May 17, 2013

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

Young Leaders: This Different paths, same passion Week May 17, 2013 8 Sivan 5773 Vol. 93 | No. 35

The NJHS Genealogy Club wants your story Page 5

Partnership2Gether Visionaries Delegation visits Omaha Pages 6 & 7

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha One was born and raised in Omaha; one is a happy transplant of five years.

Their paths have been very different, but the 2012 Young Leadership Award winners are making an important statement through their community activism and volunteerism on behalf of the Omaha Jewish community.

We will show our gratitude for all they do on Monday, June 3 when Stacey Atlas receives the Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award and Dan Gilbert the Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award.

These young leaders’ generous gift of time and resources are essential to our community’s vibrancy. Their work sets an example and encourages robust participation from more and more of the young adults who call Omaha home.

Stacey Atlas, the daughter of Carl and Zoe Riekes and granddaughter of Henry and Dorothy Riekes carries

Stacey Atlas and Dan Gilbert

Shabbat dinner with the family Revisiting D-Day at Omaha Beach Page 12

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Week Salute to Graduates See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

8 10 11

by OZZIE NOGG Friday, May 31, marks the first in a series of Family Shabbat Dinners scheduled at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

The May dinner, underwritten

by L.O.V.E. (League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly) starts at 5:45 p.m. in the RBJH auditorium. Nancy Rips and Lisa Lieb, veteran volunteers, will add their voices to the event. “We often volunteer at the Home on Friday evening,” Rips said, “to sing Shabbat melodies and greet everyone individually with a Shabbat Shalom. Lisa and I are happy to be part of this event.”

Lois Wine, Director of Volunteer Services said, “Residents of the Home’s Southeast Neighborhood will be guests of L.O.V.E. at the first dinner. Their meals will be absolutely free. L.O.V.E. will also pick up the tab for two adult guests and one child guest of each

Nancy Rips and Lisa Lieb resident. Other adult family, kids and friends are welcome to attend at their own expense. More Family Shabbat Dinners, for each of the Blumkin Home neighborhoods, are in the planning stages and will be announced as those dates approach.”

Menu for the May 31 dinner includes Matzoh Ball Soup, Roast Chicken, Baked Potato, Diced Carrots, Challah Roll and Lemon Meringue Pie. Kids will enjoy Chef Aparo’s Special Chicken Legs. Reservations are needed by Friday, May 24. More details are available from Lois Wine. Call 402.334.6519 or email her at lwine@rbjh.com.

on a great legacy in Jewish Omaha.

So it’s understandable that her motivation would lie close to home. “My passion for Jewish Omaha began when I had children and moved back to Omaha with my husband Brett in 2003. Suddenly, I began to focus on the world around me and the world I want my children to grow up in.”

She has served on the Boards of the National Council of Jewish Women, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Child Savings Institute. She volunteers every year to help with the Great Strides Walk and the Omaha Children’s Museum Guild’s annual fundraiser.

Stacey currently sits on the JCC Board where she chairs the CDC Parent committee and participates on a JFO Foundation Grant Committee.

She has served as a Campaign division leader, chaired Super Sunday and, along with her husband and parents, chaired the 2013 Annual Campaign. Those who worked with Stacey on the community Beatlemania Continued on page 3

B’nai B’rith to honor scholar/athletes

Kadie Rolfzen

Akoy Agau

by HOWARD BORDEN and GARY JAVITCH “It came as no surprise that Omaha metro area athletic directors and coaches chose Kadie Rolfzen and Akoy Agau as their top metro high school student scholar/ athletes for 2013,” said B’nai B’rith Athlete Selection chair, Larry Goldstrom. “They both have such outstanding academic and athletic achievements.”

For their selection, the two will receive respectively The Earl Siegel Award and the Bert Render Award, the Lodge’s most prestigious accolades. They will also split $4000, granted by the Adam Jacobs Memorial Tribute Scholarship Fund.

“To help honor these two star student-athletes, our Henry Mon-

sky Lodge will host them at the 59th Omaha Sports Banquet, presented by B’nai B’rith,” said Howard Shandell, Banquet chair.

“This occasion becomes extra special as Tom Osborne, the legendary Cornhusker football coach and recently-retired UNL Athletic Director, will be the guest speaker at the dinner,” Shandell said.

Adding to the occasion, Coach Charlie McBride and some of Osborne’s former players will pay tribute to him that evening.

The event takes place Thursday night, May 23 at 7 p.m., at the CenturyLink Center Omaha and is sponsored by CQuence Health Group, KMTV3 - Action 3 News and AM 590 Omaha’s ESPN Radio.

Continued on page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | May 17, 2013

Have some Chili for Charity

by SOLOMON KLEINSMITH Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Institute for Holocaust Education On Wednesday, May 22, the Omaha Community Foundation is holding a unique fundraising event. Modeled after successful events of the same kind in cities across the country, Omaha Gives! aims to bring attention to local nonprofits and rally our community to help fund their efforts through donation matching and a big promotional push from organizations and their supporters.

The Institute for Holocaust Education (IHE) and the Plains States Region of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are participating, hoping that it mirrors the success of similar events in a dozen cities around the country, including Boston, Miami and San Diego. The Omaha Community Foundation hopes to encourage donors to contribute by providing a pool of matching funds and by gathering so many organizations and supporters to promote the event far and wide around the city.

The more people make their fully taxdeductible contributions to organizations they support, above the minimum $10 donation, the more those organizations will get from the pool of matching funds.

Community members can show their support of IHE and its continued work by donating online or by visiting Julio’s West, located on the South side of Center and 123rd Street, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. on May 22! Come share some guacamole for a good cause with friends and family -- just mention to your server that you want to support the IHE and 15% of your bill will be donated.

This is a great chance for supporters, especially smaller donors, to see their donations amplified by the pool of matching funds that

the Omaha Community Foundation has raised. Supporters can also help by sharing links to the donation forms with friends and

Liz Feldstern, Executive Director at IHE, is looking forward to the opportunity. “I am so excited that IHE is involved in this type of

family that support the work being done by IHE - on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, to those on their email contact list and by word of mouth.

broad-based fundraiser,” she exclaimed.

“IHE programs have impacted so many schools and students in Omaha, we hope that all of our supporters in the community

will make a point of contributing on May 22, either online or at Julio’s West.”

Online donation forms will be up on the IHE website www.ihene.org from midnight to midnight on May 22. You can find out more about the Omaha Gives! 24-hour charitable challenge at their website www.omahagives24.org, where you’ll also be able to donate the day of the event. For any questions or to learn more about the Institute for Holocaust Education, contact Liz Feldstern at lfeldstern@ihene.org or 402.334.6575.

B’nai B’rith to honor scholar/athletes Continued from page 1 Tickets are available at www.omaha sportsbanquet.com or by calling 402.334.6443. Patron tickets are $110 each.

VIP tickets are $160 and include a private reception with the head table guests an hour before the dinner. Tables of ten are also available; other sponsorship opportunities are, too. Two special events will precede the steak dinner: a magnificent silent auction of great sports memorabilia and a raffle to win Cornhusker vs. Michigan game tickets, airfare, hotel, and meals - a $3,000 value.

“Kadie Rolfzen possesses all the finest attributes required to become an Earl Siegel Award winner as the metro area’s top female scholar-athlete for 2012-2013,” Goldstrom pointed out. This star athlete led the Papillion-LaVista South Titans to three Nebraska state volleyball championships.

She also excelled in her high school’s state track meets and state basketball teams.

In recognition of her outstanding athletic qualities, the state’s two biggest newspapers, the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, named her the “Nebraska Athlete of the Year.” In addition, in each of her four high school years, both those dailies placed Kadie on their respective ‘ALL-Nebraska’ First Teams.

Combined with a stellar grade-point average and her strong physical talents, Kadie - having graduated high school early, now attends the University of NebraskaLincoln, where she earned a scholarship and continues her winning ways in volleyball, her top sport.

“At the same time, Akoy Agau also garnered great accolades, while being named as the winner of the Lodge’s prestigious 20122013 Bert Render male student-athlete of the year and bringing great pride to the Central High Eagles,” Goldstrom stated. All the following occurred during Agau’s entire

high school tenure: Agau focused solely on basketball, amassing many top honors.

They include two “only” recognitions: Agau is now the only player in Class A history to start on four state championship teams and, separately, to win over 100 basketball games. To reach that record, he and his Eagle teammates never lost a home game.

The basketball standout also captained the 2013 World-Herald ‘ALL-Nebraska’ team. The two big Nebraska dailies also named him to their respective ‘ALL Nebraska’ teams three times.

Agau’s extraordinary basketball skills brought him to the attention of the 2013 NCAA National Basketball Champions The University of Louisville (KY) - culminating with the Division I school granting him a scholarship. He accomplished all this while taking advanced placement classes in Statistics, Government, Psychology and honors courses in Anatomy and Spanish.

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Your Voice Matters

Our community is a complex place. It is filled with needs, opportunities and challenges as diverse as the people who live here. Caring for our community and its people requires the work and dedication of us all. We ask ourselves, what does it take to make this the best possible place to live? Where do we see potential, problems and promise? How do we make this a better place for future generations?

To help find the answers, United Way of the Midlands, Iowa West Foundation and the Omaha Community Foundation are joining forces in a unique and important initiative. We’re calling on the people of Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties to share their thoughts and concerns through an online survey. The valuable insight gathered through this survey will be an integral part of planning and finding solutions that best serve us all.

Help us identify our community’s most pressing needs. Take our online survey and share your opinions at www.your-voice-matters.org.

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Young Leaders

Carl Jennings

An honorable night

Weekend Food Program

by ADRIELLE GRIFFIN Communications Manager, Completely KIDS The Weekend Food Program at Completely KIDS was created to combat childhood hunger in our community and is driven by dedicated volunteers.

Completely KIDS provides food to elementary children who receive little or no food on the weekends. Volunteers fill bags each week with food that is both nutritious and child-friendly.

The backpacks are handed out on Fridays to sustain the children through the weekend.

Staff and teachers at four Completely KIDS locations have identified 385 children as being in need of food for the weekend.

These children are eligible to receive weekend food because of their involvement with our Out-of-School Time programs; however, there is a waiting list of children who need the program.

The majority of the children to which we provide weekend food come from families whose incomes are 200 percent below the poverty level. Many of our parents are overemployed (fami-

lies who work multiple jobs but still do not break the poverty line), which creates circumstances that produce hunger and child care issues because children may be self-supervised.

Childhood hunger affects many children in our community; and because they are hungry when they come to school, these children have a difficult time concentrating on their work and, consequently, cannot perform well.

In order to continue the Weekend Food Program, Completely KIDS needs your help! A contribution of $7 funds one child’s backpack for one weekend. A donation of $364 sponsors one child for an entire year.

Food drives through businesses, churches, and schools provide the program with the opportunity to bring that cost down.

Completely KIDS will work with you toward a successful drive, whatever your goal!

For more information about the Weekend Food Program at Completely KIDS, please contact Ann Lawless at 402.397.5809, ext. 207, or alawless@completelykids.org.

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Continued from page 1 Carpenter’s Crew Coalition (they’ve helped build two housevent last September appreciated her positive and produc- es) and volunteering at Stephen Center, where he cooks and tive style and acknowledged that she was a driving force serves breakfast alongside fellow volunteers. He has also behind its success. She has a great desire to connect her spearheaded donation and clothing drives for the emergency peers to Jewish Omaha and imbue them with the same ded- shelter. ication and loyalty she feels to her community.

The Stephens Center means a lot to Dan. “Serving a “I really enjoy connecting Christmas meal in a homeless with people and I took my shelter had a profound effect involvement in the Annual on me. What I thought was Campaign as an opportunity that homelessness is not just a to reach out to the younger function of a person’s ecogeneration. I really wanted to nomic situation. To be homeget people to re-think their less also means the people involvement in Federation,� who were closest to you at said Stacey. some other point in time are She said the 2013 Annual no longer there for you. The Campaign was especially loneliness was palpable.� meaningful because of her He serves on the board of hardworking co-chairs, her by SHERRIE SAAG Trustees at Temple Israel, a husband and parents. “My Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha co-chair of the New Building parents have always been my There will be an important changing of the guard at the General Campaign and a role models. In a true family annual Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Meeting on member of the Rabbinic collaboration, the four of us Monday, June 3 in the JCC Theater. The evening begins Search committee that ultiwere able to generate and dis- at 7 p.m. with a reception immediately following. mately brought Rabbi Josh cuss a much broader range of Jay Noddle, long-time Jewish community volunteer and Brown to Omaha. ideas. We all learned from past Board President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha “I see a true juxtaposition in each other, worked incredibly Foundation, will be installed that night as President of the community volunteering hard, and had a blast doing it.� Federation, succeeding Jody Malashock who is complet- today. As our daily lives “The landscape of the com- ing her three year term. The election of the 2013-2014 become digitized and increasmunity has changed so much Jewish Federation Board of Directors will also take place. ingly dependent upon elecover the last 20 years. It was The organization and scope of the Federation has tronic communication, our time to change things up. I changed for the better during Malashock’s tenure, as she communal lives are strengthbelieve the Beatlemania event successfully led the organization through the One ened through face-to-face was a great re-energizer, par- Campus, One Community initiative and implemented a interactions.

Whether ticularly for my generation. I CEO-style business model to campus operations. through programming, eduwant to work to continue the The Federation will also honor its community volunteers cation, care, or advocacy, the forward momentum, while and recognize the Humanitarian of the Year and the Phil Jewish Federation of Omaha’s maintaining the level of and Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation honorees. agencies add significant value integrity, care and generosity Additional awards recognized that evening will be the to our lives by fostering strong that the community has given Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award, the connections through shared over the last 50 years.�

Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award, experiences,� Dan said.

If you ask Dan Gilbert how the Robert and Ellen Gordman Jewish Teen Leadership In 2012, Dan was named one long he’s lived in Omaha, he Award and the Community Service Award. of Ten Outstanding Young replies, “five winters�, rather The Annual Meeting is open to the public and provides Omahans by the Omaha than the more standard, “five our community with an opportunity to thank Jody for her Jaycees. The recognition years�; a humorous and rather outstanding service and pay tribute to outstanding Jewish acknowledges excellence in appropriate response from volunteers. civic and professional activisomeone born and raised in ties. On May 21 of this year, southern California.

Dan will be honored for his service to Temple Israel by the Dan, his wife Sara Partsch Gilbert (a native Omahan) and Board of Trustees at its Annual Meeting. their two children, Micah, 9 and Noemi, 7, moved here from Somehow, Dan finds time to volunteer outside the Jewish Palo Alto, CA. He worked on the Omaha Science Media community. He organized a media center redesign project at Project, a collaboration between Omaha Public Schools, Washington Elementary (OPS) and helped raise the necesresearch biologists and journalists to train teachers and stu- sary funds for the center’s 30 new computers. He tutors OPS dents as science journalists. He has led learning seminars high school students in the Omaha Young Writers Project around the world, including Brazil and Denmark. and launched a Benson High School Giving Circle where 10 As Special Assistant to Senior Vice Chancellor of students learned how to be philanthropists and made a Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska Omaha, Dan $1000 gift to Ted E. Bear Hollow. At the request of BBYO works with faculty to rethink and recast traditional learning Director Leora Azriel, Dan recently spoke to teens in the experiences, preparing the campus for the future of higher Federation’s B’nai Tzedek program about education and phieducation. lanthropy.

After graduating high school from the American School in Rabbi Aryeh Azriel recently said of Dan, “Immediately, he London, England, Dan received a Bachelor of Arts degree found ways to integrate himself and his family into the life of from Georgetown University in 1996 and a Master of Arts the congregation. In a very short time, he has provided degree from Stanford University in 2002. immeasurable guidance and leadership and earned respect He was nominated by the professional staff at Temple and admiration from our community.�

Israel, and described as an energetic and charismatic leader.

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Calling all Jewish attorneys

by SANDY NOGG JFS Financial Assistance Coordinator What do you do when you have a legal question? You call an attorney who’s a friend, or someone’s son, or someone you’ve heard good things about, set up an appointment, ask your question, and go from there, right? Now imagine this scenario... you know no one who is an attorney, you have no funds for retaining an attorney, and you still have legal questions which need to be answered... what to do?

Thanks to the diligent work of Lisa Lewis and Howard Epstein, a letter has gone out to attorneys in the Jewish community asking for their help in answering legal questions for our JFS clients. For the first time, JFS has a list of attorneys who have agreed to volunteer their services. It’s not time -consuming trial work our clients ask for, It’s someone who is knowledgeable regarding the client’s need and who is compassionate enough to give some time and thought to that client.

As Howard said, “Omaha is fortunate to have a number of Jewish lawyers who dedicate some of their time each year to pro bono work. Once they realized that there are members of the Omaha Jewish community who desperately need legal

assistance, yet cannot afford to pay for it, they stepped up and readily volunteered. Jewish Family Service will now be able to provide some truly valuable legal assistance and some corresponding peace of mind to those most in need, thanks to these dedicated volunteer lawyers.”

Lisa adds, “There are many members of our community with a variety of legal problems who need some legal assistance, but can’t afford to engage counsel or may not know where to go for help.

We want to encourage all Jewish attorneys to join us in volunteering to provide legal advice to these people.”

So, if you are an attorney, we hope you will join us in our attempt to lengthen the aforementioned list. Alternatively, if you aren’t an attorney but know someone who is, ask if they are on our list. Thank them if they are, or encourage them to add their name if they aren’t. It would be volunteer work very much appreciated by JFS and the clients we serve... and we promise to call on each attorney no more than once a year.

To add your name to our JFS Volunteer Attorneys Panel, please call Karen Gustafson, Executive Director of JFS, or email her at kgustafson@jfsomaha.com.

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Inspiring artwork at new Temple Israel building

by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer After the Temple Israel Artwork Committee met last December at the Bemis Center to consider artists for the sacred space artwork at the Sterling Ridge building, the artists who were selected were asked to submit proposals for what they would create.

The artists who were chosen -- Lynne Avadenka, Linda Lighton, Gayla Rosenfeld and James Woodfill -- hail from as near as Kansas City and as far as Israel. They were chosen for their unique visions of what the sacred art, including the eternal lights for both the sanctuary and the chapel, the sanctuary Ark enclosure and the clerestory windows, can and should represent in the new Temple Israel.

“I wanted to make something complex enough to hold attention and give something to ponder,” Lighton wrote in her proposal for the chapel eternal light. “I was also striving for simplicity and elegance.”

Lighton, who lives in Kansas City, has worked as a professional sculptor since 1974. Her work appears in museums around the world, including Korea and Switzerland, as well as numerous facilities in the United States. Her proposal describes a light constructed out of steel inlaid with gold leaf, to go with the doors of the chapel Ark, which will be the Ark taken from the Cass Street chapel.

The image on this Ark is of tree branches and roots that reflect hope after the Holocaust. The Torahs in the Ark were rescued from the Holocaust and Egypt. The eternal light created by Lighton is intended to take our hope one step further, signifying the blossoming of a flower.

“I have tried to make this light complex enough to interest the viewer, yet simple and modest for longevity,” she wrote.

James Woodfill, also from Kansas City, has been tasked with creating the eternal light for the sanctuary. After visiting the construction site in January, and meeting with Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, he came away with a distinct idea summed up by Rabbi Azriel thusly: Don’t tell me what you believe in, show me what you do.

“The translation of this idea that we built both through our discussion and through the reference of art history and the history of my work was, Don’t tell us about the symbolism of the light -- find the most direct path to allow the congregation to experience the light,” Woodfill wrote in his proposal. “While the presence of the Ner Tamid is defined by its symbolism, an ambient, emergent eternal light allows for a direct emotional and visceral experience of this symbolism. Don’t rely on the ‘object’ to convey the symbolism; rely on the ‘experience.’

“There is a usefulness to this direction that has to do with the scale of the sanctuary,” Woodfill continued. “It is a large space, and the ability to convey a rich and subtle experience to the full congregation requires this subtlety to exist on a large scale. My proposal is to compose this subtlety within the architectural elements of the space, allowing the idea of the eternal light to emerge as a prop-

erty of the Ark wall, as opposed to an object in front of it.”

During a visit to Israel in February, Rabbi Azriel met with Gayla Rosenfeld in Tel Aviv to discuss the possibility of her creating the sanctuary Ark enclosure. She and the rabbi talked about Temple Israel, its congregation, and what holidays and symbols are most important to the community. Her curtain design is intended to reflect elements close to the hearts of the Jewish people.

Rosenfeld’s curtain is composed of a series of woven textiles, some adorned with the symbols representing Jewish holidays taken from the current sanctuary Ark, such as a hanukkiah for Hanukkah and the stone tablets from Mt. Sinai for Shavuot. The curtain will be colored, “giving a sense of a strong base, connection to the earth, grounding, along with a feeling of spiritual elevation,” Rosenfeld wrote in her proposal.

Rosenfeld’s art has also been exhibited around the world, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Israeli President Shimon Peres personally gifted one of Rosenfeld’s pieces to the German Bundestag.

For the Hebrew text on the clerestory windows in the sanctuary, Lynne Avadenka “envisions these texts dancing across an imaginary musical staff, with letters subtly overlapping each other to create a powerful visual pattern.

“The goal is to make the text active, not static, and to make the eye move around the building,” she wrote in her proposal.

The clergy worked with the Sacred Space Committee in reviewing hundreds of pieces of Jewish text in an effort to find just the right words that illustrate Temple Israel’s inclusiveness. They chose the prayer Hashkiveinu, because it encapsulates the idea of the temple as a place of peace and safety.

The text will be etched onto the windows so that half of the prayer will be visible to those inside the sanctuary and the other half will be legible from outside.

The artists’ proposals were reviewed by the Artwork Committee in February, after which each artist set about finalizing his or her proposal with an eye toward being finished by the end of August. The final proposals are due in the next few weeks, and each piece is scheduled to be in place when the High Holy Days begin on Sept. 4.

“I really think it’s been an exciting process,” said Holly Olson, the Community Arts Program Manager at the Bemis Center and one of the key people in the artist selection process. “I continue to be in conversation with the artists, the architect, to figure out details, technical details, like, ‘Will there be a light socket where the artist wants one?’ and artistic, aesthetic details, like style and color scheme, and coordinate feedback and reaction between all the parties. On my end, it’s been really enjoyable.”

Another artist, Mel Ziegler, has been exploring the possibility of creating a sculpture for the main entrance of the Sterling Ridge building that will represent the voice of the congregation. The timetable for this piece is longer than that of the other four pieces.

May 17, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 5

The NJHS Genealogy Club wants your story

by SUE MILLWARD where she worked in a cigar factory until her Uncle NJHS Board President Krimaachuk sponsored them to come to the United States in Every family has a story that needs to be told and shared. 1903. Joseph followed a year later. We don’t know for cerSo often the stories told for one family match a similar story tain, but presumably he deserted the Russian army to join for another family.

During the last years of the 19th century, families all over Eastern Europe were escaping their homeland for new horizons. The czar’s armies were “recruiting” young men into their rank with a term of service for 25 years. During their term, either the soldier, or his family, would disappear and never be heard from again.

Jewish men were especially targeted under the reign of Nicholas I who endeavored to convert all Jews to Christianity. The purpose was to separate young Jewish men from their communities, to transplant them on Russian Soklyn family Passover at Sol and Libby Zagers soil so as to deprive them of Jewish influence and where practical, baptize them. As a his family. result, scores of able-bodied men fled Russia (thus beginThe Soklyns settled in Lincoln, NE where they raised their ning a new chapter in American immigration history). seven children: Samuel, William, Libby, Goldie, Jennie, So begins the story of Isaac “Joseph” Soklyn (originally Sarah, and Sidney. Joseph, the father, worked as a janitor and Sokolynski) from Lincoln, NE who was born in 1862 in security guard for the banks and loved to tend his backyard Shimka, Russia. Joseph was a professional Russian soldier. vegetable garden. The children grew and prospered in their He served not only his term in the army, but also was paid new homeland and became citizens of the United States. to full-file terms of others.

In 1918, during WWI, the three brothers served overseas Joseph’s wife, Deborah nee Vashinsky, ran a tavern in with Lancaster County Guard: Sam served in the Field Russia. As conditions worsened for the Jews, she sold the Hospital; William fought with the 3rd Calvary and was listtavern and her pearls, hired some men to help her, and left ed as missing in action; Sidney (the youngest, only 18 years Russia with four of her children. She landed in England old) served with 67th Artillery Corps. After the war, Sam

South Street Temple has heart

by ELLIN SIEGEL for South Street Temple, Lincoln, NE Barb Straus, displays Lincoln’s South Street Temple's Clinic with a Heart Community Partner Award at the Clinic's annual meeting on April 27. The Temple congregation was honored for joining the clinic as a sponsoring organization. South Street Temple congregants volunteer monthly at the Clinic with a Heart that serves the uninsured and underinsured with free healthcare. Barb Straus, South Street Temple's Social Action Committee chairperson, provides leadership for participation in the Clinic.

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and Sidney returned to Nebraska. Sam eventually moved to Los Angeles where he and his wife Kitty raised their family.

Sidney had a career as “Kid Sokol”, a professional prize fighter here in Nebraska.

The four sisters married also: Libby Soklyn married Sol Zager (Lincoln), Goldie married Hymie Borsky (Omaha) and later Harry Krasne (Omaha), Jennie married Joseph Spiegal (Omaha) and Sarah Soklyn married Emanual Sawislak (Los Angeles).

Many of the descendants of Joseph and Dora Soklyn still live in the Omaha-Lincoln area. In particular, Peggy Spiegal Chasen, whose parents were Jennie and Joseph Spiegal.

Peggy has built an incredible family tree with stories and photos for all the various branches of her family. She has recorded for future generations the legacy of her life, as well as those of her siblings, and her parents and grandparents. It is a remarkable way to honor their memory.

This is the goal of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Genealogy Club. Meet with us to learn how to create your own family history. If you are interested, please join us for the next Genealogy Club meeting on Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m. in the offices of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society.

Call the NJHS offices for more information 402.334.6441.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, May 22, noon, at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@ jewishomaha.org.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish has been called the Robin Hood of languages. The vocabulary of Yiddish is drawn from German (mostly), Hebrew, Slavic Tongues, Romance languages, and English.

Yiddish bears the marks of our expulsions from land to land, it has absorbed the laments of generations, the poisons and the bitterness of history, the language whose precious jewels are undried Jewish tears. Yiddish stresses the humor in every situation because the reality for Jews is most often too difficult to bear. That is what we offer -- fun and laughter. Come join us at the Blumkin Home’s Boardroom every Thursday from 1-3 p.m. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

NEBRASKA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Genealogy Club will meet Sunday, May 19 at 1 p.m. in the NJHS office.

Anyone interested in learning how to research and create a family tree is welcome to attend.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Philosophy Program Presents

An International Conference on the Work of Saul Kripke

May 20 - 22 Mammel Hall (Pacific Street Campus) 6708 Pine Street

Saul Kripke’s Keynote Address will be Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m.

See www.unomaha.edu/philosophy for complete schedule of events The public is welcome

The University of Nebraska is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution AA/EEO institution.

For special needs or assistance please call/contact 402 554-2628 (TTY 554-3799) or stop by ASH 205.

6 | The Jewish Press | May 17, 2013

May 17, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 7

Partnership2Gether Visionaries Delegation visits Omaha

by BETH COHEN Executive Director, The Center for Jewish Life and MARY SUE GROSSMAN Program Coordinator, The Center for Jewish Life Imagine walking into a breakfast meeting as a colleague glances down at his iPhone and says, “Oh, Conde Nast Traveler just named my hotel one of the ‘20 Best New Hotels in the World.’” Mr. Uri Yirmias, owner of the Efendi Hotel in Akko, Israel, learned of this amazing news when he was in Omaha. Uri was part of the Partnership2Gether Visionaries Delegation, and was joined by Shelley-Anne Peleg, Susan Nirens, and Sisi Rodan.

and Gary Lerner. Monday, April 22 – the only full day in Omaha for the visitors – followed a jam-packed schedule with individualized tracks for each of the visitors.

Zoë Riekes, the Stateside Chair of our Partnership2Gether Consortium, explains, “I am so glad that Omaha has taken advantage of the many opportunities offered to us through the Partnership2Gether program. Each visit from our Israeli friends to our community strengthens the ties between us, making us a true global family.”

Uri, known for his massive grey beard and exceptional cuisine, is a chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, hotel owner and developer. He is

discussing issues of anti-Semitism and Israeli/Arab relations.

Susan Nirens is the Assistant Director of the non-profit organization Kivunim: New Directions. Since its inception in 2003, Kivunim has been preparing young adults with disabilities for the challenges of independent living. Today,

Mosaic’s mission is to partner with people with intellectual disabilities to create a meaningful life in a caring community, giving a voice to their needs. Realizing more could be accomplished when partnering with like-minded organizations, Mosaic began their international work in 1994. It currently has services and pro-

the Walls Ethnographic Museum in Old Akko, located right inside of a tunnel in the Old City walls, which adds a unique atmosphere to its exhibits showcasing lifestyles from Ottoman times to the establishment of Israel. The museum, which opened in 2008, focuses on items people used in their daily lives, work and crafts in the Galilee. Treasures in the Walls preserves the heritage of the region’s inhabitants, both Arab and Jewish with each room of the exhibit space devoted to a different aspect of life.

Among the popular exhibits are a market street, an apothecary, and the workshops of a blacksmith and of a shoemaker.

Shelley-Anne and Sisi started their day together with Kenneth Bé at the Gerald Ford Con-

Federation campus and met with CEO Mike Silverman. The intent of the meeting was for Mike to have the opportunity to learn more from the visionaries about Akko however Mike heard a lot about Omaha, too. As Susan explained, “This campus is the most beautiful expression of community that I have ever seen.”

Uri added, “This is what community should look like. Omaha is what community should look like. This is the example for everyone.”

Mike shared with the group that “our community wants to make a difference. We want to have an impact on Jews in Israel and in Omaha.” He added, “We want every Jew to feel connected.”

Bonnie Bloch, CJL President, participated in

THANK YOU To the board members from the Center for Jewish Life To the Partnership2Gether Committee members To community volunteers

For helping to make our Partnership2Gether programs such a success!

Rabbi Steven Abraham Rami Arav Rabbi Aryeh Azriel Bonnie Bloch (Center for Jewish Life President)

Stacie Brodkey Daniel Christiansen Karla Cohen Lisa Epstein Carrie Fingold Dusty Friedman Amy & Sandy Friedman Moshe Gershovich David Gilinsky Beth Ginsburg Kim Goldberg Ron Giller Rabbi Jonathan Gross Gloria & Howard Kaslow Bette Kozlen Cheryl & Gary Lerner Avery Mazor Patty Nogg (Omaha’s Partnership2Gether Committee Chair)

Clockwise from top left: The Visionaries Delegation in front of Omaha’s Partnership Wall – Susan, left, Sisi, Noa, Shelley and Uri; Sitting room at the Efendi Hotel in Akko: Beth Cohen at Uri Buri Restaurant with owner Uri Yirmias; Shelley-Anne Peleg and Sisi Rodan touring the Ford Conservation Center; Uri Yirmias, left, Sisi Rodan, Moshe Gershovich and Shelley-Anne Peleg at the Open House for the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO; and the Old City of Akko.

Marcia & Steve Pitlor

These four cutting-edge visionaries are experts in their respective fields in the Western Galilee. They visited Omaha as part of a whirlwind information exchange in three stateside Jewish communities with the goal of building mutually beneficial connections. The four visionaries were accompanied by Israeli Partnership2Gether staff member Noa EpsteinFriedman and by the stateside Arts & Community Task Force Chair Kim Goldberg of Omaha.

“These special delegations, planned through the Partnership2Gether Arts & Community Task Force, provide an exchange of ideas,” explains Kim. “They are an opportunity to learn, grow and think beyond the local perspective to a broader, global understanding of the Jewish experience. We learn from the Israelis just as they learn from us, we empower each other.

The Western Galilee and Omaha connection builds upon our best community assets, reinforces our relationships, and strengthens our personal Jewish identity.”

Arriving in the late afternoon on Sunday, April 21, the visionaries got a tour of Omaha and enjoyed gracious home hospitality with Amy and Sandy Friedman, Gloria and Howard Kaslow, Margo and Steve Riekes, and Cheryl

Margo & Steve Riekes

the co-owner of Uri Buri restaurant, the Endomela ice cream parlor and the Efendi Hotel, all in the Old City of Akko. Uri spent eight years and reportedly millions of shekels to restore two adjacent palaces in the Old City and transform them into the Efendi Hotel. In a city as unique as Akko, with an Arab population about equal in size to the Jewish population, Uri is front and center in community discussions. Although his fame in Akko is attributed to his restaurant, he uses his celebrity to benefit and strengthen his community.

Uri’s day in Omaha included a meeting with David Gilinsky at Bergman Incentives followed with a meeting with Winsley Durand at the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Then Uri, Noa, Sandy, Zoë, and Beth Cohen had an amazing experience at Metro’s Culinary School, having lunch and a full tour of the facility with chef-instructor Brian O’Malley. For many years, Uri has mentored at-risk youth through apprenticeships at his restaurant. Uri was so impressed with the school he is planning to return for a two week visit in the future with the eye of developing a similar program, though on a smaller scale, in Akko. Later in the day, Uri met with Alan Potash, ADL Director,

Julie Phillips Matt Ray Iris Ricks

Kivunim serves close to 200 people with creative programing in the areas of informal education, volunteering, independent living, vocational training, leisure and self-advocacy.

One of Kivunim’s benchmark programs is WINGS, a two-year comprehensive program which combines Israeli national service, group living, life-skills training and academic study for physically and sensory-challenged youth aged 18-21. This unique program is also now open as an annual program for young people from the United States with sensory or physical disabilities who are interested in experiencing Israel. Susan’s position includes fund-raising, administration of the programs and social work.

Susan started her day with Karen Gustafson, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service, and Janet McCarthy, Yachad Advisor, exchanging information about their organizations.

Susan spent the majority of her day with representatives from Mosaic International, an organization with world headquarters in Omaha.

grams in the United States, England, Germany, Tanzania, Romania and Norway. Members of Omaha’s Partnership2Gether committee helped to make the connection about a year ago between Kivunim and Mosaic. Susan’s trip was their first face-to-face visit, and Mosaic staff will be visiting Israel in July to further discuss possibilities for an international collaboration.

Shelley-Anne Peleg is the Israel Antiquities Authority’s (IAA) Director of the International Conservation Center, Citta di Roma, located in the old city of Akko. Her responsibilities include establishing the center as the premier practical conservation training center in Israel.

She lectures regularly at national and international academic and practical conservation conferences. Shelley-Anne is a member of the Israel National Commission to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and she is currently completing her Ph.D. Sisi Rodan is the curator of the Treasures in

servation Center which included a tour of that amazing facility. The center houses state-of-theart technical laboratories for the examination, evaluation, and specialized conservation treatment of for an array of materials, plus a reference library, a digital imaging lab, a microscopy laboratory, an x-radiography area, and an air abrasive room. The next stop was the Durham Museum to meet with Carrie Wieners, Curator of Exhibits and Collections, and to enjoy another fabulous behind-the-scenes experience.

Shelley later met with Erin Averett, an archaeology professor at Creighton along with several of Erin’s students. In the late afternoon, Sisi and Shelley spent time with Rami Arav and Curtis Hutt at UNO. Susan Rothholz served as escort and provided transportation for the day.

Shelley and Sisi were both very excited with the contacts they made and are confident there will be future collaborative efforts from each of the groups with whom they met.

At the end of the day, the entire group attended the open house at the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO. On Wednesday morning, they had a tour of the

a number of the meetings with the visionaries and also participated in the Partnership2 Gether Steering Committee meeting in Israel in January. She says, “Representing both the biggest challenge and the biggest reward in Partnership is to always be developing ways to tie our communities together in an even stronger way. Having the opportunity to go to Israel to see everything our Partnership is involved in was a great learning experience. But, having the opportunity to play a part in making these impactful, personal connections is truly amazing. Omaha should be so proud about our role to strengthen our partnering Israeli communities.”

Partnership2Gether is a program of the Center for Jewish Life promoting people-to-people relationships between Israel and communities throughout the world. Omaha is one of 12 cities in the U.S. partnering with the city of Akko and the Matte Asher region in northern Israel, sharing cultural, social, medical, educational and economic programs. For more information on Partnership, please call the Center for Jewish Life at 402.334.6445.

Zoë Riekes Debbie Roitstein Susan Rothholz Rebecca Ruetsch-Finkelstein

And a special thank you to Partnership2Gether Consortium Leadership from Omaha: Kim Goldberg,

Matt Shapiro

Arts and Community Task Force Stateside Chair

Rachel Shyken

Zoë Riekes,

Mimi Silverman

Consortium Stateside Chair

Dorothy Spizman Nancy Wolf

Partnership2Gether (P2G), has, over the past 15 years, become the Jewish Agency for Israel’s and the Jewish Federations of North America’s most successful and effective model for creating enduring and meaningful partnerships between global Jewish communities and communities in Israel. P2G is a program of the Center for Jewish Life, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

8 | The Jewish Press | May 17, 2013

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Scout’s honor

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about scouting. Not really the camping-and-badges type, I’m afraid. My kids have inherited my disinterest; when I suggested they might like it, I was met with a wall of disdain. That’s okay; scouting is not for everyone.

Unfortunately, that statement is true on more than one level. Which is why, this month, the Boy Scouts of America are voting on an important resolution, which will include the following line in the membership requirement: No youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.

If supported, it means allowing openly LGBT members under the age of 18 in the BSA. It’s only a start to more inclusiveness; the proposed policy does not reach out to LGBT adults. Yet. In a meeting of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting in February, members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I am advocating for complete change and inclusiveness,” NJCOS Chairman A.J. Kreimer told JTA. What makes this a Jewish issue? Probably not the number of Jewish Scout members, which is much smaller than other religiously affiliated groups (religiously affiliated groups make up about 70% of all units). Jews do have a long, shared history with the BSA: one of its founders was Mortimer Schiff, a Jewish-German financier.

The reason Jewish scouts have to address this issue is that the conversation takes place in an almost exclusively religious context. The Southern Baptists and Evangelical Scout groups are opposed to allowing LGBT youth membership.

The Mormon Church has an official policy that denounces

homosexuality, as does the Catholic Church, but their Scouting branches are in favor of accepting the resolution.

Presbyterian and Lutheran Scouting leaders have come out in favor of the resolution as well, reports the JTA. As Jews, we are not defined by religion alone, and when a secular disagreement occurs in an essentially religious setting, it poses a challenge. Especially since, as Jews, we also tend to disagree about the issue of LGBT rights. Meaning, there is no “one single Jewish response,” regardless of what the NJCOS says.

Of course, there is such a thing as compassion, and a deep understanding of what it’s like not to feel welcome. Just because we can (and have the right to) disagree about a myriad of issues, doesn’t mean we can’t have other things in common. Remembering the values of compassion, empathy, and understanding, we can agree even while we disagree. It’s not necessarily a contradiction.

Compassion comes easy with the ones we love and know intimately. Our family, our friends can count on us when life gets tough. But for those we don’t know—the anonymous strangers in far away countries, the unknown poor in other states or even in our own city, people with whose struggles we don’t identify—we don’t always bother to empathize. Not because we are bad people, just because there’s only so much of us to go around.

And when the troubles of the ‘other’ don’t affect us personally, it’s tempting to look the other way.

During the coming years, members of the LGBT community have many battles to fight.

And some of you may be uncomfortable with the idea of fighting those battles with them. Maybe because you don’t have anyone in your family

who’s gay, maybe because you think it doesn’t have anything to do with you. Maybe you even think being gay is wrong, although I suspect that most of you don’t.

But this issue isn’t going away. The fact of the matter is, a sizable segment of our society is denied basic civic rights because they are different. And we can focus on that difference and pretend it doesn’t concern us, or we can respond with compassion.

“An ignorant man,” wrote Maimonides, “believes that the whole universe only exists for him, as if nothing else required any consideration.” The Rambam of course knew nothing of Boy Scouts, or the LGBT quest for acceptance. Nonetheless, his words are relevant in this as in many other issues modern society struggles with. We can’t consider ourselves to be the center of the universe—we have to care about others, flex our compassion muscle, and embrace those who are different.

Netanyahu must take a page from Sadat

Focus on issues MARC SCHNEIER NEW YORK (JTA) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is correct to describe a new proposal by the Arab League to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as “a very big step forward.” Yet there will be no serious movement toward peace until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to the Arab League initiative by evoking the words of the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat before traveling to Jerusalem in the later 1970s, vowing “to go to the ends of the earth” -even to the Qatari capital of Doha or the Saudi capital of Riyadh -- in order to achieve peace.

The new peace initiative, which was presented to Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden by a Qatari-led Arab delegation in Washington on April 30, would revive -- and improve, from Israel’s standpoint -- the so-called Saudi Peace Initiative of 2002. That proposal, subsequently endorsed by the entire Arab League, promised Israel full peace and recognition in exchange for a return to its pre1967 borders.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani presented the new initiative, which would accept for the first time a modification of those borders. According to Al Thani, “The Arab League delegation affirms that agreement should be based on the two-state solution, on the basis of the 4th of June 1967 line” with the possibility of a “comparable and mutual agreed minor swap(s) of the land.”

This important Arab League initiative comes in the wake of another significant but little -- noticed development that also originated in the Gulf: an April 8 resolution by the Kingdom of Bahrain condemning Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The outlawing of Hezbollah, overwhelmingly

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passed by Bahrain’s parliament, represents the first known instance that an Arab country has used the T word to describe a militant Arab organization like Hezbollah, which has rained missiles on northern Israel and last year murdered Israeli tourists in Bulgaria.

When I visited Bahrain in December 2011, becoming the first rabbi to meet with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah in his palace, the king told me -- as widely reported by the media -- that Bahrain and Israel share a common enemy in Hezbollah’s patron, Iran, which sits directly across the narrow Persian Gulf from Bahrain and other Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

Yet nearly a month after the Bahraini statement, there has been no official response by the Government of Israel.

Indeed, when a reporter for the Times of Israel asked the Israeli Foreign Ministry why it has not commended Bahrain for its anti-Hezbollah stand, a spokesman blandly responded, “If the Bahrainis had wanted Israel to say something, they could have sent us a message through diplomatic channels. Since they didn’t, we didn’t.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may well have decided to err on the side of caution in responding to both the Bahraini and Arab League initiatives by waiting to see whether support will hold up across the Arab world. Yet this is one of those critical moments in Middle East history when an excess of caution may doom hopes for a breakthrough by strengthening cynicism and peace process fatigue on both sides.

Following the dramatic steps by Bahrain, Qatar and the Arab League, Netanyahu needs to respond in similarly dramatic fashion. Just as Sadat fundamentally transformed Israeli-Egyptian relations 35 years ago by declaring his willingness to travel even to Jerusalem, Netanyahu should declare his readiness to fly to Doha or Riyadh to demonstrate his genuine desire for peace -- with the Palestinians as

well as Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states.

The Israeli government and people need to remember that Israel exists and is destined to live forever in the heart of the Middle East, not the Middle West. The Jewish state can only secure its long-term survival by reaching an accommodation with the Arab world -- or at least an important part of it.

Thankfully, the positive initiatives of the past few weeks by Bahrain and the Arab League delegation led by Qatar -- neither of which would have taken place without the encouragement and support of Saudi Arabia -- make clear that a historic opportunity exists for Israel to build a strategic alliance with the oil-rich states of the Arabian Peninsula.

Israel and the Gulf states are endangered by Iran, a genocidal theocracy with nuclear ambitions that vows to destroy the Jewish state and has extended its reach into the heart of the Arab world through skillful manipulation of proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the tottering Bashar Assad regime in Syria.

If Netanyahu seizes the moment to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians, thanks to the initiative put forward by the Qataris and the Arab League, there is a chance that after generations of bitter conflict, Israelis will finally live in peace and security. If, however, the Israeli prime minister spurns this opportunity, he will only empower the extremists in the Arab and larger Muslim world who are determined to destroy the Jewish state.

Now is the time for Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a better future for the people of Israel by taking a dramatic step for peace.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, is co-author with Imam Shamsi Ali of “Sons of Abraham: A Candid Conversation About the Issues that Divide and Unite Jews and Muslims,” to be published by Beacon Press in September.

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May 17, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 9

Military Service (Redux)

Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER You would think that at the age of 51 I would long have distanced myself from envy for my peers who served in Israel’s military. After all, though the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was not interested in my services when I showed up here at the ripe old age of 36, and I could only watch from the sidelines for the better part of a decade as my friends went in and out of the reserves, at some point military service ends. By now, there should be no issue of my being envious of the experiences my friends are having in the military. But no! It turns out that while mandatory military reserve duty ends during one’s early or mid 40’s, it is possible to petition the IDF and to volunteer for such service. A while back my good friend Dudi sent in such a petition, and gosh darn it if the army didn’t recently inform him that--though he is also 51-he is welcome to resume reserve duty in his paratrooper unit. Just my luck.

It’s no secret that part of the appeal of Israeli culture for diaspora Jews is Israel’s military might. Though both my

father and my father-in-law served (during the Korean War) in America’s military, almost all college-educated Jews of my generation did not serve. Had I been born in Israel things would have been different. Indeed, I probably would have even been on the front lines for one of Israel’s wars (as Dudi was in the summer of 1982 during the First Lebanon War).

I enjoy physical challenges and the camaraderie of guys, and I have always thought that I would have gotten a lot out of being a soldier. And the military-reserve experience can be even more enjoyable. You leave your day-to-day routine and regroup with guys with whom you have been together since you were teenagers. Okay, the conditions are not exactly comfortable and you might have to be up at very odd hours during the night, but, overall, the experience is meaningful and you are satisfied with having done your duty for your country. When you return to work, you agree with your boss that your military-reserve call-up came at a terrible time work-wise, but secretly you are happy you went.

Even though my friend Dudi is back in uniform, there is still no hope for me to don one. There’s no two ways around it: serving my country (whether America or Israel) is not going to include military service. However, my being a good Israeli citizen does include my participation in the military socialization of my children. Nathan, Rebecca, and Ruthie have already completed their mandatory service, and Ezra is

in the middle of his voluntary military service (he was released from service for medical reasons but chose to enlist as a volunteer). Just recently, my youngest child Elie entered the induction system. Elie, who it seems will be our family’s only combat soldier, received a letter from the Induction Administration, and Sarah and I received one as well; ours concluded as follows: “We believe that enlistment in the IDF represents a joint family experience and that you also, as close family members, are excited and curious in advance of the enlistment.

We very much appreciate the guidance, support, and encouragement of the candidate through the various stages of enlistment, and we will help you in this as much as we are able. The Induction Administration sends you warm greetings on the occasion of your joining the family of those who are designated for service in the armed forces, and we hope for a fruitful partnership.”

I did not get to serve in the military, but I am privileged to have facilitated five partnerships with the Israel Defense Forces.

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest three, Nathan, Rebecca and Ruthie, are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@net vision.net.il.

For Carmen, preserve Jewish heritage in Egypt

Focus on issues ANDREW BAKER CAIRO (JTA) -- My first visit to Egypt was eight years ago. My guide was Carmen Weinstein, the head of Egypt’s Jewish community, and on a hot September day we drove through the usual chaotic traffic with our driver to visit 10 synagogues.

I am the son of American Jews, the grandchild of Jews from Poland, Lithuania and White Russia, and knew little about the history of Jewish life in Egypt. But the synagogues tell that story.

Together, the ancient Ben Ezra synagogue in Fustat; the stately Shaar Hashamaim on Adly Street; the soaring interior of the Karaite synagogue; the Italianate Vitali Madjar synagogue in Heliopolis, the modest synagogue in upscale Maadi built to lure prosperous Jewish residents to the new suburb; and the Maimonides yeshiva and synagogue, a rubble-strewn, roofless building at the time, reflect the rich and diverse religious life that once was Egyptian Jewry.

Nearly all the buildings were empty and unused. In some places a caretaker living in or near the synagogue let us in and escorted us through. Carmen gave each a few pounds and some disapproving words about the conditions, although it was obvious that they had done their best to clean in advance of our visit.

It was evident then, and would become clearer on my many subsequent visits, that Carmen’s mission was to preserve this Jewish heritage of Egypt.

To an outsider like me, this seemed like an impossible task. What could one expect with a Jewish community that had dwindled to a few dozen, a government that was at best indifferent and an Egyptian Jewish Diaspora that had grown increasingly distant?

We have the experience in Eastern Europe to compare -synagogues abandoned and in disrepair, or after Nazi occupation and communist nationalization, turned into factories

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or theaters or meeting halls. This is the “normal” fate of synagogues when Jews disappear. Everybody knows that.

But not Carmen. And that was the reason for her success.

She didn’t know this couldn’t be done.

She brought as many of these synagogues as she could under the protection of the country’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and pressed it to make repairs. She simply assumed that each building deserved to be protected, preserved and ultimately restored. She had little patience for those who disagreed.

On each of my visits, we would go together to the Cultural Ministry or the Antiquities Council. Carmen focused on the repairs that were needed and the work to be done. Usually we left with promises.

Those promises were not empty. Shaar Hashamaim synagogue, where Carmen’s funeral took place on April 18, was repaired and restored in time for the 100th anniversary of its dedication. A small exhibition space was built opposite Ben Ezra to tell the story of the Genizah documents that were discovered here. And in the most elaborate project to date, the Maimonides yeshiva was fully restored and the adjacent synagogue completely rebuilt.

As I learned from Carmen and other Egyptian Jews, the 12th century Maimonides building was considered a place of miracles -- the sick and infirm would spend the night there and be healed. But the biggest miracle in our lifetime was its restoration and dedication two years ago.

One of the greatest challenges she faced was the Bassatine Cemetery, where more than 20,000 squatters were living on the historic Jewish site. Carmen valiantly fought off further encroachment, building walls and imploring authorities to prevent the looting of memorial stones and the dumping of trash that had become commonplace. In her more optimistic moments she planted trees and flowering shrubs.

Carmen took special care of and frequently visited her mother’s grave there.

Last month we went, at my request, to Bassatine.

Conditions had clearly deteriorated. Walls had been

removed, originally to facilitate construction of sewage drains from the squatters’ dwellings. But that work was never completed. Sewage water now flows freely, submerging several acres. The place is open to trash, looters and grazing animals.

I walked through the cemetery until I came to the gravesite of Carmen’s mother. The shrubs that had been planted were uprooted and gone. The facing stones were stolen. Saddest of all, the enclosure to the grave itself had been cemented shut. She would no longer be able to visit, but at least no one would be able to do more damage.

“I never come here anymore,” she told me, and I understood why. She now has made one final trip.

We say, in the spirit of Jewish tradition, Yehi zichronah l’vrachah, “May her memory be a blessing.”

If we redouble our efforts to preserve and protect the Jewish heritage of Egypt, if we prevent the further desecration of Bassatine, if we secure the support of friends and allies in this work even in these difficult economic and political times in Egypt, Carmen’s memory will indeed be a blessing.

Rabbi Andrew Baker is the American Jewish Committee’s director of international Jewish affairs.

Syria warns Israel

by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Syrian government official warned that his country can enter the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time.

“The Golan is Syrian Arab territory and will remain so, even if the Israeli army is stationed there,” Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Sunday at a news conference in Damascus. “We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please.”

The statement came in response to two alleged Israeli airstrikes last week on Syrian military targets, which unnamed Israel and U.S. officials say targeted long-range missiles in transit from Iran to Hezbollah.

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Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, call 712.323.8885.

Memorial Day Service, Sunday, May 26, 10 a.m. at Oak Hills/Bikhor Cholim Cemetery, 1350 East Pierce Street, Council Bluffs.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.

TUESDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.; Women’s Study Group, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m.

THURSDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m.; Sacred Grounds with Rabbi Gross, 9:30 a.m.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat at Remington Heights, Friday, May 17, 3 p.m., Rabbi Abraham and Hazzan Krausman will offer a Shabbat program to Remington residents; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:15 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m., with Hazzan Krausman.

MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham.

Dames & Drinks, Wednesday, May 29, 7 p.m. All women of Beth El are invited. For more information, contact Melissa Schop at melschop@hotmail.com.

Next Shabbat on Saturday, May 25, 9:30 a.m., we celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Natalie Pichik, daughter of Mike and Shelly Pichik; we will also celebrate with the family of Harold (Bae) Epstein when he is called to the bimah for an aliyah on his 90th birthday.

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

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; The Laws of Shabbat, 6:05 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 7:05 p.m.; Mincha/Seuda Shlishit, 8:05 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:29 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; JconnecT’s Informational Meeting, 10:30 a.m.

Bat Mitzvah Natalie Pichik, daughter of Shelly and Mike Pichik, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, May 25, at Beth El. Natalie is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Peter Kiewit Middle School.

Her interests include reading, writing stories and piano.

For her mitzvah project, Natalie is organizing a food drive for the hungry.

She has an older sister, Alexandra.

Grandparents are Ozzie and Don Nogg, and Mary and Pete Pichik.

Card of Thanks Thank you to family & friends for all of the donations, gifts and good wishes on the celebration of our 70th wedding anniversary.

Pete and Rhoda Milder

To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154.

Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’

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

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush lunch will follow.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.; Breakfast Bonanza, 9:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. Please reserve by calling 402.330.1800.

WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 10 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. Call 402.330.1800 to reserve.

THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. Contact Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@ unmc.edu to receive updates.

All programs are open to the entire community.

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

FRIDAY: Wacky Mac Dinner and Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, 5:45 p.m., at Tifereth Israel; FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE! Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Sylvia Hermanson.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parsahat Naso; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. Questions? Please contact Deborah Swearingen.

SUNDAY: Finish Mulching and trimming the garden, 10 a.m.-noon. We still need about 10-12 bags of mulch so please let Ellin Siegel know if you are willing to donate some at ellin7@aol.com; LJCS Board Meeting, 10:30 a.m.; Board of Trustees, 1 p.m.

TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Red Lobster,

Candlelighting Friday, May 17, 8:20 p.m.

6540 “O” Street. Questions? Please contact Stephanie Dohner.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Renee and Mark Kazor.

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

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

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Chloe and Bennett Ray, children of Shayna and Matthew Ray, will celebrate their B’nai Mitzvah.

TUESDAY: Temple Israel Annual Meeting, 7 p.m. Social Justice Committee Chair Dan Gilbert, Youth Advisor Amy Filler-Katz and outgoing OTYG President Hannah Perry will be honored for their respective services to the Temple Israel community when the Board of Trustees holds its annual meeting.

THURSDAY: Dilemmas of Faith: God and Spirituality in the Modern World, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel.

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

FRIDAY: Wacky Mac Dinner and Tot Shabbat with Ms. Jennifer, 5:45 p.m., at Tifereth Israel; Shabbat Services, 7:45 p.m. followed by cake, coffee and a discussion of timely news topics pertaining to the Jewish world.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon prepared by Nanci Hamicksburg.

SUNDAY: LJCS Board Meeting, 10:30 a.m. at South Sreet Temple; Tifereth Israel Board Meeting, 2 p.m.

TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Red Lobster, 6540 “O” Street. Please contact Stephanie Dohner with questions.

Please joing us Saturday, May 25 after morning sevices for a special Kiddush luncheon in honor of Avi Knecht’s graduation from high school sponsored by the Rosenblatt/Knecht family.

Kleinberg/Paykel Crown to be Inaugurated

by SHANI KATZMAN of Jewish pride, unity and Torah’s eternality. The Education Director, Chabad Center Kleinbergs and Paykels embodied those ideals, and loved They say that “the apple does not fall far from the tree,” Judaism and its traditions. They passed on these traits to and that’s a good thing. As parents, we’ll feel lucky if our their children, Milton and Marsha, who follow humbly in their footsteps, taking their children are recognized as “a lessons to heart. chip off the old block.” As Also in attendance at the children, we hope to live up dedication will be Rabbi to the potential our parents Simcha and Simmy (nee saw in us and make them Kleingberg) Morgenstern proud. For Milton and and family of Overland Marsha Kleinberg, their deep love and respect for Park, Kansas, a niece and their parents is matched by nephew of the Kleinbergs their undying commitment who are both celebrated to continuing their legacy. youth directors and teachThe Kleinbergs will be ers. The Kleinbergs’ daughdedicating the crown of ter Cindy Levy and husOmaha’s Unity Torah in band, Dr. Michael, along honor of their parents, Fajga with their children and and Aron Kleinberg and grandchildren, reside in Ruth and Mordechai Paykel, Israel. Their son Herschel of at services and a special kidAlexandria, Virginia is the dush luncheon which will Chief Technology Officer at follow on Shabbat, May 25 the family business, Senior at the Chabad Center, 1866 Market Sales. All are fiercely S. 120th St. The celebration devoted to family and the Milton (Mendel) Kleinberg dresses the Unity Torah (held by will continue with a breakJewish community.

Eric Phillips) with sash and mantel as his wife Marsha looks on. fast on Sunday May 26 at Milton and Marsha 9:30 am.

Kleinberg are staunch supporters of Chabad and have been The Omaha Unity Torah, dedicated last September in a trailblazers and instrumental in many of Chabad’s innovagrand parade and procession from the JCC to the Chabad tive vital endeavors. They are strong supporters of Israel Center with upwards of 400 participants, was a celebration and various Jewish philanthropies worldwide.

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

May 17, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 11

The lone hero

In memoriam CHARLOTTE CASTEN

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Naso Our Sidrah introduces us to Samson, who freed the Iraelites from slavery to the Philistines.

That is, the Philistines had hoped to make slaves of the Israelites. But Samson, using a rough weapon that he happened to find, destroyed entire villages.

The Philistines, much more worldly than the Israelites, hired a woman if ill fame, Delilah, to destroy Samson.

Notice that Samson had a Pagan name: “Man of the Sun.” His parents had been warned by a soothsayer that the impending birth would bring forth for Israel a man of unparallelled strength. He was to stay away from various foods and the wiles of women. From birth, he was to be devoted to the service of the Holy One, and bring help to the Israelites.

Thus, Samson refrained from these foods and women and served the Holy One only.

As he took up the task of destroying the Philistines, he fell prey to Delilah. After many attempts, she managed to find his secret: his untouched hair. One day, after an exhausting battle, he fell asleep. Delilah woke him by shouting: “The Philistines are upon you!” Samson rose, and found his strength wanting.

Samson offered a sincere and desperate prayer to his God. Standing between two pillars that held up the roof over the battlefield, he once more appealed to his God, and pushed the pillars apart.

The Phulistine amy was destroyed, but so was Samson.

He killed many more in death than he did when he was alive, and Israel retained its physical and moral strength.

The Sacred Text makes it clear that Samson did much, but could have done much more.

Charlotte Casten passed away on May 12 at age 83. A private funeral was held May 14 at Beth El Cemetery. The family will attend services at Beth El Synagogue, 144th & California Sts. on Friday, May 17, 6 p.m.

She was preceded in death by her son, Lew Romagnano.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Beth Friedman and Jeff Dworkin; and grandchildren: Alan and Michael Friedman.

Charlotte was born in Brooklyn, NY where she raised her family and was a bookkeeper prior to retiring and moving to Omaha in 2011. She enjoyed reading, movies, fashion and going out with friends. She was a volunteer at the Methodist Hospital information desk and the UNMC gift shop.

Memorials may be made to the scholarship inspired by Charlotte’s love for her son. She started in his memory The Lew Romagnano Endowed Scholarship for Math Education and Learning at Metropolitan State University of Denver Foundation. Send donations to Metropolitan State University of Denver Foundation, P.O. Box 17971, Denver, CO 80217-9812. *Specify Lew Romagnano Endowed Scholarship in memo portion or online https://advancement services.msudenver.edu/makeagift (select scholarships and then specify in comments section for Lew Romagnano Endowed Scholarship).

LEO SIVIN Leo Sivin passed away on May 9 in Omaha. Services were held in Chicago.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Myra Sivin; son, Bernard Sivin.

He is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and James Bresel; grandchildren: Michael, Amy, and David; great-grandchildren: Mika and Kaplan.

He was a World War II veteran.

Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Jewish Agency for Israel Stephen Hawking boycotts opens office in Munich Israeli conference

by JNS NEWS STAFF Hawking has joined has bowed to anti-Israel pressure and will not be attending the fifth annual Presidential Conference in Jerusalem in June, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

While Hawking had not publicly announced his decision, The Guardian cited a statement published by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine “with Hawking’s approval” that described the move as Hawking’s “independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.”

Israeli Presidential Conference Steering Committee Chairman Israel Maimon slammed what he called Hawking’s “outrageous, wrongful decision.”

“The academic boycott of Israel is outrageous, especially by someone who preaches freedom of thought,” Maimon said, according to Israel Hayom. “Israel is a democracy, where anyone can state his case, whatever it may be.

Imposing a boycott goes against the principles of holding an open and democratic discourse.”

Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, told JNS.org, “It’s too bad that physicist Stephen Hawking only has room in his heart for the one side in an ongoing conflict, and is unable to recognize the suffering of Israeli civilians who are bombarded by acts of terrorism by Palestinian groups like Hamas. It is shocking that such an intelligent person didn’t take the time to learn more about the aspirations of the BDS movement; namely, the elimination of the state of Israel. Memo to Stephen Hawking: boycotting one side in an on-going conflict will never lead to peace.”

The Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center noted that Hawking is boycotting Israel despite the fact that the computer-based system he uses to speak “runs on a chip designed by Israel’s Intel team.” Hawking has ALS, known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

“I suggest that if [Hawking] truly wants to pull out of Israel he should also pull out his Intel Core i7 from his tablet,” Shurat HaDin Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner said in a statement.

CORRECTION In the May 10 edition, we incorrectly identified Michael Militzer as the person in the photograph on page 8. The youth pictured was in actuality Brandon Friedman. The Jewish Press regrets the error.

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) is an important overseas partner of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and donor dollars help to support its important work taking care of Jews around the world; wherever the need is greatest.

Late last month, JAFI Chairperson Natan Sharansky

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was present when the organization opened an office in conjunction with the Janusz Korczak Academy in Munich, Germany. JAFI’s presence in Munich is part of a planned expansion of Agency activity in that country.

The Jewish community in Germany has flourished in the last two decades following a wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union. In 1989, the community numbered only 25,000 and today it numbers approximately 200,000. Jews living in Germany today, 90% of whom speak Russian, live predominantly in numerous small towns spread across the country.

JAFI’s goal is to strengthen connections between the critically important young generation of German Jews to the State of Israel and the greater Jewish world. As Sharansky stated during his visit, “The current Jewish community in Germany is increasing in size exponentially, but is unique and fragile. Assimilation could cause it to disappear just as quickly. We are committed to making a special effort to help young German Jews strengthen their Jewish identity and connect to Israel.”

Founded in 2009, The Janusz Korchak Academy is a Jewish initiative seeking to use the power of the collective for Tikkun Olam, “repairing the world;” through education and training. Its goal is to strengthen the German Jewish community by dispelling prejudices and ignorance. To date, there are two Janusz Korczak Academies – in Berlin and Munich.

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Revisiting D-Day at Omaha Beach ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT standing on this peaceful strip of land, taking in the beauty June 8, 1944 and the first American cemetery on European Editor of the Jewish Press of it, all the while remembering its violent past. soil in World War II. The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres It was January 2011 when I first interviewed Victor The way he was received at the Normandy American and contains the graves of 9,387 troops, most of whom lost Mashbein. That year’s Passover edition of the Jewish Press Memorial Cemetery was a pleasant surprise: “I was treated like their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. focused on Jewish veterans in On the Walls of the Missing, our community; Victor, who in a semicircular garden on was at the landing on Omaha the east side of the memorial, Beach in June of 1944, agreed are inscribed 1,557 names. to share his story.

Rosettes mark the names of It was a harsh battle; and in those since recovered and spite of the U.S. troops bringidentified. A 22-foot statue, ing more of everything depicting the spirit of the (43,250 infantry, 2 battleAmerican youth rising from ships, 3 cruisers, 12 destroythe waves, faces the actual ers and 105 other ships), there cemetery. were many casualties. More The Memorial draws many than 2,000 troops did not survisitors, from relatives of vive D-Day, and many more those who are buried there to were wounded. Victor was veterans to the French themone of them, ending up with selves; school children are shrapnel in his leg the very brought to the Memorial by first day he hit the French the busload, so they can learn coast. He was wounded two what it took to free France. more times after that, but Touring the Memorial made it home to Council brought up many memories Bluffs once the War was over. for Victor, most of all of those He not only spoke about who didn’t live to see another the events of 1944 and 1945, day. White crosses mark most he also expressed a deep of the graves; some have a desire to go back, one last Mogen David. time. A planned trip had to be “They are the real heroes,” canceled due to health reasays Victor. “It was very sons, and while he was waittouching to be welcomed so ing to feel better, he received warmly by the people in another -- long overdue -France, but it’s those who are Purple Heart. buried there that deserve all Then, in 2012, he finally our gratitude. I think about realized his wish: to see the Clockwise, from top left: an American tank sits as a silent witness to what happened here; Victor at Omaha Beach; Inside a them often.” It’s a sentiment land he helped liberate, to warplane; one of the Jewish graves at the Normandy American Cemetery. much repeated by American meet the people he fought for, and to pay his respects to a king,” Victor says. “They truly gave me a hero’s welcome.” troops who fought in WW II. those who didn’t live to see Europe liberated.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in But the people of Normandy have not forgotten what Accompanied by his daughter Robbin, he visited a very France is located on the site of the temporary American St. those young men –the ones who lived as much as the ones different Omaha Beach, and one wonders what it felt like: Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on who died -- accomplished, and neither should we.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Meeting

Honoring our Community Volunteers Please Join Us Monday, June 3 7 p.m. | JCC Theatre

Special Emcee Marty Ricks | Chief Development Officer State of the Federation Address Jody Malashock | President Mike Silverman | Chief Executive Officer Election of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors Humanitarian of the Year Award Dr. Larry Roffman Phil & Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation Award Zoë & Carl Riekes Community Service Award The Center for Jewish Life: Jewish Book Month Children’s Event Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award Dan Gilbert Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award Stacey Atlas Robert & Ellen Gordman Jewish Teen Leadership Award Hannah Perry & Naomi Zipursky Volunteers of the Year Jewish Federation of Omaha | Brett Atlas The Center for Jewish Life | Marilyn Berman & Deirdre Evans Anti-Defamation League/Community Relations Committee | Aaron Weiner Jewish Community Center | Mark Martin The Jewish Press | Oliver Pollak Rose Blumkin Jewish Home | Rose Kaplan Jewish Senior Outreach | Dick Rochman Jody & Neal Malashock Award for Professional Excellence Shane Kotok