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JA N UA RY 1 7, 2 02 5 | 1 7 TE V E T 578 5 | VO L. 1 05 | NO. 1 3 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, JAN UARY 17, 5 : 04 P.M.
Super Science Sunday returns
The Untested Cookbook Page 6
HEIDI HEILBRUNN NEEDLEMAN Assistant Director, JFO Engagement and Education and SARA KOHEN Friedel Jewish Academy Director of Advancement uper Science Sunday—a fun, interactive program for families with children in pre-kindergarten and younger—will return on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. at Friedel Jewish Academy. PJ Library and Friedel are partnering once
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Spotlight: Photos of events in the Jewish community Page 7
SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND
again for this exciting educational program, which will kick off with a captivating performance of The Amazing Bubble Show by The Omaha Children’s Museum. After the show, families will join Friedel teachers for hands-on STEM activities, including painting with bubbles. Each participant will take home their own, unique piece of artwork. Families will also make bubble wands and learn to count in Hebrew using bubbles. The free program is open to families with children ages five and under who are part of See Super Science Sunday page 3
Beth El welcomes Amir Tibon STACIE METZ Beth El Synagogue Beth El Synagogue is honored to welcome Amir Tibon, an awardwinning diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz and the acclaimed author of The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. Tibon’s new book
Amir Tibon
Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, dies at 86 Page 12
Intro to Judaism class holds its final session
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Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement and Education On Dec. 19, the 16 members of the Intro to Judaism class and instructor Jill Idelman met for the last of 12 sessions at the Staenberg Omaha Jewish Community Center. The final session was a rabbi panel in which Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue, Rabbi Mordechai Geiger of
Beth Israel Synagogue, and Rabbi Benjamin Sharff of Temple Israel answered questions the class participants had formulated throughout the year. Among the questions were, “What are Judaism’s religious beliefs regarding the afterlife?” “How do I explain the stories in the Hebrew Bible that feel ‘impossible’ or ‘unrealistic’ should everything be taken literally See Intro to Judaism page 3
recounts his harrowing experience on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where he lived with his wife and two young daughters. In a tale that blends raw emotion with expert analysis, Tibon reveals how his family narrowly escaped to safety, rescued by his own father, and examines the systemic failures and tensions that led to that day’s devastating events. Already featured on 60 Minutes, The Gates of Gaza has been hailed as both a gripping survival story and a critical lens on Israel’s challenges. Film rights have been acquired by Leviathan Productions, with Fauda creators Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz set to bring Tibon’s story to the big screen. Tibon’s journalistic career has made him one of Israel’s most respected voices. As Haaretz’s Washington, D.C., correspondent, he covered key moments in U.S.-Israel relations during the Trump and Obama administrations. He has also served as a senior editor for Haaretz’s English edition, bringing nuanced perspectives on Israeli politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to global audiences. In addition to The Gates of Gaza, Tibon is the co-author of The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas, the first comprehensive biography of the Palestinian Authority leader. This event offers a unique opportunity to hear Tibon’s firsthand account of survival, alongside his analysis of the deeper challenges facing Israel. The evening will provide See Amir Tibon page 3