June 1, 2012

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

Rabbi Craig Lewis installed as B’nai Jeshurun Rabbi

June 1, 2012 11 Sivan 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 37

This Week

To the White House by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press For all high school seniors, graduation is an exciting and tumultuous time. There are finals, college applications, possibly a move to another city. It’s enough to keep any 18-year-old

Our salute to the 2012 graduates Pages 8 & 9

Lilly Phillips

South Street Temple President Marc Shkolnick, left, and Rabbi Craig Lewis lead the readings dedicating the tree planted on the Temple's grounds in commemoration of Rabbi Lewis's installation.

Learning about Historical Jewish Omaha Page 11

by SARAH KELEN On Friday, May 18, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun (Lincoln’s South Street Temple) celebrated the official installation of Rabbi Craig Lewis as the twenty-ninth religious leader of the congregation since its founding in 1884.

White House reassures Jews about Baghdad offer to Iran Page 16

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Week Father’s Day See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

12 14 15

The Temple’s historic sanctuary was full, as Temple members, members of Tifereth Israel, a number of Lincoln’s Christian clergy, and other members of the wider community joined together to welcome Rabbi Lewis and to share in Shabbat prayer. Worship music was led by the Star

City Kochavim, a band comprised of South Street Temple congregants and friends. In honor of the installation, the Kochavim debuted a new setting of L’chu N’ran’nah by composer and Star City Kochav Steve Kaup. Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler Continued on page 2

2012 Elinor Whitman Book Appreciation Contest results by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Associate Executive Director, The Center for Jewish Education The Center for Jewish Education through the Kripke Jewish Federation Library is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Elinor A. Whitman Book Appreciation Contest. This annual contest, first started in 1991, is made possible by the Elinor A. Whitman Book Appreciation Fund, founded by Norman Whitman. The contest was created to honor the goals promoted by Mrs. Whitman during her lifetime of devoted service to the youth of the Omaha community. She served for many years as a member of the Kripke Library board and on the faculty of both Beth El and Temple Israel Religious Schools. This contest

furthers Mrs. Whitman’s goal in promoting Jewish literature for children. There were 106 entries in this year’s contest, submitted by students

Rosenfeld, second place-Jordan Nogg, third place-Jack Dodd; there were no entries in the 1st Grade Book Jacket; 2nd Grade Book Jacket:

Big smiles from Friedel Jewish Academy students. in kindergarten through 6th grade. “There were so many outstanding entries that selecting just three winners in each grade was quite challening,” commented one of the judges. “It’s wonderful to see the involvement of so many children in this annual event.” Each winner received a book and certificate and all entrants received participation certificates. The winning entries were: Kindergarten Book Jacket: first place-Linda

first place-Abigail Kaufman, second place-Rose Friedland, third placeEthan Bargas; 3rd Grade Book Report: first place-Matan Shapiro, second place-David Kay, third place-Rachel Kricsfeld; 4th Grade Book Report: first place-Destiny Howard, second place-Ari Saltzman, third place-Rachel Aoki; 5th Grade Book Report: first place-Peyton Blake, second place-Raelyn Cherry, third place-Gabby Witkowski; and Continued on page 2

very busy. For Westside senior Lilly Phillips, daughter of Julie and Eric Phillips, the pressure was even bigger. Every year, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, appointed by President Obama, selects honored scholars based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as evidence of community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals. Of the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 3,300 candidates qualified for the 2012 awards. That qualification is determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT and ACT exams, and through nominations made by Chief State School Officers or the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts nationwide YoungArts™ competition. The 2012 Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts. “Lilly was nominated based on her ACT test scores and recommendations,” Julie said. “We were so proud that she was nominated, and when she was selected as one of 550 semifinalists, things became even more exciting.” Julie said the process toward becoming a Presidential scholar is “quite involved, especially since it came at the same time all those college applications were due. Lilly had to write essays, get recommendations, send transcripts... and nominate a teacher.” And then the results arrived: Lilly had been selected as one of two Nebraska students. The news came in the form of a neighbor who drove by and shared it with Lilly’s mom. Continued on page 9

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A pathway to ‘official’ Judaism by DIANNA CAHN where,� Ahrens told JTA. “They want to make sure they are SOFIA, Bulgaria (JTA) -- As a child, Gabrielle Pavlova accepted here, for Jewish children and to be married and pored over pictures of her Jewish paternal grandmother, called up to the Torah.� who died decades before Pavlova was born. Oscar says there’s a sense of embarrassment and confusion The family had no other tie to Judaism, and Pavlova was among young community members when they discover that fascinated. She delved into her Jewish heritage, read books they are not technically Jews. and, ultimately, wrote her master’s thesis on Polish Jewish “I passed difficult years as a child having to say my mothliterature. Her Jewish roots, she says, were “very close to my er is not Jewish,� said Oscar, who unable to have a synagogue heart and soul.� wedding, married his wife But technically, Pavlova’s in a Jewish ceremony not Jewish, even according under a chuppah in a Sofia to the Reform movement park with a friend officiatin Europe, where patrilining rather than a rabbi. “It eal descent is not accepted. falls on the leaders to At 20, Pavlova asked make sure Jewish children Bulgaria’s chief rabbi if she not only feel Jewish but are could convert. He said there proud of what they are.� was no such program and Post-Communist she should just go home Europe poses a unique and study on her own. dilemma for Orthodox Now, 12 years later, she Judaism, where tradition has another option. dictates that outsiders genLast month, Sofia’s new erally should be discourOrthodox rabbi, Joshua aged from taking on the Rabbi Josh Ahrens demonstrating how to put on tefillin during a Ahrens of the Sofia faith. For half a century conversion course at the Sofia JCC in Bulgaria, May 6, 2012. Synagogue, launched a Eastern European Jews, Credit: Dianna Cahn religious conversion course who survived attempts at in the Bulgarian capital geared toward people like Pavlova. their extermination by the Nazis, lived under Communist “What I like about this community is that maybe only a regimes that attempted to wipe out religious identity. When handful of people are observant in an Orthodox way, but so they emerged from communism in 1990, Eastern European many people are interested in Judaism,� Ahrens said. “They Jews were cultivated by Diaspora Jews and Israelis who tried are excited. They want to know more.� to nurture their Jewish identity and helped put Jewish comDecades of Communist rule helped wipe out traditional munal structures into place. Jewish observance in Bulgaria, but in the 20 years since the Now some Orthodox Jews say global Jewry has a responsibilfall of the Iron Curtain, Bulgaria’s Sephardic Jews have ity to help these communities complete their journey of revival reemerged as a community. Today an estimated 6,000 to by enabling conversions for those members who, because of 7,000 Jews, including people like Pavlova, live in Bulgaria -- intermarriage by their parents, are not halachically Jewish. mostly in Sofia, where the Jewish community has 1,000 “This is a first in Jewish history,� said Ari Greenspan, an active members. Though most are thoroughly secular and American-born Israeli dentist who helped organize the many do not qualify as Jews according to halachah, or Jewish Bulgarian conversion course. “Never before did you have law, the community organization is officially Orthodox. children of Jews not practicing for generations who perceive That has created an incongruity where people like Pavlova themselves as Jewish and want to come back to Judaism.� and even Sofia community president Alexander Oscar are Greenspan’s inspiration for establishing the conversion not officially recognized as Jews and cannot partake in reli- course came a few years ago during a Jewish youth confergious rituals, marry as Jews or read from the Torah. ence. When it was time to read from the Torah, Greenspan Ahrens’ new course is a first in that it offers Bulgaria’s turned to young community leader Martin Levy to read first. “unofficial� Jewish community members a path to official But Levy said he couldn’t. He wasn’t halachically Jewish. conversion. It wasn’t until Ahrens, a German, was hired by the Sofia “I tell Rav Josh that 12 years is a long time,� Pavlova, 32, Synagogue’s board in late 2011 and began reaching out to said during a conversion seminar in Sofia earlier this month. introduce the community to religious life that the course “For me, the test of time has shown how much I want this. I took real form. Sponsored by the Jewish community, the want it more and more and more.� course drew about 20 interested people. Ahrens holds one It remains an open question whether the graduates of weekly evening class, which is filmed and posted online for Ahrens’ course, which is in its second month, will be recog- people outside Sofia. Once every few months he runs a nized as Jewish by Israel’s Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. But weekend seminar like the one in early May. many participants say they’re not converting to earn the Both Ahrens and Greenspan agree that conversions will right to immigrate to Israel but to be recognized as Jewish have to comply with all Orthodox requirements, including within their own community. circumcision and ritual immersion in a mikvah. “For many it is not important that they are accepted else- Continued on page 3.�

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Continued from page 1 welcomed Rabbi Lewis as a new addition to Lincoln’s interfaith leadership (not to mention a new Lincoln homeowner). The mayor cited a survey that named Lincoln the “second happiest city in the U.S.,� and he invited the rabbi to join him in helping boost Lincoln into first place. David Polson, head of the Lincoln chapter of the University of Kansas Alumni Association, was also on hand to greet Rabbi Lewis (KU 1996) with a “Rock chalk.� Rabbi Lewis’s mentor and friend, Rabbi Kenneth Kanter, Director of the Rabbinical School at Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, officiated at the installation. Rabbi Kanter was introduced by Temple member Bob Nefsky, with whom he attended summer camp

Elinor Whitman Book Appreciation Contest Continued from page 1 6th Grade Book Report: first place-Ethan Shrago, second place-Kathleen Kirshenbaum, third place-Tziporah Hamicksburg. The Elinor A. Whitman Memorial Book Appreciation Contest is presented by the Center for Jewish Education and promoted by Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, Friedel Jewish Academy and Temple Israel. Pictured at right: Winning students from Temple Israel.

years ago; “If you want to learn to tie a knot, or start a campfire,� Nefsky said, “Rabbi Kanter is your guy.� In his sermon, Rabbi Kanter noted that a rabbi has many opportunities to offer blessings to congregants, but the installation is an opportunity for the congregation to bless the rabbi. He then invited the congregation to stand and join him in offering the priestly benediction to Rabbi Lewis. Saturday morning, Rabbis Lewis and Kanter led Shabbat services, followed by the dedication of a new tree on the Temple grounds, donated by members Bob and Stacie Bleicher of Eagle Nursery in honor of Rabbi Lewis’s installation. Rabbi Kanter also led Saturday morning Torah Study to round out the events of this special Shabbat for the South Street Temple.

June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 3

Pathway to Judaism

Kutler honored with Beth El’s Gendler Award

Continued from page 2 Some Bulgarians question the necessity of a formal ritual to solidify their identity. “For me, the exam is not going to make me more Jewish than I am,” said Levy, 24, who grew up in Jewish community programs and is now on the board of directors. Still, Levy said he knows the material and might just take the final exam. Setting up a beit din -- a three-rabbi panel to conduct the final exam for converts -- is a particular challenge. Ahrens and Greenspan will have to look outside Bulgaria to find three Orthodox rabbis for the beit din and are waiting until the yearlong course is further along to demonstrate clear commitment by candidates. Neither has contacted the Israeli Rabbinate, which determines for Israel who is a Jew, because they don’t feel their course would be well received. Rabbi Seth Farber, founder of the Jerusalem-based ITIM, an organization that helps Israelis navigate issues involving the Chief Rabbinate, argues that the Israeli Rabbinate has a responsibility to help bring Eastern European Jews back into the fold. “Israel right now is not interested in taking on those kinds of responsibilities,” Farber said. “And I think that is a squandered historic opportunity that is only going to exist for one generation.” Rabbi Refael Dayan, who is in charge of external conversion issues for the Israeli Rabbinate, said he had not been contacted regarding conversion in Bulgaria. “Who says they are even Jewish?” Dayan said. “They could be full-fledged gentiles. Someone has to check them.” In Sofia earlier this month, Tanya Behar scribbled notes furiously during lectures on Jewish signs and symbols. Tanya said she agreed to take the course because her husband, Alberto, a large, boisterous cantor in Plovdiv, just outside Sofia, wanted a ketubah, or Jewish marriage document -- and he promised to lose 65 pounds. But she also sees in Judaism a sense of community. “I want to be part of this Jewish ethic,” she said, “tzedakah, that we are responsible for one another.” Pavlova is very excited about the conversion course. After years of waiting for an opportunity to convert, she moved from the northern town of Pleven to Sofia two years ago and met a Jewish man. She lights Shabbat candles, bakes challahs and hosts Shabbat meals. She and her partner together read the traveler’s prayer, Tefillat Haderech, when they travel. Judaism, she said, is at the heart of the couple. But Pavlova won’t marry or have children until she completes her conversion. Her eyes welled up with tears at the prospect of the beit din. She feels like a runner starting a marathon, she said. “I know how hard it was to wait 12 years,” Pavlova said. “I wish to give this to my children. I don’t want my children to have to endure this.”

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator For his outstanding involvement at Beth El, Brad Kutler has been named the 2012 recipient of the synagogue’s A.B. and Freeda Gendler Award. The award was presented to the recent Millard North High School graduate during the synagogue’s May 18 religious-school graduation ceremony. The Gendler Award is an honor given to a high school senior who has shown exemplary dedication to the synagogue: the criteria include regular attendance at BESTT Hebrew High School, Torah reading and/or Haftorah chanting, Brad Kutler leading service portions in the sanctuary, attendance at services and participation in the synagogue’s USY youth group, as well as other service to the synagogue. In addition to a $500 award, Kutler’s name will be included on a plaque on the synagogue’s Wall of Honor.

Kutler has made his mark in a variety of ways at the synagogue, according to former Beth El Youth Director Shiri Tene. “Brad has been such an instrumental part of the USY board and as a USY member,” she said. “He has been on the board for three years, and during his junior and senior years, he was Membership/Kadima vice president. He’s also helped out with the annual USY Purim Carnival, and assisted during Kadima Shabbatonim. “Everyone looks up to him; he is a prime example of a young Jewish leader in our community.” Brad, son of Debi and David Kutler, expressed gratitude in receiving this special recognition from the synagogue. “I feel honored to receive such an award because I believe so strongly in the Jewish community, and all the knowledge and experience I gain from being an active member in the community,” he said. “Beth El is a special place where I can always feel welcome. I feel as though Beth El has played an important role in my upbringing and I will miss it next year when I’m in college.” Kutler will attend Boston University this fall, where he plans to major in business.

Walking down memory lane

by KAREN MENAGH RBJH Activities Director The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home will hold its second Annual Car Show and Shine on Sept. 9, 2012 at 1:30-3 p.m. Do you own a vintage car, or know someone who does? Then this is a great opportunity to show off those shiny fins or brilliant tail lights. The show is open to any car, truck, or motorcycle enthusiast, and the entire community is invited to attend. For more information on how to enter your vehicle in the car show, please contact Karen Menagh or Adrienne Kitagawa at 402.334.6520 or email at kmenagh@rbjh.com or ashiverdecker@rbjh.com. That same day, we will also be celebrating Grandparents Day with an ice cream social after the car show. A photo booth will be available as well. Hope to see you there!

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A mixed bag of social events by OZZIE NOGG 10 Point Pitch: A Brain Training Game. Even in the summer, no grass grows under Due to popular demand, free classes continMainstreeters’ feet. Upcoming June pro- ue on Tuesday mornings in June from 10-11 grams include: a.m. in the Husker Lounge on Main Meet and Greet Mike Schop, Street at the Rose Blumkin Jewish RBJH Assistant Adinistrator: Home. If you like to play cards, you Monday, June 11, 12:30 should defip.m. Lunch in the Rose nitely learn to Blumkin Jewish Home play 10 Point Auditorium. Yes, another Pitch This Mike has joined the RBJH popular trickstaff. Please come and give ‘Schop’ a warm welcome. For your entree, choose either a Shredded Beef Sandwich or a Fish Sandwich, both served with cole slaw, baked beans, watermelon slices, challah rolls, cookie, coffee, hot or iced tea. Cost is $11.50 a plate. 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 appreciMike Schop, RBJH Joyce Ashley shows the ated by Monday, June 4. Assistant Administrator plate and pendant she creJoin Us at the Movies: Iron ated in the recent Glass Lady. Friday, June 29 at 1 p.m. in the JCC taking game is Fusion Class. Theater. No charge for the film or for unlim- simpler than ited bags of warm, delicious popcorn. No bridge and positively addicting. Instructor reservations necessary. Invite a friend. Shawn Menagh, card enthusiast and volunAcademy Award winner Meryl Streep stars in teer at the RBJH, will teach you the rules and this intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher -- basic strategies so you and your partner can the first and only female Prime Minister of outscore the other team. To reserve your the United Kingdom. One of the 20th centu- seat at the table, call Maggie Conti -ry’s most famous and influential women, the 402.334.6521. film follows Thatcher as she comes from Mainstreeters welcomes all Jewish resinowhere to smash through barriers of gender dents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. The and class in a male dominated world. If you’d group offers a mixed bag of social events and like to have lunch at the Star Deli before the learning opportunities that give participants show, call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 to the chance to meet new people, exercise their reserve a table. Lunch is on your own. The brains, take part in new activities and continStar Deli starts serving at 11:30 a.m. ue enjoying life to the fullest. “Our recent

Glass Fusion Class with Larry Budwig was a complete success,” said Maggie Conti, Director of Activities and Outreach Programs at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “Larry was a very knowledgeable instructor and his love of glass art was apparent. Participants included Brenda Arnold, Joyce Ashley, Judy Brookstein, Marlene Dandy,

Penny Endelman, Joanne Freeman, Marcy Gallner, Gloria Jones, Yvette Roffman, Rocky Stern, Shelley Stern, Linda Abrams Tederman and Lois Wine. My thanks to Rocky who helped organize this class. We had so much fun creating colorful plates and jewelry pendants, and it was unanimous that we want to do this again around Hanukkah time.”

WCA honors Beth Dotan by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT aspects of my work has been connecting The Women’s Center for Advancement with the Holocaust Survivor community.” Her employees, Laura Stastny and (WCA) will recognize Beth Dotan, Director of the Institute of Holocaust Hillary Fletcher added: “Working with Beth has been rewarding on Education, for her outstandso many levels. She is inspiring achievements. The ing, dedicated and uniquely WCA will do so at its 25th creative. We are thrilled to anniversary Tribute to see her receive this recogniWomen luncheon, which tion.” will celebrate six women The 2012 honorees were who have distinguished themselves in the Omaha chosen from a distinguished community. list of nominees on the basis “I knew when I returned of residing and working or to Omaha in the year 2000 volunteering in the Greater that there was important Omaha Metropolitan area, work to accomplish here,” achievement and impact, Beth Dotan Beth said. involvement in community “The fact that there was a need to create a activities and a demonstrated commitment resource base for Holocaust Education gave to helping women and their families build me the energy and enthusiasm to find lives of strength, growth and self sufficiency. diverse and numerous ways to reach out to The event is co-chaired by WCA Board educators and the community. What has Chair Jane Rogers and past honoree Sue empowered me is the fact that there is so Morris, and will be held on June 5 at the much to be done, although that is also the Ramada Plaza Omaha Hotel and misfortune – but I have been able to use my Convention Center, from noon to 1:30 own acquired skills and experience to give p.m. For tables and ticket purchase, conOmaha and Nebraska many directions in tact WCA Chief Development Officer Lori which to better understand the history of Bechtold at 402.345.6555 or email lorib@ the Holocaust. One of the most important wcaomaha.org.

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June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 5

NJHS celebrates 30-year anniversary with June launch of new website by RENEE RATNER CORCORAN community leaders, business owners, and many other peoExecutive Director, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society ple.” Sue Millward, newly installed board president of the In addition, the entire collection of the NJHS newsletters Nebraska Jewish Historcal Society, announced: “As a part of will be available online. These are free to read, or download. our upcoming 30th Anniversary celebration this fall, the Collector’s copies of our highly-regarded Memories of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society is about to launch an Jewish Midwest journals dating from 1985 to 2012 are availexciting and innovative new able for purchase, including website. The revised website our most recently published has been a collaboration journal entitled Mom & Pop between the NJHS and Grocery Stores. All oral histoElevated SEO & Web Design. ry interviews and our everAndrew Boehm and Mark popular The Brandeis Story Javitch, owners of the Search video may also be ordered Engine Optimization compathrough the website. ny, donated a great deal of Additionally, burial records their time and talents to the from local Jewish cemeteries Society to complete this projhave been indexed and made ect and we are very grateful available on the Burial for that.” Registry tab. This is a very “What makes this project unique feature and will be special,” explains Mark appreciated by those searchThe Nebraska Jewish Historical Society elected their Board Javitch, “is that we researched ing for family history. of Directors on May 17. The officers are: Sue Millward, many other Jewish Historical “If you want to know where President; Beth Staenberg, Vice President; Rocky Stern, Society websites. So, when the your great-grandfather is Secretary; Don Dandy, Treasurer. Board members include Omaha site is launched, the buried - Just search by his Lorrie Katelman and Angela Krieger. Pictured above: Renee Nebraska Jewish Historical name and it will come up,” Corcoran, Executive Director, left, Rocky Stern, Secretary; Society will have as much Millward said. Sue Millward, Incoming President; and Debbi Josephson, information available to its Preserving the Jewish histoOutgoing President community as nearly any hisry of Omaha, Lincoln, torical society in America.” Council Bluffs, and surrounding communities is truly what The recently redesigned version of the website, www. the Historical Society is about. Resources will be more nebraskajhs.com goes online later this month. The official accessible to everyone regardless of where they live. date will be released soon. Millward added: “The NJHS and I would like to thank my Now, with just a few clicks, users will be able to pinpoint family for their support of the project, as the Thama and the availability and location of the records in the Carl Frohm Willard Friedman Donor Advised Fund contributed finanArchival Center, which contains photographs, documents cial assistance for this endeavor.” and three-dimensional objects from many families, organiSue would like to remind the community: “The Nebraska zations, businesses, synagogues, and agencies. Jewish Historical Society is not an agency of the Jewish The Dr. Ben Nachman Oral History Collection can also be Federation. Your donations are very important to our consearched on the website. With over 400 video-oral history tinued growth and service to Jewish Omaha. Memberships interviews on file from members of the Omaha Jewish com- and donations can be sent to us directly, or through our new munity, this is one of the largest collections of its type in the website - www.nebraska jhs.com.” country. “We are very grateful to the late Dr. Ben Nachman,” NJHS Board member, Gary Javitch, also contributed to Millward said. “He established and maintained this collec- this article. tion of personal stories - from survivors of the Holocaust,

Marriages MILLWARD/KRONBERG Stephanie Patricia Rose Millward and Brian Kent Kronberg were married March 24 at the Paxton Ballroom in Omaha. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel performed the ceremony. The bride is the daughter of Sue and David Millward. She graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the granddaughter of the late Tham and Willard Friedman, and the late Stanley and Evelyn Millward. The groom is the son of Dr. Kent and Kim Kronberg. He graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the grandson of Wendell and Joyce Kronberg, and Pat and Fred Hanna. Following a wedding trip to Costa Rica, the couple resides in Omaha.

EPSTEIN/SCHACKMAN Brittany Dawn Epstein and Michael Brandon Schackman were married on Oct. 23, 2011, at Beth El in Omaha. The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Paul Drazen of New York and Rabbi Mordechai Levin. The bride is the daughter of Harriet and Ronald Epstein. She graduated magna cum laude from Indiana University and received a BS in Biology, with a minor in business. She earned her Master’s as a Physician Assistant from UNMC, and is a Physician Assistant in Internal Medicine with the Medical Clinic of North Texas in Plano, TX. Her maid of honor was her sister, Marissa Epstein of Dallas, and her bridemaids were sisters of the groom, Lauren Seidenstein of Dallas and Julie Schackman of San Antonio, Dr. Jennifer Cohen of Chicago, Jamie Katz of Overland Park, KS and Dr. Komal Shanmugan of San Antonio. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Nathan

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THE GREEK ISLANDS N. Wald of Houston, the late Mr. and Mrs. Willis Epstein, and Audrey Epstein. The groom is the son of Susan and Sandy Schackman of Plano, TX. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance, with a minor in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an asset manager for ORIX Capital Markets in Dallas. His best man was Adam Diamond of Dallas, and his groomsmen were brother-in-law of the groom, Mickey Seidenstein, Brad Behringer, Seth Cobbel, Jason Friedman, Jordan Klein, Rob Phillips, all of Dallas; and Brett Kahn of LA, and ring bearers were Zachary and Jesse Spain of Palo Alto, CA, cousins of the bride. He is the grandson of Elton Schackman of Dallas and the late Evelyn Night Schackman, and Mr. and Mrs. George T. Walsh of San Antonio. Following a delayed wedding trip to St. Lucia, the couple resides in Plano, TX.

Birth Marti and George Poulos announce the May 4 birth of their son, Evan Harry. He is named for his maternal grandmother, Helen Evelyn Finkel and his paternal grandmother, Eleni Poulos. He has a brother, Leo Poulos Grandparents are Joel and Lois Finkel, and Dan and Kathy Poulos of Council Bluffs, IA. Great-grandparents are the late David and Sue Greenberg, the late Leonard and Helen Finkel, the late, George and Ourania Sgourakis and the late Harry and Eleni Poulos.

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by JILL BELMONT types of retreats are so important because they allow stuBeth El Publicity Coordinator dents to live in a Jewish bubble for 25 hours and understand Every year, Beth El offers a fun-filled, themed retreat for why Shabbat is so special. We can talk about it all we want, fifth to eighth graders, featuring games, activities, discussion but until they experience it, they won’t understand!” groups and meaningful learning experiences. This year’s Sharing a unique Shabbat celebration with the students Kadima Shabbaton, held May11-13 at the Gretna 4-H Camp, provided Rabbi Abraham with his most memorable expericarried the theme, “I Love Israel,” and according to organizers, ence of the retreat. participants created special connections with the Jewish State. “The programming was fantastic,” he said, “but my One exercise involved letters that participants’ parents wrote favorite part of the weekend was Shabbat morning services. to their child prior to the retreat, sharing reasons why they love I was so impressed by our students’ knowledge of the tefillot Israel, or why they believe Israel is important to the Jewish (prayers); it’s evident how much our kids learn from attendpeople and the world. ing Junior Congre-gation. “The kids had to identiI love services at Beth El, fy which parent wrote each but to have the opportuniletter, said BESTT ty to pray outside and out Education Director and loud with 31 of our youth Shabbaton organizer Judy was priceless.” Haven. “In most cases For Haven, another spethere were sufficient clues cial aspect of the retreat for them to recognize their was “watching the kids own parents. It was a very interact with each other, moving activity because of the kavannah in their the variety of opinions prayer, and the fun they expressed and the deep had learning about Israel. love of Israel expressed by Our USY assistants did a Beth El’s recent Kadima Shabbaton brought an enthusiastic group marvelous job leading the parents.” During another activity, of fifth- to eighth-grade students together for a weekend of cama- prayers, discussions, ice called “Meet the Israelis,” raderie and fun at the Gretna 4-H Camp. breakers and games.” the children rotated among groups facilitated by three Those USY assistants included Aaron Zipursky, Naomi native-born Israelis who talked to them about what their Zipursky, Alyssa Cohen, Kylie Kirshenbaum, Ethan Potash, lives were like growing up in Israel. Sam Lieb, Brad Kutler; adult participants included Rabbi For seventh grader Eliana Schuller, learning about Israel Mordechai Levin, Cantor Beth Schlossberg, Ophir Palmon, and attending services helped her to make a special connec- Eadie Tsabari, Na’ama Keren, Andy Greenberg, Rabbi tion with her Jewishness. Schuller, who has attended the Steven Abraham, Shira Abraham, Judy Haven, Marcie retreat for two years, said she returns to be with her friends; Spivack, Aleks Salkin, Mindy Tene, Shiri Tene, Shirley she also cited rock climbing, archery and zip line as some of Cemaj, Robert Mosenkis, and Mor Sheinbein. her favorite activities during the weekend. The annual Kadima Shabbaton is an important event for Jake Spivack, who also returned for his second Shabbaton kids, Haven said, and one that is always highly anticipated. this year, said he goes back with “the hope and expectation “Taking our students to a retreat site affords us the opportuof something new and better for the whole Shabbaton expe- nity to live in a totally Shabbat-observant environment withrience.” out the distractions of the secular world. It allows the parThe seventh grader said the retreat “lets me connect – for an ticipants to get to know each other in a more informal setentire weekend -- with kids and adults who have the same reli- ting than the classroom and to make friends with each other. gious beliefs as me, that we can share.” He added that he also The kids made friends across grade levels, which doesn’t enjoys “the bonfire, s’mores and the USYers leading songs.” always happen in a school setting.” Beth El’s assistant rabbi, Steven Abraham, who helped to Rabbi Abraham agreed, adding, “Our goal is to create lead the weekend’s programming, sang the praises of both positive and meaningful Jewish experiences. From the Shabbaton, saying, “It was a special weekend because the feedback we have received from students and parents, I kids got to talk about Judaism, but also live Judaism. These believe we hit the mark!”

Jeffrey Glass, M.D. installed as OCPS President by HOLLY APPELBAUM Orange County Psychiatric Society Jeffrey C. Glass, M.D., was born and raised in Omaha and attended college at Stanford University. He excelled academically and graduated with honors, after which he returned to Nebraska to attend medical school. He then moved back to California to start a combined psychiatry and internal medicine residency at U.C. Irvine. Even though he knew he would eventually enter psychiatry, he chose to add an extra year of training filled with long nights on the mediJeff Glass, MD cine wards to gain additional experience and understanding in treating the psychiatric needs of patients with co-existing medical problems. During this residency, he started a new research project to better understand patients who utilized the most medical services. He discovered that the patients were most likely to be either non-compliant with medications, substance abusers, or patients with mental illness. Dr. Glass was awarded “Best Resident Paper” at the National Academy of

Psychosomatic Medicine for his research efforts. Eventually, Dr. Glass went into private practice, and has been providing direct patient care in his outpatient practice for the past 20 years. Despite the full workload, he remains dedicated to community service volunteer work. Within the Orange County Psychiatric Society (OCPS), Dr. Glass became a leader shortly after graduating from his residency. He did so by representing Early Career Psychiatrists at the California Psychiatric Association. He subsequently was elected as Councilor, Secretary, and OCPS President-elect. Dr. Glass was installed as president of OCPS on May 19, 2012. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Young Leadership Division of the Jewish Federation of Orange County. In addition, he has worked with the OCPS Governmental Affairs Committee since 1996; in 1997 he was appointed as the Federal Legislative Representative. Since that time, he has attended many Congressional events in Washington D.C., where he advocates for topics such as insurance parity, improved access to care, and increased funding for veterans’ health services. Dr. Glass lives in Irvine, and is an avid fitness enthusiast and dancer during his free time; he is the son of Omahans Mort and Janet Glass. This article was reprinted with permission from the OCPS, a district branch of the American Psychiatric Society; it previously appeared in the OCPS newsletter.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Rabbi Yitzhak Mizrahi will speak on Wednesday, June 6, 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 How much Yiddish do you know? Probably more than

you think. Some English words have made their way into Yiddish. Many Yiddish words are commonly used in English. Every first Thursday of the month, we will be playing Yiddish Bingo. This will give you a chance to show off the Yiddish you didn’t even know you knew. Everyone is invited! We meet every Thursday from 1-3 p.m., in the Rose Blumkin Home Board Room. For information call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 7

NCJW board installation New chapter for Temple’s Rabbi Linder by JAN FISCHER The National Council of Jewish Women Omaha Section’s Installation of Officers will be held on Sunday, June 10, at 11 a.m. The event will be held at the home of Marcia Pitlor, 13303 Eagle Run Drive. The Officers for 2012-2013 are: President-Jan Fischer; Community Service Presidents-Sonia Tipp, Holly Weill; Fundraising Vice PresidentsRachel Dysico, M e l i n d a G r a h a m ; Membership Vice PresidentsCari Green, Patty Nogg; Public Affairs Vice PresidentsCathy Christensen, Lisa Lewis; Public Relations Vice Presidents-Sharon Houchin, Alice Klein; Recording Secretary-Lise Sasson; Financial Secretary-Kelly Kirk; Corresponding Secretary-Lori Kooper-Schwarz; TreasurerEileen Remer; Directors-Michelle Epstein, Angela Friedman, Joanie Jacobson, Vicki Perlmeter; Parliamentarians-Julie Martin, Dottie Rosenblum; Nominating Chairmen-Nikki Kirshenbaum, Tina Meyers; and Finance Chairman-Iris Ricks Please RSVP to Melinda Graham at thegrahamfamily3@ yahoo.com or call 402.707.1929.

BBYO Beau Dance

Back row: Tyler Siegel, Jack Weiss, Jack Gilinsky and Josh Sullivan. Front row: Jacob Barron, Max Gendler, Brad Kutler.

by DAVID GOLBITZ especially children and families. Temple Israel Communications Coordinator “You were good with our children,” Waldbaum wrote, Outgoing Rabbi Eric Linder was honored Friday night for “and when the time came you were good even with those of his six years of service and commitment to Temple Israel. us a ‘little older.’ When my family needed you, you were “I feel the loss of a friend,” said Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. “It felt there, and I know you did the same for others.” very comfortable to work with him. I wish him all the best.” Rabbi Linder wasn’t the only one honored Friday night, as Rabbi Linder is leaving Temple Israel to become the spir- Rabbi Azriel called to the bimah those graduating seniors itual leader of the Children who were in attendance, of Israel congregation in for a blessing as they tranAthens, GA. sition from high school to After six years “he is used adulthood. to my accent,” Rabbi Azriel “We ignited in you a said. “I wish him luck deciflame,” Rabbi Azriel told phering the accents he will the gathered seniors. “I hear in Georgia.” hope you continue to fan During Friday’s Shabbat the flame” out in the world. service Wendy Goldberg, It was an emotional Program Director at moment for many of the Temple Israel, said a few seniors. words of friendship and “It was a little sad knowencouragement, and coning I was going to be leavgregation President Sally ing my Temple classKaplan presented Rabbi mates,” said graduate Linder with a new tallis, a Bailey Newman, who was gift from the congregation. also heartened to know “[Rabbi Linder] provid- Lois and Michael Linder are proud of their son as he plans to take she had a strong commued a gateway for me,” over Georgia’s Children of Israel congregation. nity to come back to. Goldberg said, “and I believe many others in our communiNewman said she enjoyed her classes at Temple Israel, party, to grapple with the teachings of Judaism... you are so ticularly those with Rabbi Azriel, because “it was very open ready to be a senior solo rabbi.” and he allowed me to question things. Rabbi Azriel also mentioned that Rabbi Linder wasn’t the “My experience has been very thought provoking and it only one who was going to be missed. helped me grow in my Judaism,” Newman said. “I will miss his parents, too,” Rabbi Azriel said. “They sent In addition to the honors bestowed Friday night upon gift packages for all the holidays. I cannot wait to open the Rabbi Linder and the graduating seniors, the congregation next one.” was entertained by the Jewish music group Sababa, who perAfter having their lives enriched by Rabbi Linder over the formed original songs and put to music many Sabbath past six years, the Temple Israel community has taken his prayers, including Hashkiveinu and Hu Ya’aseh. imminent departure as an opportunity to give back. Many Sababa, meaning “cool” in Hebrew, is comprised of members of the congregation wrote farewell remembrances Omaha native Steve Brodsky, who now lives in Denver; of Rabbi Linder, which will be collected in a book and pre- Robbi Sherwin, of Austin; and Scott Leader, of Phoenix. The sented to him before he leaves. trio has been described as a “Jewish Crosby, Stills and Nash” “You were my first true teacher of Judaism and what a and brought a joyous energy and uplifting spirit to the ‘Jewish Life’ means,” wrote Brian Clifton. “Without you, I Shabbat service. may never have discovered the joys and pains and lessons The three musicians also performed at Temple Israel on and traditions that seem so inextricable from my life now.” Sunday, following the last day of Religious School. John Waldbaum appreciated Rabbi Linder’s human touch Sababa was brought to Temple Israel by Linda and Nelson when it came to relating to members of the congregation, Gordman, in honor of their grandchildren.

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8 | The Jewish Press | June 1, 2012

Salutes... the Class of 2012 Kevin Adler

Yaniv Azriel

Madison Paige Baron

Marina Blum

Sam Boocker

Courtney Brockman

Megan Bucher

Sophie Cemaj

Josh Cohen

Lauren Cooper

Cameron Joel Davis

Anna Eirinberg

Hal Emas

Laura Gilinsky

Jonathan Gill

Abbey Giller

David William Glazer

Ben Hale

Molly Helm

Jordan Sophia Jensen

Alex Kirshenbaum

Samuel Kohll

Brad Kutler

Brendan M. Leahy

Jacob Lehr

Jessica Levinger

Benjamin Lohman

Jacob (JT) Meiches

YANIV AZRIEL Elyce and Rabbi Aryeh Azriel

KEVIN ADLER Patti and David Adler

MADISON PAIGE BARON Jill and Dr. Bruce Baron

MARINA BLUM Nathalie Smith and Paul Blum

SAM BOOCKER Kathy and David Boocker

Central University of Iowa

CAMERON JOEL DAVIS

Millard North University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ANNA EIRINBERG

Millard North University of Colorado-Boulder

HAL EMAS

Lincoln High University of California-Berkeley

LAURA GILINSKY

Westside Baylor University

Teresa and Dr. Lew Eirinberg

Leigh and Rick Emas

Katherine Finnegan and David Gilinsky

Julie and Dr. David Brockman

Lincoln East Iowa State University

ABBEY GILLER Barbara and Stuart Giller

MEGAN BUCHER MIchelle and Ron Bucher

Millard West University of Nebraska-Lincoln

DAVID WILLIAM GLAZER Jordana and Jim Glazer

SOPHIE CEMAJ Shirley and Sam Cemaj

JOSH COHEN Marla and Bob Cohen

Westside Maccabi BeKeff in Israel & Emory University in Fall of 2013 Brownell-Talbot Vanderbilt University

BEN HALE Debbie and Patrick Hale

MOLLY HELM Kathy Goldstein Helm

LAUREN COOPER Joan and Justin Cooper

Burke Clarkson College

JORDAN SOPHIA JENSEN Lynne and Patrick Jensen

Millard North Nebraska Wesleyan University

ALEX KIRSHENBAUM

Central Nebraska Wesleyan University

SAMUEL KOHLL

Westside University of Michigan

BRAD KUTLER

Barb and Scott Kirshenbaum

Janet and David Kohll

Debi and David Kutler

BRENDAN M. LEAHY JONATHAN GILL Chris and Eytan Gill

COURTNEY BROCKMAN

Westside

Mary Kay Young and Henry Davis Johns Hopkins University

Papillion South University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Westside University of Minnesota Millard West Undecided Burke Westiminster College Millard North Boston University Central

Ben Pape and Kristy Leahy Pape Creighton University and Matthew Leahy

Millard North University of Nebraska-Kearney

JACOB LEHR

Westside University of Michigan

JESSICA LEVINGER

Millard North Northwest Missouri State

BENJAMIN LOHMAN

Brownell-Talbot The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

JACOB (JT) MEICHES

Sandy and John Lehr

Bonnie and Steve Levinger

Helene and Michael Lohman

Marybeth Meiches and Daniel Meiches

Westside University of Southern California Millard North University of Wisconsin Central Creighton University Millard North Quinnipiac University

June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 9

Sophia Miller

Sam Munzesheimer

Bailey Newman

Benjamin Noodell

Jeremy S. Payne

Lilly Ann Phillips

Adeev Potash

Ezra Potash

Sydney Robinson

Oliver Rockman

Max Saferstein-Hansen

Elizabeth Salkin

Talia Layne Simon

Libby Slosburg

Alexis Slutzky

Evan J. Stoler

Jordan B. Stoler

Lindsey Thomas

NOT PICTURED

The Jewish Press regrets it if some graduating seniors are not included. If parents would like to submit an announce-

JONATHAN BAKER Amber and Tom Baker

Westside Tulane University

Please send via e-mail (with photo of at least 100K, attached

DOMINIQUE KROUT

Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Include:

Bunny and Marvin Krout

Lincoln Southwest South East Community College Erez Trainin

SOPHIA MILLER Jennifer and Paul Miller

Steven Vinci

Millard North Northwest Missouri State Univ.

Andrew (Drew) G. Wiesman

EZRA POTASH

ment for ‘In the News’, we will run it when space is available.

Westside

Amy Nachman and Alan Potash The New School for Jazz and

as a .jpg) to jpress@jewishomaha.org, or to the office at:

name of graduating senior, name(s) of parent(s), high school from which student graduated, and college which the student will attend. ALEXIS SLUTZKY Lesley and Jeff Slutzky

Papillion LaVista South Metropolitan Community College

Contemporary Music SAM MUNZESHEIMER Alice Weiss and Ken Munzesheimer

Burke University of Nebraska-Omaha

EVAN J. STOLER SYDNEY ROBINSON

Westside Kimberly and Andrew Robinson Indiana University

Kim and Alan Stoler

JORDAN B. STOLER BAILEY NEWMAN Karli and Jody Newman

Central NYU-Tisch School of Arts

OLIVER ROCKMAN

Millard North University of Nebraska-Lincoln

MAX SAFERSTEIN-HANSEN

Lincoln Southeast University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ELIZABETH SALKIN

Westside Stanford University

TALIA LAYNE SIMON

Westside

LIBBY SLOSBURG

Stacey and Jonathan Rockman

Westside Indiana University

Kim and Alan Stoler

LINDSEY THOMAS BENJAMIN NOODELL Ann and Dave Noodell

JEREMY S. PAYNE Jodie Stein and Jeffrey Payne

LILLY ANN PHILLIPS Julie and Dr. Eric Phillips

ADEEV POTASH

Amy Nachman and Alan Potash Purchase College Conservatory

Burke Rhonda Saferstein and Jeff Hansen University of Nebraska-Omaha

Cindy and Rich Salkin

Stacy and Bruce Simon

Martha and David Slosburg

Central Lake Forest College Millard North

Andie Gordman and Dan Fitzgerald University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Paul Thomas

Millard West University of Nebraska-Lincoln

EREZ TRAININ

Brownell Talbot Arizona State University

STEVEN VINCI

Westside Northwestern University

ANDREW G. WIESMAN

of Music

Central Denison University

Sarah and Dr. Guy Trainin

Jody Vinci and Gino Vinci

Brenda and Mark Wiesman

Lincoln High University of Nebraska-Lincoln Westside University of Nebraska Westside University of Wisconsin

To the White House Continued from page 1 “Inexplicably, when they posted the results, our internet was down, and so after sharing a few tears with that neighbor, I called the grandparents on both sides to check it was really, really true,” Julie said. “Then, when I was absolutely sure, I texted my daughter.” To Lilly it feels quite satisfying to be appreciated for all her hard work academically, according to her mother. “But,” Julie said, “at the same time, she knows so many deserving fellow students. I think it was her dedication to community service, creativity and leadership that made her stand out.” United States Secretary of Education Anne Duncan, on the Department of Education’s website, said: “Honoring Presidential scholars is an important celebration of students showing the dedication, creativity and ambition to become future leaders. As national, state and local leaders work side by side with principals, teachers and parents to make our schools better, we can learn from the students all

around us whose hard work and accomplishments embody the kind of excellence we want every child to achieve.” It’s high praise, and the department of education acknowledges that no student reaches great heights without the right teachers. For that reason, each Presidential Scholar is asked to select an influential teacher, and bring him or her along to the award ceremony in Washington D.C. While there, the teachers in turn are honored with a teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education. “Coming from such a wonderful educational background, this choice was not at all an easy one for me,” Lilly says. “I chose to nominate Friedel Jewish Academy teacher Denise Bennett, whom I had as a teacher for 4th, 5th and 6th grade. In my application essay, I shared how Mrs. Bennett set the bar for how learning could and should be. How having been in an environment where reading was a competitive and cherished pastime, the more facts you knew the cooler you were, and math was... dare I say it-

fun? She instilled in me a love for learning that I've seen so many of my peers lose.” Julie said: “Lilly feels that in choosing Mrs. Bennett she is honoring her Friedel experience, since it was that experience that encouraged her daily commitment to her ideals. I think Lilly is almost more excited for the honor bestowed on Denise Bennett!” “Of course the entire family wants to go,” Julie continued, “but the tickets for guests of each scholar and teacher are limited, so Lilly is going with Mom and Dad. We promised Grams and Grandpa lots of photos. Mrs. Bennett is taking her sister who has never been to Washington D.C.” This year marks the 48th class of Presidential Scholars; the program was created in 1964 and has to date honored more than 6,000 top-performing students. The opportunity to nominate an inspiring and exceptional teacher was introduced in 1989. The 2012 ceremony will be held June 16, and each honoree will receive a Presidential Scholar Medallion.

10 | The Jewish Press | June 1, 2012

SEWING CENTERS 10144 Maple (Maple Village)

402-572-1212 Mon & Thur: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. • Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mazal Tov, Brad! We are so proud of you! Love, Mom and Dad

Congratulations

Lilly and Sophie

From Friedel to Westside to the futurewe know wherever you go, you will go with all your heart. Love, The Phillips and Cemaj families

Mazal Tov, Andrew G. Wiesman!

A Jewish perspective in Lincoln by SARAH TRAININ Tikun Olam is a very important concept in Judaism and one that the Lincoln Jewish Community School tries to convey to all of its students each year in different ways. The curriculum in the High School program of LJCS is designed to approach a variety of subjects in ways that connect to the class as students and also as burgeoning adults. The annual parking lot rummage sale (held in the parking lot of B’nai Jeshurun Temple) is our big annual LJCS Tikun Olam project. “Hallah High”, as the group is commonly known, is unique in that the curriculum each year is designed around a different general theme. The units within that theme combine modern Jewish thought with teachings from our classical Jewish texts, like Tanach and Talmud. The students always choose a charity that will receive the proceeds from the annual sale based on one of the units from that particular year’s theme. This year, the theme was “Hot Topics” (for example, reproductive rights, substance abuse, and corporate responsibility). As a result, the students are in the process of selecting a charity or group that provides either relief or education in one of the unit themes (they will vote on the last day of school to decide the recipient). One of the many lessons that we try to instill in our students is the unique perspective that Jews have toward charity. “In Judaism, giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due” (jewfaq.org). Judaism does not require that the charity of its members be reserved for Jews alone. Our tenets do not require us to specify the worthiness of need beyond the need itself. We are obligated to provide relief to those who require it, regardless of who they are. This is something that the students of Hallah High take very seriously. In past years, the students have given their funds to both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations

including the Lincoln Jewish Community Food Bank, the Lincoln Children’s Advocacy Group, and two different local women’s shelters. When originally discussing the disbursement of the funds collected, the students made two critical decisions that have been continuously upheld each year. Firstly, the donation will be made to something that the students themselves feel strongly about and agree upon and, secondly, the donation will

be made locally. Hallah Highers realized then, and now, that while the money they could raise would probably not have a significant impact to a national organization, it could, and in all likelihood would, have a huge impact on a local one. We are proud that our students are aware enough of their community to appreciate where their money can do the most good. The history of the sale is a very positive one. Every year the students ask the community to donate gently used items (clothes, toys, furniture, household items) and then sort, categorize, and price what comes in. Our Lincoln community never ceases to amaze us with their response to that request, always supplying a vast array of items in very saleable condition. The first sale was held five years ago and raised approximately $400. The sale has grown each year both in amount of donations and in amount raised. This year, though the sale was held for two hours less than in previous years and was in conflict with the annual Lincoln Marathon, the students raised over $600. This year’s recipient will be posted on the main notice board at both B’nai Jeshurun and Tifereth Israel.

In the news Nicole – Juliet Friedman, daughter of Alan Friedman and Layna Silvagni Friedman graduates Cum Laude June 1, 2012 from Brentwood High School, Brentwood, CA. She is the granddaughter of the late Ike and

Rosalie Friedman of Omaha, and of Elizabeth Silvagni and the late Anthony Silvagni of Williamsport, PA. She will be attending Barnard College in New York in the fall. Samuel Boocker will be giving his senior recital on June 11 at 7 p.m. in the UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center. The program will last about 45 minutes with a reception following.

OU welcomes Romney’s school choice proposal We are so proud of your achievements – President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence, National Merit Scholar, Omaha World-Herald All Academic and Westside High School Honor Roll.

Love, Your Proud Family

To submit announcements: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: jpress@jewish omaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.

by JTA NEWS STAFF ble children.” Romney was quoted as saying by the WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Orthodox Union welcomed a pledge by presidential National Journal in his address to the Latino candidate Mitt Romney to allow low- Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit in income families to use federal dollars to Washington D.C., that “too many of our kids are trapped in schools that are send their children to failing or simply don’t meet parochial schools. their needs, and for too long, “Gov. Romney’s proposal to we’ve merely talked about the have federal education funds virtues of school choice with‘follow the student,’ rather than become mired or diluted out really doing something in a trickle-down process, is about it.” most commendable,” Yehuda He would allow parents to Neuberger, the Orthodox use federal funds to place umbrella body’s public policy their children in private or chairman, said in a statement parochial schools and in after Romney, the former schools outside their geoMitt Romney Massachusetts governor and graphical area. putative Republican presidential nominee, A number of major Jewish organizations unveiled his proposal. “It will ensure that and the Reform movement have in the past scarce federal education dollars more effec- strongly opposed extending federal funds to tively support the educational needs of eligi- parochial schools.

June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 11

Historical Jewish Omaha by ILANA WEISS On the morning of Sunday, April 29, over 60 5th and 6th graders from Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel, Temple Israel and the Friedel Jewish Academy participated in the first ever Historical Jewish Omaha Tour. Students first gathered all together in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium for a group activity where they learned about the history of the three synagogues as well as the Home for the Aged. In 12 groups, students completed puzzles of pictures of the past locations of the synagogues and home for the aged with accompanying facts about all four places. At the conclusion

of the activity, students shared their favorite facts with the larger group and saw where all of the locations of the sites were on Google Maps. The students made diverse choices regarding which facts they found to be the most interesting. During the large group discussion, an individual from each synagogue also read a quote from the past that demonstrated the thoughts and motivations regarding the founders of each synagogue. After a snack, the students were broken into three groups for a tour through the JCC led by docents from the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. The students made three stops visiting the Riekes Museum, the Historical Society Hallway and Office, and the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home where they learned about the home and the mikvah. Students were captivated by what the docents had to say and the children learned interesting first-hand information from the Historical Society representatives. In addition to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society volunteers, staff and parent chaperons came along from each synagogue. Those adults (and some teens) took an active part in the program as they steered students to the right places as they traveled throughout the JCC and engaged in conversations about the sites as they went along. By taking part in this program, students who may attend the JCC on a regular basis had the opportunity to see and learn about parts of the building that at other times they may just pass by. The Historical Jewish Omaha Tour was made possible by a generous grant by the Herbert Goldsten Trust and was supported by Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, Temple Israel, Friedel Jewish Academy and the Center for Jewish Education.

Temple Israel 2012 confirmation class by DAVID GOLBITZ Finnegan said. And Jack “is going to Israel this summer on Temple Israel Communications Coordinator a BBYO trip with five other congregants.” Confirmation ceremonies celebrate the culmination of a As he prepared for confirmation, Finnegan said that her Reform Jewish student’s Hebrew school studies, and on May son “loved his time” studying with Cantor Wendy Shermet, 11 Temple Israel’s latest conand that Jack has “solidified firmation class was honored really important Jewish with a ceremony during the friendships” at Temple Israel Shabbat Worship Service. and through BBYO. Surrounded by friends and In addition to Jack Gilinsky, family, the students participatson of Katherine Finnegan ed in the Shabbat service and and David Gilinsky, this year’s shared a private moment with confirmands include Jacob Rabbi Azriel on the bimah. Arnold, son of Brenda and Lynne Jensen was especially Barton Arnold; Hannah moved by the ceremony, Budwig, daughter of Larry which included her daughter, Budwig; Brandon Friedman, Madison. son of Joan and Michael “I was the kindergarten Friedman; Madison Jensen, teacher for that class, so it was daughter of Lynne and Patrick fun to see them all grown up,” Jensen; Justin Norton, son of Jensen said. Susie and Michael Norton; Katherine Finnegan, whose Rabbi Azriel, top left, Canter Shermet and Rabbi Linder Mallory Rogers, daughter of son Jack Gilinsky was one of stand proudly with the Temple Israel confirmation class of Marcelyn and Charles Rogers; the confirmands, said that the 2012. Josh Sullivan, son of Louri confirmation ceremony validates the promise Jack and his and Charles Sullivan; and Rachel Sullivan, daughter of Louri classmates have made to “living Jewishly.” and Charles Sullivan. The ceremony “marks that our children have made a comTraditionally held on or around Shavuot, the holiday commitment to Judaic study, whether it be with the clergy or memorating the day God handed down the Torah, and thus through Jewish experiences,” Finnegan said. knowledge, to the Israelites, confirmation ceremonies are Finnegan also emphasized the importance of travel in her held mainly by Reform congregations as a way to encourage children’s Jewish education. students to continue their Jewish education after their bar or “Both of our daughters attended the March of the Living, bat mitzvahs. Confirmations also signify the students’ incluwhich had a huge impact on their Jewish identities,” sion within the Jewish community.

What’s in a name... by OZZIE NOGG On April 1 of this year, Karen Gustafson’s promotion to Executive Director of Jewish Family Service became official. “It’s extremely morale boosting to know that one’s hard work is recognized and rewarded,” Gustafson said. “I’m very thankful to my Board President, Jim Farber, for facilitating my promotion. And I’m grateful to the entire community for their support over the years and during this new step in my career.” According to Gustafson, many of her colleagues -upon hearing the news of her promotion -- said, “I thought you already were the Karen Gustafson Executive Director.” Others asked, “So, what’s changed?” Her response is typically tothe-point Karen. “Twelve years ago I left my position at Child Saving Institute and joined the Jewish Family Service staff as a therapist. At the time, JFS was moving forward as a recognizable

agency of the Federation and also as a respected Counseling Center for the Jewish and Omaha community. Eventually, it was determined that the best support for the agency would be to merge with The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and Jewish Senior Services, which morphed into what is now known as JSS -- Jewish Social Services. Mike Silverman was Executive Director of JSS and I was promoted to Director of Jewish Family Service. After five years of working closely with Mike, I assumed greater responsibilities for JFS with Mike always having my back. When Mike was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, I was ready. It’s true that the services provided at JFS work in conjunction with other Federation agencies, but our function is unique and takes someone who knows ‘the business.’ Truthfully, I’ve been taking ownership of Jewish Family Service from the day I walked in the door. No matter who was ‘technically’ the leader, I did what had to be done and learned what had to be learned to put myself in the position to lead the agency when the opportunity arose. I’m glad to say, the opportunity arose. Adding the word “Executive” to my title feels great, but my goal at JFS remains the same. To do the best work for our clients and to maintain an agency of highly qualified, respected and diversified staff to serve the many faceted needs of the community.”

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12 | The Jewish Press | June 1, 2012

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Blame

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Much has been written, said, and sometimes yelled about the Internet. It’s a vile place where opinionated scarecrows hide the hate and prejudice they don’t dare to share in public. There’s porn, and there are scams, and threats; there are lies and really distasteful youtube videos. Of course, the Internet also allows us to connect with others, share information and communicate. We can skype with family and friends even if they live thousands of miles away, and we can send pictures of the grandkids in real time. Few of us can imagine making it through the workday without email or a Google search (or ten). And there’s nothing wrong with that. On May 19, more than 40,000 haredi Orthodox Jewish men gathered at Citi Field in New York to discuss and denounce the impurity of the World Wide Web. "The Internet even with a filter is a minefield of immorality," said Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman, a haredi Orthodox lecturer from Monsey, N.Y. "This issue is the test of the generation. Your strength at this gathering will determine what Judaism will look like a few years from now." (JTA.com) And so on, and so forth. Of course, the Internet is a soulless, heartless, lifeless thing. It’s not technology that should be blamed; it’s the people who use it, and that includes vendors as well as consumers. If I waste half an hour playing Bejeweled Blitz or looking at cute kittens (not that I would, at least not every day), I can’t blame what my Mac gives me access to. I have to take responsibility for my actions. One can wield an axe to do bodily harm and it wouldn’t end well, or one can use it to chop down a dead tree before it crushes a house and hurts its occupants. At the end of the day, it’s all about making good choices. I don’t know for certain that these rabbis would necessarily argue with that. But that rally around the Mets’ home plate raises an interesting question. Wachsman and co. are not saying the Internet is all bad; they emphasize that filters

need to be in place so the ‘bad stuff ’ is not accessible in the first place. No temptation. We all, Jews and non-Jews alike, live in a litigious society. We don’t like taking responsibility for our actions; we’d much rather sue McDonald’s for making the coffee too hot. If our children do badly in school, it must be the teacher’s fault. Our favorite team would have won that championship if only that referee had had his eyes checked once in a while. In that sense, these 40,000+ haredim are just like the rest of us: they see a problem and blame the “other.” All this around Shavuot, when we commemorate being given a hefty set of rules about what we should and shouldn’t do: the ultimate reminder that we are responsible for our own actions, if you ask me. But: I am no rabbi, and my opinion is just my own. When we take responsibility for our own choices, and stop blaming other people or things, we actually benefit from it. We regain control of our own lives, we get to be sorry for our mistakes and we get to feel good when we do something right. We don’t have to feel as if things are out of our hands and we’re just powerless bystanders, at the mercy of whatever evil comes our way. We can use the Internet without compromising our Jewish values, and we don’t need a filter while doing

it. The filter is already built in: it’s our own common sense. We just need to use it, not only with the Internet, but with everything we do. Editor’s note: The Jewish Press is gearing up for its annual Rosh Hashanah edition, which this year will be published on September 14. The topic centers on food, and we will explore family recipes, chefs, restaurants, and many other things related to Jewish cooking. As always, we are very interested in finding stories with a local angle, and we invite you to email or call us if you think of someone in our community who should be included. Over the next few weeks, we will finalize the list, and we look forward to your input. Please email your suggestions to avandekamp@jewishomaha.org, or call 402.334.6450.

Can there be Judaism without Kashrut?

Focus on issues RABBI JONATHAN GROSS I sometimes imagine myself in a world where I did not have to keep kosher. In that world I weigh 700 lbs. and I am flat broke. Omaha has the distinction of having more restaurants per capita than any city in America and is probably the hardest city in the world to keep kosher in. Living here is like being confined to the fate of Tantalus of Greek mythology. (Big difference being that the Underworld didn’t have a great kosher bagel place and a kosher deli on Fridays). I must admit, there are days that I imagine what the world would be like if for just one day, from sunrise to sunset, the laws of kosher would be suspended like some alternate side of the street parking rule. I see myself like Homer (not of Greek mythology) Simpson in his day dream about the land of chocolate, frolicking through the streets eating everything that stayed still long enough for him to take a bite. In my mind I have already charted a map and a complete schedule of every non-kosher restaurant in Omaha that I would visit on non-kosher day accounting for time and distance (strangely I would still do dairy in the a.m. and meat in the p.m. Some habits are hard to break). Does my attitude seem sacrilegious? Is my dreaming of a

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treif free pass somehow indicative of a spiritual deficiency? Not according to Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah. He said that a person should not say, “Pork disgusts me.” Rather one should say, “if only I could eat pork, but alas, what can I do, my father in heaven forbade it to me!” According to some commentators, the Torah’s dietary laws were prescribed for reasons of physical health. Long before Phil Sokolof got us to make healthy food choices (look him up non-Omahans) his great-great ancestors were already instructed by the Torah to watch what they ate. Kosher food was all about healthy eating. But that cannot be the whole story. If it were, Jews would be the most physically fit people on the planet. Further, things like schmaltz, bagels, cream cheese, knishes, blintzes, potato kugel, and just about every Jewish staple would be on the unapproved list. So what is kosher? Although we have come to generally associate the word kosher with food, the concept can be applied in a much broader sense. When Queen Esther pleaded with king Achashveirosh to spare the Jewish people from the decree of Haman, she said: “Let it be ‘kosher’ in the eyes of the king.” The targum translation translates the word ‘kosher’ with the Aramaic word ‘takin’ - the same root as ‘tikun’ - to make straight, firm, right. Kosher means so much more than just fit for consumption. In modern parlance it implies that something is done properly, ethically, and with integrity. As in, “that business deal was totally kosher!” Or at times, “something here just doesn’t seem kosher.” The reason for the dietary laws is explicit in the Torah. “To

differentiate between the pure and the impure.” When you think about it, isn’t that the reason for all mitzvot? Isn’t that the reason for the entire Torah? To differentiate between the pure and impure. Between holy and profane. Between light and darkness. Between right and wrong. Between good and evil. Every day we make countless choices; whether about what we choose to eat, how we choose to dress, how we choose to speak, and how we choose to act. In every one of those scenarios there are right choices and wrong choices. When we eat, the Torah warns us that everything that goes into our mouths must be kosher. And when we speak the Torah instructs us that everything that comes out of our mouths must be kosher as well. The kosher choice is often the harder choice, but with adversity always comes reward. Life would be easier if I could eat whatever I wanted. But what can I do, my father in Heaven has forbidden it to me. Following the rules of the Torah is not always easy, but it nourishes my soul - a sensation substantially more rewarding then nourishing my taste buds. At its very foundation Judaism stands on the principle that there is right and wrong. Kosher, in all of its manifestations, is emblematic of that basic ethical concept. Judaism may be able to exist somehow without it, but what use would such a Judaism be? Whenever we eat kosher, speak kosher, or act kosher we nourish our souls. Sometimes the price is high, but the payoff is always worth it. Continued on page 13

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June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 13

Same-sex marriage campaigns should heed local sentiments

Behind the headlines FRED GUTTMAN GREENSBORO, N.C. (JTA) -- The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Since the May 8 vote to approve North Carolina’s Amendment One referendum, which constitutionally bars the state from recognizing as legal any marriage other than that of a man to a woman, his words still ring true. Our march toward justice for all citizens of North Carolina, for all God’s children, is incomplete. In Judaism, a “heshbon hanefesh” is an “accounting of the soul.” The concept helps us clarify how we go forward. Our campaign against Amendment One made significant inroads in mobilizing the support and energy of the state’s African-American community, thanks in large part to the incredible leadership of the North Carolina NAACP’s president, the Rev. William Barber. He framed the issue as one of basic civil rights, upholding the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, rather than just as an issue of marriage, and that resonated with many African-American community leaders. In doing so, he strengthened opposition to Amendment One while acknowledging that many will, and are entitled to, have major problems with same-sex marriages. I found the shift from support of the amendment to opposition heartening. The fight joined many committed people who worked to create a “coalition for goodness and justice.” Our dynamic group, whose members barely knew each other when we started, will continue to fight for social justice issues for all North Carolinians. Nonetheless, the defeat was far worse than expected. The amendment passed by a whopping 21 percentage points even though polls had predicted a 10-point victory. So what exactly went wrong?

Professor Maxine Eichner of the University of North Carolina School of Law and other experts, including familylaw professors from most of the state’s law schools, detailed the possible harmful and unintended consequences of the amendment. One poll indicated that people would vote against the amendment if it were shown to harm families and children. Reliance on this information became the campaign’s strategy. But basing a campaign on such information was a major tactical error, and several in the anti-amendment coalition tried to point this out. For two weeks prior to the referendum, amendment supporters ran an effective campaign countering Eichner’s arguments. It included call-in phone briefings with lawyers dismissing the fears raised by the professor. The “don’t harm families” approach also was reflected in the name of the major organization against the amendment -- “Protect NC Families.” The name does not say what the organization stands for and is close in name to “Focus on the Family,” a national organization that opposes recognition of gay marriage. This similarity led to confusion. I’m also not sure that those who came from out of state to help defeat Amendment One understood the people of North Carolina. They were well meaning, but now move on to another battleground. Their record on defeating these amendments is 33 losses and one victory. Is not a strategy change warranted? Amendment One passed overwhelmingly because of the opposition’s inability to reframe the debate from marriage and on to civil rights. Months ago some of us warned that many North Carolinians who opposed same-sex marriages would vote against the amendment if they thought it was discriminatory and denied equal protection as guaranteed under the 14th Amendment. The response was that the argument might gain traction in Greensboro, with its unique civil-rights history (the original sit-ins occurred at the downtown Woolworth depart-

ment store), but would not resonate elsewhere in the state. Opponents also worried that it would shift focus from the “don’t harm families” strategy in a way that would be harmful at the polls. The unexpectedly high margin of defeat tells us that basing the campaign on potential harms to families was a tactical error. A related step that Amendment One opponents should have taken was to emphasize and publicize the pronouncements of prominent conservatives and libertarians who opposed the measure. They generally based their opposition on the same civil rights argument regarding violating the 14th Amendment’s guarantees of equal protection. Finally, the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 52 percent of Americans favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. Yet a significant number are afraid that legalizing same-sex marriage would force their clergy to officiate at such marriages. Consequently, they oppose same-sex marriage laws. Once people learned that no law could ever be passed that would require a faith community or clergy member to perform such a ceremony -- that would be unconstitutional -- support for the legalization of same-sex marriages increased to 58 percent. Would this amendment have passed if the campaign had been managed differently? No one can be sure. Many against the amendment feel that had local people been listened to, the vote could have at least been closer. Our next step, aside from various legal challenges, should be to convene focus groups of those who opposed Amendment One. We have to ask the serious questions and plan a new strategy. As King wrote, “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Indeed, but the arc will bend only if those of us who care act wisely in our efforts to bend it. Rabbi Fred Guttman is the spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, N.C.

Obama’s same-sex marriage nod echoes historic Catholic-Jewish debate

Behind the headlines BEN SALES NEW YORK (JTA) -- When President Obama publicly endorsed same-sex marriage several weeks ago, most secular Jewish leaders applauded while some religious ones disagreed -- the latter group joining their Catholic counterparts. In doing so, these representatives echoed sentiments thrust into the public sphere five decades earlier, ones that simultaneously symbolized a new Jewish confidence in America, threatened to end the nascent interfaith dialogue and for one of the first times publicly highlighted Jewish differences. Back in June 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, a landmark decision that most Jewish groups strongly supported but which Catholic groups strongly opposed. In that era, the Catholic Church still officially branded Jews as Christ killers and issued calls to convert them. Meanwhile, many Jews were quietly trying to assimilate into largely Christian suburbs. And many Jews feared that publicly opposing Christian groups was a huge risk. But national Jewish organizations decided they would take it. That dispute -- little-known today -- was novel in how the American Jewish community mustered the courage to aggressively oppose a bulk of the Christian mainstream and openly disagree within its own ranks, setting the stage for today’s vocal Jewish response to nearly every national issue. The Supreme Court case, Engel v. Vitale, struck down a prayer composed in 1951 by the New York State Board of Regents, which oversaw the state’s public schools. The prayer read: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.” Ten families, including some Jewish ones, argued that the prayer encroached on the freedom of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment. Hugo Black was among the Supreme Court justices who agreed. “There can, of course, be no doubt that New York’s program of daily classroom invocation of God’s blessings as prescribed in the Regents’ prayer is a religious activity,” he wrote in his June 25, 1962, majority opinion. Jewish groups had quietly opposed school prayer for more than a decade. They did so to stand on principle while ensuring that Jews could exist peacefully in an America with a recent history of anti-Semitism. Indeed, on the eve of World War II. the nation had politically powerful anti-Semitic sentiments, and in the early 1950s many Jews were targeted during Sen. Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist hearings. Faced with such realities, for years the last thing national

Jewish groups wanted to do was to provoke the anger of their Christian counterparts. Still, on record, Jewish voices were clear. “The Constitution has erected a wall between church and state, the breaching of which would ... only serve to intensify the feeling of antagonism and tension that exists between adherents of various faiths,” read a 1953 organizational plan from the National Community Relations Advisory Council, the predecessor of today’s Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The potential concerns were borne out in the response to the 1962 Supreme Court ruling. Within months, relations between Christian and Jewish groups, which had been steadily improving since World War II, threatened to break down. A September 1962 editorial titled “To Our Jewish Friends” in America magazine, a Jesuit publication, mentioned “militant” Jewish activists and warned of a resulting “heightened anti-Semitic feeling.” Jewish leaders were quick with a critical response, but it was Commonweal, another Catholic magazine, that took the lead. On Sept. 28, 1962, it printed a first-ever “Jewish issue,” which detailed the positive aspects of Jewish life in America. It was nothing short of revolutionary. The issue featured not only an editorial defending Jewish groups’ right to oppose school prayer, but essays from diverse Jewish leaders such as representatives of the American Jewish Committee, the Synagogue Council of America and even Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher rebbe. Emboldened by the platform Commonweal had given them, most Jewish leaders wrote harsh words against Christian groups that sought to silence their activism -pointing out the political work of the groups. “Certainly Catholics are well aware that they have been accused of acting unfairly, as an organized minority, in bringing pressure on legislatures,” the AJC’s David Danzig wrote. “Some people make an exception of the Catholics, who, they say, do not persuade, but organize, manipulate and compel, acting under the guise of religion.” But Schneerson, who had thus far kept a low public profile since becoming rebbe in the early 1950s, used his essay to disagree with the mainstream Jewish organizational consensus. He pushed for federal aid to religious schools, arguing that such aid would lower Jewish school tuition. Jewish leaders had disagreed in public before, but Schneerson’s dissent received rebuke from the Jewish mainstream and plenty of secular media coverage, including multiple articles in The New York Times. But just as the Jewish leaders did not back down in Commonweal to placate Christian counterparts, Schneerson stood firm against liberal Jewish voices.

Ever since, Jewish and Christian groups have periodically disagreed but maintained an open dialogue. But the dispute in 1962 marked a shift in Jewish communal priorities, and Jewish organizations emerged from it newly confident. Today, national Jewish organizations do not tailor their voice solely to ensure peace among religious groups, let alone within the Jewish community. Rather, they aggressively advocate controversial causes -- from how to apply religious freedom to defending civil rights for homosexuals -regardless of what the Christian majority thinks. “One of the great questions that Jews must be asking themselves now is whether they will be able to participate in the cooperations and competitions of American pluralism on the same basis and with the same rights as American Protestants and Catholics,” Danzig wrote in Commonweal. “Granted that prudence is a virtue and that all groups should be prudent, must Jews alone be guided exclusively by considerations of prudence?” As Jewish leaders have made clear ever since 1962, the answer to that question was no.

Can there be Judaism without Kashrut Continued from page 12 The backstory to this editorial: In our April 27 issue, we ran an op-ed from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, titled: Can Judaism work if you don’t believe in God? A reader from New Orleans, Hugo Kahn, called and said: “wouldn’t it be great if someone wrote a similar piece about Kashrut”? We thought that was a great idea, too, and Rabbi Gross was very happy to oblige. Thank you, Rabbi, for writing such an insightful piece, and thank you Hugo for coming up with the idea.

To submit announcements: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Readers can also submit announcements -- births, b’nai b’rith mitzvahs, engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.

14 | The Jewish Press | June 1, 2012

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, please call 712.323.8885.

Candlelighting Friday, June 1, 8:33 p.m.

& Learning, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge. TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Med Center Class, 1 p.m. at UNMC.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.; Torah and Haftarah Reader: Mile Remer. SUNDAY: A Minister and a Rabbi walk into a bar, 7 p.m. at Lauter Tun, 3309 Oakview Dr. #102. A four-week conversation featuring Rabbi Azriel and Dr. Eric Elnes, Sr. Minister of Countryside Community Church.

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TIFERETH ISRAEL

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, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m. followed by Breakfast Bonanza. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; The Art of Marriage-JLI Course, 7 p.m. Register online at ochabad.com. TUESDAY: Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; A Taste of Yeshiva-Chevruta style Beit Midrash study, 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAY, June 8: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. All programs are open to the entire community.

Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: There will be no services at Tifereth this morning. Please join Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at South Street Temple as Karyn Shkolnick is called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah; Kiddush Luncheon, noon at Tifereth Israel hosted by Marc Shkolnick and Tami Shkolnick. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 7:15 p.m. Israel Update Part 3 of 3, led by Rabbi Lewis and Nancy Coren at Tifereth Israel. Camp Israel 2012, June 18-29, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. For more information please email Tracy at tgor dongjc@yahoo.com or Andrea at ahalpern1386@gmail. com.

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 Mordechai Levin, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat/ Say Shalom to Shabbat, 6 p.m., both Tot Shabbat (led by Shira Abraham) and Say Shalom (led by Deborah Kronick) will present special programs honoring grandparents and other special persons. Dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m.; dinner cost is $5 per person. RSVP by contacting Margie in the office, or at programming@bethel-omaha.org. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:45 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Annual Meeting, 11 a.m. New officers and board members will be elected, and congregational awards will be presented at the meeting. A congregational lunch follows, at no charge. To RSVP, contact the office, or programming@bethelomaha.org. MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham. Let’s Do Lunch with Rabbi Levin at the Blumkin Home’s Star Deli, on Friday, June 8, noon. RSVP to him by Thursday, June 7, at rabbilevin@bethel-omaha.org. Reception for Cantor Schlossberg on Friday, June 8, 7 p.m. (following services), Beth El will host a reception honoring Cantor Schlossberg. The entire community is invited. 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: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting service begins at 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush Lunch and Seuda Shlishit are sponsored by Andy and Betty Epstein in honor of the upcoming wedding of Aryeh and Crystal. Dessert table is sponsored by David, Janet, Anna, Max, Jack & Leo Kohll in honor of the anniversary of Samuel Kohll's Bar Mitzvah and his graduation from Burke High School; The Laws of Shabbat, 6:30 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 7:30 p.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Twitter Topic Class, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha, 8:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 9:43 p.m. SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m. followed by breakfast WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross. Contact the office for information on how to call-in to the conference call; Teens 4 Israel Latte

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: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. celebrating the Bat Mitzvah of Karyn Shkolnick, with the Star City Kochavim, with oneg following hosted by Marc Shkolnick. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m. celebrating the Bat Mitzvah of Karyn Shkolnick; Kiddush Luncheon, noon at Tifereth Israel hosted by Marc Shkolnick and Tami Shkolnick. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 7:15 p.m. Israel Update Part 3 of 3, led by Rabbi Lewis and Nancy Coren at Tifereth Israel.

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 Steve Riekes. 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 Worship Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel and Cantor Shermet; D’var Torah by Sydney Robinson, Rachel Sullivan, Caroline Rockman, Lindsey Thomas, and Laura Gilinksy on March of the Living.

B’nai Mitzvah Karyn Jeanette Shkolnick, daughter of Tami Shkolnick and Marc Shkolnick, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, June 2, at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Lincoln. Karyn is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Pound Middle School. Her interests include cheerleading, track and reading. For her mitzvah project, Karyn provided assistance for Meals on Wheels program which coordinates delivery of meals to those in need. She has a brother, Brady. Grandparents are Sandra Shkolnick and the late Donald Shkolnick, and Karyl and Rollin Terryberry. Great-grandparents are Jeanette and Jake Shkolnick, Faye and Morris Wiseman, Lucille and James Davis, and

Margaret and Glenn Terryberry. Max Goldberg, son of Cindy and Bruce Goldberg, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, June 9, at Temple Israel Max is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Westside Middle School. He is a Duke University Talent Identification participant. His interests include show choir, band, scouts, and basketball. For his mitzvah project, Max is a Madrich for the Temple Israel Third grade. He has two older brothers, Adam and Scott. Grandparents are Joanie and Marty Lehr, and Carol and Manny Goldberg.

On haredim and Brooklyn justice by AMI EDEN Andy Silow-Carroll, editor and publisher of The New Jersey Jewish News, reflects on the (growing?) unhealthy divide between the Haredim and the rest of the Jews: Haredim push buttons among the most and least engaged Jews. Observant Jews who aren’t haredi cannot forgive the “black hats” for suggesting that Torah values and modernity are in conflict. Many observant Jews will say that Torah comes alive only when it encounters the real world and all its shmutz. To drag Jews and their Torah behind a self-made ghetto wall is a hillul Hashem, a desecration of Torah and its real intentions. On the flip side, there is a certain kind of Jew whose whole Jewish identity is tied up in condemning the failings and hypocrisy of the Orthodox. Their indictment usually starts with the phrase, “They call themselves religious, and yet...,” before reciting the latest scandal. This sort of obsession can be self-justifying and a little Freudian -- by pointing out the failings of religion, they can better justify their decision to leave it behind. No, I don’t think there is going to be warfare between haredi Jews and the rest of us -- not outside of Israel, anyway. What we have instead are two communities that relate to one another in two distinct and distinctly unhealthy ways. On one hand, we ignore each other, and regard the other as if he or she clings to a different covenant. Or we scrutinize each other, seeing the other as a representative of the values we most revile. Either way, it’s a recipe for discord. And right on cue, we have Andrea Peyser columnizing on what she describes as the broken and outrageous system of haredim in Brooklyn policing themselves. A scandal of epic proportions is brewing in Brooklyn as District Attorney Charles Hynes uses kid gloves to handle creeps and demons charged with, or convicted of, sexual abuse that too often brutalizes children. As a columnist, Peyser tends to go with her traditionalist instincts, inclined to be supportive of good old fashioned values and respectful of religious institutions. So if she's talking this way about the black-hatted faithful, assume there are a whole bunch of people thinking the same thing.

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@jewishoma ha.org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Pulverent e

June 1, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 15

Preparing for Assault

In memoriam BENNETT L. RADUZINER

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Naso Like any good leader, Moses wanted to know clearly on whom he could rely as they prepared to charge into the “Promised Land.” Thus he took a census of the able bodied men who could be counted on to conquer the Canaanites and make that land eventually the Land of Israel. We are left wondering, uncertain about the outcome; considerable time will pass before the assault on Canaan is to take place. Although we have read this many times, the Sacred Text is so skillful that we find ourselves, as it were, still in doubt, We feel unsure about the final outcome of any charge into the many-times-Promised Land. Patience, patience, therefore, patience!

Trader Joe’s pareve chocolate chips go dairy by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips will no longer be certified nondairy. OK-Certification would no longer be able to certify the products as pareve because of a change in the supplier’s production procedure, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal reported this week.

In a statement, Trader Joe’s said the ingredients have not changed and the chips will continue to be made on equipment dedicated to nondairy chocolate. The bagging process, however, has changed, with the supplier now using a dry cleaning procedure for a machine that also packages milk chocolate products. These changes “triggered the need for an FDA regulated, dairy-related allergen statement, and this in turn brought about a change in the Kosher certification for our item -- going from ‘Kosher Pareve’ to ‘Kosher Dairy,’” the statement read. As a result, OK Kosher said supervising rabbis can no longer guarantee that errant milk chocolate won’t be in the semi-sweet bags. “It’s just really sad,” Shana Fishman, a Beverlywood, Calif., mother of four who bought 20 bags of chocolate chips at Trader Joe’s in West Hollywood, told the Jewish Journal. A petition at change.org urges “Trader Joe’s: Keep the Chocolate Chips Pareve!” A Facebook campaign to restore the pareve status was also launched.

Miami shul disinvites Wasserman Schultz by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A Miami synagogue canceled a visit by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee. “I believe strongly that in a democracy people should be able to interact with their elected officials, which is why I gladly accepted Temple Israel’s invitation to speak,” Wasserman Schultz said. “It is unfortunate that some would allow politics to stand in the way of citizens’ ability to interact with their representative.” A prominent member, Stanley Tate, had resigned from the synagogue after he learned that Wasserman Schultz would be talking about Israel following Friday evening services. Tate, 85, a philanthropist and the co-chair of presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign in Miami-Dade County, reportedly was upset that he would not get an opportunity to offer a Republican rebuttal, according to The Miami Herald.

Bennett L. Raduziner passed away May 20. Services were held May 23 at Golden Hill Cemetery and officiated by Rabbi Gross. He is survived by his wife Joan of 63 years; daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Leo Hallett; sons, Mark (Mike) and Steve; sister and brother-in-law, Estelle and Ralph Turkel; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Marvin and Roberta Richards; and nieces and nephews. Raduziner served in the U.S. Army and was the youngest at the time to make Sergeant at the age of 19. He was the owner of Country Club Food Mart and Tiffany's Bakery. Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Home Activities Dept, 323 S 132nd St. Omaha, NE 68154.

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DAVID L. RUBACK David L. Ruback passed away on May 22 at age 56 after a five week battle with pancreatic cancer. Services were held on May 24 at Temple Israel, and a private burial was held at Temple Israel Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his mother, Frances Ruback. He is survived by his wife, Marcy (Rosenblum) Ruback; sons, Joe Ruback of Kansas City, MO, and K.C. Ruback; father and stepmother, Paul and Marie Ruback of Council Bluffs, IA.; sister, Annette Ruback of Austin, TX.; brother and sister-in-law, Altan and Jayne Ruback; brother, Larry Ruback; brother-in-law, Mick Rosenblum of San Diego, CA; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Mark and Lara Rosenblum of Golden Valley, MN.; mother-in-law, Dottie Rosenblum; special nephews and niece Andy and Teresa Ruback, Jake Rosenblum, Zach Rosenblum; aunts, uncle, cousins, nieces, nephews and Disabled Sports family; and beloved running partner, Buddy. He was president of Radio Engineering Industries. Memorials may be made to Make-A-Wish of Nebraska 11926 Arbor St., Omaha, NE. 68144 or Eastern Nebraska Wheelchair Athletic Association (ENWAA); P.O. Box, 540875, Omaha, NE. 68154.

Israel will solve African migrant problem, Netanyahu assures by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried violence against African migrants following a night of violent protest. “There is no place for either the expressions or the actions that we witnessed,” Netanyahu said, a day after a demonstration in south Tel Aviv against illegal African migrants turned violent. Netanyahu said the problem of the infiltrators would be solved. “We will complete construction of the fence within a few months and we will soon begin repatriating infiltrators back to their countries of origin,” he said. The violent protest in south Tel Aviv’s Hatikvah neighborhood, involving about 1,000 protesters, ended with 17 arrests. Protesters attacked African migrants who passed the demonstration, and smashed the windshield of a car carrying three migrants as well as other car windows. They set trash bins on fire and threw firecrackers at police, Ynet reported. The rioters also broke into and looted shops associated with the African migrant community. Meanwhile, the head of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, called on Israel’s attorney general to investigate three Israeli lawmakers who he said incited violence and racism during their speeches at the protest. The lawmakers who participated in the protest were Miri Regev and Danny Danon of the Likud Party and Michael Ben-Ari of the National Union Party. Regev, for example, called the Sudanese “a cancer.” The Israeli daily Yediot Achronot reported that the Public Security Ministry is considering deploying Border Guard troops in south Tel Aviv to prevent problems between residents and African migrants, and to fight crime associated with the migrants. Israel’s Justice Ministry announced that migrant workers from South Sudan could be returned to their country after it is established that they are not eligible for political asylum. More than 50,000 African migrants and asylum seekers are living in Tel Aviv alone, according to government reports. Most entered through the border with Sinai. On May 20, Netanyahu said that the surge of illegal African migrants into Israel “threatens national security and identity.” Last week, Interior Minister Eli Yishai told Army Radio that most African migrants in Israel are involved in criminal activity and should be imprisoned and deported to their countries of origin.

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16 | The Jewish Press | June 1, 2012

White House reassures Jews as it readies Baghdad offer to Iran by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The differences between the U.S. and Israeli positions on Iran’s nuclear program are about to become very clear, and the Obama administration is reassuring the Jewish community that the divide is not so vast. Administration officials in a meeting May 21 with Jewish communal leaders emphasized that they will be steadfast in upholding one key Israeli demand: That sanctions not be sacrificed to the negotiating process. Iran won’t get relief just for showing up for talks, the officials said. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may not be happy with the concessions that the major powers are likely to offer as talks with Iran continue in Baghdad. Under the expected proposal, the Iranians would be allowed to continue low-level uranium enrichment. Longtime watchers of the Iran-U.S.-Israel nexus say the major powers, led by the United States, plan to offer Iran a deal under which the Islamic Republic would give up enriching uranium to 20 percent, which is just two or three steps shy of enriching it to the weapons grade of more than 90 percent. Iran also would be required to ship out uranium that it has already enriched to 20 percent. Under the proposal, Iran must allow full inspections, particularly at Parchin, a military facility where nuclear experts believe that Iran has tested a trigger device for a bomb. In exchange, Iran would continue to enrich uranium for civilian use to 3.5 percent, and it would get U.S. assistance in upgrading and fueling a research reactor it uses for cancer treatment. Also, no new sanctions would be introduced. Washington-based experts Michael Adler, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, independently reviewed the deal with diplomatic sources and said that sanctions already in place or set to kick in on July 1 would remain untouched. “Iran is going to have to accept that costly European sanctions on the Central Bank and on oil will still be on target to take full effect in July,” Adler said. It’s not clear whether the Iranians are on board with the proposal, he added. “These are the opening bids in what is meant to be a negotiating process,” Adler said. In addition to the new EU sanctions, the U.S. Senate

approved sanctions on Monday reducing the threshold for sanctions on business dealings with Iran’s energy sector from $20 million to $5 million a year. Keeping such sanctions in place addresses a key Israeli worry that Iran might use the talks to buy time and win concessions simply by showing up.

Vice President Joe Biden, left, speaking with Richard Stone, Chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Credit: Joshua Roberts Organizations, May 21, 2012. Ensuring this would not be allowed to happen was a key message from top administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, in the May 21 meeting with 70 Jewish leaders assembled by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The U.S. officials emphasized during the meeting that the U.S. would insist on tough verification measures and would not remove sanctions in exchange for pledges. “The administration was trying to send a message they were not going to be fooled or naive when it comes to Iran,” one participant from a Jewish group said, speaking on background because the meeting was off the record. In its statement describing the meeting, the Presidents Conference said that “senior officials reiterated the administration’s ‘ironclad’ commitment to Israel’s security and their determination to ‘keep all options on the table’ to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.” Such pledges, however welcome they may be in Jerusalem, did not address the Israeli bottom line outlined by Netanyahu in a recent visit to the Czech Republic: No further enrichment

by Iran whatsoever, the export of all uranium enriched until now and the dismantling of a reactor uncovered by Western intelligence in 2009 near the Shiite holy city of Qom. Slavin said such Israeli requests were useful as pressure but were never likely to be put forward by the United States. “You have to have a bad cop to a U.S. good cop,” she said. “The Israelis serve a useful purpose to that degree.” The threat of Israeli military action has not been removed. The Obama administration has stressed that Israel has the sovereign right to defend itself against a perceived threat from Iran. At the same time, the U.S. has asked Israel to stand back while it exhausts non-military means of pressuring Iran to comply with the international community’s demands. Sanctions legislation passed by the Senate introduces into actionable legislation for the first time the notion of capability to build a nuclear weapon as constituting a threat to the U.S. “Capability,” as opposed to “acquisition” of a nuclear weapon, is an Israel red line, and in recent months has been introduced into non-binding legislation. The new Senate legislation also explicitly cites “military planning” as an option to compel Iran not to achieve nuclear capability. On the other hand, the legislation also includes an amendment at the behest of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that explicitly says the legislation does not authorize war. A similar amendment was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendments -- proposed by war skeptics in both parties -- reflect unease with the perception that Congress did not do enough to question the Bush administration’s move toward war with Iraq in 2003. Jewish leaders are likely to seek clarification on the dual messages when they meet with the Senate’s Democratic leadership. The message from the Obama administration is that it respects Israel’s sovereign right to take action. According to notes provided by a participant in the May 21 meeting, Biden recounted an hourlong meeting he had in February with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The vice president said he has known Barak for decades and that they had never misled one another. The participant quoted Biden as saying he told Barak, “Israel is responsible for assessing Israel’s security needs, and the United States will not stand in the way.”

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