September 18, 2015

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

Yachad thanks Baxter

September 18, 2015 5 Tishrei 5776 Vol. 96 | No. 1

This Week

Leadership Experience in Israel Page 5

Moldova and its Jews Page 7

by KAREN GUSTAFSON, MS, NCC, LIMHP JFS Executive Director Most of us who have been around Omaha for a long time know Baxter as a premier car dealership in the area. And, who cannot miss the fact that the NEW upcoming UNO arena in the Aksarben Village Area will be called Baxter Arena. So, why is this relevant to us right now?

I have recently learned of the generosity of Baxter, in a much smaller manner than the new arena, but in a much more personal and touching way.

When you are taught to make lemonade out of lemons, and things don’t go your way, you jump to action by creatively trying to solve your problem. This is what happened to JFS recently. Here is the story…..

Every year JFS’s Yachad members, who are all developmentally delayed adults in the Jewish community, go on a summer camping trip to Mahoney State Park.

They pack their belongings, roll out their blankets, cook their meals, roast marshmallows and sing karaoke. Each year our members talk about the upcoming camping trip, reminisce about last year and decide what activities they want to do this

Yachad members and staff at Mahoney State Park year. But, it all starts with a way to get everyone out to Mahoney as a group, so that the fun can begin the minute we leave our beautiful JCC Campus.

This year started the same as every other year; the RBJH bus was reserved, cabin reservations made and food was purchased. Except, this year, with nine days to go before the awesome camping trip was to commence, JFS received a call that the RBJH bus was not going to be available for us as planned.

With some quick thinking and only

Mike Kelly writes the book on Omaha Why we should all come to Campaign Cabaret Page 8

Inside Point of view Synagogues

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

8 10

by OZZIE NOGG Forty-five years ago, fresh out of college in Cincinnati, Mike Kelly landed a job at the Omaha World-Herald. His first assignments took him to City Hall, local courts and crime scenes. Kelly later spent a decade as sports editor and sports columnist at the OWH. Since 1991, his general-interest column in the news section of the Herald is the page readers often flip to first. Kelly loves to tell stories, especially about Omaha. And now he’s telling them in a book, which he will talk about at the Mainstreeters luncheon on Monday, Sept. 21.

“The World-Herald has published books on such topics as Husker football, Rosenblatt Stadium, war veterans, Creighton basketball, Jeff Koterba cartoons and

Warren Buffett,” Kelly explained. He was the ‘lead writer’ five years ago on

$70 written into our Grant for transportation (From the Special DonorAdvised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation), Jan McCarthy, JFS Yachad Coordinator, began calling car rental businesses, and I called a friend.

This friend was Diana Olsen, who works for Baxter and whose family used to own the Ron Olsen dealership by Westroads Mall, until they were purchased by….Baxter.

I explained our dire situation to Diana and she put us in touch with

Kurt Rinke, Internet Sales Manager at Performance Ford on 144th and I80 (NOW Baxter Ford….as of Labor Day Weekend).

Kurt quickly jumped in and donated the use of a 10-passenger bus to us for the weekend. Even when we offered to fill the tank upon returning, he said: “This is on me.”

I cannot tell you how relieved we were to have transportation to Mahoney. We were still without a lift to transport those in wheelchairs around the park throughout the weekend, but we were able to make do the best we could with what we had.

My goal with this article is to thank Kurt, Diana and the entire family of Baxter Car Dealerships for their open generosity.

But more importantly, I want their graciousness to be recognized. I want all of you to know what great community partners they are….in both large and small ways.

Kurt asked for nothing in return, but this recognition is my small gift to him. Now…let’s go support that arena and maybe buy a car?

Chocolate Lovers, it’s your day!

by RACHEL MARTIN Vice-President of Public Relations, NCJW-Omaha Section It’s the sweetest time of the year as the National Council of Jewish

late Festival brought in more than 5,000 chocolate lovers! With more vendors this year, NCJW has expanded its space at the Conference Center.

Women (NCJW) Omaha Section prepares to host the 5th Great Omaha Chocolate Festival on Oct. 4 from noon to 4 p.m. at the La Vista Conference Center, located at 12520 Westport Parkway (I-80 and Giles Road) with plenty of free parking.

Peanuts Cartoonist Charles Schulz said it best, “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.” His philosophy was confirmed as last year’s Choco-

Chocolate Festival Chairperson Roxanne Kahn explained that this year will include many new features such as the Kid Zone, where children can play games, do coloring activities, get their faces painted, and, of course, have chocolate.

“There will also be a new Baker Candies Amazing Race activity where participants can fill out the questionnaire with fun facts about the Festival in order to receive a Continued on page 3

Mike Kelly one of the newspaper’s first books, Big Red Rivals, the year Nebraska joined the Big Ten and left longtime rivals behind. “I was honored this past February when editors asked me to write a book about Omaha,” he said. “It will include some history, but it’s mainly about Omaha today.”

Dan Sullivan is the book’s editor, and Christine Zueck-Watkins created its attractive graphic design.

“Dan and Christine are wonderful collaborators and have produced, edited and designed nearly all of the Continued on page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

Schwalb Center offers study abroad trip

by KASEY DAVIS of Fez and Meknes, as well as their southern counterpart, Staff Assistant, Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies Marrakech, the beautiful towns of Asila, Chefchaoun, and The Schwalb Center for Israel & Jewish Studies is pleased Ifrane, the archaeological ruins of Volubilis, and many more. to announce a community trip to Morocco in Summer 2016.

The full cost of the trip (including flights) is estimated at The group we hope to lead $4,200-$4,500 (exact price will include both students will depend on the size of the group). While we are (enrolled in a Study working on securing a Abroad class) and comgroup rate for the flight munity members (who from Omaha to Morocco have the option of auditing and back, community the class or simply joining the trip). The dates for the members have the option Moroccan trip are May 10to choose their own flight 22, 2016. The tour will be itinerary. led by Dr. Moshe Your opportunity to find Gershovich (Professor of out more about this tour is History and Director of fast approaching. The Schwalb Center is hosting the Schwalb Center, as well a preliminary meeting on as a scholar of modern Monday, Sept, 21, from 4Moroccan history). The A view of a small, nondescript synagogue (in tan) near the mellah 5 p.m. in ASH 202. We trip is entitled Morocco: in Marrakech. A Jewish family still owns the synagogue, but it's no will be going into further Muslim-Jewish Heritage.

Credit: TimesofIsrael.com longer open to the public. detail on the itinerary, We are currently working on the final details of the trip’s itinerary. Among the class and costs, and answer any questions you may have places we’ll visit are Morocco’s capital, Rabat, the about the trip. For more information, please contact us at Mediterranean port of Tangier, the northern imperial cities 402.554.2788 or email unoschwalbcenter@unomaha.edu.

Livingston Foundation Fund grant applications

by JANET HENTHORN Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation The Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation Fund is a donor-advised fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. The Foundation administers the Fund and an advisory board is responsible for recommending grants from the Fund. The annual meeting of the advisory board will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015.

The primary interest of the Milton S. and Corinne N. Livingston Foundation Fund is to support Jewish institutions and projects. The Fund has a secondary interest in supporting health, education, cultural and social services in the Omaha Metropolitan area.

Grant requests should be submitted in writing, using the appropriate forms, to Janet Henthorn, Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, 333 S. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154.

Guidelines are as follows: 1. Grants will be limited to organizations located within the Omaha Metropolitan area and the State of Israel.

2. No grants will be given for capital or endowment campaigns.

3. Organization representatives may contact Howard Epstein at 402.334.6466 or hepstein@jewishomaha.org, or Janet Henthorn at 402.334.6551 or jhenthorn@jewishoma ha.org for a grant application form. The deadline for submission of grant applications is Friday, Nov. 6.

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Time of reflection and celebration at Temple Israel

by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel Rosh Hashanah is behind us and we are in a period of reflection as we prepare for Yom Kippur. This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of return. Historically this Shabbat was only one of two Shabbatot where the rabbi would deliver a sermon. We will mark Shabbat Shuva in two meaningful ways this year. First, on both Friday evening and Saturday morning, we will study text on Race in America, an issue of great concern and very topical these days. Also, Friday evening we will be privileged to hear from Doris Moore, MS, NCC, CPC, LIMHP and Founder/CEO of the Center for Holistic Development, Inc. The mission of the Center for Holistic Development, Inc. is “serving a diverse community by providing holistic behavioral healthcare and education to individuals and families.”

After services on Shabbat Shuva on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m., we invite you to help in our annual High Holy Days Mitzvah Program. This year we will begin to build a Monarch Butterfly Garden at Temple Israel. Bring a change of clothes if you are coming straight from services. Also, if you have shovels, be sure to bring those along.

Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. we will hold our annual Memorial Service, at the Schrager Memorial Chapel, Temple Israel Cemetery - 6412 North 42 St. We will visit the graves of our loved ones so that we may remember and honor those in our past who inspire us to live our lives more fully in the future. Names of loved ones who have died since last Yom Kippur will be read aloud during this service. A memorial book will contain a printed list of the names of all loved ones remembered.

Kol Nidre Services will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22.

During the reciting of Kol Nidre, four families from Friedel Jewish Academy will be given the honor of holding a Torah scroll. Those families are Renee and Jeff Zacharia, Isabella Wright, daughter of Annette van de Kamp-Wright and Jeremy Wright, Beth Slovut and Lina Kogan.

Yom Kippur morning services on Sept. 23 will begin at 9 a.m. For the afternoon of Yom Kippur, we encourage everyone to stay for our afternoon of reflection and study. For those who would like to just sit and reflect on the day, the

Meditation Area will be open from, 12:30–1:30 p.m. and 2:30-3:30 p.m. Ken Freed will lead a discussion titled News Media and the Coverage of the Middle East and Iran – from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., based on his experiences in the Middle East as a journalist. His discussion will focus on the criticism, misunderstandings and evident confusion of how we view news coverage in the Middle East.

From 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. there will be four options: First, Moments of Remembrance, to prepare for Yizkor and to experience the comfort of being with others who have lost someone special in their lives. Marla Cohen, MS, NCC, LMHP, will help participants share important memories of the people they mourn. Please consider bringing a photograph or other memento that helps convey the essence of the person or people you mourn. This session is open to all who have suffered a loss in the last two years.

Next, a Yom Kippur Walk with Rabbi Brown, a chance to refresh and ready yourself for the rest of the day of Yom Kippur.

Also being offered during this time - At-one-ment: Beginning Again with Compassion and Peace, A Yom Kippur Meditation with Brett Bloom, a certified and registered Yoga instructor, who will guide us through a time of personal reflection with the use of meditation as we prepare for our afternoon of prayer.

Finally, Rabbi Aryeh Azriel will lead a discussion about the art exhibit, Sewing Stories, in the Simon Community Court.

Our afternoon study will conclude with a session from 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. - Gossip and Evil Speech... Forgive Me Today with Rabbi Sam Joseph.

Afternoon Services, Yizkor, Ne’ilah, and Havdalah will begin at 3:45 p.m. The afternoon service includes the reading of the Book of Jonah, recounting the importance of repentance and prayer. Yizkor celebrates the power to remember those who came before us. Ne’ilah means “closing the gate,” and we ask to be sealed in the Book of Life. After the Havdalah ceremony that ends this holiday, we hear a final shofar blast. We hope that families with children will return for Havdalah and a chance to wish each other a sweet new year.

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September 18, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 3

Friedel’s Second Language Program is about more than learning Hebrew

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN for Friedel Jewish Academy “Never mind how well spoken you might be now, you will never again be as adept with languages as the day you were born,” wrote Jeffrey Kluger, senior editor of TIME magazine’s science and technology reporting. “Indeed, the youngest person in any room is almost always the best linguist there, too. That talent fades fast,” he continued, “but well into your grammar-school years, your ability to learn a second -- or third or fourth -- language is still remarkable.

“That, it turns out, is very good for the brain,” Kluger reported in 2013. “New studies show that a multilingual brain is nimbler, quicker, better able to deal with ambiguities, resolve conflicts and even resist Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia longer.”

Friedel Jewish Academy Head of School, Beth Cohen, noted that “Beginning in kindergarten, our students learn Hebrew through instruction in an internationally-renown second language immersion program.” Developed by a team of writers and teachers in Montreal and in Israel, TaL AM, the Hebrew language arts and Jewish studies curriculum used at Friedel, is based on the notion that the best learning environment for children is one in which knowledge is acquired through a variety of activities using each of the five senses.

In addition to studying from textbooks, Friedel students use music, games, and visual aids to learn Hebrew and to develop an understanding of Jewish concepts and values. Students in each grade level spend 90 minutes of instruction per day speaking and hearing Hebrew. That includes instruction in Torah, the portion of the week, prayer, daily life, Shabbat, and holidays, according to Naama Arzi, Judaic studies coordinator and teacher at Friedel. She’s been teaching Jewish studies at Friedel for 14 years, 12 of them using the TaL AM program. Arzi teaches the Hebrew immersion course to first, third, fourth, and sixth graders.

In her third year teaching at Friedel, Sara Ben Shushan is the other Judaic studies teacher at Friedel. She teaches kindergartners (a pre-TaL AM curriculum), second and fifth graders.

Students learning Hebrew language and heritage literacy in the TaL AM program develop in a gradual and spiraled process, building new ideas and concepts atop an expanding foundation of knowledge. “The program gradually helps foster Jewish identity by allowing children to explore their Jewish roots and traditions in a fun and exciting manner,” according to TaL AM. “By making the study of Hebrew and Judaism relevant to the children’s everyday lives, the program enables them to develop a true appreciation of their heritage and understand the need for continued, lifelong Jewish study.”

Schools in Canada, the United States, Europe, South

Africa, South America, Australia, and Asia are using the TaL AM method of instruction.

Arzi has attended many of TaL AM’s teacher training institutes where some of the architects of the program work closely with teachers to develop mastery of the curriculum and its innovative brain-based learning methodology. “I found the institutes to be very beneficial,” said Arzi. “They teach method and research and best practices of how to maximize the learning in a given time.” Ben Shushan participated in a TaL AM teacher training program in Israel before starting to teach at Friedel.

“Intertwining the students’ lives with the language” makes Friedel’s second language education curriculum an immersion process. “The program teaches Jewish content, emotional connection, and real life connections to Hebrew,”

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Friedel students spell out the letter Shin. explained Arzi. “They hear it on the playground, they use it when they talk to me and Sara, when they go to prayer, when they listen to guest speakers, when they sing ‘Hatikva’ every morning. They tell jokes, make explanations, and argue in Hebrew. It’s a living language.”

According to Tara Williams Fortune of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, “There’s a well established positive relationship between basic thinking skills and being a fully proficient bilingual who maintains regular use of (two or more) languages. Bilingual children develop the ability to solve problems that contain conflicting or misleading cues at an earlier age, and they can decipher them more quickly…” explains Fortune.

Research shows, states the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), that learning a foreign language correlates with high academic achievement on standardized tests including SAT and ACT, the ability to hypothesize in science, high academic performance at the college level, and is beneficial in the development of reading ability. Early foreign language learning also improves cognitive abilities, memory skills, problem solving ability, and verbal and spatial abilities among other benefits.

“We strive to get to the point where all our students will be fluent,” said Arzi. Not only that, she added, but as an added advantage, “If you drop a Friedel sixth grader into Israel, they’ll be able to get along linguistically as well as culturally.”

Chocolate Lovers

Mike Kelly writes the book

Continued from page 1 Bakers Candies prize introducing their new flavor, whitechocolate strawberry,” Kahn said. “We will also have a new option to cast a vote for your favorite chocolate item to be entered into a raffle for exciting prizes from each vendor.”

More than 20 vendors are returning with chocolate, candy, baked goods, breads, rolls, popcorn, frozen treats, chocolate milk, personal beauty shops and more.

Students from the Iowa Western Community College Bakery and Pastry Arts Program will perform baking demonstrations and hand out samples throughout the afternoon. Among the nearly 20 new vendors are boutiques, more popcorn, more chocolate specialists, more bakeries, pet supplies, and more personal beauty shops.

Reduced admission to the Chocolate Festival is available online at https://ticketriver.com/event/15153 and at Garbo’s Salons - Regency until the day of the event with three samples for children and five samples for adults.

Admission at the door is $5 for children (three samples) and $7 for adults (five samples). Additional sample tickets can be purchased during the Chocolate Festival, and products can be purchased directly from vendors.

Visit facebook.com/TGOCF and omahachocolatefestival.com for more details and continued updates. NCJW is still looking for volunteers to help on the day of the event. If you are available (and would like two free samples!) please contact Tina Meyers at 402.968.0352 or joeandtinameyers@cox.net.

Continued from page 1 World-Herald books, under the overall direction of Executive Editor Mike Reilly,” Kelly said. “I relied on my own columns for my initial research, as well as on my colleagues’ work. The book contains lots of pictures and plenty of whimsy, including a section of comments by people from elsewhere who praise Omaha and by others who disparage it.”

Kelly said the book, slated for November publication, covers much that makes Omahans proud: the national socio-economic and livability rankings that place Omaha at or near the top of various lists; our acclaimed Henry Doorly Zoo; the Chamber of Commerce Best-in-theNation Award; low unemployment; and Omaha’s top ‘“great value” rating by Kiplinger’s.

“Omaha still has problems and we’re working on them,” Kelly said. “But metro Omaha will soon reach the one million population milestone. The book examines that growth and shows why Omaha is a good place to live.”

Kelly speaks from personal truth. “I’ve embraced our great community since the day I arrived. My wife Barb and I raised our four children here. I love Omaha. I hope Omahans enjoy the book and will send copies to friends and relatives out-of-town -- so that people get a better picture of what Omaha is really like.”

The Sept. 21 Mainstreeters luncheon begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Auditorium.

The book’s title? “We’re still kicking around ideas, but it hasn’t been decided,” Kelly said. “It will be snappy and fun, like the book itself.”

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4 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

NCJW Board installations

by RACHEL MARTIN The installation ceremony concluded with Vice-President of Public Relations, some words of wisdom. “You all have busy, NCJW-Omaha Section important jobs ahead of you this year, but On Sunday, June 14, the National Council please remember to enjoy yourselves, work of Jewish Women Omaha Section gathered hard but have fun, and make friends,” to install the 2015-2016 board into their Friedman said. “But, most importantly, positions. NJCW members of all genera- know that lives of women, children and tions enjoyed a pot luck brunch before the families that you may never know will be installation ceremony.

Both the décor and the mood was bright and cheerful, as the Omaha S e c t i o n women were proudly installed into their board positions.

NCJW 2015-16 Board of Directors at installations on June 14, 2015 D e b b i e Friedman, Installing Officer, set the tone by positively touched by your efforts!” explaining that this installation “marks the Here’s wishing the NCJW Omaha section beginning of a new and exciting year.” many more years of success with the younger Friedman thanked the outgoing Officers generations working to make it their own.

NCJW 2015-2016 Board and Directors for their successful year of service and the Nominating Committee for President: Alice Klein; Community Service VP: Melinda Graham; Membership VP: Sonia selecting this year’s board.

She went on to explain the many duties Tipp; Public Affairs/Education VPs: Becki required by the NCJW board. “It is your Brenner and Deb Marburg; Fundraising VP: responsibility to help formulate policy, Jenny Meyerson; Public Relations VP: develop procedures and plans, and support Rachel Martin; Financial Secretary: Tippi group decisions, to ask questions and Denenberg; Corresponding Secretary: Jill respect each other’s input, and continuously Simon; Recording Secretary: Darlene Golbitz; Parliamentarian: Lisa Lewis; communicate with each other.”

Friedman explained that the board will Treasurer: Kelly Kirk; Directors: Linda serve as role models to others through their Fischer, Pam Friedlander, Jen Koom, Tina commitment as NCJW salespersons, by Meyers, Sherrie Saag and Leora Werner; encouraging newcomers to join, by making Nominating Committee: Holly Weill, Traci all members of the section feel included and Kugler, Bonnie Levinger, Jaime Nogg, Andi Willensky and Julie Martin. involved, and by having fun!

Take me out to the ballgame Mainstreeters enjoyed an evening at Werner Park as the Stormchasers played the Fresno Grizzlies. Harry Alloy, the chairman for this event stated, “It was a perfect evening of fun and comradery and the Chasers won!” Pictured are: Tootie Simon, left, Yvette Roffman, Jim Wax with his grandson Zack Stein.

Volunteers needed for B’nai B’rith Sukkah building

by DEB MARBURG Administrative Assistant, B’nai B’rith Henry Monsky Lodge In preparation for Sukkot, members of Henry Monsky Lodge #3306 B’nai B’rith will build and decorate sukkahs at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the Child Development Center and Friedel Academy.

The annual event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m.

Volunteers will meet at the Canteen area, outside the Youth Lounge in the Jewish Community Center. Monsky Lodge will supply the building materials and decorations for the sukkahs and will also provide a

Camping Jewish

pizza lunch for all volunteers, following the completion of the booths.

“Everyone is welcome to join us as we prepare for this festival on Sunday the 27th. It’s a great chance to have fun, do a mitzvah, meet some new people, and you even get lunch,” said Monsky Lodge President, Ari Riekes.

Since volunteers will be handling tree branches as they build sukkahs, they are encouraged to bring a pair of gloves to wear.

For more information about the event or to volunteer, please call Steve Riekes at 402.492.9800 or David Jacobs at 402.558.5300, or email bnaibrith@jewish omaha.org.

Organizations

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS There will be no session due to the the day of atonement – Yom Kippur Holy Day on Wednesday, Sept. 23 Wishing you “An easy

fast” and a healthy, happy New Year! For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@ jewishomaha.org.

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September 18, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 5

Incredible experiences in Israel in one month of return to Omaha for publication in the Jewish Press.

4. The applicant will participate in any required preparatory program Applying for an Israel Experience Grant is a simple one-page application. The applications are available on the Scholarships and Grants page of the Center for Jewish Life on the Jewish Federation of Omaha website at www.jewishomaha. org. Return completed applications to the Center for Jewish Life, 333 South 132nd Street, Omaha NE 68154.

Those in need of additional financial assistance can also apply for financial need-based scholarships. Scholarship information, deadlines and applications are also found as explained above.

The following article was written by a teen who participated in a program in the summer of 2015 and was a recipient of an Israel Experience Grant.

Leadership experience in Israel

by JORDAN SAAG and very outspoken. He had a singular view: traveled to Israel in the summer Israel’s survival at all costs. of 2015 on BBYO’s There were many teens in the group who International Leadership found this hard to take. They had more conSeminar in Israel. I chose this ciliatory, liberal views and they posed tough trip, among several offered, questions to this guy. But he would have because it seemed like a great none of it. His attitude and personality realtravel experience and I would ly entertained us. The encounter was memgain additional skills for my job as Aleph orable and showed, I think, the generational Gadol of the Omaha Cornbelt Council this divide present in today’s political viewyear. points.

The leadership component provided some added features not offered with other teen trips to Israel.

We had some extra opportunities, like spending the day with members of the Knesset. Our discussion sessions were so interesting, the educational aspect was really subliminal most of us didn’t even realize we were learning when, in fact, we really were.

Our conversations were sometimes intense, with our advisors choosing heavy subject matter like peace and equality. They told us they wanted to force us to question our beliefs and deepen our convictions.

With history all around us, there were many Jordan’s favorite speaker during his leadership seminar. opportunities for learning about all the past leaders of Israel; their He had a great line that he must have gotstrengths, weaknesses, successes and fail- ten from someone else, but it stuck with me ures. What motivated each of them? What because it shows the country’s diversity. drove them towards unparalleled achieve- “Not all Arabs are Muslim and not all ments? What gave them the courage, drive Israelis are Jewish.” and will to propel a new country forward?

The places I will remember the most We had discussion groups after dinner include the Sachne Thermal Springs in the about all that we were experiencing within lower Galilee. We swam the entire afternoon the context of the history of Israel’s leader- and then sunk our feet into pools with fleshship. The most interesting discussions made eating fish – biting our sore feet. Kabbalat us question the qualities of past leaders and Shabbat in Tsfat was remarkable for the how previous decisions and actions tie into lengths to which people can sing a religious current political, socio-economic, religious service. Harvesting beets on a Moshav one and racial issues. hot afternoon, knowing in our small way we One of our stops was a kibbutz that bor- were helping provide food to those less fordered both Syria and Lebanon. We had one tunate, was a great day. of our best geo-political discussions with the Our advisors ended our journey remindman pictured here with me. He was an ing us of all we learned about strong Jewish American from Cleveland and made aliyah leaders who fought for their convictions and in the 1960s. He shared his passion for the goals. They wanted us to be open-minded to defense of northern Israel and what it is like new perspectives on Israel’s domestic and to live alongside such a tumultuous border. international politics. They encouraged us He never even gave us his name, but he to return home with a new mindset about earned our immediate respect when he told what is important, what motivates us and us he had fought in no less than four Israeli about accomplishing our dreams despite wars. He was a hardliner; very right wing opposition and setback.

I

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by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Program Coordinator, The Center for Jewish Life Each year, many teens and young adults have the experience of a lifetime, traveling to Israel on a wide variety of programs.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha is proud to support these experiences through the Israel Experience Grant program.

The Israel Experience Grant is a onetime gift from the Federation for students in grades 9-12 or young adults ages 18 to 25 for an approved Israel experience. The grant is available to anyone in the Omaha Jewish community who meets the following requirements: 1. The applicant must be a resident of the Omaha metropolitan area 2. The applicant, or his/her family, is a donor in good standing to the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha 3. The applicant agrees to provide an article and pictures of the experience with-

Serving Generations…

6 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

Engagement

NCJW’s commitment

by RACHEL MARTIN provide for those unable to Vice-President of Public Relations, provide for themselves.

NCJW-Omaha Section On Aug. 12, the first day of The National Council of school for Jackson Jewish Women (NCJW) Elementary, Program Chair Omaha Section has donated Harriet Epstein led 20 NCJW-Omaha Section voltime and resources to Jackson unteers to distribute school Elementary School for the supplies to all 270 students as past ten years. The NCJW part of its mission to help the Omaha Section chose Jackson children at Jackson Elementary as its school partner based on its need for Elementary School. NCJW assistance. Throughout its Omaha Section buys the sup120-year history, NCJW has plies requested by the teachdemonstrated a profound ers for the students each year.

NCJW Omaha Section Member Sandy Epstein smiles as felcommitment to improving In addition to the supplies low member Helen Epstein hugs Jackson Elementary School the quality of life for women, provided thus far, NCJW Principal, Tynisha Northcutt. children, and families. While Omaha Section has purthis commitment has taken a variety of forms over the years, chased and delivered backpacks to the students in need. the central belief still stands that a democratic society must

PHILLIPS/RAZNICK Daniel Raznick and Sara Phillips announce their engagement to be married.

The bride-to-be earned her Master’s Degree in Education from the University of New Haven and will be pursuing a career as an Elementary School Teacher.

She is the daughter of Andy and Lori Phillips of Cleveland, OH. Her fiancé is an Architectural Designer with Pickard Chilton in New Haven, CT. He is the son of Jeanne Katelman and Jerry Raznick, and the grandson of Judith Stern and the late Richard Stern and the great-grandson of Lillian Schrager.

A summer wedding is being planned in New England.

Arab Americans look to Jews for help on Syrian refugees

by JACOB WIRTSCHAFTER AND RON KAMPEAS ANAHEIM, Calif. (JTA) -- Arab Americans advocating on behalf of Syrian refugees have found some unlikely allies in their effort to resettle families from the war-torn nation: influential Jewish groups.

Over the last few days, HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, launched a petition drive calling on President Barack Obama to swiftly open America’s gates to an additional 100,000 Syrians, and the president of the Union for Reform Judaism wrote to the president and congressional leaders calling for a coordinated international response.

“Our great nation must respond immediately by providing safety, food, shelter, refuge, and dignity,” wrote the Reform leader, Rabbi Rick Jacobs. “How can a nation built by refugees from political persecution turn our back on refugees fleeing religious and political persecution?”

Omar Hossino, the Washington-based Syrian American Council’s public relations director, singled out HIAS as being particularly helpful.

“HIAS has been consistently calling for more resettlement and pushing back against the discriminatory rhetoric opposing opening the doors to Syrian refugees,” he said.

This week, HIAS president Mark Hetfield held a conference call with American Jewish organizational officials to talk about his agency’s decision to join with Arab-American leaders in critiquing U.S. policies that limit the numbers of refugees settled in the United States to about 70,000 per year.

Only about 1,500 Syrian refugees have been admitted since the start of the civil war in 2011. Obama announced Thursday that the United States soon would take in 10,000

refugees, but Hetfield said that number was inadequate.

“We are dealing with a global humanitarian crisis to which the entire world must respond,” he said in a statement issued within hours of Obama’s announcement. “If Germany can

Migrants and refugees with temporary documents board a ferry to take them to Athens at the port of the Greek island of Kos on August 14, 2015.

Credit: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images open its doors to 800,000 asylum seekers, the U.S., with a population four times the size of Germany’s and a history as a nation of immigrants and refugees, can take 100,000.”

Hetfield appealed to regional Jewish groups to act on the grassroots level to help absorb refugees.

“The Jewish voice is very influential here, very important and very much needed,” Hetfield said.

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Akram Abusharar, a Gaza-born U.S. immigration attorney who handles approximately 80 Syrian asylum cases per month, said HIAS’s involvement was a boost to his cause.

“The Jewish community has more capacity to move the politicians on this issue than the Arab-American community,” he told JTA in an interview.

Responding to lobbying from HIAS, the administration moved in February to provide exemptions for people who provided limited or insignificant support to Syrian rebels who do not pose a danger to the United States.

But more recently Hossino has tracked an uptick in opposition to bringing Muslim immigrants to the United States — especially among Republican candidates and members of congress. In television appearances last weekend, Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said the United States has “done its fair share” when it comes to the refugee crisis. Sen. Rand Paul asserted that the U.S. “can’t accept the whole world” and should adopt a cautious stance towards resettlement.

Hetfield, in the conference call, said concerns about the Muslim and Arab identity of the refugees are misplaced, reminding listeners of similar reasoning when some nations in the 1930s blocked Jewish immigration from Germany.

“To confuse the refugees with the people that they’re fleeing,” he said, “is to make the same mistake that kept Jews out.”

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September 18, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 7

Moldova and its Jews

by RICH JURO Editor’s note: this is part II of Rich and Fran Juro’s Moldova travel story. You are be able to read part I in the Sept. 4 issue of the Jewish Press.

The Strange Case of the Breakaway Republic of Transnistria When Moldova was breaking away from Russia in 19901992, the people living near the Dneister River that flows between Moldova and Ukraine declared their own new independent state, with the capital in Tiraspol. Many were of Russian ethnicity and wanted to rejoin what they felt were their close relations in language and culture. They also were afraid that Moldova would become a part of Romania. A brief war with Moldova ensued, 1500 people died, and the new republic was established.

Its official name is the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, but it is generally known as Trans-Dneister or Transnistria (as in “across the Dneister”). It covers 1600 square miles and has 500,000 people, about one-third each of who speak Russian, Ukrainian, or Moldovan (but here Moldovan is written in the Cyrillic alphabet).

In 23 years the only countries that have given official recognition to Transnistria are three other breakaway republics in the region: Nagorno Karabakh, which was an enclave of Armenians that broke away from Azerbaijan, and the only United Nations member to recognize it is Armenia; and South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia and would like to be annexed by Russia. The four breakaway republics are considered “post-Soviet frozen conduct zones”. They are friends with each other and have formed the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations. Not quite NATO but it’s all they have.

Although Russia has not officially recognized Transnistria, there are 1350 Russian troops permanently stationed there. In 2006 the people of Transnistria voted to join Russia, but Russia has not acted on it, probably because you have to go across about 500 miles of Ukraine to get from Russia to Transnistria. However, if Russia ever annexes Odessa, the big Ukrainian city on the Black Sea that is only 60 miles from Tiraspol, it could be a different ending. A few months ago, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to suspend “military cooperation” with Russia, which means it will be very difficult for Russia to resupply its armed forces in Transnistria. Another possibility is for Russia to bring its supplies and replacement soldiers through Moldova to Transnistria, but that would be difficult if not impossible given Moldova’s landlocked location and westward leanings.

So it’s possible Transnistria may become the next boiling point between Russia and Ukraine. Stay tuned…

Visiting Transnistria is a challenge! First, you have to get to Moldova, which is a small challenge in itself since it has very little tourist infrastructure. We were able to arrange on the Internet for a local guide, Oleg, with good references. In Chisinau we told Oleg that we wanted to tour Transnistria (10 years ago we went to the breakaway country of Nagorno Karabakh via a Russian military helicopter from Yerevan, Armenia, but that’s another story). Oleg advised us that it was possible to make a day trip from Chisinau, but no more.

We set out early one morning in Oleg’s small car, hoping it was more dependable than it looked.

At the ominous border crossing, which had Russian tanks and other military equipment, Oleg arranged for a 24-hour entry card to Transnistria. There’s no visa needed for a oneday visit! He told us, “Don’t lose this or you won’t be able to leave.” Since neither the USA nor any other country has diplomatic relations, violating a Transnistrian regulation or getting arrested is not recommended. There is no Embassy you can appeal to, and the local hoosegow is reputedly not too pleasant. Oleg said we could talk to the Moldovan and

Chisinau Monumentto Pogrom Transnistrian border guards, but that it would be unwise to take pictures of, or say anything to, the Russian soldiers.

Besides being dangerous to your health, these quasi-KGB guys usually ask foreigners for “admission fees”. Oleg had done this border crossing a few other times so we were allowed in after about 15 minutes and without having to pay bribes.

The nation has its own currency, the Transnistrian ruble, but it’s not accepted anywhere else. You can’t pay for anything with a credit card. But right inside the border in the capital of Tiraspol was the large Sheriff (pronounced as in

Omar Sharif) Supermarket. Sheriff sponsors the national soccer team and built the stadium. It made me proud to be a former supermarket owner. Not only was there a large variety of goods for sale but there was an ATM that dispensed Russian rubles. There was also an exchange office where we changed some US dollars for Transnistrian rubles.

Apparently, the best buy, like in Moldova, was brandy (I wished I liked cognac or brandy).

Transnistria has its own Constitution, Parliament, flag and anthem. The flag is complete with a Communist hammer and sickle. We had heard that the best jobs involved smuggling drugs and weapons, money laundering, human trafficking, and other nefarious occupations introduced by Russian criminals. This may be true, but the people we met were friendly and welcoming. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch of local specialties at, of course, Hotel Russia.

Oleg gave us a tour of Tiraspol. The architecture is mostly old Soviet-style, depressing gray buildings.

There is a large statue of Lenin, WWII memorials, and lots of Orthodox churches. We visited the Minsk shopping center, which has dozens of small stores offering everything but what we wanted: souvenir hats or Tshirts.

There is also a Holocaust memorial on the banks of the Dneister River, reminding visitors of the hundreds of thousands of Romanian and Ukrainian Jews who were marched to Transnistria, most of whom died of starvation, shooting by Romanian or German soldiers, or later in the Central European death camps.

We drove by a former synagogue that is now a boxing club.

Oleg didn’t know if there were any functioning synagogues in Tiraspol, although I read that there is at least one each in both in Tiraspol and in Bendery, the second largest city. I was unable to find out how many Jews live in Transnistria today.

We crossed the border into Moldova without incident, careful not to overstay our 24 hour pass. As we were driving back through Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, it appeared now to be a fairly normal place. We realized we had spent the day in a really strange country.

NCJW announces Becki Brenner as State Policy Advocacy Chair

by RACHEL MARTIN Vice-President of Public Relations, NCJW-Omaha Section Alice Klein, Board Chair of the Omaha Section of National Council of Jewish Women, is pleased to announce that Becki Brenner has been selected to represent Nebraska as the State Policy Advocacy Chair. She will assume the responsibility of advocating and communicating with members on issues identified by the National Council.

While working with coalition groups and leaders in the State, Brenner will focus on advocacy efforts, keep the membership engaged and committed to social justice, and organize a call to action on key issues. Finally, she looks to improve and safe guard the core principles identified by

the National Council of Jewish Women.

Brenner’s most recent positions include Executive Director of the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU), and past Chief Executive Officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio and Planned Parenthood Omaha and Council Bluffs. “These positions strengthened her ability to advocate and address disparities impacting women and families, political action, and the importance of civic engagement,” Klein said. “We are excited that as the Omaha Section moves into 2016, we will be poised to address voter issues, Unicameral action, and other challenges that impact our membership.”

8 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Why we should all come to Campaign Cabaret

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT attending a movie at the Jewish Film Festival, or going to a Jewish Press Editor concert with Mainstreeters. Sending your kids to summer It’s that time of year again: numerous volunteers and pro- camp (which really is the best in Omaha) or to Friedel fessional staff are hard at work to make the Annual Jewish Academy, reading the paper, or making a donation to Campaign for the Jewish Federation of Omaha a success. the Jewish Family Service food bank. Maybe you like to have Pledge cards are printed, phone calls are made, stories and lunch at the deli, or you enjoy helping build Sukkahs across photos are published in the paper and spread on social campus; maybe you take water aerobics or you’ve never media, and events are organized. As a community, we do missed a B’nai B’rith Bread Breakers lunch-with-speaker. this every year. Same old, same old, right?

The point is, there is a reason to be active in this commuWrong.

This year’s Campaign is anything but predictable. There is a fresh new wind, and one of the most obvious ways to learn that is by taking a close look at the event that is scheduled for October 11th of this year. It’s Campaign cabaret, at the Joslyn Art Museum, and there are a few important reasons why this is something you should not miss.

For one, it celebrates our community by pairing multi-generational members, working together, acting, singing and dancing together, and embodying what it means to be a part of campaign.

If we needed a reminder that Campaign is not only about raising money, this is it.

When people from various walks of life, from different synagogues, of different ages, come together for one single purpose, Back row: Julia Brodkey, left, Lillian Cohen, Samantha Sullivan, Abby Hack, Gayle magic happens. And the cool Goldstein, Charlotte Simon, Ellie Simon; Front row: Abbey Milder, Brittney Clignett, thing is, we all get to enjoy their Delaney Graham, Rosie Friedland and Elena Rosenblatt. hard work when we watch the show next month. nity, for every one, no matter your age, affiliation, or backNone of these people have to do this. They do it, because ground. It doesn’t matter where you were born: we all speak they care, and because they are willing to make the enor- the language of community. And if you’ve attended one of mous time commitment. Because they understand that, the Backyard Concerts this year, you know: getting together being a part of this community, means showing up and is just plain fun. You run into familiar faces, you get to catch doing your part. For them, it’s spending many late nights up with old friends and make new ones, and you support rehearsing songs. For others, it means being a member of our community at the same time. the Jewish Community Center. Sending your kids to dance And one more thing, take it from someone who’s heard class at our fabulous Cultural Arts department. Maybe it’s and seen the Campaign Cabaret volunteers practice more

Some of the dancers practicing their routines at the JCC theater.

Howard Borden, left, and Ben Taxman are two of the volunteers making the time commitment to rehearse at the Jewish Community Center. than once: this is not amateur hour. They are really, really good.

You should all come. Do it for these hard working volunteers, do it for the community, and do it for yourself. Be a part of something great, and I promise you: you won’t regret it. We’re in this together; let’s make sure we all support the Cabaret, and with it, the Annual Campaign. For every generation, Federation: it’s much more than a slogan. It’s who we are.

What I saw on the migrants’ road to Budapest

by JULIA KALDORI BUDAPEST (JTA) -- As our car rolled slowly toward Budapest, we saw a huge group heading in the opposite direction on the highway just outside the city: Hundreds of people quietly walking in the breakdown lane, marching toward freedom and peace.

I couldn’t tell if the other drivers were lifting their heads or not, but I couldn’t look away, paralyzed by a scene that reminded me of the stories my grandfather told me about his march from Budapest to the concentration camp at Mauthausen.

Barbed wire fences are again being built in Europe to stop the flow of refugees. Thousands of men, women and children drowned at sea on their way to Europe across the Mediterranean. In Budapest, refugees were led to trains they were promised would bring them to the West, but instead were taken to a so-called registration camp. In the Czech Republic, refugees had identification numbers written on their hands until the process was stopped amid a public outcry, the procedure too reminiscent of the tattooed numbers on concentration camp prisoners. And European political leaders, foremost among them Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, warn of the refugees overflowing Europe with

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their “different” cultures and religions.

These scenes from Europe in 2015 sound like echoes of the Holocaust. But Europe’s biggest humanitarian crisis since World War II makes many Europeans blind in their historical eye, which in turn provokes concern among European Jewish leaders. At a recent demonstration in Budapest against the inhumane handling of this crisis by the Hungarian government, anti-Semitic insults were shouted by right-wing counterdemonstrators. When a group of people is stigmatized and isolated in refugee camps and abused for the political purposes of right-wing parties, we are not far from the images of Auschwitz and Theresienstadt.

Recent events pose challenges to the Jewish communities of Europe, so it is perhaps not surprising that many Jewish leaders and individuals are actively involved in providing aid to the refugees. Personally, when I see how people are fished out of trains on the basis of their racial profile, or locked up in camps behind barbed wire, or used as scapegoats to maintain political power, on the one I’m hand grateful for my own life, for my healthy child, warm home and the love of family and friends.

But I also can’t sit at home and look away. As a journalist, I try to raise as much awareness as I can. And as a private

person I try to extend a hand, helping the refugees find a peaceful moment in the railway stations or on the highway from Budapest and Vienna.

Since last month, when I joined the volunteers -- many of them Jewish -- helping refugees in Budapest, I’ve come to realize how many of them need someone to listen to them as much as they need the medicine, blankets and kosher (hence, also halal) food that we distribute among them.

When you look into their eyes, their plight stops being a demographic issue.

I know they come from countries where anti-Semitism and terrorism are rampant. But the people determined to kill Jews, they don’t need this stream of refugees to infiltrate Europe. They were doing just fine before it started.

The refugees are mostly fleeing ISIS barbarism – our common enemy. If we Jews help them, our actions could build bridges to a more secure future. Maybe I’m being naive, but I need to be if I am to help make a bright future for my 6year-old son.

Julia Kaldori is the editor of Wina, a monthly magazine serving the Viennese Jewish community. She was born in Hungary.

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September 18, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 9

Emerging Voices: Money in American Politics Have you seen the movie The Wizard of Oz? Then surely you remember the intimidating apparitions of “Oz” that were shown to Dorothy and her friends in the Emerald City. Along with these fantastic illusions, do you also remember the mysterious voice warning Dorothy and her friends to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”?

JOSIE SLOVUT Unfortunately, the “man behind the Jewish Press curtain” does not just exist in movies.

Young Writer There is also a figure hidden behind the curtain of American democracy – it is the figure of capital, of the moneyed class.

Some people would tell you that money in politics has just been an issue since the infamous “Citizens United” ruling, in which the Supreme Court struck down all limits on the amount of money a person, corporation or union can give to a PAC, or Political Action Committee. Two months after the “Citizens United” decision, the Supreme Court’s ruling on Speechnow.org vs. FEC cleared the way for the creation of Super PACs. Super PACs are organizations that can accept and spend an unlimited amount of money to directly advocate for or against a political candidate, and they have a substantial impact on the outcomes of local and federal elections.

Of course, these rulings were of little benefit to less wealthy Americans, who often do not have any money left at the end of the month to donate to a PAC – let alone be able to exceed the federal limits – and it tremendously increased the political clout of wealthy Americans. “Citizens United” gave well-to-do Americans the ability to directly amplify their votes with money. This newly given opportunity was not ignored – between 2010 and 2014, outside spending on elections more than doubled, with the average donation being in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Citizens United was an unconcealed concession of politi-

cal power to the American capitalist class. However, even before “Citizens United”, the ‘upper class’ controlled our political system on a fundamental level in many subtle ways.

The clearest example of this concentration of power is through the media. According to a policy brief by Eli Noam, an economics professor at Columbia University Business School, “Worldwide, the US has the highest number of

[media] voices, but on a per capita basis it is actually quite low, due to its population size.” But how low is our number of media voices?

According to Business Insider in 2012, only six companies own ninety per cent of American mass media. This statistic indicates that mass media in the United States is concentrated into far too few hands. The types of issues that people are aware of, and the way we look at them, strongly correlate to how they are covered by the media. Furthermore, not everyone has access to the broader variety of sources available on the Internet. Communities of color, working class families, people with disabilities, the elderly, and the less educated are all demographics that have lagged in home broadband adaptation and are more reliant on broadcasting as a source of news.

It is also significant who actually makes it to the polling booth. Many working class people cannot get permission from their boss to skip work to vote, cannot afford to take an unpaid day off of work, cannot get transportation to the polling booth, or are blocked by discriminatory voting ID laws. The result is that large sections of our population are excluded from American democracy, which makes our country not very democratic at all.

How should we counter this? There are many piecemeal reforms that can – and ought to – be taken in order to bring the American political system piece by piece down to the American people. By overturning Citizens United, increasing regulation of media ownership, creating a federal voting holiday, and declaring voting ID laws unconstitutional, the US government can restore to a lot of people their political voice. These things must be done as part of a concerted effort to wrench the “hidden hand” of capital away from our political processes and to hand over the media, the polling booth, and every part of our democracy to the American working class.

Currently, the position behind the curtain of our political system belongs to the capitalist class, which uses it to consolidate its own power and further its interests. But if the US is to be a democracy in anything beyond comparison to even more oligarchic countries, this special position of political power must be taken away from the capitalist class and brought down to the working class, which would use it to chip away at the disparities of power and property, and to ultimately eradicate the need for there to be a figure behind the curtain of our democracy at all.

Josie Slovut’s article is part of the Jewish Press series Emerging Voices. Our goal is to offer young community members a platform where they can write about what moves them. If you are 25 or younger and are interested in writing for this series, please contact the editor at avandekamp@jewishomaha.org. We want to hear from you!

Finding Germany’s bright side amid a tide of refugees

by JUDITH KESSLER ment, that they can learn German, and that they will have a BERLIN (JTA) -- When supporters of the anti-immigrant chance to really make it here.

PEGIDA movement and right-wing extremists in the forRight at the outset, my husband said to them, “By the way, mer East Germany started demonstrating by the tens of my wife is Jewish. So you have a problem with that?” Doha thousands this year against foreigners and “American began to cry and put her arms around me.

Zionist” policies, I got mad.

The wave of refugees is basically our only topic at the dinWhen the first refugee homes in Germany were set on fire, I was shocked. When another refugee home was torched each night and thousands of hate comments appeared on Facebook, I started feeling numb.

When some kids called me a “Jewish pig” and spat at me one night in a Berlin neighborhood with many Muslim immigrants, I felt sick.

For the first time in my life, I took off my Star of David necklace. And I felt ashamed: at the humiliation, at my own cowardice, at the feelings of hate suddenly welling up inside me.

Then, overnight, everything changed.

When thousands of asylum Refugee children visiting a fire station in Berlin, September 2015. seekers arrived here during a 100Credit: Judith Kessler degree heat wave, with kids and the elderly, hungry and thirsty, waiting for days in chaotic ner table. Even last weekend, when I was in Vienna visiting conditions at a refugee processing center, Berliners sponta- friends, I left their party to go to the Vienna West train staneously showed up, too. tion, where more than 8,000 Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan Tattooed Berliners, unemployed Berliners, women in head- refugees, who had been treated like cattle in Hungary, were scarves, retirees, schoolchildren, neatly coiffed secretaries – waiting further transport. they all came, bringing food, sleeping bags or clothing.

The helpfulness of the Viennese was overwhelming, and I And I awoke from my bad dream. Germany was sudden- was euphoric. Despite the anti-foreigner rhetoric of some ly different. The images in my mind started to shift: No politicians, the Viennese people were just the opposite, and more cattle cars reminding me of the Holocaust. Instead I just like the do-gooders in Berlin. witnessed people waiting with signs reading “Refugees welOf course, I worry that the atmosphere will change back come” and saw the smiling faces of new arrivals. again, that the “dark side” of Germany will take over, that the I signed up for one of the refugee initiatives that have people will lose the strength and desire to help when it’s popped up everywhere like mushrooms. Since then, I’ve about kindergartens and jobs for a million refugees, not just been busy at local refugee centers sorting donations, hand- about handing out granola bars and cola. ing out food, writing applications, getting diapers, organizBut I am still hopeful. In the early 1990s, when the Soviet ing day trips.

Union fell apart, Israel – with a population of about 5 milIn the blink of an eye, my husband is now taking care of a lion – rapidly absorbed more than 1 million Russian-speakSyrian family, and we’re going to make sure that Doha from ing immigrants. So it can work, and it can enrich society – if Lebanon and Bilal from Syria, with their three traumatized the will is there. little children, will be able to move from their “16 square Some Jews do want this. And there are many Jews among meters of Germany” in the refugee home into a real apart- the volunteers.

But I am nevertheless disappointed in many Jewish communities that remain silent in the face of this crisis. I am disappointed by my Jewish friends who talk about tikkun olam, tzedakah and gemilut hasadim – repairing the world, charity and acts of loving kindness – but callously are ready to send refugees back into the war zones from which they fled, see a potential terrorist in every migrant and say the boats are full.

Practically none of us Jews were born in Germany; almost all of us have lost people and a homeland, have escaped from somewhere and were welcomed here in Germany. My parents were refugees. I was a refugee from Poland. I see myself in the newcomers, and I’m wearing my Star of David again.

Judith Kessler is a Berlin-based journalist who has studied immigration; she came to Germany with her family from Poland in 1972. This piece was translated from German by JTA’s Toby Axelrod.

Did the Israeli soccer team use the ‘dark arts’ to dodge defeat?

by JAS CHANA Israeli soccer player Tal Ben-Haim may be a witch, according to the British press.

In a match last month between the Israel and Wales national soccer teams, the center back, who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv at home, threw peculiar hand gestures at the ball before his opponent took a free kick.

Moments later, Wales striker Gareth Bale rocketed the place kick over the goal, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

According to Wales Online, Bale’s missed opportunity was the effect of a “malevolent spell” which cursed the ball, preventing it from reaching the back of the net. The Independent described Ben-Haim as employing the “dark arts.”

Bale, a star for Real Madrid, is usually a reliable scorer in the clutch. Whatever the cause of his miss, Wales will now have to wait until October, when they play Bosnia and Andorra, to score enough points to quality for the Euro 2016 soccer competition, which will be held in France next summer.

Visit us at jewishomaha.org

10 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

Synagogues

Candlelighting Friday, September 18, 7:11 p.m. | Tuesday, September 22, 7:04 p.m. Yom Tov

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

CHABAD HOUSE

618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com TUESDAY: Kol Nidre services, 7:30 p.m. with guest, Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, Professor and Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization Historical at Creighton University, Jews, Israel and the American Campus.

WEDNESDAY: Services, 10:30 a.m. with guest speaker Renee Corcoran, Excutive Director, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, Remembering the Jews of Council Bluffs; Concluding Service followed by Break-the-fast potluck, 5:30 p.m. Please call Carole Lainof at 402.293.0321 for more information.

Tribute cards for any occasion are available. Please contact Sissy Silber at 311 Oak Ridge Ct., Bellevue, NE 68005 or 402.292.8062.

For information on our historic synagogue, or to arrange a visit, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

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

FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 8:08 p.m.

SUNDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Kol Nidre Services, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m.; Yizkor, 11 a.m.; Mincha/Neilah Closing Service, 5:30 p.m.; Fast Ends, 8:01 p.m. followed by Break-the-fast.

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

All programs are open to the entire community.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:15 p.m.; Havdallah, 8:10 p.m.; USY Havdallah and Bonfire, 8:10 p.m. (Bonfire at Krausmans’ following services) WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Men’s Club Sukkah Building, 8 a.m.; BESTT Synagogue Mystery Tour (Grades 1-2), 9:45 a.m.; BESTT Classes (Grades K, 3-7), 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Torah Tots, 10:30 a.m.; BESTT Kibbutz Chaverim, 12:15 p.m.; Men’s Club/Sisterhood BBQ, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY: Babysitting, 6:15 p.m.; Kol Nidre, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Yom Kippur Morning Service, 9 a.m. with babysitting; Tot Service, 9 a.m.; Youth Service, 10:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 11 a.m.; Musaf, 11 a.m.; Sermon, 12:15 p.m.; Yizkor, 12:30 p.m.; Study Session, 5:15 p.m.; MinhaNe’ila service, 6 p.m.; Children’s procession, 7:45 p.m.; Sounding of the Shofar, around 8:01 p.m.

Lunch at Nebraska AIDS Coalition, Friday, Sept. 25, 11:30 a.m. followed by lunch.

Men’s Club Sukkah Building, Sunday, Sept. 27, 8 a.m.

All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Rabbi Craig and Jennifer Lewis.

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

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel.

TUESDAY: Yom Kippur Evening Service, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Yom Kippur Family Service (Parents please accompany your children) 9 a.m.; Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Yom Kippur Afternoon Service, Yizkor (Memorial Service) and Neilah (Concluding Service), 3 p.m.; Break-the-Fast Potluck, 6 p.m. If you have questions or can help set up or clean up, please contact: Jennifer Williss, 402.540.2697 or spinningjw@gmail.com Michelle Schreiber, 402.438.1081 or michelleschreiber5@gmail. com. If you will be attending the Break the Fast Potluck, please RSVP to the Temple office (402.435.8004 or office@southstreettemple.org) with the number attending and the food item you plan to bring so we can plan appropriately. We hope you can join us!

President’s Office Hours, Sunday Mornings, 10 a.m.–noon at SST. If you have any Temple business you would like to bring before the Board of Trustees, potential programs, or new ideas, please let us know! Call for an appointment at the Temple or just to chat any time at 402.513.7697. Or if you prefer, just email David Weisser at president@southstreet temple.org.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

FRIDAY: Selichot and Shacharit, 6:40 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:11p.m.

SATURDAY: Selichot and Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Repentance 101, 6 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 6:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:17 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 10 a.m.; Kids Craft, 10 a.m.; Tashlich Picnic, 5 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Selichot and Shacharit, 6:40 a.m.

TUESDAY: Selichot and Shacharit, 6:40 a.m.; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Kol Nidre, 6:40 p.m.; Fast Begins, 7:04 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Sermon, 10 a.m., followed by Yizkor; The Book of Yonah class, 5 p.m.; Mincha, 5:40 p.m.; Neilah, 6:40 p.m.; Fast Ends/Shofar and Havdalah, 8:10 p.m.; Break the Fast meal following services: $8 for adults; free for children 12 and under.

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 6:55 a.m.; Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m.; Med Center Chaburah, 1 p.m.; Avot U-Banim, 7 p.m.; Jews and Brews Class, 8:30 p.m.

MEMORIAL SERVICES Sunday, September 20 Oak Hills/Bikhor Cholim, Council Bluffs, 11 a.m.

Beth El Cemetery, 84th and ‘L’ Sts., 11 a.m.

Temple Israel Cemetery, 6412 No. 42 St., 1 p.m.

Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, 3 p.m.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Chef ’s Demo, 1:30 p.m. led by Chabad.

SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Robert Yaffe.

TUESDAY: Kol Nidre Services, 6:45 p.m. led by Marti Nerenstone.

SATURDAY: Yom Kippur Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Marti Nerenstone; Yom Kippur, 4 p.m. led by Marti Nerenstone.

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

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Shuva, 6 p.m. The “Sabbath of Return,” emphasizes the return to those values which enhance life and its meaning. On Shabbat Shuva we will be including a text study on Race in America during services.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. During morning services we will continue text study related to Race in America; Mitzvah Project, 12:30 p.m. We will begin to build a Monarch Butterfly Garden at Temple Israel. Bring a change of clothes if you are coming straight from services.; OTYG Fall Rush, 4:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Synagogue Discovery Tour for Omaha's Jewish 1st and 2nd Graders, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El. Students will visit Omaha's Synagogues for a bit of exploration and games in search of Jewish symbols at each location. A kosher snack and souvenir will also be provided for each child, all free of charge. For more information, contact Interim Religious School Director Sharon Comisar-Langdon, 402.556.6536; Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Baby Brunch For Children under 1 year and their parents, 10:30 a.m. We invite you to our Baby Brunch for children under one year and their parents. This will be a great opportunity to meet other families with babies, schmooze with our clergy and staff, eat wonderful food, and share a story or two. There will be toys and a safe place for your babies to play on the floor; Temple Israel Book Club, 11 a.m. Do you like to read? Do you like to discuss the books you have read? If so we have the group for you - the Temple Israel Book Club! This month's book is “All Who Go Do Not Return” by Shulem Deen. For more information contact Program Director Scott Littky, 402.556.6536; Temple TED Talk - Jon Meyers: "A stroke of Insight" by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, 11 a.m.; OTYG Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m.; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 1 p.m.

TUESDAY: Kol Nidre, 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Yom Kippur Tot Service, 9 a.m. for preschool aged children to Kindergarten led by Rabbi Brown; Children’s service (Grades 1-3), 10:15 a.m. Children in 1st3rd Grade should meet Director of Youth and Young Adult Engagement Aliyah Lasky in the Simon Community Court at 10:15 a.m. and will then head downstairs for a service lead by our OTYG youth. Students will be brought up to sit with their parents in the Sanctuary at 11:15 a.m.; Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10:15 a.m.; News Media and the Coverage of the Middle East and Iran – Conversation with Ken Freed, 12:30 p.m. Based on his experiences based in the Middle East as a journalist, Ken Freed will lead a discussion on the criticism, misunderstandings and evident confusion on how we view news coverage in the Middle East; Meditation Area, 12:30-1:30 p.m. & 2:30 -3:30 p.m. A chance to sit and reflect on the day and the coming year; Moments of Remembrance, 1:30 p.m. with Marla Cohen, MS, NCC, LMHP; Yom Kippur Walk with Rabbi Brown, 1:30 p.m. A chance to refresh and ready yourself for the rest of the day of Yom Kippur; At-one-ment: Beginning Again with Compassion and Peace, A Yom Kippur Meditation, 1:30 p.m.

Brent Bloom, a certified and registered Yoga instructor, will guide us through a time of personal reflection with the use of meditation as we prepare for our afternoon of prayer; Art Exhibit Discussion with Rabbi Azriel, 1:30 p.m. Rabbi Azriel will lead us in a discussion on the pieces of art that are displayed in the Simon Community Court; Gossip and Evil Speech... Forgive Me Today with Rabbi Sam Joseph, 2:30 p.m.; Afternoon service/Yizkor/Ne’ilah/ Havdalah, 3:45 p.m. The afternoon service includes the reading of the Book of Jonah, recounting the importance of repentance and prayer. Yizkor celebrates the power to remember those who came before us. Ne’ilah means “closing the gate,” and we ask to be sealed in the Book of Life. After the Havdalah ceremony that ends this holiday, we hear a final shofar blast.

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

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush luncheon.

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel.

TUESDAY: Synagogue office closed; Kol Nidre, 6:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Synagogue office closed; Services, 9 a.m.; Youth Services, 11 a.m.; Mincha/Neilah/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m. followed by Havdalah and Break-the-fast meal, 8:05 p.m.

To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements: 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.’

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

September 18, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 11

What Jewish schools are teaching in sex ed

by SUZANNE POLLAK The Rockville school begins its sex ed program in fifth ROCKVILLE, Md. (Washington Jewish Week via JTA) -- grade with a basic health class taught by both a nurse and a Just because Judaism permits sex only within the confines of teacher. marriage doesn’t mean Jewish day schools aren’t teaching “It's about their changing bodies,” Levisohn said. Starting how to put a condom on or what sexually transmitted dis- in sixth grade, with classes every other year, students are eases are. separated by gender.

While abstinence and Jewish law are taught in Jewish day Berman Academy students take a healthy living class, school classes, so are the reproduction system, menstrual which was developed by Yocheved Debow, author of cycles and sexual relationships.

“Talking about Intimacy and Sexuality: A Guide for At some Jewish high schools, students learn about birth Orthodox Jewish Parents.” Sexuality, how boys and girls control, homosexuality and date rape. Students at Milken relate to each other, students’ concerns about their bodies Community Schools and Jewish law are disin Los Angeles receive cussed in the two-hour some of their sexual class that meets four education from a reptimes. resentative of Planned While Levisohn Parenthood. described the class as “Can you imagine “nonjudgmental,” he sending kids off withsaid the students are out this kind of infordefinitely told that sex mation? It would not before marriage is be good,” said Roslyn unacceptable.

Landy, dean of stu“The explicit message dents and interim from us is abstinence,” principal at Charles E. but that is not the main Smith Jewish Day thrust of the classes, he School in Rockville. said, adding, “We try In the independent not to be preachy.”

Jewish day school’s At the Abraham While abstinence and Jewish law are taught in Jewish day school classes, human development Joshua Heschel Day so are the reproduction system, menstrual cycles and sexual relationclass, which students School in Northridge, Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Images ships. take in either ninth or California, which was tenth grade, students learn about sexuality, intimate rela- founded in 1972 with the support of Conservative and tionships, pregnancy and parenthood, birth control, homo- Reform rabbis, the goal is to teach students “understanding, sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and protection tolerance, passion and compassion,” said Kathy Reynolds, a against AIDS. The class also covers communications, nutri- science teacher there. tion, drugs and alcohol and emotional issues, Landy said.

Heschel Day School goes to the eighth grade. In fifth During their senior year, students take a human develop- grade, the students learn about the male and female anatoment course, which includes sex education. Date rape and my, hormones and menstruation in a coeducational setting. how to put a condom on a banana are some of the topics of Two years later, the subjects are discussed again, but more study. on an emotional level, said Reynolds, who teaches the fifthThe message from the school is “Don’t try it,” Landy said grade program. Boys are told that their female classmates of sexual intercourse. But, she said, “We also know the kids can be “on an emotional roller coaster” during menstruado it. We know our students are engaging in this act, and we tion, he said. “Bring them flowers, chocolate, a cup of tea. have to keep them safe.”

Don’t walk away.”

The focus of the sex ed classes at Milken Community “We do address how you get pregnant,” Reynolds said.

Schools in Los Angeles is “making smart choices for the “When the kids ask questions, we do answer them.” individual,” said Whitney Fisch, director of counseling.

Nationwide, 22 states and the District of Columbia require The ninth-grade health curriculum at the school, which is sex and HIV education. associated with the Stephen S. Wise Temple, a Reform synagogue, deals with sex ed and features a guest educator from CORRECTIONS Planned Parenthood, Fisch said. Students also learn how to In our Sept. 11, 2015 Rosh Hashanah issue, we inadverput on a condom. misspelled Andrea Epstein's name (p. C7). The listing tently In 11th grade, students are placed in small groups that have read: Sarah Kramer Epstein, daughter of Andrea should meet twice a week. There they learn about making healthy Epstein. Also, in the story “Iron Lions of Zion,” Robert and choices, setting boundaries and positive relationships, Fisch A9 and A11, the last paragraph was omitpages on printed said, adding that abstinence is not stressed in the classes. can be read on our website at www.jewstory full The ted.

At the Orthodox Melvin J. Berman Academy in Rockville, The Press regrets these ishomaha.org/Jewish-Press.

“It’s a pretty open conversation. The students get to ask any errors. questions,” said Joshua Levisohn, the headmaster, describing some of the queries as “pretty uninhibited.”

Sometimes the students’ concerns are based in fact, he JEWISH PRESS NOTICE said, and sometimes they are about what the student has The Jewish Press will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. heard. He believes it is important to let students know that 23, for Yom Kippur, and Monday, Sept. 28 for Sukkot. even if they are doing something that the school and Jewish Questions?

Please call 402.334.6448. law frowns upon, “We are not going to shun you for it.”

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12 | The Jewish Press | September 18, 2015

IZZY EZAGUI

Last week, former lone soldier Izzy Ezagui spoke at several Federation events. He visited with our youth, spoke at a Young Jewish Omaha lunch and addressed the major donor dinner guests at Happy Hollow. Clockwise from left: The teens at the JCC; Jan Goldstein and Howard Kooper with Izzy; Izzy, Jason Epstein and Jeff Nogg; Izzy with Eliad Eliyahu; Zoe Riekes, Dana Kaufman and Iris Ricks; Maxine Kirshenbaum and Susan Lehr; Tom Fellman and Jay Noddle; Shirley Goldstein and Suzanne Singer; Micha Solomon with Izzy; Alan Potash with Izzy; youths with Izzy at the teen event.

A COMMUNITY MUSICAL REVUE

N G I A P M A C

Come see YOUR

2016 Annual Campaign Chairs Jan Goldstein and Howard Kooper Pacesetter Chairs Joe Kirshenbaum and Jeff Kirshenbaum Women’s Major Gift Chairs Jeanie Neff and Laurie Epstein

COMMUNITY

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11

on STAGE!

Production Chair Andee Scioli

5:30PM - DINNER

and

Community Event Chairs Betsy Baker and Stacey Rockman

SHOW

Production Coordinator Beth Friedman

$36/ADULTS • $18/CHILD

JOSLYN ART MUSEUM

RSVP online at www.jewishomaha.org or call 402-334-6485 CAST & CREW Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan

Rabbi Ari Dembitzer

Alan Friedman

Brian Nogg

Jack Scioli

Louri Sullivan

Howard Borden

Danny Denenberg

Donald Gerber

Jeff Nogg

Joe Scioli

Samantha Sullivan

Benjamin Brodkey

Steve Denenberg

Larry Gilinsky

Aliyah Jabenis

Emily Kutler

Riley Nogg

Anne Shackman

Jeff Taxman

Elizabeth Brodkey

Cheryl Diamond

Miriam Ginsburg

Dacia Jabenis

Steve Levinger

Maxine Noodell

Wendy Shermet

Sherry Taxman

Julia Brodkey

Beth Dworkin

Jordana Glazer

Karen Javitch

Deb Marburg

Michael Parsow

Charlotte Simon

Eadie Tsabari

Brittney Clignett

Jeff Dworkin

Gayle Goldstein

Esther Katz

Howard Marcus

Iris Ricks

Ellie Simon

Rebecca Wolfson

Jason Clignett

Job Feierstein

Jan Goldstein

Abby Kaufman

Lisa Marcus

Elena Rosenblatt

Ava Simons

Robert Yaffe

Eva Cohen

Meyer Feinstein

Delaney Graham

Laura Kirshenbaum

Margo Mayhugh

Cadee Scheer

Max Silverman

Terri Zacharia

Jack Cohen

Tami Field

Leo Grau

Reagan Koom

Tina Meyers

Caryn Scheer

Simon Slovut

Karen Cohen

Rosie Friedland

Abby Hack

Abbey Milder

Soloman Schneider

Juliette Rose Smith

Lillian Cohen

Jimmy Friedlander

Katie Howell

Hazzan Michael Kraussman

Amy Nachman

Chaya Schondelmeyer

Chaeli Spivak

Marissa Cooper

Pam Friedlander

Jill Idelman

Laurel Kraussman

Gary Nachman

Andee Scioli

Josh Sullivan

FRIEDEL JEWISH ACADEMY STUDENTS