Vol. LXXXV No. 45 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
25 Tamuz, 5766 July 21, 2006
War in Israel Affects Omahans National ADL by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press While rockets continue to fall on Haifa and other locations in the Northern and Western Galilee, Omahans make and remake travel arrangements. ARTZA, the Jewish Community Center’s teen trip to Israel, came home four days early. The ARTZA group was in Haifa when the first katyusha rockets hit; they moved to Tiberias and encountered more rocket fire. So when the JCC Association was alerted that El Al was adding a flight, Lisa Shkolnick, JCC Assistant Director, said they had to make a quick decision. “Three of the four JCC teen group returned a few days earlier than planned,” A Nahariya resident is taken to the hospital as more katyusha rockets landed on the Western Credit: ISRANET she told the Press on Galilee town Wednesday morning, killing one man in the street. Monday. Esther Katz, one of the chaperones, reported from Ramah that Joel Rich shared with the Jewish Press. “We are watching the news hourly with sadness and that “while the teens weren’t scared and really didn’t want to leave Israel, they were disappointed their activities were revulsion as events in Israel unfold,” noted Jan disrupted.” ARTZA was unable to spend a week in the Goldstein, Federation Executive Director. “Our Jewish community stands united with our friends and family in Western Galilee, Omaha’s Partnership for Israel region. Other teen trips stayed in Israel, including one spon- Israel in full support of this defensive war against all terrorist organizations--in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and elsesored by Ramah, in which Seth Rich is participating. “We are ready to make adjustments in the program, if where. The Israelis, once again, are doing what they necessary, due to the security situation... and we are con- have to for Israel and the Jewish people, and we will do sulting with the Situation Room. Each program is being what we must do to support them. Our hearts go out to reexamined with regard to its safety and security. Since the civilians, soldiers and their families, who are so hor1962 there has always been a Ramah Seminar in Israel-- ribly affected by this conflict.” Back in Omaha, Partnership chairman Stacey even in the toughest of times. We will continue to take care of your children as if they are own and make sure Rockman and Center for Education Administrator Mary they are protected. But we also want them to go home Sue Grossman were supposed to leave Sunday for the with a once-in-a-life time experience,” said the e-mail Continued on page 2
Beth Israel Awards Epstein Scholarships to Two Recent High School Graduates by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue One of the tasks faced by many post-secondary students and their families is to make the necessary arrangements that will enable students to pursue their Judaic studies after high school graduation. Scholarships are one of the ways that can assist students to make the Avi Katzman most of their experiences after high school. After careful deliberation of this year’s pool of excellent applicants, the Beth Israel Synagogue scholarship committee selected two motivated students who are actively continuing their Jewish studies. The 2006 Sidney Epstein Scholarship Fund winners are Avi Katzman and Rebekah Priluck. The Epstein Fund was established by Gert Epstein and her sons in honor of the volunteer efforts in the Jewish community by the late Sidney Epstein. Up to two $2500 scholarships are awarded each year to students continuing their Jewish studies at a college or university, or at a post-secondary program in Israel. Applicants are required to write an essay stating how they are pursuing Jewish studies, and how they will incorporate what they learn in their studies into how they will lead their lives.
Inside Opinion Page see page 8
See Front Page Stories at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Learning Continues for Beth El Educators: Pages 6-7
by OZZIE NOGG Bob Wolfson’s 18 years of service as Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Plains States Regional Office and the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha will be recognized at a citywide L’Chaim Dinner on Aug. 17 at the Hilton Hotel, 10th and Cass. Jan Schneiderman is General Chair of the tribute event. The gala evening will toast Wolfson whose work in Holocaust education, prejudice elimination and hate crimes legislation has impacted every segment of the community. In April of this year, Wolfson--local boy made good-assumed the position of Associate National Director of Regional Operations for ADL, based in New York City. Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the AntiDefamation League and world-renowned leader in the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry and discrimination, will be the featured speaker.
Abe Foxman, National ADL Executive Director
“We were impressed by both candidates’ essay applications,” said Beth Cohen, Beth Israel’s Executive Director. “Both young women have just graduated. They’re active and successful students who are going on to even greater things, and they exemplify what the Epstein scholarship is all about.” Avi is the daughter of Rebekah Priluck Michael and Carol Katzman. She is a 2006 graduate of Westside where she was an onscreen and behind-the-scenes staff member of WTV (Warrior Television) and the design editor for The Shield, the WHS yearbook. Katzman, inducted into the Quill and Scroll Journalism Honorary Society, was a member of the Art Club and the Gay/Straight Alliance. She also participated in ADL’s Manhigim program and held leadership positions in NCSY on the local and regional boards. During the summer before her junior year, Katzman participated in a teen program, Achva Europe/Israel, that included six weeks of travel to London, Italy and Israel. “Before this program, I had only visited Israel with my family,” Katzman wrote in her application essay. “I found out by going on my own I would see the land in a different light.” Continued on page 2
This Week: Life in Israeli Bomb Shelters: Page 3
Director Foxman to Highlight Wolfson’s Farewell
Born in Poland in 1940, Foxman was saved from the Holocaust by his Polish Catholic nursemaid who baptized and raised him as a Catholic during the war years. His parents survived the war, but fourteen members of his family were lost. He arrived in America in 1950 with his parents. A graduate of the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY, Foxman has a B.A. in political science from the City College of the City University of New York, graduating with honors in history. He holds a JD degree from New York University School of Law, and did graduate work in advanced Judaic studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and in international economics at The New School for Social Research. He joined ADL in 1965. Foxman was a member of the President’s United States Holocaust Memorial Council, appointed by Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He has participated in official Presidential delegations to special events in Europe and Israel, and regularly confers with elected officials and community leaders here and abroad. A passionate supporter of the State of Israel and a voice for peace in the Middle East, Foxman has consulted with Palestinian leaders on problems of ethnic hatred, violence, terrorism and promoting democracy. Foxman appears frequently on national news programs and is quoted often in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time and Newsweek, among other media. He is the author of Never Again?: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism. Continued on page 7
Coming Next Month: Back-to-School Issue on Aug. 18 Familiar Israeli Guide to Brief Omahans, Recruit for Missions: Page 7
Dance Director Wallace Leaves the JCC; Katz to Replace Her: Page 12