Vol. LXXXVIX No. 3 Omaha, NE
Two decades later, FSU immigrants make their mark by DINA KRAFT TEL AVIV (JTA) -- At Nanuchka, every table is filled upstairs and down, the bar is packed and a line has formed outside. A Georgian restaurant with offerings such as goose and beef dumplings and homemade pickles, Nanuchka at first glance may seem an unlikely nighttime hot spot for Tel Aviv, with its shabby-chic decor a hodgepodge of gilded mirrors, oil paintings and purple glass chandeliers. “I started this place as a project and a challenge: to transform the image of Georgians here into something noble,” said owner Nana Shrayer, 41, an immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Georgia. “It looks like I’ve succeeded.” As far as Shrayer can tell, only one table in the restaurant is occupied by Georgians, Nona Rafaeli’s family, which has come to celebrate a birthday. “I love that so many young Israelis are here,” said Rafaeli, a doctor who immigrated in 1995. “They clearly feel so comfortable here, and that’s a great affirmation.”
Dr. Nona Rafaeli, shown at a popular Georgian restaurant in Tel Aviv, made aliyah from Georgia in 1995 with two suitcases and $500 and says it was the right decision for her and her family. Credit: Dina Kraft Twenty years since the beginning of the historic wave of immigration that brought approximately 1.1 million newcomers to Israel from the former Soviet Union between 1989 and 2000, Nanuchka is one small example of how immigrant subcultures are providing a home for fellow immigrants while integrating and contributing to Israeli society. Federations like Omaha not only contributed to loan guarantees, but raised substantial sums to resettle Jews from the former Soviet Union in Israel, Omaha, and all over North America. To be sure, some elements of Russian immigrant culture have not resonated with Israelis. But in fields such as education, theater, sports and music, a rich exchange has taken place, and the immigrants’ contributions can be felt particularly strong in Israel’s high-tech, medical and academic sectors. The massive aliyah was unprecedented for Israel, both in its sheer size -- Russian-speaking Israelis now constitute the largest single minority group in the country -and in the high educational and professional background of so many who came. Some 70 percent of those who immigrated are college-educated. The 100,000 engineers that came in the aliyah, among them computer and electrical engineers, became the backbone of Israel’s emerging high-tech sector in the 1990s, constituting the relatively cheap labor and knowhow that helped give the industry its competitive edge. The 23,000 doctors and 25,000 nurses who came transformed the face of Israeli hospitals and clinics. The arrival of the doctors has been credited with saving Israel’s medical system from a shortage. Russian-speaking immigrants are credited with raising the level of science, research and teaching in the country. Nearly 70 percent of the math faculty at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, for example, is comprised of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Continued on page 2
Inside Opinion Page see page 8
Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
21 Tishrei 5770
October 9, 2009
Jacobson and Javitch to be honored with Spirit of Federation awards by BOB GOLDBERG Federation Communications Director People often get involved in community service because it adds significance and meaning to their lives. It provides an outlet for our need to do good. This is certainly true of both Joanie Jacobson and Gary Javitch. In recognition of their great service, the Jewish Federation is honoring them as the 2008 Phil and Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation Award winners. They will be recognized, along with Federation and Gary Javitch agency volunteers of the year, at a Volunteer Reception on Monday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m., in the auditorium of the Jewish Community Center. In addition, Evie Zysman will be honored with the Federation’s Humanitarian Award, and the Institute for Holocaust Education will receive the 2008 Community Service Award for “Kristallnacht: 70 Years Later.” The Phil and Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation is awarded annually to one man and one woman who have demonstrated personal commitment, dedication and leadership to the Federation and its agencies. Javitch fits that description to a “T”. He serves as the President of the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, has written extensively for the Jewish Press, has been a grant writer and consultant to Chabad of Nebraska, and is very active in the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Joanie Jacobson He is the current Vice President of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, a board member of the AntiDefamation League and he and his family have recently contributed to the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He has previously served as a board member of Jewish Family Services, the Press, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, and is a life member of the National Council of Jewish Women. Javitch attributes his success to many people, including Hy Tabachnick who hired him to come to Omaha in 1973. Javitch had worked for Tabachnick in summer camps in Ohio and Georgia before getting the call from Hy, who had come to Omaha in 1971 to help direct the building of the new JCC. He wanted Javitch to be the first aquatics director at the new Center and the program Continued on page 4
Author, human rights activist highlights annual Goldstein lecture by KATHRYN COX SCHWARTZ Managing Editor, Journal of Religion & Film Staff Assistant, UNO Department of Philosophy and Religion Brian Steidle, a soldier turned human rights activist, will be the featured speaker for the 11th annual Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Lecture on Human Rights on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Brian Steidle
This Week: Press columnist highlights Hadassah Donor: Page 5 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’
Display at SAC Museum features liberators: Page 3
Steidle is co-author of The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur, which chronicles his time in Darfur. Later it was made into a documentary film by the same title. His moving speech, “Hope for Darfur”, will take place in the Thompson Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, 67th and Dodge. Steidle grew up living around the world as the son of a naval officer. He graduated with a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1999 and received a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer. He completed his service with the USMC at the end of 2003 as a Captain. In January 2004, he accepted a contract position with the Joint Military Commission in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan working on the North-South cease fire, now a peace treaty. Within seven months he worked his way up from a Team Leader to the Senior Operations Officer. In September 2004, Steidle was then invited to serve in Darfur as an unarmed military observer and U.S. representative to the African Union. He was one of only three Americans serving with a coalition of African countries monitoring the cease fire between the two African rebel groups and the Government of Sudan. After six months, his conscience would no longer allow him to stand by without taking further action, and he became convinced that he could be more effective by bringing the story of what he witnessed to the world. Continued on page 2
Coming Oct. 23: Jewish Camping
Composer wrote music especially for upcoming concert: Page 7
New Jewish Museum unveils top Jewish 18: Page 12