Vol. LXXXVII No. 39 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 87 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
3 Sivan, 5768
June 6, 2008
Israel sends aid to China and is touched by rescue by ALISON KLAYMAN BEIJING (JTA) – In a gesture of support, one of the world’s smallest countries is sending aid to the world’s most populous nation in the form of $1.5 million worth of equipment for earthquake relief. The first three tons of Israeli supplies to earthquake-ravaged China included sleeping bags, blankets and personal water purification units. The supplies arrived in China May 22 on an El Al flight to Beijing. Israel will send the remaining 70-90 tons of equipment on a cargo plane directly to the city of Chengdu in the coming days. The Israeli government is working from a list of needs drawn up by the Chinese government. Israelis and Jews in China are also helping with the relief effort in Sichuan province. Dini’s kosher restaurant in Beijing is donating 10 percent of last month’s sales toward the earthquake relief effort. The children of the Chabad-run day school in Beijing, Ganeinu, assembled 180 relief kits with supplies such as toothbrushes as well as handmade drawings and notes. The president of Chabad’s Shanghai Jewish community, Maurice Ohana, is working on plans to have a Jewish-sponsored rebuilding of a devastated school in Sichuan. Dani Yaacobi, an Israeli living in Chengdu, says the city's Israelis are col-
lecting and buying supplies, and delivering them to areas where newly homeless people are arriving from outside the city. They also are helping build shelters. The death toll from the May 12 earthquake, which registered 7.8 on the Richter scale, is more than 65,000. It is expected to rise above 80,000. Besides the larger gift of supplies, the Israeli government also will give an additional $10,000 directly to the Hongkou area. Some of those involved in the relief effort said they were touched by the story of the two Israeli students injured near the quake’s epicenter and rescued through grass-roots efforts by Israelis and Chinese after a two-day search. Anat Bilu and Maayan Segev, both in their mid-20s, were on a backpacking vacation. Both were studying Chinese medicine in Chengdu through an exchange program with Israel’s Reidman College of Complementary Medicine. Just before the earthquake hit, they were relaxing over lunch in a small cafe inside the Hongkou nature reserve in Dujiangyan. When the ground began shaking, the two women ran outside. Just as they reached a low wall barrier around the cafe, the cafe collapsed. They were struck by the falling rubble and their bodies smashed into the barrier. Segev took the impact on her jaw, while Bilu suffered severe damage to fingers on her left hand.
A student at Ganeinu, the Chabad-run day school in Beijing, makes relief packets to send to Credit: Chabad Beijing earthquake victims in Sichuan. Helped by several Chinese people along the way, the women found temporary shelter in the mountain village of Hongkou. Like many Chinese in this remote location, the two Israelis did not realize the full scale of the disaster. Some of the Chinese translating for and helping the women had just lost their own homes and families.
First Ride to Remember in Heartland raises $50K for Holocaust education
Spearheaded by a friend of the students, Yael Arnon, Israelis in Chengdu formed a search party headquartered in an apartment. Arnon told Israel Army Radio that because the missing students were on the phone moments before the earthquake struck, she knew approximately where to find them. Continued on page 2
Mother-daughter wave Israeli flag on trek to the top of Everest
by GARY JAVITCH Special to the Jewish Press Yes, Jewish motorcyclists. It seems as rare as Jewish hunters, but their journey to mid-America had a noble and somber purpose. Nearly 100 strong, the bikers, mounted on their Harleys, Hondas and Kawasakis traveled to Omaha from 11 states and Canada to call attention to the Holocaust.
Their inaugural ride was to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. But for their “Fourth Ride to Remember,” the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance (JMA) chose Omaha, according to Jerry Hoberman, one of the Omaha organizers of the event. “They wanted to recognize the work of The Heartland Holocaust Education Fund (HHEF) and Sam Fried, in particular,” he said. The Ride to Omaha produced a number of events that began with a dinner reception at the Marriott Hotel and concluded with a BBQat a Papillion berry and pumpkin farm on Saturday evening. Well known Omaha PR person Bill Ramsey presided over the dinner. The focus of the events was Holocaust survivor Sam Fried and his efforts to pass on stories of the dark history of the concentration camps in the Nazi era. The goal: to prevent forever a recurrence of the genocide that took place. To further their goal, Sam and his wife Frances founded the HHEF to Among the riders lining up for last month’s Ride to Remember from Omaha’s JCC to the provide education courses Holocaust Memorial at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln was Lisa Jo Brunkhorst, second bike from about genpcide and the left. A double amputee, she called organizers to request a ride; several motorocycle enthusiasts Holocaust to institutions Continued on page 6 responded, including Les Green from the mountains of Georgia.
Inside
This Week: Father’s Day/Graduation issue starts on Page 15
See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 20
Say cheese! Dairy recipes for Shavuot: Page 8
Cheryl, left, and Nikki Bart on the morning of May 24, became the first mother-daughter team to reach the sumCredit: BigPond.com mit of Mount Everest. Continued on page 2
Coming This Month: Senior Living: June 27 Salute to Graduating High School Seniors: Pages 12 and 13
Local artist exhibits her Venetian dreams: Page 24