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Youth Programming in the 1950s New in the Kripke-Veret Collection Page 2

Write With Us ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor We are pleased to announce ‘Write With Us,’ a new collaboration between the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Press. This Fall we welcome Liz Kay, Creative Writing Coordinator at Metro Community College. Liz will lead four writing workshops at our Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus.

2024 Annual Meeting & Awards Pages 6 & 7 PI TAU PI, 1939: Back row: Bill Stiefler, left, Stuart Simon, Bud Barish, Ed Malashock, Alan Jacobs, Irv Malashock, Barton Greenberg, James Robinson and Yale Trustin; and front row: Richard Newman, left, Charles Rosenstock, Julie Cohn, Nick Newman and Arthur Kulakofsky.

RICHARD FELLMAN remember it vividly. The “fraternities” were strong and in existence in the fall of 1949, when I began high school at Central. I was asked to join Pi Tau Pi, which I did. RoNoh was the other “fraternity,” and there were three AZA groups: AZA “1, AZA “100, and AZA “1000. There were girls’ clubs, but they were not “se-

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lective,” there was NFTI at Temple and USY at Beth El. There was a Jewish Youth Council as well, consisting of all of those clubs. Pi Tau Pi was small, about five boys for each year. In early 1950, J. Arthur Nelson at Central issued the order, abolishing the “secret” clubs, and Pi and RoNoh were two of the See 1950s Youth Programming page 3

Voters Corner

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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PAM MONSKY JCRC Assistant Director The Civil Rights Committee of the Jewish Community Relations Council, chaired by Sara Rips, recently hosted Rachel Gibson, League of Women Voters Nebraska Vice President of Action, for a presentation of current trends in voting throughout our state, with a focus on early voting and election security. Sara said, “We are using portions, and in some cases all of our monthly meetings as educational opportunities to hear from community allies and agencies engaged in civil rights issues. So far, it has been a wonderful experience. Being a non-partisan agency allows us to forge new partnerships and ex-

2024 Voters Corner

plore the missions and work of others, and we lean on the lessons and conversations we have in our service to the Omaha Jewish community.” Nebraska has witnessed a significant rise in early voting in recent years. COVID and the permanent closure of in-person polling locations may have contributed to this shift in voter behavior, which reflects a preference for convenience and flexibility. Early voting allows Nebraskans to cast their ballots at designated polling places, drop boxes, or by mail

before Election Day, mitigating concerns about long lines and scheduling conflicts. The Omaha Jewish community brings its unique perspectives and voting behaviors to the electoral arena. While our community is small, our impact on local politics and civic engagement is significant. It’s clear that Jewish Nebraskans hold democratic values dear. Our close-knit nature and collective identity foster a sense of solidarity and responsibility See Voters Corner page 2

Liz Kay

Workshops are scheduled for Aug. 6 and 13, and Sept. 5 and 19 from 5-7 p.m. Cost is $18 per single workshop, and $54 for all four sessions. Thanks to our generous donors, college students can attend for free. Registration will open in July. If you have wanted to write your family’s story, that great American novel, or you have always wanted to try your hand at poetry, this program is for you. Maybe you are already an accomplished writer, but you would benefit from being in a room with other writers. Perhaps you have convinced yourself you can’t write at all, but would love to try. Everyone, from absolute beginner to professional, is welcome to attend. During this process, we are hopeful to gather stories we can print in the Jewish Press and/or add to the NJHS archives. There are great stories in the Omaha Jewish community that have not yet been told in print. They are shared over dinner, during friend get-togethers, during the holidays, but they don't always get written down. Both the NJHS and the Jewish Press exist to tell those stories, and we want to offer people an opportunity to come share their stories with us. That does not mean you have to share what you write with the public—it is entirely up to you, the participant. However, your story is worth telling, and it can be hard to know where to start, so let us help you! Liz Kay holds an MFA from the University of Nebraska, where she was the recipient of both an Academy of American Poets Prize and the Wendy Fort Foundation Prize for exemplary work in poetry. Her See Write With Us page 2