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August 24, 2012

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

For generations to come

August 24, 2012 6 Elul 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 48

This Week

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha “We need everyone, especially the next generation of women, to understand what Campaign does in every corner of our community,” said Anne Shackman, Chair of the Lion of Judah division of the 2013 Federation Annual Campaign. Shackman knows of what she speaks. She has chaired the Lion of Judah division twice in the past and has also chaired the Women’s Campaign as well as the Annual Campaign with her husband, Bruce. This time, it just feels different. “The time is right to appeal to those younger than myself. My story may resonate with others so that all the great things we do here in Omaha... All Together... remain stable and strong for the generations to come,” she said. Shackman became a Lion in 1990. The Lion of Judah division, introduced nationally in 1972 and in Omaha in 1988, is now an internationally recognized designation for women who personally contribute $5000 or more to their local Federation Campaigns each year. Women who reach Lion level receive a gold pin in the shape of the Lion of Judah, a worldwide symbol of their commitment to the global Jewish community. There are 17,500 Lions worldwide and 69 in Omaha. A gift a woman

Yeshiva University Annual Leadership Conference Page 8

Hornstein Law Scholarship awarded Page 9

by RUVANE KURLAND Allow me to (re-)introduce myself. I am a singer/songwriter, and previous Council Bluffs resident, and I released my 7th album, Elevate, worldwide on July 21. To coincide with this release, I will make a stop in the area this weekend. Saturday, Aug. 25, I will perform at Cellar 19, 928 Valley View Dr., in Council Bluffs. And yes, you are invited.

Ruvane’s Elevate cover.

Anne Shackman makes in her own name is important and has real meaning, as evidenced by its significant growth in Omaha. “I feel so strongly about sending the message of Campaign to all of our Lions of Judah and especially to

those who are our potential future Lions,” Shackman added. A native of Omaha, Shackman raised her three children, Kim, Kelly, and Jon here. Her kids were very Continued on page 2

Funk band rocks the Backyard Struggling to maintain normalcy near the troubled Sinai border Page 16

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Month Rosh Hashanah Issue See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

12 14 15

by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha Show up to the Federation campus backyard Sunday night, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. when Satchel Grande, wellknown local funk rock band, takes the stage for the 2nd Backyard Concert of the summer. Affectionately described by The Reader (Nebraska’s alternative news weekly) as having “enough members for a baseball team and almost enough for two basketball teams;” they are, regardless, just the right number for the best funk band in Omaha. Regularly seen at Omaha’s Waiting Room and Slowdown, the team metaphor ends with, “we aim for the fences and hit the sweet soul spot every time.” When Satchel Grande first performed, it wasn’t even a band. It was one guy. In the beginning, front man Chris Klemmensen performed with

Introducing Elevate

an acoustic guitar, a few drums and a “Bobby Brown” microphone headset. It wasn’t until a weekly poker

“The music, it’s earnest. We do believe in it,” says Klemmensen. “We don’t think we’re reinventing the

Satchel Grande game formed that Klemmensen was able to poach some players from other groups to form an official band and, five years later, Satchel Grande has become the funkiest band around. As a teenager, he was a huge grunge fan, listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam along with everyone else in the ‘90s. When a friend handed him Parliament’s Mothership Connection, he knew he found his “sweet soul spot.” He writes most of the arrangements and lets the other eight members of the band put their own shine on them.

wheel. We’re just putting a pretty hubcap and some tire shine on it.” All that funky music comes from nine white men in ties, vests and aviator sunglasses. According to the Omaha Entertainment Awards Committee, “The electricity in the air at a Satchel Grande show is enough to ward off any major metropolitan blackout.” Band members include Klemmensen, Bob Rasgorshek, Andy Kammerer, Action Johnsen, Matt McLarney, Willie Karpf, Shawn Cox, Carlos Figueroa, and Zak Pischnotte. Continued on page 2

Elevate is a collection of songs recorded primarily at Atmosphere Room, my Reynoldsburg, OH, studio, and The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, OH. Additional performances by Jimi “Jazz” Prescott (G. Love and Special Sauce) and Brian Fechino (Pat McGee Band) were recorded in Portland, OR, and New York, NY, respectively, and then emailed to Ruvane for inclusion in the album. Technology is a beautiful thing. Advances in recording technology have allowed me to work with some of the top musicians in the country and not have to board a single airplane. I emailed the tracks to the musicians and they recorded their parts in the comfort of their studios and emailed back. It’s simple, cost-effective, and saves a lot of time. Other performances included: Arkadiy Gipps (Madonna), Jeff Lewis, Marc Rossio, Mosik, and Ryan Grimsley. I have been touring the country for more than 15 years, and my music has been described as acoustic rock. In June, the song I’m Home (from Life in 360°) placed 2nd out of more than 120 artists competing to be included on the 200Columbus Bicentennial compilation. The contest was sponsored by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and attracted more than 5000 unique voters. I recently performed on NPR’s All Sides with Ann Fisher to promote the project. For more details visit www.ru vanekurland.com. Editor’ note: Two lucky readers will receive a free copy of Ruvane’s CD. To be considered, please email us at avandekamp @jewishomaha.org and tell us why you’d like to hear Elevate.


2 | The Jewish Press | August 24, 2012

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by JTA NEWS STAFF LOS ANGELES -- Ari Ephraim Rubin, vice chairman of the Jewish Defense League, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 20. At 30, Ari Rubin had been active in the militant JDL, rejected by mainstream Jewish organizations for its violent tactics, since his youth, and became vice chairman in 2006. He is the son of the late JDL leader Irving "Irv" Rubin. His death was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, whose spokesman, Craig Harvey, said that a neighbor found Rubin in his car with the selfinflicted gunshot wound to his head. The report was confirmed by Sgt. Marty Morrow of the Glendora, CA., police department, who said that no suicide note was found but that foul play was ruled out. Attempts to reach members of his immediate family were unsuccessful. In an obituary notice inserted by his extended family in the Pasadena Star-News (Calif.) on July 25, Ari Rubin was described as a life-long resident of Arcadia, who graduated with high academic honors from Pasadena City College and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His death continues the chain of violence which has ended the lives of the JDL leadership in general, and the Rubin family in particular. Rabbi Meir Kahane, who founded JDL in 1968, was assassinated in 1990 in New York by an Arab-American gunman.

His son, Binyamin Zev Kahane, 34, was murdered by Palestinian gunmen while driving with his wife and five daughters in the West Bank. Irv Rubin, Rabbi Kahane’s successor, died in 2002 in a Los Angeles federal detention center after allegedly cutting his throat with a jail-issued razor and then jumping or falling over a railing and plummeting to his death. Irv Rubin, 57, had been indicted for allegedly plotting to bomb a Culver City mosque and the offices of a California congressman of Lebanese descent. Shelley Rubin, Irv’s wife, has consistently denied that her husband took his own life and earlier filed a wrongful death suit against prison authorities. In addition, Earl Krugel, indicted with Irv Rubin in the alleged bomb plot, was brutally murdered by a fellow prison inmate in 2005. In reporting Ari Rubin’s death, the Jewish Defense League U.K. described his death as “another tragic loss for the Right Wing Jewish Leadership, first Rav Meir Kahane, then Binyamin Kahane. Irv Rubin and now his son. When will it end?� In 2008, Ari Rubin visited Israel for the first time through the Birthright Israel program. He returned in 2010 to study at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, then “embracing the Orthodox Jewish lifestyle and striving to be a better Jewish man in the world.� He is survived by his mother Shelley, younger brother Kelman, and numerous uncles, aunts and cousins. Graveside services were held on July 24 at Sholom Memorial Park in Sylmar, Calif.

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Continued from page 1 active in BBYO and involved with NFTY at Temple Israel. Although they live elsewhere now, they are active with their local Federations and ADL chapters. “My journey started when I attended a UJA (United Jewish Appeal) regional meeting in Chicago. The Womens Division national chair solicited me and explained how important it was to step up and become a Lion. The extra dollars and support, she told me, would be so beneficial for all that we had going on in our community-- the programs, the agencies, everything for our youth, families, the elderly, our synagogues, etc. I realized I could do more to secure our wonderful Jewish community by becoming a Lion. So, at age 42, I became a Lion of Judah!â€? One year later, in 1991, Anne took her first trip to Israel. ZoĂŤ Riekes stopped her in the JCC parking lot and invited her on a mission to Israel. That was a life-changing journey for Shackman. “For the first time I was in a country where the majority of people were Jewish, where holidays were nationally celebrated and where Shabbat was honored. As committed as I was to Omaha, I truly began to understand the important role the Campaign played in helping the people of Israel and the rest of the Jewish world.â€? Anne continued, “I knew without a doubt I had to come home to further the message of the Campaign and to get more people to Israel. My work on the national level really started with my recruiting people to go there,â€? she said. Since then, Anne has served on the Federation regional and national boards of the Women’s Division and National BirthrightIsrael. She received Federation’s Wilson Kipnis Friedland Award in 2008. She has made over 40 trips to Israel to further this message. Locally, Anne co-chaired and staffed the 2nd Artza trip to Israel with her kids, Jon and Kelly, in tow. She also led the 3rd Artza trip in 1996. Along the way, she became a strong advocate for subsidizing teen travel to Israel and fought for establishing guidelines that provided subsidies for travel to Israel regardless of financial ability. She has served on the boards of the ADL and Jewish Family Services. She has been active on so many levels within the Omaha Jewish Community that she truly does understand of what she speaks. The Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Annual Campaign supports numerous programs and services both locally and in Israel designed to make our experiences as Omaha Jews richer and more fulfilling. Programs like

Partnership2Gether, Maccabi Games, Israeli Shaliach, Birthright Israel, and Israel experiences for teens; the very same ones Anne has worked to make happen. “The message I want to convey is that today’s young adults are so very important to our future vitality! Over the last few years, because of the troubled economy and our aging donor base, our Annual Campaign has raised fewer dollars to support our growing needs here in Omaha. We need the support of our next generation to ensure that their next generation will experience all that we have enjoyed. I implore all the women of our community to step up, increase your gift, and help keep the Omaha Jewish community strong!�

Backyard Concert Continued from page 1 The Backyard Concert Series is free and open to the entire community. Coolers and picnic baskets are encouraged and welcome, but if you run short on time, Star Catering will have kosher food for sale. In the event of inclement weather, the concert will move indoors to the auditorium.

The Backyard Concert Series is presented by the Jewish Federation of Omaha and generously sponsored by the Sokolof Javitch Music Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Additional support provided by the Special Donor Advised Fund, the Myron (Mike) Milder II Memorial Fund and the Samuel and Bess Rothenberg Memorial Endowment, all of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. The Backyard Concert Series ends its run on Sept. 12 with Billy McGuigan’s Rock Legends show. For more information, call Bob Goldberg, Director of Strategic Initiatives at 402.334.6431.


August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 3

At the start of haredi draft, no significant problems -- or optimism by BEN SALES Mishpacha magazine, a major haredi TEL AVIV (JTA) – The controversy publication. had sparked a national debate, raucous Rosenblum, of Jerusalem, said that protests in the streets, and the collapse of when the coalition broke up, “the sense a historic government. That came in the of panic diminished considerably” in the months after the Israeli Supreme Court haredi world. had nullified a law exempting haredi Although the Military Service Law is in Orthodox Israelis from military service effect, Rosenblum was not worried that and given the government until Aug. 1 to any of his seven sons, including a 17draft a replacement law. year-old, would be putting on a uniform. The Israel Defense Forces has yet to Would the IDF be “subjecting them to encounter any significant problems in military trial and imprisonment? No, I putting haredi men through the draft don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think the process, according to a military source government has a plan. There was with knowledge of the issue. nobody who was talking about putting The IDF had no official comment on people in jail.” the new process. During government negotiations on a In previous weeks, thousands of harednew law on the matter last month, the im had gathered in the streets, holding major proposals suggested fines for draft protest signs declaring that they would dodging, while others eschewed the idea rather spend their lives in prison than of personal penalties. serve in the “Zionist army.” Another A leading official in Hiddush, an Israeli protest in Tel Aviv declared that secular organization that advocates for religious A haredi man and his son standing next to the Israeli army recruiting office in Jerusalem on the day Israelis, who had always served, would pluralism and equality, also does not the Tal Law was voided, Aug. 1, 2012. Credit: Noam Moskowitz/Flash 90/JTA no longer be “suckers.” expect new legislation -- and a haredi draft But political stalemate won out. No law was passed and a 26 may be drafted, haredi or not. with teeth -- to move forward soon, despite his best hopes. Now haredi men born in 1994 and 1995 are or soon will broad government coalition created to solve this issue broke up. “The government won’t draft one yeshiva student,” said The day before the Aug. 1 deadline, Defense Minister be undergoing competency tests in math, Hebrew and gen- Shahar Ilan, Hiddush’s vice president. “The government isn’t Ehud Barak sent out a news release stating that the IDF had eral knowledge, as would any draftee. The first language of doing anything. This is a huge violation of the law.” one month to formulate guidelines on haredi military serv- many haredim is Yiddish, not Hebrew, and their schools do Ilan said that though most of the Knesset wants to see a new ice that would accord with the Military Service Law of 1986, not focus on math or general studies. law enacted, no one is willing take the necessary political risks. The military source could not give any details on the forwhich subjects haredim to the same service requirements as “Netanyahu does not want to hurt the haredi parties” in his all other Jewish Israelis. Haredim have been subject to the mulation of guidelines for haredi enlistment, but said the coalition, Ilan said. “There’s a majority for a mandatory draft, law since Aug. 1, and will be until the Knesset passes a new monthlong period was granted in part to allow the army but it’s theoretical because the parties that support a mandatime to prepare for absorbing thousands of haredi soldiers. law on haredi service. tory draft are not ready to break up the government for it.” According to Haaretz, there are 54,000 haredi men of Under the 1986 law, 18-year-old haredi boys -- until now Rosenblum said that even were such a law to pass, the IDF exempt from the military draft while studying in a yeshiva - enlistment age who have not served in the IDF. would not have the resources or will to absorb so many hareBut even as the protests have died down, observers on both di youth, whose strict observance of Jewish law puts them in - are eligible for the draft; their summons may come even before their 18th birthday. The penalty for refusing the sum- sides of the issue do not expect the controversy to be solved special circumstances. or a new law to be passed anytime soon. mons: three years in prison. “There’s no way in the world that the vast majority of hare“Right now there’s not a general feeling that something di boys are going to go into mixed units,” he said. “There’s no The law includes a clause on religious exemptions from military service for women who observe Shabbat and keep major is going to happen because of the political consterna- way in the world that the army is going to put in place harekosher, but they do not apply to men. Men up to the age of tion,” said Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum, a columnist for di-accommodating units within 30 days.”

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4 | The Jewish Press | August 24, 2012

Beth El’s Jews & Brews to offer warm welcome to new cantor by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator The men of Beth El will offer a warm welcome to Hazzan Michael Krausman, on Thursday, Aug. 30, 7 p.m., during a special “Jews & Brews” social get-together on the back lawn of the synagogue. During the evening, sponsored by Men’s Club, the organization’s 2012-’13 officers and board members will be introduced:

Six-word stories to ring in the new year by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer With the High Holidays fast approaching, Temple Israel is encouraging its members to think outside the box about what Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mean to them, and to share their ideas with the rest of the congregation. There’s just one catch: they have to do it using only six words. The inspiration behind these six-word stories comes from Smith Magazine, which popularized the concept over the last decade, with websites and books focusing on a variety of topics, such as life, love, parents, kids, food, and even Judaism. In fact, Smith Magazine recently published a book, Six-Word Memoirs on Jewish Life, which is full of pithy sentences and phrases that cover all aspects of Jewish life, like “I worry if I don’t worry” and “Everything great comes from summer camp.” After the success Temple Israel had last year with its High Holiday art project, “What Does the Shofar Call You to Do?” Temple Israel staff knew they had to come back this year with another fun, challenging way to engage the congregation. “We had more than 300 responses to last year’s project,” said Program Director Wendy Goldberg. “The key for this year was in coming up with something equally creative, but different. We didn’t want to repeat ourselves. We hope these six-word stories will inspire our members to really think about what’s most important to them, and to our communi-

ty, during the High Holidays.” For years, six-word stories have been a fun, creative challenge for writers, and this year Temple Israel wants its congregants to get in on the action by asking themselves what the Book of Life means to them, or what are they atoning for this year. Stories can be about forgiveness, fasting, advice you would hand down to your children, as long as they aren’t longer than six words. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Some examples Temple Israel staff have already come up with include, “Day of Atonement: Fasting, Prayer, Repentance,” “Shofar is a wake up call” and “Can’t eat for a day? Oy!” Temple Israel will share your six-word stories during the High Holidays as artwork hanging from the walls, spoken word pieces read during services and online. “Reform Judaism seeks to respond to the changing needs of the Jewish people,” Goldberg said. “This is an example of how we hope to help our members connect with the rituals of Judaism.... There are a variety of ways that people can prepare for the holidays; this is a modern example.” Do you have a Six-Word Memoir about the High Holidays you’d like to share? Temple Israel will be collecting stories through Yom Kippur. If you would like to contribute to the project, email Program Director Wendy Goldberg at wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com and write “Six-word stories” as the subject. You can also post your stories on the Temple Israel blog and Facebook page.

David Finkelstein, left, Hazzan Michael Krausman President, David Finkelstein; Membership Vice President, Scott Simon; Religion Vice President, Steve Levy; Social Vice President, Ari Kohen; Fundraising Vice President, Jonathan Rich; Secretary, Andy Raffel; Treasurer, Jeremy Friedman; Immediate Past President, Mike Schop; Midwest Representative to the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, Glen Fineman; and board members Bruce Kutler, Kevin Saltzman and Les Kay. All men of Beth El are invited to attend; membership in Men’s Club is not required. RSVP by Aug. 26 by contacting David Finkelstein at finkelruetsch@cox.net; or the synagogue office, 402.492.8550.

In the news Former Omahan Rick Chudacoff will be reunited with other Omaha music legends and native sons for a historical music retrospective at The OM Center. Rick was a member of The Les Smith Soul Band, LA Carnival and Crackin’. Since then he has has a successful production and songwriting career, producing hits for Robbie Dupree and cowriter of the hit Steal Away. Rick has also worked with Matthew Wilder, Patti LaBelle, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Kenny G., Michael Bolton and many other national artists.

The OM Center is located at 1216 Howard street. Performances are scheduled for Sunday Aug. 26 and Monday Aug. 27 starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the night of shows. For more information, visit www.omcenterdaily.com or call 402.345.5078. Bridge partners Edith Epstein and Larry Kronick were recent winners of the Intermediate Pairs - Nebraska Regional Bridge Tournament. It was held in Council Bluffs on Aug. 4. They were each awarded a first place trophy.

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August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 5

Libraries aren’t only for books... by MARK KIRCHHOFF We’ve moved through spring, and the longest day of the year has passed. The dog days of summer are upon us, and suddenly you ask yourself, “How many DVD’s have I enjoyed in the cool of my house lately? One? Two? None? What am I waiting for?” If you wish to “borrow- to-view” rather than “purchase-to-own,” browse the selections offered by the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Save yourself from another extra-inning major league baseball game viewed from the couch. Rise up, slap your forehead with the palm of your hand and exclaim, “I could have had a DVD!” Libraries are not just for books anymore. CDs and DVDs are rich additions to a library’s resources. The Kripke Library possesses a large number of videos and adds to the collection on a regular basis. Recent arrivals include two comedies: A Matter of Size and The Infidel. An Israeli sumo wrestler? This unlikely premise is the basis of the comedy A Matter of Size. Fed up with the sanctity of diets and the ‘Dictatorship of the Thinness’ of the diet workshop in which they participate, four friends discover the world of sumo, where those of more substantial weight are honored and appreciated. Herzl, an obese guy, starts to work as a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant in Israel. Herzl is exposed to the world of Sumo through the restaurant manager, who was a Sumo coach in Japan. Herzl falls in love with the Sumo world and wants Kitano to be the Sumo coach of his obese friends that gave up their diet. Through sumo they connect to themselves and to their bodies, each one in his or her way. The second new comedy offering, which was a selection in the 2010 Jewish Omaha Film Festival, is The Infidel. Imagine the identity crisis that strikes Mahmud Nasir, a successful business owner and salt of the earth East End Muslim who discovers that he’s adopted - and Jewish – all before his son is set to marry the step-daughter of Egyptianborn ‘Hate Cleric’ from Pakistan. As he conceals this information from his family, he receives help from his neighbor, Leonard Goldberg, in trying to understand the Jews, their religion and even locates his birth-father, who is on his death-bed in a nursing home. You might also recognize a number of other videos that have been shown at past Jewish Omaha Film Festivals. Among them are the following: Sweet Mud, a satirical comedy drama from Israel, tells the tale of a boy edging into his teens who has to deal with his unstable mother and a commune full of eccentrics – along

Birth Kelly and Jeff Nogg announce the Feb. 12 birth of their daughter, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Anne. Her Hebrew name is Dalia Hannah for her maternal great-grandmothers Doris Anita Bannon and Ann Kemp Rosenstock. She has two sisters, Riley and Avery. Grandparents are Patty and Steve Nogg, Sharon Rosenstock of Salem, VA and Jim Rosenstock of Petersburg, VA. Great-grandparents are Jean Lee Parelman and Allen Parelman of Kansas City, MO, the late Betty and Harlan (Bud) Studna, and the late Adalynn and Ernie Nogg.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Dr. Patricia Newman, the Executive Director of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., an organization that has successfully worked to reduce bullying in public schools, will present several one-act plays that teach students how to maintain their “cool” under the toughest of circumstances on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 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 bnai brith@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.

with the typical dilemmas of growing up. Fateless, the story of 14-year-old György whose life is torn apart in World War II Hungary as he is sent to a concentration camp and forced to become a man. There he learns to find happiness in the midst of hatred and what it really means to be Jewish. The Yankles is the story of an upstart Jewish orthodox yeshiva baseball team that earns a trip to compete in the College World Series. Coached by Charlie Jones, an exmajor league center fielder on parole for multiple DUI convictions, he is desperate to fulfill his courtordered community service. While The Yankles strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships, and in the process finds redemption. Saviors in the Night tells the story of Menne Spiegel who was an old friend of the Aschoff family, a decorated fellow veteran of WWI, and a Jew. Despite being patriotic Germans and Nazi sympathizers, the family, fellow farmers of Westphalia, took in Menne’s wife Marga and daughter Karin and hid them, rescuing them from deportation and certain death. Saviors in the Night is based on the experiences of Marga Spiegel, whose memoirs became a bestseller in Germany. In addition, movies such as Noodle, Refusenik, Salsa Tel Aviv, and many more selections from the Film Festival series are in the DVD collection of the Kripke Jewish Federation library. In addition to the “big screen” offerings, a large selection of documentaries is also available. Categories include philosophy, religion, sociology, language, the arts, literature, history, and the Holocaust. There are a wealth of DVDs that present the culture, the heritage, the challenges, and the triumphs of the Jewish people. The library also offers feature films that have entertained, delighted, disturbed, and given rise to thoughtful reflection. There is a wide selection of first-run movies: The Ten Commandments, The Pianist, Fiddler on the Roof, The Pawnbroker, Schindler’s List, Sophie’s Choice... and the list goes on. The library can furnish the DVD; you must furnish the popcorn and soda. The Kripke Jewish Federation Library, a program of the Center for Jewish Life, is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. Anyone can become a patron with a simple no-cost registration at the desk. Viewing a DVD is an economical way to be informed, entertained, or both. Stop in and make your selection soon!

The Florence Mill by LINDA MEIGS The Florence Mill is a preservation success story in Omaha. It went from dilapidated ruin in 1998 to a historical and cultural site open to the public. 2012 Events & Activities at the Florence Mill • Farmers Market: Sundays 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - The market season runs through Sept. 30. New to the market this summer is First Sundays... the first Sundays of June, July, August and September, the mill hosts family friendly fun with pony rides, bubbles in the field and Miss Joan’s craft table in the driveshed. Besides fresh, local produce and artisans displaying their crafts, the Florence Mill Farmers Market also hosts weekly educational presentations called “Country School.” •ArtLoft Exhibits: June-August - Landmarks in a Sea of Grass, an exhibit of photographs by Bruce Selyem. Bruce founded the Country Grain Elevator Historical Society in 1995. He and his wife, Barbara Selyem, travel the USA and Canada preserving this architecture unique to North America through photography and written documentation of these obsolete and threatened structures. They are based out of Bozeman, Montana. Sept. - Travels Home artwork by Christine Fredendall. Christine is the 6th recipient of the Connor Meigs Art Award. Christine lives in Ann Arbor Michigan and received her BFA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Oct. 6 & 7 - North Hills Pottery Tour: Potters and ceramic artists take over the Mill for a fun art event, culminating the Florence Mill’s 2012 season before it goes into hibernation for the winter. The ArtLoft hours are Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and Wednesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. The Florence Mill, which houses the Winter Quarters Mill Museum, ArtLoft Gallery, Gift Shop and Farmers Market is located at 9102 N. 30th St. Omaha, NE 68112 and is conveniently located next to I-680, Exit 13. For more information call 402.551.1233. PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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by KAREN MENAGH RBJH Activities Director The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home will hold its second Annual Car Show and Shine on Sept. 9, 2012 at 1:30-3 p.m. Do you own a vintage car, or know someone who does? Then this is a great opportunity to show off those shiny fins or brilliant tail lights. The show is open to any car, truck, or motorcycle enthusiast, and the entire community is invited to attend. For more information on how to enter your vehicle in the car show, please contact Karen Menagh or Adrienne Kitagawa at 402.334.6520 or email at kmenagh@rbjh.com or ashiverdecker@rbjh.com. That same day, we will also be celebrating Grandparents’ Day with an ice cream social after the car show. A photo booth will be available as well. Hope to see you there!

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by LEIBEL BAUMGARTEN for Chabad house His feet pound the track as he runs. The crowd cheers, he picks up speed; he dare not slow down. His knee begins to quiver, his back starts to ache; yet his heart does not buckle. The relay runner shows no sign of stopping. Neither the pain nor the exhaustion can slow him down, for he holds his strength in his right hand: the baton. He must reach his goal, he must reach his teammates. They started the race, they will finish it. They are counting on him to do his part. He cannot let them down. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have survived and thrived. No matter the circumstances, no matter challenges, we have powered ahead, knowing that our portion of the race must be won. Our ancestors began the race and passed the baton to their children: Abraham, Rachel, Moses, Ruth, King David, Esther, Maimonides, all the way down to grandpa and grandma, and now to us. During each leg of the race, they did what they could to bring warmth and goodness into the world, to be a beacon of light. They then passed the baton, imploring the next generation to continue the legacy and pick

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up speed. The previous generations now sit in the stands, watching us carefully as we grab the baton. They cheer loudly, supporting, encouraging, entreating. The baton is the Torah. It is what gives us our strength; our drive. It holds the blood, sweat, sacrifice and joy of years gone by; it embodies the hope and dream of the future. The Torah reminds us of our history and instructs our mission. The runner does not drop the baton to increase his speed, nor does he remodel it to better suit his grip. In his hand he holds history, in his hand he holds life. Our Torah today is the very same - letter for letter – as the one given to Moses at Sinai. Our Torah today looks identical to millions of others throughout time. It is the Torah our parents guarded, it is our Torah to love and cherish so that our children will learn and inherit it. The race has come to Omaha. It’s time to pick up the baton. All of history is watching. Will you grab the baton? Will you carry it forward? Be a part of history; get your letter in the Omaha Unity Torah today. Don’t drop the baton. A nation depends on you. For more information, please visit www.omahatorah.com.


August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 7

New emigres joining the military land in Israel by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An aliyah flight carrying 127 young men and women who will be joining the Israel Defense Forces landed in Israel. The special Nefesh B’Nefesh-Friends of the IDF flight, carrying a total of 350 new emigres to Israel, arrived early Tuesday morning in Israel.

The prime minister asked Nefesh B’Nefesh founder Tony Gelbart to arrange a meeting with the new soldiers in three years, when they have finished their military service, to salute them again. The flight was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel and Tzofim Garin Tzabar.

Kuklin Group, LLC by GARY KUKLIN The Kuklin Group LLC are full service residential and commercial brokers to assist you with all your real estate needs. Kimberly, a long time Omaha resident and award winning sales agent at CBSHOME, specializes in residential real estate. Kimberly assists her clients that want to buy or sell their home. She’s also able to assist anyone wanting to relocate in the state or anywhere in the US. Kimberly also specializes in assisting clients with staging their home for quick sale. Gary Kuklin specializes in commercial real estate. Gary assists clients who want to buy or sell positive cash flow generating property commonly called investment property. He also works with clients in Nebraska and Iowa that want to sell any commercial type property, whether it’s an empty building, land or even business. Growing up in Lincoln, Gary is able to help those Omaha clients wanting to purchase or lease

property in Lincoln or Lincoln clients wanting to sell property in Lincoln or add space in Omaha. Please see their ad for the Spaghetti Works building in Lincoln as a good example. Gary is also able to assist his clients in doing 1031 exchanges which will allow them to defer the tax implications on a sale/acquisition of a property. Gary represents tenants looking to lease space; and being affiliated with NAI, NP Dodge has a property management division available should the owner require their services. NAI Global has over 355 offices all over the world, so if you have a real estate need outside the state of NE or IA, Gary is able to assist you in finding representation anywhere an investment opportunity may be. For more information of the properties for sale or lease, please contact Kimberly at Kimberly@KimberlyKuklin.com or 402.214.5955. Gary may be reached at GKuklin@npdodge.com or 402.880.1887.

Cohen Team builds relationships The record number of 127 soon-to-be Israeli soldiers at Kennedy Airport in New York before boarding the Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight to Israel, Aug. 13, 2012. Credit: Shahar Azran Hundreds of families, friends and Israeli dignitaries gathered at Ben Gurion Airport for an arrival ceremony featuring an address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Each of the 350 people who have made aliyah today have decided to link their personal future with the future of the Jewish state and the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said. “But you’ve decided to do something else. You’ve decided to defend the Jewish future, and to have the opportunity to do so is a great privilege. “For almost two millennia, the Jews could not defend themselves. This is the great transformation that occurred in our time, and this is a privilege that you have now decided to practice personally, thereby altering your lives and the Jewish future as well.”

The Friends of the IDF and Nefesh B’Nefesh are working to expand their existing partnership, which provides comprehensive support for Lone Soldiers, who serve in Israel though their families live in the Diaspora. The program offers assistance before and during army service, as well as with post-army acclimation into Israeli life. More than 2,700 Lone Soldiers from around the world are now serving in the IDF, including more than 900 from North America, 625 from Russia, 390 from Ukraine and 250 from France. More than 4,800 American, Canadian and British Jews have or will be making aliyah this year, which marks Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 10th anniversary.

by MARTY COHEN Selling a home isn’t just about putting a sign in the yard. It’s also about having an experienced representative with the patience, perseverance and personal service to get the job done -- and the ability to inject some humor along the way. Alan, Anne and Marty Cohen provide just the right balance of each as Realtors® with CBSHOME. The Cohen tradition dates back to 1975, when Alan and Anne Cohen first began helping Omaha-area residents sell their homes. Their son, Marty, began his real estate career in 1991. Also a new addition to the team is Barb Shapiro, previously an agent in Minneapolis for 20 years. With a nearly 38-year tradition of working with area homeowners, the Cohens have developed relationships across generations. It’s not uncommon, Marty Cohen says, to have sold a home for a family’s grandparents, parents and grandchildren. That trust in his family’s servic-

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.

es, he says, is one of the most satisfying parts of what they do. “We love the fact that we know our clients’ families, their children,” he says. “It’s a true relationship. We take pride that, within the Jewish community, we have developed a trusted reputation for how we do our work.” Their work on behalf of clients runs the gamut in price and location -- from modest bungalows in established neighborhoods to new and existing homes in some of Omaha’s most prestigious locations. But, no matter where their listings are, they’re dedicated to providing the same level of service with the same goal: to sell that home at the best price possible. “The best form of advertising we have is doing a good job for someone and having them tell a friend or family member or co-workers,” says Marty Cohen. “It’s the nicest compliment someone can pay us.”

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8 | The Jewish Press | August 24, 2012

Yeshiva University Annual Leadership Conference by MATT YANIV utive director of the Orthodox Union, and international ni of YU who have made a deep impact on our lives.” New York, NY – For four days in August, Orlando, FL, was director of the OU’s National Conference of Synagogue The conference brought to the fore the expertise of YU staff the epicenter of a series of nationwide conversations in Youth (NCSY); Rabbi Dovid Stav, chair of Tzohar Rabbis in and faculty and highlighted the University’s ‘Nowhere But Orthodox communities across North America. The Seventh Israel; and radio host Nachum Segal, who broadcast his JM Here’ mix of Torah and academic scholarship in sessions like Annual ChampionsGate National Leadership Conference in the AM program to an international audience live from “Confronting Abuse in the Jewish Community: a Halachik convened more than 450 rabbinic, educational and lay lead- the hotel. and Psychological Analysis,” presented by Dr. David Pelcovitz, ers from 92 locales across Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Professor of Jewish Education North America to address at YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education; and their most pressing commuRabbi Yona Reiss, Max and Marion Grill Dean of the Rabbi nal challenges. The theme of Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). the conference was “Shmitta: Other sessions included “Leadership and Governance: Reflection, Celebration, Reshaping Your Non-Profit for a Stronger Future,” led by YU Renewal.” Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel “ChampionsGate 2012 was Andrew Lauer; a panel on “Ethical Dilemmas in Crisis a profound celebration of a Management,” led by Lauer that included Washington, D.C. vision of Jewish values and attorney David Butler; Chai Lifeline’s Associate Director of community,” said Yeshiva Crisis Intervention and Bereavement Zahava Farbman; YU University President Richard Senior Director of Media Relations Mayer Fertig; and M. Joel. “Together with comHouston attorney Shira Yoshor, chair of Stern College for munity leaders we demonWomen and a YU Trustee. strated how we partner Founded in 1886, Yeshiva University brings together the together and create a tremenancient traditions of Jewish law and life and the heritage of dous resource to help build Western civilization. More than 7,200 undergraduate and and advance community.” graduate students study at YU’s four New York City camPresented by YU’s Center puses: the Wilf Campus, Israel Henry Beren Campus, for the Jewish Future (CJF), Brookdale Center, and Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus. YU’s ChampionsGate has grown three undergraduate schools – Yeshiva College, Stern from a gathering of 40 lay College for Women, and Syms School of Business – offer a leaders in 2005 into a major unique dual program comprised of Jewish studies and liberevent involving dozens of al arts courses. Its graduate and affiliate schools include Miriam Gross at the Yeshiva University Leadership Conference. prominent leaders from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Benjamin N. Cardozo Orthodox world. Its creation and growth were made possi“To be part of the YU community, one does not necessar- School of Law, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Ferkauf ble by the vision and support of Mindy and Ira Mitzner ily have to have attended YU,” said Rabbi Jonathan Gross, a Graduate School of Psychology, Azrieli Graduate School of ‘81YC, University Trustee and chair of the CJF advisory Yeshiva College and RIETS graduate, who leads Beth Israel Jewish Education and Administration, Bernard Revel council who offered his Hilton Orlando resort as the venue Synagogue in Omaha, NE. “In fact, there were quite a few Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and Rabbi Isaac for this year’s conference. participants at the conference who did not. But each is Elchanan Theological Seminary. YU is ranked among the “At ChampionsGate, we convene as a community of com- inspired by the values, the vision, the students and the alum- nation’s leading academic research institutions. munity leaders,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of the CJF. “Our intention is to inspire and provoke substantive dialogue, collaborate on the issues that we can really do something about and create working plans by KATHY LANGDON delivered by quality, experienced staff. that will enable lay leaders and professionals to enrich For nearly two decades Caring Senior Services (CSS) has set At Caring Senior Services, we make sure our caregivers have Jewish life and accomplish great things for the well-being the standard for non medical services such as personal care, the right skills, training and personality to provide excellent and future of our people.” nutrition (meal preparation) and environmental management customer service. 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August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 9

Hornstein Law Scholarship awarded by MARY BORT dent very devoted to community service... I can say with confidence that Ms. Keating is Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation The Bennett G. Hornstein Memorial smart, thoughtful, careful, passionate and Scholarship for aspiring or current law stu- intellectually engaged. I am confident she will be a terrific publicdents has been awarded to interest lawyer and that Caroline Keating for the her effort will help make 2012-2013 school year. She the world a better place.” is from Omaha and Keating is a member of attended Duchesne the Multicultural Legal Academy. Keating graduSociety and Student Bar ated from New York Association. After graduUniversity with majors in ating from law school in journalism and Latin 2013, Keating plans to American Studies, and work for an immigrant earned dual Masters of rights organization that Arts in the same fields in engages in impact litiga2007 from University of tion. Texas at Austin. Keating is The late Bennett starting her final year at Hornstein, assistant University of Nebraska Douglas County public College of Law. defender for 20 years, was After earning her graduCaroline Keating a passionate advocate of ate degrees, Keating organized the only worker-cooperative the rights of those who could not afford a restaurant in New York City, developing lawyer. After his battle with cancer and leadership among the 30 worker-owners untimely death at the age of 46, his family who came from 22 different countries. Then established the Bennett G. Hornstein she established and coordinated the Austin Endowment Fund in partnership with the Immigrant Rights Coalition. Keating also Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. volunteered for the Reform Immigration for This fund provides an annual scholarship for a law student who will carry on Texas Alliance. Keating then determined that she would Hornstein’s commitment to working for need more legal knowledge in order to those members of society whom no one else advocate for immigrant rights, so she moved wants to help. This is the seventh year for back to Nebraska to attend law school. the scholarship. The criteria for selection are those quali“Nebraska Law had a special significance to me, since my mother, Olivia Guerra ties that Hornstein exemplified: a high stanKeating, was the first Latina to graduate dard of academic achievement, an adventurfrom the law school, and I wanted to contin- ous spirit and a desire to take on an active role in service to the community. Applicants ue her legacy,” said Keating. After her first year of law school, Keating must also be attending law school at was a judicial intern at the Federal Court in University of Nebraska or Creighton. The scholarship selection committee is Puerto Rico. She then served as a judicial intern for the U.S. Department of Justice in headed by Hornstein’s son, Joe, of Denver, the Executive Office for Immigration review Colorado, and includes Hornstein’s daughin Omaha. This summer she worked with ter, Jill Goldstein, attorney for Kutak Rock, victims of domestic violence on their family as well as other attorneys from the Omaha law and immigration cases at Bay Area Legal area. For more information about the Bennett Aid in San Francisco, CA. According to Eric Berger, Assistant G. Hornstein Endowment Fund and annual Professor of Law at the University of scholarship, please visit www.bghendow Nebraska, “Ms. Keating stands out as a stu- ment.org.

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Panetta: Israel has not made final decision on Iran strike by JTA NEWS STAFF added that he believed Israel can delay but WASHINGTON (JTA) – U.S. Defense not totally destroy Iran’s nuclear program. Secretary Leon Panetta told a Pentagon With the addition this week of former briefing that he does not Shin Bet security service believe Israel has made a head Avi Dichter to the final decision on whether Cabinet and to Prime to attack Iran’s nuclear Minister Benjamin program. Netanyahu’s Security “I don’t believe they Cabinet, it is believed made a decision as to that there is a majority of whether or not they will Israeli government offigo in and attack Iran at cials in favor of a prethis time,” Panetta said emptive strike against Tuesday at a joint briefIran. ing with Gen. Martin Netanyahu and Dempsey, the chairman President Obama are of the U.S. military’s Joint expected to meet in late Chiefs of Staff. September or early Leon Panetta “Obviously they are an October, at which time independent, they are a sovereign country. Obama could ask Israel not to go it alone They’ll ultimately make decisions based on against Iran. what they think is in their national securiSome in Israel believe that Israel would ty interest. like Obama to back a strike by launching a Panetta visited Israel two weeks ago, solo strike before the November presidenwhile Dempsey met with senior officials in tial elections, the Times of Israel reported. Israel in late January. Iranian leaders consider talk of an Israeli The United States maintains that sanc- attack as “hollow and baseless,” The tions and diplomacy are the best ways to Jerusalem Post reported. Citing Iran’s handle Iran’s nuclear program and that an ISNA news agency, the Post reported that attack on its nuclear facilities should only Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi be launched as a last resort. referred to Israeli threats “as a sign of At the Pentagon briefing, Dempsey weakness” by “brainless leaders.”

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by BEN SALES break. JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The corporate offices of Rami Levy, “What free time? He worked 24 hours a day,” said Yaakov Israel’s nouveau riche supermarket mogul, sit atop one of his Gazit, who used to own a Turkish restaurant on the corner grocery stores in southern Jerusalem. It’s not a busy neigh- of Hashikma, near Levy’s store. borhood, nor is it easily accessible by public transit. But Even so, Gazit remembered a night years ago when he was once the building comes into view, there’s no mistaking that stuck on the other side of Jerusalem with a flat tire and Levy it’s his. came to assist him at 3 a.m. Plastered across the side wall in bold letters on a yellow “You’re stuck, so I’m helping you,” Gazit recalled Levy saybackground are the words Rami Levy Hashikma Market. ing after Gazit had called for help. The company name appears at least six more times elseLevy still maintains a storefront on Hashikma whose sign where on the building. offers food for “cheaper than cheap.” Shop owners there say Meet the new Israeli mogul – with a net worth about $1 he comes by every few months, but the interior of the store billion, according to Haaretz – whom many Jews outside is empty and some shelves need repairs. Passers-by said it Israel do not yet recognize, but who is emerging as a cham- hardly ever opens. The number advertised on the sign does pion of the country’s economically struggling families. not take incoming calls. Levy, 57, is the owner of the third largest grocery store Whether or not God’s hand is guiding Levy’s success, relichain in Israel, with 24 stores across the country en route to giously themed pictures of Jerusalem hang in his office and the goal of 50. Other competitors have much larger chains, Levy has remained Sabbath observant. In addition to the but Levy has gained attention in part by cultivating the per- time he spends with his family on Shabbat, his wife -- whom sona of a poor boy who made good and now is passing along he calls “my right hand” -- and three of his four children, all the benefits to his customers. The benefits include sales and adults, work for him. He also has three grandchildren. special deals for Jewish holidays, like low prices on matzah “There’s less time one-on-one because everyone is busy, for Passover. but we see each other Last week, as the during the day,” he said. cost of bread in Israel While Levy focuses on rose 6 1/2 percent, his business, he also has Levy’s stores said they become entangled in would not raise their political controversy. prices until after After his West Bank Sukkot. Levy’s larger locations in Sha’ar competitors will raise Binyamin and Mishor their bread prices Adumim began attractafter Rosh Hashanah, ing Palestinian cusaccording to Israeli tomers due to their low reports. prices, the Palestinian “I want the conAuthority discouraged sumer to be happy,” Palestinians from buysaid Levy, a man of ing there. The PA claifew words who sticks med that patronizing to his message. “You the stores helped the want to kill two birds economy of Israel’s setwith one stone -- to tlements, according to Shoppers checking out at a Rami Levy Hashikma Market, one of 24 stores do business so that The Jerusalem Post. in a chain across Israel that reportedly has helped to make Levy worth it’ll be good for the Still, Levy said, “The Credit: Rami Levy about $1 billion. consumer.” people kept buying. I Levy grew up in the crowded Jerusalem neighborhood of serve my customers regardless of race or nationality.” Nachlaot, near the open market of Mahane Yehuda. He He also doesn’t discriminate between Jews and decided to open his first store when he witnessed a nasty Palestinians when hiring. interaction between his grandmother and a shop owner “We have a lot of Jews in the Diaspora,” Levy said, so he there during one of his furloughs from the Israeli army. hopes his hiring practices will prevent people from outside “He didn’t talk to her nicely and it troubled her,” Levy said. Israel saying to prospective employees, “You are a Jew; I He thought, “I’ll get out of the army and I’ll open a store.” won’t hire you.” His grandfather owned a small warehouse down the block After he expands to 50 stores, Levy said he will have to from the shop owner, on Hashikma Street, a side road in the stop because any additional branches would make his curmarket that would give his chain its name. In 1977, Levy rent cost structure unsustainable. Although he “can’t serve cleaned, painted and converted the warehouse into a gro- all of Israel,” he said he likes to see the larger chains imitate cery store. He attracted customers by selling food at the his tactics. same price as his wholesalers. “The moment you blaze a trail and your trail does well for After three months he connected directly with the com- people, and your competitors are doing the same thing, I’m panies that supplied his wholesalers and began to buy happy,” he said. directly from them, which allowed him to turn a small profPerhaps the opening day of the 50th store will be when it and later to expand his chain. Levy takes respite from his never-ending work. What will he Levy has since launched an insurance company and a cell do then? phone provider, both of which bear his name. The Israeli Levy is not talking about retiring, but his former colbusiness publication Calcalist reported two weeks ago that league, Aviezer Zaken, said, “He’ll sit on the beach and fish.” Levy’s cell phone provider now serves 66,000 customers, compared to several recently launched providers with more than 100,000 customers. Below his corporate office, attached to the store, customers can also eat at Hashikma Pizza or Hashikma Burger. by KAREN SOKOLOF JAVITCH Levy said he would enter any industry “where I can do well Jody and I are having the best time interviewing some very for my customers, sell at low prices and make sure my custalented people in the arts field. Two-time Oscar winner tomers can have good service.” Alexander Payne discussed his new movie-to-be (Nebraska) Customers at the store said they shop there for the low and how you can audition for it. prices, but some other potential buyers prefer the supermarActor John Beasley spoke about his new sitcom, ‘Soul ket across the street -- a branch of the larger Super-Sal chain. Man’ which features Cedric the Entertainer. Broadway singer They said they chose to forgo Levy’s deals because his shops and Westside graduate Joanna Young spoke about her are too crowded. Broadway shows. Rachel Shukert spoke of her two books “He wants every meter,” said Moshe Zaken, 29. “You can’t and future trilogy. One afternoon we were privileged enough turn the corner. You bump into people.” to sing with the Beehive Cast. Join us for a lot of laughs and Store owners on Hashikma Street, where he began, say he music! hasn’t changed from the days when they knew him as a This Saturday at noon, Kathy Byrnes tells us about her friendly and generous grocer. new ‘Village Canvas and Cabernet’ shop opening up. Rick “He was a nice guy, a regular guy,” said Aviezer Zaken (no Chudacoff from the well-known band Crackin’ is featured as relation to Moshe), who runs a fish and poultry shop that well as musicians Adeev and Ezra Potash. Go to our website: like Levy’s chain is named for its owner. “We didn’t expect http://www. itsthebeat/ to preview our past shows and if him to become a billionaire.” you have any suggestions, email us at Karen@itstheLike a few others, Aviezer Zaken attributed Levy’s success beat.net. My music is played on the show and my cd’s can to “the blessing of God. Just the blessing of God.” be found on our website or at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Shop owners recalled that although Levy gave free matzah to needy people before Passover, he never gave himself a PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 11

Jewish filmmaker puts lens on Jewish African tribes by RINA BASSIST PRETORIA, South Africa (JTA) – Filmmaker Laurence Gavron is on a journey to document lost Jewish tribes in Africa. The French-born Gavron, who has made Senegal her home since 1989, says she was immediately taken by the project, which she says combines her passion for Africa with the mystery of rediscovering Judaism. The film, titled Black Jews, Juifs noir en Afrique, focuses on a dozen African tribes -- in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and other countries -- each with a Jewish story. Some claim to be descendants of the Bible’s 10 Lost Tribes. Others believe that their ancestors were Jews who emigrated from Judea to Yemen looking for gold. Rabbinical authorities have not accepted any of the groups as Jewish under halachah, Jewish law, although all the tribes strive to be recognized as such at some level or another. Edith Bruder, who has been studying these Jewish groups for more than a decade and wrote the book The black Jews of Africa, history, identity, religion, turned to Gavron for the film, which is expected to be released in the coming months. “In sub-Saharan Africa, you can find ‘Judaic’ tribes in Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe and even in Sao Tome and other countries. There are many of them,” Bruder said. “It is really a vast subject.” The two women are documenting Sabbath celebrations in remote African villages, Ghanaian Jews practicing circumcision and Jewish-African traditional marriage ceremonies. They have even been deep into the forests filming black Jews preparing their “kosher” meals -- in their own tradition, the way the Torah explains it simply -- not mixing the meat of the veal with its mother’s cow milk. Filming a Shabbat service in Ghana was a moving experience, Gavron says. “At the end, [I was] really very touched and almost started crying,” she said. The French connection between Bruder and Gavron seems almost predestined: Gavron with her fascination for Africa and for her Jewish roots, and Bruder’s researching of “Jewish-related subjects” for most of her academic career. Their producer, too, is French: Anne Schushman of Scuch Productions. “I am very interested in Jewish people, being one, and in

blacks, living in Africa and having become Senegalese,” Gavron said. “So black Jews is something that was more than perfect for me.” In the introduction to her documentary project, Gavron writes, “Who has the right to proclaim himself a Jew? Who can assert his connection to Judaism? Are these black Jews really a part of the Jewish people? And if not, why do they wish to be included?” Her own connection to Judaism -- a sense of peoplehood and culture -- has mostly been background music, she says, and making the film has “rekindled” those feelings. Gavron, who keeps busy making films, detective writing stories, organizing cultural evenings, making video clips and curating photo expositions, among other pursuits, reLaurence Gavron cently made history Credit: Laurence Gavron in her adopted homeland. In July, she became the first woman toubab -Senegalese naturalized white person -- to be on an electoral list for parliament. With a victory, she would have become the first Jewish member of Senegal’s parliament. Gavron, 57, hadn’t given much thought to political involvement in the Muslim-dominated country until just a few months ago. At a cocktail party in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, she began speaking to Mamadou Lamine Diallo, who heads Tekki, a left-wing party. “I told him how much I share with him the values defended by his party: transparency, citizenship activism and ethics,” she said. “He immediately asked me if I cared to join as a candidate for the upcoming elections.”

The offer “enchanted me,” Gavron said. “I felt it was a wonderful way to repay this country, which has embraced me without any restraint or hesitation. It is my way to pay my gratitude back to the Senegalese people. Gavron was able to run only because the Senegalese parliament adopting an equal gender representation act two years ago, obliging political parties to present an equal number of male and female candidates. And although she did not win the election, the experience convinced her to remain politically active -- and she believes the results would be different the next time around. Senegal has undergone significant changes in the past three years, most recently choosing Macky Sall as president over incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, who was criticized for his grandiose living style. That, along with the new laws designed to promote gender equality, may well play in Gavron’s favor in the next elections. As to her “home party,” Gavron is the perfect match for what Tekki is striving to achieve, says El Hadrji Sarr, a Tekki leader who supported Gavron’s candidacy. “Laurence is a Senegalese in every means and ways, even though she is white,” he said. “She has a natural place within our electoral list.” Gavron has long split her time among France, Africa and Israel. Although a Senegal citizen who makes her permanent home in Dakar, she says that when she visits Paris, she suddenly feels that is home again, as if she never left the place. Israel, meanwhile, remains her spiritual homeland, she says. Her first visit to Senegal, a former French colony in western Africa, came in 1987 for an international film festival. She continued to go back and forth before making it her permanent home in 1989. Widowed for several years by then, Gavron says she decided it was time for a real change. She became a Senegalese citizen in 2007. The night before she left Paris for the permanent move to Dakar, Gavron says she was inexplicably drawn to visit the Jewish quarter of Paris. “I curiously found myself walking towards the Marais,” she recalls, where she bought a mezuzah. “Being Jewish is important for me, even though I do not practice Judaism every day,” she said. “I am attached to my Jewish identity and to the cultural elements which differentiate me from others.”

Club AU G U ST R E P O RT E R

Maria Arch Beth Cohen and Harry Berman Leta Rae Cherniss Toba Cohen Dunning Eric Dunning Mel Epstein Elizabeth Gilbert Jordana Glazer Kim and Bob Goldberg Alan Goodman Lis and Hugo Kahn Julee Katzman Bonnie and Steve Levinger Vicky Perlmeter Stacey and Jonathan Rockman Debbie and Lloyd Roitstein Susan Rothholz Lynne and ErrolSaltzman Caryn Scheer Sherry and Larry Shapiro

2 0 1 2

M E M B ERS

EDITOR

Ilse and Marcel Kahn Dolores and Don Klein Sara and Ari Kohen Sandra and Marvin Kohll Amy and Paul Rabinovitz Iris and Marty Ricks Nancy Rips Suzanne Singer Melissa and Michael Schop Wayne Schwarz Carita Sommer

PUBLISHER

Bruce Belgrade Cheryl and Ron Cooper Eunie and Norm Denenberg Mimi and Scott Farkas Beverly and Richard Fellman Amy and Sandy Friedman Beth and Moshe Brown-Gershovich 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 Joodi and Norman Veitzer Nancy and Phil Wolf Jeremy Wright


12 | The Jewish Press | August 24, 2012

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Puppy love

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press First dates are fun. Everything is new, fresh and exciting; all other problems temporarily fade into the background in the face of the latest infatuation. But, romance doesn’t last forever, and the real world sooner or later comes knocking on the door. Often that world comes in the shape of family and friends who want to know more about this new boyfriend. Is he really as great as you think? He’s handsome, but does he treat you right? Does he have a decent job? Does he understand you, accept you for who you are, what’s his character? What about ex-girlfriends, or skeletons in his closet? And so, the vetting begins. Things are not that different when a presumptive Presidential nominee chooses his Vice Presidential candidate. The first response from friends and family (aka, the electorate) is often one of surprise and delight. “Now, we can finally have a substantive debate,” was said on most fronts. Meaning, a useful discourse that focuses on real policy issues. No more talking about dogs on the roof of someone’s car or horses in the Olympics. Instead, we’ll all act like adults. It’ll be fun, you’ll see. In anticipation of a more exciting race, I decided to read up on Paul Ryan. I read about 30 articles, from the Jerusalem Post to the New York Times to Fox.com and the Christian Science Monitor, from the left, the right, and the middle and then some, and came away with 60 opinions. Because of all that reading, I now know that Paul Ryan’s budget is both going to save the country and destroy it. He’s going to salvage Medicare and completely gut it, the Tea Party loves him and the Tea Party hates him, and his name on the Republican ticket will help Romney win the presidency and simultaneously obliterate any chances Romney may have had of beating Barack Obama. Jewish voters will run to him

and away from him. Also, Paul Ryan has 6% body fat and works out a lot. Because that too is news. The more things change, the more they stay the same; the country, as usual, can’t agree on anything. We believe what we want to believe and on an individual level we rarely change our minds. One of the things that is peculiar about this race, however, is that Romney’s critics on the right out-

scream his critics on the left--with gusto. Not only that, they address him in ways so vicious, I wouldn’t even feel good quoting them here. “Milquetoast” was probably the kindest criticism I read, and that was in the New York Times, not on some random fringe blog. Suffice it to say that the Ann Coulter-Mark Steyn-led army has been less than pleased with Romney as their candidate. But it puts Mitt Romney in an interesting position. Within days after announcing Ryan as his VP pick, Romney had to spell out his intention to run on his own budget proposal, and not his running mate’s. Then, he had to explain it again, and again. “I’m the one running for President,” he told one journalist, as if that was in question.

Full disclosure: I don’t vote, because I don’t have citizenship. But if I did, I would want a debate about actual policy, not about who’s the most popular with the talking heads on the right. I couldn’t care less that they’re “not excited.” What matters is what the candidates actually stand for. In Ryan’s case, what matters is that he wants to end abortion, including for rape- and incest victims. What also matters is that he supports both a two state solution in Israel, and Israel’s right to defend itself. What matters is that he honestly admits he has no real foreign policy experience, without making a big deal out of it. What matters is his track record as a member of Congress. What matters is that he voted for both the TARP and the auto bail out, even when it made the tea Party mad, because he felt it was what Wisconsin needed. Those are all things that tell us something about who he is, and by association, (we hope) what sort of decisions Romney can be expected to make would he land in the White House. That, however, is also where the biggest problem is. Right now, the nation knows much more about Paul Ryan than it knows about Mitt Romney. Granted, we really didn’t know very much about Barack Obama in 2008 either. As a matter of fact, that’s often the case with Presidential candidates: as a country, we regularly rely on our emotions and our instincts when the President is elected. And the more we talk about them, the less we know. Not until they sit in that office do we find out what they’re really made of. What we do know is that Paul Ryan isn’t running for president of the United States. His new boss is. And so, let’s put an end to this exciting new flirtation, and move on. Paul Ryan isn’t going to save Romney, and he isn’t going to ruin it for him. It’s time to put the spotlight back where it belongs, which is the debate between Romney and Obama. See how confused I am? And I read newspapers for a living. It’s going to be an interesting few months.

Shine a light on hateful white power music

Behind the headlines MARK PITCAVAGE NEW YORK (JTA) -- Much has been written and said of late about the underground white supremacist subculture in which Wisconsin shooter Wade Page immersed himself, and his own involvement with white power music. But one aspect of that subculture has not been given the attention it deserves. The anti-Semitism is unmistakable in band names such as Jew Slaughter, Final Solution and Ethnic Cleansing. The latter boasts of albums called Piles of Dead Jews and Hitler was Right. Another longstanding white supremacist band, Bully Boys, has recorded songs called Fire Up the Ovens and Six Million More. In the first one, the group sings about leaving “no stone unturned until the last Jew burns.” These bands and others like them are part of a thriving subculture; some white supremacists drive for hundreds of miles to attend their concerts. Their fans gather together, many sporting shaved heads and covered with tattoos. The men pump their fists in the air and dance raucously in front of a stage festooned with Nazi flags and racist skinhead symbols, while others, including a few women, watch around the perimeter. Onstage, the music is deafening, urging white people “to stand up and fight.” Apart from the concerts, which rarely attract crowds of more than a couple hundred, the music reaches others who purchase or download it from the Internet. Since white power music arrived in the United States in the late 1970s, it has become a pillar of the subculture permeating the white supremacist movement. The music comes in many flavors. The oldest is a racist form of Oi!, associated with the original skinhead subculture

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in Great Britain. Also popular is hatecore, a white supremacist version of hardcore punk. A white supremacist form of death metal music, known as National Socialist Black Metal Music, or NSBM, has become popular. There are other small subgenres of hate music -- even a few white power hip-hop artists, though most white supremacists dislike hip hop. At any given time, about 100 to 150 white power bands are active in the United States. The bands’ own names defiantly express feelings of hate or violence: examples other than those mentioned previously include Aggravated Assault, Angry Aryans, Attack, Definite Hate, Force Fed Hate, Fueled by Hate and Hate Crime. Most of these bands are the white supremacist equivalents of garage bands -- nobody is getting rich from the music. Behind them are small record labels or distributors that specialize in white power music such as Label 56, Tightrope Records, Final Stand Records and others. Many bands are associated with racist skinhead groups such as Volksfront, the Vinlanders Social Club or, especially, the Hammerskins, who dominate much of the white power music scene. Many bands are Hammerskins-affiliated, while the group itself organizes hate music concerts, including Hammerfest, its largest annual event. White power music conveys many messages. Obviously it conveys hatred: antagonism toward Jews, immigrants, nonwhites, Muslims, gays and left-wingers. But songs can convey other messages, too. Some white power songs may glorify heroes or martyrs of the white supremacist movement. Some are essentially self-promotional, praising a group or leader. Songs that urge or celebrate generic violence also are common, emerging from a subculture in which violence is easily condoned. A number of songs attempt to convey some sense of commonality, to strengthen the sense that listeners are in a movement with shared ideas, goals -- or perceived enemies such as Jews.

What are the effects of white power music? It’s often hard to know exactly how music of any kind may affect someone. Music is universally acknowledged as powerful, yet its effects are often indirect. Hate music does sometimes create direct effects. Incidents of hate crimes being committed by people who had just been at a hate music event have been reported. More indirectly, hate music certainly contributes to the shared ideas and notions of the white supremacist movement, including its willing acceptance of violence. Not only was Wade Page, the white supremacist responsible for the massacre at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, part of this subculture, he also was a performer. A racist skinhead himself, he played in two white power music bands, End Apathy and Definite Hate, affiliated with the Hammerskins. The recent tragedy should be a wake-up call for all of us, including the Jewish community. It is important for us to be concerned about this subculture that celebrates hateful music, hateful lyrics, and messages of hate and anti-Semitism. Our concerns should be heightened by the reminder we have just received that this hate does sometimes lead to violence and murder, including occasions when Jewish individuals and Jewish institutions have been targeted. For example, in 1999 white supremacist Buford Furrow went after children at the Los Angeles JCC. Three years ago, another white supremacist, James von Brunn, targeted the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., murdering a museum guard. In April 2011, two white supremacists assaulted and seriously injured a Jewish man in Southern California, and last December, white supremacist Danny Lee Warner reportedly told his wife that he was setting out to kill as many Jews as possible. Fortunately, in the Warner case, he was apprehended before he could carry out his plan. Continued on page 13

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August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 13

The case against the Affordable Care Act

Behind the headlines DAVID LEE The Jewish Press has recently published several editorials that present favorable viewpoints regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I agree with the authors’ point that universal health care is consistent with Jewish tradition. However, as an actuary who professionally designs insurance programs, I think the ACA is a terrible law. The following are key points of discussion. Under the ACA, Medicare reimbursements to providers are scheduled to be cut by over $700 billion beginning in 2014. This exacerbates an existing problem because Medicare reimbursements today are generally on the low side. The details of these cuts are unknown at this point. A panel of 15 appointed bureaucrats will decide on the cuts. The result of reimbursement cuts to providers will most likely be that fewer providers will accept Medicare assignment. The impact on affluent seniors could be that they will get care from the provider of their choice, but pay more out-of-pocket for the services. Seniors who do not have enough money to cover the amount that Medicare does not pay will need to seek out providers that accept Medicare. As fewer providers accept the lower reimbursement rates, this could likely lead to long waits for appointments and rationing of care. Unfortunately, most seniors have no knowledge of this pending problem.

The expansion of Medicaid required by the law in combination with the reduction in Medicare reimbursements (point #1 above) could create a situation where providers will be forced to reject these patients if they are to make a profit. This is particularly true for providers who rely on Medicare and/or Medicaid for a large percentage of their business. How much will this law cost? The estimates from the CBO have tripled since the original estimates, and most of the law has not yet been implemented. What is the likelihood that the law will be so expensive that other worthwhile government programs will need to be cut to pay these escalating costs? Decisions on the availability of certain procedures will be made in Washington rather than by doctors and their patients. Based on the number of temporary corporate exemptions to this law that have already been granted, it appears that a large number of employers will not be able to afford to keep their group insurance plans. These companies may opt to pay the fine (or tax) and discontinue their plans. If this occurs, then a large number of people who previously were covered by their employers will be forced to purchase individual insurance. How many of these individuals will choose to be uninsured? There is a good chance that this law will create a new “uninsured problem.” The individual mandate will be extremely difficult and expensive to enforce. Massachusetts has a similar individual mandate. That state requires proof of insurance on Dec. 31.

The analysts have subsequently learned that quite a few people purchase insurance near the end of the year and lapse the policy at the beginning of the following year, avoiding the fine (or tax). The percentage of uninsureds in Massachusetts is relatively small compared to the remainder of the country. If the mandate is not effectively enforced, then the uninsured problem will remain, and the cost of insurance will dramatically increase because the individuals who choose voluntarily to remain uninsured will typically be the healthiest. Approximately 1500 IRS agents will be hired to make sure the appropriate tax is paid by the uninsureds. This appears to be a colossal waste of money in an area where considerable fraud is almost guaranteed. The overall quality of care could decline over time, as practitioners move or retire to avoid the bureaucracy associated with the Act. People travel from all over the world to seek care in the US because we have the highest or nearly the highest quality of care in the world. France, Great Britain, and other countries with government run health care cannot make that claim. The Act contains expensive mandated coverage, but very few cost containment features. Therefore, healthcare costs and corresponding insurance costs will continue to increase substantially. The Act will completely change health care in this country. In my opinion the overall quality of care will decline, particularly for seniors, while the healthcare costs will continue to increase. Therefore, I am hopeful that the law will be repealed.

BDS campaign remains dangerous, despite failures

Focus on issues KENNETH STERN NEW YORK (JTA) -- For more than a decade, anti-Israel activists have sought to shoehorn Israel into the nomenclature of apartheid-era South Africa through the use of a tactic named BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions). Apartheid was a universally decried racist system. BDS activists argue that Israel is the second coming of apartheid South Africa and must be treated the same. BDS activists may claim success, but they are certainly aware that their efforts have failed. No American university has divested from Israel. When a British academic union voted on a boycott of Israeli academics in 2007, more than 400 American university presidents jointly declared that if these Brits insisted on dividing the academic community into two groups – Israelis who should be shunned and everyone else – their U.S. institutions should be counted as Israeli, too. As University of Miami President Donna Shalala has said, “I know of no American university that would support such a boycott.” BDS proponents at best can point to isolated, near-meaningless “victories,” such as the recent decision of a socially responsible investment index to remove the Caterpillar Corp. from its list. The BDSers, of course, generally ignore that the decision was based on a variety of factors (including the company’s treatment of its workers), or that many other companies doing business in or with Israel are still listed on the index. Perhaps their one “victory” was to get a single food co-op in Olympia, Wash., to remove Israeli ice cream cones, crackers, chocolate bars, baby wipes and hand sanitizers from its shelves. Antics aside, the point of BDS is to change the way Israel is viewed, to focus the debate on whether it is a “pariah” state. Lately, however, the BDSers seem to be a bit more candid

about their motives. While still asserting that Israel is in effect wrong all the time, now they are increasingly comfortable suggesting that Israel should not have been born and this “mistake” should be undone. Judith Butler, a philosopher and a leading scholar in feminist theory who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, makes this point in her new book Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism, published by the prestigious Columbia University Press. Butler underscores why BDS proponents do not limit their campaign to products made in the territories. To do so would “forget the claims of 1948, bury the right of return, [and] also accept forms of unjust majority discrimination within the present borders of Israel,” she says. In essence, the point of BDS -- articulated by Butler and others – is to revert to a world without Israel, irrespective of its policies. That was the theme of the One-State Solution conference last spring at Harvard. That is why many of the pro-BDS materials circulated during the recently failed efforts to pass divestment resolutions at three major conferences of church groups -- Presbyterians, Methodists and Episcopalians -- distorted Jewish history by ignoring the religious, cultural and physical connection of Jews and Judaism to the land of Israel in order to paint Jews as interlopers in a region where they have no right to be (let alone a right, like other peoples, to national self-determination in their historic homeland). Anti-Israel Christians recently circulated a document titled “Call to Action: U.S. Response to the Kairos Palestine Document.” The Palestinian document was a one-sided political and theological denunciation of Israel; the U.S. version goes a step further, promoting a belief that Jews as a people do not have “an exclusive or preeminent right to the Holy Land,” but rather a right only “to create a vibrant Jewish culture in historic Palestine.” So while BDS has yet to have any tangible economic

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impact on the State of Israel, it continues to be a vehicle through which the questioning of Israel’s basic right to exist is, for some, a “legitimate” issue to be raised without embarrassment. This is much more worrisome than a vote about Caterpillar stock or a co-op refusing to sell Israeli ice cream cones. BDS can change the perception of Israel by creating space for respectable people to have calm debates about the “merits” of a world without a Jewish state. Fighting BDS, then, is not just about preventing or defeating motions and referenda. It requires paying attention to and challenging the distortions of history and language used by BDS advocates. And it requires reiteration that the twostate solution, in which Jews and Palestinians have a right to national self-expression, is the only path to sustainable peace. Tellingly, Rebecca Vilkomerson, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace -- a strong proponent of BDS that is, at most, agnostic on Israel’s right to exist -- recently appeared on an American Free Press podcast and told the host she “appreciate[d] your support.” AFP is a neo-Nazi, white supremacist, Holocaust-denying group. That JVP appreciates AFP’s support says it all. Kenneth Stern is the American Jewish Committee’s director on anti-Semitism and extremism.

Hateful white power music Continued from page 12 What can be done about this subculture of hate and the violence it seems to beget? One solution is to shine a light on the hateful lyrics and music, as ADL does, so that more people will speak out and reject their disturbing and sometimes violent message. Mark Pitcavage is director of investigative research of the Anti-Defamation League.

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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: Beth El brings Shabbat to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush given by Beth El; Evening Services, 8 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: BESTT first day of classes, 9:45 a.m. beginning with a waffle welcome breakfast; Torah Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Men’s Club Softball, 10 a.m. at the JCC ball fields; How to make the High Holidays more meaningful, 11 a.m. led by Rabbi Levin. No charge to attend. To RSVP visit www.bethel-omaha.org, or contact Margie Gutnik at 402.492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org. MONDAY: Wrestling with Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham; Monday Moadon, 4:15 p.m. Open to all children in the Jewish community. For more information, contact Eadie Tsabari at etsabari@bethel-omaha.org, call the BESTT office, 402.498.0904, or visit www.bethelomaha.org. WEDNESDAY: Women’s book group, 7:30 p.m. facilitated by Susan Paley and will discuss The Dovekeepers, by Alice Hoffman. THURSDAY: Jews and Brews, 7 p.m., on the back lawn of the synagogue. All men of Beth El are welcome. No charge. Dinner and Drash on Friday, Aug. 31, 7 p.m., following Shabbat services. Cost: $10. RSVP online at www.bethelomaha.org, or contact synagogue office 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 by Sisterhood; 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, 8:52 p.m. SUNDAY: Gemara class, 8 a.m., learning tractate Kiddushin; Shacharit, 9 a.m. followed by breakfast. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Rabbi 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.

Bar Mitzvah Jacob Wigodsky, son of Tereza Wigodsky and Andrew Wigodsky, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Temple Israel. Jacob is an eighth-grade student at Westside Middle School. His interests include band, football, shooting, camping and travel. He has a brother, Brandon.

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: Back-to-School Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. at Prescott 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 coordinated by Alisa and Tommy Murray. Please also bring lawn chairs or blankets. Let’s get the new school year started off on the right foot. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Shoftim; Lincoln Temple Youth Group -- Bowling, Pizza & Ice Cream, 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; Jewish Movie Night showing of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz at 7 p.m. with Havdalah and a potluck dessert. THURSDAY: Choir Rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m. 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.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

Candlelighting Friday, August 24, 7:52 p.m.

Series: “Rabbi Sidney and Jane Brooks stories from Park Avenue to Cass Street” with Miriam Brooks; OTYG Fall Rush, 7:30 p.m. Meet at Amy Filler-Katz’s home. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Jacob Wigodsky, son of Tereza Wigodsky and Andrew Wigodsky, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9:30 a.m.; Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; Kol Rina Rehearsal - New Members, 1 p.m. TUESDAY: Kol Rina Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7&8, 6-8 p.m.; Adventures in Omaha Jewish History, 6:30 p.m. with Oliver Pollack. THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy: Elul with Rabbi Brown, 10 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 Kiddush lunch. New Member Shabbat on the Green, Friday, Sept. 7, 5:45 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and Kabbalat Services will begin at 7 p.m. Please bring your lawn chairs and blankets. Adults are $8 and kids are $4. Please RSVP to Nava in the office no later than Tuesday, Sept. 4. The Divorce Girl, fiction reading with Caryn MirriamGoldberg, Kansas Poet Laureate, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m. at Tifereth Israel followed by a book signing and refreshments. 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.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

To Submit Announcements

323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to RBJH, 2:30 p.m. with Beth El members. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Federation website: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press,’ scroll down to ‘Submit Announcements, complete form and click on “submit”.

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 Tami Field; Summer Speaker

Peres: Israel cannot strike Iran on its own by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) – Israel President Shimon Peres said that Israel cannot attack Iran on its own. “We can delay the Iranian nuclear plan, but it is clear to us that we need to go with the United States,” Peres said during an interview with Channel 2 television. “President Barack Obama is determined to stop Iran and Israel cannot do it.” The official position of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is that Israel may attack Iran if that is the only way to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Israel’s president, who largely fills ceremonial tasks but is often a respected veteran politician, is selected by the Knesset. The remarks were sharply criticized by several Knesset members in the ruling coalition. Zeev Elkin, a Likud Knesset member, said he “regretted to see that Peres is returning to his days during the signing of the Oslo Accords, and proposes to once again gamble on the security of Israelis and hope for the best.” Peres, as foreign minister for Yitzhak Rabin’s 1992-1995 government, initiated and pushed the at first secret negoti-

ations with the Palestinians, which formally became known as the Oslo Accords for the Scandinavian city in which they were first hammered out. Elkin said Peres had opposed the successful Israeli strike on the suspected Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. Had Peres’ warning been heeded then, Elkin said, “Saddam Hussein would have fired missiles of a different kind at Israel” during the Gulf War, Elkin said. At the time, Peres was leader of the opposition Labor Party. The statements were “an unabashed and explicit attack on the official policy of the government of the State of Israel, which was elected by the people. The people did not elect the president,” Gilrad Erdan, minister for environmental protection, also told Israel Army Radio on Friday. The chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky, also criticized Peres for publicly expressing his opinion. “In the State of Israel, the president has a symbolic role, whereas the prime minister and the cabinet members are the decision makers. Sticking to this division is particularly important on such important issues,” Sharansky told Israel Army Radio.


Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

August 24, 2012 | The Jewish Press | 15

The mountains may move...

In memoriam FLORA L. TELPNER

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Ki Tetzei The Sidrot of Deuteronomy are so rich that the reader is overwhelmed and the preacher is overcome by an avalanche of ideas. But the Haftarot before Rosh HaShanah are particularly rich as well. They rival the Torah passages for beauty, power, and religious significance. These Haftarot, read between Tisha B’av and Rosh HaShanah, are taken from Deutero-Isaiah. From early times, the work of this prophet, whose name we do not know, was appended to the Book of Isaiah of Jerusalem, so that the chapters continue as if they were the integrated work of one poet-teacher. It is no religious infidelity to recognize that these chapters come from the time of the Exile, not from Isaiah of Jerusalem. The prophet was a keen observer of the tides in the affairs of men. He recognized that Cyrus of Persia (whom he dares to call the Lord’s Messiah!) and his men would soon bring Babylonia to its knees. Cyrus would become the overlord and Persia the new mistress of the Middle East. And the prophet knew that Cyrus would permit the exiled Hebrews to return to their land. Cyrus saw this as a ploy to maintain some strength in an outpost of his far-flung empire. But Isaiah of the exile interpreted the event as the Lord’s loving restoration of Judah. So much for the geopolitical situation. But what is marvelous about these Haftarot and the chapters from which they are lifted is the elevated poetry in which they are written. The prophet speaks in the most tender and loving terms. He consoles, he comforts. He offer the Lord’s sympathy for the years of captivity and exile. And he promises return, return to the Land of Israel, return to glory, return to honor among nations, return to the Lord’s love.

Community Playhouse

Theater review JESSIE WEES August: Osage County, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for best play. Now playing at the Omaha Community playhouse, lives up to its critical acclaim. From start to finish, August: Osage County is a play that tells the story of a dysfunctional American family dealing with the disappearance of the patriarch of the family. This play delves into the lives of the Weston family and how with time everything in the family comes to the surface and no character holds back. As the audience meets each member of the Weston family, it is hard to imagine that these are not real life characters acting out their story in front of you. Each cast member fully embraces their character, especially the women of the play. Susan Baer Collins and Moira Mangiameli, who portray Violet Weston, the head matriarch of the family and Barbara Fordham, her oldest daughter steal the show with every scene they are in. Along with the wonderful actors in this play, it wouldn’t have worked without the direction of Amy Lane. As a director, Lane was able to bring this story of the Weston family to life thru seamless transitions between scenes and making a story filled with many elements that come together. I would recommend seeing this play because as an audience member, you get sucked into the play and the story line makes you want to know more about the Weston family. From the dark humor to wanting to find out what has happened to this family in the past and how this has affected them today, it is a truly an enjoyable show that you will be talking about for days. August: Osage County, will be performed at the Omaha Community Playhouse until Sept. 16. For more information about show times and to order tickets, please call 402.553.0800 or visit www.omahaplayhouse.org.

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press office is closed Monday, Sept. 3 for Labor Day and Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 17 and 18, for Rosh Hashanah, and Wednesday, Sept. 26 for Yom Kippur; the deadline for the Sept. 7 issue is Wednesday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. and the deadline for the Sept. 21 issue is Wednesday, Sept. 11, 9 a.m. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

Flora L. Telpner passed away Aug. 16 at age 80 at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Services were held Aug. 19 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Council Bluffs followed by a reception at Walnut Hill Reception Center. She was preceded in death by parents, Joseph and Ida Schrier and husband, Zeph Telpner. She is survived by her son, Joel Telpner of New York, daughter, Deborah Telpner of Council Bluffs, son, David Telpner of Denver, and son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Christina Telpner of LaVista; grandchildren: Rachel Telpner and Aliyah Telpner; and brother, Seymour Schrier of Lincoln. Born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Lincoln, she moved to Council Bluffs at the time of her marriage. She graduated from the University of Nebraska. A former Omaha and Council Bluffs school teacher, she was also a long-time employee of Woodmen of the World Insurance Co. For many years she was a volunteer for Jennie Edmundson Memorial Hospital. She was a former President and Woman of the Year of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA), Gold Star Chapter, and currently was a board member of B’nai Israel Synagogue in Council Bluffs. Memorials may be made to B'nai Israel Synagogue, 618 Mynster St., Council Bluffs, IA 51505.

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ROSALYA ZINKOV Rosalya Zinkov passed away on Aug. 20. Services were held on Aug. 21 at Beth El cemetery. Rosalya was a loving mother and grandmother and will be missed very much by her family and friends.

Boys allegedly sexually abused at Jewish summer camp in N.Y. by JTA NEWS STAFF NEW YORK (JTA) -- New York State Police are investigating allegations of sexual abuse by a truck driver making a delivery to a Jewish camp. Surveillance video captured footage of a kosher-food truck driver entering bunks for seventh-and eighth-grade boys at Camp Shalva near South Fallsburg, N.Y., early on Aug. 8, according to the newspaper. The suspect is accused of molesting several of the campers. Unnamed sources told the Post that the boys reported the incidents in the morning to supervisors of the Orthodox Jewish camp but were told not to tell their parents. The 5 Towns Jewish Times reported that the alleged intruder is Golden Taste employee Yoel Oberlander, a convicted molester and registered sex offender from Monsey, N.Y., who pleaded guilty to molesting an 11-year-old girl in 2002. He was sentenced to six years of probation.

Nebraska STATEWIDE CLASSIFIEDS PREGNANT? CONSIDERING Adoption? Call us first. Living expenses, housing, medical, continued support afterward. Choose adoptive family of your choice. Call 24/7. Adopt Connect, 1-866-743-9212. BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. steffensbankruptcylaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING works! Place your 25 word ad into thousands of Nebraska homes for $210. Contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6449 or call 1-800-369-2850. LOOKING FOR the classic car, truck or motorcycle of your dreams? Midwest Classic Cars website is your Midwest connection to classic vehicles for sale. Need to sell a classic vehicle? For only $25, your ad with photos will run until sold! Call this newspaper today for more information or call 1-800-369-2850. 22ND ANNUAL Kite Flight in Callaway, Nebraska, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-2. Professional and amateur fliers, kite vendors and concessions. Info: 308-836-2855 or call awaykiteflight.com. AFFORDABLE PRESS Release service. Send your message to 175 newspapers across Nebraska for one low price! Call 1-800-369-2850 or www.nebpress.com for more details. DROUGHT: HELP your animals cope by feeding MSE. Call 866-615-0299 to get information on the best kept secret in livestock industry. WALK-IN BATHTUBS starting at $2,500.00. 30 year established plumbing company offering several models and styles. Complete installation. References available. Buy American. Jiffy Jet Plumbing, 402-896-2966.

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The Jewish Press is looking for a full-time Sales Executive to sell advertising in our newspaper. Qualifications and duties: • Excellent interpersonal and telephone skills. • Researching new businesses and making presentations • to solicit ads. • Maintaining contact with current advertisers. • Join business networking groups to search for new • clients. • Work with bookkeeper to ensure all accounts are • correct. • Ability to function independently, have flexibility, • maintain confidentiality, personal integrity and the ability • to work effectively and professionally with the staff • of the Jewish Press, the Jewish Federation of Omaha • and it’s agencies’ employees. • Communicate in an understandable manner with staff • and visitors to the Press, as well as with advertisers, • subscribers and staff in the building. • Ability to manage multiple tasks. If interested, please send your resume and cover letter to: Annette va de Kamp Wright at avandekamp@jewish omaha.org or fax it to 402.334.6484. We are an equal opportunity employer; background check required.

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16 | The Jewish Press | August 24, 2012

Struggling to maintain normalcy near the troubled Sinai border by BEN SALES for free, depending on how much cash they have on hand. raised four children. KEREM SHALOM BORDER CROSSING, Israel (JTA) -- She knows many of them by name. “I ask myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ “ she said. “The sitDrivers who reach the end of Israeli Route 232 purportedly “I had a dream to open a rest stop for soldiers,” said Muyal, uation is scary. I don’t think anything is clear. I’m here alone. face a choice: A sign points them either Where would I go?” northwest, toward the Rafah border crossBorn in Tunisia, Muyal moved to Israel ing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, or with her family when she was 10, in 1960. southeast, toward the Nitzana border crossSince then she has lived in this area for the ing between Egypt and Israel. past 40 years, in the nearby town of Yesha. But the intersection -- located at the meetDespite the frequent threats of violence, ing point of Israel, Gaza and Egypt -- is realMuyal declares confident faith in the Israeli ly a dead end; drivers cannot proceed in army -- “an army I’m proud of.” either direction. Rafah has been under While Muyal has inserted herself in the Egyptian control since Israel’s disengagemiddle of the army’s activities, the nearby ment from Gaza in 2005. And a year ago, Kibbutz Kerem Shalom less than three Israel closed off the road that runs to miles away is striving to continue a normal Nitzana, along the country’s southern border. routine despite the unrest across the border. What drivers do meet at the end of the The area was the site of the 2006 kidnaproute is a simple red and white roadblock. ping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by To the left is the beginning of Israel’s secuHamas, the terrorist organization that govrity fence on the border of the Sinai Desert erns Gaza. that is set to be completed this year. To the Now the concrete wall that divides Gaza right is Israel’s Kerem Shalom border crossand Israel surrounds two-thirds of the kibing with Gaza, which is closed to civilians. butz. Bright murals cover parts of the wall, Next to that is a concrete wall separating but most of it remains gray. Gaza and Israel. Litter dots the immediate “When you live here, you don’t see it,” area. Ofer Kissin, who heads the kibbutz’s securiThe Israeli army has stepped up security ty, said of the wall. “We’ve returned to rouin the area since Egypt’s revolution began tine life. It takes time, but we’re used to sitlast year, and Israel issued a travel warning uations like this.” Residents of Kerem Shalom, near where Gaza, Egypt and Israel meet, have painted bright picthis month regarding the Sinai. On Aug. 5, Kissin said that five families had recently tures on the concrete wall that surrounds two-thirds of their kibbutz. Credit: Ben Sales terrorists killed 16 Egyptian soldiers and joined the kibbutz, bringing its total to 30. crossed into Israel down the road from the Kerem Shalom formerly a bookkeeper. “It’s a challenge, not like sitting in an The collective nature of the kibbutz helps residents weather crossing, where they were killed by Israeli security forces. office. There’s sand, dust, heat, and it’s great.” the attacks, Kissin says, but the true source of the communiBut across the street from the concrete wall, one woman Muyal has moved her truck around Israel’s South, at one ty’s secure feeling comes from the military presence nearby. sits smiling in a purple food truck. Bold letters on the side of time stationing it in Gush Katif, Israel’s former settlement “The army takes care of us,” he said. “Kids run around the truck advertise: “To soldiers with love, from the loving bloc in Gaza. here at night.” Tami Mommy.” “A sniper could hit me right here,” she said, pointing Kissin declined to give specifics on the Israel Defense Tami Muyal, 62, has been operating the truck for 12 years, beneath her brown, curly hair at a slightly wrinkled fore- Forces’ presence around Kerem Shalom, nor did the IDF including the past 3 1/2 years in this location. head. provide details on its operations there. “There’s no way a soldier gets to me and leaves hungry or Muyal doesn’t feel safe where she is on the Egyptian borMuyal also says the IDF allows her to stay calm even while thirsty,” she said. der, either. She says the border crossing has seemed aban- working at the intersection of two tense borders. From 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Muyal offers soldiers anything doned, save for increased Israeli army traffic, since trouble “The soldiers are brave, they love the land, nothing scares from popsicles to baguette sandwiches at a discount or even began in the Sinai last year. She lives in the area, where she them,” Muyal said. “I’m not ready to give in.”

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