DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TUESDAY, MAY 13-Candidates statements start on page 12 pea 6050B
1500 R ST LINCOLN NE £8508
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Celebrating More Than VoLLXJOV
No. 35
Omaha, NE
Yom haShoah theme-'From Darkness to Light' by Mgrris Maline
2 lyyar, 5757
Miriam Simon to receive
May 9,1997
Jewish groups aid community in flooded North Dakota town
Miriam R. Simon will be presented the National Leadership Award of the Omaha Chapter of Hadassah at the annual
by Marshall Hoffman, American Jewish World
MINNEAPOLIS (JTA) - T h e tiny Jewish com. The message of this year^'-Yom haShaoh community in Grand Forks, N.D., hasrheen-hit hard by memoration is to "Go beyond the despair and purreceatficrodlnafis.tfre'Rfcd'RiverValley. < sue the hope that comes with the affirmation of The eritire city, including some 50 Jewish_famiGod," -dajfMayriZT, at Highland lies, was forced to evacuate as a result of the natur"Begin with, the bad- and= end witlv the*glory* isr al disaster that struck before Passover. Country Club.. the way the Passover story is tola*", Dr. Neil . B'nai Israel Synagogue, the only Jewish instituAlso being honored Gillman told an estimated 300 at Beth El >will be the "entertainers" tion in Grand Forks, incurred some damage* to its Synagogue Sunday night during the annual Yom who have presented pro- library, basement and social hall. haShoah Commemoration, But the sanctuary, prayer books and Torah grams at the monthly Oneg Shabbat, sponsored scrolls are intact, Robin Silverman, president of by Hadassah, at the the 58-year-old Reform synagogue, reported to the, Blumkin Home for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. past several years. Passover seders were coordinated by Col. Daniel Miriam Simon She has served as pres- Halpern, a Jewish officer stationed at the Grand ident of the Omaha Hadassah Chapter as well as Forks Air Force Base. Some 15 Jewish individuals ' president of the Federation of Jewish Women's are stationed at the Air Force base. About 30 Jewish families have gone in and out of Organizations, Beth El Sisterhood and Dundee the shelter set up at the base, floating between School PTA. In addition, she has served as chairman of the there and friends'homes. "Many have left the Grand Forks area," said Jay Women's Division of the UJ A/Federation Campaign, organized and chaired 50- and 55-year Tcath, executive director of the Jewish Community From left: Anna Raful, Carl Tichnuer, Lola reunions for Central High School Class of 1938, Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Reinglas, Miriam Grossman, Lili Berkovits organized the LOVE program of the Bureau for the The JCRC's disaster relief committee has been r. Ben Nachman. Aging and served as its first chairman, organized heading to area flood sites in "dire need of clean-up ,J the Soviet Jewish Resettlement Committee and assistance" for the past few weekends. Dr. "Gijlman, chairman of the Department of served as its first chairman, and was Vice-presi"There are Jewish families here willing to do Jewish Philogjjp.hy at the J.ewiSh Theological dent of the Jewish Federation of Omaha'. whatever is necessary to ensure that people have a Seminary of America, said the Jewish practice of According to Beth Ginsberg, President of the seder to attend," Tcath wrote prior to Passover in a .looking beyond despair to the "voices of mirth and (Continued on page 15) (Continued on page 15) (Continued on page 15)
by Morris Maline and Debby Duitch
When their two-year-old grandson picked up a Cheerio from his highchair tray and put it into his mouth to eat, Omaha's Jack and Jean Duitch were ever so proud of his accomplishment. Their excitement at this seemingly trivial event . was countered, however, with sadness by the overwhelming reality that Gershon Natan, son of their daughter, Debby,'arid son-in-law, Avi Brickrier, of Newton, MA, would unlikely ever stand, crawl, or walk independently, or ever talk. Gershon has a very rare, Ashkenazic Jewish genetic disorder, Canavan Disease, a disease characterized by degeneration of the white matter (myelin) of the brain, giving it a spongy appearance. It is due to an absence of the enzyme aspar. toacyclase. .':'• , • Affected children, although appearing normal at birth, show a marked delay in development characterized by floppiness, poor head control and progress to spaaticity, seizures, blindness and mental retardation. Debby and Avi knew almost immediately as parents there was something drastically wrong with their son, as he could not hold up his head, did not appear to have eye-contact, would not focus or follow an object, and was very floppy. They had never heard of Canavan's Disease. Gershon's hearing was found to be normal, however an astute pediatric ophthalmologist found him to be profoundly farsighted and prescribed glasses at four months of age, which indeed brought vision to him. •;:•. :. After a thorough neurological evaluation at the Massachusetts General Hospital the disease was finally diagnosed by blood and urine samples. Since this is an autosomal dominant disorder, it was ' known that both Debby and Avi were carriers, and the likelihood of this occurring again was 25% for,. each pregnancy. It also meant that there would be a 50% chance that each subsequent pregnancy would result in a normal child, but carrier state, and a 25% chance ofa normal non-carrier child. Both Jack and Jean underwent the simple DNA
blood test to find that Jean was the carrier, and Jack was not. It also was learned that a seemingly distant fourth cousin of Gershon's too had Canavan's Disease in Minneapolis. Sadly, she has since died from the complications of this disorder at the age of three. It is known that approximately 1 in 40 Ashkenazic Jews is a carrier, and that this is the fourth most common carrier disease among Jews, Cystic Fibrosis, Gaucher's, and Tay-Sachs the other three. As a result of the Duitch's experience, Jean has decided to publicize information about Canavan's Disease, and urge all young people, single and married alike to find out if they are carriers. Genetic counseling is available to couples who both find themselves to be carriers, and each pregnancy carriers the same risk, 25% of having a child with Canavan's. Since the discovery of the abnormal gene sequence in 1993, early prenatal testing through CVS (Chorionic Villi Sampling) at 10 'iweeks is available, or at amniocentesis. The first Canavan screening day took place in New York City in April, 1966. Of the 180 people tested, eight were found to be carriers, none were couples. The Canavan Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1992 by the parents arid [ friends of affected children. Its mission is to provide information and screening to at-risk populations, to educate the medical community and to support research. Gershon Natan Brickner Information can be obtained from the organization at 320 Central Park West, Suite 19-D, New Yom HaAtzmaut York, NY 10025, (212) 877-3945; r Information also may be obtained through the Israeli Day of Independence National Tay Sachs arid Allied ' Diseases Celebrate the 49th anniversary of thefoundAssociation, (617) 277-4463 or at ing of the State of Israel at the Jewish http://wYmjncrcr4.med.nyu.edu/inurpb.pol/ t a y e a c h s . h t m . ..; : : '•.'••'••. '• . w . - ' .
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On a more pleasant note, Debby and Avi announced the arrival of identical twin girls (both carriers) in November} 1998, Nearly she months old now, Nechama Ziporah and Yehudit Dorit are doing beautifully.
Community Center'this Sunday, 12:153:30 p.m. The Maxwell'.'Street Klezmer Band will perform at 2 p.m. in the JCC Theatre. Carrot Top the Clown, storytelling, Israeli and American food, and jewelry and crafts sale will also be featured. Questions? Call 334-6403.