December 11, 2009

Vol. LXXXIX No. 13 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

24 Kislev 5770

December 11 2009

Coalition fights real estate development in Budapest’s Jewish quarter

Blumkin Home to open Pennie Z. Davis Learning Center on Main Street

by BEN HARRIS BUDAPEST (JTA) -- Janos Ladanyi’s eyes widened as he stepped through the narrow passage of a bar on Kazinczy Street, in the heart of this city’s old Jewish quarter.

Formerly a residential building constructed in typical Budapest fashion -- several floors of apartments arranged around a rectangular open-air courtyard -Szimpla Kert is among a number of trendy new establishments that have transformed the historic neighborhood into a lively urban enclave. The courtyard is now covered, and the old residences are filled with contemporary art and a young clientele sipping cocktails and puffing on cigarettes.

As he nursed a palinka, a traditional Hungarian brandy, Ladanyi gazed admiringly at the vibrant slice of city life around him, a far cry from the disrepair in which much of the neighborhood lay just a few years before.

“I never believed I would see this trend change and I would see young people coming back here,” Ladanyi, an urban sociologist at Corvinus University in Budapest, said later over dinner at Cafe Spinoza, another establishment that has breathed new life into the quarter.

by OZZIE NOGG When the New Beginning of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is completed this January, the attractions along Main Street will leave residents and visitors wideeyed. One focal point of the area -- the Pennie Z. Davis Learning Center with its schoolhouse facade -- is guaranteed to be a roundthe-clock favorite.

The Learning Center is a gift from Pennie’s son, Henry Davis. The space will house eight computer stations, along with SKYPE software that makes it possible for people around the world to communicate via voice, video and instant messaging over the Internet.

“Our new SKYPE capabilities will allow residents to The “schoolhouse” is under construction on Main Street at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. see and talk to family in It will house the new Pennie Z. Davis Learning Center, home to eight computer stations, and other cities,” said Josh SKYPE software that will enable residents to see and communicate with out-of-town family.

Gurock, RBJH facilities coordinator. “This technology sponsored by a local charity. As we walked in, my son is a perfect way to keep everyone connected.” The Davis said, ‘Hey, look, Dad. There’s Papa’s name on the wall.’

Learning Center is open to the entire community and Apparently my dad had been a major contributor to the will offer classes in such software programs as Outlook, charity, but he never said a word about it to his family.

Excel, Word, as well how to browse the Internet, all He supported many people, year after year, in many ways. That’s the kind of person my Dad was. If he could facilitated by professional instructors and volunteers.

It’s appropriate that The Learning Center carry help, he would.”

Evidence of Pennie Davis’s generosity has long been Pennie Davis’s name. “My dad knew the value of education,” Henry said. “He was always inquisitive and eager visible on the Jewish Community Center campus. “My to study and learn new concepts. He continually encour- daughter, Lauren, went to the JCC child care facility aged and supported the highest levels of education for when she was a toddler,” Henry explained.

“One afternoon when my Dad picked her up, he took everyone in our family, and he influenced others to a look around and decided that our community needed study, too.”

According to Henry, his father was very low key and to improve the facility. So he funded the Pennie Z. Davis didn’t seek attention for what he accomplished or for his Child Development Center. He became friends with generosity. “Years ago I took one of my kids to an event Continued on page 3

New developments jostle with buildings hundreds of years old along Kiraly Street in Budapest’s Jewish Quarter.

Credit: Ben Harris But on a post-dinner stroll through the neighborhood, as Ladanyi surveyed other changes afoot in the area, he offered a steady stream of expletives. Over the past decade, developers have knocked down scores of old buildings and built contemporary mixed-use complexes, arousing concern from both historians and preservationists, as well as the leadership of the Jewish community.

“Nowhere in the world, except in funny Third World countries, something like this is allowed,” Ladanyi said.

Through decades of tyranny, “the neighborhood survived -- with terrible losses, but it survived. And now we have this so-called free world, this multicultural world, and we are losing it. Isn’t that unbelievable?”

Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, rehabilitated Jewish quarters have become beloved historic districts, visited annually by thousands of tourists even as their Jewish populations have dwindled to a fraction of their prewar levels.

But in Hungary, which still boasts one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe -- some 100,000 Jews live in Budapest -- the Jewish quarter has fallen prey to developers that sometimes appear more intent on making a quick buck than on preserving the area’s historic character. In the process, experts say, a vital part of the capital city’s Jewish history is disappearing.

“This area lost 40 percent of its patrimony,” said Alexandra Kowalski, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Budapest’s Central European University and an expert on historical preservation.

Continued on page 2

Inside Opinion Page see page 8

Pitlors donate prayer books to Beth El Others encouraged to follow suit a personalized nameplate to

by JILL BELMONT honor or memorialize a Beth El Publicity Coordinator loved one.

In honor of Beth El’s 80th “I have enjoyed and been Steve and anniversary, honored to be the president Marcia Pitlor have generousof Beth El, and feel this will ly purchased for the congrebe a lasting memory when I gation 500 copies of Mahzor will look back in time, Lev Shalem, the new knowing that these new Rabbinal Assembly Mahzor mahzorim were acquired as I for the High Holidays. And, completed my term,” he with the hopes of having said. enough mahzorim for the Pitlor praised the format of entire congregation by Rosh the new prayer book, saying, Hashanah, they have “This book will be a wonpledged to donate an addiderful addition to our High tional prayer book for each Holidays services, featuring one purchased during the next two months. translations written in simSteve Pitlor, president of ple, everyday language, the Beth El Board of more commentary on each Marcia and Steve Pitlor Trustees, is encouraging page, clear, easy-to-read members of the Jewish community to take advantage of transliterations and updated readings based on the this offer, and has suggested the purchase as a tribute to themes of our prayers.” the synagogue’s milestone anniversary, which will be celMahzor Lev Shalem will be published in May, 2010, ebrated this weekend. Each copy purchased will include Continued on page 2

This Week: Demjanjuk trial opens in Munich: Page 4 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’

Federation President’s message from Bob Lepp: Page 4

Coming This Month: Senior Living on Dec. 25 Read It & Eat highlights tips in new cookbook: Page 6

Community shlicha represents Omaha at national convention: Page 12

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

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Continued from page 1 Around the neighborhood, signs of the changes are everywhere. On Wesselenyi Street, the glass-sheathed Price Waterhouse Coopers office towers several floors above neighboring buildings. On Kiraly Street, the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare -- old photos show an urban cacophony reminiscent of the Lower East Side or Boston’s North End -- an esplanade has been constructed and new apartments and upscale boutiques now jostle for space with buildings hundreds of years old.

And next door to the famed Dohany Synagogue, Europe’s largest, construction netting hangs over the site of Herzl Passage, one of the projects that has enraged the preservationists. Construction is said to be stalled, though the project’s Web site says it is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Most of the buildings in the quarter, including its street layout, date from the early- to mid-19th century and include impressive architectural features typical of the period. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) has declared part of the area a world heritage site, and several of the buildings are protected as historic landmarks by the Hungarian authorities. But activists say the measures are insufficient, and that development of the neighborhood has continued anyway.

Autoker owns several properties in the Jewish quarter, where it is planning new projects. Some of the plots already are owned by the company, which is biding its time until economic conditions improve. Maimon said Autoker’s strategy is to hold different projects in various stages of the development process in order to be prepared for any market eventuality.

By the time of Ovas! founding, Gyorgy Hunvald, the mayor of District 7, which includes the Jewish quarter, was deeply involved in selling off historic properties and allegedly making buckets of cash in the process. Hunvald was arrested in February and is now in jail facing charges of bribery and abuse of office.

Perczel sketched out a mind-bogglingly complex story of how investors, developers and the authorities in District 7 colluded to sell off properties, move people out of their homes, and tear down historic buildings for redevelopment. Some aspects of the corruption she describes border on the comical, as when a document that the district was obliged to take into account in formulating its development plan was declared secret and sealed for 15 years.

One of the properties that roused Ladanyi’s ire on a recent tour through the area was Autoker’s Gozsdu Courtyard project. In her book, Perczel says the property, which encompasses seven older buildings and six

Alexandra Kowalski, an expert in historical preservation, in front of Budapest's Herzl Passage, a project that has enraged Credit: Ben Harris preservationists, Oct. 30.

“This special protection area was not strong enough to override the previous regulatory plan, which actually allowed in a number of demolitions and new constructions inside the district concerning the buildings which were not [specifically] protected as monuments,” said Tamas Fejerdy, the vice president of National Office of Cultural Heritage as well as the chief of the secretariat of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO. Since 2004, a coalition of artists and intellectuals known as Ovas! (Veto) have been fighting to preserve the area’s historic architecture and maintain it as a healthy urban neighborhood. Leaders of the group say their concern is not merely for individual buildings, but for the urban fabric of an area that has seen many of its residents relocated elsewhere in the city.

By the time Ovas! became active, municipal authorities were saying their ability to protect properties was limited because they had already been sold off, according to Anna Perczel, the group’s current chair and one of its founders.

“The situation is quite bad,” said Perczel, an architect and the author of “Unprotected Heritage,” a 2007 book about vulnerable but historic properties in the quarter.

Though their primary targets are government agencies they claim have failed to protect the district, Ovas! reserves no small amount of scorn for the developers, many of whom happen to be Israeli. Israeli companies are said to be responsible for 60-70 percent of new real estate development in Budapest.

“I do appreciate the past and I think that there are monuments that should be preserved,” said Eliav Maimon, the CEO of Autoker, one of the largest Israeliowned development firms active in the district. “But I don’t think the preservation should be fanatic. In many places in this city, the new developments are also creating life, not just destroying it.”

Autoker, formerly the Communist government’s automobile maintenance company, was privatized after the fall of the regime and was acquired by Israeli businessmen, who turned it into a real estate company. During the boom of the early 2000s it was considered the largest developer in Budapest, responsible for a number of large-scale projects that brought luxurious new residential complexes to the city. Maimon compared his company’s products to American-syle “gated communities.”

Transformation of the quarter began after the fall of communism, when Budapest’s cash-starved district municipalities suddenly found themselves in possession of countless valuable properties. Sales to developers began in earnest, often at rock-bottom prices. Perczel says the demolitions began in 2006.

Anna Perczel, standing in Budapest's Jewish quarter on Nov. 2, is one of the founders of Ovas! and the author of a 2007 book about vulnerable properties in the quarter.

Credit: Ben Harris courtyards connected by a long passageway running the full length of the block, was “the pride of the Jewish quarter before the war.”

Autoker preserved the building’s appearance, as well as some interior features, according to Maimon, and the property now boasts luxurious new apartments, a swimming pool, concierge and ground-floor retail. Most of the shops are vacant.

“It’s a ghost town,” said Gyorgy Vince, 28, whose family owns a Jewish-themed bookstore in the quarter.

“I am happy they are developing it, but I’m not happy it’s empty.”

In Ladanyi’s view, the developers broke a cardinal rule of urban planning: “Don’t be brutal.”

Maimon, however, says the property is vastly better than it was before -- a pile of junk, in his description, the domain of junkies and homeless people. The vacancies are solely the result of the economic downturn, he said.

Fejerdy is optimistic that a new law Hungary is “in the process of producing” may pave the way for a new regulatory plan, though he asserts it must be supplemented by tax incentives and other inducements for developers to undertake projects that would balance economic interests with preservation.

Perczel says she is optimistic as well.

But Ladanyi, his eyes weary from years of battle and several glasses of wine, sees the situation as more dire.

“There is a point you are not able to turn back,” Ladanyi said. “And I think this is a neighborhood where we are very close, if not behind, that point.”

To keep up with Ben Harris’ travels, visit blogs.jta. org/wanderingjew.

Pitlors donate prayer books

Continued from page 1 but the public has the opportunity to purchase one now and take advantage of special early-bird pricing: If ordered by May 1, cost is $36 a book; after May 1, the cost increases to $54. And of course, the Pitlors’ generous matching purchase offers additional incentive to buy a mahzor now.

To place an order, please send a check -- made payable to Beth El -- to Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha, NE 68154. Be sure to include the wording for the personalized bookplate.

“This is a wonderful gift for our congregation,” Pitlor said, “and your generosity will be appreciated by generations to come.”

December 11, 2009

Home to open Pennie Z. Davis Learning Center college and advanced education scholarContinued from page 1 several of the staff and every Hanukah he ships to almost one hundred students.

Davis recently received the Tim Rouse gave everyone on the CDC staff some Hanukkah gelt. His estate carries on this Advocate for Women in Leadership tradition.”

Award from ICAN, the His father’s example of Institute of Career community responsibility Advancement Needs. The has been passed down to the honor recognized his sensiyounger Davis, who serves as tivity to the aspirations of President of Greater Omaha women within his own busiPacking Company. Last ness, and his participation in spring Henry received the the empowerment of women Humanitarian Award from in leadership roles within the Inclusive Communities, forlarger community. merly known as the National Davis serves on the Boards Conference for Community of Bellevue University, Henry Davis and Justice.

University of Nebraska The award cited his support and spon- Medical Center, Omaha Community sorship of two educational and play areas Foundation, Kaneko, Bright Futures, at the recently completed Child Saving Partnership For Our Kids, American Institute and the new gymnasium at the Meat Institute, and is a member of South Omaha YMCA LaFern Williams World Presidents’ Organization, Center, along with his contributions to Nebraska Presidents Organization and the Children’s Hospital addition, the new CEO (Chief Executive Organization.) performing arts addition at Westside “I hope The Learning Center provides Middle School and Westside High social interaction and stimulating educaSchool, and his sponsorship of the new tional opportunities for Blumkin Home Atrium at Bellevue University campus. residents and others in the community,” Greater Omaha Packing Company was Davis added. “The Home is such a fantassingled out by the American Meat tic facility that serves so many. With an Institute for helping educate and inte- outstanding Executive Director like Mike grate its foreign born employees through Silverman, I know my contribution will free English classes, paying workers costs be put to its best use.” for citizenship application and assistance in the naturalization process.

HOLIDAY CLOSING & To date, Greater Omaha Packing has EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE helped over 250 employees become The Jewish Press will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline United States Citizens. The company also for all ads, articles and photos is helps educate the children of its employWednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue. ees through its Greater Omaha Education Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

During Hanukkah, Omaha Jewish community shows spirit of rededication unteering for an agency board or committee, for a FROM THE DESK specific program or service, your involvement is helping OF THE PRESIDENT to make this community

by BOB LEPP, President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha

The success of our community can be measured in many ways. For example, success can be measured by the dollars raised by the Federation’s Annual Campaign and the subsequent good those dollars do, by the sheer number of people who volunteer throughout the Jewish community, and by the level of participation in programs and classes.

While these are just a few of the ways to measure our success, it is clear that our efforts have made us a very successful community and it is a blessing. But along with great blessings, comes great responsibility.

Each year, more than 100 people step up to be workers for the Federation’s Annual Campaign. Just a few weeks ago, we had a group of 40 dedicated volunteers attend a training session because they were willing to work for the sake of our community and the global Jewish community. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh la-zeh -- all Jews are responsible one for another -- and in a way, our volunteering, our gift to the annual campaign, our wanting to be more Jewishly involved and educated are all steps in fulfilling this responsibility.

In addition to the campaign, lay people are taking responsibility in all other areas of our operations on a daily basis. By vol-

significant and meaningful for both our generation and our children’s.

In recent weeks, many of the endowment and donor advised funds have granted generous dollars to programs throughout our community because they see the need. These funds make the difference for many Jewish organizations, compensating for budget cuts and the lack of funding for special programs and projects. These families and individuals take great responsibility in placing the Jewish community as a priority in their tzedakah and charitable giving.

Our responsibility to make a difference is not for ourselves, but for those who will follow us. Today, we enjoy the success that was built on the shoulders of men and women whose names may not be readily recognizable; however, that does not diminish their gift to us. We must pass on this gift to the next generation and teach them to do the same.

There will always be projects to work on and things to improve. We will always have topics to debate and different perspectives to understand. Our work as a Jewish community will always be unfinished, will always be a work in progress and we will always strive to be better. But make no mistake, Omaha is a terrific Jewish community.

EF Carol Katzman

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

Demjanjuk trial opens, prosecutors confident

by TOBY AXELROD MUNICH (JTA) -- The long-awaited Nazi war crimes trial of John Demjanjuk opened here with his attorney claiming that his client is a scapegoat for German guilt over the Holocaust.

Demjanjuk, 89, is charged as an accessory to the murder of 29,700 Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Poland in 1943. He appeared nearly expressionless Monday as he was wheeled into the Munich courtroom.

A photo of John Demjanjuk, circa 1943, the year he is accused of being an accessory to the murder of 29,700 Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Poland.

(El1604 /Wikimedia Commons) Wrapped in a blue hospital blanket, he wore a baseballtype cap that cast a shadow over his eyes. His head was tilted back, and occasionally he opened his mouth as if to speak or yawn. A few times he moved one hand. Mostly, Demjanjuk was still.

Demjanjuk’s lead attorney, Ulrich Busch, told JTA that Germany “wants to be acquitted through this trial, by finding people from other nations guilty.”

The trial, which some are billing as the last major Nazi war crimes case, marks another landmark for Germany’s confrontation with its Nazi past.

For Demjanjuk, 89, who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States after the war, it is the second war crimes trial.

In 1988, Israeli courts convicted Demjanjuk and sentenced him to death for murder and savagery at the Treblinka death camp. But the sentence was overturned in 1993 when the Israeli Supreme Court determined there was insufficient evidence that Demjanjuk was the so-called guard named “Ivan the Terrible,” and he was released.

This time, prosecutors say they have all the proof they need that Demjanjuk actively participated in the mass murder of Jews in the gas chambers of Sobibor in 1943.

“The totality of evidence is overwhelming,” said Barbara Stockinger, spokeswoman for the state prosecutor in Munich.

An SS identification card places Demjanjuk in the death camp, and his number shows up on many documents related to Sobibor.

EYE

ESSENTIALS

The prosecution alleges that Demjanjuk, after being captured by the Germans in 1942, received training at the Trawniki SS facility in occupied Poland, which produced guards for several death camps.

Demjanjuk insists he merely served in the Soviet army and was captured by Germany in 1942.

Much of the evidence against him was gathered by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations to prove that Demjanjuk had lied about his role in the Holocaust to gain U.S. citizenship.

In October 2002, U.S. District Judge Paul Matia “found that he had contributed to the mass murder of Jews by asphyxiation with poison gas, and that he had served voluntarily at the camps,” said Eli Rosenbaum, director of the OSI, which had been investigating Demjanjuk since 1977.

Demjanjuk, an autoworker who lived in suburban Cleveland, eventually was stripped of his U.S. citizenship and, after exhausting his appeals, was deported to Germany in May. Germany has jurisdiction to try Demjanjuk because 1,900 of his alleged victims were German Jews and he had stayed in a Munich DP camp after the war.

If convicted, Demjanjuk faces several years in jail. The trial could go into the middle of 2010.

Addressing the court on Nov. 30, the attorney Busch insisted it was unfair to try a man for allegedly following orders when those giving the orders were never charged.

Busch demanded that the judges and prosecution be removed on suspicions of prejudice against his client.

Busch also said that the so-called Trawnikis -- many of them Soviet POWs trained by the SS -- were just as much victims as Jews who were forced to work for the Nazis in concentration camps, whether as “kapos” (controlling barracks) or as “sonderkommandos,” hauling bodies of gassed Jews to be burned in crematoriums.

The court rejected Busch’s request that the judges and prosecution be replaced.

Special prosecutor Cornelius Nestler said that “a court that does the right thing now cannot be biased because other courts did not do the right thing before.”

Nestler added that he was disgusted by Busch’s comparison of SS-trained Trawniki guards and Jews.

“The Trawniki guards in Sobibor were well fed. They ate and drank. They enriched themselves” on the belongings of Jews about to be killed, Nestler said.

“They had vacations.”

For some in Germany, the Demjanjuk trial is reminiscent of the first major postwar trials of Nazis by Germans, including the Auschwitz trials of 1963-65, when Germany put 22 citizens on trial for their roles as mid- and lower-level officials at Auschwitz. The trials served to wake up the postwar generation to the horrors their parents had tried to forget.

In contrast, the Nuremberg Trials, which took place

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immediately after the war, were conducted by the Allies and seen by many Germans as victors’ justice, Rosenbaum said.

“I felt then, and I feel now as an older man, that these trials [in German courts] are important,” said Wolfgang Benz, director of Berlin’s Center for Research on AntiSemitism.

As a history student, Benz observed the trial of high-level SS member Karl Wolff in Munich in 1964. Now his daughter Angelika, a doctoral student and expert on the Trawniki SS camps, is planning to attend the Demjanjuk trial.

“There is no statute of limitations for the crime of murder," Benz said. “It doesn’t matter if this old guy is sick or if he is nearly 90 years old. The issue of dealing with our past will never end, and Demjanjuk is the case for today.”

While some are hyping the Demjanjuk trial as the last major Nazi war crimes trial, Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff, director of the Jerusalem office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said “That's been said for years, so don't jump to hasty conclusions.”

Similar billing was given to Nazi trials in the 1980s, Zuroff said.

Rosenbaum, who has been asked to testify in the Demjanjuk trial, said he recently came across a Newsweek story about the prosecution of Kurt Lischka in Germany from 1979 with the headline “The Last Nazi Trial?”

In fact, Rosenbaum said, “We still have nine or 10 cases in the legal system here.”

Would-be perpetrators must understand, he said, “that there is a real chance that they will be pursued -- and not for months or years but if necessary for decades, even into old age and even into countries at great distances from the ones in which they committed the crimes.”

Jewish Book Month continues

Author Maggie Anton signs books for loyal readers at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library.

Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh group to make blankets for needy children

by JILL BELMONT college students, because, “you get to Beth El Publicity Coordinator pick out the bright patterns to fit people’s On Thursday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m., atten- personalities.” dees at Beth El’s Women’s Rosh Hodesh All materials will be provided during Group meeting will welcome the month the evening (extra pairs of scissors would of Tevet by joining together at the syna- be welcome, Rifkin noted), and no special gogue to create warm, cozy blankets for skills are needed to create the blankets -needy children, to be donated to Project just cutting and tying. The blankets will Linus.

Project Linus is a national organization with hundreds of chapters across the country, which, according to its mission statement, “provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

“This is a feel-good program, both tactilely and heart-wise,” said Armed with scissors and surrounded by colorful fleece, Caryn Caryn Rifkin, who is co- and Annie Rifkin are ready to make tie blankets for Project hosting the evening along Linus, at Beth El’s upcoming Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group with her daughter, Annie, meeting. and Jane Dreyfus. “I’d like to hope that be completed by the end of the getthe cute, soft, warm, fleece blankets will together; they will then be washed and brighten the children’s spirits and rooms donated to Project Linus representatives, as they cuddle up in them.” who will deliver them to the children.

Rifkin said she first became aware of All women in the Jewish community Project Linus when it was selected as the are invited. Those planning to attend are service project by the elementary school asked to RSVP to Caryn, at 334.7216 or where she works. She added that she and crgr6175@aol.com ; Annie, at 680.5543 Annie have enjoyed making blankets for or lilrif85@aol.com; or Dreyfus, at family, friends, and going-away gifts for 291.4880 or jd4880@cox.net.

MARIJUANA

December 11, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 5

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MARRIAGE

BELMONT/SMOLINSKY Jessica Sarah Belmont and Clifford ware engineer at Microsoft. He is the son Mark Smolinsky were married on Sept. 6, of Gail and Ken Smolinsky of Sedona, at Beth El Synagogue in Omaha. Rabbi AZ, and the grandson of Roslyn and Hal Smolinsky of Newtown Mordechai Levin and Cantor Square, PA, and the late Beth Schlossberg officiated Martin and Anne Zemble. at the 6 p.m.ceremony.

He was attended by Adam The bride, a graduate of Smolinsky, Colin Belmont, the University of Kansas, is David Lesky, Dan Morris, employed at Western State J.T. Morehead and Dan Bank. She is the daughter of Eigenberg.

Jill and Mark Belmont, and Eva Kushner and Cameron the granddaughter of Skiles were the flower girl Barbara and Marshall and ring bearer, respectively; Kushner, and the late Joe Aaron Placzek and Noah Placzek served and Florence Belmont.

Her wedding attendants included as ushers. Following the wedding cereLindsay Belmont, Calley Crisman, Caitlin mony, a reception and dinner were held at Brown, Laura Stiles, Laura Shkolnik, Champions Run. Bailey Wrenn and Phoebe Placzek.

After a honeymoon in Jamaica, the couThe groom, a graduate of the ple is making their home in Fargo, ND. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a soft-

ENGAGEMENT

DEBRUIN/ESTAVER Hanna and Larry DeBruin announce NY, and the late Tauba and Joe Szmerlak. the engagement of their daughter, Her fiancé graduated from Drake Melissa, to David Estaver, University with a B.A. in son of Sharon and Phillip journalism and mass comEstaver of Buffalo Grove, IL. munication. He works for The bride-to-be graduated EMC Insurance Company. from the University of He is the grandson of Rose Kansas with a B.A. in speech, and Rolf Mayer of St. Louis, communication, language, and the late Marguerite and and hearing and a B.A. in William Estaver. elementary education. She is A wedding is planned for a teacher in Des Moines.

July 25, 2010, at Beth El She is the granddaughter Synagogue. of Belle and Gerald DeBruin of Buffalo,

Hanukkah starts tonight! To order a gift subscription to the Press ...

Send a check for $35, made out to the Jewish Press, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154.

For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 334.6448.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT This Thursday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m., join us for the screening of the film The Syrian Bride at the Jewish Community Center Theater, followed by a short discussion in the Kripke Library; admission is $5.

The film tells the story of a Druze bride, Mona, from Majdal Shams, the largest Druze village in the Golan Heights (on the IsraeliSyrian border). Mona is engaged to a Syrian she has never met, and once the two get married, Mona will never be allowed to return home.

When the family gathers for the wedding, we encounter complex characters, who deal with their unique life in Israel. The film is the winner of several film festivals, including the Flanders International Film Festival and the Montréal World Film Festival. This is the first movie to be screened as a part of an Israeli Film Series: Aviva My Love shows Jan. 14. For more details, please contact Elya Wilson at 334.6403 or ewilson@jccomaha.org.

Omaha Performing Arts presents blues vocalist Ellis Hooks in the 1200 Club at the Holland Performing Arts Center’s Scott Recital Hall on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 8 p.m. Hailed by Blues Revue as “equal parts soulful groove, bluesy mix of joy and pain, and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll drive,” Ellis Hooks’ dynamic singing is an exciting mix of genres that was years in the making.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show. Tickets in the 1200 Club are on sale now and may be purchased through Ticket Omaha by phone at 402.345.0606, online at TicketOmaha.com, or at the box office inside the Holland Performing Arts Center at 13th and Douglas streets. Ticket prices include admission to the 1200 Club and the performance. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

Chicago is coming back to Omaha’s Orpheum Theater for five performances Feb. 12-14, 2010 and it’s pure entertainment. Now celebrating 13 glorious years of girls, glitz and glamour on the Great White Way, the record-breaking smash hit musical Chicago is the seventh longest-running production in Broadway history ... and shows no sign of ever slowing down.

Tickets for Chicago, presented by Omaha Performing

Arts and Broadway Across America, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Ticket Omaha Box Office in the Holland Performing Arts Center, 13th and Douglas; online at TicketOmaha.com or by calling 402.345.0606. Ticket prices range from $25 to $57. For group sales call 402.661.8516 or toll-free 866.434.8587.

ORGANIZATIONS

WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members out for Bunch to Lunch to the Garden Grove in Crescent, Iowa, please meet at the JCC by 10:30 a.m. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

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 Ran Kuttner, PHD, will address “Getting to ‘Yes’, negotiating ideas that can help your life” on Wednesday, Dec. 16, noon, at Regency Lodge. All men and women in the community are invited. 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.

IN THE NEWS

First Vice-President and Senior Philanthropic Consultant Richard Slutzky, of the Merrill Lynch Center for Philanthropy and Non-Profit Management, has joined its Global Philanthropic Consulting Group as a financial advisor to their clients. He consults in investments management, fiduciary oversight and governance, planned giving and endowment development.

With more than 24 years experience in the non-profit area, he has served as executive director of two large community foundations, and consulted with Merrill Lynch private and non-profit clients throughout the Northeast and Florida. A graduate of Washington University and Emory University Law School, he is a chartered advisor in Philanthropy. He is the son of Charlotte Slutzky-Koom and the late Dr. Ben Slutzky.

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include.” There are just a few recipes, too. Some ideas for kitchen help: • Use a melon baller to pull olives out of a jar; the small hole in the baller drains the brine, too.

• Knife info: If you don’t have a honing steel handy, you can use a ceramic plate or mug. Turn the plate over and draw the knife along the edge of the unglazed bottom ring, holding the blade at a steady 20 degree angle.

The ring of the plate will turn gray, but it will clean up with the wipe of a moist sponge.

• Egg info: Covers where and how to store in the fridge. There is no difference in the flavor or nutritive value between white and brown eggs. To crack an egg with a clean break, rap it on a flat work surface. Eggs cracked on the edge of a bowl shatter more easily, and you can end up with bits of shell in the bowl.

I will definitely be using this tip!

Lois Friedman can be reached at ReadItAndEat@ yahoo.com.

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December 11, 2009

Bring it home, King Antiochus

TIME OUT

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El will present a special PJ Havdalah program that promises to delight both preschoolers and older children. The fun starts as Heather and Mark Kelln and Holly and David Weill lead the children in a variety of games, including Gaga and Shabbat Twister. Susi Frydman-Levin - along with some surprise guests -- will also get in on the festivities, leading the older children through a scavenger hunt around the synagogue -- all on Saturday, Dec. 19, 4:30 p.m.

Later on, all attendees will be treated to a pizza dinner, followed by two Havdalah services: “Miss Patty” Nogg will lead the younger children, and Frydman-Levin, the older kids. After the services, the littlest participants will have fun with art projects, planned by Sonia Tipp and Amy Raffel. As an extra-special treat, book maven Nancy Rips

At Beth El's last PJ Havdalah, "Miss Patty" Nogg and Program Director Margie Gutnik donned their pajamas to lead parents and their little ones through singing, story time, snacks and fun-filled activities.

will entertain everyone during story time (complete with milk and cookies). At the same time, the older children will let their creative sides shine as they enjoy an art activity guided by Frydman-Levin, and Linda and Kevin Saltzman.

Young Families Shabbaton Reunion This special get-together will also be a reunion for those who attended the synagogue’s Young Families Shabbaton last summer -- if you were there, or if you’d like to attend next year, come to this event for a taste of the fun-filled retreat!

All Jewish families in the community are invited to join in the fun of PJ Havdalah. There’s no charge to attend, but for planning purposes, please RSVP by Dec. 16 to Program Director Margie Gutnik, at 492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org.

BULL SALE?

Students and staff at my daughter’s school have started practicing for the annual Hanukkah play. Or, semi-annual, as the case may be, because last year it was canceled due to a bad snowstorm. To avoid another massive disappointment, it’s scheduled two weeks early this year.

The play is a “Big Event” -- aside from graduation, perhaps the biggest. Practice occurs daily; lines have to be screamed at home; songs need to be learned. Isabella is going to be a busy little bee over the next few weeks.

This year’s preparations come with a little surprise: She gets to play King Antiochus, the notorious bad guy in the Hanukkah story. There will be a crown (or a helmet, I’m not sure), a robe, and impressive lines that need to be delivered: all in Hebrew, and with a built-in evil snarl.

She’s already played Pharaoh in a Passover story earlier this year, so she’s more than ready for this sort of typecasting.

We are, in spite of our jokes about being “the bad guy” once again, very proud of her. As we’ve been during every school play, ever since her first, at the age of five. One would have to be a pretty cold-blooded parent not to feel that way.

Whether she can actually act, whether her Antiochus impersonation sounds more like a six-year-old’s hissy-fit than an angry King, is irrelevant; she’s our little girl, and she’s going to be on stage. A standing ovation is the

least she should expect.

She’s hardly the only one. I imagine hundreds of thousands of parents every holiday season, waiting anxiously in various theaters for their kids to perform in Thanksgiving pageants, Hanukkah extravaganzas, and Christmas plays. It’s a rite of passage, when all children are stars, enjoy the applause, and experience the awesome afterglow that follows a job well done.

Before we had kids, I thought it would be hilarious to watch them be something incongruous, like a beet or an ear of corn. Maybe that was inspired by the movies, in which children always seem to be dressed as vegetables.

Lucky for Isabella, this doesn’t happen at her school; instead, she gets to be a warrior with a spear, and a really bad one at that.

King Antiochus, oppressor of Jews, narcissistic ruler of the Greeks, arch enemy of the Maccabees, and unwittingly the one responsible for that slightly annoying dreidel song. Of course, this means that by the end of the play, she has to go down; after all, we do have a script to stick to. However, I don’t think it will stop her from giving it her all. She’s not sure if she’ll be run off stage or die violently, because she hasn’t practiced that part yet.

I know my daughter and I know she’s secretly hoping for a larger-than-life death scene. Something melodramatic, with tragic music, and not a dry eye in the house.

With that in mind, I think I’ll put in some volunteer hours to make sure those swords are made from very, very soft materials.

Annette Van de Kamp Wright is a local freelance writer and member of the American Jewish Press Association. She can be reached at: avandekamp@ tconl.com.

An inside look at CSI

by SANDRA KURLAND Answering the question: “How Did a Nice Jewish Girl End Up in, a Job Like This?”-- Joanna Kay, Crime Scene Investigator with the Douglas County Sheriff Department spoke at Shabbat Services Speaker Series last month at B’nai Israel in Council Bluffs.

In her presentation she connected her college preparation in anthropology, her experiences in Israel in scientific findings, and her willingness to provide service to the community. She showed pictures and explained the patience, care, and dignity that must be exhibited when investigating a death, possibly a crime scene with a victim.

The Speaker Series is designed to offer the Jewish community a variety of speakers and topics of interest. Guest speakers make their presentations during the service in lieu of a sermon.

The Speaker Series continues on Friday, Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m., when Mitch Sherman, sports reporter for Omaha World Herald, will speak on “Covering Nebraska Football and Sports.”

The entire Jewish Community is invited to attend and to bring their menorahs for the annual candlelighting. Following services, there will be an Oneg and Hanukkah celebration.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

The countdown begins With only three issues left until my retirement from the Jewish Press, I’m going to take these last few opportunities to highlight some accomplishments, challenge this community, and offer my thanks for my tenure as editor.

Let me first remind readers, however, that this newspaper is, after all, 89 years old! I am neither the first editor, nor the last; there were several women who preceded me and there will be more who follow. I am just one of the lucky few who happened to be in the right place at the right time in 1996 when my predecessor Morris Maline announced his retirement.

So let’s set the record straight about him, too. Maline served as editor for 19 years, longer than any other Jewish Press editor. That alone is an incredible achievement -- despite the fact that he underwent open heart surgery during his tenure!

Maline also is responsible for computerizing the Press, instituting e-mail capability to receive JTA and other stories, and increasing both the Press’ ad revenue and cash surplus.

Since there will soon be only three living former Press editors (Maline, Mickey Greenberg, editor from 1964-74, and me -- anyone know the whereabouts of Richard Pearl, editor from 1975-77?), I can safely say that we all understand the meaning of the term “company town” -- this community’s 6000 or so Jews all believe they have true ownership in this paper!

But we also learned that editors can’t please all their readers all the time, so we walk a fine line of informing readers, challenging them, presenting new information, and, admittedly, acting as cheerleaders for this vibrant Jewish community.

That, by the way, is what I referred to earlier by mazal. We usually translate it as “luck”, but if you take the word apart, this is what you’ll see: the Hebrew letter mem stands for makom -- place; the letter zion is for z’man -time. And the lamed stands for limmud -knowledge. Put it together and it means being in the right place at the right time, with the right information.

It’s not really luck, and I’ve never had much faith in coincidence. For me, being editor of the Jewish Press for 13-and-a-half years was “meant to be.” Mazal. My mazal -- the chance to work with the best staff and the best laypeople, which, like mazal, when you bring the best ingredients together, make a damn good meal (or in this case, award-winning newspaper)!

The achievements of this little community paper are quite impressive, even to some of my colleagues in bigger cities. Here are some of them: • We’ve garnered 17 awards from the Nebraska Press Association and nine from the American Jewish Press Association -- for writing, graphic design, ad creation, feature series and special issues.

• To highlight our 85th anniversary, we raised funds to mount an exhibit with the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society: “Front Page: 85 Years of Jewish Press History.”

• The Jewish Federation honored the Press in 2006 for that exhibit with one of two Community Service awards -- the other going to the Press and Joanie Jacobson for Teen Age in 1997.

• The Press board, realizing that we’re in the business of delivering news -regardless of the format --undertook the monumental task of researching and then fundraising for a new, independent, fullyfunctional, interactive website (which we hope will be launched this spring under the aegis of the new Press editor).

• To accomplish that task, dozens of local foundations and individuals and many, many Press readers from out of town, donated thousands of dollars in the last several years to see this through to completion.

• The Press donated $35,000 of its cash surplus 10 years ago to be a part of the Jewish Community Center’s remodeling and expansion. In doing so, our own office expanded into the former

Child Development Center “baby and toddler” rooms. Should the Blumkin Home leadership decide that they need some of our space to extend the Gallery from the Jewish Community Center into the Home, we’ll happily agree -- because we know we don’t own this newspaper -- you do!

That’s the real achievement here -- that after 89 years, a small Jewish community like Omaha’s still has a weekly newspaper. That’s no mean feat when all the pundits insist that print is passé and we’ll all be reading news online, and only online!

So, dear readers, the achievements are yours.

That you (wisely, we think!) choose to support the Jewish Press with your campaign dollars, your individual contributions, your subscriptions, your support of our advertisers, and your suggestions, offers of help and yes, even your criticism is the real accomplishment.

I take no credit for that; the merit is all yours. What I do get -- is the mazal!

BEHIND THE H EADLINES

by REBECCA W. SIRBU

NEW YORK (JTA) -- A recent survey by the Forward of 75 major American Jewish communal organizations found that fewer than one in six are run by women, and that those women are paid 61 cents to every dollar earned by a man. I was not surprised to read this, only saddened again by the realities of the Jewish community.

It is past time that the Jewish community welcomed women into leadership roles and valued our contributions. If we don't do this, we will lose the next generation of Jewish leaders. I know this because I almost left myself.

I did not encounter overt sexism until I entered rabbinical school in 1994. That year, I was told in a job interview for a position at a bureau of Jewish education, “What are you in rabbinical school for? You should just get a degree in Jewish education and teach Hebrew school or day school. This is what you will wind up doing once you have children anyway.”

One professor told me, “More important than anything you learn in school will be to get married and have babies.” Another, asked how long an assignment should be, replied, “Like a woman’s skirt: Long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.”

I was shocked and appalled by these comments. This was 1994, not 1954! I seriously considered leaving school. Studying Jewish

Frankly, the Jewish communal world needs to be shaken up. Now is the time to do it. The current economic crisis is an opportunity to turn old assumptions on their heads.

The top three positions -- executive director and two assistant executive directors -- were men. Ninety percent of the rest of the JCC staff were women. The same was true in the local Jewish family service and the federation.

In addition, the salary gap between the top positions and those below was as much as $100,000.

When I was ready for a new challenge and began looking for a new job two years ago, I again seriously considered leaving the Jewish communal professional world. Where was my

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.

The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

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.

Jewish community ignores female leaders at its peril texts, which in and of themselves are patriarchal documents, combined with a sense that today’s community did not want to hear my voice because I was a woman, was almost too much to bear. My faith that God does not see me as less than my male counterparts propelled me through my years in rabbinical school.

I chose to focus my rabbinate in the Jewish communal nonprofit world. After ordination, I worked for eight years in a Jewish community center. I loved my position. I was able to experiment with new and cutting-edge programs. I learned management skills. I grew stronger in my identity as a rabbi. However, from day one, the power structure was clear.

(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

growth potential? I entered the rabbinate because I wanted to be a leader in the Jewish world, but it seemed that my opportunities were slim. As a rabbi, I was directed to look (again) at Jewish education positions, not management positions. But this was not my career goal.

After eight years of managing a half-a-million-dollar budget, raising the bulk of the money needed for that budget, creating programs and supervising several staffers, I had strong management credentials. I was in a position to lead, and I wanted to use my talents as a female rabbi with management skills in our community. Luckily I found a position at CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, where I hope I can grow into my true potential. However, had this job not materialized, there is a very real chance that I would have left the Jewish communal field.

The world is in flux; borders everywhere are coming down. If the Jewish community wants to continue to be vital, exciting and attractive to postmodern American Jews, then we have to make way for different voices to be heard in our leadership structure. We need Jewish leaders who are female, gay, black and Asian. This is our community now. The face of the Jewish community is literally changing more and more each year, and the leadership needs to reflect these changes.

Frankly, the Jewish communal world needs to be shaken up. Now is the time to do it. The current economic crisis is an opportunity to turn old assumptions on their heads. It is time Continued on page 9

Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org..

Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written.

Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.”

The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but it should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing.

All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet.

No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf.

Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, call the Editor, 402.334.6450.

Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $35 per calendar year U.S.; $72 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422.

Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

December 11, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

Groups fighting abortion restriction in health reform bill

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

by ERIC FINGERHUT

and state, and the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Under a law known as the Hyde Amendment, public funds cannot be used to cover abortions except in cases of rape, incest and threat to the life of the mother.

But the Stupak Amendment would go much further, banning anyone receiving federal subsidies for health insurance -those earning 400 percent of the poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four -from buying a plan that covers abortion.

In addition, the proposed measure would not allow any insurance plan that takes part in the new “insurance exchange” to include abortion in its coverage, even for those paying for coverage with their own funds. (The legislation would allow companies to sell a separate “rider” for abortion coverage, but advocates say it is unlikely that women would purchase such a plan for what is almost

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Several Jewish groups are fighting a controversial measure in health reform legislation that would have the effect of eliminating insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women.

At issue is the Stupak Amendment, a measure included at the last minute in the health care bill passed Nov. 7 by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Several organizations -- including the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Jewish Congress and the Chicago-based Joint Action Committee -- have spoken out or are lobbying to make sure the amendment does not end up either in the “We strongly want to see health care reform, Senate version of health care legislation or the final bill but we don’t want to see women thrown under that emerges from a conferthe bus,” said Marcia Balonick, executive ence committee.

Jewish abortion rights director of the Joint Action Committee ... activists say that many people fail to realize the effect of the measure on always an unplanned procedure.) reproductive freedom. The issue potenBy essentially saying that insurance tially could divide liberals as they struggle plans cannot segregate private funds used to prioritize protecting abortion rights for abortion from public funds that are and securing conservative Democratic not allowed for such a purpose, oppovotes in favor of a final health care bill. nents argue that Stupak in a number of “We strongly want to see health care areas contradicts government policy -reform, but we don’t want to see women which, for instance, permits public funds thrown under the bus,” said Marcia to go to religious institutions as long as Balonick, executive director of the Joint the money is not used for religious Action Committee, a Jewish political activties. action committee that promotes reproThe director of the Religious Action ductive freedom, separation of church Center of Reform Judaism, Rabbi David

Saperstein, said that in pushing for the stricter abortion measure, religious conservatives are using the opposite argument from their case for allowing government-subsidized school vouchers to be used for religious schools. Conservatives argue that the voucher case does not constitute government endorsement of religion because a mother or father is making the choice of where to spend the money.

But in pushing for the adoption of Stupak, proponents are saying that if the government gives an individual money for health insurance, the government is then endorsing abortion if the recipient uses her insurance to pay for such a procedure.

Sammie Moshenberg, director of Washington operations for the National

Council of Jewish Women, said that while her organization does not like the current law preventing federal funding of abortion, it was willing to abide it in order to achieve significant health care reform.

“We understood from very early on, this vehicle is not going to be the vehicle where we're going to fight that battle” on the Hyde Amendment, she said.

But Moshenberg called the Stupak Amendment “devastating,” describing it as “an attempt to have one religious viewpoint foisted on us legislatively and sets up the federal government to enforce it.”

Some of the opponents in the Jewish community joined other organizations in a Washington lobby day earlier this month aimed at killing the measure.

Saperstein said a “growing uproar” over Stupak had emerged from the grass-roots over the past couple weeks, with one Reform synagogue even passing a statement of oppositon to the legislation at its board meeting.

Saperstein, whose organization has been an outspoken advocate for health care reform, joined others in saying that he did not want to contemplate yet whether his organization could support a bill that also included the Stupak restrictions.

“No one knows what the final bill is going to look like,” he said. Right now, “we’re doing everything we Rabbi David Saperstein says his Religious Action Center of can to fight” the Stupak Reform Judaism and some other Jewish groups “are doing Amendment. everything we can to fight” the Stupak Amendment.

Credit: RAC

Just Hanukkah

JOURNAL ENTRY FROM ISRAEL

by TEDDY WEINBERGER

After a dozen Hanukkahs here, one thing about the way the Festival of Lights is celebrated in Israel never ceases to amaze me: the total absence of Christmas.

In the States, Hanukkah’s relation to Christmas is of crucial concern. The more the two holidays overlap, the more that Jews will be celebrating their winter holiday at the same time that the majority of Americans are celebrating theirs. In Israel, Christmas is simply not on the radar screen for most Israelis, and so Hanukkah goes it alone.

Since I grew up in the States and only moved here at the age of 36, I can not help but think of Hanukkah in relation to Christmas. And so I know that this year Hanukah is “early” (beginning tonight -- on Friday night Dec.11) -- and I also know what this means in America.

An early Hanukkah is disconcerting to many America Jews. It’s sort of like a secret Marano holiday: the Jews are celebrating in their homes while the outside world is filled with anticipation of Christmas. You are wished “Merry Christmas” at the same time that you are trying to celebrate a Happy Hanukkah.

Community ignores leaders

Continued from page 8 to turn in a new direction, take some risks and open our community to new ideas.

I am confident that we will benefit. I am also just as confident that we will lose very talented people to other communities and causes if we don't do this.

My story is not atypical. There are hundreds of women, if not thousands, like me. I am asking you to support me, teach me and mentor me, so that I/we can be part of our collective future.

Sirbu is the director of Rabbis Without Borders at CLAL-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.

It’s true that in America there are print and broadcast media pieces on Hanukkah, and schools and offices sprout paper menorahs, but these cannot put a dent in the general feeling of Christmas that pervades the outside world.

As is the case every year, Hanukkah in Israel is always on time. It is never early or late. And while Israeli life is geared toward the Gregorian calendar (so that, unlike Christmas, even knowledgeable Israelis have to do some figuring in order to calculate the first night of Hanukkah), one can gage the date of Hanukkah by the availability and variety of sufganiyot (donuts).

... life here in the Jewish state is without drama. Some of our Arab neighbors help make life in Israel exciting in a Maccabean way all throughout the year.

Sufganiyot start making their appearance in late October, shortly after the conclusion of Judaism’s fall holidays. As Hanukkah nears, donut makers get more ambitious both in terms of quantity and quality -- augmenting the traditional strawberry jelly filling with butterscotch, chocolate, halva, and even guava and passion fruit, as well as experimenting with more sophisticated donut coatings (like carob powder or ground brown sugar) rather than the usual powdered sugar.

I have to admit that left to its lonesome, there’s some drama missing in a Hanukkah without Christmas. After

all, as our prayers remind us, Hanukkah celebrates a Jewish victory of the weak and the few over the strong and the many.

The spirit of Hanukkah comes to life more in a country where you have to fight for it, where you have to insist on its legitimate place on the cultural spectrum.

When you put your hanukiyah (menorah) on your window sill in the diaspora, you feel that you are making an important religious statement, that you are doing something to spread the Hanukkah spirit. The six or seven hanukiyot that my family lights on our window sill in Givat Ze’ev look nice, but we don’t quite sense that we have just done an act worthy of the Maccabees.

This is not to say that life here in the Jewish state is without drama. Some of our Arab neighbors help make life in Israel exciting in a Maccabean way all throughout the year.

But the Jewish state rather than the Jewish individual is the primary setting for this drama. And the stakes are much much higher than whether or not to get offended if someone wishes you a Merry Christmas.

Happy Hanukkah.

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children.

Their oldest, Nathan, recently completed his three-year commitment in the Israel Defense Force; two daughters are still serving in the IDF. Weinberger can be reached at weinross@netvision.net.il. Copyright 2009, Teddy Weinberger.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: From New York, we’d like to add our best wishes of a job well done to editor Carol Katzman on her impending retirement as Jewish Press editor. Each issue has brought us, even in the jaded Big Apple, fresh information and insights. May Ms. Katzman, and the Jewish Press, continue to grow from strength to strength.

Glenn and Lenore Richter New York City

To the Editor: I read Joe Cherek’s sweet article about his life’s crossings with Divinely-appointed Jewish people.

What a lovely testimony on both sides of how to treat other people; the poor, orphans, homeless, widows, and foreigners.

It brought tears to my eyes as I read it to my children.

May they treat other people with the same kindness.

Janita M. Pavelka Holdrege, NE

Page 10

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

Candlelighting Friday, December 11, 4:38 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

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Mitch Sherman, Sports Reporter for Omaha World Herald. Please bring your menorah to light for Hanukkah. 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.

SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m. Celebrate our 80th anniversary. Founding members and others will be recognized, followed by Kiddush luncheon; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 4:40 p.m.

CHILDREN OF EDEN: Cantor’s Scholarship Concert on Saturday, 7 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. (See full story on page 12).

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

SUNDAY: Beginning Hebrew, with Eadie Tsabari, and Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; 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.

KADIMA: Youth group will enjoy Family Fun Center, 7052 Dodge, on Sunday, 5-6:30 p.m.

Drop off and pick up is at the event. Cost: $10. For information or to RSVP, contact Jason Rich in the office or at youthdir@bethelomaha.org.

THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Understanding and Living Jewish Values, noon.

WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP: Thursday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m. (See full story on page 5.)

SHABBAT/HANUKKAH CELEBRATION: Kabbalat Shabbat services Friday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m., last night of Hanukkah.

Followed by latkes, sufganiot and

a Hanukkah sing-along with Cantor Schlossberg. No charge, but please RSVP to the office.

PJ HAVDALAH: On Saturday, Dec. 19, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

(See full story on page 7.)

USY/UNO HOCKEY: On Saturday, Dec 19, 7-9 p.m., Join USY for a UNO Mavericks hockey game. Cost: $10. Pick-up and drop-off at the Qwest. For more information or to RSVP, contact Jason Rich in the office, or at youth dir@bethel-omaha.org.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:38 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Shabbos Hanukkah Lunch following services; “Guard Your Tongue”, “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up) one hour prior to Mincha every Shabbat; Mincha, 4:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 5:42 p.m., followed

by Hanukkah Carnival, 6:30 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, and Living in Season with Miriam Gross, 10 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.

WEDNESDAY: Rabbi Weiss’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m.

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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Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451

B’NAI MITZVAH Max Gendler, son of Tami Field and Larry Gendler, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Temple Israel.

Max is a seventh-grade student at La Vista Junior High School.

His interests include baseball, golf, guitar, saxophone, history and art.

For his mitzvah project, Max volunteered at the Stephen Center shelter where he has assisted over the past several years.

He has a brother, Nate.

Grandparents are Bev Gendler and Hy Gendler, and Shirley and Lee Field of Riverside, CA. Robert Joseph Levitan, son of Gale and Daniel Levitan, will

become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 19, at Congregation Beth Torah, in Richardson, TX. Robert is a seventh-grade student in Honors Math at Frankford M i d d l e School in Plano, TX. His interests include c o n c e r t band, baseball, football, and Kadima activities at CBT. For his mitzvah project, Robert collected food for Jewish Family Services in Dallas, and volunteered mitzvah hours at the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas.

He has a brother, Steven.

Grandparents are Dr. and Mrs. Richard Levitan of Dripping Springs, TX, and the late Dave and Ruth Chorney.

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

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi 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.; Omaha’s First ever Menorah Parade, 3:30 p.m. at the JCC. RSVP to rsvp@OCha bad.com or call the office.

WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m.

Bowling for MONDAY: Beignets, 7:30 p.m. at Western Bowl, 4725 So. 131 St. RSVP at rsvp@OChabad. com or call the office.

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.

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

FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6:15 p.m.; Potluck Dinner, 7 p.m.

Latkes will be provided. Please bring enough food for eight people your menorah to light.

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; New Board Member orientation, 1 p.m.; Board Strategic Planning Retreat, 2-4 p.m.

TUESDAY: Women’s Lunch Group, noon at the Olive Garden.

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

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by Vision Members.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg and assisted by Naomi and Aaron Zipursky.

SUNDAY: Hanukkah Party, 1:45 p.m. Tuffy Epstein concert with Tea Time hosted by LOVE.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m. led

by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel; Children’s Choir and Kol Rina Hanukkah

Concert and Family Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel. Rabbi Eric Linder and Cantor Wendy Shermet. A traditional holiday meal follows services. Sponsored by the Women of Reform Judaism-Omaha. Temple’ Social Justice Committee asks that you bring new underwear and socks (all sizes) to donate to the Stephen Center.

SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

Abby Schondelmeyer, daughter of Sarah Schondelmeyer, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah.

SUNDAY: Trinity Church Field Trip, 9:30 a.m. to a mega church service, 15555 West Dodge, followed by discussion at Paradise Bakery Village Pointe. Contact Wendy Goldberg, wgoldberg@ templeisraelomaha.com, to attend; Religious School (PreK-6), 10 a.m.

TUESDAY: Grandparents Circle, 7 p.m. Rabbi Linder and Wendy Goldberg will facilitate the course. Contact Temple or wgoldberg@templeisraelomaha.com, to register.

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 p.m.; Religious School Steering Committee, 6:30 p.m.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 4:38 p.m.

SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Friday, 8-11 a.m.

FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 9 a.m. followed by a Kiddush lunch sponsored by the Marvin Krout Family in honor of their son, Derry’s birthday 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; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hanukkah Hop, noon. Latkes and a meal served in honor of our seniors, 80+. Their meals are free and they’ll be transported to the Hop. Be part of crowning a King and Queen. Cost for adults (under 80) is $10, Children (ages 2-12): $5; and children under age two are free.

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.

FREEDOM BREAKFAST: Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, 7:30 a.m. at Embassy Suites (1040 “P” St.); reservations are due immediately. Tickets are $15; order form is available at the synagogue or by calling Nancy Knapp at 472.1663.

December 11, 2009

Alexander and Hanukkah

SPARKS FROM THE WORD

by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Hanukkah One cannot really understand Hanukkah unless he starts with Alexander the great.

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Pesah and Shavuot are all festivals (hagim) that deal with moral and ethical values, which, hopefully, teach us how to live.

But Hanukkah is different: it celebrates actual events which are well known to historians.

Alexander has been called “the spoiled child of history.� While still a youngster in his late teens, he led Greek forces to the control of all of Europe and Asia, all the way to India.

After his death, however, each of his generals carved out a chunk of Europe and East Asia for himself, one of them grabbing West Asia. his little “empire� included what is now the land of Israel. Unlike Alexander, this general insisted that his piece of the world would be solely Greek in language and culture, with the worship of only Greek gods.

No part of his domain objected excepting the Jews.

They refused, even on imperial orders, to eat pig or bow down to heathen gods. They went so far as to slay the general’s agent who demanded the Hellenization of his imperial region.

What followed became known as the clash of Hebraism and Hellenism. It was only our ancient ancestors who refused to be Hellenized and insisted on following the traditions of their fathers.

The Greeks did not take this small revolution gently.

There followed a war between trained Greek armies and the helter-skelter forces of the priest Mattithias and his son Judah, who acquired the name, “the Maccabee� (translated as Judah the Hammer).

Judah did not have an easy fight against the disciplined Greek forces. But he did know the terrain. From secret hideouts in the hills, Judah led his men against the Greeks. As we now know, after many years of fighting, Judah succeeded in getting the Greeks to permit our ancient ancestors to maintain their own rituals. The Jews were permitted to worship the God of Israel and to speak in the old Hebrew language of their time.

Furthermore, they entered the Temple, which the Greeks had contaminated. The Jews cleaned it and rededicated it. The word “Hanukkah�, which has connotations of education (hinukh) means “dedication. So Hanukkah, although it is not among the major Jewish festivals, is actually a festival of rededication to learning, which influenced Judaism over all the centuries.

It is only later that it became the Festival of Lights, with the lighting of the candles during eight days of Hanukkah.

Enough. If you want to learn more -- go and read. Go and study. Happy Hanukkah!

Fall tourism numbers at all time high in Israel

JTA NEWS BRIEFS • BERLIN (JTA) -- A mainstream Swiss political leader is calling for a ban on separate Muslim and Jewish cemeteries.

Christophe Darbellay, president of the Christian Democratic People’s Party of Switzerland, made the statement in a television interview on Dec. 1, two days after Swiss voters passed an initiative to ban minarets.

The anti-minaret initiative came from the opposition ultra-conservative Swiss People’s Party and other rightwing political organizations. Critics say Darbellay is starting a “crusade� to attract voters by proposing similarly xenophobic measures.

According to the Swiss online daily Tagesanzeiger, Darbellay also wants to ban the wearing of burkas, headto-toe veils worn by some fundamentalist Muslim women. Darbellay reportedly said that existing cemeteries would not be affected by a ban, but that there should be no separate cemeteries in the future. • JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Richard Goldstone was honored with a human rights award.

The South African judge, who led the commission that accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity in last winter’s Gaza war, on Dec. 3 won the Stockholm Human Rights Award, the French news agency AFP reported.

Page 11

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Beth El Rabbi Mordechai Levin and congregant Leslie Eades look over several of the photo exhibits of the synagogueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history that will be on display this Saturday, during Beth Elâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebration of its 80th anniversary, during Shabbat services. The 9:30 a.m. service will feature a variety of tributes to the synagogue, and will be followed by a gala Kiddush luncheon. The entire Jewish community is welcome to help celebrate this milestone event.

Mr. and Mrs. Murray Newman are moving and downsizing 10,000 square feet of custom and designer furnishing and accessories A lifetime accumulation.

Something for everyone.

Friday, December 18 through Sunday, December 20

JERUSALEM -- A group of Christian pilgrims from The Congo, wearing highly colorful clothes, made their entrance on the steps leading to the Western Wall (Kotel) compound in Jerusalemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Old City. More than 330,000 tourists visited Israel in October this year. This figure is an all-time high for any October in the past and also represents a 9% increase in visitors over October last year. In the first 10 months of 2009, some 2.3 million tourists Credit: ISRANET came to visit Israel.

PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE

Congregation prepares for 80th anniversary celebration

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 11, 2009

Omaha represented at Jewish Agency shlichim convention

by ELYA WILSON Community Shlicha For five days in Baltimore, 150 young and senior Shlichim from around North America engaged in intensive discussions about Israel and Judaic education in the United States, in this time and age. It was fascinating to hear about the different communities represented by the Shlichim, and their support (and sometimes lack of support) towards Israel. We had the chance

ple, those in Zion and those in the Diaspora. And in this battle it was proved again and again that we need one another,” Sharansky told the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

He added, “Today, Israel experience programs bring approximately one third of the Jewish people to Israel. Our aim must be to connect every young Jew with Israel and to connect Israel with every Jewish community of the world.”

Omaha's community shlicha Elya Wilson, seated second row, seocnd from left, was one of the 150 Jewish Agency emissaries in North America, with Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, who gathered at an annual conference outside Baltimore, Nov. 23.

Credit: David Karp to meet with Natan Sharansky, Chairman I am proud to say that in my view, the of the Jewish Agency, during our stay, and Jewish community of Omaha (as small as to talk about the issues we are facing. it is) is probably one of the most active, “Our main battle today is to strengthen, well organized, well funded, and pro eduto deepen, to build and to defend our cational programming communities repJewish identity -- the identity of one peo- resented in the convention.

HOLIDAY CLOSING & EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Dec. 30 for the Jan. 8 issue.

There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 1 due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

Beth El Ready to razzle dazzle with “Children of Eden”

Snyder, Alex Pichik, Daisy Friedman,

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Jacob Spivack, Ethan Spivack, Chaeli The atmosphere at Beth El has been Spivack, and Elijah Marburg. electric this past week, as cast members of “This show is wonderful for audiences “Children of Eden” have been singing of all ages,” Cantor Schlossberg said. and dancing through their final rehearsals “Come to Beth El this weekend to enjoy before this weekend’s performances of the a bit of Broadway -- the music is infecrousing Broadway musical. The show, tious; the story is upbeat and humorous, scheduled this Saturday, 7 p.m. and but also poignant.” Dessert receptions Sunday, 1 p.m., is being presented as this will follow each performance. year’s Beth El Cantor’s Scholarship Ticket prices are $18 for adults, $10 for Concert. Proceeds benefit the synagogue’s Youth Scholarship Program, which provides opportunities for youths to attend Jewish summer camps, visit Israel or attend Jewish youth conventions.

Alan and Carol Parsow are serving as the event’s chairmen; Shane Kotok is the synagogue’s scholarship chairman. Beth El Cantor Beth Schlossberg, director of the upcoming production, ex- Cast members are ready to sing and dance their way into pressed great anticipation at their audiences’ hearts during this weekend’s performances seeing the culmination of her of the Broadway musical “Children of Eden,” scheduled for cast’s hard work; the show Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. features the talents of Jeff Taxman, Jordan children ages 12 and younger. Order Feinstein, Karen Cohen, Sarah Kutler, forms are available at www.bethelMatan Shapiro, Matt Uehling, Macklin omaha.org, or in the office; Tickets may Emas, Jim Fried, Lisa Senal, Dacia Jabenis, also be reserved by calling 492.8550, or Andy Greenberg, Jason Rich, Lisa Lieb, by e-mailing programming@bethelDeb Marburg, Eliana Schuller, Alex omaha.org; they will also be sold at the Pichik, Geordi Gonzales, Chloe Ray, door (only cash or checks will be acceptAliyah Jabenis, Elissa Wiener, Jacob ed the day of the show).

“Children of Eden” has been made posSpivack, Maxine Noodell, Dana Haynes, Donald Gerber, Chelsea Taxman, Larry sible in part through the generosity of the DeBruin, Ben Shapiro, Jack Cohen, Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Eleanor Dunning, Lillian Cohen, David Foundation, the Special Donor-Advised Kay, Dina Saltzman, Grant Jabenis, Ben Fund, and Beth El’s Sisterhood.