NEWISH PRESS VoLOQQC
No. 11 Omaha, NE
11KiSLEV,57S1
December 8,2W0
FEATURING OUR ANNUAL HANUKKAH GIFT GUIDE
JCC'Presents A Festival of Lights
Heading for Elections, iarak Myst Steer Between Diplomacy and War
fay JEWISH PRESS News Service
by DAVID LANDAU ' JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak has launched an election campaign amid violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. He hopes to conclude the campaign some time in the spring with renewed peace hopes, or, better yet, with a draft peace agreement that he can submit to the public as his election platform. If Barak achieves a deal with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, he may yet puJl back from the brink of political defeat and win the election. If he fails — and the odds at this time have to be on his failure, given l i e Palestinians' present and recent intransigence — it is hard to see Barak defeating the presumptive likud candidate, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who currently leads Barak by 20 percentage points in public opinion polls. After acceding last week to the Knesset majority's obvious desire for early elections, Barak made it clear that vigorous diplomatic efforts would continue during the coming months of "lame-duck" government. In a television interview, Barak bemoaned the Palestinian rejection of ideas put forward by Israel and the Americans at July's Camp David summit and in subsequent diplomatic contacts. But, he added, *Tfc may not be over." Barak insisted .that his diplomatic efforts would continue alongside the Israel Defense Force's efforts to contain and reduce Palestinian violence. Israeli military sources reported « sharp decline in the number and intensity of violent incidents in
If you know the story of Hanukkah, then you know that it Is sometimes referred to as "The Festival of lights." For each of the eight nights of the holiday, a new candle is lit. Although the date of Hanukkah s varies from year to year on the sec' ular calendar, it always falls on ' the 25th of the Hebrew month of KMev. This year, the first candle will be lit on j Tuesday night, Dec. 21. - -. But Hanukkah will begin a little earlier at the Jewish Community Center when the departments of Dance, Youth Activities and Informal Jewish Educational combine to present "A Festival of lights" on Sunday, Dec 17, at 2 pan. The event opens with dance and storytelling in the JGC Theater, followed by a magic show by Peter the Near (Great), European-style music by Inspirations, dreidel games, arts and crafts, balloon-making with one of the JCCs own clowns, and latke-maMng in the JCC Auditorium. All events will end at approximately 3:30 p.m. Cost for the program is just $3 per person or $10 for the entire family. For more information, call Rachel Shkolniek, 334-6403.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, right, met with Chaim Avraham, representing the families of the IDF soliders kidnapped by Hezbollah. Photo by ISRANET. the West Bank and Gaza Strip. If this reduction was orchestrated by Arafat and was intended to help Barak out of his parliamentary predicament, it plainly came too late. But there is no doubt that the Palestinians are closely following Israel's intricate political drama. And they will have to recognize the fact that their behavior — on the "war" front and in the peace talks — could directly and critically influence the outcome of Israel's domestic contest. Tbis confluence of domestic and diplomatic circumstances eould therefore become a catalyst, dri(Contmsied on page 17) ~
Jewish Family Service's Project Dreidel Takes on New Importance by PAM MONSKY, Federation Communications Director (*Editor's note: The story you are about to read is true, and used with permission. The names of the family have been changed to respect their privacy.) Welcome to the first installment of The Project Dreidel Chronieles. Over the next several weeks, you will get to know some of the Omaha area Jews who have been helped by Jewish Family Service. Each person depicted in these stories has graciously agreed to share their story with the community to increase public awareness of Jewish Family Service* programs and services that have made such a tremendous difference in their lives. Project Dreidel is a tzedakah program, sponsored by Jewish Family Service, which has been providing Hanukkah gifts and Jewish holiday meals to families in our area who cannot afford them. But sometimes families and individuals have unexpected emergencies that require immediate intervention. Jewish Family Service is there to provide the financial and emotional support they need to get back to normal, and that support costs money year'round. Your gift to the Jewish Federation of Omaha's 2001 Annual Campaign is what allows us to take care of each other. Despite our best efforts, our community needs to continue to outpace the increase in gifts to the Annual Campaign. Your increased Campaign gift ensures that every Omaha Jewish community member will have access to professional and compassionate help in a Jewish environment Had it not been for Jewish Family Service, a very different ending would have been written for the family in our first story. The Monday before Thanksgiving, Jewish Family Service Director Steve Stiel was preparing to leave
photo by Jen Gates his office for the day when he got a phone call. The
woman on the phone sounded distressed, so. Stiel asked her to meet him at the Family Service office. He listened intently as she poured out her story. Rebekkah Kline, her husband, David, and their two children, Josh, 6, and Carly, 3, have lived in Omaha for several years. Their family life is happy and busy, filled with the children's activities, Rebekkah and David's work and their synagogue involvement. Although they don't have much money for a lot of extras, Rebekkah's and David's combined income is able to provide a comfortable home and enough food and clothing for themselves and their kids. Rebekkah told Steve they were living the good life. Suddenly, though, all that was hi jeopardy when David lost bis job three months ago and sank into a debilitating depression. Living on. only Rebekkah's income was almost impossible for the Klines, especially with two young children to care for. To make matters worse, several major household repairs had to be made right away—the furnace had
to be replaced, a plumbing problem required immediate action and,, worst of all, the last heavy rain flooded their newly-finished basement. Even though they have homeowners insurance, their claim was denied and the damage declared "anactofG-d." Although Rebekkah had taken t i e initiative and explained their situation to their creditors, they were still behind on their bills. By the time she called JFS, the Kline's car payments were two months late and their mortgage payment was due. Their credit cards were all maxed out and there was nothing left in the bank. She felt like she was drowning and there was no lifeline in signt. After Rebekkah finished her story, Stiel asked how much food they had in the house. She told him they had saltines, a jar of peanut butter, two cans of corn and a stick of butter. Last night, she said, she fixed the kids peanut butter crackers for dinner and ate them on a blanket on the floor so the children would think it was fun, like a picnic. She told him that her family
would survive on the food they had until she was (Continued on page 17)