Vol. LXXXIX No. 24 Omaha, NE
Celebrating 89 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa
It was Purim-palooza last weekend at Beth El, as holiday festivities took center stage for revelers of all ages: adults, teens and children packed the sanctuary on Saturday night for the Family Megillah reading and costume parade. See page 7 for more photos of Purim celebrations around the Heartland.
Mossad chief seen as indispensable on Iran By LESLIE SUSSER can do everything, in the end we won’t do anything,” JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel has not claimed respon- Dagan was quoted as saying when he was appointed by sibility for the assassination in Dubai of top Hamas arms then-prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2002. smuggler Mahmoud Mabhouh, but the killing is raising Sharon reportedly told Dagan to run the agency “with questions about whether it will compromise Israel’s a knife between its teeth.” effort to stop Iran from obtaining the bomb. The main focus of his tenure has been Iran. Soon after That’s because one of the Dagan took over the key figures behind the Mossad, the agency reporteffort, Mossad chief Meir edly passed on information Dagan, is coming under to the United States and heavy criticism for the slopothers that the rogue py operation in Dubai. Pakistani nuclear dealer Operating under the Abdel Qadir Khan was helpassumption that Israel was ing the Iranians build a urabehind the Dubai hit, some nium enrichment facility at Israeli analysts are calling for Natanz. Dagan’s ouster. They say the Since then, a string of Mossad has adopted an irreunexplained accidents has sponsible, trigger-happy afflicted the Iranian nuclear approach to fighting terrorproject: scientists have disapism, and they point to the peared, laboratories have diplomatic imbroglio facing caught fire, aircraft have Israel for the use of fake crashed and whole batches British and Irish passports by Mossad chief Meir Dagan, shown at a Knesset meeting in of equipment have proved members of the hit squad, 2008. faulty. who traveled under the names of European citizens now In 2007, Israeli intelligence detected work on a secret living in Israel. nuclear program in Syria, and in September of that year Dagan’s tenure at the Mossad is up for renewal at the Israeli planes bombed the site of a North Korea-style end of the year. Defenders of Dagan point to the long reactor the Syrians were building. list of Mossad achievements in the war on terrorism and The Mossad also was credited for the discovery of a the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, and argue hidden Iranian enrichment plant near the holy city of that his tenure at the intelligene agency should be Qom last September -- a find that finally convinced even extended for an unprecedented fourth time. They insist previously skeptical international observers that Iran that his knowledge of the Iranian theater is unmatched, indeed was conducting a clandestine nuclear weapons and that as the clock reaches zero hour on the Iranian program. nuclear threat, his input will be invaluable -- and not Although the Mossad has not claimed credit for any of only for Israel. this, regional players have little doubt as to who has Under Dagan, the Mossad has had just two priorities: been behind the killings, the accidents and the pinpoint delaying Iran’s nuclear program and counter-terrorism. intelligence. “The list must be short. If we continue pretending we Continued on page 2
Inside Opinion Page see page 12
See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press’
Hadassah facing demands from hospital staff Page 2
March 5, 2010
Annual Brooks lecture explores long history of religious doubt
Purim in the Heartland
This Week: Home and Garden staerts on page 8
19 Adar 5770
by KATHRYN COX SCHWARTZ Managing Editor, Journal of Religion & Film Staff Assistant, Department of Philosophy and Religion The 2010 Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 18, in the Milo Bail Student Center’s Chancellor’s Room on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus. Jennifer Michael Hecht, Ph.D. in History of Science from Columbia University, will present “Doubt, Disbelief, and the Meaning of Life,” demonstrating a long, strong history of religious doubt from the origins of written history to the present day all over the world. Hecht will discuss how non-belief, skepticism, and doubt have paralleled and at times shaped the world’s great religious and secular belief systems. She says, “Throughout history some of the great- Jennifer Michael Hecht, Ph.D. est religious thinkers have expressed great doubt in the supernatural aspects of religion while describing the awesome strangeness of our real situation. This is true for all the great world religions and especially for Judaism. From Koheleth, to Maimonedes, to Spinoza, to the present day, the Jewish contribution to philosophy has included a robust poetic atheism that takes the human feeling of sacredness as sufficient to the definition of sacredness. “Convinced that there is no God with a mind, no being that made us and thinks about us, Jews throughout history have chosen to call the beauty of the world itself “God.” Some of us today don’t want to, because the word is often used to mean a personality in the sky that attends to us, and such an idea seems willfully misleading. The great thinkers of the past shared this worry and came up with brilliant ways of managing it. This talk will be a happy recap of great minds as they have conceived of finding real meaning without giving up real truth.” Jennifer Michael Hecht is a philosopher, historian, and poet. Her Doubt: A History demonstrates a long, strong history of religious doubt. Hecht’s The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism and Anthropology won the Phi Beta Kappa Society’s 2004 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award “for scholarly studies that contribute significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.” Her book The Happiness Myth takes a skeptical look at modern ideas of the good life. Hecht’s poetry books have won national awards, including the Poetry Society of America’s first book prize for The Next Ancient World, and Publisher’s Weekly called her most recent poetry book, Funny, “one of the most original and entertaining books of the year.” Her work appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. She now teaches poetry in the graduate writing program of The New School University in New York City. The lecture is the result of an endowment honouring Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks. It is presented through the sponsorship of the Religious Studies Program, the Natan and Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, the College of Arts and Sciences and Temple Israel. It is open to the public at no charge. For more information, please call Dr. William L. Blizek, 554.3347, or Dr. Guy Matalon, 554.2139. For information about Temple Israel’s scholar-in residence see story on page 10.
Coming March 26: Passover Issue JLand introduces virtual trading cards to its gaming site Page 5
Convert cuts up in one man show Page 11
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
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Hadassah facing demands from hospital staff by JACOB BERKMAN The Fundermentalist NEW YORK (JTA) -- The relationship between Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America and the staff at the Hadassah Medical Organization, the hospital in Jerusalem it founded and owns, has taken a confrontational twist, as the doctors’ union has called for the hospital’s board to be replaced. The row began in January after Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director general of the Hadassah Medical Organization, tendered his resignation. Mor-Yosef told the board of Hadassah, that he would be stepping down at the end of 2010. Though Mor-Yosef has not made any public statements, the doctors’ union is insisting that he was pushed out and is using the resignation to stage what is a borderline revolt against the organization that founded the hospital nearly a century ago. On Feb. 15 the union issued a public letter, signed by 250 physicians, calling on the board to retain Mor-Yosef through 2012, when the hospital is set to open a nearly half-billion-dollar medical center built with funds raised by the organization. Two days later the union held an emergency meeting, essentially calling for the Hadassah organization to take a back seat on the hospital’s board. “In light of the circumstances, the hospital employees decided to call on the Board of Directors to be replaced so that it is made up of persons who understand the culture and economics of medicine in Israel, and so it will consist of a majority of agents faithfully representing the hospital’s goals, as opposed to the present situation in which the Hadassah Women have a majority on the Board of Directors,” Avinoam Reches, one of two doctors taking a lead for the union, wrote in a news release following the meeting. “I think the Jewish community in America is changing, and not for the better,” Reches said. “I am not familiar with the numbers, but I think Hadassah is in a harder crisis. I think the financial crisis in the United States, and especially Madoff, stripped Hadassah of its assets. “The bottom line is their share is coming down dramatically. The situation of Mor-Yosef’s resignation is just a symptom.” The Fundermentalist wrote last month that “Every mention of Madoff and Hadassah together over the past year has prompted the same response from Hadassah representatives: Yes, the organization has shed $30 million in budget in recent months, and yes, the nonprofit
has laid off a number of employees in the United States. But those steps were planned before Madoff or the recession as part of a strategic plan worked out with the help of the high-powered consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Things are just being implemented quicker than they would have otherwise been. Reches has taken specific aim at Hadassah’s president, Nancy Falchuk. “They are trying to run the hospital and are detached from the culture of the hospital, and they don’t respond to our very polite letter,” he said. “We are professors of medicine. We are not working in sweatshops in the Lower East Side, and we are not workers for Nike in Indonesia. We have an opinion ... and it is impossible that Nancy Falchuk is the only one that is right.” Hadassah is maintaining that it did not push out MorYosef. “When he was hired, he came in telling us that he believed in turnover,” she said. “Jan. 6 [2010] came, he did not ask for an extension and we accepted it. “The reaction here from the union, I think they have reacted for their own reasons. I have not seen any statements from Shlomo.” Reches said that he has not actually spoken to MorYosef about whether he wants to keep his job, but he believes Mor-Yosef is not making any noise for strategic reasons. “We detached ourselves from him by purpose,” Reches said. “He is a gentleman. He is not saying a bad word against Hadassah Women.” Mor-Yosef was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Falchuk said that Hadassah Women is committed to giving $19 million per year in operational expenses to the hospital until the new medical center is completed, but that Hadassah has never comprised a significant portion of the hospital’s operational budget. “But we have been 100 percent of its R&D and capital budget,” she said. Falchuk said the response to Mor-Yosef’s resignation has been innappropriate and misdirected. “We feel there is a lot of affection for Shlomo, which is good,” she said. “Change is hard. They come at this with their own biases. But I can’t attribute why they are doing this. It is so out of proportion.” As for the women’s organization taking a back seat? “We are not going anyplace,” Falchuk said. This article was adapted from JTA’s philanthropy blog, TheFundermentalist.com.
Mossad chief seen as indispensable on Iran Continued from page 1 Egypt’s Al-Ahram daily ran an article in mid-January calling Dagan Israel’s Superman and claiming that he almost singlehandedly has delayed the Iranian bomb. “Without this man, the Iranian nuclear program would have taken off years ago,” the newspaper’s former Gaza correspondent Ashraf Abu al-Haul wrote. In a moment of rare praise for an Israeli in the Egyptian press, he called Dagan’s actions against Israel’s enemies “very brave.” Now, as the international community dithers over new sanctions against Iran and the Iranians move closer to nuclear weapons’ capacity, Dagan’s reading of the situation will be crucial. He recently revised backward his estimate of when Iran will be able to manufacture a bomb it can deliver to 2014. Still, there are fears in the international community that Israel may act to stop the Iranian program before it reaches its “breakout point” -- when Iran will have stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to manufacture a bomb if it so chooses. That could come by the end of this year. For now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he favors giving sanctions a chance as long as they are tough -- not allowing oil out of Iran or oil distillates like petroleum into the country. “If one is talking about what are effective sanctions, they must include the constriction of the export of oil from Iran and the import of refined oil into Iran,” Netanyahu said Monday in a speech to the Jewish Agency for Israel’s board of governors meeting. “I think that nothing else stands a real chance to stop the progress of the regime, but this has a chance. At least it must be tried and must be tried now.” Few criticize Dagan’s actions on Iran, but some question his derring-do tactics on terrorism as reflected in the Dubai operation. They argue that his risk taking could cost Israel diplomatically and provoke heavy terrorist retaliation. His critics also contend that taking out top terrorists is a dubious proposition: Often their
replacements are even more dangerous. Dagan’s eight years at the helm have seen several targeted killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas operatives in Beirut and Damascus attributed to the Mossad -- the most notable of which was the assassination of Hezbollah terrorist mastermind Imad Mugniyeh in a car bombing in Damascus in February 2008. Mugniyeh, who reportedly planned the attack on the U.S. Marines compound in Beirut in 1983, had been on the wanted lists of Israel and the United States for more than two decades. Late last year the Mossad, although it never acknowledged any involvement, seemed to step up its activities. In early December, a bus carrying Hamas members and Iranian officials exploded outside Damascus. Two weeks later, two Hamas members were killed in a mysterious bombing in the heart of Hezbollah’s Dahiya stronghold in southern Beirut. Last month, an Iranian nuclear scientist died in a bombing outside his home in Tehran. A week later, Mabhouh was found dead in his Dubai hotel room. Dagan also has pulled off some major intelligence coups in the war on terror, enabling Israeli forces to intercept weapons destined for Hamas and Hezbollah as far afield as Sudan and on the high seas near Cyprus. In mid-January 2009, a convoy carrying weapons for Hamas during Operation Cast Lead reportedly was bombed by Israel Air Force planes in Sudan. In November, the Francop, an Antigua-flagged vessel carrying more than 100 tons of rockets, mortars and antitank weapons for Hezbollah, was captured by the Israeli navy. Dagan’s advice on Iran over the coming months will carry considerable weight. He seems to think there is still time for actions other than a full-scale military operation. If and when it comes to that, however, chances are that despite the Dubai incident, Netanyahu, one of Dagan’s staunchest admirers, will want Dagan at his side helping to plan it.
March 5, 2010
Teen trips to Israel can be affordable: Here’s how
by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education Sending your child overseas to Israel for the summer experience of a lifetime doesn’t have to be wishful thinking. And it doesn’t have to be unaffordable – despite the price tags you may see on teen trips to Israel. How can this be? It might take just a little foresight, a little strategic planning and a lot of generosity from the Jewish Federation of Omaha. The Passport to Israel program, administered by the Center for Jewish Education, is a savings program for families planning their children’s future travel to Israel. If your goal is to send your child to Israel one summer, Passport to Israel makes it easy and affordable. Here’s how it works. Families establish an account for any children kindergarten age to eighth grade. Parents may make annual contributions from a minimum of $125 to up $250 into a personal account. The total of the family deposits, up to a maximum of $2,000, will then be matched by the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the family’s synagogue, when certain eligibility requirements are met each year. In simple terms, the family deposits will be tripled when it’s time for that trip to Israel. That’s right - $2,000 in deposits will mean $6,000 in available funding! For example, the 2010 USY Israel Adventure program has a price tag of $5,695. Had a family contributed to a Passport to Israel account to the maximum of $2,000, along with the matching funds, the child’s high school trip would be paid in full! Dozens of Omaha Jewish families have benefitted from the rewards of a Passport to Israel account.
“We opened accounts for both Becky and Joey when they were in 3rd grade” reports Roxanne Kahn. “Several years later when it was time for Becky’s trip, it was just amazing that the entire cost of her trip was covered. Then two years later, it happened again when it was time for Joey’s trip.” Kahn concluded by saying “Why everyone doesn’t participate in the Passport program is a mystery to us. It is truly a win, win, win situation with no risk!” To qualify for matching funds each year a deposit is made, the family must be donors to the Federation’s Annual Campaign, be residents of the Omaha metropolitan area and members of an Omaha-area synagogue, and the child must be enrolled in a program of Jewish studies approved by the rabbi of the family’s synagogue. Funds are available for use beginning in 10th grade and must be used no later than the final year of college or the child’s 23rd birthday. For whatever reason, should a family decide not to use the funds for an Israel trip, the money they have deposited is theirs to withdraw at anytime. “A trip to Israel has a way of strengthening a Jewish teen’s religious identity, deepening their connection to Israel and establishing their community roots like no other experience I know. We are so fortunate as a Jewish community to have the support of Federation in getting our teens to Israel,” said Dr. Guy Matalon, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Education. To open a Passport to Israel account for your child, grandchild, great-grandchild or even a niece or nephew, contact Mary Sue Grossman at 334.6445 or mgrossman@jewishomaha.org.
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BBYO brings Omaha and Israeli teens together for photographic display of freedom by ELYA WILSON Community Shlicha On March 21, 18 teens from Omaha and the Western Galilee Region of Israel will join forces at JD Gerber Photography Gallery. Located in
Omaha teens selected from the BBYO Jewish Youth Organization, a yearround program of the JCC, spent a month learning the techniques of the trade from local photographer David Radler. Israeli Emissary, Elya Wilson, also spent time educating the teens on Israeli culture before the arrival of the Israeli delegation. For the purpose of the exhibition, Jason Gerber of JD Gerber Photography has graciously donated his space for this unique and memorable event. Wilson intoned, “I am extremely excited to bring this kind of programming to the Omaha community. The exploration of freedom is particularly important for both sets of teens, and through this process they will have a chance to learn about the different journeys they will take.” She continued, Omaha, Israeli teens explore freedom through photography “American teens go off to Benson at 6572 Maple Road, this exhi- college, the Israeli teens go to enlist. It’s bition is open to the entire Omaha com- a very powerful start to the discussion.” munity. This is an extremely special All teen participants will be at the exhiexhibit, showing for one night only. bition to share their experiences in relaStemming from photography classes in tion to freedom, and the program in their respective countries, the teens will general. be together for this display of freedom The exhibition will be from 7-9 p.m. through their perspectives. and offer free light appetizers.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
New camp foundation CEO going from soup to bug juice
by JACOB BERKMAN The Fundermentalist NEW YORK (JTA) -- Jeremy Fingerman, the newly named CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, recalls finding himself in a funny position on his first day on the job at Campbell Soup Company back in 1993. Fingerman, then the new senior brand manager of one of Campbell’s most successful products, Chunky Soup, was in a room with 30 colleagues for a product-tasting session when the first bowls were set before them. The kosher-observing Fingerman knew he had a problem: It was Chunky Split Pea After stints at Campbell’s & & Ham. But even without drawing Manischewitz Co., Jeremy the spoon to his mouth, Fingerman has been tapped Fingerman realized some- to be the new CEO of the thing was amiss thanks to a Foundation for Jewish Camp. Credit: Courtesy of childhood memory. When his mother made split Foundation for Jewish Camp pea soup -- using salami instead of ham -- the chunks of meat were so big they floated to the top of his bowl. But here he saw no bits of ham, which led to the obvious question -- where’s the meat? (Sorry to mix marketing metaphors.) So Fingerman had his team up the size of the ham bits by 10 percent, which led to a 15 percent growth in sales. Don’t expect an upping of the ham bits at Jewish camps starting Feb. 1, but Fingerman has plenty of other childhood memories on his mind as he assumes his new post at the foundation, an operation that spends more than $20 million per year to improve Jewish camps. “I spent eight summers as a camper. It made me who I am Jewishly,� Fingerman, 49, told me in a wide-ranging interview Jan. 14, a day after it was announced that he was chosen for the foundation post. Growing up in a Conservative home in Cincinnati, Fingerman attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Blue Star Camp in North Carolina, where he made a number of friends with whom he remains close. “If you mention camp to me, a smile just comes across my face because of the memories of really maturing and doing so in a fully Jewish environment in a joyful environment,� he said. Fingerman later spoke of “counselors and staff I idolized who were role models to me. I think part of my challenge immediately is to try to construct what are the elements that go into making that magical experience happen.� He thinks he has a resume that will help as he assumes
PREPARING FOR
the camping foundation’s top spot. At Campbell’s, Fingerman helped the company create its first kosher canned soup when he got the Orthodox Union to certify the Vegetarian Vegetable variety, leading to a 20 percent increase in sales. He later served as the CEO of the Manischewitz Company and has some 20 years in marketing experience at major corporations. “I think there are a lot of similarities,� he said. “The brand consumer product experience will help bring me perspective. “The discipline applies to any organization. You have to first understand the consumer -- in this case it is the camper. And you have to understand the retailers -- the counselors and the staff. And the distributors -- the board and administrators. And whether it is soup or matzah, you have to understand the shareholders -- that is, the Jewish community at large.� The Foundation for Jewish Camp has had success in bringing CEOs into the nonprofit world from the corporate world. Its last chief executive, Jerry Silverman, had enjoyed successful stints as a high-level executive at Stride Rite shoes and Levi Strauss, where he helped create Dockers pants. Silverman left the foundation last summer to become the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. Fingerman, who lives in Englewood, N.J., and belongs to an Orthodox synagogue, says more beds are needed: Only 10 percent of the age cohort eligible for camps actually attends one, but the camps themselves already are at about 98 percent capacity. Even if capacity is expanded and fees are made affordable, Fingerman says other steps will be needed to boost the number of children attending Jewish camps. He cites a lesson he learned from the business world: Listen to what customers need and want. Making Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable Soup kosher was not a decision he made because he keeps kosher, but one the company made because it had heard over time through hot lines that customers wanted it. By making the product kosher, Campbell’s boosted sales of Vegetarian Vegetable Soup by 20 percent because consumers saw the kosher brand as a seal of quality. Camps aren’t all that different. “For the Jewish community,� Fingerman said, “there are few things more important to our Jewish future than the success of Jewish camps.� But, he adds, the brand might just need some tweaking. “Just like Manischewitz or Campbell’s soup or Wheaties, these are iconic brands, and camp is an icon,� he said. “But all icons need to be renewed and refreshed to be relevant to today’s consumers.� This article was adapted from JTA’s philanthropy blog, TheFundermentalist.com.
Small pieces of artwork make big impact
by LYNN BATTEN Publicity Associate/Gallery Supervisor, JCC Omaha In transforming and revamping old works of art into stunning new pieces, local artist Derek Courtney is doing more than just flexing his creativity. “The overall idea,� Courtney said, “is to transform things that I no longer need or use and turn them into a new piece of artwork that could do good for someone else. My goal is to take these things that were useless and change their context. I hope that many of these small pieces will sell and that the money can do some small bit of good for someone else.� Courtney plans to accomplish this task with his latest exhibit “The Least I Could Do� - An Exhibit to Benefit Local Charities. The exhibit will be in the JCC Gallery throughout the month of March. Courtney is donating 100% of his sales proceeds to various local non-profit organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Omaha, the Siena Francis House and the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival. In keeping with his “giving� spirit, Courtney also plans on giving art patrons the choice of where they want their money to go. “When a person buys a piece of artwork,� he said, “they will be able to pick one of six predetermined nonprofit organizations. In doing this, they will directly determine what non-profit organization they want their money to go to.� This exhibit, a mix of altered and reworked collages, drawings, paintings and prints, is one that you won’t want to miss. The works themselves will be small in size, but are sure to make a big impact. The public is encouraged to attend the Opening Reception in the JCC Gallery on Sunday, March 7, from 1 - 4 p.m. “There has never been a better reason to buy some original art,� Courtney said. “You can spruce up your home or office with a new item and help the Omaha community at the same time.� JCC Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 9 pm, Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. For more information about this exhibit, please contact Lynn Batten, Gallery Supervisor, at 334.6564.
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JLand introduces virtual trading cards to its gaming site by SHERRIE SAAG Center for Jewish Education Since its September, 2009 roll-out, dozens of Omaha Jewish families have enjoyed playing on the new interactive on-line gaming site, JLand. One year, FREE subscriptions are still available to children ages 4-8 years, courtesy of the Omaha Jewish Federation. “New innovations are constantly being added to the site, so that each time a child logs on, they will find something new,� explains Toba Cohen-Dunning, Board President, Center for Jewish Education. What is the latest value-added feature? Collector’s Albums. JLand “Players� (as they are called in this Jewish virtual world) collect “coins� earned by completing the many games and activities in JLand. Now these coins can be used to purchase highly-prized collector trading cards. The trading cards are kept in a virtual collectors’ album and Players can trade their own cards with other children on the site. The goal is to complete your own virtual collector’s album. “This is really one of the most exciting features in the JLand virtual world. Jewish children in the Omaha Jewish community can safely communicate with Israeli children in our Partnership with Israel region in the Western Galilee. I know of no other opportunity for kids age 4-8 to interact with other kids halfway around the globe,� said Cohen-Dunning. JLand developer, Compedia, is a Tel Aviv-based company that develops interactive educational products. Compedia believes so strongly in a virtual world linking Jewish youth in Israel and the States, they are generously matching each
subscription here in Omaha with a free subscription to a child in the Western Galilee. The Jewish Federation of Omaha recognized the program’s benefits and is making available a limited number of one year subscriptions to JLand free of charge.
In JLand, kids discover numerous fun and engaging, yet educational games and puzzles that teach Jewish tradition, holidays and customs and Israeli history and geography. JLand offers all this and more while the Player is engaged in games and activities throughout the site. To ease a parents’ concern over internet use, especially at these young ages, JLand provides parents a variety of control features including limiting the number of days or hours played. Yet, the website is also designed to grow with your child, providing years of learning and fun. After subscribing, the site notes the birthdate of the Player and automatically changes the level and complexity of the games with subsequent birthdays. Not only does it continue to challenge them, but new content – like the collector’s albums – is constantly added. Registering for JLand is easy and online. Click on the JLand icon featured prominently on the Federation’s website at www.jewishomaha.org. For any questions, email jland@jewishomaha.org or call 334.6463.
Community-wide celebration:
Join family and friends to recount the exodus during Beth El’s second Seder
by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Gathering the Jewish community together on the second night of Passover for a special Seder has become a muchloved tradition at Beth El Synagogue. Every year, the congregation offers a holiday celebration geared to the entire family (regardless of synagogue affiliation or non-affiliation), complete with singing, stories and a wonderful meal. This Pesach, the festive Seder is planned for Tuesday, March 30, at 6 p.m.; the evening will be led by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg, who will recount the Exodus and celebrate the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to freedom. “A warm, joyful evening is being planned, filled with singing and meaningful concepts from the Haggadah to reflect modern slavery and freedom,� Rabbi
Levin said. “We look forward to sharing our celebration with the community.� The evening’s attendees will be given dinner choices including meat, fish or vegan selections. Those making reservations by March 19 will enjoy special early-bird pricing (please note: prices listed here reflect Beth El members/nonmembers): adults, $20/$25; Hazak members, $18; children 6-12, $15/$18; children 3-5, $6.50/$8; children two and younger, free. After March 19, cost will be: adults, $25/$30; Hazak members, $20; children 6-12, $18/$20; children 35, $9.50/$12. Be sure to indicate whether a high chair or booster chair is needed, as well as seating requests with other families. To take advantage of these early-bird prices, RSVP to Beth El Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org.
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How not to solve your money problems
by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Two jewelers were arrested for staging the robbery of $4 million in jewelry from their own store using thieves dressed as Chasidim. The two diamond wholesalers from the New York Diamond District -- Atul Shah, 48, and Mahaveer Kankariya, 43 -- staged the robbery on the afternoon of New Year's Eve 2008. They were charged with grand larceny, insurance fraud and falsifying business records, according to reports. The Chasidic-disguised thieves, who wore false beards, black hats and black coats, have not yet been apprehended.
The wholesalers told police that $4 million in diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and jewelry had been stolen and tried to claim the sum from their insurer, Lloyd’s of London, according to the New York Daily News. The men were $1 million in debt and six months behind on their rent in the days before the alleged heist, police said. But police became suspicious because the alleged robbery looked a lot like the opening scene of the 2000 film “Snatch,� directed by Guy Ritchie, in which Benicio Del Toro and a gang of diamond thieves pose as Chasids.
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DEADLINE NOTICE Please send all articles, photos and ads to the Press by Thursdays, 9 a.m., for all regular issues. Early deadlines will be announced in advance. Questions? Call 334.6448.
Out
Dining
Page 6
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
Dramatic Hamentash lessons by NORA ZOOB Chabad Center Purim is a holiday of gift giving and fun. No other holiday makes us feel so cheerful, and on no other holiday are there so many goodies to be eaten.
cles that are blatant and obvious. Then there are the “know the right people”, “at the right place at the right time”, “did not miss my bus” or even the “sun rises each morning” miracles that are not obviously miracles, yet if one looks closely, one can see the glaring Hand of G-d.
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Top picture clockwise: Some staff at Rotella’s Bakery and Chabad volunteers pack Hamentash into boxes to be shipped overseas to our soldiers in Israel, our American soldiers and to earthquake victims in Haiti; Basya Tsed, Mushka Katzman, Nancy Wolf, Nora Zoob, and Rebbetzin Shani Katzman discuss the spirituality of Hamentash shaping as they work; A finished tray of Hamentashen with some bakers in view at Rotella’s Bakery last week. For the first time in my life, I prepared thousands of hamantashen at Rotella’s Italian Bakery on Tuesday afternoon. Like my Thursday mornings with Shani, I so looked foward to the experience. I met new women, saw women I hadn’t seen for a while, talked, laughed and engaged in a good deed. We made the dough, rolled the dough into balls, flattened, added jelly and pinched and pinched the pastry to form triangles. We interacted with the staff, bagged the baked goods and shipped them off to Israeli soldiers for Purim. Shani showed me how we pinch and reminded me that we hide the filling in the pastry to identify the unique miracle of Purim. There are the “sea splitting miracles” or the “oil burns longer than expected” mira-
One of the teachings of the Purim Festival is that we must sensitize ourselves and learn to see and celebrate the “hidden” miracles- hence the jam hidden in the pastry! I enjoyed myself so. I learned Rotella’s is a kosher environment. I asked three different employees why. They all responded with the same answer: “We want all people to enjoy our bread.” Purim has always been a day of gladness and will continue to be so forevermore. Thank you Chabad of Omaha for giving me a more meaningful life.
Grow It Cook It Edited by JILL BLOOMFIELD (DK, $15.99)
READ IT AND E AT Reviewed by LOIS FRIEDMAN
We are selling Challah
Bet everyone had about given up that winter would ever end and that Spring is just around the corner. Now is the time to focus on gardening and seed catalogues, with your children or grandchildren in mind, and this book in hand. Think from plot to plate. Follow these nifty instructions about “Know It”, which speaks to green-thumbed gardeners about planting, making labels, and recycling/composting. The “Grow It” section offers specifics for planting various vegetables, with “Cook It” recipes from Beanstalk Stir-Fry to Zucchini Frittata. Every section includes fabulous stepby-step color photographs, illustrating each basic skill. Planting, growing, gathering seeds, and cooking terms and techniques come with safety icons. Recipe ingredients are pictured at the top of the page with amounts and measurements written underneath. Fun and creative projects are included, such as using cookie cutters to shape croutons, turning puff pastry into mini pie crusts, using terra-cotta pots for baking sunflower seed breads, and strawberry ideas that would
be fun to make for Passover. Over a dozen recipes are combined with growing the vegetables, plus twenty additional recipes. Now is the planning time for these simple garden growing and cooking projects. For now, the plants can be started inside by a sunny window to remind you that it is almost Spring! It isn’t time to harvest your crops yet, but try this recipe with young gardeners-to-be. Supervise children for safety. SUNFLOWER SALAD 6 large carrots 1 tbsp sunflower seeds 1/2 cup raisins For the dressing: juice from 1/2 orange juice from 1/2 lemon 1 tsp honey 3 tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp French mustard Peel and grate the carrots. Toast the sunflower seeds lightly under the broiler for a few minutes. Put the dressing ingredients into a jar, screw on a lid and shake well. Put the carrots, sunflower seeds and raisins into a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the top. Toss the salad using two spoons. Season with salt and pepper if you wish. Lois Friedman can be reached at ReadItAndEat@ yahoo.com
Bible Contest for kids at Beth Israel We are selling Challah temporarily. It will be available after 1 p.m. on Fridays. We are open until 7 p.m. Friday.
119th and Pacific | 778-9296 51st and Underwood | 934-1289
by BETH COHEN Executive Director, Beth Israel Synagogue Beth Israel Synagogue is opening registration for a Bible contest for youth in fifth through eighth grades. The contest will take place on Saturday, April 3, at 6:15 p.m. at Beth Israel, and prizes will be awarded to all who answer at least three questions correctly. The top three finishers will receive special awards. The contest will be in place of the regular Shabbat afternoon classes. Entrants will be quizzed on the entire Parshah of Beshallach (Book of Exodus, from Chapter 13, verse 17, through Chapter 17), which includes the splitting of the sea and the Song of the Sea. The contest does not include commentary, just the literal text of the verse. The translation used for the contest is based on the Artscroll Stone edition of the Chumash, although the JPS translation is not significantly different. “We had great feedback from our Jeopardy game on
Shavuot and Bracha Bee on Tu B’Shevat, so we thought it would be a fun challenge to have a Bible contest over Pesach,” explains Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi, who coordinates Beth Israel’s youth and educational programming. “The B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz for High Schoolers is a wonderful program and it inspired us to create something similar for younger ages. We have prepared an exciting program, and we have great prizes as well. This opportunity for kids to demonstrate their ability to master an entire Parshah of the Torah is something every parent would like to see.” Contestants are accepted from the entire Jewish community; however, they must be in fifth through eighth grade and must register with Rabbi Mizrahi, by telephone or email, no later than Friday, March 26. Rabbi Mizrahi can be reached at 556.6288 or RabbiMizrahi@ OrthodoxOmaha.org. Parents are encouraged to help coach and prepare their children for the contest.
March 5, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 7
Purim in the Heartland
The Blumkin Home celebrated Purim crowning Sylvia Swartz as Purim Queen and Paul Nathan as Purim King.
“Purim came back with a vengeance this year, as about 60 of us, at the 21-35 age range showed up (who knew there were so many of us?!) for this incredibly festive Purim bash! Rabbi Gross was able to go through the entire Megillah in 15 minutes flat, and open up the karaoke extravaganza. Thanks to Cari Green and Rachel Kanner, who helped throw the party, we had an amazing turn out, and everyone had a great time, getting together with old friends, and meeting new people!” -Elya Wilson. Pictured on the left are David Phillips, Ben Taxman and Jeff Gates; picture on the right are Elya Wilson, Rachel Kanner and Cari Green.
USYer Elissa Wiener mans the duck pond booth, a perennial favorite with youngsters.
The Kohll boys, from left: Jack, Max and Leo. For the third year in a row, one of the Kohlls was costumed by older sister, Anna, to win the children’s costume contest at Beth Israel. This year, Jack Kohll won as the tooth fairy.
Pictured at left is Abby Tsvid enjoys the Temple Israel Purim carnaval. Above: Rabbi Azriel and Amy Katz. On the right is Susie Norton, whose Palin impersonation was a big hit.
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Page 8
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
These gardeners are thinking spring
“I know that there is a God when I see pointed out that “the snow cover is a full of fresh produce once a week. During by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator the incredible first roses of the season or good thing, it will probably be a cool wet the summer months, the families enjoyed Like most of us, Connie Kully is count- the fantastic flame color on the Japanese spring.” She uses the winter months to fresh-off-the-farm lettuce, radishes, kale, ing the days until spring. For her, the cal- maples in the springtime.” She also takes clean up, order seed and other supplies, peas, chard, green onions, herbs, summer endar countdown persists “until I can be “great pleasure in helping others learn and plan for the next season. “I begin squash, fennel, cucumbers, tomatoes, working in the garden,” she said. “I about gardening. I started with a few starting flower and herb seeds in January, beans, potatoes, garlic, onions, shallots, would love to be outside digging right hand tools and absolutely no knowledge. and this work continues until mid-March raspberries, cabbage, kohlrabi, green pepthis moment.” But with winter with the tomatoes and into April for pers, and onions. weather records here being snowed cucumbers and the like. Plant sales begin Bloom recalls getting her green-thumb under, Kully can’t even see her yew in mid-April and continue into June. I’m start in a raspberry patch behind her parbushes which “have been totally snow using our passive solar building to start ents’ home. “We had a large yard, and I covered since early December.” got to help in the flower beds as a “I spend many, many hours each child. My parents (the late Jerome week in the garden. The spring season and Freda Bleicher) had farms and is more intense than subsequent gardens all along as I grew up.” months.” Her interest is “almost all in For the past ten years, she has been flowers. There is a wide variety of farming her own ten-acre farm. A hosta and many other perennials and certified organic grower, Bloom runs annuals” that she cultivates in the yard Bloomsorganic and supplies Whole of the home in which she and her husFoods Market in Regency, Patrick’s band Bob have lived since 1979. Market at 14th and Howard, “After some landscaping was done in Paradigm Gardens, 89th and J, and V our backyard and a large raised bed Mertz Restaurant in the Old Market. was created, I began planting,” she She also grows annual flowers and mentioned. some perennials. The Blooms’ son, Strictly a hobby, “the tranquility that Eli is studying horticulture at the I enjoy in the garden while I listen to University of Nebraska at Lincoln. book tapes is very relaxing for me,” Bloom gives talks about organic garKully explained. “Most of the time I dening and helps with school plant work by myself,” adding that her sales and fundraisers by providing “family and friends appreciate my Connie Kully enjoys her flowering garden and she also takes “great pleasure in helping others learn about plants to sell. She’s also a member of efforts.” Her garden has been on the gardening”; Certified organic grower Rebecca Bloom works on a raised bed inside her greenhouse. the Sustainable Agriculture Research Monroe-Meyer Institute Annual Garden When I go to visit a garden of someone seeds this year. The floor has radiant heat, and Education Advisory Board for the Walk twice. “In fact, every year, people with whom I have shared ideas, it is very then the seedlings go into the greenhouse Midwest Region. add our yard to their Monroe-Meyer after- gratifying.” for larger pots and sales. Produce sales As the excitement builds “until we are noon garden walk. It’s a great pleasure to While Kully revels in her flowers, generally begin in June.” eating our home grown food,” Bloom share our garden with the community.” Rebecca Bloom grows a wide variety of Last year, Rebecca and her husband emphasized that gardening and sharing Monroe-Meyer Institute provides services culinary herbs, vegetables, and small Brent, an attorney and yoga instructor, the fruits of the land are “a spiritual and support for children and adults who fruits on her farm in Crescent, Iowa. who are members of Temple Israel as are endeavor. I think that plants have a very have disabilities and genetic disorders. “Like everyone else who has been here all the Kullys, sponsored a pilot Community subtle voice and energy that people can “While it’s impossible to predict what winter, I can’t wait to see and touch the Supported Agriculture (CSA) project at tune into. We have a symbiotic relationimpact this winter’s heavy snowfall will soil again,” Bloom conceded. Temple. Families that purchased a mem- ship. We help them grow and thrive, and have on the gardens,” according to Kully, She’s already started. Although she bership in CSA, picked up a grocery bag they in return, feed us.”
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March 5, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 9
The perfect roommate BERT’S EYE VIEW by BERT LEWIS
Since a section of this issue is dedicated to the topic of home and gardens, I thought it might be a good venue in which to discuss the changes in my house. If you have been a reader in the past, you may recall I’ve always shared news and experiences that included my roommate. He was the perfect roommate, to which you might say that in 64 years it’s possible to attain perfection. Well, maybe not perfection, but let’s just say in my book, he was the best. When I married him in May of 1945, we were both young enough to be called kids, but in our day that’s what kids did. For the most part, we didn’t wait until graduation, or a better job offer, or for the economy to be stronger. We knew we wanted to be together so of course, we married. He was my prince, this brand new civilian, having been freshly and honorably discharged from service in the Army. So what was the next step? Go back to school, of course. All Jewish parents know the importance of education – even Uncle Sam knew, because the government managed to offer something called the G.I.Bill, which paid for tuition and books etc., so the former service personnel could pick up where many left off, to serve their country. So that’s really how we began our six-decade story….newlyweds with my G.I. back in school and with me getting a job to supplement the government’s largesse. I’m not going to bore you with tales of our three years in Chicago, but they were wonderful years, with experience contributing greatly to what became our growing-up phase. The student graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and the working girl learned about working in an office with hundreds of others. After graduation, when we packed up our elderly Chevy and headed back to Omaha, we were expecting our first child. That was our real beginning…..the opening chapters of the life we made together. There were many experiences, not all great, but useful in the learning department. We tried life far away from Omaha, but ultimately returned for a variety of reasons. The law career was given a fair chance, but it was the wrong time for a beginning lawyer to make a decent living, so into the family business he went. And never regretted it. Because in the business world my roommate, a.k.a. Leonard, developed into the man known and respected by his peers, colleagues, competitors and strangers. He was, to quote a very old expression, a stand up kind of fella. You’ll note the past tense. Leonard died last December 14, after an incredibly courageous battle with cancer. He
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never stopped fighting, didn’t complain in those early days when it seemed like all the help from medical science left him feeling rotten. When one remedy didn’t work, he only wanted to know what can we try next? His spirit was indomitable…there was so much going on in the world that he wanted to see, and for 10 years he did. He watched great changes in government, in politics, in science, in the arts and of course, welcomed the arrival of our two great-grandchildren, among a few other assorted simchas we enjoyed. As he became a senior citizen he sometimes affected a gruff exterior - I would tease and ask if he was practicing to be a curmudgeon, and he would respond (unconvincingly), “I am a curmudgeon.” He wasn’t really….truth is, he was a real softie, under that gruff bark. As I write these words, it’s just a few days short of eight weeks since he died. I won’t say we had become one in all those years, but I will say I live with an enormous void in my life. I still look for him in his favorite chair, or listen for him to be dropped off after spending the day at his office. I believe I’ve crossed a certain stage in my grief because I no longer look next to me to see if he’s awake yet, when I first rise in the morning. We had a memorial service rather than the traditional funeral, and our children each eulogized their father so beautifully, all who heard were moved. I wept because he couldn’t know what his beloved kids had to say about him. Or for that matter, what two of his employees said, when they accepted the offer to “come up and share your feelings.” I wept too, when I read the notes and cards from people whose lives he touched through the years. Over and over I saw the words “integrity, honesty, humor, decency.” Did you know him? I hope so, because then you’ll know I haven’t exaggerated here, talking about him. He really was a fine man – the kind who cared about others, who knew the meaning of tzedakah, who was, in a word, a mensch. I really believe he’ll be remembered by many for a very long time. As for me, I’ll miss him every day for the rest of my life. Bert Lewis can be reached at BertLewis39@aol.com.
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Beth El’s Rabbi Levin to share tips on creating a lively Seder by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator In preparation for Passover, Beth El’s Rabbi Mordechai Levin will present a special class for adults on Sunday, March 21, addressing ideas for “Creating a Lively Passover Seder.” Scheduled for 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., this class will offer attendees an opportunity to participate in a hands-on, step-by-step guide to making a Seder, explore the significance of the Seder and learn everything from A to Z about Pesach. “If you want a better grasp of what the Seder is all about and would like to feel more comfortable participating, this is a perfect class for you,” the rabbi said. “We’ll discuss the logic of the Seder, read parts of the Haggadah and explore its themes and deeper meaning.” “Join us as we keep alive the tradition of Passover teaching and provide you with ideas to bring to your own Seder. By the end of our session, you’ll have a better understanding of what this symbolic meal is all about.” While Pesach celebrates the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian bondage, Rabbi Levin observed that the holiday “also offers an equally good opportunity for people to take a look at what enslaves them personally, to free themselves from that slavery, and to look at what enslaves others, such as poverty, discrimination, etc. -and work to liberate them.” Encouraging attendees to bring questions for discussion, the rabbi said he welcomes all interested adults from throughout the Jewish community, saying, “This class is for Jewish couples and interfaith couples who would like to learn more about Pesach or refresh their knowledge.” There is no charge to attend this class; to reserve a spot, contact Beth El Program Director Margie Gutnik at 492.8550, or programming@bethel-omaha.org.
BIRTH Shannon and Russell Bennett announce the Feb. 15 birth of their daughter, Delilah Marie. She has a brother, Jameson Wayne, 23 months Grandparents are Sandy and Bruce Gordon, and Debby Perkins, and Terry and Ione Perkins of Council Bluffs, and Norm Bennett of Benson, AZ. Great-grandparents are Wauneta Bennett of Lincoln, and Annette Gordon of Santa Monica, CA.
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Page 10
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
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Economic Development President A privately funded economic development organization is seeking an energetic, positive individual to guide the economic development efforts in Custer County, Nebraska. Custer County is located at the heart of Central Nebraska, boasts friendly, hard-working people, progressive businesses and a tradition of community spirit. The President will be responsible to carry out a variety of activities focused on the retention and expansion of existing businesses, attracting new businesses and creating jobs while preserving the quality of life in Custer County, Nebraska. Full-time salaried position with benefits! Contact: Loren Taylor, CEDC Board Chairman P.O. Box 627, Broken Bow, NE 68822 loren@sargentirrigation.com For full job description see the classified listings at www.custercountychief.com
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Two things are inevitable: death and taxes. To explain aspects of the first, we have John A. Gentlemen’s owner and president. Tom Belford’s mortuary handles most Jewish funerals in Omaha. He will talk about the costs of dying and other current industry issues on Wednesday, March 10, noon, in the JCC social hall. Everyone in the community is invited. The program is free; an optional lunch is $13; beverage service, $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list, contact Jenny at 334.6443 or bnaibrith@ jewishomaha.org. WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the March 11 Bunch to Lunch, and Mystery Trip, please meet at the JCC at 10:45 a.m. For information call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots! Come join us every Thursday afternoon from 1-3 p.m. in the social hall of the JCC. For information call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES Join us for a JSS Community Concert with Opera Omaha called Educate Engage and Enrich on Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Jewish Community Center auditorium. Fall in love with Voices in the Community. This series of engaging, interactive, multi-media performances is customized for all ages. Famous solos and ensembles, insightful narration, and background information on composers and librettists are just some of the aspects of these live performances. Featuring Opera Omaha’s four Omaha Voices – Artists in Residence and Resident Musical Director J. Gawf, the program provides a framework for experiencing the interaction of works and music, the essence of opera. All are welcome – no admission fee. For information call Linda Fitzgerald, Activities Director at 334.6520. The Intergenerational Orchestra of Omaha will perform on Sunday, March 21 at 2 p.m. in the Jewish Community Center auditorium. The Intergenerational Orchestra of Omahas’ mission is to combine the talents of two diverse generations of musicians for the purpose of creating beautiful music and then sharing that music. Join us as the orchestra performs a lively repertoire of well-known movie and television themes, along with popular hits that span the generations. In addition, the group performs original compositions written for the orchestra by Conductor Chuck Pennington, who creates music to complement the unique blend of musicians who comprise the ensemble. For information call Lois Wine, Volunteer Coordinator at 334.6519.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Greenblatt & Seay's Schoolhouse Performance Series features a concert of Irish music on Sunday, March 14, at 2:30 p.m. Greenblatt & Seay & Friends will be singing and playing a variety of instruments, including fiddle, pennywhistle, guitar, hammered dulcimer, and banjo. Traditional Irish tunes will be featured, along with some Greenblatt & Seay originals inspired by the great Irish traditions. Greenblatt & Seay have been playing and singing together since the night they met, decades ago. Their performance on March 8 will include the championship fiddling styles of Deborah Greenblatt, and the fancy whistle-playing of David Seay. The concert will be followed by light refreshments and a chance to chat and even jam with the performers. Avoca is in southern Cass County, Nebraska, on the 13 C Spur, one mile south of Highway 34. Admission is $5 for adults, and $1 for children and students. For more information, write to Greenblatt & Seay, The Old Schoolhouse, P.O. Box 671, Avoca, Nebraska, 68307, or call 402.275.3221, or e-mail them at g-s@alltel.net. The historic Old Avoca Schoolhouse was built in 1925, and has been the home of the Schoolhouse Performance Series since 1990. Music lessons, workshops, fiddle camps, and field trips are offered by Schoolhouse residents, Greenblatt & Seay, and are available by appointment.
Visions: Thanks for the memories
Visions board members reminisced for the last time as a committee celebrating 18 years of having fun. Pictured, in back: Betty Sanford, Doris Alloy, Harry Alloy, Dottie Rosenblum, Phyllis Roffman, Phyllis Schwartz, Jim Wax, Florence Hauss, Ilse Kahn, Marcel Kahn, Esther Wax. Front: Howard Silber, Maggie Conti, JSS Director of activities and outreach programs, Rosalie Greenspan, and Tootie Simon. Not pictured: Sissy Silber
Temple scholar to explore myth of happiness at March 19 service
by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Jennifer Michael Hecht, will be a scholar-in-residence at Temple Israel March 19-21. Hecht will discuss “The Happiness Myth” when she speaks during Shabbat services at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 19 at Temple. She’ll also talk at 9 a.m. on Saturday prior to worship services and 10 a.m. on Sunday. Everyone is invited to attend. A 1987 graduate of New York’s Adelphi University, Hecht spent her junior year abroad studying at the Universite de Caen and the Universite d’Angers, both in France. She earned her Ph.D. in the History of Science and European Cultural History from Columbia University in 1995 where she also received her master’s degree. She was a tenured professor of history at Nassau Community College and is currently in the graduate writing program of the New School University in New York City where she teaches a literature course called Poets and Philosophy. “I’ve taught the course for four years now,” she said. “The texts change all the time, but it’s always about 12 good books, about 75 percent poetry, 25 percent philosophy, and we just read the poetry as philosophy and philosophy as poetry.” A few of the organizations that have hosted Hecht as a speaker include the Religion Newswriters Association, the Science and Religion Lecture Series, the Academy of American Poets, Beyond Belief Conference at Harvard University, Cornell University’s history lecture and poetry reading, the Skeptic’s Society Lecture at Cal Tech, as well as numerous other universities, books stores, synagogues and churches. Her residency at Temple Israel is sponsored by the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning. Hecht lives in Brooklyn. New York, with her husband John, and their two children.
IN THE NEWS
UNMC is collecting old eye glasses for Haiti. It’s no fun if you can’t see well. Some adults and children in Haiti are going without eye glasses. If you have prescription eye glasses you aren’t using, you can donate them. The University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences’ optical center is collecting old prescription eye glasses. If you would like to donate your glasses: • Drop off the glasses Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 3925 Dewey Ave, or mail to University Optical, Box 985540 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-5540. For more information, call Megan at 402.559.8351. HIGH HOLIDAY CLOSING & DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, March 30-31 and Monday and Tuesday, April 5-6 for Pasover. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is 9 a.m. as follows. Questions? Call 402.334.6448. Issue Deadline April 2 Monday, March 22 Monday, March 29 April 9
March 5, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 11
Convert cuts up in one-man show ‘Circumcise Me’
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Did comedian During those years, Campbell says, he Yisrael Campbell convert to Judaism for remembers feeling a spiritual void that the jokes? If so, he might have tried to yearned to be filled. Enter Leon Uris. In avoid the three circumcisions he had to his early 20s, Campbell was given a copy endure to become a member of the tribe. of the author’s famous novel “Exodus” by Then again, maybe his new off- a Jewish woman he was dating at the time. Broadway show, “Circumcise Me,” He was taken in by the idealistic descripwouldn’t be as funny. tions of Zionist men and When the Catholicwomen toiling under the born Campbell stumbles sun and turning the desert onto the stage at the start into fertile land. of his one-man play -“I dreamed of plucking now showing at the out avocados from the Bleecker Street Theater in ground,” he recalls. “I New York -- he looks like didn’t know they grew on a fervently Orthodox Jew. trees.” He sports a long beard A few years later and sidecurls, a black hat Campbell signed up for and long black coat, and classes on Judaism with a appears clutching a plastic Reform rabbi and liked bag filled with books. what he learned so much Yisrael Campbell “I brought with me my that he decided to convert. haredi briefcase,” he jokes. Convert to Judaism? Not so fast. Referring to his sidecurls, the First Campbell had to satisfactorily Philadelphia native cracks, “These payos answer a number of questions, get the are just the beginning of a comb-over.” approval of a committee and, finally, there Over the course of the hour-long play, was the small matter of circumcision. Campbell, 46, uses humor to bring to life Though Campbell was circumcised at the story of his transformation from birth, he still had to undergo a modified lapsed Catholic to observant Jew. version of the ritual to enter the fold of Sitting down for an interview at a cafe Judaism. The ceremony took place at a on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, local Jewish center in Los Angeles. Campbell cites Jewish funnymen Woody “Afterwards I was given a document Allen and the late Lenny Bruce as his confirming the circumcision,” he said. “I comedic inspirations. He says his jokes neatly folded it into my pocket; I was not are styled after their irreverent and self- going to lose this document.” deprecating routines. Cambell moved to Jerusalem, changed Campbell also holds the late Richard his first name from Christopher to Yisrael Pryor in high esteem, especially for the and married his Talmud teacher Avital, way he incorporated the less savory parts with whom he now has three children. of his life into his act. “If I’m not Jewish by now, there’s a “Pryor talked about the most horrible cheeseburger somewhere with my name situations,” Campbell said. “When you on it,” Campbell quips. can make people laugh with the story of Campbell’s amazing journey became how you lit yourself on fire,” referring to the subject matter of a comedy routine he Pryor’s infamous free-basing cocaine acci- put on at venues in Jerusalem, and then dent, “then I say ‘kol hakavod.’” of a documentary that was released in Like Pryor, Campbell talks candidly 2008 to critical acclaim. about his unhappy childhood, struggle Spurred by his success, Campbell has with alcoholism and failed relationships. adapted the routine for the stage. “I’m the first-born son of a manic“It always had the elements of a differdepressive Italian woman and a patholog- ent telling,” he said. “When I showed it ically silent Irishman,” he tells the audi- to Sam [Gold, the director] he was conence. “That makes me wildly emotional vinced I should do an hour of theater.” ... in a very quiet way.” One of America’s top comics has taken
note of Campbell’s show. “Yisrael Campbell is the funniest Roman Catholic Orthodox Jewish comedian in the world,” Stephen Colbert, the Comedy Central talk show host, is quoted as saying on the show’s poster. “Hurry and see him before he turns Buddhist.” Of course, it’s easier to get the covetous “Colbert bump” when Evelyn McGee-
Colbert, the real-life wife of the famous faux pundit, is one of your producers. However, if the play receives the same kind of reviews as the documentary, it should do fine. “In many ways the dream has come true for me,” Campbell said over coffee. “And all I had to do was change my religion, nationality, and marital and parental status.”
EU court: No tariff breaks for West Bank goods by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- The European Union's high court has ruled that Israeli goods produced in the West Bank cannot receive EU tariff breaks. The decision handed down Thursday by the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice drew a legal distinction between Israel and areas located over the Green Line, according to the French news agency AFP. The case before the court dealt with the German company Brita, which wanted to import drink makers and syrups from
Soda-Club, which is based in the West Bank near Jerusalem. A German court had refused to extend EU trade privileges to the goods. The EU court upheld the German court decision. The ruling said that “Products originating in the West Bank do not fall within the territorial scope of the European Community-Israel agreement and do not therefore qualify for preferential treatment under that agreement.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the ruling.
Olmert’s legal woes are not going away by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asserted his innocence at the start of his trial on corruption charges. “Several months ago, when I came here for the first time, I said that I came as an innocent man and that I would leave as an innocent man,” Olmert said Thursday morning upon his arrival at the Jerusalem District Court. “Today the bombastic declarations, plastic descriptions and personal slander end.” Olmert is on trial in three cases: for allegedly paying for family vacations by double billing Jewish organizations through the Rishon Tours travel agency; for allegedly accepting envelopes full of cash from American businessman Morris Talansky; and for allegedly granting personal favors to attorney Uri Messer when he served as trade minister in the Investment Center case. The ex-Israeli leader is charged with fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records and tax evasion. Olmert is the first former Israeli prime minister to stand trial. He resigned as
prime minister in September 2008 after police investigators recommended that he be indicted. Olmert’s office manager, Shula Zaken, is a co-defendant in one of the cases. Jerusalem District Prosecutor Attorney Eli Abarbanel acknowledged in his opening statement that there were problems with the testimony given by Talansky, who allegedly gave Olmert envelopes containing thousands of dollars over a period of several years. “Not a crumb of his word has been proven,” Abarbanel said. “Talansky has no interest in harming Olmert; he’s not delusional.” There were envelopes. Regarding the monetary amounts there is disagreement, but regarding the envelopes there is not.” The main prosecutor in the case, Jerusalem District Prosecutor Uri Korb, went on leave last week for an unannounced period of time at the request of the Justice Ministry following the publication of insulting statements he made about judges and attorneys associated with the ministry while teaching a college seminar.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
Are they, or aren’t they? by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press We are all familiar with that certain aunt, mother, or grandmother. They believe things are often better when they have a Jewish connection. Oranges are juicier when imported from Israel, and music is hipper when the songwriter has attended Hebrew school. Even spam mail stays in their inbox longer when it comes from someone whose name starts with ‘Silver’- or ends with ‘-stein’, and it doesn’t stop there. When it comes to movies, the script doesn’t actually have to be any good for them to like it, and the dialogue doesn’t need to make sense. As long as there’s a Jewish actor, director, or producer involved somewhere, somehow, it’s award worthy, and they will watch it. They get defensive when we make fun of Ben Hur, and they don’t just own the soundtrack to Yentl, but listen to it regularly. It’s easy to make jokes, but it becomes clear I am no different when my husband and I are getting ready for Oscar night. “Any Jewish movies?” I ask him, and he goes online to check. Why do we care? Does it really make a difference whether those golden statues end up next to a set of Shabbat candles, or underneath a Christmas wreath, reflecting a Buddha statue, or perhaps in a house with no religious presence at all? Maybe not, but it’s more fun, isn’t it? The game is called “Are they, or aren’t they?” and we play it all the time. Considering the current state of Hollywood, as well as the unbelievable length of the evening, it might be necessary to invent some extra reasons to make Oscar season fun, and so I have come up with a list of movies and actors/directors to root for come Award night. It might help you stay awake, and combat the unavoidable let down that always follows such televised events. In first place is ‘A Serious Man’, directed by the Coen brothers (yes, they are), with a main character named Larry Gopnik, played by Michael Stuhlbarg (both character and actor are Jewish, so this one counts double). It’s up for best movie, and it should win. The story is told in English, Hebrew and Yiddish, and contains bribery, death, pending destruction,
failed relationships, rabbinical advice, adultery, and marijuana use; what’s not to like? The second candidate on the list is Jason Reitman. While father Ivan Reitman directed such timeless classics as ‘Animal House’ and ‘Beethoven’ (and don’t forget ‘Beethoven 2’!), his son aims a little higher with ‘Up in the Air’. Filmed partially in Omaha, it gave the evening news much to talk about. It might not win, but at least fans of Clooney (no, sorry, he’s not) will surely get an eyeful. Also nominated is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is not only Jewish, but the only woman on the list, which is a shande. She should win for her amazing supporting performance in ‘Crazy Heart’, a movie everybody in America needs to see anyway, since it has no blue people, or wrestlers dressed as tooth fairies. In the documentary category, ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America’ has been listed. It focuses on Daniel Ellsberg (yes, he is) and the Pentagon papers, and was made by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith (yes, and yes). Then, we have Randy Newman, who is once again nominated for a few unmemorable Disney songs: ‘Almost There’ and ‘Down in New Orleans’, both from ‘The Princess and the Frog’. Perhaps the most exciting nomination is that of the Israeli film ‘Ajami’, in the foreign language category. Its creators are the Palestinian Scandar Copti, and Jewish Yaron Shani, and together they are responsible for Israel’s ninth nomination. The film is a compilation of five short stories, focusing on various people in the impoverished neighborhood of Ajami. Non-professional actors portray the main characters, and it won the Ophir award for best film in Israel. The list is closed out by Maury Yeston, who is nominated for the song ‘Take it All’ in ‘Nine’, and, finally, Ed Asner, who voices the old man in ‘Up’. Although I do admit, that last one is a bit of a stretch, since the feature in and of itself doesn’t give us much Yiddishkeit. In all seriousness, we often do pay
extra attention when Jews enter the public arena. It’s nice when they are famous for good things, because it can make us all feel as if we share the spotlight a little. It’s equally awkward when they become infamous. Would we honestly have spent this much time talking about Madoff if he had been, say, Presbyterian? Maybe, maybe not; the truth of the matter is, in most cases these people have nothing to do with us. It doesn’t affect our daily lives when they win, it doesn’t make things harder if they go to prison, we just think it does. Because, in the end, we identify: we look for similarities, we search for togetherness, and we all want to belong. I think there’s nothing wrong with that, because it means that, ultimately, even the Jew who loses everything has people somewhere who are bothered for no other reason than that they share a similar identity. And as long as that is the case, no Jew is an island.
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by RON KAMPEAS • In a rare editorial, Vos is Neias, the superb haredi news site, wonders if all the shtadlanut (interecessionary pleading) on behalf of the now executed murderer, Martin Grossman, was worth it: Have we not taken the idea of “But is it good for the Jews?” to such an extreme level of absurdity that we apply it to the detriment of society around us? The question is not wrong, but it should be tempered with, “Is it good for the Jews and is it good for society?” If a Jewish young man is dealing drugs -- that is bad for society -- he should be punished -because what he has done is wrong, immoral and destroys the basic fabric of society around us. Every case is different and every situation should be judged on its own merit, but here we have a case where we seemed to have lost our judgment in what was an appropriate hishtadlus or not. • The Israel Project and the Geneva Initiative on the same page? TIP has in its existence taken shots for allegedly tilting rightwards from what it has insisted is a down-themiddle-message. It has vehemently rejected such claims, and it does boast an impressive array of board members, Dems and
Jewish Press Board Andy Ruback, Vice President; Michael Sigmond, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Daphne Pollak Alperson, Marc Brodkey; Eric Dunning; Jason Epstein; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Jamie Meyerson; Jim Simon; Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press . Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: editor@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.
What’s good for the Jews Republicans, liberals and conservatives but ... this week it distributed as “must read” a Commentary mag analysis that maintains that Oslo essentially radicalized the Palestinians and endangered Israel. And in November, TIP founder Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, told a panel I moderated at the Jewish Federations of North America’s GA that liberals are, basically, naive. Yet here TIP is -- in Ramallah! -- making nice with the Geneva Initiative, the body that arose out of the 2003 shadow-government plan that would have the sides retreat to 1967 lines. The message: Resuming peace talks would be good for the Jews and the Palestinians. The [TIP] delegation, traditionally supportive of Israeli governmental positions and serves as its media arm, raised several issues on the possibilities of resuming negotiations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the regional context. Finally, they presented a result of an opinion poll which they recently commissioned in the region on the public position towards peace, where they summed up that the Palestinians are most willing for peace with Israel. • In Ha’aretz, Bradley Burston thinks the discourse is sinking like the Titanic -- I get a mention for maybe being a little too angry (mea culpa) -- and that’s not good or the Jews, the Palestinians or peace. I have a really nice memory of Bradley, when he was at Reuters and I was at AP, circa 1993. We were slugs, then, assigned the unenviable
(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper
Sunday morning into afternoon shift staffing the parking lot outside the Prime Minister’s Office in the blistering sun, waiting for the Cabinet ministers to come out and start blabbing. I don’t know if he remembers this, but we established during those long hours that the way to figure out if a radio journalist was angling for a TV job was if he gesticulated while filing. • Carlos Strenger at The Guardian thinks that, if anything, the discourse isn’t loud enough -- at least its liberal side. It would be good for the Jews, he suggests, if Israel’s left re-found its voice: Hence the paradox of Israel’s current state of mind: two-thirds of the electorate consistently supports the two-state solution, but the vote goes ever more to the right. Israelis want the two-state solution, but are deeply afraid of implementing it. As a result they vote for politicians who address their fears rather than for those who offer hope – because they feel there is no hope they can believe in. • Via Ben Smith at Politico, Steve Rosen, formerly of AIPAC, says in a Foreign Policy post that President Obama is more AIPAC than J Street, and that’s good for the Jews. M.J. Rosenberg at Media Matters partly agrees -- and that in itself is news, considering that “hate” is probably the pale way of describing how he and Rosen feel about one another -but doesn’t think it’s good for the Jews, the Palestinians, or anyone.
Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: editor@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but it should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, call the Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $35 per calendar year U.S.; $72 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
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March 5, 2010
Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
Page 13
If sanctions on Iran haven’t worked, why bother again? ‘Inglourious Basterds’ should
Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is set to pass broad unilateral sanctions that would target Iran’s energy sector. As the day of reckoning with a nuclear Iran fast by URIEL HEILMAN approaches, advocates in the Jewish community are NEW YORK (JTA) -- For years, sanctions have been being forced to confront the question of where to go the world’s answer to Iran’s suspected pursuit of nuclear beyond sanctions. There are no sure answers. Sanctions have not worked weapons. Three times already -- in 2006, 2007 and 2008 -- the so far, and the U.S. administration doesn’t appear close U.N. Security Council passed sanctions legislation aimed to considering the military option. Even if Israel were to circumvent the United States and at obstructing Iran’s nuclear capabilities and prodding strike Iran, it would be hard to wipe out the country’s the government in Tehran into cooperating. The result: Iran moved ahead with building clandes- nuclear facilities, which are thought to include sites that tine nuclear facilities, installing centrifuges and enriching are hidden, underground, scattered and heavily fortified. Some Jewish groups have begun talking about how to unranium while refusing full access to international weapons inspectors and turning down deals with the live with a nuclear Iran. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the founder and president of West. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report saying it had evidence of “past or The Israel Project, said that even if sanctions couldn’t current undisclosed activities” by Iran to build a nuclear stop Iran from going nuclear, they still could help deter a nuclear Iran from using its weapons. warhead. “The idea that the game is over if Iran has a nuclear Tehran repeatedly has made clear that its policy toward the West -- on the nuclear issue and other matters, device is mistaken,” Mizrahi told JTA. “As long as Iran hasn’t used a nuclear device including last year’s disputed to shoot anybody or give it election -- is defiance and to terrorists, we still have to obduracy, not cooperation give it a full-court press.” or capitulation. It’s possible, she noted, Now, in the face of mountthat Iran already has ing evidence that Iran’s purobtained a nuclear device suit of a nuclear bomb confrom North Korea or other tinues unabated, pro-Israel clandestine methods. groups and U.S. and “Even if they were to have European governments a nuclear device and a rocket again are pushing for new today, it would still be useful sanctions. to have sanctions,” Mizrahi Given that sanctions said. “They can still be dishaven’t worked in the past, is there any hope that things The United Nations Security Council, shown in session on suaded from using their Feb. 18, 2010, has passed sanctions legislation three times weapons and giving them will be different this time? “We won’t know the against Iran but has failed to curb the Islamic Republic’s up.” Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe With the time remaining answer until we actually try,” nuclear ambitions. said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice-chairman of the for effective sanctions to have an impact on the Iranian Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish regime dwindling, is it time to go to Plan B? “There are plan B’s,” Hoenlein said. “We have not Organizations, the main U.S. Jewish umbrella group on advocated military action. We don’t believe that’s our Mideast-related issues. “Sanctions can have an impact if they’re the right kind role. We believe all options should be on the table, of sanctions, if they’re not going to be put off,” including that. If they don’t believe all options are on Hoenlein said. “The question is implementation. It’s not the table, they will never move.” Plan B, he said, could entail anything from a naval moving fast enough. The Iranians only understand one language: They have to understand this is showdown blockade to military strikes. The United States does not yet appear to be at that point, but of course Israel at any time.” For now the approach among Jewish organizational point could move to its own Plan B. Even as they concede that serious questions remain leaders who have led the campaign to halt Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is to continue to promote sanctions about the efficacy of new sanctions and other options, -- both by the United Nations and by individual coun- U.S. Jewish organizational leaders are canvassing the tries, including the United States. The thinking is that country and holding meetings around the world to warn sanctions currently under consideration are considerably about the dangers of a nuclear Iran -- and not just so tougher than earlier rounds and must be tried before any they can feel like they’re doing something or to give their audiences a reason to lay awake at night. other options can be explored. “I’m not trying to suggest this as a panacea,” said “If we’re willing to put meaningful, painful sanctions in place, it can work,” said Josh Block, spokesman for Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has Council for Public Affairs, a policy umbrella group. “We been the main lobbying group pushing Congress for still have to get the sanctions thing passed.” Talking about the dangers of a nuclear Iran can enersanctions on Iran. “Do we have the ability to create significant economic gize people to lobby their elected representatives, press pain for the Iranian government? Yes. Are they willing to the issue at consulates and embassies, and talk to associchange their behavior based on that impact? We don’t ates with business interests overseas about the imperative to isolate Iran, he said. know,” Block acknowledged. The point, several Jewish officials said, is to not give The new U.N. sanctions would target Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and more severely restrict up. “Because of our history, because of our teachings, I Iran’s banking industry. For enactment, nine of the U.N. Security Council’s members must vote for them, and think we’ve been taught that one cannot just sit by and none of the five permanent, veto-wielding members -- watch evil win,” Gutow said, citing Theodor Herzl’s China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France -- famous “Im Tirtzu” line – “If you will it, it is no dream.” Mizrahi also cited Herzl. can block them. “I’m not optimistic about any of these things, but as Russia, an early holdout, is now sending signals it favors new sanctions, but China has yet to agree. Four Golda Meir put it, Jews don’t have the option of being more yes votes would be necessary from the 10 rotating pessimists,” Mizrahi said. “If every time the world said members: Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina , Brazil, Gabon, it’s impossible for Israel to accomplish something, if Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey and Uganda. they’d listened Israel wouldn’t have gone back to reclaim The four votes are not yet in place, insiders say, and the the land, drain the swamps and build the country. I date for a vote on sanctions continues to be pushed back. believe very strongly in what Herzl said.”
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be recognized with an Academy Award
BEHIND THE HEADLINES by ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN ADL National Director
Today it seems that films about the Holocaust and events surrounding it abound. Almost with a bizarre regularity they reach the big screen in twos or threes. They are made by major Hollywood studios and independents; they feature known and unknown actors. Most attempt to dramatize “true” events. It is hard to imagine there was a time when it was not so. For many years after the end of World War II and the truth became known about the Final Solution, it was a subject most filmmakers avoided. The horrors of the Holocaust were still too raw; the images seen in newsreels not yet ready to be placed on the big screen. Several Holocaust films that were made and had a profound impact, including The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1971), told their stories through words rather than images of the horror. As the number of survivors and witnesses dwindled and we moved farther away from the Holocaust, one filmmaker conceived of how to have an audience understand the history through dramatization. The filmmaker was Steven Spielberg; the film was Schindler’s List, winner of seven Academy Awards, seen by millions and used as a teaching tool since it appeared in 1993. After Spielberg’s incredible portrayal of the horrors of the Holocaust one might have thought that the subject was exhausted for filmmakers. How else could they produce an account of the Holocaust in a way that had not been done before, through a story to which new and younger audiences could relate? Could humor be used for such a serious and sacred subject? As a Holocaust survivor, I thought not. That was until I screened Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful. Never done before and knowing he could be subject to great criticism, Benigni co-wrote, directed and acted in a film employing humor and pathos to tell the story of an ordinary Italian Jew and his family sent to a Nazi death camp. Humor and the Holocaust - an oxymoron in terms! Yet Benigni made it work. The film was seen around the world and received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1998. Fast forward more than a decade and 70 years after Hitler began getting his Final Solution into operation. Putting a new twist on the Holocaust genre for a new time and a new audience was none other than the renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. While he opens his Inglourious Basterds with a scene repeated untold times during the Holocaust - a Jewish family hidden by a Christian family is discovered by a Nazi commandant and executed - the film morphs into an allegory about good and evil and the no-holds-barred efforts to defeat the evil personified by Hitler, his henchmen and his Nazi regime. Employing drama, comedy and romance with the quintessential Quentin Tarantino touch, the film is entertaining, yet thought-provoking. Hopefully the millions who see it will understand the horrors of the Holocaust and echo my view of “if only it were true!” Like its predecessors Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful, Inglourious Basterds should be recognized with an Academy Award. Abraham H. Foxman is National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of “The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control.”
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010
Candlelighting Friday, March 5, 6:02 p.m.
Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org
Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 www.OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org
Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244
Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154
Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org
The Neighborhood Prayer Group 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609
Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org
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Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY, March 12: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Marc Kraft, Politician, speaking on the topic, Starving the Beast. The community is invited.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:10 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. BESTT SHABBAT SCHOOL: Saturday, 10 a.m. – noon, grades Pre-K-7. Activities will focus on Passover, Shabbat morning prayers and the weekly parasha. BESTT teachers and Elya Wilson, the community Shlicha, will lead activities. Lunch follows at noon for students and parents. No charge, but RSVPs are needed. Contact Judy Rubin, 498.0904 or eddir@bethel-oma ha.org. BESTT: No classes on Sunday. SUNDAY: 10 a.m., Beginning Hebrew, with Eadie Tsabari, and Bible Study Discussion Group. MEN’S CLUB: General meeting, Sunday, 10 a.m.; Men’s Club Shabbat, Saturday, March 13, 9:30 a.m. HAZAK: Group for those 55+ will visit the Durham Museum on Sunday, 1 p.m. Cost is $8. For more information, call Esther Wax, 393.4442. THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Understanding and Living Jewish Values, noon. MINI COURSE: Biblical Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, led by Prof. Guy Matalon, on Thursdays, March 11, 25, and April 1, 7:30 p.m., focuses on a genre of Hebrew literature that challenges our ways of thinking by questioning the basic theology of the Bible. Cost: $36, discounted to $27 for donors to the Jewish Federation’s Annual Campaign. Pre-registration is required. Call Mary Sue Grossman at 334.6445 or email at mgrossman@jewishomaha.org. WOMEN’S BOOK GROUP: Wednesday, March 10, 3:30 p.m. will discuss The Bacon Fancier, by Alan Isler. TOT SHABBAT/SAY SHALOM TO SHABBAT: Friday,
March 12, 6 p.m. For reservations made by March 10, dinner cost is $5 for Beth El members, $7.50, non-members; no charge for children six and younger. After March 10, cost doubles. RSVP to the synagogue office, or programming@bethel-omaha.org. All Beth El classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:02 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue,” “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 and up), one hour prior to Mincha every Shabbat; Mincha, 5:45 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 7:03 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels & Beit Midrash begins with breakfast, 9:40 a.m.; Sacred Text Messages (for teens) with Rabbi Gross, 10 a.m.; Living in Season with Miriam Gross, 10 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Kashruth Conference Call with Rabbi Polsky answering Passover kashering and product questions, 4 p.m. Contact the office by 3 p.m. to get the call-in information. TUESDAY: Scholars Club for fourth-sixth graders, 3:45 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Board of Commissioner’s Meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m.; Advanced Halacha Kollel, 9 p.m. Follow the Kollel at www. omahakollel.blogspot. com. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s weekly class, 7:30 p.m
CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. Mini-Mensch title will be awarded. Kiddush lunch follows. Join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets, and Prayer, 12:45 p.m.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Oneg, 6 p.m.; Early Family Shabbat Service, 6:15 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m., led by Rabbi Emanuel; Abraham Inc, 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; LJCS Board, 2 p.m. at South Street Temple; Winter Lecture Series, 7 p.m. at Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street: “Pakistan and Afghanistan.” WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Soul Train brings to Lincoln mime artist Ofer Goren performing “Purim Spiel,” 7 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, 7 p.m. Intro to Judaism, led by Rabbi Emanuel. TUESDAY, 7:30 p.m. Joint Adult Education session at Tifereth Israel, topic is TBA.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Wendy Shermet. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. John Eirinberg, son of Teresa and Lew Eirinberg, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9 a.m.; Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; OTYG Coffee Stand, 10 a.m.; Prayer Assembly, 10 a.m.; PreK Seder, 10:30 a.m.; Music of Jewish Religious Movements with Cantor Wendy Shermet, 10:30 a.m. Do Conservative, and Reform, Orthodox Jews sing the same songs in their synagogues?; OTYG/JYG Bowling Party, Noon All kids meet at Temple and we will have lunch and a mixer. We will walk to Westlanes (151 N. 72nd), 556.3344, for a 1 p.m. start and 3 p.m. pick-up at Westlanes. Cost is $10. RSVP to Amy Katz, akatz@templeisrael omaha.com. WEDNESDAY: No Religious School, No Family School and No Middle/High School. THURSDAY: Adult Study with the Clergy, 10-11:30 a.m.
NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP FRIDAY: Minyan, 5:54 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Friday, 8-11 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study; Abraham Inc, 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Gan Simcha-Grade 2, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 10 a.m.noon at South Street Temple; LJCS Board, 2 p.m. at South Street Temple. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 7:30 p.m. Joint Adult Education session at Tifereth Israel, topic is TBA.
SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg, assisted by Naomi & Aaron Zipursky.
PERSONAL I want to express my thanks to all of my friends, and Rabbi Levin for their calls, visits and donations during my recent illness. Your thoughtfullness is greatly appreciated. Gloria Goodman
BAT MITZVAH Jennifer Ann Libov, daughter of Marina and Dmitriy Libov, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, March 13, at Beth El.
SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings Remix, 10:15 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Portraits in Leadership: Timeless Tales for Inspired Living is postponed until March 16, 7 p.m.. Visit www.O Chabad.com for more details or to register. THURSDAY: The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II intermediates and experts, ages 7-9, 3:50 p.m. Please contact Shevi@ochabad.com. FRIDAY, March 12: Service, 7 a.m.; Parsha Club for the Elderly, 10:30 a.m. at the Blumkin Home. Please contact Shevi@ ochabad.com to make sure your parent at the home can become a member, with any questions or for further information. All programs are open to the entire community.
Jennifer is a seventh-grade Superior Honor Roll student at Millard North Middle School. Her interests include dancing and spending time with friends. She has a brother, Jeffrey. Grandparents are Bella and Leonid Nakhimovich, and Margarita and Mark Libov.
Large print living will available Jewish Heritage for the Blind announced the availability of the large print “Jewish Halachic Living Will”, produced by the Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union. Forward your request on your formal stationery by fax to: 718.338.0653 or send an e-mail to jewishheritage@gmail.com. Requests must include a phone number to confirm delivery.
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Count me in SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Ki’Tisa Far be it from me to suggest that the Torah yielded to an ancient superstition; that if you count people it is destined that shortly one of them will be “missing”. Instead,c in the Sacred Text: collect half a shekel from each one in the house of Israel. Money can be counted, naturally. The Zionist movement used this device to raise funds at one point, like collecting shekels, a few dollars each from those who wished to be Zionists. In general, as late as our own times, we are inclined to count people by saying, “not one, not two, not three”, and so on. It is interesting to see how this ancient superstition challenges time and has reached our own day. Nonetheless, we are not afraid to count, for example, the number of states in the Union. Even so, people do not like to be counted. But they will say (will they not?): “Count me in!”
Spanish students send antiSemitic cards to Israel Embassy JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel’s embassy in Madrid has received dozens of postcards from Spanish schoolchildren containing anti-Semitic messages. On Sunday, Israel lodged a formal complaint with the Spanish government charging that Spanish schools are promoting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel ideas among young children. Some of the postcards read “Jews kill for money,” “Leave the country to the Palestinians” and “Go somewhere where they will accept you,” Haaretz reported. Other letters addressed to the ambassador, Rafi Shotz, read: “How many Palestinians have you murdered today?” and “Mr. Ambassador, you should think about not killing the Palestinian children and elderly. I don’t know if it doesn’t bother you, having to murder people. You should leave Palestine,” according to Ynet. In a phone call with Foreign Ministry’s deputy director of European affairs, Naor Gilon, Spanish Ambassador to Israel Alvaro Iranzo said that the letters were not part of Spain’s national education curriculum and appear to be a private initiative. Gilon called the letter-writing campaign an “incitement against Israel.”
Photographs wanted The Jewish Press is looking for photographs taken by members of the community. Think pictures you have taken during your last trip to Israel, when you visited that phenomenal synagogue in Prague, or that particularly well designed Seder table your grandmother puts together every year. We are looking for originality and diversity, and will soon start running the nicest photographs in this paper. Want to share your creative talents? Email your best work to avandekamp@jewishomaha.org, accompanied by your name, contact information, and a short description of when and where the photograph was taken, and why you want to share it. Take your best shot, and who knows; you just might see it back in these pages.
To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by emailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.
DEATH JERRY LOHRMAN Jerry Lohrman passed in his sleep February 28. He is survived by John Lohrman of San Diego, Ca, Robert Lohrman of Omaha, and Joni Laguens Lohrman of San Diego, CA. He will truly be missed by his friends and family.
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B’nai Israel Monthly Speaker Series Sandy Nogg, Assistance Coordinator from Jewish Family Service, answered the question, Does It Happen to Us, too?, on February 12. The Friday-ofthe-Month Speaker Series continues March 12. Marc Kraft, politician will speak on the topic, Starving the Beast. The entire Jewish Community is invited to attend. Following services, there will be an Oneg.
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JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A Hamas leader has disowned his son after learning that he spied on the terrorist group for Israel. Sheik Hassan Yousef, who has been held in an Israeli prison since 2005, said in a statement released Monday that he, his wife and other children disown his oldest son. The statement was reportedly smuggled out of the prison. Mosab Hassan Yousef, 32, served for more than a decade as the Shin Bet’s most valuable source on Hamas. He converted to Christianity 10 years ago and left the West Bank in 2007 for California, where he now lives. His spying was reported last week by the Israeli daily Haaretz in advance of this week’s release of “Son of Hamas,” a book written by Yousef and Rob Brackin. Yousef reportedly was codenamed “The Green Prince” by the Mossad. His intervention reportedly led to the prevention of dozens of suicide bombing attacks and assassination attempts on Israeli officials, and the exposing of several terrorist cells. Yousef’s father reportedly had earlier denied his son was ever an active member of Hamas.
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Hamas will hold British journalist longer (JTA) -- Hamas says it will hold a British freelance journalist for another 15 days. Paul Martin was arrested Feb. 14 when he arrived at a Gaza City courthouse to testify on behalf of a Hamas operative accused of collaborating with Israel. Upon his arrest, Martin was accused of breaking Palestinian law and violating Gaza security. He has not been charged; Hamas says it will continue to investigate the charges. Martin has filed freelance reports for the BBC, Al Jazeera International, CNN and Britain’s Channel 4 News. British authorities have not been permitted to meet with Martin. He reportedly is being held without access to newspapers, radio or writing materials.
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Statewide Classified CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in over 170 newspapers. Reach thousands of readers for $210/25 word ad. Contact the Jewish Press at 334-6448 or call 1-800-369-2850. LOOKING FOR the classic car, truck or motorcycle of your dreams? Go to www.midwestclassiccars.com. It’s your Midwest connection to classic vehicles for sale. Need to sell a classic vehicle? For only $25, your ad with photos will run until sold! Call this newspaper today for more information or call 800-369-2850. NEBRASKA HORSE Expo, March 12-14; Lancaster Event Center, Lincoln, NE. Featuring Richard Winters, Julie Goodnight, Matt McLaughlin and Tommie Turvey. Numerous vendors, demonstrations, model horses, entertainment, more. 402-290-9076, www.nebraskahorsecouncil.org. AFFORDABLE PRESS Release service. Send your message to 177 newspapers across Nebraska for one low price! Call 1-800-369-2850 or www.nebpress.com for more details. DO YOU live in rural Nebraska and need a small business loan under $35,000? REAP can help! Call 402-656-3091 or visit www.cfra.org/reap. HOT TUBS $995 to $4,995. Walk-in bathtubs $2,995 up. Saunas $1,995 to $2,795. Clearance sale in progress. Call 1-800-869-0406 for price list and pictures. goodlifespa.com. NEW, USED and unfinished furniture. Buy, sell, trade. Hometown Furniture Plus, 915 Lake Ave., Gothenburg, Nebraska, 308-537-5225. OWNER FINANCING. Doublewide 3 bedroom. Will move. Land available. Reasonable down. 785-862-0321. ************* Call to prequalify! It’s Free! We own the bank! Doublewides/Modulars. 800-375-3115. TIME HAS run out. Must sell 4-bedroom manufactured home. Owner will finance. Must move to your land. 785-841-4887. POLICE OFFICER: The City of Tecumseh has an opening for a certified police officer. Please send resume to: City Hall, PO Box 417, Tecumseh, NE 68450. GRAIN MERCHANDISER Needed. The Farmers Grain Company (not a co-op) in Julesburg, Colorado, is looking for an experienced grain merchandiser. Send resume to Jim Kontny, PO Box 296, Julesburg, CO 80737 or call 970-474-2537. MACHINIST/FABRICATOR: Looking for individual with lathes, milling and welding experience. Able to repair or build ag and industrial components or parts. Salary commensurate on experience. Health insurance, 401K, sick leave and paid holidays. Send resume to PO Box 657, Alliance, NE 69301. BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. www.steffenslaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. HIGH SPEED Internet. Still waiting for high-speed where you live? Call WildBlue! Available virtually anywhere through satellite! Get Free standard installation. 24/7 customer support. 1-800820-0154.
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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE
March 5, 2010