'JEWISH PRESS Vol.LXXX
No. 9 Omaha, NE
26 Cheshvan, 5761
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November 24,2000
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN lOWtFOR 80 YEARS 55.
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Kripke Library Celebrates Opining
Rafobi Myer S. Kripke and Iiis late wife, Dorothy, were honored at Sunday's Grand Opening of the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Nancy Rips, co-chairman of the event, spoke to more than 200 gathered in the lofcby of the JCC. "A library like this takes great viaen," she- said, thanking the late Paul Veret, Omaha's first Federation Director; Tom Fellman and Howard Kooper, Building
o-ciiairmen; and the former and current library directors, Edie Wolf and Harris Finkelstein. "This Jewish Library has always been the epitome of hospitality," she added, citing last week's Torafe. .portion, "We welcome teachers and students, Russians and Americans, senior citizens and preschoolers. This library is open to alir
(More photos on page 2)
Leah Rabin Picked Up Slain Husband's Peace Torch by NAOMI SEGAL
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JERUSALEM (JTA)-Dignitaries from around the world gathered to take part in the funeral in Jerusalem of Leah Rabin, who was buried last week alongside her husband at Mount Herzl Cemetery. Rabin, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and a leading proponent of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, died Nov. 12 at 72 after losing a battle with lung cancer.. U.S. first lady and Senator-elect Hillary Rodham Clinton eulogized Leah Rabin at the funeral.
went. Nothing could separate them: not distance, not years, not death. Their lives were and are Israel's history. Now their legacy must be Israel's future," Clinton said. Earlier Wednesday, hundreds of people joined the Rabin family and friends to pay last respects at a memorial service held in the Tel Aviv square where her husband was gunned down five years ago. President Clinton, who was on a trip to Asia at the time of the funeral, issued a statement shortly ~#~ "„' after Rabin died saying that with her 1 passing,"the Middle East has lost a friend of peace. Her illness prevented her from taking part in memorial ceremonies marking the fifth anniversary of her husband's assassination. In September, she told an Israeli newspaper that- "Yitzhak is surely turning.in his grave," accusing Prime Minister Ehud Barak of making too many concessions to the Palestinians. Nava Barak, wife of the current prime minister, addressed the disagreement from her hotel suite in Chicago, First Lady Hillary Clinton pays h e r respects to Leah w h e r e t h e General Assembly of U.S. Rabin's children, Yuval Rabin and Dalia Rabin-Pelossof. j ew ish leaders was held last week. Photo by ISRANET. There are "different ways to achieve Describing her as a "woman of extraordinary peace," Nava Barak said. . breadth of interest and energy and life force," "If there was a disagreement about the way, Clinton said, "What mattered most of all to her was that's not important. What is important is that we that she was a soldier's wife, a general's wife, a all pursue the path of peace." prime, minister's wife, who shared with her dear She is survived by two children, Dalia Rabinhusband a dream of a secure Israel at peace with Pelossof, a lawyer who now serves in the Knesset, her neighbors. . and Yuval, who founded a peace group after the "She carried on that dream in the last five years assassination and now represents an Israeli softof her life. But it was a dream that she and Yitzhak ware firm in the United States. She also leaves had made together, because wherever he went, she behind three grandchildren.
Omaha Federation Joins Solidary Mission to Israel by JEWISH PRESS News Service
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Recognizing the importance of being in Israel at this time and to further the message of unity from the United Jewish communities and Jewish Federations in North America, the UJC has organized additional missions of solidarity to Israel on Dec 3, Dec 10, 2000, and Jan. 7,2001. Jan Perehnan, EhseeutiYe Director of the JewishFederation of Omaha, has announced that the JM) will participate in the Jan. 7 mission. The six-day missions depart on Sunday and return home on Friday, though extensions in Israel are available. The missions are heavily subsidized by UJC and cost $850 from New York, or $950 from Chicago, including airfare, hotel, breakfast, three dinners, three lunches, programming, guides and tips. The three days in Israel include briefings from Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz and Maj. Gen. Moshe Yaaion of the Israel Defense Force, Mideast experts Shalom Harari, Dr. Reuven Hazan, Dr. Menaehem Klein and Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.; David Olesker, who specializes in-countering Arab anti-Israel propaganda; Minister of Absorption Yuli Tamir; and Chaim Avrafaam, whose son, Binyamin, was captured last month by Hezbollah terrorists at the border with Lebanon. Mission participants will also travel to Omaha's Partnership 2000 region in the Western Galilee to speak directly with residents and meet with P2K project directors. For information about this important solidarity mission, call the Federation office, 334-6432.
Expert in Jewish-Christian History to Speak at Temple by iRIS RICKS, Program Director •» TO ™_ raCT ™™=« a
Dr. Mark Saperstein, a noted historian and expert in the field of Jewish-Catholic relations, will be the SchoIar-in-Residence at Temple Israel from Dec. 15-17. Saperstein is the Charles E. Smith Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Program in Judaic Studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The recipient of numerous research grants and fellowships, Dr. Saperstein was elected a fellow at the prestigious American Academy for Jewish Research in 1994. He is currently the Book Review Editor for the Association of Jewish Dr. Marc Saperstein Studies Review. Two of his own books, Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn and Jewish Preaching, 12001800, won National Jewish Book Awards. (Continued on page 12)
3NSIDE: Follow-up sessions on Mideast JDC opens facility in India
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Omaha JCC to send athletes to Maccabi Games in Sarasota~~~. ........page 12 Upcoming event: Women's Book Fair luncheon, Tuesday, Nov. 28,11:30 cunu,at the 'J*