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SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND

Yom HaShoah Memory and resilience

Family Fun Fundraiser Page 5

SCOTT LITTKY IHE Executive Director ach year it is an honor for the Institute for Holocaust Education, along with our local congregations, to plan our annual Yom HaShoah commemoration. This year we will be holding our annual Omaha Holocaust Commemoration on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel, 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive. Along with participation from our Omaha clergy we are honored to have Survivors, 2nd Generation Survivors and community members participating in the candle lighting ceremony commemorating the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Our speaker this year will be Avi Wisnia. Avi is the grandson of Holocaust survivor, Cantor David Wisnia, of blessed memory. Since his grandfather’s recent passing, Avi Wisnia continues to share his grandfather’s stories and songs of survival, tracing David’s harrowing life journey from young Polish singing star to Auschwitz prisoner to American liberator with the 101st Airborne. Through it all, Cantor Wisnia’s remarkable singing voice helped save his life, especially in the notorious Nazi concentration camp. The Wisnias most recently traveled together to Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, as chronicled in the PBS feature documentary How Saba Kept Singing. Through sharing his grandfather’s story, Avi highlights the urgency of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and passing on this legacy from generation to generation. See Yom HaShoah page 2

The Quality of Life Campaign Deli Pages 8 & 9

Aviation Dreams come true Page 14

Willesden READS Project

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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Mona with Omaha students at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Credit: Mark Kirchhoff

PAM MONSKY, JCRC Assistant Director & JANE NESBIT, IHE Education Coordinator On March 28, 1,900 Omaha middle

school students had the incredible opportunity to experience The Children of Willesden Lane, performed by acclaimed pianist and author Mona Golabek at the Holland Performing Arts Center. An evening performance for the community took place at night. Prior to the performance, participating teachers were able to take part in professional development to learn more about how to present the curriculum. In addition, each student received a copy of the book, The Children of Willesden Lane, to keep. See Willesden READS page 3

Avi Wisnia with his grandfather, Cantor David Wisnia, a Holocaust survivor.

Relinquished: A search for self ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor It was 1950 when Robert J. (Bob) Yaffe was adopted by Dorothy and Sol Yaffe. Decades later, in 1985, Bob embarked on a search for his birth parents. In his book, Relinquished, he details that journey, and its results. “There can be many reasons why an adoptee might search for his biological roots,” Bob wrote. “These can include a search for medical and genetic information, religious issues or perhaps some deep-seated problems with the adoptive family or a myriad of psychological issues. Maybe it’s just a desire to see if there is someone in the universe who looks and acts like you.” His wife Rita joined in his search, supported him every step of the way and was as committed as he was. “I would never have achieved the results I did without her support,” Bob said. Bob’s writing style means he takes

the reader by the hand from page one; we’re in the room with him during both successes and disappointments, and within a few chapters,

Bob Yaffe

it’s impossible to not be invested. We are there when doors close, when others open; when he meets family members he previously knew See Relinquished page 3