Vol. LXXXVI No. 38 Omaha, NE
British teachers adopt measure to keep boycott talk alive by JTA STAFF LONDON (JTA) -- Britain’s largest trade union for academics passed a motion to circulate Palestinian calls for an academic boycott of Israel to its branches “for information and discussion.” The May 30 vote by the University and College Union at its first congress in Bournemouth will require members to discuss the issue further over the next year. The motion passed by a vote of 158 to 99. In a statement, the UCU said the boycott motion means branches “have a responsibility” to consult all of their members on the issue. UCU represents 120,000 workers in further and higher education throughout the United Kingdom. The motion passed despite comments during the debate by the union’s new general secretary, Sally Hunt, that “I do not believe a boycott is supported by the majority of UCU members, nor do I believe that members see it is a priority for the union.”
The Technion campus in Haifa is one of mnay Israeli schools that will be affected by the British boycott. Credit: Moshe Milner/GPO The move is the latest of several British efforts to boycott Israel. Last month the National Union of Journalists passed a motion to boycott Israeli goods. More recently, a group of British doctors and a group of architects called for a boycott within their respective professions. The union also passed a motion to campaign for the restoration of all international aid to the Palestinian Authority and all revenues that the union says rightfully belong to the authority. Worldwide aid to the Palestinian Authority was stopped when Hamas took control of the government. Boycott opponents were outraged by the union’s vote and called on the UCU to reverse itself. “Essentially, British trade unions are declaring war on Israel,” Ronnie Fraser, director of the Academic Friends of Israel, told JTA. Ofir Frankel, executive director of the International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom based at BarIlan University in Israel, said the union “has allowed itself to act as a one-sided player in Middle Eastern politics. It is very disturbing to behold a form of singling out and discrimination happening in the U.K. the U.K. which upholds itself as the cradle of fairness, freedom of speech and academic debate.” Jeremy Newmark, chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said that while the vast majority of academics do not support a boycott, “this decision damages the credibility of British academia as a whole.” In a statement, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said, “These obscene resolutions have all the faults that academics normally deplore in their profession: a superficial and flawed understanding of the subject, clear bias, and antagonism to the open exchange of ideas.” Continued on page 2
Inside Opinion Page see page 20
Celebrating 86 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
22 Sivan, 5767 June 8, 2007
Two longtime teachers retire from CDC by ANNE MUSKIN knock” jokes! She fondly recalled “laughing and Jewish Press Editorial Intern laughing,” and said “We With a combined total of 34 put on a lot of great years of service to the Pennie Z. shows together.” Davis Child Development Greenberg also menCenter (CDC), Miss Bette and tioned, “We knew when Miss Patty have bid farewell to we sent our kids off to the Jewish Community kindergarten, they would Center’s preschoolers. have the best preschool Bette Adams and Patty Nogg education, and that they have been an integral part of were ready.” educating Omaha’s youth, Miss Lora (Rosenbaugh) through music, literature, shared many of emphasis on relationships with Greenberg’s sentiments. the elderly, and awareness and “Her heart is children,” celebrations of Jewish holidays. she affectionately shared “We will miss them tremenof Adams. She reminisced dously,” Carole Greenberg, the CDC’s assistant director said of about the time she took a Adams and Nogg. Adams is trip to Boulder, CO, with the lead teacher of the CDC’s Adams for a conference four-year-old group. She has that presented different taught this age group all of her techniques on structur20 years there. ing education programs. Greenberg mentioned that Dressed up for Purim are Carole Greenberg, left, assistant “Bette was driving Adams places an emphasis on director of the JCC’s Pennie Z. Davis Child Development home; the other gal fell literacy and reading, Hebrew, Center, and teacher Bette Adams, who retired in May. asleep and I was studying, interacting with the Blumkin Home, and showing the so we weren’t watching where we were going, and Bette kids a love of theater through many different shows she ended up in Wyoming!” Rosenbaugh commented that has arranged. she loves to tease Bette, adding, “She’s been my best Greenberg remembers planning the “Wacky Winter buddy here. We’re really going to miss her.” Show” with Adams, and having the kids tell “knock Continued on page 19
Beth El teens honored for synagogue involvement by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Two Beth El teens who have virtually made the synagogue their home away from home for the past few years, have been honored by Beth El for their involvement and contribution to synagogue life. Seth Rich, a 2007 graduate of Central High School, was awarded the A.B. and Seth Rich Freeda Gendler Award, an Credit: Arnold Clark 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, 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. The synagogue’s Sisterhood organization recently named Ygal Schuller as the recipient of this year’s Sisterhood Teen Award, and honor given to a Beth El congregant who has proven himself or herself to be a dedicated synagogue volunteer. In addition to a monetary award, Rich’s name will be included on a plaque on the synagogue’s Wall of Honor. Rich, son of Joel and Mary Rich, has been a fixture at Beth El for years: his involvement has included serving as a tutor for younger children during the Torah and Siddur Skills program; assisting with Junior Congregation, Sunday school and the High Holidays youth program; and contributing as an active member of
This Week: Father’s Day/Graduation Issue Starts on Page 14 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Where Are They Now features student /rabbi & teacher/cantor: Page 7
USY (including several stints as vice president, special activities coordinator and two years as chairman of the Purim carnival). In addition, he is a graduate of Beth El’s High School of Jewish Studies and participated in the school’s Merit Scholarship program for the past four years. “This scholarship means a lot because it is recognition Ygal Schuller of all the effort I have put into synagogue and into the Jewish community while I’ve been growing up,” Rich commented. “It really means a lot that the Gendler Award exists to recognize students who put so much effort into being a part of the Beth El community while doing everything else in school. I knew that the award existed, but I didn’t know that I was going to receive it, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise.” He continued, “My involvement in Beth El has helped to shape me into the person I am and influenced the views that I have. Specifically, the synagogue has done a lot to help me form my own brand of religious views; it also taught me how to view other religions, which, in a modern era where so many cultures are clashing over religious arguments, is a very important skill.” Beth El President Sally Zipursky noted that, “Seth has been an active member of our congregation his entire life, and his involvement and leadership have grown as he has matured. Our synagogue has been blessed to watch him grow into such an outstanding young man. Continued on page 2
Coming Next Month: Health & Wellness on July 13 Salute to 2007 high school graduates: Pages 12-13
Coverage of RBJH’s second Open Forum: Pages 18-19
Page 2
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JUNE 8 Camp Staff Orientation, 7:30 a.m. at JCC Summer Fun Days, 9 a.m. at JCC Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to Remington Heights, 4 p.m. SATURDAY, JUNE 9 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel
C L I P &
SUNDAY, JUNE 10 Yachad at Royals Baseball Game The Living Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Chabad House Class with Rabbi Nadel, 9:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Bible Study Group, 10 a.m. at Beth El LOVE Pan Tournament, noon WRJ-O Annual Book Sale, 1p.m. at Temple Israel Policeman/Fireman Recognition Reception, 2 p.m. at JCC National Register of Historical Places, 2 p.m. at B’nai Israel Synagogue Cantor’s Concert, 7 p.m. at Beth El
S A MONDAY, JUNE 11 V E ADL Holocaust Education Class, 8 a.m. at JCC
C L I P & S A V E
Aquatics MOD Meeting, 9:30 at JCC JSS Senior Luncheon, 10 a.m. Hadassah Workshop, 10 a.m. WRJ-O Annual Book Sale, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Theology 354: Judaism with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, 5:45 p.m. at JCC NCJW Book Club, 7 p.m. Jewish Press Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at JCC TUESDAY, JUNE 12 ADL Holocaust Education Class, 8 a.m. at JCC WOW Tehillim & More, 9 a.m. at Chabad WRJ-O Annual Book Sale, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel ADL/CRC Board Meeting, noon at JCC BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Parshah Roundup, 7 p.m. at Chabad House The Story of Religious Pluralism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel
C L I WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 P ADL Holocaust Education Class, 8 a.m. at JCC
Beth El teens honored C L I P
Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. at Chabad House
& Annual Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Beth El Synagogue S A V E
THURSDAY, JUNE 14 Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. JSS Concert, 1:30 p.m. at JCC Theology 354: Judaism with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, 5:45 p.m. at JCC Hebrew Classes, 6 p.m. Advanced Parshah Study, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)
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Continued from page 1 2005 with the Academic Friends of Israel to respond to Explaining why Israeli universities deserve to be tar- calls for boycotts of Israeli academics, fight anti-Israel geted, Michael Cushman of the London School of policies of the British education unions and anti-Semitic Economics said those institutions are symbols of Israeli incidents on university campuses. national identity. The stall was supported by the Fair Play Campaign “Senior academics move from universities into min- Group, part of the Board of Deputies of British Jews’ istries and back again,” Cushman said during an hour- campaign to combat boycott initiatives, to promote long debate. “Regularly, lecturers take up their commis- cooperation and dialogue in the Middle East, and by the sions in the Israeli Defence Force as reserve officers to British Friends of Israeli Universities. go into the West Bank to dominate, control and shoot Proponents of the boycott measure defended their the population.” efforts. In the British academic world, four attempts have “Israeli universities are complicit in occupation of been made to introduce a boycott of Israeli academics Palestinian territories and in the harassment and abuse of since 2002. The University and College Union was cre- Palestinian students and lecturers,” said Haim ated last June by the merger of the National Association Bresheeth, a University of East London lecturer who of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, and the introduced the motion with Tom Hickey, a lecturer in Association of University Teachers, the AUT, both of philosophy at Brighton University. “They are part of the which had initiated their own boycott proposals. system which imposes closures, curfews and collective Motions were defeated by the AUT in 2003, and punishments, supports military invasions of campuses although a motion passed in 2005, it was overwhelm- and arbitrary arrests. ingly overturned at a special council of the union fol“Taking a stand on these issues is the least that we can lowing international outcry. do. International action is required to persuade Israeli A boycott motion naracademics that they must rowly passed at the examine the role of their National Association conown institutions in denyference in 2006, but the ing educational rights to resolution expired with Palestinians.” the merger of the unions. Along with the Israeli According to the new students, a delegation of boycott motion, “Israel’s senior Israeli academics 40-year occupation has conducted a week of seriously damaged the meetings with British fabric of Palestinian sociecounterparts, parliamenty through annexation, tarians and journalists in illegal settlement, collecan effort to combat the tive punishment and boycott call. restriction of movement.” Left: Bar-Ilan President Prof. Moshe Kaveh, right, confers an hon- With the delegation was It goes on to say the orary doctorate on Iscar CEO Eitan Wertheimer, chairman of the Miriam Shlesinger, a prounion “deplores the Atidim Foundation; gallery visitors view an exhibit of artwork by fessor at Bar-Ilan denial of educational IDF soldiers with head injuries sustained in fighting terrorists or University and a victim of rights for Palestinians by from last summer’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah. a boycott in 2002. She invasions, closures, checkpoints, curfews, and shootings was removed from the board of a journal at Manchester and arrests of teachers, lecturers and students” and University on the basis of her Israeli citizenship. “condemns the complicity of Israeli academia in the “A boycott against Israel is discriminatory and will occupation, which has provoked a call from Palestinian achieve no useful purpose,” Shlesinger said. “Many acatrade unions for a comprehensive and consistent inter- demics like myself are acting on behalf of the causes that national boycott of all Israeli academic institutions.” the UCU and others espouse, except that by deterring In an effort to counter the boycott, a group of Arab us from doing this they are achieving the exact oppoand Jewish Israeli students hosted a stand at the confer- site.” ence to detail academic cooperation projects between Also last week, Steven Weinberg, a University of Texas Israelis and Arabs and between Israel and the United professor and Nobel laureate, canceled a visit to a Kingdom, all of which they said could be affected by the London university citing the journalists’ boycott and boycott. They also talked to delegates about the achieve- what he perceives to be “a widespread anti-Israel and ments of Israeli universities and showcased the projects anti-Semitic current in British opinion.” between Israeli and Palestinian universities, as well as the In a letter to Imperial College he wrote: “I know that joint work to benefit Israel’s Arab minority, that is some will say that these boycotts are directed only threatened by the proposed boycott. against Israel rather than generally against Jews, but “The stall allows Israeli students to show that a boy- given the history of the attacks on Israel and the opprescott is counterproductive and will hurt the very rela- siveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the tionships that will help bring peace in the Middle East,” Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a said Frankel of the International Advisory Board, which moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanasponsored the stand. “We also want to take this oppor- tion other than anti-Semitism.” tunity to build links with British academics that may JTA correspondents Vanessa Bulkacz and Jonny Paul advance these valuable projects.” in London, staff writer Ben Harris and copy editor The board was established by Bar-Ilan University in Marc Brodsky in New York contributed to this report.
& S A V E
Continued from page 1 Through his Jewishness and his participation, Seth has been a great role model for the other youth in our congregation.” This fall, Rich will attend Creighton University as part of its Freshman Leadership Program; he hopes to be active in the school’s Jewish student group and says he intends to remain involved at Beth El. Schuller, son of Dan and Yaffa Schuller, has shown his commitment to the synagogue in a variety of ways over the past several years. The incoming junior at Millard North High School, has worked with Junior Congregation, where he tutors and leads services; he has assumed the job of setting up and running the Bagel Café (a fund raiser for USY) every Sunday morning prior to religious school, he works in the school as a classroom assistant and is also a BESTT Merit Scholarship participant. In addition, he has been an active member of the USY youth group, and was recently elected president for the upcoming year. Sisterhood President Caryn Rifkin expressed pleasure with this year’s award winner, saying, “Here’s a teenager who has definitely made his mark on the synagogue, through both his extensive volunteer work and his gen-
eral involvement. We’re so pleased to honor him with this very well-deserved award.” Of all of his volunteer activities, Schuller said that his favorites are his role with Junior Congregation and his positions with USY, because “I enjoy meeting and interacting with the third through sixth graders who will soon be leading the youth groups that I value so much. USY is just wonderful because it’s a great way to develop leadership skills, and to meet people from all over the Midwest and become great friends. “Beth El sustains my Jewishness in education, prayer and socialization, too.” Recognizing Schuller’s dedication to the synagogue, Zipursky commented that, “We’ve watched Ygal’s passion for Judaism and Beth El grow over the last several years. This wonderful transformation has turned him into a fine leader and role model in our synagogue. He is liked and respected by both youth and adults for his participation and love of his community.” Added Beth El Education Director Judy Rubin of both Schuller and Rich, “It has been my pleasure to observe these young men in their studies, as well as in how they give back to the synagogue. They set excellent examples for those students who follow them.”
June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 3
JFS introduces the “40 developmental assets” by ANDREA BARTMAN for Jewish Family Service “Feed my interests.” “Help me act from my ideals.” “Celebrate my uniqueness.” These are a few of the things that kids can discover, ponder and explore about themselves and how they relate to the world around them by researching their own developmental assets. Jewish Family Service now presents this agenda to the entire community as a way of learning more about a child’s perception of his or her strengths and what things they can add to their own personal list of assets. Research has shown that regardless of race or socioeconomic status the number of personal assets children report are lower than adults may perceive. According to Michelle Pfeifer, Licensed Mental Health Therapist for JFS, “This is not about coming in because you have a problem or things are going poorly. This is about: Do you want to know how your child perceives him or herself? Is that valuable to you and your child? Based on what kids report, how can you help them address the items that they may identify they need or would like help with? We can provide concrete ways to meet these goals.” This plan was selected by JFS as a way of offering as many options as possible to meet the needs of the Omaha Jewish community. JFS is a place for assistance, counseling and training, but it can be so much more to the community; a place for helping families become even stronger and more successful through these types of offerings. This plan was researched and developed with children age 12-18 in mind.
The “Asset Approach” was developed by the Search Institute of Minneapolis, MN which states its mission as: “To provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth and communities.” JFS has chosen to promote these ideals as well, by offering this plan. “We have it available right now and we make it very simple to have access to it,” says Pfeifer. According to information from the Search Institute, “Surveys of almost 150,000 students in grades 6-12 reveal that assets are powerful influences on adolescent behavior.” One endorser of the plan is Sarpy County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence D. Gendler, who first became familiar with the “assets” during a presentation by a local school system’s Assistant Superintendent. Judge Gendler describes the current system being utilized by the court for their evaluations, the Youth Level of Service Inventory (YLSI) and how he feels about the two programs: “What I found during my initial review of the ‘assets’ was that it was much easier to administrate, easier to score, and easier to interpret. Both the YLSI and the ‘assets’ are strength based in the sense they look for positives to build on. But, the ‘assets’ is far easier to read and provides concrete ideas on how to address a youngster’s needs.” He added, “I have also read the book, ‘All Our Kids’, which is about the ‘assets’, their development, and the research regarding its use. The research strongly supports the notion that the ‘assets’ evaluation is very reliable and that follow up evaluations of the identical population confirm that adhering to
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the recommendations works.” The plan involves a three step process with each family. Step one is for the family to come in and have their child fill out a self assessment survey. This survey is used to determine what each child sees as his or her strengths. An LMHT from JFS reviews the survey and determines which assets the participant already owns. She or he then meets with the family to discuss the results and which areas the child may like to build strength in as well as how to best utilize their current strengths in their life. After this initial consultation, a follow up meeting is planned to review the progress of each participant and allow time for discussion. The plan is a positive approach that doesn’t dwell on what a child may be lacking. Rather, it helps them recognize their current strengths and shows them ways to build on those strengths to acquire assets in other areas. The 40 specific assets are grouped into broader areas of human development such as support, empowerment, social competencies and positive identity. Pfeifer reminds that this plan isn’t just for those who require counseling or perceive a problem that needs to be addressed. “It’s about being mindful of what you’re doing as a family; even things you’re already doing well. Do it with intention. Do it with purpose.” She describes how several local school districts are utilizing the plan to make their students stronger and more confident people. Judge Gendler adds to this by saying, “As I understand it, the Millard schools (and others in the metro area) are using ‘assets’ to assist in evaluating students
who are marginal in their performance and who have identified behavior issues. The reality is that every student, if a system could afford the expense and time, would benefit from it and parents would have easily identifiable solutions to implement. These solutions can be as simple as ample study time, healthy peer relationships, healthy adult relationships, adult role models, recreational programs, nutrition, volunteerism and the like.” By utilizing the “40 Developmental Assets” plan, the Jewish community can be a part of a common language in helping children recognize what good things they already have to build on for the benefit of their community, their family, their school and themselves. What makes us organized, empowered, successful, well- received and joyful in life? Possibly giving our children credit from the very beginning for what they are doing well and helping them find ways to add to their list. For more information on putting the “40 Developmental Assets” to work for your family, please contact Pfeifer at 330.2024.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed for Independence Day on Wednesday, July 4. The deadline for the July 6 issue is 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 27. Photos from the March 30 Passover issue must be picked up by June 30 at the Press office during regular business hours. After June 30, all photos will be turned over to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. Questions? Call 402.334.6448
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
Camp Yachad 2007: an event to remember by DUANE J. PIEPER The Camp Yachad 2007 caravan departed from the parking lot of the JCC on a Sunday afternoon last month and weaved its way westward on I-80 to the oasis of Mahoney Stare Park. The first stop was at a spacious camp site on the lake adjacent to the marina. This ideal setting, with its accompanying wildlife, provided the backdrop for a variety of games, fun and laughter. A spirited game of baseball was won by the “Go-Getters.” The “Champions” are already asking for a rematch next year. It was time to check into the cabin and explore where the Yachad group would be spending the night. This was not your ordinary rustic campground cabin. With its size and amenities it probably falls more in the category
fire, provided by Dr. Fred and Sarah Kader. Everyone was tired at the end of the day and ready for a good nights sleep. Early the next morning everyone was ready to go again. After an invigorating hike through the rabbit, turkey, and whitetail deer environs, the group directed their energies towards some creative endeavors. These craft activities were based on the theme of Shavuot which Julie Phillips prepared for Yachad. After reviewing the story of Moshe at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Torah, the members created their own Torah scroll and holder. Then flower pots were decorated for the petunias which would adorn their homes through the holiday.
Rabbi Seth Nadel, accompanied by Michael Parsow, leads Duane Pieper, center, guides Yachad members through the the Yachad song-fest aroundthe evening bonfire. planting with the assistance of Dr. Fred Kader, left. of a lodge. It can comfortAfter a round of miniature ably sleep up to 16 people golf, camp drew to a close with additional space for with lunch back at the campindoor activities. site. Yachad came full circle After a brief respite it was and reflected upon the blessback to the marina for some ings of the experience and more adventure and fun memories they will take aboard the paddle boats, home. The members were which competed with the appreciative of the volungeese and their goslings for teers who participated and space on the water. Pedal contributed time and suppower is a perfect fit for this port. This was Yachad’s first aquatic setting. The experiovernight camp and from all ence definitely helped every- Yachad members joyfully display the Torah scrolls and cov- reports it was a great success one work up an appetite, ers which they created for Shavuot. on all levels. just in time for dinner. Sprinkled in with all the fun were a myriad of lessons Back at the cabin the aroma of lasagna and garlic such as: developing a greater sense of confidence, buildbread, ala the Rose Blumkin food service department, ing trust, discovering new abilities, problem solving, sharmet us at the door. No one was late for dinner on this ing, caring, and cooperation. The challenge of new and night. different circumstances and experiences not only taught On cue, Rabbi Seth Nadel, with guitar in hand, self-reliance but pointed out the virtues of teamwork. showed up at the door. It was back to the campsite for a Last, exposure to the great outdoors and the dynamic bonfire and song-fest. Kathie and I may be the Piepers, and vibrant life that fills this natural arena helped develbut Rabbi Nadel is the pied-piper. His Jewish-flavored op sensitivity and appreciation, thanks to funding from folk-rock music filled the night air long only a short the Esther K. Newman/Carolyn Kully Newman Grants break to make those famous “s’mores” over the camp- Committee for sponsoring this event.
Summer congregant Shabbat speaker series resumes at Temple Israel by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coord inator “Last summer’s congregant Shabbat speakers series was so well received and inspiring that we decided to repeat it this summer with a fresh set of speakers,” said Rosie Zweiback, program director of Temple Israel. “The series will also introduce the new adult education theme, ‘Know Thyself; Know Thy Neighbor,’” selected by Temple’s Adult Education Committee. “These personal stories -- with a Jewish stream running through them -- are sure to inspire, engage, and sometimes amuse the congregation,” she promised. Tonight, Speedy Zweiback will explain his journey, “From Orthodoxy to Modern Reform with Stops in Between.” June 15 will feature Harlan Rips, addressing “Jewish Youth Grouping, Why I Am More Than Just Jewish Today.” Ken Cowen, director of UNMC/Eppley Cancer Center, will discuss, “What’s a Jewish Boy from Long Island Doing in Nebraska?” on June 22. Ellen Platt rounds out the month on June 29 when she talks about “Adventures in Jewish Identity.” Sarah Bleicher, who is the new president of Omaha Temple Youth Group, spent a semester in Israel this year and, on July 6, she will share, “A Jewish Journey to Israel and Back.” On July 13, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel will explain how “I Became a Jew in America.” After this Shabbat service, all are welcome to attend a no-host dinner at the Greek Islands, 3821 Center St. Call the Temple office at 556.6536 to make a reservation. Jane Brooks, wife of Sidney Brooks (1920-1999), Temple’s rabbi for 33 years, will return to Temple Israel on July 20. After living in Omaha for more than 50 years, she now lives in Massachusetts but is coming “home” to tell her story, “I Never Got to the Rodeo.” Jill Idelman, who is traveling to Israel this summer as part of the Center for Jewish Education’s educators’ mission, will share her tale, “Toto, We’re Not in Kansas Anymore,” on July 27. On Aug. 3, Jon Meyers, who was elected president of Temple’s Board of Trustees in May, will reflect on the unexpected turns in his Jewish journey or “Who’d a Thunk It?” Phyllis Glazer completes the speaker series on Aug. 10 with her story, “If Life is a Journey, Who Has My Map?” A no-host dinner will follow the Shabbat worship service this week at Pasta Amore, Rockbrook Village. Make a reservation by calling the Temple office. During June, July, and August, Friday evening worship services begin at 6 p.m. followed by a kiddush nosh in the foyer.
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June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 5
Educational accomplishments celebrated at Temple Israel by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Thirteen high school graduates/confirmands walked one-by-one down the aisle of the sanctuary at Temple Israel last month. They had completed 12 years of religious school, and before a packed crowd of their families, friends, and the congregation, the seniors conducted the Shabbat worship service. During a poignant few moments of the service, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel spoke privately on the bimah to each senior. The students’ parents collectively read a prayer asking for “steadfastness to guide (our children) through the years by precept and example.” The parents also asked that their sons and daughters “grow to love the good, overcome evil,
Graduates and clergy are, front row: Taylor Workman, left, Brandon Thomas, Sarah Spooner, Jacquelyn Neesman, Nimrod Ginsburg, middle row: David Trubnikov, Aaron Parsow, Aaron Passer, Justin Slutzky, back row: Cantor Wendy Shermet, Jessica Danon, Anne Rips, Rabbi Eric Linder, Nick Ferer, Rabbi Azriel and Allison Levinger. Amy Schweid also completed 12 years of Religious School.
Lynn Beha, left, Patrick Jensen, Toby Fellman, Wendy Reiss, Elaina Ozeroff, Jennifer Miller, and Don’L Dacey made their journeys to this point along different paths, but on the night of their B’nai Mitzvah, they affirmed their commitment to Judaism together as they proclaimed their spiritual unity and historical heritage with the Jewish people.
be patient under trial, and seek peace and truth.” Erev Shavuot, presented another opportunity to celebrate learning as seven adult members of the Temple congregation became B’nai Mitzvah at a worship service they led. All members of the adult class read from the Torah during the service and shared glimpses of their personal pathways leading to acceptance of the laws given to Moses and the Israelites at Sinai. Tribute was paid to the B’nai Mitzvah class’s teachers, Colleen Kennealy, Naama Arzi, and Orly Gilat. Also honored during the service were Temple’s first KEVA learners, congregants who logged a minimum of 100 hours attending scholar weekends and classes, reading Jewish books, and exploring Jewish websites. Their names were submitted to the Union for Reform Judaism. They are Lynn Beha, Lori Bennett, Don’L Dacey, Toby Fellman, Joan Marcus, Lee Needelman, Doris Parker, Sarah Schondelmeyer, and Rosie Zweiback.
Also celebrating a year of education were this year’s Temple Israel Religious School madrichim, teachers’ assistants. Emily Katz left, Grace Hack, Haley Burns, and Rachel Saferstein were among the madrichim who enjoyed dinner with the clergy at Dave & Busters compliments of Rabbi Azriel. Other madrichim included Yaniv Azriel, Sam Burrell, Jessie Danon, Anna Eirinberg, Susan Freeman, Alex Fox, Nimrod Ginsburg, Adam Goldberg, Joe Goldberg, Hannah Grossman, Noah Grossman, Jordan Jensen, Sophia Miller, Josh Moran, Jackie Neesman, Ben Noodell, Molly Noodell, Ben Ozeroff, Aaron Passer, Brenna Robinson, Sydney Robinson, Alexis Slutzky, Sam Weinstine, Ethan Workman, and Taylor Workman.
Beth El’s USY lox box fundraiser sure to be a hit on Father’s Day by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Looking for a tasty deal that really delivers? If so, search no further than Beth El’s upcoming United Synagogue Youth (USY) Lox Box fundraiser, a wonderful way to surprise dad with the delicious gift of lox and bagels brought directly to your home on Father’s Day morning. This is a great opportunity to support the USY teen youth group, as well as a delightful, stress-free way to kick off your Father’s Day festivities. What could be better than being greeted by a smiling USYer bearing lox and fresh bagels with all the fixin’s? And all you have to do is sit back and enjoy! Lox Box orders are being taken now,
according to Beth El Youth Director Robert Mosenkis. Regular and deluxe packages are available: the regular package ($18) includes a half-dozen assorted bagels, a half-dozen assortment of strudel and rugelach, plus lox spread, sliced cucumbers and sliced tomatoes; the deluxe package ($36) includes one dozen assorted bagels, one dozen pieces of strudel and rugelach, lox, cream cheese, a Sunday newspaper, a small bag of ground coffee and a gallon of orange juice. All orders and payment must be received by June 14, Mosenkis said; to place an order or for more information, contact him in the synagogue office, 492.8550, or youthdir@bethel-omaha. org.
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June 8, 2007
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Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you the greatest.” by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT The evening was concluded by a video presentation It is often the most hectic schedule that provides the most fun; something that was proven once again by offering high lights from the past school year, and Friedel Jewish Academy. During the last week school refreshments for all the guests. Besides being treated to song and dance, visitors also was in session, students watched the sixth grade graduate, while putting on a show at the JCC auditorium. enjoyed an art display featuring Friedel students’ work. Guests were given a warm welcome by Jewish Art Teacher Julie Philips and her students had some special Federation President Norm Sheldon, as well as Bonnie help this year from Artist-in-residence Janie Lynn York. She has visited the school several times over the past Bloch and Lloyd Roitstein of the Friedel Board. Principal Cookie Katskee took some extra time to year to teach the students new skills that include drawing, story telling, and machine thank the Friedel PTO members quilting. York has worked individNancy Kutler, Julie Potash, Linda ually with students, as each of them Potash and Julie Stein. They have created artwork that expressed worked tirelessly this past school their plans for improving the year to raise money and show world. The students designed their appreciation to the teachers for all own storyboard that was transtheir hard work. ferred onto fabric and subsequentAfter several musical numbers by ly quilted in the shape of a tree. the students, Friedel Librarian York assisted the students with Joyce Stranglen was called to the each step, as they learned how to stage. Teacher Barb Sather create their own stories and use the informed the audience that Joyce’s machine quilter. York explained, son suffered a house fire that left “in the case of this project, the stuthe family unhurt, but destroyed all dents discussed Tu B’Shevat and belongings. In the spirit of tikkun certain scriptures surrounding the olam, and with a little help from project. Creating trees and writing their teachers, Friedel students crestories gave them a more personal ated a quilt for the family. understanding of Judaism.” “They lost their home, but not Art teacher Julie Phillips explained their family. We wanted to wrap them in love. The children made all Artist-in-residence Janie Lynn York with FJA how art helps her students form the squares, our secretary Mary students O’Bryen Edwards and Isabella Wright. their Jewish identity: “Everything Jane Tweedy embroidered the centerpiece, and Artist- they do can be done through a Jewish lens. They study in-residence Janie York help us put it together,” said Jewish artists, and it gives them a sense of pride because Sather. “The theme of the quilt is ‘home is where the they can identify themselves with them. It is very good heart is’ because what is important, i.e., their family, is for their self-esteem. However, you don’t have to study a still there.” Sather presented the quilt to Joyce to pass Jewish artist in order to see art in a Jewish perspective. The students were inspired by Henry Moore and on to her son’s family. Rabbi Jonathan Gross introduced the main part of the Christo, among others, to create their own Garden of evening by paying tribute to Friedel’s graduates. Tal Eden for the art show. They continually express their creMargalit, Cleo Rogers and Samantha Wiener walked the ativity in a Jewish manner.” York’s residency was sponsored by the Nebraska Arts stage and received their certificates, as well as a sung message from their teachers. It is tradition at Friedel for the Council and by Friend of Friedel Dr. Eric Phillips, and teachers to sing a personalized song to the graduating class. organized by Principal Cookie Katskee and Julie Phillips. After a two-day break for Shavuot, Friedel students Cookie Katskee sent the sixth graders on their way by quoting Henry Winkler: “There is greatness within each enjoyed their last day of school on May 25. When they of you. Use your greatness to change the world.” Katskee return for more at the end of August, a brand new class also acknowledged the Friedel staff when she said: “If of kindergartners will appear, illustrating that with every you want to be great, you have to be taught by greatness. end comes a new beginning.
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the land in Ethiopia and lack formal education. by JENNIFER ROSENBLATT Federation Secretary At Shabbat Evening services, Uness also spoke about The Jewish Federation of Lincoln kicked off its annu- his own personal experiences as his family struggled to al campaign with a major donor event at the home of make aliyah first from Ethiopia and then from the Cindi and Marlon Weiss. Donors were treated to copies Sudan. Services were led by Federation Chairman Jaine of the newly released Yiddishkayt special issue of Prairie Merliss, Campaign Chairman Sarah Kelen, Rabbi Ilan Schooner. Hilda Raz, Glenna Luschei Editor in Chief of Emanuel of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, and Rabbi Prairie Schooner, and Jehanne Dubrow, Editor of the Royi Shaffin of Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Federation special issue, gave readings from the Schooner and from Past President Marcia Kushner was honored at the servtheir own works. Sue Schrieber was honored for her ice for her years of service to the Federation. years of service as campaign chairman. In her introduction to the 2007 Campaign on This spring, Federation Chair Jaine Merliss set a board goal of engaging young families more in the work of the Federation. In keeping with this focus, Lincoln’s Campaign Kickoff this year was a Family Fun Day following Religious School. The event’s theme was “The Jewish Arts,” and participants enjoyed craft activities, Left: Hilda Raz, left, Glenna Luschei, Editor in issue, were introduced by Federation music by Federation Chief of Prairie Schooner and Jehanne Chairman Jaine Merliss, who also recognized member Kurt Knecht, Dubrow, Editor of the Yiddishkayt special outgoing campaign chairman Sue Schreiber. and readings of poems by religious school students Sunday, Federation Campaign Chairman Sarah Kelen Jonah Payne, Sarah DiMagno, and Aaron Hoagland. challenged the community to raise “07 in ’07,” that is: Those present also heard a very interesting talk by $107,000, an increase of almost 5% over last year’s Zion Uness, an Ethiopian Israeli who came to Israel at $102,000 in Campaign pledges. With a number of age seven in the Operation Moses airlift. pledges coming in at both the Major Donor event and As a student at the University of Haifa, Uness joined the kickoff, the Federation is on track to meet that goal. the New Generation, an organization of Ethiopian Federation treasurer Elaine Evnen was pleased with Israeli university students who try to help younger the success of the kickoff week’s events: “we’ve gotten Ethiopian Israelis by teaching them to value education. off to a good start,” she said. “People seem enthusiasThese teenagers and pre-teens do not have educational tic and have always been very generous [to the role models at home, because their own parents worked Federation.]
June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
A student and a rabbi, a teacher and a cantor ... now a team WHERE ARE THEY NOW? by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press It’s the 1980s in Omaha, NE, and Cantor Emil Berkovits is the cantor at Beth El. As the primary teacher of the B’nai Mitzvah pre-teens, Cantor Berkovits deals with many a reluctant student. One of them is Jason Perelman. Twenty-two years later, the two men look at one another almost in astonishment, as they ponder the journey each one took to arrive in Swampscott, Massachusetts, as the rabbi and cantor of one of Boston’s North Shore’s largest Conservative synagogues. Perelman (the son of Jan Goldstein, Omaha’s Federation executive director, and the late Shelly Perelman) took the name Baruch HaLevi when he was a rabbinical student at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He’s since added a Ph.D. in Spirituality from the Theological Foundation of Oxford University (next to Notre Dame in South Bend, IN). When he searched for pulpit openings two years ago, he saw a familiar name, and e-mailed his former teacher and Bar Mitzvah coach. Cantor Berkovits, who was the only staff member to survive after the merger of two congregations in Swampscott, called him back, “Come here. We’ll be great together!” Concerned about the focus of “East
Coast Conservative,” Rabbi HaLevi, whose UJ tradition is “innovating and changing,” said that Berkovits told him, “The new leadership at Shirat Hayam (which literally means Song of the Sea) has realized they can’t bask in the past and have to take hold of the future.” “Cantor opened the door to me here,”
the 34-year-old rabbi added. “He answered a lot of my questions -- about the community, availability of day school education, and that the congregation was looking to move forward. I began to realize that the merger was visionary.” Berkovits, too, did not imagine himself still working, and in the cold Northeast, at this stage of his life. “I was supposed to be retired,” he laughed. But after living in Florida, he and his wife, Lily realized it wasn’t for them and moved to Scampscott before the merger. With two synagogues merging-- one named Beth El and the other Temple Israel, Cantor Berkovits had only one request: “Please don’t call it Beth Israel!”
Now the two men, comfortable as colleagues, dream about the future. “What Baruch and I offer are complimentary,” the cantor smiled. “He has the ‘looks’ and I have wisdom.” The rabbi laughed and countered, “Some might say the opposite.” The two obviously get along in their new roles, moving from student and
food every week,” Cantor added. “Come to ‘whatever’,” the rabbi said. “The idea is to offer multiple gateways for the multiple voices we have in Judaism and in the Jewish community.” And that’s why HaLevi describes Shirat Hayam’s offerings as a “kind of Starbucks” logic in a synagogue instead of coffee bar. “Our job is to open the door,” Cantor Berkovits added, “to talk to people, to present ourselves as approachable.” And the investment is already paying off. Shirat Hayam has 100 in its own preschool (the JCC has another 100), but the community has identified another 200 previously unknown. They’ve picked up more than Left: Rabbi Baruch HaLevi, left, and Cantor Emil Berkovits 50 new congregants in the are the spiritual leaders of Shirat HaYam in Swampscott, MA. last 18 months. Rabbi says Above: Swampscott is north of Boston, on the Atlantic Ocean. his wife Ariella and their two Both men hope someday to reb uild the synagogue’s sanctukids, “love it here. There are ary, so it faces east to the inspiring view of the ocean. more than 100 moms her teacher to rabbi and cantor. “We’re col- age in the synagogue; she’s become a spirleagues; our roles alternate,” the rabbi itual coach for that generation.” said. “We’re not into ‘Shut up and sing’ Rabbi HaLevi added that his father’s or ‘Shut up and teach,’” the cantor death last year was an eye opener for him. added. The future they hope for is already “There’s not one suicide support group coming to fruition with an influx of 20- on the North Shore; no one talks about and 30-somethings to their innovative it,” he said. So he does and said it’s “radservices, classes and programs. ically shocking. Imagine -- having a rabbi Offering several different services on who talks about his personal life!” Shabbat, for example, has Cantor But he likens it to Betty Ford opening Berkovitz leading the main service in the up to the American people about her sanctuary, while Rabbi HaLevi leads a breast cancer. That made her a good role learner’s minyan once a month, alternat- model -- something, he insists both he and ing with a “renewal minyan” or a study Cantor Berkovits aspire to -- despite their session. The two wind up together in the age difference, despite their experiences, main sanctuary at the end of every despite their approaches. “We’re a team,” Shabbat service and “it culminates in the cantor added, “We’re here to serve.”
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
IN THE NEWS Susan Poser, Associate Professor of Law, has agreed to accept the position of Associate to the Chancellor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Chief of Staff, replacing Herb Howe. “While enough of a lawyer to have practiced law with a firm and served as a law clerk for a federal judge, she also has studied Ethics at the Wharton School,” said UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman. According to the Chancellor, Prof. Poser “has collaborated with faculty across the university on teaching and research projects, she has been on several campus-wide and university-wide committees relating to teaching, gender equity, and diversity, and has been active in the external community. I know she will serve the university well.” Prof. Poser, a member of Lincoln’s South Street Temple has a BA with honors from Swarthmore College, majoring in Ancient Greek with a minor in Political Science, a J.D. from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. from Berkeley’s Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program. She is a member of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at UNL and will remain the director of the UNL Center on the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics. Prof. Poser will transition with Dr. Howe and will assume his responsibilities this summer. Callie Feingold, a junior at Lincoln East High School and a member of Lincoln’s South Street Temple, along with Salome Viljoen, a senior at East, competed against students from across Nebraska and won the First Place Group Documentary award in the Senior Division at National History Day held at Nebraska Wesleyan University recently. The overall theme for this year’s nationwide competition is “Triumph and Tragedy.” The two Lincoln East students produced a 10-minute documentary explor-
ing the issues raised by “The Rape of Nanking” during the Second World War. Both Callie and Salome join the entire Nebraska delegation, and state champions from around the country, at the University of Maryland in mid-June to compete for national awards. The Nebraska State Historical Society and the Nebraska Humanities Council are providing partial stipends for all state winners to attend the national competition. The keynote speaker at National History Day will be noted PBS history documentary producer Ken Burns. Callie will spend July at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, as a participant in the Genesis Program for Jewish high school students, where she hopes to delve into the ethics of journalism and to develop deeper skills in electronic storytelling. The Central High Alumni Association will hold its first Alumni Day on Saturday, June 30, 1-4 p.m. at the school, 124 No. 20 St. Graduates from any class are invited to attend, as are their family members and friends. Prospective CHS students are also encouraged to attend. Admission is free for the event, which will be held in the school courtyard. Alumni Day is a time to reminisce, tour the school, shop for CHS memorabilia and chat with old and new friends. Light refreshments will be served. For more information or to RSVP, contact Joanie Labenz Eledge, CHS ’76, at 238.2592, or Joan Krasne Marcus, CHS ’55, at 333.5995. Reservations are not required but can be made at chsfoundation@cox.net. Rabbi Michael Graetz has received the Simon Greenberg Award, which is conferred for lifetime achievement in the rabbinate. Nominations for the award come from rabbis throughout the world and an
international selection committee of rabbis make the final selection. The award was presented at the Ordination ceremony for new rabbinical candidates from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the American Jewish University in Los Angeles last month. Rabbi Graetz was born in 1940 and raised in Lincoln by his parents, Leon and Marjorie Finkelstein Graetz. He attended Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, from which he graduated as a rabbi in 1967. That same year he made aliyah to Israel and worked as assistant to the editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Judaica, wrote articles on modern Jewish thought and has published numerous articles in Hebrew and English. His liturgical works include writing, editing, and translating a commentary for an Passover Haggadah, published in English, Russian and Hebrew; and he was the chairperson of the Masorti Siddur Vaani Tefillati, that appeared in February 1998. Rabbi Graetz served during the Yom Kippur War in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) chaplaincy as part of the Hevra Kadisha. Upon his release from military service he became rabbi of Magen Avraham congregation in Omer, a suburb of Beer Sheva, Israel, and a teacher of Bible and Jewish Civilization at Kaye State Teacher’s College in Beer Sheva. From 1976-79 Rabbi Graetz was active in beginning the Masorti Movement and served as its first executive director. Rabbi Graetz is the spiritual leader of Mercaz Shiluv Educational Institute in Omer and Beer Sheva, founded in 2000 in response to the need to provide Israelis with a wider array of possibilities for spiritual enhancement than those currently available to them. In August of 2006, Rabbi Graetz came out of retirement to serve as interim rabbi at Temple Ramat Zion in Northridge, CA.
He will return to Israel in July and will most likely be the leader of a new Masorti political party in Israel. Stinson Morrison Hecker recently elected new partners, including Scott A. Meyerson. A member of the firm’s General Business Division, Meyerson has extensive experience serving as general counsel to many local and regional closely-held businesses. His business transactional experience includes all types of asset, stock, corporate, limited liability and partnership mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations. Meyerson earned his juris doctor from the University of Nebraska in 1994 and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 1991. Annelise Ocanto was admitted into the H.L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. A recent graduate of University of Nebraska at Omaha in Elementary Education and Vocal Performance, she will be living in Jerusalem for a year to begin her studies. She is the daughter of Dr. Lourdes Secola Lerner and Dr. Ramon Ocanto. Tiffany Eisenman recently graduated from a dual masters program at New York University with a Masters in Hebrew and Judaic Studies and a Masters of Public Administration. She has accepted the position of Director of Community Outreach at the United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien, CT. She is the daughter of Scott Eisenman and Shelley “Sam” Eisenman.
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June 8, 2007
Big screen influence leads to big time career for Chicago hazzan by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Mario Lanza sealed Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi’s destiny. Lanza, the famed opera singer/actor who set the world on fire in the early 1950s, caught the ear of the five-yearold Mizrahi years ago as he sat in a movie theater with his father watching ‘The Great Caruso.’ The big-screen performance marked Mizrahi’s ‘aha moment,’ the beginning of a journey that would lead him to a career as a worldclass tenor and one of the world’s leading cantors. “Remember that in Greece in the early ‘50s we had no TV and I had never seen a movie, so this was a big deal,” Hazzan Mizrahi reminisced. “As soon as I saw the (color!!) images, heard the orchestra and this magnificent tenor, I knew this was what I would do for the rest of my life. It may sound implausible, but I just knew right then and there. The fire never went out!” The Omaha community will have the opportunity to experience that Cantor Alberto Mizrahi fire and the magnificent voice of Hazzan Mizrahi, as he is welcomed at Beth El on Sunday, June 10, 7:30 p.m., as the featured performer in this year’s Cantor’s Scholarship Concert. Hailed as one of the greatest interpreters of Jewish music, the hazzan, affectionately known as ‘the Jewish Pavarotti,’ has enjoyed an illustrious career, performing at music festivals, in symphony concerts, synagogues and operas around the world. During the 10 years he sang opera, he had the opportunity to serve as Luciano Pavarotti’s understudy in the Miami Opera’s production of ‘The Masked Ball’ (one of the highlights of his career, he said). He was featured in the PBS special, “CANTORS: a faith in song,” has performed with performers including legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, and has released over 20 recordings, including a duet recording with Theodore Bikel. This fall he will release ‘Alberto’s World,’ a CD featuring both Sephardic selections and some of his favorite Yiddish Theater repertoire. Currently the resident cantor at Anshe Emet in Chicago, Hazzan Mizrahi also is an officer of the Cantors Assembly and serves on both the faculty of the H.L. Miller Cantorial School in New York, and on the board of the Zamir Choral Foundation. His love of Jewish music is palpable, and a passion he enjoys sharing with others. “I found a means of expression, of release, of a gift I have always felt that was given to me by the Almighty in a way that combined Jewish life with my love of singing,” Hazzan Mizrahi said. “I truly believe that music is and will continue to be the portal through which we provide a way toward spirituality and synagogue life for many who might not otherwise enter. Study is critical, Torah is our life, but music ‘Opens the portals to the gates of heaven.’” (Zohar) His initial interest in the cantorate came as a teenager, after a friend played for him a recording of Yossele Rosenblatt singing ‘Rachem No.’ “I was entranced and completely bowled over. I had never heard classical cantorial music before and I was absolutely smitten,” he recalled. “I memorized that record and decided I would try and emulate the great Rosenblatt, and later my greatest influence in cantorial music, Moshe Ganchoff, with whom I studied off and on for 20 years, and the Koussevitzky brothers, Moshe and David. Knowing, even then, that I was a dinosaur to want to become a cantorial concert performer, my path was clear. God has been kind to me and I have reached goals I did not know I would ever find.” After years of performing around the globe, several performances remain close to his heart, including a recital at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. “I am named for my father's youngest brother, Alberto, who died in my father’s arms on a cattle car being brought out of Auschwitz to be taken to death in Germany. My father, ever the survivor, jumped off the train, and his tale of survival is yet another project for Hollywood screenwriters. Being asked to sing a recital at Yad Vashem, outdoors among the monuments has to rate as one of the most emotional moments of my musical career. “I was also privileged to chant the memorial prayer and sing the “Song of the Partisans” at the Day of Remembrance commemoration at the Capitol Rotunda,
in D.C. this year,” he added. “To see the flags of the regiments that liberated the camps and then to stand and chant the memorial prayer in that august room is a moment I will never forget. This, all despite the fact that I have sung Carnegie Hall seven times and all over the world. There are simply some things that touch the heart more deeply when they relate to your family and the horrors of the Holocaust.” When asked about the differences between singing in large, major venues around the world, as opposed to the smaller, more intimate setting of a synagogue such as Beth El, Hazzan Mizrahi replied, “I rarely make a differentiation between singing in a larger well-known hall or in a synagogue, large or small. My raison d’etre has evolved as a transmitter of our musical tradition and someone who hopes to make a difference in the world through his voice and music. I want to send the people out of the hall thinking, ‘If only the world revolved around beautiful music; we would truly have harmonious lives.’ If I can succeed in doing that, even a few times, I will have felt accomplished.” During the upcoming concert in Omaha, he will treat his audience to selections from a variety of musical styles, including Hazzanut, Hebrew, Ladino, Yiddish and Contemporary. Selections will include “two of my favorite cantorial gems,” he said: Ganchoff’s ‘Habet Mishomayim,’ and Moshe Kousssevitzky’s ‘Velirusholayim Ircho;’ he will also sing a grouping of three Greek songs, a Yiddish aria/folk song, plus ‘Guardian Angels,’ a song written for Mario Lanza by Harpo Marx. “It will be an eclectic but entertaining mix of my favorite music,” he said. Also performing that evening will be Beth El’s Cantor Gastón Bogomolni, who spearheaded the event, and Temple Israel’s Cantor Wendy Shermet. Recalling that she first had the opportunity to hear Hazzan Mizrahi sing while she was in cantorial school, Cantor Shermet shared that, “Listening to him was a lesson in the best of cantorial art; he’s a master in Jewish prayer and song.” Added the Cantor, “Every time I hear him I feel honored. I always look forward to hearing him at the Cantors’ Annual Convention, and I often listen to his recordings. Now more than ever, I look forward to singing with him and having him perform in our own Beth El sanctuary. What a beautiful gift to our community.” The annual Cantor’s Cantor Gaston Bogomolni Concert benefits Beth El’s Youth Scholarship Program, which provides opportunities to attend Jewish summer camps, visit Israel or attend a Jewish youth convention. The community is invited to attend. Ticket categories are: Director, $5,000 (10 tickets); Executive Producer, $1,000 (six tickets); Investor, $500 (six tickets); Manager, $100 (two tickets); Agent, $50 (two tickets); Patron, $36 (2 tickets); Single, $18; Student, $5; and Children, $1 (ages 12 and younger). Tickets will also be sold at the door. To purchase tickets, send a check -made payable to Beth El -- to Beth El Cantor’s Concert, 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154-0430.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 9
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June 8, 2007
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Temple elects new board and president, honors outgoing president at annual meeting by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Jon Meyers, a lifelong member of Temple Israel, was elected president of the congregation’s Board of Trustees at the 136th Annual Meeting last month. Wendy Goldberg, who has served as president of the Temple Board of Trustees for the past two years was honored at the meeting which was attended by more than 100 people. In addition to expressing her gratitude to the Board, executive committee, committee chairs, clergy and staff, and the congregation, Goldberg noted that the year “was marked with several measurable accomplishments including an increase in member participation on committees, securing endowment dollars for cemetery expenses, implementing our new investment strategy, defining and evaluating professional and lay leaders’ job descriptions, and updating the website.” She pointed out that “the number one question” asked of her was, “What is new with the building project?” The second most asked question was, “What is happening with the tri-faith initiative?” She acknowledged that “the important task of determining the feasibility of a new building at a new location” is continuing. “We have listened to your suggestions and made modifications and slowly and surely are getting closer to a feasible project.” She acknowledged that “the number of hours and dedication that have gone into this project are immeasurable” and thanked the programming chairs and building steering committee members. She also said, “Momentum continues to build for the
we do things well. Temple’s “energetic Board of Trustees is constantly challenging itself to create a true community. A caring, trusting, open, transparent culture provides for the needs of this congregation” he said. “I am extremely excited at the possibilities that lie ahead,” Meyers insisted. “The new building project and tri-faith initiative are daunting undertakings. What we choose to do will impact generations to come -- those of our children, grandchildren, and beyond. This is a great time in our history to be a member of Temple Israel.” As for himself, he revealed, “I am the lucky one.” Also honored at the meeting were Lisa Epstein, chair of Temple’s Caring Committee, who received the Harriett Sperling Caring Award; Mimi Silverman, chair of the Darfur Task Force, who was given the Social Justice Award; Katherine Finnegan and Sally Kaplan, recipients of presidential awards; and Jackie Neesman, outgoing president of Omaha Temple Youth Group. John Waldbaum, one of four Building Steering Committee members, briefed the congregation on the progress of building a new home for Temple Israel. He reported that the first phase, or “programming phase,” has been completed. Twenty-two committees have met in hundreds of meetings for countless hours. A congregational meeting and café were open to all congregants Waldbaum indicated that out of these meetings, spaces for worship, social activities, education, administrative, and miscellaneous purposes were all examined. Results point to a new building of approximately 65,000 square feet compared to the present building of 40,000 square feet.
Left photo: Wendy Goldberg, second from left, passed the gavel to Jon Meyers, second from right, newly elected president of Temple’s Board of Trustees. Wendy’s husband, David, (tri-faith initiative) project” through “valuable conversations and meaningful relationships” with the Nebraska Episcopal Diocese and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture. “We have big dreams for the future of Temple Israel,” Goldberg admitted. She also observed that “the job of president has clearly been about the people and relationships that have deeply impacted me as a person.” In conclusion, she said, “Life is a journey, and the past two years have been a highlight of my journey.” During the meeting, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel explained that “this is not just a meeting. It is about our ability to glance into the working of our congregation and its people for the betterment of our community and the world we live in. “The bridge between the world as it is and the world as it should be is our work for justice. Not the justice that speaks of retribution and revenge, but the justice that comes from love and the recognition that all of us are children of God bound in everlasting covenant. This is what Sinai was and is for us.” He praised the congregation. “I have been with you for 19 years. I have seen the gifts you bring, the inspiration you evoke, and the compassion you share. So tonight, we are not only counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot. You and I, all are counting on each other and on God for the continuing, successful narrative of our congregation!” Meyers, who has been involved in Outreach at Temple, leadership development, Men’s Club, the Long Range Planning Committee, rabbi and cantor search committees, and Kol Rina, mentioned that he had recently spent four days at a retreat in Georgia with 100 incoming presidents of Reform congregations. “Of all the things I learned at this seminar, the single most important revelation is that we are incredibly lucky here in Omaha, Nebraska. We are a vibrant, modern Reform congregation that does many, many things right.” Meyers has also served as Board treasurer, on the Building Steering and the Building and Grounds Committees. He expressed his “deep humility (to) stand before you, the members of this congregation -- a congregation rich in tradition -- a congregation bursting with new ideas.” Meyers added that he realized at the retreat in Georgia that Temple’s success is not all luck. We do things right,
left, and Jon’s wife Denise joined their spouses. Lisa Epstein, left, Mimi Silverman, Katherine Finnegan, Sally Kaplan, and Jackie Neesman (not pictured) were honored. Gary Kaplan, president of Temple from 2003-05, announced new board members: Jan Schneiderman, president-elect; John Lehr and John Waldbaum, vice presidents; Jeff Schweid, treasurer; Katherine Finnegan, secretary; and Wendy Goldberg, past president. Board members elected to new terms are Ducky Milder, Vicki Perlmeter, George Quittner, Judy Josephson, John Glazer, and Dan Marburg. After their election, Rabbi Azriel installed them along with the current board: Gary Marshall, Cindy Goldberg, Danielle Gordman, Sarah Bleicher, Jane Rips, Sally Kaplan, John Bleicher, Ted Friedland, Jill Idelman, Mike Norton, Magda Peck, Stacey Rockman, and Dorothy Spizman.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT This year, Lauritzen Gardens is “changing up the tempo” on its annual summer concert series. The series will incorporate the theme “From the Earth,” emphasizing the cultural characteristics that develop through fresh-from-the-garden foods and the climate in which they grow. The garden’s café will sell fresh food that correlates with the music of the night. Kicking off the series: June 12: “Latin Night” featuring music and dancers of “Sabor” from the South Omaha Arts Institute. The evening menu will feature tortilla chips and fresh salsa. June 26: “Swing Night” featuring the “Prairie Cats” and dance from the “Omaha Jitterbugs.” Iced tea with fruit garnishes will be featured. This year’s Father’s Day BBQ is Sunday, June 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Treat dad and other loved ones to a down-home meal prepared by Hap Abraham Catering. The barbecue is $25 for adults (which includes garden admission, gratuity and sales tax) and $12.50 for children age six to 12. Children age five and under are free. If you have any questions of if you would like to make a reservation, please call 402.346.4002 ext. 201. Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha’s Botanical Center, is located at 100 Bancroft St. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the cost is $7 for adults ($6 Nov.-March), $3 for children age six to 12, free for members and children under six.
June 8, 2007
by BERT LEWIS I can’t say for sure, but I suspect Father’s Day came into existence after Mother’s Day -sort of a “give Dad equal time” thing. It doesn’t really matter, since we shouldn’t need a special day to notice or pay special homage to either of our parents. But the retailers and the people whose living depends on what we purchase, are the ones who take exception to how we ought to behave. And who can blame them? Ask the guy who sells neckties and shirts when his busy season is, if you want to know about American filial behavior. That isn’t what we need to dwell on here however. No, this is the place where the queen of nostalgia can get serious about the subject of Dad. I admit, it’s one of my favorite topics for this column, my dad. I was reminded recently, when we enjoyed a “mini family reunion,” how much my dad loved little kids, as well as kids of any other stage of life. I watched my adult children interacting with each other and realized how their grandpa would have kvelled if he could have been there. When my kids were very small, Dad loved to drop over on a Sunday morning and take them for a ride. They would come back full of stories about the ducks and swans they had seen, about the special treats (before lunch grandpa? Tsk), the fun ride when the top was down on the convertible. They and he both loved it when he’d get down on the floor for a little rough-house play, I’m so lucky to have those memories, but I wish I had thought to ask my kids if they also remembered those delightful times with their grandpa. The little reunion I refer to was a wonderful and rare opportunity for my room-mate and me to see our own “original” family unit around the dining room table, recalling this and that from the past, chiding each other, laughing a lot, teasing even more. I could just see my Dad observing this happy occasion and saying it was an appropriate time for a shehecheeyenu. He was the one who never forgot to say the proper bracha before the first watermelon or other fruit of the
Page 11
The Fight for Jerusalem
The subject of dads, fathers, zaydes
BERT’S EYE VIEW
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
season. And as I know I’ve told you often in the past, I’ll always remember the sound of his sweet singing voice when he made kiddush on Friday night. He knew the proper protocol when it came to the traditions of his religion, and always was respectful of them. Jake Wine was the kind of man for whom the expression “his word is his bond” might have been coined. If he said it, you could take it to the bank. The only baloney he took seriously was the kind he liked on dark rye with mustard! The serious things in life were taken seriously, but if somebody wanted some fun in a lively exchange, he was your man. He wasn’t a complicated guy. He was just what he appeared to be -- a straight arrow. He was the eldest in his family of four sons and one daughter, and his siblings held him in special regard long after they were responsible adults. They had made their own choices and decisions for years but would frequently look for his views on a major dilemma. Family was always a top priority, and as a son, he exhibited a flawless behavior toward both his parents. His love and respect was unconditional. As a dad, he was the best. Of course I never had anyone with whom to compare him, but I know I’m right anyway. I also know it was easier to be his daughter than his son, for several reasons. For one thing, when my brother and I were little kids, more was often expected of the boy. (I’m talking about a long time ago.) And secondly, I was the baby and I always (according to my brother) got away “with murder.” I stand by my original statement, however. As a dad, he was the best. I know all his grandchildren would vote the same way. I miss him greatly and so often wish I could tell him something or show him something I know would tickle him. My youngest great-grandchild, for example. I just know he’d eat her with a spoon. The baby of the clan always had grandpa in the palm of a tiny hand. I could sum it up by saying he was number one as a son, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was also a gentleman in every sense of the word and a sincere friend to many. In addition to all that, he was a pretty spiffy dresser and he loved doughnuts and baseball. How could you beat a combination like that? Happy Father’s Day. Bert Lewis can be reached at BertLewis39@aol.com.
by DORE GOLD
BOOK REVIEW by BENJAMIN BRYANT Near East Report There is perhaps no city in the world whose name evokes more emotion than Jerusalem, even among those who have never set foot in Israel. As the focal point of Judaism, the birthplace of Christianity and a holy city in Islam, Jerusalem triggers intense religious passion and heated political debate. In his new book, The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City, Dore Gold emerges from emotional and ideological discussions of Jerusalem with a rational explanation of the city’s religious dimensions. Gold, a former Israeli U.N. Ambassador, chronicles the deep Jewish connection to Jerusalem, from Biblical times to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. He also explains the varying Christian views on the city and notes conflicting attitudes among Muslim scholars on the importance of Jerusalem in Islam. With Jerusalem’s long history in mind, Gold refutes the notion expressed by Palestinian officials that a Jewish temple never stood in Jerusalem. Palestinian efforts to rewrite Jerusalem’s past, Gold asserts, are part of a larger effort to delegitimize the Israeli claim to the city. Palestinians have also tried to destroy any archaeological evidence proving that the two Jewish Temples stood in Jerusalem. At the conclusion of his eloquent and incisive history, Gold shares his views on the city’s role in fighting radical Islam’s war against the West. He argues that if Israel buckles under international pressure to relinquish holy sites in Jerusalem to a terrorist-led Palestinian government, jihadists worldwide will be emboldened by a sense of victory. By encouraging a division of Jerusalem, Gold contends, Western diplomats “may well believe that they are lowering the flames of radical Islamic rage, but in fact they will only be turning up those flames to heights that have not been seen before.” Forty years after Israel reunified Jerusalem, The Fight for Jerusalem is essential reading for those interested in understanding Israel’s role in safeguarding the Holy City for all faiths.
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Page 12
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
Salutes... the Class of 2007!!! Carolyn Barenbaum-Meyers
Cari Bowers
Eliza Cowan
Michael Crabb
Jessica Danon
Scott Egermayer
Alex Epstein
Carly Feldman
Joshua Louis Finnicum
Brad Frank
Zane Fried
Emily Friedman
Issac Frishman
Spencer Maxwell Gallner
Devon Gilinsky
Nimrod Ginsburg
Leslie Graul
Justin Jacobson
Lauren Josephson
Maxwell Joseph Katz
Kevin Kirshenbaum
Sara Klein
Seth R. Kudym
Allison Lauren Lehman
Ari Levin
Allison Levinger
Jeffrey Malashock
Alyssa Morris
CAROLYN BARENBAUM-MEYERS Millard North Sally Barenbaum University of Nebraska-Kearney
BRAD FRANK Marsha and Ron Frank
Millard North Indiana University
LAUREN JOSEPHSON
Westside USC Film School
MAXWELL JOSEPH KATZ
American Hebrew Academy, Greensboro, N.C. Pitzer College
KEVIN KIRSHENBAUM
Millard South Northwest Missouri State
SARA KLEIN
Judy and Keith Josephson
Brownell-Talbot Syracuse University
Bruce Meyers
ZANE FRIED CARI BOWERS Lucy and Kirk Bowers
Lincoln Southeast University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lindy Wilson and Jim Fried
EMILY FRIEDMAN ELIZA COWAN
Central Alison Freifeld and Ken Cowan University of Vermont
MICHAEL CRABB Suzan and Ian Crabb
JESSICA DANON
Westside University of NebraskaPeter Kiewet Institute Millard West
Sandee and Howard Friedman
ISSAC FRISHMAN Martha and Seth Frishman
Amy and Richard Katz
Barb Kirshenbaum and Scott Kirshenbaum
Janet and Harry Klein
SPENCER MAXWELL GALLNER Westside Kim and Sheldon Gallner Southern Methodist University
SETH R. KUDYM
DEVON GILINSKY
Burke University of Kansas-Lawrence
ALLISON LAUREN LEHMAN
Burke Indiana University
ARI LEVIN
Westside University of Wyoming
ALLISON LEVINGER
Burke Stoneridge Prep School
JEFFREY MALASHOCK
Robbi and Gary Kudym
Westside University of Colorado-Boulder Millard West Undecided
Burke Creighton University Millard North University of Kansas-Lawrence
Veronica Danon and Steve Danon University of Kansas-Lawrence
SCOTT EGERMAYER Jan and Bob Egermayer
Westside University of Oklahoma
Jeannie and Rick Gilinsky
NIMROD GINSBURG ALEX EPSTEIN Lisa and Gary Epstein
Burke Indiana University
Orly Gilat and Jacob Ginsburg
LESLIE GRAUL CARLY FELDMAN Lori and Howard Feldman
Lincoln East University of Nebraska-Omaha
Diane and Lonnie Graul
JUSTIN JACOBSON JOSHUA LOUIS FINNICUM Debbie and Doug Finnicum
Millard North University of Kansas-Lawrence
Nancy and David Jacobson
Denise and Howard Lehman
Mordechai and Susana Levin
Bonnie and Steve Levinger
Diane and Larry Malashock
ALYSSA MORRIS Cindy and Alan Morris
Millard North University of Nebraska-Omaha Westside Washington University-St. Louis Millard North Indiana University Burke University of Nebraska-Omaha Millard North University of Kansas-Lawrence
June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
Jacquelyn Neesman
Aaron D. Parsow
Aaron Benjamin Passer
Olga Patkovsky
Josh Pilley
Ellina Pisetsky
Daniel Raznick
Seth Rich
Anne Rips
Rebecca M. Salkin
Taylor Sanford
Sarah E. Sherman
Justin Michael Slutzky
Sarah Spooner
David Sukiennik
Brandon Thomas
David Trubnikov
Guy Weinstein
NOT PICTURED ALLISON LERCHER Dr. Minnie Abromowitch and David Lercher
Westside University of NebraskaLincoln AMY SCHWEID
Salutes...
Jeff Schweid
the Class of 2007!!!
Millard North University of NebraskaOmaha Casey Elizabeth Weiss
JACQUELYN NEESMAN Maria and Steve Neesman
AARON D. PARSOW
Westside Arizona State University
ANNE RIPS
Brownell-Talbot
REBECCA M. SALKIN
Margo and the late Dr. Jay Parsow George Washington University
AARON BENJAMIN PASSER Sandra and Jeffrey Passer
OLGA PATKOVSKY Ella Patkovsky
JOSH PILLEY Marti and Mark Pilley
TeenAge Editor: Lori Kooper-Schwarz
Molly Jennifer Weiss
Jane and Harlan Rips
Cindy and Rich Salkin
Brownell-Talbot Trinity University
TAYLOR SANFORD
Westside Florida International University
SARAH E. SHERMAN
Westside Kansas City Art Institute
Helen and Eric Pisetsky
Millard South University of Nebraska-Omaha
Debra Sherman and Mark Sherman
JUSTIN MICHAEL SLUTZKY
SARAH SPOONER Gayle and Jim Spooner
DANIEL RAZNICK
DAVID SUKIENNIK
Millard West University of Nebraska-Omaha
BRANDON THOMAS
Millard North
DAVID TRUBNIKOV
Vicki Sanford and Mark Sanford Denver University
Lesley and Jeffrey Slutzky
ELLINA PISETSKY
Central Dean College
Marlene and Hyman Sukiennik
Millard North University of Texas-Austin Millard North
Andie Gordman and Paul Thomas Young Judaea Year Course
Dr. Maya Wertheimer and Alexander Trubnikov
Burke Iowa Western Community College
Westside University of Southern California
GUY WEINSTEIN Kay and Dale Weinstein
Papillion-LaVista South Iowa Western University
CASEY ELIZABETH WEISS
Burke University of Kansas-Lawrence
MOLLY JENNIFER WEISS
Cindi and Marlon Weiss
Cindi and Marlon Weiss
Mt. Michael University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln Southeast University of Texas-Austin Lincoln Southeast University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Millard North
Jeanne Raznick and Jerry Raznick University of Minnesota
SETH RICH Mary and Joel Rich
The Jewish Press is not responsible for those graduating seniors not included. If parents would like to submit an announcement for ‘In the News’, we will run it when space is available. Please send via email (with photo of at least 100K, attached as a .jpg) to jpress@jewishomaha.org, or to the office at: Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Include: name of graduating senior, name(s) of parent(s), high school from which student graduated and college which the student will attend.
Central Creighton University
Mazal Tov, Emily!
Mazal Tov, Josh! We are proud of your achievements WHS Graduate, BBYO, Artist Award, Jazz Band and Eagle Scout. Love, Pop, Marti, Jake, Aaron and Arielle
We are so proud of your hard work and accomplishments! Happy crafting at Shwayder and enjoy the continuation of your journey at Pitzer. Love, Mom, Dad and Samantha
Page 14
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June 8, 2007
Grobman: UN undermines Israel and the West Happy Nations United: How the United Nations Undermines Israel and the West Father’s Day by ALEX GROBMAN (New Leaf Publishing Group, Green Forest, AZ) to the Fathers “One immediate result of the Zionism equals racism resolution was that it helped enlist the support of the B OOK R EVIEW of all Generations Third World against Israel, reminded the West of its Give a membership to the
Nebraska Jewish Historical Society With Your Help We’ll Have A Great Past Ahead Of Us
Happy Father’s Day
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by ROBERT A. COHN Editor-in-Chief Emeritus St. Louis Jewish Light
Alex Grobman has a special place in the recent history of the St. Louis Jewish community as the first professional director of what was then called the St. Louis Holocaust Center. He has published a scathing indictment of the United Nations, in which he maintains that the world body, which made it possible for the State of Israel to come into existence 59 years ago, “undermines Israel and the West.” Grobman, who directed what is now the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center from 1977 until he was succeeded by Warren P. Green in 1980, brings additional solid credentials to his book, Nations United: How the United Nations is Undermining Israel and the West. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with master’s of arts and Ph.D. degrees in contemporary Jewish history, and is president of the Institute for Contemporary Jewish Affairs and the Brenn Institute, think tanks dealing with historical and contemporary issues affecting the Jewish community. He also previously served as director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, where he was the founding editor-in-chief of The Simon Wiesenthal Annual, the first serial publication in the United States focusing on the scholarly study of the Holocaust. Grobman’s book reflects his solid academic and historic credentials as well as his immersion in serious study of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. In Nations United, he provides the reader with a detailed narrative on the complex and changing relationship between Israel and the United Nations, which began with the crucial 1947 General Assembly vote in favor of the Palestine Partition Plan, to the nadir on Nov. 10, 1975, when the same General Assembly approved the infamous resolution stating that Zionism “is a form of racism,” through such events as the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in the summer of 2001, which was described by Irving Cotler, the Canadian human rights leader as a “Festival of Hate” because of its numerous anti-Semitic and anti-Israel actions and resolutions. Grobman quotes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as having “acknowledged that in the Jewish community, ‘it seemed as if the United Nations serves the interests of all peoples but one: the Jews.’” Annan was encouraged that for the first time the General Assembly had included anti-Semitism among the types of racism it wanted to eliminate. In an unusually strong statement, Annan said, “The United Nations will never forget its origins in the fight against fascism, and that its Charter was drafted as the world was learning the full horror of the Holocaust,” adding, “This history makes it especially sad that such a gulf has developed between the UN and the world Jewish community.” The infamous “Zionism is a form of racism” resolution of 1975, which was later officially rescinded under U.S. pressure, and the Durban World Conference Against Racism, the proceedings of which were eclipsed by the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, are only two of the most egregious examples of why the gulf between the world Jewish community and the UN, which Annan acknowledged exists. In the days of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union constantly opposed positions taken by the United States and its allies, the USSR after the 1956 Suez Crisis consistently backed the Arab states against Israel, and were joined by the bloc of votes from the socalled “Non-Aligned” and “Third World” nations who consistently voted against Israel under pressure from the League of Arab States. Even in the post-Cold War era, an overwhelming majority of member states in the UN continue to reflexively adopt resolutions condemning Israel for “persecuting the Palestinians,” while at the same time ignoring terrorist acts carried out by groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, Fatah, Hamas and Hezbollah. Indeed, it was not until last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon that a UN Security Council resolution called upon a terrorist group, in this case Hezbollah, to cease its provocative actions against Israel, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and Katyusha rocket attacks into northern Israel. Grobman makes clear in his compelling book that the Zionism equals racism resolution was much more than symbolic in its effect on Israel’s status as a respected nation.
silence during the Holocaust, and awakened ‘guilt complexes in Western circles.’ What it effectively did was question the entire basis of the creation of the Israeli state. How can Israel be absolutely legitimate if she came into being in an illegitimate manner? Recognizing Israel as a legitimate entity means that there is ‘justice in Zionism.’ By forcing Jews to reject Zionism as ‘Jewish nationalism,’ the Arabs could deprive the Jews of their national status, leaving them only with a religious identity that gives them no rights to a state of their own, according them inferior status as a people. The next step would be to accept antiSemitism on an international basis.’” Grobman’s concerns about the Zionism equals racism resolution are borne out by the continued attacks on Israel’s legitimacy and over threats on its very existence, such as the frequent statements by the fanatic Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel should be “wiped off the map,” and his hosting of an “international conference” in Tehran that denied the Holocaust. In addition to the ongoing and ever-more-blatant threats against Israel and anti-Semitic statements from heads of governments, such immediate problems as taking meaningful action to stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan have been blocked by the newly resurgent anti-Western bloc at the Security Council. Russia and China, often supported by France, consistently block any strong resolution to place meaningful sanctions against Sudan by threatening to exercise their veto. As a result, the only resolutions adopted on Darfur and other major issues are watered-down to the extent that they are ineffective in stopping the mass murders. Meanwhile, as atrocities and genocide are ignored or allowed to happen in places like Rwanda in 1994 and Darfur today, the endless parade of anti-Israel resolutions continues. Fortunately for Israel, for the past 25 years, the U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations have used the American veto to block many of the more egregious anti-Israel resolutions. Grobman’s book has received well-deserved praise from other scholars and experts in history and contemporary international affairs. Russell Robinson, chief executive officer of the Jewish National Fund, said, “Nations United exposes the public relations war waged by israel’s enemies at the UN, on college campuses and in the media around the world...This book is an invaluable piece of live ammunition in that war of words.” Gary Bauer, president of American Values, said, “Fact by fact, National United builds an irrefutable case against the UN for disseminating virulent anti-Semitism aimed at the destruction of the State of Israel. By explaining each stage in the development of this process, Dr. Grobman shows us how lies and half-truths can once again cause the destruction of the Jewish people.” Alex Grobman’s book is not only compelling reading, it is also a strong cautionary tale and a wake-up call to the Jewish community that much work remains to be done to combat the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and antiWestern actions taken by the very United Nations which was founded to prevent such abuses. Nations United is a must-read, and should be on the shelves of anyone interested in a detailed analysis of a major challenge to the security of Israel, the Jewish people and the West.
Temple and Trinity Episcopal members donate the gift of life
Dennis DePorte, Temple executive director, of Temple Israel, and members of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, were among 30 people who donated blood at the annual Blood Drive at Temple last month. Ron Budwig from Temple and Kim Roberts from Trinity Episcopal Cathedral were cochairman of the drive.
June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 15
Fathers are a Crown to Their Sons and Sons a Crown to Their Sires Genesis R.
Plant a seed for the Future to Honor Your Father... Son, Husband, Brother, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Sister, or Grandparents...any special person in your life. The seed you plant today will bear fruit for tomorrow. By establishing an endowment fund for now, you are providing shelter for the Omaha Jewish community of tomorrow by sustaining Jewish families educating Jewish children, caring for the poor and elderly, and protecting those who cannot support themselves.
Contact Marty Ricks, Executive Director 402/334-6440
The Foundation Also Salutes the High School Graduates of 2007! 10909 West Maple Road • 402/397-0694 www.alkarbilliards.com
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
Rocket deaths point up Mood of Six-Day War film the dangers now in Sderot more somber than euphoric by DINA KRAFT Tel Aviv (JTA) -- Both were in their 30s, killed on the himself when he wanted. The second loser, according to the documentary, was streets of Sderot by rockets fired from the neighboring FILM REVIEW Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, a prudent and sensi- Gaza Strip. by TOM TUGEND
ble politician whose hope for a diplomatic solution was LOS ANGELES (JTA) -- Is there a middle-aged Jew foiled by the militancy of his own generals, political presalive who doesn’t remember the euphoric days of June sures and the people’s demand for a muscular, charis1967, when the caricature of the cringing, defenseless matic leader like Moshe Dayan. As in any war, the 1967 conflict easily lends itself to an Jew was destroyed forever, when American Jews suddenly stood taller, when God finally rewarded His peo- endless game of “What if?” with most of the questions ple for centuries of suffering, when Israel taught the aimed at the Arab side. What if the Kremlin hadn’t convinced Nasser in midArabs a lesson they would never forget? If the Americans or Russians had won such a war, they May of the fabrication that Israeli troops were massing would have celebrated with a string of chest-thumping at the Syrian border? What if King Hussein of Jordan, blinded by Egyptian movies, with reckless John Wayne or his Russian counboasts of smashing victories, terpart leading his clean-cut had heeded Israeli warnings soldiers to a glorious, perto stay out of the war? manent triumph. What if Nasser had not Israelis never made such a called off his planned first movie, even in the immedistrike against Israel nine days ate postwar months, and before the Israelis struck now a new documentary to first? mark the 40th anniversary of But there are plenty of the Six-Day War conveys a what-ifs on the Israeli side as sense of somber reflection well. rather than patriotic elation. What if then-Chief of Staff Six Days, an IsraeliYitzhak Rabin had listened Canadian-French co-production directed by Israeli Israeli generals Moshe Dayan, left, and Hayim Bar-Lev, cen- to his mentor David Benfilmmaker Ilan Ziv, is subti- ter, visit army camps in the West Bank with Israeli Prime Gurion, who was adamantly opposed to Rabin’s pretled “June 1967: 40 Years, Minister Levi Eshkol, right, in June 1967. Credit: Ilan Bruner/GPO emptive war plans? New Revelations.” What if the Israeli Cabinet, which initially split evenly In fact there are few startling surprises for anyone who has read any of the numerous post-mortems of the war. on whether to go to war, had tilted slightly the other way What the film drives home are how vast the miscalcu- and avoided what no less a hawk than then-Gen. Ariel lations are by fallible statesmen, how easy it is to arouse a Sharon described subsequently as “a war of choice”? Yet the sense of foreboding about the aftermath of the people to a pitch of war fervor and -- as every dogface in the trenches instinctively knows -- how laurel-wreathed war, expressed by Ben-Gurion and which pervades much of Six Days, has been largely justified by events. generals fly by the seat of their pants most of the time. The film posits that the euphoria of the victory and the Not to go overboard entirely, the opening strike by the Israeli Air Force, which gambled every available defeat of Nasser turned a mainly secular conflict into an plane to wipe out the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian air intractable religious one, and spawned a costly and divisive occupation. forces, was a daring masterstroke. Perhaps the most bitter postscript of the war comes Israeli troops on the ground fought bravely, intelligently and with high morale. And Israel’s political lead- from Yossi Sarid, a veteran left-wing politician who ers, aided by considerable luck, avoided being crushed served in 1967 as political adviser to Eshkol. One need between American and Soviet Cold War confrontations. not agree with his lacerating words, but they are worth The biggest loser, of course, was Egyptian President hearing. “So, all right, Nasser made a mistake and Hussein Gamal Abdel Nasser, who blindly believed his generals that they would “have lunch in Tel Aviv next week.” made a mistake,” Sarid said. “So why do we have to fall Nasser, who saw himself as the imminent leader of one into the trap of their mistake and turn our lives into an great pan-Arab nation, learned that once having roused ongoing hell? Forty years, 40 years, we have been living the masses to a hysterical pitch, he could not reverse in an ongoing hell because of this cursed occupation.”
The deaths of Shirel Friedman and Oshri Oz within a week of each other illustrate just how dangerous life in the small border town of Sderot has become, making driving down the road toward a job or hurrying home to grab a sweater against the night chill acts of Russian Shula Oz, center, mother of Kassam rocket victim Oshri Oz, embraces Roulette. Oz was killed May her daughter, Oshri’s sister Shelley, 27 as he drove to the right, as they grieve with relatives office where he did during his funeral May 28, in the computer network- Yarkon cemetery in Petach Tikva. Credit: Brian Hendler/JTA ing twice a week. He had said goodbye that morning to his three-year-old daughter and his wife, Susanna -- eight months pregnant -- in the Tel Aviv suburb of Hod Hasharon. He was just a few feet away from the office when a Kassam rocket crashed near his car. Oz, hit by shrapnel, stumbled out of the car and collapsed onto the road. Among the paramedics that treated him was a friend from the Sea Scouts, a youth group for sailing, who worked in Sderot. Avi Teiger said Oz’s face was so covered with blood that he could not recognize him. His blue eyes looked familiar, Teiger said, but he did not know why. “It’s a very cruel coincidence,” he told Ha’aretz. Oz’s wife, who saw the smoldering remains of his car on television, reportedly collapsed and is in the hospital. Friends are worried how she will manage alone with a new baby and young daughter. Friedman was killed on May 21. She and her mother, Adela, sat on a park bench to rest after shopping ahead of the Shavuot holiday. Her mother said she felt a chill, so Friedman returned home to pick up a sweater. On the way a Kassam fell nearby and Friedman suffered fatal injuries to her chest and stomach. Thousands of residents poured out of the city last month seeking a respite. Buildings reinforced against attacks in the past two years reportedly are no longer considered safe because the Palestinians are making more powerful rockets with twice the amount of explosives on their warheads.
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June 8, 2007
The Wonder Bread Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, $12.95)
READ IT AND EAT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN Ta dadada...drum roll.... because it’s dear, ole dad’s day and time for a stroll down memory lane and to enjoy a wonderful Father’s Day. Wonder, a Kansas City company, is celebrating 85 years and requested ideas, recipes, memories and stories from across the country. From America’s kitchens and Wonder’s archives are sandwiches,
casseroles, desserts and more -- more than 45 one-recipe-to-a-page savory and sweet creations listed in seven chapters: Good Morning Wonder Bread, Wonder Bites, Wonder Sandwiches, Baked Wonder, Sweet and Fruity Wonder, Wonder Bread Pudding and Crepes, and last but not least It’s a Wonder. Some recipes “appear just as they did originallythey have not been updated to reflect modern techniques or food trends.” You’ll find Wonder Asparagus Rolls To
Die For (with four variations), Wonder Balls (roll a slice into a tight ball for a bread box treat), Wonder Blintzes, Wonderful Crepes Suzette (from a Boy Scout) and Napoleon and even Wonderstrudel. Colorful nostalgic photographs of memorabilia and recipes are scattered in the pages. A dozen pages of slices of Wonder history ... 1.3 billion sandwiches later, the inspiration for “the best thing since sliced bread” and clever advertising to create a sense of wonder. Now dad and the kids can create some memories and make this fun and easy recipe that originally appeared in The Wonder Book of Good Meals, produced for the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair. WONDER KID SANDWICHES Cookie cutters in fun shapes such as bears, rabbits or hearts are used with this recipe. 12 slices Wonder bread 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon With the cookie cutters, cut shapes from the slices of Wonder bread, avoiding the crust. Spread one side of each shape with butter. Place buttered side up on a baking sheet. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the shapes. Broil until toasted and golden brown. Variations: Substitute cheese and paprika for the sugar and cinnamon and toast in the broiler. Or, first toast the shapes and then spread with jam, peanut butter, cream cheese, frosting, candy sprinkles or other sweet toppings. Makes 1 to 2 dozen. Lois Friedman can be reached at ReadItAndEat@yahoo.com.
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 17
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ORGANIZATIONS YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday at the JCC with guest speaker Rivkah Sass. The director of the Omaha Public Libraries was awarded Librarian of the Year in 2006. Lunch is served at noon for $6 per person. Join us for bingo with Eileen or Miles Remer at 10 a.m. Call Dee Dee at 330.4272 for transportation. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.
Grandmother’s (4712 So. 82 St.). Transportation is on your own. The cost of $26 includes admission, dinner, tax and gratuity. Meet in the lobby by 1:30 p.m. for tickets. Send reservations and payment to Ethel Goldston, 1108 No. 92 Plaza #101, Omaha, NE 68114 by June 22. For questions, call Rose Pitlor at 558.5144. Make all checks to Visions.
WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the Bunch to Lunch trip to the Summer Kitchen, please meet at the JCC by 10:45 a.m.
B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Omahan Andy Greenberg will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, June 13 noon, at Regency Lodge. He has traveled the world visiting synagogues. He has a fascinating power point show of the magnificent architectural sites he has observed. All men and women in the community are invited to attend. Cost is $12 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only.
LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. If you have any Yiddish books you would like to donate, please call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. VISIONS Join us for Baseball Night at Rosenblatt Stadium on Thursday, July 12, 6 p.m., starting with dinner on your own at the Stadium View Club. Cost is $6 per person. The Omaha Royals play the Iowa Cubs at 7:05 p.m. Send reservations to Harry Alloy at 11317 Harney Plaza Circle, Omaha, NE 68154 by June 28. For Questions, call Judy Katskee at 493.8875. Take a musical journey and see Jekyll & Hyde presented by the Ralston Community Theatre (held at the high school 8959 Park Dr.) on Sunday, July 15, 2 p.m., followed by dinner at
JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES Helmut Lotti Goes Classic, a concert on the big screen, is Thursday, June 14, 1:30 p.m. at the JCC auditorium The concert from Belgium features traditional and contemporary favorites. Please join us for a dessert reception at 2:30 p.m. There is no admission fee. This event is sponsored by Bernie Altsuler. For questions, please call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. Sensational Summer Sounds by the Iowa Western Community Band is Wednesday, June 20, 7 p.m., at the JCC. There is no admission charge. For questions, call Linda Fitzgerald at 334.6520.
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Page 18
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
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Mopre than 120 people attended the second Open Forum hosted by the Rose Blumkin Jewish home as part of its ‘New Beginning’ campaign. To make a pledge, payable over three years, contact co-chairman Richard and Joanie Jacobson at 554.0500 or Sandy and Paul Epstein, 397.2528. Photos from top left: Pauline Landman, left, and Harriet Lobel came last Wednesday night to hear more about the building proj-
ect; as did Bobbie and Bob Epstein, and Fritz and Molline Cassman; steering committee member Howard Kooper chats with Anne and Bruce Shackman; daughter and mother -- Amee Zetzman and Andi Kavich -- were among the attendees; as was Mike Erman; Richard Jacobson, left, enjoys a laugh at the evening’s close with fellow co-chairmen Sandy and Paul Epstein.
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by ANDREA BARTMAN for JSS/RBJH The tables were turned last month when the residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home completed nearly a month of hard work and presented each staff member with a special gift. The beautiful “shalom” tiles were meticulously created through hands-on work by Residents of the Above: Colleen Busk, Activities Director, right, assists resident Esther Graetz with the beadwork on her tiles. Below: Staff memHome. According to Colleen bers gather to choose their gifts. Busk, Activities Director, the work began in April and continued until the tiles were presented to staff members as part of the National Nursing Home Week festivities in mid-May. Supplies were ordered from a local ceramic shop and Residents were assisted by the activities staff, espe-
cially long hours invested by Busk and Rick France, Activities Assistant. Residents painted and decorated each of the 150 tiles which were baked in a conventional oven. They also worked on the decorative beading used to hang the tiles during the craft classes they attended. Norm Lincoln, a resident at the RBJH, made the announcement to staff members that the residents had a gift to present and staff members were welcome to choose the tile that they most wanted. Each was made unique through color, font and beading. Says Lincoln, “The staff members were thrilled; their positive expressions and, honestly, you could tell they were so very impressed.”
June 8, 2007
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 19
RBJH open forum
Two teachers retire from CDC
Continued from page 18
Continued from page 2 they shared a relationship outside the classroom too. Adams daughter Meg, is also an educator, and says she “At times we crossed paths with students and their owes it all to her mom. She offered a different perspec- parents around town. This only fostered the sense that tive on Adams career. “In many ways, she was a force we were a ‘single teaching component,’” or as Carlson when she got there,” Meg recalled. “She conceived of referred to them as “Nancy/Patty”! graduation, was always really prepared and brought a Carlson retired in 2004 and Nogg focused solely on sense of professionalJudaic and music ism.” education. Carlson As Meg spoke, I described Nogg’s began thinking of the new role as, “her effect Adams has had on ‘from the heart’ my family alone and joy in sharing lesthen Meg said, as if sons about and reading my mind, “You love for Shabbat, just can’t quantify the each Jewish holiimpact she has made. day, and many She loves children in this other facets of the incredibly genuine way.” Judaic faith was Meg briefly menevident in her sustioned that she thinks tained enthusiasm Adams will miss this age and innovation group most and “the week after week, overall sense you have as year after year.” a teacher,” specifically Nogg’s husband the aspect of daily disSteve commented, covery that comes with “Everyone should teaching four-year-olds. have the opportuShe couldn’t help reiter- “Miss Patty” -- shown here explaining the nine-branched Hanukkiyah to nity Patty has ating that her mother CDC preschoolers -- retired after 14 years of teaching. had.” has been the single most important person to her eduHe said that working with the CDC has given her, cational development, and believes that the work she “tremendous satisfaction.” He described watching her has done with the CDC represents “the collective prepare at home and said that it kept her in a great impact she’s made in the field of education.” frame of mind. No one was at a loss for words when it came to talkSteve also commented that “a lot of people don’t realing about Miss Bette and Miss Patty. Past CDC teacher ize how important the CDC is in affecting our chilNancy Carlson remembers teaching with Nogg fondly. dren.” He believes music helps one develop a spirit and She recalls, “It did not take long for us to realize that self esteem, and recognizes that “sharing music togethwe were meant to be a team!” They shared a cup of cof- er is positive and stimulating.” fee to start each day, and as Carlson remarked, “shared Adams’ and Nogg’s contributions to the CDC are a passion for helping the children in their class grow vast. Greenberg recalled an endless list of the many roles spiritually, emotionally, socially, and intellectually.” they have played in improving and bettering the CDC. Nogg and Carlson moved from being team teachers They both have made lasting connections, not just with to leading music classes for the CDC, Carlson covering the children, but staff as well. Their friends and family secular music, and Nogg -- Judaic. Carlson said that can confirm that they will be truly missed.
Photos from top: Debbie and Scott Friedman watch the ‘Virtual Tour’ of the new Home; co-chairman Joanie Jacobson explains the three-year pledge payout to Gloria and Howard Kaslow; co-chairman Paul Epstein thanks interior design committee members Kim and Nancy Noddle.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 1, 2007
Sen. Hagel has it backwards In a call-in conference Monday with the news media, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel described his impression of visits to Jordan, Lebanon and Israel last week, and meetings with top officials from King Abdullah in Jordan to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. While he had praise for Olmert’s statement to “go anywhere and engage anyone,” he had little else to say in praise of the Jewish State. Instead, the two-term senator seemed to get his historical and current facts wrong. Starting with this week’s 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War, Sen. Hagel said that the “Palestinian refugee camps are a direct result” and that the United Nations passed Resolution 242 mandating that Israel “return all of the land it captured in 1967.” Forget for a moment that Palestinians are not even mentioned in UN Res. 242, (it was purposely written calling for a “just settlement of the refugee problem” which included the 700,000 Jews who fled Arab lands as well). The resolution specifically omits the words “all the” referring to the return of land, as its drafters knew that negotiations would have to occur in order to guarantee Israel safe and secure borders. Of course, every Arab country responded with the three “No’s: no recognition; no negotiation, no peace.” Twelve years later, after Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, it returned not all, but 91% of the Sinai for safe and secure borders. Yet Sen. Hagel repeatedly stated that “Israel’s control of the West Bank, the Golan Heights and Gaza” have remained an issue of “contention between the Arab World and Israel.” And dictators from the Syria to Iran have used that as an excuse for every Middle East conflict -- including the war in Iraq -- deflecting their citizens’ ire from problems in their own countries.
We’d like to remind Sen. Hagel that Israel also withdrew from Gaza nearly two years ago. And what did the Jewish State get in return? A constant bombardment of Qassam rockets aimed at Israeli cities (not “settlements,” as Hagel called them) like Sderot and Ashkleon. While Sen. Hagel did praise U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for returning to the region periodically, he says it’s not enough and called for President Bush to appoint a special envoy and go “right to final status talks.” Seems like President Clinton already tried to accomplish this. Yet when then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered PA Chairman Yasser Arafat 91% of the West Bank (the same figure the Egyptians took for the Sinai), Arafat started the second intifada instead, using Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount as a pretext. While Sen. Hagel was in Lebanon, he did acknowledge the situation there was getting worse. “We make enemies by providing weapons,” he said of U.S. support of the democratically-elected Siniora government. And yet, Sen. Hagel, added, Lebanon is “confronting a group of radicals, sponsored by Hezbollah ... Insurgents are using civilians as human shields, but the Lebanese Army has to go in and clear that out.” Hmmm ... that sounds a lot like the
situation Israel faced last summer when Hezbollah “insurgents” crossed into sovereign Israeli territory, killed eight soldiers in an IDF tank brigade and kidnapped two others (who, we might add, have not been heard from since). Hezbollah then started lobbing katyusha rockets (far more powerful than Qassams) into Israeli cities -- not “settlements” -- like Haifa, Nahariya, even Tsfat. And while Sen. Hagel condemned Israel for “pounding Lebanon for 33 days,” we heard no condemnation of the same “insurgents” who caused last summer’s conflict and who are still operating behind the skirts of women in Palestinian refugee camps in both Lebanon’s north and now in the south. We’re disappointed that Sen. Hagel seems to view Israel as doing no right and its neighbors as doing no wrong. We hope the senator will set the record straight and respond to our concerns.
through air strikes. Rather than do so directly, however, Moscow devised a complex scheme to lure the Israelis into starting a war which would end with a Soviet attack on Dimona. Militarily, the Kremlin prepared by surrounding Israel with an armada of nuclear-armed forces in both the Mediterranean and Red seas, pre-positioning matériel on land, and training troops nearby with the expectation of using them. Perhaps the most startling information in Foxbats over Dimona concerns the detailed plans for Soviet troops to attack Israeli territory, and specifically to bombard oil refineries and reservoirs, and reach out to Israeli Arabs. No less eye opening is to learn that Soviet photo-reconnaissance MiG-25s (the “Foxbats” of the title) directly overflew the Dimona reactor in May 1967.
But then the Israel Defense Forces did something astonishing. Rather than fight to a draw, as the Soviets expected, they quickly won what I have called “the most overwhelming victory in the annals of warfare.” Using purely conventional means, they defeated three enemy Arab states in six days, thereby preempting the planned Soviet invasion, which had to be scuttled. This fiasco made the elaborate Soviet scheme look inept, and Moscow understandably decided to obscure its own role in engineering the war (its second major strategic debacle of the decade -- the attempt to place missiles in Cuba having been the first). The cover-up succeeded so well that Moscow’s responsibility for the Six-Day War has disappeared from histories of the conflict. Thus, a specialist on the war like Michael Oren, has coolly received the Ginor-Remez thesis, saying he has not found “any documentary evidence to support” it. If Foxbats over Dimona is not the definitive word, it offers a viable, exciting interpretation for others to chew on, with many implications. Today’s Arab-Israeli conflict, with its focus on the territories won in 1967, accompanied by virulent anti-Semitism, results in large part from Kremlin decisions made four decades ago. The whole exercise was for naught, as Israeli possession of nuclear weapons had limited impact on the Soviet Union before it expired in 1991. And, as the authors note, “21st century nostalgia for the supposed stability of the Cold War is largely illusory.” Finally, 40 years later, where might things be had the Soviets’ Six-Day War not occurred? However bad circumstances are at present, they would presumably be yet worse without that stunning Israeli victory. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum. are posted at: His articles www.DanielPipes.org.
One of the great enigmas of the modern Middle East is why, forty years ago next week, the Six-Day War took place. Neither Israel nor its Arab neighbors wanted or expected a fight in June 1967; the consensus view among historians holds that the unwanted combat resulted from a sequence of accidents. Enter Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, a wife-husband team, to challenge the accident theory and offer a plausible explanation for the causes of the war. As suggested by the title of their book, Foxbats over Dimona: The Soviets’ Nuclear Gamble in the Six-Day War (Yale University Press), they argue that it originated in a scheme by the Soviet Politburo to eliminate Israel’s nuclear facility at Dimona, and with it the country’s aspiration to develop nuclear weapons. The text reads like the solution to a mystery, amassing information from voluminous sources, guiding readers step-by-step through the argument, making an intuitively compelling case that must be taken seriously. In summary, it goes like this: Moshe Sneh, an Israeli communist leader (and father of Ephraim Sneh, the country’s current deputy minister of defense), told the Soviet ambassador in December 1965 that an advisor to the prime minister had informed him about “Israel’s intention to produce its own atomic bomb.” Leonid Brezhnev and his colleagues received this piece of information with dead seriousness and decided -- as did the Israelis about Iraq in 1981 and may be doing about Iran in 2007 -- to abort this process
Today’s Arab-Israeli conflict, with its focus on the territories won in 1967, accompanied by virulent anti-Semitism, results in large part from Kremlin decisions made four decades ago. Politically, the scheme consisted of fabricating intelligence reports about Israeli threats to Syria, thereby goading the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces to go on war-footing. As his Soviet masters then instructed, Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser moved his troops toward Israel, removed a United Nations buffer force, and blockaded a key naval route to Israel -three steps that together compelled the Israelis to move to a full-alert defense. Unable to sustain this posture for long, they struck first, thereby, it appeared, falling into the Soviet trap.
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The Soviets’ Six-Day War
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Lamenting the ‘occupation’ won’t make the facts that led to ’67 conflict go away
BEHIND THE H EADLINES by JONATHAN S. TOBIN French writer Alexandre Dumas the elder wrote in 1854 that “nothing succeeds like success.” But when it comes to the State of Israel, it appears that nothing seems to fail as abysmally as victory. As the world notes the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War this coming week, much of the coverage and commentaries about the topic seem to center on the same theme: how Israel’s historic triumph has become an intolerable burden that is itself the primary “obstacle” to peace. Once upon a time, the great victory of 1967 that was achieved against great odds and at a moment in history -- when much of the world expected that Israel was about to suffer a catastrophic defeat - was emblematic of Jewish pride. Yet that event is now increasingly seen as emblematic of unhappiness with the Jewish state. 40 Years of ‘Oppression’? After all, the critics note, the anniversary’s not so much of battles fought and won against great odds, but of 40 years of Israeli “oppression” of Arabs in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, the territories “conquered” in 1967. The toll exacted by Israel’s presence in the territories is seen as being responsible for the country losing its soul. Settlements and checkpoints have become deeply negative symbols of the country. In the Diaspora, it is the villainous Israel of “occupation” that has become the pariah despised by intellectuals and academics, and increasingly shunned by Jews who are not eager to identify with an oppressor. Among those who do still embrace Israel, the war’s anniversary inspires nostalgia for the state that existed before the unification of Jerusalem, and access to places where our history began to topple the existing Israeli political applecart. It was, as the Israel Policy Forum’s M.J. Rosenberg, recently wrote, the Israel of
the book and film extermination of both the State and her “Exodus,” a place he people by Arab leaders such as Egyptian asserts, that could be President Gamal Abdul Nasser and Palestinian leader Ahmed Shukairy, might admired without apology. The war set in motion a well have been fulfilled. We are told, ad nauseum, that the series of events that led inevitably not just to settle- “occupation” is the reason for the ongoments, but to the end of ing conflict. Yet in 1967, Israel’s dominLabor Party domination of Israeli politics ion was limited to the exact boundaries and the mainstreaming of forces such as that we are told are the only solution to the nationalist right, religious and the conflict. The world of June 3, 1967, Sephardi Jews, who had hitherto been was one in which not a single Jew lived in Judea and Samaria, nor in the eastern part marginalized by the Ashkenazi elite. The Israeli right has had its failures, but of Jerusalem. No Jew prayed at the the idea that the country was better off Western Wall, or could even visit any under the rule of the paternalistic Labor- Jewish historic or religious site in the dominated government of Israel’s pre- West Bank. The war’s anniversary ought to bring to war era is more myth than fact. The socialism embraced by that governing mind the fact that the issue then is largeelite didn’t merely retard the nation’s ly the same as it is today. There is not a economic progress. An era in which the shekel’s worth of difference between the rhetoric and gover nment ...the issue then is largely the same as it is the goals of prevented the Hamas, Al development today. There is not a shekel’s worth of Qaeda, or of local television -- to cite difference between the rhetoric and the goals that of the just one of Hamas, Al Qaeda, or that of the leadership leadership of Iran and that example of of the pre-’67 the excesses of Iran and that of the pre-’67 war Arab and war Arab and of this time -- Muslim world. M u s l i m is nothing world. about which we should wax nostalgic. Compare the Jews of Sederot, who are Yet Rosenberg is right when he says that a more powerful Israel than the ide- subjected to missile attacks from Gaza alized early pioneer state “is a hard sell to today, and those slain by cross-border terthose under 50, and particularly to young ror attacks that emanated from the same Jews of college age.” But the problem is area prior to June 1967. The only differthat those, like Rosenberg, whose main ence is that prior to the Oslo peace agenda is “to end the nightmare” of the accords and Israel’s complete withdrawal occupation, seem to forget what the from the territory in August 2005, we alternative to the actual outcome of the could still harbor illusions about the willingness of the Palestinians to embrace a Six-Day-War was. That is the crux of much of the teeth- chance for peace. Longing for Defeat? gnashing about Israel’s 40 years of postAll the introspection about 1967 ought 1967 sin. The main point of contention between Israel and the Palestinians, and to lead us to wonder why so many of us their supporters, is the same as it was 40 here are so uncomfortable with an Israel years ago: the existence of a Jewish state that is identified with power rather than within any borders. weakness. Was the Israel that so many What then was the alternative to victo- believed to be fated for imminent extincry and “occupation?” tion in May 1967 more virtuous than the The answer is simple. Had Israel been contemporary Jewish state? No. The defeated, then the oft-repeated threats of “occupation” that fuels Arab and Muslim
fury refers to every inch of the country. Israel’s victory did not create Islamist extremism, it’s just another excuse for a hatred that already existed. Conversely, the joy with which the Jewish world greeted the events of June 1967 stemmed not only from being reunited with places like the Kotel, as identification with a proud, successful Jewish people. Like the creation of the state in 1948, the Six-Day War changed the lives of every Jew. For centuries, Jewish identity was bound up with homelessness and powerlessness. These victories allowed Jews to hold their heads up higher not only here in the United States, but even in the Soviet Union, where a movement for emigration to Israel was launched in its aftermath. The Israel that emerged from that war has made its share of mistakes — though some of those errors were rooted more in a naive belief in the possibility of peace than triumphalism. But what the war demonstrated to the world was that the Jewish re-entry into history that Zionism represented was not to be erased after a mere 19 years. That is a verdict some would like still to reverse. Yet the “occupation” so many lament was created by Arab aggression, and is rooted in the alienable right of the Jewish people to their own country rather than in some aberrant variant of Zionist imperialism. More territorial compromise will come when Israel’s enemies give up their war to destroy it. Sadly, as recent events have again proved, that moment is nowhere in sight. Until it does, those supporters of Israel here who spend so much time apologizing for it would do better to apply themselves to the task of asserting the justice of Israel’s right to self-defense. Success in war has its drawbacks, but the alternative in 1967, as well as today, remains unthinkable. Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. Contact him via e-mail at: jtobin@jewishexponent.com.
Historian and U.S. Ambassador relate impressions of Six-Day War
NEW ANALYSIS by BENJAMIN BRYANT Near East Report In the run-up to the Six-Day War’s 40th anniversary, Near East Report spoke with Israeli historian Michael Oren and Ambassador Dennis Ross, a former U.S. envoy to Middle East peace talks, about the conflict’s background and impact. Excerpts of the interviews follow. Near East Report: Describe the strategic landscape facing Israel in 1967. Michael Oren: The Jewish state was confronted with hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers on its borders— the Egyptian border, the Jordanian border and the Syrian border—thousands of tanks, many hundreds of warplanes, a tremendous sense of frenzy in the Arab world at the prospect of “throwing the Jews into the sea.” The Arab leaders were very open about their intention to destroy the Jewish state. It wasn’t about changing a border here and there; it was literally about eradicating the state. Israel was grievously isolated in the world. Many people forget today that Israel confronted this Arab threat not with American arms but with French arms. Israel was allied with France. The eve of the war, France simply up and switched sides, switched to the Arab side. The United States was bogged down in Vietnam. It was not even able to uphold its promises to Israel to keep the sea lanes open through the Straits of Tiran. And Israel faced a massive Soviet threat from the Soviet bloc that was fully behind the Arabs. So Israel was completely isolated, facing Arab armies
that were under a united command, that were absolutely open about their intention to destroy the Jewish state. They had the requisite troops, tanks, planes, and had the situation on the battlefield gone the other way, it was not inconceivable to have Egyptian tanks rumbling through the debris of Tel Aviv. It was quite possible. That’s about as existential of a threat as you can possibly get. NER: How did Israel overcome the numerical advantages of the Arab armies to win the Six-Day War? MO: Israel overcame the disparity first of all by launching a pre-emptive strike against the strongest Arab adversary, Egypt, and in an exquisitely brilliant move, launched an all-out aerial strike against the Egyptian air force, which caught most of the Egyptian air force on the ground. Operation Focus destroyed over 250 Egyptian planes within one hour. This was simply the largest aerial victory in military history. And once Egypt was deprived of air power, Israeli ground forces were able to move against Egyptian defenses in the Sinai and overwhelm them. The second day of the war, the Egyptian commanders already gave an order for a wholesale evacuation of Sinai, which caused chaos. So the Egyptian army was relatively easily overcome. At the same time, Jordan and Syria began to attack Israel. Israel did not attack Jordan or Syria pre-emptively, and Israel was able to strike back at Jordan and prevail over Jordan and ultimately against Syria, as well. NER: What did Israel do with the territory it acquired during the Six-Day War? Dennis Ross: On June 19, the Cabinet of Israel’s national unity government adopted a resolution offering to trade all the territory it won from Egypt and Syria in return for peace treaties with both nations. The decision
of what to do with the territory won from Jordan—East Jerusalem and the West Bank—was put on hold. It wasn’t precluded; it just was that the Israeli government chose to defer that as an issue. So here we have something pretty profound -- within one week of the end of the war, the Israeli government adopted a resolution stating that it was prepared to trade the territory that its army had captured on two of the three fronts that it had fought in return for peace treaties. At the time, you have Moshe Dayan, Israel’s defense minister, talking about how he was sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring, waiting for a call from any Arab leader willing to discuss peace. Israel was saying, look, we’re not holding the territory because we want the territory, we’re prepared to return the territory, but the price is peace. NER: How did the Arabs respond to Israel’s offer? DR: The first response actually came at the Arab League’s summit in Khartoum in late August and early September. They passed a resolution containing the “three nos”: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel. At this stage, the Arab leaders were not able to make the leap from rejection of Israel to peace with Israel. The Israelis were ready to make a leap. Part of the reason they were ready to make the leap is because a major part of their thinking was that if we can demonstrate to the Arab world that we’re a fact that they can do nothing about, then they’ll understand and then they’ll come to terms with us. Now, you could not have had a more decisive victory than the Six-Day War. And so that’s why Moshe Dayan is sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. But he was sitting too soon.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
Candlelighting Friday, June 8, 8:38 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. Celebrate with the National Register of Historic Places, Sunday, June 10, 2-4 p.m., with Mayor Tom Hanafan speaking at 3 p.m. The entire Jewish community is invited to attend.
“frolf.” No charge to attend. Sunday, June 17, 8 a.m., Father’s Day Lox Box fundraiser packaging and delivery. Breakfast will be provided at the synagogue. For more information, contact Robert Mosenkis in the office or youthdir@bethel-omaha.org.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Gastón Bogomolni. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; K’tantan Plus, 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Nancy and Joel Schlessinger, in honor of their son, Daniel, becoming a Bar Mitzvah; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:50 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. W E E K D AY S E R V I C E S : Sundays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; weekdays 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m. CANTOR’S CONCERT: Sunday, June 10, 7:30 p.m. (See page 9 for full article.) ANNUAL MEETING: Wednesday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. USY/KADIMA: Wednesday, June 13, 4-6 p.m., meet at Seymour Smith Field (72nd & Q St.) for a round of disc golf, or
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. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; Mincha, 8:30 p.m. followed by Suedat Shlishit with Gemara class; Havdalah, 9:48 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Nadel, 9:45 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Advanced Parsha Study, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Living Torah, 9:30 a.m., 20minute video broadcast. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Maamar Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer Circle Tehillim & More, 9 a.m.; Parshah Roundup: Weekly Torah Portion Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m.; A Peek Through the Lens of Kabbalah, 8 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. All events and programs are open to the entire community. For more information or to register call 330.1800 or visit our website www.Ochabad.com.
NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN
333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by the Zlotsky-Hoagland Family, with oneg following. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. led by Stephanie Dohner; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. led by Robert Friedman. THURSDAY: Saratoga School Food Distribution Program, 5 p.m. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS this summer, 7 p.m. Beginner Hebrew: A Crash Course, led by Rabbi Emanuel during July and August, beginning Tuesday, July 10.
Temple Israel
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home
BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m.
Golani Brigade commemorates Six Day War
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
The Neighborhood Minyan
SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz.
1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
Tree of Life Center 2925 Prairie Road Lincoln, NE 68506 613.7443 email: treeoflife.rabbimichael @yahoo.com
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Participants of the six-day Golani run set off from northern Israel on their way to the Red Sea resort of Eilat. The famed run, which was an annual event of the crack IDF Golani Brigade, has been revived after a four year break due to the intifada. Its purpose is to give the soldiers a feeling for the Land of Israel and take them past locations were battles were fought 40 years ago in the Six-Day War. Credit: ISRANET
BAR MITZVAH Daniel Isaac Schlessinger, son of Nancy and Joel Schlessinger, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, June 9, at Beth El. Daniel is an eighth-grade Superior Honor Roll student and Presidential Scholar at Peter Kiewit Middle School. He plays first trombone in the school jazz band and was selected for the Nebraska eighth grade All State Band. He is a Duke Grand Scholar and enjoys participating
Cantor Wendy Shermet will lead the service. D’var Torah: Speedy Zweiback, “From Orthodoxy to Modern Reform with Stops in Between.” SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SITTER SERVICE: Available each Friday evening service except when there is a Tot Shabbat, Saturday mornings when there is a bar or bat mitzvah, and Sunday mornings when there is Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation are appreciated. Sorry, no facilities for infants. WRJ ANNUAL USED BOOKSALE: Sunday, June 10, 1-4 p.m.; Monday, June 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday, June 12, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to You, 4 p.m. at Remington Heights; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY and THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by a light oneg. SATURDAY: Weekly Parashah class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066.
TREE OF LIFE CENTER Services conducted by Rabbi Michael Weisser. FRIDAYS: Sabbath Experience, 7:30 p.m. Havdalah: SATURDAYS: Rites of Separation, 6:30 p.m.; Drumming Meditation follows until 8 p.m.; Social Time until 10 p.m. Sitting/Silent MONDAYS: Meditation, 6 p.m.; Teachings/ Discussion, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAYS: Sitting/ Silent Meditation, 6 p.m.; 8 Weeks to Mindfulness Class, 7:30 p.m.
PERSONAL Fannie Sherman Chunovic will celebrate her 100th birthday on Tuesday, June 12, 1:30 p.m. at the Sing-a-long in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Cake wil be served in the large dining room.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE in Johns Hopkins summer classes. Daniel represented the Millard School district in the Midwest Spelling Bee and finished in the top five. He is a second degree brown belt in karate and is part of the school cross country and track teams His interests include chemistry, traveling, and acting. For his mitzvah project, Daniel played his trombone at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. He has a sister, Claire. His grandparents are June and Bernie Schlessinger, and Maurice Gordon of St. Louis and the late Bernice Gordon.
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Pulverente MONUMENT CO.
June 8, 2007
The self-fulfilling prophecy
SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Shelah Lekha The Midrash (Lekah Tov and loc) affords us and interesting discussion about the scouting out of the land -- a discussion which turns out to be about ourselves and all human beings. How do you plan a new endeavor? The Midrash quotes Proverbs 11:27: “He who earnestly seeks what is good, pursues what is pleasing; he who is bent on evil, on him, shall it come.� The Hebrew says it more clearly, but in the English it is clear enough: The Midrash is suggesting that your expectations of how your new endeavor will turn out is a strong factor in the way it will turn out! What do you expect? Are you optimistic about the results or pessimistic? Your expectation may well determine the result. Thus, the youngster facing an exam with confidence, or the job applicant going to an interview with his hopes high, may find that his attitude has very much to do with the results. The Midrash then muses about the men who went to spy out the land. It cannot suggest that these were evil men or incompetent persons. In fact, it states the contrary, that these were respectable and able members of the community. But they played the fool and went on
their mission with trepidation and deep misgivings. The result? The result was their declaration that although the land is good and we deserve it, it cannot be taken. We will never be able to invade it. Only disaster awaits us. The 10 of the meraglim (spies) who gave that report were, the Midrash assumes, “bent on evil,� to use the phrase from Proverbs. Their expectation determined the result: they gave an evil report. The implication for our own lives is obvious. “I have a dream,� Martin Luther King, Jr., said. “I have a dream!� Had he lived, he would have spent his whole allotted life pursuing the dream. Had he lived it, the dream may have been closer to realization than it is now. When Theodore Herzl’s “Alteneuland� appeared in 1896, few people thought it was anything more than a dream, a myth. But Herzl was adamant. “If you will it,� he insisted, “it is no myth, no dream.� More than halfa-century later, the dream became a reality, and now 61 years later, even with all its problems, the dream is alive and well. Cherish your dreams and aspirations. They may be a closer description of reality than you suspect. Here is an intriguing aside: the rabbis liked to determine dates if it was at all possible. By meticulous attention to some dates given at random in the Biblical text, they determined that the date the scouting party left on its mission was the 29th of Sivan -- this year on Thursday night. How appropriate that we should read of that fateful expedition on this Shabbat! (Editor’s note: this column originally appeared in the June 23, 1995, issue of the Jewish Press.)
JTA NEWS BRIEFS • A Syrian lawmaker said his country wants war with Israel. Mohammed Habash, who spoke to Al-Jazeera on Monday as part of Arab commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War, said the Syrians wanted to use force to retake the Golan Heights. “The Syrian street wants to restore the Golan,â€? Habash said. But he noted recent peace overtures by Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus and said that if there is a new conflict, it would be Israel’s doing. The Israeli government feels threatened and is liable to create new tensions, even war, just to survive,â€? Habash said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has played down talks of a new round of fighting with Syria after last year’s inconclusive war against its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. • Israeli ministers have threatened a range of retaliatory measures after British university teachers voted to consider a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. At a weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Trade Minister Eli Yishai said he would hold talks on how Israeli industry would respond. He cited potential counter measures to include an e-mail campaign urging North Americans to boycott British goods and services and a refusal by Israeli workers to unload British exports. On Monday, the Knesset is to debate a bill that could lead to the boycott of all British consumer goods, the Times of London reported. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also is reported to be working on formulating a plan to combat the boycott. The moves come in response to a vote by the British Union of Colleges and Universities last week to consider an academic boycott of Israel. Britain’s largest labor union, UNISON, is also considering a boycott. According to the Guardian newspaper, Britain exported more than $2.5 billion in goods and services to Israel in 2005, while Israel exported about half that amount to the United Kingdom. • The United Jewish Communities’ board of trustees passed a resolution calling for divestment from Sudan and Iran. The resolution called it “morally unacceptableâ€? to profit from or support the two countries. • Mahmoud Abbas said infighting among Palestinians could spill into civil war. “On the internal front, the cause of everybody’s concern is what is called the security chaos, or more precisely, standing on the brink of civil war,â€? the president of the Palestinian Authority said in a speech Tuesday, referring to recent street battles between his Fatah faction and the dominant Islamist group Hamas. Abbas, speaking on the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War, called the conflict in which Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip a “black date.â€? But he also sounded upbeat about efforts to achieve a state through negotiations with Israel. “Despite all the difficulties, we are taking steps toward statehood, a tar-
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
June 8, 2007
Rabbi Kripke among honorees at awards dinner by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Nearly 500 people paid tribute to longtime community volunteers, advocates and humanitarians last Thursday at the Conference for Inclusive Communities annual honoree event. Formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the organizations changed its name to National Conference for Community and Justice. Today, the group has expanded its original mission to include people of all faiths, races, creeds and backgrounds. Among the honorees at last week’s dinner, chaired by Todd and Betiana Simon, was Rabbi Myer S. Kripke, rabbi emeritus of Beth El Synagogue. In her introduction of Rabbi Kripke, Jan Goldstein, executive director of Omaha’s Jewish Federation, said the following: “You are being honored tonight with the Otto Swanson Spirit of Service Award for a lifetime of dedication to people. You give to others with your words, your teachings and your resources. “Rabbi Kripke cares about the individual. Rabbi and his beloved late wife Dorothy have shared their gifts with the Jewish and greater Omaha community as well as many others around the world. “In 1996, he and Dorothy made possible the rebuilding of the renowned Jewish Theological Seminary Tower in New York City, destroyed by a fire nearly 30 years after the Kripkes married there in the courtyard. The tower is a place for study and a home for books, bringing
Photos from top left: Event chairman Todd Simon, center, welcomes Howard Kaslow and Jan Goldstein; family friend Alan Wolfson, left, wishes Rabbi Kripke a mazal tov; Beth El’s Rabbi Mordechai Levin, left, chats with Don Nogg; Jim and Sally Zipursky, Beth El president, and Cantor Gaston Bogomolni were part of a Beth El contingent; Jill Sideris congratulates Rabbi Kripke. people together in an atmosphere of the highest quality of learning. “Last summer, when missiles began raining down on Northern Israel, it came as no surprise that Rabbi was one of the first to help with his dollars and his heart.
“Rabbi Kripke has done much for our community: As adjunct Associate Professor of Theology at Creighton University, he endowed the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, to foster mutual respect and understanding among all religions. He gave an endowment to the University of Nebraska for a
Chair of Judaic Studies, sponsored student scholarships and funded the Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Most recently, he has offered support to the current remodel of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “Rabbi Kripke is 93 years young. He’s fun, he’s thoughtful, and he’s a man of vision. Those who have the privilege of stopping by to visit and learn with him, will find him sitting among his stacks of newspapers, books and correspondence. “Today, Rabbi continues his weekly ‘Jewish Press’ commentary on the Torah, personally dictating to the editor, as he has since 1980. He does so without a single book or note -- he knows every line by heart. And so he continues to inspire new generations,” Goldstein concluded. In accepting his award, Rabbi Kripke told the group about his initial involvement in interfaith relations more than 60 years ago in Connecticut with a priest and a minister. But when he arrived in Omaha in 1946, he could only find a Protestant minister to agree to speaking engagements. When it came time to give a talk in out-state Nebraska, a motel there only had one room available, which the two men shared. The next day, Kripke said, the minister vouched for him, noting that “the rabbi was okay; I even slept with him last night!” The crowd laughed appreciatively and though all the honorees received standing ovations, only Rabbi Kripke got a second one when he finished speaking. Sally Zipursky, the current President of Beth El Synagogue, was at the dinner with a contingent of members and staff, and described the evening as “uplifting ... He wowed the group,” she said. “I think most people had no idea who he was, but he’s still amazing at 93!”
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