Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Come Together
August 17, 2012 29 Av 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 47
This Week
Gili’s great adventure by MARK KIRCHHOFF Administrative Assistant, The Center for Jewish Life A great adventure began for Gili Gutwirth as she arrived in Omaha on the afternoon of August 8th. She stepped off the plane, retrieved her luggage and met her Omaha hosts. Smiling with enthusiasm and bubbling with energy, Gili thought about how she would soon be an active participant in the community – bringing her education and expe-
A Mainstreeters upcoming event and where they’ve been Pages 4 & 7
Andrea, left, and Mike Siegel, Jennifer and John Glazer, Katherine Finnegan and David Gilinsky.
Miriam Brooks revisits Temple Israel Page 7
Gaza evacuees are growing distant from the settler movement Page 12
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
Next Week Real Estate Special See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
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by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha Just shy of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles’ invasion on American soil, the band’s iconic music will entertain and enthrall our community when the Beatles’ tribute show, Long Live the Beatles headlines the 2013 Annual Campaign family dinner and show. All Together Now... Join the Jewish Federation of Omaha on Sunday,
Sept. 23 at the Hilton Omaha, 1001 Cass Street, and experience the excitement and hysteria of Beatlemania. The evening promises great family fun and camaraderie beginning at 5:30 p.m. More than one family was needed to help plan a great evening emphasizing community spirit and togetherness; so co-chairing the event are Katherine Finnegan and David Gilinsky, Jennifer and John Glazer, and Andrea and Mike Siegel because,
according to John, I’ll Get By With a Little Help from My Friends. “Jennifer and I enjoy spending time with the Siegel’s and David and Katherine, and because the event is intended as a fun way to bring the whole community together, we want to do our part to help it succeed,” added John. “Mike and I are helping with this event because we feel strongly about bringing community together. The Continued on page 3
Plans underway for Great Omaha Chocolate Festival by LISA LIEB for NCJW After a 2011 debut that would have dazzled Willy Wonka himself, The Great Omaha Chocolate Festival returns on Sunday, Sept. 30, to the UNO Field House from noon to 5 p.m. Presented by the Omaha Section of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) with corporate sponsor, Bakers Candies, the 2011 festival attracted more than 2,200 chocolate enthusiasts. Plans are well underway for the 2012 festival, which promises to be even bigger and better. Festival co-chairs are Beth Friedman and Joanie Jacobson. Admission to the festival is $5 for adults, which includes five samples of chocolate. Tickets for kids age 210 are $3 for three samples. Extra sample tickets will be available for $1
Back row: Julie Martin, left, Sharon Houchin, Marcia Pitlor, Sherry Taxman, Kelly Kirk, Cathy Christensen, Sonia Tipp; front row: Lisa Lieb, left, Carol Bloch, Joanie Jacobson, Beth Friedman, Barb Widman, Frankie Kasin each, and vendors will also offer anything and everything chocolate for sale -- cakes, cookies, candy, brownies, coffee, lotions, even dog treats -- at special festival prices. Vendor participation has seen a tremendous boost this year, with a 50% increase from 2011. Jacobson is thrilled with the vendor response. “We have more than forty of the finest bakers, candy makers, caterers, and restaurant owners in the Omaha area, graciously sharing their talents and expertise with hun-
dreds of chocolate-loving families,” she said. The following vendors will participate: The Afternoon, Alotta Brownies, Art Chicks, Bakers Candies, Bittersweet Bakery, Bread Oven French Bakery, The Cake Box, Candyopolis, Chocolaterie Stam, Chocolatier Blue, Cookies by Design, The Cordial Cherry, Costco, Crane Coffee, Crumbs By The Lake, Cuppycakes, The Cazual Cup, David M. Mangelsen's, Divine Cacao, Continued on page 2
Gili Gutwirth rience to this new endeavor. The Center for Jewish Life is pleased to welcome 22 year-old Gili Gutwirth from Herzliya, Israel – the new Shaliach for the Omaha Jewish Community. We are confident that you will soon experience the positive impact of her efforts. Shaliach (referring to both males and females – “Shlicha” being the feminine form) means “messenger” or “emissary” in Hebrew; the plural of the word is Shlichim. A community Shaliach’s mission is to bring Jewish-Israeli heritage to the local community. A Shaliach is hand-picked by a team with the Jewish Agency in Israel, and then participates in extensive training before being matched with a community. These highly motivated young educators from Israel are imbued with a sense of responsibility towards Jewish communities in the Diaspora and are committed to strengthening Jewish identity and create a connection between Diaspora Jewry and the State of Israel. “We are excited to have Gili join our Jewish community in Omaha,” said Beth Cohen, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Life. “A Shaliach has such a positive impact on a community that we are always excited to welcome a new person into our midst.” Just as the agency in Israel works to identify the right people for these jobs, the Jewish Federation of Omaha evaluated very carefully who would be the right person for this community. Cohen continued, “We liked Gili’s educational background, we were impressed with her work Continued on page 2
2 | The Jewish Press | August 17, 2012
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Choice of Carter as convention speaker decried by JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON (JTA) – Former President Jimmy Carter, who has garnered much criticism in recent years for his harsh words about Israel, will address the Democratic National Convention in prime time. The Democratic National Convention Committee and for America Obama announced that Carter will speak Sept. 4 via video on the second day of the convention in Charlotte, N.C. . “President Carter is one of the greatest humanitarian leaders of our time and a champion of democracy around the globe,” said convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa, who also called the former president “a lifelong champion of human rights and investments in education and energy.” He said that Carter “will provide unique insight” for economic recovery. Abraham Foxman, national director of Anti-Defamation League, sharply criticized the invitation. “I wish he wouldn’t [speak],” Foxman said. “I don’t think the convention should provide a platform for someone with such a biased obsession with Israel that borders on antiSemitism.” “I know it’s very difficult for any political party to deny a platform” to living former presidents, Foxman said, adding he hoped Carter’s speech would not be aired during any discussion about the Middle East or foreign policy. David Harris, the president of the National Jewish Democratic Council, which in the past has been critical of Carter’s Middle East pronouncements, told JTA he was “confident” Carter would not speak about the region at the
convention. “Whether it’s Israel in particular or the Middle East in general, President Carter’s analysis has been consistently wrong, and harmful to the peace process to boot,” Harris said. “I’m confident that he won’t be speaking about Middle East policy at the Democratic Convention; today’s Democratic Party leaders -including one of the most proIsrael presidents in U.S. history, President Obama -- are best suited to that task.” Republican Jewish Coalition director Matt Brooks said the decision showed how “out of touch” the Democrats had become. “Giving a platform to someone who has been openly hostile to Israel and equated the country to the South African apartheid regime is offensive,” Brooks said in an email. Prime-time speakers at the convention include first lady Michelle Obama and keynote speaker San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who will also speak on Sept. 4 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren will deliver their remarks on Sept. 5 at the arena. Both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will deliver their acceptance speeches on the final night of the convention, Sept. 6, at Bank of America Stadium. Carter, in the statement from the convention organizers announcing his speaking tour, expressed his regrets at not being able to attend. He said he and his wife Rosalynn “remain steadfast in our support for President Obama and the progress he will make in the next four years.”
Great Omaha Chocolate Festival Continued from page 1 whose programs typify NCJW’s mission of helping all Ferd’s Bake Shop, Foodies, Gigi's Cupcakes, Garbo’s Salons, women, children and families achieve personal, social and Jane’s Health Market, Jones Bros. Cupcakes, Lamar’s Donuts, economic success.” The festival will be the organization’s Licorice International, biggest fundraiser of the year. Nothing Bundt Cakes, Jacobson says she can’t wait Omaha Cheesecake Bakery, to see the turnout for the 2012 It’s all hands on deck as we gear up for The 2012 Great chocolate festival. “The Great Orange Leaf, Paradise Bakery, Omaha Chocolate Festival. Volunteers are needed to lend Omaha Chocolate Festival is Pettit’s Pastry Inc., Prairie a hand with set-up, ticket sales, greeting, concessions and truly a one-of-a-kind event,” Gold Popcorn, Pur Java vendor support. Please contact Beth Friedman at she said. “Delicious... heavenCoffee, Rocket Fizz, Rocky 402.334.7539 or bmfriedman@cox.net if you’d like to ly... decadent. I mean, who Mountain Chocolate Factory, RSVP, Savour Cuisine, Sweet participate. Volunteer Adults, teens and Oompa-Loompas doesn’t like chocolate?!” Fantasies Chocolates, Sweet welcome! For more information about Magnolia’s Bake Shop, Three the festival and for advanced Dog Bakery, Upstream Brewing Company and Velata ticket sales, visit www.OmahaChocolate Festival.com. Chocolate Fondue. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door. According to Jacobson, Corporate sponsor Bakers Candies has proved to be a strong partner for the festival. “NCJW is proud to share the stage with Bakers Candies -- a national distributor of those colorfully, foil-wrapped chocolates -- based right here in Greenwood, Nebraska.” The Continued from page 1 candy company debuted their chocolate covered potato in the IDF, and perhaps more than anything else, her chips to rave reviews at the 2011 festival, and they have interview via Skype convinced us that she had the energy another special treat in store for the 2012 festival. and proper motivation to do the job once she got here.” Culinary students from Iowa Western Community College Gili has recently completed her service with the IDF will put on a baking demonstration throughout the afterwhere she specialized in teaching Hebrew to new imminoon, an event Jacobson is looking forward to. “We have two grants and minority soldiers. She also was responsible for of the finest culinary arts programs in the country right here instructing other soldiers in how to teach Hebrew. She in the area, and we thought it was important for young chilattended Allon Comprehensive High School in Ramat dren to see the bakers in action,” Jacobson explained. Hasharon, majoring in theater, English and social sciences. Another festival highlight for our young chocolate lovers Gili has volunteered as a youth instructor in various will be hands-on chocolate activities for kids by The Cordial capacities since 2005, including working at a study center Cherry. Jacobson describes this activity as a major attraction in Tel-Aviv and providing private tutoring in basic math that offers something very different and very fun. for at-risk youth. Popular radio personality Dave Wingert, from The Big O In describing her degree of religious observance, she – 101.9 FM is sure to entertain during his special appearance said she is very pluralistic and celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at the festival. The radio station has signed on to be the fesat the Ra’anan Reform Synagogue. tival’s media sponsor. Gili says that being a young shlichut will provide her Proceeds from The Great Omaha Chocolate Festival will the opportunity to bring her personal values and varied benefit NCJW’s community service projects, which experiences to a community in the United States. She Friedman and Jacobson are both very passionate about. commented that she feels that “today, more than ever, “The Festival provides a great opportunity to showcase Israel, and especially Zionism, is in need of a ‘push,’” and NCJW-Omaha Section’s community service projects to litthat the shlichut will give her a chance “to take a bigger erally thousands of people,” Friedman said. “These projects role in the special amazing phenomenon called the offer resources and grants to Omaha-area schools, teachers Jewish nation.” and students, providing educational materials and programs In her spare time, Gili enjoys reading, music concerts, that otherwise would not be affordable with their strained plays, movies, and writing. Future plans include returnbudgets.” She added, “We are also very proud of our parting to school to study law, psychology, or history. nership with the Women’s Center for Advancement (WCA),
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Gili’s great adventure
August 17, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 3
In Wisconsin, Jews seek ways to help Sikhs after Milwaukee shooting by CHARLOTTE ANTHONY (JTA) – Almost as soon as she heard the news about a deadly shooting at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, Elana Kahn-Oren’s phone started ringing. As director of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Kahn-Oren fielded call after call from concerned area Jews asking what they could do to help.
er as Wade M. Page, a U.S. Army veteran with ties to white supremacist groups. Jacob Herber of Congregation Beth Israel said the Milwaukee synagogue’s weekday minyan would be holding a moment of silence to commemorate and express solidarity with the victims, just as the minyan does when Jews are attacked around the world. “Unfortunately, because we have experienced through much of our history, bigotry, hatred and anti-Semitism, this event is very acute for us in its pain,” Herber said. “That’s why I think we feel not only the obligation but the real personal, profound emotion of wanting to reach out to the Sikh community.” Linda Holifield, executive director of Congregation
Shalom in Milwaukee, said the shooter’s targeting of a place of worship was particularly upsetting. “When one place of worship is targeted, it suggests then that any place of worship could be a target,” she said. Tom Heinen, executive director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, said the tragedy has really hit home because of the tight-knit nature of the community in Milwaukee. “Milwaukee is in many respects a large village where many people of many faiths are interconnected personally, professionally and socially,” he said. “At a time like this, we need to come together as a community to reassert our common values and to comfort those who have suffered grievous losses.”
Come Together
A candlelight vigil for the victims of the shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., Aug 6, 2012. Credit: Overpass Light Brigade “We have to make sure to be respectful of the Sikh community and to make sure that we find appropriate avenues to express that support,” Kahn-Oren told JTA. A day after Sunday's shooting, the Federation was offering counseling services, had opened a mailbox to receive donations for assisting with the financial needs of the victims and their families, and was in talks with the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee to figure out a way to bring religious leaders together for an interfaith prayer service. “Coming together after events like these reaffirms the values of the community,” Kahn-Oren said. "This goes against our moral fiber.” The assailant killed six people, including the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, in Oak Creek, before being shot dead by police. On Monday, police identified the shoot-
Continued from page 1 family aspect of this was a real draw for us,” said Andrea. She continued, “It’s taking the Sunday family dinner to a new level and including the whole community in the concept, how great is that?” David Gilinsky responded with typical creativity (according to his wife), “When Mike Silverman called me, his favorite song was Help!. I countered with Hello, Goodbye, but he said, Don’t Let Me Down. I said, It’s Been a Hard Day’s Night Tell Me Why. Mike said, We’ll Come Together or I’ll Cry Instead. David went on, “Really, he had me at Please, Please Me. Once the Siegels and Glazers came on board to co-chair, it’s been Helter Skelter ever since. Let’s just Let It Be and celebrate our great community on Sept. 23.” The evening includes a kosher dinner, dessert and John, Paul, George and Ringo! The show is recommended for all community members age 8 and older. Invitations will arrive in the mail next week. Tickets are $36 for adults (age 13 and older) and $18 for children (age 8-13). According to Mike, Jewish Community Center Board
“It’s taking the Sunday family dinner to a new level and including the whole community in the concept, how great is that?” ---- Andrea Siegel
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.
President, blue jeans are required! “We are planning a casual atmosphere so everyone is comfortable. We are excited for extended families to get together and share music that spans all generations.” Come together with your community as the 2013 Annual Campaign kicks off this September 23rd. The Campaign and our Federation agencies and national and international partners all work together to support programs and institutions that feed, clothe, comfort and rescue people in need and inspire, educate and connect people to their Jewish identity When we work together, with our families and as a whole community, to raise and distribute our Campaign dollars, we ensure that the programs, institutions and Jewish values upon which we rely, enrich our community and each other for the better. There will be no Campaign solicitation at this event. For more information or to make your reservations, contact Sharon Kirshenbaum, Campaign Director, at 402.334.6485 or beatlemania@jewishomaha.org.
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4 | The Jewish Press | August 17, 2012
Adult education starts anew for Elul Mainstreeters plan December outing to Billy Elliot
by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer Just because you’re all grown up doesn’t mean you have to stop learning, and Temple Israel is here to facilitate and educate. Beginning on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 10 a.m., Temple Israel’s Adult Study program reconvenes for three weeks with a focus on the month of Elul and its importance leading up to the High Holidays. “Elul is the month before Tishri,” said Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, who will be teaching the first Adult Study class on Aug. 23. “The month of Tishri is loaded with doors behind which personal treasures are hidden. Elul is a month where we need to find the keys to unlock those doors during the Days of Awe.” Rabbi Josh Brown agrees, adding, “Elul is important because everything worth doing takes preparation. Elul is our tradition’s way of telling us that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are on the horizon. Without Elul, the depth of language and intensity of prayer at the High Holy Days may shock us rather than effect change within us.” Learning how to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur aren’t the only reasons these Adult Study sessions are important, however. “This is our last year in this building for the High Holy Days,” Rabbi Brown said. “It
will be a year to reflect not only on our personal experiences over the last 12 months, but also on our communal experiences in the sacred space we have called home for decades.” Rabbi Azriel hopes to help the class to let go of the past and embrace the coming year, with all its challenges. “I would like all of us to have the courage to go deep into ourselves and prepare to change,” Rabbi Azriel said. “We need to learn how to release the anger, narrow mindedness, selfishness, so our days ahead can lead us to a purposeful year.” While Rabbi Azriel wants to emphasize change within, Rabbi Brown hopes to illuminate the world without. “What is out of place? What injustices are present as we prepare for 5773? Asking these questions will allow us to have vivid images to help define the words of justice and righteousness that so often appear in our High Holy Day liturgy,” Rabbi Brown said. Adult Study is free and open to all ages, and new participants are always welcome. There is no need to register and also no commitment. Come for only one session or come for all, it’s up to you. Each of the clergy--Rabbi Azriel, Rabbi Brown and Cantor Shermet--will teach one of the three sessions.
With its award-wining creative team and music by Elton John, Time Magazine named Billy Elliot the Best Musical of the Decade. Pitlor, who saw the New York production, said, “The dancing done by the young man who stars as Billy Elliot is outstanding. The show is a delight.” Ma i n s t re e t e r s welcomes all Jewish residents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. The group offers a mixed-bag of learning opportunities plus social and cultural events. Those interested in attending the Dec. 2 matinee performance of Billy Elliot should make checks payable to Jewish Social Services and send full payment to: Mainstreeters c/o Maggie Conti, 323 So. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For more details, call Rose Pitlor at 402.558.5144.
Josh Bleicher at Breadbreakers
The Beat takes off by NORMA JOHNSON JMR Productions The It’s the Beat! entertainment radio show on The Mighty 1290 KOIL (am) has taken off. “We’ve had some great guests and faithful listeners for our first month. And Jody is so much fun to work with!” comments Karen Sokolof Javitch, referring to her co-host, Jody Vinci. This fun verbal exchange between the hosts is what makes the show a great noon break for listeners each Saturday for an hour. Weekly interviews include singers, actors, artists, authors, and directors from both local and national levels. Karen and Jody have been excited with their guests, which have included director and Oscar winner Alexander Payne, film and tv actor John Beasley, ‘Buddy Holly’ singer Billy McGuigan and Film Streams’ founder/director Rachel Jacobson.
by OZZIE NOGG Mainstreeters has purchased a limited block of main floor tickets for Omaha Performing the Arts/Broadway Across America matinee presentation of Billy Elliot: The Musical on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater. “Most of the main floor is already sold out to season ticket holders,” said Rose Pitlor, chair of the afternoon, “so we have to act fast. This block of early-bird tickets are specially priced at $48.75 each. It’s strictly first come, first served. Winner of ten 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Billy Elliot is the joyous celebration of one young boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town in England, the story follows motherless Billy as he trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes.
Other guests have included: The Beehive Cast, Rachel Shukert: author of two acclaimed books, Alana Stewart: author, model and Farrah Fawcett’s best friend; vocalist Heidi Joy, singer/actress Jill Anderson, the Sugar Thieves, and Broadway actress Joanna Young. Recently their guests were World-Herald columnist Mike Kelly, well-known singer/ actress Camille Metoyer Moten, actor Erich Hover, author Dan Reynolds and Andy Greenberg: co-producer of Nebraska’s Got Talent. A lot of their guests have Omaha roots. Throughout the hour listeners can also enjoy some of Karen’s original songs. It’s the Beat is sponsored by Film Streams Ruth Sokolof Theater. Those who miss a show can hear broadcasts on www.Itsthebeat.net or write to Karen or Jody at Karen@itsthebeat.net for a special request.
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by GARY JAVITCH realize that one of the biggest causes of death B’nai B’rith correspondent in the island environment is simply “poverJosh Bleicher, a second year medical student at the University of Iowa, spoke at the B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers weekly lunch on Aug. 8. He spent about nine weeks of his summer at a clinic serving the poor in Dili, Josh’s family and friends came to support him during his very East Timor, an island powerful presentation. Marty Ricks, left, Josh’s parents Dr. Jon country on the other side and Helen Bleicher with grandson Jerome, sister-in-law, Susie of the planet, located an B, and Josh Bleicher, and friends Tom and Suzanne Friedman. hour north of Australia by plane. ty,” a grinding and unrelenting malady that Under the tutelage of an experienced prevents the citizens from buying food or physician devoted to treating the impover- medicine or traveling easily to get help. ished on the island, Josh quickly learned a Josh grew up in Omaha, attending Temple great deal about medicine. He also came to Israel’s youth groups and affiliated camps.
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Beth El class explores meaning of High Holidays by JILL BELMONT in self-examination in order to improve and Beth El Publicity Coordinator make things right with those we have Ever wondered what Rosh Hashanah and harmed. We always have the opportunity to renew ourselves, to re-create Yom Kippur are really about? our lives.” Puzzled by the complexity of User-friendly explanations the High Holidays services? about Rosh Hashanah and Interested in making the holiYom Kippur will be offered day experience more memoduring the discussion, the rable, both for yourself and rabbi said, adding, “We’ll proyour loved ones? If so, join vide an overview of the meanBeth El’s Rabbi Mordechai ing, themes, theology, poetics, Levin as he leads a special structure, and customs of the class, How to Make the High High Holidays. We’ll also outHolidays More Meaningful, on line the basic structure of the Sunday, Aug. 26, 11 a.m. to liturgy and take a closer look noon, at the synagogue. at specific prayers and their Everyone in the Jewish comsignificance. munity is invited to take part in “Please join us and learn the conversation, at no charge. more about the deeper meanDuring the morning, Rabbi Rabbi Mordechai Levin ing of this season and how to Levin will take a look at the holprepare yourself to get the most out of it.” idays and our unique connection to them. To reserve a spot in this class, visit “Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ask us to consider what path our lives are taking, www.bethel-omaha.org, or contact Program what our dreams and objectives are and what Director Margie Gutnik at 402.492.8550, or choices are we making,” he said. “We engage programming@bethel-omaha.org.
Hadassah Centennial Celebration to be held on August 19 by GLORIA SHUKERT JONES Hadassah Publicity Coordinator The Omaha Chapter of Hadassah will hold its 100th birthday celebration at the Rose Blumkin Home auditorium on Sunday, Aug. 19, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The entire community is invited to attend. The entertainment will include music, an historical exhibit and a special program honoring the present and past presidents of the Chapter. Refreshments will be served, and greeting cards will be available for purchase
at 50 cents each. The nine past presidents, including Georgia Ann Steinberg who presently heads the Chapter, are: Julee Katzman, Thelma Lustgarten, Betty Sanford, Beth Ginsberg, Marilyn Manvitz, Jane Cohen, Elaine Feldman, and Sandra Kohll Please join us as we pay homage to Hadassah, a women's Zionist organization that has progressively enhanced the lives of many, and has the potential to vastly increase that number during its next hundred years.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Chief Meteorologist Jim Flowers from WOWT will talk weather! According to Special Breadbreakers Chair for this session, Mary Sue Grossman, the long-time forecaster will predict some very interesting weather for Omaha on Wednesday, Aug. 22, noon at the Blumkin 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. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH It has been said that Yiddish doesn’t only have words, it also has an attitude. Leo Rosten wrote “Yiddish never takes its tongue out of its cheeks!” Come join us at the Rose Bumkin home’s Boardroom, at 1-3 p.m., every Thursday.
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In the news Tristan Alexander Liddy, grandson of Deana and Michael Liddy, participated in the American Legion Boys State of Missouri on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg. The Boys State program is designed to educate and train young leaders in functional citizenship and government. Liddy was selected based on his leadership, citizenship, academics, and character during his junior year at Wenworth Military Academy. Liddy attended Journalism school while participating in Boys State and will be attending UNO in the fall.
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For Sheldon Adelson, political and Jewish giving are all of a piece by RON KAMPEAS money to influence policy. WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Call it the Adelson conundrum: “I’m against very wealthy people attempting to or influencWhat happens when the guy who acts as if he owns the ing elections,” he told Forbes in February. “But as long as it’s room really does? doable I’m going to do it. Because I know that guys like Soros In March at TribeFest, the annual gathering of young have been doing it for years, if not decades,” he said, referring adults organized by the Jewish Federations of North to the left-wing financier George Soros, who also is Jewish. America at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, Sheldon Democrats scoff at the comparison, noting that Soros in Adelson walked in on a this election cycle has surrogate debate between pledged $2 million to help Matt Brooks, who directs Obama’s re-election -the Republican Jewish one-50th of the amount Coalition, and his counterthat Adelson has said he’s part at the National Jewish willing to spend. Democratic Council, The admixture of David A. Harris. Adelson’s politics and Adelson, who owns the charitable giving is not Venetian, was the first to new. In December, ask a question. He went on addressing a Chanukah to berate Harris for six gathering in Israel of hunminutes, describing dreds of Birthright particiPresident Obama as a “crypants, Adelson champibaby” who should be in oned Newt Gingrich after diapers, according to sevthe then-Republican caneral people in the room, didate for president said Sheldon Adelson’s backing of Republican candidates and pro- the Palestinians were an including an organizer. The organizer, speaking Israel causes have garnered widespread media attention this cam- “invented people.” At the Credit: Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90/JTA time, Adelson was the sinon background, said the paign. time Adelson used and his tone were luxuries that would not gle biggest backer of Gingrich; he and his wife gave $16.5 have been afforded anyone else. The difference, as the million to the ex-House of Representatives speaker’s effort. organizer said, is that Adelson “owned the room, literally.” Birthright did not return a request for comment for this That same sense of entitlement could be driving the 79- story. year-old Adelson’s conversations with Mitt Romney, the preIn 2007, Adelson broke with the American Israel Public sumptive Republican nominee for president. Affairs Committee over its support for a congressional letter The Daily Beast/Newsweek reported that Adelson was calling for a massive increase in funding for the Palestinian pressing Romney to speak out publicly in favor of the release Authority. Adelson previously had been one of AIPAC’s of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, to commit to moving the major backers, helping to fund its new Washington headU.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and to quarters. declare the Palestinians as unwilling to make peace. Fred Zeidman, a major Romney backer this election and Romney, the report said, is resisting. the former chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Through political action committees, Adelson and his Museum, said Adelson’s objections were par for the course wife, Miriam, have funneled $10 million toward Romney’s for major donors. election effort. Adelson has said he’s willing to spend up to “You don’t just write blank checks,” Zeidman said. “You $100 million to defeat Obama. don’t have to agree, but don’t ask him to give money to Those close to Adelson say politics are a small part of what something he doesn’t believe in.” makes him tick. Adelson told JTA in 2009 that his criteria for giving was “He is passionately committed to Jewish life and living, “whatever is good for the Jewish community and whatever and to Israel,” said Elliot Karp, the director of the Las Vegas is good for the State of Israel.” Jewish Federation. “And he is no more or less polarizing He has a reputation as a nitpicker: The staff of Freedom’s than anyone else who gives his opinions.” Watch, which Adelson founded prior to the 2008 election to Adelson has given nearly $100 million to Birthright Israel, champion President George W. Bush’s Iraq War policies, the program that brings Jews aged 18-26 to Israel for free. said Adelson’s day-to-day micromanaging caused the organHe revived the fortunes of the Yad Vashem Holocaust ization to founder. Freedom’s Watch no longer exists. memorial in Jerusalem with a $25 million gift in 2006. He And Adelson can also hold a grudge. He fired Shelley has established a $4.5 million Jewish studies center in his Berkley, his legislative director in the 1990s, over keeping name at the Shalem Center, a right-wing think tank in the unions he reviles at the casinos. Berkley went on to Jerusalem. His relatively smaller donations have helped bol- become one of Israel’s most strident defenders in Congress ster groups such as the Zionist Organization of America and and the Nevada Democrat is now running for the U.S. The Israel Project. Senate, but Adelson’s opposition to her has not waned. He “The true story is that the amount of money he spends on and his wife have maxed out donations to her opponent, politics is dwarfed by what he gives to philanthropy,” Brooks incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican. told JTA. “They are the single most important philanthroBut Adelson can also be forgiving. Despite repeated clashpists in the Jewish community, in terms of Birthright, Yad es with the Las Vegas Jewish Federation in the past decade Vashem and medical research,” he said of the Adelsons. over what he perceived as its wastefulness, he is now its Adelson is the 15th richest man in the world, according to biggest donor, matching every new donation and every Forbes, with an estimated worth of $25 billion. increase over the previous year’s donations. The confluence of Adelson’s three major interests -“The Adelsons are front and center in the community,” Jewish philanthropy, Republican politics and the casino said Karp, the federation director. business, which is how Adelson became one of the world’s Adelson treats his Jewish beneficiaries like royalty, having richest men -- has become one of the preeminent narratives them picked up at the airport in limousines and putting of this election campaign. them up in luxury suites. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman slammed Adelson, who needs assistance in walking because of a Romney in a July 31 column for “abasing” himself before nerve condition, peripheral neuropathy, affects a grandfaAdelson during a Jerusalem visit last week. therly demeanor, complete with self-deprecation. When a “Since the whole trip was not about learning anything but Politico reporter at the Romney event in Jerusalem asked about how to satisfy the political whims of the right-wing, him why he was in town, he rejoined, “I came to get a shwarsuper pro-Bibi Netanyahu, American Jewish casino magnate ma sandwich, what do you mean?” Sheldon Adelson, why didn’t they just do the whole thing in Miriam Adelson, an internist from Israel who specializes Las Vegas?” Friedman wrote. in drug addiction, is his second wife. He met her on a blind Some frustrated Jewish Democrats believe the Jewish date in 1989, a year after he divorced his first wife, Sharon. community is unduly influenced by its single largest donor. Adelson, a product of a working class family in “It’s very intimidating,” said Steve Rabinowitz, a leading Dorchester, Mass., who made his first fortune organizing public relations consultant to Jewish and Democratic caus- computer trade shows, already was leaning right, but es, speaking of Adelson’s influence. “Where he’s given Miriam helped sharpen his views, particularly relating to money, he’s given extraordinary amounts of money, and I’ve her native Israel. seen it firsthand.” Associates say she dotes on him, snatching harmful foods Adelson’s publicist, Ron Reese, did not return multiple from his hand. requests for comment. “He tells her to go away, but he listens,” said ZOA For his part, Adelson is unapologetic about using his Continued on page 7
August 17, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 7
Miriam Brooks revisits Temple Israel by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer Miriam Brooks, daughter of former Temple Israel Rabbi Sidney and Jane Brooks, moved away from Omaha more than 30 years ago, but to this day, when she thinks of home, she still thinks of Omaha. And now, as Temple Israel prepares to move to a new building, Miriam is returning to Omaha to share her thoughts with the congregation of the building she grew up in, the Temple Israel her father shaped. “He created what we have today,” Miriam said, referring to her father’s push toward a liberal, progressive community. Miriam Brooks Rabbi Brooks moved with his family to Omaha in 1952 to take over as Temple Israel’s Senior Rabbi, a position he held for 33 years, until his retirement in 1985. Miriam doesn’t remember those very early days, obviously; she was only a year old when the family moved to town. But as she grew, so did the congregation. Under Rabbi Brooks’ leadership, Temple Israel membership swelled to 600 families. “You build a building, you’re also building a community,” Miriam said, recalling her father’s words. “You plan for what you want it to be in the future.” Miriam remembers when she was a little girl, riding with her mother to pick up her father for lunch. If he wasn’t quite
ready yet, Miriam would wait in the outer office, where the secretary would let her type out a letter to her father on the typewriter. “It was my incubator,” Miriam said. “Everything I knew as a little kid, everything I grew up with, all intersected [at Temple Israel].” Even after she was all grown up and off to college at the University of Iowa, and then to Boston in 1977, Miriam never lost touch with her Omaha roots. “In my heart I really consider Omaha my home,” she said. “I consider [the congregation] my extended family.” Miriam has many friends still in Omaha, including her best friend when she was four years old. She stays in touch and visits once or twice a year. When she first heard about the plans for a new building, she was happy to hear about it. And she knew her father would have been, too. “If my father was here today, he would be thrilled,” Miriam said. “He wasn’t afraid of change. He was a forwardthinking person. He would certainly miss everything... but this is nothing but good.” Miriam added that she is, however, “gonna miss the old phone number” that she’s had memorized for her entire life. Miriam is looking forward to returning to Omaha, and to Temple Israel, both of which to this day remain a big part of her life. “I lucked out, growing up in Omaha, and growing up in that particular community,” she said. Miriam Brooks will be speaking about her father and her memories of Temple Israel on Friday, Aug. 24, during the Shabbat service, which begins at 6 p.m. A short interview of Miriam and her mother, who moved to Boston in 2005 will also be shown.
Birth Shannon and Russell Bennett announce the July 31 birth of their son, Ephraim Terry. He has a brother, Jameson 4 1/2 and a sister, Delilah 2 1/2 Grandparents are Sandy and Bruce Gordon, Debby Perkins, Terry and Ione Perkins of Council Bluffs, and Norm Bennett of Benson, AZ. Great-grandparents are Wauneta Bennett of Lincoln, Annette Gordon of Santa Monica, CA, and Jack and Delores Perkins of Council Bluffs.
Mainstreeters at Werner Park
Sheldon Adelson Continued from page 6 President Morton Klein, adding that Adelson tells his friends he was determined to marry an Israeli the second time around. In the 1990s, as he entered the casino business, Adelson established two friendships that have thrust him into the political storm: with Benjamin Netanyahu and Gingrich. Both friendships, notably, were forged in pro-Israel politics:
Gingrich, defying both the Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin governments, had shepherded a law through Congress recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Zeidman says Adelson is a solid listener but knows when his mind is made up. “He’s very strong willed,” Zeidman said. “He is truly blunt in terms of articulating his decisions once he’s made them.”
Recently the Mainstreeters group enjoyed an evening at Werner Park watching a winning game by the Stormchasers. Pictured are Linda Abrams-Tederman and Roger Tederman.
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ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press You like the Jewish Press. You really, really like the Jewish Press. It’s why many of you signed up to be a Press Club member, and we are delighted you did. It’s why many more of you are planning to add your name to the list on the next page, and we’re hoping you do it soon: our 2012 fundraiser runs through Aug. 31, and there are only a few weeks left. With a Press Club membership, you receive Press Cash, which you can use around the building. For instance, you can buy a nice hot bowl of Matzah ball soup at the Star Deli, or order some take out. Hm, hot soup and the knowledge you’re doing something good; you can’t beat that. Why is it so that important we have your support? Why do we want you to turn to page 7 and fill out that form, write a check, and send it to us? It is not only about the money, I promise. It’s about many things; most importantly, perhaps, it’s about the sense of community a paper like this evokes. There are not many Jewish community papers left in the United States. The reasons for that are well known: the economy has hit the newspaper industry hard, advertising has dwindled across the nation, and many readers have changed their reading habits and now get their news online. Circulation has dropped across the board; subscription numbers are not what they once were. There is a persistent sense that print is dying. Quite a few papers switched to online only, others have decreased their publication frequency, and some folded outright. And that is a shame, especially when it comes to smaller community papers such as ours. Make no mistake: print is not dying. It’s struggling, yes, but it’s not all as doom and gloom as public opinion has us
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The Israeli left’s growing pragmatism
Behind the headlines BRENT SASLEY ARLINGTON, Texas (JTA) -- It’s often said these days that the left in Israel not only is decimated, but it continues to cling to long outdated idealism about how to solve the conflict with the Palestinians and withdraw from the West Bank. Also that it’s out of touch with Israelis’ current preoccupations and the settlers’ successes. Avraham Burg’s latest editorial in The New York Times is taken as illustrative of this. Certainly the left is no longer in the dominant position it once occupied. The conventional date for the beginning of its end is 1977, when the Labor Party lost the election to Likud. Not only was the right’s version of Zionism and priorities regarding the West Bank now dominant, but Labor was stagnating, changing demographics undermined its popular appeal and the state bureaucracy -- previously filled with party officials and sympathizers -- soon was replaced by non-Laborites. The left fell into an ideational and political rut from which it did not re-emerge until Yitzhak Rabin and Labor won the 1992 elections. But it was a shaky victory: the Oslo Accords opened up space for a renewal of rightist ideas, enabled by the unprecedented nature of Oslo’s concessions and facilitated by Benjamin Netanyahu’s acceptance of Rabin’s demonization. The murder of Rabin, Hamas’ terrorism campaign in 1996 and the right’s continued campaign against those who argued for making deals with the PLO delegitimized the entire left. Ron Pundak and Yair Hirschfeld, the initial driving force behind the Oslo talks, were cast as representative of
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the naive and out-of-touch idealism of the left. It is true that the left did enter a fantasy world for the rest of the 1990s and part of the 2000s. It retreated into itself, lamenting its previous power and accomplishments, feeling sorry for itself and sulking at the population’s lack of interest. The main political vehicle, the Labor Party, was busy destroying itself by incessant infighting and incoherent policy messages. Then, the main idea the left had been promoting since 1992 -- resolving the conflict with the Palestinians through land withdrawals -- was appropriated. Ariel Sharon evacuated the Gaza settlements and formed the Kadima Party, drawing away some of the left’s former leaders (including Shimon Peres, closely associated with Oslo) and its voters. The paradox, however, is Sharon proved that the left’s ideas were no longer untenable, they just lacked the right politics. A great many on the left have come to realize this; the problem is that many outside observers don’t make this distinction. Instead, they hold to the evocative writings of Burg or intellectuals like Amos Oz and David Grossman. While these writers call out the right on the damage they contend it’s doing to Israel and demand that Israelis take action to stop this process, they remain tied to a nostalgic and passive notion of what the left should look like. And observers see them as the true representation of the Israeli left. They aren’t. None of them represents either the fierce anger or the increasing pragmatism that has emerged among the left. At the same time, the part of the left that is involved in politics more directly does not share that older sense of idealism or wish to return to the “good old days” of the early 1990s. They have adopted a grittier realism based on analy-
sis of public opinion trends and contemporary conditions. As Lior Amihai of Peace Now explained it to me during a recent tour of the West Bank, the moral argument against occupation simply no longer matters -- Israelis are not directly concerned with it anymore. Rather, given the growing economic disparities in Israel, the social protests, the preoccupation with consumerism and their own individual priorities, Israelis care more about the costs of occupation. Indeed, surveys of Israelis and the public statements of the leaders of the social protests both indicate that the settlers and Palestinians have no place in their considerations of their future. Peace Now’s new campaign focuses on the tiny percentage of the settler population as the recipient of massive government expenditures. The settlements, they argue, should be evacuated because they hurt the average Israeli citizen within the Green Line who otherwise would be the target for more government resources. Labor also has adopted this change of direction. Its new leader, Shelly Yachimovich, refuses to discuss either the conflict or the settlements, preferring to hit Netanyahu and Likud on social and economic policy. If current polling trends are anything to go by, the tactic is working. Of course, the right remains dominant in Israeli politics, and that’s unlikely to change in the next election. But it’s a mistake to think of the Israeli left as stuck in the 1990s. It isn’t, and we should avoid placing the older intellectuals as the source of its ideas today. Brent Sasley teaches Israeli and Middle East politics at the University of Texas at Arlington, and blogs at Mideast Matrix. He can be reached on Twitter at twitter.com/ besasley.
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August 17, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 9
Don’t call Polish Jews ‘hidden’
Behind the headlines PIOTR KADLCIK WARSAW, Poland (JTA) - Among the events at celebrations in Lublin of the Siyum HaShas, or the completion of the Daf Yomi Talmud study cycle, was a session billed as a seminar for “hidden Jews” of Poland. About 30 Jews from Poland took part in the Lublin events last week, joining scores of other Jews who had gathered in this city in eastern Poland from abroad -- and thousands who marked the Siyum HaShas elsewhere around the world. It was a great occasion and emblematic of the rebirth of Jewish life in Poland since the fall of communism more than 20 years ago. But hidden Jews? Where are we hiding? The term was coined by the Shavei Israel organization, an Israel-based group that reaches out to “lost Jews” around the world and who organized the Lublin seminar. Following the 1989 fall of communism, truly hidden Jews began emerging from the shadows and started to reestablish Jewish life in Poland. I was one of them, and I well remember those difficult and uncertain times. But the term scarcely characterizes the Jewish experience in Poland today. Shavei Israel’s Daf Yomi seminar was just one of dozens -maybe even hundreds -- of Jewish seminars, classes, courses, lectures, workshops, conferences, festivals, study groups, summer camp sessions and other events held in Poland throughout the year. What’s more, the Siyum HaShas events in Lublin took place in the historic Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, whose founder, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, established Daf Yomi more than 80 years ago. For decades after the Holocaust, the building was used by Lublin’s Medical Academy, but our Jewish community received the building back in 2003. We restored it and rebuilt a synagogue and mikvah there that were dedicated in 2007. The building now stands proudly as the focal point of a tiny but vibrant Jewish community in Lublin. We did this by ourselves, funding it with our own resources -- obtained through property restitution -- without any financial assistance from abroad. We have been striving to rebuild Jewish life in Poland for
more than 20 years; I would say we have accomplished a lot. Of course, we have not done it alone. I have tremendous respect and gratitude for organizations such as the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and World Jewish Relief, which helped us so much when help was needed the most. I likewise honor the Taube Foundation and individuals such as the philanthropist Sigmund Rolat, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, who are making such valuable contributions today. Shavei Israel’s help in bringing rabbis to Poland also has been very important. But we are not in hiding; no way. We are visible, we are confident, we are part of society. I call on outside organizations to reflect the reality of Polish Jewish life in their materials and statements. Today, indeed, we have a whole new generation of Polish Jews. They are adults or young adults who have grown up in Jewish environments, participated in Jewish children’s or youth camps, studied in Jewish schools or at university Jewish studies courses, interacted with Jews around the globe. They are Jews like my own children, for whom being Jewish is neither a traumatic experience nor a special reason for pride. They are Jews -- and that’s it. I am aware, of course, that somewhere in Poland there may be thousands of people of Jewish origin, still truly hidden Jews. But they are not the ones who would have attended a Daf Yomi Lublin seminar. They need to make a first step, to recognize that they are Jewish -- if they want to -- and try to become a part of Jewish society. It can be difficult, for them and for us, to help them make a conscious choice. Still, something seems to be working. Ten years ago, after the national census, some 1,100 people acknowledged that they are a part of the Jewish national minority in Poland. In the most recent census, just completed, the result was more than 7,000. We are well aware that Jewish life in Poland will never approach the richness and complexity of the era before the Shoah, when more than 3 million Jews lived here. But hidden Jews? Not us! Piotr Kadlcik is president of the Jewish Community of Warsaw and the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland.
Finding a Spanish tutor for the Democratic convention’s Hispanic keynote speaker by DANIEL TREIMAN In a few weeks, Julian Castro will be basking in the national spotlight as the Democratic National Convention’s keynote speaker. The 37-year-old San Antonio mayor is already seen as a young- up-and-comer in Democratic politics. But while he is one of the nation’s more prominent Hispanic politicians – and the leader of a mostly Latino city -- his Spanish apparently wasn’t so great. Talking Points Memo points to a 2010 New York Times profile that relates on how he has tried to improve his Spanish skills: Mayor Julian Castro Julián Paradoxically, Castro’s appeal to fellow Hispanic voters may be limited by his own assimilation. Although he pronounces his name “HOO-lee-un,” he doesn’t really speak Spanish -- a fact he isn’t eager to advertise.... A lack of Spanish fluency isn’t unusual in San Antonio, especially among Castro’s generation, but in the immigrant barrios of Houston and the colonias south of Interstate 10 down to the border, Spanish is the first and often only language. A Mexican-American with statewide political aspirations needs to be able to do more than pronounce his name correctly. Early in his administration, Castro assigned his chief of staff, Robbie Greenblum -- a Jewish lawyer from the border town of Laredo whose own Spanish is impeccable -- to discreetly find him a tutor. Rosie Castro’s son is now being taught Spanish by a woman named Marta Bronstein. Greenblum met her in shul.
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Bruce Belgrade Cheryl and Ron Cooper Eunie and Norm Denenberg Mimi and Scott Farkas Beverly and Richard Fellman Amy and Sandy Friedman Gloria and Howard Kaslow Marsha and Milton Kleinberg Bobbi Leibowitz Jody and Neal Malashock Patty and Steve Nogg Judy and Aaron Rosenfeld Teresa and Andy Ruback Phyllis Brown and Richard Self Mimi and Mike Silverman Nancy and Phil Wolf Jeremy Wright
10 | The Jewish Press | August 17, 2012
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 712.323.8885.
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 Mordechai Levin, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; BESTT Camp Shabbat Dinner for all BESTT students, BESTT high schoolers and parents, on the back lawn of the synagogue. Wear Shabbat whites and join us for a special celebration led by Eadie Tsabari, Rabbi Abraham and Yonatan Dotan, head song leader at Herzl Camp. Cost is $5 a person and $20 (maximum) per family. RSVP to the BESTT office, 402.498.0904, or etsabari@bethel-omaha.org. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Shabbat Story Time, 11:30 a.m. for toddlers and parents, led by Shira Abraham; Kiddush given by Beth El; Evening Services, 8:20 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; The Highly Controversial Laws of the Torah, 10 a.m. New monthly adult-education class, led by Andy Greenberg. Cost to attend is $36 for Beth El members; $45 for non-members. To register, contact the synagogue office or visit www.bethel-omaha.org. MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, 7 p.m. social hour, 7:30 p.m. program at the home of Evie Mitchell, 1835 S. 139th St. Topic: “Jewish Humor,” RSVP to evmit@cox.net, or 402.333.7668. THURSDAY: Drinks & Dames, 7 p.m., at the synagogue. All women of Beth El are invited. No charge. To RSVP, contact Melissa Schop at 402.319.9609, or melschop@hotmail.com. How to make the High Holidays more meaningful class on Sunday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m., led by Rabbi Levin, at the synagogue. Discussion topics will include the symbols, themes, theology, poetics and structure of the holidays. To RSVP, visit www.bethel-omaha.org, or contact Margie Gutnik at 402.492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org. 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: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting service begins at 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored in honor of August Simchas; The Laws of Shabbat, 5:45 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 6:45 p.m.; Mincha, 7:45 p.m., followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 9:03 p.m. SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m. followed by breakfast. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Sisterhood BINGO Lunch, 11:30 a.m.; Rabbi
Stealing from Auschwitz by JTA NEWS STAFF WARSAW, Poland (JTA) -- An Italian man who stole a onefoot piece of barbed wire from Auschwitz was released from police custody a day after being arrested at the airport in Krakow. The man, 66, tried to leave the country Saturday night with the wire in his luggage. He explained he did it because his father died in Auschwitz. He was released after leading police to the artifact, the Associated Press reported Sunday evening. This is not the first theft at Auschwitz. The most wellknown case of theft at Auschwitz occurred in December 2009. Thieves have stolen the inscription “Arbeit macht frei” from above the gate of the former camp, and cut it into at least three pieces. The perpetrators were sentenced to jail. At least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross; Weekly Med Center Class, 1 p.m.
CHABAD CENTER 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, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Minyan, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m. followed by Breakfast Bonanza. Rosh Chodesh Elul - 60 days of inspiration. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Torah Studies: A weekly journey in the soul of Torah, noon. RSVP to 402.417.2009; A Taste of YeshivaChevruta style Beit Midrash study, 6:30 p.m. All programs are open to the entire community.
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: FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE! Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Kent Malcom. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Re’eh; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. All ages welcome. TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Lone Star, 200 N. 70th St. Questions? Please contact Stephanie Dohner. THURSDAY: LJCS Teachers Meeting, 7 p.m. at South Street Temple; Choir Rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m. Back-to-School Picnic and Outdoor Shabbat, Friday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m. at Prescott Elementary School Park, 1930 South 20th St. Please bring a brown-bag supper (including beverages) for your family, plus a dessert to share for the potluck dessert oneg. Please also bring lawn chairs or blankets. Let’s get the new school year started off on the right foot! Jewish Movie Night showing of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz on Saturday, Aug. 25 with Havdalah and a potluck dessert at 7 p.m. Lincoln Temple Youth Group, Grades 9 – 12 Bowling, Pizza & Ice Cream on Saturday, Aug. 25, 6:45-9:30 p.m. Cost is only $5. RSVP to the Temple office, 402.435.8004 or stemple@neb.rr.com. Please come and bowl at the East Campus bowling alley in the East Campus Union and have ice cream at the East Campus Dairy Store. The Social Action Committee encourages you to participate in the school supply drive for Saratoga School and Community Learning Center. Saratoga School, located less than a mile from South Street Temple, is a Title 1 school in which 81% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Items most needed are notebooks, backpacks, pens and pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, kleenex and hand sanitizers. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 6:30 p.m. Climbing the Prayer Mountain, Session #2 led by Rabbi Lewis.
Candlelighting Friday, August 17, 8:02 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Chef ’s Demo, 1:30 p.m. with Howard Shandell and Beth El. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Steve Riekes. THURSDAY: LOVE Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: Shabbat Worship Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel, Rabbi Brown and Cantor Shermet; Summer Speaker Series: “The Promise Land of Cass Street” with Rosie Zweiback; We will honor those celebrating a birthday or anniversary in August with a special blessing. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Alexander Mark Belgrade and Zachary Edward Belgrade, sons of Robyn Belgrade and James Belgrade, will celebrate their B’not Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; OTYG Bake Sale, 10 a.m.; Prayer Assembly, 10 a.m.; All School Bar-B-Que, noon. TUESDAY: Executive Meeting, 5:45 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; A Guide to the High Holidays, 6:30 p.m. with Rabbi Azriel. THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy: Elul with Rabbi Brown, 10 a.m. Shabbat Worship Summer Series, “Rabbi Sidney and Jane Brooks’ Stories from Park Avenue to Cass Street” with Miriam Brooks on Friday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m. OTYG Fall Rush on Friday, Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m. Meet at Amy Filler-Katz’s Home.
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: Study Sesion on Eicha, 9:30 a.m.; Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch sponsored by the Schuchman family and Seth Schuchman will be speaking on the topic of Gallup World Poll Briefing and Insights. SUNDAY: Tifereth Israel Board Meeting, 2 p.m. TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Lone Star, 70th and “O” Street. Please contact Stephanie Dohner with any questions. Saratoga School and Community Learning Center. Saratoga School, located less than a mile from South Street Temple, is a Title 1 school in which 81% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Items most needed are notebooks, backpacks, pens and pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, kleenex and hand sanitizers. Please consider participating this year. Please drop off any items to the marked box at Tifereth Israel.
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
The Jewish Press office is closed Monday, Sept. 3 for Labor Day and Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 17 and 18, for Rosh Hashanah; the deadline for the Sept. 21 issue is Tuesday, Sept. 11, 9 a.m. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.
Omaha Kids to strut their stuff in Facebook contest by LEIBEL BAUMGARTEN for Chabad Center If the excitement of the first Torah to be started and completed in Omaha wasn’t enough, Unity Torah Celebration organizers have setup an online contest through which Omaha children can submit photos, illustrations, writing or videos depicting Jewish Unity. Submissions will then be voted on by community members, and the winners will be awarded prizes. The Omaha Unity Torah, slated to be complete at a grand communal celebration and parade on Sept. 20, has already garnered interest from across the spectrum of the Omaha Jewish Community. The idea of the contest is to involve children in an engaging, meaningful and gainful manner, according to Shani Katzman, who conceived the idea as a 50th birthday gift for her husband last year. “The use of Facebook and modern technologies teaches kids
that Torah is just as cool now as it was three millennia ago.” Unity Torah Art Director, Julie Philips, says it is a fantastic opportunity for each child to show their own creativity, whether it is through drawing, photography, writing, poetry, singing or acting. “Whatever talent a child has, they can use it as a platform to show us how they view unity and community in their eyes.” Says Katzman, “Unity is of paramount importance in Jewish tradition, especially in today’s turbulent times. We want children to recognize and appreciate the value of unity, and how we, as a nation, are more like a family.” The contest will run from the Unity Torah’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/omahatorah. Children may submit using their parents’ accounts. Those without a Facebook account may submit their contributions to torah@ochabad.com.
Pulverent e
August 17, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 11
Choose, choose, choose
In memoriam ESTHER SIMON
Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha R’eih (Rosh Chodesh Elul) The KBH places before Israel a difficult choice. The path that looks easier shows fields producing grain in full quantities, following an easy life with plentiful food and drink and a smiling sky above. The path that looks more difficult indicates that it will produce results similar to the easy path, but it is harder to attain. It requires expenditure of mental and physical power; it can be painful and exhausting. Therefore, as the New Year approaches, do not be persuaded to take the easier path. You must choose the more difficult path, since it is closer to the way real life is. Life is good and sweet, but the good life requires effort and concentration. It is not handed over to you as though you have already earned it. The good life is there before you, and it can be had. But it requires from you all that is in you. Effort, concentration and a willingness to strive.
South African minister ‘discouraging’ Israel visits by JTA NEWS STAFF CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA) -- South Africa’s deputy international relations minister, Ebrahim Ebrahim, is “discouraging” his countrymen from visiting Israel. “Israel is an occupier country which is oppressing Palestine, so it is not proper for South Africans to associate with Israel” unless the visit is associated with the peace process, he said, according to a report in the City Press. Ebrahim denied the call was a step toward a complete boycott of Israel. South Africa’s department of trade and industry indicated recently its intention to introduce legislation that would require all goods from the West Bank to be labeled as such. Last week, a planned trip to Israel by KwaZulu-Natal province mayors and officials was called off due to pressure from the local pro-Palestinian lobby. Ebrahim told the City Press that South Africa should “scale down” its economic ties with Israel, but said he did not advocate a complete breakdown of relations. The country has formal diplomatic ties with Israel. Describing the South African government’s record on international human rights as being “highly selective,” the South Africa Israel Public Affairs Committee’s David Hersch said in response that the country has “obviously abandoned its ludicrous claims to becoming involved in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.” “It can no longer pretend to being an ‘honest broker,’” Hersch said, “and is using the Israel-Palestine issue to pander to Muslim voters, particularly in the Cape Province and Cape Town, which are governed most successfully by the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA).”
Esther Simon passed away at the age of 90. Services were held Aug. 12 at Beth El Cemetery . She is survived by her husband Stuart of 68 years; daughters and sons-in-law, Joan and Natan Kotlyar of Israel, and Sally and Tom Stich of Denver; grandchildren: David Kotlyar, Max Stich, Sarah Stich; and three great-grandchildren. Born in Omaha, March 10, 1922 to Sarah and Oscar Fox, Esther attended Central High School and the University of Nebraska. She married Stuart Simon on August 6, 1944. She was a 30 year volunteer at Radio Talking Book, reading the World Herald to the blind twice a week. She was a crossword puzzle enthusiast and a great scrabble and bridge player. She also had a keen love of the English language. Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and to Radio Talking Book.
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Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group promises a laugh a minute by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Laughter will be the order of the day for Beth El’s Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, as its upcoming meeting will focus on the fascinating history of Jewish humor. The get-together, planned for Monday, Aug. 20, 7 p.m., will be held at the home of Evie Mitchell, 1835 S. 139thSt. “As I researched the topic online, I found a wealth of interesting information,” Mitchell said. “From the Torah to current time, laughter has been an important part of Jewish life and culture. When Sarah is told that she will bear a son, she laughs. Thus Jewish humor was born. [At the upcoming meeting], let’s learn and laugh together.” All women in the Jewish community are welcome to attend. To RSVP, contact Mitchell at evmit@cox.net, or 402.333.7668.
The ADL and Joan Rivers by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Comedian Joan Rivers’ comparison of Costco’s decision not to sell her latest book to the policies of Nazi Germany is inappropriate, the Anti-Defamation League said. Rivers said in Aug. 7 interview with the Los Angeles television station KTLA at a Costco store in that city that “People should have the right to have the literature they want. This is the beginning of Nazi Germany.” In a letter to Rivers, ADL called on her to retract her inappropriate remarks and to refrain from using Holocaust imagery in the future. Rivers was protesting outside a suburban Los Angeles Costco against the decision by the national chain not to carry her book I Hate Everything... Starting with Me.
New Jewish paper for Rockland County by JTA NEWS STAFF NEW YORK (JTA) – Rockland County, N.Y., will still have a Jewish newspaper, despite the closing earlier this year of its previous one. The NJ/Rockland Jewish Media Group, will publish its first issue of The Rockland Jewish Standard, an independent, monthly newspaper, beginning with a September issue. The circulation will be 10,000 copies, according to Jamie Janoff, publisher of the Jewish Media group. The Rockland Jewish Federation Reporter, which had been published since 1991 by the Jewish Federation of Rockland County, closed earlier this year during the federation’s restructuring. Marla Cohen, editor of the Standard, said that after the
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12 | The Jewish Press | August 17, 2012
Gaza evacuees are growing distant from the settler movement by BEN SALES Haivri, a spokesman for towns in the northern West Bank. He years has spearheaded the development of Be’er Ganim, and NITZAN, Israel (JTA) -- From an overlooking road, the noted that West Bank settlers identify with Gush Katif evac- dedicates $2.26 million annually to the evacuees. This budgdistrict of this desert town called Nitzan B seems like a uni- uees in that the West Bank may someday be evacuated as well. et pays for such services as social workers and youth activities, and funds the salaries of community leaders fied mass of identical red-roofed single-family who represent the evacuated towns. homes, reminiscent of a crowded American post“The first two or three years we didn’t feel like war Levittown. “From far away it looks nice,” says part of the regional council,” said Kokon, who now Galit Kakon, a Nitzan B resident. works for the council and credits its head, Yair Like the rest of the district’s 600 families, Kakon Forjoon, with embracing the evacuees after he used to live in Gush Katif, the bloc of Israeli settlebegan his term in 2007. ments in the Gaza Strip that Israel evacuated seven “He understood that we were people here,” she years ago this week in an operation called “the dissaid. “The most important thing is to know you engagement.” have someone to talk to. Yair was available with his Nitzan B’s residents still self-segregate in the disphone, his email.” trict according to the places where they once lived Other Gush Katif evacuees traded one settlement in Gaza -- small agricultural settlements like for another following the disengagement. Rather Kakon’s Gan Or, or larger towns like Neve Dekalim. than make their home near Gaza, as the Nitzan B Many dream of an unlikely return to Gaza and the communities did, these evacuees from Neve lives they were forced to leave. Dekalim moved to the West Bank settlement of Up close, Nitzan B, about 15 miles north of Gaza, Ariel, where they now live in a neighborhood of temlooks like the temporary development it is, built as porary houses. The evacuees sought a diverse city a transitional space to use immediately after the Children playing in Nitzan, a religious communal settlement in southern Israel, with large populations of religious, secular, native2005 disengagement. The houses sit cramped along where many of the Gush Katif evacuees were relocated following the Gaza pullout. born and immigrant Israelis, and found it in Ariel. streets on barren land, with walls that Kakon says Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90/JTA The city’s location “added a lot of points to the are so weak that they pose a security risk should Despite having little contact with West Bank settlers and decision,” said Itzik Wazana, one of that city’s neighborhood Kassam rockets fall nearby. By the end of this year, about 100 Nitzan B families are being spread across the country, former Gush Katif residents leaders, but was not the deciding factor. “There was an idea to do the opposite of disengagement, slated to move to a new, permanent development called Be’er hold the same core beliefs as settlers, according to Hamutal Ganim. As with Nitzan B, Be’er Ganim is under the jurisdic- Cohen of the Committee for Gush Katif, an advocacy group to engage, to bring education and culture here,” he said. “Our idea is not to stay in our own context but to share in tion of the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, the local gov- for the evacuees. “They love the nation of Israel and the Torah of Israel and the challenges of the city.” ernment on which Nitzan B’s residents have come to rely. Although Ariel went “above and beyond” in welcoming But despite wishing for a return to better times, some of the land of Israel,” Cohen said. “We are all connected to a the evacuees, Wazana said that the evacuees do not now these Israelis, who once were considered the vanguard of different regional council, but we have the same spirit.” Some material assistance still flows from the West Bank to receive or ask for much assistance in trying to build their Israel’s settler movement, no longer see themselves as part of the settler community. Although many still identify with the the Gaza evacuees through the nonprofit Christian Friends homes there. “We take care of ourselves,” he said. “We don’t need special settler movement’s goals and philosophy, they have little of Israeli Communities, a group dedicated to helping settlers. Since the disengagement, Sondra Oster Baras, the help. We’re like one big family. We work together, do things day-to-day contact with them. For the most part, the settler community in the West Bank group’s president, says it has funneled approximately $1 mil- together.” No matter where they are making their homes, several does not view members of the Nitzah B community as fellow lion to the Gush Katif communities. “The question was, when they were thrown out of their evacuees said their ultimate goal, however unrealistic at pressettlers. Nevertheless, the West Bank settlers sympathize with the evacuees and at least one nonprofit assists them. But homes, do we abandon them or continue to help them?” she ent, is to return to the settlements they left seven years ago. “It’s clear to me that at some point we’ll go back,” Kakon said. said. “We’re not going to abandon them.” mostly, as Kakon says, “Everyone is busy with their own.” Most of Nitzan B’s funding, though, comes from the “It’s not on the horizon. If not me, then my kids. If not them, “There were efforts throughout this period to assist the people, but a particular campaign doesn’t exist,” said David Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, which in the past four then my grandkids. My house will always be in Gush Katif.”
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Invitations coming soon Questions? Email us at beatlemania@jewishomaha.org or call 402-334-6485 This event is recommended for community members ages 8 and up. Jeans required. There will be no solicitation at this event.