October 30, 2009

Vol. LXXXIX No. 6 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

Passion for art spurred creativity

12 Cheshvan 5770

October 30, 2009

Young Leadership award to be given at YJO event next month

Press editor to retire at year’s end

by GARY JAVITCH Special to the Jewish Press “I have a passion for creating things,” Kim Goldberg said. “I like the process that takes place: how things are woven together. The process is often more important to me than the end product.”

That was how the Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award winner described the excitement she felt when working with young people to teach them about art.

Goldberg was nominated not once, but twice for this distinguished award given annually by the Jewish Federation of Omaha to honor a young woman (under age 45) who “render[s] service to the Jewish and general community.”

To be eligible, a woman has to have “demonstrated personal commitment, dedicated involvement and exemplary leadership qualities.”

Getting the award took her by surprise. “I actually felt, well, ‘ferklempt’ for getting it,” she added referring to an old Yiddish expression (‘when something makes you well up inside, and you’re on the verge of tears’) made even more famous from Mike Meyers’ Saturday Night Live ‘Coffee Talk’ sketches from the 1990s.

As the award recipient, Goldberg was quite flattered.

“Doing the volunteer work is fulfilling for me,” she explained. “It doesn’t seem quite right winning an award for doing something you would do anyway, just because it feels so good to do it.”

Still, both Chabad of Nebraska and the Jewish Federation of Omaha felt that the Colorado native was a well-qualified recipient. Chabad noted in its nomination that Kim helped them organize art programs and men-

by BOB GOLDBERG Federation Communications Director Bobbi Leibowitz, President of the Board of the Jewish Press, has announced that Carol Katzman will be retiring at the end of the calendar year. Katzman has served as editor since 1996 and is looking forward to spending more time with her husband Michael, a local CPA, and her family, who live out of town.

Katzman says that whoever takes her place will inherit “a talented, stable staff, the support of a creative and forward thinking board of directors and a wonderful relationship with the Federation and its agencies.”

“Carol’s leadership of the Press has been outstanding from day one,” says Leibowitz. “She is a respected journalist and an insightful and very compassionate person.”

There have been many achievements at the Press Carol Katzman under Katzman’s leadership. These include raising the funds for the development of a new, independent website that will have a digital archive of past issues, numerous awards including the prestigious 2009 Andy award from UNO’s Department of International Studies and the Federation’s 2006 Community Service Award for the gallery exhibit that documented the 85-year history of the Jewish Press.

Continued on page 2

tored kids at their summer camp. More-over, they added, she was a great listener, treated everyone with respect, and sparked creativity in the youngsters in attendance.

The nomination noted her doing similar things for the Friedel Jewish Academy and at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

The Jewish outreach group also made note of her “amazing passion” for her work.

The Federation’s nomiKim Goldberg nation expressed similar thoughts and gave accolades to Goldberg for her work as an “Artist in Residence” for their Partnership with Israel program. A committee composed of past honorees selected, her and she will receive her award on Thursday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at the Waiting Room in Benson.

Undeterred by all this recognition, at the time of her interview, Goldberg was about to depart for Israel where she was to participate in the “Acco Fringe Theater Festival,” which, since its inception in 1980, annually takes place during the Sukkot holiday.

This year the crusader-castle city held its five-day program to celebrate three decades of activity and the uniqueness of its alternative theater presentations.

Continued on page 2

Silvermans establish donor-advised fund to benefit community

by MARY BORT Jewish Federation Foundation The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation offers individuals a variety of ways to support charitable organizations and give back to the community.

One easy approach is to create a donor-advised fund. That is what Mike and Mimi Silverman did when they recently established the Mimi and Michael Silverman Family Donor-Advised Fund.

A donor-advised fund requires a donor to sign a simple letter of agreement and contribute funds to the Foundation. The contribution is immediately tax Mimi and Mike Silverman, and sons, Adam and Jeremy. deductible. Then the donor advises the national and international charitable entiFoundation regarding donations which ties. Within the local Jewish community, the donor would like to make from the for example, distributions may be for synaccount. The Foundation makes the agogue dues, the Federation Campaign, donation in the name of the specific as well as donations for the various ‘friends’ campaigns. And we’ll take care donor-advised fund.

“Donor-advised funds are a great way of investing your donor-advised fund. to engage in philanthropy,” stated Marty We’ll make your donations, keep records Ricks, Foundation Executive Director. of your fund, and provide you with fund “Through your donor-advised fund, you reports.”

He added, “For a family that would can make donations to any charitable normally donate $10,000 per year to organization including non-profit groups their favorite charities and has the availoutside the Jewish community. You may able cash, a donation this December will give to local organizations as well as to

Inside

provide a $10,000 tax deduction.

Then charitable payments in 2010 that would be typically made from individual assets could all be made from the donor-advised fund.”

The Silvermans decided to establish their Donor-Advised Fund for a number of reasons. “We both feel very fortunate to be in Omaha and we have had a great relationship with the community,” said Mike. “It is important to give back and teach our children to give to and support Jewish causes. Our plan for this fund is to review requests with our kids so they will learn to understand community challenges. We plan to make decisions as a family.”

“When our boys grow up, some day they will take over and continue giving back to the community,” said Mimi.

The Silvermans are both from Long Island, New York, where they met and were married 13 years ago. They have two sons; Adam is in fourth grade and Jeremy is in second grade.

Mike was recruited to manage the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the Silvermans moved to Omaha. They’ve been here for more than seven years.

Mike is the Executive Director of Jewish Social Services, overseeing the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, Jewish Family Service and Jewish Senior Outreach.

This Week: Monthly calendar for November: Page 11

See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’ Opinion Page see page 12

Temple Israel to introduce Grandparents Circle: Page 3

Mimi is an artist who specializes in painting. She currently is painting a mural in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Both of the Silvermans serve on Temple Israel’s Board of Directors. Mimi is the Social Justice Chair for Temple and has received the Federation’s Lois Jeanne Schrager Young Leadership award. Mimi also served on the National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha Section board.

Mike is board chairman of the Association of Jewish Aging Services’ Board, a national organization.

Generally, donor-advised funds are not publicized by the Foundation. But the Silvermans agreed to share their story so that others might be motivated to follow suit. “We’d like to be an example for other young families in Omaha,” explained Mike. “Even those with modest means can establish a donor-advised fund. We want others to do this so that the Omaha Jewish community can continue to do what we’ve been doing very well.”

“This is something that people should consider doing,” concurred Mimi. “It is easy to set things up with Marty at the Foundation.”

Ricks added, “We are grateful for Mimi and Mike establishing our 90th donoradvised fund at the Foundation.”

For information about charitable giving, such as establishing a donor-advised fund, please contact the Foundation office at 334.6440.

Coming Next Month: Hanukkah Gift Guide Issue on Nov. 20 “People vs. Leo Frank” reinvents Southern inhospitality: Page 5

Local teens featured in IHE production of Brundibár: Page 9

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

Jewish Book Month features author of “Rashi’s Daughters� at evening event Speaking of ANDY GREENBERG Motivational, Sales, Marketing, Leadership Presentations, Training, Consultant

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All that changed when she met her future husband and they both discovered Judaism as adults. That was the start of a lifetime of adult Jewish education for her.

In the early 1990s, with her children grown, Anton began studying Talmud in a class for women taught by Rachel Adler, now a professor at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.

She became intrigued that Rashi, one of the greatest Jewish scholars ever, had no sons, only three daughters: Joheved, Miriam and Rachel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I found many fascinating scenarios in the medieval Jewish responsa literature.

It was like reading Dear Abby of 900 years ago,â&#x20AC;? said Anton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more I studied Talmud from a feminist perspective, the more curious I became about how and why Rashi's daughters were highly educated and studied Talmud in a time when women were traditionally forbidden to study sacred texts. Much has been written about Rashi, but almost nothing about his learned daughters. These forgotten women seemed ripe for rediscovery and the idea of a book about them was born,â&#x20AC;? she added.

For more information, call 334.6468, or check out the Kripke Library on the Federation website at www.jewishomaha.org and on the Center for Jewish Education Facebook page.

Press editor to retire

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by SHERRIE SAAG Administrative Assistant Maggie Anton, author of the award-winning historical fiction trilogy Rashiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daughters, visits Omaha for a onenight only event to discuss Rachel, the dramatic finale in her series about the great medieval scholar Rashi and his family.

Anton is one of the most sought after speakers from the Jewish Book Council. She has appeared at more than 100 synagogues, Jewish Book Month events, JCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Jewish book group meetings in the years since the first book in the trilogy was published. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ms. Anton has criss-crossed the country many times to talk about her popular books and this is her very first stop in Omaha. She has spoken to overflow crowds in dozens of cities and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only heard rave responses to her appearances,â&#x20AC;? said Gary Katz, Library Administrator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because she was able to include Omaha in this current book tour, this event will be held in the evening to accommodate as many people as possible,â&#x20AC;? he added.

The event takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m., with dinner in the JCC Auditorium.

Anton was born Margaret Antonofsky in Los Angeles.

Raised in a secular, socialist household, she reached adulthood with little knowledge of her Jewish religion.

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Continued from page 1 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone has a story,â&#x20AC;? Katzman says â&#x20AC;&#x153;and people forget that, especially when it comes to our seniors. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember that our seniors once ran businesses, fought in wars, led major organizations, raised families and occasionally, had pretty wild adventures!â&#x20AC;?

She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;On the other side of the spectrum -- our young people have so much to offer, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not always what we â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eldersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; want to hear. They challenge us. They challenge conventional thinking and the old adage of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always done things.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; So, for me, the opportunity to conduct an interview with I guess what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the average Joeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is probably the most rewarding part of the job.â&#x20AC;?

Jan Goldstein, Federation executive director noted, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through Carol, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned how critically important the Press is to our community. Her work has connected us more than we know. She has also brought the global Jewish community closer to us on a weekly basis. The Press informs and connects us. She has always understood that the Press is a part of this communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture.

She has made so much happen and for that we are truly grateful.â&#x20AC;?

Katzman is a consummate team player and is supportive of the Federation and the community at large. She is patient and quick to give her staff credit for a job well done. She is especially proud of the quality of the paper. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shirt-sleeveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; operation at the Press. We all do whatever it takes to get the paper out each week -- from stuffing envelopes to answering the phones. And when someone calls in an obituary, you have to have patience and understanding. They just lost a loved one! And in doing small kindnesses for our readers (and our advertisers), you learn to pay attention to the small details, the

little things that can often make a difference in a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day -- and in their attitude toward the Jewish Federation and the Jewish community.â&#x20AC;?

Joanie Jacobson, who has served on the Jewish Press board for more than a decade, three years as its President says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Finding the right words to talk about Carol Katzman, the editor, is a daunting task. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s raised the bar -- big time -- and the Pressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journalism awards for the last 13 years, statewide and nationally, prove it.

Always eager to promote the community within the community, she makes sure to balance that with national and international Jewish news from a Jewish perspective.

She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Carolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a motivator, a teacher and a person who sees the big picture. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never afraid to step outside the box and onto the editorial page. She challenges us, gets us to think, ask questions, investigate, get involved and re-commit ourselves as Jews in Omaha and the world. These are all good things.â&#x20AC;?

Katzman summed it up by adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned a lot -- from many wonderful lay people with whom Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve worked over the years, my staff and my colleagues on this campus. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been challenged to grow and learn and do things I never thought I could, but the time is right for me to step down. The Press is in good hands and I have no doubt the staff and board will be publishing this communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news for a long time to come!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Personally, I will sincerely miss her as the editor of the Jewish Press,â&#x20AC;? added Jacobson.â&#x20AC;? However, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure we all wish her lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best as she sets out on the next leg of her journey ... wherever that may be.â&#x20AC;?

Leibowitz is chairing a search committee composed of several current and past members of the Press board as well as community leaders.

Young Leadership award

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Continued from page 1 She played an important role in their October holiday celebrations.

She was set to work with a group of dancers, who stayed with them when performing in Omaha. For her Acco program, which would take place on a promenade near a crusader castle, a videographer would tape her doing a 16-minute ink drawing. The drawing would then be the projected backdrop on the wall, viewed while the dancers performed. It was expected that about 250,000 would come through during the festival during Sukkot.

Over the years, she has worked very closely with the highly-regarded Albert Ben Shloosh, who is the cultural director for the city of Acco and the CEO of the Festival, which eventually took place earlier this month.

In pinpointing Goldbergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements, the Jewish Federation also made mention of her efforts with the Western Galilee partnership that Omaha has with Israel.

She has participated on the Partnership with Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arts

Task Force since 2005 serving first as a committee member, then as the Omaha Arts Chair, and since 2008 she has served as the Consortiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Art Chairperson organizing art programming for the entire partnership group.

The partnership is a 16-city consortium that also includes American cities like Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Indianapolis and Louisville with whom they work very closely on the development of programs.

Goldberg studied at UNO and the San Francisco Art Institute. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and has worked with sculpture and â&#x20AC;&#x153;new genre art.â&#x20AC;?

Professionally, she has been an award-winning senior design consultant at The Gallup Organization and a senior art director for Ervin & Smith, an advertising and public relations firm. She has done work for Ann Taylor, TD Ameritrade, and Best Buy and now she has embarked on her own as a freelance artist and designer.

She is married to Bob Goldberg and they have a daughter, Lily who is eight years old.

October 30, 2009

Jewish Major Leaguers in 2009: The numbers speak for themselves

by RON KAPLAN Sports and Features Editor New Jersey Jewish News Except when they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Then they need interpretation. Having said that, here are some more numbers to ponder for JML in 2009.

Jason Marquis (Rockies), Brad Ausmus (Dodgers), and Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox), get to hang around a little more, since their teams are playing in the post season.

Ryan Braun (Brewers) led the National League with 203 hits (fourth overall in MLB). He was also in the top 10 NL batters in runs scored (113, 2), doubles (39, 9th place), RBI (114, 4) batting average (.320, 7), slugging average (.551, 9) and OPS (On-base+slugging, .937, 8).

Ian Kinsler (Rangers) finished in the top 10 AL batters in runs scored (101, 10) and stolen bases (31, 7).

Despite missing 26 games with various injuries, Youkilis finished second among AL batters in OBP (.413), OPS (.961) and was fifth in slugging (.548).

Scott Feldman (Rangers) and Marquis finished in their league's top five for wins (17 and 15, respectively). They each had 115 strikeouts. Feldman finished with a 4.04 ERA while Marquis was right behind at 4.08; if not for poor outings in their final games, they both would have enjoyed ERAs under 4, which is considered the watershed number for good pitching.

John Grabow (Pirates/Cubs) and Craig Breslow (Indians/As) both had ERAs of 3.36. Grabow finished in the top 10 for holds (23).

Ryan Sadowski (Giants) started like a house afire. He gave up just seven hits in 13 scoreless innings, picking up wins in his first two game starts. Unfortunately, the next four were pretty much meltdowns, which may explain why the Giants designated him for assignment.

Sam Fuld (Cubs) flashed some nice leather, used mostly as a defensive replacement. How nice that he got a home run -- his first -- on the last day of the season.

Other rookies hoping to stick: fireballer Aaron Poreda, traded from the White Sox to the Padres, and Josh Whitesell, a first basemen for the Diamondbacks who had better find the power he exhibited in the minors.

Will 2009 be the last go around for a couple of veterans? Aumus, now 40, is rumored to be under consideration for the managing job in Houston. And Gabe Kapler (Rays) earned $1,000,018 as a capable bench player. In this time of austerity, the ballclub might want to fill the spot with a rookie.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s difficult to say anything bad about Scott Schoenweis (Diamondbacks), who lost his wife in May. The numbers were dreadful, but at the end of the day, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a game.

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator â&#x20AC;&#x153;People expressed a need for help, and I witnessed it myself in my travels across North America as we work with families and communities facing the challenge of interfaith marriage,â&#x20AC;? pointed out Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI), the only national independent organization dedicated to bringing Judaism to interfaith families and the unaffiliated.

Rabbi Olitzky will introduce The Grandparents Circle on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m., at Temple Israel. With about 40 groups currently functioning, The Grandparents Circle was developed for Jewish grandparents whose adult children have intermarried and are unsure of how to cultivate the Kerry Olitzky Jewish identities of grandchildren especially when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not clear whether those children are being raised as Jews, according to the JOI. Author, along with Paul Golin, of Twenty Things for Grandparents to Do and Not to Do to Nurture the Identity of Interfaith Grandchildren, Rabbi Olitzky and others from the JOI staff developed the course. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A much needed education and support programâ&#x20AC;? for grandparents looking for constructive approaches, The Grandparents Circle offers practical resources to nurture the Jewish identity of grandchildren who are being raised in an interfaith home or in a Jewish home, indicated JOI. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While the program has been successful, some of the unintended results are also fascinating,â&#x20AC;? reported Rabbi Olitzky. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grandparents become more Jewishly active in the communities. Their relationship with their adult children improved. Whatever residual guilt or embarrassment that they feel has been mitigated, and they are buoyed by a sense of optimism for the Jewish future and the Jewish future of their family.â&#x20AC;?

Rabbi Olitzky, recently named for the second time as one of the 50 leading rabbis in North America by Newsweek, also served as vice president of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, the premier adult Jewish learning and Jewish leadership program in North America. He has been recognized with dozens of honors since his ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 1985.

Previously the national Dean of Adult Jewish Learning and Living at HUC-JIR, Rabbi Olitzky served on the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faculty and administration for 15 years follow-

ing his tenure at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, Connecticut. A leader in the development of innovative Jewish education, particularly for adults, Rabbi Olitzky has shaped training programs for clergy of all faiths, especially in the area of pastoral care and counseling in the Jewish community. Recognized for his pioneering work in Jewish Twelve Step arena, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also well known for his efforts in the area of Jewish gerontology.

In addition, he is a partner with the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health at HUC-JIR. A contributing editor for Shma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, Rabbi Olitzky has authored numerous books and articles in a variety of fields published throughout North America and in Israel. In addition to Twenty Things ..., he wrote Grandparenting Interfaith Grandchildren (2005).

After Rabbi Olitzky launches The Grandparents Circle course, Rabbi Eric Linder of Temple Israel, and Wendy Goldberg, Templeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s program director, will facilitate a five-week series on Tuesdays, Nov. 17-Dec. 15, 7 p.m.

Open to the entire Jewish community, The Grandparents Circle enables Jewish grandparents, through a course of in person sessions, interactive lists serve participation and events, to share their Jewish heritage and religion with their grandchildren. The first class is a welcoming meeting that stresses the importance of supporting intermarried adult children and grandchildren and imparting Jewish identity to grandchildren by developing and understanding the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own Jewish identities.

Grandparents, in the second session, are enabled by understanding their Jewish connections to share them with their grandchildren. Participants are introduced to strategies for listening and talking to their adult children and supporting them in raising Jewish children and remaining positive during Jewish and non-Jewish holidays.

By session three, the importance of a visibly Jewish home is emphasized. Participants also discuss ways to naturally incorporate Judaism into their regular communications with their grandchildren. In the next class, grandparents learn ways to share their positive Jewish memories with their grandchildren and to create new ones. In the final class, grandparents discuss the importance of remaining optimistic and recognize that imparting Jewish identity is a gradual process.

There is no fee for The Grandparents Circle, which is among the adult education offerings sponsored by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning. However, please register with Goldberg at wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com or by calling her at 556.6536.

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Jewish outreach director to introduce community to Grandparents Circle at Temple

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

BBYO International President to visit Omaha

by ANNE MUSKIN BBYO/Teen Director Adam Bloom, the International President (Grand Aleph Godol) of BBYO, the world’s leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement, will visit the Omaha Jewish community Nov. 6-8 during the group’s New Members Convention.

Bloom, of Wilmington, DE, was elected by 700 of BBYO’s top teen leaders to serve at the helm of the organization and travel around the world, motivating Jewish teens to grow their local BBYO programs, strengthen their Jewish communities, and make a difference in the world. Bloom Adam Bloom takes the reins at a monumental time for the organization -- BBYO has doubled its size to a growing network of 28,000 teens in the last five years, and is celebrating its 85th anniversary.

“I am very excited to visit the Omaha Jewish community,” said Bloom. “There is significant potential to increase Jewish teen involvement in this region and it has

such a rich BBYO history. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with local BBYO teens and professionals to develop a plan for growth and greater program excellence.”

Over the course of his year-long term, Bloom, who deferred his first year of college to serve as BBYO’s top ambassador, will travel to more than 50 U.S. cities and at least six countries. Key to Bloom’s agenda is the promotion of BBYO’s international initiatives, including campaigns to increase AZA/BBG membership, support teen-led efforts to help those in need locally and globally through BBYO’s Stand Up Campaign, promote summer Israel travel, and educate communities about the Early Act -- a legislative campaign led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) to motivate young women (and men) to get screened for breast cancer.

Bloom’s responsibilities also include serving as a resource for chapter and regional BBYO leaders to strengthen local programming and membership initiatives; motivating new members to seek broader involvement in BBYO’s renowned leadership programs, AZA and BBG; and campaigning for summer program participation, including BBYO’s Passport to the World program.

In the capacity of president, Bloom is joined by female counterpart, Emily Trotz, of Memphis, TN, who oversees BBYO’s young women’s division. Together, Bloom and Trotz work with eight other elected BBYO leaders from all over North America to help move the organization forward.

BBYO is the leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement aspiring to involve more Jewish teens in more meaningful Jewish experiences. For more than 85 years, AZA and BBG chapters in communities around the world have been providing exceptional leadership programs and identity enrichment experiences, shaping the lives of 250,000 alumni who are among the most prominent figures in business, politics, academia, the arts and Jewish communal life.

Now, more than ever, BBYO offers unique opportunities for teens to connect with one another, serve their communities, navigate the college admissions process and travel the world, providing each participant with a network of lifelong friends, a perspective which adds value and meaning to life and a shared commitment to strengthening the Jewish future.

For more information on BBYO, please contact me at 402.334.6404.

The virtual world ofJLand arrives in Omaha homes

by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education There’s a new game in town that may vie for time with Xbox and Wii gaming systems. JLand is an on-line, interactive game site that offers kid-friendly ways to learn Hebrew, Jewish history, holidays and traditions.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha is offering free registration for one year to the first 150 children between the ages of four and eight whose parents, grandparents, or friends request it for them JLand is being offered through the Federation’s Partnership with Israel program. The Federation is a member of Partnership’s central consortium region, along with 16 other cities, who are the first to introduce JLand to the United States.

“We are hoping families will take advantage of our offer. It is a really wonderful, creative way for children to learn,” said Julee Katzman, associate director of the Federation. “The Federation is delighted to offer this to our community’s children.”

Here’s how JLand works: Children log on and pick a character. A plane swoops in and lands in the “city of gold” and a genie bottle appears. Then, the genie is freed from its bottle with his “magic scroll.” Activities and games follow. The virtual world includes traditional subjects like math and reading along with Jewish activities that teach Hebrew, holidays and religious traditions.

Children will pick games and activities that are matched to their age. The level and complexity of the games reflect each child’s skill and ability; as they use the site, it gets more challenging for them. And, new content is added each week, so boredom is not an option!

Even better, the games change with the child’s age, so it can be enjoyed for several years.

Most importantly, parents have the option to choose subjects they want emphasized, be it math, social studies or Israeli geography. There are a variety of parental control features available including limiting access to certain days or the number of hours played each day.

One of the most unique features is the “communicator,” which allows U.S. children playing in the virtual world to correspond with Israeli children in real time.

According to Adam Fenster, executive director of JLand in North America, “It is a great tool for today’s

computer savvy kids to learn about Judaism and Israel in a relaxed, fun manner. To be able to also have a “virtual pen pal” in Israel and communicate with them on a safe and secure internet site is a bonus.”

“This is a unique way to engage kids in Jewish activities that they will think is cutting-edge and cool. It gives them a chance to do something Jewish at home and because this is available to everyone, kids that don’t go to religious school will find it as much fun as those that do,” said Katzman.

JLand was developed by Compedia, Ltd., a Tel Avivbased world leader in the development of interactive educational products.

JLand is presented by the Federation and the Center for Jewish Education, and sponsored in part by a grant from the Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Federation Foundation.

For more information, call 334.6463, or check out the JLand page at www.jewishomaha.org and the CJE Facebook page. Questions? E-mail jland@jewishomaha. org.

HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26, for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

Enhanced “Portraits” ‘People v. Leo Frank’ returns to Davis Gallery revisits Southern inhospitality

by BETH SELDIN DOTAN Director, Institute for Holocaust Education “Portraits of Survival” a black and white photo exhibit by photographer David Radler ,of Holocaust survivors from the Omaha and Lincoln communities, will be shown once again at the Jewish Community Center next month. It was created in conjunction with the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht in 2008 and is sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education. The November exhibit will include additional portraits of Lincoln Holocaust survivors and a number of United States War Veterans who assisted in liberating concentration camps in Europe in May of 1945.

During the summer months, “Portraits” was displayed in the Strategic Air and Space Museum to connect the survivors’ story with the liberation from the Nazis by Allied Troops. More than 57,000 visitors passed through the museum during its run.

A comment board provided guests with the opportunity to remark on the photos. One person noted, “I am honored and humbled to hear their stories of survival.”

Another visitor wrote, “God bless all of the individuals for their strength and courage to survive the unimaginable.”

Harold, of David City, was a liberator during World War II. He entered a barracks outside of the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp and was confronted with the inhumane conditions of Credit: David Radler the prisoners.

As a result of the talent and sensitivity of Radler, viewers feel as though they are looking into the essence of each of the beloved members of the survivor community.

“The exhibit has been very well received and helps us connect the challenging stories of each of the individuals with their lives and successes long after the war. We know visitors will again enjoy seeing the photos in the JCC gallery,” commented Gloria Kaslow, Chairperson for the Institute for Holocaust Education.

“Portraits” can be seen during the rest of the year in the Pennie Z. Davis Gallery for Holocaust Education next to the ADL office at the JCC.

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by MICHAEL FOX More than 90 years later, the Leo Frank case is still a touchy topic in the capital of the South. The ugly saga of the Jewish pencil-factory superintendent who endured several miscarriages of justice is not a subject for polite conversation.

“When I was doing research, the only resistance we got was from Jews of a certain generation in Atlanta,” recalls writer-director-producer Ben Loeterman. “And this was after receiving a major production grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which endows a certain Good Housekeeping Seal of approval as being an important story to tell.”

The experienced, Bostonbased producer of numerous “Frontline” and “American Experience” programs understood their reluctance, but he was not to be denied.

“What I love about history,” he says, “ is our ability to learn from it and our obligaLeo Frank, a Jewish supervition to look at it.”

In 1913, Frank (a New sor of a pencil factory in York transplant, which Atlanta, was convicted of the proved crucial) was arrested 1913 murder of Mary for the grisly murder of a 13- Phagan, a 13-year-old laboryear-old employee, Mary er in the factory.

Credit: Courtesy of BLPI, Phagan, in the factory baseInc. ment. He was convicted with the testimony of a well-coached African-American witness, and sentenced to death. After two years in jail and 13 rejected appeals, the governor did his own investigation and commuted the sentence. But that was not the end of Frank’s suffering.

Drawing on trial transcripts, newspaper accounts, Steve Olney’s 2003 book and contemporary interviews with descendants of many of the principal figures, Loeterman has crafted a deliberate, evenhanded and ultimately disturbing film that sweeps the dust off an uncomfortably relevant slice of American history.

The People v. Leo Frank has its national broadcast Nov. 2 on PBS. The filmmaker discovered that many Jewish families, including that of the late historian and Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin, moved out of Atlanta immediately after the nasty end to the Frank saga. Those who stayed craved a return to normalcy, and rarely if ever mentioned the dark period to their children. In fact, Atlanta native and future playwright Alfred Uhry didn’t

learn about Leo Frank until he went off to college at Cornell.

“It was so painful, frankly, that it was swept under the rug and it was kept there tightly and successfully for generations,” Loeterman says. “[Windows] were broken and storefronts were painted -- it was a mini-Kristallnacht.

That whole proud notion of being Southern and Confederates and Jews was called into question. Those three used to go along happily together.”

The People v. Leo Frank includes a mention of the case’s role in fueling the revival of the Ku Klux Klan as well as focusing the efforts of the young ADL. But larger forces were involved that go beyond the scope of the case and the film.

“There is a sense of Jewish mythology that attaches to the Leo Frank case,” Loeterman notes. “I didn’t want to overplay it. The film is a piece of journalism and history, not a piece of advocacy, and I didn’t want that confused.”

The fact is, Loeterman explains, the ADL was not founded as a result of the Leo Frank case. “It was started years before in Chicago as a kind of not terribly effective organization responding to the winds of change sweeping globally. What became clear [in my research] was that this nascent organization suddenly had a raison d’etre, a lightning rod” in the Frank episode.

In The People v. Leo Frank, the descendants of one of the prosecutors and other key figures visibly struggle with the legacy they inherited.

“They were brave to speak on camera,” Loeterman declares. “They were not easy interviews to get or to do.

It seemed to me a moment of truth and reconciliation that made it the right moment to tell the story and the right moment to catch people when they’re vulnerable enough, and empowered enough, to talk about it.”

Loeterman was born in Los Angeles and moved to Boston more than 20 years ago to pursue a career in public television. His son works in Rep. Barney Frank’s office, and his college-age daughter just moved to Israel.

His films typically spotlight an injustice, and he chuckles when he’s asked if “The People v. Leo Frank” is his first Jewish-themed film.

“That’s a Socratic question, or a Portnoyian question.

I think in some way all my films are Jewish. We are who we are. I made a film [The Triumph of Evil] that was a major turning point in my career, about the genocide in Rwanda, which began with footage of Elie Wiesel and Bill Clinton lighting the torch at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.” He pauses, and adds, “If you work in the area of social justice and human rights, how can that not touch you as a Jew?”

Page 6

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Preschoolers treated to morning of fun during Beth El’s Nitzanim

class -- are held throughout the year and

by JILL BELMONT are open to all families in the Jewish comBeth El Publicity Coordinator Introducing Jewish values via creative munity, at no charge. Upcoming getarts and crafts activities and games made togethers and their themes are: Dec. 13, for a fun morning of learning for three Hanukkah; Feb. 21, Purim; and March and four year-olds and their parents during Beth El’s recent Nitzanim (“Buds”) program at the synagogue.

Themes of “Friendship,” “Honoring Father and Mother,” Tzedakah” and “Welcoming Guests” provided kid-friendly discussion topics; picture frames stating “I’m Wild About My Mishpocha!” were decorated with jungle animals, and Education Director Judy Rubin engages the youngsters in a other projects symbolizing discussion about how to make guests feel comfortable and each topic were glued, cut welcome. and colored during the morning.

Education Director Judy Rubin facilitated the program, and was pleased to see so many moms, dads and little ones enjoying themselves as the youngsters were introduced to these basic tenets of Judaism.

Touting the program’s “fun and experiential” opportunities, Rubin said that, “These programs create an environment in which learning takes place with joy and with age-appropriate, creative and interesting activities to transmit this knowledge.

“At the end of each session, I would like the children to have had a marvelous time learning and absorbing Judaism on a cognitive, as well as an experiential level.

I would like the parents to also come away from each program with informa- Above: Thomas Kirk helps his son, Jacob, tion that they can transfer to their own create a colorful picture frame; below: art activities took center stage during Beth El's lives, and the tools to make it happen.”

Thomas Kirk, who attended with his recent Nitzanim program for preschoolers son, Jacob, shared that he “really enjoyed and their parents. being able to learn with Jacob and work creatively together on the art projects.

Jacob was extremely excited about the program and said that his favorite part was making the hanger project (which symbolized welcoming guests) and having me help him.”

Kirk noted that as the dad of three children, “it’s not often I get special one-onone time with Jacob, so the Nitzanim program was perfect for us!”

Alan Tipp, who was accompanied by daughter, Adria, and son Asher, also enjoyed the special morning with his children. “The kids and I had a great time at last week's activity,” he said. “Our daughter was excited to see some of her friends and to create a picture frame to hang in 14, Passover. Programs take place from her room. It was quality family time spent 10:30 a.m. to noon.

For more information or to register, together.”

Nitzanim programs -- which serve as an contact Rubin at 498.0904, or eddir@ auxiliary to Beth El’s regular preschool bethel-omaha.org.

ORGANIZATIONS YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday, 12:30 p.m., for a performance by “The Links”, a high energy group. Cost for the noon lunch is $7. Come play bingo at 10 a.m. Call Theresa for transportation at 330.4272.

For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

Explore the store; see a slide presentation; learn the history of candy; see a candy demonstration and enjoy samples! Lunch to follow at Julio’s at 12:15 p.m. Send reservations to Phyllis Roffman, 4118 No. 139 St., Omaha, NE 68164 by Nov. 5. For information call her at 333.1222.

Make check payable to Visions.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots!

Come join us every Thursday, 1-3 p.m. at the JCC. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Juvenile Court Judge Larry Gendler will tell us how he saves kids from getting lost within the legal system on Wednesday, Nov. 4, noon, at Regency Lodge. The innovative judge has been instrumental in getting laws passed to help our “lost” kids. The program is free. An optional buffet lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to get on the email list, contact Jenny at 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

VISIONS The Visions Board will meet on Friday, Nov. 6, 9:30 a.m. at the JCC. Join your friends on a sweet tour of Hollywood Candy in the Old Market on Monday, Nov. 9, 11 a.m. Cost is $4.

October 30, 2009

For home, holidays, gifts:

Find great deals, keepsakes at Beth El’s Judaica Shop Sale

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator From brightly-colored dreidels and graceful hanukkiyot to unique Judaica items for all occasions, Beth El’s Judaica Shop is a one-stop shop for every holiday need.

And, as a bonus for all lucky patrons, the shop will hold a special sale from Nov. 1-15; everyone in the Jewish community will want to take advantage of the unbeatable discounts.

Everything in the shop will be at least 10 percent off: all solid-gold jewelry will be 30 percent off, and a variety of items will be up to 75 percent off.

Among the many artists whose works are exhibited at the shop include Gary Rosenthal, Tamara Baskin, IsArt, Ayala Getting ready for the Beth El Judaica Shop’s big annual sale, Bar and Nambe.

Sale hours are: shop chairman Caryn Rifkin checks Sundays, Nov. 1 & the inventory of menorahs.

8, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (during Boutique); Mondays, Nov. 2 & 9, by appointment only by calling the office, 492.8550; Tuesdays, Nov. 3 & 10, by appointment only; Wednesdays, Nov. 4 & 11, 2:30-5 p.m.; and Thursdays, Nov. 5 & 12, by appointment only. Regular gift shop hours are Sundays, 10 a.m. to noon (when BESTT classes are in session) and Wednesdays, 3-4:30 p.m.

While browsing, be sure to take a look at the beautiful mezuzot, tallitot, Shabbat candlesticks, books and other distinctive offerings, and feel good in knowing that proceeds from each purchase goes to support Beth El and the terrific programming and services offered to the congregation.

“Over the years, proceeds from the shop have underwritten a variety of synagogue programs, benefited our religious school, made possible our congregation’s membership directory, and supported the synagogue in countless other ways,” said Judaica Shop chairman Caryn Rifkin. “We’ve got the goods and the Judaica experts -volunteers and staff members -- to help you find the perfect gift - stop in and take advantage of this great sale!”

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

Davis Gallery features children’s art from the Holocaust

by BETH SELDIN DOTAN Director, Institute for Holocaust Education During the month of November, the Institute for Holocaust Education will host an exhibit -- “From the Children, About the Children, For the Children: Art of the Holocaust” in the Pennie Z. Davis Gallery for Holocaust Education.

“Art of the Holocaust” is a collection of children’s artwork and poetry from the Holocaust, which encourages responses from today’s youth; it was created by The Center for Holocaust and Humanities of Cincinnati.

In addition to the “Art of the Holocaust” panels, the IHE has created five additional panels which include excerpts from two youth newspapers that were written in the Terezin ghetto in Czechoslovakia.

Boys of ages 12-15 who were living in the required

barracks created their own means of expression by editing newspapers. The “Kamarad” (meaning “Companion” or “Friend”) and “Vedem”(meaning “In the Lead”) were read each week on Fridays and included daily accounts, poetry, comic strips and book reviews.

Most of the children involved in writing these newspapers perished in Auschwitz or other extermination camps before the war’s end. But their writings were somehow preserved and later published.

The materials included in these panels were provided with permission from Israel’s Beit Theresienstadt Martyrs’ Remembrance Association and the Center for Holocaust and Humanities. The Pennie Z. Davis Gallery, located next to the Anti-Defamation League office in the Jewish Community Center, is open during regular JCC hours.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Omaha Performing Arts presents four farewell performances of Riverdance, the thunderous celebration of Irish music, song and dance that has tapped its way onto the world stage thrilling millions of people around the globe, from Tuesday-Friday, Nov. 10-13, in the Slosburg Hall at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater.

Tickets, priced from $38-$58, may be purchased by phone toll free at 866.434-8587 or 402.345.0606, at the box office located in the Holland Performing Arts Center or online at www.omahaperformingarts.org.

The Coen brothers new film, A Serious Man (reviewed in the Jewish Press on Oct. 16) starts Friday, Oct. 30, at Film Streams in the Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Webster in downtown Omaha.

From Ethan and Joel Coen comes the story of an ordi-

nary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances.

Larry’s unemployable brother Arthur is sleeping on the couch; his son Danny is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job.

Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope and become a righteous person -- a mensch -- a serious man?

Tickets can be purchased in advanced online at www.filmstreams.org, by calling 402.933.0259 or at the box office.

BIRTHS Eliva Stephnova and Mike Ginsburg announce the Oct. 21 birth of their daughter, Miriam Ellis.

Grandfather is Peter Ginsburg.

Dr. Jessica Kalender-Rich and Adam Rich of Overland Park, KS, announce the Aug. 28 birth of their son, Eliezer Zachariah, He has a brother, Yonatan David.

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Rabbi Yaakov and Ilana Weiss announce the Oct. 22 birth of their daughter, Naama Chana, named for greatgrandmothers Helen Osokow and Anna Lieberson.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

HHEF offers survivors opportunity to memorialize loved ones

by MARY BORT for Heartland Holocaust Educational Fund Visitors to the Nebraska Holocaust Memorial, located at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, encounter a place that features artwork, a sea of stones representing the 11 million people murdered in the Holocaust, educational panels, and bricks that honor friends and loved ones. The Memorial is a component of the Heartland Holocaust Educational Fund One brick, close-up, lies in the sea of stones.

(HHEF). where they died. The HHEF will take As a result of a special donation, the care of ordering and placing the bricks at HHEF is offering survivors of the the Nebraska Holocaust Memorial.”

Holocaust the opportunity to place “There are thousands of people who bricks at the Memorial, honoring family visit Wyuka Cemetery each year, and members who perished in concentration many of them visit the Nebraska camps. Currently, 83 individuals are Holocaust Memorial,” continued Fried. memorialized with bricks spread “The Memorial serves as a place to learn throughout the sea of stones, indicating and reflect. I think it is important that their names and where they were killed. visitors see the names of survivors’ loved The original bricks were installed by ones who were murdered, to remember members of the Nebraska Holocaust them and never forget what happened.”

Executive Committee, which is comAccording to Gary Hill, managing prised of students from Lincoln director of the Memorial, “To look at 11 Southeast High School. million stones provides an idea of the vast “We want to give survivors a way to number of people murdered in the honor their families who were murdered Holocaust. The bricks, spread throughin the camps,” explained Sam Fried, out the stones, with actual names and the HHEF Founder and Auschwitz survivor. places where they were murdered, helps “The HHEF is pleased to provide this people understand that the Memorial is service at no cost to the survivors. All not just about numbers and history. It is they need to do is contact us and provide about individual people, whose contribuus with their family names, and if known, tion to humankind was cut short and is

Volunteers install bricks in the sea of stones. lost forever.”

In addition to supporting the Nebraska Holocaust Memorial, the HHEF works

to provide Holocaust and genocide education courses at institutions of higher learning across the Heartland. “It is only through the generosity of our donors that we are able to provide future leaders with the chance to learn about the Holocaust and about other acts of genocide, to ensure that it never happens again,” said Fried.

To make arrangements for bricks to be placed in memory of family members, survivors or their families should contact the HHEF by calling 334.6459 or emailing mbort@holocausteducation fund.org.

New signs that Ethiopian aliyah will resume

by URIEL HEILMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- After being shut for more than a year, the gates of mass Ethiopian immigration to Israel may be swinging open again -- this time for some 9,000 people. The group at issue is comprised of socalled Falash Mura -Ethiopians who claim links to descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity generations ago, but who now seek to return to Judaism and immigrate to Israel. Right: An Israeli Interior Ministry official checks the eligibility for aliyah of Ethiopians in Gondar, Ethiopia, in 2005.

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IHE marks decade since its inception with Brundibár performances

by ILANA WEISS Nine and a half years ago, Beth Seldin Dotan returned to Omaha from Israel to help work on Holocaust Education in the Plains States Office of the AntiDefamation League. She later initiated the Institute for Holocaust Education, its mission -- to teach students, educators and the community at large the lessons of the Holocaust and their relevance to society today.

Now the IHE, still located in the offices of the ADL and under the auspices of the Jewish Federation, is exploding with its most exciting and ambitious project to date.

In collaboration with Opera/Omaha, the IHE is presenting the children’s opera Brundibár at the Rose Theater. Ten performances for middle and high school students from the Omaha, Lincoln and surrounding areas are Monday-Friday, Nov. 2-6; one public performance is Saturday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m. Ela Weissberger, a child survivor of Terezín concentration camp, where she appeared in the opera 55 times, will be in Omaha to tell her eye witness stories to every audience.

“Our project is already a success,” says Eunie

all the stress of senior year, when I come to rehearsal, I become Pepicek, and I’m really enjoying the role. It’s also hard, because it makes me realize how lucky I am to come from a family who is so fortunate and has no hardships.”

The IHE spent more than two years planning the Brundibár project. The staff and more than 70 volunteers prepared and educated the school communities. With support from the Dixon Family Foundation, educational packets were developed specifically for area teachers. As generous donations came in from the Peter Kiewit Foundation, the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Nebraska Arts Council, the Esther Sarah Kutler, granddaughter of K. Newman Memorial survivor Bea Karp, has a role in Fund and the Ruth E. Brundibár.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

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Left: Omaha area students rehearse for the school perform- Goldberg have the leads in Brundibár. ances of Brundibár. Right: Grace Byladek and Scott Credit: Karen Spurck, Music Director at Morton Middle School Denenberg, chairman of the Brundibár events, Community of San Diego, the IHE was able to offer the “because, as of Oct. 1, all 10 school shows were com- schools free tickets and transportation. pletely booked, with students filling more than 9,000 Contributions from the Alan Simon, Fred Simon, seats at the Rose!”

Bruce Simon, Todd Simon Families as well as Henry The original youthful cast of Brundibár in Terezín Davis, the Slosburg families and many others from the were victims of starvation and ultimately murder -- Hans Omaha community have allowed this incredible project Krása, the composer, perished in Auschwitz -- but the to move forward. opera’s message of hope declares a united community Additional activities surrounding the opera will occur will triumph over evil. Omaha’s production, directed by during the week of the school run. Weissberger has been Helena Binder of Vermont is comprised of adult profes- invited to speak at the Omaha Public Library, Abrahams sionals plus local youth who have studied the opera’s branch, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m. Her topic is unique history. Some 35 young people are in the show “Clandestine Schools and Secret Libraries of Terezín.” including the Morton Middle School Honor Choir. The She will also highlight an event open to the communistudents are putting in hours of rehearsal time and, sup- ty on Sunday, Nov. 8, 1 p.m., at the Kripke Library. ported by their school principals, are missing a week of She will discuss the recently published The Girls in Room 28 by Hannelore Brenner, a book which describes the school for the performances.

Sarah Kutler, a seventh grader at Beveridge Magnet life and friendships made in the Terezín girls’ barrack.

School, is the daughter of Nancy and Howard Kutler In addition, Weissberger will participate in the first IHE and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivor Bea Karp. gathering of the Second Generation of Holocaust Asked about the show’s importance for her, she com- Survivors’ brunch.

The volunteer support of individuals such as chairpermented, “I feel this is my opportunity to do something for my grandmother. I play the ‘ice cream vendor’ and son Eunie Denenberg, finance chairs Fred Simon and sing in the chorus, and I think the story of Brundibár Howard Kaslow and the organizational collaboration will help many kids learn about the Holocaust and how with Opera/Omaha, KANEKO, the Anti-Defamation difficult life was then. The message of the show really League and the Jewish Federation of Omaha have all tells people that no matter who you are you shouldn’t helped make this endeavor a strong success. Added IHE bully kids who are Jewish or African American or just dif- Chairman, Gloria Kaslow, “we are honored to create such an exciting program for ferent from you. I get to be a the community and provide part of a community of peoso many possibilities to teach ple who sing and act and Monday-Friday, Nov. 2-6: Student performances of the lessons of the who get to teach this imporBrundibár at the Rose Theater downtown Holocaust.” tant message, too.”

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.: Ela Weissberger at the Those attending the public Scott Goldberg, a senior at Westside and son of Cindy Omaha Public Library, Abrahams Branch, speaking on performance will have no problem arriving at the and Bruce Goldberg, plays “Clandestine Schools and Secret Libraries of Terezín” one of the principal roles for Saturday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m.: Brundibár performance Holland Center for the Omaha Symphony with celethe school performances, open to the pulic, at the Rose Theater downtown violinist Itzhak Pepicek -- part of the broth- Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m.: Second Generation Brunch brated er and sister team who are with Weissberger; 1 p.m.: Community program with Perlman that night on Nov. bullied by Brundibár, the Weissberger for Jewish Book Month at the Kripke Library 7, 8 p.m.

For ticket information for town organ grinder, played discussing The Girls in Room 28 by Hannelore Brenner

by David Ward from New Monday, Nov. 9, 9:45 a.m.: Kristallnacht commemora- the public performance of York City. tion with Friedel Jewish Academy in the JCC lobby with Brundibár, please contact Opera Omaha, 346.7372.

Goldberg said that “with Weissberger

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

BBGers help Project Harmony Your Look...

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by CHLOE GINSBURG October ended the MZ Yoshanah BBG #2053 Project Harmony Drive. After collecting clothes, toys, school supplies, and other children’s essentials for the past six months, members of the Omaha BBYO chapter delivered the items to the organization and received a tour of the facility.

Project Harmony assists children who have been removed from their homes due to neglect, physical or sexual abuse, and other threatening situations while they wait to be placed with a foster family. The donated items will be given to these children and their foster families to help ease the transition to their new homes.

Amy Chisholm, Development Specialist, left, accepts items from Lauren Brown, MZ advisor, Hannah Perry, Morissa Miller, Molly Kudym, Ariel Kohll, and Chloe Ginsburg, drive coordinator.

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by ELYA WILSON Community Shlicha “Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention,” wrote Francis Bacon.

A synonym for the Jewish people is “People of the Book.” Our history, our traditions, our rituals, and our lives are all based on scripture, on “The Book.”

Nowadays, where some may say that they have no real connection to their history or to past traditions, People of the Book takes on a whole new meaning: people of education, of culture, of wisdom. There is no better way to learn a language than by reading in that language, and so, there is no better way to learn a culture, than to read that culture. Read about Israeli life from within: Israeli authors that can take you on a tour through the beautiful scenery, and show in their words different aspects of

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The Book Club’s first book will be Beaufort by Ron Leshem. We will meet for our first session, led by Gary Katz and me, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m. To register and for more information please contact me at 334.6403, or at ewilson@jccomaha.org.

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An author with Omaha connections -- Sandi Wisenberg -- will be at Creighton University on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m., to talk about her book, The Adventures of Cancer Bitch in the Union Pacific Room, Reinert Alumni Library, Creighton University. Published by the University of Iowa Press, the book is “feminist, political and Jewish.”

Wisenberg’s grandmother grew up in Omaha, where her family somehow landed after leaving Slutsk, Belarus, in the early 1900s.

For more info about the book, visit http://SLwisen berg.blogspot.com, or Wisenberg’s blog is http:// cancerbitch.blogspot.com. Her previous books are an essay collection, Holocaust Girls: History, Memory & Other Obsessions (University of Nebraska Press, 2002) and The Sweetheart Is In, whose sweetheart in the title is of a fictional AZA group.

Who is the most impressive woman you know? Do you know a local leader who has inspired you with her dedication to improving our community? Nominate her today for the League of Women Voters “Making Democracy Work Award.”

Applications are available at the League’s website: www.omahalwv.org and must be received by Nov. 15.

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Andy Greenberg, an accomplished Omaha motivational speaker and trainer, will present daily insights and helpful thoughts on how to enhance listeners’ professional and personal pursuits for the day. The feature, “Getting Up with Andy Greenberg” will air MondayFriday, 5:25 a.m., and will also be featured on KFAB.com, Sadlemyer said. “Everyday, we are bombarded with news that affects our daily lives. This approach will help 1110 KFAB listeners learn how take back control of what happens during the day,” he added.

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October 30, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 11

FOR A LIMITED TIME!

November FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30 Say ‘Shalom!’ to Shabbat!, Tot Shabbat and dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Guest Speaker on Israel, and Tot Shabbat and dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 Adult Education classes begin at 9 a.m. at Beth Israel Bring Your parents to School Day, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Issues and Hot Topics, 10:30 a.m. at Temple Israel Sisterhood Donor, 11 a.m. at Beth Israel FJA Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El Camp Sabra Reunion & Information Day, 12:30 p.m.

OTYG Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m. at Temple Israel FJA Stargazing Event, 4:30 p.m.

Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2 ADL Brundibar Student Performance, 10 a.m.

YES Luncheon, 10 a.m.

Minchah/Ma’ariv & Mishnah, 5:15 p.m.

Tel Aviv at 100, 7 p.m.

Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 3:45 p.m.

BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel JCC Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 ADL PEW Facilitator Training, 11 a.m.

AIPAC Nebraska Council briefing, Lunch, 11:45 a.m.

OTYG Lounge Night, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel Nurturing the Nuturer and Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El Federation Partnership with Israel Meeting, noon Yiddish Group, 1 p.m.

Rabbi Gross’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6 Visions Board Meeting, 9 a.m.

BBYO New Members Convention, 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 IHE & Opera Omaha present publice performance of Brundibar Opera, 6:30 p.m. at the Rose SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 BBYO New Members Convention, 8 a.m.

Adult Education classes begin at 9 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Exploring new wave of Domestic Terrorism, 10 a.m.

FJA Advanced Hebrew, 11 a.m. at Beth El OTYG Board Meeting, 12:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Minchah/Ma’ariv & Mishnah, 5:15 p.m.

Tel Aviv at 100, 7 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Eye on Israel with Dr. Guy Matalon, noon ADL/CRC Executive Committee Meeting, noon Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 3:45 p.m.

Executive Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at FJA BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at FJA WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11 OTYG Lounge Night, 5 p.m. Temple Israel BESTT High School dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Nurturing the Nuturer, Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El CJE Board Meeting, noon Yiddish Group, 1 p.m.

ADL PEW Facilitator Training, 6 p.m.

WRJ Game Night, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Gross’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 Temple Israel Hosting NFTY-MV Fall Conclave Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15 Adult Education classes begin at 9 a.m. at Beth Israel BESTT Sixth grade Family Program, 10 a.m. at Beth El Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Sisterhood Boutique, 10 a.m. at Beth El Exploring new wave of Domestic Terrorism, 10 a.m.

FJA Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16 YES Luncheon, 10 a.m.

Jewish Book Club Meeting, 10:30 a.m.

IHE Governance Council Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

Minchah/Ma’ariv & Mishnah, 5:15 p.m.

Tel Aviv at 100, 7 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 3:45 p.m.

BBYO Meet Rabbis Debate, 6 p.m.

Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study with the Clergy, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Levin’s Weekly Class, noon at Beth El School Directors’ Committee Meeting, noon Dorothy Kaplan Book Group, 1 p.m. at Kripke Library Yiddish Group, 1 p.m.

RBJH Family Night Dinner, 6 p.m.

Rabbi Gross’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 Shabbat Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at Beth Israel SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 Adult Education classes begin at 9 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Education Classes, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El Exploring new wave of Domestic Terrorism, 10 a.m.

WRJ Board Meeting, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel NCJW Fall Fundraiser, 10 a.m.

FJA Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El Temple Israel JYG at Chalco Hills, noon OTYG Tri-Faith Thanksgiving, 1:30 p.m., and Thanksgiving Service, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23 Minchah/Ma’ariv & Mishnah, 5:15 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24 JSS/RBJH Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

Scholars Club for 4th, 5th & 6th Graders, 3:45 p.m.

Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies/Ruth & Phil Sokolof Lecture with Martin Indyk, 5:30 p.m. at UNO Thompson Alumni Center BBYO Night, 6 p.m.

Children of Eden Rehearsals, 6:30 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 Nurturing the Nuturer, Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26 Thanksgiving JCC Closed Beth El’s USY Regional Kinnus Convention - KC Thanksgiving Football Game, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Minchah/Ma’ariv & Mishnah, 5:15 p.m.

Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Rabbis & Presidents Meeting, noon NJHS Board Meeting, 3:30 p.m.

OTYG Lounge Night, 5 p.m. at Temple Israel Nurturing the Nuturer, Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Jewish Book Month Dinner, 6:30 p.m.

Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group, 7 p.m.

Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel

All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

November 9: 1938, 1989 and today For Bea Karp, Nov. 9 is a bitter reminder of the Nazis hurling bricks through storefronts in her hometown of Lauterbach, Germany. That fateful night of 1938 later became known as Kristallnacht -- the Night of Broken Glass.

Jack-booted thugs beat Jews senseless, burned synagogues and tore the long beards of rabbis.

It was a signal to the world that the fascists were serious in their aim to transform the world and make it Judenrein -- free of Jews. Of course it was more than seven years and millions dead before the dreams of the 1000-year Reich were ended by the Allied armies, but the evil forces that nearly destroyed the world then just rose up in different forms later.

Fast forward to 1961, when the USSR -- the Union of Society Socialist Republics -- a former ally of the United States in World War II -- hastily closed off the city of Berlin, deep in East German territory. Again, the forces of good -- mostly American -- airlifted food and medical supplies to the Berliners in protest of the concrete and razor wire wall that now separated East and West Berlin.

Over the years, there would be many attempts by East Berliners to escape. Some were shot as they tried to jump over the wall.; others were electrocuted on the wall itself.

Nearby apartment buildings were razed so that those fleeing communism would not be able use the balconies as diving boards.

Others under communist dictatorship -- in Budapest in 1956 and in Prague in 1968 -tried in vain to fight back against their oppressors. Like the photo now stuck in our minds of the lone Chinese man standing in front of the menacing tank in Tiennaman Square, many readers can vividly remember the tanks rolling through streets of Budapest and the student

protests in Czechoslovakia.

But in 1989, again on Nov. 9, the wall finally came down.

It started with the Solidarity movement of labor unionists in Poland and it spread to other parts of Eastern Europe, and yes, even Russia. Gorbachev came to power in the USSR and the word “perestroika” became part of our lexicon. The USSR was about to undertake a reconstruction of its economic and political underpinnings; the end was near.

The Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, which had organized in 1964, just three years after the Berlin wall rose, organized a massive march on Washington, D.C., in December of 1987. Reforms had already eased life in Austria and Hungary and in September of 1989, more than 13,000 East Berliners “touring” those countries escaped to freedom.

The floodgates had opened and

by Nov. 9, 1989, an East German official lifted the ban on travel outside the country. Within three years, more than a million Jews would leave the USSR -- soon to be known as the “former Soviet Union” for a new life in Israel and America. More than 300 Jews from the FSU were resettled here in Omaha, thanks to the generosity of this community and countless hours of volunteer work by Jewish Family Service’s Resettlement Committee.

Today, many of those Jews -- and their children -- are living the American (and Israeli) dream. They are scientists and doctors, musicians and artists, business entrepreneurs

and politicians. They vote for whom they please, worship (or not) where they want, travel, work and live in places of which their parents could only dream.

Man’s goal is to be free, and no ideology, no political rhetoric no dictator can keep citizens from knowing what’s beyond that wall. If in 1938, Nov. 9 was a harbinger of the evil to come, then Nov. 9, 1989, was a sign that humanity yearns for freedom and will eventually fight for it.

Today’s evil rulers in Iran, Sudan, North Korea and elsewhere should keep that in mind.

And so should our own government. America must stand on the side of those who fight for democracy; we did in WWII, in the 1961 Berlin airlift and in forcing the wall down in 1989.

FOCUS ON ISSUES

by CHUCK FREILICH

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel’s national security is predicated on three strategic pillars: The commitment, resolve and resilience of Israel’s people; the Israel Defense Forces and other defense agencies; and the “special relationship” with the United States.

All three face serious challenges today.

The U.S.-Israel relationship is largely unparalleled in history, one carefully nurtured over decades and in which AIPAC has played a vital role. It is a relationship under attack from numerous quarters, including pro-Arab and generally left-leaning groups, renowned scholars who write scurrilous attacks on the “Israel lobby,” and others. It is a relationship showing increasing signs of “Europeanization,” where it seems Palestinians and Arabs can do no wrong, Israel no right.

It is a relationship weakened by well-meaning but dangerously misguided Jewish Americans who established the group J Street as a “moderate” alternative to AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

My beef is not over the issues. On some I agree with J Street. It is about the best ways of ensuring the long-term vitality of the U.S.Israeli relationship and the security and wellbeing of Israel.

It is presumptuous of our brethren in the United States, and frankly offensive, for them to believe that they “know better” what is right for Israel. The Jewish state is a vibrant, pluralistic democracy. Only Israel’s citizens, who endure the consequences, bear the responsibility for its policies. The place to change Israel’s policies is in Israel, not Washington. A corollary of sovereignty is the

Only “the Jews,” with their well-earned and arguably endearing reputation for fractiousness, could conceive of doing something that weakens AIPAC. We all prefer diplomatic solutions.

Sometimes it is not entirely up to us; sometimes there is no recourse but military action.

The residents of Sderot, now enjoying their ninth month of relative quiet, might question the military expertise behind J Street’s assessment. Israel and only Israel will decide whether to attack Iran’s nukes.

Hopefully it will never come to this, but if it does, J Street had better be behind us.

This is not to dispute the right of Jewish Americans to express their views. Being proIsrael, as J Street correctly states, does not mean blind support for every Israeli government position. Many Israelis are at least as critical.

I, for one, a fiercely patriotic Israeli, madly in love with this crazy place, have published numerous highly critical articles. Jewish Americans who share a deep concern for Israel’s trials and travails have the right, even the duty, to express their criticism within the Jewish community, the public at large, pretty much anywhere -- except before the U.S. administration and Congress. There we have to present one voice -- not “pro” every Israeli policy but united, unswerving support for

Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Michael Sigmond, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Daphne Pollak Alperson, Marc Brodkey; Eric Dunning; Jason Epstein; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman.

The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press .

Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole.

The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content.

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Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.

AIPAC, J Street or JDate? right to err. We waited for that right for 2,000 years.

J Street’s stated position -- that it “supports political solutions over military ones” regarding the Palestinians and “strongly opposes the use of force

by Israel or the U.S.” against Iran -- is the height of presumption and chutzpah. So was its position earlier this year, during the Gaza operation, when it opined that “escalation will prove counterproductive” and called for an immediate cease-fire.

(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Israel and a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.

Some have criticized AIPAC’s allegedly right-wing, “Likud-minded” tendencies, whereas a majority of Jewish Americans are more dovish. This is a fundamental misconception both of reality and of AIPAC’s role, which is to promote the U.S.-Israel relationship regardless of who is in office in either country. Some of Israel’s policies may be mistaken, but they are Israel’s, made by its democratically elected government. AIPAC does not and must not get involved in these battles, but simply do its utmost at all times to strengthen the relationship.

Only “the Jews,” with their well-earned and arguably endearing reputation for fractiousness, could conceive of doing something that weakens AIPAC. A model to be emulated, the envy of virtually all other lobbies, AIPAC has been at the forefront of the bilateral relationship for decades.

AIPAC may have made mistakes over the years -- who hasn’t? But there is a wise, old American saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” AIPAC is definitely not broken, and for those who take issue with some of its positions and actions, the appropriate recourse is to work for change from within.

To date, despite the plethora of Jewish organizations in all other areas, the U.S.-Israel relationship has largely had one voice in Washington. This is as it must be. AIPAC has a devoted, sophisticated, often brilliant professional staff and lay leadership. It simply does not get better.

For those seeking new and different relationships, get on JDate.

Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel and a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, is now completing a book on Israeli national security decisionmaking processes. This Op-Ed originally appeared on the Jerusalem Post website, JPost.com.

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October 30, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 13

Support for Israel comes in a multitude of voices

FOCUS ON IbySSUES DANIEL SOKATCH

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- The upcoming J Street conference will bring a thousand American and Israeli progressive thinkers and activists to Washington.

Titled “Driving Change, Securing Peace,” the conference comes at a critical moment because dramatic as it may sound, we are in a battle for the future and soul of Israel. And despite the concerns of some in our community, Israel is strong enough to withstand free and fair debate about its most significant issues.

Indeed, it is only through such debate that these issues will be resolved.

The J Street conference offers an opportunity to discuss the serious issues affecting Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship, to air out the controversies and to have the conversations that are avoided too frequently by mainstream Jewish organizations. It also will facilitate the building of connections and synergies among the disparate pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy groups in Israel and the American Jewish community.

The timing is critical. President Obama’s commitment to restarting the peace process, and his understanding that Israel must change its de facto support for the settlement enterprise, has changed the political dynamic between Washington and Jerusalem.

Despite the overwhelming support of the majority of the American Jewish community for this approach and for

President Obama in gener- that should be of great concern to all of al, most Israelis do not trust us who love and treasure Israel. this administration to J Street, which has added an important advance Israel’s interests. new voice to the Washington policy The growing rift between equation on peace issues, understands the two communities does that the “internal” Israeli issues that NIF not bode well for Israel and works on are anything but. Israel’s record its relationships here. on social justice has a profound impact on The pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democ- its international standing. Countries that racy camp can serve as a bridge between deny equality to their indigenous minorithe American Jewish and Israeli commu- ties sacrifice their moral standing in the nities at a time when such a bridge is sore- eyes of the world and their own citizens. ly needed.

A foreign minis... I am alarmed not only by this rift ter who heads a As incoming CEO of the New Israel but also by leaders in Israel and the party that consisFund, the leading tently narrows the American Jewish community who organization comdefinition of citizenmitted to equality seem determined to repel all critiship and equal and democracy for cism or even thoughtful debate ... rights is properly all Israelis, I am regarded with suspialarmed not only by this rift but also by cion by the leaders of other democracies, leaders in Israel and the American Jewish American and European. And a quasicommunity who seem determined to theocracy that uses one fervently repel all criticism or even thoughtful Orthodox standard to define Jewishness – debate about the deepening tension when Jewish identity is the raison d’etre between security and human rights for the state – raises hackles among the imperatives in Israel. overwhelming majority of Americans and Initiatives launched by the current others who believe in the separation of Israeli government -- including legislation religion and state. that would require a McCarthyesque loySocial justice and human rights issues in alty oath of all Israelis, and attempts to Israel also are crucially relevant here at discredit and delegitimize the country’s home. The growing indifference of many human rights groups (of which we are a American Jews, particularly young Jews, leading funder) -- seem designed to erode to Israel is directly related to their concivil society and further marginalize cerns over the occupation and the seemIsrael’s Arab citizens. ing indifference of some Israeli governAdd to this the continuing Orthodox ments to basic democratic values. A monopoly on religious practice and per- Jewish community that voted oversonal status issues, and the growing eco- whelmingly for President Obama; a comnomic and educational gap between the munity that proudly takes leadership posihaves and have-nots in Israeli society, and tions in American progressive institutions you have a recipe for potential disaster and causes; a community whose record of

concern for social justice and civil rights in the United States is second to none – this is not a community that will turn a blind eye to ultranationalism, extremism and intolerance in Israel.

Simply put, if American Jews cannot find a way to love Israel and help fix its flaws, if there is no role for the millions of Jews who want Israel to live up to the dreams of its founders, the American Jewish support that Israel depends upon economically and politically will continue to wane.

The New Israel Fund and the other progressive groups that will meet at the J Street conference are unabashedly proIsrael, and we provide the means for American Jews to support Israel in ways consistent with their progressive values.

We know there are too many voices on the left, both in the United States and worldwide, that are unquestionably hostile to Israel no matter what it does. We are the most obvious rebuke to the notion that support for Israel is a rightwing phenomenon, exemplified in the U.S. by evangelicals and neo-cons.

We are the bridge between a largely progressive American Jewish community and millions of Israelis seeking a way out of political stalemate and moral quandary.

The quest for a humane, just and equitable Israel is the most pro-Israel act imaginable, and as we partner with J Street and other progressive organizations to amplify our voices, we expect that more and more, our voices will be heard.

Daniel Sokatch, founding executive director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance, takes over as CEO of the New Israel Fund on Oct. 19.

What’s really on trial in the Goldstone report?

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

by JOEL LION

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The No. 1 priority of any government is to protect its citizens, whether it be from times of economic instability, crime or foreign threats.

Stimulus packages and rebates are given to constituents to spur the economy. Additional police forces are deployed to counter crime. But what is a country to do when being attacked by a foreign army?

The answer to this question seems simple: defend its citizens by all means possible. But for Israel, doing so means condemnation by the world in the form of the Goldstone report (issued to the UN Human Rights Council).

For eight years, since 2001 until Operation Cast Lead, 12,000 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli men, women and children were forced to sleep in bomb shelters. Children’s school days were disturbed by “red alert,” an alarm announcing that a rocket had been fired and that they had 15 seconds to find shelter.

The excuse for the rocket fire: occupation.

Taking the unilateral step to bring peace to its citizens, the Land of Israel, under the leadership of Prime

Minister Ariel Sharon, dismantled every settlement and every military base in Gaza and relocated 10,000 Jewish residents.

The result: 5,426 rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli citizens.

Israel was forced to react and finally curb these attacks.

From March 2008 until the end of Operation Cast Lead, I worked in the Israeli city of Sderot, Israel’s hardest-hit community. Even today I can still see the tear-stained faces and hear the cries of fathers, mothers and children as the red alert sounded, and then the subsequent bang from a missile or rocket hitting a school, a home or a street.

Such reports not only harm nation states in the war against terror, but harm the prospects for peace in the Middle East.

Every day, for eight years, rockets and mortars hit Sderot. Not a day went by that the siren did not sound.

Not a night went by that children could sleep in their beds. In the rare instances that residents were allowed to leave the shelters for fresh air, and to get food and clothes for their extended stay, fear was rampant in the air. No one knew when the next rocket would be fired.

Israel tried diplomatic ways, entering into a truce with Hamas to bring peace to the residents of southern Israel.

But Hamas chose war as we had our arms outstretched

for peace. On Dec. 13, 2008, Israel announced that it wished to extend a truce that was scheduled to end Dec. 19. On Dec. 20, Hamas chose not to extend the truce.

Choosing the path of war, on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, Hamas fired 87 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel in an operation entitled “Operation Oil Stain.”

The question of a government’s right to self-defense is not the only issue on trial in the Goldstone Report. Also on trial is the world’s right to fight terrorism, whether at home or abroad.

Israel, a nation with laws and code of ethics, was forced to defend itself from terrorists who intentionally fired at innocent civilians and decided to hide among their own civilian population in order to defend themselves from counter action.

Goldstone does not differentiate between a democracy using force to defend its civilians and a terror organization targeting innocent civilians on purpose. The report does not search for the truth but rather instills Goldstone’s own political beliefs on the situation.

Such reports not only harm nation states in the war against terror, but harm the prospects for peace in the Middle East. For peace to be given a chance, all citizens must know that their country will keep them safe -- not only from economic crisis and crime, but also from foreign threats.

Lion is the consul for media affairs and spokesman of the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Page 14

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

Candlelighting Friday, October 30, 6:04 p.m.

Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org

Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org

Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org

The Neighborhood Prayer Group 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609

Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org

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B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, Nov. 13: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Joanna Kay, “How did a nice Jewish Girl end up in a job like this?”. The community is invited.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg.

FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat and Say ‘Shalom’ to Shabbat, 6 p.m. Shabbat celebration led at the same time by Patty Nogg and Susi Frydman-Levin.

Service is followed by kid-friendly dinner. Dinner cost: $5 for reservations made by Wednesday, Oct. 28; after that, cost is $10. No charge for children six and younger. To RSVP, contact Margie in the office, or at programming@bethel-omaha.org.

SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored

by Sheri and Greg Dietrich, in honor of their son, Ben, becoming a Bar Mitzvah; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 6:10 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Meet Yourself in the Torah, 10 a.m. with Susi Frydman-Levin; Beginning Hebrew, with Eadie Tsabari, 10 a.m., prerequisite for Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah class; You’re ‘Kid’-ing Me, 10:30 a.m. with Andy Greenberg; and Jewish Images on the Big Screen, 11 a.m. with Frydman-Levin.

Call Margie in the office to register. Classes open to all adults in the Jewish community. Cost is $36, members, $45, non-members.

BESTT OPEN HOUSE: All BESTT families are invited to attend “Bring Your Parents to School Day” on Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon. A representative of the Center for Jewish Education will be on hand to introduce the Passport to Israel Program.

RABBI’S THURSDAY CLASS: This year’s weekly class, Understanding and Living Jewish Values, will begin on Nov. 5, noon. Cost: $36, members; $45, non-members. Open to all adults in the Jewish community. To register, contact the office.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:04 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue”, “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up) one hour prior to every Shabbat; Mincha, 5:45 p.m. followed by Seuda Shilisht; Havdalah, 7:03 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels & Beit Midrash begins with breakfast, 9:40 a.m.; Sacred Text Messages (for teens) with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m.; Adult Ed classes cancelled due to Sisterhood’s luncheon; Sisterhood Donor Luncheon and Fashion Show, 11:30 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha, 5:15 p.m.

MONDAY: Mincha & Mishna, 5:15 p.m., Mishna study with the rabbis along with Mincha/ Ma’ariv services.

TUESDAY: Scholar’s Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbi’s Gross’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

FRIDAY: Peaceful Shabbat Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gam Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

THURSDAY: Board of Trustees, 7 p.m.

ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel.

For more information or to sign up for the class, please call the office. A $5 dollar donation per session is requested for non-members.

TUESDAYS, Nov. 3 and 10, 7:30 p.m. Jewish Book Month, discussions of Bernard Malamud’s short stories led by Gerry Shapiro.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME Services conducted by Rabbi

CHABAD HOUSE

Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. MiniMensch title will be awarded; Kiddush lunch follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m.

SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings Remix, 10:15 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Soul Quest: The Journey through Life, Death and Beyond, 7 p.m. To enroll, visit www.myJLI.com/SoulQuest or call the office. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com with any questions.

TUESDAY: W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 9:15 a.m.

THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com.

All events and programs are open to the entire community.

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30

To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.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: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Federation website: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press,’ scroll down to ‘Submit Announcements, complete form and click on “submit” twice.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Steve Riekes.

a.m. Cost is $5 per person, no charge for children three and younger; Teacher Meeting, 9 a.m.; Religious School (PrekK-6), 10 a.m.; Prayer Assembly, 10 a.m.; Local and National Issues and Hot Topics, 10:30 a.m. led by Rabbi Linder and Mimi Silverman; Bible Quiz Practice, 12:15 p.m.; OTYG Board, 12:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 46 p.m.; OTYG Lounge Night, 5 p.m.; All School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6-8 p.m.; Grades 712, 6-8 p.m.; Adult Beginning Hebrew, 6:30 p.m. with Mor Sheinbein; Nurturing the Nurturer: Stress Management, Judaism and the Arts, 6:30 p.m.

Cost is $18 for members; $25 for non-members; no charge for Family School parents.

THURSDAY: “Adult Study with the Clergy,” 10 a.m.

Will Your Grandchildren Be Jewish? on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Kerry Olitzky.

(See full story on page 3.)

WRJ Game Night, Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. at Ironwood Country Club. Need a ride?

Contact Wendy Goldberg, Program Director or wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com,

by Nov. 10 to make arrangements.

Grandparents Circle, Tuesdays, Nov. 17-Dec.15, 7 p.m. Rabbi Linder and Program Director Wendy Goldberg will facilitate the course. (See full article on page 3.)

Contact Goldberg at Temple or wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com, to register.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Cantor Wendy Shermet with guest speaker Ran Kuttner on “Israel: The Value of Dialogue & the Role of American Jews.”; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Eric Linder. Hosted by Nogg and Furst/Savolainen families. Dinner is $5 per adult, and no charge for children. Please contact Maureen Kube or mkube@templeisraelomaha.co m, to make a reservation.

SATURDAY: Yoga at Temple, A Shabbat Alternative, 9 a.m. Six week session: $30 for members, $50 for non-members. Contact Wendy Goldberg, wgoldberg@ templeisraelomaha.com, to participate; Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Jack Gilinsky, son of Katherine Finnegan and David Gilinsky, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah; OTYG Tree Planting and Havdalah, 1 p.m. at the home of Ellie and Jon Bleicher.

SUNDAY: Pancake Man, 9

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 6:04 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY:Morning service, 9 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study.

SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gam Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at Tifereth Israel.

WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

PERSONAL Thank you to my family and all my friends for their cards and good wishes on my birthday.

Dave Dvorkin

Large print living will available Jewish Heritage for the Blind announced the availability of the large print “Jewish Halachic Living Will”, produced by the Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union. Forward your request on your formal stationery by fax to: 718.338.0653 or send an e-mail to jewishheritage@gmail.com. Requests must include a phone number to confirm delivery.

Pulverent e

October 30, 2009

The Jewish community’s two big gets: Obama and Brin

by JACOB BERKMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- The relative calm that annually settles in over the Jewish nonprofit world during the High Holidays season ended with a bang this week, as the Jewish communal world landed two big gets.

President Obama agreed to speak next month at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America to be held in Washington -- his first speech as president to a Jewish audience. And one of the country’s richest men, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, made his first major charitable gift to a Jewish organization.

Both developments provide a boost to a Jewish philanthropic world facing tough times.

Brin, the 36-year old programming whiz who is worth $15.3 billion according to the recently released Forbes 400 list, announced Sunday that he would give $1 million to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of the aid groups that helped his family when they emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States 30 years ago.

The announcement, made on the 30th anniversary of the Brin family’s arrival in America, came as a welcome surprise to a Jewish nonprofit world that has been speculating for years on whether or not the Google cofounder would become engaged philanthropically in the Jewish world as he ramps up his giving.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin made his first major gift to a Jewish charity with a $1 million grant to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.

JD Lasica/Creative Commons For the Jewish Federations, which recently changed its name from United Jewish Communities, landing Obama could provide a boost to a North American charitable network coping with sagging fund-raising campaigns and other significant challenges.

Federation officials had been trying for nearly a year to convince the president to deliver an address at the G.A. But as of early October, when the Jewish Federations announced that Vice President Joe Biden would speak, it appeared as though he had declined to address the meeting of several thousand leaders of the billion-dollar network of local Jewish charitable federations.

Officials at the Jewish Federations would not comment, but according to other insiders, major federation donors who are close with Obama from his days in Chicago helped put on the full-court press to bring him to the G.A., which will be held Nov. 8-10 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

The backstory of Brin’s decision to donate to HIAS dates back further but is clearer.

His father, Michael, was a mathematician and professor in Moscow before deciding to move the family from behind the Iron Curtain after attending a conference in Warsaw and coming into contact with Western academics for the first time. The family was granted an exit visa in 1978 and moved to Western Europe, where they lived for several months before Michael found a job teaching at the University of Maryland.

As the anniversary of the Brin family’s Oct. 25, 1979 arrival in the United States approached, the young billionaire asked his mother, Eugenia, about some of the organizations that helped the family as they transitioned into their new life. Among others, she mentioned HIAS. “For a while, Sergey was asking us which organizations do we owe our thanks for helping us come to the United States,” Eugenia Brin told JTA in a telephone interview Sunday. “It just happens that the timing was right for him.”

She added, “HIAS was the only organization that was totally responsible for our immigration. They met us in Vienna, processed all of our documents. At that time the Jewish immigrants were deciding between Israel and the U.S. We, after a prolonged decision, chose the States.

HIAS purchased our ticket and got us in touch with local Jewish organizations in the places we intended to go in Maryland.”

She and her husband were preparing for a small party last Sunday in honor of their immigration anniversary.

May the best man win!

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Lekh Lekha Without much fanfare, Abraham responds to a Divine call to leave his home (in Mesopotamia) and to proceed to a land which has not yet been named. The Good Lord merely told him: go to a land which I will show you.

Now this is a land that was later to be called Israel.

And without our knowing it at this point, this is the land where Israel’s prophets were to call the whole world of mankind to an understanding of human decency, morality and ethical conduct.

There is no hint of why this could not have been done in Mesopotamia, but the implication is that Israel was a holy land and from it only could come lessons of holiness, morality and proper conduct for all the human race.

It was here -- all free -- for all humanity to take. But only Israel dared to reach out for it and wrestle with it, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

It was only very much later that Christianity and other religions, Islam for example, were willing to learn from Israel’s bold attempt to struggle with all the enticements of human opportunities and to try to choose only those that befit those who wished to be called “Children of God.” Thus, without warning, without fanfare, this innocent-looking journey from the land of idols of wood and stone, of mud and clay, emerges Abraham and his issue to teach all of humankind behavior to warrant their being called righteous.

It only took a single step to introduce mankind to the life that humans should live.

We who live in the 21st century are still struggling against all the enticements of modernity, all that the human intellect has been able to produce out of the materials available on this good earth.

We are bidden to struggle and wrestle with ethical dilemmas. May the best man (not the family of Hitler!) win.

Blumkin Home honors staff with Schrager awards

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 15

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Mike Silverman, RBJH executive director, presented Diane Burke, environmental services, left, and Adrienne Kitagawa, activities director, with the Sonia and Jack Schrager Staff Appreciation awards recently. A reception followed at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m., for the Dec. 4 issue.

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CORRECTION In last week’s article about Kefiadah, Sarah Sadofsky and Sarah Bleicher were incorrectly identified as high school students. Sadofsky is in her second year of nursing school at Nebraska Methodist College; Bleicher is a sophomore at Boston College. Kefiadah is for volunteers between the ages of 19-26 and this information was omitted from the article.

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Page 16

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

October 30, 2009

Goldstone report hurting chances for peace talks

by LESLIE SUSSER JERUSALEM (JTA) -- One of the unintended consequences of the U.N.’s Goldstone report on the Gaza war is that it has made peace in the Middle East less likely, at least at first glance.

The report, which cited evidence of Israeli and Hamas war crimes and was endorsed by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, has revived a strain of Palestinian thinking that Israel can be defeated by delegitimizing it on the international stage. Palestinians who take this view have less incentive to negotiate with Israel.

The report also has encouraged Palestinian Authority officials, who still claim to be interested in peace talks, to brandish its findings in world forums.

That has prompted Israelis to charge that they are poisoning the atmosphere -- a charge Israel also leveled against the report, which Israeli officials denounced.

“You can’t bad mouth your peace partner at every opportunity and talk peace at the same time,” members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle have been telling the media.

Among Palestinians, the Goldstone report also has exacerbated the rivalry between the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas regime in Gaza, with both sides ratcheting up their anti-Israel rhetoric.

Moreover, the bad blood between them over the Palestinian Authority’s handling of the report -- the P.A. asked the Human Rights Council to delay endorsing the report so as not to scuttle peace talks, then reversed course after Hamas accused it of treason against the Palestinian people -- has led to the deferment of a planned Fatah-Hamas reconciliation its Egyptian brokers hoped would serve the peace process.

What’s worse, after a hiatus of several years, some in Fatah quarters are talking again of a return to armed struggle against Israel.

The Goldstone report, which focused on last winter’s war between Israel and

The report on the Gaza war by Richard Goldstone, shown during the Sept. 29 meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council, is seen as delegitimizing Israel on the international stage.

Jean-Marc Ferre/UN Photo Hamas in Gaza, also has hurt prospects The underlying message is that terrorists for an Israeli accommodation with Syria. can attack Israel and then haul it before With Israel the subject of international international tribunals when Israel hits opprobrium, Syria has less incentive to back. engage.

Israeli analysts argue that the nation’s The report also has cost the Israel-Syria deterrence is a key factor in maintaining negotiating track a key mediator. regional stability. Undermining it brings Turkey, enjoying good relations with war, not peace. both sides, had brought Jerusalem and The Israeli government has drawn two Damascus to within a hair’s breadth of early lessons from the Goldstone experiserious peace talks last December. But in ence: That future retaliation against terthe wake of the Goldstone report, Turkey rorism will have to be short and sharp, adopted a scathingly anti-Israel stance, over in no more than a few days. leading Netanyahu to rule out Turkey as (Netanyahu largely blames the duration a future broker. of the Gaza fighting, 22 days, for the Indeed, the regional climate has taken a adverse international fallout.) Second, sharp turn for the worse against Israel, Netanyahu warns that if Israel only has complicating any peace moves. If Israel is limited rights of self-defense, it won’t painted as a war criminal, how can Arab take risks for peace. or Muslim states be expected to sit down None of this augurs well for the future. with it?

The Goldstone report seems to have Israelis say the Goldstone report is not hardened positions on all sides. Many see only a broadside on Israel’s international the Middle East slipping back into old, and regional standing but that it consti- pre-Oslo patterns of behavior: rhetoric, tutes a body blow to Israeli deterrence. rejectionism and zero-sum thinking.

Cruise Away...

Nevertheless, despite the initial negative fallout, positive forces also are at work.

Some inside the Netanyahu government argue that for Israel to dig in and refuse to talk peace with partners that defame it would set off a vicious circle of no peace initiatives and growing international isolation. They contend that the best way to combat the Goldstone report is through a peace initiative showing the international community that Israel under Netanyahu does not reject peace talks.

There is a similar pragmatism on the Palestinian side, where some welcome negotiations with Israel that would reinforce the economic boom in the West Bank and bring Palestinian statehood closer.

Therefore, despite the acerbic rhetoric and the hardening of public positions, behind the scenes Israel and the Palestinians are reportedly close to a formula for a renewal of peace talks.

On the Israeli side it is clear that if there is a political process, international pressure on Israel over the Goldstone report will decrease.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote a joint letter to Netanyahu in this vein, suggesting that if Israel froze settlement building, entered a peace process and launched its own Gaza probe, the Goldstone report would, to all intents and purposes, be buried.

The ball is now in the American court.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and special U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell are set to talk to President Obama about the state of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating track.

For now, the smart money says that for the sake of peace, Obama will make clear that Israel cannot be delegitimized on the international stage and that its right to self-defense is beyond question -- as long as it makes genuine moves for peace.

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