June 22, 2007

Vol. LXXXVI No. 40 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 86 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

Hamas’ takeover in Gaza: Here’s what may lie ahead by BEN HARRIS NEW YORK (JTA) -- The internecine violence between Hamas and Fatah has escalated into what some are calling a civil war. It’s a battle not only for control of the Palestinian Authority, but more significantly over ideology and the future disposition of a Palestinian state. Will it be secular and pragmatic, or rigidly Islamist in the vein of the Taliban? Though Hamas won elections in January 2006, its efforts to govern have been compromised by international sanctions against the Palestinian government. These sanctions resulted from Hamas’ refusal to recHamas military members ride a captured Fatah armored personnel carrier during a celeognize Israel and abide by Credit: Ismail Khateb/BPH Images/JTA bration rally June 15, 2007, in Gaza City. previous agreements. That has led to mounting frustration, exacerbated by out- ahead for the Palestinian groups, Israel and the region. What’s at stake? siders like Iran, whose meddling in Gaza is said to be on Middle East experts are broadly in agreement that the the rise. “Hamas was frustrated because it was denied its victo- stakes are significant. If Hamas’ victory in Gaza turns out ry,” said Gidi Grinstein of the Re’ut Institute. “It won to be total, it will signify the end of efforts to bring about in the elections. It won in the ballot. But it wasn’t a genuine and comprehensive settlement with Israel. For all the faults of the Fatah leadership under allowed to govern.” With Hamas virtually taking over the Gaza Strip after President Mahmoud Abbas, some sort of accommodaa week of bloody violence between the P.A. partners, tion with Israel remained a possibility. But with Hamas, here are some questions and answers about what may lie Continued on page 3

JCC has much to celebrate at final board meeting by LISA SHKOLNICK JCC Associate Executive Director Earlier this month, the Jewish Community Center held its “end of the year” Board Meeting. It’s something special to Center members and staff, as many individuals who have excelled in volunteer or staff tasks or accomplished great achievements at the JCC were honored. Recognition included the JCC Volunteer of the Year, Left: Gary D. Epstein, Immediate Past President, left, JCC Athletic Director Bob Franzese, the Eileen S. Erman teen athlete Justin Jacobson, and Michael Miller, JCC President, celebrate the achievements Educator of the Year, the of JCC staff and volunteers. Right: Gady Tene was named JCC Volunteer of the Year. In addition, seven JCC staff celebrated their five, 10, Jewish Athletic Wall of Fame inductees, the Jewish High School Athletes of the Year, and the Isadore “Boggy” and 20 year anniversaries with the Center. Mike Collier, JCC Campus Manager is celebrating his 20th year, and Bogdanoff All-JCC Maccabi Team Award. Bettie Adams, CDC teacher who is retiring, has worked for 20 years at the CDC. JCC President, Michael W. Miller announced the first of several awards, including the Volunteer of the Year Award. Presented to Gady Tene for his leadership as the Jewish Arts Festival Coordinator for the Yom Ha’Atzmaut Jewish Arts Festival held this past April, Tene personally reached out to more than 100 vendors throughout the Midwest and Omaha. Through an application process, Tene led the effort in selecting some of the finest art vendors in the area. His ShirTal Jewelry was among the vendors, representing outstanding Israeli Jeffrey Aizenberg, JCC executive director, congratulates jewelers and artists. Mike Collier on his 20th anniversary as Campus Manager. Continued on page 2

Inside Opinion Page see page 8

This Week: Film review on The Might Heart: Page 7 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’

Blumkin Home honors its volunteers: Page 2

6 Tamuz, 5767 June 22, 2007

Blumkin Home “Answer the Call-Telethon” fund drive set for next month by OZZIE NOGG A group of volunteers from the Jewish Senior Services Board and L.O.V.E. will man the phones on July 2, 5, 10 and 11 during the “Answer The Call” Telethon for the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s New Beginning Community Campaign. The Telethon follows a letter mailed to the community in which the goals of the fund drive and its current status were explained. A pledge card was included with the letter, for those who prefer to make a gift before the Telethon. “The quality of life of so many people -- today and tomorrow -- will be determined by the success of the Community Campaign,” said Joanie Jacobson. “Millions have been raised in seed money, and hundreds attended the community forums, captivated by a virtual tour of the new Home. So why is the telethon so important? Because it’s the response to the community letter and the telethon that can put us over the top.” Joanie, her husband Richard Jacobson, along with Sandy and Paul Epstein, are Campaign Chairmen.

Harry Alloy, his daughter Wendy Manvitz and Kathy Wiener practice their calls in anticipation of next month’s telethon. According to Richard Jacobson, “We can guarantee ourselves a first-class facility if we ‘Answer the Call’ and contribute generously when a telethon volunteer phones and asks you to contribute to a ‘New Beginning’ for the Home. The suggested amount on the pledge card is twice the combined family gift to the Jewish Federation of Omaha,” he said. “You can contribute stocks, bonds, through a personal fund. And the good news is, pledges are payable over three years.” Federation Foundation Director, Marty Ricks, offered another donation option. “Contributors who are 701/2 or older in 2007 and hold significant assets in their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) should consider taking advantage of a one-time opportunity to save considerable income and estate taxes by transferring money from their IRA directly to the Jewish Federation/Blumkin Home Capital Campaign,” he explained. More information is available by calling Ricks at 334.6440 or Federation Controller David Kampschneider at 334.6438. “This is your chance to be part of this fantastic community effort,” Sandy Epstein said. “This is my Home. This is your Home. The ‘New Beginning’ impacts each and every one of us, and every dollar helps make it a reality. Contact us before we contact you. Make it your mitzvah.” Continued on page 2

Don’t forget to enter the Jewish Press contest at: www.jewishomaha.org (click on ‘Jewish Press’) for a chance to win a Grandparents’ membership to the Omaha Children’s Museum!

Coming Next Month: Health & Wellness on July 13 Despite setbacks, love flourishes: Page 5

Funders look at damage and progress in Israel: Page 12

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 22, 2007

Blumkin Home recognizes, awards its volunteers

EXECUTIVE OPPORTUNITIES

by LOIS WINE The following individuals received certificates for up Earlier this month, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home to 250 hours of service: Sharon Houchin, Chelsi said “thank you” to its many outstanding volunteers. Janicek, Deborah Kronick, Ze’ev Lailari, Natalie Joanie Bernstein, representing Lois Wine, Blumkin Michael, Arielle Osborne, Adeev Potash, Ezra Potash, Home Volunteer Coordinator, noted that this day was Oliver Rockman, Alex Salkin, Daniel Schlessinger, looked forward to by everyone at the Sideris Family, Chuck Simon, Steve home. It was an opportunity for the Simon Family, Talia Simon, Tootie Simon, Jeff Slutzky Family, Max Weiner, administration, staff and board to let Renee Wiseman, Aaron Zipursky, and volunteers know that their gifts of time Naomi Zipursky. and talent add so much to the team Volunteer pins for 250-500 hours were work that is the Home. given to Doris and Harry Alloy, Jean Eileen and Miles Remer, co-presidents Doxin and Richard Hendricks. of LOVE, League Offering Volunteers Receiving a pin guard for 500-l000 to the Elderly, presented a down payhours or five years were: Irv Forbes, ment on a pledge to buy a Torah stand Bassie Johnson, Gloria Shukert Jones, for the new synagogue at the Home. The crowd showed their appreciation as Judy Brookstein presents Reid Geis and Charlie Slutzky. Ten year guards for a check for $10,000 was presented to with the Blumkin Home Teen more than 1000 hours were presented to: Lyubov Blaykher, Jackie Chapman, Michael Silverman, executive Director Volunteer of the Year. of Jewish Senior Services/Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Etta Epstein, and Freida Krizelman. Reid Geis received the Helen and David Shukert Silverman wowed his audience with his narration of the “Virtual Tour” of the new Home. Esther Wax and award for Teen Volunteer of the Year. The Lee Jane the Remers presented a musical interlude which was fol- Parsow award for Volunteers of the Year was presented to Terry and Joanie Bernstein. lowed by the awards presentations.

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Blumkin Home fund drive set for next month Continued from page 1 A major focus of the Blumkin Home’s New Beginning is the addition of a Special Care Unit dedicated to residents with early to mid-stage dementia and Alzheimer’s. When construction is complete, the facility will also offer an enhanced Rehabilitation Suite, completely renovated resident rooms, new dining areas and lounges, and a Main Street with an in-door playground to encourage inter-generational visits. According to Joanie Jacobson, “While the Home maintains a superior reputation -- the finest in nursing care, a staff focused on individual attention and a wonderful variety of programs and events for residents and their families -- the New Beginning will offer this community the same standard of excellence in a state-of-theart facility designed to be a warm, welcoming and vibrant place.” “The new Blumkin Home will be fabulous,” Paul Epstein said, “and not just for our elderly. It’s services and programming will benefit all of us, and be the envy of other communities. So answer the call. Help make a New Beginning for those who can no longer care for themselves. We can do it. We will do it, thanks to you.”

CLIP & SAVE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JUNE 22 JCC Specialty Camp - Musical Theater Production of the Lion King, 11 a.m. at JCC Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to Blumkin, 2:30 p.m. SATURDAY, JUNE 23 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel C L I SUNDAY, JUNE 24 P The Living Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Chabad House

C L I P

Class with Rabbi Nadel, 9:45 a.m. at Beth Israel & Bible Study Group, 10 a.m. at Beth El

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Beth El Sisterhood Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, S 11:30 a.m. Beth El A Yachad at Pizza Machine Arcade, 1 p.m. V “39 Forever” Program, 1 p.m. E

S A V E

The “Jewish High School Athlete of the Year” Award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s elite Jewish Athletes in high school: Erin Abramson, left, Sarah Spooner, Justin Jacobson, Alex Epstein, Spencer Gallner, and Aaron Passer.

L I WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 P Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. at Chabad House

C L I P

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&

S A V E

THURSDAY, JUNE 28 Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.at Beth Israel Yiddish Group, 1 p.m. RBJH LOVE Meeting, 7 p.m. at JCC Elizabeth Bergman Technical Show, 7 p.m. at JCC Advanced Parshah Study, 7:30 p.m.at Beth Israel Online with Eye on Israel, 8 p.m. All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

This Space For Rent Call Allan Handleman 334-6451

Continued from page 1 The Eileen S. Erman “Educator of the Year” Award was presented to the Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center teacher, Patty Nogg. She was recognized for her outstanding achievement and devotion to the CDC for the past 14 years as the Judaic and Music Specialist. Patty Nogg Nogg will be retiring this year in order to spend more time with her family. Her impact on the CDC staff, children, and parents has been immeasurable. The “JCC Athletic Wall of Fame” award recognizes the achievement of Omaha’s Jewish athletes who participated in JCC sports programs in their youth and went on to Pete Godwin make significant contributions to the Jewish community, the general community and/or the JCC. The inductees are Pete Godwin (Golf), and Harold Mann (Basketball).

Yet another Blumkin resident celebrates centennial milestone

MONDAY, JUNE 25 JSS Nurse, 8 a.m. Aquatics MOD Meeting, 9:30 at JCC JSS Senior Luncheon, 10 a.m. JCC Theology 354: Judaism with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, 5:45 p.m. at JCC TUESDAY, JUNE 26 WOW Tehillim & More, 9 a.m. at Chabad JSS/RBJH Board Meeting, 11 a.m. at JCC BBYO Night, 6 p.m. C Parshah Roundup, 7 p.m. at Chabad House

JCC has much to celebrate

S A V E

Friends and family gathered last week in the main dining room at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home to wish Fannie Chunovic, seated center, a “mazal tov” on reaching her 100th birthday. Among them were her daughter Annette Fettman, seated left, friends Gloria Friedman and Jeanette Nadoff, standing, and her son-in-law, Cantor Leo Fettman. Chunovic became a great-great-grandmother several years ago and now has five great-great-grandchildren (and one more on the way!).

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed for Independence Day on Wednesday, July 4. The deadline for the July 6 issue is 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 27. Photos used in the March 30 Passover issue and earlier special issues must be picked up at the Press office by June 30; any remaining photos will be turned over to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

Seven JCC employees who celebrate significant anniversaries this year with five-year anniversaries are: Julie Shelburne, left, CDC; Julie Anson, Health Spa, Terry Bueltel, Fitness Center; Mike Collier, Campus Manager, 20 years; Charlotte Neubauer, CDC, five years; Bettie Adams, CDC, 20 years; and Cindi Godden, CDC, 10 years. The Isadore “Boggy” Bogdanoff All JCC Maccabi Team award recognizes outstanding teen participants in the annual JCC Maccabi Games. These young athletes are recognized for their consistent participation, athletic talent and contribution to the “community spirit” of the Games. This year’s recipients are Effie Tsabari and Brad Frank.

June 22, 2007

Hamas’ takeover in Gaza tion in Egypt strenghtening its hold in Gaza. Continued from page 1 Shoshana Bryen, director of special projects at the whose charter remains committed to the destruction of Israel, most experts say no long-term accord is possible. Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, suggests “Hamas’ charter remains all of Palestine, from Jordan Washington should go one step further and announce it to the Mediterranean, an end state that precludes the is no longer working to set up the conditions for existence of Israel,� said Ilan Berman, vice president for Palestinian independence. “The conditions don’t exist,� Bryen said. “This is a policy at the American Foreign Policy Council. “There huge emergency.� is no discussion about changing the Hamas charter.� What are the regional implications? What can be done? Coupled with the seemingly interminable violence in The short answer: not much. If the Palestinians drift further toward the total Islamization of their society and their Iraq and the war rumblings coming from Syria, it’s hard cause, Jerusalem and Washington will be tempted to cor- to see the Hamas takeover of Gaza as evidence of anydon off the Palestinian areas and contain the problem -- a thing other than the region's further descent into viosolution likely to be only marginally effective at best, given lence and radicalism. But it may be that Hamas' rise will the interdependence of Israeli and Palestinian societies. force the hands of the Arab states. Grinstein suggests that if Fatah can consolidate its Some speculate -- or perhaps hope -- that surrounding control over the West states, concerned by the Bank, leaving Gaza to rise of an Islamist Hamas, it could create Palestinian Authority and the possibility for a diathe spread of Iranian logue and, in the bestinfluence, may be moved case scenario, establish a to contemplate measures stable and reasonably they have resisted until prosperous West Bank as now. an alternative to the chaos Besides the prospect of and desperation of Gaza. a greater Egyptian effort It is in Israeli and on weapons smuggling, a American interests to more prominent political effect such a scenario, or security role for Jordan either by pouring in the West Bank may resources into protecting become a real possibility. the West Bank or pressurArab states that historicaling Egypt to finally secure ly have claimed Israel to the flow of weapons into be the principal cause of Gaza. Several analysts Newly-appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam regional instability may note that Egyptian and Fayyad, right, takes an oath with P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, move more toward Israeli interests may be left, during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at embracing the view that converging here, as nei- Abbas headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, June 17. the spread of Islamic radither country wants to see On Sunday, Abbas swore in an emergency Cabinet, to replace the calism, sponsored by Iran, an extremist entity sup- Hamas-Fatah coalition he dismantled after Hamas took control of is a greater danger and ported by Iran and allied Gaza. The Cabinet is led by economist Salam Fayyad, who will also will be more amenable to with the Islamist opposi- serve as finance minister. Credit: Omar Rashidi/BPH Images/JTA steps to contain it.

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Jewish leaders skeptical about funding for Abbas by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA) -- It took little time for the Bush administration to come up with answers to the radically changed Palestinian reality: Fund and engage with the new moderate Palestinian Authority government. Yet those answers raised questions for some of Israel’s Jewish supporters across the political spectrum -- and for congressional overseers. “The situation is still far from clarified,� said Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “There are many unknowns.� One day after P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new government, Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, conferred upon it U.S. recognition and said the Bush administration would resume financial assistance at the same levels as before Hamas assumed governance in March 2006. The announcement came one day before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with President Bush in Washington. Olmert expressed support for the new Abbas government, but also has indicated some concerns about whether funds will stay under Abbas’ control. Rice said she called and congratulated the new P.A. prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who is respected in Washington for bringing transparency to Palestinian spending in two stints as finance minister. “I told him that the United States would resume full assistance to the Palestinian government and normal government-to-government contacts,� Rice said at a State Department briefing on Monday. “I told the prime minister that we want to work with his government and support his efforts to enforce the rule of law and to ensure a better life for the Palestinian people.� Rice said she would work with Congress to “restructure� $86 million in funds that had been earmarked for forces loyal to Abbas to confront Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip. The resumption of assistance comes as Israel is reportedly ready to resume transferring tax and custom payments to the Palestinian Authority, totaling close to $600 million.

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 22, 2007

New Temple youth Beth El Lunch ‘n Learn speakers to discuss group officers make the Holocaust’s ‘Righteous Gentiles’ to escape Auschwitz, who also provided the first detailed BELMONT plans for upcoming year byBethJILLEl Publicity Coordinator information to the world about the atrocities taking by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Omaha Temple Youth Group’s new board held its first meeting earlier this month with Rabbi Eric Linder and OTYG Advisor Amy Cotton. The new officers submitted extensive applications that provided answers on topics ranging from their views on leadership development to theological thoughts prior to the announcement of the new Board.

New OTYG officers are: Haley Burns, left, Sam Burrell, Sarah Bleicher, Molly Goldberg, and Susan Freeman. Not pictured: Grace Hack and Emily Katz. New officers for 2007-08 are Sarah Bleicher, president; Molly Goldberg, programming vice president; and Susan Freeman, social justice vice president; Grace Hack, religious and cultural vice president; Emily Katz, membership vice president; Haley Burns and Sam Burrell, Junior Youth Group liaisons. The Board officers are planning to attend the Missouri Valley NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) Leadership Training Institute in September. Sarah, a senior who has been a member of OTYG since she was a freshman, offered some thoughts on returning to the Board. “Everyone is new except for me,” she said. But she added that they will all learn together, have fun, and plan a well-rounded year with educational and volunteer events and worship service experiences. For their first activity this summer, the youth group will attend Shakespeare on the Green’s rendition of the romantic comedy, Love Labour’s Lost, on Saturday, June 30, 8 p.m., at Elmwood Park, 60th and Dodge Streets. They’ll enjoy a picnic dinner first at 7 p.m. and conclude with havdalah after the performance. Please RSVP for dinner by contacting Amy Cotton at acotton@templeisraelomaha.com or by calling Temple at 556.6536.

An enlightening and informative Lunch ‘n Learn program focusing on “The Righteous Gentiles of Italy and Other Holocaust Messages,” is planned at Beth El on Saturday, June 30, following Shabbat services. Featured speakers will include Ben Nachman, who has dedicated himself to Holocaust research for a the past 45 years; Michelle Simon, a 2007 graduate of Dana College; and Dr. Diana Brown, a professor of languages at Dana College. Simon explained that she became interested in the Righteous Gentiles during her first year of college, when she wrote a research paper about the Holocaust for an English class. Calling the bravery and daring of the Righteous Gentiles “a very interesting aspect of the Holocaust,” she added that, “If not for these people, a whole religion may have been lost. It also is important to talk about both the positives and the negatives of the Holocaust. Discussing both sides is a great way to bring awareness to the subject and to make sure another Holocaust never happens again.” Her presentation will be the second time Simon has spoken on the topic of “Heroes of the Holocaust”; she also addressed attendees during a Holocaust Symposium last fall at Dana College, and said she always welcomes the opportunity to present the subject to interested audiences. Nachman, a longtime Beth El member, said he became a student of the Holocaust in the 1960s, when he began searching for information about his family. He was mentored by Dr. Rudolf Vrba, one of only five Jews

place there. “After many years he told me to stop spending all my time studying death and turn to life,” Nachman said. “I then began working with Dr. Mordechai Paldiel at Yad Vashem, who directed me to Alexander Ramati, who wrote ‘The Assisi Underground.’” During the upcoming lunch ‘n learn, Nachman will tell the story which Ramati chronicled, about the heroic efforts of the residents of Assisi, an Italian town credited with saving the lives of 300 Jews. A network of Catholic priests, nuns and lay people were responsible for rescuing and sheltering Jewish refugees, Nachman explained, adding that, “This is especially important as no Jew had ever lived in this town. “This is really one of the unique stories of rescue that involved the Germans, the Italians, and the church,” he said, adding that as a result of their courageousness, five townspeople were later honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations. The entire community is invited to attend this fascinating presentation, sponsored by Beth El’s Hazak group. Cost is $9.50 for adults; $5.50 for children 6-12; there is no charge for children five and younger. Reservations are needed by Tuesday, June 26, and may be made by sending a check –- made payable to Beth El -- to Natalie Rubin, 2004 So. 138 Ave. Cir., Omaha NE 68144. (Please note any special dietary needs with your reservation.) For more information, call Gloria Goodman at 333.3351.

Join in the fun at Beth Israel’s Independence Day celebration by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Food, fun and fireworks. That’s what you’ll get when you attend Beth Israel’s Annual Fourth of July dinner on Wednesday, July 4, 7 p.m. The community is invited to attend. “This annual event has turned out to be quite a hit with everyone,” noted Executive Director Beth Cohen. “We’ve had great turnouts since we started doing this at our new building, conveniently located across the street from Ironwood Country Club. Ironwood puts on a fabulous firework show each year and we have a

front row seat.” Following the BBQ brisket dinner, there will be time to visit and watch the kids play in the synagogue’s playground. The fireworks show starts at dusk. Everyone is encouraged to bring their lawn chairs for comfortable seating during the show. “In case of iffy weather, bring board games,” said Cohen. “We always have fun, regardless of the weather. We’ll hold our dinner, rain or shine.” Cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages four to 12 and free for children ages three and younger. Please contact the office at 556.6288 to make your reservations.

To order a gift subscription to the Press... Send a check for just $20 for weekly issues for the rest of 2007, 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 402.334.6448.

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June 22, 2007

Despite setbacks, love flourishes by SUSAN H. KAHN Staff writer, Cleveland Jewish News Alyson Friedman and Aaron Viny won’t be getting married until May 2008, but the pair has already been tested by several of life’s difficult circumstances mentioned in the traditional wedding vows. in sickness and in health … Because their families have been friends for years, it seems to Aly (Alyson) and Aaron that they have always known each other. Their fathers were tennis partners, and Aly is close friends with Aaron’s younger sister. But until 2003, their long acquaintance was only that. Aaron, a biopsychology and cognitive science major, was halfway through his junior year at the University of Michigan when the unthinkable happened -- he developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He came home from Ann Arbor and entered The Cleveland Clinic for treatment. Eventually he underwent a successful bone marrow transplant. But Aaron faced a long recuperation. When he finally came home from the hospital, Aly and her mother paid him a visit. Aaron was hardly at his best -- bald, reed thin and so weak he could hardly get up off the couch. He was watching a movie when the Friedmans arrived, but he recalls perking up when he saw Aly. “I hadn’t seen her in about five years,” he says. “She’d grown up!” As the two conversed, they found their mutual interest growing. By the time the visit ended, Aaron knew he wanted to see her again. But while his immune system was slowly recovering, Aaron had to avoid crowds. Their first date would have to wait. Soon Aly began her sophomore year at Ithaca College, where she was majoring in musical theater. She and Aaron nurtured their budding relationship via phone and e-mail. By Thanksgiving, Aaron had recovered enough to plan “the perfect, low-stress first date,” a Cavs basketball game with another couple. “The day before our date, I was so anxious,” says Aaron. “I couldn’t wait, so I asked Aly to lunch.” That lunch sealed the deal for Aly. “Something clicked; I couldn’t stop thinking we were supposed to be family.” In January 2004, a healthy Aaron returned to Michigan. He graduated in May with his class and in the fall, entered The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. for richer or for poorer ... Over the next two years, Aly and Aaron maintained their long-distance relationship, managing to see each other almost every other weekend. By February 2006, Aaron was sure he wanted to propose. When he announced his intention to his family, his maternal grandparents offered him the diamond from his grandmother’s first engagement ring. The Polonskis are Holocaust survivors who got engaged in a displaced persons camp. “When they arrived in the U.S., they were so po0r, their wedding bands were donated by the congregation in Omaha

where they married,” says Aaron. “On their 10th anniversary, my grandfather bought my grandmother a diamond. It was an honor for me to take it.”

Bluma and Joe Polonski, Aaron’s grandparents, gave him the heirloom diamond for Aly’s engagement ring. In June, following Aly’s graduation, the couple went to Israel with the birthright program. Aaron had the heirloom diamond reset, and he planned to propose on the third day of the trip in Safed. However, on the second night of the trip, the jetlagged couple fell sound asleep while watching a movie in Aaron’s hotel room. They awoke to discover their backpacks missing and the sliding-glass balcony door ajar. They reported the theft to the hotel management and embarked on a search of the grounds. Before long, they spotted their discarded backpacks in a woodsy area. Their money and cameras were gone, and among the scattered contents lay an empty ring box. Aly spotted it and recalls thinking, “Oh my God! He was going to propose! I can’t let him know that I know.” Calling home to arrange for more money and new credit cards, Aaron says, “Our parents got big news, but not the news they were expecting.” Despite the upsetting turn of events, Aaron was undaunted. A few days later, following a Bedouin dinner with their tour group, he suggested to Aly that they take a walk under the stars. Once they were alone, he said: “I know you know what was stolen, but what you don’t know is that the diamond was my grandparents’ stone. But it wasn’t their engagement ring. They got engaged without a ring, and they married and had a beautiful, loving family. They didn’t need a ring and neither do we.” Then Aaron got down on one knee and asked Aly to marry him. Once they were home, replacing the ring was easy. Luckily, Aaron had insured it the day before leaving. More difficult was breaking the news to Aaron’s grandparents. “They were just glad we were safe,” says Aaron. “Although they regretted the loss of something meaningful to them, they agreed the ring was ‘just stuff.’” to have and to hold For the time being, the couple must still cope with separation. Aly is pursuing her acting career in New York, and Aaron has two-and-a-half more years of medical training in Cleveland. Despite the circumstances, the duo is upbeat. They are already experts at keeping a long-distance relationship flourishing.

ENGAGEMENT FRIEDMAN/VINY Barb and Lee Friedman of Orange Village, OH, and Rose and Steven Viny of Russell Township, OH, announce the engagement of their children, Alyson Hillary Friedman and Aaron David Viny. Friedman is the granddaughter of Leslie Friedman of Pepper Pike, OH, Joyce Wiesenthal of

Mayfield Heights, and the late Bernard Wiesenthal. Viny is the grandson of Bluma and Joseph Polonski, Ruth Viny of Beachwood, OH, and the late Myron Viny. A May 2008 wedding is planned.

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June 22, 2007

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IN THE NEWS The sixth annual Madonna School Celebration fundraising event, Celebrating Progress in Special Education, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown Omaha. The goal is to raise $175,000 to benefit education programs provided at Madonna School and vocational opportunities at Madonna Workshop. For over 46 years, Madonna School staff has been providing special education programs to Omaha’s students with cognitive and other developmental disabilities. The mission is to enable these students to become as independent as possible. Certified staff provides a full curriculum of academic subjects, life-skills and social skills training, and on-site work experience. The Madonna Workshop employs special needs adults who are not yet ready for competitive employment. Workshop employees provide quality work for several Omaha businesses. Tickets are $125 per person. Call Madonna School at: 556.1883 for further information. Jonathan Richard Simon, the grandson of Esther Simon and the late Manny Simon, and son of Michael and Sandra Simon, graduated with honors from the University of Chicago on June 9. His degree was in Slavic Languages and Literatures. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in the Spring and has served as a Student Marshal since 2006, appointed by the President of the University in recognition of excellent scholarship and leadership. Appointment as a Student Marshal is the highest honor conferred by the University upon undergraduate students. A champion for statewide public health, a scientist researching the use of asthma medication in schools and a student who transcended a traumatic experience to become a proponent for the disabled received this year’s College of Public Health awards for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The award recipients were: Magda Peck, Sc.D. who received the Robert D. Sparks, M.D., Award in Public Health and Preventive Medicine; Valeriya Kettelhut, M.D., who received the Robert D. Sparks, M.D., Student Research Award; and Jason Kerkman, who received the Carruth J. Wagner, M.D., Scholarship for Outstanding Public Health Graduate Student “These three winners exemplify the spirit of their respective awards and set high standards for future recipients,” said Jay Noren, M.D., founding dean of the College of Public Health. Dr. Peck is a professor and associate chair of the UNMC Department of Pediatrics and director of health policy and planning at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. She is the founding CEO for CityMatCH, a national organization based in Omaha that is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women, children and families in America’s cities. “Dr. Peck’s dedication to improving health for all is unquestioned,” Dr. Noren added. Kelsey Lepp, daughter of Karen and Bob Lepp, a graduate of Millard North, will be attending University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the fall. E r i n Abramson, daughter of Kelsey Lepp Sheri and Mike Abramson, a graduate of Millard North, will be attending of University of Kansas-Lawrence in the fall. Erin Abramson

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These two graduating seniors were inadvertantly omitted from the June 8 “Salute to Seniors.” If parents would like to submit an announcement for ‘In the News’, it will run in a future issue of the Jewish Press when space is available. Please send via e-mail (with photo of at least 100K, attached as a .jpg) to jpress@jewishomaha.org, or to the office at: Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Include: name of graduating senior, name(s) of parent(s), high school from which student graduated and college which the student will attend.

ORGANIZATIONS YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Join us on Monday at the JCC with special entertainment by the Heartland Hoedowners. This dance club of various ages will perform a variety of dancing styles. Lunch is served at noon for $6 per person. Join us for bingo with Eileen or Miles Remer at 10 a.m. Call Dee Dee at 330.4272 for transportation. For information call Maggie Conti at 334.6521. WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those members going on the day trip to the Horseshoe Casino on Thursday please meet at the JCC by 8:45 a.m. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC in the Social Hall on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. If you have any Yiddish books you would like to donate, please call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638. VISIONS Reminder: deadline is June 28 for the Visions and 39 Forever Baseball Night at Rosenblatt Stadium on Thursday, July 12, 6 p.m., with dinner on your own at the Stadium View Club. Cost is $6 per Person; the game begins at 7 p.m. Send reservations to Harry Alloy at 11317 Harney Plaza Circle, Omaha, NE 68154. For questions call Judy Katskee at 493.8875. Reminder: Deadline is June 22 to see the musical Jekyll & Hyde presented by the Ralston Community Theatre at Ralston High School on Sunday, July 15, 2 p.m., followed by a dinner at Grandmother’s Restaurant. Transportation is on your own. Cost is $26. Meet in the lobby by 1:30 p.m. for tickets. Send reservations and payment to Ethel Goldston, 1108 North 92 Plaza #101, Omaha, NE 68114. For questions call Rose Pitlor at 558.5144. Make check payable to Visions. B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The Seventh Annual Awards lunch will be held on Wednesday, June 27, noon at the Regency Lodge. Those who have helped the Henry Monsky Lodge enjoy a successful year will be honored. All men and women in the community are invited to attend. Cost is $12 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only. LOVE Come to the Jewish Community Center on Sunday, July 22, noon, and have fun playing the game of your choice with your friends. Enjoy playing Bridge, Mah Jongg, Poker, Pan, Canasta, or Scrabble for a good cause. Make up your own table, and bring your own cards, Mah Jongg sets, or games. Mary Lou Walker, Bede Ostrow, and Ira Trachtenbarg, chairmen of this event guarantee a funfilled afternoon with refreshments and door prizes. A donation of $20 to LOVE ( L e a g u e Offering Volunteers for Mary Lou Walker, center, Bede Ostrow and the Elderly) Ira Trachtenbarg plan Game Day at the will benefit Home. the residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Please send your check made payable to LOVE to: JSS/RBJH, c/o Lois Wine, 323 So. 132 St, Omaha, NE 68154. Include the names of your tablemates with your check. If you need to join a group, please indicate and we will try to accommodate you. Call Lois at 334.6519 if you have any questions.

BIRTH Robyn and Brian Crone of Laurens, IA, announce the May 11 birth of their son, Zachary Dean. He has two brothers, Douglas, age eight, and Andrew, 20 months. Grandparents are Barry and Sharon Allen, and Bob and Mary Fox, Dallas and Irene Crone of Laurens, IA. Great-grandparents are Harold and Ruth Fox, and the late Sam and Shirley Berman.

June 22, 2007

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pearls’ ordeal makes for a white-knuckle docudrama and Dutch parents, Mariane is relentless and skilled in her pursuit of leads. We live in a noisy, sometimes deafening world. How FILM REVIEW A Mighty Heart depicts Daniel Pearl as a very smart, can you save your hearing? On Tuesday, June 26, 7 p.m., NET Television will be airing two specials to increase awareness of the rising number of cases of hearing loss in Nebraska -- especially among young people and the working class. “Drowning in Noise: A Nebraska Connects Special” explores the magnitude of noise-induced hearing loss, as well as the importance of establishing effective hearing conservation programs. During the live broadcast, questions will be addressed by a panel of hearing loss experts, including Dr. Edward Cohn, staff otolaryngologist, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Dr. Rodney Lusk, director of the Cochlear Implant Center, Boys Town National Research Hospital; Dr. Tom Norris, audiologist, The Hearing Center; and Dr. Kenya Taylor, graduate studies and research dean, University of Nebraska at Kearney. Questions may be called in at 800.676.5446 toll free across the state or 472.1212 in Lincoln, or questions may be submitted via e-mail to netNebraska.org. The program will also include several pre-taped segments examining how different workplace and everyday noise-producing elements affect hearing, what the average person can do to conservehearing, hearing loss in children and what effects that loss has on a person’s life. Following at 8 p.m. is “Deafening Sound,” an hourlong documentary featuring interviews with hearing specialists, plus profiles of musicians, technicians and young people hooked on extreme sound. Three short reports on hearing loss will be featured on NET Radio during “Morning Edition” MondayWednesday, June 25-27, 6:33 and 8:33 a.m. The reports will include a look at noise in the workplace -agricultural and construction sites (June 25); how concerts, clubs, “boomcars,” iPods and mp3 players may affect younger people’s hearing (June 26); and how noise in our general environment could affect us psychologically and emotionally (June 27). Crews have been onsite for weeks building the soonto-open model railroad garden’s boardwalk at Lauritzen Gardens. In early July, nationally known model railroad garden designer Paul Busse will arrive at the garden with bridges, trestles and replicas of Omahaarea buildings created in his Kentucky studio. These structures, built of branches, gourds, pine cones and other natural materials, will be installed in just two weeks, prior to the garden’s opening during Railroad Days. A public ribbon cutting will be held on Saturday, July 14, 9:30 a.m. As a preview to Railroad Days, the Lauritzen Gardens Guild will host a meet-the-designer grand opening event on Friday, July 13, 5:30 p.m. A picnic dinner will be held in the arboretum, and children are invited. Tickets are $50 per person, and $10 per child age six to 12. Children under age six are admitted free. To RSVP, please contact Merri at 402.346.4002 ext. 201 or m.sears@omahabotanicalgardens.org.

by MICHAEL FOX

One of the questions that remain about the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is whether the kidnappers targeted him because he was Jewish. A Mighty Heart, Michael Winterbottom’s gripping recreation of the harrowing month a pregnant Mariane Pearl endured in Karachi between her husband’s disappearance and his death, doesn’t provide a definitive answer. It does, however, take every conceivable opportunity to remind audiences that Daniel was Jewish. This willful assertion of his identity, family and values serves as an acknowledgement of anti-Semitism, a warning of its deadly effects and -- above all -- a steadfast rebuke. For a Hollywood movie coming out in the summer, that’s nothing short of remarkable. A Mighty which Heart, opens everywhere June 22, is a taut and thought-provoking docudrama that keeps us fully invested in a race against time whose ending we know. Yet that may be the least of its accomplishments. Working from Mariane’s memoir, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Daniel Pearl, Winterbottom and co-producers Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman star Brad Pitt and Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart. Angelina Jolie have fashioned a raw and shadowy detective story with a palpably human center. Daniel, a Journal bureau chief based in India, went to Pakistan with Mariane four months after 9/11 in hopes of interviewing a Pakistani cleric who may have been connected to “shoe bomber” Richard Reid. Intermediaries set up a meeting at a restaurant, and in the film’s opening sequences Daniel (played by Dan Futterman) kisses Mariane goodbye and sets out in a taxi. As soon as Mariane (Jolie) realizes that he’s walked Michael Fox is a film critiic who lives in California; into trouble, she organizes a team working out of their home. A non-Jewish journalist born in Paris to Cuban he can be reached at: foxonfilm@yahoo.com.

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very decent man. Mariane, through Jolie’s intense yet largely internal performance, comes off a very smart, very tough woman. But she doesn’t have the influence and resources of the U.S. embassy and Pakistani intelligence, two dubious agencies that quickly get involved. While Mariane works the phones and keeps her anguish in check, the politicos and the investigators use high tech and torture to track down the kidnappers. A Mighty Heart is a study in parallels and subtle allusions. The quiet tension of Mariane’s house contrasts with the packed, noisy streets. A television reference to the creation of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo has echoes later in the Pakistani interrogation of suspects and, ultimately, in Daniel’s barbaric killing. And the horde of photographers stationed outside Mariane’s door, and the swarm of TV cameras camped outside Daniel’s (Israeli) parents’ Southern California house, are the antithesis of the diligent, serious journalism that Pearl risked his life to practice. These observations are seemingly presented as offhand, but they are carefully designed to add context and d e p t h . Ultimately, the filmmakers are presenting Daniel’s killing - and Mariane’s response -- as something more than just a bloody low point in the so-called as Mariane and Daniel Pearl in Michael Credit: Peter Mountain war on terror. At its core, A Mighty Heart is an admonition against dividing the world into us and them, and an illustration of the horrible things that ensue from such a mindset. Mariane Pearl’s message, and thus the film’s, is one of empathy rather than hatred. That’s a radical notion these days, and a rare goal for a mainstream movie. The crucial measure of this admirable film’s success is not box-office receipts but the degree to which it leaves audiences reflective rather than incensed or even sorrowful.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 22, 2007

Nero fiddled while Rome burned, so who is Nero today? Is President Bush a modern day Nero? Or does Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hold that title? Is it wise to rush to aid Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the aftermath of the Hamas coup in Gaza? Or is this an opportunity Israel -- and the Western world -- should use? While all these questions swirl in the latest events of the Middle East, the United Nations may actually elect Libya to chair the follow-up conference on human rights that was held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. In addition, both Cuba and Belarus were dropped from the UN’s list of human rights violators. Countries like North Korea, Haiti, Burma, Somalia and Sudan also may be dropped, while Israel remains on this rogue’s list for “violations of international law.” Once again, we seem to have traveled to a Kafka-esque land where right and wrong are reversed, where perpetrators of evil are hailed as heroes and defenders of truth are perpetually punished and ostracized. Where do diplomats and political strategists even begin? Do we hail Abbas as the new hero of Middle East peace, even as Christians in the West Bank leave in droves because of daily oppression by their Muslim neighbors? Case in point: Palestinian Media Watch reported Tuesday that Palestinian writer Khaled Abu Toameh wrote in The Jerusalem Post on the ruin of the Christian community of Bethlehem: “The conditions of Christians in Bethlehem and its surroundings had deteriorated ever since the area was handed over [from Israel] to the PA in 1995…. ‘Every day we hear of another Christian family that has immigrated to the U.S., Canada or Latin America… The Christians today make up less than 15 percent of the population’… “Samir Qumsiyeh [said]: “I believe that 15 years from now there will be no Christians left in Bethlehem.” When the West Bank was under Israeli administration the Christian population of Bethlehem was more than 60%.

Now that the United States and the European Union are releasing promised funds to the PA formerly held because of Hamas’ election, will we see the PA use that money to improve infrastructure, pay overdue salaries to policemen and teachers, and other “civil” functions? Or will they revert to previous behavior of buying armaments and paying suicide bombers to attack innocent Israelis? And what of the generations of refugees in camps in Gaza -- hundreds of whom are lining up at border crossings to Egypt and Israel? Will Hamas execute them for being loyal to Fatah or will they put a stop to the ganglandstyle violence between tribes that has occurred since Hamas won Palestinian elections? And while Muslims have been attacking Muslims, other religious institutions are not immune; a Christian monastery was firebombed in Gaza and a plot uncovered in Israel to blow up a synagogue in Modi’in and kidnap Americans living there. There seem to be more questions than answers. But here are a few observations: • Abbas must get his act together quickly: he and his cabinet members must stop the violence in the West Bank directed at Israelis and one another (and that includes the medieval honor killings of women perpetrated by their own families); • Arab nation, too, must quickly announce support for Abbas and for Olmert in a quest

for a peaceful resolution to many of the obstacles in gaining a lasting treaty; • Those same countries must address the long festering problem of Palestinian refugees. No other group has been allowed to languish in fetid conditions because their own brethren (with the exception of Jordan) have refused to take them in -- while Israel opened its arms to Jews of every color, Arab nations have used the Palestinians to divert the attention of their own citizens from internal problems; • Olmert must guarantee his citizens a safe and secure homeland (and therefore a much improved military and swift retaliation when Israelis are kidnapped or attacked); • And finally, the U.S. and other Western democracies must, in the strongest terms, tell Iran (and Syria) to “back off” and stay out of Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq or the consequences will be immediate and terrible. If these steps don’t work, is there anything left? Or is the whole world playing Nero and watching as the Muslim Middle East burns?

BEHIND THE HEADLINES by DINAH A. SPRITZER PRAGUE (JTA) -- A young French Jew is kidnapped, tortured and left to die by a band of Muslims. An arson badly damages Geneva’s largest synagogue. A 13-year-old girl on a London bus is robbed and kicked unconscious after her attackers ask if she is “Jewish or English.” Anti-Semitism in Western Europe apparently is out of control. That is the consensus of a dizzying array of recent reports, the latest of which was released earlier this month at a conference combating discrimination under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The 2007 Hate Crimes Survey by the U.S.based organization Human Rights First goes beyond the data included in many of the studies to suggest that most European governments are woefully inept at measuring and thus prosecuting hate crimes. Human Rights First says the survey is the first by a U.S. non-governmental organization to examine racist, xenophobic, homophobic and anti-religious crimes in Europe. While the report includes analysis of Russia, Ukraine and even North America, the focus is on Western Europe. It is also the only one of the recent reports to raise the specter of a Europe teetering on the verge of a Hitler-era epidemic of racist hatred.

...the parallels with the 1930s include the seeming indifference of many governments and broad sectors of public opinion to the rising violence and fear that once again threatens European Jews... In most European countries, “anti-Semitic violence and other hate crimes still are largely unacknowledged in public policy and action,” according to the survey by Human Rights First, formerly known as the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. Paul LeGendre, who directs the anti-discrimination program for Human Rights First, told reporters from the group’s New York office, “One of our findings is that governments are not doing enough to report on hate crimes. We have a sizable data deficit.” The companion survey says that the data that has been collected “reveals both a general trend toward a rise in anti-Semitic incidents and a trend toward violent crimes against Jewish people in a growing proportion of such

Jewish Press Committee Bobbi Leibowitz, Vice-Chairman; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Treasurer; Michael Siegel, Finance Chairman; Joanie Jacobson, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Melissa Schop; Michael Sigmond; 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. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Committee, the Jewish Federation of Omaha 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.

New report on rampant anti-Semitism in Western Europe chides governments “Today the parallels with the 1930s include the seeming indifference of many governments and broad sectors of public opinion to the rising violence and fear that once again threatens European Jews, and with them members of other minorities,” says a separate, companion report that focuses exclusively on anti-Semitism. “As it did in the 1930s, the reactivation of ancient prejudices and the transformation of new hatreds into deadly violence have been largely overlooked outside the Jewish community,” the report concludes.

(Founded in 1920) Howard K. Marcus Chairman Carol Katzman Editor Richard Busse Managing Editor Allan Handleman Advertising Manager Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Managing Editor Terri Greenwood Advertising Executive Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper Anne Muskin Editorial Intern

incidents.” The analysis comes just weeks after a May 24 fire that badly damaged the largest synagogue in Geneva. The fire was labeled as arson several days later, sending shock waves through Swiss Jewry. Many Jews are also protesting anti-Semitism they say is disguised as criticism of Israel throughout Western Europe. The latest examples come from Britain: the proposed boycott of Israeli academics, which the largest British teachers union voted last month to disseminate to its membership for a final decision, and the country’s largest trade union, with more than a million members, deciding to consider a boycott motion on Israel at its upcoming conference. Reports issued since Israel’s war in Lebanon last summer and widely covered in the international media showed a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents, rhetoric and attitudes in the 27-member European Union. The picture, however, may be more complicated as anti-Israel and anti-American sentiment have spilled over into what some hope are only cyclical rises in hostility based on world events and not on actual antipathy to Jews. Similar spikes occurred during the first and second Palestinian uprisings. But others argue that anti-Israel and antiJewish behavior have become indistinguishable. As tensions flared in the Gaza Strip, European Jews may be wondering whether this summer will repeat last year’s record number of attacks against them, their synagogues and their cemeteries. Continued on page 9

Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee 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. 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 on Friday for $33 per calendar year U.S.; $40 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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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

Report on anti-Semitism in Western Europe Continued from page 8 In an Anti-Defamation League survey on European attitudes toward Jews released in early May, 51 percent of respondents in five countries said Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their home country, and 52 percent said Israel’s actions have lowered their views of Jews. European leaders are now discussing, with Israel’s participation, how to improve the country’s image. A European Jewish Congress report issued last November revealed a dramatic rise in anti-Israel discourse during the Lebanon War both among leftist politicians and media in Europe, as well as on the extreme right. The discourse, the report said, often morphed into anti-Jewish sentiment. For Ilan Moss, author of the report, this trend was illustrated best when someone anonymously laminated a Guardian newspaper photo of victims from the Israeli airstrike in Qana that killed 28, including 16 children, and taped it to the front of a London synagogue. “The message was clear: You Jews are responsible for this massacre,” Moss said. Other reports recounting violent anti-Semitic incidents in 2006 by specific Jewish communities revealed an upsurge in attacks and the desecration of Jewish sites not seen in decades. Among the developments: • In Britain, the Community Security Trust reported the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents since it began monitoring in 1984, with a 60 percent increase in the second half of the year -- after the Lebanon War. There were 594 anti-Semitic incidents in Britain in ‘06, up 31 percent from 2005, according to the group that monitors anti-Semitism in Britain on behalf of the country’s main Jewish organization, the Board of Jewish Deputies. Explaining at least one cause of the jump, CST spokesman Mark Gardner complained of the media’s ongoing portrayal of Israel in a negative light. “If people think Israel is a mad, bloodthirsty, apartheid state, they will think those who support Israel should be socially isolated, boycotted and perhaps even deserve a good kicking now and then,” Gardner told JTA. • In France, the country’s main secular Jewish umbrella organization, CRIF, recorded a 24 percent rise in anti-Jewish incidents in general, to 371 from 350, and a 45 percent increase in violent incidents, to 99 from 72. Perhaps no attack was more representative of the trend toward anti-Semitic violence in Europe than the January 2006 torture and murder of Ilan Halimi, a Jewish student in Paris, by a gang dominated by African Muslims. The gang leader was quoted in the French press as having singled out Halimi because he thought Jews have money. • In Germany, the government recorded 1,024 antiSemitic acts, a 21 percent increase from the previous year. The German media has been full of reports about how Jews for the first time in decades will not wear yarmulkes in public for fear of their safety. In Berlin alone, violent neo-Nazi attacks doubled last year, although Jews were not the lone targets. A 16-year-old in the former East German state of Saxony Anhalt who raised his voiced against racism in October was forced by classmates to wear a sign that read, “I’m the nastiest swine in town; with the Jews I always hang around.” • In Denmark, the Jewish community announced that

there were as many anti-Semitic incidents in the first half of 2006 as in all of 2005, with most aimed at Jews on their way to or from synagogue or a Jewish school. Putting all of the country reports together in April, Tel Aviv University’s Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism reported that of the 590 cases of anti-Semitic violence reported worldwide in 2006, 324 were recorded in Western Europe. The report attributed the high numbers to the war in Lebanon, calling it “probably the main trigger for the intensification of anti-Semitic manifestations in most countries of Western Europe.” But the war was not the only catalyst, Gardner said. “It’s also 9-11 and Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. There is a larger anti-Semitic mythology at play here,” he said. “When you preach hatred about Zionists and Israel, that hatred has an impact on those who are visually Jewish, or cemeteries or synagogues,” Gardner said, referring to the increasing number of leftist and Muslim extremists. In evaluating the number of incidents, consider that there is no consistent system of monitoring anti-Semitic events across Europe. Each community brings a different approach, and the culture affects how and why people report events. “There is a dire need for serious monitoring, Europewide, for all forms of hate crimes,” said Gidon Van Emden, policy officer for CEJI-A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe, a Brussels-based coexistence group founded in 1991. “In some countries it’s good, in some it’s bad and in some there is nothing in place.” Van Emden said the British numbers are so much higher than elsewhere in Europe “because the CST and the police are so serious about it. They are serious about finding out what is going on in the street.” In many European countries, however, the Jewish community and the police issue separate reports and do not cooperate well. Van Emden said comparisons with the United States were ill advised. “Neo-Nazis can march openly in the U.S., whereas in most of Europe they are limited by anti-racist laws, so the types of anti-Jewish activities that occur are very different,” he said. Van Emden’s criticism of monitoring was backed by the 2006 Annual Report of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, which concluded that Finland and the United Kingdom were the only European Union members with “comprehensive” criminal justice data on racist crimes. As the Human Rights First analysis of anti-Semitism makes clear, among the seven countries in Europe that do monitoring, much of the information is gleaned from non-governmental and Jewish organizations, taking governments off the hook. Who’s committing the crimes? Anti-Semitism stings particularly hard in Europe because the shadow of the Holocaust looms heavily over every act of hatred toward Jews on the Continent. But Jewish communities today are alert to threats from Europeans whose grandparents were in the Middle East or Africa when Hitler came to power. According to the Roth report, “The proportion of Muslims among the attackers” in anti-Semitic assaults documented in 2006 “is far higher than their share in the population at large.” Some 20 million Muslims live in Europe, and their

numbers are growing much faster than the non-Muslim population. In Britain, for instance, while the majority of antiSemitic incidents in the United Kingdom last year were committed by non-Muslims, Muslims were disproportionately represented as perpetrators, said the CST’s Gardner. “When we look at the demography of Muslim communities in some European countries, we see there are potential problems,” he said. “That’s not to say all Muslims are anti-Semitic -- far from it.” Gardner said Muslim anger is often whipped up by “Islamic groups with the international agenda like the Muslim Brotherhood who say that Muslims are all facing an existentialist threat led by America and Israel.” What’s next? Moss of the EJC said that until there was total peace in the Middle East, addressing anti-Semitism in Western Europe “is about Jewish kids and Muslim kids being thrown together and fostering a positive connection. I think European governments need to work on that more.” For Van Emden, the idea that Middle East peace is a prerequisite to ending anti-Semitism in Europe is absurd. “There is plenty of anti-Semitism that has nothing to do with the Middle East,” he said. Van Emden argues that the European Union has not done enough to make anti-Semitic acts a crime, which he believes would make potential perpetrators think twice. He said the recent enactment of the first European-wide hate crimes law was a failure because it gave countries too many ways to opt out and so many exceptions that the legislation has no teeth. “So now you can say death to Orthodox Jews, not death to Jews, and get away with it,” Van Emden said. “If I attack a black lesbian and say it was because she was lesbian, I will get away with it.” Even in countries with more severe punishments for hate crimes, Human Rights First contends that “in the majority of cases, criminal justice systems neither track nor effectively prosecute bias crimes, while timely, accurate, and public information on these crimes is the exception, not the rule.” The group accuses governments of indifference, prejudice or political expedience when confronting hate crimes. In its hate crimes report, Human Rights First offered a 10-point plan to combat crimes motivated by antiSemitism, racism, Islamaphobia and homophobia. The group urged government leaders to publicly acknowledge and condemn hate crimes, enact specific laws enhancing penalties for such crimes, strengthen prosecution of offenders, improve monitoring, ensure adequate resources to deal with trigger events and create specific anti-discrimination bodies. The suggestions pertain to all hate crimes but still, Jewish leaders attending the OSCE meeting in Bucharest are especially pleased that Human Rights First, a well-respected advocate for refugees and other victims of discrimination, is paying so much attention to anti-Semitism in Europe. “This is a model I’d like to see other human rights groups replicate,” said Ken Jacobson, the AntiDefamation League’s deputy national director. “You have a respected human rights group that is sending the message to the world that this is a serious issue and you’ve got to pay attention to it.”

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 22, 2007

Candlelighting Friday, June 22, 8:43 p.m.

Synagogue Listings

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

B’nai Israel Synagogue

FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

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

Beyt Shalom An Affiliate of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation 3012 S. 119 St. P.O. Box 390352 Omaha, NE 68139 660.2395 www.beytshalomomaha.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 333 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

Tree of Life Center 2925 Prairie Road Lincoln, NE 68506 613.7443 email: treeoflife.rabbimichael @yahoo.com

PERSONAL After 88 years in Omaha, Julie Schapiro is moving to Tampa, Florida. Come wish her bon voyage this Sunday, June 24, 2-4 p.m., in the main dining room of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin and Cantor Gastón Bogomolni. FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; K’tantan Plus, 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Beth El; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:55 p.m. W E E K D AY S E R V I C E S : Sundays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; weekdays 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m. LUNCH ’N LEARN Saturday, June 30, following Shabbat services; the community is welcome. “The Righteous Gentiles of Italy and Other Holocaust Messages” features Ben Nachman, Michelle Simon, and Dr. Diana Brown of Dana College. Cost is $9.50 for adults; $5.50 for children 6-12; and children five and younger are free. Reservations are needed by Tuesday, June 26; RSVP by sending a check -- made payable to Beth El -- to Natalie Rubin, 2004 So. 138 Ave. Cir., Omaha NE 68144. (Please note any special dietary needs with your reservation.) For information, call Gloria Goodman at 333.3351.

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. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.; dessert reception and class with scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Yisrael Herczeg, at the home of Donald Gerber, 9:30 p.m. Rabbi Herczeg will speak on “Mattan Torah: An Ongoing Universal Process.” SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Ed and Anne Joseph in honor of Nate’s return from Israel and his 20th birthday; following Kiddush, there will be a lunch by reservation. After lunch, Rabbi Herczeg will teach “How to Read Rashi.” Babysitting will be available through lunch and class; Mincha, 7 p.m. followed by

Suedat Shlishit with Rabbi Herczeg teaching, “Rashi and Tosafos: Two Approaches to God and Torah”; Havdalah, 9:53 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Nadel, 9:45 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Advanced Parsha Study, 7:30 p.m.

BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Living Torah, 9:30 a.m., 20minute video broadcast. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Kiddie Camp, 9 a.m.1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Older Division, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, Pioneers, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Maamar Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Camp Gan Israel Day Camp–Kiddie Camp, 9 a.m.1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Older Division, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, Pioneers, 9 a.m.-4 p.m; W.O.W. Prayer Circle Tehillim & More, 9 a.m.; Parshah Roundup: Weekly Torah Portion Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Kiddie Camp, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Older Division, 9 a.m. -4 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, Pioneers, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m.; A Peek Through the Lens of Kabbalah, 8 p.m. THURSDAY: Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Kiddie Camp, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel Day Camp, Older Division, 9 a.m. -4 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, Pioneers, 9 a.m.-4 p.m; Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. All events and programs are open to the community. For more information or to register call the office or visit our website.

BAT MITZVAH Courtney Brockman, daughter of Julie and David Brockman, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, June 30, at Tifereth Israel in Lincoln. Courtney is a seventhgrade Honor Roll student at Lux Middle School. She participates in cheerleading

through Club Kicks and she recently won first place in a cheer competition in Minneapolis with her stunt group. Her interests include scrapbooking, photography, dancing and singing. She is co-president of Kadima at Tifereth Israel. She has a sister, Haleigh. Her grandparents are Francine and Barry Brockman of St. Louis, and Linda Schoenfeld of Lincoln and the late Ralph Schoenfeld.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg following provided by Eleanor and Jeff Kirkland. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS: Beginner Hebrew: A Crash Course, led by Rabbi Emanuel during July and August, beginning Tuesday, July 10, 7 p.m.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. led by Nancy Rips and Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Marvin Parilman.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m.; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Wendy Shermet will lead the service. D’var Torah: Ken Cowan, “What’s a Jewish Boy from Long Island doing in Nebraska.” SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SITTER SERVICE: Available each Friday evening service except when there is a Tot Shabbat,

Saturday mornings when there is a bar or bat mitzvah, and Sunday mornings when there is Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation are appreciated. Sorry, no facilities for infants. TUESDAY, June 26: Made in America with Bette Evans, 7 p.m., at her home.

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL MONDAY and THURSDAY, Minyan, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by a light oneg. SATURDAY: Weekly Parashah class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch; Talmud class is on break for the summer. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066.

TREE OF LIFE CENTER Services conducted by Rabbi Michael Weisser. FRIDAYS: Sabbath Experience, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAYS: Havdalah: Rites of Separation, 6:30 p.m.; Drumming Meditation follows until 8 p.m.; Social Time until 10 p.m. Sitting/Silent MONDAYS: Meditation, 6 p.m.; Teachings/ Discussion, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAYS: Sitting/ Silent Meditation, 6 p.m.; 8 Weeks to Mindfulness Class, 7:30 p.m.

JCC Musical Theater Camp presents excerpts from Broadway musical today by RACHEL BLUM JCC Jewish Program Director Participants in the first session of the JCC Specialty Camp will present a shortened version of the Broadway hit, The Lion King, on Friday, June 22, 11 a.m. in the JCC Theater. Held in conjunction with the JCC Dance Department, this musical theater camp began on June 11 and focused on teaching campers the basics of singing, acting, set and costume design, and stage lighting techniques. To accomplish a professional look, Trish Place of the Urban Prairie Puppet Company helped the actors create life-like sets, including the famous Pride Rock and Elephant Graveyard. Carol Wisner, who has worked the JCC Theater for years, handled specialized lighting needs, and Jeffrey Malashock, recent graduate from Burke High School, will accompany the performance on

piano. Jackie Robinson, an eightyear veteran in the JCC Dance Department, assisted the campers with learning lines and blocking scenes. Take all of this and add the professional choreography from JCC Dance Director, Esther

Katz, and our fifth through eighth graders will perform quite a show! The performance is free for the community, and doors will open at 10:30 am. There are six more weeks of Specialty Camp for fifth-eighth grade members of the JCC. Many exciting field trips are planned for the summer, including a trip to Oceans and Worlds of Fun in Kansas City and a trip to Adventure Land in Des Moines. For information, please contact me at 334.6404 or rblum@ jccomaha.org.

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June 22, 2007

A fortune awaits -- come and get it

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Hukkat Our Sidra finds the Israelites at one point entering a wilderness called Tzin. The problem there was that there was no water. The people, as is their wont, complained to Moses that he had dragged them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, whereupon the Lord shows Moses a rock, and from that rock would come water. Moses, impatient, smote the rock with his staff. The water came indeed. But for this small lack of faith, Moses was barred from entering the Promised Land when it became available to the Israelites. It is not hard to see why I have chosen to note, among everything in the Sidra, the problem of water, potable water. This has become a major problem in our own

contemporary world where water is increasingly difficult to obtain. If one is pessimistic, one may foretell water wars in the future. It is possible, of course, to get potable water from the sea, which at present has “water, water everywhere, with nary a drop to drink.” But it is impossibly expensive, making seawater a non-usable source of water for humanity. Physicians tell us that we should drink about eight glasses of water daily. Almost no one does. What a way to preserve precious water! Would the average health of Americans improve just by this simple instruction? The doctors are willing to tell us an easy way to put them out of business. Why don’t we do it? Like the medieval doctors, they could all become rabbis! Lest nations begin fighting over water, cannot some enterprising chemists find a way to purify the limitless sea water, to provide potable water for humanity? A fortune awaits: come and get it!

DEATHS LUCILLE W. FROHM Lucille W. Frohm, died at the age of 89. Graveside services were held June 15 at Temple Israel Cemetery. She worked for 21 years at Veteran’s Hospital. She was preceded in death by her husband, Milton Frohm, and a sister, Pearl Weiser. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Stuart and Johanna Frohm of Midland, MI, and Scott and Judy Frohm; grandsons, Michael and Matthew Frohm; brother, Joe West of Syracuse, NY; and sister, Marian Shannahan of Moraga, CA. Memorials to Angel Guardians, VSP Club, 15677 Spaulding, Omaha, NE 68116, or the Jewish Federation of Omaha. LORRAINE SILVERMAN Lorraine Silverman died June 17 at the age of 88. Services were held June 19 at the Beth El Cemetery Chapel. Born in Omaha, she grew up in Council Bluffs. She and her late husband of 49 years attorney Robert Silverman, settled in Omaha where she was actively involved in Hadassah and Brailing Books and after her husband’s retirement, in motorcycle touring. Silverman moved to Laguna Woods, CA, in 1991, where she volunteered and was one of the founders of the Reform Temple of Leisure World. She was awarded the “Crown of Good Name” in recognition of her commitment to the community, the nation, and the State of Israel by the Jewish National Fund. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Susie Silverman; daughter, Nancy Limprecht of Arlington, VA.; brother, Leo Meyerson; four grandchildren, Ann Osborne, Michael Silverman, Alma Klein and Eleanor Sweetapple, and their spouses; and four greatgrandchildren. Memorials to the Jewish Federation of Omaha, or Odyssey Hospice Care, 444 Regency Parkway Drive, Omaha, NE 68114.

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To Submit Announcements: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. You can also submit other announcements--births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements.

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Page 11

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Kugel, the Kripke Library kangaroo, makes his debut at the Summer Reading Club Kick-Off, with club member, Michael Popkov. The next event will be “Sundaes on Monday”, an ice cream and craft party on Monday, July 25, 4:30-5:30 p.m., in the Kripke Library. For more information, call the Kripke Library, 334.6462.

Plan Your Trip To This Year’s

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

June 22, 2007

Site visits in Israel give funders a look at both damage and progress by CAROL KATZMAN Much of the focus is in the North, where Editor of the Jewish Press Hezbollah attacked cities as far south as With the Hamas takeover of Gaza, resi- Tsfat and Haifa from positions dug-in dents of Sderot and other communities amongst the Lebanese population. Part of near the Israeli-Gaza border are bracing that affected area just happens to be for another round of rocket attacks. Omaha’s Partnership with Israel region -That might stop lesser mortals from vis- the Western Galilee. iting the area, but not members of the “Last summer we focused up North,” United Jewish Communities (UJC) Israel Goldstein continued, “but our attention Emergency Campaign (IEC) allocation has turned to the escalation of attacks committee. As of press time, however, the coming out of Gaza. The IEC has recentgroup was planning a tour of shelters and ly allocated more funds to communities schools and meetings with residents. like Sderot.” The funds in this go-round It’s all part of a one-year evaluation of are aimed at “capacity-building,” she how funds raised in last summer’s IEC are added, “like the Israel Trauma Center, a being spent. coalition of non-profit groups and governJan Goldstein, executive director of Omaha’s Jewish Federation, and the professional representing the small/intermediate communities of UJC, serves on that committee, along with perennial volunteer Joe Kirshenbaum. Goldstein is in Israel right now to judge for herself -- and for the communities who raised the IEC dollars -- how well the funds are being used. “Some of the IEC funds were allocated over a twoyear period” Goldstein explained to the Press before she left for Israel. “This special three-day evaluation trip will be focused on programs related to education and psy- Like the damage found in Sderot, the charred remains of a chological trauma caused by restaurant also can be seen on Kibbutz Nir Am, May 23. A last summer’s war in South Kassam rocket fired from Gaza by Hamas made a direct hit, Lebanon -- and the continu- totally destroying the structure. This week’s IEC committee ing attacks on Israeli commu- will be touring sites in the area to view damage -- and proCredit: Brian Hendler/JTA nities coming from Gaza.” tection.

ment ministries that deliver trauma services.” More than four million dollars has been allocated among different organizations to enhance social service networks, especially those that help the elderly and the disabled. Goldstein feels very good about the disbursement of funds. “Our partners have done the necessary due diligence required by our family of federations across North America,” she added. Holding a flag with the images and names of Israel’s three miss“The fact that terrorists ing soldiers are Zoë Riekes, left, Chairman of Partnership with upped the ante on Sderot Israel, and Jan Goldstein, executive director of Omaha’s is the only reason why the Federation -- and the professional staff for the Partnership. Western Galilee has been spared in the last Israeli colleagues and representatives two months. The North has had a chance from the other 13 communities in the consortium,” Goldstein said. to breathe -- Sderot hasn’t.” Some of the Partnership projects Today, Goldstein will have a chance to include Hafouch al Hafouch -- the coffee relax during Shabbat in Jerusalem. She’ll house for teens in Akko who need inforbe joined by Zoë Riekes, Chairman of mation that they can’t get at home; the Partnership with Israel; Bobbie Epstein -Command and Security Center -- a comthe first Partnership chairman who served munications hub for police, firefighters, 10 years ago; Stacey Rockman, Omaha’s the army and emergency personnel; the representative to the Partnership and the teacher and student exchange program at local chairman; and Alan Potash, Plains Western Galilee College; and the rebuildRegion Director of the Anti-Defamation ing of the emergency room at the League. They’ll be attending meetings of Western Galilee Hospital. the Jewish Agency for Israel. “A significant amount of dollars was Barring any emergencies, they’ll have pledged in 2006, but not all of it has been dinner with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid,” Goldstein added. “The faster the and commemorate the 40th anniversary money comes in, the more quickly it can of the Six-Day War. Then they’ll travel to go to the providers in Israel. Every day is the Western Galilee for the annual critical for preparation for the future.” Partnership fmeetings and a celebration And given the fluid situation in Gaza, of its 10-year anniversary. it’s anyone’s guess what the future will “We’ll be reviewing our regular onbring. going Partnership projects with our