Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Tentative ceasefire near Eilat
September 2, 2011 3 Elul 5771 Vol. 90 | No. 51
This Week
Beth El to celebrate 20 years at “new” building Page 6
Temple Israel student living up to a man’s obligations Page 7
by MARCY OSTER the Washington Times reportJERUSALEM (JTA) -- For ed that a previously unknown now, it seems, a tentative group affiliated with al-Qaida ceasefire is holding. based in the Sinai may have But after five days of viocarried out the attacks. lence that saw a deadly terrorAll the while, rocket crews ist attack near Eilat, intense in Gaza fired barrages at rocket fire from Hamas-consouthern Israel, hitting homes trolled Gaza into southern and a yeshiva and killing an Israel and new tremors in the Israeli man in Beersheba. In Egypt-Israel relationship, all, more than 100 rockets Israeli leaders are keeping an were fired at Israel. anxious eye on the state’s Facing escalation, all sides southern borders. tried to tamp things down by It is still unclear who exactearly this week. ly was behind the Aug. 18 Israeli Defense Minister attacks that left eight Israelis Ehud Barak, who immediately dead when terrorists after the Aug. 18 attacks said ambushed two buses and two they “demonstrate the weakcars on Israeli roads near the ening of Egypt’s control over southern resort town of Eilat, the Sinai Peninsula and the Eight Israelis were killed when Palestinian gunmen fired at Israeli vehicles, including this on the Egyptian border. Three expansion of terrorist activity bus, near the Egyptian border on Aug. 18, 2011. Egyptian soldiers were inadthere,” issued a rare ShabbatCredit: Ariel Hermoni/Israeli Defense Ministry vertently killed in the chaos as day statement apologizing for some of the assailants fled into Forces said the gunmen came from ing targets in Gaza, killing leaders of the Egyptian soldiers’ deaths. Gaza but traveled through Egypt’s the group and blowing up their infraEgyptian territory. On Sunday, Egypt helped broker a The Egyptian soldiers’ deaths poorly guarded Sinai Peninsula to structure. The IDF carried out more ceasefire between Israel and Hamas sparked angry demonstrations in reach their target some 150 miles than 15 strikes in Gaza, and several in Gaza, and on Monday Egyptian Cairo, where crowds converged on away, near Eilat. The Gaza terrorist Palestinians were reported killed. Foreign Minister Mohammed But the Popular Resistance Kamel Amr made clear that recallthe Israeli Embassy, ripping down group, the Popular Resistance the Israeli flag and calling on Egypt’s Committee, which works closely Committees denied involvement, as ing Egypt’s ambassador from Israel leaders to recall their ambassador to with Hamas, originally was identi- did Hamas -- rare for terrorist groups was never on the table. fied as responsible for the attacks, normally eager to take credit for Israel. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Meanwhile, the Israel Defense and Israeli jets responded by pound- attacks against Israelis. On Tuesday, Continued on page 2
The Partnership Revolution by KIM GOLDBERG P2G Arts Taskforce Chair The Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership Unit officially launched the new ‘Partnership2Gether’ (P2G) brand during the 5th Partnerships
Along with this new brand, dynamic changes are taking place in the Western Galilee/US Central Area Consortium Partnership. P2G Co-Chairs, Zoe Riekes (returning U.S. Central Area Consortium
9/11 attack was a call to service and tragic destiny Page 12
A common bond by GLORIA SHUKERT JONES You’ve heard the expression, “Truth is Stranger than Fiction,” which often defies the imaginations of even the most prolific best-seller novelists. Every day in the media, we hear accounts about
their activities, one of which is visiting with an assigned resident. When Wine paired resident Milt Saylan with Trey Payne, a Senior at Millard South, she had no idea she was laying the groundwork for one of those rare happenings.
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
This Month Rosh Hashanah See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
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The new ‘Partnership2Gether’ logo was officially unveiled in Jerusalem Conference in Tel Aviv this summer. The new name replaces Partnership 2000/Partnership with Israel, which had been in use for the past 15 years in 550 communities and 45 Partnerships.
Chair) and David Laron (Western Galilee Chair), said to ensure a flourishing future the program will strive to expand its network, impact, awareness, and support by 10 times within the next three years. For example 500 teenagers are currently engaged, the goal is to multiply that number by ten. That would increase involvement to 5,000 teens. Quite a big multiplier! How can that type of growth happen? How can this be achieved when dealing with tightened budgets, leadership changes, and a complex system of connections, programs, and communities? Both Zoe Continued on page 2
Trey Payne and Milt Saylan siblings being reunited after a 50 year separation, or someone discovering a huge amount of money in a trunk hidden in the attic. These incidents are viewed by some as luck, karma, or mere coincidence. But whatever they may be, they certainly qualify as human interest stories. Such were the recent conclusions of Lois Wine, in charge of the volunteer program at the Home. One of her duties is to recruit teenage volunteers from local high schools to assist the residents in some of
When Saylan was a young man, he wanted to join the Navy. He completed his basic training at the Naval base, Camp Dodge, in Johnson, Iowa. During the initial introductions and small talk between Saylan and Payne, the young volunteer happened to mention that he had just completed basic training before he even graduated. That’s when Saylan remembered it was the exact same place he started his own Naval career, back in the 1930’s. Wine, Continued on page 2