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No. 47 Omaha, NE
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JFS resettles another family from former Soviet Union
Left photo: Omaha's newest arrivals from the Soviet Union were greeted recently at the airport by Todd Ephraim, Jewish Family Service Executive Director; Stanley Mitchell, JFS Vice-president; and Gloria Kaslow, JFS past-president. Right photo: Resettled in their new home are Vidary Levit, Il'ya Levit, Anna Levit and Vera Levit. Anna will attend Westside High School (which begins on Monday). The Levits, whose trip took more than 36 hours from Yikaterinburg, Russia, were delayed out of JFK Airport in New
York. When they finally were able to leave, they only made it as far as Cincinnati, where they were forced to stay overnight. Expecting only one of the family members to arrive the next morning, JFS Resettlement Director Tanya Siena was "surprised to see the whole family? disembark from the plane. Relatives of the Levit family already resettled in Omaha include: Lina Levit and Mikhail Zevakin (Il'ya Levit is Lina's uncle, her father's brother); and Marksina Levit (also a niece of D'ya's) and Petr Ginzburg.
August 13,1999
Federation kicks off Ben Gurion Society by Pam Monsky
Federation Communications Director The Jewish Federation of Omaha has'established the Ben-Gurion Society as part of the Annual Campaign with 47 founding members. The Society is for all donors, ages 25-45, who make an annual gift of $1000 or more to the Federation's Campaign. It is the first of its kind to recognize this growing group of young donors and has been successful in communities all over the country. In addition, the Ben-Gurion Society offers donors opportunities for professional networking, special conferences and missions. Co-chairmen of Omaha's inaugural group are Bruce Goldberg and John Lehr. When asked why they chose to work on the Annual Campaign, and specifically the Ben-Gurion Society, Lehr responded, "We have great facilities here in Omaha and we need to make sure they are accessible to everyone—from kids at the Child Development Center to the seniors in our community and at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. (Continued on page 8)
' "•' 7 ' fa" Bruce Goldberg and John Lehr are the new Ben Gurion Society Co-chairmen.
Hillary Clinton outlines Mideast views in separate speeches to Jewish groups by Matthew Dorf
WASHINGTON, (JTA)—As Hillary Rodham Clinton proceeds with her all-but-certain bid for the Senate, the first lady is continuing to distance herself from controversial statements supporting Palestinian statehood. In back-to-back speeches to Jewish groups on Tuesday, Clinton, who had drawn fire from many in the Jewish community, sought to stake out proIsrael positions. She G reiterated her support » e t h *? s b e r *' for Jerusalem as Israels President of Omaha for Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible Chapter of Hadassah. capital* and announced her opposition to "any unilateral action that circumvents the negotiating table." In her most extensive remarks on the Middle East since she began campaigning for a Senate seat from New York, Clinton spoke here to the annual convention of Hadassah and the National Jewish Democratic Council. , Together, she spent about five hours, at the two events, addressing nearly 3,000 Jewish activists. To a muted chant of "Run, Hillary, Run," the first lady took the podium'at NJDC's annual Hubert H. Humphrey awards event. ./•
The United States must continue to support Israel as the Jewish state takes risks for peace, Clinton said; Pledging continued support for the peace process, Clinton said, "We can never give up" until Israel is "safe, secure and at peace." Expanding on her views in a 40-minute speech warmly received by some 2,100 Hadassah activists (including Beth Gaynes Ginsberg and Sandra Kohll from ,..._. Omaha) crammed into a -Sandra- Kohll, Pasthotel ballroom, Clinton President, Omaha listened as Israeli Chapter of Hadassah. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in a videotaped message, offered his "sincere congratulations to the first lady on the Henrietta Szold award," which she received from the women's Zionist movement in recognition of her humanitarian work for children. Hadassah had drawn protests from a small-butvocal group of hard-line activists opposed to the award for the first lady because of her remarks last year that it would be in the long-term interest ofthe Middle East for Palestine to be a state. The award presented to Clinton detailed much of the first lady's work on behalf of children, women
and the underprivileged, but did not mention Israel or the Middle East. But from the podium, the Israeli soldier, whose jeep intercepted a suicide bomber trying to ram a busload of Israeli children on Oct. 29, 1998, hailed Clinton for her support for Middle East peace as he presented her with a silver dove. "Your efforts for peace in the Middle East.are appreciated by those of us whose lives are at stake," he said. In a speech heavy on Democratic themes, prochoice, opposition to a tax cut, support for Medicare, Clinton poked fun at herself for media reports that she speaks to former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the first recipient of the award named 50 years ago for Hadassah's founder. "I did not think I could give a speech tonight without talking it over with Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Szold," Clinton said, drawing laughter and applause from the delegates.. She turned serious when talking about Jerusalem. "Just as Jerusalem is home to your hospital, we all look forward to the day Jerusalem will be home to the embassy of the United States and all other embassies," she said, and called on Congress to "make good on the promises the president made" during the Wye River accords last fall. "The people of Israel have lived for too long with bombs, they have lived with the awful fear that their children will not come home from school alive," she said, vowing to "do everything in our power to facilitate, not dictate, the peace process."