EJEWISH VoLLXXX
No. 24 Omaha, NE
PRESS 28Adar,5761
March 23,2001
SPECIAL PRE-PASSOVER FOOD ISSUE
Art Exhibit Brings Siblings Together
New poll; Despite Intifada, Americans Remain Pro-Israel by MICHAEL J. JORDAN
Leah Kosinovsky, left, was reunited with her stepbrother, Abram Rabkin, Monday night at Omaha's Eppley Airport. The two have not seen one another for 47 years. Rabkin, a wellknown artist in Russia, wrote a book about the family's hometown Bobruisk. Published by the Joint Distribution Committee, the book found its way to a friend of Kosinovsky's
in Omaha. After months of trying to phone Rabkin, Kosinovsky finally connected with him and, with the help of Shirley Goldstein, the Bemis Center, and the office of Sen, Chuck Hagei, Rabkin and 172 paintings have finally arrived. A show of his works will open at the Bemis on Saturday, March 31, 7:30p.m., and at the JCC on Sunday, April 1,1-4 p.m.
Academy's Open House to Feature Panel of Alumni by DIANE AXLER BAUM
Ariel Shukert, a also cordially invited, Central High School said Michael L. linn, junior, believes the FJA Director. individual attention "Our Friedel newsshe received at Friedel letter appears in Jewish Academy pretoday's issue of the pared her for academic Jewish Press. We and personal success. hope its feature stoJacob Katzman, a ries will motivate senior at Brownellparents to attend the Talbot, credits bis pasOpen House to take a sion for film-making to first-hand look at the the creativity encourAcademy," linn said. aged at Friedel, and The Open House Jason Eich says the Ariel Shukert, left, Jacob Katzman and Renata will begin with a Academy gave him a Yurikov will be on a panel of Friedel alumni and casual buffet of positive self image that teachers prepared to answer questions posed by kosher "finger foods" assured a good transi- guests at the Academy's Open House. including vegetarian tion into Beveridge selections. Junior High. At approximately 7 p.m., linn will introduce the These three Friedel graduates will participate in panel of Friedel teachers and alumni who will a panel at the Academy's Open House, next answer questions posed by guests. During the Thursday, March 29, from 6:30-8 p.m., to share information session, youngsters will play in a their positive feelings about day school education. supervised classroom. Babysitting also will be Participating alumni also include Yoni Drazen, available. • Ben Gerber, Trevor Gerson and Renata Yurikov. The evening will conclude with parents joining The Academy's PTO sent invitations to the Open their children in the kindergarten and first-grade House to families whose children will enter kinder- classrooms. garten or first grade in the 2001-02 school year. More information is available by calling FJA at Other interested members of the community are 334-0517.
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NEW YORK (JTA)-American support for Israel is remaining strong daring the current conflict with the Palestinians, according to a new p©B commissioned by a coalition of Jewish organizations. The findings contradict the perception among many American Jews that the Palestinians are cradling Israel in the battle for public opinion. The poll, said to be the broadest of its Mad, strengthens Jewish, activists when they seek to rally Congressional support for Israei and pinpoints the precise areas where the activists must focus their P.R. efforts, Jewish leaders say. The pollsters surveyed 450 "elites" and opinionmakers—defined as those with high income and education levels or those working as journalists, legislators or businessmen—400 American Jews and 600 members of the general public. The margin of error was plus or minus- 3%. More than two-thirds of the general public and three-quarters of the elites view Israel favorably, according to tlie survey. Two-thirds of the general public and elites also said the United States should help ieiead Israel militarily, if-need be. Only 18 percent of the general public has a favorable attitude toward the Palesfaniaa Authority, and 28 percent are favorably inclined toward the group's president, Yasser Arafat. A majority of all respondents believe Palestinian leaders are inciting the current Mideast violence to gefe-what they failed to achieve through negotiations. "This poll tells me that across the board, Israel has a bedrock of support," said Zev Purst, president and CEO of First International Resources, one of the firms that conducted the poll. "Any politician would be happy with these numbers. The results surprised some Jewish leaders. While editorial pages of U.S. newspapers generally have been supportive of Israel, Jewish leaders feared television coverage had made a more negative — and lasting—impression. A large majority of those interviewed said they follow the Middle East situation closely and consider it a major issue. Yet there is concern among Jewish leaders that when the questionnaire scratched the surface, it found that Americans don't have a profound grasp of details of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Only 22 pereent of all respondents and 36 percent of the elites are aware that Israel already has turned over some 40 percent of the West Bank to Palestinian control. Nearly half of the respondents thought the West Bank and Gaza remain "almost completely under Israeli control." Only 58 percent of American Jews know about Israel's land concessions. Of some concern to Jewish leaders, who are considered more hard-line than the general Jewish community, is that one-third of respondents believe Jerusalem should be divided. Division of the Holy City is among the most explosive issues in negotiations between Israeli and the Palestinians. Even a third of American Jews support a division of Jerusalem. Speakers at the press conference attributed the level of Jewish support for division to the feet .that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak backed such a proposal.
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Boys Hope/Girls Hope.~...~.........~.pages 14-15 NCJW opens new program in IsraeL..page 20