ewish Press
HIST SOCItTY 1500 K ST LINCOLN Nf- 68508-16&1
SPECIAL PRE-PASSOVER FOOD ISSUE VoL LXXVI
No. 25 Omaha, NE
NGJW and Clarkson College form 'Dress for Success'
Energetic Woznica brings passion to Omaha
Schrager Foundation makes grants, elects new president
by Joanie Jacobson
by Pam Monsky
by Claudia Sherman Foundation Public Relations Coordinator
Federation Communications Director NCJW and Clarkson College announce plans to co-sponsor city-wide community service program, "The most important thing in Jewish education is 'Dress for Success,' May 11-16. The program will a teacher who is interestprovide appropriate clothing and vocational guid- ing, passionate and who ance sessions to Omaha-area women entering or the students can fall in re-entering the workplace. , love with," explained Participating organizations include Goodwill of Rabbi David Woznica Omaha, Inc., Omaha Housing Authority, Lydia recently. Woznica will House, Nebraska Job Service, Vocational bring his brand of conRehabilitation and the YWCA. temporary Judaism here (Continued on page 6) -on Wednesday, March 24, in the second in the Adult Education series sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Woznica will address the Young Jewish Omaha group (YJO) at a dinner on March 24, 5:30 p.m., and will speak to the entire community at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Rabbi David Woznica Community Center. Chairing the community lecture are Carol and Steve Bloch; Lori and Michael Miller are chairmen of the YJO event. Rabbi Woznica's credentials are impressive. He is Amy Warner, Career Program Coordinator of the Transitions Program for the YWCA, and the director of the 92nd Street Y's Bronfman Elizabeth Cohen, NCJW Project Chairwoman, Center for Jewish Life in New York City, one of the (Continued on page 2) are planning the Dress for Success' program.
At its most recent meeting, members of the Phillip G. and Terri L. Schrager Foundation awarded grants to four requests for funds totaling $13,500. The Schrager Foundation also made commitments to continue to support four $1,000 college scholarships and continue its on-going assistance to Jewish Educational Services for its special needs program for $6,000. This program serves children with various learning differences at all area Hebrew schools. Established in December, 1984, the Schrager Foundation supports charitable, educational, and religious activities of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and other philanthropic organizations that promote the spirit of cooperation and brotherhood among Jews and non-Jews. "Taking the MTV Challenge," sponsored by the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO), will be one of the four programs receiving a grant from the Schrager Foundation. This program provides a unique approach to addressing propaganda, violence, drug abuse, racism, arid self-esteem issiiea in the media through the Jens of Jewish.values. Under the guidance of trained professionals from the Union for Traditional Judaism, teenagers learn to analyze messages promoted in the media by comparing them to Jewish ethics and values. (Continued on page 6)
Voyage of Discovery nets new understanding by Carol Katzman
Though Harlan Noddle has visited Israel 10 • times, this latest trip, combined with a two-day stop in the former Soviet Union, opened his eyes to •the problems faced by these Jews. He and Murray Newman were invited by the United Jewish Appeal/Council of Jewish Federations (UJA/CJF) to attend a week-long mission in January to observe the work of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Both groups are recipients of funds raised in the annual UJA/Federation Campaigns in communities across North America. Accompanied by J a n Perelman; Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Oniaha, the two men spent a hectic 48 hours in Simferopol in the Ukraine, and Yalta, on the Black Sea, after four days in Israel. "The conditions in the former Soviet Union are deplorable," Noddle said. "I saw at least 60 unfinished construction sites started anywhere from three to 20 years ago with rusty cranes just sitting there unused. "Everywhere you look, there are cars without tires, crumbling apartment buildings, and people walking because they can't afford busfare," he added. "The middle class is leaving," added Newman, "They have nothing; they are nflt better off than they were under communism." The group of about 200 leaders from Jewish communities across America toured JDC sites in Simferopol like Chesed, the new Jewish Community Center located in the basement of one of the city's large cold-war-era apartment complexes. Staffed by JDC workers from Israel, and local voluteers, Chesed, which means kindness in Hebrew, provides a hot kosher meal each day to elderly pensioners, arranges for Hebrew and Judaic studies classes, sponsors holiday parties and celebrations, and assists those Jews looking to make aliyah to Israel. "The Jewish community was essentially laying dormant for more t h a n 70 years," Noddle explained. "After the break-up of the; Soviet Union,
Jewish musicians entertained the Vogaye of Discovery Mission participants in Simferopol's new Jewish Community Center. JDC workers were allowed back in." Before visiting one family in Simferopol, Newman and Noddle met with their 17-year-old son in Israel, who is currently in the Selah program, run by JAFI. Selah, whose Hebrew name is an acronym for Students without Parents, arranges for transportation from the FSU to Israel, housing and schooling so that these teens can experience a year of life in Israel, where, as Harlan Noddle stated, "there is a promise of a future." The two brought a videotape of the family's son from Israel and watched as the family cried and laughed at the images on their television screen. Some 60% of the teens' families eventually join them in Israel. The rest stay behind in places like Simferopol because they need to care for elderly parents who can't travel or because of lack of funds. The 12-month boarding school is designed to assist teens with learning Hebrew while preparing them for entrance into the Israeli Defense Forces
Harlan Noddle, back left, Jan Perelman and Murray Newman, seated, met with a 17-yearold from Simferopol enrolled in the Selah program in Israel. The next evening, the group brought a videotape to the teen's parents in the Ukraine. and universities. Though immigration is down from the 70j000 annually of the early 90s, more than 46/000 made aliyah just last year and more are expected this year. The group also visited Tel Chai in Kiryat Shemonah in the Northern Galilee. There, the Jewish Agency has established a high-tech program through the Israel Education Fund, with allocations from UJA. Associated with the Weizmann Institute of Science and Technology, the program • brings together young olim from the FSU and local Israeh's from outside the major populations center. In addition, JAFI's Project Otzma brings Americans to Tel Chai, connecting them to the olim and Israelis. "Kiryat Shemonah faces many of the same problems we do in Omaha," explained Noddle. "It's a small community; it's not Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and the community has difficulty persuading its young people to stay.