Vol. LXXXIV No. 30 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 84 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
Working Side by Side, Israeli, Palestinian Doctors Save Lives
21 Adar II, 5765 April 1, 2005
Purim Around the Heartland
by DINA KRAFT ment from the West Bank JERUSALEM (JTA)--The city of Bethlehem. For her, pair of surgeons--one the surgeons’ nationalities Israeli, one Palestinian-don’t matter. examine the maze of tubes “It makes no difference to taped to 10-year-old me if they are Israeli or Mohammed Salemeh’s Palestinian. I’m just thankful chest. They methodically to them for all their help,” check his heart rate, oxygen she said, wearing a long levels and breathing. embroidered gown, her The young patient’s mothhead covered in a beige er, Mariam, stands behind headscarf. them, next to the heart monMarzouqa, a Palestinian itor. Her eyes grow wide as from Bethlehem, and Dr. Eli she watches her son’s chest Milgalter, an Israeli from slowly rise and fall. Jerusalem, have operated Mohammed is unconon 110 Palestinian children scious after some six hours Ten-year-old Mohammed Salemeh of Bethlehem lies in the from the West Bank and of surgery at Hadassah children’s intensive care unit of Hadassah Hospital in Gaza Strip who need heart Hospital in Ein Kerem, but Jerusalem, after an operation on his aortic valve, as heart surgery. Their work is fundhe is in “excellent condi- surgeons Dr. Bisher Marzouqa, left, a Palestinian, and Dr. Eli ed by a Peres Center for tion,” the doctors assure Milgalter, an Israeli, check on their patient. Hadassah was Peace program that is suprecently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in part ported by Italian donors. Mariam. The doctors operated because of the cooperation and coexistence by a staff that During surgery, the pair Credit: Brian Hendler/JTA work together in studied together on Mohammed, is both Jewish and Arab. fixing the damaged aortic valve with which he was concentration and partnership. Outside the operating born. A narrowing of the aortic valve opening made it room, they joke and tease each other like old friends. difficult for blood to flow from the left ventricle to the Hadassah recently was nominated for the Nobel aorta, which supplies the body with oxygenated blood. Peace Prize, in part because of the cooperation and On a piece of notebook paper, Dr. Bisher Marzouqa coexistence demonstrated by a staff that is both Jewish sketches out a diagram of the procedure for Mariam, a and Arab. Palestinian Muslim who has brought her son for treat- Continued on page 15
Purim festivities at Beth Israel Synagogue included a noisy Megillah reading, dairy dinner, purim spiel, and costume parade. More than 125 people enjoyed using a wide variety of noisemakers and wearing some wild costumes. Above: Amanda, Leah, and Josh Gurock arrived as “The Three Blind Mice”; Leah won in the category of Best Find more photos on pages 8-9 Child’s Costume.
Speech Therapy Has Outgrown Room at the Home by RITA SHELLEY A hip fracture put “John” in the hospital. Aided by rehabilitation, his hip is healing. But another complication is interfering with his health. Seemingly out of the blue, the simple acts of chewing and swallowing have become mysteriously difficult. “Lena” has a progressive memory disorder. Difficulty recalling words that used to be familiar to her, words like “ice cream,” is one of the effects of her illness. A generation ago, when John’s father had a similar difficulty with swallowing, his caregivers knew that if he couldn't eat, he wouldn't get better. But they didn't know what to do. And the effects of a memory disorder like Lena's also was seen as a problem without a solution. Today, speech-language pathologists offer numerous strategies to counter the effects of aging on the ability to communicate. At the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, Speech Pathologist Jennifer Flanagan works with people like “John” to strengthen the muscles of his throat so he can swallow food safely. The muscles that aid in his swallowing probably have been deteriorating for some time as a course of normal aging, but he didn’t notice the gradual changes that were occurring long before the hip fracture. Now, with his body working to heal the fractured hip, he is no longer able to compensate for the reduced muscle strength. Flanagan also teaches people like “Lena” to gesture or draw pictures to express her needs and wants, even when she can’t find the right words. This
Inside Opinion Page see page 12
is only one s t r a t e g y Flanagan t e a c h e s Residents with neurological and memory disorders, to help them avoid the isolation and frustration that accompany difficulty communicating. Therapies such as those offered by speech and language pro- Jennifer Flanagan, a speech/language pathologist at the Rose Blumkin f e s s i o n a l s Jewish Home, looks over results of evaluations of a resident before making were misun- recommendations for therapy. derstood and underutilized when the activity and background noise from a current Home was built. busy occupational and physical therapy Certainly no one could anticipate how program. valuable these services would become, Thanks to the field of speech-language or the need for sufficient space to be pathology and professionals like allocated in which to provide them in a Flanagan, a swallowing or communicacomfortable and dignified way. tion disorder is often a temporary setCurrently, speech, swallowing and com- back, not the foretelling of a downward munication therapies are shoe-horned spiraling quality of life. And while neuinto a corner of the crowded Physical rological and memory disorders aren't and Occupational Therapy room. reversible, today we know more about While re-learning communication skills lowering the frustration levels of the ideally would take place in a quiet, pri- people experiencing them, while assistvate space, the current arrangement is ing them to compensate for their deficits. anything but quiet and private. Instead “Many people think that speech-lanthere are the distractions of constant guage pathologists work only on com-
munication, but it’s much more than that,” Flanagan said. “Frequently, we also work with residents who are experiencing difficulty with swallowing and eating, so they can continue to get their most basic needs met--nutrition and hydration.” “We also work with residents’ ability to reason, solve problems, to recall information, and to express basic wants and needs,” she said. “We help people perform at their best.” For example, when you want ice cream, but can't find the words, one of your choices is to pretend to lick an ice cream cone. It’s just ice cream, but the process fills one of your basic needs-to communicate with other humans and have them understand what you want. In a “new” Jewish Home, these services will operate in space designed especially for them. “When we first started offering speech therapy, it was virtually impossible to determine the demand in the years to come,” said Mike Silverman, Executive Director of Jewish Senior Services and the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “But this is another of many instances in which the services we offer have outgrown what even the most creative staff can reasonably accommodate in a 25year-old building. “We are looking forward to the future,” he added, “when these services will be provided in a private, dedicated space-and where residents will work one-onone with therapists to regain their independence.”
This Week: Teen Age Features AZA: Page 11 Passover Issue Coming April 15: “Jewish Omaha: A Global Village” Omaha’s Partnership with Israel Features Acco: Page 4
Primary Election Guide: Page 7
Photos from Purim Around the Heartland: Pages 8-9
Nominations Due for Jewish Athletes’ Awards: Page 10
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
April 1, 2005
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by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Although Pesach doesn’t start until the evening of April 23 this year, it isn’t too soon to start thinking about what needs to be done to get ready for the holiday. Preparations for Pesach include cleaning homes, planning sederim, and recalling the Pesach Haggadah. To assist the community in preparing, Beth Israel is offering classes, the opportunity to order food for your Seder dinners, and information about kosher for Passover foods. Beth Israel is also accepting reservations for a traditional family seder on Sunday, April 24. Rabbi Jonathan Gross will hold “In Preparation of Pesach Classes" on two Sundays, April 10 and 17, 10 a.m. The topic for April 10 will be “Cleaning for Pesach: What Makes a House Chometz-free?” On April 17, the topic will be “Cramming for Pesach: Test Your Knowledge on the Pesach Haggadah.” Both classes are free and the community is invited to attend. “These are two very different classes,” explained Rabbi Gross. “The first is more of a ‘how to’ about cleaning and food, and what products to look for at the supermarket. I expect a lot of question-and-answer at the April 10th class. “For the second class, while we see the Haggadah every year, there are many themes in the story and some of them are subtle. So, we’ll examine it as a whole and look at themes that aren’t necessarily evident at first glance. There are ambiguous passages of the Haggadah that have a variety of explanations given by the commentaries.” Beth Israel is also accepting orders through April 6 for “Pesach To Go!” Kosher for Passover foods will be
packaged “to go,” giving you just what you need for your seder dinner plus food you can use throughout the week. For those who seek detailed information about preparing homes for Pesach, Beth Israel has a limited number of the Orthodox Union’s Guide to Kosher Passover Foods. Call the synagogue office if you are interested in receiving a copy of the guide. In addition, Beth Israel will host a traditional family Seder on Sunday, April 24. The seder will begin at 9 p.m. Cost is $36 for adults, $12 for children ages four-12, and $5 for children under age four. Reservations for the seder are needed by Wednesday, April 6. For information, reservations and to place orders, call the synagogue office at 556.6288.
Experience the Exodus at Beth El’s “Slavery to Freedom” Congregational Shabbat Dinner by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator A mock exodus is on tap for attendees at Beth El’s April 8 BESTT Family and Congregational Shabbat Dinner following 6 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat services. Prior to the meal, all BESTT students are invited to participate in the Shabbat service, according to Education Director Judy Rubin; anyone interested may contact her at 498.0904. Cost of the meal is $12 for adults (seventh grade and older); $6.50 for children (pre-school through sixth grade); no charge for children three and younger. Please send checks, payable to Beth El, to Beth El, Congregational Dinner, 14506 California St. Omaha, NE 68154.
Noodle Family Sponsors Cantor’s Concert
CLIP & SAVE
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, APRIL 1 Tri-Faith Dialogue, 8:30 a.m. at Temple Israel JELS Talmud Class with Guy Matalon, noon SUNDAY, APRIL 3 Jewish Potpouri, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, Bible Study Class, and Living C C Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El L L Jr. & Sr. NCSY Ice-Skating, 11 a.m. at Tranquility Park I I Yachad, 12:30 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Home P P Beth El Community Jewish Singles Dinner, 5 p.m. Senior Spring Fling, 7 p.m. & & MONDAY, APRIL 4 S S JSS Senior Luncheon, 10 a.m. A A Cantor’s Concert, 7 p.m. at Beth El V V TLC Crash Course in Hebrew Reading, 7:30 p.m. E E TUESDAY, APRIL 5 “The Guy and Bob Show”, noon BBYO Night, 6 p.m. “Live from the 92nd Street Y” Thomas Friedman, 7 p.m. Adult Education, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel JCC Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. TLC Growth Through Torah, 7:30 p.m. at private residence WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 Spice and Spirit of Jewish Cooking, 9 a.m., at Chabad HAZAK Meeting, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Patter, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El C Beth Israel Business Ethics Lunch & Learn, noon, L at the office of Joe Kirshenbaum I Adult Education, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel P THURSDAY, APRIL 7 & Temple Israel 10th grade trip to New York, though April 10 S Walk-in Drop-in, 10 a.m. A Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel V Jewish Parenting 101, 10:30 a.m. at Beth El E Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. TLC “Meaning of Life” Class, 1 p.m. All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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Left: Reading for Monday’s Cantor’s Concert, Beth El Cantor Gastón Bogomolni, center, peruses the program notes for the synagogue’s 75th anniversary Cantor’s Concert, along with Allan, Nancy and Harlan Noddle. The Noddle family, including Jeffrey and Linda Noddle (right photo), have
underwritten the April 4, 7 p.m. event in memory of their parents, Robert and Edith Noddle, who were longtime Beth El members. Allan Noddle recalled his mother’s great love of music, her operatic voice and natural musical talents, and called his family’s support a fitting tribute to their parents.
Temple’s New Rosh Chodesh Women’s Group Plans Third Meeting by CLAUDIA SHERMAN own interpretations of what they saw and experiTemple Israel Communications Coordinator enced.” The topic selected by the Rosh Chodesh group On March 13, about ten women met for Temple for discussion was Esther and her relationship with Israel’s second Rosh Chodesh gathering at the home of family, king, and the Jewish community. “We enjoyed Becki Brenner. They decided to continue to offer the discussion, laughter, and of course, good food,” women a way to study, laugh, and added Brenner. By continuing the learn together each month and Rosh Chodesh meetings, “we can planned their next get-together for increase our Jewish knowledge Friday, April 8, 5:45 p.m., at and give a voice to those women Goldbergs, 5008 Dodge St. After who came before us and honor dinner and discussion, they will their memories.” attend Shabbat worship services Brenner requested that women together at Temple Israel. who attend the April 8th meeting At their first meeting in February, bring the names of women they Marge Bresel brought decorated most admire or from whom they fabric squares, representing Jewish can learn in order to select future women of the Bible. The squares topics. were individually stitched by an A topic for May has already been international group of women. The chosen. Brenner said many of the squares have now been basted At Temple Israel’s first Rosh Chodesh meet- women in the Rosh Chodesh together into a quilt by Bresel and ing, Marge Bresel displays one of the squares group have beautiful prayer some volunteers from the Omaha used in a quilt created by an international shawls and would like to learn Jewish community. It will be donat- group of quilters. The quilt will be donated to more about the proper use of tallit a synagogue in Jerusalem. ed to a synagogue in Jerusalem. especially for women in Reform At the second meeting, “We started the evening with congregations. The women will meet on Sunday, May a poem about women at Sinai and their silent voices in 8, at the home of Susan Rothholz. telling the stories,” said Brenner, “silent because they Please RSVP to Temple at 556.6536 to attend or let were holding babies and could not write down their Becki Brenner know at bbrenner@jewishomaha.org.
April 1, 2005
Veterans Project Launched by RENEE CORCORAN Executive Director, NJHS More than 20 Jewish veterans and active duty personnel have volunteered to be interviewed as part of the community-wide celebration of 350 years of American Jewry. It’s a varied group-- from WWII heroes to those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, in conjunction with the ADL and the local synagogues, will record their stories for the archives, as well as create a museum quality exhibit opening Sept. 11 at the Jewish Community Center. It is not too late for any Jewish man or woman who has served or currently serves in the U.S. Armed Forces to contact me at 334.6442, to participate in this project. Event co-chairmen, Kevee Kirshenbaum, 393.6146, or Howard Silber, 292.8062 are also available to answer questions and enroll participants. Interviews will be conducted mid-April through early summer. This month, Beth Seldin Dotan, director of the Institute for Holocaust Education, will be training more than 25 Jewish high school students to conduct the interviews. “My experience with the Shoah Foundation interviewing Holocaust survivors and past work with teens to develop interview skills will be helpful in preparing these students for their meetings with our veterans,” Dotan explained. “I’m very excited to see the interaction between the teens and our veterans. It will certainly be a life-changing experience for the kids and hopefully for the veterans, as well, as they tell stories they may not have shared before.” Dotan is offering two training sessions, Sunday, April 10, 12:30-2:30 p.m., at the JCC or Wednesday, April 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Temple Israel. The entire 11th grade class at Temple has volunteered for the project. Any area Jewish high school students may participate; adults in the community are also welcome. Please contact Dotan at 334.6575 or e-mail bdotan@adl.org to register for one of the training sessions. EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Passover issue of the Jewish Press publishes April 15; there is no regular news in that issue. The deadline for the April 20 issue is Wednesday, April 13, noon. Questions? Call 334.6448.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
Adult Hebrew Class at Temple Israel Just Keeps “Going and Going and Going” by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Justin Cooper, who has been taking Kennealy’s class, Temple Israel Communications Coordinator said he went through Hebrew High when he was growTemple Israel will be offering a third section of adult ing up and “learned enough to get by. Now, I’m getting Hebrew at “the polite insistence” of many members of a better understanding of what the words mean and of the class that it be continued, according to Rosie the Siddur. As a kid,” Cooper relied mostly “on rote Zweiback, Temple’s program director. “Colleen is such memory.” Now, “it goes deeper. Everyone wants to para dynamite teacher. Her students realize how far she ticipate. Learning together is positive. It’s not intimidathas taken them in their Hebrew reading and vocabu- ing,” he added. “Colleen has a great ability to know lary. We are how much to delighted to push each offer another six person. She’s weeks of study,” exceptional.” Zweiback com“Colleen is a mented. very talented New students H e b r e w are welcome to i n s t r u c t o r, ” register for the agreed anothclass which are er one of her held on Sunstudents, days, April 10 Milton Marcus. and 17, May 1, “I would like 8, 15, and 22, to take a class 10:15 a.m. to with her noon. again. She has “There are lots even asked us of people who for our input want to work on Now it's their turn...adults learning Hebrew use a classroom usually occupied by chil- for the coming Hebrew. Some dren in Colleen Kennealy's Hebrew for adults at Temple Israel. session. I want to brush up believe that on what they already know, and some want to explore the class members are getting much out the class.and it the language to keep up with their kids!” explained has been very worthwhile.” Colleen Kennealy who teaches the class. “We have a Kennealy said, “We’ll continue to work on our most nice blend of people who have been Jews their entire common blessings and prayers. All we ask is that peolives as well as some who are considering conversion. ple know the Hebrew aleph bet. We’ll take them from Somehow they all work well together.” there.” In addition to teaching the adult Hebrew class, Course fee is $18 for Temple members and $25 for all Kennealy is also an instructor at Temple’s weekly others. Please contact Zweiback to register at Family School in which she focuses on prayers in the rzweiback@templeisraelomaha.com or at 556.6536. Siddur and introducing Torah trope to sixth graders and Beginning Hebrew for adults is sponsored by Temple their parents. Kennealy also mentors B'nai Mitzvah stu- Israel and the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong dents at Temple. Jewish Learning.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
April 1, 2005
Acre, Acco or Akko: However It’s Spelled, the City Reveals More Secrets by EDGAR ASHER There is a lot we know about the ancient city of Acre (Akko). Much has been documented by the many conquerors who dominated the life of the city over the past five thousand years. Since the foundation of the State of Israel, archaeologists have been continuing to reveal Acre’s past glories. They have underpinned the present buildings, which are contained within the city’s present walls and are mostly from the Ottoman period or later, and excavated below them to reveal the most elaborate Crusader city in the world. Such is the international importance of these unique finds that the city was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The excavations have revealed a complex infrastructure of halls, refectories, crypts, hospital and shopping streets from seven hundred years ago or earlier. This summer visitors will also be able to see for the first time a newly opened section of the underground Crusader city. Of special interest will be the recently discovered structure known as ‘The Beautiful Hall’. The 7.5 meter vaulted hall was built in the 12th century and its windows, plaster and decorations are exactly as they were over 800 years ago. It was a chance discovery that revealed ‘The Beautiful Hall’. A previously existing excavated underground passageway had on one of its sides a bricked up window. Some bricks were removed and, when the void inside was illuminated,
the window was located in the center of a north-east facing wall of a perfectly preserved vaulted hall. For some unknown reason this hall had neither been filled with building debris, nor destroyed, and is one of the best, and most impressive, remains of a Crusader building in the world. A 350 meter tunnel was discovered in 1994, connecting the Crusader fortress
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porarily forced out by Saladin. Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1188 had prompted the Third Crusade, led by England’s King Richard 1. The hundred years following from 1191 were Acre’s golden age with the city achieving international standing and great wealth. All this was to end in 1291 when the city was conquered and destroyed by the Muslim Sultan ElAshraf, thus ending Crusader rule in the country. For many centuries after, Acre remained an unimportant backwater until the city saw a degree of rehabilitation Top left ‘The Beautiful Hall’. The window in the center of the pic- by the Ottoman Turks. ture was the aperture that first enabled the archaeologists to see In 1746, they started the hall, undisturbed for some eight hundred years. Middle left rebuilding the city over shows the Templars Tunnel, discovered in 1994 during the the Crusader ruins, repair of a faulty sewer pipe. Bottom left shows the execution using construction matechamber set up by the British to hang members of the Jewish rial from the that era. underground. Top right shows seagulls swooping over the Acre In 1799, Napoleon marina as the sunsets. Bottom right shows the view across the Bonaparte invaded courtyard. The entrance to the right of the staircase leads to the Palestine and tried ‘refectoriam’. The three arches to the right of the courtyard lead unsuccessfully to take to halls that still have to be excavated. The courtyard itself was Acre from the Ottoman full of debris right up to the highest level of the staircase in the Turks. The city then picture. This was only cleared after the foundation of the State changed hands several All Photos Copyright: Edgar Asher - Isranet times leading up to the of Israel. with the nearby port. The tunnel’s dis- First World War, when the British covery came about after a local woman became Palestine’s new rulers. British was complaining about a blocked sewer. control in northern Palestine moved When the engineers came to check her southwards to Haifa and Acre was left to complaint and repair the damaged sewer become a central prison used by the they discovered the Templars’ Tunnel. In British to detain members of the Jewish August 1999, the tunnel was excavated underground. as well as housing a galand opened to the public. lows which was used to execute nine About 5000 years ago the city had come members of the Irgun (Jewish underunder Egyptian influence, and, in the 12th ground movement) just prior to Israel century BCE in the time of David and achieving independence. Solomon, Acre is mentioned as a part of The citadel of the Knights’ Templar the Kingdom of Israel. Shortly after this continues to reveal their secrets. More period the Philistines and the Phoenicians halls are being revealed as the building gained control until the seventh century debris of later conquerors are painstakBCE when it became the turn of the ingly removed. The famous Turkish bath Assyrians to dominate the city. now has an elaborate sound and light In 333 BCE Acre was conquered by presentation to transport the visitor back Alexander the Great, thus opening up to this important social and entertainthe Hellenistic epoch of the city. In 220 ment center of the rich Ottoman period CE it was the turn of the Romans to leave of the city’s history. The British prison of their mark on the city and for the next the Mandate times has a moving memo500 years it enjoyed unprecedented rial to the Jews executed by the British. prosperity. The Romans designated Acre, Today, Acre--or Akko--is part of the ‘Italian City’, a title that underlined Omaha’s Partnership with Israel region the stature of the city in the eyes of the in the Western Galilee. Countless Romans. Omahans have toured this ancient city. In 635 the Muslims conquered the city, After meandering through more than enclosed it by a wall, and remained in 1000 years of history the visitor can walk charge for the next 500 years. In the year through the old Arab shuk, enjoy a wide 1104, Acre became the Crusaders’ capital variety of refreshments while overlookand for about two hundred years the ing the marina and Acre Bay and, weathCrusaders fashioned a city in their own er permitting, take a boat ride around unique style. In 1191, the Crusaders had to the walls of the city and see Acre from retake the city after they had been tem- yet another different perspective.
Beth El Youth Group Plans Outing to “That Pottery Place” by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Members of Beth El’s BESTT Chaverim youth group will get to express their artistic flair during their next get-together on Sunday, April 10, 1-2:30 p.m at That Pottery Place, 14450 Eagle Run Dr. Painting ceramics will be the order of the day, and all Jewish fourth-throughsixth graders in the community are welcome to attend. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members. Beth El students planning to attend the
activity will be served lunch directly after religious school, according to Education Director Judy Rubin; she requested that when making their reservation, parents also place their order for peanut butter and jelly, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches. Rubin also requested that parents willing to carpool to That Pottery Place contact her at 498.0904. Reservations are needed by April 3, and may be made by sending a check-payable to BESTT Chaverim--to Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha, NE 68154.
April 1, 2005
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Praise the Lord and Pass the Matza Balls STAYING IN TOUCH by OZZIE NOGG The Passover Haggadah proclaims, “All who are hungry, let them come and eat.” But before you invite Eric “Badlands” Booker to your Seder, be advised. Booker - a 6'5”, 400-pound subway conductor from Copiague, New York (and often described as the NFL’s “Refrigerator” Perry without the muscle)-is a two-time World Matzoh Ball Eating Champion. Booker earned the title after polishing off 21 halfpound matzoh balls in 2003, and nearly that same number in 2004 during the Charity Matzoh Ball Eating Contest held at Ben's Kosher Deli in mid-town Manhattan. The annual event gives contestants five minutes, 25 seconds to scarf down as many gargantuan matzoh balls as possible. In case of a tie, a one minute, 25 second eat-off determines the winner. Partially eaten matzoh balls don’t count towards the final score, and vomiting (or dribbling matzoh meal out the nostrils) means instant disqualification. After his 2004 win, Booker said he felt “great” and allowed that “the matzoh balls were a little fluffier than what I trained with. When I noticed that, I was like a horse out of the gate at Belmont.” The Matza Ball Contest is one of many chow-downs sponsored by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (yes, Virginia, there really is such an organization). According to a spokesperson, “gurgitating for glory is an ancient, time-honored practice” that cuts across gender, ethnic, socio-economic and religious boundaries. Apparently the sport is now experiencing a renaissance, and not only do kosher competitions dominate the speed-eating agenda, but (again according to IFCE officials) Jews are leaders of the pack. The prevailing theory speculates that Jewish mothers’ insistence on “making all gone” makes for extraordinary consumption skills among Jewish youth. Case in point--Staten Island’s legendary Kevin “Krazy” Lipsitz. Now in his mid-forties, Krazy’s staggering matza ball stats include Most Contests Entered (17 semis and three finals) and Most Eaten Overall (148.75). Clearly, Jewish guys are genetically wired for gold medals in guzzling. Contenders for Matza Ball Champ must possess stamina, physical capacity and (obviously) guts, plus the ability to play mind games that produce fear in the competition. Some marathon eaters train by gorging on gallons of ice cream at one long sitting, while new-agey types
Beth El’s Rosh Hodesh Group Will Stir Up Holiday Memories by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator The upcoming Beth El Synagogue’s Women’s Rosh Hodesh meeting promises to be both appetizing and nostalgic, as hosts Patty Nogg and Judy Brookstein present “Cooking Up Passover Memories and Traditions.” The Wednesday, April 13, 7 p.m., get-together will take place at Nogg’s home, 1435 No. 135 St. During the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to swap their favorite Pesach recipes--both traditional and newfangled--and to share their families’ holiday memories and traditions, Nogg said. In addition, the hosts plan to compile all of the recipes into a booklet and distribute them during the evening; anyone wishing to contribute a favorite recipe may e-mail it--in recipe format --by April 6 to Nogg at: noggster2@aol.com. Reservations for the meeting may be made by contacting either Nogg (at the above e-mail address) or Brookstein, at brookstein@tconl.com.
prefer pre-combat fasting, “to get your mind focused and your body clear of all matter.” During the actual contest, most competitive matza ball-eaters stand. “You won’t feel as full as when you’re sitting,” one veteran explained. This Stand and Deliver method is countered by a fierce female competitor who sits and pops up and down as she eats, an activity calculated to tamp down the food in her stomach by releasing pesky air bubbles. Obsessive-compulsive speed eaters (influenced, no doubt, by their Sheldon-use-your-knife-and-fork-like-agood-boy upbringing) cut their matzo balls into quarters before methodically downing the segments. Purists shun utensils and simply use their hands to stuff the tennis ball-sized sinkers in, much like eating apples. “It’s something everybody feels they can do,” one competitor smirked. “But it’s not that easy. It's like shoveling cement down your esophagus.” The texture of matza balls range from those cement sinkers to airy floaters (the variety that buoyed Booker to his victory), and every family has its favorite formula. A recipe for Feather Balls, Alsatian Style, from The Jewish Manual (the first Jewish cookbook printed in English and published in 1846) instructs balebostehs to “Take half a pound of matza flour, two ounces chopped suet, season with a little pepper, salt, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix with this, four beaten eggs, and make it into a paste. A small onion, shredded and browned in a dessert spoonful of oil, is sometimes added. The paste should be made into rather large balls, and care should be taken to make them very light.” Good luck. In addition to Booker and Lipsitz, several other sanc-
tioned IFCE members would fit right in at a Seder table. Sonya “The Black Widow “Thomas, a petite phenom from Alexandria, VA -and Competitive Eating Rookie of the Year in 2003 -holds the record for hard-boiled eggs (65 in six minutes, 40 seconds), chicken wings, (161 in twelve minutes), asparagus spears (almost 6 pounds in ten minutes) and Sweet Potato (call it tzimmis) Casserole (8.62 pounds in 11 minutes). Also worthy of mention are Brian “Beautiful” Seiken of Brooklyn, who’s top dog in Kosher Dill Pickles (2.7 pounds in six minutes) and Dominic (no nickname) Cardo, the Whole Pickled Beef Tongue Champ (threepounds, three ounces in 12 minutes.) Gotta love it. Finally, please note that “Badlands” Booker is no Johnny One-Note when it comes to traditional Jewish holiday food excess. In addition to his Passover matza ball prowess, Booker is also the World Hamentaschen Eating King-an honor he received in March of 2004 after ingesting fifty of the Purim pastries in six minutes. He’s also a two-time World Cheesecake Eating Champion. Remember this when Shavuot rolls around. Freelance writer Ozzie Nogg’s features take a slightly off-beat look at the history and observance of Jewish holidays, festivals and life-cycle events. For a look inside her recently published book, Joseph’s Bones: A Collection of Stories, go to her website-- www.rabbisdaughter.com or contact her at: oxmom@cox.net.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
April 1, 2005
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Palestinian and Jewish Recipes for Peace
THE HISTORIAN’S F OOTPRINT by OLIVER B. POLLAK Cookbooks frequently rely on the handing down of recipes from great grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, aunt’s and friends. My wife, Karen, has more than 300 cookbooks; about 75 are Jewish cookbooks, and around 2000 loose recipes. She looks forward to the Sunday New York Times Magazine food section. Many of our cookbooks are charitable works produced by synagogues, Hadassah, NCJW, churches, PTAs, radio stations, families and civic groups. Some commemorate 50th and 100 year anniversaries of historical events. This genre is invariably produced by women. Our 29-year-old son Aaron in San Francisco works for World Wide Marketing Research in San Mateo, CA. Knowing his parent’s interests he recently presented us with a 96-page, wire bound, 81/2 by 11 inch cookbook, Palestinian and Jewish Recipes for Peace. A Lebanese couple operates the food service in his office building. The Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group of San Mateo County, meeting monthly since 1991, published the recipes in 2004. The Oslo Accords of September 1993, like the Chinese Democracy movement in Spring 1989, produced a euphoric hope for peace and freedom. Unrealistic expectations were soon dashed. But citizens did not stop trying to effectuate change. The original group of about 30 San Mateo Jews, Palestinians, Israelis, Muslims and Christians expanded to 10 groups in the Bay Area and 50 others around the United States. This cookbook is dedicated to “our two peoples and to all humankind, for we are one--neighbors forever.” To borrow Lance Armstrong’s title, this book is not about the recipes, it is transcendent. Each recipe has a story. While humor is pervasive there is also genuine pain, struggle and fear. For Moslems the period after Ramadan evoked the most commentary. Fuad’s favorite holiday is Eiud Al Fitr, the three-day celebration to break the fast at the conclusion of Ramadan. On the first day, families remember their dead relatives and may visit their graves. Many Middle Eastern foods employing pita, garbanzo beans, and egg plant are common to both groups. Hallel and Kashrut are not discussed.
Christians focused on Easter and Christmas. Afaf, a Palestinian Christian from Ramallah, loved Easter as a child. Everything was fresh and green, Easter eggs were colored blood red from onion skin. Her recipe for tabouleh is mouth watering. Fanny Botto’s Bamia maa Ruz, Okra stew with Rice, based on her Bethlehem born grandmother’s recipe can be cooked with lamb or as a vegetarian dish. Fanny’s mother Elena, a Palestinian born in Chile, provided Empanadas Chileanas (Meat Turnovers). Fanny, a Christian married Elias, born in Jerusalem in 1932 and a refugee after 1942 when his family moved to Bethlehem. Their favorite holiday Christmas includes traditional meals of baked ham, pot roast of lamb meat and potatoes. “The holiday was a time for the family to be together to share their prayers, food and laughter.” Jews focused on Passover, New Year and Hanukah. Miriam’s mother was a convert to Judaism. She taught Miriam to make chopped liver, but without salt or fat. “Mother didn’t know from chopped liver,” says Miriam, “I grew up thinking chopped liver was supposed to be crumbly.” Sandra, a Mexican-American Jew recalls it was difficult to find a bagel, much less lox, anywhere in Mexico. The family accommodated and contributed a recipe for Gefilte Fish a la Veracruz style. The special addition was jalapeno peppers. Sheila recalled as a little girl going to the live chicken market in Brooklyn at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday to pick, slaughter, pluck and check the chicken’s liver. Ida added her experience of going with Bubbie to buy a huge live carp that would spend its last hours swimming round in the bathtub. Len contributed her Great Great Aunt Ida’s chicken soup and matzo ball recipe from Lithuania. For Carol, a co-founder of the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue, her favorite food is “Trader Joe’s Take Out!” The book’s trope, “An enemy is one whose story we have not heard,” is buttressed by the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The goal is understanding, compassionate listening and a shared future. In 1997 420 Palestinians and Jews attended a Hotel Dinner-Dialogue. In December 2003, 170 people celebrated Ramadan, Hanukkah and Christmas as the Season of Light. This book is available for $15 plus $4 postage at: Ltraubman@igc.org and www.traubman.igc.org/recipes.htm. Historian, attorney and author Oliver Pollak can be reached at: obpomni@aol.com.
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University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana together. After losing touch, they were reunited in New York City in 2001. The couple lives in San Diego, CA. The bride is pursuing a career in finance and the groom is a researcher in theoretical physics. She is the granddaughter of the late Sarah and Moses Litvin and the late Eva Kosinovsky and Hershel Kosinovsky. He is the grandson of Marianna Mikhalskaya and Isak Kartyn of St. Louis Park MN, and the late Frida and Zinoviy Gorbatov.
R EAD IT AND EAT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN Are you a confirmed chocoholic? Adore chocolate in any shape or form? Read on about this sweet subject. Many forms of chocolate are readily available in the grocery store: Ghirardelli, Nestlé, Hershey’s, Baker’s and President’s Choice. A few premium brands can be found at upscale shops: Callehaut, Valrhona, and Scharffen Berger. These chocolates are listed in the introduction covering ingredients, tools & equipment and tips. One recipe-to-a-page is the format with clear numerical instructions, a tip and variation. Think fudgy, ooey, goey, chocolatey are melt-inyour-mouth recipes like Grilled Chocolate Sandwich, Killer Mocha Frosting. Featured especially for Passover are a to-die for Matzo Pizza, a Chocolate Matzo and this
easy fruit dessert that you could make with the kids. CHOCOLATE-DIPPED FRUIT SKEWERS Makes 6 skewers (41/2-inch) Baking sheet, lined with parchment or waxed paper, 6 skewers 12 dried apricot halves (Most dried fruits-such as pineapple, apricots, peaches, cherries and mangoes--and dried orange peel, bananas and figs work well) 6 dried pitted dates 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped Thread two apricots and one date onto each skewer, leaving enough room on bottom to be able to grasp it. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate on Medium (50%) for 60-90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, or until chocolate is soft and almost melted. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Dip top 2-3 inches of skewer in chocolate and place on prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, drizzle skewers with melted chocolate. Refrigerate skewers for 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm to the touch.
April 1, 2005
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
Omaha and Lincoln Groups Omaha’s Primary Election is Tuesday, April 5 to call home if we all continue to celebrate our diversity. I want Share “Delicious” Speaker Omaha to remain the city where all citizens are valued and wanted by SUSIE NORTON WRJ-O Event Co-chair On April 12 and 13, Temple Israel’s Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) and a coalition of Lincoln Jewish organizations are collaborating to host events in both Omaha and Lincoln featuring nationally-known author and food writer, Sharon Boorstin. Boorstin writes about women, food, restaurants, travel and lifestyle for publications including The Los Angeles Times, Bon Appetit, Sunset, Smithsonian and others. Her memoir/cookbook, Let Us Eat Cake: Adventures in Food and Friendship, was a selection of the Pulpwood Queens Book Club and the Satellite Sisters ABC Radio Book Club. She was the restaurant critic of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and she has co-written screenplays for feature films and television with her husband. Boorstin’s talk, “Memories to Nosh On,” will be presented as part of WRJ’s Donor Tea, to be held on Tuesday, April 12, 7 p.m., in Temple Israel’s Milder Center. The Donor Tea’s co-chairman, Silvia Roffman, encourages women to “come share this warm, inspiring evening with mothers, daughters, sisters and friends,” as Boorstin reads excerpts from her novel, Cooking for Love, then opens the floor to discussion of food memories, female friendships, and how the lives of Jewish women have changed over the past six decades. According to Roffman, “Proceeds from the Donor Tea enable WRJ to fund valuable projects in Temple’s Religious School and provide needed supplies to our kitchen.” Reservations for the Donor Tea can be made by mail or by calling Temple Israel, 556.6536, by Friday, April 8. Anyone interested in baking a dessert for this “delicious” event should me at 391.7333, or Silvia Roffman, 397.7070. The following evening, Wednesday, April 13, 6:30 p.m., Boorstin will speak at Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Boulevard in Lincoln. This event, open to men and women, is co-sponsored by the Lincoln Jewish Federation, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun and Congregation Tifereth Israel. A light, kosher dinner will accompany Boorstin’s presentation. The cost of the dinner is $7 per person, and reservations for this event can be made by calling Tifereth Israel at 402.423.8569. Boorstin’s books will be available for sale and signing at both events. She has very generously offered to donate a portion of book sales to WRJ and to the Lincoln consortium.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT For the 14 days leading up to its grand opening, inPlay will be taken over by a different non-profit organization each day, with June 6 shared by five groups. Tickets are $20 per person with 50% of the proceeds going back to each non-profit. InPlay is currently under construction at the old TipTop building on 16th and Cuming. It will eventually be a 35,000 sq. ft. entertainment complex with the latest in virtual reality games, sports bar and private game rooms. This interactive complex will also include a 45-ft. rock climbing wall, retro video games, private themed party rooms and a 25,000 sq. ft. banquet and conference center attached to the east of the existing building, designed to seat up to 700 people for social and corporate events. For information about the 14 Days of Giving Grand Opening, call 991.7400 or visit: www.inplayomaha.com. Bring your children, grandchildren and family for an afternoon of creative activity at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery on Family Day, Sunday, April 3, 1-4 p.m. The afternoon allows families to learn through hands-on activities and take-home projects. The afternoon1s activities will encourage children to use their creative minds in thinking about sculpture, paintings and architecture. The projects show how to use different media and will allow the children to create take-home art including jewelry, prizes, paintings, clay faces and much more. The artists on hand to help with the days events include: Linda Benton, Liz Shea-McCoy, Jim Cook, Ruth Lake, Lindsey Beaver, Peg Pelter, Kate Brooke, Naoka Fujimoto, Deb Paden, April Beckenhauer, Carrie Cass, Natalie Parker, Barb Mattley, Clarisse Hastie, Lynn Doser, and Sharon Knapp. For more information on these artists or the afternoon’s events, visit sheldon.unl.edu and click on the Events & Programs link.
AMERICA DECIDES 2005
(Editor’s note: All candidates for Mayor and City Council were solicited for ads and statements. The following were the only ones received by press time.) MAYOR MIKE FAHEY Together Omaha has built a modern, streamlined skyline. From Abbott Drive’s new entry to 10th Street and downtown to the Qwest Center Omaha, Gallup, Union Pacific Railroad, First National Bank and Lewis & Clark Landing, our brand new riverfront is a tremendous front door for our city. It’s something we can all be proud of. But what Omaha didn’t have--and needed--was a long-term commitment to our neighborhoods. They are where we live and raise our families and are critical to maintaining Omaha’s high quality of life. So while we continue our riverfront work, I have also sharpened city government’s focus on our neighborhoods and smaller business districts by crafting unique new programs and economic development models. Several new programs are fueling neighborhood renewal including a Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program, Residential Street Resurfacing, a Neighborhood Parks and Libraries Renovation plan and an Omaha Youth Sports Initiative. Our Community Policing plan is working--citizen membership in precinct advisory councils is up and crime is down 14%. We’ve done all of this --and more--in a slow, post 9/11 economy. We held the line on taxes and spending and will continue to fight any tax increase. While I am proud of this success, these are only the nuts and bolts. Omaha, Nebraska can only remain the fabulous city we love
and where tolerance isn’t just preached, it’s practiced. It’s a pleasure to serve as your mayor. I thank you for the opportunity and ask for your support of my re-election. JIM SUTTLE, CANDIDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL I believe Omaha is poised for greatness. I first began using that terminology while recruiting potential convention business to the city in the Fall of 2003. Now, as I visit voters door to door, at neighborhood meetings, and local small businesses, I see new opportunities to duplicate the excitement that has transformed Omaha’s riverfront. People know our challenge is to find opportunities to help established neighborhoods achieve our full potential. I have been working with community leaders and main street merchants to explore avenues for filling empty storefronts in neighborhood shopping areas. When we put all the elements together-entrepreneurs, property owners, investors and government--we can develop partnerships that bring added vitality to these neighborhood shopping districts. Filling vacant storefronts creates jobs, deters vandalism, and improves the quality of life for residents in adjoining neighborhoods. As executive vice president of HDR, I have put my experience to work for Omahans in the past. I served six years as the Omaha Public Works Director, and more recently served on the Mayor’s Task Force for Riverfront Development. I also serve on the governing board of the Omaha Symphony and on the Board of Directors for the Salvation Army, as well as on the University of Nebraska President’s Advisory Council. I have previously served on the governing boards of Methodist Hospital, the YMCA, the Safety and Health Council of Greater Omaha, and Minorities in Engineering/MESA, and volunteered on the Omaha Public Schools Advisory Committee and the North by Northwest Development Council. I also chaired the chancellor’s Special Task Force that led to creation of the Kiewit Institute at UNO.
CORRECTION Last week’s response to Susan Pollak’s Letter to the Editor in the Press contained incomplete information obtained from a staff member of the YMCA. When investigating any summer program, camp or school, parents are advised to compare “apples to apples.” Martha Jane, Director of the Southwest YMCA, contacted us to express her concern about the incorrect prices we were quoted. The YMCA offers a variety of summer programs and camps at different locales and she informed the Press that one week of the “Summer Fun Club” (from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) at the Southwest Y is $97 per child per week ($138 for non-members), not the $184 as stated last week. For more information about the Y’s other programs--including Summer Camp--visit the Y’s website: www.metroymca.org.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
April 1, 2005
Purim Around the Heartland
Photos from top row, left: At Beth El’s “Pour ’em Shpiel,” 170 Purim revelers were rolling in the aisles during the rollicking musical production of “The Shenanigans of Shushan;” among the cast members were, Daniel Christensen, left, Donald Nogg, Marilyn Tipp, Jerry Venger and Jerry Wasserman. During the synagogue’s Purim celebration “Under the Beth El Big Top,”
clowns Alyssa Kirshenbaum, left, and Chelsea Kavich created a variety of colorful balloon animals for kids and adults alike. The original All-Star Purim Spiel, written by Elaine Feldman and Bette Kozlen, entertained everyone at Beth Israel with hilarious songs. Rabbi Jonathan Gross won Best Adult Costume as Queen Esther and Bette Kozlen dressed as “Head of the Table.” Second row,
from left: Norm and Marjorie Lincoln, were crowned 2005 Purim King and Queen at holiday celebrations at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. At the Purim Spiel last Thursday night, Temple Israel’s staff reenacted the megillah as rewritten by Cantor Wendy Shermet and Stephanie Grossman. “Shushan by New Orleans” featured life in a bayou with Rabbi Craig Marantz, top row
left, as Big Daddy, a crawfish; Joan Cooper as the fisherman narrator; Rabbi Aryeh Azriel as Mordecai, the tuna; Dennis DePorte, Elyce Azriel, and bottom row: Claudia Sherman as the crusties; Lynne Jensen as rainbow fish Vashti; Rosie Zweiback as Haman, the squid; and Cantor Shermet as Esther, a ditzy white fish.
lowing lunch at noon. Cost is $6 per person. Join us for bingo with Eileen Remer at 10 a.m.; exercise at 10:30 and the discussion group at 11 a.m. For transportation call Dee Dee at 330.4272. Call Maggie Conti at 334.6521 for reservations to: Bunch to Lunch to Council Bluffs to the new restaurant Farmer’s Daughter on April 14; The Omaha Theater Company at the Rose presenting Nebraskaland on Monday, April 18; and Bluffs Run Casino on April 28.
a.m. and return by approximately 7 p.m. Round-trip transportation by deluxe motor coach. The trip includes noon meal in Orange City, guided tour of the tulips, Stage/Street Performances, shopping, professional escort. Send reservations to: Anne Skolkin, 1010 Regency Parkway #302, Omaha, NE 68114 by April 20. Make check payable to Branson Show Extravaganza is Sept. 19-23. Cost is $454 per person. For information, call Anne Skolkin 343.1638.
JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES The Omaha Municipal Orchestra presents Water Music Tuesday, April 12,7 p.m. at the JCC. Enjoy works from composers Mendelssohn, Chausson, and Smetana, featuring mezzo-soprano Wendy Eaton. Call Maggie Conti for reservations at 334.6521.
VISIONS Join us for the Tulip Festival Tour to Orange City on Thursday, May 19. Cost is $53 per person. Depart from the JCC at
LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCCon Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.
ORGANIZATIONS TORAH LEARNING CENTER All classes are taught by Rabbi Tuvia Hoffman. Please call him at 981.0569 for more information. Mondays, 7:30 p.m.: “The Siddur: The bestselling book of Kaballah” in the Omaha Room of the JCC. Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m.: “Growth Through Torah” at a private residence. Thursdays, 1 p.m.: “Meaning of Life & Other Business” based on The Way of G-d by Rabbi Chaim Luzatto, also in the Omaha Room of the JCC. YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS On Monday, Papa Joe’s One Man Band will entertain in the auditorium fol-
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BREADBREAKERS David Friend, candidate for mayor of Omaha, will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, April 6, noon, at the Park Inn Regency. Friend will share his views on governing the city. Cost is $11 for a full lunch and $3 for beverage service only. The community is invited to attend.
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April 1, 2005
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 9
Purim Around the Heartland
Photos from left: Rabbi Gross--or is that Queen Esther--distributes candy to kids at Beth Israel. After the megillah reading and singing, it was time for the costume parade around the Temple Israel sanctuary--Max Gendler leads the costume parade following the Megillah reading. Noah Grossman, eight, rode in on his pony to try his hand at the carnival games at Temple. In Israel, thousands of people came to Tel Aviv to enjoy the Purim festivities and parade. Thankfully, there Copyright: ISRANET were no violent incidents reported.
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Omaha’s Oldest, MOST EXPERIENCED, Representing CRUISE LINES...WORLDWIDE! Over 110 people gathered at South Street Temple on March 20, to cheer, hiss, boo, stomp, and sing and dance along with the 27 Temple Players’ presentation of an updated and hilarious Megillah According to Rock’ n Roll. The cast was amazed at the attendance. Afterward, folks were calling it “the best ever” and many talked about wanting to be in the play next year. Left photo: Vashti and the Vandellas--Kitra Monnier, left, the Wise Old Serving Woman-Louis Ledder as Vashti, Susan Ledder and Molly Fynbu--servant girls. Right: Becky Ledder as “Mr. Magoo Mordecai” and Zoe Watch as Short Guy Haman.
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ThomasFriedman Photos from left: Scott Stanfield played the guitar for the Megillah According to Rock ’n Roll at B’nai Jeshurun. Julie Wunibald, shown here with her kids, took first place in the Hamantaschen Baking Contest at South Street Temple. At the oneg after the Purim Spiel, congregants voted for their favorites by dropping contributions into the collection boxes. The voting was very close! Barbara Barron, Temple President, right, took second place.
Yachad Celebrates Purim by DUANE J. PIEPER shared made it a special event. What’s a Yachad Adviser party without good food. For dessert There is one Jewish holiday when everyone indulged themselves with the people of all ages can walk around in hamantashen. Some of the members also costumes of kings, queens and villians, participated in the cake walk and took twirl noisemakers and just have a good time. The story of deliverance from Haman’s evil plot against the Jewish people, as told in the Megillat Esther--the Scroll of Esther, lends itself to a celebration with costumes, food and games. To celebrate, Yachad members gathered at Temple Israel on a recent Sunday to partake in the festivities of Jill Saloman, left, Jeff Steinberg, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Lisa the Purim Carnival. Saloman have fun at Temple Israel’s Purim Carnival. Everyone seemed to find various games, home delicious looking baked goods. however, these games were not always The next Yachad excursion will be a as easy to master. All Yachad members special Omaha Symphony event at the walked away a winner. Rose Blumkin Theater on Sunday, April The camaraderie, fun and laughter 3. RSVP at 334.6491.
Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman, will hold a discussion with James Hoge, editor of Foreign Affairs magazine. Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his work at The New York Times, where he serves as the foreign affairs columnist. His most recent book, The World is Flat, demystifies the brave new world of globalization, its successes and discontents. His previous books are From Beirut to Jerusalem; The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization; and Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11.
Tickets $5 Order tickets by calling Cindy Reed, Registration Associate at 334-6419. For any additional information, contact Rachel Blum at 334-6404.
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Page 10
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Dining
April 1, 2005
Nominations Due for Awards: “JCC Wall of Fame” and “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year”
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Class of 2005 High School Seniors... We will be pulishing our annual Graduation Teen Age on June 10, 2005. To be included, we need your graduation photo and the following information.
by LISA SHKOLNICK JCC Assistant Director The “JCC Athletic Wall of Fame” award recognizes the achievement of Omaha’s Jewish athletes who participated in JCC sports programs in their youth and went on to make significant contributions to the Jewish community, the general community and/or the Jewish Community Center. Nominees must meet the following criteria: • Must be Jewish; • Must have participated in at least one JCC sponsored sports program; • Must have lettered and excelled in a varsity sport for a high school or university, and/or won a city or state championship in a particular sport; • Must have devoted at least three to five years of service towards the betterment of the community. This service is to be contributed to the Jewish Community Center and/or the Jewish community by being active on committees, a volunteer leader through a program, acting as chairman on committees, or promotion of programs. Applications for this award will be approved and judged by the JCC Health and Fitness Committee. Names of winners will be added to the “Wall of Fame” in the JCC Fitness Center. Last year’s Wall of Fame Inductees include: Bill Alloy, Mark Belmont, Bob Endelman, Sheff Katskee, Paul Rifkin, and Arnold
Beth El Teens Lend a Helping Hand Through “Yad Chazaka” Mitzvah Project by JILL BELMONT cuts are hurting single-parent families.” Beth El Publicity Coordinator Participant Shayna Kurland remarked that “I thought it A mitzvah project coordinated by one of Beth El was such a great opportunity to participate in the [mitzSynagogue’s high school classes has given a group of vah] class because we were students making a differteens the opportunity to reach out and make a connec- ence and we got to work on something we truly care tion with single-parent families in Israel. The class, under about.” Fellow student Sean Bernstein agreed, saying the guidance of teacher Daniel Christensen, is selling that “the program provided light into the social issues royal-blue “Yad Chazaka” that trouble Israel, and pro(“strong hand”) wrist bands, vided us a way to actively which are similar to the yelhelp.” low “Livestrong” bands The bands cost $2 and are made popular by Lance available in the synagogue’s Armstrong. The Beth El school office; for more inforteens have earmarked promation, contact Education ceeds from the sales to benDirector Judy Rubin at efit the Israel Association for 498.0904. “However much is Single Parents, Christensen raised, every cent will said. “For their mitzvah projcount,” said student Jodi ect, the kids wanted to focus Levine. “I am proud to have on Israel,” he noted, “and Lending a helping hand, teacher Daniel Christensen, right, been part of this class and I during our discussion, what and students Sean Bernstein and Jodi Levine display the am proud to have helped touched them the most was “Yad Chazaka” wrist bands they’re selling as a class mitzvah this cause. It truly is a mitzlearning about how budget project. vah.”
Passover Story Time At the Kripke Library
Young Student’s Art Will Fly on Aliyah Jet-- Along with the Artist
by GARY KATZ Parents and children are invited to attend and participate in this lively adventure into Passover on Tuesday, April 19, 10-11 a.m. Story telling will feature new Passover books just added to the collection, as well as a charming video entitled, The Seder on the Planet Matzah Ball. This amusing story of Passover and all of its joyful traditions is ingeniously wrapped around original songs and off-the-wall characters such as Shoshana, a Jewish elephant who wants to attend as seder. This program will appeal to children ages seven and under. Passover treats will be served afterwards. For information call 334.6462.
by YAEL KATSMAN Ruder Finn Israel (Jerusalem) Nefesh B’Nefesh (www.nbn.org.il), the organization which has helped nearly 4,000 North American Jews move to Israel in recent years, announced a coast-to-coast competition for Jewish students in the sixth to eighth grades. The winner will not only have his or her design--based on the theme of “Homeward Bound”--painted onto the organization’s summer flights for newcomers, but will be invited to be accompanied by a parent and principal or teacher, for a free trip to Israel in Summer 2005. “This contest is a creative idea through which young people will have a wonderful opportunity to express themselves on a subject that all of us hold close to our hearts,” explained Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “This is a great chance for students throughout the U.S. & Canada to discuss, connect and feel the concept of Aliyah and Homeward Bound.” All competition rules and regulations can be found at: www.nbn.org.il/logocontest, along with other general information about Nefesh B’Nefesh. Deadline for submissions is Israel Independence Day, May 12. All Jewish students in the sixth-eighth grades in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to compete. Nefesh B’Nefesh is an organization dedicated to revitalizing North American Aliyah by removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles of Aliyah.
Name _____________________________________________ Parent(s)’ Name(s) __________________________________ Current High School __________________________________ College you plan to attend _____________________________ Send by May 13 to:
The Jewish Press | 333 So. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Weitz. The “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” Award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s elite Jewish athletes in high school. Nominees must meet the following criteria: • Must be Jewish; • Must be a senior in high school • Must have lettered in a sport at the varsity level Note: The recipient is not required to be a current member of the JCC. Last year’s recipients include: Bradley Abramson, Ryan Blumkin, Marissa Epstein, Jennifer Finkle, Ben Gerber, Emily Gordon, Kate Josephson, Matt Kelberg, Emily Muskin, Laura Shkolnik, Sasha Skulsky, Brittany Sukiennik, Hannah Wolf, and Kylie Zacharia. All participants who meet the criteria will be honored with a presentation of a plaque at the JCC Board Meeting on June 7, and will be recognized in the Jewish Press and JCC Centerpiece. Applications for nominations for the “Wall of Fame” and the “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” Award can be found online at www.jccomaha.org, or may be picked up at Member Services. The deadline is April 30. For more information on the “Wall of Fame” contact Ed Heller at 334.6580; for information on “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year”, contact Bob Franzese at 334.6424.
Over 90 people attended “Sunday Night at the Movies” recently, sponsored by The Kripke Jewish Federation Library. After showing I.B. Singer’s The Magician of Lublin, the library hosted a lively discussion with Dr. Steve Skulsky.
TeenAge
April 1, 2005
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
underwritten by A GENEROUS CONTRIBUTION FROM AN ANONYMOUS DONOR
Editor’s note: This month’s Teen Age features the AZA teens of the BBYO youth group. Special thanks goes to Rachel Blum for collecting the material.
The Role of Aleph Zadik Aleph by ALEX RAKSIN AZA Council President In a time when every day can bring something new and completely unexpected, it is always reassuring to have a constant place to go where everything is familiar. High school for many students has been a roller coaster full of surprises and unforeseen events, but I have been fortunate enough to have such a place where everything truly is common and comfortable. The Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) has been, and continues to be, that place. Aleph Zadik Aleph has made me feel like I am a part of a greater whole. The very first time I was exposed to AZA was as a potential new member at a rush for a local chapter. Before I was even in the organization, I felt like I was accepted. I remember being picked up and spun around by a senior who had nicknamed me “Egan” because I looked like the character from the Ghostbusters movie. From that moment on, the division between upperclassmen and underclassmen was broken for me--it helped me realize that age should not be a limitation on with whom I could interact, and more importantly, from whom I could learn.
My first year in AZA was a year for building. I looked forward to every Tuesday, when we would hold our chapter meetings. I would look at the President in front of the room with such admiration and respect, and I told myself that I would someday become President, too. My first step towards that goal was being elected Secretary of my chapter. I was so proud--I was only a freshman! Serving that term opened my eyes to the dynamics of the youth group. Moving through high school was at times hectic, even downright frustrating, but I could always look forward to seeing my “brothers” in AZA. I could always call an older member for advice or just get together at someone’s house. Every member has a network of friends on which he can rely--and the implications of that carry a long way. Today, I see myself in the shoes of the older members I looked up to as an underclassman. I have found great satisfaction in being able to help a younger member get through a tough time. Above all, being in AZA throughout high school has been an experience that has given me invaluable skills for life. It has taught me to understand people, to be a leader and to be a friend. Alex Raksin is a senior at Millard North High School.
ATTENTION 8TH GRADERS! Your chance to become a part of the LARGEST JEWISH YOUTH GROUP in the WORLD is almost here!
BBYO Rush season begins May 10! Watch your mail for more.
B’nai B’rith
Top 10 Reasons to Join Mother Chapter AZA #1 by DANNY RAZNICK President As the newly elected president of The Mother Chapter AZA #1, I have come with my top 10 reasons to join AZA: 10. Five fold programs are always fun to go to. 9. Community service programs are an easy way to give back to the community. Go Shiputznick! 8. You get to go to Kansas City or St. Louis for regional conventions. The bus rides RULE and it’s a great way to meet Jewish teens from these cities! 7. LEADERSHIP, LEADERSHIP, AND MORE LEADERSHIP! 6. Tuesday meetings are always fun; there’s something new every week! 5. It is always a good time to go to dinner with your chapter members after meetings. How can you have a bad time with food around? 4. You can make friends with kids of all different ages. I love being able to hang out with seniors! 3. BBYO dances are always a fun time and a great opportunity to hang out with all youth group members. 2. You will never make closer friends than the ones you made in AZA and BBYO! 1. I am sure that the years you spend in BBYO will be the best of your life. Danny Raznick is a sophomore at Millard North High School.
Chaim Weizmann AZA #1510: So What Makes It So Great by BEN NACHMAN Moreh Brothers of AZA 1510, better known around here as the “Chaimes,” make our chapter of BBYO a great group of teens. We have a large active body of members who participate in a variety of our activities and programs.
Youth Organization
Weizmann’s 41st Annual Sweetheart Dance: A Great Time for All by CHELSEA TAXMAN Sweetheart Candidate An extremely emotional Sweetheart turns over the Chaimie Bear to an even more emotional new Sweetheart. Leslie Graul was recently chosen as the 2005-06 Sweetheart for Chaim Weizmann AZA #1510 at the VSP Club last month. The VSP Club, located on 156th and Maple, was a new hit place for the dance. The club includes a “game” room with a pool table, foosball, shuffleboard, and video games; another room looked similar to a movie theater with a big screen. And what would a dance be without the dance floor? Decorations included Blue Brothers motifs from Jake and Elwood’s New Weizmann sweetheart Leslie Graul, left, with 2003 sweetheart: and band posters; music was provided by Shayna Kurland. Omaha’s Anchondo. Anchondo is a rock band from Omaha, but known well throughout the country. When I asked Joe Goldberg about his reaction to his first Weizmann dance, his response was, “I thought that Anchondo played cool music and really enjoyed Jeffrey Malashock playing saxophone. It was tight.” Malashock did get the opportunity to go up on the stage with the band and improvise on his sax (that he conveniently had with him in his car). It was a big hit. The boys in the band loved it, too. Chelsea Taxman is a junior at Westside High School. Chaimie Bear Chelsea Taxman and Shiri Tene
Some members of Weizmann relax at the Sweetheart After Party at the home of Leslie Graul. Throughout the year, our chapter holds many programs. Such programs include: convention Hype-ups, our annual Sweetheart Dance, and Rush programming, where we show off our chapter to potential new members with the hopes they will join. In addition to these well planned and attended programs, our chapter has many others we have to fulfill the five folds of AZA: athletic, community service/ social action, education, Judaic, and social. Examples of these programs we’ve held include: Praying and Playin’ with the Chaimes--where we met for services at Beth El and held discussions with Rabbi Mordechai Levin, various random games of Frisbee (wherever we find a place to play), Hanging at the Ginsburg’s and more. This last year has been filled with a lot of great times and many memories were made. We have greatly increased our membership with all the freshman and have retained old members. In addition, we have a great advisor--Scott Tatelman--who has attended almost all our programs and helped our chapter function. Just recently, we held elections and found our new sweetheart, Leslie Graul. Chaim Weizmann AZA is filled with great members and fun times. I hope that this good trend for our chapter will continue onward into our upcoming years. Ben Nachman is a freshman at Westside High School.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
April 1, 2005
Opinion The Impact of the Terri Schiavo Case More than just “water cooler” talk, the sad, sad case of Terri Schiavo has sparked a national debate that in itself is a healthy one. Unlike the case of Christopher Reeve, Toby Schonfeld rightly points out her in Letter to the Editor, that the Schiavo case is not about assisted suicide (though Mary and Bob Schindler, Terri’s parents, might argue that it’s murder). In Reeve’s case, his wife Dana promised to care for him, regardless of his declining health. True, Reeve still had his faculties--but had Dana not stood by him, imagine the loss in the area of advocacy for spinal cord therapies and stem cell research. In Schiavo’s case, the courts have ruled that Terri’s husband Michael is her guardian and is expressing her wishes. However, there are Jewish legal experts who insist that is irrelevant. Rabbi Joel Roth, head of the Conservative Movement’s Law Committee agrees with his Orthodox colleagues that “even when there is very little life left, that life still matters.” And Rabbi Tzvi Hersch Weinreb agrees that “doing something to actively interfere with a person’s ability to continue to live technically is murder.” The Reform and Reconstructionist movements, however, take a different viewpoint. Rabbi David Teutsch, Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College believes that a feeding tube is “a medical device” and, “so it can be removed,” while Rabbi Mark Washofsky, who
teaches at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, notes: “the patient and the family must ultimately let their consciences guide them.” So what’s a Jew to do? Obviously having a living will would help. Even though Orthodox and many Conservative rabbis insist that halacha overrides the will of the patient and family, at least a written document would be of assistance if the case would up in the courts, as did Schiavo’s. The second item on the list should be to discuss the contents of your living will with members of the family: your spouse, children, and parents. Do you want your organs donated (permitted by all branches of Judaism) and what kind of heroic measures, if any, do you want at the end of life? And finally, though your lawyer can guide you on the legal ramifications of a living will, your rabbi--not the American court system--is really the only one who can help you with the Jewish viewpoint. One last thought: had Terri Schiavo not collapsed 15 years ago--had her brain not been deprived of oxygen-had she not wound up in a vegetative state, she may have had a very ordinary, uneventful life. Instead, her life
(Founded in 1920)
did have a purpose she will probably never understand--influencing spouses, parents and children to have this important “end of life” discussion. The Jewish Press, by the way, is encouraged by the number of phone calls and letters this has generated (more will be in next week). May Terri’s family be comforted by this impact on America.
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.
For Jews, Halacha Sheds Light on Schiavo Case
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by JOANNE PALMER NEW YORK (JTA) -As a U.S. federal court considers whether to reconnect Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube, Jewish scholars are turning to halacha, or Jewish religious law, for guidance on the issue. Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Florida woman whose parents and husbands have been in battling in state and now federal courts for more than a decade, is the insensate center of a swirl of emotion and legal action. Religious leaders have been involved as well; Terri Schiavo and her parents, Mary and Robert Schindler, are Roman Catholic, and many of their most fervent supporters are fundamentalist Protestants. The Schindlers want to keep their daughter’s feeding tube in; Michael Schiavo wants it removed so his wife can die a natural death. Jews, like others caught up in the debate, have a range of beliefs, and their understanding of how to apply halacha varies according. Virtually all the rabbis interviewed, though, told JTA that they did not agree with attempts by some conservative Christians to tie Schiavo’s case to the public debate about abortion. At the traditional end of the spectrum, Rabbi Avi Shafran of the Orthodox Agudath Israel of America said the Schiavo case is “straightforward from a Jewish perspective: The most important point from a halachic standpoint is that a compromised life is still a life. In the Schiavo case, you’re not dealing with a patient in extremes,” he said, noting that until her feeding tube was removed, Schiavo was not dying. In halacha, there is a category for a person at the edge of death; the rules for such a person, called a goses, are complicated. “There are times when certain medical intervention is halachically contraindicated,” Shafran said. “There may be times when it’s OK not to shock a heart back into beating, not to administer certain drugs. You do not prolong the act of dying.”
But Schiavo was not a goses, Shafran said. Instead, before the tube was removed she “had the exact same halachic status as a baby or a demented person. Like a baby, she was helpless, could not feed herself and was not able to communicate in any meaningful way. But a life is a life.” Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vicepresident of the Orthodox Union, the central arm of modern Orthodoxy, agreed that from a halachic perspective the Schiavo case is
“She should be kept on the feeding tube,” Rabbi Joel Roth (who teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary) said. “She’s not being medicated and she’s breathing on her own.” straightforward. “It’s not permitted to do anything actively that would stop the process of a person’s staying alive,” he said. “In this case, that would be withdrawing a feeding tube, which is tantamount to starving a person to death.” Like Shafran, Weinreb said the wishes of the patient or the family are not relevant. “It might have a bearing on whether new measures are undertaken, but once a person is on a support system, removing it is not possible,” Weinreb said. “Doing something to actively interfere with a person’s ability to continue to live technically is murder. I can't imagine a scenario that would make removing the feeding tube permissible.” Rabbi Joel Roth is a member of the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly’s law committee. In 1990, when he was the committee’s chair, the group studied end-stage medical care and accepted two opposing positions on artificial nutrition and hydration. One, by Rabbi Elliot Dorff, “would permit withholding and withdrawing” the tube; the other, by Rabbi Avraham Reisner, would not. The divide comes from how the tube that provides food and water is defined. If it is seen as a medical device, as Dorff does, it
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may be removed, Roth said. If it is seen as a feeding device, as Reisner does, it may not. Dorff puts a person dependent on a feeding tube “in the halachic category of ‘treifah,’ which, he argues, is a life that does not require our full protection--an animal that is treifah is one that has some kind of physical defect that will prohibit it from having a prolonged life. So he argues that a treifah is a life that does not require our full protection,” Roth said. Reisner, on the other hand, “treats these people as goses,” Roth said. “And even in the end stage,” he noted, “there is the value of ‘chaya sha’ah,’ the life of the hour.” In other words, Roth said, even when there is very little life left, that life still matters. The Conservative movement accepts both decisions, but Roth, a professor of talmud and Jewish law at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, sides with Reisner, and with Schiavo’s parents. “She should be kept on the feeding tube,” he said. “She’s not being medicated and she’s breathing on her own.” Rabbi Mark Washofsky teaches rabbinics at the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, and he sits on the movement’s responsa committee. The movement does not speak with one voice on the issue, Washofsky said, but in 1994 it issued a responsa on the treatment of terminally ill patients. Like the Conservative decisors, the Reform rabbis base their view of whether a feeding tube can be removed on their understanding of the tube’s function. “We cannot claim that Jewish tradition categorically prohibits the removal of food and water from dying patients,” Washofsky said. “But we consider food and water, no matter how they are delivered, the staff of life. So what we ultimately do is express deep reservations about their withdrawal, but in the end we say nonetheless that because we cannot declare that the cessation of artificial nutrition and hydration is categorically forbidden by Jewish moral thought, the patient and the family must ultimately let their consciences guide them.”
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April 1, 2005
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Our Agencies Must Oppose Bush’s Radical Decisions
F OCUS ON ISSUES by MARK J. PELAVIN For more than a century, when our constitutional rights were endangered, the major Jewish “defense agencies”--the ADL, the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress--fought back, and in doing so provided invaluable leadership to our community. Today, however, they are on the sidelines while perhaps the most important contest of our generation takes place: a struggle for the future of the federal courts. Constitutional rights--religious liberty (and the separation of church and state), civil rights, privacy and civil liberties--have long been the pillars of those agencies’ work. In 1923, the American Jewish Committee filed its first amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the Supreme Court case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, when the court heard objections to an Oregon statute that required mandatory enrollment in public schools, thereby targeting Catholic parochial schools. In 1948, the ADL filed its first-ever amicus brief in Shelley v. Kraemer, a pivotal civil rights case before the Supreme Court, where the court found that discriminatory property ownership
laws were unconstitutional. More recently, in 2000, the American Jewish Congress filed an amicus brief in another Supreme Court case, Dale v. Boy Scouts of America that urged the court to uphold an appellate decision that a scoutmaster could not be discriminated against based on his sexual orientation. These are merely three of the hundreds of examples when the defense agencies looked to the judicial process to defend our rights as Jews and promote ideals of civil rights, religious freedom and equality for all. How are our fundamental rights endangered today? Not through any one case or on any one issue, but rather through an attempt to radically reconstitute the entire federal court system with a series of lifetime appointments that would push the courts far to the right not just of the “center” but of the entire mainstream political spectrum. Of course President Bush has the right to nominate judges of his choosing. We do not question his decision to select politically conservative judges, but rather his appointment of judges so clearly far outside any fair understanding of the judicial mainstream. That is why the Reform movement has opposed only a small number of the president’s nominees. In the last
Congress, we opposed five out of 224 nominees, only those who held the most egregious opinions on civil liberties, civil rights, women’s rights, worker rights, separation of church and state, and environmental decisions: issues of crucial concern to our community, and the afor mentioned agencies. Now, despite major opposition and congressional testimony that further discredited these individuals, Bush has pledged to nominate seven of the 10 filibustered nominees in the 109th Congress. These returnees include Priscilla Owen, who continually ruled against the protection of workers, consumers and the environment; Janice Rodgers Brown, who criticized, in her words, “the rather uninformative metaphor of the ‘wall of separation’ between church and state,” and held that the First Amendment shielded racial slurs in the workplace even in cases when they escalated to illegal race discrimination; and William Pryor, who called Roe v. Wade “the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history” and criticized Supreme Court rulings that uphold “the so-called wall of separation between church and state.” And this at a time when the Supreme Court is accepting fewer and fewer cases, and, therefore, the federal Court of Appeals is effectively the court of last
Left Wing Shouldn’t Overpoliticize Process
FOCUS ON ISSUES by MARSHALL J. BREGER Some Jewish leaders are urging the community to “go to the mattresses” in full-scale warfare against President Bush’s judicial nominees. This effort to trigger a wholesale attack on the judicial nomination process is unfortunate. It won’t help the Jewish community, and it is bad public policy as well. In recent years, Jewish community defense organizations have looked to steer clear of the judicial nomination process. Some Jewish groups have veered from this consensus, in particular the National Council of Jewish Women, who, like the Democratic Party, use abortion as its single-issue litmus test. Others, such as the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, have thrown down the gauntlet, fearing “an effort to rewrite the federal bench.” But most Jewish groups have understood that further politicization of the judicial nominations process is unwise. One point should be made clear: No one is objecting to Jewish defense organizations reviewing candidates on his or her own merits. However, the guidelines must be clear. The president has the right to nominate a judge of his choosing. And the nominees deserve an up or down vote. Liberals should not assume that they have a veto power over presidential choices when their opposition is thinly disguised ideological objection. Some liberals have urged recourse to such trench warfare after President Bush in mid-February resubmitted for Senate confirmation 12 nominees to the federal Court of Appeals. The nominations had been blocked by Senate Democrats during his first term. If liberals resort to the filibuster to prevent a vote on these presidential nominees, many Republican senators are prepared to consider the so-called “nuclear option,” which would effectively change the Senate rules to nullify the power of the filibuster. The Senate’s constitutional role in the judicial confirmation process is poorly served by the wholesale use of the filibuster to stall votes on judicial nominees. And if the “nuclear option” proves the only way to ensure an up or down vote on the president’s nominees, it will almost certainly throw the remainder of the legislative session into institutional paralysis. Furthermore, the president’s guidelines are themselves ones that the Jewish community ought to applaud, not deprecate. As he stated in his State of the Union message, he will nominate judges who “faithfully interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.” The president’s insistence on judges who interpret the law rather than assert subjective policy preferences is underscored by his refusal (unlike John Kerry) to require nominees to pass any single-issue litmus tests
demanded by the party faithful. At the same time, faithfulness implies a recognition of the importance of stare decisis, which maintains wherever possible the stability of legal rules. This concern for stability has in past years ensured that conservative judges hold back from overruling case law they may fault. It is well worth remembering that when Oliver Wendell Holmes retired in January 1932, President Hoover consulted with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, William Borah of Idaho. Hoover was focused on the political benefits of nominating a Western Republican and gave Borah five possible nominees. Benjamin Cardozo was placed fifth, reflecting Hoover’s political priorities. Borah looked at the list and returned it to Hoover commenting, “Your list is all right, but you handed it to me upside down.” He did not let quality fall victim to a political litmus test, as is the current case among Democrats. In contrast, today’s liberals have taken a different view. In a 1991 op-ed, Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, maintained that the senators should feel free to reject nominees on the basis of ideology, their qualifications and competence not withstanding.Most revealing, however, the desire to start up the judicial wars reflects an exaggerated view of the role of judge in American society. The sole fact is that judicial activism is a philosophy fostered by an intellectual elite who believes that the rights of the people stand or fall on the judiciary. As critical (that means “left-wing”) legal theorist Mark Tushnet has trenchantly observed, “It is politics that shapes the civic identity of the American people, not judges.” The Constitution belongs to all of us. Protecting and enforcing our rights is a responsibility of all branches of government, both state and federal. The lessons of history are painfully clear, “minorities” (however defined) put their trust in judges at their peril. This leaves me with a prudential point for American Jewish defense organizations. The constitutional ideals which some Jewish activists want to fight for can be only truly advanced by the political process. As Paul Starr, co-editor of The American Prospect, has acutely suggested, “For decades, many liberals could ignore the elementary demand of politics--winning elections-because they could go to court to achieve their goals.” By relying on the courts to save them, liberals not only show contempt for the voters, but also doom themselves to ideological irrelevance. If that is the goal of the American left, the Jewish defense agencies ought not join their lemming-like rush over the cliff. Marshall J. Breger is a professor of law at Catholic University. He served as a liaison to the Jewish community in the Reagan administration and the solicitor of labor in the first Bush administration.
resort for most claims. But even still, most alarming is the prospect that radical right judges could be nominated to the one to four vacancies expected on the Supreme Court during Bush’s second term. With so many of the Warren and Berger Courts’ advances hanging by a thread, such appointees could undo 100 years of Jewish defense agencies’ valiant efforts to defend our rights. To be clear, the Reform movement does not anticipate wholesale opposition to the president’s nominees. We will continue to look at each nominee on his or her own merits and will oppose only those we believe would seek to undermine fundamental freedoms. We urge the defense agencies to do the same--to examine each nominee (especially those being re-nominated) individually. As highly contentious appointments continue to arise through the second term of the Bush administration, I urge the defense agencies to stand against nominees who threaten the very tenets that make this country ours. The effort to remake the federal bench poses a grave threat to the very freedoms that have made America such a safe and welcoming home for American Jews. Mark J. Pelavin is associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: As I read the Jewish Press op-ed by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, I was disappointed he did not mention the time table of Orthodox Holy Week and Easter (Pascha) this year. He stated that due to Jewish leap year, Passover is pushed more than a month away and Easter must contend with Purim. Not so if you are Greek Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox). We will be celebrating Pascha May 1. Originally Passover was celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Christians, therefore, celebrated Pascha according to the same calculation; on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The correlation between the date of Pascha and Passover is clear; Jesus’ death and resurrection coincided with Passover, therefore assuring a secure point of reference. And what does this mean to us? The “Ten Commandments” was early for us also and Easter candy sales will be long gone. Louise Turkel To the editor: I was dismayed to read your editorial about Terri Schiavo in last week’s Press. The title demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding. Assisted suicide is when an individual takes his or her own life with assistance from another. Schiavo’s brain damage makes this impossible. Schiavo’s condition creates the need for a surrogate decision maker. Consequently, in 1990 the courts appointed her husband to this role. Far from withholding interventions, Michael Schaivo provided his wife with extensive therapeutic options, including experimental brain stimulator treatments, aggressive speech and occupational therapy, and continued neurological testing. Schiavo’s parents only objected after Michael failed to share a medical malpractice lawsuit award. If one is to make charges of moral turpitude in this case, be assured that there is plenty of culpability to go around. Halacha on artificial nutrition and hydration is more complicated than the Press implied. Several rabbis argue that these substances constitute medical interventions. Words are powerful. Alleging that Schaivo is “starving to death” connotes an image of a woman begging for food as others stand by and watch. Nothing could be further from the truth. Schaivo does not feel a sensation of hunger and the care team will continue to supportively care for her until her passing. The editor and I share concerns regarding governmental intrusion into a family’s tragedy. These concerns are magnified by irresponsible media. Toby L. Schonfeld, Ph.D. UNMC Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics Editor’s note: see page 12 for responses from across the Jewish spectrum.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 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 jewishnebraska.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 Torah Learning Center 1313 No. 58 St. Omaha, NE 68132 553.5397
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethlincoln.org
FREE LARGE-PRINT HAGGADAH Individuals who have a vision problem may obtain a free copy of the Large-Print Passover Haggadah (Hebrew/English, Hebrew Only, or Braille editions) which will enhance the seder and make the Passover holiday more enjoyable. To obtain a free copy, call the Jewish Heritage for the Blind at: 800.995.1888, or fax your request to: 877.230.2205. Please include your name, mailing address and telephone number. Supply is limited.
April 1, 2005
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.
Office Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free Babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by the Sisterhood; Mincha, 6:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:33 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; NCSYers and their families go Ice Skating, 11 a.m.; Call the synagogue office for Mincha/Ma’ariv service time. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Call the synagogue office for Mincha/Ma’ariv service time. WEDNESDAY: Business Ethics Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Gross, noon at the office of Joe Kirshenbaum, Noddle Companies offices at One Pacific Place. A Bagel Bin lunch is available for $5. Please make a lunch reservation with the synagogue office. Reservations are due today for the Beth Israel Seder which will be held on the second night of Pesach, Sunday, April 24. In addition, today is also the deadline for ordering “Pesach To Go!” and shmurah matzah.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by David and Karla Cohen, in honor of their daughter, Dayna, becoming a Bat Mitzvah; Evening Service, 6:40 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sunday, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; Weekdays, 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. SUNDAY: Sixth-grade Family Program, 10 a.m.; Jewish Pot Pourri Class, 10 a.m. Bible Study Class, 11 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah class with Cantor Bogomolni, 11 a.m.; “Living Hebrew,” a new, intermediatelevel Hebrew course, 11:10 a.m.; Community Jewish Singles (ages 45-65) Progressive Dinner, 5 p.m. WEDNESDAYS: PATTER (Parents & Toddlers, Torah, Exercise, Recreation) with Helen Epstein, 10:45 a.m. THURSDAY, noon: The Most Important People and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible, with Rabbi Levin. “VOICES OF BETH EL”: The 75th Anniversary Cantor’s Concert will be held Monday, April 4, 7 p.m. at the synagogue. JEWISH PARENTING 101 CLASS: Thursday, April 7, 10:30 a.m. guest speaker is linguist Lena Bogomolni. CONGREGATIONAL SHABBAT DINNER: April 8, 6 p.m. following Shabbat services. MEN’S CLUB SHABBAT: Saturday, April 9. BESTT CHAVERIM: Meeting at “That Pottery Place,” 14450 Eagle Run Dr., on Sunday, April 10, 12:30 p.m. HAZAK DELI NIGHT: Sunday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Wednesday, April 13, 7 p.m. at the home of Patty Nogg. (See story on page 5.)
munity. For information or to register, call the office or visit: www.nebraskajudaism.com.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN
FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home SUNDAY: Religious School, 3-5 p.m. at the JCC.
Rabbi Debbie Stiel will be in Lincoln two weekends a month. Please call her at 402.416.2321 or e-mail: dstiel@everestkc.net to set up appointments. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by David and Jennifer Williss, with oneg following provided by Barb Straus. Rabbinical candidate Rabbi Emanuel will speak during services. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 10:30 a.m., led by Rabbi Emanuel. This will be a great learning opportunity. SUNDAY: Hebrew School, 9 a.m.-noon COMMUNITY SEDER: Second night community Seder for Passover will be Sunday, April 24, 6 p.m., in the South Street Temple Social Hall. Prices are: Adult Members, $10; non-members, $15; children, ages 5-12, $5; and children under age 5 are free. RSVP to the Temple office. ADULT EDUCATION Tuesdays, April 5, 12, and 19, 7:30 p.m.: Rabbi Milder will examine the Passover Haggadah, covering its development; the Four Questions in detail, and other interesting material. Passover refreshments will be served.
CHABAD HOUSE
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BEYT SHALOM
Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.; SATURDAY: Mamarim class, 9 a.m.; Services, 9:30 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon. SUNDAY: Services, 8:30 a.m. Mishneh class, 9:30 a.m.; Aleph Champion and Little Scholars Programs, 10 a.m.-noon. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: “W.O.W: The Mystery of Marriage,” 9 a.m. “I Am My Beloved’s.” Women only; babysitting available on request; Torah for Teens, 4:15 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah: The Mitzvah of Love, 7 p.m. Programs are open to the com-
FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Rabbi Maximo Shechet.
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. Join Rabbi Craig Marantz and friends for songs and a story; Shabbat Evening Service, 7:30 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Shermet will officiate. The Oneg Shabbat will be sponsored by the Women of Reform Judaism, Omaha. SATURDAY: Bagels and Sacred Books, 9:30-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat
Candlelighting Friday, April 1, 6:31 p.m.
Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Julie Joanna Faylon Sadofsky, daughter of Linda and Rod Sadofsky, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, April 5, 7 p.m.: My House Shall Be a House of Prayer for All Peoples: Responding to the Challenges of Outreach. Congregants John Dacey and Todd Hutton will facilitate exploration of perceived barriers Jewsby-choice and interfaith couples entering the Jewish community. THURSDAY, April 7: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Cantor Shermet, 10-11:30 a.m. FRIENDSHIP TEA: Sunday, April 10, 2 p.m.: (See full story on page 7.) “Sex Education 101: A New Focus on Teen Sexuality”, Wednesday, April 13, 6:30-8 p.m. Author and lecturer Howard Schiffer will lead parents through the minefield of the “birds, bees and beyond” talk with their children. Free Sitter Service is available with advance reservations through the Temple office.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN AT TLC FRIDAY: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; followed by Kiddush luncheon and Mincha, 1 p.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Stanley M. Rosenbaum. Minyan, MONDAY & THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 8 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066. THURSDAY: Mindstretcher Series ADULT EDUCATION MONDAYS: Introduction to Judaism with Rabbi Stanley Rosenbaum, 7:30-9 p.m. SUNDAYS: (during Hebrew School days): Jewish Law through the Ages with Rabbi Rosenbaum, 10-11:45 a.m.
B’NOT MITZVAH Dayna Elise Cohen, daughter of Karla and David Cohen, will celebrate her Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 2, at Beth El Synagogue. Dayna is a seventhgrade distinguished honor roll student in the High Ability Learner Program at Russell Middle School. She has been selected to participate in the International Baccalaureate Program at Millard North High School and has qualified for the Duke University Talent Identification Program. She has also served as Secretary for Student Council, and was
chosen as an Ambassador for Russell Middle School. Dayna also will be a part of the yearbook committee. She has attended Camp Sabra and is active in Kadima youth group. She plays violin in the Russell orchestra, and enjoys reading, basketball, softball, kickboxing, trampoline. For her mitzvah project, Dayna is working with Jewish Family Services to collect Passover food for families in need. Dayna has an older brother, Marc, and a younger sister, Alyssa.
Her grandparents are Marian and Jim Dunn. Her great-grandparents are Fritzi Alter and the late Emil Alter, the late Rae and Sidney Cohen, the late Gladys and Edward Dunn, and the late Bernice and James Pavlik. Brittany Elizabeth Baines, daughter of Brigitte and Kenneth Baines, will celebrate her Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 9, at Temple Israel. Brittany is a seventh-grade distinguished honor roll student at Elkhorn Ridge Middle School. She received a Presidential Academic Award. Her interests include ballet, jazz
and tap dancing, and she loves basketball, swimming, tubing, and volleyball. For her mitzvah project, Brittany volunteered at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and helped residents during Sunday afternoon events. Brittany has a brother, Kyle. Her grandparents are Mildred Baines and the late Bert Baines, and Mr. and Mrs. Menasse Bohbot.
April 1, 2005
“Sanctify Yourselves and Be Holy” Worship
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Shmini--Shabbat Para This is one of the four special Sabbaths that look forward to Passover. The rights surrounding the treatment of the red heifer are not to be explained by anyone. The heifer brought impurity to anyone who came in contact with it. Yet its ashes, when it was slaughtered and burned, became the main ingredient of a formula for purifying one who had become impure. (Jews of our time can simply not react with any meaning to the ancient categories of pure and impure in ancient Israel. Suffice it to say, that it was totally a matter of ritual and had nothing to do with personal cleanliness.) The main body of the Sidra, unconnected with Pesach, has to do with the first basis of our dietary laws. What meats may we eat and the flesh of which beasts must we not eat? The Torah gives two signs, both of which must be present: first, a cleft through the hooves, and second, the animal must chew its cud. Obviously, this is totally arbitrary. It has been said that these two signs exclude animals that are predatory. But many non-predatory animals are also excluded. Repeat, arbitrary. Nonetheless, although in the previous Sidra the word Zav (Command!) is used, here, only “Vayedabber--And He spoke and told Moses and Aaron Dabberu--“Speak to Israelites...” The main purpose of all of this is found in a single verse: “Sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I the Lord am holy.” (11.44) We can certainly understand that ancient Israel felt some things to be degrading for we also feel some things to be so. But what ancient Israel though degrading became the rule for Israelites and Jews ever after. The essayist Ahad HaAm of the early 20th Century said that more than Jews had observed the Shabbat, the Shabbat had preserved Judaism. The same might be said of the dietary laws. Jewish food practices have preserved Judaism.
Chabad Cooking Class Series Features Holiday of Passover by CHERYL LERNER Does your Pesach dinner lack pizzazz? Need to add some pizazz to your seder? It’s a hockey puck. No, it’s a door stop. No, it’s your matzo balls! Chabad House has just the recipe to add spice and spirit to your Passover meals with it’s continuing cooking class series. This month’s session will be Wednesday, April 6, 9-11 a.m., focusing on the holiday of Passover. Gourmet ideas for the seder meal will be presented, including a sampling of sumptuous side dishes and “Ican’t-believethey’re-for-Pesach” desserts. In addition, one need not limit Passover wine to Mogen David and Manischewitz. A listing of kosher for Passover wines will be on hand, some of which are available for purchase locally, others available through the Internet. The themes of Passover will also be discussed. “Pesach is the season of our liberation, not just as a people, but as individuals,” said Shani Katzman of Chabad House. “The way we celebrate Pesach is by releasing ourselves from the confines of habits and pressures that influence us to be less than we are capable of being. Egypt wasn’t just a place, but a state of mind.” The cost for the class is $10, which includes brunch. Babysitting is available by reservation, $3 per child. To reserve a spot or to receive more information about this or other adult education programs at Chabad, contact Carol at 330.1800.
DEATH JOSEPHINE RUBNITZ FRAENKEL Former Omahan Josephine (Rubnitz) Fraenkel died March 9 in Evanston, IL. Services were held March 11 at Chicago Jewish Funerals in Buffalo Grove, IL, with Rabbi Lisa Green of North Shore Congregation Israel officiating. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stephen Joseph Fraenkel. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Amal Fraenkel; son, Charles Fraenkel of Naperville, IL; daughter, Martha Fraenkel of Storrs, CT; grandchildren, Melanie Fraenkel of Naperville, IL; Eli, Cait and Molly Thorkelson of Storrs, CT; sister, Miriam Simon of Palm Coast, FL; brother and sister-in-law, Myron and Susan Rubnitz of Winnetka IL. Memorials to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 710 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032-9982, or online at: www.parkinsons-foundation.org.
Doctors Collaborate at Hadassah Continued from page 1 “Once you enter the borders of the hospital you feel you have entered a different world, far from the struggles and contradictions of the outside. Everyone here works for human life independent of anything else,”said Marzouqa, still wearing blue hospital scrubs after Mohammed’s surgery. Marzouqa has to drive through an Israeli checkpoint every day to reach his job at the hospital. Most days he can pass through within minutes, but there are times, especially when tensions run high because of Israeli military activity in Bethlehem or because of warnings of a terrorist attack, when it can take up to two hours. Hadassah’s two hospital campuses have treated more terror victims than any other medical center in the world in the four and a half years since the Palestinian intifada began, even when it has meant treating terrorists and their victims in the same room. Hadassah also has reached out to the Palestinian community by training Palestinian doctors to open their own pediatric oncology ward in a hospital in eastern Jerusalem, training another doctor with an eye toward creating the first pediatric intensive care unit in the West Bank city of Hebron and hosting a support group for Palestinian and Israeli parents whose children have diabetes. Two weeks ago, Hadassah dedicated a state-of-theart center for emergency medicine. The staff drew on its experience to create what is considered one of the world's most advanced centers for treating victims of terror attacks. On another side of the hospital, in the pediatric intensive care unit, stuffed animals dangle from the ceiling and Mariam Salemeh sits next to her son, a few beds away from a fervently Orthodox couple hovering over the bed of their child. Abdel Razzaq Abu Mayaleh is one of the recent additions to the pediatric ICU. He has taken a one-year leave of absence from his position as head of pediatrics at a Hebron hospital to train with Ido Yatziv, head of Hadassah’s pediatric ICU. Mohtaseb Hospital, where Abu Mayaleh works in Hebron, often is flooded with pediatric patients, but he felt he lacked the knowledge to deal with the most critical cases. He plans to take what he learns at Hadassah to the pediatric hospital the Red Crescent Society is building in Hebron. Hadassah has shown Abu Mayalah an entirely different side of Israelis from the one he knew from interactions with soldiers and settlers in Hebron, he said. “All of us really feel that we are like brothers, like one family, in saving the children without feeling any difference between any race or religion,” he said. Marzouqa said Palestinian patients and their families often approach him to say they have been taken aback by the kindness and professionalism of Hadassah’s Israeli medical staff. When they return home, those families bear the message that there is hope for cooperation between the two sides, doctors say. Milgalter studied, trained and has spent his entire 25year career at Hadassah. Before the intifada broke out in September 2000 he had begun consulting on some cases with Marzouqa, who then worked at Mukassa Hospital in eastern Jerusalem. Instead of despairing at the political situation, the two doctors laugh about the absurdity of it all. “Here (at Hadassah Hospital) we are about everything connected to doctors, humanity and, most importantly, patient care.” Marzouqa said. “We are apolitical, and because of this, the hospital is an island of sanity.”
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April 1, 2005