June 13, 2003

Page 1

Vol. LXXXII

No. 41

Omaha, NE

13 Sivan, 5763

June 13, 2003

SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR 82 YEARS

Norman Batt Dies at Age 85 Federation Described as “Sound as Ever” at Annual Meeting

by CAROL KATZMAN, Editor The man who personally acted as the general contractor for the current Jewish Community Center building-Norman Batt--was buried yesterday at Beth El Cemetery. He died June 9 at the age of 85. “My dad was so proud of the work he did for the ‘J’,” said his son, Bob Batt. “His name is on the cornerstone of that building, along with others in the family.” Batt began his volunteerism in the Omaha Jewish community when Paul Veret was still in charge of the old ‘J’. When his children were young, he cochaired Camp Brewster sessions. He liked to take credit for the hiring of Sherman Poska as the director. He first became a construction chairman when a new camp was begun near Louisville, NE. This camp was partially funded by Jule M. Newman, named in honor of his deceased wife, Esther K. Newman. He always spoke of his work on the new JCC as his greatest accomplishment. He said that when he was chosen for the job, the building became a magnet to him. Each night, after dinner, he would check to see what the workmen had done that day. He tried to manage every penny and make sure that no money was wasted. “His passion for the JCC resulted in

one of the finest state-of-the-art facilities anywhere in the country at that time,” said Jeff Aizenberg, JCC Executive Director. “He spent hours and hours and hours on it,” said Morley Zipursky, who was President of the Jewish Federation at the time, “and he did a terrific job. Norm was an integral part of making it happen.” Batt went to Denver to see their JCC and returned to to propose that Omaha had enough money to build an outdoor pool. Many joked about it because Batt had forgotten to allow (Continued on page 2)

by CAROL KATZMAN, Editor Steve Pitlor, President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, presided over its annual meeting Monday night which focused on honoring volunteers and leaders. In his remarks, Pitlor outlined three challenges in the year remaining in his term as president: “re-establishing missions to Israel, (unveiling) long range plans to update facilities for our elderly, and enhancement of Jewish education.” Pitlor also noted that Steve Pitlor, Federation President, opened “our Federation is as the Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation, sound as ever...in mid-size which celebrated its 100th anniversary. to large communities, Omaha’s campaign was the fourth gave a “state of the Federation” highest in the category, exceeding address. Among the honorees were outgoing Nashville, Tucson and New Orleans,” agency presidents: Dr. Patricia among others. Newman of Jewish Family Service, In 1903, the year the Federation was Fred Tichauer of The Jewish Press established, this community raised and Mimi Waldbaum of the Anti$1363. The 2003 campaign raised Defamation League; and incoming more than $3 million and the presidents: Justin Cooper of JFS, Federation Foundation’s assets now Joanie Jacobson of the Press and Sara exceed $30 million. Juster of the ADL. In addition to Pitlor, Federation (Continued on page 8) Executive Director Jan Goldstein

Belzers’ Legacy Enriches Family and Community by CLAUDIA SHERMAN, Foundation Public Relations Coordinator It could have been a scene from Fiddler on the Roof. It was about 1920 in Ukraine, Russia. There had been a pogrom in the tiny shtetl of Chan burning the town to the ground. A teenage boy stood in a lineup expecting to be shot and would have been if a soldier had not spared the boy, because he was “altogether too small, too young.” But this wasn’t a Broadway musical. Israel Belzer, a resident of Chan, was a widower with five children including Oscar whose life was spared. Belzer already had relatives living in America--in Omaha. A cousin sponsored the family to join them, and in 1921, the immigrants made it to Ellis Island. In a speech on his 80th birthday, Oscar Belzer said, “.....a miracle happened and we were able to leave that inferno and come to this great beloved land of ours, the United States of America. I sometimes think we ought to kiss the soil of this land everyday for affording us the opportunity to live here in freedom as human beings.” Arriving in Omaha, the six Belzers moved in with their sponsor Oscar Goldner, his wife, children, and mother. By 1928, Oscar Belzer graduated from Creighton University Dental School following in Goldner’s career path. Belzer was secretary-treasurer of his class and never forgot how much he owed Creighton, one of the few professional schools at that time to accept Jews. One day, a young woman, Ruth Frisch, came to Belzer’s office for dental treatment. Her parents, Anna and Samuel Frisch, were from Hungary. Ruth, born in Omaha, had gone to Central High School and was working as a ticket taker at the Circle Theater near 33rd and California. Belzer must have been enamored with the young woman from the outset. He called her that night to see how she felt and insisted she not stand on the corner waiting for a streetcar. He would pick her up. Oscar and Ruth fell in love and were married in 1933 in Rabbi David Goldstein’s study at Beth El Synagogue. They had eloped and lived separately

Oscar and Ruth Belzer for six weeks before telling their parents who disapproved of the union. Oscar loved his work and became known as “the singing dentist,” said his niece, Eunice Denenberg. He practiced in Omaha from 1928 to 1952 in the Medical Arts Building at 17th and Dodge. “He adored opera and classical music,” Denenberg added, “and was a great dancer. He was always smiling and having fun. He was a scholar of life, of mankind, and read extensively in Hebrew, Yiddish, English, and Russian. He was very well learned in Judaic studies and interested in social justice and politics.” “And he worshiped and adored his wife,” Denenberg said. “Ruth was the earth mother. Their house was the house everybody went to--family, his colleagues and their families, immigrants. It was

very exciting at their house and full of life, music, people, and food. Ruth was a great cook and, in every respect, the perfect helpmate. She made it easy for Oscar to go out and participate in society and created a peaceful haven at home. Ruth made that magic happen.” Denenberg was certainly in a position to know. Her father, Louis Newberg, died when she was only seven. So she and her mother, Oscar’s sister, moved in with the Belzers. “They became my surrogate parents even while my mother was still living,” Denenberg explained. The Belzers’ son, Jerry, “was like my brother. He was the only one of Ruth’s five pregnancies that resulted in a live birth. Jerry Belzer became a pathologist. Denenberg recalled how her aunt was active in all the Jewish women’s organizations, especially Hadassah. “That’s what they did for fun,” Denenberg reminisced, “raise money to establish a Jewish state.” The Belzers attended Chevra B’nai Israel at 18th and Chicago. “Oscar went there to daven all the time. I remember being under the shelter of his talit with Jerry,” recollected Denenberg. In 1954, the Belzers moved to Los Angeles where Oscar practiced dentistry until he retired at age 84. Ruth and Oscar celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in 1997, one month before he died. One year before Oscar’s death, Jerry Belzer died. He was 62 and “kind and gentle, just like Oscar,” his mother later said. “Thoughtful and non-judgmental. He was witty and well-read, and that’s the way Oscar was.” (Continued on page 6)

INSIDE: JCC Hands Out Awards ......................... page 7 The History Footprint ......................... page 10 Teen Wins NFTY Art Award ................ page 12


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