.m.

THURSDAY: No Adult Study with the Clergy.

First Friday Shabbat Service and Dinner, Friday, April 1: Candle lighting and Kiddush in the Community Court, 5:30 p.m. and Service, 6 p.m. with dinner following. Cost is $5 per person, max of $20 per family. Please RSVP to the Temple Israel office, 402.556.6536.

The Basics of Sign Language with Lina Kogan, Sundays, April 3 – 17, 10 a.m. Learn the basics of sign language to help you better communicate with deaf members of Temple Israel. Contact Program Director Scott Littky, 402.556.6536 to sign up.

Parent/Toddler Program, Sunday, April 3, 10:30 a.m. for children ages 2-3 and their parents. Dani Howell will facilitate activities, games and songs for toddlers with their parents. For more information please contact Interim Religious School Director Sharon Comisar-Langdon, 402.556.6536.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. and will include an Aufruf celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Dan Weber and Katie Ulin, Joe Weber and Donna Shears son and future daughter in law. Following services will be a special Kiddush Lunch in honor of the couple and sponsored by the Weber/Shear family.

SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes WEDNESDAY: LJCS classes grades 3-7, 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

LJCS Summer Camp Israel 2016 is coming! Save the dates: Monday, July 11 through Friday, July 22 (9 a.m.-2 p.m.)

Any questions, please email Andrea at Ahalpern1386@ gmail.com.

A Special Pre-Shabbat Gathering on Friday, March 25, 5:30 p.m. at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, 1650 N. 35th St. Jim Berk will speak about his mother, Ilona Berk, and her Holocaust experience as it relates to her work as a designer and seamstress. The Gallery talk will be followed by a dessert reception. Following this gathering those who desire will return to shul for a shortened Kabbalat Shabbat service which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Anyone needing a ride to this event should call the office.

Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Lincoln, Sunday, April 3, 10 a.m. at Congregation Tifereth Israel. We will present annual reports and discuss the future of the Federation.

Jewish Book Club, Sunday, April 3, 1:30 p.m. at the home of Zoya Zeman, 5510 Union Hill Road #407 and will discuss The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer and The Beast by Faye Kellerman. Please contact Deb Swearingen with any questions.

Join us for a Communal Seder at Tifereth Israel with two options to chose from on Friday evening, April 22 for A Passover Seder for all ages or on Saturday evening, April 23 for An Experiential Seder geared for extended families with children ages 0-13. Reserve a Place Now for yourself and your family! This event is free to all but donations to help defray expenses may be contributed to the Lay-leader Discretionary Fund. RSVP to the office at 402.423.8569 or or e-mail ncoren@tiferethisraellincoln.org by April 1.

Rabbi Uri Regev visits Temple Israel

by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel Rabbi Uri Regev, Director of Hiddush, an organization for Religious Freedom and Equality in Israel teaching a class on the weekly Torah Parsha at Temple Israel. Rabbi Regev has spent his career educating the Jewish world on the need for true religious equality in Israel. As Rabbi Regev stated, “Israel’s Declaration of Independence promises religious freedom and equality to all of its citizens. Today, however, the lack of religious freedom and equality resonates throughout Israeli society. It impacts virtually all of the domestic issues—security, economic growth, education, gender equality, access to quality health care and social services, and poverty--that are essential to

Israel’s well-being and vibrancy as the home of the Jewish People. Israelis are deprived of the personal freedom to choose how to conduct life cycle events--marriage, divorce, burial. Women and other population groups -- Russian immigrants in particular -- are being discriminated against in the name of religious observance.”

Pulverent e

March 25, 2016 | The Jewish Press | 11

In memoriam HARRIET ROSEN MILLER Harriet Rosen Miller passed away peacefully March 12.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Dr. Daniel Miller.

She is survived by her three sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Alexander Miller and Monica Lizka Miller of San Antonio, TX, Dr. Neil and Carol Miller of Baltimore, MD, and Craig and Isabel Miller of Oceanside, CA; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Miller was a longtime resident of Omaha. Upon graduating as salutatorian from high school in Bismarck, ND, she attended Northwestern University. In order to obtain a degree in radio broadcasting, she transferred to the University of Iowa where she was a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority, graduating in 1941. In 1942, she took a summer position as the drama counselor at Esther K. Newman Camp where she met Dr. Miller who was working as the camp physician. The Millers were married in 1943 and resided in Chicago where she worked in advertising. The Millers moved to Omaha in 1951 where Mrs. Miller worked as office manager and financial director for Surgery and Oncology, PC. She was active in Hadassah, Temple Israel Sisterhood, tennis and golf. Along with her husband, Mrs. Miller enjoyed world travel, art collection, and membership in the International Food and Wine Society. She was an accomplished pianist, sculptor, artist, and investor. In 2007, she relocated to San Antonio.

Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home for the Aged.

SHIRLEY ANN TRACHTENBARG Shirley Ann Trachtenbarg passed away Feb. 29 in Tucson, AZ. Services were held March 4 at Marana Mortuary and Cemetery in Marana, AZ, and were officiated by Rabbi Ephriam Zimmerman of Oro Valley Chabad.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Mort; parents Abraham and Ida Diamond; and brothers: Hy, Myer, Sam, Stanley and Izzy Diamond.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-laws, Janet and Dave Arffa of Tucson, AZ; Nancy Trachtenbarg and David Bruce of Wayne, PA; son and daughter-in-law, Ed and Chris Trachtenbarg of Portland, OR; grandchildren: Steve Arffa, Jon and Jennifer Arffa, Mark and Ingrid Trachtenbarg, David Trachtenbarg, Katie and Sterling Hardin, Lauren Bruce and Alex Bruce; and great-grandchildren: Forrest, Hannah, Brady, Kaitlyn, Paige, Robyn, Max, and Owen.

Memorials may be made to the Trachtenbarg Family Endowment Fund, Jewish Federation of Omaha, 333 S. 132 St, Omaha, NE 68154; and Chabad of Oro Valley, 1217 W. Faldo Drive, Oro Valley, AZ 85755.

CMC meets at Temple Courts Matter Coalition of Nebraska (CMCN) will be holding a coalition meeting March 29 at noon at Temple Israel.

Prof. Eric Berger, Associate Dean for Faculty and a Professor at UNL College of Law will be our guest. After attending law school at Columbia, Prof. Berger clerked for current US Supreme Court nominee the Honorable Merrick B. Garland, while Garland was on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Prof. Berger teaches constitutional law and the federal courts at UNL Law and will talk about the current confirmation process of Judge Garland.

Immediate Opening Jefferson County, Nebraska has an immediate opening for a Highway Superintendent Competitive wages, great benefits and a wonderful region to live in with Fairbury as the county seat and many amenities in the area.

Taking applications until 5 p.m. on April 1, 2016.

Send resume to: Jefferson County Clerk, 411 4th St., Fairbury NE 68352 EOE

IN NEED OF HIGH QUALITY ANIMAL FEED? 3/8” Pellets

Sign up for a free women’s trip to Israel!

The Jewish Federation of Omaha is partnering with the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) and will be sponsoring a MOMentum Women’s trip to Israel. We invite mothers who are Jewish, or who have a Jewish spouse and are raising Jewish children under the age of 18 to apply. The Jewish Federation of Omaha has the opportunity to bring nine women, committed to the work of JFO, on this trip; they will experience Israel with

Before someone offers you alcohol or other drugs, decide what you are going to say.

MONUMENT CO.

Frank L. Ciciulla Jr.

Having the facts can give you confidence.

60 Years Experience With Jewish Lettering and Memorials

For more information, call

1439 So. 13th

1-800-648-4444

402-341-2452

Ariella Milobsky, left, Susan Kramer and Louri Sullivan a focus on learning, leadership and community. If you are interested in becoming more actively involved in the Jewish community, this trip is for you! There will be educational requirements both before and after traveling to Israel, as well as countless opportunities to connect with both your co-travelers and Jewish women from other cities.

The JWRP was established in 2008 by eight women in the Washington D.C. area who saw a need to create an inspiring trip to Israel. The trip empowers participants to change the world through Jewish values.

On March 14 and 15, a number of Omaha women came together to hear directly from JWRP representatives Ariella Milobsky and Susan Kramer how successful JWRP has been in reaching Jewish women all over the world. Since its inception in 2008, JWRP has sent over 7,300 women from 21 countries, representing partnerships with 142 organizations. Of those 7,300 women, 72% increased participation in adult Jewish learning classes, 69% increased personal Jewish study, and 61% increased Shabbat observance. In addition, 81% increased their volunteerism in their local Jewish community. The reason, according to the women of JWRP, is the insight Jewish women gain from being in Israel, and creating a solid connection to their Jewish identity. On this trip, you will connect, and subsequently bring that connection home to your family, and your community.

MOMentum trips are free to participants excluding airfare, tips, and acceptance fee. Applications are due by April 15. To apply online, visit www.JWRP.org. For more information about this great opportunity, please contact Louri Sullivan at 402.334.6485 or email lsullivan@jewish omaha.org.

BUILD & PROTECT . . . It's What We Do! Suburban • Horse • Commercial • Residential • Farm

BUILDING SPECIALS!

30’ x 54’ x 15’ • $16,061 42’ x 72’ x 16’ • $24,494 60’ x 108’ x 17’ • $49,117 CALL US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!

Fremont, NE 402-727-9322 Norfolk, NE 402-371-8567

Enhance your property!

Your World Made Perfect

Retaining walls | Patios Fire pits | Water features Drainage solutions Commercial and residential Call or Text 402-957-5087 ECOTERRANE.com

Nebraska STATEWIDE CLASSIFIEDS ADVERTISE STATEWIDE for $225/25 word classified ad. Over 165 newspapers with circulation of more than 365,000. Contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6448 or call 1-800-369-2850.

BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. steffensbankruptcylaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code.

AFFORDABLE PRESS Release service. Send your message to 170 newspapers across Nebraska for one low price! Call 1-800-369-2850 or www.nebpress.com for more details.

Building pictured is not priced in ad. Crew travel required !"#$%&$'()"*+$, -.)$/0()1(23$- 1"$' 1(4$-.5( 2*$"65#.+$ Price subject to change without notice.

FEATURING: 800-373-5550 • ClearyBuilding.com

FULL-TIME MLT/MT position available at Cherry County Hospital.

Associates or Bachelors Degree required. Apply online at www.cherrycountyhospital.org or contact Jordan Hand at 402-376-2525.

RNs UP to $45/hour, LPNs up to $37.50/hour, CNAs up to $22.50/hour.

Free gas/weekly pay, $2,000 bonus. AACO Nursing Agency, 800-656-4414 Ext. 5.

CAN YOU dig it? Heavy Equipment Operator Career! We offer training and certifications running bulldozers, backhoes and excavators. Lifetime job placement. VA Benefits eligible! 1-866-362-6497.

Excellent Bunk Feed!

50% Hay 50% Grain

3/4” Range Cake

CEMETERY SUPERINTENDENT, Hastings, NE. Supervises and coordinates operations of the city cemetery. $45,056-$63,710/year plus benefits.

See www.cityofhastings.org/cemsupt for details and how to apply.

EOE/M/F/D/V

Custom Blends Available!

Alfalfa or Grain Based Cake

MUGGLI BROS., INC. 72 Muggli Lane • Miles City, MT 59301

PHONE: 406-234-5312 FAX: 406-234-2836 VINCE MUGGLI- CELL

406-951-1172 or

BEN MUGGLI- CELL

406-951-1857

CLASS A Drivers, local home daily out of Omaha, area regional runs too.

Lowboy or flatbed experience helpful. Great pay and full benefits + direct deposit. www.flatbedexpress.com, 402-291-7607 x114.

open pulpit

12 | The Jewish Press | March 25, 2016

Overcoming the challenge of our time

When I arrived in Omaha in the late Summer of 2011, I was envious of very few of my rabbinic colleagues. In Omaha I found a great job, a loving congregation, and a committed community; I felt blessed then and I feel the same way today. There was only one thing that when I arrived I looked at friends around the country and said, “I wish I had that.” What was it that I missed? In many communities across the country early childhood centers are housed at Synagogues in addition to Jewish Community Centers. What I yearned for when I arrived was listening to small children run down the halls, hearing them singing, I looked forward to the day when my own kids would be enrolled and they could walk down the hall to my office or perhaps I could join them for lunch.

Five years have past since I arrived in Omaha, and while I wonder what it would have been like to have my kids just down the hall, I learned very quickly the importance of a community early childhood center. For all the decisions that Shira and I made since arriving in Omaha, sending our children to the CDC at the JCC was one of the best decisions we made.

I never worried about my children’s Jewish education, whether in Omaha, New York or anywhere else we landed. I knew that Judaism would be part of our children’s lives on a daily basis. Yet at the CDC we found partners in our children’s Jewish education.

The Talmud holds a special place for the individuals, both within our Jewish community and outside, who teach our children. It states, “those who uphold the community are like stars forever. Who are they?

The ones who teach the young” (Baba Batra 8b).

They are truly our stars as they care for our children like they are their very own.

The CDC creates an environment where our children learn about Jewish custom and tradition through stories and songs. Every week my kids are excited for Shabbat at RABBI STEVEN home and at school, where ABRAHAM they get to celebrate with BETH EL their teachers and friends. A Friday does not go by where I am not asked for coins to give for tzedakah. There is perhaps no greater joy than getting ready for Shabbat dinner and seeing Leor cover his eyes as we light candles and waiting for Naama to lead us in HaMotzi. It is clear that the building blocks of both a solid education and Jewish identity begin at birth.

In the Fall of 2013, Michael Siegel, the chairman of Jewish Federations of North America, put forth a goal of raising $1 billion over the next decade in hopes of revitalizing Jewish Life, and at the center of his plan was tuition free preschool. Many Jewish leaders dismissed the idea, yet with the increasing cost of ECE programs across the country, including

Omaha, now is the time to make an investment in our community’s future. The data shows that early engagement with Jewish families leads to greater engagement.

All too often we cite Jewish Day School and Camp as ways to give our youth a booster shot of Jewish Identity. I agree and have been on both of those band wagons, and will continue to yell from the rooftops about their successes, yet the story that ends with a strong Jewish identity begins with preschool.

As of February, the CDC has 182 children from 138 families. Of that, 71 children from 53 families are Jewish, making the CDC 39% Jewish. I once heard someone say the CDC was our greatest asset in fighting anti-Semitism because it exposes nonJewish children to Judaism. I believe that a byproduct of an excellent Jewish preschool can be educating non-Jews on Judaism, but it is not the reason Jewish preschools exist. The CDC was created to make sure that our most precious commodity, our children, grow up knowing and loving Judaism. I know there are more than 71 Jewish children ages 0-5 living in Omaha, and so we have to ask ourselves, why are they not at the CDC? We have the ability to make Jewish preschool in Omaha a right and not a privilege.

A place that welcomes those who can afford, those who cannot, and those too proud to ask for help. We have a chance to make a difference in the lives of our children. This is not and cannot be a conversation about dollars and cents, but of souls touched, songs sung and stories told. We have the means; do we have the determination to build a program that makes Jewish preschool a birthright?

The rabbis teach us that “what is learned in early childhood is absorbed in the blood” (Avot de Rabbi Natan 24). Let us look back on this moment and realize that we overcame the challenge of our time and secured our children’s Jewish future for generations to come.

Ruth& Phil

Sokolof ANNUAL LECTURE SERIES

Dennis Ross DIPLOMAT & AUTHOR

TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016

CAMPUS 7:30PM - LECTURE UNO THOMPSON ALUMNI CENTER

The U.S. - Israeli Relationship from Truman to Obama

Dennis Ross is the William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is also a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He was the director of policy planning in the State Department under George H. W. Bush, was Bill Clinton’s Middle East peace envoy, and served as special assistant to President Barack Obama.

The Schwalb Center and the Jewish Federation of Omaha are pleased to welcome him to Omaha as the 2016 Ruth & Phil Sokolof Lecturer.

MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTIONS

!"#$%&%'%(#)*+,'-#)%./0*1,%/#2##3!,'',4#5# "66,#$7!6*8"6#$.44%61,/8#)%./0*1,%/ $!,6'"-#5#9"%/*60#:%'0;1",/#$.44%61,/8#)%./0*1,%/##