Vol. LXXXVI No. 4 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
Israel Will Soon Welcome Descendants of a ‘Lost’ Jewish Tribe by DINA KRAFT TEL AVIV (JTA)--A group of 218 people from a remote mountainous corner of northeastern India who claim descent from one of the lost biblical tribes will be immigrating to Israel as recognized Jews for the first time. The aliyah of members from the Bnei Menashe community to Israel is a turning point, said Michael Freund, founder of Shavei Israel which assists “lost Jews” seeking to return to the Jewish people. “This is a major historical event, because these members of a lost tribe of Israel, after 27 centuries of wandering in exile, will at last be coming home,” he said. News of the planned arrival next month of 218 Bnei Menashe, who have already undergone official conversion in India, was made public for the first time last week after it was leaked to the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot. The government decision to bring the 218 to Israel followed months of bureaucratic wrangling in which Israel’s Interior Ministry and Absorption Ministry balked at plans to bring them here, Freund told JTA. Advocates have been working for years to convince Israeli authorities that the Bnei Menashe were indeed long-lost Jews who had returned to the faith. They hope this group will pave the way for others in the community to also make aliyah. The group of immigrants went through conversion courses and were approved for conversion by rabbinical judges sent to India last year by Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar. Amar has declared Bnei Menashe “descendants of the Jewish people” and has been working to help facilitate the aliyah of those who want to live in Israel. To date, many of the some 1,000 members of the community who arrived in the country as tourists and later converted to Judaism and became citizens live in West Bank settlements. Some also lived in settlements in the Gaza Strip until last year’s Israeli withdrawal. The decision to place them predominately in settlements has drawn criticism. Their advocates say the move was not a political but a practical decision. They say the settlements were among
A member of the Bnei Menashe community in India prepares for the Sukkot holiday. Credit: Photo courtesy Michael Freund the only communities in the country willing to financially help the Bnei Menashe who arrived in Israel and had to spend their first year studying for conversion, without much time to hold down jobs. Tzvi Khaute, 32, lives in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, on the outskirts of Hebron, where the largest number of Bnei Menashe reside. He welcomes the government decision to bring more of his community to Israel as Jewish immigrants for the first time. “It really is a dream come true,” said Khaute, who studies in a yeshiva part-time and works for the Shavei offices. The group that is scheduled to arrive in November will Continued on page 3
14 Tishrei, 5767 October 6, 2006
Human Rights Rabbi to Voice Concerns as Scholar at Temple Israel by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Defending human rights is a theme that winds itself through Rabbi David Forman’s life. As a college student in the 1960s, Forman joined the Freedom Riders to challenge the American South’s Jim Crow laws and noncompliance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited segregation in all interstate public transportation facilities. In 1988, he founded Rabbis for Human Rights and served as its first chairperson 198892 and then again between 2002 and 2003. Rabbis for Human Rights gives voice to the Jewish tradition of human rights in Israel promoting justice and freedom while campaigning against discrimination and inhumane conduct. Rabbi Forman will serve as a scholar-in-residence the weekend of Oct. 27-29 at Rabbi David Forman Temple Israel. He will talk about major concerns of the Jewish State, universalism versus particularism, and reflections on the recent war in Lebanon under the overall topic, “Israel in the Eyes of American Jewry.” His residency is sponsored by Temple’s Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning. Rabbi Forman, who made aliyah in 1972, one month after his ordination at Hebrew Union College, has held a number of key leadership positions during his rabbinic career including director of the Israel Office of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) where he led the struggle for religious pluralism in Israel. Prior to that, he was the chairperson of Interns for Peace from 1984 to 1986, founding chairperson of both the Jerusalem Council for Soviet Jewry and the Cincinnati Council for Soviet Jewry, vice-chairperson of Seminarians for Peace, and a member of Clergy and Laity against the War in Vietnam. Continued on page 2
Former Omahan Displays Her Unique Talent at Federation Women’s Campaign Event by LISA LIEB Federation Communications Director A campaign dinner kicked off the Federation’s 2007 Annual Campaign last month. Jody Malashock and Marcia Pitlor are co-chairing the women’s division, and Campaign Co-Chairman Patty Nogg couldn’t be more pleased. “Jody and Marcia are midway through their two-year campaign,” said Patty. “They make a wonderful team and it feels great to work with two such capable, caring women.” “It’s an honor to serve in this role,” said Malashock. “People have been so generous this past year with Operation Promise and the Israel Emergency Campaign. It’s important for Jews to help Jews around the world, yet we can’t forget how important our own campaign is to meet the needs here at home.” “The annual campaign supports the Federation and all of its agencies. These agencies rely on the dollars we raise,” Pitlor explained. “I feel very proud of the results from last year’s campaign, and we are hopeful that the increasing needs of
Inside Opinion Page see page 16
Rebecca Rosen the Jewish community in Omaha and around the world will continue to be met.” The agencies supported by the annual campaign include: the Anti-Defamation League, the Center for Jewish Education, the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, the Jewish Press and
Jewish Senior Services. Campaign dollars also help support the synagogues, Young Jewish Omaha, Friedel Jewish Academy, Va’ad HaKashruth, the Opportunity Omaha internship program, Bar/Bat Mitzvah Programs, teen trips to Israel, BBYO and more. In addition, approximately 38% of the contributions go overseas to rescue and revitalize Jews in peril. “Our theme again this year is ‘Live Generously’,” said Malashock. “This is a very appropriate theme for Omaha. Having lived in this community for many years, I’ve seen our community continue to step up year after year.” “I love the ‘Live Generously theme’,” added Pitlor. “I think it encompasses a brilliant message that does not need to be explained. Everyone can interpret this message and hopefully come to the same conclusion. Live Generously, Omaha!” The women’s campaign event will be held next Thursday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m., at Ironwood Country Club. The program will feature psychic medium and former Omahan Rebecca Rosen, daughter of Jan Goldstein and Sheldon Perelman. The
This Week: Groundbreaking at Wyuka Cemetery: Page 20 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Blumkin Home Plans “New Beginning”: Page 3
event is open to all women in the Omaha Jewish community who make a contribution to the 2007 Annual Campaign. “We feel it’s very important to get the women of our community together,” Malashock said. “This event promises to be fascinating and different than anything that’s been done in the past. We’re looking forward to hearing from Rebecca, who will focus on empowering Jewish women spiritually.” “Rebecca is an Omaha native who has a very unique and special approach to spirituality,” Pitlor added. “It will be interesting and enlightening to hear how Rebecca’s upbringing in a traditional Jewish Midwest family played a role in where and who she is today.” Seating for the women’s campaign event is limited, so please contact Kathy McGauvran to RSVP at 334.6427 or kmcgauvran@jewishomaha.org. “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about this event,” said Malashock. “We hope to have a great turnout, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone there.”
Coming This Month: Arts & Entertainment Issue Where Are They Now? Features Segal Family: Page 8
Sukkot Recipes and Read It & Eat: Pages 13 and 14