April 21, 2017 by Jewish Press

thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

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IHE Week of Understanding Page a5

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The essence of the Foundation

SPonSorED By ThE BEnjaMIn anD anna E. WIESMan FaMILy EnDoWMEnT FunD

Ivan Gilreath speaks at Beth El

LInDa PoLLarD Endowment Assistant/Staff Writer, JFO Foundation good friend recently asked me to give an “elevator speech” about the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. “In other words,” he said, “in one or two sentences, tell me what the Foundation does. Tell me why the Foundation is important.”

In a nutshell, that is the essence of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. The Foundation is responsible for development, investment, accounting, administration and donor contact for 113 donor-advised funds; 97 teen donor-advised funds; 294 endowment, custodial or discretionary funds; and four supporting foundations. Also, 49 Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowments and Lion of Judah

After some careful thought, I replied, “The Foundation receives gifts from very generous donors, we invest that gifted money, then distribute the income (and sometimes the principal) to the Jewish Federation, synagogues and other charities both Jewish and secular. The Foundation distributes over $6 million per year to support the Federation, the synagogues and the other charities.”

Endowment Funds have been established at the Foundation by generous donors. As of the end of the June 30, 2016 fiscal year, the Foundation’s assets under management totaled $69.2 million, and the Foundation made $6.1 million in distributions to support the Jewish Federation of Omaha, all of its agencies, synagogues and a multitude of other charitable entities. See Foundation page a2

ozzIE noGG On Saturday, april 29, Ivan Gilreath, Executive Director of The Boys & Girls Clubs of The Midlands, will be guest speaker at Shabbat morning services at Beth El Synagogue. “Ivan will discuss the work currently being done by the clubs, his vision for the future, and show our congregants ways they can become community partners who help make a lifelong impact in the lives of at-risk youth,” said Rabbi Steven Abraham.

Friedel Jewish Academy Annual Plant Sale Page a6

Rebbetzin 2.0 Page a7

Mainstreeters offers May merriment

inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

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MaGGIE ConTI Director of Activities and Volunteer Services, RBJH Ah, yes, the merry month of May brings activities to satisfy various interests. Mark your calendars for these programs and join the action. A Free Afternoon at the Movies: Hidden Figures. Friday, May 12, 1 p.m. – JCC Theater. No Charge. Complimentary popcorn, warm and delicious, will be served. No reservations necessary. Bring a pal. In the early 1960s, as the U.S. seeks to surpass the Soviet Union in the space race, three mathematically and technologically gifted AfricanAmerican women must cope with racism and

sexism while performing vital tasks at NASA’s segregated Virginia facilities. The movie received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some language. The running time is two hours and

seven minutes. If you want to have lunch at the Star Deli before the show, call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 to reserve a table. Lunch is on your own. The Star Deli opens for business at 11:30 a.m. Take a Musical Journey with Candace Jorgensen: Monday, May 15, 12:30 p.m. Lunch in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium. Candace is the Director of Education & Community Engagement from the Omaha Conservatory of Music. Candace will talk about the success of the Conservatory, what they offer adult students and the benefits of music for all ages. Candace Jorgensen was once told at a young age that she “looked like a cello person”, picked up the instrument and never looked back. Originally hailing from Syracuse, New York, Jorgensen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Education from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. While pursuing her degree, she performed with strings and jazz ensembles at Doane and, in addition, attended the University of See Mainstreeters page a2

Ivan Gilreath, Boys & Girls Clubs of The Midlands Executive Director

Omaha native and Boys & Girls Club alum, Ivan Gilreath has been the President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands since 2011. Prior to his work at Boys & Girls Clubs, Ivan worked at ING Insurance in Minneapolis and for 20 years with Mutual of Omaha. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MBA from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Gilreath knows firsthand what some of the kids are going through and the power of the organization. “I am a product of my Club and my community,” Gilreath said, “and I hope my story and my experiences will inspire the youth of our Clubs to dream bigger and expect more of themselves and their futures. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands is a great organization that gave me so much, and I look forward to continuing that tradition of greatness.” For Gilreath, a focus on educational programming is paramount, and he notes the particular importance of attracting teens and high school-aged students, especially during the crucial after school to evening hours when they may not have wholesome activities to occupy their time. “What we need to do more of, and we can’t get enough of, is the educational aspect - because fun and education are not mutually exclusive,” Gilreath said. “We need to focus, at an early age, on more reading, more math and science - all in the atmosphere of having fun, and all in a safe environment.” Rabbi Abraham was invited to serve on the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands in January, 2016, and currently sits on the Executive Committee as the Program Committee Chair. “Over the past See Gilreath page a3

Foundation

A2 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

community Continued from page A1

Above: Candace Jorgensen, right: Bill Chrastil Nebraska (Lincoln) to perform in the UNL symphony Orchestra. For your entrée, choose either Asparagus Quiche or a Tuna Melt. Entrees include spring vegetable soup, fresh fruit, challah roll and lemon meringue pie for dessert and beverage of choice. Make checks payable to Jewish Social Services and send full payment to: Mainstreeters c/o Maggie Conti, 323 So. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. Reservations are appreciated by Monday, May 8. For information call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 or mconti@rbjh.com.

Elvis is back by popular demand: Jewish Social Services invites you to a free performance by Bill Chrastil at a Community Concert on Thursday, May 18, at 1:30 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium. The show is open to the community.” Bill has performed at the Home many times and is always a big hit,” said Mary Heiman, RBJH Activities Director. “He’s so popular, we book him every time he’s in town; and since he has a variety of shows, you never see the same thing twice. Come and bring a friend. Everyone is welcome.” An award-winning Branson, MO, entertainer, Chrastil has been a full-time musician and show-biz personality since 1983, performing at theaters, fairs, casinos and resorts across the country and abroad. His show is a salute to music legends Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Tom Jones, The Ventures, and other country and rock stars from the 50s and 60s. “Bill is a whiz on the guitar, piano, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica, as well as being a talented vocalist and songwriter,” Heiman said. “His show is fun and full of energy. You won’t want to miss it.” For information call Mary Heiman at 402.334.6531. Mainstreeters welcomes all Jewish residents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. The group offers a variety of learning opportunities plus social and cultural events.

Continued from page A1 The Foundation funds also provided scholarships for Jewish children to attend summer camp, the CDC, Friedel, and, of course, college. In cooperation with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the Foundation coordinates the LIFE & LEGACY program for Omaha’s Jewish Community. The Foundation is working with nine local partner organizations to build a culture of legacy giving throughout Omaha’s Jewish community, with a goal of securing legacy, or after-lifetime gifts, which will assure a solid financial base for future generations of Omaha’s Jewish institutions and Omaha’s Jewish residents. Our nine partner organizations are: Anti-Defamation League/Community Relations Committee; Beth El Synagogue; Beth Israel Synagogue; Chabad House; Friedel Jewish Academy; Institute for Holocaust Education; Jewish Federation of Omaha and its agencies, including Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Press, Jewish Social Services (Jewish Family Service, Jewish Senior Outreach, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home); Nebraska Jewish Historical Society; and Temple Israel. Now beginning its fourth year, Omaha’s LIFE & LEGACY initiative has garnered city-wide support from 237 individuals and couples, who have made a total of 559 legacy commitments with an estimated value of over $16 million. All of this could not be possi-

ble without the exceptional generosity of the Omaha Jewish community. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors, led by President Carl Riekes and 15 other Jewish community lay leaders. Howard Epstein, attorney and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, joined the Foundation as Executive Director on January 1, 2013. He is the fourth executive director in the Foundation’s 34 year history,

preceded by Martin C. Ricks, the late Sheldon Bernstein, and the late Jerold Rosen. Office Manager Janet Henthorn, Endowment Associate Laurie Peatrowsky, Endowment Assistant and Staff Writer Linda Pollard, and LIFE & LEGACY Coordinator Margo Parsow round out the Foundation staff, standing ready, willing and able to assist the Foundation’s supporters and donors. For more information about the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, please contact Howard Epstein at the Foundation office, at 402.334.6466 or hepstein@ jewishomaha.org.

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The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | A3

Programming for young adults and families with young children at Temple Israel

SCott Littky Program Director, Temple Israel hen we began to reflect on programming at Temple Israel in the last few months, there are two areas that really have grown: our Tot Programs and our Young Adult Programs. The hard work of Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, Aliyah Lasky and Dani Howell have really paid off! Both the Temple Tots Sunday Morning program and the Temple Tots Shabbat program are designed to allow lots of group interaction. During each session, participants hear Jewish stories, learn new Jewish songs and have an opportunity to take part in crafts and other special activities that relate to Jewish Holidays. An added benefit of the Temple Tots Program is the opportunity for those families who are involved to bond and get to know each other better. When asked about this year’s Temple Tots Program, Rabbi Berezin said, “Having Dani Howell leading each session is a real treat. Her level of creativity and love of teaching in a Jewish environment shine each week. She is a master teacher with an amazing background working with this age group.” Another special aspect that grew out of the Temple Tots programs was a desire for the participants to share other experiences together. Earlier in the year, Rabbi Berezin and a group of volunteers planned an adult outing to allow parents to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Then a couple months ago, a child-friendly Shabbat evening service and dinner was held. Each event was very successful and has laid the ground work for more programming in the future. In the area of Young Adult programming, Director of

Youth & Young Adult Engagement Aliyah Lasky has continued in her second year to grow her program with activities included attending Shabbat morning service and then having lunch together afterwards to socialize and discuss various topics relevant to the group, or gathering as a group to

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Gilreath

Continued from page A1 two years I have had the chance to see the amazing work the Boys & Girls Clubs do for young people in Omaha,” Rabbi Abraham said. “From providing quality after-school programming, to scholarships, and career services, Boys & Girls Clubs are a integral part of our Omaha community. Ivan Gilreth’s message is an important one, and we’re pleased to have him as our Shabbat guest on Saturday, April 29.”

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A4 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

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A futuristic Israeli peace plan -- minus the peace

Andrew TobIn commercial seaport along with electricity and desalination TEL AVIV | JTA facilities. A 3-mile bridge would connect it to the Gaza coast, aza is rebuilt. e West Bank is flourishing. And allowing international authorities to provide security, he said. the trains run from Tel Aviv to Riyadh, the Saudi Aer a decade of trade and travel restrictions, he said, the Arabian capital. island would answer Gazans’ needs for infrastructure and a is is the peaceful future being pitched by Isportal into the world. It would provide economic and humanraeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz. In recent itarian relief to the enclave and help prevent another Israeli months, he has been shopping around a pair of ambitious war in Gaza -- there have been three in the past 8 1/2 years. economic initiatives that he says According to Israeli media recould reshape the Middle East ports, senior Israeli defense offito Israel’s advantage: a regional cials have backed Katz’s island railway system and an artificial plan. Defense Minister Avidgor island off the coast of Gaza. Liberman and the Shin Bet se“ese big initiatives, as opcurity service have reportedly posed to the proposed shortopposed it for security reasons, term stopgap solutions, can be and other ministers have game changers,” Katz, who is doubted its feasibility. Benjamin also the transportation minister, Netanyahu has not embraced eitold JTA.” [ey] are part of a ther initiative and may not welregional concept or vision come Katz’s growing public which includes three layers: reprofile as the prime minister gional security, regional ecofaces two corruption probes. nomic initiatives and in the Gabi Siboni, a retired army future, based on these first two colonel who provides consulting layers, peace.” on military technology, said iniKatz, a leading member of the tiatives like Katz’s are the only reruling Likud party who wants to A map of Israeli Cabinet minister Yisrael Katz’s proposed realistic way to improve Israel’s gional railway. Credit: The Intelligence Ministry relations with the Palestinians. be the next prime minister, is among many right-wing politicians who have argued it is “ere is no chance to move in one step to a final peace high time for Israel to look past the two-state solution toagreement,” Siboni, a former commander for the elite ward other possible futures. But he has distinguished himGolani Brigade, told JTA. “Only this kind of bottom-up ecoself with a detailed vision of what could be on the other side nomic development will relax a little the Palestinian eco– illustrated by maps, graphs and PowerPoint presentations. nomic situation and gain some stability. Maybe one day they Katz has won supporters in high places, including the po- will allow for the next generations to move somewhere else.” litical right, who praise him for fresh thinking. Some, Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said he though, have doubted the initiatives are feasible, and Paleswas briefed on the artificial island initiative before leaving tinians and other critics to his le have accused him of puthis post in January. He described it as a “creative and very ting the cart before the donkey. e regional and promising solution” that could potentially get off the international support that such projects would need, they ground even without buy-in from Arab states or Hamas. have said, will never be forthcoming unless Israel makes But he said the Gazan government, be it Hamas or another progress toward peace. entity, would have to consent before the island could be Katz presented the railway and island initiatives, versions opened for business. of which have been floating around for decades, to Presi“If you developed a plan now to build it and finance it, dent Donald Trump’s special envoy, Jason Greenblatt, duryou could even start the world knowing to complete it you ing his visit to Israel last month. He said Greenblatt would need some change of governance in Gaza,” Shapiro expressed openness to the initiatives. told JTA. “e fact that it’s under way would actually be“Advancing economic initiatives in cooperation with come kind of incentive to achieve that change.” countries in the region, with American tailwind and leaderBy contrast, Shapiro said, connecting Israel’s railway to ship and assistance from other international and regional Jordan’s would require Arab states to normalize relations actors in planning financing and execution, is the best way with the Jewish state in a way that would only be likely aer forward now,” Katz said. progress was made on the Palestinian issue. e White House has said it as yet has no position on the “While Israel is seen as opposing a two-state solution and initiatives. e Palestinians have not been consulted. an independent Palestinian state, and there’s no progress in Katz unveiled plans for the railway to journalists last week that direction, I think politicians will discover there are limat the Transportation Ministry in Jerusalem. e initiative its to how much they can advance their country’s integrawould link to Israel’s growing network of tracks eastward to tion in the region,” he said. “ose two processes have to the border with Jordan, which already has railway links to move together in parallel, and not in sequence.” Saudi Arabia. e West Bank would also be included via train Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general and now head tracks through the northern Palestinian city of Jenin, he said. of Israeli-Palestinian research at the Institute for National Katz said the railway would bolster economic and strateSecurity Studies, said that while there is some merit to both gic ties between Israel and its Sunni neighbors. Also, he initiatives, they are at this point distractions from Israel’s said, it would give West Bank Palestinians greater access to unwillingness to make tough compromises. He said there regional trading partners other than Israel, and Jordan and are more realistic ways Israel could help the Palestinians, Saudi Arabia would earn more secure overland trade routes like using Cyprus as a port or easing freedom of movement and access to the Mediterranean Sea. Ideally, the United in the West Bank. States would step in to sweeten the deal with political, logisTo take Katz’s initiatives from fantasy to reality, Brom tical and economic backing. suggested, Israel would have to pay a price. As for the island initiative, which Katz has advocated be“e benchmark for seriousness is what you’re willing to fore, unspecified foreign powers would pay for it to be built pay for it, and the coin we’re expected to pay is flexibility in off the Gaza coast from sand dredged from the bottom of the talks with the Palestinians,” Brom told JTA. “e current Red Sea. e island would span 4 square miles and house a government is clearly not willing to use this coin.”

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The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | A5

community IHE Week of Understanding

Top row: Countryside Church hosts Marion Blumenthal Lazan; donors and volunteers celebrate the Week’s success – reaching over 5,000 students and adults; Sonia Warshawski answers students’ questions in-person and via distance learning; middle: A standing ovation for Robbie Waisman, at Wahoo Middle/High School; bottom row: Kitty Williams speaks to students at Westside High School, left; Bea Karp with her newest fans, at St. Mary’s; Marion signs copies of her book, Four Perfect Pebbles; and “Week of Understanding” Liberator and Survivor participants: Col. Roy Long, left, Kitty Williams, Robbie Waisman, Magda Brown, Tom Jaeger, Bea Karp, Fred Kader, Esther Silver.

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A6 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

community JFs pinwheels

the 2017 pinwheel planting group on sunday, April 2. each year we plant a pinwheel garden at the JCC in honor of Child Abuse prevention month in April.

Organizations

B’nAi B’rith BreAdBreAKers

“So you think it’s easy to run an election?” Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse will discuss the intricacies of running a democratic election -- coming just before the upcoming Mayoral and City Council general election on Wednesday, April 26, noon. University of Denver full professor, dr. Jonathan Adelman, will talk about Russia and Israel: New emerging powers in the Middle East on thursday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. (at UNO Milo Bail Student Center… A production of the Schwalb Israel and Jewish Studies Center). Dr. Adelman is the author or editor of 12 books on Russia, China, and Israel. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

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Friedel’s flower and plant sale

Annette vAn de KAmp-Wright Without a doubt, our fresh-from-the-farm garden starters are the biggest draw. A growing number of repeat cusEditor of the Jewish Press e sun has been showing up more regularly, we are see- tomers seek out the heirloom varieties of vegetables and ing thunderstorms and saying goodbye to our winter coats: herbs you cannot find anywhere else, so be sure to shop early for the best selections. spring is finally here! at Your choice includes tomameans it is time for Friedel toes, peppers, zucchini, brocJewish Academy’s Annual coli, eggplant, cucumber, Plant Sale. melon, lettuce, chard, kale, is year’s sale, which basil, chives, rosemary, thyme, benefits the school’s PTO, oregano and marjoram. ere will take place ursday is also chamomile, lemongrass, May 4 and Friday May 5, sage, nasturtiums and verbena, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at just to name a few. Bedding the Jewish Community flowers include marigold, imCenter main entrance. patiens, daisies, petunias and Friedel’s PTO has once of course geraniums. again teamed up with local producer Blooms Organic When you support Friedel’s Credit: Uwe H. Friese via Wikimedia Commons PTO events, such as the plant Farm and will provide everything you need for your garden. ere will be flowersale or the Annual Latke Sale, 100% of the proceeds diing plants, herbs, vegetables and seeds for your garden, as rectly benefit the students and teachers at the school. well as beautiful pre-arranged flowerpots that will make Please consider helping the school by shopping at the Plant your porch or patio look as inviting as ever. Sale; you’ll be reminded you helped Friedel, every time you Whether you’d just like a hanging basket for that special look at your garden! If gardening is not your thing, please person in your life, a few bedding flowers for a patio planter consider making a donation to the FJA-PTO. Please remember that all sales are cash or check only. See or a full suit of organic, high quality, locally nurtured vegyou at the plant sale! etable and herb starters, Friedel’s PTO has you covered!

Israel condemns Marine Le Pen for denying French responsibility for deporting Jews JERUSALEM | JTA Israel condemned far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen for saying that her country is not responsible for the deportation of thousands of Jews to death camps in 1942. “is declaration is contrary to historical truth, as expressed in the statements of successive French presidents who recognized France’s responsibility for the fate of the French Jews who perished in the Holocaust,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Monday, a day aer Le Pen made the statement during an interview in Paris for the RTL network and Le Figaro daily newspaper. e ministry’s statement also said: “is recognition underpins the annual events marking the anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from France and the study of the Holocaust in the education system, both of which are important elements in the battle against anti-Semitism, which unfortunately is once again raising its head.” Le Pen, the head of the National Front Party who is at or near the top of polls, was asked about the roundup and deportation of 13,152 from the Vel d’Hiv stadium in Paris

on July 16-17, 1942, which the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem defines on its website as “a symbol of the responsibility of the regime and the French nation for the Holocaust.” Le Pen responded, “I think France is not responsible for Vel d’Hiv,” and added, “I think generally, and in very general terms indeed, if anyone is responsible, then it is those in power at the time, not France as such. It wasn’t France.” Since National Front was established by Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, the party has been accused of espousing antiSemitism, hatred of Muslims and other forms of xenophobia. e elder Le Pen has been convicted multiple times for Holocaust denial and incitement to hatred against Jews. Under Marine Le Pen, the party has soened its image, including by kicking out anti-Semitic members like JeanMarie Le Pen, who was excluded from the party in 2015. France will hold its presidential vote on April 23. Should no candidate win a majority, a runoﬀ election between the top two candidates will be held on May 7. Le Pen and centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron are the front-runners in the polls.

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The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | A7

Rebbetzin 2.0: With co-equal role, young Orthodox women breaking mold of ‘rabbi's wife’

ABIgAIL PICkUs CHICAGO very Friday morning for a month, rebbetzin Ariel Pardo has been meeting with three female Jewish students at Brandeis University for deep conversations that wind their way from Jewish ritual to intimacy. “Ari is always so open and she makes us feel so comfortable,” said Mollie Goldfarb, 19, a first-year student. “She gives oﬀ that warm, inviting presence everyone can be around. It’s never just her teaching us, but us learning and discussing together.” Pardo and her husband, Rabbi David Pardo, are the Brandeis campus representatives of the Heshe and Harriet Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC), a program that places young, married Orthodox male and female educator couples on college campuses to foster and cultivate Orthodox Jewish life. e couples host everything from one-on-one learning and group classes to Shabbat and holiday meals. A unique partnership between the Orthodox Union and the Jewish campus group Hillel, OU-JLIC currently has 60 educators on 22 campuses across North America. ese modern Orthodox educators serve primarily Orthodox students, and the average educator couple serves for about four to five years. “We’re working with a population that is very intelligent,” said Sharona Kaplan, the OU-JLIC educator at UCLA along with her husband, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. “Our job is to help their relationship with Judaism mature, to help them find value and relevance – and ultimately own their Judaism.” When OU-JLIC was launched in 2000, the OU envisioned a program that included female educators as professional counterparts of their rabbi husbands – not in some secondary role. “e OU-JLIC women educators have leadership roles equal to their husbands,” said Gideon Black, director of professional recruitment and leadership development for

the program and once a OU-JLIC educator at New York University. “Many of our female OU-JLIC educators have graduate degrees in Bible or advanced Talmudic studies, and they’ve all done significant Jewish learning in Israel and the States. Our female educators are leaders on campus in a way

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David and Ariel Pardo are the Brandeis campus representatives of the OU-JLIC program, which places young Orthodox educator couples on college campuses to cultivate Orthodox Jewish life. Credit: Meir Kruter you cannot really match in the synagogue world or within traditional Orthodoxy.” Traditionally, ‘rebbetzin’ was a title applied to any rabbi’s wife. It implied no special degree or training and delivered no monetary compensation. Historian Shuly Rubin Schwartz, author of e Rabbi’s Wife: e Rebbetzin in American Jewish Life, says many rebbetzins of old, in fact, were extraordinarily well-educated and indispensable partners for their husbands. ey oen raised money, spearheaded charitable organizations, taught classes, hosted congregants for Shabbat and holidays, and even helped their husbands write sermons. But their stories largely have been forgotten. “For most of history, women’s work was underappreciated, and the options for women’s work were limited, so even when women performed important work, it wasn’t acknowledged,” Schwartz said. see Rebbetzin 2.0 page A8

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Rebbetzin 2.0

Continued from page A7 But in recent years, OU-JLIC female Torah educators have begun breaking that mold. OU-JLIC female educators are expected to serve with their husbands as equal partners, and they bring to their jobs formal training and expertise. And unlike the rebbetzins of old, they are paid for their work on the same basis as the male educators. Pardo, 30, says she didn’t grow up wanting to marry a rabbi.

“Once I started dating my husband, I realized I’d be a rebbetzin, and I became determined to redefine the role,” she said. Today, young Orthodox women expect to be both compensated and recognized. “We’re 21st-century women and educated professionals leading lives that are at once worldly and traditional,” said Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, a young rebbetzin on Manhattan’s Upper East Side who writes for Haaretz about her communal role. “We can't be expected to throw our careers to the side for communal volunteer work, like in days of

old. But for those of us who want to be seriously involved, as educators and mentors doing pastoral work alongside our husbands, there are so few professional opportunities for which we are compensated and recognized.” She added, “Our community desperately needs religious women taking leadership roles, and if couples can do that together, as teams, I think that's the most powerful outreach there is.” At UCLA, the Kaplans have been the campus OU-JLIC educators for 13 years – long enough to watch former students grow up, marry, start families and even become JLIC educators themselves. “I always wanted to work in the Jewish community, but I didn’t think I would be a campus rebbetzin,” said Sharona Kaplan, who has a bachelor's degree from Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women and a master’s from Yeshiva’s

Sharona and Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, the longtime OU-JLIC campus educators at UCLA, at the UCLA Hillel with their family on the occasion of their daughter's bat mitzvah, December 2016. Credit: Irene Ho

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Wurzweiler School of Social Work. “My Jewish life was so rich and so fun and so compelling -- and my husband’s was, too -- that we wanted to pay it forward by trying to replicate what we were gied through experiential Jewish living for students at UCLA.” When they started at UCLA in 2004, they were given free reign and told to serve the community in a holistic way. ey began running learning programs with students, including a jointly taught class on Jewish philosophy and law, and hosting large Shabbat meals. anks to Hillel, which either caters the meals or pays for them, Kaplan does not have to do much cooking. Like all OU-JLIC educators, the Kaplans started their tenure living on campus, but aer five years they outgrew their space on fraternity row and moved to a house nearby. e couple is now expecting their sixth child. Aryeh Kaplan says he’s lucky to have Sharona working in partnership with him. “You are not a solo practitioner, and having that person by my side also be my wife is an exceptional thing,” he said. “ere is this inherent trust with each other because you work together on so many realms. Our communication, our trust, our assurance that we are there for each other is very special.” e Kaplans also helped place three more OU-JLIC couples in Los Angeles who serve five area commuter colleges with large Jewish student populations. e Pardos both attended UCLA and were so inspired by the Kaplans, they decided to become OU-JLIC educators, too. Being representatives of Orthodox living on the liberal campus of Brandeis comes with its challenges, Ariel Pardo says. “My husband and I walk a very fine line," Pardo said. "But we are really modeling a life for how to interact in a marriage and how to have a family. When you have a couple that stand for Torah and there is wrong and right, that is tremendously important.” Black says the success of the JLIC educators has led to new leadership opportunities for Orthodox women: A growing number of Orthodox congregations are seeking to hire not just a rabbi but a rabbi along with his educator wife. “We didn’t set out to advance the role of women’s leadership in the Orthodox community, but that’s what is happening,” said Sharona Kaplan, who is on OU-JLIC’s senior management team and one of two female educators in the six-person OU-JLIC Executive Leadership cohort. “We are thrilled with this positive development.” is article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with the Orthodox Union, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, dedicated to engaging and strengthening the Jewish community, and to serving as the voice of Orthodox Judaism in North America. is article was not produced by JTA’s staﬀ reporters or editors.

The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | a9

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Holocaust denial is not a distraction

aNNeTTe vaN De kaMP-WRiGHT Editor of the Jewish Press lthough President Trump erroneously spoke about ordering air strikes on Iraq, those rockets did actually make it to the Syrian airbase. No matter, the strike hit its target and spokesperson Sean Spicer held a press conference on Tuesday, April 11 to explain things in a little more detail. While Jews everywhere were busy prepping for the second Seder and reminding their children to ‘please stay out of the kitchen already,’ Spicer said the following (in case you missed it or you need a refresher): “We had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” Come again? Calls for both his resignation and a clarification were fast and furious; Spicer was happy to oblige to the second request: “[Hitler] was not using the gas on his own people the same way Assad is doing.” He added that the Nazis only used chemical weapons in “Holocaust centers.” Oy. Stop talking, Sean. Just stop. Finally, he apologized on live TV, which was a good thing; unfortunately, he added: “I let the President down.” No, Sean, you didn’t. You know who you let down? Us Americans, who have the audacity to expect integrity and a sense of decorum, who assume they taught you something when you attended Connecticut College and wish you would think before you speak. Then, amidst the outcry over the initial comments and a severe reluctance to accept the apology, came something else: the notion that every time someone in this White House causes an uproar, it’s distracting us from what’s really happening. Look at the stupid thing I just said over here, while we quietly pass disturbing ordinances over there! Every time I hear that notion, or I read it somewhere, I

get an uncomfortable feeling. Sure, I agree, there are other things that deserve our attention. The Syrian crisis itself,

dangerous. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are never, ever distractions. They are, instead, clear signs of an underlying problem. In Spicer’s case, he’s held a variety of jobs since he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in the early 1990s. He worked for a number of campaigns, joined the Navy reserve as a public affairs officer and was assigned to Washington D.C. He has worked as communications director on the House Government Reform Committee, held a similar position for the House Budget Committee where he was also the spokesman, worked as communications director for the Republican Conference of the House of Representatives and was the assistant U.S. Trade Representative for media and public affairs in the Bush administration. He was a partner at a public relations firm until, in 2011, he became the communications director of the RNC. In short, Sean Spicer has made communication his bread and butter. Yet, he makes gaffes of this magnitude? No wonder people think he did it on purpose. Press Secretary Sean Spicer Credit: Wikipedia Acknowledging he said something wrong North Korea, the investigation into Russian ties, E.P.A. reg- after many others publicly called him out is one thing, but ulations, School vouchers, the impending government shut- did he realize it when he said it? Did he cringe on the inside? down… the list is quite long. Did he think he simply had an awkward moment and used However, what Sean Spicer said was anti-Semitism and the wrong words? But why bring Hitler up at all? Comparing Holocaust denial. Holocaust Centers? What is he even talk- anyone or anything to the Nazi regime never ends well; as ing about? It’s disturbing and bizarre and no apology can someone with his job history, he should know that. If he erase his words. The cat is very much out of the bag and doesn’t, he is truly ignorant of how disturbing his comments it’s never going back in. were. That is also the kindest explanation. It’s a pity I’m Calling this type of language a “distraction” is, I believe, not buying it.

Nikki Haley: Trump will not allow UN resolutions condemning Israel RoN kaMPeaS every single time.” WASHINGTON | JTA Paul Ryan, the U.S. House of Representatives The Trump administration will not allow a respeaker, also spoke Monday evening, saying peat of last year’s United Nations Security CounObama had “damaged trust” with Israel. cil resolution condemning Israel for its settlements, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told AIPAC. “Never again do what we saw with resolution 2334 and make anyone question our support” for Israel, Haley said Monday at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, where she earned the warmest reception of any speaker with an extended standing ovation. The Obama administration allowed through the anti-settlements resolutions in December as one of its last acts, triggering bitter recriminations from Israel’s government. Haley described her determination to help steer the course of the United Nations and its Nikki Haley speaking to reporters at U.N. headquarters in agencies from anti-Israel bias, noting her interNew York, March 27, 2017. vention keeping Salam Fayyad, the former PalesCredit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images tinian prime minister, from becoming the body’s envoy to Libya, and in getting U.N. Secretary“President Donald Trump’s commitment to IsGeneral Antonio Guterres to withdraw a U.N. af- rael is sacrosanct,” he said. filiate’s report likening Israel to an apartheid Ryan described the Iran nuclear deal, which state. swapped sanctions relief for Iran’s rollback of its Haley was one of a number of speakers at nuclear program, as an “unmitigated disaster.” AIPAC who drew a sharp contrast at the conferBut like Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke ence between President Donald Trump’s adminSunday, he stopped short of proposing dismanistration and his predecessor, Barack Obama. tling the deal, as Republicans consistently had “We had just done something that showed the during last year’s campaign. Instead, Ryan enUnited States at its weakest ever,” she said of the dorsed AIPAC-backed bipartisan legislation that resolution. would increase non-nuclear-related sanctions on AIPAC has striven to promote bipartisanship Iran for testing nuclear missiles and backing teras a theme this conference, seeking to heal rorism and other disruptive activity. wounds with Democrats opened over divisions The top two foreign operations officials in the with Obama over settlements and the Iran nuHouse struck a bipartisan note, appearing toclear deal. But Republican speakers have not gether Monday to back AIPAC’s bid to stop been able to resist digs at Obama. Trump’s proposed cuts to foreign assistance. “What I wanted to make sure of was that the Reps. Kay Granger, R-Texas, a moderate ReUnited States was leading again,” Haley said. “I publican who is the chairwoman of the foreign wear high heels. It’s not for a fashion statement, operations subcommittee of the Appropriations it’s because if I see something wrong I will kick it Committee, and Rep. Nita Lowey, the ranking

Democrat on the subcommittee and on the committee, have worked together on foreign assistance for years. Without naming Trump, they said his proposal to slash foreign assistance funding by almost a third – even while preserving present levels of assistance for Israel – would harm U.S. interests. “Foreign assistance supports a crucial role in national security,” Granger said, “and makes up just a small portion of the national budget, less than 1 percent.” Added Lowey: “The United States gets a major payoff.” AIPAC says the broader foreign assistance package advances U.S. leadership, better enabling Israel’s ally to defend it in international forums and to open doors for Israel in countries that might otherwise be wary of ties. Foreign aid came up again later in the evening when Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the minority whip, joined Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, to deliver what has become the standard declaration at AIPAC conferences of bipartisan support for Israel by House leadership. The leaders spoke of working closely on Israel, including their leading tours of Israel for House freshmen sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, an AIPAC affiliate. Arne Christenson, who manages public policy for AIPAC, asked both leaders to comment on overall foreign aid. McCarthy, a conservative who was among the first congressional leaders to back Trump last year, avoided an answer, focusing only on the need for assistance to Israel. Hoyer, like Lowey and Granger, argued that foreign assistance is a means of securing U.S. leadership in the world, but also argued that diminishing foreign assistance while maintaining current levels of assistance for Israel, as Trump has proposed, would be counterproductive for Israel. “To the extent that Israel [aid] is a larger and larger focus, it will raise controversy,” he said.

a10 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

synagogues B’nai israel synagogue

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

Beth el synagogue

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org

Beth israel synagogue

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

ChaBad house

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun

South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

offutt air forCe Base

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244

rose Blumkin Jewish home

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

temple israel

Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com

tifereth israel

Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org

B’nai israel synagogue

Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on may 12, at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker Dick Fellman, he will offer reflections on his recent trip to Paris to celebrate his granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Our services are led by lay leader Larry Blass. For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

Beth el synagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. friday: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. saturday: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. B’nai Mitzvah of ari and ethan finkelstein, sons of Rebecca Ruetsch and David Finkelstein; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8 p.m. weekday serViCes: Sundays, 9:45 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. sunday: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:15 a.m.;Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m.; Kindergarten Round-Up, 11:15 a.m.; Sunday Speaker, 11:15 a.m., with Dr. Mark Celinscak, Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at University of Nebraska at Omaha. wednesday: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Teen Yom Hashoah Program & Dinner, 5:30-7 p.m. at Beth Israel. Kevah Family Program-Grades 5&6, sunday, april 30, 9:45 a.m. Graduation Meeting-Grade 7 Students and parents, sunday, april 30, 11:30 a.m. Dinner at Stephen Center, sunday, april 30, 5:30 p.m. If you are interested in helping, contact M’Lee Hasslinger. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

Beth israel synagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 7:53 p.m. saturday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Insights in the Weekly Torah Reading, 6:50 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 7:35 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:56 p.m. sunday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels & Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m. monday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Reb Nachman Class, noon; Hebrew Class, Level II, 7:30 p.m. tuesday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. wednesday: Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Community Yom Hashoah Commemoration, 7 p.m. thursday: Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Ethics Class with Rabbi Ari, 7:45 a.m.; Woman’s Class with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m.; Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, noon at UNMC.

ChaBad house

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. saturday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. followed by a festive kiddush luncheon. sunday: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m. followed by Sunday Secrets: Jewish Fun Facts class at 9:15 a.m. weekdays: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. monday: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. tuesday: Women’s Workshop: Does G-d Care?, noon wednesday: New Tanya Series -- The Anatomy of Your Soul: Who Are You?, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. thursday: Advanced Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Mendel Katzman; Women’s Workshop: Does G-d Care?, 7 p.m. All programs are open to the entire community.

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun

Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. friday: Pre-neg, 6 p.m. hosted by Alan Frank; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m. featuring the Star City Kochavim!; Candlelighting, 7:55 p.m. saturday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Sh’mini; Havdalah (72 Min-

utes), 9:26 p.m. sunday: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m. at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Gesher, 10 a.m. at South Street Temple; South Street Temple is partnering with "We Can Do This" to provide weekend meals to the children of the F Street Community Center. Join us as we provide lunch on the third Sunday of every month. Food/monetary donations, meal preparation and assistance with setting up, serving, and clean-up are needed! We will serve our next meal at 2:30 p.m. For more information, email Sarah Beringer at sarah.m.beringer@gmail.com.; State Holocaust Commemoration, 3 p.m. at the State Capitol. Our legislative sponsor is Senator Tony Vargas of Omaha, and our guest speaker is Dr. Lana Obradovic from the Political Science Department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Obradovic came to Nebraska as a refugee from Bosnia. monday: Yom HaShoah Service, 5 p.m. at Wyuka Cemetery led by Nancy Coren and Rabbi Lewis at the Nebraska State Holocaust Memorial. tuesday: Kochavim Rehearsal, 6:45 p.m. wednesday: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. thursday: Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m.; Trope Class, 7 p.m. with Michael Boekstal. Class participants will need to order The Art of Torah Cantillation by Marshall Portnoy and Josee Wolff. adult eduCation tuesday: Intro to Judaism, Session #14, 6:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Lewis. Please help us fund our Annual commitment to Clinic With a Heart. The funds we contribute help to pay for clinic supplies and prescription medications for the patients. Your tax deductible contribution to Clinic with a Heart can be made with a check to the Temple, designated for the clinic. Yom Ha’Atzma’ut Celebration/Israeli Dance Party, sunday, april 30, 3:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. LJCS CAMP ISRAEL, July 10–July 21, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at TI. Kosher lunch and snack provided. LJCS enrolled students entering. Tuition for each week is $75 and if you are enrolling two or more children, the cost is $50 per child, per week. This program is open to children entering kindergarten through sixth grade. Please send tuition checks payable to LJCS to Andrea at TI no later than July 1. Camp registration is required through LJCS.

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friday: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

rose Blumkin Jewish home

saturday: Services, 9:15 a.m. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

temple israel

friday: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. saturday: Temple Tots Shabbat, 9 a.m.; Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Bat Mitzvah of elizabeth matz, daughter of Stacie Spies-Matz and Jay Matz. sunday: Blood Drive, 8:30 a.m.; Teachers Meeting, 9 a.m.; Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; Temple Israel Book Club, 10 a.m.; Grief Support Group with Marla Cohen, MS, NCC, LMHP, 10 a.m. For those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

tuesday: Executive Meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. wednesday: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; Chapel for School, 4:30 p.m.; Yom Hashoah Teen Program, Grades 8-12, Includes Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at Beth Israel; Community Yom Hashoah Service, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel. thursday: Music of Today as Prayer and Prayer of Today as Music: What’s it all About? 10 a.m. with Scott Littky. OTYG Lock-In with Elections, friday, april 28, 5:45 p.m.saturday, april 29 8, a.m. Calling all 8th-12th graders-join OTYG for our annual lock-in/elections at Temple Israel. $25 includes dinner, programming, and the social. RSVP required. Scholar-in-Residence Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman, friday, april 28-sunday, april 30. Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman is the founder and leader of Congregation Kol HaNeshama in Jerusalem, Israel. High School Senior Sendoff and Celebration, friday, may 6, 6 p.m. 10th Grade Confirmation, friday, may 12, 6 p.m. annual meeting, tuesday, may 23, 6:30 p.m. Please join us for the Annual Meeting to honor Rabbi Darryl Crystal for his great service and leadership as our Interim Rabbi during this year of transition. We will also be voting on the Bylaws and the Board of Trustees 2017-2018 slate. Afterwards, we will enjoy a wine and cheese oneg.

tifereth israel

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. friday: Services, 6:30 p.m. saturday: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. sunday: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m. at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Gesher, 10 a.m. at South Street Temple; Nebraska State Holocaust Commemoration, 3 p.m. at the State Capitol. Our legislative sponsor is Senator Tony Vargas of Omaha, and our guest speaker is Dr. Lana Obradovic from the Political Science Department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Obradovic came to Nebraska as a refugee from Bosnia. monday: Holocaust Memorial service, 5 p.m. at Wyuka Cemetery led by Nancy Coren and Rabbi Lewis at the Nebraska State Holocaust Memorial. In case of inclement weather, the gathering will meet at Tifereth Israel. wednesday: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. The 33rd Annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, thursday, may 4, 7:30 a.m. at Cornhusker Marriot Hotel (333 South 13th St.) Cost: $30 per person. Guest Speaker is Preeta Bansal, international advocate for religious freedom and interfaith cooperation. Please make checks payable to "Lincoln Community Foundation." Payment deadline is April 28. LJCS CAMP ISRAEL, July 10–July 21, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at TI. Kosher lunch and snack provided. LJCS enrolled students entering. Tuition for each week is $75 and if you are enrolling two or more children, the cost is $50 per child, per week. This program is open to children entering kindergarten through sixth grade. Please send tuition checks payable to LJCS to Andrea at TI no later than July 1. Camp registration is required through LJCS. The date of the Tifereth Israel Annual Meeting has been changed from June 4 to may 21 at 3 p.m. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.

Donald Trump to host Palestinian president next month

JERUSALEM | JTA Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 3 in Washington DC, a Palestinian oﬃcial confirmed. The visit was confirmed to the Jerusalem Post recently by top Palestinian official Ahmad Majdalani. Other Israeli media outlets cited a report in the Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad, which quoted senior Fatah official Azzam alAhmad as saying the meeting would go ahead on May 3 and that a Palestinian delegation will travel to Washington D.C., on April 23 for preliminary meetings with the Trump administration. Trump invited Abbas to the White House when the two leaders spoke for the first time in March. Abbas met last month in Ramallah with U.S. special peace envoy Jason Greenblatt,

where he aﬃrmed his commitment to a peaceful solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi, who has been involved in peace initiatives with Israel in the past, on Saturday reportedly questioned the Trump administration’s impartiality as a broker of Israeli-Palestinian talks. “We used to say there were settlers in the Israeli coalition borne of the far right that detests Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. But today we say there are settlers inside the White House,” she told the Israeli news website Ynet. “e administration has adopted the extreme Israeli position to the right of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and which supports the settlements.”

The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | a11

lifecycles B’naI mItzvah

kennedy clark

Kennedy Brooklyn Clark, daughter of Kimara and Kevin Clark, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, April 29, at Temple Israel. Kennedy is a seventh-grade honor roll student at Kiewit Middle School. She enjoys club volleyball, select basketball, softball, track, speech/debate team and playing with her dogs, Jake and Packer. For her mitzvah project, Kennedy participated in the Urban Plung with Tri-Faith, which was a weekend of multiple community projects. She also completed a drive for Together, Inc. where she raised the money and donated 200 hygiene kits. She has two brothers, Cooper and Jackson. Grandparents are Frances and Richard Juro, Mary Claire and Lyle Clark. Great-grandparents are the late Merriam and Harold Cooperman.

yanIra kaplan

Yanira Kaplan, daughter of Stacy and Corey Kaplan, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, April 29, at Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago, IL. Yanira is a seventh-grade student at Chicago Jewish Day School. Yanira enjoys piano, karate, Camp Young Judea, Saturday Night Live, and all things Hamilton. For her mitzvah project, Yanira worked with FreeGeek Chicago, a not for profit organization seeking to both bridge the digital divide and recycle used technology in an environmentally safe manner. Grandparents are Ronna and the late Gene Kaplan of Omaha.

In memorIam

davId romanIk

Former Omahan David Romanik passed away March 28 at age 94 in Dallas. Services were March 30 in Dallas, with interment in Restland Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Gerry Shafer; sons and daughters-in-law, Marc and Susie Romanik of Omaha, and Ron and Beth Romanik of Albuquerque; grandchildren: Randy and Lindsay Romanik, Nikki Jo Romanik and Ben Martin, Max Romanik and Kate Romanik; sister, Betty Rottman of Milwaukee; and brother Leonard of Stuart, FL. David was born May 29, 1922, in Milwaukee. He was the eldest son of Kate and Joseph Romanik. After graduating from Washington Heights High School in Milwaukee, he fought in World War II as a B-24 navigator after enlisting in the Army Air Corps at age 19. He served 4 1/2 years and became a 2nd lieutenant. For 56 years, he had an extensive retail career as a buyer, store manager and consultant. Together with Gerry, the couple owned two different homerelated retail specialty stores. His career led the couple to live in Omaha; Leavenworth, Kan.; Corsicana, Texas; and Dallas. He served as president of Agudas Achim Synagogue in Leavenworth, Kan., and Anshai Torah in Dallas, the congregation he and Gerry helped found in 1980. In 2005 at age 83, he celebrated his second bar mitzvah at Anshai Torah. He was a board director of B'nai B'rith and United Jewish Appeal in the places he lived. Memorials may be made to Congregation Anshai Torah. 5501 Parker Road, Plano, TX, 75093.

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EU adopts anti-boycott stance in official commercial policy

JTA In a reaction to attempts in Europe to boycott Israel, the European Union’s report on commercial competition for the first time included a rejection of such initiatives. e reference to boycotts, which does not name Israel specifically, was introduced earlier this year into the dra of the Report on Competition Policy for 2016 by a pro-Israel European Parliament lawmaker from Italy, Fulvio Martusciello, JTA learned recently. e clause on boycotts states that the European Commission “Underlines the need to fight against unfair collective boycotts, defined as a situation in which a group of competitors agree to exclude an actual or potential competitor, as restrictions of competition by object.” A spokesman for Martusciello, the chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Israel, confirmed that he introduced the clause to “translate for the first time into EU commercial policy the stated objections of EU leaders to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.” Martusciello introduced the clause not in his capacity at the delegation -- a body responsible for maintaining and developing parliamentarian ties between Jerusalem and Brussels – but as rapporteur for the Competition Policy Report in the Economic Committee. e clause was introduced with the support of Martusciello’s political group -the EPP center-right bloc, which is the Parliament’s largest. Martin Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament, has in the past said the European Union will not support attempts to boycott Israel. Several EU politicians have expressed their objections to such initiatives in speeches. However, the stance has not been carried over to oﬃcial European Parliament documents reflecting a consensus within its increasingly influential legislature. Separately, Martusciello is also fighting a plan to remove Israel from a list of countries eligible for credit benefits from the European Investment Bank. e Budget Committee is also considering removing Brunei, Iceland, Singapore, Chile and South Korea in addition to Israel, to exclude high-income countries with high credit rating. But Martusciello is arguing for keeping Israel on the list, “as this will benefit to Palestine, Jordan and other counterparts in such an unstable region,” he wrote in the justification for the amendment he is seeking to the dra of the list for 2018.

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a12 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

worldnews

White supremacists don’t know what to make of Jared Kushner Ben SaleS NEW YORK | JTA

hite supremacists have a problem, and his name is Jared Kushner. While many on the far right are hoping that President Donald Trump will help advance their separatist, racist agendas, figures like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin are asking what to do about his Orthodox Jewish son-in-law with the ever-expanding White House profile. Kushner, 36, became a senior adviser to Trump after helping manage his presidential campaign. A real estate mogul by trade, he is now handling a growing list of administration priorities. He has a hand in IsraeliPalestinian peace efforts, addressing the opioid epidemic and reforming criminal justice. He is the point person on U.S.-China relations. He just traveled to Iraq on government business. And he is heading an initiative to streamline the executive branch. For white supremacists who feel Trump is, intentionally or not, speaking their language, this religious Jew who attends a Chabad synagogue is an unwelcome twist. And they don’t really know how to react. “Goddamn it,” wrote Anglin, editor of the hate website The Daily Stormer, on Jan. 9, when Kushner’s White House appointment was announced. “I would be a whole lot happier if this was not happening, I can tell you that.” “I think that Trump has an absolute infiltrator in the White House," Duke said Monday on his daily podcast. Anglin and other white supremacists have posted confused responses to Kushner’s ascent that reflect three theories: 1. Kushner is just a ruse to hide Trump’s white supremacism. 2. Kushner shows Trump isn’t actually the white supremacists’ guy. 3. Kushner is using Jewish nefariousness to manipulate Trump. Some white supremacists take comfort in thinking Kushner is either a Trump frontman or an adviser with little actual influence compared to, say, chief strategist Stephen Bannon, a darling of the far right. But others, particularly on the white supremacist site Stormfront, point to Kushner as proof that Trump was never a white supremacist after all. They

note that Kushner is far from Trump’s only Jewish adviser. The Trump White House also includes Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Trump aide Stephen Miller and chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner leaving after the presidential inauguration at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 20, 2017. Credit: Saul Loeb/Pool/Getty Images

Jewish media and social networks are often quick to note the presence of Jews in high places, out of ethnic pride, and sometimes a sense that such figures can be advocates for Jewish communal issues. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, in particular are objects of fascination among many Jews.. But Jews sometimes play into anti-Semitic rhetoric by expecting Jews in power to serve parochial Jewish interests, said former Anti-Defamation League National Director Abe Foxman. While Foxman said there is nothing wrong with Jews feeling especially proud of powerful Jews, they

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-- and outsiders -- shouldn’t see them as their emissaries. “We’ve always been proud of Jews in positions of influence,” he said. “The next step, [that] they should do so-and-so on behalf of Jewish values, is asking too much and setting them up for possible failure.” Presidential historian Gil Troy, a professor at McGill University, also said ethnic pride can go too far. “Jared Kushner is supposed to be judged not as a Jew but as Jared Kushner,” Troy said. “We should be proud enough, comfortable enough, American enough to say these guys have been appointed not because they’re Jewish, but because they’re tied to Donald Trump.” Anti-Semites, of course, don't make such distinctions. Some have remained Trump fans despite Kushner’s rising profile, and see him as a threat to the white nationalist hopes they hold for the administration. Duke, the former KKK grand wizard, spent much of his daily podcast Monday discussing why he sees Kushner as a “huge threat to the Trump revolution.” Repeating the anti-Semitic smears that are his stock and trade, Duke called Kushner a “Jewish supremacist” who seeks to nefariously steer Trump toward Jewish interests. “We’re going to talk about Jewish radicalism, which Kushner absolutely represents,” Duke said in the podcast. “I think that Trump has an absolute infiltrator in the White House, and one totally dedicated to Jewish supremacism. It’s a real danger to the president." In an interview with the the far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone accused Kushner of leaking talking points to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and thus undermining Trump. While Stone did not mention or allude to Kushner's religion, visitors to Jones' InfoWars website did. Kushner seems to take a much smaller part in the rhetoric of another white supremacist leader, alt-right founder Richard Spencer. While Duke has dedicated two of his podcast episodes to Kushner, Kushner is all but absent from Spencer’s commentary on the Trump administration. In December, before Trump took office, Spencer told Haaretz that he isn’t bothered by Trump’s choices of advisers. This article was editied for length. Find the full text at www.JTa.org.

Mazal Tov, Aaron! We are so proud of your achievements – membership in NHS, varsity letter in tennis and a Merit Award from the Band.

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We are so proud of your achievements – membership in NHS, varsity letter in tennis and a Merit Award from B.E.S.T.T. Love, Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters and grandparents

The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | B1

section2 THE ARTS

16th Annual HOT SHOPS Spring Open House Saturday, April 29 | Noon to 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 30 | Noon to 5 p.m.

Demonstrations | Refreshments | Galleries | FREE to the public

HOT SHOPS ART CENTER 1301 Nicholas Street | Omaha, NE 68102 | Parking located on 13th Street

s p o h S t Ho r e t n e C t r A 2 0 1 o i d Stu WoodMark Creations

FlameWorx Studio fused glass

glass beads

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metal sculptures

Sandy Hagen 402-212-3124 | flameworx@outlook.com

Mark Fletemeyer 402-682-2062

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Meridith Merwald-Gofta MMGMetalsmith@cox.net

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B2 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

Margie Shanahan: Margie’s Beads

thearts 16th Annual HOT SHOPS Spring Open House Saturday, April 29 | Noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, April 30 | Noon to 5 p.m. Demonstrations | Refreshments | Galleries FREE to the public

HOT SHOPS ART CENTER 1301 Nicholas Street | Omaha, NE 68102 Parking located on 13th Street

Mark Fletemeyer: WoodMark Creations

have been working with wood for over 35 years and enjoyed designing my own furniture. Over the past few years I have branched out and started creating art which allows me to freely express myself. I strive for fresh, unique, innovative pieces and love working with geometric shapes. The sphere is my favorite shape. No matter how it is measured, the same dimensions are realized. The sphere is comprised of a number mankind has yet to solve

(PI). I have often been referred to as a visual mathematician. My drafting and engineering experience aids my creative process. Working with exotic hardwoods allows me the luxury of an extensive color palette. In addition to color; texture, pattern, warmth, and glow are also present. Touch a finely finished piece of wood; feel its smoothness, texture, and warmth, I think you will find it has a calming effect.

laying with fire is the first step in making my glass beads. I use a small torch to melt glass (it’s so amazing to watch the glass rods become liquid like honey), then I wind the molten glass onto a stainless steel post. All work on the bead--building the base, layering colors, shaping and embellishing--is done while the bead is in the flame. My beads become pendants, focal points in necklaces and bracelets, and slides for larger chains and cords. My artistic journey with fire and glass started in 2000, when I saw a demonstration of glass beadmaking on PBS. After a quick lesson with someone who had just started making beads herself, I bought a single-fuel torch to create really small beads. I found additional instructors, who helped me create larger beads and move to a “big girl” torch, using oxygen and propane. One of the joys of glass beadmaking is giving back by teaching others how to make glass beads in my workspace at the Crystal Forge glassblowing studio in the Hot Shops. Since I retired from the high school English classroom after 30 years, I’ve had more time to try new techniques, many of which I’ve learned at additional workshops, classes, and through tutorials. I am inspired not only by the talented glass artists who teach these classes but also by my travels and my reading. Lately I’ve been investigating the sculptural properties of glass and combining the finished bead into mixed media pieces. I invite you to visit my website at www.margiesbeads.biz.

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Katie Overholt-Peterson

f you crank out the same beautiful thing, time after time, then you are a manufacturer -- albeit a good one. However, to be an artist, means that you will, at different times, create the mediocre, the ugly, and mundane. But not give up. Or quit after making one beautiful perfect thing. Which is why I sometimes have my less than perfect ‘children’ nestled in among their brothers and sisters. Because you never can tell when a flaw will become a golden thread. Or when an accident becomes the most beautiful thing you’ve ever created.”

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The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017 | B3

James Lepert: Dark Horse Sculptures rt has been part of my life from an early age. I don’t even have a formal art education, I have only had a very limited amount of art classes in High School and only one college level sculpting class. It was a challenge to me to create figurative pieces of art that captured the moment. I would sit for hours striving to capture every detail, attempting to preserve the emotion, laughter and energy at that point in time. I was inspired by everything, watching movies, or TV shows, reading books painting the images in my mind, working with animals on the farm and at the zoo, training and showing my own horses. Nothing was beyond my scope of inspiration. One of my earliest attempts at a bronze sculpture was of one of my horses. I had taken an Intro to sculpture class my freshman year in college. I worked on my sculpture carefully carving the wax paying special attention to the details. This class project started me on a road to a career and adventure that hasn’t ended yet.

Creating my sculpture seems to come natural to me. As I talk to people, the most common question is “how did you learn to do that?” I modestly answer with lots of practice. But it is really a lot more than that. I do practice constantly, I study each subject, whether it is the actual person or animal. I carefully notice every visible aspect. I pay attention to how light plays on the surfaces. As I attempt to recreate what I see I am measuring how natural my figure is positioned and I also pay attention to the scale and action of the piece. I try make sure that the expression and emotion is as close to the original as possible. I really enjoy working on my sculptures Its very easy for me to lose track of time. Art has always been one of the ways that I express myself. It allows me to express how I am feeling at any given moment and it gives me a way to unwind and relax. I consider it a challenge to create figurative pieces that capture the moment. I strive to preserve the emotion, laughter and energy at that point in time.

It seems that I am inspired by everything I see and experience. Growing up on a farm in Eastern part of Nebraska I was mesmerized by horses and could not get enough of riding, training, showing and drawing them. As a child, I would draw pictures of horses, dogs, cats, birds and cattle. Even to this day many of my sculptures are still inspired by my own experiences with my animals. As many of us know, animals are a big part of our lives. They provide us with unending supply of entertainment, love and affection. When they start to play with each other we can’t help but watch and enjoy that moment. This is what I want to use as an inspiration for my sculptures. I try not to explain what you should see in my art. I want you as the viewer to perceive your own emotion from each piece of work. What emotion does that piece invoke as you look at it? My studio is located on the South side of the Hot Shops Art Center next to Ed Fennels glass studio the “Crystal Forge”.

dants created are uniquely original. They are made from Borosilicate Glass with a torch using temperatures between 2,500 and 3,000 F°. After it is created, it is annealed at a cooler temperature of 1,050 degrees F° for several hours to insure its hardness and wearability. Tom also has years of experience in “soft” glass. During the summer of 2010, Tom’s pendants were among only 10 artists internationally whose works were chosen for a juried show sponsored by the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB). With customers as far away as Italy, New Zealand,

Israel, Hawaii and Japan, AlyRose Designs have spanned the globe. They have had their works for sale in fine galleries and museums in Dallas, Winter Park, Colorado, Rochester, New York, Woodstock, New York and Joslyn Art Museum, Lauritzen Gardens and The HotShops in Omaha. Tom along with his wife, Sue, and daughter, Alyson Roberts, create unique and original necklaces as wearable glass art through their company, AlyRose Designs. Please visit our website at www.AlyRose Designs.com.

Thomas D. Friedman: Aly Rose Designs om Friedman is a glass artist born, raised and lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Tom has been a life long member at Temple Israel. He has been creating glass since 2001. Tom has studied with many of the world’s best torch work artists from around the world. With these experiences he has created his own techniques and style of wearable glass art and custom collectable marbles. Some call his art, “lampworking”, based upon the ancient and time-honored glass workers from ancient Egypt to the island of Murano outside of Venice. He refers to his modern work as “torch-worked glass”. The pen-

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thearts

Robin Zagurski

obin Zagurski is an artist, therapist, and social worker. She began painting in 2009 after many years of attending to the spirits of others and neglecting her own. She works extensively in wax mediums, both cold wax and encaustic. Cold wax is made by mixing beeswax with a solvent, which makes it the consistency of crisco. It was originally developed to speed up the drying time of oil paint, however, it can be used in ways that would be difficult with oil paint alone. The cold wax does not change the color of the oil paint, but it does dry to a more matte sheen. Zagurski especially enjoys working in cold wax for the sheer joy of smooshing paint around. Her works focus on the luminosity of color that is brought out by the wax when applied to a paper or Terraskin surface. Encaustic medium is also beeswax, but it is melted together with a resin, making the wax harder when it cools. Encaustics have been used for thousands of years, starting in Ancient Greece, and many of those works of art still survive, showing how durable encaustic art is when cared for properly. Zagurski’s encaustics play on themes from nature and sometimes employ a more three dimensional aspect. Zagurski’s art has been shown at the Encaustic Art Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at the Niza Knolls Gallery in Denver, Colorado. She has a studio at the Hot Shops Art Center.

UC Berkeley got its biggest art grant ever to buy this Jewish artist’s paintings

B4 | The Jewish Press | April 21, 2017

HOT SHOPS ART CENTER

1301 Nicholas Street | Omaha, NE 68102 Parking located on 13th Street

Carole DeBuse: Dancin’ Horse Designs fter teaching jewelry making and silversmithing for many years using primarily metals, I was more than ready to start working with color. A friend took me to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and introduced me to semiprecious stones with incredible colors, textures and shapes. I was hooked! I decided to redirect my metal work to working with semi-precious stones and other treasures from exotic places like Bali, Tibet, Nepal, and Africa. I was absolutely amazed at what was available to me. I knew I could combine these materials to create beautiful, unique pieces of jewelry. I felt that if I loved the pieces I created, most likely someone else would too. In the beginning I discovered I didn’t want to sell anything I made, I wanted to keep it all for myself. Thankfully I have only one neck, and I was accumu-

lating more pieces than I could wear. Eventually I got out of the hoarding stage, and began to do shows. My goal from the beginning was to make unique pieces that my customers would absolutely love. I feel it is important to create pieces that are one-of-a-kind. That makes me feel that I am offering objects that are very special. Seeing an individual light up over a piece of my work is very rewarding. As an artist/teacher, I had a lot of training in design. Stones combined have to have a certain amount of variety, yet they must compliment one another to unify the design. Current styles must also be considered. In addition, personal taste has to be addressed. Some people like small dainty jewelry; others require a piece that is an immediate attention grabber. I try to have something that will delight a wide variety of tastes.

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JTA He drew inspiration from Judaism, inJoSefin DolSten cluding stories from the Bible, as well as he University of California, the historical events he witnessed, includBerkeley, received its biggest art ing both world wars, the Holocaust and grant ever to the establishment of the acquire the State of Israel. In addiworld’s tion to working as a largest collection by the painter, Szyk produced Jewish-Polish artist political caricatures and Arthur Szyk and dismaterials, including play it in a public instianti-Nazi and anti-Axis tution for the first time. paintings, that he cone $10.1 million gi sidered “weapons” in from the Taube Philanthe war and urged thropies will be used to American soldiers to acquire 450 artworks. use as propaganda. e collection, which “Arthur Szyk’s unique features some of Szyk’s contributions to conmost valuable works, temporary art and poalso includes some litical illustration have books, newspapers and not yet been recognized magazines that pubto the extent his work The Scribe (1927), by Arthur Szyk. lished his art. deserves,” Tad Taube, Credit: The Magnes Collection of It will be displayed at the chairman of Taube Jewish Art and Life, University of Calithe Magnes Collection Philanthropies, said in fornia, Berkeley of Jewish Art and Life, a statement. the third-largest Jewish museum collec“With our shared Polish Jewish heritage, tion in the country. and a relationship my parents developed Szyk was born in 1894 in Lodz, Poland, with Szyk upon first arriving in the United to a middle-class Jewish family. He studied States from Poland in the early 1940s, it is art at a private school in Paris, lived in significant to me to ensure that Szyk’s reLondon and Canada, and traveled to the markable works are available to today’s Middle East and North Africa before setand future generations.” tling in New York in 1940 following the e collection previously belonged to outbreak of World War II. In New York, art collector Rabbi Irvin Ungar, according Szyk met the Taube family, whose founda- to SF Gate. Ungar, an expert in Szyk’s art, tion provided the grant. Szyck later moved has co-produced documentaries about the to New Canaan, Connecticut, where he artist and describes himself as “the tireless died in 1951 at 57. force behind the Szyk renaissance.”

The UNO Schwalb Center & Jewish Federation of Omaha Present

Annual Lecture Series

Russia & Israel: New Emerging Powers in the Middle East

Dr. Jonathan Adelman University of Denver

April 27, 2017 | 7:30 PM UNO Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom Dr. Jonathan Adelman is a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. The Columbia University Ph.D (1976) specializes in security studies, foreign policy and revolutions and he has written 12 books on Russia, China and the Middle East. Notably, he has worked extensively with several government agencies in Washington and for the Science Application International Corporation as a senior scientist doing work on the Soviet military for the Defense Department. A popular speaker on the Middle East, especially Israel, Dr. Adelman penned his latest book on The Rise of Israel: A History of a Revolutionary State.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) does not discriminate based upon race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. UNO is an AA/EEO/ADA institution. For questions, accommodations or assistance please call/contact Charlotte Russell, ADA/504 Coordinator (phone: 402.554.3490 or TTY 402.554.2978) or Anne Heimann, irector, Accessibility Services (phone: 402.554.2872).