July 11, 2008

Vol. LXXXVII No. 44 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 87 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

Israeli police and rescue workers inspect a car crushed by the bulldozer used in an Arab attack on July 2 in downtown Jerusalem. A Palestinian from East Jerusalem, Husam Duwayat, a 30-year-old father of two, plowed through traffic on Jaffa Road, one of the busiest streets in the Israeli capital, overturning a commuter bus, crushing cars, and killing three people. Just seconds before her car was crushed and she was killed, Batsheva Unterman, 33, threw her baby to safety; the father was reunited with his daughter a few hours later. Also killed were Elizabeth (Lili) Goren-Friedman, 54, and Jean Credit: Brian Hendler, JTA Relevy, 68. Duwayat was shot by an off-duty SWAT officer.

The ‘matriarch of Omaha’ dies at 91

Inside Opinion Page see page 8

Mary Arbitman Fellman Hadassah and its Business and Professional Women, and served as regional vice president of Hadassah’s Mountain Plains Region. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Fellman was a past national secretary and treasurer of Sigma Delta Tau sorority. She was employed at an insurance company and by the U.S. engineers, before coming to work for the Jewish Press as an advertising salesperson, news editor and then the editor, until her marriage in 1947. Continued on page 3

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Recently ordained as a cantor by the Jewish Theological Seminary, Beth Schlossberg began her job placement process with the determination “to look not simply for a congregation, but for a true Jewish home.” Her search recently ended and that ‘true Jewish home’ she sought will be at Beth El, where Cantor Schlossberg will be welcomed into the congregation as its new cantor at the beginning of Cantor Beth Schlossberg next month. “We are very pleased to welcome Cantor Schlossberg to our vibrant and dynamic synagogue,” said Rabbi Mordechai Levin, who noted that in addition to helping to lead services, the new cantor will perform pastoral duties, as well as serve as a teacher for both children and adults. “She is warm, friendly and enthusiastic, and her terrific talent and magnificent voice will bring added joy to our services.” At the beginning of her job search, Cantor Beth says her family encouraged her to “look widely and to be open to new possibilities. “I found Beth El and the larger Omaha community to be warm and inviting,” she shared. “I remember looking at an atlas with my roommate in New York, looking up Nebraska and Omaha. We quickly found Nebraska, but it took a few moments to find Omaha because the city happened to fall exactly on the center crease in the book. I looked back at her, winked and said, “‘now that’s what I call being at the center of things.’” Growing up in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the cantor said she always felt a strong sense of Jewish identity and was involved with her synagogue, but did not consider joining the clergy until after graduating from the University of Michigan, where she earned a degree in voice performance. Her own cantor in Bryn Mawr was an important influence and a mentor in her decision to attend the seminary, she said. Her interest in music began at age 10, when she was away at summer camp in central Pennsylvania, which was “a wonderful place for arts and music.” She recalled that “At the time, I was more interested in fine arts than I was in music; however, I found myself in a bunk full of girls interested in music, and they thought it would be a fun activity to audition together for the camp play. To my surprise, I found I could sing, and I was chosen as the lead. Thus began my musical career.” Cantor Beth’s professional experience has included working with congregants of all ages, from young families and Women’s League, to teaching B’nai Mitzvah students, and extensive work with special needs students. She has also created and implemented music and prayer curricula for students in K-6, and has organized holiday programming and Judaic programming for children. In addition to participating in professional choirs and teaching voice and piano, the cantor has also worked with the Philadelphia Opera Company. Looking toward the future at Beth El, Cantor Beth noted that she is interested in building an active adult choir and also a youth choir. “Nothing strengthens bonds like active participation,” she noted. Continued on page 2

This Week: Community concert says farewell to cantor & family: Page 12 See Front Page Stories & More at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press’

Suffering economically, Zimbabwean Jews hold out: Page 2

July 11, 2008

For new Beth El cantor, Omaha represents “a true Jewish home”

Three dead, 45 injured in Jerusalem terrorist attack

by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press Mentor. Leader. Founder. Mover and shaker. Anyone would be proud to be known by any of these adjectives. But one woman, Mary Fellman, was known by them all. She died July 6 at the age of 91 in St. Paul, MN, where she moved three-and-a-half years ago. Services were held July 8 at Beth El Synagogue, followed by interment at Beth El Cemetery, next to her husband of 36 years, Morris Fellman, who died in 1983. Called ‘the matriarch of Omaha’, Fellman was the first woman president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, the co-founder of both the Jewish Cultural Arts Council and the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. She created a Jewish singles network long before “jDate”, and was the winner of numerous leadership awards. Since her early teens, Fellman was involved with many facets of Jewish organizational life in Omaha, encompassing work from youth to older adult groups. She began by assisting her mother, the late Dora (Mrs. Max) Arbitman, with projects of the Daughters of Zion, predecessor to the Mizrachi Women organization which was the forerunner of AMIT Women. On each of her trips to Israel, she visited the various high schools sponsored by AMIT as well as Kfar Batya, the children’s and Youth Aliyah village. When her sister and brother-in-law, Annie and Harry Allen made aliyah to Israel, she visited more frequently, often reporting the changes she’d witnessed over the decades in the pages of this newspaper. An ardent Zionist and worker for Israeli and Jewish causes, Fellman served as chairman of the Women’s Division of Israel Bonds and the Women’s Federation Campaign, was president of the Omaha Chapter of

8 Tammuz, 5768

Coming Next Week: Health & Wellness

Planning to visit Israel? Books to read for your trip: Page 4

Segway to Israeli technology: Page 7

Page 2

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

Unharmed by violence but suffering economically, Zimbabwe Jews hold out

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, JULY 11 Visions Board Meeting, 9:30 a.m.

C L I P & S A V E

C L I P &

SUNDAY, JULY 13 Reading the Rambam Class, 9:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Beth El Men’s Club Summer Softball Series, 10 a.m. 39 Forever, 7 p.m. at Papillion LaVista Theatre TUESDAY, JULY 15 NJHS President’s Meeting, 11:30 a.m. Executive Meeting, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel BBYO Night, 6 p.m. JCC Maccabi Parent/Athlete Meeting, 7 p.m. Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel THURSDAY, JULY 17 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel School Directors’ Meeting, noon Kripke Library Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. JSS Community Concert, 1:30 p.m. LOVE Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

S A V All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated.The Jewish Press is not E 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)

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by MOIRA SCHNEIDER home, the Savyon Lodge. The economic crisis has hit CAPE TOWN (JTA) -- With Zimbabwe in the throes them particularly hard. of an economic and political crisis, the country’s tiny “Many were dependent on their savings and pensions; Jewish community is holding steady. they thought that they could live with dignity and be The president of a synagogue in the city of Bulawayo independent to the end of their days,” said one commusays Zimbabwe’s approximately 320 Jews have been left nity member. “That is not possible. Things are either largely unharmed by the violence surrounding last unavailable or unaffordable.” week’s presidential election that drove opposition candiThe executive director of the African Jewish Congress, date Morgan Tsvangirai from the race. Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, says he spends 90 percent of his Observers outside the country have called the vote, in time on issues relating to the Zimbabwean Jewish comwhich President Robert Mugabe was re-elected, a sham. munity. “We provide everything from medication to Hylton Solomon, the 52-year-old president of the rent to basic foodstuffs,” Silberhaft said. “Nothing is Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation, says the Jews of affordable, nothing is available. We send water purificaZimbabwe have become accustomed to the grim situa- tion tablets because the water is no longer safe to drink.” tion in their country. He added, “The reality is that there’s almost nothing “Over the years, everybody has been so disappointed,” on the ground -- there’s no toilet paper, cotton, wool, he told JTA. “It’s just another day. They just accept” it. medication.” “The Jews, certainly in Bulawayo, I don’t believe feel Silberhaft visited Zimbabwe in late May and said the threatened, and I don’t think they ever have.” Jews in the country were prepared to carry on. At his Though they have been spared the violence, monthly distribution of essentials, the rabbi said he Zimbabwe’s Jews have been hit hard by the economic “watched proud Jewish people that used to be in the crisis. The country has category of ‘haves’ queuing for salt, toibeen beset by electricity, let paper and jam.” Silberhaft recently food, water and fuel went to London to raise awareness of shortages. the crisis and raise money for the African Jewish aid officials Jewish Congress’ Zimbabwe fund. assisting the community Though a June 13 report in the London say, however, that few Jewish Chronicle said the Jewish Agency for Israel was planning a secret emerZimbabwe Jews intend to gency airlift of the country’s remaining leave. It’s a community Jews, Silberhaft insists there are no such that has dwindled to 320 plans. “I met with Zeev Bielski,” the from a high of about agency’s chairman, “and there’s 7,500 in the 1970s, when absolutely no evacuation plan whatsoevthe country was called Rhodesia and ruled by a An African Jewish Congress delegation pays a sol- er,” Silberhaft said. “What the Jewish idarity visit to Zimbabwe at the end of May 2008. Agency and we say is, if you want to white minority. Credit: African Jewish Congress. leave, as long as there are commercial The Jews are split between the capital of Harare and Bulawayo, airlines, why wait for an evacuation? Leave now and we Zimbabwe’s second-largest city. Two Jewish day will take care of you.” One community member said that despite constant schools, one in each city, have mostly non-Jewish students. The Ashkenazi and Sephardi synagogues in calls for them to leave by panicked family members Harare have combined their services, and there is one abroad, most Jews in Zimbabwe do not feel the need to run. “As a community we carry on without any interferrabbi in the country, David Alima of Bulawayo. Mervyn Smith, the president of the African Jewish ence and celebrate all the festivals,” she said. “I don’t Congress -- an initiative of the South African Jewish feel any urgency to leave.” “The situation is dire, not unsafe,” said another Board of Deputies to attend to the needs of far-flung Jewish communities in sub-Saharan Africa -- says he Zimbabwe Jew who spoke to JTA on condition of sensed a mood of resignation among Zimbabwe’s Jews anonymity. “No one that I know has been harmed in any way.” She added, “I feel safer here than in on a recent visit. “There isn’t a fear of physical danger, but there’s Johannesburg.” Many of Zimbabwe’s non-elderly Jews regularly comalmost despair that the economy and the whole situation mute to neighboring South Africa. can ever right itself,” Smith said. “The younger people like me have homes in South The country is suffering from skyrocketing inflation estimated at 20 to 30 percent per week. Last week, it Africa,” said Solomon, the synagogue president. “I often question why I’m not more positive in making a took 40 billion Zimbabwe dollars to equal $1. “People are depressed, but what is really having an plan to move, but I don’t know whether South Africa is impact on everyone is the collapse of the economy,” said the place to move to, quite honestly. I’m still making a one community member who asked to remain anony- bit of a living here and I have the best of both worlds.” Solomon says he visits Cape Town every four to six mous. “Our money is worthless.” Most Jews of Zimbabwe are elderly; just six Jewish weeks for about 10 days to see family and go to movies children live in the country. Of the 110 Jews in and restaurants. “It’s just a bit of a bittersweet sort of Bulawayo, 26 live in Zimbabwe’s only Jewish old-age life,” he said.

New Beth El cantor C L I P & S A V E

Continued from page 1 “Even in my short history with Beth El, I have learned that it is a very musical and talented community. Even more important, the congregation reflects an enthusiastic and energetic mindset that I would like to encourage. Concerts, musical services, and even shows all are activities that I can help organize and foster.” The leadership at Beth El is already singing Cantor Beth’s praises, beginning with Toby Schonfeld, who served as chairman of the search committee charged with hiring a new cantor. Schonfeld remarked that “From the very beginning, we knew there was something different about Cantor Beth,” and cited her commitment to a rich synagogue life, as well as a deep understanding of text and liturgy. “I am confident that Cantor Beth will be a strong asset to Beth El,” Schonfeld continued. “Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious, and will invigorate both our services and our school. Her beautiful voice will serve to inspire both young and old alike to become more intimately involved with Judaism.” Commented Steve Pitlor, president of the synagogue’s board of directors: “We are anxiously looking forward to the arrival of Beth, which promises to be an exciting

time for our congregants as well as the entire community. She is a uniquely talented individual who has a passionate and inspiring approach to Conservative Judaism. “Anyone who meets Beth is immediately enlightened by her outgoing personality and warmth, as well as her talented musical skills. This truly is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the continuing history and excellence at Beth El. I encourage everyone in our community to visit Beth El, as we are proud to have Beth as our new hazzanit.”

Cantor Beth chatted with Beth El congregant Anna Mosenkis during the synagogue’s recent “Barbecue & Barchu” event at Zorinsky Lake.

July 11, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 3

Matriarch of Omaha dies at 91 Continued on page 3 But her real love was volunteering. She was the first woman to serve on the Federation’s executive committee, as secretary, vice president and then as its first woman president in 1979. Fellman chaired the Federation’s Vaad HaKashrut Committee and wrote “Va'ad's New”, a column for the Jewish Press about new items in the kosher market. As a member of the Planning and Evaluation Committee of the Federation, she served as chairman of the education sub-committee and chaired the committee to raise funds for the Dan and Esther Gordman Center for Jewish Learning. It was eventually built in 1992 and houses Friedel Jewish Academy. After the first community-wide 25th anniversary of the State of Israel in 1973, a group of Jewish organization created a Jewish Cultural Arts Council, led by Steve Riekes and B’nai B’rith in Omaha. While Riekes presided over the College of Jewish Learning, it was Mary Fellman who helped revive the JCAC in 1981 after the arrival of the JCC’s new executive director, Steve Rod. “By 1985, the JCAC was a strong, vibrant organization due mainly to her perseverance and ability to always bring ‘shalom bayit’ to communal discussion,” Rod told the Press. “When I was in town for my interview in the fall of 1980, she greeted me with, ‘So what makes you so qualified to be the Director of our JCC? What do you know about being Jewish?’” Rod recalled. “It didn’t take me more then a few weeks after arriving to discover Mary’s passion, her soul, her fire within.” “Mary was a true leader,” Riekes said.

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“It was her ability see that Jewish education and identity were important. She wasn’t just a leader in the sense of having those skills, but she was a role model. She didn’t just talk about Jewish education; she participated in it.” Riekes said his uncle, the late national leader Phil Klutznick, told him that in addition to her leadership abilities, “Mary was also extremely persistent.” Fellman was co-founder of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society in 1982, served as its first president and edited the society’s newsletter, co-edited the annual journal and served as the society’s first executive director. Her cofounder, local attorney, author and professor, Oliver B. Pollack said, “Mary had been to Philadelphia for a national meeting and seen a book about elderly Jews.” At the time, the Omaha Section of the National Council of Jewish Women also was in the process of publishing Our Story, a book of the reminisces of Jewish life in the early part of the 20th century. “She came home and talked to Joie Simon, co-chairman of ‘Our Story’, and Lois Friedman and Silvia Roffman, who were involved with Temple Israel’s 100th anniversary,” added Pollak. “I was brought in as ‘the academic.’ Mary brought us together for lunch over the course of a year” and the NJHS was born in 1982. She was instrumental in the publication of Memories of the Jewish Midwest, establishment of the Henry and Dorothy Riekes Museum in the Gordman Center. When the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home opened in 1983, Fellman organized groups of volunteers from Hadassah to host Saturday afternoon ‘oneg Shabbats’

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for the residents. The afternoon teas often included entertainment by local musicians, storytellers, and school groups. Her devotion to the elderly didn’t stop there. She arrived in the office of the Jewish Press one day in 1998 and announced that the newspaper “needed a page just for seniors.” Her full-page “Elderhood” feature ran almost monthly until 2004, becoming the forerunner of the Press’ biannual “Senior Living” special issues. She also had a hand in holiday issues, originating such themes as the 1981 “Jewish Life in Small Towns” and “Jewish Life in Nebraska” for the 1995 New Year’s and 1996 Passover issues. Interested in Jews of all ages, Fellman often hosted Shabbat dinners at her home on Western Avenue, and later for residents of her apartment complex on 93rd and Western. She invited newcomers and young families as well as Jewish singles to her weekly Shabbat gatherings. Her desire to bring unattached Jewish men and women together led not only to several weddings, but to the creation of the Midwest Jewish Singles Network, Inc., founded in the days before Jewish internet dating services. Launched with her sister, former Lincolnite Annie Allen, Mary Fellman became the editor and director of The Connector, a national publication helping Jewish singles meet through personal messages, trips, and a directory of Jewish singles activities. In synagogue life, Fellman presided over the Women’s League of Beth El, the Midwest Branch of Women’s League, and founded and served as co-chairman of the Beth El Mishpacha Committee. She served as interim chairman of Beth El’s Long Range Planning Committee, was

member of the new synagogue building committee and the Beth El Board. She was honored with Beth El’s Earl Siegel Award for her longtime commitment to the synagogue. In addition to being honored as the 1986 Jewish Federation Humanitarian of the Year, Fellman was the recipient of numerous awards in the Jewish and general communities, including the B’nai B’rith Annual Citizenship Citation, the KETV Jefferson Award for Community Service in 1988, and the Hannah G. Solomon from the Omaha Section of NCJW in 1991. She also received AMIT Women’s third Humanitarian Award in 1990, the ‘Good Neighbor Citation’ from the Omaha World-Herald and the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben in 1995, and the first ‘In the spirit of Marie Sandoz’ in 1996 from the Marie Sandoz Heritage Society. In 1997, she was honored as a ‘Mother-of-the Year’ in 1997 by the Nebraska Mother’s Association. Lois Friedman summed up the community’s relationship to Fellman, adding, “Who ever said ‘no’ to Mary?” She is survived by her daughter, Marsha Zimmerman of St. Paul, MN, sons and daughters-in-law, Mark Fellman and Robin Caplan, also of St. Paul, and Ronald and Debbie Fellman of Newton, MA; grandchildren, Jesse, Jacob and Genevieve, and Benjamin Zimmerman, Sam and Katy Fellman, all of St. Paul, and Matthew, Rebecca and Daniel Fellman, of Newton, MA; sister and brother-in-law, Annie and Harry Allen of Jerusalem. Memorials to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society or charity of choice. Joan K. Marcus and Oliver Pollak contributed to this article.

Page 4

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

Planning a trip to Israel? New books will help you prepare lowest point on earth and more. This Daniel Rogov, (Toby Press, $19.95 hard- hardcover, 407 pp.) is compiled by Dr. BOOK REVIEW would be a perfect gift for anyone who cover, 455 pp.) is written by “Israel’s Eisenberg, a medical doctor from by SYBIL KAPLAN 101 Reasons to Visit Israel by Estie and Dovid Solomon, (Artzy Books, $12.95 paperback, 133 pp.) is a perfect book to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel. Esther Solomon moved to Israel in 2004 from Montreal, Canada with her husband, Rabbi Steve Solomon, a social work director and six children. In between working as a lactation consultant, she took her 12-year-old son, Dovid, around the country to take pictures. The result is this wonderful, exciting book, with photos and comments on life for children, Shabbat and holidays, nature, spiritual learning and development, kosher food, lifestyles, places to go and things to see in Gush Etzion and favorite sights. A chapter on “considering aliyah” is also inserted. One note: the book is definitely aimed at Modern Orthodox, although others will find it enjoyable reading. Among the 101 reasons to visit Israel are: your children will receive an excellent and affordable Jewish education; businesses, stores and government offices are closed on Saturday and open on Sunday; you will experience only one Passover seder; you can daven at the kotel as often as your heart desires; you can find a large selection of kosher wine even at the local grocery store; you will get brand-name medications for less; you can visit the

has been to Israel or anyone who is thinking about going. Jerusalem -- A Neighborhood Street Guide by Chanoch Shudofsky, (Devora Publishing, $21.95 paperback, 583 pp.) is a wonderful, comprehensive street guide, meant to enhance anyone’s walking in the capital. Part I is an alphabetical listing of the more than 2,500 streets, squares, roads, boulevards and alleyways with the neighborhood in which each is located and a page reference. Part II is the neighborhoods, listed alphabetically, and their streets. Historical information is included on the name and background of the neighborhood, its boundaries, sites and a note on its streets before the streets and something about each is listed. In the back, thank you Mr. Shudofsky, are 16 pages of maps so you can easily find the neighborhoods and the streets as well as miscellaneous information about neighborhoods, important phone numbers, walking tour routes and more. This is absolutely an extraordinary treasure for anyone who lives in Jerusalem or wants to transport oneself from an armchair to Jerusalem. The grandfather of Chanoch Shudofsky made aliyah in 1871 and Mr. Shudofsky made aliyah in 1999. Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines 2008 by

most influential and pre-eminent wine critic who writes weekly wine and restaurant columns in the respected newspaper Haaretz and contributes regularly to two prestigious international wine books.” This is his definitive guide with more than 150 wineries and 1,400 wines which he has tasted and rated. The wineries are classified by asterisks; the wines are given scores. The introduction includes a history of wine in Israel; the current and future state of wine production; grape varieties; vintage reports from 1976 to 2006; issues of kashrut; and drinking habits. The afterward contains essays on wine cabinets, tasting wines, wine terminology, and how to contact the wineries. One particularly nice listing includes the ten best wine producers (Golan Heights Winery is number one); 10 up-and-coming producers; 10 best value producers; and ten best wines released in the last 12 months (Golan Heights winery selections are numbers 1 and 2.) This is the fourth annual edition of the book, and it is truly a collector’s item for those who want to know about the Israel wine scene through the 2006 vintage. It would make a lovely gift for those who enjoy fine wines. Streets of Jerusalem by Ronald L. Eisenberg, (Devora Publishing, $21.95

California, who has researched and compiled this alphabetical listing. My one criticism of the book is -- the two maps in the beginning are lovely, but if the publisher would have broken them down into small maps and keyed the alphabetical listings to the streets, then we would know where to find them! Even though the maps are small, one could attempt to find a street and then go to the alphabetical listings, but somehow, keyed would have been more useful. This is a fine book to give to anyone who lives in Jerusalem and to anyone who loves Jerusalem and wants an armchair project. P.S. The following two books I have not seen, but they are available. The Wize Guide: Jerusalem Step by Step: The Best Eleven Guided Walking Tours by Dr. Batya and Avigdor Kornboim, is a looseleaf binder with pamphlets giving the walking tours. $39.70 including shipping and handling; order from wizeguide@ gmail.com. Secrets of Jerusalem by Tzvia Dobrish-Fried (published by Modan), is an informative, illustrated work of places unfamiliar to tourists. Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, book reviewer, and lecturer who lived and worked in Israel for 10 years as a foreign correspondent and has visited six times in the past seven years. She lives in Overland Park, Kansas.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Papillion La Vista Community Theatre will present the Broadway classic Oklahoma! opening July 11 and running on July 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20, 8 p.m. The production will be held at Sumtur Amphitheater at Walnut Creek on 108th and Hwy 370 in Papillion. Among the cast members is Maxine Noodell. Tickets can be purchased on the PLCT website at www.plvcommtheatre.org or by calling 402.201.6962. Reserved seating tickets can be purchased on-line for $10 per person. General admission tickets (seating on the grass for blankets and lawn chairs) are also available on the website for $5 each. Opera Omaha rolls out a new ticketing system with the availability of single tickets for the 2008-09 Season. Tessitura, the new ticket system, is considered the premiere system of performing arts organizations and was made possible by a partnership with Omaha Performing Arts (OPA) which operates Ticket Omaha. Single tickets for all of Opera Omaha’s productions went on sale July 1 and are available through all Opera Omaha and Ticket Omaha outlets: Opera Omaha, 1625 Farnam St., by calling 346.7372, online at: www.operaomaha.org, at Ticket Omaha, 1200 Douglas St., or by calling 345.0606 or online at: omahaperformingarts.org. Opera Omaha’s 51st season has something for everyone. The season begins with Stewart Robertson conducting Opera Omaha’s eighth world premiere, The Blizzard Voices on Sept. 12-13. Composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Moravec and based on the poetry of former U.S Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, this gripping oratorio uses six soloists and the Opera Omaha chorus to represent the individual voices or stories from the blizzard of 1888. On Oct. 15, 17 and 19, Conductor Joe Illick and Stage Director Francis Cullinan bring to life Gilbert & Sullivan’s hilarious comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The season concludes with Puccini’s most beloved tragic love story, La Bohème. Conducted by Hal France with Stage Direction by Garnett Bruce, performances are on April 15, 17 and 19, 2009. Subscription packages, which include all three productions, and are only available directly from Opera Omaha by calling 34.OPERA, online at: www.operaomaha.org and at the Opera Omaha box office. Lauritzen Gardens, the Durham Museum, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, the RailsWest Railroad Museum and the Historic General Dodge House have teamed up to celebrate our region’s rich railroad heritage at Railroad Days 2008 on Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. During this annual celebration, an entire family can attend all five participating venues for only $10 (limit two adults) and spend the weekend visiting some of the best railroad-themed attractions that Omaha and Council Bluffs have to offer. A family pass also includes free trolley service to each destination, and free parking is available at all locations. Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha’s Botanical Center located at 100 Bancroft St., features more than a dozen outdoor display gardens on 100 acres, along with a visitor and education center housing an indoor floral display hall, cafÊ, gift shop, classrooms and a horticulture library. Also at the garden is Kenefick Park, which features two

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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MARRIAGE GORDMAN/FITZGERALD Andrea Gordman and Daniel Fitzgerald were married on June 6 at the Renaissance Mansion. The 7 p.m. ceremony was officiated by Judge Lawrence Gendler. The bride is the Vice President of Human Resources at MECA/Qwest Center Omaha. She is the daughter of former Omahans Elly and Bob Gordman of Breckenridge, CO. The groom works as a senior manager of information technology at Union Pacific. He is the son of Carol and Bill Fitzgerald.

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IN THE NEWS Jesica Christensen, MD, is one of four doctors in the U.S. accepted for Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the National Institute for Health in Washington, D.C. She is currently serving as the Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Christensen is the daughter of Bill and Cathy Christensen of Omaha. Nicholas Newman, son of Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman, has earned a position on the Dean’s List for Spring 2008 at the University of Montana, College of Forestry and Conservation. He is attending the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies in the Negev Desert in Israel this summer for a three-week course of study. The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Board of Counselors elected officers for 2008 at its recent annual board meeting, among them: Don Goldstein, vice chairman; board members include Sandy Goodman and Larry Kavich. The UNMC Board of Counselors is a group of 66 community and business leaders from across the state who advises UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., on health care issues of importance.

“Steamers, Sandbars and Snags: Reflections of the Steamboat Era on the Missouri� will be held at Ponca State Park, Ponca, Nebraska, Sept. 4-7. Topics will range from the fur trade to steamboats, and the archaeology of the nationally significant Engineer’s Cantonment and Steamboat Bertrand sites. Participants can also enjoy tours to the wreck of the North Alabama in the Missouri and also to the shores of the Missouri River at Ponca State Park. This second Missouri River History Conference is cosponsored by the Nebraska State Historical Society, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the National Park Service and the Missouri River Institute of the University of South Dakota. Registration is open to all for a fee of $80 for the whole conference (including all meals) or $25 for a halfday session. Lodging is available in the Ponca area. For further information call Ponca State Park at 402.755.2284 or email jeff.fields@ngpc.ne.gov or jennifer.wolff@ngpc.ne.gov or contact NSHS at 402.471.3270 or nshs@nebraskahistory.org.

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Page 6

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

Getting wet just adds to Temple youth group fun this summer

TO WIN

FREE

FOR

ONE YEAR

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Relaxing in the pool after a day of meetings, planning, and developing next year’s calendar, Omaha Temple Youth Group Board members splashed up some fun at Ironwood Country Club in June.

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Among the Board members who cooled off after a day of discussing hot topics were Emily Katz, left, Jordan Jensen, Grace Hack, Haley Burns, Molly Goldberg, and Susan Freeman.

Also in June, OTYG conducted a Shabbat worship service on the grounds at Temple Israel. Aaron Bleicher and Grace Hack provided musical accompaniment on their guitar. Just prior to Emily’s d’var Torah, the crowd that had

gathered was asked to bring their prayer books inside to the sanctuary as clouds drifted overhead threatening to drench everything in a downpour. Hot dogs, tables, chairs, and posters touting OTYG’s environmentallyfriendly theme were rushed inside to avoid Mother Nature’s wet presence. It cleared up enough later to enjoy some chocolate s’mores. Several members of OTYG also participated in an interfaith Habitat for Humanity project on June 14 to refurbish a Sam Burrell, left, Emily Katz, house in northeast Haley Burns, and Yaniv Azriel Omaha. They were joined led the readings from the by members of the prayer book. Omaha Muslim Youth Organiza-tion and All Saints Episcopal Church. The teens pulled up linoleum and carpeting and repaired a fence in the backyard among other clean-up projects. “I thought it was kind of cool,” said Sarah Bleicher, immediate past president of OTYG. “I think we were a big help.” Coming up on Sunday, Aug. 24, OTYG will sneak up on some unsuspecting high school freshmen and whisk them off to breakfast. That will be followed by a barbeque at the Jewish Community Center. Having fun is part of belonging to OTYG which provides high school youth with opportunities to plan, lead, and participate in social, spiritual, and social action events while becoming an active voice in the larger adult community and learning to enact positive change. For more information, contact advisor Amy Katz at 397.8741 or at amykatz9120@hotmail. com.

ORGANIZATIONS WALK-IN, DROP-IN For those going on the bunch to lunch trip to Julio’s, please meet at the JCC by 10:45 a.m. For information call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. If you have any Yiddish books to donate, please call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

JEWISH SENIOR SERVICES Reminder: Take a musical journey to Mexico with Mariachi Luna & Sol on Thursday, July 17, 1:30 p.m. at the JCC. For information call Maggie Conti at 334.6521.

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Alan Parsow returns to Breadbreakers on Wednesday, July 16, noon, at the Regency Lodge, to talk about the stock market and share some insights on his stock picks. Breadbreakers is open to all men and women in the community. An optional lunch is $13; beverage service only is $3.

VISIONS Reminder: Luncheon Meeting is Friday, July 18, 12:30 p.m., at Caniglia’s Venice Inn. Cost is $11 per person. Join us for special musical guest Cantor Gaston Bogomolni. Reminder: Visions Board Meeting is Friday, July 11, 9:30 p.m., at the JCC. Brownville Concert Series presents KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler in “Always: The Love Story of Irving Berlin” on Sunday, Aug. 24. Cost of $25 includes deluxe motor coach, admission, tax and tips. Dinner at Grisanti’s is on your own following the show. Depart from the JCC at noon and will return by approximately 7 p.m. Send reservations to Rose Pitlor, 827 Dillon Dr., Omaha, NE 68132. Make check payable to Visions.

BIRTH Nicole Abrahamson Racette and Jeff Racette of Overland Park, KS, announce the May 28 birth of their daughter, Aliyah Rose. She has a brother, Asa, 8 years old. Grandparents are Hugh Abrahamson and Tania Moore, and Leda Rae and Steve Martin of Overland Park, KS. Great-grandmothers are Louise Abrahamson, and Yvonne Racette of Overland Park, KS.

Local author signs books

www.centurypa.com

Former Omahan Rachel Shukert was in town last month to sign copies of her new book, Have You No Shame?, at the Kripke Jewish Federation Library. Photos from left, According to Library Direcotor Gary Katz, there were more

than 50 at the book signing, Shukert’s book, a compilation of short stories about growing up in Omaha, life in and out of high school, and college in New York City, is “edgy and irreverant” and “she gave a really good reading,” said Katz.

July 11, 2008

Inventor of Segway brings his high-tech vision to Israel by DINA KRAFT Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and TEL AVIV (JTA) -Shaquille O’Neal.” Dean Kamen, the multiHe hopes to hook teenagers on the millionaire inventor power of science through robotics renowned for the Segway competitions run by an organization personal transporter, he founded called FIRST -- For came to Israel with a mesInspiration and Recognition of sage for teenagers -Science and Technology. careers in science will help Kamen said a quarter of a million make them the rock stars students in the United States, of their generation. Canada, Brazil and Israel have taken Taking a break from his part in the competitions, which they current innovations, prepare for over the course of six Dean Kamen, with Israeli high school students who which include developing weeks together with a mentor who participated in a robotics competition he founded, a robotic arm for U.S. is an engineer. shows off one of the devices from the event. war veterans injured in For Kamen, who is Jewish, bringCredit: Kobi Cantor Iraq, Kamen brought his ing his work to Israel has special acclaimed international robotics competitions for high meaning. He grew up hearing about Israel mostly from school students here at the invitation of Israeli President his grandmother, a dedicated Zionist. Shimon Peres. “She was an Israel fanatic,” he says, laughing. At the spring finals at a Tel Aviv stadium, rock music Kamen may have created the Segway, but most of his pounded through giant loudspeakers while an announc- innovations are biomedical devices. In college he creater on roller skates introduced the competing teams. The ed the first portable infusion pump for administering teams' homemade robots zoomed across the floor, com- drugs, giving patients the freedom to be medicated peting with one another for the number of times they without indefinite hospital stays. could lift a huge foam ball over a bridge. With his engineering company, DEKA Research and “Whether it’s curing diseases or building engines or Development Corp., Kamen has gone on to create purifying water, there’s just no limit to the number of dozens of other inventions, including a portable dialysis huge opportunities there are out there for kids to do machine and a vascular stent. Inventing has proved good while they are creating careers and making the lucrative: Kamen lives in an estate with its own softball world a more sane, livable place,” the infectiously ideal- field and pilots his private jet to business meetings. isitic Kamen, 57, said in an interview with JTA. Now he’s working on developing off-grid electricity “But it requires at a younger and younger age that and a water purification device for developing countries. kids develop skills and a passion to be able to create solu- Kamen encouraged tiny, resource-barren Israel to tions to problems,” he said. “They need mentors besides aggressively harness its intellectual resources.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

Campers encouraged to combat hate with love by ESTIE KATZMAN Bulldozers are not for killing. Shock pulsed through the veins of Jews all over the world at the news of the terrorist madman who pummeled through Jerusalem in a bulldozer killing three and maiming dozens of fellow brethren in a most horrific way. In our history, Jew haters spare no ounce of mind power to come up with original, devilish and stomachturning ways to vent their hostility. This is what obsessed Hitler. On a mission to eradicate every trace of Jewish blood, no barriers lay between the observant and the nonobservant, the educated and the uneducated, the devout and the irreverent. To Hitler, a Jew was a Jew. Why this unconditional hate? No ideological or practical reason from any perspective in the world can explain the horrific “terror attacks” mutilating our brothers and sisters. So, if baseless, unconditional hatred is the motive behind this incredible evil, consider how strong can be the remedy of unconditional love - the rediscovery of the intrinsic unity which overrides all reason for conflict and discord. This is precisely the lesson that educators teach at Camp Gan Israel every day. Teaching absolute love and true respect for Jews worldwide and especially here at home, children perform hands-on activities that enable them to understand the value of each Jewish soul. Much effort has been taken in the past to engage kids in exciting and meaningful activities that help cement this understanding. “Beginning with thanking G-d for the soul He gives to each Jew every morning, regardless of how that person behaved the day before, aides in the awareness that an all-knowing G-d returns life to Jews every day, unconditionally,” explained Shevi Katzman, staff member who is on the Camp Curriculum Team. “This is why the ‘Modeh Ani” prayer is one of the first prayers taught to children.” This year’s program is particularly intertwined with Jews in the Holy Land, as our thematic unit revolves around the Land of Israel. Children are being given the opportunity to forge relationships with children under siege in Sderot and young soldiers serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. Children all over the community are encouraged to write letters and make cards to send to children and soldiers in our Land. Notes dropped off at the Chabad House will be mailed to Jerusalem and distributed from there. Please join us in solidarity with Israel, at Shabbat Services and a Kiddush lunch on Saturday, July 12, 11 a.m. honoring the campers of CGI and their families. Please RSVP to camp@ochabad.com or 330.1800.

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Page 8

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

The end of an era When Mary Fellman died on Sunday, it marked the end of an era. She was an unusual woman for her time, graduating from college and working, and taking leadership positions in the Jewish community -- all very public roles when most other women in her day took a back seat to men. But convention never stopped Mary Fellman. “When you saw Mary coming, it was just easier to agree to whatever plans she had in mind for you,” remarked Jeff Aizenberg, executive director of the Jewish Community Center, “You’d have to do it eventually, because Mary was very persistent.” Those who knew Mary, who worked with her on various projects or programs over the years, will smile at Aizenberg’s description. “She was a force to be reckoned with,” noted Rabbi Myer S. Kripke. Even those who battled Mary gave her a grudging respect for her ability to get things done, to achieve her goals, and to make changes. But it was all for the good, to sustain and improve the community she loved, Nebraska in general, and Omaha specifically. While she wasn’t the first editor of this paper, she had a devotion that lasted more than six decades. Coming on board as an unpaid “contributor”, then salesperson and news editor, she was given the opportunity by publisher David Blacker to lead the Press in 1946. She wrote of her experience for the Press’ 75th anniversary in Dec. 22, 1995: “For as long as I can remember, the ‘Jewish Press’ has been a vital part of my life. Maybe it began in 1924 when my parents read about the ground

breaking for the new JCC in the Press and took our family to it. Maybe it was when my mother read about a Jewish Girl Scout Troop being formed and sent me to it by streetcar. “For all these many years, the Jewish Press became my weekly connection, my informant, my link to the life of Jews in Omaha, Nebraska, the U.S., and eventually in Israel.” From managing Passover and New Year’s issues to writing a column on kashrut to creating a page just for seniors, Fellman realized the potential of this paper to reach all segments of the Jewish community. She left 18 months later to marry Morris Fellman and settle down into a role she loved best: homemaker and mother, but she never forgot the Jewish Press -- or the rest of the Jewish community. Her accomplishments are legendary, but it is her last editorial, published in December, 1947, that sums up the vision for her life, in her own words: “Through this editorship, it has been my privilege to grow stronger in mind and thought through association with those who lead and those who work to make the Omaha Jewish community one of the finest in the country. “There has been much hard work put into the saving of lives in Europe, the raising of funds, the fight for a homeland, the elevation of new leaders, the loss of some of our greatest men, the fight against rising anti-Semitism, the building of new education centers, the concentration on the training of our younger generation in the history, culture and language of their people, the development and the pride

in a courageous body of men and women fighting openly in the defense of a country and a land they call their own -- these and many other phases of Jewish life have passed through the kaleidoscope of an editor’s eye. “For the opportunity of serving during these exciting years, your resigning editor is grateful. But for more than that, there has been the gratification and supreme satisfaction of working with one’s own people, of discovering the richness and maturity of their thinking, the progress and high standards which they foster and demand in their community and civic lives -- the humor and the hopefulness that prevails as a binding thread through all times of good and bad fortune, the progress and failures which our Jewish people have learned to face with serenity and courage.” Sixty-one years later -- those words also describe the life of Mary Fellman, 1917-2008. -30-

BEHIND THE H EADLINES by GIDEON ARANOFF For the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the Jewish community, working to assist refugees and other immigrants, and to promote welcoming policies at the federal, state and local levels, is an important community priority. This stems from the Jewish community’s essential and enduring identification with immigrants -- both current Jewish immigrants and immigrants of other backgrounds. The reasons for this identification are many, but include: • the centrality of the biblical commandment to welcome, protect, and love the stranger; • the lessons of thousands of years of Jewish history where Jews faced expulsion and migration due to anti-Semitism, violence, and poverty and have sought security, freedom and opportunity in new lands; • the core notion that “we are our brother’s keepers” and that the Jewish community has a moral and ethical obligation to be concerned about the vulnerable of all communities -- certainly including migrants, both legal and unauthorized. One area where HIAS and many others in the Jewish community have focused in recent years has been to call for an end to the current defacto illegal immigration system. This system only results in chaos and death on the borders, exploitation and insecurity in communities throughout the country, and haphazard state and local laws. Instead of this illegality, we are calling for federal immigration reform that will: • deal humanely with the 12 million undocumented immigrants offering a path to citizenship; • create new legal avenues for immigrant workers; • address the unconscionable backlogs in family immigration programs; develop border

The recent situation in Postville, IA, is a clarion call for immigration reform. Only through this approach can we humanely and effectively end illegal immigration. And, the system empowers those employers who seek to abuse the powerlessness of undocumented immigrant workers who have no one to turn to for protection. Our government’s current approach -- in Postville, and as recently as last week in Houston and Annapolis -- relies on raids, detention, criminal prosecution of undocumented immigrant workers, and deportation. This enforcement-only approach creates massive human suffering, separation of families, and economic dislocation. A few facts about the Postville raid and prosecutions. • 389 workers were arrested in the raid and 270 were prosecuted for the felonies of identity theft and social security fraud instead of being immediately deported as undocumented workers. Workers were pressured to plead guilty to the social security charge and serve five months in jail to avoid many months of detention and a possible two-year sentence for

Jewish Press Board Michael Sigmond, Vice President; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Michael Siegel, Treasurer; Howard K. Marcus, Immediate Past-chairman; Andie Gordman; Michael Kaufman; Betty Kozlen; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Andy Ruback; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service/Jewish Senior Services, and the Jewish Press . Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

An immigration policy worthy of America and interior enforcement programs that will actually work while still honoring core American moral and legal values; and • promote citizenship and the integration of newcomers. The recent situation in Postville, IA, is a clarion call for immigration reform. Only through this approach can we humanely and effectively end illegal immigration. The current system undermines legal workers, both native born and immigrant, and depresses wages at the lower end of the economic spectrum. The system denies employers who want to play by the rules access to reasonable numbers of legal workers by limiting low- skilled worker visas to only 5,000 a year.

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

identity theft. • During prisoners’ jail terms, their families back at home, are left with no means of support. • These ordinary workers were reportedly held in chains and shackles like dangerous criminals. • Court appointed lawyers reportedly were overwhelmed by the volume of cases and the short time frame for processing the workers before being sentenced. • Women, who were released from detention to care for children, are forced to wear ankle bracelets, cannot work, are destitute, and have no way to pay for rent, food or other essentials while they wait for ultimate deportation. These conditions clearly violate the core human and religious values of our country. Ultimately, these raids simply create a false impression of action since they cannot possibly respond to the massive problem of undocumented migration. Some immigrants will be scared away, at least from individual communities. But the economic and social forces driving this migration are too strong to be countered by the prosecution of a few hundred Mexican and Guatemalan workers in Iowa, or the deportation of a few hundred undocumented workers nationwide. They are a drop in the bucket. The inhumanity and ineffectiveness of this approach are clear, and are contrary to American national interests. Congress and the new President must work together quickly to create an immigration system worthy of our great country, and end the current activities that lull us into believing these serious problems are being solved. Gideon Aronoff is President and CEO of HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. These remarks were made at a July 2 press conference. Rosalind Spigel, Acting Director of the Jewish Labor Committee; Rev. Steve Brackett, Pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Postville, IA; and Rabbi Morris Allen, founder of the new kosher ethical certification initiative Hekhsher Tzedek, also spoke at that time.

Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. 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.; $72 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

July 11, 2008

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 9

Appeasers make poor patriots Rethinking America’s ‘good war’ is a not so subtle attack on our current struggles

BEHIND THE H EADLINES by JONATHAN S. TOBIN The lyric from the old pop song that proclaimed “Don’t Know Much About History,” is a label that could well be applied to many Americans. But despite the fact that surveys occasionally tell us that many college seniors place the Battle of Gettysburg as happening sometime in the middle of World War II, the study of history isn’t merely for those hobbyists who like to pose as Civil War or Revolutionary era soldiers. Even as we debate the largely unpopular wars being fought with Islamists in Iraq and Afghanistan, the focus of another crucial debate currently raging on the bookshelves and television screens is one over the merits of something that most of us had long thought was not debatable: the wisdom of the American involvement in World War II. Leave Hitler Alone? The notion that there is any debate at all about the war the United States fought against the German Nazis and the Japanese Imperialists seems absurd. Surely, no reasonable person could dispute the necessity of defeating Hitler. But an argument there is, and it is one that is gaining momentum. In recent months, two works questioning the justice of the fight against Nazi Germany have vaulted onto The New York Times bestseller list: Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker and Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War by Patrick Buchanan. Baker is a quirky novelist who has penned books about a wide variety of subjects including voyeurism and a fictional attempted assassination of President George W. Bush. Buchanan is the longtime far-right pundit and television personality, and one-time independent candidate for president, whose views were once rightly labeled as anti-Semitic by the late William F. Buckley.

Their books are as differ- roots are in the anti-Semitic “American First” movement) no apologist for Hitler, ent as the authors. Baker’s effort is the effort he, too, derides the notion that the of a more accomplished American and the British victors were libprose writer (despite its fic- erators because they used some of the tionalized conversations same tactics as their foes. Ferguson deplores the fact that the involving world leaders it is sold as a work of nonfic- West did all they could to help Stalin win tion), while the former GOP stalwart but, as with many of the other ironies put Buchanan retains the punchy style of a forward in a series that seeks to change former political speechwriter. But they the way we think about the great conflicts of the 20th century, he fails to provide a are aiming at the same target. reasonable alternative to the Both take the point of ... what Buchanan dilemmas faced by Churchill view that, while Adolf and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hitler was a bad guy, he and Baker are truly And that lack of context is was provoked into gunning for is the the problem with all of this launching a world war willingness of revisionism. Buchanan that he had not planned quotes the historian and on. Instead of heaping post-9/11 America to Cold War strategist George blame on the Nazi mon- wage war on the Kennan as asking whether sters who launched the Islamists who wish to war and carried out take up Hitler’s war on the West would have preferred in 1950 to be still facunprecedented war Western democracy. ing the relatively reasonable crimes as well as the cold-blooded murder of six million Jews, Germany of 1913, rather than having sufeach see Winston Churchill as the real vil- fered through two world wars, and the lain of the war. Had Hitler been left rise of the totalitarian menaces of Nazism alone, they both assert, the Holocaust and Communism. Yes, that would have would not have happened and that the been preferable. But given Germany’s dreams of hegemony, it was never an world would be a saner place today. Though Baker’s concludes his faux nar- option. Similarly, the notion that more rative at the end of 1941, he clearly sees the Allies tactics in fighting the war as “Munichs” in which the West would have indistinguishable from that of the acquiesced to Hitler’s seizure of Poland Germans. In his brief afterward, he dedi- and the rest of Central and Eastern cates his book to the tiny band of Europe, would have left him satisfied is American and British pacifists who did pure delusion and unjustified by any serieverything they could to prevent their ous historical research. The problem was that the West woke up too late to the countries from resisting Hitler. The theme of Allied perfidy is also dangers of Nazism. Most people in echoed in a new PBS television series that Britain, France or the America of the features the work of a far more respected 1930s didn’t understand the stakes source than either Baker or Buchanan -- involved nor were they ready to fight even if they did. the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson. The Real Target In his 2006 book, War of the Worlds, he But the real point of these rethinkings damned the Allied bombings of Germany as war crimes and dismissed the notion of history is not so much to vindicate that it was in any sense a “good war.” Hitler or even to trash the indispensable These views are repeated in the PBS series Churchill, without whose vision and of the same name which began to be courage in the darkest moments of the broadcast this week. war, Western civilization may have truly While Ferguson is, unlike the perverse perished. Baker and Buchanan (whose ideological Rather, the point is to call into question

the far more immediate notion that an aroused and prepared West must still be prepared to defend its values against contemporary totalitarian foes. Irrespective of the shortcomings of George W. Bush or the debates about Iraq, it’s hardly a secret that what Buchanan and Baker are truly gunning for is the willingness of post-9/11 America to wage war on the Islamists who wish to take up Hitler’s war on Western democracy. Just as he blasts the opponents of appeasement for forcing the West to fight a war against Hitler that he thinks was more trouble than it was worth, Buchanan opposes the struggle to fight the Islamists or even to extend American help and NATO membership to the fledgling democracies of Eastern Europe. But these new appeasers are just as blind -- if not malevolent -- as their predecessors in the leadup to the war against Hitler. And that is a point whose importance transcends the battles of the scholars and the pseudo-scholars about history. As Americans celebrated the anniversary of their independence last weekend, it behooves them to think long and hard about the “good war” now under attack and its importance to the history of their republic. In resisting Hitler’s tyranny, Americans and those who look to America for leadership, understood that the cause of that struggle spoke directly to the cherished principles of liberty that our founders embraced. Like us today, the Americans and Brits who fought World War II were imperfect and made many mistakes. But despite a list of military blunders and scandals that eclipse in both scale and cost those committed by the current administration and its military, they prevailed. The revisionists who seek to besmirch their legacy offer us appeasement disguised as realpolitik instead of patriotism and principle. Their message must be rejected today, just as it was a generation ago. Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. He can be contacted via e-mail at: jtobin@jewishexponent.com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: I read your article (in the June 20 Jewish Press) on the bravery and poise exhibited by Zach Kahn and Hal Emas at Little Sioux Scout Ranch when faced with the tragic events of June 11, 2008. Zach and Hal exhibited the very best of the training that Scouting affords to Jewish youth of all traditions -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and unaffiliated. One of the best kept secrets of the Jewish Community is the important role that Jews have played in the history of Scouting in America. Not only is the National Jewish Committee on Scouting 82-years-old and still going strong, but the third National President of the Boy Scouts of America was New York financier Jacob Schiff. I thank the Jewish Press for its fine coverage of this tragedy and I applaud Zach and Hal for their bravery. They are a distinct credit to the Jewish community and to Scouting. Jay L. Lenrow Immediate Past Chairman National Jewish Committee on Scouting Boy Scouts of America To the Editor: It was a nice surprise to see the ad that my Foundation Board of Directors placed in the June 27 Jewish Press. I took the position of Executive Director 10 years ago with a great amount of trepidation, not knowing, 1) if I could live here again after almost 30 years residing in Southern California and, 2) whether I would be comfortable working in the non-profit sector. On the first point, what a great city Omaha is! Iris and I absolutely love living here and do not miss California at all. And Omaha gets even better every year,

especially from a cultural standpoint. To work on this JCC campus is like being in a city all its own, with all the activities for all ages, three months to 100 plus. I am amazed at the constant number of cars that flow through our campus from early morning to late at night. In California, we lived in the Conejo Valley of Ventura County, a population of about 400,000 including roughly 50,000 Jews, and get this, no Jewish community center. On the second point: in California I always worked in some form of accounting or business management positions, running the gamut from jobs I hated to a couple long term positions I truly enjoyed. What a wonderful way to end a working career of now 40 years with a job and employer that I really love. (No, I am not retiring yet.) This Foundation Board includes a fantastic group of individuals, led by Steve Bloch. I have many mentors in that group of 16 people listed in the June 27th ad. I will very miss David Friedland, a true friend and mentor. Together, in my 10 years, we have taken the Foundation from $27 million to $75 million. The Omaha Jewish community (all of you) is amazing beyond belief for its generosity in its annual support, building endeavors, and in the case of our Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, for endowment funds to insure the financial future of our Jewish community. I am also blessed with a dedicated staff, Laurie, Janet and Hanna. They make my life easy. The Federation, led by Jan Goldstein and her staff, and all the agencies on our campus as well as the Friedel Jewish Academy and the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society are all wonderful to work with. And the same goes for the synagogues. Thanks to all of you for an utterly fantastic 10 years,

and G-d willing, (who knows how many) more. Marty Ricks To the Editor: Every day we misuse the word “unique” -- meaning having no like or equal, unparallel, incomparable. Mary Fellman was unique. Her death leaves a huge void within the Jewish Community. I was blessed to work with her from 1980-86 when I was Executive Director of the JCC, and from 1986-88 when I was Executive Director of the Federation. For nine years, our lives were intimately intertwined. I remember that a number of board members would quietly say, “Oh, that’s just Mary!” when she would present her ideas, her dreams, he vision for a strong vibrant Jewish community. In every case, “just Mary’s” stamina, vision and fortitude enabled the Omaha Jewish community to grow, prosper and continue. We moved to Omaha on a Friday in 1980, and Mary arrived at our doorstep while the I-GO moving van was still there. She and Morrie were carrying a full Shabbat meal for the four of us: challah, soup, salad, chicken, potatoes, vegetables and dessert. She never asked if we needed or wanted dinner. She never inquired if we would even be there when she arrived! She welcomed us to Omaha, gave us all the containers, plates, silverware and bowls, and drove off wishing us a “Shabbat shalom”. I thought, “She was crazy.” And we loved her very much, from that day to this ... May the multitude of wonderful and loving memories of all she did for all of us over the decades be a blessing. May she rest in peace and comfort, reflecting on her accomplishments. Steven Rod JCCA Vice President, New York City

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

Candlelighting Friday, July 11, 8:39 p.m

Synagogue Listings B’nai Israel Synagogue 618 Mynster St. Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

Beth El Synagogue Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Omaha, NE 68154-1980 492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org

Beth Israel Synagogue Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific St. Omaha, NE. 68154 556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

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 323 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

Temple Israel Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street Omaha, NE 68132-2651 556.6536 templeisrael-ne.org

The Neighborhood Minyan 1317 No. 57 St. Omaha, NE 68132 551.6609

Tifereth Israel Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org

If you’re looking at this space, so are others! YOUR AD CAN GO HERE...

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m.

mation, contact Robert Mosenkis in the synagogue office, or at youthdir@bethel-omaha.org.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

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.; Kiddush sponsored by family of Jacob Rosenberg, in honor of his 90th birthday; Minha/Ma’ariv, 8:50 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. MEN’S CLUB SOFTBALL: Sunday, 10 a.m. at the JCC ball fields. Everyone 13 and up is welcome to participate. You don’t have to be a Men’s Club member to play. Interested? Contact Scott Simon, 616.4089 or simonsz@ cox.net. SISTERHOOD: On Thursday, July 17, 7-9 p.m., at the home of Marilyn Tipp. (See full story on the bottom of this page.) SUNDAY, July 20: Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m. SINGLES, SUSHI & SHABBAT: On Friday, July 25, all Jewish singles from ages 21 to 35 are invited to a sushi Shabbat dinner following 6 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat services. Dinner will begin at 7 p.m. Cost: $10. To RSVP, contact the synagogue office or programming@bethelomaha.org. BBQ FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS: Beth El will sponsor a special get-together for Jewish college students on Thursday, July 31, 6:30-8 p.m. at Zorinsky Lake (Shelter #2). A casual, relaxing evening is planned; there is no charge to attend. For more infor-

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. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 9:45 a.m. with Torah Parade; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; “Guard Your Tongue” and “Advanced Analysis of Midrash Rabbah” begins one hour before Mincha; Mincha, 8:45 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:48 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Oxman, 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.; Rabbi’s weekly class is on break for the month of July.

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: Services, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Gan Israel Kiddush luncheon follows. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; “Heading Somewhere” studying the book of Numbers, 9:30 a.m.; Parsha study, 10 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Camp Mini Gan Izzy, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Kabbalistic Insights for Women, 12:15 p.m.; Halacha, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Camp Mini Gan

Izzy, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; W.O.W. Prayer, Prophets, and Prayer, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Camp Mini Gan Izzy, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Camp Mini Gan Izzy, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m.; Parsha for Kids, 3:15 p.m. FRIDAY, July 18: Camp Mini Gan Izzy, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Camp Gan Israel, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. All events and programs are open to the community.

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 hosted by Nancy Myers. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel. TUESDAY: Women’s Lunch Group, noon. THURSDAY: Jews and the News, 12:30 p.m. Lunch and Discussion; Choir Rehersal, 7:30 p.m. led by Holly Heffelbower. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAYS, 7 p.m. Introduction to Hebrew, a four-week session led by Rabbi Emanuel. Contact the Temple office at 435.8004 or stemple@neb.rr. com to register.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME FRIDAY: Shabbat Comes to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. led by B’nai B’rith Men.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. led by Nancy Rips and Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg. THURSDAY: LOVE Board of Directors meeting, 7 p.m.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m., led by Rabbi Eric Linder and Cantor Wendy Shermet; D’var Torah: Jan Schneiderman -“My Father’s Gift.” SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. Tuesday: Executive meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees meeting, 7 p.m. SITTER SERVICE: Available Wednesday evenings during Family School hours, Friday evenings service except when there is a Tot Shabbat, Saturday mornings when there is a B’nai mitzvah, and Sunday mornings during Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation appreciated. Young children, including infants, are welcome.

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

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Nancy Coren, Lay Leader. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAY and THURSDAY: Minyan, 9 a.m. Contact the office to arrange for a minyan. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch and Talmud study. TUESDAY: Women’s Lunch Group, noon. If you need a ride, call Elaine Evnen. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner, 423.7066.

Take me out to the ballgame ... with dad by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator It was a nail-biting finish on June 29 at the Jewish Community Center ball diamond at the first of four softball games between Temple Israel's and Beth El’s Men's Clubs. Temple's team won the first match up, but Beth El plans to come back strong at the next game on Sunday, July 13, 10 a.m. Those who played for Beth El were, front row: Scott Simon, left, Brian Eades, Matt Shapiro, Adam Graham, Jon Jabenis, David Finkelstein, Mike Schop; back row: Gabe Meyer, Wayne

to reserve space, call

Allan Handleman, 402.334.6451 or Robyn Belgrade 402.334.6559 Beth El's team

Temple’s team Schwarz, and Jason Epstein (not pictured). It was, front row: Matt Kirshenbaum, Jeff Slutzky, Ben Noodell, Jordan Slutzky, Tom Kirshenbaum, Aron Boumstein; back row: Adam Kirshenbaum, Mike Silverman, and Dave Noodell who swung the bat for Temple. Three sets of fathers and sons -Kirshenbaums, Noodells, and Slutzkys -- added to the family atmosphere. A small crowd of wives and children

gathered to watch the game including Melanie Schwarz, whose dad, Wayne, took a time-out to tie his daughter’s shoes. For the record, the game was able to continue during this minor distraction. More games are currently scheduled for Sundays, Aug. 10 and Sept. 7.

Melanie and Wayne Schwarz

Evening of bonding and boating on tap for Beth El Sisterhood by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator The women of Beth El will be treated to an evening of bonding and boating in Bennington on Thursday, July 17, 7-9 p.m., at the home of Marilyn Tipp, 12619 No. 177 Cir., sponsored by Beth El Sisterhood. Attendees are promised a relax-

ing evening on the lake, enjoying munchies and margaritas and finding out about Sisterhood’s new activities, events and programs planned for theyear. All women in the congregation are invited; there is no charge to attend. For more information, contact Marcie Spivack at 501.8521.

July 11, 2008

Hocus pocus

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Balak The king of Moab, whose name was Balak, had a sudden great idea. He had been worried, just as others were, about the success of the huge body of Israelites who were on their way into what they would make their own land. His idea was to engage an expert with words, that is to say, a sorcerer, who would, with words alone, stop the progress of this, until now, fortunate people. So he engaged Balaam (Hebrew: Billom), a famous sorcerer whose curses on the advancing ISraelites would simply cut them off. The Word of the Lord, however, came to Balaam and warned him to speak nothing excepting the words of the Lord Himself Who would put them in his mouth. Balaam had to agree to this divine warning. So when it came to it, and at the word of Balak, they went through a great hocus pocus of building altars and offering sacrifices and Balaam began his “words.” But out of his mouth came not curses, but blessings. Balak, undefeated, demanded a new set of altars and sacrifices and urged Balaam to try again. He did. But out again came blessings rather than curses. Balak continued a third time, offering to send unlimited wealth to Balaam if he would only agree to what was needed. But again, Balaam spoke only the words the Lord put in his mouth. And now we use some of these words of Balaam to open worship in the synagogue, indeed in synagogues throughout the world, whenever a morning service is held: “Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov (How goodly are your tents, O Jacob)”, etc. We are, of course, amused at the way things turned out and the discomfiture of Balak. The hocus pocus of efforts by Balaam to satisfy Balak, who tried three different times from three different heights overlooking the Israelite tents, went for naught. The reader, even the casual reader, knew the outcome in advance. Balak, mortified, sent Balaam back to his country unrewarded and Balak retreated to Moab. It need not be said that Balak now tried more orthodox methods to stop the Israel by military force. The Israelites, however, continued on their way successfully -- and gratefully. Did all these things happen? Read the Sacred Text in the Book of Numbers. They did happen -- or not -depending on the individual view of the literal veracity of the words of Scripture.

B’nai Israel congregants “live each day” A sure way to live a happy life even when unpleasant, adverse events occure is to laugh; laugh hard, laugh long, laugh often is the message that Toni Goodman gave last month during Shabbat services at B’nai Israel Synagogue in Council Bluffs. The title of her talk was “Living each day to the fullest.” Services are held each Friday at 7:30 p.m.

To Submit Announcements to the Jewish Press: Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154 (with photos we will scan and return). Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -- births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.

DEATHS ALEXANDER JACOBY Alexlander Jacoby passed away on June 8 at age 82. Services were held at Beth Israel Cemetery on June 12. Cantor Shermet officiated. He served under Patton in Germany during World War II and received the Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lila; his children, Robin Hellwig, Jay and Joni Jacoby of Ft. Collins, CO, Shari and Bill Thorson of Ft. Collins, CO, Lori and Dennis Rochford of Carter Lake, IA; grandchildren, Melanie and Rebecca Hellwig, Loni and Jamie Thorson, Amber and Nick Jorgenson, Holly Jacoby. DONALD FIEDLER Local attorney and actor Donald Fiedler died May 15 after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 65. Services were held May 18 at Beth El Cemetery. Though he was a criminal attorney by profession, he also performed a one-act play depicting Clarence Darrow and Nebraska politician and presidential candidtae William Jennings Bryan. The play, based on their famous debates about evolution during the Scopes “monkey trial”, took him throughout the country. Fiedler was also a well known adovcate for the liberalization of the marijuana laws. He is survived by his son, David Fiedler of Minneapolis and his fiance, Angela Davis; granddaughter, Mackenzie Fiedler; and sister, Sandra Strauss of New York City. Memorials to the National Criminal Defense College, c/o Mercer Law School, Macon, GA 31207. LEONARD MUSKIN Former Omahan Leonard Muskin died in Los Angeles on July 5 at the age of 88. Services were held there. He earned two Navy crosses during World War II, played for the 1940 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team that went to the Rose Bowl, and was inducted recently into the Central High School Hall of Fame. The founder of Interco Builders in Southern California, he was still active in the business until recently. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucy Muskin, and his sister, Dorothe Coren. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Stuart and Bette Muskin. Memorials to charity of choice.

UNVEILING A stone setting for the gravesite of Julius Misle will take place on Sunday, July 13, 11 a.m., at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Lincoln.

CORRECTION In last week’s Press, there was an error in the story “Kansas gay couple wed in San Francisco,” stating: “The state of Israel does not currently recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world.” While the November, 2006, Israeli Supreme Court did rule that the government had to register gay marriages performed outside the country, the word used in the legal ruling is “register” not recognize per se. Opponents introduced a bill in the Knesset to overturn the court’s ruling in December of 2006, but there has been no action since, leaving the high court’s ruling to register gay marriages performed elsewhere still standing. Dave Greenbaum’s quote in the article by Beth Lipoff, which originally appeared in the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle should have read: “The state of Israel will recognize gay marriages from other parts of the world. We’re hoping that since Israel would recognize it, should we ever make aliyah,” Greenbaum said. “Because we are not legally married in the United States, that would make aliyah more difficult. After tomorrow, we’ll be seen as a couple.”

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Page 12

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

July 11, 2008

Jewish community says farewell to cantor with a song in their hearts by JILL BELMONT Mosenkis, Cantor Wendy Shermet and Beth El Publicity Coordinator Brent Spivack, who is also serving as Through his infectious, entertaining musical director. Donors who are making this tribute Cantor’s Concerts, beautiful musical liturgy and innovative productions, Beth possible include Bob Belgrade, Carol El’s Cantor Gastón Bogomolni has and Steve Bloch, Joanie and Richard brought music to the entire Jewish com- Jacobson, Sharon and Howard Kooper, munity. Now, as he prepares to leave Allan Noddle, Patty and Steve Nogg, Omaha for Needham, Mass., friends of Carol and Alan Parsow, Margo and Steve the cantor are planning a special com- Riekes, Anne and Bruce Shackman, and munity-wide tribute, “With a Song in Norman and Joodi Veitzer. “For the last six years, Gastón has liftOur Hearts: A Musical Salute to Gastón,” on Sunday, July 20, 4-6 p.m. ed the spirit of this community with his at the Jewish Community Center. A voice and his music,” Jacobson reception featuring light refreshments will be held during the first hour; the musical program will begin at 5 p.m. The afternoon event, spearheaded by Joanie Jacobson, will feature songs performed by a variety of singers and musicians who have collaborated with Cantor Gastón during the past six years. Above: Cantor Gastón Bogomolni and “The Bocher Boys” -- Steve Performers will Denenberg, Gary Nachman, and Jim Fried, perform during ‘Pop! Goes include Nancy the Cantor,’ in 2004. Right: Cantor Wendy Shermet of Temple Israel and Rips, Dacia Cantor Gastón Bogomolni rehearse with preschoolers for the 2006 Jabenis, Larry Great Plains Hanukkah Concert. DeBruin, Bob Adler, Jill Belmont, Jeff remarked. “As a cantor, he’s been inspiTaxman, Steve Denenberg, Tuffy rational. As a singer, magnetic. As a perEpstein, Jim Fried, Donald Gerber, former, he’s captured the hearts of audiHenry Ginsburg, Steven Meyer, Anna ences throughout the city and been a Mosenkis, Gary Nachman, Robert wonderful ambassador of goodwill for

Joanie Jacobson and Cantor Gastón celebrate during Beth El’s 75th anniversary dinner gala.

the Jewish community.” She added, “So, for all the music he’s given to so many, it seemed only fitting that we give some back before he leaves.

Thanks in part to the generosity of Gaston’s donor friends and a rollicking crew of Gaston’s musical friends, the entire community will enjoy a real ‘afternoon delight’ on July 20. Food and drink. Friends and family. Music and fun.” Jacobson, who has worked with Cantor Gastón on a variety of Beth El musical productions over the years, noted his enthusiasm and charisma, saying, “Gastón and his guitar have been a big favorite of young children and their parents, and the array of his Cantor’s Concerts, each with its own distinct personality, have drawn hundreds and hundreds of satisfied customers from all over the city. “Gastón has been blessed with an enormous amount of talent, ability, drive, vision, and intelligence for his 31 years,” she continued. “But the best part? He’s always been willing to share those gifts in the name of fellowship, joy and good work. “Whether we’ve appeared with him on stage or enjoyed him in the audience, we’ve been lucky to have had Gaston and his family at Beth El -- and in Omaha! And we invite everyone to celebrate our collective good fortune ‘With A Song In Our Hearts’!”

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