dewlsh Pre Serving Nebraska and Iowa Since 1920
16 Tlslm, 57S4, Oatab«r 1,1993
Vol. LXn No. 3 Omaha
'Invisible' women appear at Campaign Kick-off!
Rescue of Denmark's Jews F
' Denmark, Oct. 1943: In a few weeks, fishing boats and other small craft transported more than 7,000 Danish Jews to Sweden — from the exhibitiotr, Oenmai*k in October 1943. The Jews of Denmark — Escape from Annihilation, produced by the Museum of Danish Resistance. The exhibit will be on display at the Jewish Community Center from Oct. 10 through Nov. 12. In connection with the exhibit, Omaha has issued a proclamation commemorating the 60th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of the Danish Jews by their fellow Danish citizens. In addition, along with the exhibit, there will be a special recognition, presentation and program on the evening of Oct. 24.
Federation Foundation sponsors financial seminar By Claudia Sherman, Foundation Public Relations Director A financial team lineup including speakers from FirsTier Bank Trust Department; Mammal, Schropp, Swartzbaugh, Engler & Jones, Inc., an employee benefit and actuarial firm; and FVankel, Zacharia, Nissen & Stamp, an accounting firm, will tackle the subjects of estate planning and charitable giving at a seminar on Wednesday, October 13, jointly with The Foundation of the Jewish Federation. Norman Veitser, chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Foundation, will highlight The Foundation's role at the two-hour seminar which begins at 4:30 p.m. at Highland Country Club, 126th and Pacific StreeU. Mary Jewell, truit oflficer and vice president of FiriTier Bank, will cover the topic, "Estate Planning Techniques' at the seminar. She will discuss how to plan your estate so your heirs will receive what you intend for them to acquire. Ms. Jewell, who earned her law degree from Creighton University, has been with FirsTier Bank since 1986. Prior to that she was a financial planning consultant with Farm Credit Banks of Omaha. In 1987, she was honored by the Omaha Jaycees as one of ten outstanding young Omahans and was also named a Distinguished Service Award winner. Ms. Jewell's discussion at the seminar will cover trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and estate and inheritance taxes. Mark A Weber, director of etUU planning with Msmmsl, Schropp, SwarUbaugh, Engler & Jones, Inc., will Ulk about 'Charitable Giving Strategies' Mr. Weber has • legal background and a master's dsgrsa in nnandal planning from The American Coltig*. *BiUU tax is tha hlghasi tax you're ever going to
have to pay," Mr. Weber pointed out. He will explain how you can control the portion of your estate that "the government has a lien on" by redirecting it through The Foundation of the Omaha Jewish Federation to one of the numerous funds it supervises such as those supporting the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service or the Federation Library, for instance, or to your synagogue, toward a scholarship or to endow a chair at a university, to name a few examples. Among the professional organizations Mr. Weber belongs to are the American Bar Association (including the Estate and Gift Tax Committee and Liquidity Tax Force Subcommittee), the Omaha Estate Planning Council, and the United W^y of the Midlands with whom he served as director of planned giving. He has been director of estate planning with his firm for four years and has made presentations before the Nebraska State Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Section; the Estate and Business Planning Seminar for the University of Nebraska at Lincoln College of Law and School of Accountancy; and the Iowa State Bar Association Annual Meeting. William A SUrtser is a certified public accounUnt with Frankel, Zacharia, Nissen k Stamp, ^ne of the largest accounting firms in Nebraska. Mr. Startter is the partner in charge of the firm's tax department. A lifelong resident of Nebraska, Mr. Startser earned his degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has been a CPA for 15 years specialixing in corporate, individual and •alate taxation as well as estate planning. (Continued on page 2)
By Debbi Brown, Women's Division publicity (This article contains the writer's opinion) Female achievement in history has never received the attention it was worthy of. Historically speaking, women seemed invisible. Whatever the reason, the plain fact is there are many fascinating stories about women in history worth listening to and we are indeed fortunate that this year the Women's Division of the UJA/Federation Campaign has chosen "Stories" as its theme. The 1994 Women's Division Campaign kick-off event will feature Elaine Rembrandt, a professional actress and playwright, who has delighted audiences with her marvelous portrayal of Jewish women in history. She is the drama specialist at Temple Emanu El, University Heights, Ohio. Ms. Rembrandt has directed many of her original plays, eleven of which have been published in a volume entitled '^erSsTTIeiHHnes, and Holidays- Plays for Jewish Youth." She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University with a B.A. in Speech and Theatre, A highlight of her acting career was her recent trip to the Soviet Union where she and five otherprofessional and community theatre actors, under the guise of tourists, performed a program of Jewish theatre pieces in the apartments of the Refusnik communities of Moscow, Leningrad and Odessa. In addition to her professional life, she is the mother of three grown children and is married to Rabbi Daniel Roberts of Temple Emanu El. Marcia Pitlor and Zoe Riekes are co-chairing this Women's Division opening event. "Elaine Rembrandt is wonderful! This will be a new approach to training our campaign workers. Also this is an opportunity for anyone in Women's Division to be motivated by Elaine's strong portrayal of outstanding women in Jewish history, said Mrs. Pitlor. Mrs. Riekes pointed out. This program is open to all women who give a gift to the Women's Campaign. They can attend either of two sessions, Wednesday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. or Thursday, October 14, at 9:30 a.m. Both sessions will be at the J.C.C. This is an event everyone will enjoy." For more information or to make reservations call Jan Perleman, at the Federation office, 3348200, Ext. 264.
Israel, Vatican reach agreement By Cynthia Mann JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli and Vatican negotiators have reached an agreement that could soon lead to the establishment of full diplomatic relations. While the world's attention has been focused on the historic Palestinian self-rule agreement by Israeli and Palestine Liberation Organization oiTicials, members of a special Vatican-Israeli commission put the finishing touches on a historic agreement of their own. Successfully capping 14 months of negotiations, the commission met recently and agreed on a 14point agenda for the normalisation of Telations between Israel and the Vatican, said sources doM to the talk*. The agenda includes a provision that the church will take • stand against anti-Semitism. Israel's Foreign Ministry acknowledged the reports concerning the Vatican-Israeli commission, but said the process of establishing full diplomatic relations would be gradual. Nevertheless, an announcement that the two parties would establish full diplomatic relations )• expected within weeks, • Kegotiattons for normalisation of relations have been taking place since July 1092.