EWISH PRESS Vol. LXXXII
No. 3
Omaha, NE
14Tishrei, 5763
September 20,2002
SERVING NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA FOR 81 YEARS
Life's Experience as a Survivor and Rights Advocate Subject of Film by BETH SELDIN-DOTAN, Director ADL institute for Holocaust Education
What began as lowbudget, independent labor of love, Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit, has now won several awards, toured numerous film festivals and has been shown on Public Broadcasting stations in the United States, Denmark and Canada. Based on the life of Holocaust survivor Judy Meisel, a civil rights activist who now lives in Santa Barbara, CA, the film will be shown in Omaha, Sioux City and Dana College in Blair; Meisel will also speak about her experiences during the war and her A film crew follows civil rights wartime experiences through work for civil rights. A collaboration of three activist and Holocaust survivor Europe. The film will be shown in Meisel retracing her Omaha, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. USC Cinema-Television students, "Thanks for All" in Danish, will be shown students. Bialis, producer and director of documenon Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. in the JCC tary films including Tak for Alt, earned her BA in hisTheater. Following the screening, Meisel will tory from Stanford University, where she focused on address Omaha Jewish high school students, their Europe during World War II and wrote a thesis about the Polish and Jewish resistance movements during parents and the community. In addition to Meisel's visit, film producer Laura the Holocaust. She holds a MFA in Film Production Bialis and curriculum writers Kathleen McSharry, from the University of Southern California Dr. McSharry is currently an Associate Professor formerly of Dana College and I will introduce a newly created curriculum that accompanies the of English and the Associate Dean of General film. Meisel and the team will present the film and Education at Saint Francis University in Loretto, curriculum at a Seminar for Teachers on Oct. 7, PA. She has incorporated Holocaust literature into her coursework during her seven years at Dana and 4:30 p.m. at the JCC. The creation of a study guide/curriculum reflects the now at St. Francis. She first taught a course on the desires of the film co-directors, Laura Bialis, Holocaust with Dr. Delvin Hutton, a professor Broderick Fox and Sarah Levy to chronicle Meisel's emeritus of Religion at Dana College. (Continued on page 9) story in film and bring it directly to educators and
9/11 Victims, Families Found Solace, Support by RACHEL POMERANCE
The Jewish community launched a massive, coordinated effort to help both Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. The UJA-Federation of New York raised funds in New York, where two of the planes hit, and the United Jewish Communities, Ihe"~umb'rella"group _of North American Federations, raised funds throughout North America. . The funds have been used to provide support groups for victims and those re-traumatized by the incident, including Holocaust survivors or new immigrants. They also were used to provide cash assistance and job counseling and to help victims navigate the bureaucracy to get financial aid from government and private funds. One of 13 major charities comprising the 9/11 United Services Group, a resource for victims in New York City, the UJA-Federation of New York has been at the center of the Jewish communal response. As of mid-August, the Federation had raised $7.6 million in special funding for its agencies to expand services for Sept. 11 victims. Of that sum, $2.1 million came from the UJC, which plans to add another $166,000 in the coming weeks, and $3.5 million came from The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund. The UJA-Federation raised the other $2 million on its own. Other recipients of UJC funds have included the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington-where the third plane hit~which received $100,500. Funds also went to hard-hit New Jersey commuter areas like Monmouth Count and Bergen County.
Commentators Look for Signs of Turning Point in Israeli/Palestinian Conflict by NAOMI SEGAL — —
—•-—
JERUSALEM (JTA) - Could Israel and the Palestinians be reaching a turning point in their violent conflict? A flurry of high-level contacts were expected this week, leading to suggestions that diplomatic efforts could finally be gaining some traction as the intifada nears its two-year point. These suggestions came as Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat faced a major challenge from Palestinian legislators, who were on the brink of voting no-confidence in his Cabinet this week when Arafat's ministers forestalled that move by resigning en masse. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met last week with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Tel Aviv. During the meeting, Peres reiterated Israel's willingness to withdraw from areas where the Palestinians take responsibility for stopping terror attacks. Later, Peres' office said Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer would meet with Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh in the coming days to discuss withdrawing Israeli troops from Arab sections of Hebron. Finance officials from the two sides also were due to discuss the release of Palestinian tax money that Israel froze at the beginning of the intifada. In an overnight meeting, Peres and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly decided to trans-
fer to some $15 million of frozen tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority. Reports also circulated of a possible meeting between Sharon and Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas reportedly called Sharon last week and asked for the meeting to discuss ways.to end the violence. Those who believe a turning point has been reached note the relative lull in violence in recent weeks. Sharon said last week that, for the first time since the intifada began in September 2000, he saw the possibility of reaching a peace agreement-primarily because the Palestinians had despaired of winning Israeli concessions through violence, he said. Despite such pronouncements, Sharon and other Israeli officials continue to dismiss Arafat as a possible peace partner. Israel largely ignored a speech Arafat gave Sept. 9 before Palestinian legislators-the first time he has addressed them in 18 months-while U.S. officials dismissed it as nothing new. Arafat's speech failed to discuss reforms in the Palestinian Authority, as many of the legislators had hoped, or to make an explicit call for an end to suicide bombing, as foreign governments had sought. Arafat told the legislative council that he condemns "every act of terror against Israeli civilians," but did not say such attacks should be halted. (Continued on page 9)
Photos above: Outside the US embassy in Tel Aviv on Sept. 11, hundreds of Israelis marked the destruction of the World Trade Center a year ago by lighting thousands of candles in memory of the terror victims and also in memory of Israeli terror victims who have died in violent attacks since 1948. Photo by ISRANET. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres shakes hands with Hatzolah, members of a Jewish volunteer rescue corps, at a memorial for the victims of Sept. 11 victims at New York's Park East Synagogue on the anniversary of the attack. Photo by David KarpIJTA.
INSIDE: Road It and Eat
page 6
Bible Quiz Set for Dec. 11
page 1C
Can You Identify These Photos?
page V&