August 8, 2008

Vol. LXXXVII No. 48 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 87 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

7 Av, 5768

August 8, 2008

2008 OLYMPICS

Swimmers lead U.S. contingent of Jewish athletes in Beijing

by MARC BRODSKY NEW YORK (JTA) -- For Jason Lezak, Ben Wildman-Tobriner and Garrett Weber-Gale, the marketing possibilities are endless -- perhaps “The Three Chaverim” or “Jews in the Pool.”

All three Jewish sprinters are hoping to make a splash as part of the U.S. men’s swimming team now in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Not only will they be competing as individuals, but they are expected to make up three-fourths of the 4x100meter freestyle relay team.

“We joke about going to the Maccabiah Games and setting a world record,” Lezak tells JTA, referring to what is known as “the Jewish Olympics.”

Toss in 41-year-old Dara Torres, another Jewish swimmer and sprinter who will be competing in her fifth Games, and the possibilities rise even higher.

The swimmers are among the seven Jewish athletes believed to comprise the American Jewish contingent headed to China. They are a mix of veterans and newcomers, all with a realistic chance of acquiring medals at the Games, which begin with the opening ceremony Aug. 8.

Already, Wildman-Tobriner and WeberGale have their nickname: the “hyphenated Jew crew.” That makes for some goodnatured fun around the pool, WildmanTobriner says, adding that he is proud to represent his heritage -- along with the United States -- in China.

est male to qualify for an Olympic swim team.

“That’s an accomplishment in itself,” says Lezak, of Irvine, Calif.

At the recent U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder broke the American record in the 100-meter freestyle with a semifinal time of 47.58, setting himself up as the probable anchor on that relay team.

“Winning medals in the relays is such an amazing feeling, being a part of a team,” Lezak says, speaking to JTA by telephone.

In part, it was his disappointment as an individual competitor in Athens that spurred Lezak to keep his Olympic dreams. He failed to qualify for the finals in the 100meter freestyle, though Lezak says he had a “great opportunity” to win an individual medal.

“I took the preliminaries too Garrett Weber-Gale, who won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha last month, lightly,” he admits. “I was thinking Credit: A. Dawson/flickr about how many races I had to is one of four Jewish swimmers on the American squad going to Beijing. swim and I saved too much energy.

Another Jewish athlete eyeing water- Sara Jacobson and marathoner Deena “I learned a horrible lesson, but it kind related success for the Americans is kayak- Kastor. Both won bronze medals in ’04 in of got me going another four years. I er Rami Zur, who is in his second Athens.

Olympics for the United States after repLezak is competing in his third kind of felt like I had unfinished busiresenting Israel in the 2000 Games.

Olympics and has garnered four medals ness.”

Now Lezak, who will be competing in Some Jewish land lubbers also will wear on relay teams, including a gold in the the red, white and blue in Beijing: fencer 4x100 medley in ’04. At 32, he is the old- Continued on page 3

Philanthropist Roz Friedman dies

by JOAN K. MARCUS Rosalie (Roz) Wasserman Friedman, widow of Omaha jeweler, (Isadore) Ike Friedman, died Aug. 2 at the age of 82. Services were held Aug. 5 at Beth El. She was preceded in death by her husband Ike, who died in 1991 and daughter Janis Yale, who died in 1995 after battling breast cancer.

Roz Wasserman was born in Coon Rapids, Iowa, and came to Omaha when her brother, Sidney needed to begin his studies for his Bar Mitzvah. Her parents, Max and Rena Rodin Wasserman, ran Excel Merchandising Company.

Although her family was far from wealthy, Roz was Rosalie Wasserman Friedman taught that it was always important to be philanthropic and support the Jewish community. In recent years, she has carried on the work that her husband started, supporting institutions such as Jewish Family Service, the Siena Francis House, the Ike Friedman Community Health Plaza and the Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation.

For her charitable work on behalf of the Ike and Roz Friedman Family Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Omaha honored her and the Friedman family in 2003 with its Humanitarian of the Year award at the Continued on page 15

Inside

Gymnastics is the name of Jody Newman’s game since age five ago. “We had two kids by

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications then and wanted to be Coordinator around family. Karli’s Jody Newman was an whole family lives here.”

All-American gymnast in “I like it better now,” 1989 and 1991 competNewman conceded. “It’s ing on the U.S. team in starting to feel more like a Romania in 1991. “It was big city in a smaller pretty exciting,” he town.” He pointed out admitted. One of 15 to that the growth of cultur20 men on the U.S. gymal programs and the renonastics team, Newman vation of downtown said, “It was a great expeenriches life in Omaha. rience, and it was interestNewman has added to the Omaha scene himself. ing to see the cultural difWith his partner Tom ferences. We were treated Koll, Newman purchased like royalty.”

Omaha School of Capturing first place in Gymnastics and Dance, a floor exercises, he modparent-run organization estly noted, “I did pretty in 1998. The co-owners well.” changed the name to Although he swore he’d Premier Gymnastics and never move to Nebraska, moved to 107th and Newman, who was raised Browne Street from 99th near Atlanta, Georgia, and his wife Karli, a native and Military Avenue a Omahan, moved here Jody Newman stands overlooking the gym floor at Premier couple years ago. from Phoenix 11 years Gymnastics which he bought with a partner in 1998.

Continued on page 2

This Week: Sports & Recreation starts on Page 9

See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 12

Beth Israel leadership a family affair: Page 2

Coming This Month: The Learning Curve on Aug. 29 More Olympics coverage of Jewish life in China: Pages 4, 5, 6 & 8

Israel’s women’s basketball team competes in Poland: Page 9 & 10

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

Beth Israel leadership is a family affair

by MARY BORT Commissioners as Administrative Vice for Beth Israel Synagogue President for two years, plus Executive As they do every year, Officer. “A couple of years ago, Bonnie the Beth Israel Board of Bloch approached me, indicating that in Directors voted to select two years there would be a possible need for their new president. This me to serve as president,” he added. “I was year it’s Dr. Alan Kricsfeld. more than happy to do so.”

When Beth Israel’s As for Debbie’s prior leadership involveSisterhood held their most ment, “I had a year of ‘training’ for recent meeting, they also Sisterhood President,” she said. “I needed elected a new president, to learn the ins and outs of Sisterhood and Debbie Kricsfeld, Alan’s its vitality to Beth Israel, so this past year I wife. It is coincidence that was part of a presidium with Julee Katzman a married couple has taken and Bette Kozlen. I learned a tremendous on significant leadership amount. I have been involved with all the Alan and Debbie Kricsfeld roles, but it is evident that fundraisers, as well as assisting in planning both are well-equipped and deserving of their new desig- for each Sisterhood event.” nations of “President.”

Both Kricsfelds have goals in mind for the coming year.

It seems fitting that the couple met at Beth Israel. Both “I’ve seen lots of positive changes with the way we are are long-time residents; Alan was born here and Debbie doing things,” said Alan. “We are more inclusive. The moved to Omaha when she was four years old. Debbie’s Board more actively is involved in decisions -- we have an family has been members of Beth Israel for nearly 20 empowered executive board. My goals are to get the years, while Alan’s side of the family has belonged since board members, and all members of Beth Israel, even the 1940s. more involved in planning and attending programs.”

Alan is the son of Barry Kricsfeld and Cheryl Kricsfeld.

He added, “I also would like to continue expanding Debbie’s parents are Jake and Susan Besser. Alan and membership and create new and exciting programming to Debbie have two children. Son Samuel is eight and will go with our successful traditional programming. I also begin fourth grade this fall at Friedel Jewish Academy. would like to continue the strong relationship between Rachel, age five, will begin kindergarten at Friedel.

Beth Israel and Friedel Academy.”

Alan is a doctor of internal medicine at Diagnostic and Alan also credited Rabbi Jonathan Gross with the Internal Medicine Associates in Council Bluffs. He grad- growth and success of Beth Israel. “Rabbi Gross has been uated from Northwestern University with a major in wonderful to work with,” said Alan. “He has an endless English literature, prior to attending the University of supply of ideas. I’ve never worked with someone who is so Nebraska Medical Center. “I was fortunate to attend enthusiastic about things. We’re so lucky to have him.”

UNMC where I did my residency so I could remain Alan also indicated that having Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi here,” said Alan. join the Beth Israel family is a positive move. “We look Debbie graduated from Bellevue West in 1993 and later forward to having him join us,” stated Alan. attended Bellevue University where she graduated with a Debbie also has set some goals for the coming year: BA. “I majored in Art History with the desire to go back “My goals for Sisterhood are to put the ‘fun’ into to Israel to study art and archeology. Although I didn’t fundraising. We have some great ideas planned and we end up in Israel, it was no loss as I met Alan at Beth Israel hope to engage everyone in them. Another goal is memin 1994 when he returned from Northwestern,” she bership and participation. I would love to have the kind of explained. They were married in 1998. She views herself participation that we previously enjoyed.” as fortunate to be a “stay-at-home” mom though she is With their combined experience and interests, the hardly home. Her activities with Sisterhood, becoming Kricsfelds will provide sound leadership to Beth Israel’s more involved in Friedel’s PTO, her children, their home- Board and Sisterhood. “We are fortunate to have Alan and work and projects -- all make for busy days.

Debbie step up to the plate and share their time and enerBoth Alan and Debbie have been involved with syna- gy with us,” said Rabbi Gross. “Both will make a signifigogue leadership. Alan has been serving on the Board of cant impact on the growth of Beth Israel.”

EYE

ESSENTIALS We make a difference in the way you view the world.

8111 Dodge Medical Center • Suite 140 • 354-8195 8111 Dodge Medical Center • Suite 331 • 354-8175 (Contact Lens Dept.)

2953 S. 168th St. • Suite 101 • Armbrust Village • 330-4131 CLIP & SAVE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

C L I P

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 Tisha B’Av Reading the Rambam Class, 9:45 a.m. at Beth Israel USY & 20’s and 30’s Paint-a-Thon, 10 a.m. at Beth El Beth El Men’s Club Summer Softball Series, 10 a.m.

Tisha B’Av Break-the-Fast Dinner, 9 p.m. at Beth Israel

& S A V E

Gymnastics: the name of his game C L I P &

MONDAY, AUGUST 11 Federation Campaign Lunch Meeting, noon Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

S A V E

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12 Friedel Jewish Academy teachers return Eye on Israel, noon ADL/CRC Board Meeting, noon BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Beth Israel NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

C L I P & S A V E

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Yiddish Group, 1 p.m.

JSS Community Concert, 1:30 p.m.

Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel Academy Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m. at Friedel Academy Class with Rabbi Gross, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events.To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437.

FOR A COMPLETE LISTING,VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

This Space For Rent Call Allan Handleman 334-6451

C L I P & S A V E

Continued from page 1 Although his school friends did other sports, Newman’s “main love was gymnastics” from the age of five. His oldest brother, a gymnast in high school, introduced his younger sibling to the sport and told their mother “to put me in gymnastics.” The sport was all girls at first, but Newman thought the sport was fun and that was “the main thing.”

Newman met Karli Urban, “a very good gymnast” in her husband’s opinion, at Arizona State University where they were both on gymnastics scholarships. “I went there with the intention of becoming an engineer,” Newman said. Then he changed to advertising and earned a degree in communications. Upon graduating in 1992, he went to Chicago and looked for a job. After working there for a year, he moved back to Phoenix and took another advertising position, but “luckily, I got laid off,” he quipped. He had been working in a gym in Phoenix for four or five years coaching the optional (highest) level of girls, 10-16 years old.

Upon first arriving in Omaha, Newman worked for Koll for a year before approaching him to become a partner.

In addition to gymnastics, Premier offers trampoline, tumbling, martial arts, and dance. During their busy time, there are 45-50 staff members, including office workers. At maximum, there are about 1,000 students from 18 months to 18 years enrolled at Premier. “We like to be a one-stop shop,” said Newman, adding that “we do birthday parties.” But some things never change: the boys are enrolled in trampoline and tumbling only.

Premier competes in seven or eight state, regional, and national meets a year. The gym holds the title of state champions at levels six, eight, and nine. “We usually do fairly well,” Newman unassumingly acknowledged.

“I strongly encourage kids to be in any physical activity,” Newman emphasized. Our mission here is “to provide a fun and safe environment where children can learn to enjoy and benefit from physical activities. Too much time is spent on computers and video games, and too many kids are overweight. They need to be physically active.”

While the U.S. Swim Trials were playing out in

Omaha, Newman was in Philadelphia, where he was born, at the USA Gymnastics Convention. The gymnastics trials were in full swing in that city, and Newman was able to attend some of the action. “When the U.S. does really well in the Olympics, we see a big influx at the gym. Enrollment is cyclical to U.S. success at the Olympics.” Newman believes the U.S. “women are set for success.” He described one team member, Shawn Johnson, from Iowa, as “the next Mary Lou Retton,” the All Around Gold Medallist at the 1984 Olympic Games.

Last year, Newman curtailed his coaching career, which he left increasingly to Koll, and began spending more time running the business. He considers the gymnastics business in Omaha to be “not too competitive.”

He estimated that of approximately six gymnastics schools, “there’s probably four competitive gyms in the Omaha metro area and a couple of preschool gyms.”

All three of the Newman children, Bailey, 14, Spencer, 11, and Zoey, eight, have participated in gymnastics.

Zoey is currently a member of the Premier gymnastics team. They’re also involved in acting and have performed at the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Blue Barn Theatre. Karli, director of sales at the Playhouse, also enjoys performing on stage.

“Gymnastics helps some kids get over their fears” on stage, suggested Newman. Bailey, already an experienced actress, agreed. “You have to have confidence in both areas,” gymnastics and acting. She felt that gymnastics did add to her self-confidence on stage “a little bit.” And both the sport and acting contributed to her confidence and stage presence when she became a Bat Mitzvah in March 2007 at Temple Israel, where the Newmans have belonged for ten to 11 years, “I strongly encourage kids to be in any physical activity,” Newman urged. As for gymnastics, “it teaches discipline, time management skills, and it’s fun and safe.”

In addition, gymnastics provides a great foundation,” according to Newman, “for coordination, balance, flexibility, and strength. Very successful athletes have at one time done gymnastics. I really think it’s a wonderful sport for everyone to get into.”

August 8, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Swimmers lead U.S. contingent of Jewish athletes

Continued from page 1 relays and in the 100-meter race, wants to mount the podium by himself.

“I’m a team-type player,” he says, “but to do something on your own feels pretty good. I have a lot to prove to myself. I know I’m capable, I just haven’t done it yet.”

He’ll have plenty of competition from Weber-Gale, of Milwaukee, and Wildman-Tobriner, a fellow Californian.

Weber-Gale, 22, edged Lezak in the 100-meter finals in the trials.

Weber-Gale, who won the World Championships in 2005 and 2007, will be making his Olympics debut after narrowly missing a spot four years ago. He expects to compete in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and on the 4x100 freestyle and medley teams.

The University of Texas All-American predicts an outstanding Olympics for the U.S. squad.

“I think this is the best Olympic swim team ever assembled,” Weber-Gale told the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. “There are several events where we could get multiple medals, and we could win all three relays."

Wildman-Tobriner, 23, also is making his Olympic debut. The Stanford University All-American will compete in the 50-meter freestyle and the relay.

“To finally be able to participate is going to be really exciting,” he told the “j.” the Jewish news weekly of Northern California. “It still hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Lezak, who has been coaching himself the last two years, says he met his younger Jewish colleagues at the ’05 World Championships.

“They were in a different stage of their lives,” he says.

“They were in college, and the international scene was more important to me.”

Lezak says they mostly talk to each other about their common Jewish identity.

“You don’t see that too often,” he says of three Jewish Olympians in the same events. “They’re both nice guys and we all get along.”

The younger duo hasn’t yet picked the brain of their more seasoned colleague, Lezak says.

“Once you start getting to the Games, to the Olympic village, people are more curious of the type of things to expect, more questions come up,” he says.

They can all learn from Torres, a member of the Jewish International Sports Hall of Fame.

Despite having a two-year-old daughter, the Los Angeles native who now works out in southern Florida qualified in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle, though she

will compete in only the former in Beijing.

Torres, who graces the cover of Time magazine’s Olympics preview, which touts “Dana Torres & 99 More Athletes To Watch,” is a nine-time Olympic medalist, including four golds. She established an American record at the trials finals in Omaha in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.25; Torres broke her own mark set in the semis.

“That she’s doing her best times is phenomenal,” Lezak says. “She’s pretty inspiring to all the athletes out there.”

Her success at an advanced age for athletes has brought suspicions of doping, but Torres has passed every drug test.

“I’ve gone beyond the call of duty to prove I’m clean, but you are guilty until proven innocent in this day and age, so what else can I do?” she told Time. “It’s a real bummer.”

Swimmer Max Jaben, left, originally from a Kansas City suburb, gets some advice from coach Leonid Kaufman at the Wingate Institute outside of Netanya, Israel. As of press time, he had not passed the drug test to the satisfaction of the Olympic Committee and it was unlikely he would be allowed Credit: Brian Hendler to compete.

Zur, the kayaker, is seeking his first medal in his third Olympics. He has failed to reach the finals as an individual in the 500-meter event or in the two-man 500- and 1,000-meter events.

The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder is considered a contender as he vies solo in the 500, despite a severe spinal injury that jeopardized his career.

“I want to go there and come back with some hardware,” Zur, 31, told the j.

The native of Berkeley, Calif., was adopted as an infant

by a kibbutz couple near the Sea of Galilee. His proximity to the sea helped develop his love of water sports.

“Kayaking was the first sport where I could go wherever I wanted to,” he says.

The Israeli Olympic Committee cut back on funding for his training following the Sydney Games and he left the Jewish state for the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., where he lived for free. Zur says the Israelis were understanding of his choice to wear U.S. colors.

Kastor, 35, is another Jewish Californian bound for Beijing. A two-time Olympian, she holds the American records in the marathon and half-marathon. In April, Kastor won the U.S. Olympic trials in Boston with a time of 2:29:35.

Her bronze in Athens was the first medal for an American marathoner in two decades.

Jacobson, 25, of Dunwoody, Ga., brings a No. 1 world ranking in sabre to China. Her sister Emily was on the ’04 Olympics fencing team; her father, David, was a member of the ’74 national squad.

Jacobson, who attends Yale University, is a two-time winner of the U.S. women’s sabre championship.

The only U.S.-born Jew on Israel’s Olympic team will likely be disqualified from going to Beijing after failing two drug tests. Swimmer Max Jaben, 22, who is slated to compete in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events in Beijing, tested positive for the anabolic steroid boldenone in separate tests.

Jaben, a native of suburan Kansas City, denies ever taking the drug and is awaiting final word on his fate after a hearing held last month by the Israel Swimming Association.

“I’m extremely upset,” he said. “I cannot believe that this happened. There has obviously been a mistake somewhere.” Michal Schahaf, the spokeswoman for the Israeli Olympic Committee, said Jaben’s chances for competing in the Olympics looked slim.

Jaben made aliyah last summer after discovering Israel in 2005 when he swam in the Maccabiah Games. In the European Championships, he set an Israeli record in the 200-meter freestyle at 1:49:48, finishing in 11th place.

To order a gift subscription to the Press...

Send a check for $15, made out to the Jewish Press and prorated for the year, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 334.6448.

< C < H *DHHP?

<MIDIB @ * A J " <T

“Telling Our Story” Sunday, August 17, 2008 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Jewish Community Center “Limmud Omaha” is sponsored in part through the generosity of the Phillip and Ethel Klutznick Fund, the Ruth Frisch and Oscar Belzer Endowment Fund, and the Gertrude and Albert Newman Endowment Fund

For more information, please call 334-6445.

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

In hot pot dilemma in China, a Muslim comes to the rescue

by ALISON KLAYMAN BEIJING (JTA) -- Being treated to a hot pot meal is one of my most dreaded social situations in China.

Hot pot is like Chinese fondue. A large pot of meat stock bubbles in the center of the table, and fresh meat, fish, vegetables and tofu are dropped inside. You dip the cooked foods in a sesame sauce and drink the flavorful soup.

This is problematic for someone like me, since I’m not only a vegetarian but also kosher. I don’t eat meat or seafood, and I can’t eat vegetables cooked in a meat broth.

Hot pot meals are popular in China and a double problem for kosher vegetarians.

Credit: Alison Klayman Traveling in America, Europe or the Middle East, I always was more comfortable saying I was vegetarian than saying I was kosher. Yet living in China, where vegetarianism for the sake of animals or the environment is rare, most people ask if my eating habits are religious. After all, they know that some observant Buddhists not only refuse to eat meat, but also eggs and milk.

If I am with friends who know I keep kosher, we will find a restaurant with individual hot pots and I can keep my meal vegetarian.

But at a recent dinner in Beijing, a colleague was introducing me to several peo-

ple in the Chinese movie business. I wanted to make a good impression. That meant eating and drinking -- a lot. When I saw the communal hot pot in the center of every table in the restaurant, I groaned.

Not only was I about to inconvenience my host, but a religious discussion was close at hand. Our dinner host was the owner of a Beijing sound studio, and I told him I was a vegetarian. His first question, as expected, was if I was religious.

Then something happened I hadn’t encountered in China. Zhang Qun, a Mandarin voice-over actress also at the table, gave me a sympathetic look.

“I have the same problem,” she said, “because I am Muslim.” Zhang Qun is ethnically Han Chinese, so I was surprised when she told me she was from a Muslim community in Tianjin. She did not look like the stereotypical Chinese Muslim, whom I figured to be from China’s Western Xinjiang autonomous region, where the locals look more like they’re from neighboring Kazhakhstan -- a country that is nearly 50 percent Muslim -than from China. At first I was nervous that she might have a negative opinion about my being Jewish. Most Chinese are complimentary of Jews, saying how clever and rich Jews are without meaning to be at all anti-Semitic. Yet I had never had any extended interaction with a Chinese Muslim before. Would she have a different stereotype in mind? Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. She even helped solve our food problem by taking charge and ordering a smaller hot pot containing only hot water, not chicken broth. It would be kept meat free. Although the food problem was solved, there was still the matter of alcohol. As a Muslim, Zhang Qun could not drink alcohol. At each of the evening’s

dozens of toasts, she clinked her water glass with our beer and baijiu, a strong distilled Chinese alcohol. When she excused herself early, many of the men at the table complained. Why wouldn’t she drink with them? They felt it was impolite.

But the owner of the sound studio, Zhang Yong Mou, looked at me earnestly.

“I think out of everyone at this table, these two have the most in common,” he said. “If anyone can understand Zhang

Qun, Alison can because they are both religious believers.” The comments hit home for me. I rarely meet someone in China with dietary restrictions that exceed mine.

That night, fresh news from Israel about tensions between Muslims and Jews seemed far away. I felt an understanding with Zhang Qun. It was refreshing to find this interfaith connection in Beijing over a dreaded hot pot dinner.

Dates in Chinese Jewish history

by ALISON KLAYMAN BEIJING (JTA) -- The following are key dates in Chinese Jewish history: 1920: Ohel Rachel Synagogue is established in Shanghai (still standing).

1928-49: The first Lubavitch rabbi in China, Meir Ashkenazi, leads Shanghai’s Congregation Ohel Moshe. Built in 1927, Ohel Moshe is now the site of the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum.

1938-45: 20,000 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria escape to Shanghai.

1939-40: Approximately 1,000 Polish Jews escape to Shanghai, including about 400 teachers and students of the Mir Yeshiva.

1941-45: Japanese occupying powers intern recent Jewish immigrants from Allied countries in Hongkou ghetto for “stateless refugees.”

1949: Communists win civil war; by now most of 24,000 Shanghai Jews and other Jewish populations across the country leave China.

1978: Deng Xiaoping announces China’s “open door policy” with the West.

1980: First community seder in Beijing is led by founders of the liberal Kehillat Beijing minyan.

1992: Israel and China establish diplomatic relations.

1995: Kehillat Beijing begins regular Friday night services in permanent home, Beijing’s Capital Club.

Oct 25, 1996: The first community bar mitzvah is held in Beijing for Ari Lee, the son of community founders Elyse Silverberg and Michael Lee. 1998: The “Jewish Shanghai” guided tour begins; it is currently being run by Israeli journalist Dvir Bar-Gal (www. shanghai-jews.com [1]) September 1999: In Shanghai, a Jewish New Year service is held at the Ohel Rachel Synagogue for the first time since 1952, when the synagogue was closed.

2001: Chabad opens its first center in Beijing.

2006: Beijing mikvah Mei Tovah opens.

2007: Beijing opens its first kosher restaurant, Dini’s (www.kosherbeijing.com [2]) May 2008: Israel donates 90 tons of medical supplies, more than $1 million, for Sichuan earthquake relief.

Links: [1] http://www.shanghaijews.com/ and [2] http://www.kos herbeijing.com/

Distinctive Surroundings…

Extraordinary Events.

• Special Sunday Wedding Packages • Entertainment Packages • Special room rates for out-of-town guests • Call today for information about other special event packages: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Parties • Birthdays Sweet 16’s • Family Reunions

909 South 107th Avenue • Omaha, NE 68114 402.397.8000 • www.regencylodge.com

Out

Dining

August 8, 2008

Jews, sports and Olympic controversy

have deliberated whether they should adopt a stand given China’s human rights record. A coalition of 185 U.S. rabbis and Jewish community leaders recently released a statement urging Jews to boycott these games.

“I am suggesting that Jews not spend their discreby MARK MIETKIEWICZ tionary income supporting a regime that supports genocide in Darfur and suppression in Tibet and provides Starting Friday, the entire world will missiles to Iran and Syria,” Rabbi Daniel Freelander of be focused on Beijing, as elite athletes meet to compete the Union of Reform Judaism told The New Jersey Jewish in the 29th Summer Olympics. Although Jewish com- Standard. “I think Jews can watch the Olympics [on telpetitors have shared in Olympic glory, historically Jews evision], but there is no positive reason for them to be have had mixed feelings about the Olympics, ancient and present at the games.” [tinyurl.com/4namjk] modern. The fact that this year’s Games are taking place In separate statements, the Anti-Defamation League, in Beijing has added to the controversy.

Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union suggested that In his essay, “Why the Olympic Spirit Lacks a Jewish a Jewish boycott is inappropriate. “We, too, are deeply Neshama,” Eliezer Segal suggests that “Whereas Jewish concerned about reports of human rights violations in objections to Greek sports were primarily due to their China,” said the Agudath Israel statement. “We believe, inherently pagan character (as well as to their immodesty however, that it is presumptuous, and perhaps even and frivolity), the Romans introduced a new dimension counterproductive, for a group of private citizens to urge to the arena: cruelty which even surpassed that of profes- a boycott of the Beijing Olympics -- and to direct their sional hockey.” appeal specifically at members of the Jewish communiOne notable supporter of athletics was Israel’s first ty.” [tinyurl.com/5nkwrn] chief rabbi, Abraham Isaac Kook, who believed in the Whether you are staying home or have tickets to the importance of maintaining a healthy mind in a healthy Games, there is much to learn about Jewish life in China. body. That is, as long at the Jews may have arrived as healthy body would permit early as the Han Dynasty in Jews to better perform their 231 BCE and the story of religious duties. [tinyurl.

Jewish community of com/5rfszv] Shanghai during the Second Richard Greenberg says World War is well known. that Jews can learn valuable There is much more history lessons from Olympics athand the Wikipedia entry on letes. In Olympics & Jewish life in China is a great Kavanah, he draws a parallel starting point. Check out the between the intense concenexcellent links at the bottom tration that athletes use to of the entry. [tinyurl.com/ visualize their goals and the 2msl9m] kavanah, focus, used in the Although there are only performance of mitzvoth Demonstrators from the American Jewish World Service call about a thousand Jews living and recitation of prayer. on NBC to increase its coverage of the China-Darfur link dur- in the city of 17 million, However, Greenberg con- ing the broadcasting of the “Today Show” in New York City kosher visitors to the ancient cludes by drawing a distinc- on July 23. Credit: Matthew Emry/AJWS capital need not go hungry. tion between sports and Judaism. “In sports, winning is Dini’s Kosher Restaurant offers Western and Chinese everything. But in Judaism, trying your very best can food all under Chabad supervision. [kosher also get you to the medal stand.” [tinyurl.com/ beijing.com] Business is booming with tourists and the 5pg734] restaurant is even attracting local clientele. Waiters bring Rabbi Mitch Smith is a certified sports psychologist new Chinese customers a handout to introduce kashrut, who has worked with Israeli national teams. “To be the which is called Jie Shi in Chinese -- clean food. very best in life, we can take our cue from the Gold Assistant manager Zhao Haixia has to explain the exotMedal athletes. If we dream dreams for ourselves, if we ic fare like matzo ball soup and chopped liver. Some summon the dedication and commitment to those foods are more challenging to the local palate than othdreams and take the steps necessary to achieve them … ers. “In China eating cold fish doesn’t sound so good,” and if we cast our portion with something larger than Zhao said. “Gefilte fish is a hard sell.” [tinyurl.com/ ourselves, then we can hold our head proudly as we take 4u3mcl] our place on the gold medal podium of life.”

Mark Mietkiewicz is a Toronto-based Internet pro[tinyurl.com/6428qe] ducer who writes, lectures and teaches about the Jewish As for these particular games, Jewish organizations Internet. He can be reached at highway@rogers.com.

PEOPLE OF THE

BYTE

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

When you patronize these fine establishments, tell them you saw their ad in the Jewish Press.

THE GREEK ISLANDS 3821 CENTER • 346-1528 Greek Specials Daily Greek Beer & Wine Homemade Pastries Dine In/Carry Out Party Room We Cater Too! Full Service Bar Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Sun., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Munich survivor Dan Alon carries scars of ’72 Olympics

by CHANAN TIGAY SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- The Munich Olympics were meant to be a defining moment in Dan Alon’s life -- but not the way they turned out.

Alon was one of five Israeli athletes who escaped the 1972 massacre of Israel’s Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists.

Thirty-six years later, he still can’t shake what happened.

In Berlin last year to deliver a lecture, Alon noticed several Arabs on the staff of his hotel. He changed hotels immediately.

“I don’t feel secure,” says Alon, 63, a former Israeli fencing champion. “I have a paranoia that they are looking for me.”

In the first years after the attack, Alon says he was perpetually nervous, afraid to be left alone in a room. When he traveled abroad, he always went with someone.

For more than three decades, he barely mentioned Munich.

“I really didn’t talk about it, not even to my family or my friends,” says Alon, who recently retired as director general of an Israeli plastics company. “I tried to stay busy with my business, with my family.”

That changed two years ago with the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” an epic film about the attack and Israel’s subsequent effort to hunt down those responsible.

“People started to call me and ask me questions,” says Alon, who lives in Tel Aviv.

Since then he has started writing a book about his experiences, and now he lectures at universities and in

Jewish communities around the world.

On Sept. 5, 1972, at 4:30 a.m., Alon and his roommate, fellow fencer Yehudah Weinstein, were awakened by gunfire and frantic shouting. Several bullets blew through the wall over Alon’s bed. They were the shots, he says, that killed weightlifter Yossi Romano, who had been staying in the adjoining room.

Alon hurried to his window below, where he spotted a man in a white hat toting a machine gun. Several feet away, wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg lay dying on the ground.

Alon and four teammates -- Weinstein, along with two marksmen and a speed walker -- huddled in his room.

The marksmen suggested shooting the gunman with their pellet guns.

“We decided not to do it,” Alon says. “We didn’t know how many terrorists there were, what kinds of weapons they had, what hostages they had.”

Eventually they agreed to sneak downstairs and outside as quietly as possible. One by one, treading lightly on a creaky, wooden staircase, the athletes descended the single flight of stairs, slipped through a glass door, and went over a first-floor balcony and through the garden to freedom. It took about 15 minutes.

One of the terrorists spotted them as they ran, Alon says, but he did not shoot.

Several hours later the Israelis’ teammates were dead.

“I blame the Palestinians, and I blame the Germans for the failure to [achieve the] release of the athletes,” Alon says. “But I don’t blame myself. I was only surprised that I survived.”

Continued on page 6

WORLD PREMIERE

FRI, SEPT 12, 2008 | 7:30pm Holland Performing Arts Center

SAT, SEPT 13, 2008 | 7:30pm The Arts Center, Iowa Western Community College Made possible, in part, with support from Additional support comes from Iowa West Foundation

For Tickets: Call 34-OPERA (346-7372) | Click operaomaha.org Visit Opera Omaha’s Box Office at 17th & Farnam Tickets also available at 345-0606 omahaperformingarts.org OPERA OMAHA’S WEB SITE IS SPONSORED BY:

Page 6

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

Get your GAME ON with a new car or truck...

Jon Simons Highways 133 & 30 • Blair, NE (402) 667-5649

Send Rosh Hashanah Greetings This year you can send your greetings through these very special ads that will run in our annual Rosh Hashanah issue. Each ad can be personalized with your name,the names of your children or your grandchildren.

Just fill out the form below and send or bring it to the Jewish Press office.

But hurry these ads will only be accepted through August 25,2008.

A

$

38

B

Greetings

ROSH HASHANAH from

Rosh Hashanah Greetings

$

C

$

75

Adam Freeman is featured in the recently released J Alumni News, the semi-annual publication of the University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Adam is a 2005 graduate of the “J” school, and currently is a news reporter for the NBC affiliate in Fort Meyers/Naples Florida. He previously worked as a reporter and anchorman for the NBC affiliate in Hastings.

He has recently covered unique stories on illegal alligator hunting, wild peacocks roaming a suburban neighborhood, smuggling of Cubans (not cigars), and the Florida Everglades. He also interviewed Rudy Giuliani prior to the Florida presidential primary. Adam is the son of John Freeman and Teresa Freeman.

Bill Ramsey and Betty Dineen Shrier will be talking about their new book, Doorway to Freedom: the Story of David Kaufmann on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2 p.m., New Cassel Retirement Center, 900 No. 90 St.; Thursday, Sept. 14, 1-4 p.m., at the Bookworm in Countryside Village, 8702 Pacific; Monday, Sept. 18, 12:30 p.m., at the Omaha Press Club, 1620 Dodge St., Suite 2200; and on Friday, Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m., at B’nai Israel Synagogue in Council Bluffs, at a Wine & Cheese reception as part of the synagogue’s Speakers Series.

Bag ’n Save is carrying a new line of kosher meat from Dawson, MN. Solomon’s provides ground beef, steaks and roasts to the Omaha-based grocery store chain, owned by Helene and Jack Shrago and Dani and Leon Shrago.

Solomon’s, which began selling glatt

Your names go here

50

IN THE NEWS

from Your names go here

Rosh Hashanah Greetings from Your names go here

Rosh Hashanah Greetings Form Name _________________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________________ State ______________ Zip _______________ Check the size of ad you would like: O A O B O C Use the lines below to list your family members names you would like on your Rosh Hashanah ad. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

Please send a check for the amount listed along side the different sized ads or you can drop the form and payment off at the Jewish Press office in the JCC. Jewish Press,333 South 132 Street,Omaha,NE 68154

kosher elk meat last month, will be offering bison burgers to kosher consumers soon, according to Helene Shrago. She also noted that Sabra has expanded their offerings as well and Bag ’n Save is now selling the company’s frozen vegetarian “cigars”, potato “cigars” and vegetarian kibbeh (meatballs) at its 76th and Dodge location.

Everyone who joins the Arbor Day Foundation during August 2008 will receive 10 free Colorado blue spruce trees. The free trees are part of the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for America campaign, a program dedicated to environmental stewardship through the planting of trees.

“Colorado blue spruce trees were selected for this campaign because of their many uses in home landscapes,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “They lend beauty to their surroundings with their silver bluegreen color and compact conical shape.

They can be used as individual ornamentals, an energy-saving windbreak, or a privacy screen.”

The trees will be shipped postpaid between Oct. 15 and Dec. 10, at the right time for planting. The 6-to-12-inch trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge. Members of the Arbor Day Foundation will also receive The Tree Book, which includes information about tree planting and care.

To receive the free trees, send a $10 membership contribution to Ten Blue Spruces, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, by Aug. 31, or join online at arborday.org.

Munich survivor carries scars

Continued from page 5 Olympics paused for a Four years before the day, then resumed. Alon attack, Alon took part in says it was the proper the Six-Day War as a techmove. Not only would it nician securing bombs to have been unwise to “surfighter jets. Just a year render to terror” and after Munich, he did the unfair to deny athletes the same in the Yom Kippur chance to compete, he War. says, but the world would Since then he married -have blamed Israel had the Games been canceled. his wife, Adelle, is a nurse “For me, the Olympics -- and has had three chilare a sacred space for dren: Meir, 30; Pazit, 23; Thirty-six years on, Munich sursportsmen,” he says. “I and Arik, 28, who has vivor Dan Alon still carries the believe still that the become a champion scars of the 1972 massacre of Olympics are very, very fencer.

Israeli athletes at the Olympic good at trying to unite Arik quit to attend colGames, which he and four others people around the world. lege, Alon says, “so I quit, escaped.

Maybe we need more too. I play golf now all Credit: Courtesy Dan Alon than one [Summer] the time.”

After the killings in 1972, the Munich Olympics every four years.”

Disabled vet strengthens life through weightlifting

by BECCA SWANSON Meet Scott Grove. At 37, he is a 100% service connected, disabled veteran who served in the Desert Storm during the first Gulf War. He has created an inspirational and educational DVD to help people with spinal cord injuries start their new lives using a wheelchair. Check out the five-minute introduction video on www.rehabgo.com.

Grove lives in Omaha, and weight lifts at Big Iron Gym, 5514 No. 103 St. Though it didn’t happen overnight, Grove does everything he can to increase and maximize his independence. Weightlifting plays a big roll in that.

“I had to discipline myself. It is a requirement for me to achieve everything. Lifting helps me accomplish goals, big or small, even getting into my wheelchair,” Grove said.

Grove goes on to explain how he needed to establish a routine to take care of himself.

Since being in a wheelchair, he had to reestablish his identity. The chair was not the end of life, but the beginning of a new one. Working out not only added to his independence, it also improved his quality of life.

Grove explained, “When dealing with disability, you are very conscious of how you look.

Coming to gym and changing body, not just for health, but improving physical features meant so much to me. Not only someone else’s interpretation of how I look, it is how I look at me.”

It wasn’t easy for Grove to go to a public facility to workout. But now, the feeling in and of itself feeds his self esteem and confidence.

Getting out into the public and doing things, Grove continues to push the envelope and evolve his new life. “I feel good about myself; I feel good about where I am going,” he added.

Call Justin at 402.612.7490 to inquire about wheelchair personal training.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

August 8, 2008

ORGANIZATIONS WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the Bunch to Lunch trip, please meet at the JCC by 10:45 a.m. The Joe Taylor concert will begin at 1:30 p.m. For Information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots!

Come join us every Thursday, 1-3 p.m. in the social hall of the JCC. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES Mr. Memories Joe Taylor will perform on Thursday, Aug. 14, 1:30 p.m., at the JCC. He will dazzle you with all your favorite songs. There is no admission fee

and all are welcome. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Jews are not immune to social problems.

They must confront them, too. Karen Gustafson, Jewish Family Service Director will discuss a few dilemmas: “Jews, Divorce, and other challenges to the Jewish family,” according to Gary Javitch, chairman for the program on Wednesday, Aug. 13, noon, at Regency Lodge. All men and women in the community are invited. The program is free. An optional buffet lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to get on the email list, contact Lois at 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha. org.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tickets for the 2008/09 season of Omaha Performing Arts Presents have gone on-sale.

The season includes GRAMMY-winning musicians of all genres, some of the finest dance companies in the nation, stirring dramatic presentations and breathtaking acrobatics. Among the 2008/09 season offerings are: classical music sensations, The 5 Browns; the ever-popular Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby; stage and television entertainer Bill Cosby; the extreme athleticism of Diavolo; Canadian born singer and songwriter, k.d. lang; and a New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring

Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.

Omaha Performing Arts in partnership with Broadway Across America will once again bring a dynamic line-up of Broadway performances to Omaha’s beloved Orpheum Theater including The Rat Pack, Stomp, Cats, Grease, Avenue Q, and the smash hit Wicked.

Season subscriptions are still available for the Classical, Dance, Jazz, Popular Entertainers and A La Carte Series. For information on individual tickets or season subscriptions, call Ticket Omaha at 402.345.0606 or visit www.Omaha PerformingArts.org.

LOVE offers tribute cards Instead of visiting a card store, consider purchasing LOVE donation cards for any occasion in amounts of $3, $5, and $10, which includes postage. What better way to benefit the residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home!

Packets in any denomination are also available: six cards for the price of five, or 12 for the price of 10. For information, call: Bernice Cohen at 558.3423, Sherry Shapiro at 330.9825 or Lois Wine at 334.6519. Packing the tribute cards are: Renee Kazor, left, Esther Wax, standing, and Judy Brookstein.

Cruise Away... into a Great Vacation!

Nebrasksa’s #1 Volume Cruise Agency!

DISCOUNTS UP TO 50%

Omaha’s Oldest, MOST EXPERIENCED, Representing CRUISE LINES...WORLDWIDE! OPEN WEEKDAYS 9:00-6:00, SAT. By Appointment Only

PRINCESS

Carnival

339-6800 OR 1-800-289-5505

Nationally Recognized Award Winning Agency

10760 “Q” St., Omaha, NE 68127

NATIONAL TOP NATIONALAGENCY NATIONAL TOP PRODUCER AWARD OF THE YEAR PRODUCER AWARD

Clinical Cosmetics For Permanent Cosmetic Services

Angela & Vicki (Ms B) Micro pigmentation Specialists 2Great Locations 2505 South 174 Plaza • Omaha (inside Lakeside Dental) 2547 2nd Avenue • Council Bluffs (inside Attitudes Salon)

1-402-990-0609

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

Beth El kicks off new year of adult education classes

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator When it comes to Jewish adult education, Beth El Synagogue is committed to providing a variety of thought-provoking and instructional ways to enrich our Jewish lives. To kick off this year’s adulted program, three new courses and one ongoing class will begin within the next several weeks (a complete listing of Beth El’s classes will be published in the Aug. 29 Jewish Press).

In ‘Jews and the Environment,’ Creighton University Professor Leonard Greenspoon will look at what the Hebrew Bible says -- and doesn’t say -about the environment.

"During this class, we will explore representative pasLeonard Greenspoon sages from the Bible which address the environment and what we as humans should be doing about it," Greenspoon explained, noting that traditional Jewish understandings of these teachings will be discussed and active participation will be encouraged.

Class is slated for the following Tuesdays, Aug. 19, 26 and Sept. 2, 7 p.m. Cost to attend is $18.

For those who have always wanted to learn Hebrew, teacher Susi FrydmanLevin will lead a Hebrew Crash Course, on the following Sundays, Aug. 17, 24, 31, and Sept.

7, 14 and 21, 10 a.m.noon.

According to FrydmanLevin, the sixweek class “will be perSusi Frydman-Levin fect for those

who have never learned Hebrew, as well as anyone wishing to take a refresher course. It’s also a great way to learn to read Hebrew before the High Holidays.”

Cost to attend is $18.

Finally, a year-long class which will lead attendees on a many-faceted journey through what it means to be a Jew, will be led by teacher Andy Greenberg. “I Am a Jew” will explore religious, cultural, spiritual, social, charitable and Andy Greenberg educational aspects of being Jewish, and promises “lots of lively discussion,” Greenberg said. Among those questions to be probed during the Sunday morning monthly class: Is Judaism a religion or a lifestyle? What do we all have in common?

Has being Jewish changed over the years?

What are our responsibilities to each other, to God, to the world, to the future?

“I Am a Jew” is scheduled for Sundays, Sept. 7, Oct. 5, Nov. 2, Dec. 7, Jan. 11, Feb. 1, March 1, April 5 and May 3, 10-11:30 a.m. Cost: $36.

Beth El’s longtime Bible Study Discussion Group has resumed its Sunday morning meetings in the synagogue’s library, and is currently exploring Genesis. The 10 a.m. get-togethers offer dynamic conversation and in-depth exploration of the Hebrew Bible, its meaning and significance. All adults in the Jewish community -- whether well versed in Bible knowledge or novices -are invited to attend, at no charge; newcomers are always welcome.

To register for any of these classes or for more information, contact Beth El Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550 or programming@bethelomaha.org.

Page 8

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

Jews in China roll out red carpet for tourists, athletes

by ALISON KLAYMAN BEIJING (JTA) -- Gold medalists won’t be the only ones climbing podiums in Beijing once the 2008 Olympic Games are under way. Isaac Shapiro will be stepping up to celebrate his bar mitzvah.

Isaac, of Highland Park, Ill., will be called to the Torah at the Chabad House in Beijing on Aug. 16.

Isaac and his family are among the hundreds of Jewish tourists, athletes, dignitaries and media expected to converge on the Chinese capital for the 2008 Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 8.

While most visitors probably don’t even realize there is a local Jewish community in Beijing, the resident Jews of China’s capital are getting ready to welcome anyone who seeks them out.

The Shapiro family was already planning a trip to Shanghai and then to the Olympics, motivated by Isaac’s love of sports and his older sister Chloe’s previous career as a competitive gymnast.

When Isaac’s bar mitzvah tutor in Chicago, a photographer for the Games, suggested he have his bar mitzvah in Beijing, it all clicked.

Isaac’s father, Sam, said the family didn’t feel the need for a “big American bar mitzvah.”

Sam Shapiro offered many reasons for the off-beat choice of his son’s bar mitzvah location. “It will give Isaac a wonderful sense for the Jewish Diaspora,” he told JTA. “We also wanted to give our kids a better understanding of China since it is rapidly becoming one of the most important countries in the world.”

While the bar mitzvah will make the second Shabbat during the Olympics an especially lively affair (in Chinese, they would say “renao”) at the Chabad House, the local rabbi expects a big

crowd the prior Shabbat as well. of the total 18,000 hits on the Kehillat Rabbi Shimon Freundlich of Chabad Web site (www.sinogogue.org) came Beijing said he expects a packed house in during the month of July alone.

Kehillat will only meet on the Friday the already squeezed villa living room of the main Chabad House, which is con- nights of Aug. 15 and 22. The minyan verted into a shul with mechitzah separat- decided to cancel its Shabbat services the night of the opening ceremony, figuring ing men and women every week.

He said he has been contacted by that Olympic guests might plan to attend tourists from all over the world, including the show-stopping event. Even Kehillat Australia, Israel, the United States and regulars might find it hard to travel that Europe, and even by some athletes direct- night or simply might opt to watch the ly. Without naming names, Freundlich event on television. Kehillat Beijing does not have regdid divulge ular Saturday that “there morning servwill be athices. letes at servicAthletes and es.” tourists alike “It will be will be taken packed wall care of when to wall, no it comes to question,” he kosher food, said, noting thanks to they couldn’t months of find a larger preparation hall because leading up to ever ything the Beijing else was Dini’s kosher restaurant in Beijing plans to be open 24 hours S u m m e r booked Chabad will a day, seven days a week during the 2008 Olympic Games. Games.

Credit: Alison Klayman There will offer services three times a day every day during the be a place inside the Olympic Village for Games, Freundlich said, at both the main those seeking kosher food and prayer Chabad house and the Central Business services. There are five places in the Village that will host religious activities, District location.

The main Chabad house will also dis- for Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, play a special Sino-Judaic exhibit of arti- Christianity and Judaism.

In the city itself, Dini’s Restaurant, facts belonging to Jews around China in the last 200 years, including books, pho- mainland China’s only kosher eatery that tographs and religious items like a is not part of a Chabad House, will be open to customers 24 hours a day, seven Hannukiah from Shanghai.

While the Chabad community will be days a week. On Shabbat, meals are bustling, all signs indicate that the egali- served after services.

Over a period of several months, Dini’s tarian, lay-led Kehillat Beijing minyan will have its share of visitors. Almost one-fifth was visited by South African shochet

LEGACY PILATES, YOGA & MORE Vital programs to enhance your lifestyle

Pilates Equipment Pilates Mat Yoga & Tai Chi Kids & Teen Classes Private & Duets and more!

402.502.9772 www.MindBodyPrograms.com 1021 S. 178th Street

Bring in this ad for $40 OFF any 16-session program!* *New Clients only.

Rabbi Chaim Klein, who in total prepared over seven and a half tons of beef and nine tons of chicken.

“Everything is slaughtered and in the freezer,” Freundlich, the Chabad rabbi, told JTA. Five rabbinical students from Australia, South Africa and the United States will come to Beijing for the Games to help at the restaurant, as well as perform tasks like delivering food or greeting people at the airport.

As a special Olympics precaution, the restaurant has hired a 24/7 security guard. In addition, Dini’s will make deliveries to hotels all around the city.

Available for sale at both Dini’s and Chabad locations will be a 65-page English-Chinese travel booklet made by Chabad, with helpful tips especially for Jewish tourists.

The Israeli Embassy in Beijing is preparing an informational letter of its own for Israeli tourists, with a guide to the city and useful embassy information, according to the embassy’s press officer, Guy Kivetz.

The embassy will provide support not only for Israeli tourists but also for the more than 20 expected journalists from Israel. Israel is bringing its largest delegation ever to the Olympics, with 42 athletes.

Of course, security is always a concern.

“To host an Olympics is not easy security-wise,” Kivetz said, “but we are confident in the measures that China is taking, and Beijing compared to other places is considered to be safe.”

The Israeli Embassy will also host an event Aug 18 with the dual purpose of commemorating the 11 athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Games and welcoming the Israeli Olympic delegation.

August 8, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Israel’s national girls basketball team jumps at European Championships or ... my first trip to Poland

JOURNAL ENTRY FROM ISRAEL

by TEDDY WEINBERGER

My daughter Rebecca Ross is a member of Israel’s Under-20 national basketball team.

This year, the European championships were held in Poznan, a city in western Poland, between July 11-20.

My maternal grandparents were both born in eastern Poland, and they immigrated to America at the beginning of the 20th century; family members who remained behind were killed in the Holocaust.

My first trip to Poland, however, was destined not to be either a roots trip or a Holocaust-related trip. I was going to Poland’s fifth largest city (with a population of about 600,000) to watch Rebecca play basketball for Israel.

Rebecca Ross (in blue and white) attempts to pass a member of Poland’s team in the 2008 European Championships in women’s basketball. The Israeli team lost (beating only the Portuguese team).

Credit: Wojtek Figurski To be sure, one cannot overlook the past in a trip to Poland, and so Rebecca and her teammates, after flying to Warsaw, spent several hours in that city visiting ghetto-related sites before boarding their plane to Poznan.

Rebecca, the only non-native born Israeli on the team, acted as translator for the English-speaking tour guide.

This was Rebecca’s second time in Warsaw, the first having come toward the end of a 12th-grade trip to the concentration camps. This time, she says, “I was not filled with pain at what the Jews experienced or hatred for our enemies, but I was more interested in the historical details of exactly what happened.”

The girls on the team didn’t think it unusual to mix Holocaust history with basketball. As Mor Saida put it: “We are representing the country, and this is part of our history.”

Poznan is a jewel of a city. On the one hand it has several exquisitely ornate Baroque churches, as well as a traditional old town square (complete with a pair of mechanical goats who butt horns each day at noon on the clock tower).

On the other hand it hosts World Cup competitions in canoeing, kayaking, and rowing on Malta Lake, and its impressive “Old Brewery” mall won the top award this year for European shopping centers and is a favorite to win the world title in December. I was also delighted to learn that English is Poland’s second language: signs in Poznan’s large art museum are in Polish and English, as are restaurant menus, and even the announcements in my hotel’s elevator were in English and Polish.

But just remember that Poland was freed from the Soviet Union in 1989, so unless you also speak Russian, don’t expect to do a lot of communicating with Polish people who are over 35. (A happy exception here was my pleasant tour guide Jaroslaw Majchrzak; you can reach him at ejmaj@icpnet.pl if you are considering visiting Poland to learn about your family’s history there.)

Of course, it’s tempting to walk around Poland and think about what would have happened during World War II, to eye anyone over 80 with suspicion, and to look around for hiding places--just in case.

Continued on page 10

Bring in this coupon and receive $10 off 1 membership.

Offer expires 9/30/08 JP

Page 9

Out

Dining

Page 10

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

When you patronize these fine establishments, tell them you saw their ad in the Jewish Press.

Israel’s girls basketball team jumps at European Championships Continued from page 9 Your mind can’t help playing games with you, such as when I happened to find myself riding a tram illegally (only after I boarded did I find out that payment had to be made beforehand). As I watched my fellow passengers dutifully stamp their own tickets in the self-service machines on the tram, I have to confess that the thought did occur to me: if I am caught without a ticket, will they take me out and shoot me on the spot?

But I have to admit that these are just games that a Jew plays in contemporary Poland, and frankly these games have no basis in today’s reality. Israel has full diplomatic relations with Poland and is constantly looking to upgrade its economic and cultural ties with Poland -- so does it really make sense to view all Polish people as latent anti-Semites?

Smoothies | Ice Cream | Pies R O C K B R O O K V I L L A G E | 4 0 2 . 3 9 9 . 2 010 COFFEEHOUSE & CREAMERY

August Coupon Special

FREE!

Buy One Get One

Enjoy one scoop of ice cream in cup or cone and receive one free.

Limit one per customer. Expires August 30, 2008.

Rebecca Ross, left, cheers with her teammates over their win against the women’s basketball team from Portugal.

Credit: Wojtek Figurski

Body Detox & Energy Balancing Ionic Foot Bath

ENJOY LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE Over time the build up of environmental toxins, either physical and/or chemical, overload our systems. As a result, the body’s cellular matrix can’t work at an optimal state, creating a cascade effect for physical ailments and potential health problems. These include: allergies, arthritis, immune deficiencies, migraines, fatigue, decreased muscle function, loss of flexibility, cancer, heart disease, circulatory problems and memory impairment, just to name a few.

The EB-PRO™ ION Therapy System will begin the process of enabling the body to restore its natural state of balance and health.

So join the wave of the future.

RESULTS • Healthy individuals often feel more energy and experience a greater • feeling of well-being.

• Patients with pain, edema, gout, allergies, lymph edema, neuralgia • and swollen joints have often reported immediate relief.

Call for an appointment

402.216.9581 www.solecleanse.com

I prefer the attitude of Huki Nir, an Israeli sports agent in attendance at the Poznan Championships, born in Germany in 1946 to two Polish parents (his mother lost a brother and father in the Holocaust, and his father lost both parents as well as eleven siblings). Huki told me: “I know the history and one shouldn’t forget what happened, but it’s history. It’s a different world today.”

The basketball games were held in Tarnowo Podgórne, a small neighboring town outside of Poznan.

For some reason, Polish authorities did not view the championships as an opportunity to expose their youth to quality international basketball, and attendance was sparse. Besides the Polish team, only the Dutch team brought a significant number of fans; of the remaining eight teams, Israel, with six parents (of four of the 12 players) was more than fairly represented.

The Israeli team traveled with two undercover security men who combed the gym for suspicious objects and who each stationed themselves at one of the gym’s entrances during games and practices.

Joanna Kedziora, a 21-year-old university student from Poznan, who was working as one of the scorekeepers, told me that all the locals found it strange to see security men with the Israeli team. “I can tell you that this is the first time that security men have been to Tarnowo Podgórne,” she said.

Joanna asked me, “Why are they here?” I told her of the dangers facing any official group from Israel. When she persisted and asked whether two security men could stop a terrorist attack, I gave her a short lesson about the security calculus (concerning low risks and high risks and general threats versus specific threats) that comes as second nature to all Israelis.

The first game I saw was the only one (of seven) that Israel won in the tournament (beating Portugal 57-56).

Before the game, each of the players was introduced. For some reason, when Rebecca’s name was called, her middle name was also announced.

And perhaps it was hearing that full name, Rebecca Rachel Ross, that triggered my tears, because suddenly I was crying there at the Tarnowo Podgórne gym in western Poland. Because here was my little girl, the same girl who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, who moved to Israel from Miami, Florida at age eight, now playing basketball for the State of Israel in a country that used to try to destroy the Jewish people.

While it would have been nice if Israel had won a game or two more, few people expected Israel to do better than it did, and clearly the main reason for the team to go was to play, to compete, and to have fun.

A main factor against Israel was height. Israel had the shortest team in the tournament, featuring the three shortest players, with Rebecca Rachel Ross the absolute shortest, standing proud at 5’ 1.8”.

Though Rebecca was perhaps also the fastest and most energetic player in the tournament, her coach mainly

preferred to play the 20-year-old point guard over her (a mistake of course), since Rebecca is only 19. Not to worry, Rebecca, all-around athlete that she is, was able to fully release her competitive energies at the ping-pong table in the hotel in Tarnowo Podgórne where all the teams stayed. One after another, players, coaches, and trainers were all trounced by Rebecca, as the crowd around the table cheered her on.

There was an added element to the championships this year, in this place, and it was expressed to me by one of the stars of Israel’s team, Nofar Shalom: “I think that in some divine way it’s not just by chance that we played here in Poland this year, the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel. Precisely here in Poland, with all the history, it’s a privilege to represent the State of Israel.”

And Vito Gilic, Israel’s 49-year-old non-Jewish assistant coach (originally from Croatia), added: “The Nazis wanted to wipe out the Jewish people in the Holocaust, and here in Poland they killed millions of Jews. But this symbol of Israel on our shirts tells everyone that the Nazis failed, that the Jewish people live.”

Most Israelis who go to Poland are high school youth who visit the concentration camps. Few Israelis think of Poland as a place in which to vacation.

While it is true that there is certainly something tense in the background when one visits Poland, this does not have to be the case, since Israelis, after all, are masters at living life to the fullest even amidst tension. Indeed, more regular visits by Israelis to Poland might help dispel the Poles’ own misgivings about visiting Israel (they view Israel chiefly as a land of terror and as a destination only for elderly Christian pilgrims--who are at the end of their lives in any case).

Vito, in fact, told me that at the hotel, he found himself explaining again and again that Israelis do not spend their lives huddled in bomb shelters but that they have created a

Top photo: Town Hall -- Dariusz Krakowiak, in Tarnowo Podgórne. Bottom: Old Town -- Lukasz Zandecki.

Credit: Dariusz Krakowiak vibrant, hi-tech society. He said that Israel’s presence at an event like these championships was important, that it showed that “even in the wake of terror attacks we come to enjoy ourselves, be part of the European community, and play ball.”

Summing up her trip, Rebecca said: “My first visit to Poland in high school was incredibly charged emotionally. After going to Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Chelmno, you don’t have a very good feeling about the Polish people and Poland. This time it felt like a totally different country. The same people whom I would have looked upon as bad, now seemed nice and normal. You can’t forget about what happened 65 years ago, but it’s a totally modern, pretty country. Plus, they have a pretty good mall there.”

As for me, I have to say that I had a surprisingly good time in Poland. I’m already looking forward to my second trip, and I hope that it too will be a normal one, to 21st-century Poland.

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah to Israel in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children, three of whom now serve in the IDF. A frequent contributor to this newspaper and others across North America, he can be reached at weinross@net vision.net.il.

August 8, 2008

Don’t belong to a synagogue?

Open house is way to find one

by JANIE MUROW Federation Community Development Director True or False? If I’m not a member of a synagogue I can’t attend Shabbat services there. False. Fiction. Complete myth!

The Omaha Jewish community has a wonderful reputation of being warm and welcoming. Often newcomers don’t know just how welcome they are in local institutions for religious services, programs and speakers.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha has partnered with the synagogues this summer to promote “Open House Shabbat”.

Beth El, Beth Israel and Temple Israel will each host a Shabbat service to welcome newcomers to the community, people who have not yet joined a synagogue, and members of other congregations who want to experience something new.

It’s not always easy to walk into a synagogue for a service when you don’t know anyone. So during “Open House Shabbat” synagogue volunteers will be on

hand to welcome people and sit with newcomers during services.

Of course, no Jewish event would be complete without food; each congregation will host a reception or luncheon during “Open House Shabbat.” And with the high holidays approaching, this is a great opportunity to get a sneak peak at the different services.

The Open House Shabbat schedule is: Saturday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel, 12604 Pacific St.; lunch follows services.

Friday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m., at Temple Israel, 7023 Cass St.; reception follows services.

Friday, Sept. 12, 5 p.m. reception, followed by 6 p.m. services, at Beth El, 14506 California St. Check out the synagogues, have a nosh and make some new friends. Any questions, call me at 334.6566 or email at jmurow@jewishomaha.org.

Tisha B’Av observances at Beth Israel

by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue A day of reflection, Tisha B’Av observances will be held at Beth Israel Synagogue on Aug. 9 and 10. The community is invited to attend services, classes and movies.

In preparation for Tisha B’Av, there will be a “Laws of Tisha B’Av” class on Saturday, Aug. 9 after 9 a.m. Shacharit and Kiddush. The fast begins at 8:31 p.m.

Tisha B’Av, Sunday, Aug. 10, will begin with Shacharit at 9 a.m. and Kinot (lamentations) at 10 a.m. There will be a

“Holocaust & Halachah” class at 10:30 a.m., followed by four movies. The first movie is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. and is titled The Music Box. The Impossible Spy will be shown at 1:30 p.m. followed by Home Game at 3 p.m. After Minchah at 4:30 p.m., the last movie to be shown will be The Ten Commandments at 5 p.m.

Ma’ariv is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the fast ends at 9:16 p.m. A dairy dinner will follow. Reservations are required. For more information, please contact the office at 556.6288.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 11

Team Omaha scores at JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego

After practice at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, the Boys 13-14 Basketball Team (plus one young woman!) was psyched for the annual JCC Maccabi Games, back row: coach Tom Krehbiel, left, Sam Kohll, Dor Mesika, David Glazer, Oliver Rockman, Benjamin Lohman, Zach Muskin, assistant coach; front row: Lindsey Thomas (playing with Orange County girls’ team), Cameron Davis, Max Saferstein-Hansen, Justin Schrager, Dustin Ginsburg. The group of 17 athletes and five chaperones flew to San Diego last Sunday for a week of competition, community service and the opportunity to bond with Jewish fellow athletes from North America, Israel, and beyond. As of press time, the boys’ basketball team was 2-0, but medal contention won’t come until later this week for all of the athletes. A full report and medal count will be in next week’s Press.

JEWISH PRESS EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press office will be closed Monday, Sept. 1, for Labor Day. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos for the Sept. 5 issue is Wednesday, Aug. 27, 9 a.m.

All board lists for the New Year’s issue are due by Monday, Aug. 25. Lists of births, deaths, marriages and B’nai Mitzvahs are due by Friday, Aug 29; and all synagogue schedules for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah services for the week of Sept. 26 are due no later than Sept. 2.

Questions can be directed to the Press office at 402.334.6448.

COMING 09.26.08

Becca Swanson Personal Training

America Decides 2008: JEWS AND POLITICS

Express Training For those on the RUN 3 - Half hour workouts per week

5514 North 103 Street | Omaha, NE 68134 NEWON! 981-4654 LOCATI

ISSUE Information

Publishing Date » 09.26.08 Space Reservation » 08.25.08 Camera Ready Deadline » 09.03.08

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

ALLAN Handleman

Call Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 or email:ahandleman@jewishomaha.org

ROBYN Belgrade

Call Robyn Belgrade at 402.334.6559 or email:robynbelgrade@jewishomaha.org

Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

The Olympics and Tisha b’Av How fascinating that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games open just two days before Tisha b’Av (and the traditional 25-hour fast, which begins Saturday evening after Shabbat ends and ends Sunday evening, Aug. 10, at 9:16 p.m.).

Though the number eight is highly symbolic to the Chinese (hence the Games’ opening on 08-08-08), it placed the Games at the end of the “Nine Days” period leading up to the ninth of Av, commemorated as one of the saddest dates on the Jewish calendar.

Besides the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem (in 421 BCE and 70 CE), the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av also marks a number of other terrible events in Jewish history.

Among them are: • the fall of the last holdout of the Jews in Betar, when the general Bar Kochba led the Jewish people in a revolt against the Romans in 132 CE; • the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290, followed by book burnings, beatings and murder of remaining Jews; • the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (and remarkably, the date which Christopher Columbus’ three little ships sailed for the New World -- coincidence?); • the start of World War I after the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand of Sarajevo in June of 1914, which led to a declaration of war by Britain on Germany on Aug. 4 when Germany attacked France; • in 1989, Iraqi officials snub Kuwait in talks that breakdown and lead to the first Gulf War and Iraqi scud missiles landing in Israel; • and most recently, the bombing of the AMIA (the Jewish community center) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1994, in which 86 people were killed and more than 300 others wounded (Hezbollah, funded by Iran, is thought to have masterminded the attack).

All in all, the ninth of Av is not a great day for the Jewish people. So pardon us if we’re a little leery about the Games being held in one of the world’s most totalitarian countries.

As journalists are already learning, Internet access will be limited to sites related to sports and the Olympics. They can forget about going online to check out CNN or even Omaha.com (never mind jewishomaha.org!). If they had hoped to spend their downtime doing a little research on Chinese dissidents, the situation in Tibet, China’s continuing relationship with Sudan, and its burgeoning deals with Iran -that’s just not going to happen. Chinese officials have clamped down on free speech and freedom of the press (not that either really existed before).

Readers are aware of what happened in Tibet when the Olympic torch was making its way around the world: rallies and demonstrations at which a number of protesters were injured or jailed. There was even talk of a boycott of the games and then just of the opening ceremonies. But in the end, it appears as though politics will win out (as usual) over what is right.

Sudan, for example, is the largest supplier of oil to China. And, in return for this “generosity, China sends tanks, fighter jets, helicopters, machine guns and that terrorist favorites -- RPGs: rocket-propelled grenades to Sudan. The civil war in Sudan has left two million dead and forced another four million from their villages. Thankfully, activists raised the issue of PetroChina’s presence on the New York Stock Exchange, and even Omaha’s own Warren Buffett finally sold Berkshire Hathaway’s stake in the Sudan-based Chinese oil company.

Last December, China signed a $70

billion oil deal with Iran, getting upwards of 14% of its oil from the rogue state. And remember, China is already a member of the “nuclear” club, the one to which Iran wants entree. It’s obvious to observers that China’s strategy is to challenge dominance by the United States on the world stage, much as the Soviet Union tried to do. The USSR is no more, but Russia under Putin is resurrecting those goals and G-d help us if he succeeds.

We fervently hope that this year’s Olympic Games go off without a hitch -- no bombs in backpacks, no terrorists killing Israeli athletes -- nothing but the pride and achievements of all participants. We’d hate to see yet another tragedy added to our Tisha b’Av list.

FOCUS ON ISSUES

by NOAM BEDEIN It would be the easiest thing in the world to relax, sit back and watch the Beijing Olympics on my porch in Sderot.

Yet it is hard to forget flashbacks from exactly three years ago, when I traveled through Tibet -- an enchanted nation with the highest altitude in the world that lives under the iron fist of the Beijing government.

I was exposed to Tibet for the first time, while visiting Nepal, during a three week trek around the Annapurna Himalayan mountains, when our guide screened the movie : 7 years in Tibet, starring Brad Pit. That film depicted the Chinese oppressive policies in Tibet, including the brutal expulsion of the Dalai Lama and his peaceful people of Tibet to Northern India.

When I took a walk outside of that small movie hall, I was overwhelmed by the same exact enormous mountain views of the movie -- only from the other side. I then decided to travel to Tibet .

The dirt road from Nepal to Tibet, a fiveday jeep ride journey to Llasa, the Tibetan capital, was packed all the way with laborers -men, woman and children -- constructing paved roads in the highest altitude in the world.

I traveled in Tibet for one month and felt the experience, for the first time in my life, the meaning of not being free, as a people, as a nation, not being able to worship your own god and belief. The Tibetans are prohibited from possessing any picture or portrait of the

All this carried the message of the importance of a homeland, where one can feel free and safe to celebrate tradition and beliefs that have been celebrated for thousands of years.

Sneaking in to the “Potalah”, the temple of the Dalai Lama, after refusing to pay an expensive entrance fee for the Chinese government, we noticed a Tibetan man and a Tibetan woman constructing the roof, having a special ceremony and dance, all while fixing up a holy place. A huge Chinese flag waved in the background, just in case they forget who is in charge.

Passing through the country, we noticed how every single thing you want to do, see or experience -- any ritual or Tibetan tradition -is transformed into a fee to the Chinese government. To visit any monastery, take any trek or swim or see any lake, you have to go through a travel agency, and the most expensive tourist attraction is to ride towards the Mount Everest base camp. It seems like the

Jewish Press Board Michael Sigmond, Vice President; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Andy Ruback; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman.

The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press .

Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole.

The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content.

The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.

From Tibet to Sderot - a perspective on the Beijing Olympics Dalai Lama or sculpture considered as a divine figure to them.

While stopping throughout the villages in Tibet on the way to Lhasa, our group, hailing from different parts of the world, gave out small pictures of the Dalai Lama (that we photocopied from the Lonely Planet guide book) to the villagers.

It is hard to forget witnessing a 70-year-old woman, seeing a photo of the Dalai Lama for the first time in 50 years. We watched her excitement, while tears started to rush down her face.

(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Robyn Belgrade Sales Associate Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Chinese turned Tibet into their own amusement park, charging for every single ride …

But for me, my highlights were: walking around Lhasa, getting friendly with the local Tibetans, who came on a six-day walk from different parts of Tibet, helping a Lama devotee and his delegation to send a fax.

I met a Tibetan history teacher, reveling in the fact that 90% of his peoples’ history was destroyed by the Chinese, and that in Lhasa they only teach Chinese. “There are only four history teachers left in Tibet,” he explained.

I arrived, by coincidence, in the village Tabu in the Spitty valley, where I witnessed a Tibetan festival that occurs once in seven years, now just celebrated in India.

All this carried the message of the importance of a homeland, where one can feel free and safe to celebrate tradition and beliefs, that have been celebrated for thousands of years.

So I sit here now in Sderot, writing and remembering these experiences from Tibet and India, appreciating the fact that we Jews live freely in our own land, and thinking of the past few months, where more than 600 rockets, missiles and mortars have been launched.

Yes, unlike the people in Tibet, we live in our homeland. We are free.

In Sderot, we would like to sit back and relax and watch the 2008 Olympics, yet it is hard to relax, knowing our reality in Sderot where our freedom is being challenged.

It is equally hard to forget the reality of Tibet, where it is impossible for Tibetans to relax, because they cannot sit back and live in freedom under Chinese rule.

Noam Bedein runs the Sderot Information Center for the Western Negev Ltd. More can be found on www.SderotMedia.com.

Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org..

Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written.

Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.”

The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing.

All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request.

No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf.

Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450.

Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $33 per calendar year U.S.; $72 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422.

Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

August 8, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 13

Demographic optimism, not fatalism

BEHIND THE H EADLINES

by YORAM ETTINGER Washington Jewish Week

Anyone suggesting that Jews are doomed to become a minority west of the Jordan River is either grossly mistaken or outrageously misleading. According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, the annual number of Jewish births has increased by 40 percent between 1995 (80,400) and 2007 (112,543), while the annual number of “green line” Arab births has stabilized around 39,000 during the same period.

Among Jews, the secular sector is mostly responsible for the impressive increase, especially immigrants from the former Soviet Union, whose fertility rate shifted from Russian rate of one child per woman to the secular Israeli Jewish rate of 2.2 children. The Arab-Jewish fertility gap has been reduced from six children per woman in 1969 to 0.7 child in 2007.

In the Arab community, the fertility rate (3.5 births per woman) has declined 20 years faster than projected -- due to successful integration into Israel’s health, educational, financial and commercial infrastructures -- while Jewish fertility rate is rising (2.8 births per woman). In

Jerusalem, Arab and Jewish fertility rates have converged -- 3.9 births per woman -- for the first time since 1948. Currently, Israel’s Jewish fertility is the highest in the industrialized world.

The Bennett Zimmerman-led American-Israel Demographic Research Group (AIDRG) documents a substantial decline in the Arab population growth rate in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), as well as in Gaza, primarily due to annual average net-emigration of more than 10,000. Prior to 1967, Jordan’s King Hussein had encouraged emigration, but that slowed down in 1968 due to the new Palestinian access to Israel’s health, educa-

There is a demographic problem, but there is no demographic machete at the throat of the Jewish state. Moreover, the demographic momentum has shifted to the Jewish sector. tional and employment base.

Following the second Intifada in 2000, emigration shifted to a higher gear, peaking (25,000 annually in 2006 and 2007) with the rising price of oil, which has increased demand by Persian Gulf sheikdoms for Palestinian work force.

At the same time, the Jewish state benefited from continued aliyah. Through

audits of Palestinian births, deaths, school enrollment and voter registration records, kept by the Palestinian Ministries of Health and Education, Palestinian Election Commission and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, AIDRG was able to document the decline in Arab fertility.

This decline is attributed to accelerated urbanization, expanded education, evolving career mentality, higher divorce rate, higher median wedding age, decline in teen pregnancy and intense family planning, led by the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

In fact, such a decline is typical of today’s Muslim countries, forcing the U.N. Population Division to reduce global population projections by 25 percent.

The unprecedented drop in Muslim fertility has been led by Iran’s ayatollahs and mullahs -- from 10 children per woman 25 years ago to 1.8 children today.

AIDRG also has documented a 1.1 million (40 percent) artificial inflation in the official number of Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (2.7 million, not 3.8 million) and a 53 percent inflation in the official number of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria alone (1.5 million and not 2.3 million).

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) includes in its census some 400,000 overseas residents, it adds

more than 200,000 Israeli (Jerusalem) Arabs who are also counted as Green Line Arabs, and it ignores about 200,000 emigrants (since 1997), etc. The World Bank 2006 survey of education in Gaza, Judea and Samaria documents a 32 percent gap between the number of Palestinian births claimed by the PCBS, and those documented by the Palestinian Ministries of Health and Education.

The World Bank attributes the gap to reduced fertility and escalated emigration.

A solid 67 percent Jewish majority exists on 98.5 percent of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean (without Gaza), compared with a 33 percent and an 8 percent minority -- west of the Jordan River -- in 1947 and 1900 respectively.

There is a demographic problem, but there is no demographic machete at the throat of the Jewish state. Moreover, the demographic momentum has shifted to the Jewish sector. When it comes to longterm social, economic, aliyah and national security policy decision-making, demography constitutes a source of hope and optimism, not fatalism and pessimism.

Yoram Ettinger, a member of the American-Israel Demographic Research Group, was minister for congressional affairs at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, 1989-1992.

Aspirations of true freedom

ANOTHER P OINT OF VIEW

by RABBI JONATHAN GROSS

Before Menachem Begin was Prime Minister of Israel, he spent eight years in a Soviet prison.

In his autobiographical work, The Revolt he writes about the low point of his incarceration, an eight-day sentence to solitary confinement in a three-by-three foot cell. For 170 hours he was given nothing to eat but dry bread and water. The sanitary pail was never removed, the stone floor was his bed, his arm was his pillow and his only cell mates were a thriving colony of rats.

“My stay in solitary taught me a lesson in values which will last me all of my life. Whenever the foul reality of my surroundings forced itself on me I dreamt -- not of the free world, not of a decent house, or a warm bath, or any of the boons given by freedom to a civilized human being. No! I dreamt of the normal cell in prison. The barred cell where there was company and the meager mattress on the stone floor,” he writes.

Begin discovered that the longer and deeper a person is thrown into suffering, the less is his ability to even conceptualize what it was like to be completely free of pain. This was the strategy employed by the Soviets who sought to break the will of any dissidents and suppress any national aspirations.

After constant and sustained oppression, the human condition is to view that oppression as normalcy and any additional pain only causes one to yearn for a return to the previous degree of suffering and abandon any aspirations of true freedom.

Throughout the bitter exile of two millennia the Jewish people experienced holocausts, pogroms, inquisitions, and expulsions to such a degree that it would have been completely understandable had we forgotten our illustrious national history and simply yearned for an end to the oppression, without any further national aspirations of statehood or independence.

UN-BIASED, RESEARCHBASED LEARNING sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board in partnership with UNL Extension.

Aug. 12 Aug. 13 Aug. 14 Aug. 15

One-day events start at 9 a.m. UNL faculty and private industry experts will provide timely soybean production, BRUNING - Ted Norder Farm marketing and manSEWARD - Terry Hackbart & Sons Farm agement information.

WAKEFIELD - Jim Stout Farms Call 800-852-2326 or ARLINGTON - Dalvin & Betty Scheer Farm 800-529-8030 for details.

(Little Creek Game Bird Farm)

Maps, Topics & More on the web at http://ardc.unl.edu/soydays

But somehow, the Jewish people never forgot their past and always remembered what it meant to dream and to yearn for the true destiny of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.

When Herzl wrote his monumental work The Jewish State, nobody could truly imagine what it would be like for that vision to be anything more than a fantasy, but suddenly in 1948 it was reality. The Jewish people were happy with their tiny state but nobody could imagine being able to pray freely at the Kotel. But since the liberation of 1967, a trip to Israel without visiting and praying by the Western Wall would be hard to imagine.

By observing Tisha b’Av every year, the Jewish people were able to preserve the memory of what it was to be a proud nation in their own sovereign land ...

So too, today we may be content with our Jewish state, only because sometimes we cease to remember that our sovereign country is still incomplete.

Today we cannot imagine what it would be like to be able to visit the glorious Beit Hamikdash, the Temple that stood twice for a period of a thousand years on the Temple mount. Yet our tradition teaches us that there will be a time when we once again will have “the Temple Mount in our hands” and we will once again have sovereignty and freedom to pray there together as a proud nation.

This year, sundown on Saturday, Aug. 9 until nightfall of Sunday, Aug. 10 marks the ninth day of the month of Av, Tisha b’Av. This day of mourning and repentance commemorates a number of tragedies that occurred throughout Jewish history. We remember the Jewish persecutions and expulsions from England and Spain, the massacres and pogroms in Eastern Europe and most notably the destructions of the first and second Temples.

Tisha b’Av is not just the day that we mourn the loss of what once was. The purpose of this somber day is to remind us how to dream and yearn and hope that one day “our eyes will see Your return to Zion.”

By observing Tisha b’Av every year, the Jewish people were able to preserve the memory of what it was to be a proud nation in their own sovereign land and thereby after 2000 years maintained the will to make that dream into a reality. Therefore I strongly encourage every Jewish person, no matter what their affiliation, to seek out and attend some Tisha b’Av observance in the community and join the Jewish people throughout the world and throughout the ages in our national day of mourning and remembrance.

Menachem Begin taught us to never be complacent with our national aspirations. This year, let us remember our past and pray that G-d hastens the coming of a bright new future so that next year we may celebrate in Jerusalem.

As Begin said in his address to the newly liberated people in 1948, “We shall bear the vision of a full liberation, we shall bear the vision of ultimate redemption, and we shall bring it into realization.”

Rabbi Gross is senior rabbi at Beth Israel Synagogue.

LETTER TO THE

EDITOR

To the Editor: Kudos to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

I recently spent three weeks at the Home recuperating from a full knee replacement. It was a very enlightening experience and it exceeded my expectations.

The care I received was top notch; the nurses were very compassionate and I have to mention too the wonderful quality of the food. It was very tasty and its presenation was excellent. The kitchen does everything to make the residents happy with the menu.

Now on to the therapy department: the skill displayed in getting me ready to go home, using a cane and forgoing the walker, amazed me.

I am home and doing well -- thanks to the staff at the Blumkin Home!

Bernie Altsuler

TO WIN

FREE

FOR

ONE YEAR

*See Store for Details

Page 14

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

Candlelighting Friday, August 8, 8:13 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

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

The Neighborhood Minyan 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

If you’re looking at this space, so are others!

YOUR AD CAN GO HERE...

to reserve space, call

Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451 or Robyn Belgrade 402.334.6559

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

would like a refresher course. Cost: $18. To register, contact Margie Gutnik in the office, or at programming@bethel-omaha.org.

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

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

SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m. Kiddush sponsored by Margo and Steve Riekes in honor of their birthdays and anniversary; Minha/Ma’ariv, 8:25 p.m.

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

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

TISHA B'AV: Services on Saturday, August 9, 8:25 p.m., and Sunday, August 10 at 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

BRUSH UP NEBRASKA Sunday, Aug. 10, members of USY and the synagogue’s 20s and 30s group will participate in the Brush-Up Nebraska Paint-a-thon, a project responsible for painting homes of low-income elderly and low-income disabled homeowners. Meet at the synagogue at 10 a.m., then drive to assigned home. To register or for more information, contact Robert Mosenkis in the office, or at youth dir@bethel-omaha.org.

JEWS & THE ENVIRONMENT Mini course led by Professor Leonard Greenspoon, scheduled for the following Tuesdays: Aug. 19, 26 and Sept. 2, 7 p.m. Class will focus on what the Hebrew Bible says about the environment, and what human beings can do to help out. All adults in the Jewish community are welcome. Cost: $18. To register or for more information, contact the office.

HEBREW CRASH COURSE: Join teacher Susi Frydman-Levin for her six-week Hebrew Crash Course, beginning Sunday, Aug. 17, 10 a.m. to noon. This class is geared to beginners or those who

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 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.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sidney and Lynda Mirvish in honor of their grand children, Rebecca, Jonathan and Miriam; “Laws of Tish B’Av” class will follow Kiddush); Mincha, 2 p.m.; Seudah Mafseket, 2:30 p.m.; Fast Begins, 8:31 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:17 p.m.; Ma’ariv/Eichah, 9:30 p.m.

SUNDAY -- Tisha B’Av: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kinot, 10 a.m.; “Holocaust & Halachah” class, 10:30 a.m.; Movies: Music Box, 11:15 a.m.; The Impossible Spy, 1:30 p.m.; Home Game, 3 p.m.; The Ten Commandments, 5 p.m.; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Ma’ariv, 9 p.m.; Fast Ends, 9:16 p.m., followed by a dairy dinner.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Board of Commissioner’s meeting, 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbi’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m.

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

FRIDAY: Services, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows; Eicha, the book of Lamentations, will be read after evening prayers, 9:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m. followed by Kinot; “Is Tisha B’Av

really solemn? Destruction and Renewal,” 9:30 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:50 p.m. Brek-the-fast refreshments will follow.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer, Prophets, and Prayer, 9 a.m.

WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m.; Parsha for Kids, 3:15 p.m.

All events and programs are open to the community.

the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m.

OPEN HOUSE SHABBAT Friday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m. We invite the community to spend Shabbat at Temple Israel. Join us for a savory Oneg Shabbat immediately following the service; meet our clergy and discover the warmth of our congregation.

ANNUAL GOLF OUTING Monday, Aug. 25 at Ironwood Country Club.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN

TIFERETH ISRAEL

Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

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

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel.

THURSDAY: Choir Rehersal, 7:30 p.m.

OUTDOOR SERVICE AND POTLUCK DINNER Friday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m. at Wyuka Cemetery.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Vision members.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Miles Remer.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m., led by Rabbi Eric Linder and Tami Field; Dr. Hugh Levin will give the d’var Torah:“Is Vermont the Capitol of New Hampshire?”

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. Contact the office to arrange for a minyan.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study; Lorena Wachendorf’s painting will be on display at the synangogue and she will be available after Kiddush lunch; Ma’ariv/ Eicha, 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner, 423.7066.

SUMMER POOL PARTY & PICNIC Sunday, Aug. 24, noon-3 p.m. at the home of Julie and David Brockman.

To submit announcements: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return).

Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: jpress@jewishomaha.org.

B’NAI MITZVAH Dustin David Ginsburg, son of Cheri and Larry Ginsburg, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Temple Israel.

Dustin is an eighth-grade Honor Roll student at Millard N o r t h M i d d l e School.

His interests include playing and watching baseball and basketball, and collecting baseball cards.; he is a big Yankee fan.

Dustin has a two sisters, Stacy Horwitz, and Chloe Ginsburg, and a brother, Cory Ginsburg.

For his mitzvah project, Dustin volunteered four days a week in Mrs. Sorensen’s kindgarten class

at Willa Cather Elementary School. He would read to the class, assist with the computers, work with them at their learning centers and at the end of the day, he would help them get their coats and backpacks together and would stay with them until they were safely picked up by their rides.

Grandparents are Elaine Ginsburg, and the late Joseph Ginsburg, and Joan Larson, and Leland Larson.

Aaron Louis Zipursky and Naomi Fay Zipursky, children of Sally and Jim Zipursky will become B’nai Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Beth El. Aaron and Naomi are eighthgrade Principal Honor Roll students at Beveridge Magnet School.

Aaron received the Principal’s award for Academic Excellence, is a winner of Beveridge M a g n e t Geography Bee, and a participant in the State Geography Bee. He is also first chair alto sax in Jazz Band I and Concert Band. He is a Duke Talent Identification Program participant.

His interests include Husker football, attending Herzl Camp, being a Kadima membe.

Naomi received the President’s award for Academic Excellence, is a member of Beveridge Leadership Team and B.U.G.S. (Beveridge Using Good Sense) team; she plays first chair clarinet

in concert band and tenor sax in Jazz band. She is a Duke Talent Identification Program participant.

Her interests include attending Herzl Camp, being a Kadima member, dance, listening to music, travel, shopping, and cooking.

For her mitzvah project, N a o m i assists with Shabbat morning services at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Grandparents are Selma and Jim Shamberg, formerly of Grand Island, and Charlotte and Morley Zipursky.

August 8, 2008

Pet/House Sitter

DEATHS ROZ FRIEDMAN Continued from page 1 Federation’s annual meeting on its 100th anniversary.

Upon learning of the Humanitarian award, Roz said, “We are motivated to fund things that are meaningful ... drawn to projects that hit us in the heart.”

According to Jan Goldstein, executive director of the Jewish Federation, “Roz was a philanthropic leader, role model and mentor, who knew when to give quietly and when to stand up publicly so that others would follow. She taught me so much about giving.”

Roz was introduced to young Ike Friedman who had just returned home after World War II. They were married in 1946. Two eyars later, Ike left his job at Nebraska Furniture Mart where he had been working for his aunt, Rose Blumkin. He joined his father, Louis Friedman, and an uncle, Simon Gorelick, at Borsheim’s Jewelry and Pawn Shop in downtown Omaha.

In 1987, Borsheim’s was sold to Omaha billionaire.

Warren Buffet. Immediately after the sale, Ike began to make charitable donations through The Ike and Roz Friedman Family Foundation. In addition to completing her husband’s work, she started projects of her own.

She was more than generous to “Project Dreidel,” a Hanukkah tzedakah project of Jewish Family Service and eventually created an endowment for JFS in her husband’s memory. She also established a fund to buy books and other things for children who attend school in low income areas. Shari Hess, a teacher now retired from Castelar School in the Omaha Public School district, said, “Mrs. Friedman was always so generous whenever I would call her. She heard that children needed help and she was always there to write a check.”

Roz also instituted the Ak-Sar-Ben Ike Friedman Award for Community Leadership for individuals who have shown community involvement through leadership

What words! What words!

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Devarim Our Torah reading this week begins the fifth and last book, opening with admonitions and ending with blessings. And it takes us to the very end of the fall Holy Day period. I think that most readers -- and scholars of the Bible would agree that Deuteronomy puts forth, relatively briefly, the essence of Torah morality.

These precious chapters are not interested in the socalled “40 years of wandering” in the wilderness.

Rather, they are concerned with how a moral society can be built and what are the principles of decency and ethical behavior. These chapters are how they may be installed in a human society. For human beings are what they are, and if we don’t like them, we have only the Lord to blame.

By name, that is to say, the English (or rather the Greek) name for this book is a restatement of the Law. It is this in part, but its glory is in a hoped-for humanity that aspires to be peaceful and just.

For example, there is the distinction between murder and accidental death. This seems to have been an advance preparation for what happens in these times, when every Tom, Dick and Harry drives a car and sometimes without particular skills. I do not mean to limit the drivers to men only; every Jane, Jill and Carol drives, too, and as every male driver knows, “women don’t know how to drive properly!”

It has been said that if one wants to understand what it is when we say that the Bible is a great moral teacher, one ought to read the Book of Deuteronomy and read in again. There is pathos, too. Near the very beginning, there is Moses’ pathetic plea to enter the Land to which he has lead this stubborn people these long troubled years. But it is not to be; he will only glimpse the Land from afar and not be permitted to set foot on it.

Only the ordinary Israelites of his day, and we, the sinners of our day, have been granted permission, at last, to enter the Land. It is not because it is more beautiful than other lands in the world -- it only seems so because every one who lives there and everyone who visits knows that it is “the Holy Land.”

Be sure to go back and savor the eloquence of the addresses that Moses delivers to his people as they prepare for their destiny. The name of this book, that is the Hebrew -- Devarim --means nothing more than “things or “words.” But what words! What words!

and volunteerism, and the Ike Friedman Teacher Award, which honors teachers of grade school students who provide service to their schools and inspire others.

Another student award is given to high school seniors who serve their schools and community.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Susie and Marvin Cohn; son and daughter-in-law Alan and Layna Friedman of Beverly Hills, CA; son-in-law Donald Yale of Denver, CO; brother and sister-in-law Jerome and Phyllis Wasserman; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Sol and Lois Friedman and Dorothy and Greg Rosenthal; 12 grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren.

Memorials to the Janis L. Yale Enrichment Fund at Temple Israel or charity of choice.

JOSEPH S. GUSS Joseph S. “Joe” Guss died July 31 on his wife Pauline’s birthday, just a few months short of his 90th birthday on Sept. 17. A graveside service was held Aug. 1 at Mount Sinai Cemetery.

A veteran of World War II, he served in the Pacific and returned to Omaha to work at Micklin Home Improvement company until he sold it in 1988. Active in community affairs, he served as president of the PTA and of the Mount Sinai Cemetery Association, a position he held for 33 years. He dedicated a big part of his life to making sure that the cemetery was run well and once said that “the living must take care of the dead.”

In addition to his wife of nearly 68 years, he is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Stephen and Toni Guss of Morristown, NJ, and Dr. Robert and Bonnie Guss of Rancho Mirage, CA; daughter and son-in-law, Barbara Guss Kemp, Esq., and Giles Kemp of Scarsdale, NY; grandchildren, Julie and Matt Schneider of Morristown, Jennifer and Michael Siegel of Houston; Rebecca L. and David Guss Kemp of Scarsdale, Carly, Zachary and Jason Guss of Rancho Mirage; four greatgrandchildren; brother, Milton Guss; and sister, Gertrude Furman of Santa Monica, CA. Memorials to the Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association, c/o Harry Berman, 1320 So. 35 Ave., Omaha, NE 68105.

MARJORIE HILLER ROSEN Marjorie Rosen died July 31 at the age of 93. Services were held Aug. 3 at Temple Israel Cemetery.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward A. Rosen.

She is survived by her son, Kenneth H. Rosen; son and daughter-in-law, Thomas E. and Adrienne Rosen of Dallas; grandchildren, Brian and Robyn Rosen of New York, Lauren and Bradley Kentor of Atlanta, David Rosen, Stephanie Saroka and Craig Dillon; sisters-inlaw, Sheila Rosen, and Betty Hiller of San Diego.

Memorials to the Jerold and Sheila Rosen Endowment of the Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

SARAH LOHRMAN Sarah Lohrman died Aug. 2 at the age of 90. Services were held Aug. 5 at Temple Israel Cemetery.

She was preceded in death by her husband, William J. “Bill” Lohrman.

She is survived by sons and daughters-in-law, Robert and Sharon Lohrman, and John and Linda Lohrman of San Diego; son, Jerry Lohrman; daughter, Joni Laguens of San Diego; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

LEONARD G. KULAKOFSKY Former Omahan Leonard Kulakofsky died July 17 in Chicago at the age of 87. Services were held July 20 at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.

Following army service during World War II, where he was in charge of a POW camp in Belgium, he returned to Omaha and joined the family business, Central Market. A charter member of both Opera Omaha and the Henry Doorly Zoo, he was international president of Jewish Vocational Services and served on the board of Temple Israel.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Anita Portis Kulakofsky; son and daughter-in-law, Alan and Janie Kulakofsky; daughters and sons-in-law, Debra and Edgar Kully of Seattle and Gail and Alan Ruderman of Highland Park, IL; grandchildren, David and Liz Kulakofsky of Chicago; Jay Kulakofsky of North Carolina; Jay Ruderman of Los Angeles; Nathan and Gennifer Kully of Seattle; sister-in-law, Shirley Kulakofsky; and brother-in-law, Stanley Katelman of Key Biscayne, FL. Memorials to charity of choice.

Pulverent e

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Responsible and mature healthcare professional will pet/house sit to take care of your needs. Reasonable rates with 20 years of experience.

References available on request.

Contact Linda at 639-1149.

MARIJUANA

IS A DRUG.

HELP YOUR KIDS UNDERSTAND.

For more information call 1-800-648-4444 http://www.prevlink.org

Page 15

MONUMENT CO.

Frank L. Ciciulla Jr.

60 Years Experience With Jewish Lettering and Memorials

1439 So. 13th

341-2452

Immediate Openings Available NOW!

We are seeking candidates for our industrial maintenance operations, located at the Cargill corn milling site in Blair, NE

• Journeyman Electricians • Project Mechanic 50%Travel • InstrumentationTechs • LubricationTechnician • Pipe Welder/Fitter We offer competitive wages, medical/dental insurance, 401(k), paid holidays/vacation and work uniforms.

Background check & drug screen required.

Submit resume with position title to tcoe@ugl-unicco.com or by mail to P.O. Box 582, Blair, NE 68008 or FAX to (402) 533-4305. No Phone Calls, Please.

EOE M/F/D/V

Statewide Classified CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING works! Place your 25 word ad into thousands of Nebraska homes for $195. Contact the Jewish Press at 334-6448 or call 1-800-3692850 LOOKING FOR the classic car, truck or motorcycle of your dreams? Go to www.midwestclassiccars.com. It’s your Midwest connection to classic vehicles for sale. Need to sell a classic vehicle? For only $25, your ad with photos will run until sold! Call this newspaper today for more information or call 800-369-2850.

BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates.

Statewide filing. No office appointments necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-8728327. www.steffenslaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code.

DO YOU live in rural Nebraska and need a small business loan under $35,000? REAP can help! Call 402-656-3091 or visit www.cfra.org/reap.

1931 STUDEBAKER 54R Roadster, ‘68 GTX Convertible, Jaguar 3.8 S & more at the Branson Auction, Sept. 12 & 13. Consign your car today! 800-335-3063, www.bransonauction.com.

HOT TUBS, walk in bathtubs, infrared saunas, factory direct pricing. Call 1-800-8690406 for price list and pictures. We deliver. Town Center Showcase, Lincoln, NE. NO SECONDS, no cancelled sales, nothing but great service & selection on high quality steel buildings. Sentinel Building Systems, 800-327-0790 ad 26, www.sentinelbuildings.com.

RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT Outlet; new & used restaurant equipment. See www.Chillmasters.biz for more info; Sioux City, IA, 1-800-526-7105.

TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS - 1-2 acre homesites. Wooded bluff-lake-lakeview. Starting at $59,900. Guaranteed financing! 866-550-5263, ask about mini vacation 3 days 2 nights/travel allowance.

UP TO 80% savings possible on many prescriptions. Generics available for most medications including Arimidex, Boniva, Domperidone, Plavix and most eye-drops. Canada Drug Topeka, 1-866-804-6100.

ABSOLUTELY RECESSION proof! Do you earn $800 in a day? Your own local vending route. Includes 30 machines and candy, all for $9,995. 888-755-1356.

AWESOME FIRST job! Out of HS? Over 18? Join our traveling sales team! Great earnings potential. 2 weeks paid training. Lodging, transportation provided. Call 1-877-6465050.

DOES THE idea of selling to farmers and ranchers appeal to you? The Dakota Farmer recommends Basic Financial Solutions - let’s talk. 1-877-328-0005; email resume: Chrisgeyer@neb.rr.com.

LEARN TO drive a truck. Central Community College offers weekend, four, and six week CDL classes starting soon. 877-222-0780/402-461-2550.

CDL-A DRIVERS: Expanding fleet offering regional/OTR runs. Outstanding pay package. Excellent benefits. Generous home time. Lease purchase on ’07 Peterbilts. National Carriers, 1-888-707-7729. www.nationalcarriers.com.

DRIVER-CDL-Training company drivers-sign on for experience! Students, grads welcome, or no CDL? “We can train.” American Eagle Lines. Call Guy, 800-387-1011, www.aedrivers.com.

DRIVERS: REEFER average $1.63/mile paid to truck all miles. Excellent network, late model equipment, 401k, Blue Cross insurance. 800-771-6318, www.primeinc.com.

OTR FLATBED drivers wanted - good miles, good home time, nice equipment. $.40/mile. Also need OTR drivers to haul cattle. 507-240-1080.

THE ONLY call you need to make! OTR drivers wanted. Prepass EZpass. Every 60k miles raises. 2006 newer equipment. APU equipped, passenger/pet policy. 100% no touch. Butler Transport, 1-800-528-7825.

Page 16

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

August 8, 2008

All that and golf too at Temple Israel annual tournament

the chefs at Ironwood will be served at noon on the or $500 for a foursome. Playing spots are filled on a first

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN patio followed by a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Once again, come, first served basis. In addition to the raffle, there Temple Israel Communications Coordinator If you'd like an opportunity to win an all-expense paid Ayars & Ayars will serve kosher hot dogs on the course, are wagering events, mulligans and surprises -- all opportrip for two to the 2009 Masters Tournament next April said Jeff Smedlund who is co-chair of the Golf Outing tunities to win prizes.

For $350, a hole sponsor receives the benefit of sigat the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, with Dan Marburg. If you get thirsty at the outing which you'll get that chance by playing in the Temple Israel is usually one of the warmest days of the summer, there nage on a tee or a green and recognition on all printed material the day of the Golf Outing and at the annual 2008 Golf Outing on Monday, Aug. 25, noon, at will be a margarita hole.

Other committee members are Rick Fox, Alan family barbeque at Temple on Sunday, Sept. 14, the Ironwood Country Club, 126th and Pacific Sts. And that's not all. If you don’t win the trip, you could Fredericks, John Glazer, Jason Levy, Jon Meyers, Jeff first day of Religious School. Foursomes can be sponsors still win a 2008 Acura or a BMW motorcycle for making Nogg, Steve Redler, Scott Schneiderman and Mike for $800. Sponsor fees also include golf, lunch, driving range, and dinner. a hole-in-one, a watch from Brodkey’s Jewelers if you Silverman.

Smedlund said the Golf Committee is also looking for Player options include 18 holes of golf with a cart, win the putting contest, a Weber barbeque grill, or an array of golf merchandise which is among the dozens of lunch, driving range, and dinner for $125 per participant volunteers to perform “vital” tasks such as acting as witnesses to verify holes-in-one. raffle prizes.

If you don’t play golf, “The tournament is always you’re still welcome to a good time,” according to attend cocktails, dinner, and Joe Meyers who always the awards banquet at invites the same friends to Ironwood beginning at 5:30 play with him every year. p.m. that evening for $30 “They look forward to parper person. All proceeds are ticipating in it. We’ve played used to support Temple’s together for about the last Religious School, youth four years. I’ve won raffle groups, adult education, and prizes and some flag prizes, services. If you didn’t receive but with the three guys I a registration form for the invite, we don’t stand much Golf Outing and would like of a chance to win the tourto play, call the Temple nament. That’s why we like office at 556.6536. that they award prizes for ninth and 18th place!”

An entourage of golf carts leave the patio area for the greens Gary Epstein, left, and Dan Marburg enjoy the buffet at Registration forms should be mailed to Temple.

A buffet lunch prepared by at Ironwood in the 2007 Temple Israel golf outing.

Ironwood prior to teeing off at last year’s golf outing.

PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE

STUDENTS WITH BETTER GRADES It all starts with Newspapers.

Entry Level Tower Technicians

Uncle Brent’s 1971 class ring. Go Bullfrogs!

Complete training, competitive wages & benefits, some travel required with expenses paid.

Send your resume to: michelle@valcomwireless.com or apply in person at:

Necklace from ex, ex, ex, ex, ex-boyfriend.

9515 NW 112th Malcolm, NE 68402 or call (402) 796-2373 www.valcomwireless.com • EOE

Grandma Cleo’s old, broken brooch.

The ring you’ve been eyeing for years.

AD vertise in over 170 Nebraska Newspapers for only $195...

TURN YOUR OLD JEWELRY INTO SOMETHING NEW. Trade in gold and platinum for big savings on new jewelry. For a limited time, Borsheims is offering great trade-in and cash values for your precious metals. Stop by the customer service department or visit borsheims.com for more details.

It's easy with the...

N

EBRASKA CLASSIFIED

ADVERTISING NETWORK

Contact your local newspaper or

800-369-2850 www.nebpress.com

120 Regency Parkway | 402.391.0400 | borsheims.com