June 18, 2010

Vol. LXXXIX No. 39 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

6 Tammuz 5770

June 18, 2010

Community remembers Phil Schrager’s legacy

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Maimonides said, “We are obligated to be more scrupulous in fulfilling the commandment of charity than any other positive commandment, because charity is the sign of a righteous man.” Phil Schrager, who passed away on June 7 at the age of 72, was, by all accounts, one such righteous man. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jack and Sonia Schrager, he moved to Omaha where he attended Central High School. Phil graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1959; after returning to Omaha, he started his own company, Pacesetters, in 1962. Within a few short years, his brother Harley joined him. He was successful in business, was a mentor of many, and amassed one of the most impressive private modern art collections in the country. He also gave and gave, to a massive amount of causes, both within Jewish Omaha and in the wider community. But Phil Schrager was much more than the sum of his parts; exactly how much he influenced those who knew him is difficult to express in one newspaper article. Simply listing all the various causes, scholarships, programs, and initiatives he fought for over the years would not be enough.

Perhaps a better way to commemorate him is through the words of some of his friends. Although we were only able to speak with a small number of those whose lives he touched, and there are many more who would have a multitude of kind words about Phil, there is a picture that emerges of the man behind the art, the business sense, the endless giv-

ing, and the long lists of causes he was involved in.

Howard Kooper, friend, Community member, and past President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha said, “Phil was the kind of person you wanted to see at the beginning of any fundraising effort, because everybody

Phil and Terri Schrager wanted to follow his benchmark. I remember when, in 1997, Tom Fellman and I started raising funds for the remodeling of the JCC and CDC; we went to Phil first.

The three of us had coffee at One Pacific Place, and when Phil said, ‘I’m in!’ we knew we would be success-

ful.” Close friend Bob Epstein agreed, “He was a guy who got the job done, no matter what the community asked him to do.”

Epstein considered Phil nothing less than family, and said, “He was like a brother, our relationship was such we placed full confidence in each other, and it went beyond friendship. I considered him and his family part of my family, and I will miss him terribly.”

One by one, those who experienced the force of nature that was Phil Schrager emphasized his kindness and his caring attitude. Tom Fellman, who worked with Phil on a variety of projects in the community, had this to say, “He was a tremendous friend to me personally, as well as to the community; he had such passion and fire.

He pushed the entire community to do more, and do bigger things. A leader of his caliber is almost irreplaceable; he cared deeply about the community and about how to pass leadership on to the younger generation. As with others of his generation before him, Phil’s shoes are hard to fill. He offered so much more than money; he offered his creativity and problem solving skills. He would look at the big picture, roll up his sleeves, and get to work.”

Joe Kirshenbaum is another involved Omahan who has powerful memories of Phil. They have known each other since they played golf together in the early sixties, “Even at that time, when we were still young kids, he showed a unique level of leadership. We go back a long time, and I know the community has lost a very special person. He Continued on page 3

JCC final board meeting Blumkin Home invites community Volunteer, teen, and staff recognition

by OZZIE NOGG The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Splendiferous House Warming, scheduled for Sunday, June 27, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., will celebrate the new

On the playground at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home are House Warming Committee members: back row: Suzanne Singer, left, Judy Brookstein, Sandy Epstein, Nancy Rips, Carol Bloch, Maxine Kirshenbaum, Nancy Noddle, Mike Silverman. Front row: Joanie Bernstein, left, Jamie Friedland, Joanie Jacobson, Linda Mann, Harriet Singer. Not pictured: Kim Noddle and Silvia Roffman. facility with family fun, music, delicious desserts, tours of the building plus visitor-friendly valet parking. The day will also take a look back at the Home’s history.

“We’ve put together an endless video loop to play Continued on page 4

Inside Op-Ed Page: see page 12

by LISA SHKOLNICK Child Development Center teacher, Hayley Swanson.

JCC Associate Executive Director Hayley received this award for her outstanding achieveOn Tuesday, June 8th, the JCC held its “end of the ment and devotion to the CDC for the past 7 years as a year” Board Meeting. This board meeting is special to Teacher in the 2 yr old Part-Time Room and Art Center members and staff, recognizing the many indi- Specialist.

The Isadore “Boggy” Bogdanoff All JCC Maccabi viduals who have excelled or accomplished great Team award recognizes achievements at the JCC. outstanding teen particiJCC member recognition pants in the annual JCC includes the JCC Maccabi Games. These Volunteer of the Year, the young athletes are recogEileen S. Erman Educator nized for their consistent of the Year, the Jewish participation, athletic talHigh School Athletes of ent and contribution to the Year, the Isadore the “community spirit” of “Boggy” Bogdanoff All the Games. John Glazer, JCC Maccabi Team incoming President preAward, and the Jewish sented the 2010 All JCC Athletic Wall of Fame. In Maccabi Team Award to addition, 10 JCC Staff David Glazer and Max were recognized for celebrating their 5, 10, 15, The 10 JCC employees honored for their many years of service to Saferstein-Hansen.

20, and 25 year anniver- the JCC are pictured above. Front row: Lynn Saltzman, CDC The “JCC Athletic Wall Teacher, 20 yrs, left; Carole Greenberg, CDC Assistant Director, 20 of Fame” award recogsaries with the Center.

The Board Meeting was yrs; Brenda Frank, Member Services, 10 yrs; Wendy Larson nizes the achievement of called to order by Cooper, Dance Instructor, 25 yrs. Back row: Jan Wayne, CDC Omaha’s Jewish athletes President, Kimberly Teacher, 5 yrs, left; Tracy Modra, Member Services, 5 yrs; Laura who participated in JCC Robinson, and the first of Wine, Youth Department Director, 20 yrs; Ed Heller, Fitness Center sports programs in their several awards were Director, 10 yrs; Lynn Batten, Publicity Associate and Gallery youth and went on to announced. The 2009-10 Supervisor, 5 yrs; and Denise Baccus, Information Systems make significant contributions to the Jewish JCC Volunteers of the Manager, 20 yrs.

Year Award was presented to Doris and Harry Alloy for community, the general community and/or the Jewish their outstanding leadership and longtime commitment Community Center. Irv Yaffe, founder of the award, and Ed Heller, JCC Fitness Center Director inducted the as volunteers at the JCC. Stacey Rockman presented the Eileen S. Erman following members into the JCC Athletic Wall of Fame: “Educator of the Year” Award to the Pennie Z. Davis Continued on page 5

Next Week: Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Opening Special Section See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press’

Financial Aid Committee awards over $300,000 in scholarships Page 7

Coming Next Month: Sports and Recreation Little known rabbi brings down Helen Thomas Page 8

JCC Maccabi Games offers more than just sports Page 10

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Mercedes-Benz of Omaha Mark Zalkin explains the qualities of leadership

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‘outside’ perspective on how an organization can stay effective. To that purpose, the Jewish Federation of Omaha invited Mark Zalkin for a visit last week. Truth be told, he is not that much of an outsider: Zalkin’s roots are right here, in Omaha.

Zalkin started his career with the Omaha JCC in 1972, two years before the current building opened: “When we moved here, I was there from day one. I had that small office next to the theater, which now houses the Shlicha.” Back then, he was the Cultural and Performing Arts Mark Zalkin Director, which also included being responsible for adult education. He left in early 1976 to take a similar job at the Denver JCC, and subsequently became the Executive Director of the North Valley, Los Angeles JCC from 1980 until 1985.

In 1985, he developed his ‘Zalkin Training and Development’, a comprehensive coaching program that so far has served over 47,000 people throughout North America and Asia. The program offers customized interactive workshops, on-line assessment, and coaching for businesses as well as individuals. The organization is based in Denver, but its clients force Zalkin to travel the globe: one of his clients was Singapore Airlines, whose directors expressed the need for a more Western management style.

“I firmly believe you can’t teach a group of people anything, unless you teach them how to ask the right questions. Once they can do that, they can find the right answers for themselves. I see that in the business world, but also, for instance, when I coach young people who just recently graduated college. They have their diplomas, but are faced with so many choices, they are lost. I work with people who are in a transitional phase of their careers, and I even coach Rabbis how to work more effectively with board members and lay leaders.”

Zalkin holds BME and M. Ed. Degrees from

School of Social Work in New York City. All of this has prepared him well for working with both Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. His work, he is the first to admit, is market-driven: “More often than not, people want short courses. It is important to remember that these short sessions do not change behavior; they can only create awareness.”

That awareness, within the framework of Jewish organizations today, means exploring the fact that many of these organizations are changing: “Whether it is because of the economy, or as a result of changes in the leadership itself, we have to make sure we understand the process, including the emotional part. We deal with professionals and with lay leadership, and we have to understand that balance. The bottom line: we need to comprehend our various roles, our goals, our relationships, and our procedures. If we are clear about our mission, we can be at our most effective.”

Julee Katzman, Associate Executive Director of the Federation, was enthusiastic about Zalkin’s visit: “Mark brought needed and very specific expertise; moreover, he was able to deliver the necessary information in an exciting and meaningful way to our staff, the members of JOLT, as well as the executive committee. He did individual coaching sessions with some of the lay leadership, and we are grateful that the Jewish Federation of North America provided us with funding through a special grant, and made this event possible.”

Mark Zalkin, in addition to providing professional training and coaching, is the high holiday cantor for Congregation Beth Israel in Hempstead, Long Island, NY. He has also served as a high holiday cantor and choir director for temples and synagogues in Chicago, Omaha, Denver, Los Angeles, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Ft. Collins, CO. He has been married to his wife Susan for 36 years. Susan Zalkin is a social worker with a specialty in gerontology. Mark and Susan have three children. Sara is a criminal defense attorney in San Fransisco, and David is a 2nd year pediatric resident at Baylor College of Medicine. David and his wife Jessica live in Houston and are the parents of 2-year old Shmuel Yekusiel. Mara, their youngest daughter, is a Clinical Case Manager at a mental health clinic near St. Louis.

In Europe, flotilla protests smaller than against Gaza war

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by DINAH SPRITZER PRAGUE (JTA) -- As thousands of protesters condemned Israel’s blockade of Gaza in cities across Europe, reactions within Jewish communities ranged from mild concern to alarm.

On Saturday, 6,000 protesters marched in Germany, 20,000 in France and 2,000 in London against Israel’s actions in the May 31 confrontation with a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists dead.

European Jewish community representatives said the protests were mild and much smaller than the massive demonstrations in January 2009 that greeted Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

“There were only a few thousand people protesting in London, not 50,000 as the organizers, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, predicted,” said Alan Aziz, executive director of the London-based Zionist Federation.

The federation, like the Brussels student group, held a pro-Israel rally last week with about 800 participants.

Belgians carried signs saying “Two people, two states, one peace.” In Britain, pro-Israel demonstrators sang the British and Israeli national anthems, holding banners with slogans such as “End Hamas rockets = End Blockade.”

Other pro-Israel rallies of modest size were staged in or scheduled for several Western European cities.

Chaim Musicant, director of the CRIF French Jewish umbrella organization, described the protests in Paris against Israel’s actions as very quiet.

“There was no shouting-down of Jews,” he said.

In some countries with large numbers of ethnic Turks, Jews expressed concern that the tensions between Turkey and Israel would translate into tensions between local ethnic Turks and Jews.

In Vienna, Raimund Fastenbauer, the Austrian Jewish community’s general secretary for Jewish affairs, said four ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim, in the city reported either being pushed or verbally slurred by ethnic Turks since the flotilla incident.

“This is a very bad sign,” Fastenbauer said. “We have had good relations for a long time with Turkish institutions. We always said we didn’t have problems with Muslims here. But I think the mood has changed with

the policy of the current Turkish government, which has been very vocal against Israel.”

There are some 400,000 Muslims, mostly with Turkish roots, in Austria and about 10,000 Jews.

Fastenbauer said he was alarmed as well that the Vienna assembly unanimously signed a resolution against Israel initiated by a Muslim representative of the Social Democrat Party.

“This is the first time in many years I can recall all of the parities -- extreme left to extreme right -- agreeing on a single issue,” Fastenbauer said.

Aaron Buck, a member of the Jewish community in Munich, said he believed it was a “dangerous time,” as he saw Germans critical of Israel not making a distinction between Israeli policies and Jews.

Buck acknowledged that the current outrage over Israel’s actions had specific ramifications in Germany.

“For those with a migrant background, the biggest difference is that unlike native Germans, they have little education about the Holocaust and have a very different attitude towards Jews,” he said.

In Western Europe, Germany has the largest number of residents with Turkish roots.

In Stockholm, a city where both extreme leftists and Muslims have protested frequently against Israel, the leader of the Swedish Jewish community said the community’s headquarters had received bomb and murder threats.

“We’re accustomed at this point to the bashing and the hatred,” said Lena Posner, who noted that the presence of about a dozen Swedes in the six-ship, Gazabound flotilla made the reaction in Sweden against Israel all the more severe.

Meanwhile, Swedish dockworkers have announced a plan to launch a blockade of Israeli ships and goods in protest of the Israeli crackdown on the flotilla.

Like other Jewish figures interviewed by JTA, Posner emphasized that while some Swedish Jews thought Israel’s handling of the flotilla incident could have been better, they supported Israel’s right to defend itself and understood its reasons for the blockade of Gaza.

At the same time, Posner said Swedish Jews “should not get involved.” “I don’t see the point in us doing anything,” Posner said. “It is an Israeli political issue.

The embassy is handling it.”

June 18, 2010

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Community remembers Phil Schrager’s legacy Continued from page 1 was a true leader, a role model, and he affected our lives in more ways than I can express. We all became better people for having known him, and it is very, very difficult to measure his impact.”

David Gilinsky, President of the Phillip Terri Schrager Supporting and

needed advice about 20 years ago. He had such business acumen; he was simply very, very good at what he did. His sales approach was impressive, and he was always more than happy to open the door; he didn’t look down on anybody.

Phil was the kind of man whose high expectations you wanted to meet. He got

He never lost sight of that, because if he would, the rest of what he did wouldn’t have as much meaning. There are many different reasons to put him on a pedestal.”

John Lehr, President of Temple Israel, said, “I’ve been lucky to have known Phil my whole life. I knew him as a bold, and

moments. His passing has left a huge hole in Omaha. No one person can fill that void but we as a community can honor his memory by fullfilling his dreams. He wanted everyone to stand on their tip toes so that we could grow taller” Many people came to pay their final respects during the funeral service at

Phil Schrager, left, and his brother and business partner, Harley David Gilinsky, left, Phil’s son, Rick Schrager, and Phil Tom Fellman, left and Phil Schrager.

Credit: Tom Fellman Credit: Gary Javitch even Schrager.

Credit: Nebraska Jewish Historical Society Schrager. brash Temple Israel, and at the cemetery, where Foundation, and vice-President of the the best out of people. As I became more thinker and doer with a frequent quick the Phil and Terri Memorial Chapel stands Jewish Federation of Omaha, was not involved in the Jewish Community, I and sharp sense of humor, who was more as a lasting reminder of Phil’s impact. Jay Phil’s contemporary, but instead came to started talking to him about that, too. than comfortable eloquently voicing Noddle, Jewish Federation Foundation know him as the father of his friend, For Phil, it was never enough to “just whatever it was that was on his mind. President, said, “It was really something Phil’s son Tim Schrager, who currently write a check”; he wanted strategy, Despite his obvious success and leader- else, to see all these people being there to resides in Atlanta. He has known Phil his accountability. ship, he always helped me when asked, say their goodbyes. Our Jewish communientire life, in a variety of roles, Then, as I entered my forties, the rela- and remained a friend first. What I hope ty, as well as the greater community, has “Throughout my early years, when Tim tionship changed again. He took a few of to remember longest and will miss most is lost a once-in-a-lifetime leader and philanand I were kids, I hung out at their house us on a ski trip, because we were all turn- his inimitable way of asking “why?” Some thropist. The impact on all of our lives will a lot. His home was stricter than my own; ing 40. He started relating to us more on of these “in your face” inquiries have be felt for many generations. Phil’s family I looked up to him, and admired how he a peer-level, but at the same time, he was pointed me, and I'm sure countless oth- and friends will continue with his work, ran his life. He didn’t always have it easy, thinking about the future; he wanted to ers, to ends far better because of Phil’s and pay forward the commitment he brought to everything he did.” but he managed to thrive in spite of it. As make sure the next generation was get- counsel.”

Memorials to Jewish Federation of a role model, he was larger than life.” ting ready, and he was willing to mentor Speedy Zweiback, “Our friendship When David got older and finished col- us. It was a proud moment when he began in 1947 on a grade school play- Omaha Foundation, 333 So. 132nd St., lege, that relationship shifted, “He was asked me to head his foundation. He ground. I knew him 63 years and we Omaha, NE 68154 or to the local chapter one of the first people I went to when I always put the Jewish community first. shared life’s brightest and darkest of the American Red Cross.

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Come celebrate the New Rose Blumkin Jewish Home at a Splendiferous House Warming Sunday, June 27 1:30-4:30 p.m.

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We did it!

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Blumkin Home to open its doors work opportunities to needy elderly and disabled Continued from page 1 all afternoon in the new auditorium,” said Joanie Jerusalem residents, which enable them to lead meaningful, productive lives, filled with dignity and selfBernstein. “It shows pictures of Omaha’s first Jewish Home for the Aged, built in 1917, as well as photos respect. We also carry a wonderful assortment of items taken at the Dr. Phillip Sher Home on North 52nd for residents’ needs as well as gifts for young people and Street. We hope people will stop, watch, and enjoy try- the young at heart, including a ‘Choose-A-Free-Toying to identify people who were residents there. Chances Chest’ for kids who bring their parents or grandparents into the shop. We look forward to hanging up the are, you’ll recognize an old friend or relative.”

The video also highlights more recent history, from OPEN sign on June 27 and invite everyone to check the 1982 groundbreaking for the current Blumkin out our wares.”

Home through various changes and additions made to In 2004, Rose Blumkin’s daughter, Frances Batt, the building over time. “Many people who helped dig donated many of her mother’s possessions to The the foundation in 1982 also helped get this New Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, and some will be disBeginning project off the ground,” Bernstein said, played during the House Warming. Joanie Bernstein “notably, the late Harlan Noddle. The endless loop is explained. “Renee Corcoran, Executive Director of the like looking through a Society, spent weeks in moving photo album, “When I call the Home now, I hear the the Batt’s basement, filland I think everyone will ing her car with awards, have fun trying to spot sounds and laughter of children in the pictures, letters and even themselves or people playground and along Main Street. I love it!” a life-sized doll that looks they know.” Blumkin likes Mrs. B. on her golf Silvia Roffman cart. Thanks to the NJHS Home residents who aren’t able to attend the -- our keeper of memoHouse Warming can watch the video in their rooms on ries -- we’re able to mount a taste of this memorabilia in internal Channel 18. our new Exhibit Hall, so visitors can see the Blumkin The afternoon celebration offers fun for the entire fam- family at different ages and stages and learn how imporily. A tattoo artist, balloon man and magician will be on tant Rose Blumkin became, both locally and nationally.” hand, with face-painting also on the activities list. Menu Jim Farber, Jewish Social Services Board President, items include various ‘nosherai’ -- popcorn, an enticing feels the June 27 House Warming gives the community array of desserts including mandel bread, cheesecake and a chance to visit the new Rose Blumkin Home and take mini-cupcakes -- plus Otis Spunkmeyer fresh-baked cook- pride in the collective accomplishment. “Teamwork can ies. “These cookies are the best,” said Sandy Epstein, never be overemphasized,” Farber said. “Think of it this House Warming chairman. “They’re kosher, friendly, way. The Sports Lounge on Main Street features a wallsize mural of a sold out Cornhusker football victory. quirky and fun -- just like the celebration will be.”

Entertainment at the House Warming will be provid- Husker fans, players and coaches combined to build a ed by the always-popular duo, Greenblatt & Seay, whose winning program, and the Blumkin Home has a similar appearance is underwritten by the Sokolof Javitch Music record. RBJH fans contributed $17 million to build this Fund. “Deborah and her husband David sing a variety of new facility. The players -- including the original steerfolk music on a variety of instruments -- mandolin, vio- ing committee, the professional staff and JSS Board -lin, viola, cello, harmonica, recorder and tinwhistle,” maintained the smooth operation of the Home during said Nancy Rips, Music Co-chairman with Joanie construction. And as for our head coach, Mike Jacobson. “They stroll, too, so you could bump into Silverman -- his leadership delivered a championship them by the new Synagogue, the Sports Lounge or the product. Thanks to all for a magnificent job.”

Silvia Roffman and Nancy Noddle agree that the Rose playground,” she added. “And since Debbie is an accomplished fiddler, you might even find her on the ... Blumkin Jewish Home is like no other. “The new oops ... that’s our special ‘surprise’ on Main Street. Just Synagogue is spectacular,” they said. “The indoor playcome on the 27th and you’ll see these two fine enter- ground, decorated with tiles made by our children and grandchildren, is one of a kind. The clouds, the airplane tainers at their best.”

According to Judy Brookstein, the Blumkin Home’s and hot air balloon in the bright Main Street sky. The new Gift Shop -- operated by L.O.V.E. (League Sports Lounge with its shuffleboard even for wheelOffering Volunteers to the Elderly) -- will be open for its chaired residents. Mimi Silverman’s colorful window on first day of business during the House Warming. “We the Cafe. The Menorah Wall, listing the name of every carry an exclusive line of handmade items from Yad single contributor to the project. Best of all, the happy LaKashish -- LifeLine for the Elderly -- direct from residents. After so many years of planning and building, Israel,” she said. “The organization provides creative we did it. We did it together.”

Boy Scouts honored

by Creighton

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press On May 15, the Omaha Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America was recognized by Creighton University.

Executive Director Lloyd Roitstein has been with the Boy Scout organization for 39 years, and gladly accepted the Creighton University Presidential Medallion on its behalf.

Lloyd Roitstein, left, Father Schlegel “Creighton’s President, Fr. Schlegel, is an Eagle Scout himself, as well as Past Chairman of the Boy Scout Council,” he said. “Each year, Creighton honors an organization, and this year, it was our turn. It also happens to be our 100th anniversary, and so the award came at a great time.”

Creighton University selected the Boy Scouts because “Youth who participate in Boy Scouts learn to make goals and accomplish what they set out to do. Our community has been made better by the Boy Scouts of America, and the organization has contributed positively to raising the youth of this community and the surrounding area,” according to a Creighton press release.

In spite of the organization’s age, Roitstein thinks the Boy Scouts are as relevant as ever: “In today’s society, with the challenges we face, we absolutely need scouting. If a child is involved with an organization like this, they stand a much better chance of being successful.”

To be honored by Creighton University is something to be proud of, according to Roitstein, but so is the ability to work with the Boy Scouts: “To work with an organization that teaches values, and helps develop future leaders of our country is a wonderful thing.”

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Page 5

Temple summer Shabbat speakers to describe their Jewish journeys

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Paul Epstein, a former president of Temple Israel’s Board of Trustees, will lead off this summer’s Shabbat speakers on Friday, June 18 at Temple. A veteran of five trips to Israel and one to Cuba, he’ll describe “My Jewish Missions to Israel and Cuba.”

With his wife Sandy, Epstein’s five trips to Israel were taken between 1985 and 1995. One visit was a family mission, which they headed. “The Cuba mission was a humanitarian mission sponsored by the Jewish Federation to give aid to the few Jewish families left in Cuba,” he explained.

In what has become a summer tradition at Temple Israel, the summer Shabbat speaker series also features Sam Magavern, a writer and public interest lawyer, currently serving as co-director of the Partnership for the Public Good, a national watchdog group. He’ll deliver the d’var Torah on Friday, June 25.

Magavern teaches at the University of Buffalo Law School and has written non-fiction, poetry, fiction, scholarly articles, a movie screenplay, and comic books.

His newest book, Primo Levi’s Universe: A Writer’s Journey, published last year, will be the subject of his sermon. The narrative offers a glimpse inside the world of writer, scientist, and Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi.

Founder and Executive Director of Project Interfaith Beth Katz follows on Friday, July 2. Bitten by the interfaith bug in college where she first got involved in interfaith work as the co-founder of a student interfaith group, Katz has a passion for creating a world where people of all faiths, beliefs, and cultures are valued and

included. An adjunct professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Katz said, “I think a lot of people fear they will lose their spiritual identity if they engage in interfaith work.” She’ll explain how her “experience has been just the opposite” when she speaks at Temple.

On July 9, Emily Katz and Grace Hack, who will both be seniors at Westside High School in the fall, will report on their experiences as participants in the NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) High School in Israel, the Eisendrath International Exchange, from which they returned at the end of May. For four months, Emily and Grace lived in Israel and attended classes as part of an international student body. Their classes were taught in English, except for Hebrew class. The semester also included a stint with the Israel Defense Forces and a pilgrimage to Poland.

Mike Halsted will reflect on his spiritual journey which led to his conversion to Judaism last summer. Raised as an Episcopalian, “my Jewish journey really started in 1988 when Mendy (his wife) and I started dating,” Halsted said. “Mendy and I decided to maintain a Jewish home and raise our children accordingly,” however it wasn’t until his children were in their mid-teens that, despite living Jewishly for some 18 years, he decided to make it “official.” He’ll talk about his path to becoming a Jew on Friday, July 23 when he depicts “A Journey to Judaism.”

On Friday, July 30, a blessing will be bestowed by the Temple Israel clergy on all the athletes participating in the 2010 Maccabi Games, August 1-6, in Omaha.

All summer evening Shabbat services begin at 6 p.m.

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Volunteer, teen, and staff recognition

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Continued from page 1 Mike Sadofsky, football and handball; Adam Kirshenbaum, baseball; and Andrew Robinson football.

sion of the Fit-n-Sit and Group Exercise Classes, sponsoring Artza -- the teen trip to Israel in 2009, special training programs on “Keeping our Children Safe,” in

The 2009-10 JCC Volunteers of the Year Award was presented to Doris and Harry Alloy for their outstanding leadership and longtime commitment as volunteers at the JCC.

David Glazer, left, and Max Saferstein-Hansen.

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Hayley Swanson The JCC Final Board Meeting was brought to a close as Jeffrey Aizenberg, The “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” Award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s JCC Executive Director Jewish High School Seniors who have lettered in a varsity sport, and excelled academically thanked Kimberly Robinson as well. Diane Malashock, JCC Sports and Recreation Supervisor presented this year’s for an outstanding term as awards. Recipients include: Anna Kohll, Skutt, swimming, cross country, and track; Nathaniel President of the Center. He Kahn, Omaha North, swimming, cross country; Jeffrey Libov, Millard North, swimming; Colin went on to say that the past Belmont, Millard North, baseball; Alex Terry, Brownell Talbot, football; and Brenna Robinson, two years were full of energy Westside, cheerleading; Not pictured: Jack Schrager, Westside, cross country, track and and accomplishments for the field; and Joe Slosburg, Westside, wrestling and tennis.

J. “Hosting the JCC Maccabi Games along with her co- tions, and the 10th anniversary of the Pennie Z. Davis chairs, Cindy Goldberg and Stacey Rockman ... you can- Child Development Center. not really imagine how much work goes into this unless In closing remarks, Kimberly Robinson thanked all of you’ve actually done it,” said Aizenberg. Additionally, the board members and staff for their efforts the past under Robinson’s leadership the JCC achieved many two years, and acknowledged Eitan Tsabari and Harry more things over the past two years, including expand- Alloy, JCC Board members completing their terms on ed membership hours, addition of a new young adult the JCC Board. John Glazer, 2010-2012 JCC President, category, expansion of massage, yoga, and pilates pro- begins his term July 1st. grams, the addition of the “School of Hoops”, expan-

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

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Federation’s Annual Campaign is concluded

by BOB GOLDBERG Federation Communication and Young Leadership Director The Jewish Federation of Omaha has closed the 2010 Annual Campaign. “We are proud of the hard work and community commitment that enables us to support our Jewish community,” says Jan Goldstein, JFO Executive Director. “It also marks a turning point. It’s time for us to talk about the reality of dealing with fewer resources and the increased cost of doing business while maintaining the vibrancy and critical programming for our community.”

The Jewish Federation of Omaha’s 2010 Annual Campaign raised $2.95 million dollars to support the work of our agencies, synagogues, community needs and global responsibilities. Compared to our 2008 Campaign of $3,230,000, we have $280,000 less to allocate for the needs of the community.

There is concern amongst Jewish communities nationwide about the declining trends in volunteerism, donor giving and participation. To compound the problem, our allocable dollars are down due to reduced income from investments and endowments. We have seen a decline in Jewish owned businesses, in the birthrate and overall Jewish population due to the passing of long-time donors.

“We also know that although we continue to be one of the highest per capita campaigns in the country it’s not enough,” says Jody Malashock, Jewish Federation President. “Most Federations across the country have been facing similar situations and some find themselves in crisis mode and that is what we must avoid for Omaha.

We know the solutions are with increased fundraising and taking a hard look at how our dollars are spent.”

The increased operational costs due to utilities, maintenance and snow removal have had significant impact over past years, but even more costly are the newly implemented laws for non-profit organizations which require greater transparency and reporting to the Internal Revenue Service. That have added tremendous costs to our accounting and human resources departments.

Our Federation has consistently maintained the highest ratings on our annual audits and in order to maintain this standard of excellence, we have significantly increased staff workload without increasing staff size.

Some will see this decline in the annual campaign as a mere number that represents little. Luckily, our leadership has been preparing for a rainy day and fortunately so. Our agencies have had to tap into surplus funds, saved over many years, to continue providing the quality and quantity of programs and services that our users expect and need. We know this cannot continue.

Like any business, we have to make changes to deal with these trends. Realizing this, over the past few years we have been taking cost saving measures. For next year and beyond, we are asking the hard questions, identifying those areas that are priorities and making the deci-

BIRTH Carin and Andrew Parcel of Seattle announce the March 27 birth of their son, Liam Riekes Parcel.

He has a sister, Sydney.

Grandparents are Zoe and Carl Riekes, Judy Carroll of Denver, and Randy Parcel and Tracy Kovach of Westminster, CO. Great-grandparents are Dorothy and the late Henry Riekes, the late Edith and Nathan Meltzer, David Carroll and the late Jane Carroll, and the late LaVera and Roland Parcel.

ORGANIZATIONS

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The Jewish Press 333 South 132nd Street, Omaha, NE 68154 or see bottom of page 12 for email address and Fax number

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Joanie Jacobson and Jean Duitch, will discuss Jewish genetic diseases on Wednesday, June 16, noon at the Blumkin Home. This will also be our Ninth Annual Awards Lunch. The program is FREE. An optional buffet lunch costs $13; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the emial list contact Jenny a 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots! Come join us every Thursday from 1-3 p.m. in the social hall of the JCC. For information call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

NEBRASKA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society annual meeting will be held on Sunday, July 18 at 3 p.m. in the JCC auditorium. New NJHS officers will be installed and another oral history documentary by Dr. Ben Nachman will be presented. The event is open to the entire community and will be followed by a dessert reception.

sions about what our work will be in the future.

The impact of a smaller annual campaign has already had a significant effect on what we are able to do. There has been a reduction in scholarship funds available, a suspension of the highly successful Israeli Shlicha program, reduced agency programs and events, cuts in library hours, staff hours, staff development and more.

Other areas affected by a reduced annual campaign are the beneficiaries of the Jewish Agency and The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, our overseas partners. JAFI and the JDC have both been affected by reduced dollars, but this has not stopped them from delivering on their promise of helping Jews in need.

Supporting Israel and Jews in need around the world is central to our mission. It hurts us to send fewer dollars to help immigrants assimilate, to provide one less warm lunch for children, one less safe area and to miss any chance to connect one more in our community with our brothers and sisters in Israel.

The JDC alone has lost over $10 million in funding just over the past two years resulting in a 31% caseload decrease meaning that over 50,000 needy Jewish elderly in the FSU are now without critical services. It means that there are an additional 20,000 needy Jewish children in Central and Eastern Europe and the FSU that JDC is unable to care for.

We have challenges and the primary challenge is building back our annual campaign so that our agencies can provide the highest quality of services and programs to the greatest number of people.

The work of our Federation is as important now as it has ever been and we need to create efficiencies in our operation and improve how we communicate our messages with you, our donors, recipients and members. We know that our community looks to the Federation to support the ideals that matter to us most, like taking care of our most vulnerable and building Jewish community.

To that end, we are working harder than ever to reach out to those in need and increase opportunities for collaborating with our agencies to find efficiencies and speak with a more unified voice.

In the coming months, the Federation will be reporting on new strategies to accomplish this task. We are embracing change initiatives in long term planning and developing a new campaign structure.

Our community is not in crisis, but we are looking hard at our resources, our potential, and our priorities in order to be prepared as we look to the future.

Someone mentioned recently that if a person was looking in from the outside, he or she would not see a community in decline, but a vibrant one full of committed volunteers and supporters that are dealing with our challenges.

With your help and commitment, we will ensure that the Omaha Jewish community continues to be the very best for generations to come.

Mom and Dad need help!

by MELISSA WHITTLE Care Consultants for the Aging With the silver tsunami approaching, more and more people are finding themselves taking care of a senior who needs help. It is often difficult to realize when you need assistance yourself or when you might have to make choices on someone else’s behalf.

Once you realize that help is needed, determining the type of assistance and the best place to look for it can seem overwhelming.

There are options, though. A great place to start is with the “ElderCare Resource Handbook”, produced by Care Consultants for the Aging. This valuable resource contains a complete listing of senior services organized in an easy-to-use format. Divided into five tabbed sections, the Handbook lists services in Medical Support, Home Health Care & Support Services, Living Options, Senior Services and Government, Financial & Legal. Using the Table of Contents and Index located in the front of the book, you can find what you are looking for by topic, company name or keyword. Or if you prefer, head to the Care Consultants website to access the entire Handbook online.

Care Consultants for the Aging is a Home Care Registry that screens and schedules caregivers who work directly for their clients. The level of care offered ranges from companions to CNAs to nurses. Care Consultants has been helping seniors stay independent in their homes and producing the “ElderCare Resource Handbook” since 1991. They now offer both of these services in Omaha, Lincoln and Des Moines.

With both the printed and online editions of the Handbook available, it is easier to find much needed services and to make those difficult choices. Copies of the “ElderCare Resource Handbook” can be obtained at the Care Consultants for the Aging office for $6 or one can be mailed to you for $9. For more information, call Care Consultants for the Aging at 402.398.1848 or go to the free online version at www.careconsultants.com and click on the Resource Handbook tab. Look for the 9th edition of the Omaha “ElderCare Resource Handbook” out this August.

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June 18, 2010

MARRIAGE GOLDEN/WIESMAN Anna and Ben Wiesman announce the marriage of their son, Stephen Philip, to Susan Lisa Golden of Seattle, Washington. Rabbi Kornfield of Congregation Shevet Achim officiated at the double ring ceremony.

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The couple will make their home in Seattle.

IN THE NEWS Former Omahan, Shelley Lewis, author of two books and well known in the world of television news, has a new show to add to her credits. She is now associated with PBS and is the Executive Producer of Need To Know, a weekly news program seen locally on Friday evening at 7:30 on channel 12.

Shelley is the daughter of Bert Lewis and the late Leonard Lewis.

Nathaniel Jacob Kahn, son of Kimberly and Marc Kahn, a graduate of Omaha North High Magnet School, will be attending University of NebraskaOmaha in the fall.

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Contact your advertising representative to advertise in this very special edition.

ALLAN Handleman 402.334.6451 ahandleman@jewishomaha.org

Page 7

Financial Aid Committee awards over $300,000 in scholarships

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Director of Operations & Programming, Center for Jewish Education Over 160 children, teens and young adults received scholarships in excess of $304,500 for 2009-2010 youth group events, 2010 summer programs and for the 2010-2011 academic year. The scholarships were awarded through the Financial Aid Committee, a committee of the Center for Jewish Education, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Funding was provided for youth group activities, Jewish residential camp, Jewish Community Center summer camps, the Maccabi Games, programs to Israel, the Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center preschool, the Friedel Jewish Academy, as well as undergraduate, graduate, professional and yeshiva studies. Awards are based on financial need.

“The Financial Aid Committee is honored to have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many Jewish families in our community,” states Cheryl Cooper, committee chairman.

“The difficult financial situation in which so many families find themselves is heartbreaking and the committee is thrilled to be able to provide funding to help give children the Jewish experiences they would otherwise miss.”

A sizable increase in requests has been received in the past two years. “The generosity of donors over the years has enabled us to make the scholarship awards but there is a real concern about meeting the needs in the future” comments Cooper. “With the escalation of

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

requests, significantly more money will be needed in the future.” Cooper spearheaded a campaign three years ago to raise money for the CornerStones Fund.

This campaign successfully increased the fund to over $100,000. However, awards made from the fund leave a current balance of less than $45,000. “At the current rate of usage, the CornerStones Fund will be depleted in just two years” reports Cooper.

Working tirelessly to find other sources of funding is Marty Ricks, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. “The legacy of generosity in the Omaha Jewish community is such a tribute to the care and concern of those who have created endowment funds over the years” comments Ricks. “Providing scholarships is of high interest for many people and helping to establish such endowments is such a pleasure, particularly knowing there is such a critical need.”

There were 44 funds from which awards were made. One of these funds is the Children’s Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, which is funded completely through the Annual Campaign. The fund is available for all Jewish experiences with the exception of college. “Without the significant amount allocated to the Children’s Fund, the Committee would be unable to meet the needs of our applicants” says Cooper. “The Financial Aid Committee is very appreciative of the funding provided by the Federation, which of course is made possible by the many, many donors to the Annual Campaign.”

The Financial Aid Committee is responsible for the administration and distribution of scholarships from nearly 50 funds. Each fund has distinct parameters and these factors are carefully followed by the Committee. Also key for committee members is the guarantee of confidentiality to the applicants and their families. Confidentiality for all applicants is a top priority with every person of the 14-member committee.

Names of the committee members are also confidential with only the name of the chairman made public.

Commenting on the Committee, Ricks reports that the community is very fortunate to have such a dedicated group handling the scholarship awards.

“I wish I knew the names of the committee members so I could personally thank each of them. This is a selfless group who receive no public recognition and I, for one, am truly grateful for their work.”

The Guide to Grants and Scholarships Opportunities is distributed each December as an insert in the Jewish Press and is also available on the Federation website at www.jewishomaha.org. The guide provides descriptions of the various funds, application deadlines, and other information. The guide also provides information on the non need-based grant programs of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. For questions on the scholarship program please call 334.6445 or email scholarships@ jewishomaha.org. To discuss the establishment of an endowment fund, please contact Marty Ricks at 334.6440.

A world of thanks to the generosity of the donors to the following funds for providing over $304,500 in scholarships awarded by the Financial Aid Committee of the Center for Jewish Education, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. These awards benefited over 162 children, teens, and young adults in our community.

Anonymous Donor | Lenore Simon Aronson Educational Fund David E. Beber Scholarship Fund B’nai B’rith Dr. Abe Greenberg Henry Monsky Lodge Endowment Fund Children’s Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Truman and Rosemary Clare Scholarship Endowment Fund | CornerStones Fund Leo & Aileen Eisenstatt Scholarship Fund | Barry E. Epstein Memorial Healthcare Fund Max and Betty Falk Endowment Fund | Sandra Feldman Scholarship Fund Darlynn and Tom Fellman Camp Fund Nathan & Lillian Fine Fund for the Education of Students of the Jewish Faith Alan and Annie Fleishman Scholarship Fund | David & Minnie Frank Memorial Scholarship Fund Rebecca Friedman Scholarship Fund | Carl Frohm Educational Fund Herbert Goldsten Scholarships | Leonard & Shirley Goldstein Family Fund Nancy and Don Greenberg Scholarship Fund | Harris Family Endowment Fund Jewish War Veterans Epstein-Morgan Post #260-Nathan Marcus Memorial Scholarship Fund Ellen Canar Joseph Memorial Endowment Fund Samuel & Ida Kaiman Endowment Fund | Ben E. Kaslow Scholarship Fund David Katzman Endowment Fund | Maxine and Joe Kirshenbaum Scholarship Fund The Livingston Scholarships | Betty Margel Scholarship Endowment Fund Albert M. & Jeanette T. Nepomnick Educational Fund | Carolyn Kully Newman Memorial Fund Esther K. Newman Memorial Fund Gertrude T. Newman & Albert B. Newman Endowment Fund David S. Rice and Esther Zorinsky Rice Endowment Fund | Joe and Ruth Rice Scholarship Fund Burton L. Robinson Student Athletic Scholarship Fund Jerold I. and Sheila E. Rosen Endowment Fund | Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund Phillip and Terri Schrager Supporting Foundation | Natan and Hannah Schwalb Scholarship Fund Nate H. and Beatrice Sherman Scholarship Fund | Phil and Ruth Sokolof Honor Roll Scholarships Ruth Sokolof Special Education Scholarship Fund David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Education Endowment Fund Lillian Keiser Stoms Educational Fund | Ann & William Wolfson Scholarships Edward Zorinsky Endowment Fund

Page 8

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Little known rabbi brings down Helen Thomas

by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Teenager Adam Nesenoff and his father, Rabbi David Nesenoff, are pretty far down the media food chain.

The son, an active member of the National Council for Synagogue Youth, the Orthodox Union’s affiliated youth group, runs his own newsy site, Shmoozepoint.com. Dad operates a website called RabbiLive.com and sometimes portrays the satirical character of Julio Ramirez, a Hispanic priest who teams with a rabbi to deliver “Holy Weather” reports.

So it was impressive enough that both managed to snag media credentials for the American Jewish Heritage Month celebration May 27 at the White House. But in the past week, the senior Nesenoff took things to another level, turning his few hours as a hobnobber into 15 minutes of fame as the YouTube journalist who brought down a media icon.

It was the rabbi, armed with a camera and accompanied by his son and his teenage friend, who went around asking notables if they had any “comments on Israel.”

As the world now knows, Helen Thomas sure did.

“Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine,” the doyenne of the Washington press corps said, and laughed. “Remember, these people are occupied, and it’s their land.”

Nesenoff asked where she thought they should go.

“Go home,” she responded.

Asked to elaborate, Thomas said, “Poland, Germany,” and after more prompting by the rabbi, added “and America, and everywhere else.”

The rabbi didn’t post the video until June 3, but it quickly gained national attention, unleashing a flurry of demands for Thomas’ marginalization, if not dismissal.

On Monday, Thomas, 89, heeded the calls and quit, according to her employer, the Hearst Corp. Thomas’ phone number was not answering.

The Nesenoff video went viral after being picked up by Yidwithlid, a popular site run by the conservative commentator Sammy Benoit, and then posted to the hyperpopular conservative video site Breitbart TV. That’s when the complaints started: First out of the box was B’nai B’rith International, which issued a June 4 statement from its president, Dennis Glick, demanding that Thomas be fired.

A diverse slew of other Jewish organizations soon followed with their own condemnations. Officials of the two most recent administrations -- Ari Fleischer of the Bush administration and Lanny Davis of the Clinton administration -- also slammed Thomas and called for her to be sacked.

The first death knell for Thomas’ career, though, probably came when she found herself being criticized on liberal websites such as Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, which have long lauded her for asking discomfiting questions of presidents -- particularly her encounters with George W. Bush during the Iraq War. Joe Klein, the Time magazine scribe who has been a tough critic of Israel’s Netanyahu government, called her views “odious” and said she should no longer have the privilege, accorded by the White House

Correspondents Association, of a front row center seat.

Thomas’ apology, posted June 4, preceded most of the broadsides against her.

“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians,” she said in the apology. “They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”

Critics, including the A n t i Defamation League, said it did not go far enough.

By Monday, such requests appeared moot: After a series of blows, it was clear her career was finished.

On Sunday, Thomas was dropped by her speaking agent, Nine Speakers. The following day, t h e Wa s h i n g t o n Post reported that Walt Helen Thomas, best known for her rough W h i t m a n questioning of presidents, resigned this High School week after saying that Israeli Jews should Credit: Michael Foley/Flickr in Bethesda, “go home.”

Md. -- a Washington suburb with a substantial Jewish population -- was withdrawing its invitation to Thomas to be commencement speaker.

The final blow was a one-two: The White House Correspondents Association met to consider her frontrow center perch. And White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the remarks “offensive and reprehensible.”

The die was cast: Midday Monday, Hearst announced her retirement.

“Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately,” said a statement issued Monday by the corporation. “Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet.”

It was a rapid fall for a woman who had become a liberal icon.

Thomas was a perennial, admired for becoming, during the Kennedy administration, one of the first women to cover the White House beat. She was granted the first question at news conferences, and finished each conference with a “Thank you Mr. President.” She earned the

ultimate Washington status symbol: cameos in movies about politics.

Thomas, for decades a consummate insider who had watched her beloved UPI diminish into irrelevance, embraced her new status as an irascible outsider. In 2006 she published the book “Watchdogs of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.”

Her posture as maverick was something of a feint: Washington has long nurtured an establishment journalist culture that cozies up to power, and Thomas since the 1960s was one of its denizens, hobnobbing with the Kennedys, the Johnsons and their confidants.

Thomas, the child of Lebanese immigrants, was known to be a fierce critic of Israel and what she saw as the unwillingness of successive administrations to speak out against Jerusalem’s perceived misdeeds.

Her most recent encounter with Gibbs, after Israel’s raid on a Turkish-flagged aid ship, came after her remarks to Nesenoff but before he revealed them to the world.

She called Israel’s raid a “deliberate massacre” and said the White House’s expression of “regret” was “pitiful.”

Dan Mariaschin, the director of B’nai B’rith, said Thomas’ comments should have come as no surprise.

“There’s a Yiddish expression, ‘What’s on your lung is on your tongue,’ “ he said. “She has a long record of being purposefully hypercritical of Israel.”

Mariaschin acknowledged that the timing was against her. B’nai B’rith would have called for her dismissal even without the opprobrium visited on Israel after the flotilla raid, but it didn’t help, he said.

“The timing was such that, coming as it did right after the flotilla issue, I think perhaps it brought her comments into even starker focus,” he said.

Nesenoff, of Stony Brook, N.Y., said he had accompanied his son and his friend to share the joyful experience of the White House’s Jewish celebration.

Adam Nesenoff, 17, who in addition to running his own website is his father’s webmaster, had applied for a media credential after hearing that the event would have a youthful emphasis. The elder Nesenoff asked the White House if he could join his son, explaining that otherwise he would be stuck outside the whole day waiting to drive him home.

They wandered the grounds near the White House press room before the event. Rabbi Nesenoff said he pointed out Thomas to the teens because she was a press icon. He was vaguely aware she had views critical of Israel, but did not think she would be vicious.

“People can have their opinions, but this was ‘Get out of the whole land, cleanse the whole land of Jews,” he said. “We’re there in our Shabbos best, we had driven down -- we were taken a back. If it was a skinhead in a parking lot -- but here’s this sweet little old lady on the White House grounds. We were hurt.”

Nesenoff said he still hopes for a more expansive apology from Thomas.

“She has to do a little ‘tikkun olam,’ “the rabbis said.

“I hope to God she lives a very long time; she has business yet.”

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June 18, 2010

For Epstein family celebration, ‘dor l’dor’ holds special meaning

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator When preparing for a bar/bat mitzvah celebration, it’s not unusual for family and friends to bake sweets, challahs and desserts for the celebrant’s special event.

What is highly uncommon, though, is having four generations of a family baking together at the same time -- which was exactly what took place recently in Beth El’s kitchen, as relatives of Alec Epstein exemplified “dor l’dor” (generation to generation), as they prepared for the bar mitzvah boy’s milestone event. (The bar mitzvah took place last weekend.)

Gathering together in the kitchen were Alec’s grandmother, Bobbie Epstein, his great-grandmother, Charlotte Adler,

Melissa always dreamed of a Beth El wedding – even before she met Michael. She knew she was going to be married there.

“Beth El, its service and everything about it has always meant so much to me because it’s where I’ve always belonged,” she said. “It’s comfortable.”

Bobbie’s parents-in-law, Sam and Ann Epstein, were also dedicated Beth El members. Bobbie recalled her mother-inlaw leading a sewing class for Sisterhood members so they could create and sell aprons as a fundraiser. “She had a class to teach people how to sew – and the only two who flunked the course were Cookie (Hoberman, Ann’s daughter) and me!” she joked.

Jeff Epstein recalled his own bar mitzvah, held in December of 1975 at the old building on 49th and Farnam, and expressed a great fondness Cantor Chaim for Najman, who “had an amazing voice and was a very gentle man.” Jeff also joked about the surprise thunderstorm that struck during his party, saying, “My guess was that God was probably so Preparing for Alec Epstein’s bar mitzvah was truly a multi-gen- surprised that I did that erational affair for his family: pictured above, baking in Beth well that He couldn’t El’s kitchen, Laurie Epstein, left, Cali Epstein, Charlotte Adler, contain Himself.”

Alec, Bobbie Epstein, Melissa Schop and her daughter, Sarah. The spirit of dor l’dor step-mother, Laurie Epstein, aunt, permeated the preparation for Alec’s bar Melissa Schop, sister, Cali Epstein, and mitzvah in other meaningful ways; among cousin, Sarah Schop. Alec, the son of Ellie them, his grandfather Bob’s guidance in and Alexander Fields and Laurie and Jeff helping teach the 13-year-old the service Epstein, popped in to say hello to his before his special weekend. When school loved ones for a moment, before heading ended in May, grandfather and grandson took daily treks to Beth El to rehearse on back to his Hebrew school class.

Celebrating simchas at Beth El is noth- the bimah; afterward, they spent time ing new to the Epstein clan; they’ve done together, enjoying either breakfast or it there for decades, and wouldn’t have it lunch, as well as a round of golf or a any other way. Bobbie noted that her movie.

“The biggest thrill for me about Alec’s grandparents, Helen and Abe Sklar, joined the synagogue in the early 1930s, bar mitzvah is that his grandfather shortly after the congregation was estab- tutored him all the way through,” Jeff lished; later, her parents, Charlotte and said. “My dad knows the service and has Art Adler, were married by Cantor Aaron done an amazing job -- along with the Edgar at the Blackstone Hotel. Bobbie, cantor -- of getting Alec ready. Most kids her husband, Bob, and their three chil- would never get this experience with their dren all celebrated their b’nai mitzvah at grandfathers.”

Noting that in the Epstein family, Alec Beth El. In addition, Bobbie is a past Sisterhood president, Bob sang in the is a fifth-generation Beth El member, Jeff synagogue choir, served on the board of said, “I think in today’s world, it is amazdirectors and was instrumental in estab- ing to have five generations do anything lishing the congregation’s Patron at the same place, let alone have their bar Membership program several years ago. mitzvahs at the same synagogue. I know These days, their children and grandchil- Alec’s great-grandfather, Sam, would be dren have enjoyed Tot Shabbat, as well as very happy to see this day. other educational, youth and family proAnd what did it mean for Bobbie to see grams at the synagogue. her oldest grandchild become a bar mitz“It’s our family history,” Bobbie said, vah at Beth El? “It means everything,” of her family’s long-standing member- she said. “We are the luckiest, most grateship. “It’s where all our life-cycle events ful people in the whole world. We are have taken place: baby namings, bar and very, very blessed. What more can you ask bat mitzvahs, weddings. [My daughter] for in life?”

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

JCC Maccabi Games offers more than just sports

by EMILY GILLER There’s no “ish” about it, along with the anticipated sporting events, Omaha will provide Jewish touches to the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games.

Think Maccabi is all about the sports? JCC Shlicha Elya Wilson is working hard to change that.

“There’s something about having this experience, coming here for the sports, but also having the Jewish and Israeli aspect is a great opporElya Wilson tunity,” Wilson said.

Wilson, along with Annette van de Kamp Wright and Kim Goldberg, are working to make those Jewish and Israeli aspects come to life for the Games.

One of their biggest projects is putting together the “hangtime rooms.” The hangtime rooms are where athletes can go when they’re not competing, to relax and enjoy Judaic and Israeli activities.

“The general atmosphere will seem very Israeli but not in the usual way,” Wilson said.

The themes of the hangtime rooms are going to be

“Israeli beach” and “Moroccan” themed and a majority of the furniture and decorations for the rooms will come from furnishings donated from Pottery Barn Teens.

For activities in the hangtime rooms, the JCC Maccabi Games National Office will send two Israeli Shlichim to Omaha to provide fun Israeli projects for the athletes to participate in. In addition, The Jewish Federation is sponsoring travel for two Israelis from our partnership area for special hangtime activities. The two Israelis are: Dalit Ben Shalom who is an Israeli mosaic artist and Sharon Ben Naim who is a drummer from the Israeli group called Mayumana, which can be compared to the American group STOMP. Ben Shalom will be helping athletes create Israeli artwork that will be displayed at the JCC and Ben Naim will be conducting workshops about percussion.

The hangtime rooms are also going to highlight one aspect that all teens are passionate about: food. The hangtime rooms will provide cafes that will be open all day long and filled with snacks. Thanks to generous donations from various different companies, the cafes will have fruit roll-ups, candy bars, fresh fruit, granola bars and much more.

Also, for their volunteer service project on the Day of Caring and Sharing, the Maccabi athletes will be travel-

ing to the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, NE to visit Wyuka’s Holocaust Memorial and to landscape and maintain dozens of other memorials.

“This is an experience athletes wouldn’t think of doing and it helps link our community to Holocaust survivors,” Beth Seldin Dotan, Director of Institution for Holocaust Education, said.

Along with visiting the memorial, Dotan said each delegation will be receiving its own brick to be laid near the Holocaust Memorial. This will allow the athletes to have a personal connection to Jewish history here in Nebraska.

Also helping to add an Israeli touch to the Maccabi Games are the 15 Israeli athletes who will be joining team Omaha.

“This will really open the athletes’ eyes to a new culture, and help them make a connection to a person in Israel,” Wilson said.

With all these factors, Omaha is really working to add its own style of Jew-ish to the Maccabi Games.

“It’s important to have a strong community but you need something more,” Wilson said. “It’s not the stereotypical Jewish learning experience.”

Maccabi is about sports but it is also about the hard work the athletes put in, the friends they meet and the Jewish and Israeli experiences they encounter.

Israel facing tough choices on Gaza as criticism of blockade mounts

by LESLIE SUSSER JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Despite the international outcry following last week’s lethal confrontation between Israeli commandos and militant pro-Palestinian activists aboard a Turkish vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel insists its naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory is justified and will continue.

But even Israel’s closest allies backing the blockade as a legitimate means of cutting off weapons supplies to the Hamas regime, with which Israel is in an official state of belligerency, have been critical of the wider siege, which they say is hurting the people of Gaza far more than their fundamentalist rulers.

The new international predicament in which Israel finds itself raises a number of fundamental questions: How necessary is the blockade and how effective has it been? Why was it imposed in the first place? Why was it accompanied by a wider siege blocking civilian goods and movement? And what should Israel do in the face of the storm of international protest?

The blockade-siege in its present form was imposed in June 2007 after Hamas violently expelled the secular Fatah leadership from Gaza and seized power from President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority. Israel and Egypt responded by closing land crossings into Gaza, and Israel reinstituted a naval blockade on the Gaza coast.

Israel’s rationale was that after hundreds of Hamasinspired rocket attacks, it needed to do whatever it could to keep weapons, weapons’ manufacturing parts and bunker-building materials out of Gaza. The siege, which also limited civilian supplies, was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit and possibly even to induce popular rebellion against Hamas.

In September 2007, following dozens more rocket attacks, Israel officially declared Gaza “a hostile territory,” buttressing legal justification for its hostile moves against it.

Moreover, by stifling economic development and living standards in Gaza while promoting them in the West Bank, Israel was signaling to the Palestinians that Abbasstyle coexistence would get them further than Hamas’ blanket rejectionism.

The Egyptians, concerned that Hamas radicalism could spill over into their territory, argued that opening their border with Gaza would imply recognition of the Hamas government and further undermine the legitimacy of the PA. Formally Egypt insisted on faithfully carrying out the provisions of a November 2005 agreement that provided for supervision of its Rafah crossing point with Gaza by PA and European monitors, a provision rejected by Hamas.

The 2005 “Agreement on Movement and Access” was meant to put the finishing touches on Israel’s unilateral pullout from Gaza two months earlier. Brokered by the United States, the aim was to ease the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza and thus enhance Palestinian productivity.

Under its terms, the main land crossing points at Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Karni would be fully opened.

There was no thought at the time of a naval blockade.

On the contrary, work on a feasibility study for an inde-

pendent Palestinian deepwater port in Gaza was under way.

Dov Weissglas, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s right-hand man, says that with Israel out of Gaza, the Palestinians promised an economic miracle, arguing that without the occupation to hold them back, they would show the world what Palestinians could do if given a chance and turn Gaza into a new Singapore.

According to Weissglas, plans for five-star hotels along the coast and an airport at Dahaniya were far advanced, with former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, then the international Quartet’s special representative, playing a leading role. The idea was to underpin peace between Gaza and Israel through economic progress, much like in the West Bank today. The Hamas takeover, however, put an end to the Singapore dream.

Stepped-up Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians eventually led to Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli land invasion of Gaza in December 2008. After the war ended a month later, Israel’s main concern was to prevent Hamas from rearming.

Talk at the time had German, French and British ships patrolling the Gaza coast to prevent arms smuggling.

But when the idea fell through, mainly at Egypt’s insistence, Israel was left on its own to monitor maritime traffic for weapons. Last November, Israeli Navy vessels intercepted the Francop, an Antigua and Barbudaflagged ship that was carrying hundreds of tons of Iransupplied weapons for Hezbollah in Lebanon and possibly also Hamas.

Hamas has been able to continue smuggling weapons through tunnels along the border between Gaza and Egypt. The Israeli fear, though, is that large ships could bring in much bigger rockets and missiles, possibly even game-changing weapons such as the accurate medium range GPS-directed M-600s Hezbollah has received from Syria. Israel sees Gaza and Lebanon as two Iranian forward positions and part of a much wider regional threat.

Many of Israel’s friends recognize its need to check ships approaching the Gaza area for weapons. But there is far less understanding for the limited inflow and often arbitrary exclusion of civilian goods -- for example, keeping out unsupervised cement and steel that could be used for building bunkers or making weapons makes sense. And critics ask why thyme, coriander, chocolate and macaroni are on the exclusion list?

Some critics say the limited inflow of goods is causing a humanitarian crisis. Others argue that even if it isn’t, the restrictions constitute a form of collective punishment, which is illegal, even between warring parties.

Israel maintains that no humanitarian crisis exists in Gaza and that it is doing more than enough to prevent one. According to the Israel Defense Forces, which coordinates aid to Gaza, Israel in the first three months of 2010 sent in more than 3,600 trucks with approximately 100,000 tons of fruit, vegetables, meat, chicken, fish, dairy products, animal feed, hygiene products, clothing and shoes, as well as 1,000 tons of medical equipment.

Moreover, 10,544 Gaza residents were treated last year in Israeli hospitals. According to Western figures, the average life expectancy in Gaza is 73.68 years, com-

pared to about 40 in some African countries, and there is as little malnutrition as in the West.

Israel also supplies 60 percent of Gaza’s electricity, its fuel needs, hypochlorite for water purification, electricity grid repair parts and glass to fix windows, as well as cement and iron for building under strict supervision.

According to U.N. figures, updated to Jan. 30 of this year, 78 percent of homes lightly damaged in the 200809 Gaza war have been repaired. Other observers go even further, pointing to the well-stocked markets in Gaza, the emergence of gourmet restaurants and the recent launching of a new Olympic-size swimming pool.

Human rights activists contend that although there is plenty of food, not everyone can afford to buy enough to meet their basic needs. They say 70 percent of the factories in Gaza are closed, 40 percent of Gaza workers are unemployed and 60 percent of households are “food insecure” -- that is, they can’t be sure of having enough cash for their minimal food needs.

Whatever the true state of humanitarian affairs in Gaza, there is increasingly little tolerance from friends or foes alike of Israel’s limitations on the inflow of civilian goods.

Following a visit to Gaza in March, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin declared that all the siege is achieving is to “enrich Hamas and marginalize even further the voices of moderation.” And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described the siege in its present form as “unsustainable and unacceptable.”

To some extent, it seems, continued Israeli insistence on the civilian blockade could undermine the far more vital military blockade. And that’s precisely what the militant blockade runners aboard the Turkish Mavi Marmara and others that might follow are trying to achieve: to delegitimize Israel’s blockade altogether and enable the free entry of all ships to Gaza, even those carrying military cargoes.

Israelis are divided over how to go about maintaining the blockade. The government argues that the best course of action is to make Israel’s moral and legal case, and expose the delegitimizers. The opposition retorts that Israel can only hope to deflect international criticism by embracing credible peace policies. In other words, that criticism of Israel was so spontaneous and severe after the confrontation on the high seas because the government was widely perceived as not being committed to ending the occupation.

Opposition voices also suggest that the government should rethink the civilian siege, which they say has not achieved its goals: After four years in captivity, Shalit has not been released or even so much as allowed a compulsory visit by the Red Cross, and there is little sign of the siege sparking an anti-Hamas uprising. They conclude that the failed policy is costing Israel heavily in diplomatic coin, leaving it more isolated that at any time in its history.

The government faces some big decisions: First, whether to allow an international presence in an inquiry into the confrontation aboard the Mavi Marmara; second, whether to ease the civilian siege to ensure continued international backing for the military blockade; and third, whether to present a new initiative on peacemaking with the Palestinians.

June 18, 2010

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 11

Foreman gains respect even in losing title Jerry Kahn, a comedian and an

by MARC BRODSKY “Obviously you’re going to have 75 Foreman suffered a torn meniscus and NEW YORK (JTA) -- Yuri Foreman Orthodox Jew, echoed Aponte. percent Puerto Rican fans,” said David stretched a ligament in his knee, and he “He makes all of us proud,” Kahn said. Locshin, an Orthodox Jew. “But we’re will have surgery, the New York Post may have lost his first title defense, but the Orthodox Jewish boxer apparently “He’s a very classy guy.” louder in essence.” reported in Tuesday’s edition.

Though he was mostly stripped of his gained plenty of respect on a balmy Cotto, now 35-2 with 28 knockouts, “The surgery will show if I need surtrademark ability to move from side to was the aggressor throughout the fight gery on the ligament in the front of the evening in Yankee Stadium.

Foreman continued to fight through side and is not known for his power -- the and was well ahead on all three scorecards knee,” Foreman told the newspaper. what he called “sharp pain” in his knee in formerly unbeaten Foreman only had when the bout was stopped. Foreman He also said he wants another bout the last three rounds of his World Boxing eight knockdowns among his 28 victories prevailed only in the fourth round, win- with Cotto when he’s healthy.

Association super-welterweight champi- -- he tried to persevere against the stalk- ning 10-9 on each card, notably with a “Yes, I want a rematch,” Foreman told onship bout against three-time champithe Post. “My last performance was not on Miguel Cotto late Saturday night in what it could have been. It was far from the Bronx. my potential.”

The 29-year-old rabbinical student, Foreman at the news conference said now living in Brooklyn via Haifa, Israel, the knee problem made it problematic and his native Belarus, slipped several “to sit on my punches. I could not use times during the bout, wrenching his all of my power.” right knee in the seventh round.

Grier said he tossed in the towel Foreman fought on before referee because he feared for his fighter’s safety.

Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the match “You can’t put him in front of a punch42 seconds into the ninth round follower like Cotto without legs,” the trainer ing a hard Cotto right to Foreman’s said at the news conference. midsection. Mercante a round earlier Mercante said he refused the stoppage had refused to halt the proceedings even because the fighters were in the middle though Foreman’s corner had thrown in of a good exchange and did not believe the towel. it was necessary. Asked by the ref if he The defeat could have potentially wanted to continue, Foreman said he served as a blow to the growing number did. of fans who rallied behind Foreman and “That kid would die in there before he the chance to hail a Jewish boxing quits,” Grier said. champ for the first time in more than Fighting at Yankee Stadium, which was half a century. But judging from comhaving its first boxing card since ments from Foreman loyalists after the Yuri Foreman throws a right hand at Miguel Cotto during WBA super-welterweight championship Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton in Credit: Thierry Gourjon 1976, was “awesome,” Foreman said. fight, his appeal may grow thanks to his bout at Yankee Stadium, June 5, 2010. willingness to keep on fighting despite ing Cotto. solid left-right combination. But he also Along with “The Star-Spangled the injury.

“I’m a world champion -- now a former slipped for the first time in that three- Banner,” the national anthems of Puerto Even Cotto’s fans were impressed. world champion -- and you don’t just minute session.

Rico and Israel were sung prior to the “I respect him because he tried to fight quit,” Foreman said in the ring after the His face cut and bruised, Foreman told bout.

Cotto -- key word tried,” said Hector fight. “A world champion needs to keep JTA prior to the post-fight news confer“There were so many Israeli flags, and Aponte, a Hispanic man from the on fighting.” ence that he was “emotionally upset” and the Puerto Rican flags were great,” Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, who Foreman entered the canopied ring to that he had “a lot of supporters” in the Foreman said, adding that the scene took home an Israeli flag out of respect the sound of the shofar and a recording crowd. Well-wishers speaking Hebrew offered “great adrenaline.” for Foreman’s effort. “The thing you got of the late Lubavitcher rebbe singing -- offered their consolation.

After the bout, one man may have to respect is even when his leg went out, and as a 2-1 underdog. He also was the At the news conference, he said the leg summed up what many were thinking. he still fought.” second choice of the crowd of 20,273. injury could be traced back to when he “I’ll say this for Foreman: He’s got Speaking of the Israeli flag he was car- Puerto Rican flags for Cotto prevailed was 15 years old and living in Israel, when balls.” rying, Aponte added, “I’ll go and hang it over the Israeli pennants for Foreman, he fell off his bike. Foreman wears a brace JTA Managing Editor Uriel Heilman on my wall next to my Puerto Rican box- and chants of “Cotto, Cotto” were to protect the knee and had one on for contributed to this report. ing gloves.” offered several times. the Cotto fight.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Boiling the frog

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Every once in a while, journalists make the news, rather than report it. During a May 27, 2010 interview, Helen Thomas proved that this is rarely a good thing. Thomas, a veteran White House correspondent with impressive credentials - at least when it comes to longevity -, recently found herself in the middle of the perfect media storm (see story on page 8).

Since the story came out on June 4, many news commentators and columnists (not to mention the bloggers!) have focused on what she said, how she meant it, and whether the consequences should have been this severe.

Should she really have lost her job, should she be raked over the coals? Shouldn’t she be protected under free speech? Aren’t those Jews overreacting just a tiny little bit? After all, Helen Thomas is smart and accomplished, and she’s 89 years old; she should maybe get a free pass. Helen’s Wikipedia page now includes a discussion about whether what she said was actually anti-Semitic, or “just anti-Israel”.

Apparently, it’s acceptable to imply that Israeli Jews should go “back to where they came from,” as long as you’re not anti-Semitic about it.

These reactions are concerning. Treating Helen Thomas’ remarks as if they were ambiguous rather than seeing them for what they really are means we are making excuses for an anti-Semite. What we really should be addressing is: why does someone like Helen Thomas feel comfortable enough to make these comments, out loud, with the cameras rolling? Over the past months, there have been many stories about anti-Semitic incidents. A

synagogue vandalized here, a swastika there, some hate mail, certain inappropriate websites; small incidents, that don’t upset the status quo, but that slowly prepare us to accept more and more outrageous behavior. The world is boiling a frog, putting it in cold water so it doesn’t notice it is being boiled. In case you’re wondering: we are the frog, and we are most definitely on somebody’s menu.

Okay, fine, you say; so she’s an anti-Semite.

So what? Does it really matter that much what one woman says? Surely, this will blow over; news is only news until the next celebrity overdose, so to speak. Plus: she’s retired, goodbye, the end. Why dwell on it? Let’s not make a fuss, and draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.

It’s an old and familiar argument. Either we call out bad behavior at the risk of being seen as ‘overly sensitive’, or we let it go, and live with that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach.

We seem to have two choices, and two choices only, with very little room for compromise.

But while we were staring off into space, wondering whether we’re ready to move on, the website that

exposed Ms. Thomas, originally RabbiLive.com, has received more than 25,000 pieces of hate mail. I have seen some of it, and there is no ambiguity in these words or images. We should be equally unambiguous when identifying and calling out anti-Semitic behavior. It will not go away, or diminish on its own.

I think most of us remember a time when we were made uncomfortable by another person’s words and didn’t say anything. What we have to ask ourselves is this: when we keep quiet, do we do so because we genuinely believe it is no big deal, or is it because we are afraid of the backlash? Is it sometimes just easier to not say anything? Maybe, maybe not. One thing is sure: it can’t be more uncomfortable than being boiled and served as an appetizer.

FOCUS ON ISSUES

by MICHAEL OREN WASHINGTON (Jewish Exponent) -- Israel’s interception of the flotilla attempting to break the Gaza blockade has been the focus of massive international attention -- and condemnation. In the melee of interviews, editorials and images, the basic facts of the incident have often been obscured. Segments of the American Jewish community were rendered confused and bereft of answers. Why, many asked, did Israel have to send commandos to assault a peaceful flotilla? Why were nine passengers killed and many wounded? And why must Israel blockade Gaza, a densely populated area notorious for its poverty and devastation?

For the record, Israel regrets any loss of life or casualties, including the Israeli soldiers who were beaten, stabbed, shot and pitched over the railing to a deck many feet below.

Israel, moreover, has no desire to worsen the situation of Gaza’s citizens, whom it hopes will join the peace process currently under way with the West Bank Palestinian Authority.

In fact, Israel facilitates more than 100 truckloads of food and medicine into Gaza each day, guaranteeing that there are no shortages of either. Yet Israel has no choice but to protect its own citizens -- and to preserve the peace process -- from the murderous Hamas regime.

Hamas, it must be recalled, is a genocidal organization calling not only for the destruction of Israel but the annihilation of the Jewish people worldwide. Its gunmen overthrew the legitimate Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds, and in

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In defense of the blockade recent years fired more than 10,000 rockets and mortar shells at civilian targets in Israel.

In addition to the 1,000 Israelis killed by suicide bombers, most of them dispatched by Hamas, nearly a million Israelis were threatened with Hamas missile fire.

Hamas smuggles rockets and other munitions through crudely dug tunnels under the Egyptian border. The process is laborious and the smugglers can often be frustrated. If Hamas had access to the sea, freighters laden with Syrian and Iranian arms would vastly expand its arsenal.

Hamas, in fact, has tried to receive arms shipments from the sea, only to be thwarted

by Israel. If Hamas had succeeded, virtually every city in Israel would fall within range.

Egypt, too, fears Hamas as a wing of the militant Muslim Brotherhood and understands that the blockade is a matter of paramount national security. The Palestinian Authority also realizes that a resurgent Hamas poses a mortal threat to its survival and a certain end to the peace process.

We also cannot forget Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas and held for four years without a single visit from the Red Cross or any human rights group. The blockade also is a necessary means of maintaining pressure on Hamas to release Shalit and reunite him with his family.

Prior to the latest incident, Israel intercepted nine flotillas, all of which submitted without violence. Even in this most recent case, five of the six ships were peacefully escorted into an Israeli port, where cargoes were vetted for materials that could possibly strengthen Hamas. This includes cement, which the organization uses to build not schools but military installations. The remainder was then transferred to the people of Gaza.

The fact that Hamas refused to accept this consignment demonstrated again that the issue is not humanitarian aid and the welfare

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of Gaza’s inhabitants. Rather, Hamas wants to break the blockade in order to isolate and delegitimize Israel, and to render the Jewish state vulnerable to a daily hail of rockets.

The only ship to react violently to Israel’s interception was the Turkish Mavi Marmara, a vessel under the control of a radical Islamic charity which, according to the CIA and other international intelligence agencies, is linked to Islamic Jihad and al-Qaida.

In addition to its 600 passengers, the Marmara took on some 70 highly paid mercenaries who boarded the ship at a different port and without any security check. They were armed with dozens of iron bars, wooden clubs, knives and possibly guns. Once on deck, they chanted an Islamic oath meaning “Death to the Jews,” and as the Israeli Navy boats approached, they shouted, “Jews go back to Auschwitz!”

Due to the large size of the Marmara, Israel could not stop the vessel by technical means, such as fouling its propeller. There was no option but to helicopter commandos onto the deck. Though they carried pistols for their personal defense, their main weapons were non-lethal paintball guns. But these proved ineffective in stopping the mercenaries, who also were equipped with bullet-proof vests and gas masks. Our soldiers were quickly overwhelmed and several were severely injured. Some sustained gunshot wounds, either from the sidearms wrested from them or from other guns that may have later been thrown overboard.

It is crucial to note that solely on the Marmara did Israel encounter any violence and only from the hired thugs. Even then, Israel offered to convey the Marmara’s cargo to Gaza. A subsequent ship from Ireland was boarded and escorted to southern Israel without injury or incident and its cargo similarly transferred.

Continued on page 13

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June 18, 2010

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 13

Blockade serves Hamas, not Israel FOCUS ON ISSUES

by HADAR SUSSKIND WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Watching the video of the Israeli Navy Commandos rappelling onto the Marmara was for me – as for many people – full of anxiety and sadness. Sadness that Israeli soldiers, in the same uniforms I once proudly wore, were put in such a terrible situation and subject to violent attack.

Sadness that Israel’s failed strategy of blockading Gaza had led to this and deep anxiety about the future of the Middle East, of Israel and of the Palestinian people.

I harbor no illusions about the motives of the flotilla’s organizers. While their cargo was humanitarian in nature, their stated intent was to force the Israeli government to confront the consequences of the Gaza blockade – including by exploiting the resultant media coverage to further damage Israel’s international standing.

In the end, they not only succeeded in creating that negative publicity but also in highlighting for the world just how ineffectual Israel’s actions and policies have been in Gaza.

It would be very easy to remain entirely focused on the aftermath of the recent violence, but it’s crucial we remember the flotilla was a symptom of two much larger issues: the unproductive Israeli blockade of Gaza and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since Hamas took power in Gaza, Israel has maintained a tight isolation of the Strip, attempting to con-

trol who and what may go in and out. The Israeli government has stated that the goals of the blockade are to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens by preventing the import of weapons and to break the back of Hamas. The thinking goes that a deeply unhappy Gazan people will turn on its government and demand change.

Reality however, shows Hamas more heavily armed in control of Gaza than ever before – and no such popular uprising has occurred.

Hamas has total control over the tunnel economy, bringing in food and medicine to meet some of the people’s needs, while using the very same tunnel system to funnel in arms and cash. Gazans see Hamas as the only force providing for their basic needs, while Israel prohibits the legal importation of such “dangerous” materials as nutmeg and clothing fabric.

Simply put, Israel is not served by the blockade – Hamas is. Israel is not served by 1.5 million increasingly hungry, dispirited and angry people – Hamas is. And the likelihood that Gazans will be open to the kind of compromise that would finally secure Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic home – a two-state solution – shrinks by the day.

Those who wish to see Israel thrive in safety and security should seek to lift the blockade, which has been not just “ineffective” but damaging to Israel, and instead, advocate for the establishment of genuinely effective security measures to prevent weapons from entering Gaza. While Israel must continue to monitor the flow of goods and people entering Gaza, they don’t need to keep out food, medicines and so many of the seemingly arbitrary items, which are currently prohibited.

Israel must also address the extensive damage it has

suffered to its standing in the world by immediately appointing an independent commission to investigate the events that took place on the Marmara and the decisions and circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

While I’m confident Israel’s government is capable of carrying out such an investigation, as they have done so repeatedly in the past, we must now recognize that to many in America and around the globe, Israel’s credibility is sadly in doubt. Nothing but an immediate and fully independent inquiry – possibly with American support and involvement – will produce a report viewed as fair by both Israel and the international community.

But finally, even lifting the blockade, ending the smuggling of arms, and re-establishing Israel’s credibility on the world stage would only achieve so much. As Israel’s most stalwart ally, the American government must now work diligently and with great urgency to address the issue at the very core of Israel’s security problems: President Obama must redouble his efforts toward peace and lead an all-out effort to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieve a two-state solution – now.

This moment of crisis and tragedy might yet be turned into a meaningful opportunity to end the violence once and for all – or it can be kicked back and forth, the dead and injured used as a political football for ideologues to make points. The choice is ours.

As President Obama himself said in Cairo a year ago: “Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear.”

Hadar Susskind is J Street’s Vice President of Policy and Strategy. This article first appeared in The Hill.

Engaging with Israel on campus starts with relationships BEHIND THE HEADLINES

by STEPHEN KUPERBERG

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- As the pro-Israel community addresses blockade-running Gaza flotillas, the vast majority of U.S. campuses already are on summer break.

Certain campuses, including the alma mater of proPalestinian activist Rachel Corrie, Evergreen State College, have seen anti-Israel protests and resolutions, but most campuses still in session experienced relatively muted events as they turned attention to exams and summer plans.

The campus discussion this fall will doubtless include the Gaza blockade. But these recent events emphasize an important point: Campuses are different. Campuses operate on different schedules, engage in different discussions and require different approaches regarding Israel.

As executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, an umbrella group of more than 30 national organizations dedicated to pro-Israel campus engagement, education and advocacy, I hear from student activists, campus professionals and others about their experiences. Several trends for the coming year -- and the needs of the campus pro-Israel community to be successful -- have become clear.

First, Israel’s campus detractors have and will continue to focus on three D’s -- divestment, disruptions and demonization -- as part of a global effort to delegitimize Israel and paint it as a pariah state. This effort to delegitimize Israel among the constituents and future leaders of the United States, Israel’s chief ally, poses a threat to Israel’s long-term security equal to many of the threats Israel faces in its region.

Anti-Israel campus activists for nearly a decade have attempted to push campus boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) efforts against Israel, but those efforts peaked this spring in unsuccessful, but highly publicized, divestment battles in the student governments of the University of California at Berkeley and San Diego.

Prominent international Israel critics including Richard Falk, Desmond Tutu and Naomi Klein wrote the student senators to support divestment. Even some Israeli and Jewish Berkeley students, faculty and community members joined the divestment effort.

While the resolutions were entirely symbolic -- university regents committed not to divest from Israel -- the Israel detractors’ prime objective succeeded in obtaining a public forum to defame the Jewish state.

Anti-Israel activists also gained notoriety this year for disrupting pro-Israel speakers, from former Prime

Minister Ehud Olmert at the University of Chicago to Israeli U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California, Irvine. The detractors use the tactic to portray Israeli speakers as war criminals beyond the pale of campus discussion and attempt to deprive the speakers of a platform through which to share ideas with the campus community.

Divestment and disruptions coincide with attempts to demonize Israel. Israel Apartheid Week, now in its sixth year, makes “apartheid walls” and “Israel apartheid” lectures all too commonplace on many campuses. In some places, naive, misinformed and possibly ill-intentioned faculty departments have co-sponsored such events.

Against this disturbing backdrop, the pro-Israel campus community continues to build relationships on their campuses to promote a positive message around Israel, and to marginalize and negate the falsehoods popularized by Israel’s detractors. Savvy pro-Israel advocates understand that relationships stand at the heart of effective engagement. By building relationships with the key decision-makers on their campuses -- administrators, department heads, student governments, campus newspaper editors and leaders of student organizations -- the pro-Israel campus community is far more likely to succeed in defusing or deflecting anti-Israel activity and promoting a positive campus environment.

Relationship-building does not happen overnight, and it cannot be anything less than authentic and lasting. But smart activists expand upon these relationships by creating opportunities simultaneously to enhance the campus environment and provide more opportunities for engagement around Israel.

By creating Israel investment clubs; promoting joint programs with Israeli universities; demanding and attending opportunities for Israel study; supporting administration efforts to protect the academic environment and ensure speech free from harassment and intimidation; and emphasizing opportunities for immersion in Israel experiences through programs such as TaglitBirthright Israel, alternative break trips and long-term study and work programs in Israel, pro-Israel activists who start with effective relationship-building can enhance the campus community’s level of engagement with, understanding of, and desire and ability to stand with Israel against its detractors.

The Israel on Campus Coalition is ready to train students and campus professionals to build the relationships that will allow them to be effective in promoting a proIsrael campus environment, but we cannot accomplish this work without the support of the broader community.

The challenges facing the campus pro-Israel community are real and will continue to mount in the coming academic year. But a coordinated, strategic approach both to counter Israel’s detractors and to enhance a pro-Israel environment -- one that is authentically oriented to the

unique needs of campus and aimed at building effective relationships for the long term -- can and must be achieved. The campus community deserves the broader community’s support to achieve these goals.

Stephen Kuperberg is executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition.

In defense of the blockade Continued from page 12 Since the Marmara episode, Israel has come under immense pressure to submit to an international inquiry. Such a panel, drawn from countries hostile to Israel, could hardly be expected to be balanced. They also would violate Israel’s right -- indeed its duty -- as a democratic state to investigate itself.

Still, the Israeli government is considering some degree of international consultation under an authoritative Israeli inquest. We are also open to ideas from the United States and other friendly nations on ways to address the needs of Gaza’s population with Israel’s vital security interests.

We in Israel understand the difficulty of explaining our need to monitor the sea lanes to Gaza and to maintain pressure on Hamas to free Gilad Shalit. It is, to say the least, unpleasant to confront charges of piracy and violations of international law. We know that confronting Hamas is essential for our safety and for the success of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Because of our steadfastness, Hamas’ popularity in Gaza has plummeted in recent months.

That is a trend that, in spite of its costs, must be embraced by all who care about Israel and peace.

Michael B. Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States. This article was originally written for the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor: As a volunteer at the Dr. Sher-Rose Blumkin Homes you can’t imagine how I felt when I walked into our Rose Blumkin Home of today. Tears came to my eyes-how happy I was. Our community should be extremely proud of one of the finest homes in the U.S.A. If only my special friend, Lee Jane Parsow, and many of the old time residents could see this beautiful home.

Please make an effort to visit our home June 27 for the open house. Come and be proud.

Ann Belmont

Page 14

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Candlelighting Friday, June 18, 8:42 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

Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

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 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, June 25: Services 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Toni Goodman, on Charity and Loving-kindness followed by an Oneg sponsored by Toni and Steve Goodman. The community is invited.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg.

FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Minha/ Ma’ariv, 8:55 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.

MEN’S CLUB: Welcomes guest speaker Rabbi Charles E. Simon, executive director of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, during a general meeting on Wednesday, June 23, 7–9 p.m.

To RSVP, contact the office. Men’s Club softball series with Temple Israel continues on Sunday, June 27, 10 a.m. at the JCC ball fields.

All players, ages 13 and up, are welcome. For more information, contact Scott Simon at 616.4089, or simonsz@cox.net.

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

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org

The Neighborhood Prayer Group 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609

Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org

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Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs.,

8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush by “Guard Your Sisterhood; Tongue,” “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up), one hour prior to Mincha every Shabbat; This week of learning is sponsored

by Bruce & Linda Potash in commemoration of yahrzeit of Floryne Potash; Mincha, 8:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 9:52 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m.; Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m.

Follow the Kollel at www.omahakollel.blog spot.com.

THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbis Around the World, 7:30 p.m.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. Mini-Mensch title will be awarded. Kiddush lunch follows.

Join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1

p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 12:45 p.m.

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com with any questions or to receive a guest pass.

All programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following.

SATURDAY: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. All ages welcome.

ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Hebrew, led by Rabbi Emanuel starting July 6 for a four-week session. Please contact the Temple office, 402.435.8004 if you are interested in attending. There is no charge for the classes, but a $5 donation per session is appreciated to cover the costs of materials.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Chef’s Demo, 1 p.m.

by Temple Israel members.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

led by Miles Remer.

SUNDAY: Special Father’s Day Concert, 2:30 p.m. Tea Time sponsored by LOVE.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Linder; D’var Torah: Paul Epstein - My Jewish Missions to Israel and Cuba.

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

TUESDAY: OTYG Meeting, 5 p.m. at the home of Amy Katz.

THURSDAY: CSA delivery for shareholders, 4:30 p.m. at South entrance.

Shabbat Service followed by a BBQ, Friday, June 25, 6 p.m. $10 per family, $5 for individual.

Please contact office, 556.6536 or mkube@templeisraelomaha.co m, to make a reservation.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch in honor of Rifka Keilson’s birthday and Talmud study.

LJCS Camp Israel 2010 cosponsored by Soul Train on July 19-30, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel for children entering Kindergarten-fifth grade.

Recession fuels rise in Russian aliyah

by ANNA RUDNITSKAYA MOSCOW (JTA) – Years after Russian immigration to Israel dipped and then plateaued, the global economic downturn appears to be sending it higher again.

Starting last year, aliyah from the former Soviet Union grew 21 percent over 2008, with 6,818 Russian-speaking immigrants moving to Israel in 2009. In the first four months of 2010, aliyah is up a further 22 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel. In Russia alone, the rise has been slightly greater. Last year, 3,244 Russians moved to Israel compared with 2,605 in 2008, and this year's increase so far shows an even greater uptick: 905 in the first four months of 2010, an increase of about 25 percent over 2009.

Most observers attribute the rise to the global economic recession, which has prompted some Russian Jews to reconsider their future here. The recession has hit Russia harder than it has hit Israel.

Elena, 34, and Alexander, 40, a couple from Moscow who requested that their last name not be published, are planning to move by summer’s end. The downturn has had a dramatic effect on their unregistered family business in commercial manufac-

turing, they said, with their clients at a bare minimum since 2008.

“We understood there’s no way for us here and decided to make aliyah,” Elena said. “Actually, Alexander has wanted it for the last 10 years, and I was against it.

But now I’m ready to admit I was wrong. It’s better for us and for our child to live in a more stable country.”

The couple’s experience is one example of the way the recession has drastically changed lives here, pushing people toward emigration. In most cases, however, the push has been less direct.

“Factors like an economic downturn affect people in a more peripheral way. They just encourage people who are hesitant to make a decision,” said Zeev Khanin, who works with the Israeli Absorption Ministry. “The people who are coming to Israel now would have sat on the fence for years. They could have fallen to either side, and the recession made them chose Israel.”

Muscovite Denis Burin falls into this category. He is slated to leave for Israel in about a month with his wife and 9-year old son.

Burin’s business is advertising and construction, both of which have been severely affected by the financial crisis in Russia. Burin, however, says this is not why he is

making aliyah.

“Definitely my business has experienced a sharp decline in production volume. But it would be wrong to attribute my decision to financial hardship,” he told JTA. “I’ve been considering making aliyah for many years, and I feel now it’s the right time. One has to mature enough for this decision.”

Asked why he didn’t move to Israel earlier, Burin said personal reasons and business prospects in Russia had kept him here.

At Israel’s Absorption Ministry, officials say the increase in aliyah is partly the result of their policies and work.

“We are offering the olim extra funds to aid them in their integration. These funds have been set aside by the Ministry of Absorption and the Jewish Agency,” said Maya Neiger, director of resource development in the Jewish Agency’s aliyah and absorption department.

“With the economic situation in the FSU the way it has been and is at present, it was important to offer a little extra help to potential olim,” she said. “This encouraged people who wanted to make aliyah for many years but haven’t been able to do so.”

Families receive a grant of about $850 and a subsidy of $6,000 toward rent for one year. Singles

receive a grant of about $500 and a rent subsidy of $3,000.

Officials at the Moscow office of the Jewish Agency say it’s unlikely the money was a key draw, since applicants for aliyah generally did not learn about it until they showed up at the agency’s local office asking about immigrating to Israel.

Those involved with aliyah also attributed the rising interest in aliyah in part to the decline of political freedoms in Russia in recent years.

“For someone with Jewish roots, Israel is ‘Europe light’: a passport that lets you travel worldwide, double citizenship and a pre-established community of Russian-speaking intelligentsia,” said Elena Nemet, 27, a financial analyst from Moscow who is plans to make move to Israel in July.

“Israel is not ideal: high taxes, hot climate, a heap of religious mess and the constant hazard of war,” she said. “But when I am asked whether I am afraid of terrorism, I just protest that someone who has lived in Moscow for 10 years treats terrorism with a certain fatalism. Anyway, I trust the Israeli secret services more than the Russian ones. Israel is not an ideal country, but unlike in Russia, I don’t feel absurdity there.”

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

June 18, 2010

“Medical Hocus Pocus”

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Chukat Our Sidrah (Chukat) begins with chapter 19 of the book of Bemidbar (Numbers), which deals with ancient Israel’s attempt to make sense of medical practice. Once it used the famous Red Heifer, which is killed and burned, its ashes making a ‘potent’ remedy against various illnesses.

The Torah here has not yet made a successful division between what it calls ‘unclean’, and inoperable, or without solution.

I wonder, as I imagine many others also wonder, whether all of this “medical hocus pocus” was original with ancient Israel, or was it acquired from other ancient peoples?

One knows immediately that our sacred text is on unsure ground when it takes for granted that the medical officers are Priests, who have no medical training.

I am old enough to remember the terrible flu epidemic in 1919 when home after home was marked with signs, which warned anyone from entering these homes, or having contact with anyone who lived there, even if they were best friends.

Our Bible tries valiantly to understand contagion and the need to isolate people who have acquired this disease or that.

To repeat, I remember seeing home after home with signs that showed the people inside were quarantined (which really means for 40 days), but it was taken for granted that this quarantine would last for much more than 40 days. Medical officers now make decisions on the basis of medical science. In biblical days, I have said that there was a “medical hocus pocus” using the ashes of the Red Heifer.

Read some of this again, beginning with the book of Bemidbar (Numbers) chapter 19 and what follows.

But you’ll have to understand that ancient Israel tried its utmost to get a handle on what it could not have without the kind of medical science that we take for granted in our day.

Fantastic Fiddler!

by LINDA FITZGERALD On June 6, several residents from the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home were treated to a magnificent perform-

Natalie Rubin and Sylvia Swartz with Tevye The Dairyman, played by Mark Thornburg. ance of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Omaha Community Playhouse.

Kudos to L.O.V.E. for sponsoring this program for the residents!

DEATHS ROBERT (BOB) CHANDLER Robert (Bob) Chandler, formerly of Lincoln, NE passed away on May 30 in Dallas, Texas. Services were held June 1 in Dallas at Texas Graveside-Restland and were officated by Rabbi Shawn Zell.

He was preceded in death by his Father and Mother, Harry and Bessie Chandler.

He is survived by his wife, Marian; children Jeanine and Paul; brothers Harold and Melvin Chandler; nieces Cheryl Rosenblatt and Laurie Chandler and numerous cousins in Omaha.

He was born in Omaha and is a graduate of University of Nebraska, a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, Veteran of WWII and worked for Paymaster Corporation. He was a past member of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in Lincoln for many years before moving to Dallas, where he owned a plastics business.

Memorials to Tifereth Israel Synagogue.

SELMA ROSE TRETIAK Selma Rose Tretiak passed away on June 4 at the Rose Blumkin Home after a month long illness.

She was preceded in death by Isidore, her husband of 77 years, and son Kenneth.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Gail and Jerry Kohll; daughter-in-law Susie Blackman of Kansas City, MO; grandchildren and spouses: Andrew and Caria Tretiak of Kansas City, KS, Baruch and Leora Tretiak of Jerusalem, Israel, Katie and Ryan Zeldin of Chicago, IL, Cindy and Joshua Persky of New York City, Alan and Brigitte Kohll, Allison Kohll of New York City, and Jason Kohll of Houston, TX; and 11 greatgrandchildren.

Memorials to charity of choice.

Page 15

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Yoffie stepping down as Reform leader

by JTA NEWS STAFF NEW YORK (JTA) -- The longtime leader of the Reform synagogue movement, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, announced that he will be stepping down in two years.

Yoffie, 63, president of the Union for Reform Judaism for the past 14 years, made the announcement Thursday in remarks at a meeting in Brooklyn of the organization’s board of directors.

“My energy and enthusiasm remain undiminished, but I see 65 as an age when I should be taking into account the simple fact that there are burdens to this job and they cannot be borne forever,” Yoffie said, according to a prepared text of the speech. “Even more important, I recognize the value of making way for new thinking in our future-oriented movement; leadership is an act of renewal and re-creation, and at a certain point, it is best to encourage others to try their hand at these tasks.”

Yoffie plans to stay on two years as the URJ searches for a replacement. During this time, Yoffie told the board, he will focus on four priorities: improving the Reform movement’s youth group, increasing teenage participation in synagogue activities, creating a center that will house the various arms of the movement and boosting intra-movement cooperation before the center’s completion.

As URJ president, Yoffie spearheaded the controversial campaign to transform Reform worship and liturgy, a process that stressed a greater emphasis on Hebrew and tradition, and a more participatory musical style.

In addition to leaving a strong stamp on the Reform movement, Yoffie emerged as one of the Jewish community’s leading advocates of a robust U.S. role in advancing the peace process, and he frequently criticized Israeli settlement expansion.

MAINStreeters sponsor picnic with promise of food, fun and entertainment

by OZZIE NOGG MAINstreeters -- the fun-filled new organization for Jewish residents of the Omaha area age 60 and older -is sponsoring a picnic on Sunday, June 27, at Chalco Hills Recreation Area. The event runs from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Nature Resources Center, and is chaired by Ilse and Marcel Kahn. “We call this a Jewish picnic,” Ilse said. “It’s air-conditioned and indoors.”

The afternoon features entertainment by Charlie Glasgow, singer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his vocal impressions of Neil Diamond and other notables. Glasgow has appeared at casinos, concerts and cor-

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

porate shows in 25 states and Canada.

Cost of the picnic is $6 a person, which includes the main course of Boston Market rotisserie chicken, drinks and entertainment. Attendees are asked to bring a side dish to share with the group -- a dessert if your last name begins with the letter A through G, and a salad for those whose last names begin with H through Z. Reservations are due by Monday, June 21.

All MAINstreeters programs are under the auspices of Jewish Social Services. For further information, to reserve or to secure transportation, please call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

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Page 16

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 18, 2010

Temple social justice volunteers find niche at Stephen Center

Sophia, 16, Morissa, 14, and Madelin, 11, with her to

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Stephen Center to cook and serve breakfast in March.

About 15 years ago, the late John Dacey started vol- “It’s good for the kids to do and see just how fortunate unteering at the Stephen Center, a shelter for the home- they really are. The experience was wonderful. We less at 27th and Q in Omaha. According to a “long- walked away not only very appreciative of what we have, standing relationship with Judge Bob Wester,” Dacey, who was a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor in Bellevue, volunteered with a group from Sarpy County. As a member of Temple Israel, he was later asked to request Temple’s assistance in preparing and serving Christmas dinner at the shelter.

Eventually, Temple volunteers helped serve dinner at Christmas and Easter as well as breakfast once a month.

“I personally did not know John,” said Del Bomberger, current executive director of Stephen Center, “but I certainly know of his good works.”

Dacey died suddenly in 2008 at the age of 55. “All of the volunteers who worked with him have a very high regard for the longevity and dedication of his efforts at helping the homeless,” Bomberger explained. “He is remembered as a man of few words who typically focused his efforts on a particular homeless individual and often made a real difference in that person’s life.”

Don’L Dacey, John’s wife, added that once Don’L Dacey, left, Max Gendler, Larry Gendler, Tami Field, and Nate Temple became involved, “Joan Marcus was Gendler, in front, handle kitchen duties at Stephen Center on Easter. instrumental in organizing everything. In addition, John but the girls all want to do it again. They really enjoy and I, Howard and Milt Marcus, Larry Gendler and his helping others.”

“Volunteering is an opportunity to give to those who wife Tami Field, George and Sharon Quittner, Ellen Long, Shari Hess, and Toby Fellman were all involved in are in situations they can’t change at the time,” pointed the early days,” said Don’L Dacey. She wants to keep John’s legacy alive, and she also likes meeting the people who are there. “It gets me outside of myself, and I learn about them.”

Temple’s Social Justice Committee is continuing the tradition that John Dacey started. Nowadays, Don’L Dacey and Larry Gendler are directing the effort.

“There have always been people who have brought food, cooked, and prepared it ahead of time,” said Don’L. “This list would go on forever. There are those who have donated money to purchase food items. We prepare, cook, and serve dinner to residents. We’ve cleaned out the pantry and the kitchen.”

Stephen Center counts on Temple volunteers to serve Christmas and Easter dinner. “We also cook breakfast on the fifth Sunday of the month,” added Don’L. Kim Noddle volunteered just after Thanksgiving. “It was my first time,” she pointed out. “We went to cook breakfast -- French toast, eggs and bacon -- for everyone. I thought it would be fun to volunteer, because I love to cook! We even made some roasted vegetables. I think they loved what we ‘created.’ I had so much fun we planned to go back for Christmas, however with the blizzard, the event was cancelled. I would love to continue. It was a great mitzvah.”

Hillary Fletcher volunteered at Stephen Center with her 15-year-old son Zane. “We bought and prepared the food and then served it to the residents. I like meeting new people and new experiences, and the folks there were very, very nice so the whole morning was just a really pleasant time.” She hopes to do it again.

In 2009, Stephen Center served 122,538 meals. “We really depend to a great extent on volunteers at Stephen Center,” said Bomberger. “We have more than 600 volunteers who worked a combined total of 24,137 hours for us. We are currently hiring a volunteer coordinator to expand the role of volunteers at Stephen Center and at Stephen Center Thrift Store, which is a new venture for us.

“Homelessness…is on the rise due to the economy,” Bomberger added, “and is impacting a much larger number of women and children as well as people who in the past have not found it necessary to turn to emergency shelters for assistance.”

Rosie Zweiback and Mace Hack and their children Joe, 15, and Abby, 11, helped prepare a Sunday breakfast. Joe and Abby made at least 150 pancakes, Zweiback said. “They manned a large griddle and had a ball flipping the flapjacks. I made batter, cracked eggs for the egg casserole and did clean-up jobs. Mace put his organizational powers to excellent use cleaning out the large walk-in pantry. What began as a jumble of donated food in bags shoved on shelves and piled up on the floor turned into a neat and tidy storage system.

“We would happily do it again,” added Zweiback. “We enjoyed serving the meal, greeting the guests, and working with the Temple team.”

“I have been looking for something for my family and I to do, and this came up so we thought we would do it,” commented Jennifer Miller who took her daughters,

out Don’L Dacey. “Cooking a meal is a very Jewish way of being hospitable and saying that you care. It’s the personal touch of preparing and serving food to someone that lets them know you are truly concerned about them. My daughters have served there with us. I think it’s an opportunity to learn that it doesn’t cost to be concerned and kind to others.”

Larry Gendler has been volunteering at Stephen Center for about five or six years. He’s typically there two or three Sunday mornings a month and assists with dinner on occasion as well as with the groups from Temple. His wife Tami Field and their sons, Max, 13, and Nate, 11, have served too. A Sarpy County Separate Juvenile Court Judge, Gendler has visited with residents “about certain problems they may be experiencing. I highly recommend our congregants assist as the effort is greatly appreciated. Although it’s nice to help on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the need goes way beyond that. Temple is assigned the fifth Sunday of every month for breakfast. “This is a great opportunity for families to do something meaningful together. It can get busy those mornings,” noted Gendler who is also in charge of organizing the fourth Sunday of every month.

Don’L Dacey agreed that “the staff appreciates it, and the people who are staying there really like the homecooked food and the fact that someone took the time.

They are always happy to see us.”

Speaking for the staff and residents of Stephen Center, Bomberger said, “Thanks so much for the efforts that Temple Israel puts forth on behalf of Stephen Center and the homeless, addicted, and poor within our community.”