WISH PRESS Vo!. LXXXI
No. 22
Omaha, NE
26 Shevat, 5762
February 8, 2002
NEXT MONTH: JEWS IN SPORTS: OMAHA HOSTS THE2002 MACCABI GAMES
Feisty Figure Skater Sastia Cohen Heads off to the Olympics by CARIN DAVIS The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
Despite Continuing Violence, 3 te ; Sports
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LOS ANGELES--"Joey likes Rachel!" In Aliso Viejo's Ice Chalet snack bar, six typical teens squeal about Friends and lace their skates. Among them, an eye-catching brunette balances against a table and lifts her left foot to meet her back. The banner above the skate rental booth, constructed with orange paper and Scotch tape, reads: "Congratulations! Sasha Cohen, 2002 Silver Medalist, you're goin' to the Olympics!" The flexible brunette? Not just a typical teenager. Sasha Cohen, 17, will be one of three women figure skaters to represent the United States in the 2002 Winter Olympics. The sassy Aliso Niguel High School senior overcame a debilitating injury and will travel to Salt Lake City in February to fulfill her Olympic dream. "I'm looking forward to everything: opening and closing ceremonies, staying in the village, hopefully skating my best and winning the medal," Cohen says, glossing her lips with a pink wand. Fan mail covers the snack counter, and a pintsize girl asks Cohen to autograph her skate. The Orange County teen seems unfazed by her new celebrity status. "It's exciting and fun, but it's not reality. I'm enjoying it now, but when it's not here, that's OK, too," Cohen says, fidgeting with the zipper on her rhinestoned black hood. In fact, Cohen seems more excited about her upcoming Winter Formal and her kitten, Mia, than the media attention. The 5-foot-l, 94-pound bundle of energy and radiance did not become a bat mitzvah, but always wears a gold medallion around her neck. She even wears this gift from her grandmother's friend during competition. "The front is an astrological map for my birthday, and the back is my lucky star," Cohen told The Journal. The star is a Star of David. Her parents, Roger, an international business consultant and lawyer, and Gelina, are members of Shir Ha-Ma'alot, a Reform congregation, and her 13-year-old sister, N a t a s h a , attends Tarbut VTorah Community Day School in Irvine.
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The following Jewish athletes are expected to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which begin today: • Alexei Beletski and Natalia Gudina, Israel (figure skating); • Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovsky, Israel (figure skating); 8 Sasha Cohen, United States (figure skating); ® Olga Danilov, Israel (short-term speed skating); • Sara DeCosta, United States (hockey) • Irina Slutskaya, Russia (figure skating); • Dan Weinstein, United States (shorttrack speed skating). Source: www.jewishsports.com, Her journey to the Olympics is not a typical "Go For the Gold" story, either. Last year, she discovered a stress fracture in a vertebrae and was forced to withdraw from the 2001 Nationals and miss the skating season.Isolated from competition, the strong-willed Cohen held fast to her Olympic dream. "I had to keep in mind what my goals were and the steps to get there. I took every day one at a time and looked to where my dreams were," Cohen recalls, her Snow White complexion blushing. She underwent extensive physical therapy and changed (Continued on page 8)
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Cycling in Israel is becoming a more and more the intifada. Last week, the Israel Cycling popular sport and pastime. Its development League organized a 36-kilometer race in Tel has been held back by security considerations, Aviv. Some 100 competitors had to cycle and several large events, including the Cross around the 800-meter course 45 times to comPhoto by ISRANET. Israel Race, were cancelled last year because of plete the race.
Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff Combines Military and Ministry by OZZIE NOGG
can pursue peace without being a "Faith and Force: Religion, War pacifist in the same way you can and Peace" will be Rabbi Arnold believe t h a t you need a military Resnicoff s topic during Beth El without being militaristic. I think Synagogue's Dr. Leon Fellman both extremes are to be avoided." Scholar-in-Residence weekend, Feb. Resnicoff also believes that, ulti23 and 24. Rabbi Resnicoff has worn mately, the responsibility for peace both a Navy uniform and a kippah. lies outside the military and that it He has also been described as a man is the duty of religious leaders to in whom both a lion and a lamb live work toward conflict resolution and side by side. reconciliation. Recently retired after 28 years of "According to Jewish tradition, active duty, the former Navy there is within each person not just Chaplain for the U.S. European a potential but a thirst and yearning Command in Europe, most of Africa and parts of the Mideast, now serves Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff both for good and evil. The role of as the new National Director of inter-religious our faith is to strengthen the yearning for good and affairs for the American Jewish Committee. The to harness the temptation to do evil," he said. (Continued on page 9) mission of the organization includes strengthening the basic principles of pluralism around the world. In an interview published this past December in INSIDE: the St. Petersburg Times, Rabbi Resnicoff spoke about the seeming contradictions of his two vocations. Stressing his belief that war and peace are not black-and-white issues, Rabbi Resnicoff expressed his hope that the time will come when there will be no more violence and the military will no longer be needed. "I am someone who dreams of peace and believes in peace," he said. "It is important to say that you
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