NE HIST SOCIETY 1500 R ST LINCOLN NE 68503-1651
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR MORE THAN 75 YEARS Vol. LXXV111
No. 10 Omaha, NE
3Kislev,5760
Hunger crisis in the FSU brings photographer back to Omaha
November 12,1999
Sweethearts remember AZA
by Pam Monsky, Federation Communications Director
Sharon Faulkner, come back to Omaha to speak whose photographs to a wider audience. have appeared in "Sharon Faulkner's poignational publications nant photographs and the such as Life magastories they tell tugged at my zine, will bring her heart," said Phyllis Hoffman. heartwrenching pho"Her camera captures hardtos of the elderly in ships, yes, but it also shows the former Soviet the determination and will of Union to Omaha to its subjects, our people. highlight the hunger "David's parents and mine crisis they face there. were born in Eastern The community-wide Europe," Hoffman added. event, which is free, This is one of Faulkner's photos, an elderly "They immigrated to will be held in the Jew named Ziama. America before World War I. theater at the Jewish Community Center on I couldn't help thinking that but for the grace of Monday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 pan. A reception will God, those photographs could have been pictures follow Faulkner's presentation. of David and me. Every Omaha Jew owes it to ' Chairing the event are Phyllis and David themselves to see this exhibit." Hoffman. The Hoffinans'both saw Faulkner when For the past several years, Faulkner has been Bhe was in Omaha last month to present her haunt- photographing the Jewish elderly in the FSU, and ing images to Campaign workers. The slides had has become increasingly involved with them. Her such an impact on them that Faulkner was asked to (Continued on page 2)
Negotiators shake hands, TEN YEARS AFTER THE WALL Russian city Jews reconnect start talking final peace with heritage, and one another by Naomi Segal
by Lev Krichevsky
JERUSALEM (JTA) - Israeli and Palestinian TULA, Russia (JTA)--For decades, Faina and negotiators have launched talks aimed at achieving a final peace agreement. The final-status talks, ^Anat'oly Sanevich kept their Judaism private. which began Monday, nearly four years later than Natives of Ukraine, where they both survived Nazi originally envisioned in the 1993 Oslo accord, took ghettos as small children, the couple spoke Yiddish place amid the all too-familiar landscape of a ter- to each other at home. But unwilling to complicate their children's lives, they spoke Russian with ror attack that occurred a day earlier. Meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah, chief their two sons. Every Passover they woujd have matzah on their - Israeli negotiator Oded Erari and his Palestinian counterpart, Yasser Abed Rabbo, shook hands for table--they didn't hold a full seder-but kept this the cameras before sitting down to discuss mostly fact a secret from their neighbors and colleagues. Their need to live double lives changed in the procedural issues facing them as they try to reach a framework for a final accord. The meeting lasted waning years of the Soviet Union. The Jewish community was among the first to less than two hours, but negotiators later said they planned to meet again and hold several sessions benefit from the opportunities provided by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's policy, of glasnost, , each week to meet the February deadline* There were opening ceremonies for the talks in or openness, initiated in the late 1980s. The most 1996 as well as some six weeks ago, but Monday's obvious benefit was the lifting of emigration ' session represented the first time the two sides restrictions, which resulted in a massive wave of aliyah to Israel. . had actually gotten down to formal business. Those who remained behind were no less affected Along with creating an outline for an agreement within little more than 100 days, the two sides by the changes. Thousands of Soviet Jews took a have also committed themselves to signing a final keen interest in what only a few underground activists, risking jail, would have dared to explore agreement by September. . Outside the Ramallah hotel where Monday's under Gorbachev's predecessors. All of a sudden, Jews stopped being one of the besttalks were held, a small group of Jewish protesters held signs that read, "Don't abandon 200,000 kept state secrets," Anatoly Sanevich recalled. We Israeli Citizens," referring to Jewish settlers in the just realized that we could speak freely about what we had been forced to be silent: our Judaism." West Bank. Cities across Russia have seen Jewish cultural At a news conference after the meeting, Abed Rabbo described "settlement activities" as the societies and organizations take the place of the small circles of refuseniks and Zionist activists main obstacle to achieving a final peace. . : The meeting came one day after more than 30 that operated during Soviet days. Most of Russia's Jewish revival has occurred in Israelis were wounded, most of them lightly, in three Moscow and a handful of other large cities, including pipe-bomb explosions in the coastal city of Netanya. , Israeli Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami St. Petersburg. But the Sanevich family is helping to said Monday investigators were examining the spearhead the Jewish revival in Tula, an industrial possibility the attack was linked to the anniver- city that, like the rest of the country, is reeling from sary of the October, 1995 assassination in Malta of the economic crisis that began last August. The city of 600,000 has a 3,000-strong Jewish Fathi Shakaki, the leader of Islamic Jihad, which community, most of whom work as engineers, docopposes the Oslo peace process. . ' ' No group claimed responsibility for the three tors and teachers. Each year some 100 to i20 Jews emigrate to pipe bombs that exploded Sunday: A fourth pipe Israel and a few dozen more leave for Germany bomb did not detonate. (Continued on page 14) (Continued on page 7)
Sue Friedman, above, was named the 1966 Sweetheart of AZA#1. Today, she's Sue Millward and is among the many former BBYOers who have shared their photos and memorabilia in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of AZA in Omaha. For more on AZA's 75th, see the related story and photos on pages 12 and 13.
Women's Mission 2000 recruitment set for Nov. 30 by Pam Monsky, Federation Communications Director
A Women's Mission to Kiev and Israel will have an informational and recruitment meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 4 p.m., at the home of Eunice Denenberg, 667 Dillon Drive. Denenberg will be chairing the mission with Maxine Kirshenbaum. The dates of the mission are March 27 through April 5, 2000. Susie Drazen will accompany the mission as Jewish Scholar. The mission will begin in Kiev and includes tours of synagogues and other historical sites. Participants will meet with Jewish men and women who are struggling to make a better life for themselves while the former Soviet Union is experiencing tumultuous times. Participants will also be able to see first hand how Campaign dollars directly affect the lives of Jews in Kiev. While in Israel, participants will visit Tel Aviv, the coastal city of Nahariya, and Jerusalem. Trip highlights include tours of Old and New Jerusalem, the exciting archeological excavation of Beit Shean, a meeting with the Arab and Israeli Women's Task Force in the Western Galilee, and tour of the wonderful Ghetto Fighter's Museum. Other highlights include cultural events in Tel Aviv, a spectacular Kabbalat Shabbat on the steps of the Southern Wall, as well as visiting Yad Vashem and Masada for first time participants. Cost for the Women's Mission is $2,400 and includes travel from Chicago, four star hotels (double occupancy), luggage transfers, guides, program fees and most meals. There is a minimum gift requirement of $1,000 to the 2001 and 2002 UJC/Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Campaigns. A special extension to Jordan is also offered. . For more information, or to RSVP for the Nov. 30 meeting, please contact Lana Reichardt at 3346430.