Vol. LXXXIII No. 48 Omaha, NE
JCC Hosts “3-on-3” Basketball Challenge This Sunday by BOB FRANZESE JCC Athletic Director It’s too late to put together a team, but not too late to watch the competition! The JCC Eddie Belgrade Memorial Threeon-Three Basketball Challenge returns to the Jewish Community Center’s indoor and outdoor basketball courts this Sunday, Aug. 1, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Players of all skill levels will be playing in this fun-filled day of basketball tournaments. Along with the exciting basketball action, this day will also feature a DJ on the outdoor courts, pizza from Valentino’s, and other refreshments. Eddie Belgrade, who died in 1998, was a long-time member of the JCC, an avid athlete and supporter of many of the J’s activities. The Belgrade Company is the title sponsor of this Basketball Challenge as a tribute to his memory. Please be sure to come out to the Center and support your favorite teams!
Celebrating 83 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
12 Av, 5764 July 30, 2004
To Give Israeli Olympians an Edge, ‘Brain Coach’ Helps Athletes Prepare by DINA KRAFT nect mind and WINGATE SPORTS body while CENTER, Israel, (JTA)-reducing physioBoris Blumenstein slaps logical tensions. the shoulder and pulls at One of the steps the black belt of a memin the program, ber of Israel’s Olympic for example, judo team, whose eyes trains athletes in are fixed on a computer how to talk to screen. themselves durBlumenstein, 58, is trying competition. ing to distract Yoel Sometimes the Razvozov, who is playathletes Blumening a computer game stein works with aimed at improving his come to his decision making and office, but he ability to compete under also accompapressure. The physical nies them in distraction and the din of their training, a judo match on an adjaoften hooking cent television are Boris Blumenstein,the Israeli Olympic team’s psychologist, pulls at the black belt of a mem- them up to his intended to simulate the ber of Israel’s Olympic judo team, Yoel Razvozov, as he plays a computer game, June 24, at laptop computer stresses of competition. the Wingate Sports Center, aimed at improving his decision making and ability to compete after they finish The game is one of the under pressure. The physical distraction and the din of a judo match being played at full vol- their days of tools used by ume on an adjacent television set are intended to simulate the stress of competition. back flips or Credit: Brian Hendler/JTA sprints. Blumenstein, the Israeli Olympic team's psychologist, to help his years in Israel at the Wingate There are few world-class athletes in a Israeli athletes mentally prepare for com- Institute, Israel’s premier sports training country as small as Israel, says center, for making him the scientist he is Blumenstein, a cheerful man with an petition. “What is the most important thing? today. easy smile, so each one must be trained It was at the Ribstein Center for Sports with special care and attention. That there is always a result,” said Blumenstein, motioning towards the Medical Sciences on Wingate’s leafy He says that part of the fun of workreadout from Razvozov’s computer campus near the coastal city of Netanya ing in Israel is that, unlike in large coungame. Blumenstein, jokingly referred to that he learned how to do research tries where sports psychologists focus by some members of the Olympic team according to American-style methodolo- exclusively on one sport, here he gets to as the “brain coach,” is a key figure in gy and statistics. work with all the athletes. And it was here that he helped build the Israeli Olympic delegation to the “For me it is especially fun because I a biofeedback lab as part of a mental have to know different sports and the Athens games, which begin Aug. 13. Like many of the athletes he works preparation program for Israeli athletes. personalities and different situations,” he When an athlete presses a finger to an said. with and most of the delegation’s medical staff, he is an immigrant from the input device, Blumenstein can measure On a recent day in his office, physiological responses to competition Razvozov, who recently took second former Soviet Union. The staffers gained much of their such as stress and concentration. He and place in the European championships in expertise and know-how through years a team of researchers have developed a his weight range, brings Blumenstein a of working with top Soviet athletes. But unique program that uses biofeedback to video of his recent matches so they can the Ukranian-born Blumenstein credits help athletes increase their ability to con- Continued on page 11
New Library of Congress Exhibit to Examine 350 Years of U.S. Jewry by JUSTIN BOSCH WASHINGTON (JTA)--An extensive Library of Congress exhibit scheduled to open in September will launch a series of events celebrating 350 years of American Jewish life. “From Haven to Home,” the lead-in to a yearlong celebration of American Jewish life organized by The Commission for Commemorating 350 years of American Jewish History, will cover Jews' immigration and integration in this country. The commission--comprised of the Library of Congress, the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Jewish Archives and the National Archives-sponsored a three-day conference this week related to the celebration, featuring lectures on an array of Jewish historical subjects. The exhibit to open in September will include hundreds of Jewish artifacts, including books, manuscripts,
Left: This image is titled ‘Jacob Barsimson and Asser Levy plead.’ While the specifics of this image are unknown, it likely depicts Barsimson, at left, and Levy during one of their appeals to New Amsterdam’s leaders for citizenship rights for Jews during the 1650s. Credit: American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, OH.
Inside
This Week: Monthly Calendar: Pages 6-7 The Strength to Continue: A Survivor’s Story: Pages 2-3
Lines from the Library, More Books for 350th Celebration: Page 4
films and newsreels. The complete series of events for the celebrations will run all year and span the nation, said Larry Rubin, Executive Director of “Celebrate 350: Jewish Life in America 1654-2004,” a New York-based organization that is a clearinghouse for the celebrations. Throughout, parts of the Library of Congress exhibit will be ferried to Los Angeles, Cincinnati and New York for display. The commemorations will trace the Jewish presence in America back to the settlement in New Amsterdam, now New York City, of two dozen Jews seeking to escape persecution in Brazil. The group established the nation’s first Jewish congregation, Shearith Israel, which will honor its founders with a special commemorative service. Rather than waiting until September, the commission has planned a number of preliminary events to augment and introduce the celebration to the public. In one series of lectures, academics revisited the role of Rabbi Stephen Wise, president of the American Jewish Congress in the World War II era, as well as the political activity of Jews during the Roosevelt administration and anti-Semitism in the 1940s. Continued on page 4
Coming Next Week: Simchas Issue on Aug. 6 Two Views on the 2004 Presidential Race: Page 9
Omaha Scouts Meet Israeli Tzofim: Page 12