March 6, 2009

Vol. LXXXVIII No. 27 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 88 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

Obama’s intel pick peddled Saudifunded textbook accused of bias community says the appointby RON KAMPEAS ment largely derives from WASHINGTON (JTA) -the close friendship between The Obama administration’s Blair and Freeman. pick for a top intelligence Spokesmen for Freeman post helped peddle a Saudiand for the White House funded school study guide declined to comment, but decried by Jewish groups National Review online conand educators for having firmed the appointment. anti-Jewish biases. Freeman is president of the Charles “Chas” Freeman, Middle East Policy Council, the U.S. envoy to Saudi a Saudi-funded think tank. A Arabia during the first Gulf JTA investigative series in War, is slated to chair the 2005 exposed how the National Intelligence council, led by Freeman, Council, according to The joined with Berkeley, Calif.Cable, a blog at Foreign based Arab World and Policy magazine that has Islamic Resources in pedbeen unerring in reporting dling the Arab World Studies Obama administration to American national security appoint- Reports say that Chas Freeman, shown addressing the Notebook Pacific Council on International Policy in October 2007, is schools. In the version ments. Sources acquainted with being named to chair the Obama administration’s National examined that year by JTA Credit: Pacific Council staff, the “Notebook” Freeman and his putative Intelligence Council. boss, Adm. Dennis Blair, the director of national intelli- described Jerusalem as unequivocally “Arab,” deriding gence, confirmed to JTA that Freeman has been named. Jewish residence in the city as “settlement”; cast the An acquaintance of Freeman’s in the Middle East policy Continued on page 2

Blumkin residents make their move; only one resident wing and ‘Main Street’ to finish by OZZIE NOGG Years back, the Partridge Family invited the world to ‘C’mon, Get Happy’ every week. Today, for an infusion of ‘happy’, the entire world should visit the recently opened Northeast wing at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. At the very least, the entire Omaha Jewish community will want to take a peek at the new space. In a word, it’s great. High ceilings in the hallways add to the feeling of roominess. An expanse of tall window-walls give Continued on page 6

From the new dining room on the Blumkin Home’s east wing, residents can see into the former synagogue, which now houses the phsycial therapy unit.

Inside Opinion Page see page 8

10 Adar, 5769

March 6, 2009

Staying behind in Rwanda, humanitarian helps prevent suffering by ILANA WEISS The Institute for Holocaust Education will offer five lectures by internationally renowned humanitarian Carl Wilkens in March 2009. Wilkens, former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda, was the only American who chose to remain in Rwanda at the beginning of the brutal 1994 conflict. His choice to stay and help resulted in preventing the massacre of hundreds of children during the course of the genocide.

Experience a Sephardic Shabbat at Beth Israel by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Traditional Sephardic davening will be the highlight of a Sephardic Shabbat on March 20-21 at Beth Israel Syangogue. Chaired by Guy and Elinor Matalon, the Shabbat event features Hazzan Moshe Tessone, Rabbi and Director of Yeshiva University’s (YU) Sephardic Community Program A distinguished faculty member of YU’s Belz School of Jewish Music, he teaches Middle Eastern Liturgical Music and cantillation. Tessone is also a faculty member at Yeshiva’s Isaac Breuer College for Hebraic Studies where he teaches Jewish Studies. The usual Shabbat services held at Beth Israel are Hazzan Moshe Tessone in keeping with the Ashkenazic traditions. Ashkenazic Jews are descendants of Jews from Europe, and that includes the majority of the Jewish population in the Omaha area. The word “Ashkenazic” comes from the Hebrew word for “Germany.” Sephardic Jews are descendants of Jews from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East. Sephardic Jews are sometimes viewed as belonging to two subgroups -- the “Sephardim” who come from Spain and Portugal and the “Mizrachim” from North Africa and the Middle East. “Sephardic” is derived from the Hebrew word for “Spain,” while “Mizrachi” represents the Hebrew word “East.” Sephardic Judaism is not a separate denomination; rather, it is a unique cultural tradition. Some Hebrew words are pronounced differently, but Ashkenazim quite frequently adopt Sephardic pronunciations since that is what is used in Israel. Sephardic prayer services have some unique qualities as compared to Ashkenazic Continued on page 3

The actions of Carl Wilkens helped prevent hundreds of deaths in Rwanda. “Carl’s experiences are so important to share at this time. Many teachers, students and community members have attended lectures and programs sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education in the past to learn about the Holocaust,” said Beth Seldin Dotan, executive director of the IHE. “Carl Wilkens’ visit reminds us that there is still so much to learn about humanity. Participants will see how we can attempt to look at the atrocities of the Holocaust in order to change the world that we are living in today.” On Sunday, March 15, 7 p.m., Wilkens will kick off his speaking series at the Countryside Community Church in Omaha where he will speak about “Journey to the World Outside My Shoes: Focus on Courage and Trust” -- The Wilkens family story in Rwanda and the neighbors you would love to have! Wilkens will focus on personal accounts from his time in Rwanda, and put a human face on genocide and its resistors, demonstrating how one person can make a difference for many. The entire community is invited to participate in this eye-opening event. While the event is open to the public and free of charge, reservations are requested. Wilkens’ speaking engagements will focus on past genocides as well as current acts of genocide occurring in the world such as the conflict in Darfur. The presentations will aim to provide participants with a context to genocide along with connections between modern-day mass murders and the atrocities that took place at other times in history, specifically during the Holocaust. Wilkens will also hold two lectures for educators, students and faculty at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and Creighton University. Additionally, high school students from across Omaha and Lincoln will have the opportunity to hear Wilkens’ presentation at both Burke and Lincoln Southwest High Schools. Continued on page 2

This Week: Former Omahan Bar Mitzvahed in Israel: Page 12 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’

Tri-Faith Initiative to host dinner at Qwest: Page 3

Coming Next Week: Home & Garden ADL stands up to cyberbullying: Page 4

Friedel sponsors science fair and mess that goes with it: Page 7

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Obama’s potential intel pick Continued from page 1 “question of Jewish lobbying” against “the whole question of defining American interests and concerns”; and suggested that the Koran “synthesizes and perfects earlier revelations.” Freeman’s appointment already has set off a firestorm among Middle East policy bloggers, with some on the dovish side welcoming it as refreshing injection of “realism” after the neo-conservatism that defined the Bush administration, and others expressing alarm at pronouncements of Freeman and the council that have been relentlessly critical of Israel. “Freeman is a strident critic of Israel, and a textbook case of the old-line Arabism that afflicted American diplomacy at the time the state of Israel was born,” Steve Rosen, a former top official of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, wrote on his Obama Mideast Monitor blog hosted by the Middle East Forum. Rosen, who is facing trial for allegedly relaying classified information during his AIPAC stint, wrote that Freeman’s “views of the region are what you would expect in the Saudi foreign ministry, with which he maintains an extremely close relationship, not the top CIA position for analytic products going to the President of the United States.” However, last week, the prosecution in the case against Rosen and another AIPAC staffer, Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst, lost two key battles, raising hopes among the defense that the ex-officials of the pro-Israel lobby ultimately will be acquitted of all charges. M.J. Rosenberg, an analyst for the Israel Policy Forum, countered at the liberal Talking Points Memo, “So what if Freeman is close to the Saudis. Why should that disqualify him for the intelligence M.J. Rosenberg is an analyst for the post? Unless he Israel Policy Forum. has done something unethical or illegal, these smears are more evidence (if any more is needed) that being deemed overly critical of the occupation is today’s equivalent of being called a Communist in 1953. It’s a career killer, used to ensure that policymakers adhere to the neocon line.” The National Intelligence Council describes itself as “a center of strategic thinking within the U.S. Government, reporting to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and providing the President and senior policymakers with analyses of foreign policy issues that have been reviewed and coordinated throughout the Intelligence Community.” AIPAC and other Jewish groups would not comment on Freeman. The mainstream pro-Israel groups hardly ever comment on presidential appointments -- and never before they have been made formal. Transitioning from a Middle East posting to a foreignfunded think tank and then back into government again is hardly unusual. “Half the think tanks in this town take money from somebody overseas,” said Sam Lewis, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who now consults with the Israel Policy Forum and who praised Freeman as “one of the more able who returned from the foreign service.” A 2006 report by Congressional Quarterly documented such transitions, naming Freeman among eight former Middle East envoys now working in the Saudi-funded sphere. Many of these are hardly controversial: Academics associated with the Middle East Institute, which has received Saudi funding, are regarded in Washington as often critical of Israel but fair and unafraid to question

Arab pieties about the region in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. Dennis Ross, who previously served as a Mideast negotiator and was tapped last week by the Obama administration as an adviser on Iran issues, spent his time between government stints chairing the think tank of the Jewish Agency for Israel, a quasi-governmental agency. He also headed the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, a think tank here that receives a great deal of Dennis Ross, formerly the top support from pro-Israel Middle East peace broker in the Clinton administration, was donors. The problem for tapped last week by the Obama Freeman, should his administration as an adviser on appointment eventuate, is Iran issues. Credit: The Washington that his writings have tended less toward analy- Institute for Near East Policy sis and more toward advocacy -- and not simply of a line of thought that defends Arab interests but that demonizes Israel and its advocates. In a 2006 interview with the Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service, Freeman cast as martyrs Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, the academics and best-selling authors whose careers have flourished since they pilloried what they called “the Israel lobby” as indispensable in the drive to war with Iraq. “No one else in the United States has dared to publish this article, given the political penalties that the lobby imposes on those who criticize it,” Freeman said. “So we continue to do important things that are not done by anybody else, which I think fill some gaps.” The Atlantic reportedly turned down the original article because it was based on selective and second-hand sources. Their book was published subsequently by a major American house, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. In the same interview, Freeman thanked Saudi King Abdullah for funding the Middle East Policy Council for at least another year. Yid with Lid, a conservative blog, uncovered writings by other council writers who say the Iraq war was fought principally to protect Israel. Freeman often soft-peddles criticism of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. “The Saudis are clearly winning their struggle against violent extremists,” he told the National Council on U.S.-Arab relations in 2005, although it is now known that in recent years the Saudis released suspected terrorists, who subsequently committed new attacks. In the same speech, Freeman said Israel’s occupation of Arab lands was “inherently violent” and blasted thenPrime Minister Ariel Sharon for dealing unilaterally with the Palestinians. Both criticisms would not be seen as unfair in mainstream policy circles, but he did not mention Palestinian terrorism, nor did he note the emergence of Hamas, a group that unilaterally rejects Israel’s existence, as a major force. Participating in a 2002 panel for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Freeman said that “in the case of Saudi Arabia, reform has always come from the top down. It has been the ruling family that has sought to liberalize society and to open it up.” Saudi exiles over the years who have sought democratization might disagree. They have fled in fear for their lives and continue to beharassed in their new homelands. Freeman also chairs Projects International, a consultancy that depicts itself as “understanding the dynamics of international business ventures.” It lists seven recent ventures in Saudi Arabia, including creating marketing strategies for U.S. defense contractors in the kingdom.

Humanitarian helps Continued from page 1 The lectures and workshops are funded by the IHE, the Nebraska Holocaust Education Consortium, Milton G. Waldbaum Family Foundation, Countryside Community Church Center for Faith Studies, Creighton University Justice and Peace Studies Program, Department of Education, the Kripke Center for the

Study of Religion and Society and the Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization; the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Human Rights and Human Diversity Initiative; Omaha Public Schools, and Lincoln Public Schools. For more information or to register for a lecture, please call 402.334.6576, e-mail iweiss@adl.org, or visit www. ihene.org.

To order a gift subscription to the Press... For the rest of 2009, send a pro-rated check for $32, made out to the Jewish Press, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 334.6448.

March 6, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Temple Israel and Tri-Faith partners to turn Qwest into Abraham’s tent

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Omaha’s Qwest Center has been many things, including a concert hall, a volleyball and a basketball court, an Olympic trials swimming pool, and a home and garden show, to name a few, since it opened in 2003. On Friday, March 27, it will become Abraham’s tent. That’s Abraham, the first of the patriarchs and father of monotheistic faiths. Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative, a collaboration of the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture, the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, and Temple Israel, that began in 2006, will gather for “Dinner in Abraham’s Tent: Conversations on Peace” at a community-wide event to which the entire Jewish and metropolitan communities are invited. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., the 45-minute

worship service will include a traditional Shabbat service, the Episcopal evening prayer service, and the Muslim evening prayers. The service will be conducted by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Eric Linder, Cantor Wendy Shermet, Bishop Joe Burrnett, and Abel Nasser. Members of all three faith groups will be able to participate in or witness all three services. Following the service, everyone will gather in the main ballroom at the Qwest for dinner and conversation with Rabbi Peter Knobel, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church; and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America. The theme of their discussion is “Shalom, Salaam, Peace.” “Just as the Tri-Faith Initiative is a groundbreaking project for our three faith

groups to undertake,” indicated Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Jon Meyers, president of Temple’s Board, “this ‘summit’ of three of our national leaders is an historic first for our country. When so much of the world is focused on despair and what is not working, our efforts in Omaha give us hope. As we learn to live and work together while preserving our diversity and traditions, we can be pioneers for peace.” This event “couldn't be more timely,” the two leaders added. “Come hear what common ground does exist among the three belief systems. You will find there is a lot more that should unite us than divide us.” Among the objectives of the event is giving the three faith groups an opportunity to work together on a major community program, introducing the Tri-Faith Initiative to the wider community, and

raising funds to further the work of the Initiative. Youth and college students from the faith groups will be encouraged to attend and be involved in the event. Temple members planning the event include Meyers, Jan Schneiderman, Jane Rips, Bob and Robyn Freeman, Cindy Goldberg, Cantor Shermet, Rabbi Linder, and Wendy Goldberg. To make a reservation, call 934.2955 or 888.934.9955 or visit www.trifaith.org. Dinner for adults is $50 per person. Patron tickets are $100 per person. Table sponsorships, which include ten tickets, are available for $1,000 each. There are a limited number of student tickets available for $35 per person. For transportation to the event, please contact Program Director Wendy Goldberg at 556.6536 or at wgoldberg@ templeisraelomaha.com.

is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages four to 12 and free for children ages three and under. When comparing the Ashkenazic Shabbat morning service with that of a Sephardic service, Gross noted, “The text is virtually the same. What’s different is the music. The tunes that the Ashkenazic tradition uses have European influences, while the Sephardic tunes have a MiddleEastern feel. The Hazzan will be singing songs and prayers from a variety of Sephardic communities, including both Judeo Arabic and Judeo Spanish. Hazzan Tessone is an expert with regard to these melodies, including music from Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Morocco and other locales. You’ll need to come to the service to appreciate the expertise of Hazzan Tessone and to truly experience the

unique qualities of a Sephardic Shabbat.” In addition to teaching at YU, Tessone serves as the cantor of Ahi Ezer Congregation in Brooklyn. He represents YU to the greater Sephardic community and serves as a role model and mentor to the hundreds of Sephardic undergraduates. Tessone has toured extensively throughout North America, as a speaker on topics of Sephardic interest and Jewish education, and as a presenter and concert soloist featuring Judeo Arabic and Judeo Spanish religious folk music and Middle Eastern liturgical music. He has released two CDs featuring Sephardic music. Sephardic Shabbat is supported by a grant from the Legacy Heritage Innovation Project. To RSVP for meals, please call the office at 556.6288.

Experience a Sephardic Shabbat

Continued from page 1 prayer services, and there are different music traditions during Sephardic services. Additionally, Sephardic meals are quite different from typical Ashkenazic fare, with a Middle-Eastern influence being most apparent. “When you are in semicha (class), there are many different rabbis offering independent programs or subdivisions. I was in the Sephardic program that was directed by Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Haim, an expert in the Sephardic traditions. He led a huge congregation in Tehran. Rabbi Tessone also studied with Rabbi BenHaim,” explained Rabbi Jonathan Gross. “Although my roots are Ashkenazic, when I was in Israel, I studied with lots of students of Syrian descent,” continued Gross. “I was drawn to the Sephardic

studies program because I had such an affinity with their approach and course of study. The Sephardic experience will have some similarities to what we usually experience, with subtle variations. Hazzan Tessone will superimpose Sephardic tunes into the service, which will be different from the typical Ashkenazic music we’re accustomed to.” The Sephardic experience will begin with davening at Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, March 20, 7 p.m. A traditional Sephardic Shabbat dinner follows the service. Cost is $12 for adults, $6 for children and free for ages three and under. On Saturday, March 21, 9 a.m., the community is invited to attend a Sephardic Shabbat morning service. A Sephardic lunch will follow services. Cost

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 6, 2009

ADL stands up to cyberbullying by THERESE VAUGHN-WEINER Anti-Defamation League Plains States Region

“One day, this girl I considered my friend started sending me instant messages, calling me names and making fun of me because I had lost my right leg in a car accident as a child growing up in Peru. She even set up an online profile for me: ‘Name: spic. Location: border hopper. Gadgets: peg leg.’ I tried to protect myself, pretending like I didn’t care, but on the inside I was falling apart.â€? A high school student can’t turn on her computer or cell-phone without receiving a barrage of hateful messages ‌ a seventh grader finds that she’s been voted the ugliest girl in school on an online “bash boardâ€?‌ a teen is blackmailed to fork over cash or see an embarrassing photo of himself posted on the web ‌ This is the new world many kids today find themselves in - a virtual Lord of the Flies. Electronic aggression or “cyberbullyingâ€? has taken adolescent teasing beyond the school grounds and daytime hours to a whole new degree of cruelty, but the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is helping teachers, parents and kids stand up to the growing problem. With its expertise in addressing hatred on all levels, the ADL has developed a comprehensive program to help schools prevent and respond to cyberbullying as part of a wider strategy to ensure a culture of safety and respect for all students. This month, the ADL Plains States office held a training workshop: Cyberbullying: Understanding and Addressing Online Cruelty, for middle school and high school educators and administrators from greater Omaha. Representing nearly every school district in the area, participants learned that they share a common concern. Whether their students come from low-income or affluent neighborhoods, many have experienced some kind of cyberbullying. According to the National Crime Prevention Center, more than 40 percent of teens reported being bullied online during the past year. Only 10 percent of those kids told their parents. A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that bullying, both on and offline, can result in decreased academic performance, truancy, poor self-esteem, depression and even suicide for the victim. An estimated 160,000 students a day stay home from school to escape their tormentors. As for the bullies, they are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, drop out of school and engage in more extreme hatebased activities.

EXPERIENCE

The most common weapons for electronic abuse include stealing an individual’s name and password to a social networking site, then using their profile to post lies, gossip or other damaging information; doctoring photographs in order to humiliate the individual; recording and posting conversations without consent; starting online polls about someone’s appearance or sexual orientation and spreading them to different websites; using blogs to publish hurtful, embarrassing information; and targeting a person with a virtual onslaught of text and instant messages. “The psychology of cyberbullying is uniquely harmful because of the invasive and pervasive nature of the technology,â€? ADL Education Associate Jessica Gall said. “When bullies can harass someone anonymously, they don’t need to see their victim’s face on the other side of the screen. And, without consequences, there’s less a chance for empathy.â€? Gall, who co-facilitated the program with ADL Regional Director Alan Potash, further explained how cyberbullying violates traditional boundaries by taking the harassment beyond the school building and its school day. “With today’s generation logged on for much of their homework and socializing, it’s much harder for victims of cyberbullying to shut out the abuse. They can’t even feel safe at home,â€? Gall said. Duchesne Academy Guidance Counselor Frances Swanson said she’s noticed how modern communication technology has actually altered the nature of friendships today. “The boundaries seem much looser,â€? Swanson said. “Students will write something on-line that they might not say face-to-face ‌ I think on-line bullying can be more obsessive, both for the bully and the victim.â€? While cyberbullying has become widespread, many teachers, counselors and parents remain unaware of its impact. “One of the ways the ADL is most effective is by keeping pace with the latest trends, from hate group activity to teen cyberbullying,â€? Potash said. “This is why we offer up-to-date programming for teachers and parents so that they can become more responsive to what is happening with their kids now.â€? For Nebraska schools, responding to cyberbullying is more than just a good idea; it’s the law. Last year, Nebraska passed legislation requiring schools to adopt clear policies on bullying -- in or out of school and on or off-line. At the workshop, ADL Civil Rights Area Counsel Claire Pinkert offered legal advice to help educators understand the new mandate and develop appropriate school responses to electronic aggression. The ADL Plains States office plans to take the cyberbullying program to schools throughout the region, including Iowa and Kansas.

ORGANIZATIONS

WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going to lunch at the Olive Garden on Thursday, March 12, please meet at the JCC main entrance at 10:45 a.m. Join us for a Community Concert with Violinist Linda Pollard, a member of the Omaha Symphony, in the JCC auditorium at 1:30 p.m. There is no admission fee. For information, call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish brings us closer to our roots! Come join us every Thursday, 1-3 p.m., at the JCC. For information, call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

VISIONS Join us for the pick of the season at the Omaha Community Playhouse to see Bat Boy - The Musical for a matinee on Sunday, March 22, 2 p.m. Dinner (on your own and optional) following the show at Jason's Deli. Send reservations to Rose Pitlor, 827 Dillon Dr., Omaha, NE 68132. For information call her at 558.5144. Make check payable to Visions.

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Mitch Sherman will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, March 11, noon, at Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. The Omaha World-Herald sports reporter will talk about the Huskers, National Signing Day, and more. All men and women in the community are invited. The program is free. An optional buffet lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3. For more information or to get on the email list, contact Lois at 334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

CJE offers teacher training

Over 30 Omaha Jewish educators attended last Sunday’s training session, Recognizing and Reporting Signs of Child Abuse, presented by the Center for Jewish Education.

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U.S. Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), center, met last week in Omaha with a representative of the Orthodox Union, Howie Beigelman, left, and Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross. They discussed key issues and concerns, including homeland security needs of vulnerable non-profits, religious liberty on the job and at home, equitable participation of nonpublic schools in certain programs such as “Green Schools” modernization, and the need to keep Jerusalem unified under Israeli control. In addition, the Senator learned about various OU programs and services, both nationally and specifically those that serve Nebraska’s Jewish community. NCSY, the

OU’s youth arm, has an award-winning chapter in Omaha. OU Kosher, the world’s largest certifier of kosher products, supervises over 20 companies in nearly 50 locations throughout Nebraska. In addition, the OU serves all Jewish communities across North America through national programs such as the National Jewish Council for the Disabled, the OU Job Board and the Institute for Public Affairs, which coordinated the meeting. Beigelman, OU Deputy Director of Public Policy stated: “We appreciate that just a few weeks in office, Senator Johanns took the time to sit with us and hear about the needs and concerns of the Orthodox community, and more broadly, the faith community in Nebraska. We look forward to a continued partnership and friendship between Sen. Johanns, the OU and the Jewish community across Nebraska.” The 2009 Rabbi Sidney H. Brooks Lecture will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m., in the William H. Thompson Alumni Center Bootstrapper Hall. Ran Kuttner, assistant professor with the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at Creighton University, will present “Entering a Dia-logue: Dynamics of Conflict Management in the Israeli Society.” This lecture will present tendencies in the Israeli society and their effect on the increased fragmentation in recent decades (as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). He will discuss the concept of dialogue and its relational characteristics and pose the question what needs to be done in order to transform destructive mechanisms of conflict management into increased capacity to constructive management of social, interpersonal and international conflicts. Kuttner is an assistant professor of Conflict Resolution at the Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution in the Creighton University School of Law. For the past three years, he has been a visiting researcher and an associate at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, where, among other research projects, he helped redesign and teach the Harvard mediation course, a joint course for law and MBA students. He also designed a mediation certification program in his Center for the Study of Mediation and Conflict Management (“Merhav”) in Israel, and has taught numerous mediation courses for Israeli educators, companies and general public. In his research and teaching, Ran examines philosophical aspects of mediation and aims to improve both the understanding and the practice of transformation of adversity into dialogue through mediation and other conflict management processes. He received his Ph.D from the Program on Conflict Management and Negotiation at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, where in the past he has co-taught a graduate-level mediation certification course. The lecture is the result of an endowment honoring Rabbi Brooks. It is presented through the sponsorship of the Religious Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences and Temple Israel. It is open to the public at no charge. Contact Guy Matalon, gmatalon@ mail.unomaha.edu, or 554.2139 for additional information.

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JLTV announced that it will begin broadcasting to over 53 million homes across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East with its first international broadcast day coinciding with the kickoff of the Maccabiah Games on Sunday July 12, 2009. “JLTV will begin broadcasting its fulltime channel with this exclusive sports event. This will give people in such countries as Dubai, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Russia, and Morocco an opportunity to learn more about Israel and the Jewish people everywhere,” Phil Blazer, President and CEO of JLTV commented. “This is the first time that Jews and the entire world will have an opportunity, every minute of every day, to be introduced to issues important to World Jewry. JLTV International will change the landscape of communications for the Jewish community around the world.” Blazer commended Ken Solomon President and Chairman of the Board of The Tennis Channel for canceling its broadcast of the Dubai Tennis Championship. JLTV’s Sports Department announced that Israeli tennis player Shahar Pe’er was refused a visa to compete in the tournament. On Feb. 14, the United Arab Emirates informed Pe’er that it would not allow her to enter the country to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships with its $2 million first prize. In 2008 the Israeli tennis star, ranked in the top 20 women’s players in the world, was scheduled to play Russian Anna Chakvetadze in the first round. “The entire field of competitors is diminished by this happening,” Ken Solomon, chief executive of The Tennis Channel, told The New York Times. “It hurts them all. Shahar earned the right to be in the tournament. She’s been on a roll and could have won it. It’s just hard to imagine this happening in this day and age.” JLTV is the exclusive broadcast partner for the Maccabiah Games in 2009 in Israel. It sports department is headed up by Mitch Gaylord, Olympic and Maccabiah gold medalist in gymnastics. The Maccabiah Games are the second largest sporting event after the Olypmics and will be a host to over 10,000 athletes. Founded in 1999, Jewish Life Foundation seeks to promote education, understanding and perseverance. Through educational and cultural programming, utilizing all facets of the media including television, radio, print, internet and live events, Jewish Life Foundation informs, educates and entertains. Check your cable and satelitte provider for programming information or see JLTV on the web at: www.jltv.tv.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 6, 2009

Beth El fifth graders share thoughts about Shabbat during original play Mercedes-Benz of Omaha Under New Management Please contact Ryan Knott, your Mercedes Sales Consultant 402.891.2612

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law, we begin to truly understand the meaning and beauby JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator ty of what God created for us.” For the past several years, fifth graders in teacher Andy Calling the exercise “education through creative Greenberg’s class have transformed themselves into play- thought,” Greenberg said the process never gets stale for wrights and performers -- the creative talents behind him as co-writer and director. “I enjoy taking novices and “Celebrate Shabbat for the Rest of your Life.” On showing them what their potential is and helping them to Sunday, March 15, 11:30 a.m., the students will show achieve it. The shy ones shine and the natural-born peroff their acting chops as they perform their original play formers get to really display their talents onstage. If any in the synagogue’s sanctuary; little word that they write or part family and friends are invited that they play helps them relate to attend. and get closer to the meaning “Celebrate Shabbat,” creand enjoyment of Shabbat, then ated several years ago as a it is all worthwhile.” musical CD, was the brainIn addition to the March 15 child of Greenberg, who performance, Greenberg and his penned the lyrics, and Beth students will take their show on El’s former cantor Gastón the road for the first time; on Bogomolni, who wrote the April 12, they will perform music. Greenberg later “Celebrate Shabbat” for resiexpanded the “Celebrate dents at the Rose Blumkin Shabbat” concept into a lesJewish Home. son plan for the religious Teacher Andy Greenberg offers his fifth graders praise Beth El’s Education Director school; this marks the fourth and helpful hints during a recent rehearsal of “Celebrate Judy Rubin, who worked with year he has guided his fifth Shabbat for the Rest of Your Life.” Greenberg to develop the lesson graders through the innovative curriculum, which culmi- plan, noted the effectiveness of the “Celebrate Shabbat” nates in the play performance. curriculum. Since last fall, Greenberg and his students have explored “I felt it [the “Celebrate Shabbat” unit of study] was significant aspects of Shabbat, and what the day of rest very compelling and worth pursuing at BESTT,” she means to each child; through creative script-writing, the commented. “It’s one thing to talk about incorporating play will present a variety of vignettes which highlight the Shabbat into one's life but quite another to actually take students’ points of view about the importance of Shabbat. steps to make Shabbat a meaningful family experience. “The play is special, as each year we change the script “With Andy's guidance, the fifth grade students have and the students provide their own insight and owner- been able to learn how Shabbat can make a difference in ship. It is amazing how they want to be part of the everyone's lives,” she added. “Students have a great sense process,” Greenberg said. of accomplishment in writing the script and then per“While the theme doesn’t change from year to year, the forming it for the student body and for their families.” children come up with different real-life scenarios and There is a great pay-off for the time spent exploring issues which they have to face. They focus on choices: the Shabbat and its meaning to each student, Greenberg secular world versus the spiritual world. How do you bal- remarked, saying that, “All during the year, the students ance? Can you balance? Do you want to balance?” have been learning selected Shabbat prayers and their His students -- current and former -- have a great sense meaning. They are always seeking to understand what the of pride in the plays they have created, and have made an words mean and how they can relate to them. Their writimportant connection with Shabbat. That connection is ing and presentation of the play is a culmination of the important, Greenberg said, because, “We have been told year’s work; now, they can not only lead and participate historically that we must do this and must do that as part in services; through their own study, they understand the of our religion; yet each time we explore the benefits of a beauty of Shabbat.”

Blumkin residents make their move Continued from page 1 Blumkin Home diners a view of the outdoor patio and garden. The larger-than-life-sized mural in the Therapy Suite lets rehab patients imagine they’re limbering up in a forest of cherry blossoms. “This wing is filled with light,” said Mike Silverman, RBJH executive director. “It lifts the spirits and the mood of residents, visitors and staff. The space makes you smile.” The Northeast wing, designated as a short-term care unit, holds twenty-two beds in thirteen new resident rooms, all with ceramic tiled bathrooms featuring ample counter space and cabinetry for personal items. The unit includes two dining rooms, a sunroom and

Photos, from top left: One of four unique candelabras created by Omaha artist, Matt Placzek. Fabricated of stainless steel and sandblasted acrylic, the halogen ‘candles’ will glow each Friday night during Shabbat dinners in the dining rooms. The dining room for rehab (short stay) residents overlooks the TV lounge and the Blumkin inner courtyard. Blumkin resident Ruth Isler, left, relaxes on moving day with RBJH director of activities and outreach, Maggie Conti, and resident Gloria Friedman. Workmen begin demolition on the remaining nurses’ station to make way for ‘Main Street.’

TV lounge, and also houses the new Therapy Suite and private treatment rooms in space once occupied by the Blumkin Synagogue. With the completion of this wing, the Blumkin Home’s New Beginning building project now moves into Phase Four. “I’m happy to report that three-quarters of the residents are now living in new, updated rooms,” Silverman said. “Our clear objective has always been to focus on the needs of residents first, before adding Main Street and other amenities for staff and the public. We plan to move through the rest of the construction quickly. Phase Four should be complete by late summer and the entire project finished by the end of 2009.”

March 6, 2009

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

Friedel hosts annual Science Fair, and the mess that comes with it

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Friedel staff and students participated in the annual Science Fair recently, orchestrated and supervised by Josephine Zbylut-Birky. It was the fifth consecutive time Friedel students showcased their projects, and for principal Ron Giller it was another new experience. “I have seen many science fairs in the public school system over the years,� Giller explained, “but I have to admit, this is a unique event. The students are so enthusi-

a project that was even messier. The boys combined water and cornstarch to create Non-Newtonian fluid, and filled a wading pool in the middle of

Photos clockwise from top left: Abby Kohll and her mother, Susan Stern; Harper Gordman; Eliana Sasson; and Mimi Rogers-Farkas, Ethan Potash, Isaac Rogers, Julie Potash. astic, and the topics they came up with the Friedel commons area. “They used are utterly original. In addition, I love 200 pounds of cornstarch,� Mimi how the spirit of participation is so preva- Rogers-Farkas said, “and we had to go to lent; there is a lack of competitiveness five different stores before we had that is very refreshing.� enough.� Many at Friedel remember how sixth Eliana Sasson, daughter of Lise and grader Ethan Potash, son of Julie Potash, Aaron Sasson, worked with materials she smelled up the entire building with his found at home: water and diapers. “electricity-through-pickles� project two Curious which diapers held the most years ago. This year, he teamed up with water, she compared several popular fellow sixth grader Isaac Rogers, son of brands by pouring liquids inside, proving Mimi Rogers-Farkas and Scott Farkas, for there’s a science project waiting any-

where, if only you’re willing to look. Naomi Teetzel, daughter of Eric and Sarah Teetzel, came up with her salthypothesis when she slipped on the ice recently. After she saw her dad throw salt outside her house, she wondered if just any salt would do. “I used any salt I could think of, from salt substitute to French grey sea salt. Against all expectations, the garlic salt melted the ice the fastest,� she said, “which is good to know if you are ever in a bind.� Naomi attends fifth grade, and this was her third science project. Josephine Zbylut-Birky has been instrumental in getting the science fair off the ground, and was once again impressed by the students’ dedication. “The projects are becoming more advanced each year,� she said, “and we just keep growing. We have more kids participating, the projects are getting bigger, and students are not afraid to get creative and leave the beaten path. From Elissa Wiener’s research into the effect of music on someone's heart beat, to Sarah Kutler’s wind generator, you can tell they really give this a lot of thought.� As in past years, elementary education students from Creighton University came by to take a look at the displays. Students were given a few minutes to explain their project and answer questions, after which

they were judged on such categories as clarity of hypothesis, originality, enthusiasm, and interest. There are no first prizes at the Friedel Science Fair, which Principal Giller is very happy about. “This way, the focus is on the excitement of participating, not on winning. When there is no first place, there is no last place either, and everybody wins.� The Friedel Science Fair is made possible by contributions from Marvin and Sandra Kohll, and an anonymous donor. For more information about Friedel Jewish Academy, please contact Mary Jane Tweedy at 334.0417.

‘Rose’ goes to the Rose

Several of the residents from the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home were treated to the Omaha Theater Ballet at the Rose Theatre last week, including Marge and Norm Lincoln, above, as well as Tina Becker, Betty Goldstrom, Justin Horwich, Joan Larson, Edith Stein, Sylvia Swartz and Harvey Thornby. The ballet is set during WWII and it celebrated the spirit, camaraderie and entertainment found at the New York City Stage Door Canteen. The performance was complete with live swing band and the fabulous voice of Camille Metoyer Moten.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 6, 2009

Now a warning ... ? For those of you old enough to remember the 1992 Robert Zemekis film, Death Becomes Her, it contained a memorable scene between Meryl Streep and Isabella Rossellini. Streep, whose character yearns for immortality, has just swallowed a potion given to her by Rossellini, who then issues the caveat emptor statement: Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” Horrified, Streep relies, “NOW, a warning?” And that’s where we are today. With Purim on Monday night and Tuesday (March 9-10) next week, we read the Megillah -- the Scroll of Esther -- and recall the story of the Jews once again matching wits with their enemies to overcome an evil decree to put them all to death. As Rabbi Myer Kripke notes in his weekly “Sparks from the Word” column (yes, he is still dictating original columns each week!), “In reality, it makes no difference whether the attack described in the Megillah ... is true or not, for there are numerous examples in human history of attempts to kill off all the Jews. Ask Hitler if this is not true.” One might ask the same of today’s modernday Haman, and we’re not just talking about the Persian version, Mahmoud Ahmadinijad, Iran’s President. According to the Jerusalem Post, “the International Atomic Energy Agency last week admitted that it had underestimated Iran’s nuclear stockpile by about one-third. The watchdog group now confirms Iran possesses 2,227 lbs. of nuclear material, sufficient to create at least one nuclear bomb.” And the AP reported, “Iranian and Russian engineers carried out a test run of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, a major step toward starting up a facility that the United States once hoped to prevent because of fears about

Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.” We’ve already learned that Tehran successfully launched a satellite. Put the two together, along with their rocket manufacturing capability (which we’ve already witnessed in Gaza with Hamas launch of Iran’s Grad rockets) and you’ve got a really big bang. Think it will stop with Israel? Here’s what some jihadists and clerics have said in recent reports, thanks to MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute, which translates the Arabic press: “on Al-Jazeera, Kuwaiti professor suggests a biological attack on White House, prays for bombing of nuclear plant on Lake Michigan.” And his audience laughs and cheers in the background! In another dispatch, MEMRI noted that Egyptian cleric “Zaghloul Al-Naggar: ‘I have written about the conspiracy against the Palestinian people, and about how this abominable conspiracy was hatched by Britain and France, in collaboration with several Western countries. In our days, this conspiracy has been adopted by the U.S. ... The West wanted to avenge its defeat in the Crusades, so it gathered these dispersed [Jewish] communities -the scum of the earth and garbage of the nations -- and planted them in the heart of the Arab world.” And after the ICC, the International Criminal Court, charged Sudanese President Omar AlBashi with war crimes and genocide, Kamal Hussein Bakhit, editor of the pro-government Sudanese daily Al-Rai Al-’Am, wrote: “If [Obama] tries to change American policy, he will be one [heartbeat] away from being shot by a sniper who will be positioned on the roof of a house beside his motorcade’s route.” Scared yet? You should be. We’re not seeing moderation here; in fact, the number of

attacks on Jews, the West, and our way of life are up (just read Abe Foxman’s op-ed below). Even the left-leaning New York Times wrote recently about a new exhibit at the United States Holocaust Museum, noting that today’s jihadists are echoing Muslim sympathizers of the Nazis during World War II. These, and many, many more outbursts, violent attacks, beheadings, sermons, editorials and more have been published and televised for all to see. We’ve been warned -- repeatedly. It’s too late for a potion, even on Purim, when you’re supposed to drink enough to see the world turn upside down. But it already is.

BEHIND THE HEADLINES by ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- Coming just weeks after the explosion of global antiSemitism that followed Israel’s military action in Gaza, the timing couldn’t have been better for the London Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism, held Feb. 16 and 17. With Jewish communities around the world feeling insecure and vulnerable, with synagogues vandalized and an atmosphere of intimidation and fear permeating anti-Israel rallies, there was a sense that even though this conference had been months in the making, it was a propitious moment for deliberation and action. Having just returned from the London meeting, where I chaired a working group on fighting anti-Semitism in the political sphere, I can say that there is at least a sliver of hope that these challenges can be met, that there is a willingness and a commitment by some in the international community who are ready to stand up and say “no” to anti-Semitism, and to put up a united front against bigotry and hatred. More than 120 lawmakers from more than 40 nations spanning the globe came together to devise an effective framework and forge new strategies to confront anti-Semitism on a global scale. This is the good news in an otherwise bleak picture, one that I fear is only going to get bleaker as world Diaspora Jewry faces this new threat. Although the conference was planned months ago to deal with the growing and increasingly sophisticated manifestations of global anti-Semitism, it clearly took on much greater significance as a result of the pandem-

When was the last time we can remember Jews being beaten in the street, as happened in the United Kingdom, where 220 incidents were reported during the three weeks of Israel’s military operation, an eight-fold increase compared to the same period a year ago? In cities around the world, rhetoric at rallies and demonstrations against Israel reached a fever pitch with the most outrageous language imaginable and comparisons of Israelis and all Jews to Nazis, to Hitler, to swastikas. The language was unmistakable and ubiquitous -- the Star of David equals the swastika, the accusation that Gaza is the same as Auschwitz, the victims of the Holocaust are now the perpetrators of a new one. The shouts of “Jews to the Gas” -- shamelessly shouted in public, even in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- spread quickly across the Internet along with much worse expressions of hatred for Israel and Jews. Jewish communities felt pressure as never before. In Venezuela, the community of near-

Jewish Press Board Michael Sigmond, Vice President; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Marc Brodkey; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Bette Kozlen; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; Andy Ruback; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and 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: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.

Anti-Semitism: Combating a global pandemic ic of anti-Semitism that erupted during Israel’s Gaza offensive. As it happens, the Gaza reaction became the main focus of our discussions. Let’s take a moment to revisit what happened in the weeks after Israel launched the Gaza offensive on Dec. 27. It was as if the floodgates had been opened. Within days an open season had been declared on world Jewry. It started with criticism of Israel: Israel was wrong. Israel was evil. Israel was satanic and a violator of international human rights and international law. This theme quickly morphed into talk about war crimes and war tribunals.

(Founded in 1920) Bobbi Leibowitz President Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

ly 15,000 woke up to a nightmare of antiSemitic expression aided and encouraged by President Hugo Chavez and his government, who expelled the Israeli ambassador and called on Jewish Venezuelans to renounce their allegiance to Israel. In Caracas, a synagogue was vandalized in an orgy of anti-Semitism: the Torah scrolls thrown to the floor, the walls daubed with anti-Jewish epithets and threats, the membership rolls stolen. The Venezuelan media and Web site were filled with expressions of hatred for Israel and calls for Jews to be expelled from the country. Venezuela was not an isolated case. Reports flooded in from Jewish communities around the world that were feeling similar pressures. European countries, including democratic, Western nations such as France, Belgium and Great Britain, witnessed an outpouring of hatred aimed at Jews. The hateful rhetoric at rallies often was followed by violence, sometimes by demonstrators, other times by unidentified perpetrators who aimed Molotov cocktails at synagogues and other visibly Jewish institutions and property. This is why the word “pandemic” applies to what we are witnessing. Not only has it spread more widely than we have ever witnessed -even during the second intifada, when Israel faced suicide bombings in the heart of Jerusalem, it was not this intense -- but it has metastasized with accusations of dual loyalty and Holocaust denial thrown into the mix. This is the worst, the most intense, the most global hatred aimed at Jews in most of our memories. When was the last time we can remember Jews being beaten in the street, as happened in the United Kingdom, where 220 incidents were reported during the three weeks of Israel’s military operation, an eightfold increase compared to the same period a year ago? Continued on page 9

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: ckatzman@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 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. 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 more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press 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.

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March 6, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor: I have written this letter to the Mormon church in response to a Fox News article regarding their practice of “baptism by proxy” for deceased Jews. I would encourage you to check out their registry and voice their concerns over this practice at: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/ default.asp. Susan B. Fried Brookline, MA Dear Mr. Monson, I looked in horror as I saw my mother’s name in your registry of Jews who have been baptized by proxy into the Church of Latter Day Saints. My mother was a woman of valor and suffered through the horrors of the Holocaust in defense of her Judaism. For her memory to be treated in this way is akin to spitting on her grave. Magda Fried lived her life as a Jew. She arose from the ashes of Auschwitz and re-built her life in America as a Jew. She raised her family to be Jewish and to enjoy the richness of that heritage. Do not erase her lifetimes work with this self-serving act. She as well as the millions of Jews who perished in the gas chambers, spoke these last words before she took her last breath: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” This prayer of “Shema” is an affirmation of Judaism and a declaration of our faith in one God. On behalf of my mother and her descendants, I demand that her name and the names of those known victims of the Holocaust baptized be removed from IGI and other Mormon records. There should never be any question for future generations that she was NOT a member or in any way affiliated with the Church of Latter Day Saints. Let the tortured souls of the Jews who perished and who survived the atrocities of the death camps rest in peace. Let their memories stand guard against this kind of bigotry from re-occurring. Religious persecution is not only a Jewish issue….it is the responsibility of all people of faith to guard against this evil. Baptism should be an act of free will. Stop this practice of Baptism by Proxy for the dead. Let their act of free will to live and to die as Jews be respected. Respectfully, Susan B. Fried To the Editor: For the Nebraska State Patrol to effectively combat hate crimes and ensure the public’s trust, it must zealously protect its reputation as an impartial, professional organization that protects Nebraskans of all races. If the Nebraska State Patrol reinstated Henderson despite his widely publicized affiliation with a white supremacist, racist organization, the public trust in Nebraska’s law enforcement professionals would be undermined, as would our societal ideals of equality and pluralism. ADL applauds the Nebraska State Patrol for terminating Henderson because of his affiliation with the racist, violent KKK and thanks Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning for his vigorous support of the Patrol’s decision. ADL is gratified by the Nebraska Supreme Court opinion, for it underscores Nebraska’s commitment to enforcement of its laws without regard to race and reaffirms our trust in Nebraska’s law enforcement agencies. ADL’s amicus brief was authored by David J. Kramer and Quinn Vandenberg of Baird Holm LLP. Alan Potash, ADL/CRC Director

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BEHIND THE H EADLINES by DANIEL PIPES On the occasion of its launch in 2004 from near Buffalo, New York, the Muslim television channel “Bridges TV” won the enthusiastic support of Secretary of State Colin Powell’s media assistant, Stuart Holliday: “I laud your expression of interest in promoting understanding and tolerance.” And so it went; Bridges TV also met with euphoric media coverage, uncritical academic reaction, and blessings from sports giants like Muhammad Ali and Hakeem Olajuwan. From the start, however, Bridges TV amounted to a lie. On the political level, its raison d’être was based on the canard that Muslims in the United States suffer from bias and are victimized. That an idea took formal expression in 2000, when the Senate passed a resolution inveighing against the “discrimination” and “backlash” suffered by the American Muslim community, an insulting falsehood then and now. On the ideological level, Bridges TV was a fraud, pretending to be moderate when it was just another member of the “Wahhabi lobby.” Endorsed by some of the worst Islamist functionaries in the country (Nihad Awad, Ibrahim Hooper, Iqbal Yunus, Louay Safi), it was an extremist wolf disguised in moderate sheep’s clothing. On the financial level, Bridges TV marketed itself to investors on the basis of an imaginary population of 77.4 million U.S. Muslims, or 2-3 times the actual total, making the station commercially unviable from day one. Finally, on the familial level, Bridges TV pretended to be based on what critic Zuhdi Jasser calls the “public marital partnership” of the station’s first couple; Muzzammil (“Mo”) Hassan proudly related how his wife Aasiya Z. Hassan spurred him to create Bridges TV. He was the hard-charging founder responsible for finances and marketing; she expressed her devotion to Islamic ideals and culture as the station's program director. In fact, reports Aasiya’s divorce attorney, the couple had “physical confrontations off and on” during their entire eight-year marriage and these recently escalated to Muzzammil issuing death threats. Salma Zubair, who says she Aasiya's sister, writes that Aasiya “lived her eight years of married life with fear.” Aasiya began divorce proceedings on the grounds of “cruel and inhuman treatment” and won an “Order of Protection” on Feb. 6 to force Muzzammil out of their shared house, enraging him; according to the local police chief, Muzzammil “came back to the residence and was pounding on doors and broke one window.” On Feb. 12, the couple encountered each other at the television studio. At 6:20 p.m., Muzzammil went to the police and directed them where to find his wife’s corpse. Officers found her body at the station in a hallway, decapitated and with multiple stab wounds. Detectives charged Muzzammil with murder and are

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looking for knife used to kill her. A reliable source informs me -- and this is breaking news -- that the police found Muzzammil repeatedly told his wife that she had no right, under Islamic law, to divorce him. They also quote him stating that Aasiya, because beheaded, cannot reach paradise. Muzzammil’s defense lawyer says his client will plead not guilty, presumably by reason of insanity. A great battle looms ahead on how to interpret this crime, whether as domestic violence or honor killing. Supna Zaidi of Islamist Watch defines the latter as “the murder of a girl or woman who has allegedly committed an act that has shamed and embarrassed her family.” Deeply alien to Westerners, this motive has paramount importance in traditional Muslim life. In a Middle East Quarterly article, “Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?” feminist theorist Phyllis Chesler delineates eight differences between these two concepts, including the identities of perpetrator and victim, the circumstances of the murder, the degree of gratuitous violence, the killer'’s state of mind, and family responses. Did Aasiya die in a crime of passion or to reinstate a family’s reputation? Was the violence generic or specifically Muslim? The Islamic Society of North America opts for domestic violence while the National Organization for Women’s New York State chapter sees an honor killing. The crime at Bridges TV fits neither model exactly, suggesting we need more information to determine its exact nature. But as the forces of political correctness inevitably bear down to exclude an Islamic dimension to the murder, the motive of family reputation must be kept alive. Enough with the pleasant deceits -- time has come to utter hard truths about Bridges TV.

Endorsed by some of the worst Islamist functionaries in the country (Nihad Awad, Ibrahim Hooper, Iqbal Yunus, Louay Safi), [Bridges TV] was an extremist wolf disguised in moderate sheep’s clothing.

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A beheading and the deceits of Bridges TV

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Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. © 2009 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved. Read more at www.DanielPipes.org.

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Continued from page 8 Likewise, in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Caracas, Florence, Montevideo and Paris, Jews have been beaten on the street, synagogues have been firebombed and desecrated, and Jewish institutions, businesses and homes have been attacked. And for what reason? Because Israel, a sovereign nation, sought to defend itself from the constant barrage of Hamas missiles threatening its cities. Today, the sense of urgency has never been greater. We are fortunate to have a commitment from some leaders, those who gathered in London and others who have taken the time to understand the nature of the threat. From this I hope will come government action to put a damper on anti-Semitism. 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 6, 2009

Candlelighting Friday, March 6, 6:03 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 Minyan 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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B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: No Services this week. Friday, March 13, 7:30 p.m.: Second-Friday-of-the-Month Speaker Series, features financial adviser Michael Sigmond.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m.; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m., followed by dinner. Dinner cost is $10 per person; no charge for children six and younger. RSVP to programming@bethel-omaha. org or call the office. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation (3-7), 10 a.m.; Minha/Ma’ariv, 6:10 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Study Discussion Group; and Navigating our Services with Joy led by Susi Frydman-Levin, 10 a.m.; The Mitzvah Club led by FrydmanLevin; and Synagogue skills class led by Cantor Schlossberg, 11 a.m.; The Choreography of Shabbat Services, led by Cantor Schlossberg, noon. THURSDAY: Rabbi Levin’s Jewish Ideals and Ethics for Everyday Living, noon; Women’s Book Club, 1:15 p.m. ‘DEATH OF A SALESMAN’ MINI COURSE: On Wednesdays, March 11, 18 and 25, from 7-8 p.m., facilitator Bob Goldberg will lead an in-depth exploration of this classic play. Cost to attend: $18. To register, contact the office. USY PURIM CARNIVAL: Sunday, 11:30 a.m. BESTT: Classes for grades PreK–7 will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, for the Purim carnival. MONDAY-Purim: Ma’ariv service, 5:45 p.m followed by Family Megillah Reading, featuring costume parade and contest and USYers’ Purim shpiel; second graders to receive miniature Megillot. Free buffet will follow at 6:30 p.m. RSVP for dinner with the office or programming@bethelomaha.org. At 7:30 p.m., the full Megillah will be read. SHABBAT TUNES & TALES: Saturday, March 14, 11:15 a.m. Sing-along and stories for children up to age five and their parents, led by “Miss Patty” Nogg. Open to all families; no charge.

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, 6:03 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush sponsored by the Kohll Family in appreciation of the synagogue’s teachers, and by Donald Gerber in honor of the 10th anniversary of Ben Gerber’s Bar Mitzvah; “Guard Your Tongue” and “The Great Midrash” and “Advanced Parshah Study for Kids” (ages 10 & up) one hour prior to Mincha, 5:45 p.m., followed by Seudah Shlishit; Havdalah, 7:04 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Reading the Rambam, 9:45 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Teen Class, 10 a.m. Help prepare Mishloach Manot to be delivered to Blumkin Home residents, 11 a.m.; Senior NCSY Murder Mystery Dinner, 6 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. MONDAY: Fast begins, 6:24 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 7:15 p.m.; Costume Parade, 7:30 p.m.; Fast Ends, 7:59 p.m.; Megillah Reading, 8 p.m., followed by dairy dinner. TUESDAY-Purim: Shacharit & Megillah Reading, 6:45 a.m.; Megillah Reading, 9 a.m.; Megillah Reading, 2:30 p.m. at Remington Heights; Help deliver Mishoach Manot to Blumkin Home residents, 3:45 p.m.; Late Megillah Reading, 5:30 p.m., followed by Purim Seuda with entertainment; Rabbi Mizrahi’s Mishnah Club and weekly evening class are canceled this week. WEDNESDAY: Board of Commissioner’s meeting, 6:30 p.m. 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: Services, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m. MiniMensch title will be awarded; Kiddush lunch follows; join Rabbi Katzman from 12-1 p.m. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Mishpacha Mornings, 10:15 a.m. For more information or to regis-

BAR MITZVAH Chad Shulewitz, son of Cindy and Alan Shulewitz, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 14, at Beth El. Chad is a seventhgrade student at Alice Buffett

ter for a month email Estie@ ochabad.com. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Purim Party, 6 p.m. (see full story on page 11); You be the Judge IIexploring Jewish Civil Law, 7 p.m. More information call 330.1800 or email JLI@ chabad.com. TUESDAY: W.O.W. Prayer, Prophets, and Prayer, 9:15 a.m.; Purim Party, 5:30 p.m. (see full story on page 11.) WEDNESDAY: Achieving Integrity, Torah Studies for the Workplace, 7 p.m. For information call 330.1800 or e-mail TorahStudies@ochabad.com. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m.; The Parsha Club for Level I beginners, ages 5-6; and Level II for ages 7-9, 3:45 p.m. Please contact shevi@ochabad. com for a pass. All events and programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Snacks, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:15 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m. meet at South Street Temple to deliver Mishloach Manot baskets; USY Purim Carnival, noon at Tifereth Israel; Winter Lecture Series concluding dinner, 6 p.m. at Unitarian Church. MONDAY: Joint Community Purim celebration: Family Megillah service and costume parade, 5:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel followed by triangle pizza dinner, 6:30 p.m.; Traditional Mellah reading and dinner, 7:15 p.m. Please RSVP to the office. No charge for the meal; donations will be accepted at dinner. TUESDAY: Torah Yoga service, 7:30 p.m. with hamantashen and refreshments following. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg and assisted by Aaron and Naomi Zipursky.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Magnet Middle School. His interests include computers, cars, basketball, golf and Kadima. For his mitzvah project, he helps with Bingo for residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. He has a sister, Brooke. Grandparents are Phyllis and Normand Roffman, and late Anna and Norman Shulewitz.

FRIDAY: Prophecy, Prophets and Politics After the Exile, noon. Tuition is $35, discounted $27

for donors to the Federation Campaign. Pre-registration is required by calling 334.6445 or email mgrossman@ jewishomaha.org; WRJ Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. led by WRJ members with the clergy. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Grade 5 Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. followed by a family luncheon. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9 a.m.; Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Four B’s, 10 a.m.; Purim Speil at Prayer Assembly, 11:15 a.m.; Purim Carnival, noon. Pre-K and K sneak preview, 11:30 a.m. when accompanied by a parent. MONDAY: The whole megillah, 6 p.m. followed by a no-host dinner at Pasta Amore. Contact the temple office or mkube@templeisraelomaha.com to RSVP. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 46 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; No Middle/High School; Religious Worldviews: Primal Religions, Christianity and Islam, 6:30 p.m. with UNO Professor Mary Ann Krzemien. Open only to Family School parents. THURSDAY: “Adult Study with the Clergy” with Cantor Shermet, 10 a.m. Friday-Sunday, March 2022: Scholar-in-Residence with Rabbi Aaron Panken (See full story on page 11.)

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 5:55 p.m. SATURDAY: Srvices, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m., and and Talmud study. Kiddush Luncheon sponsored in honor of Marcia Kushner’s 80th birthday. SUNDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 9:30 a.m. meet at South Street Temple to deliver Mishloach Manot baskets; USY Purim Carnival, noon. MONDAY: Joint Community Purim celebration: Family Megillah service and costume parade, 5:30 p.m. followed by triangle pizza dinner, 6:30 p.m.; Traditional Mellah reading and dinner, 7:15 p.m. Please RSVP to the Temple office. There is no charge for the meal; donations will be accepted at the dinner. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group will meet at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Contact Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

Free Haggadah from The Jewish Heritage for the Blind This year, the Passover Seders will be celebrated on April 8 and 9. If you are expecting guests who are visually impaired, you many obtain a Braille or large print Haggadah free of charge by contacting the Jewish Heritage for the Blind at 800.995.1888; or fax 718.388.0653; or e-mail to jhb.ny@verizon.net.

March 6, 2009

True or not, attacks are part of Jewish history

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Purim The verdict is still out on the question of the veracity of the Book of Esther. Does it reflect actual events, or is it pure fiction? One must notice at once that the hero, Mordechai, has basically a pagan name -- Man of Marduke, head of the pagan gods. And Esther, a name really beloved in the House of Israel, derives from Astarte, Queen of the Heavens, a pagan goddess! All that aside, the events described -- anti-Semitic attacks on Jews, laden with abundant slander -- are found frequently in Jewish history. In reality, it makes no difference whether the attack described in the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther read on Purim, this year, the evening of Monday, March 9, and again on Tuesday, March 10) is true or not, for there are numerous examples in human history of attempts to kill off all the Jews. Ask Hitler if this is not true. Jews have a way, however, of turning tragedy into comedy and sorrow into mirth. Purim is a prime example. It may be that some enterprising Jewish scholar noted that the month of Adar was without a specific Jewish Holy Day. He thereupon, in best narrative style, invented Mordechai and Esther and the stupid King Ahasueras, who gave the evil protagonist, Haman, the full freedom to exterminate the Jews as though they were bugs. We are used to making as much noise as possible every time Haman’s name is mentioned in the reading of the Megillah. We even invented a special noisemaker for the occasion. But don’t forget to notice that our groggers are all made in China! Clever Chinese. Whether or not the Purim events are history or fiction, they describe what has happened to the Jews many, many times throughout the centuries. Regardless, have a happy Purim!

Celebrate Purim at Chabad by SHEVI KATZMAN Chabad of Nebraska Plans for Purim, the joyous celebration of the uniqueness of “just bring Jewish” and surviving all odds -- are well underway at Chabad House. All are invited on Monday, March 9, p.m., for mincha and the machatzit haShekel ceremony, followed by the Megillah reading. In addition to Chabad’s signature “Purim Spirits”, a special feature this year is the Hamantashen Bar featuring an assortment of typical and not-so-typical varieties. To complement the hamantashen we will have a tea party and an exciting innovative “Wii Purim Alive!” On Purim day, in addition to numerous megillah readings both at private homes and public domains, Chabad will be hosting its 22nd annual Purim feast on Tuesday March 10, 5:30 p.m. This event will include a buffet dinner, shalach manot swap, Purim in the 21st century -a Purim parody skit, starring local talent, and a late megillah reading. Cost is $12 for adults and $5 for children five years and older. To reserve or for more information visit Chabad’s website at www.ochabad.com/reserve or call 330.1800.

Renovated B’nai Israel opens Lloyd Kranse, right, donated pictures, newspaper articles and papers from the now disbanded Council Bluffs Grocers Assocation to B’nai Israel. He was one of the many Jewish grocers who owned and operated in Council Bluffs and was a former President of the Association. There will be a display at B’nai Israel next week, during the Oneg Shabbat. Financial advisor, Michael Sigmond, will be the speaker at the Second-Friday-of-the-Month Speaker Series on Friday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. His topic is Your Money and Saving Taxes. Services will be held in the renovated sanctuary. In addition, a plaque will be displayed in memory of Dr. Jerome and Frieda Bleicher for their dedication to B’nai Israel.

DEATH SARA WISNIA Sara Meister Wisnia died Feb. 22 at the age of 83. A graveside service was held Feb. 24 at Beth Israel Cemetery. A Holocaust survivor, she suffered through work camps and several concentration camps before ending up in Bergen-Belsen. With the exception of one brother, all members of her family were killed. She met her husband, Berek Wisnia, in a DP camp after the war, where they married and then settled in Omaha in 1949. He died in 1993. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Abram and Shelley Wisnia, Harry and Linda Wisnia of Waco, TX; daughter and son-in-law, Marcia and Michael Silverman of Overland Park, KS; grandchildren, Rebecca and Jana Silverman; Lisa Wisnia, Adam and Dana Wisnia; and one great-grandson. Memorials to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or charity of choice. NOTICE On Wednesday, the main entrance to the campus (where the traffic signal is located) closed and will not reopen until this Sunday, March 8. Hawkins Construction is installing the next phase of the JCC Parking lot project storm sewers. All traffic will enter and exit via the north drive only, and campus traffic will continue two way flow as usual.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Temple scholar changed paths from engineering to rabbinate by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, who will be a scholar-in-residence from March 20-22 at Temple Israel, is the dean and vice president for Strategic Initiatives at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York, serves on the faculty for the Wexner Foundation, and is a member of the birthright israel Education Committee and the Central Conference of American Rabbis Ethics Committee. A man of many interests, Rabbi Panken is also an instrument rated pilot and a sailor. His topic of discussion throughout the weekend at Temple is entitled “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: What Judaism Has to Say about the World Around Us.” “Actually, I wanted to be an electrical engineer,” Rabbi Panken recalled of his youth. “Some of my early camp experiences were at camp radio stations and doing a lot of AV and theatre work, and I enjoyed these greatly. During college, I served as chief engineer of WJHU for a bit and still enjoy taking apart my computer from time to time.” A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Rabbi Panken is also a Wexner Graduate Fellowship alumnus who earned his doctorate in 2003 in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. His research focused on legal change in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. “During my junior year, I was working in a lab at the Hopkins Medical School, doing interesting research with some faculty members,” he continued. “It began to dawn on me that lab life was somewhat limited -- you did not interact with people that often, taught maybe one class a semester, and spent lots of time working on funding and repeating the same experiments. I found myself missing the warm community of the Jewish world; it drove me to serve as a regional youth director for NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) and to do some teaching in a local synagogue in Baltimore. The people I met and worked with in the two years I did this -- including a very special couple named Aryeh and Elyce Azriel who treated me like family and mentored me in Baltimore -- helped me confirm that I wanted to serve the Jewish people as a rabbi.” He was ordained at HUC-JIR in 1991 and has taught Rabbinic and Second Temple Literature at HUC-JIR since 1995. In addition to his other commitments, he is a member of the International Council of the New Israel Fund, the Rabbinical Placement Commission, and holds a variety of other leadership roles within the Reform Movement and the greater Jewish community. He has also served Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York. Rabbi Panken’s ongoing research includes the change and growth of nascent Jewish law during the Rabbinic Period (70-600 CE), the application of rabbinic texts to modern reality and the intersection between science and religion. In 2005, he published The Rhetoric of Innovation, which explores legal change in rabbinic texts and is now at work on a book-length history of Hanukkah.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

March 6, 2009

Former Omahan becomes Bar Mitzvah in Israel

be heard until the wee hours of the morning outside the Jerusalem was packed with tourists, as this was during by PAM KOHLL Sukkot, as well as the seventh year of the Kohenim pilOn a blustery October Nebraska day, Noah Kohll and hotel. Noah, his friends and family climbed to the top of Ein grimage to the Kotel for special prayers. The bar mitzvah six of his Boulder, CO, junior high friends flew with Noah’s father, Justin Kohll, to Israel for a week of tour- Gedi, took an ATV ride in the desert, went on the sec- party had a memorable dinner one night in the sukkah ing leading up to Noah’s with a delicious meal. Bar Mitzvah at the Kotel. The morning of Noah’s At a historic 19th cenbar mitzvah, Oct. 17, tury Turkish built hotel 2008, the rabbi, who had outside the Old City been referred by a walls, his grandparents, Boulder friend, met the Dwight and Gerry Kuster party at the hotel and and I were waiting for the were transported to the arrival of the travelling Old City for the simcha. group. Soon after, Noah’s With the woman watching and hanging over the brother and sister, Zev and Talia Eisenberg, dividing wall, Noah grandparents, Sandy and became a bar mitzvah at the very place his parents Marvin Kohll and aunt had prayed for his conand cousin, Sarah and ception 14 years before Hannah Leah Meretsky, Left: At the Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, Noah Kohll reads from Kohll and Mike Livingston look on. Right: Noah Kohll and his on a Jewish Federation joined the party. mission. Every morning a tour the Torah, as the rabbi, left, Justin Kohll, Zev Eisenberg, Marvin friends enjoy a mud bath at the Dead Sea. was planned led by an adept tour guide who mixed cul- ond largest zip line in the world (the first being in Costa Noah was blessed to have his father and both grandfatural, religious, political and historical relevance with Rica) went to Masada, floated and mudded in the Dead thers at his side during the Torah reading. The day finplain old teenage fun and exploration. Sea, scrambled on tanks, dug up bones and pottery ished with a trip to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s Holocaust And every day the hotel manager had a word with shards on an archaelogical dig, and traversed and inves- museum. Noah’s father and I about the previous night’s shenani- tigated the Old City’s Jewish, Armenian, Christian and The group travelled on to Tel Aviv for a few days gans that had come out of suite 245 which housed seven Arab quarters. Through the Damascus Gate, the boys before coming back to the States. Noah, his friends and active and curious teenage boys. The boys brought their learned how to bargain with the welcoming Arab shop family will never forget the incredible experience of Israel and Noah’s rite of passage there. skate boards; spinning wheels on Jerusalem stone could owners.

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