Vol. LXXXII
No. 45
Omaha, NE
11 Tamuz, 5763
July 11, 2003
SPECIAL ISSUE ON HEALTHY LIVING, STARTS ON PAGE 9
JCC Maccabi Team Heads to St. Louis by RACHEL BLUM, Omaha Delegation Head For an entire week this August, 6,000 young Jewish athletes will share in the fun of competing, the joy of meeting their peers from North America and five other countries, and the pride of being part of a world-famous Olympic-style event filled with Jewish content and values. It is a life and personality-shaping experience that the JCC Maccabi Games have been offering to Jewish teenagers since 1982. At this Jewish miniOlympiad, each participant has the chance to participate in one of 13 sporting events, creating memories that will last a lifetime. The JCC Maccabi Team Jodi Levine practices her dance routine in preparation for the Games is gearing up for the in August. She won a gold medal at last year’s Games in Omaha. Female athletes and their sports include: 13-14 Games this summer in St. Louis. Thirty-two teens will participate as part of Team Omaha, three of dance, Sarah Spooner; 15-16 dance team members, whom are Israeli athletes from our sister city of Abby Ginsburg, Jodi Levine, Shiri Tene, Gal Tsabari; 15-16 table tennis team, Becky Kahn and Akko, Israel and the Western Galilee. The Israeli teens will come to Omaha a week Shayna Kurland; 15-16 tennis team members, Olga before the Games to get to know the members of the Elkin and Amy Saylan; and 15-16 basketball team Omaha JCC Maccabi Team. During this time, they members, Leanne Harris, Lindsey and Stephanie practice with our athletes and go to local hot spots, Lovette. Chaperones include: Aaron Aizenberg, a former like shopping malls and movie theaters. Then, when the time comes for us to board the plane to St. participant of the Games, Results Coordinator of last year’s Games, and coach; Jackie Pfitzer, dance Louis, they’ll be right there with us. This year the JCC Maccabi Games in St. Louis are coach; Rachel Katskee, JCC Program Associate; Bob Aug. 10-15. Participating male athletes and their Franzese, JCC Athletic Director and coach; Chaim sports include: members of the 13-14 basketball Amer, Sister City chaperone; and me. The JCC Maccabi Games can be called the team, Alex Epstein, Nimrod Ginsburg, Justin Jacobson, Adam Meiches, Aaron Murow and Zach Olympics for Jewish teens, but they serve a larger Spooner; members of the 15-16 basketball team, Adi purpose than athletic competition. The Games also Kachal, Dan Murow, Zach Muskin, Jacob Phillips, promote community involvement, teamwork, and Jason Rich; members of the 15-16 soccer team, pride in being Jewish. For example, athletes visitCorey Green and Ken Zimmerman; member of the ing host communities stay with local Jewish fami15-16 tennis team, Idan Ifrach and Alex Wolf; 13-14 lies. This “home hospitality” is vital to the experibowling, Aaron Passer; 15-16 bowling, Jon Lerner; ence, representing the extended Jewish family and 13-14 swimming, David Trubnikov; and 15-16 the value of welcoming the stranger. (Continued on page 11) swimming, Joel Passer.
Israeli Scouts to Perform in Omaha by LISA SHKOLNICK, JCC Assistant Director In a free concert for the entire community, the Israeli scouts will perform on Sunday, July 20, 7 p.m. in the theater of the Jewish Community Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for first-come seating. The Caravan is an Israeli teen performance group that tours the United States each summer, performing for and working with Jewish Communities throughout the United States. The Israeli Caravan is comprised of 10 scouts, 17 years of age, who have been selected for their talents as performers as well as exemplary role models from their communities. This delegation of carefully selected Israeli teenagers will travel across the United States to share their passion and knowledge about Israel
Eating Disorders in the American Jewish Community Mirror Larger Society by CINDY SHER,Associate Managing Editor JUF News CHICAGO--Picture this: A thin 14-year-old girl, decked in her Britney Spears look-alike outfit complete with midriff-exposing T-shirt and platform shoes, attends a Hanukkah party with her family at their synagogue. In an offhand comment, she exclaims, “Nobody eats latkes. They’re way too greasy and fattening.” Loved ones should pay attention to these types of comments, according to Abigail Natenshon, an MA, LCSW, and author of When your Child has an Eating Disorder. They could signal misperceptions about food that could lead to problems down the road. Natenshon and Karen L. Smith, an MSS, LSW, spoke to mental health professionals in the Jewish communal world at a seminar last spring, entitled “Eating Disorders: Body Image and the American Jewish Community,” sponsored by The Jewish Family Network. Their presentations focused on the social and clinical findings on eating disorders, and how they relate to the American Jewish community. But to understand eating disorders in the Jewish community, it’s important to look at the broader American society, because American Jews are as American as anybody. “First, we’re Americans,” says Smith. “That is the culture that we’re most directly influenced by day in and day out.” The Department of Jewish Family Concerns/Union of American Hebrew Congregations defines the three most common eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa is characterized by significant weight loss, often as a result of self-imposed starvation. Bulimia nervosa is marked by a cycle of binge eating-consuming a large amount of food in short time periods, with a sense of being out of control-followed by some form of purging. And binge eating/compulsive overeating also entails consuming a large amount of food in short time periods, likewise with a sense of being out of control. Eating disorders are not just about food. Natenshon defines eating disorders in general as “the misuse of food to resolve emotional problems.” Eating issues are tied up entirely in the way the person thinks and feels. “You cannot separate food and feelings,” she says. Often, the diseases represent a way for the sufferer to control something in her life, because only she can control what she digests. For American women, eating disorders exist on a continuum of body-image hatred. Many women--4050 percent of young women on college campuses today, according to Natenshon--exhibit issues with food, or “disordered eating,” which is often a precursor to an eating disorder. “We are not so different from the average woman with an eating disorder,” Smith explains to the seminar, almost entirely women. “She’s just taking it a little more to the extreme.” (Continued on page 16)
INSIDE: What’s Up with the Weather? Monsky Lodge Hosts Recognized Authority...........page 6 through song and dance performances. The Tzofim will perform at public gatherings, schools, community centers, hospitals and nursing homes throughout the summer, touching the lives of people in over 300 audiences, including thousands of children at Jewish summer camps. (Continued on page 21)
Jewish Genetic Disorders & the Internet ........................................ page 18 Health & Fitness Crossword puzzle . page 20 Library Director Resigns .................... page 24