August 15, 2014

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

Omaha Family Trees

August 15, 2014 19 Av 5774 Vol. 94 | No. 48

This Week

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications, Jewish Federation of Omaha “On a regular basis, I am contacted by various communities around the country asking what makes Omaha so special,” Jewish Federation of Omaha CEO Mike Silverman explained at the organization’s Annual Meeting on June 2.

“Omaha has set a standard that other communities aspire to.” He credited “individuals who settled in Omaha as a Jewish community” for shaping Omaha into “a very special place.”

This very special place will be on display big time starting Friday, Sept. 12 when the Jewish community welcomes everyone home to the Omaha Jewish Reunion. Registration is required for everyone who wants to enjoy all the incredible happenings like Friday Shabbat observance and dinner, programming and tours, HaVaDala Gala Saturday night and more! Reserve your spot at www.om ahajewishreunion.com or call Mary Bernstein at 402.391.0708.

Lily Kay celebrates 100th birthday Page 2

Omaha Jewish Film Festival continues Page 4

Bennett Greenspan, president and CEO of Family Tree DNA is an entrepreneur and businessman living in Houston. His mother is Omahan Rosalie Greenspan. He founded Family Tree DNA after discovering a personal interest in genealogy.

Greenspan is coming home to

Stand Shoulder to Shoulder with Israel To top of the summer Page 6

by IRIS RICKS The community is invited to join Rabbi Aryeh and Elyce Azriel on a Temple Israel tour to Israel from Dec. 3 – 14, 2014. “Now is the time

He continued: “The pain, fear and anxiety have to be addressed by the deep ties the American Jewish Community has with Israel. The Omaha Jewish community is in partnership

to go and support our Israeli community,” Rabbi Azriel said. Rabbi Azriel recently returned from an extended trip to Israel, and is eager to share the experience with others.

with the Western Galilee Region in the Northern part of Israel. That community is waiting for us to come and offer our hearts by comforting, strengthening and, most importantly, showing our love. Not next year in Jerusalem……This year in Israel,.

Please join us for an informational meeting Sunday, Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. at Temple Israel to learn more about the fantastic experiences that await you in Israel.

For more information, please contact Iris Ricks at 402.917.5269 or call the Temple Israel Office at 402.556.6536.

Omaha for the reunion and will speak about Jewish genealogy. His talk, titled DNA of the Jewish People, is Saturday, Sept. 13, 1-2:30 p.m. on the Federation campus. He will speak about the incredible world of DNA and how it can provide information about your family history.

“We believe the first step to unearthing your personal and family history is to better understand your DNA. We all have a storybook within ourselves,” he believes. “The real challenge is figuring out how to read it.”

By 1999, Westside High School Continued on page 2

Star Deli BBQ team hopes to smoke the competition

by OZZIE NOGG Sunday, Aug. 17, chefs from Star Kosher Catering will compete in the 3rd Annual Kansas City Kosher BBQ Festival Competition, held at

sponsored by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and enjoying barbeque. It is the world’s largest organization of bar-

the Ritz Charles in Overland Park, KS. “Our team has been preparing for this challenge for several weeks,” said Mike Aparo, Director of Food Services at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “We’ve decided to use some pretty exotic wood in our smokers, and our spice combos are constantly being tweaked. Chefs come from St. Louis, Chicago, California and New York, and we’d love to bring the first-prize trophy home to the Blumkin Home.”

The Aug. 17 competition is

beque and grilling enthusiasts, with over 15,000 members worldwide.

The Kansas City Kosher BBQ Festival is the only Kosher competition in the country to be sanctioned by the KCBS. “Kansas City is considered the barbecue capital of the world,” Aparo said, “but people who keep Kosher can’t do much more than enjoy the aroma that comes out of those popular BBQ restaurants. This competition gives people who observe Kashrut the Continued on page 2

Inside Point of view Synagogues

8 10

Next Week Men’s Guide See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

2 | The Jewish Press | August 15, 2014

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It’s a Family Affair

Alan, Anne and Marty Cohen

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor, Jewish Press On Friday, Sept. 5, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home resident Lily Kay plans to officially earn the title of centenarian. She will celebrate with her family and friends later this month at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, where she is a resident.

Lily was born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada. On her birthday, a proclamation was issued that prohibited the Canadian mint from issuing gold coins (those two events were probably not related).

Lily was born in exciting times: the world was becoming embroiled in World War I, France and Great Britain were busy keeping the Germans out of Paris, and during that same week, the RMS Oceanic (sister ship of the Titanicthey could have seen that coming) sank off the coast of Scotland.

Lily shares her birth year with writer Dylan Thomas, boxer Joe Louis, baseball great Joe DiMaggio and actor Alec Guinness.

Much has changed over the past 100 years. “Nowadays, even my mom’s birthplace goes by a different name,� says her son Les. “It merged with Port Arthur, and became Thunder Bay.�

As a young woman, Lily applied to nursing school and was accepted. However, Les said, “when it became known she was a Jewish Pollock rather than a Catholic one, she was denied entry to the program.�

She met her husband Joseph in 1939 at a cousin’s wedding. They married and moved to Chicago, and then to Milwaukee, where they operated a grocery store.

Eventually they moved back to Chicago, and owned a hardware and lumber business. “My mother just loves people,�

Les Kay says. “People always seem to open up to her because she is so easy to talk to. She has always been this way: outgoing, vivacious, and good at putting people at ease. She could be waiting for the bus and random strangers would share their life’s story. My father was the complete opposite, and preferred to be left alone, but my mother’s medicine has always been people.�

Lily’s Open House is scheduled for Sunday August 31st from 2-4 pm at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Lily requests no gifts, as “the gift of your presence is enough.�

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Omaha Family Trees Continued from page 1 graduate Greenspan had entered semi-retirement and was working on his family history. He began with his mother’s Nitz lineage. Facing a roadblock, he recalled a recent media story where genetics were used to prove ancestry.

Greenspan had Nitz cousins in California and discovered someone in Argentina with the same ancestral surname and the same ancestral location in Eastern Europe. His desire to use genetics to solve his own family’s genealogy mysteries led him to founding Family Tree DNA. An anonymous donor has generously provided financial support to attend the Omaha Jewish Reunion, specifically to those in the community who want to attend Greenspan’s Saturday afternoon discussion. To inquire about this support, please contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation at 402.334.6466 or email at hepstein@jewishomaha.org.

Saturday afternoon’s activities also include the 1 p.m. program, “Hitting the High Notes with Musicians.�

Maestro Hal France, former artistic director of Opera Omaha and a sought after guest conductor across America, moderates a panel including: James M. Johnson, president and CEO of the Omaha Symphony; Susanna Perry Gilmore, concertmaster of the Omaha Symphony since 2011; Ezra and Adeev Potash, Omaha’s twin jazz musicians and entertainers now making sound waves in New York City; and Aviva Segall, who just completed her 15th year as music director and principal conductor for the Omaha Area Youth Orchestras.

The “Afternoon of the Arts� continues with a visual arts panel to include former Omahan Jim Krantz, named

International Photographer of the Year at the prestigious Lucie Awards in 2010; Avery Mazor, assistant professor of art and design at UNO with a focuse on both graphic design and studio art; Ophir Palmon, an Israeli storytelling photographer and artist living in Omaha since 1993; Matthew Placzek, Omaha-based artist-monument sculptor whose work resides in Omaha as well as London, Tokyo, Germany, Prague, Austria and Taiwan; and David Radler commercial photographer who counts numerous Fortune 500 companies as clients.

If Omaha’s growth and prosperity are of interest to you, David Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce leads a conversation on Omaha’s economic development and business opportunities. Brown will describe how “Omaha has become more diverse and more robust. We are a much more affluent city and are constantly ranked as one of the best places to live, raise a family, have a business and be a young professional or entrepreneur,� he said.

Trenton Magid, principal and founder of World Group Commercial Real Estate, and Jeff Beals, executive vice president of marketing and administration for World Group, will chat about “the transformation of our great city over the last 25 years. Magid added, “The next few decades should be equally impressive. We’ll share stories of how stakeholders, visionaries, and public-private partnerships have allowed Omaha to thrive.�

A havdalah service and party (HavDAlahGAla!) bring to a close a day of discovering and rediscovering Jewish Omaha.

We hope to see you there!

Star Deli BBQ team hopes to smoke the competition Continued from page 1 chance to pig out, so to speak, on truly amazing Vaadapproved barbeque. Of course, we offer finger-licking good kosher BBQ at the Star Deli on a regular basis, but we can’t use any of our sophisticated professional equipment during the contest.�

Each team entered in the competition is given two small Weber smokers on which to work their magic, along with new utensils, mixing bowls and cutting boards. “And in order to keep all food at the event kosher, we can’t even bring in our own meat,� Aparo said. “Everything -- the brisket, beef ribs, chicken thighs and whole turkey -- is supplied for us by the Kansas City Vaad Hakashruth. We all use the same stuff, so the playing field is totally level. Which means we’ve got to smoke our entries to perfection if we want to win.�

Trophies will be awarded to the first, second, and third place winners and medals will be awarded to the 4th, 5th and 6th place winners in the following categories: Best

Brisket, Best Ribs, Best Turkey and Best Chicken. A trophy will also be awarded to the overall Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion. In addition to the cook-off and judging, the day’s schedule includes live entertainment and Kosher Pickle Eating and Hot Dog Eating Contests.

Along with Aparo, the Star Catering team includes Marco Martinez and Andrew Kudlacz of the RBJH culinary staff, as well as Josh Gurock, Director of Operations at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “I’ve attended the past two contests and have wanted Star Kosher Catering to participate since last year,� Gurock said. “Each year the event has grown more popular, not just because of the BBQ, but also because it’s designed for families to enjoy. Last year there was face painting, a balloon contortionist and playground equipment for children to play on. With surprise celebrity judges and the convenient location, I’m excited to see how many people will attend this year.� Mike Aparo added, “If you want to come to Kansas City and cheer us on, go for it. We’ll do our best to make you proud.�

August 15, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 3

Israel on Campus: what to do

by ALAN POTASH Regional Director of ADL Plains Region/ Community Relations Committee JFO I am frequently called upon to speak with high school and college students about Jewish life in college. The topics are usually centered around Jewish life on campus, antiSemitism, Israel and what to do when Jewish holidays conflict with classes. I am anticipating there will be an increase of issues on some college campuses this fall in connection to the current situation in Israel.

How does one decide to talk or to not talk about Israel when on campus? Some colleges have had a history of anti-Israel activity and some have very little if any (see the Aug. 8, 2014 Jewish Press).

If I can offer a little advice to those heading off to college on the subject of Israel, it boils down to: if you want to talk about Israel, talk about it--don’t argue about it.

How does one do this? Make it personal. Tell your story of why Israel is important to you.

Have you traveled to Israel? If so, talk about your experience. Avoid starting with talking points, history and facts (these can come later.) Understanding that everyone has their own story and narrative is important.

Being able to listen to a different narrative can open the door to a better discussion. If you want someone to listen to you, be prepared to listen to them.

When responding or addressing issues one needs to assess the situation and environment. Situations like demonstrations or protests are different from small groups. If you walk by a protest and someone tries to engage you, what can you do? My recommendation is to not engage. Let the demonstration happen and then address it later either with a program or articles in the paper.

What if you have a professor that demonizes Israel in a class? Find a way to have a private conversation with the professor and if it doesn’t help try speaking to someone at Hillel or call your local ADL for suggestions.

Professors have academic freedom and often use the classroom to voice their opinion.

What if you someone paints a swastika or paints an anti-Semitic comment on your door? Call campus security and report it.

Have Hillel or ADL follow up.

Write op-eds or letters to the editor for the student or community paper. Invite speakers to speak on issues.

A critical question that comes up is: is criticism of Israel anti-Semitism? Natan Sharansky answered this question with his 3D test. “3D test of Anti-Semitism,” He said that “it’s anti-Semitism when Israel is demonized, when Israel is delegitimized and when a double-standard is used to assess Israeli behavior.” Asking these questions upon hearing or reading statements in the media, from public officials or speakers, one can parse out whether the criticism leans towards anti-Semitism.

During the recent war with Hamas a double standard has clearly been placed on Israel. Doing analytics on the number of stories during the same period of time in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan, thousands of civilians were killed or relocated and no criticism of those countries took place. Most major news outlets didn’t even do a story on those incidents.

Learning how to decipher the media is an important skill to develop. According to the Israel Press Office there were over 600 journalists covering the war. Over two-thirds were in Gaza. Reports from journalists who were in Gaza say they were given clear

orders from Hamas what to photograph and what to report. Hence the story coming out of Gaza was only about the destruction and deaths of civilians. This tactic was part of Hamas’ propaganda war.

What can one do to learn to be an advocate for Israel and to counter anti-Semitism on campus?

The ADL has many resources that are available on our website http://www.adl.

“Israeli Apartheid Week,” an annual anti-Zionist initiative, in May 2010 on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus.

Credit: AMCHA Initiative On the Media, a radio program that analyzes the news, created a guide for analyzing breaking news one can use the guide as a tool to examine the news: https://media. wnyc.org/media/resources/2013/ Sep/20/ OTM_ Consumer_ Handbook.pdf.

Social media plays a role in telling the story as well. Facebook and Twitter were used to update news but also were used to spread misinformation. A quick tip: forwarded and retweeted information can be wrong.

org/assets/pdf/education-outreach/IsraelA-Guide-for-Activists-2012.pdf. This is a great tool as it covers history, myths and facts, resources and guides on communicating with media and elected officials.

The David Project has put together a 10 step guide: http://www.davidproject.org/ resources/advocacy-guides/ The Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is a great place for all your Jewish and Israel needs. Check out www.hil lel.org.

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Lily Kay Open house Sunday August 31st Rose Blumkin Home 2 to 4 p.m.

Please no gifts as the gift of your presence is present enough.

Omaha Jewish Film Festival continues

by MARK KIRCHHOFF Administrative Assistant, The Center for Jewish Life The 13th Annual Omaha Jewish Film Festival continues on Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the JCC Theater with the showing of The Zigzag Kid. The film is based on the beloved novel

by David Grossman and focuses on the adventures of Nono.

Nono is a 12-year-old boy whose father happens to be the world's greatest detective. After his overactive imagination leads him to disrupt his cousin's bar mitzvah in spectacular style, Nono is sent away by his father to live with his uncle, a boring psychologist. But maybe there is more to his father’s actions than we would see on the surface.

While en route, Nono discovers a note from his dad inviting him to solve a mystery unfolding on the train. The wild and fast-paced adventure that follows may allow Nono the chance to discover his own formerly secret family history. The film keeps you guessing at what's really happening to Nono and who exactly is pulling the strings.

The Zigzag Kid was the opening night film for the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival in 2013. That same year it won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. It also won the 2013 European Film Academy Young Audience Award. The Dutch-Belgian fantasy proves that it's still possible to make an inspired and authentic family-oriented film. The critic from the San Diego Reader wrote, “And for the adults in our audience who might have missed Zigzag when it played the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, I humbly submit [it is] a far more challenging and entertaining experience than any of the liveaction #@$! Disney has been peddling the last 30 years."

The film will be preceded by a casual dinner at 5:30 p.m. featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, chips, cookies and beverages. Reservations for dinner must be made by the 14th by calling 402.334.6463 or emailing mkirchhoff@jew ishomaha.org. Immediately after the movie, Assaf Gavron, the new Schusterman Scholar for the Schwalb Center at UNO, will speak briefly. Assaf, an Israeli novelist, will talk about his acquaintance with David Grossman. Thanks to the generosity of the Klutznick Fund in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, dinner and the film are free for those 14 and under and adult meals are $10 per person. Film ticket price is $8. (Netherlands, 2012, 95 minutes, Dutch/ French/English with English subtitles) The third film of the Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7

p.m. in the JCC Theater will be Rue Mandar – Where We Grew Up. Following the death of their beloved family matriarch, two sisters and their brother and their French-Jewish families gather in Paris to mourn their loss (each in his own way). They also greatly annoy each other and blindly attempt to figure out just how they’re going to get on with their lives. The family dynamic is in a state of disarray, with each of the siblings’ significant others bearing the brunt of

their frustrations. On top of it all, the siblings have inherited their mother’s cute, old-fashioned apartment on Rue Mandar (Mandar Street) in Paris’ swanky 2nd district, and they need to figure out whether to keep it in the family or give it away. The film has been described as “hilariously caustic, with just the right touch of sentimentality.”

Admission at the door is $8. (France, 2013, 95 minutes French with English subtitles) Concluding the festival will be the film Magic Men on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. Avraham is a magician and Holocaust survivor who, during a return to Greece, is trying to find a man who sheltered him during World War II. Avraham wishes to travel alone, but circumstances necessitate that he travel with his son, Yehuda, a devout Hassidic rapper. While Avraham is contemptuous of his son’s observance, Yhuda is not the typical Orthodox and doesn’t conform to the stereotypes. As the story unfolds, Avraham meets an engaging young prostitute named Maria and desires no more than her help in his quest to find the man who sheltered him. (Israel, 2014, 100 minutes, Greek, Hebrew, English with English subtitles) The Jewish Film Festival is presented by The Center for Jewish Life as part of its mission to maximize involvement of Omaha's Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences. The Film Festival is generously sponsored by the Todd and Betiana Simon Foundation and the Klutznick Fund for Jewish Civilization at Creighton University. Additional support is provided from the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith and the Avy L. and Roberta L. Miller Foundation by Lindsey Miller-Lerman. For more information please call 402.334.6463.

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August 15, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 5

Notes on the War

Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER A sense of proportion: I appreciated the many calls and emails sent my way during the war from friends and family in the States. But I did not have a child in the army during this war, let alone in a combat position, and my discomfort, my concerns, my fears pale in comparison with my friends who did.

GI Joe: Growing up in America, I had no personal experience with someone serving in the military. I got my information about soldiering from movies, cartoons, and novels, and these inevitably portrayed soldiers as adult men. The fact that my own father had been in the Korean War only reinforced for me the idea that soldiers were “grown ups.”

The extensive use of regular-army troops in this war (i.e., those serving during their three years of mandatory service) brought the age of our soldiers into painful clarity. Anyone reading the list of casualties, which included boys as young as 18, had to realize that this war was fought primarily by boys and not men. And for me this time around, with sons the ages of 22 and 19, it hit me powerfully. Because I can tell you with complete and full authority that a 19-year-old boy and even a 22-year-old boy is in fact a boy.

A Commuter War: The staging area for the Gaza war was located within a two-hour commute of the vast majority of Israel’s population. Ordinary Israelis united behind the troops and brought gifts of toothpaste, deodorant, socks, underwear, flashlights, etc. Barbers went down to give haircuts to the troops, and singers and comedians provided entertainment.

And of course, there were lots of food deliveries: individuals with still-warm pizzas, truckloads of cookies and other snacks, barbecues set up to grill the finest cuts of meat (supervised by well-known Israeli chefs). Many of the soldiers benefiting from this largesse were in the reserves and did not cross into Gaza. But the fighters did get to enjoy the food on their breaks. Families of these soldiers would be notified and they would go down south, and in a surreal way the scene would look like an everyday scene from Israeli life—a family

picnicking with their soldier son (this happens routinely, for example, on “open” days at military bases). Except for some of these families, this was their last meal with their child.

Helping Southerners: Israelis looked to help the citizens of the South in various and sundry ways. Several of our friends’ daughters went down to run activities and be with children and seniors in shelters in the South. Arts & Crafts supplies were donated. People hosted Southerners in their homes—friends, family, or even strangers. In one unusual case, our friend Linda hosted a family of strangers for 10 days. The family has 15 children but only brought 11 with them during their stay in Givat Ze’ev.

Our own effort pales in comparison to Linda’s, but perhaps it’s worth sharing here. My daughter Rebecca was supposed to have spent a good amount of time in July with her 9th-10th grade girls basketball team in Ashdod, one of

someone calling from America to arrange for delivery from the local pizzeria, and a friend who offered to sponsor a deluxe breakfast for the girls at Givat Ze’ev’s coffee shop. The others brought lasagna, salads, fish patties, soup, munchies, fruit, and even a basketball-shaped cheesecake.

Any group of active girls would love this house, let alone girls who were cooped up in their homes for a few weeks (and whose pick-up and return were bookended by missile alerts). The girls were ecstatic in their sheer joy for two full days and told each other that they would never ever forget this experience. I liked Yaakov’s response when Sarah thanked him. He said: “That’s why we built the house.”

May there be no more wars with Hamas or with anyone else.

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest four, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie and Ezra are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@net vision.net.il.

Organizations Not only rockets: this bus in Israel was overturned by a terCredit: Edgar Asher rorist attack.

Israel’s southern cities (Rebecca is coaching the girls in August at two JCC Maccabiahs, one in Cherry Hill, NJ and one in Detroit). Not only were almost all of the practices cancelled, but so was just about everything else for these girls in Ashdod; and they spent almost all of their time at home watching tv, Facebooking and text-messaging.

Our friends Elaine and Yaakov have a huge fantasy house that is famous in Givat Ze’ev. The house features a half-size basketball court, indoor swimming pool, movie theater, separate rooms for air hockey, ping pong and billiards, etc.

Elaine agreed to house the girls for a night, and thus was born two days of basketball and fun for Rebecca’s team. Sarah sent out an email to our synagogue community for help with the food, and within a short time 14 people responded, including

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Hilary Adams, the new artistic director of the Omaha Community Playhouse, will describe the upcoming season on Wednesday, Aug. 20, noon, at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

Birth Jeff and Paige Shyken of Chicago announce the July 21 birth of their daughter, Natalie Bess.

Her middle name Bess is for her maternal great-grandmothers, Bessie Levy and Bess Lowendorf and her paternal great-grandmother Bess Shyken.

She has a brother, Cooper Benjamin Her grandparents are Paysie and Susie Shyken of Omaha, and Morris and Lisa Levy of Youngstown, OH. Her great-grandmother is Ilene Pachman of Omaha.

Education Coming September

Publishing Date | 09.19.14 Space Reservation | 09.10.14 Camera Ready Deadline | 09.12.14 Contact your advertising representative to advertise in this very special edition.

Hymie Gendler | 402.334.6451 | hgendler@jewishomaha.org Jessie Wees | 402.334.6559 | jwees@jewishomaha.org

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Gaza rockets resume as cease-fire ends, and Israel responds

by JTA NEWS STAFF not lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

(JTA) — Palestinian rocket crews fired dozens of rockets An Israeli delegation in Cairo for talks on achieving a at Israel as a 72-hour cease-fire came to a close, and Israel more durable cease-fire returned to Israel on the morning of renewed its attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza.

Aug. 8, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli strikes were carried out by aircraft over Gaza on the morning of Aug. 8, Army Radio reported. The strikes resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy, the Ma’an news agency reported. Eleven others were wounded.

In Israel, one civilian sustained moderate injuries and one soldier was lightly wounded.

More than 45 rockets were fired at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. At least three of 21 rockets fired on August 8 were intercepted over Israel — one above Sderot and the remaining two over the Ashkelon area, the IDF said.

“In response to the renewal of rocket fire by Gaza terrorists at Israel, we are striking terror sites in Gaza,” the IDF said.

In a statement to media, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesperson, said: “The renewed rocket attacks by terrorists at Israel are unacceptable, intol- Police sappers inspect part of a rocket fired into Israel from Gaza erable and shortsighted. Hamas’ bad decision to after Hamas renewed its rocket launches following the expiration of a breach the ceasefire will be pursued by the IDF. We 72-hour cease-fire, Aug. 8. The Israeli army responded with airstrikes will continue to strike Hamas, its infrastructure, its in Gaza.

Credit: Edi Israel/Flash90 operatives and restore security for the State of Israel.”

Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 in Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing three rock- response to rocket fire by Hamas from Gaza. On the Israeli ets, according to Army Radio. side, fighting resulted in the death of 67 people, three of In Gaza, thousands of people left their homes ahead of the whom were civilians. On the Palestinian side, some 1,800 expiration of the cease-fire, which Hamas and other people have died and thousands were wounded, according Palestinian factions refused to extend because Israel would to Palestinian sources as of Aug. 8.

To top off the summer

by MIRI KATZMAN Chabad Center With the School year fast aproaching, Chabad didn’t miss the opportunity to run its signature Camp Gan Israel. As every year, the focus was on Jewish pride and doing mitzvot while having a whole lot of fun.

“Camp was excellent, Eytan had a great time,” says Hedva Vinarsky, mother of eight year old Eytan. “He would count down the minutes until we left the house for camp each morning.” Sasha Denenberg, seven years old, said “It’s way more fun than school because we kept moving around!”

“My daughter came home from camp exausted and thrilled,” said another grateful mother. “Every day was an adventure and filled with creative activities.”

As Jews, our hearts and minds are focused on the security of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land.

Campers were empowered to do another Mitzvah for their wellbeing. The kids also sent letter to soldiers in the IDF. Six year old Lilliana wrote “I am thinking about you. I hope G-d protects you!”

Special thanks to the Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Supporting Foundation for making this experience possible for so many children. “It was so much fun!” Nine-yearold Jacob Kirk put it all in one sentence: “This is the best camp I have ever been to!”

August 15, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 7

Amid strife of Gaza-Israel conflict, some tales to warm the heart

by MARCY OSTER JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Perhaps with the worries about rockets flying and death tolls mounting during the Gaza operation, many lost sight of the myriad heartwarming stories from the conflict. Here are some you may have missed in recent days.

Personal thanks from soldiers Israeli children sent thousands of letters to soldiers serving in and around Gaza to raise their spirits.

Late last month, an army jeep stopped in front of a home in central Israel looking for the family’s 9-year-old daughter.

The concerned family asked what the solders wanted. They replied that they wanted to thank the girl personally for the letter she had sent.

The soldiers met the girl and left with as many baked goodies from the house as they could carry.

My soldier watches over me A 5-year-old boy named Gabi from Karmiel sent a letter accompanied by an action figure to a soldier serving in Gaza.

“I’m sending you my soldier,” said the letter, which was posted on Facebook. “He watches over me at night so I won’t be afraid, but you have it much harder, so I am sending it to you so that he will watch over you guys. If you get sad, you can also play with him. Thank you for protecting me and my family. When I’m older I’ll protect you.”

The soldier is trying to locate Gabi to thank him personally.

Powering up The soldiers serving in Gaza could not call home from the combat zone, but even when they could leave the area and make a call, they often found their cellphone batteries were dead with no way to recharge them.

Tzohar, a religious Zionist rabbinical organization in Israel, purchased the stock of 4,000 cellphone stick chargers from the one Israeli company that provides them already fully charged and sent them to the front lines last Friday. It allowed the soldiers to call home before the Sabbath and alleviate the anxiety of their families.

Hear the one about ...?

American comedians Ari Teman and Danny Cohen brought their talents to Israel to cheer up civilians in bomb shelters and neighborhoods in southern Israel.

The comics called their week of stand up shows Rocket Shelter Comedy.

They also performed free shows in Tel Aviv, Modiin and Jerusalem, though they requested donations for lone soldiers.

Supporting the South, feeding the needy Leket Israel-The National Food Bank purchased hundreds of thousands of shekels worth of food products from vendors in southern Israel hard hit by the conflict and delivered the goods to people living in communities surrounding Gaza.

Solomon Cohen, second from right, and his daughter, Penina, at Cohen’s store in Sderot with Avichai Amusi, left, of Mercaz Hachesed and Yedidya Rosenberg of Leket Israel, Aug. 3, 2014.

Credit: Guy Yehoshua While providing the needy with basic necessities, the organization was supporting businesses in the South that have been slammed financially by the barrage of rockets fired on their communities in recent weeks.

Leket Israel, also the country’s largest food-rescue organization, bought the goods from vendors in Sderot, Ofakim, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Nitzan and Netivot, some of the areas hit hardest by the conflict.

One was Solomon Cohen, the owner of Super Cohen, a mini-market in Sderot.

“Because my shop is located on the outskirts of Sderot, where mostly young families live, we have been suffering terribly since more than 70 percent of the community left at the beginning of the war for the center and the north of the country,” he said.

Cohen has lived in Sderot for 55 years, since making aliyah from Morocco, and said he could not recall a time as difficult as the past few weeks.

The kindness of strangers During Operation Protective Edge, Israelis went above and beyond in sending food, goodies and toiletries to the soldiers at the front -- even socks and underwear. The public also sent thousands of pizzas and bottles of soda.

Communities, municipalities and volunteer committees delivered challahs or flowers or cakes to the thousands of families who had a father or son called up for the war effort.

In fact, so much stuff was sent that the Israel Defense Forces called on the public to stop, saying it “could interfere with operational alertness or the fighters’ health.” The donations were directed to the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers or the Libi Fund.

Some $4.6 million was donated to the association throughout the operation, and $725,000 to other funds.

Wounded soldiers were swamped with love, including an overwhelming number of hospital visitors who were mostly unknown to them.

Soldiers in uniform throughout the country also reported being treated to cups of coffee, breakfasts and other treats, also by strangers.

Looking out for the women left behind Two soldiers who were killed last week in the Gaza operation were to be married in the coming weeks. Their fiancees stood with the soldiers’ families at the funerals and shivas.

Several other slain soldiers left behind longtime girlfriends.

These women deserve recognition and support from the Defense Ministry, lawmaker Aliza Lavie of the Yesh Atid party said this week.

The Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry show support and tend to the families of the fallen soldiers, and must do the same for the fiancees and girlfriends, Lavie asserted in a letter to Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, whose cousin, Hadar Goldin, was engaged to be married.

Lavie said officers should visit the women to tell them of their loved one’s death, just as they do for the immediate family, and employers should be required to provide time off to attend the shiva. Psychological assistance should be provided as needed, too.

Twenty-seven of the girlfriends of fallen soldiers in the Gaza operation are soldiers themselves, Lavie noted, and should have had an official escort from their company to the funeral.

Omaha Jewish Reunion 2014 Rosh Hashannah

Publishing Date | 09.14.14 Space Reservation | 08.20.14 Camera Ready Deadline | 08.25.14

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

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8 | The Jewish Press | August 15, 2014

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

The cost of doing business ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor It is no secret that newspaper ad sales continue to shrink.

It is also no secret that countless newspapers across the country have disappeared as a direct result of that. I have to be honest; at the Jewish Press we have taken a bath during the past five years. It’s hard, it’s frustrating, and it will very likely not get better. Yet, because we have community support and because we are a Jewish Federation paper, we are still here.

Not only do we continue to publish 48 times per year, put together two holiday editions, maintain a website and a Facebook page; we offer an annual internship, we currently have an exhibit in the JCC Gallery and we generate original content on a weekly basis. We also have staff who consider what they do much, much more than a job. We are truly, hands down, one of the most robust Jewish newspapers in the country.

There is tremendous value in having this weekly paper fall into our mailboxes every week. I do not say this because I am so full of myself (trust me, I have plenty of reasons to stay humble) but because of the long and rich history of the Jewish Press. Can you imagine this community without it?

Me neither.

There are a number of options editors around the country have considered, or are currently considering. They range from going to paid subscriptions (for online content as well as for the hard copy) to publishing fewer times per year.

Decreasing staff, decreasing pages, and using fewer freelance writers have all been tried in other cities, as has moving to online publication exclusively. Here in Omaha, we don’t consider fewer issues or on-line only really a valid solution; we never have. The question is not, how can we cut more costs, the question is: how do we continue to attract advertisers, while giving those who have stuck with us through

thick and thin the best possible customer service?

This is where we would like your help.

If you are a business owner, what would convince you to advertise on a regular basis? What would you need from us to make that happen? Do you ever think, “If only they would

do ‘A’ or ‘B,’ I would consider it?” We’d like to hear from you what ‘A’ or ‘B’ is.

To those of you who don’t own your own business: we have some questions for you as well. What makes you look at an advertisement twice? What motivates you to actually

give that advertiser a chance? Do you like coupons, discounts, or announcements about sales or new products?

What is more effective with you as a customer, name recognition or special promotions? Would it be useful to have one page a month with restaurant specials or property listings?

When, in 2013, some obscenely large hailstones hit my home, I did two things. I called the insurance company, and then I opened the Jewish Press to find Mike Sadofsky’s phone number. Because that is how it is supposed to work.

One idea we are toying with is the online business list. We’d have an easily accessible section on our website where our advertisers are featured, categorized by type of business, and you as the consumer can quickly check if the business you are thinking of frequenting is one of our supporters. But before we put our energy in that, we would love to hear from you.

We are all busy, and so I am not asking you to email me with any answers now. Instead, we will be pushing over the next two months to send out several questionnaires, via email, through our website, and in our newspaper; we hope you’ll take the time to give us your input. We promise to keep it short and to the point, but we cannot do this without your help. It is time that we all work together to ensure continued advertising in our paper; there is too much at stake for all of us.

I don’t want to end this editorial on too grim a note: we are, honestly, not going anywhere. That has never been the plan. In fact, now that school is back in session for most of the city (sorry, kids) and religious school is about to start, life will become a little more regular. That also means programming here at the J and at our synagogues will increase, and we will have many things to tell you. We will continue to fill our pages with as many details, stories, announcements and photographs as we can get our hands on. And you, we hope, will continue to read. We promise you won’t regret it.

European governments must act to stem rising anti-Semitism

Focus on issues ROBERT SINGER NEW YORK (JTA) -- The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is spilling over into Europe, where in the past several weeks, Jewish communities have witnessed a chilling display of anti-Semitism, the likes of which has not been seen in many years.

European governments need to act decisively to stem this tide of hatred.

No longer content with cloaking hatred of Jews in the garb of anti-Zionism or opposition to Israel, demonstrators have marched through the streets of Berlin, Brussels and other European cities to the cry of “death to the Jews” and “gas the Jews.” In Paris and its suburbs, wild mobs bent on destruction have run amok, attacking synagogues and the Jewish worshippers in them. They’ve burned cars, looted shops and smashed store windows.

It wasn’t that many years ago when legions of storm troopers paraded through German streets chanting “Sharpen the long knives on the pavement; let the knives slip into the Jews’ bodies.”

The irony that most of today’s demonstrators are themselves recent migrants to Europe or descendants of newcomers cannot be lost on anyone. Sadly, however, this pathology is not only confined to European Muslims but to a whole host of rancorous elements in European society.

Of course, there is another side of the coin that is cause for cheer. Remarkably, all 28 foreign ministers of the European Union member states have called for the disarmament of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. Moreover, some

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Arab countries, most notably Egypt, are quietly rooting for Israel on the sidelines in the hope that it will eventually succeed in neutralizing Hamas.

But that still does not diminish the gravity of the terrible scenes being played out across Europe. As much as we can draw attention to this worrisome phenomenon, at the end of the day it is the European governments, along with the people of Europe, that must take a stand. Some of the govern-

In the Paris suburb of Sarcelles, pro-Palestinian rioters broke shop windows and set fires, July 20.

Credit: Cnaan Liphshiz

ments have already begun to do so, but one can only hope that more will follow and act with vigor.

The World Jewish Congress has called on European governments to strengthen police protection of Jewish sites and to ban or disband violent rallies. Governments must stop the agitation and protect their Jewish populations or Jews will ha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’

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ultimately turn their back on those countries.

Jews live in Europe by right, not sufferance. Their manifold contributions to the development of what we call European civilization are too numerous to recall, even if they are not always recognized, and certainly not by those who have an anti-European agenda.

Given the present ambiance in Europe, it is understandable that some of them will eventually decide to leave the continent. Thousands of French Jews have already done so, and more are on the way. We certainly respect their decision and will aid our brethren however we can.

Beginning at the end of the 1980s, with the fall of communism, Jewish life has been revitalized in many cities in which no one would have believed there was a Jewish future — places such as Warsaw and Vilnius, Bucharest and Sofia. At that time, no one questioned why Jews in Paris or elsewhere in Western Europe were living where they were. That we have to do so today is a sad commentary on where we have come since then -- 70 years since the embers of the ovens of Auschwitz went cold. But we will never award Hitler and his modern-day disciples a posthumous victory by acquiescing to a Judenrein Europe.

Today’s fight is between supporters of Hamas and people who believe in decency, mutual respect and liberalism -- all the best in European traditions. But Europeans will have to reach that conclusion themselves. The most thoughtful among them already understand that a continent in which Jews do not feel comfortable is not a healthy place for anyone.

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August 15, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 9

How Obama and Netanyahu can make up

Behind the headlines RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not the best of friends -- that seems pretty clear by now.

But following reports during the Gaza conflict of cut-off phone calls, tough talk of “demands” and eavesdropping, it may be time for them to figure out a way back to steadier ground.

JTA asked an array of experts on the U.S.-Israel relationship what the two leaders must do to restore a relationship that both say is critical for their countries.

Deus ex machina: A crisis will bring us together Aaron David Miller, a Middle East negotiator under Democratic and Republican presidents, remembers the last such breach between U.S. and Israeli leaders -- when George H.W. Bush was president and Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister – and it was worse, he says. That is, until Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.

“The only thing that will improve the relationship is the emergence of a joint project that affords both of them the opportunity to get on the same page and succeeds and makes them look good,” said Miller, now a vice president at the Wilson Center. The first Persian Gulf War and the subsequent Madrid peace talks are “what saved the BushShamir relationship.”

“You need a set of circumstances that compels the United States and Israel to operate in a way that not just manages something but accomplishes something and makes them look good,” Miller said. “That’s the only thing that will do it -- phone calls and warm statements won’t do it.”

Let’s talk big picture Tamara Cofman Wittes, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs in Obama’s first term and now is director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, says Netanyahu and Obama should talk not about the specific near-term issues they face but about what they want to get done and what kind of legacies they wish to leave.

“Both of these guys have a clear sense of what they were put there to do,” Wittes told JTA. “Both of them have a clear sense of what they want to leave behind. And I am confident that one of the things both of them want to leave behind is a strong and solid U.S.-Israel relationship. That broader, deeper conversation will help them get past practical differences.”

Honey, we’ve both changed since we were young and in love Haim Malka, the deputy director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says their big-picture talk should focus on how America and Israel each are changing.

“Young people in America don’t have the same kind of perception of Israel as their parents and grandparents -- in part because they grew up at a time when Israel has been a

strong military power. They don’t see the same threat their parents did,” said Malka, who in 2011 wrote a book about the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. “The U.S. and Israel need a serious conversation about the relationship, the tension points in the relationship and why it’s changing.”

Martin Indyk, who until June was the top U.S. Middle East peace negotiator and is now a Brookings Institution vice president, says the United States must recognize Israel’s shifting alliances.

Israel, as opposed to past crises in the relationship with the United States, “is strong economically, strong militarily and has a range of relationships across the world with other powers

The relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen here after Obama's arrival in Israel on March 20, 2013, has been marked by reports of tensions.

Credit: Pete Souza/White House beyond the United States,” Indyk said Tuesday at a Brookings event on the Gaza war aftermath, citing India, China and Russia as examples of Israel’s burgeoning friendships. “They feel more independent of the United States than they have in the past and that they can stand on their own two feet.

“They also feel they have relationships in the Arab world that they never had before,” Indyk added, noting that Egypt explicitly sided with Israel during the recent Gaza war, and that Saudi Arabia and several other Sunni-led countries did so tacitly.

We need to talk about that thing Both leaders also need to address third rails -- like the $3 billion in defense assistance Israel receives from the United States, Malka said.

“There has to be an honest discussion about the sustainability of U.S. military aid and about how that affects the relationship,” he said. “Does Israel want to continue to be a dependent country, or does it want to graduate to a different kind of status?”

Maybe we shouldn’t talk at all The solution for the animosity that Netanyahu and Obama have for one another is to keep them apart and have

Crowdfunding for Israel with condoms and drones

by MIRIAM MOSTER Crowdfunding campaigns, using sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, have become an increasingly popular way to generate money for everything from independent films to new technologies — even healthy-body-image fashion dolls and a rebuilt Third Temple.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that in recent weeks, as the Israel-Gaza war raged on, advocates for both Israelis and Palestinians started crowdfunding campaigns to help their favored sides. (How legitimate these efforts are is anyone’s guess.)

One of the more provocative, albeit not one of the more successful: an Indiegogo campaign seeking to raise money and awareness for the Israel Defense Forces via an “Iron Dome” condom with the motto “safe sex for a safe Israel.”

The project’s organizers, Jason Sterling and Idan Twena, describe themselves as “two Canadian Israeli Jews, who have family members currently serving in the IDF.” Donor perks include condoms and other “Iron Dome” apparel, with the quantity varying depending on the size of the donation. The perk for those donating $18,000 (so far the largest donation has been $54 — and the total raised is $436) includes two round-trip tickets to Toronto to meet with the co-founders, four nights at the Four Seasons, a one-year supply of Iron Dome condoms and “a crazy night with 10 Iron Dome girls,” whatever an Iron Dome girl is.

At the opposite end of the modesty spectrum is an Indiegogo campaign raising money to provide soldiers with collections of psalms to “send a spiritual protective edge.”

That campaign raised over $13,000, with perks ranging from emailed thank-you notes to various religious books.

Other pro-Israel campaigns include a pizza fund for the

troops which exceeded its original goal of 1,000 pizzas and various efforts to provide extra gear for soldiers.

Tzvi (Todd) Wiesel, a member of the Israel Defense Forces’ 97th battalion, turned to Tilt to raise money for extra gear for his unit, claiming in his pitch that “Due to the recent nature of our brigade, the newest in the army, and our battalion, the newest within the brigade the amount of funds allotted for our gear dwarfs in comparison to that of some of the better known units.” (The campaign raised $22,241.75 of its $20,000 goal.)

Meanwhile, a man who goes by “Ron” has raised over $18,000 of his $62,000 goal to help Israel buy more antimissiles for Iron Dome. Lest you wonder whether an antimissile is even purchase-able by an individual, Ron has it all figured out.

He writes in his pitch: “Of course, we couldn’t actually buy an Iron Dome anti-missile. But we could donate the exact amount of money to the Israeli government, and ask them to put it towards that defensive system, or any other civilian defence project in affected parts of Israel.”

But perhaps the most creative, if not particularly realistic, is a campaign by someone named Syed Ali to send medical aid via drone into Gaza. According to the pitch, “We want to, in addition to the small amounts of aid going in through the border crossings, develop a fleet of remotecontrolled drones that can carry 9kg of medical aid through per flight.”

Ali has raised $219 of his $8,846.90 goal so far and says he intends to contribute $7,246 of his own.

The incentive gift for someone donating $5,898? A “keepsake” drone if “the drone is damaged beyond repair (but we have it in our possession).”

a fixer mediate, said Robert Danin, who specialized in the Middle East in high-ranking positions in the George W. Bush administration and assisted Tony Blair in his capacity as Middle East peace mediator.

“President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu now have over five years of accumulated baggage, so I don’t see how they are going to reconcile,” said Danin, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“What appears to be sorely lacking right now is a trusted and discreet private channel between the two leaders,” he told JTA. “You need a trusted emissary who operates below the radar who can go back and forth between the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office. This person can quietly solve problems, clarify misunderstandings and serve to manage the relationship.”

Maybe everyone should just shut up Stop the leaks is the advice of Jonathan Schanzer, a vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“So much is flying back and forth that does not make either leader look competent and does not make the relationship look solid,” said Schanzer, who was a terrorism finance analyst under President George W. Bush.

“It makes very little sense to me that this administration has allowed for leaks given how tight their communications are,” he said. “From the Israeli side, we know leaking is a contact sport. Netanyahu needs to do a better job of keeping his right flank in check.”

Natan Sachs, a fellow at the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy who focuses on Israel, said each side needs to better understand how leaks play out on the other.

“In Israel, when a junior minister criticizes the United States, it’s understood he’s speaking for himself. In America, it’s assumed that the government thinks that way,” he said.

“Israelis have to be much more careful in the way they speak.

The converse is that Americans need to take it more with a grain of salt.”

Deal with Iran already The Iranian nuclear program issue is deeply distorting the relationship, Schanzer said. Dealing with Iran’s suspected weapons program needs to come to a head.

“Whatever tensions existed during this latest round of violence with Hamas, tensions would not have been as high without the backdrop of a nuclear Iran,” he said. “The fact that this has gone on for years without conclusion and the Israelis have been told and told to wait, it’s pushed both sides to a place where we do not want tensions to be.”

Letter TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, As Outreach Chairman of the Omaha Jewish Reunion, I am reaching out to answer questions that I’ve been hearing over and over again. “I live here. This isn’t for me, is it?”... “I didn’t grow up in Omaha. Why would I come to a reunion?”... “I don’t have any relatives or friends coming in, but can I still come?”

Here is my answer, plain and simple. The Omaha Jewish Reunion is for everyone! It isn’t just a time to greet old friends you haven’t seen in a long time. It is the time to CELEBRATE OMAHA, this amazing city and Jewish community we live in!"

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. Dozens of people have put in hundreds of hours creating, planning and working very hard to make the weekend a hit! Do yourself a favor. Go to our website — omahajewishreunion.com — and look at all the wonderful programs, bus tours and special events packed into three days. " I had a hard time deciding what to register for because there were so many things that interested me! For years, I’ve heard about Janey Dann’s “Mansions and Millionaires” tour, and now I’m finally going. And that's just one of many programs offered! You could go to a Friday night dinner at the synagogue or temple of your choice. If you go to Saturday’s “Afternoon of the Arts”, you’ll hear from prominent musicians, filmmakers, artists and authors...either from or currently living in Omaha! Saturday night, it’s one big party — the HavDAlah GAla — featuring Omaha’s iconic rock n’ roll band, The Rumbles. Sunday, take time to enjoy a delicious brunch and have another chance to reminisce. I've barely scratched the surface...three action-packed, adventuresome and fun days, all for $50!"

Make it a family affair and come with mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Get a group of friends together and make it an in-town vacation. It’s a rare opportunity for hundreds of us to get together and celebrate this incredible city and Jewish community we live in!"

Registering is easy. You can do it online or pick up a form at the JCC. So what are you waiting for? Register Today!

Patty Nogg

10 | The Jewish Press | August 15, 2014

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, please call 712.322.4705.

Candlelighting Friday, August 15, 8:05 p.m.

Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak.

THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu.

All programs are open to the entire community.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m. Bar Mitzvah of Zach Krausman, son of Hazzan Michael and Laurel Krausman; Mini-minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8 p.m.

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

SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.

WEDNESDAY: YAC Planning Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Brix, Village Point; Choir Practice, 7:30 p.m.

Lunch at the NE AIDS Project, Friday, Aug. 22, 11:30 a.m.

Women’s Rosh Hodesh Meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 6:30 p.m. at It’s Your Pottery, 2518 S. 132nd St. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by Beit Medrash with Project SEED; Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:15 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Project SEED Shabbat: Sermon and Torah Reading, 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:50 p.m. followed by Seudah Shlishit with Project SEED; Havdalah, 9:07 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash with SEED, 10 a.m.; Open Beit Midrash, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:20 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by Beit Medrash with Project SEED MONDAY: Open Beit Midrash, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:20 p.m.

TUESDAY: Project SEED Lunch & Learn, 1 p.m.; Tuesday Night class with Project SEED, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:20 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Open Beit Medrash; 1:1 Learning with Project SEED, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:20 p.m.

THURSDAY: UNMC Chaburah with SEED, 1 p.m.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office.

WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi

Bar Mitzvah Zachary John Arnold, son of Brenda and Barton Arnold, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 23, at Temple Israel.

Zach is an eighth-grade student at Westside Middle School.

His interests include band, guitar, drums and animals.

For his mitzvah project, Zach did pet sitting.

He has two brothers, Jacob and Spencer.

Grandparents are Mae Peterson and the late Harold Peterson, Joy Arnold of Florida and Chuck Arnold of Iowa.

Great-grandmother is the late Beverly Freiden

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Ekev; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY: Meet Your Neighbor Class, 4 p.m. Free of charge. Please sign up by calling the South Street Temple office at 402.435.8004 or email office@southstreettemple. org; Cantillation Class, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Fuji’s Japanese Restaurant, 1501 Pine Lake Road; Star City Kochavim Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: High Holiday Choir Rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m.

As part of the Temple’s 130th anniversary celebration, we want to reach as many former members and clergy as possible. Are you in touch with someone who used to attend?

With kids who grew up and moved away? With friends or family with Temple connections? If so, please give their contact information to Barb Straus at barbstraus@gmail.com.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Jim Polack.

Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Heather Slovut, daughter of Beth and

Mitch Slovut, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah.

SUNDAY: Teacher Orientation, 10 a.m.; Tri-Faith Picnic, 12:30 p.m. Rain or shine – if the weather won’t cooperate, we will move indoors! Halal burgers, kosher hot dogs and beverages provided. Please bring a dish to share (please, no pork, shellfish, or gelatin dishes); JYG Rush at Devy Gravity, 3:30 p.m. Meet at Temple Israel at 3:30 p.m. and ride the bus to Defy Gravity. Parents can pick kids up at 6 p.m. Cost is $15 and includes bus ride, admission and dinner. Please RSVP to Nikki Flatowicz, nflatowicz@templeisraelomaha. com or 402-312-9822, by Monday, Aug. 11.

MONDAY: Temple Israel Annual Golf Outing, noon at Shadow Ridge Country Club.

OTYG Rush Picnic and Zoo Scavenger Hunt, Saturday, Aug. 23, 12:45 p.m. Meet in the Temple Israel parking lot at 12:45 a.m. The bus will be leaving at noon and heading to the Henry Doorly Zoo. We will return to Temple Israel at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $15 and includes bus ride, admission, lunch & snacks. You may want to bring spending money if you want souvenirs or other snacks. Please RSVP to Nikki Flatowicz, nflatowicz@templeisraelomaha.com or 402.312.9822, by Monday, Aug. 18.

First Day of Religious School, Sunday, Aug. 24: Bagel Breakfast for everyone, 9:30 a.m.; Opening Assembly, 10 a.m.; Parents and students meet the teachers, 10:20 a.m.; Parents head to Parent Orientation in the Social Hall, 10:45 a.m.; Parent Orientation meeting, 11 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a special Kiddush luncheon in honor of Bloom/Kelen families return from their yearlong sabbatical in Switzerland sponsored by Bloom/Kelen family.

SUNDAY: Open Board Meeting, 4 p.m. with special guest, Alan Potash, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League-Plain States Region. He will speak about our OWN security needs at Tifereth Israel during these troubled times.

Childcare will be provided.

TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Fuji’s Japanese Restaurant, 1501 Pine Lake Road. Please contact Stephanie Dohner with any questions.

Join us Friday, Aug. 22 at 6:15 p.m. for our Fifth Annual new Member Dinner and Shabbat. A hotdog dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. with Kabbalat Shabbat services beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Back to Religious School

by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel The rooms are clean, books have been ordered and our Teachers are ready! Another year of religious school is about to begin on Sunday, Aug. 24. “Over the last year, we have engaged in a thoughtful and intentional process of curriculum review.” We are looking forward to this year of implementing a new vision,” stated Debbie Massarano, Director of Lifelong Learning at Temple Israel.

New this year – we will be moving forward our Judaic Studies curriculum as we adopt a new curriculum. Grades 1st – 7th will be using the Union for Reform Judaism’s CHAI curriculum. It is based on the three pillars of Judaism mentioned in the Mishnah – Torah, Avodah (connection to God) and G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness). It is a concept based curriculum that delves deeply into a new concept each year. As an example, in third grade the concept is K’dushah (holiness). Our third graders will learn about holiness through engaging with Torah texts from Leviticus, exploring their connection to the God’s holiness, and the ways in which we treat others as holy.

The CHAI lessons follow a curriculum model known as “backward design,” as outlined in the book Understanding

by Design (UbD) by Wiggins and McTighe and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). This approach, and that of the CHAI curriculum is designed so that a student’s learning will go beyond the specific classroom activities and will

reach a deeper enduring understanding, establishing the basis for later Jewish learning and living.

In addition, we will be adding a digital component to our Hebrew Mitkadem Curriculum. This will allow our students to log into the online program from school or home.

The Digital Mitkadem is a computer version of our selfpaced Hebrew program.

Again this year we are very excited about the class trips that we are able to offer our 8th through 12th graders. Each trip has been designed to stress the goals of building relationships among the students and with clergy and staff, deepening a sense of community, and to have fun together while learning about things that connect us to Judaism and our Jewish identity. Our 8th graders will be spending Shabbat together at Mahoney State Park. The 9th graders will be traveling with Rabbi Brown to New York City to have fun and build community through the lens of our American Jewish History. Our 10th Grade Confirmation class will be spending a powerful weekend at the Religious Action Center (RAC), the Reform Movement’s Lobby in Washington D.C. We also offer for our 11th and 12th grades alternate trips. One year they go on a college visit with Cantor Shermet and the next year they visit our Partnership families in Israel. This year’s trip is the college visit with Cantor Shermet.

For more information on our religious school and educational opportunities at Temple Israel, please contact Debbie Massarano, Director of Lifelong Learning at dmassarano@ templeisraelomaha.com or 402.556.6536.

JEWISH PRESS NOTICE The Jewish Press office is closed Monday, Sept. 1 for Labor Day; Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

August 15, 2014 | The Jewish Press | 11

United Way of the Midlands Awards $123,194.00 to JFO OMAHA, NE --- The Jewish Federation of Omaha is pleased to announce it was recently awarded a grant of more than $120,000.00 from United Way of the Midlands to fund a wide variety of programmatic initiatives through three agencies on the Jewish Federation of Omaha campus, the Jewish Community Center (JCC), Jewish Senior Outreach and Jewish Family Service. The generosity of United Way donors will greatly impact the members of the Jewish community of Omaha.

The demographics directly impacted by this grant are youth, seniors and those most vulnerable or in need of direct assistance. United Way’s investments in the Jewish Federation of Omaha include the following: $27,990 for Jewish Social Services’ social development programs, $21,555 for geriatric counseling, $33,193 for mental health care and counseling and $40,456 for social, recreational and community service programs at the Jewish Community Center.

With help from this grant, Jewish Senior Outreach’s diverse and engaging programs are offered to seniors to ensure the maintenance of their mental and physical health, vitality, social connections and their active presence in our Jewish community. “Mainstreeters” offers educational, physical and social events for area residents age 62 and older.

“Lomir Redn Yiddish” is a weekly conversational language program for those interested in maintaining a conversational level of their ancestor’s native language. A health maintenance clinic, sponsored by Interim Healthcare and offered weekly, provides medical needs for a nominal charge. A Russian cultural club and friendship club meet several times per year and foster fellowship, participation and engagement among seniors who may otherwise experience isolation and loneliness.

For Jewish Senior Outreach, the goal has been, and remains, varied programming for the frail elderly to keep them healthy and a vital part of the Jewish community.

Jewish Family Service received full funding for mental health care and counseling services. This funding provides counseling services to individuals (they need not be Jewish clients) who require a Sliding Fee rate, either because they do not have insurance or income qualify.

Jewish Family Service accommodated 54 Clients and provided 399 therapy sessions from July, 2013-June, 2014.

Members of the Omaha community received help when access to comparable services were unavailable elsewhere.

When Jewish Family Service has the resources available to provide these services, they are fulfilling one of the most important tenants of the Jewish faith: Tikkun Olam, to help repair the world.

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) offers four programs with support from United Way’s grant of $40,456.

These include: Kidz Inn, the JCC’s after-school care program, School Break Specials, full day learning and caregiving for youth age 5-12, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO), an internationally recognized youth group program for teens entering 9th through 12th grade and a special needs camp.

Kidz Inn fills a gap for children needing adult care when school is not in session and parents or guardians are at work.

Kidz Inn provides for a child’s confidence and self-esteem while providing a safe and nurturing environment. In 201314, 126 children were enrolled and benefited from the mix of homework assistance, computer access, arts activities and physical fitness activities.

BBYO is a social and community service youth group. As a student based organization, teens have a unique opportunity to gather leadership skills and program management experience. The 129 teens involved last year, benefited from strong sense of community after volunteering and donating their time and talents to over thirty local community organizations.

To illustrate direct assistance, consider this example.

Earlier this year, Jewish Family Service began working with a young man, referred by a previous client. The young man dropped out of college several years prior, worked in a job that he did not like and was about to get married. Since beginning therapy, this young man re-enrolled in college to complete his degree, got married and continues in individual as well as marriage counseling to further his personal

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goals. This young man made some significant life changes and although he remains in counseling at this time, he is now happily married, gainfully employed, content and finishing his college education.

Or, for over 20 years, “Sarah” has been an active participant in Jewish Senior Outreach programs. She founded the Friendship Club, an organization of female octogenarians who meet twice a month at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

“Sarah” makes phone calls, plans luncheons, bingo games and field trips. She makes visits if members are ill and sends get well cards. Jewish Senior Outreach provides round-trip transportation for “Sarah” so she can provide this vital connection to our community’s elderly.

Recently, Sarah’s son passed away. Her daughter is out of town and twice-widowed, Sarah lives alone. She was able to receive much-needed grief counseling through Jewish Family Service. Her connection to her community and the Jewish Federation of Omaha campus is ongoing as she has depended on community services for a majority of her adult life. She remains vital and active giving back through the volunteer efforts she is able to do through the Friendship Club.

Michael Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federation Omaha expressed his gratitude to United Way of the Midlands. “We are indebted to United Way for their generous support of the programs outlined above. Jewish Senior Outreach, Jewish Family Service and the Jewish Community Center strive, each and every day, to provide the highest level of service to our community members. The quality of people’s lives is changed for the better. Thank you to all who contribute to the United Way of the Midlands.”

United Way of the Midlands helps the most vulnerable in our community, and works on human service solutions that will benefit our metro area for generations to come. We connect people and organizations with a secure way to donate their financial support and their time, and connect them to a strong network of health and human service programs that help our neighbors build a better life for themselves. Thanks to all who come together at United Way’s table, we are COMMUNITY STRONG. The Jewish Federation of Omaha works each day to fulfill its mission to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. We strive to achieve our goals through the basic core values of Judaism: collective responsibility, community, education, health and well-being, integrity, leadership and stewardship.

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12 | The Jewish Press | August 15, 2014

The images missing from the Gaza war

by URIEL HEILMAN (JTA) -- There’s no shortage of images from the Gaza conflict. We’ve seen rubble, dead Palestinian children, Israelis cowering during rocket attacks, Israeli military maneuvers and Israeli army footage of Hamas militants emerging from tunnels to attack Israeli soldiers.

Why haven’t we seen journalists’ photographs of Hamas fighters inside Gaza?

We know Hamas doesn’t want the world to see images of Palestinian fighters launching rockets or using civilian havens like hospitals as bases of operation. But if we’re able to see images from both sides of practically every other war -- in Syria, in Ukraine, in Iraq -- why is Gaza an exception?

If journalists are being threatened and intimidated when they try to document Hamas activity in Gaza, their news outlets should be out front saying so. They’re not.

Last week, The New York Times published an account by photographer Sergey Ponomarev on what his days are like in Gaza. Here’s what Ponomarev said: “It was a war routine. You leave early in the morning to see the houses destroyed the night before. Then you go to funerals, then to the hospital because more injured people arrive, and in the evening you go back to see more destroyed houses.

“It was the same thing every day, just switching between Rafah and Khan Younis.”

Looking through the 45 images in four of the Times’ recent slideshows on the conflict, there’s not a single one of a Hamas fighter. Why not? After all, Hamas attacks against Israel are crucial to understanding what’s underpinning this conflict.

When I posed this question to the Times, here’s what Eileen Murphy, the newspaper’s vice president for corporate communications, told me: “It is very difficult to identify Hamas because they don’t have uniforms or any visible insignia; our photographer hasn’t even seen anyone carrying a gun.

“I would add that we would not withhold photos of Hamas militants. We eagerly pursue photographs from both sides of the conflict, but we are limited by what our photographers have access to.”

Now, I’m no war reporter. It’s a risk I’m not willing to take, and I commend those who do. So I’m hesitant to question the work of reporters in Gaza right now.

But here’s what I don’t get: With the hundreds of journalists there, including numerous photojournalists with experience covering bloody conflicts in Syria, Ukraine, Iraq and Afghanistan, how is it that they aren’t able to get any images of Palestinians fighting the Israelis?

Are they looking in the right places?

The Times is hardly the only offender. A Los Angeles Times slideshow of more than 75 photographs from the conflict did not have a single image of a Hamas fighter either,

These weapons were found in a Hamas-built tunnel under the Israel-Gaza border, July 24.

Credit: Israel Defense Forces according to the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.

For many viewers, the narrative of this war must appear quite straightforward: Powerful Israel is bombarding defenseless Palestinians. That’s understandable when there are hardly any photographs of Palestinian aggressors.

By all accounts Hamas is running a command center out of the basement of Shifa Hospital, but you wouldn’t know it watching or reading coverage of this conflict. Three UNRWA schools have reported finding Hamas rockets on their grounds, but we haven’t seen those images.

Likewise, a Palestinian news agency reported two weeks ago that Hamas executed dozens of Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel last week. JTA reported this, but it was given no mention in mainstream media outlets.

Either reporters and editors are uninterested in telling the side of the story that shows what Hamas is doing in Gaza or

they’re unable. Let’s consider the latter possibility.

Much has been made by Israel supporters of a decision by The Wall Street Journal’s Nick Casey to delete a tweet about how Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a base of operations.

Presumably, Casey deleted the tweet because of threats by Hamas either to his person or his ability to continue to cover the conflict.

A Times of Israel report last week suggested as much: “Several Western journalists currently working in Gaza have been harassed and threatened by Hamas for documenting cases of the terrorist group’s involvement of civilians in warfare against Israel, Israeli officials said, expressing outrage that some in the international media apparently allow themselves to be intimidated and do not report on such incidents.

“The Times of Israel confirmed several incidents in which journalists were questioned and threatened. These included cases involving photographers who had taken pictures of Hamas operatives in compromising circumstances — gunmen preparing to shoot rockets from within civilian structures, and/or fighting in civilian clothing — and who were then approached by Hamas men, bullied and had their equipment taken away. Another case involving a French reporter was initially reported by the journalist involved, but the account was subsequently removed from the Internet.”

After leaving Gaza, freelance Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati, in a pair of tweets blaming Hamas for a recent civilian casualty incident, backed up the claims that Hamas threatens reporters: “Out of #Gaza far from #Hamas retaliation: misfired rocket killed children yday in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared debris (July 29)” Why are we reading about this intimidation only in Jewish or Israeli media -- or on blogs -- and not in Western mainstream media?

If media outlets are suppressing images of Hamas fighters using civilians as shields, and using schools and hospitals as bases of operation, then people watching around the world naturally will have trouble viewing the Israelis as anything but aggressors and the Palestinians as anything but victims.

But they’re only getting half the story. And where I come from, a half-truth is considered a lie.

Happy 70th Wedding Anniversary

Norma & Stanley Silverman August 20, 1944

We love you very much!

Jeff & Mary Kay and your loving Grandchildren & Great-Grandchildren