September 30, 2011

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

The Ruach of Federation

September 30, 2011 2 Tishrei 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 3

This Week

by SHERRIE SAAG months of his life a resident of the Boston University Law School and Community Development Associate, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Jim the Albert Einstein College of Jewish Federation of Omaha experienced first-hand the value and Medicine. With her education comRuach or Spirit, can be defined as service the Home lovingly and pro- pleted, Bonnie had a simple goal - to a “movable force,” something or, in fessionally extends to all its resi- change the healthcare delivery systhis case, someone, who by their dents. It was a natural progression tem in the United States. Lucky for very nature, affects posus, a detour itive change, inspires brought Bonnie those around them, and and her family makes things happen. to Omaha, and An appropriate dewe reap the benscription for the Jewish efits of her resiFederation of Omaha’s dence. The U.S. Phil and Terri Schrager healthcare sysSpirit of Federation tem is still waitAward winners: Bonnie ing, but that’s Bloch and Jim Farber. another story. With determination Bonnie and and an individual her husband, “internal force,” each Howard E. gave of their time and Gendelman, talents to make Jewish M.D. Larson Omaha a better place. Professor of Bonnie Bloch Jim Farber Jim Farber grew up in I n t e r n a l Omaha, an active member of the for him to become involved with Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Jewish Community Center from Jewish Social Services. And, as its the University of Nebraska Medical childhood to graduation from Board President, he was involved in Center are members of Beth Israel Central High School. He met his the successful renovation of the Synagogue. She has served as its wife, Judy, at the Dewey Park tennis Rose Blumkin Jewish Home into the President and was actively involved courts, and they raised two daugh- state-of-the-art facility it is today. in the recruitment of Rabbi ters, Jennifer and Elizabeth here. As “Jim set an excellent example of Jonathan Gross. Five years ago, Julee Jim describes it, “there’s no place how lay leadership works for the Katzman, Jewish Federation of better than Omaha.” community. He was open-minded Omaha Administrator, asked After he returned from a stint in and a true team player, never losing Bonnie to get involved in the Army, he began his involvement focus on what was best for the com- Partnership 2000 (now Partnership with the Federation when asked to munity,” said Mike Silverman, Chief 2gether). She chaired the first collect pledge cards for the Annual Executive Officer of the Jewish Performing Arts Series in 2008 and Campaign. He helped out for more Federation of Omaha. “I believe this worked with doctors in the Western years than he could count, recalling is what sets him apart. This is his Galilee, our Partnership region in “There is satisfaction in contribut- Ruach, his spirit, and it’s what makes Israel, on emergency preparedness ing to those in need, those that need him so deserving of this award,” he procedures. help. My parents instilled that in me. added. Bonnie is also a long-time volunTheir influence was a big factor.” Bonnie Bloch arrived in Omaha via teer and Board member of Friedel Jim’s father spent the last few New Jersey, Brandeis University, Continued on page 8

It’s all about the fun for Beth El’s new playgroup Page 4

Temple Israel says good bye to Lonnie Williams Page 6

Symposium features Jews and fashion

Roseanne Barr: Meditate with me Page 16

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Week Rosh Hashanah Issue See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

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by LEONARD GREEENSPOON New York City has its Project Runway. Paris and Milan can boast of their haute-couture clothing extravaganzas. But only Omaha will have the chance to participate in an entire program on Jews and Fashion. This opportunity will come in the form of the twenty-fourth Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium, to be held on Oct. 23 and 24, with the title “Fashioning Jews: Clothing, Culture, and Commerce.” As with previous Symposia, one of the highlights will be the keynote address, which this year will take place on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center. This year’s keynote speaker is Adam Mendelsohn, who teaches Jewish Studies at the College of Charleston, where he also directs the

Adam Mendelsohn “Jews, Slavery and the Civil War” Legacy Heritage Jewish Studies Project. Hailed by Brandeis historian Jonathan Sarna as “a leading scholar” and “a dedicated and gifted teacher,” Dr. Mendelsohn will speak on “Shmattas in the North, Shmattas in the South: The Civil War and the Birth of the American Jewish Clothing Industry.” Dr. Mendelsohn has written on many topics related to British and American, and especially Southern, history. Among his publications are the following articles and book

chapters: From Moses to Moses: Jews, Clothing and Colonial Commerce in Purchasing Power: The Economics of Jewish History; Trading in Torah: Bootleg Bibles and Secondhand Scripture in the Age of European Imperialism in The Economy in Jewish History: New Perspectives on the Interrelationship between Ethnicity and Economic Life; Tongue Ties: the Emergence of the Englishlanguage Diaspora in the mid-19th century in American Jewish History; ‘A struggle which has ended so beneficently’: A Century of Jewish Historical Writing about the American Civil War also in American Jewish History; and Two Far South: Rabbinical Responses to Apartheid and Segregation in South Africa and the American South in Southern Jewish History. He received the Wasserman Prize for Tongue Ties, and the Quadrennial Prize for his article in Southern Jewish History. Electronic versions of several of these papers may be viewed at the Klutznick Chair website: http://www.creighton.edu/ccas/klu tznick/. In addition, Dr. Mendelsohn coedited, with Jonathan Sarna, a book titled Jews in the Civil War, which Continued on page 2

Remembering Phyllis Friedel by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Phyllis Joy Kern Friedel passed away on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. Born in Chicago, Phyllis lived in several places before she settled in Omaha, where she lived with her husband Leonard (also known as Troc), and raised her children. In Omaha, she was involved

Phyllis Friedel with the National Council of Jewish Women and Hadassah. Eventually, she became a life member of both organizations. Along with Troc, she was also active in local theater, and performed in many productions at the Community Playhouse, the NCJW’s Trouping Theater, and the Chanticleer Theater in Council Bluffs. She was an avid knitter, and loved to travel; she had an immeasurable zest for life, and for Jewish philanthropy, which was evident in everything she did. Phyllis married Leonard Friedel in 1954. In Omaha, the Friedels developed the Jerry Leonard Clothing Stores for big and tall men, and subsequently sold the 26-store chain to Allied Department Stores in 1986. They then moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, but not without feeling the need to help the Omaha Jewish community in a very specific way. They discussed their desire to make an impact with Mort Trachtenberg, then President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, and Steven Rod, Executive Vice President. Of the 10 areas the JFO presented to Phyllis and Leonard for consideration, they chose the Jewish day school, which at the time was located at 12604 Pacific Street. “Neither my wife nor I had intensive Jewish educations,” Leonard stated at the time, “but we see the value of such an education.” The endowment they made in 1986 was only the beginning of a lasting relationship with the school; over the years, the Friedel family would continue to give to and care deeply about the school. After learning of the endowment Phyllis and Leonard made, the 1986 school board Continued on page 15

2 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

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After doctors’ strike, Israelis take stock of health care system’s woes by JESSICA STEINBERG funded primarily by their supplementary medical insurance. JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Thousands of Israeli doctors spent For doctors with private patients, the shift toward more the last four months engaged in a nationwide strike to private care funded by supplementary health insurance has protest their wages and working hours. Now that it is over, resulted in more income earned outside the public hospitals Israelis are debating whether a raise in wages and shorter and HMOs. Doctors often leave their public posts early in workdays can offset the deeper problems plaguing their the day to provide the privately funded care. country’s socialized health system. “Everyone’s running to private medicine, especially since the Israel’s health system is “an old horse,” and the strikes strike,” said Yisrael Barel, a regional manager for HMO Leumit exposed severe structural deficiencies in the health system, in Netanya. “The senior doctors don’t like to operate in the said Dov Chernichovsky, a professor of health policy and public system and push customers to do it privately. I recently economics at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. called a friend, a top surgeon, to ask him to take care of a Chernichovsky also chairs the health policy program at the patient, and he said, ‘You expect me to do private medicine in Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel. a public hospital?’” “We have an excellent system with a lot of good manpowIsrael’s health system has become a hodgepodge of socialer, but we’re losing ground in ized medicine mixed with its funding and organization,” private practice. The entire he said. wage structure of senior docDoctors working in a pubtors is based on the assumplic hospital or HMOs currenttion that they will moonlight, ly earn approximately $7,000 working two to three jobs, a month working a 42-hour including at a public hospital week and seeing patients where they can then refer every 10 minutes at the patients to their private pracHMOs. By the end of the tice. To the younger doctors, strike, doctors received a it’s a system that makes no gradual salary increase for sense. those working extra shifts, “You have to look at the Israeli specialists holding their shoes during a demonstramore regulation of working strike of the young doctors tion by doctors outside the Barzilai Medical Center in hours -- they’ll have to punch against the background of the Credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90 Ashkelon, July 26, 2011. a time clock -- and a promprotests in the general Israeli ised addition of 1,000 doctors at the hospitals. But doctors public,” said Dr. Dov Guverman, a senior official at Israel’s are still disgruntled. Health Ministry. “It’s a new generation of people who aren’t Israeli medical care has traditionally offered universal willing to accept the old system.” health care administered by four “kupot cholim,” or HMOs, The country’s shift toward private medical care is “our that were initially set up by the country’s labor unions before fault, and it’s something that we failed to reorganize,” he the state was established. Patients saw their doctors at the said. HMO and went to the mostly state-owned hospitals when Medical residents all over the Western world earn too litnecessary. Many doctors split their time between the HMOs tle, work too hard and complain, said Dr. Uzi Beller, chairand hospitals. man of the department of gynecology at Shaare Zedek As Israelis grew wealthier and the population aged, demand Medical Center in Jerusalem, but elsewhere they usually grew for a different kind of health care -- one that offered know “that there is a horizon of decent income.” more care, advanced technology and more client choice. In Israel, however, “the salaries are very poor, and I can tell Israelis wanted the advantages of private care, and the health you that as a chairman of a department with tenure and a care system ended up providing it, albeit through a back door. full professor position in the university, my income is always Most doctors remained at the public hospitals and HMOs, less than $2,858 [after taxes],” Beller said. “So we all have to but many began moonlighting, seeing patients privately and earn from private practice.” scheduling procedures outside the confines of the public It’s clear that the strike raised questions and doctors are health system. In 1995, a health care reform law allowed still demanding answers. The Health Ministry blames much HMOs to begin creating optional supplementary medical of the crisis on their own acquiescence to the supplementary insurance that Israelis could purchase and which allowed health insurance, which led to the growth of private medical them greater access to affordable private care. care. While all Israelis are required to sign up with one of the For critics like Chernichovsky, it’s a question of leadership, HMOs for a basic package of government-funded health and the solution involves finding a way to change the policy care packages, some 80 percent of Israelis now hold supple- debate and direction of the health care system. mentary medical insurance that covers a portion of private “We’re hitting ideology and Israel’s lack of policymaking,” care, according to Chernichovsky’s research. he said. “There’s practically no health policy. It’s a free-forThe government pays for 59 percent of Israeli health care all in the health clinics and the system lacks governance. It’s expenditures -- the lowest share among developed countries a sad story.” that provide universal health care. Editor’s note: the above story was edited for length. Find Private hospitals and private practices have flourished as the full text at www.jta.com patients turn to them for surgeries and procedures that are

Symposium features Jews and fashion Continued from page 1 has garnered positive reviews worldwide. At the moment, he is preparing a book manuscript with the title, The Rag Race: Jews and Shmattas in Europe and America. He will be drawing on some of his research for this book in his keynote presentation in Omaha. A native of South Africa, Dr. Mendelsohn first became interested in American Jews while a graduate student here. “At the time,” he says, “American Jewry seemed exotic, very different from the small Anglophile community in Cape Town. I stumbled on to the field when I chose to compare Jewish responses to Apartheid with those of Southern Jews to segregation and the Civil Rights movement. One thing led to another, and out of this serendipitous decision I’ve made a career studying American Jews.” Dr. Mendelssohn received his Ph.D. in Modern Jewish History from Brandeis University. During the 2008-2009 academic year, he was a fellow at the prestigious Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Concerning Adam Mendelsohn, Jonathan Sarna also observed that he “is highly creative, extremely hard-working, modest, able and witty.” Dr. Mendelsohn has needed to draw on all of these traits and more, in what he has described as his “extreme” research. This includes time

spent “in a decrepit archive in Spanish Town, Jamaica, whose open windows let in a swarm of mosquitoes eager to feast on immobile researchers stuck behind desks (the discomfort was reduced by the fresh coconuts sold by a hawker outside who lopped them open with a machete),” and “a lengthy (and uncomfortable) research trip to Australia accompanied by a nasty intestinal parasite that hitched a ride in India.” On another occasion, he endured “a disrupted visit to archives in London that coincided with the tube bombings (on my trip from the airport into the city, I preceded the bombers on the same subway lines by a handful of hours).” “By contrast,” he figures, “my research on clothing has been sedate!” Dr. Mendelsohn’s keynote talk will be preceded by seven presentations, also at the Jewish Community Center, beginning at 10:30 am on Sunday, Oct. 23. Another five presenters will appear at Creighton University on Monday, Oct. 24, beginning at 8:30 a.m. All of these events are free and open to the public. For further information, please contact Dr. Leonard Greenspoon at ljgrn@creighton or 402.280.2304. More about the presenters and their talks can be accessed at the Klutznick Chair website.

September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 3

UNO and the Jewish Community of Omaha host a delegation from Western Galilee College in Akko by DR. MOSHE GERSHOVICH Professor of History at UNO, Director, Middle East Project Fund The Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Western Galilee Region in Israel have been linked for over a decade through the Jewish Agency’s “Partnership 2gether” initiative. Now, the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), through its Hannah and Natan Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, is working to strengthen ties with its sister academic institution, the Western Galilee College (WGC) in Akko. A major step in that direction took place in midSeptember when three WGC members visited Omaha, as part of their broader tour of the USA. The three members of the WGC delegation included Ms. Linda Futterman, director of International Relations, as well as Dr. Randa Abbas, Lecturer at the Education Department, and Dr. Haim Sperber, Lecturer of Jewish History and Political Science. Their visit was made possible through the Jewish Agency, which covered their airfare, and a generous donation to the Schwalb Center by Ms. Tammy RubinAbramowitz, which covered the cost of hosting them in Omaha. A native of Omaha, Ms. Rubin-Abramowitz made her contribution in honor of her recently deceased mother, Suzy Marlene Blumenthal Rubin. The highlight of the visit was a panel entitled “Women’s Concerns in Multicultural Societies: Past and Present,” which took place at UNO’s Thompson Allumni Center on Thursday evening, Sept. 15. The event featured presentations by Dr. Sperber, who discussed the plight of deserted women

From left to right: Ms. Linda Futterman, Dr. Randa Abbas, and Dr. Haim Sperber (Agunot) in nineteenth century East European Jewish communities, and Dr. Abbas, who talked about leadership and empowerment among Druze women in contemporary Israel. Dr. Karen Falconer alHindi, Director of UNO’s Women and Gender Studies offered comments on both presentations, and her commentary was followed by a vivid discussion with the more than 60 members of the audience, including members of the Jewish community, as well as UNO faculty and students. Another opportunity for our guests from

WGC to engage UNO students was their visit to my class, “Israel and Palestine,” Wednesday evening, Sept. 14. The discussion there touched upon the multicultural diversity of modern Israel and the challenges of co-existence between its Jewish and non-Jewish citizens. Our guests had a unique perspective to share given the intercommunal nature of Akko and the Western Galilee region as a whole, where Jews and Arabs have co-existed since the creation of the State of Israel. Beyond showcasing the fruits of their

research and sharing their compelling personal stories with members of the UNO communities, the visitors from the WGC met with numerous representatives from UNO, including Chancellor John Christensen, who had breakfast with them Thursday morning, as well as faculty and staff from the College of Business Administration. On Friday they met with the Dean of Information, Science, and Technology, Dr. Hesham Ali, who showed them some of the advanced interdisciplinary programs developed by his college. In these meetings we discussed possible ways to enhance the ties between the two institutes. Our guests, all on their first visit to Omaha, also enjoyed the hospitality of the Jewish Community of Omaha. Friday morning, Sept. 16, they shared breakfast with members of the Schwalb Center and the JCC. That evening, they joined Temple Israel’s congregation for Erev Shabbat services. Their tour of Omaha also included visits to the Joslyn Art Museum, the Durham Museum, and the Lauritzen Botanical Gardens. After four extensive days, our three guests left Omaha highly impressed with what it has to offer and are determined to revisit it in the future. Time will tell what flowers will bloom from the seeds sown in their visit. Dr. Moshe Gershovich is Professor of History at UNO, Director of the Middle East Project Fund and Special Program Coordinator for the Hannah and Natan Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies. He can be reached at mgershovich@unomaha.edu.

ANN KAIMAN TURNS NINETY ON OCTOBER 1ST! Please join the families of Barry and Frank Kaiman as they celebrate this milestone. Ann will be honored at Shabbat morning services at Temple Israel and with an Oneg Shabbat luncheon following. Shabbat services will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1st at Temple Israel located at 7023 Cass St., Omaha 68132. We hope that you will be able to make it and join in Ann’s special day.

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It’s all about the fun for Beth El’s new playgroup by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Everyone knows that kids just want to have fun, and fun is what they’ll get when Beth El’s new playgroup makes its debut on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The playgroup, geared to children ages five and younger and their parents, will meet at 10:30 a.m. for a lively sing-along at the home of host Caryn Scheer. All families in the Jewish community are invited to participate in the group, sponsored by the synagogue’s Young Adult Committee. Scheer, a co-chairman of YAC, was instrumental in the playgroup’s establishment. “When I moved to Omaha two years ago, the closest friends I made initially were through the playgroup I joined, which, funny as it is, was a church playgroup,” she said. “I was amazed at the closeness of the women in this group. Seeing them on a consistent basis

was great on so many levels. We knew everything about each other’s lives, about every new stage their kids went through. We helped each other through challenges that always come up in raising kids. And our children became very good friends, and looked forward to playgroup day. Why shouldn’t we have something like this within the Jewish community?” The Beth El group will meet every other Tuesday, she said, and will be treated to Among those joining in the fun of Beth El’s new playgroup either a themed activity at will be Jenifer Ruff, left, Melissa Shapiro, Caryn Scheer and someone’s home, or an outing Shira Abraham, and their little ones. at one of Omaha’s kid-friendly venues. Upcoming activities include a trip “Let’s Play with Food” day on Nov. 8; Pump to Pooley’s Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 25; a It Up on Nov. 22; Saddlebrook Gym on Dec.

6; and a Hanukkah party on Dec. 20. Organizers are also planning a variety of opportunities for families to give back to the Jewish community; for example, the group will take cookies to Blumkin Home residents during Hanukkah. The new playgroup will be a wonderful addition to Beth El’s family programming, Scheer noted, saying, “The families that participate regularly in Beth El’s Tot Shabbats are fantastic, and this is a great way to get to know each other on a regular basis. There is a large group at Beth El that has kids under five, and so far, the responses I’ve received are very enthusiastic!” There is no cost to join the Beth El Playgroup, and participants are asked to bring sack lunches for themselves and their children each session. To sign up or for more information, contact Scheer at 402.614.2721, or at carynscheer@yahoo.com.

Charles Mikhail visit by STEVE RIEKES The Omaha Bar Association and the Cardozo Society, an informal group of Jewish lawyers sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Omaha, will be jointly sponsoring a special program on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 4, at the Jewish Community Center. After dinner, there will be a presentation by Mr. Charles J. Mikhail, an attorney from Biloxi, Mississippi. He will speak on his role as a leading member of the team of lawyers that involved 29 State Attorneys General, who recovered from the tobacco industry multi-billions of dollars in public healthcare expenditures on smoking-related ill-

nesses. This litigation was the subject of the Hollywood film, The Insider, starring Russell Crowe and Al Pacino. The genesis and strategy behind this unprecedented and pioneering litigation is set out in an article entitled A New Attack on Smoking Using an Old Time Remedy, published in the May/June 1996 issue of Public Health Report, Journal of the U.S. Public Health Service. This will be the subject of Mr. Mikhail’s presentation. While the dinner presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 4, is primarily for attorneys and their guests, another interesting event involving Mr. Mikhail will occur the following day. The Cardozo Society will join with

the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith at a Breadbreakers presentation on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 11:45 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center. Mr. Mikhail’s presentation at this lunch will be looking at possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially in regard to Palestinian demands for a “right of return.” Lawyers attending will receive a one-hour CLE credit. Mr. Mikhail is not only a very accomplished attorney, but he also has a unique perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Mr. Mikhail is a native Palestinian, and maintains close contact with prominent members of the Palestinian leadership. He is also a supporter of the Natan and

Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, in which he established an endowed course on Israel and Palestinian Studies. The cost of the lunch is $10. Reservations can be made by calling Sharon Kirshenbaum at the Jewish Federation, 402.334.6485, or Beth Brown-Gershovich, the B’nai B’rith secretary, 402.334.6443. Both Gary Javitch, President of the B’nai B’rith Lodge, and Ari D. Riekes, Chairman of the Cardozo Society, welcome members of the public to this very special Breadbreakers program.

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Young philanthropists unite – the Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation is here by SHIRI TENE B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Coordinator The “inner philanthropist” for teens in Omaha will be motivated and challenged by the B’nai Tzedek’s Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation. This new, innovative program invites Jewish youth, 10th12th grade, to participate and discover how they can change their world. Associated with the B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program, the goal of the Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation is to provide more in-depth learning about philanthropy and non-profit organizations. Meetings will be held twice a month. Activities will include learning about nonprofit organizations, fundraising and volunteering in the Omaha metro. Perhaps the most unique facet of the Youth Foundation is that this group will solicit grant applications from which grant awards will be made. The teens will 1) evaluate the applications, 2) determine the organization which best fits the group funding goals the teens will set at the beginning of the year, and 3) determine the final grant award. Dedication is vital to becoming a successful philanthropist. The Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation requires its

members to attend 90% of all meetings. This requirement may seem staunch, but in turn, the Youth Foundation is highly committed to providing each member with quality opportunities and experiences that will shape his/her vision as a young philanthropist and proactive citizen. Interested teens are required to submit an application to participate. The application includes commitments from both the teen and his/her parents. Applications are available at the Jewish Federation website at www.jewishomaha.org. Participants will be eligible to receive recommendation letters for college applications and future employment. Meeting with community leaders and local philanthropists, as well as connecting nationally with a network of peers, will increase members’ knowledge and accomplishments in the field of philanthropy. A community service credit will be given as well. The B’nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program and the Jewish Omaha Youth Foundation are programs of the Center for Jewish Education and supported by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. For more information about this exciting program and its benefits, please contact Shiri Tene at 402.334.6464 or stene@jewishomaha.org.

Dancing across the Community by SHERRIE SAAG Community Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha Sometimes, a like-minded group of people get together with a single passion so great, they find a way to share it with those around them. So it is with the JCC Dance Training Company, formed last year under the direction of Esther Katz, JCC Cultural Arts Director. What began as a group of fifteen young women intent on becoming better dancers, turned into a full-fledged dance troupe that combines performance with community service. How does this work? The Company turned their performances into “community programs.” Four were held last year. In February they began by meeting with Yachad, a group of adults with developmental disabilities. The Company performed and then conducted a workshop by choreographing a routine with Yachad members, who, in turn, performed it for their families. According to Colleen Halpin, a Training company member, “It was a wonderful experience, and truly incredible to see how much spirit and personality the Yachad members showed through their dancing. Seeing their appreciation and smiles was the most rewarding part,”

In the news

Performances at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and the Prairie Lane Early Childhood Center soon followed. At the Blumkin Home, Company members taught residents a shettle dance. “We chose this type of dance for the Home’s residents because it can be done in a wheelchair. We hoped it brought forth memories of celebrating and spending time with family and friends,” Halpin said. The Company concluded its schedule last year with a performance of Against the Grain at Aksarben Village. 45 Degrees Celsius brought together dancers from across the city. “It was an event to remember and an event that will surely be repeated. If so, the JCC Dance Training Company will be there,” said Katz. Katz says the Company’s schedule this year is starting to take shape. “We are performing at the Maurice Sendak Opening at the Omaha Public Library on Oct. 30. We will also be performing in the Omaha Dance Project in January. And, very exciting for us, we have plans to have our very own concert in the campus theatre on March 3. We hope everyone is able to join us and share in our joy, passion, and love of dance.” For more information, contact Esther Katz at 402.334.6406 or email at ekatz@jccomaha.org.

Ultimate Jewish experience

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, will present the 2011 Goldstein Lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Thompson Alumni Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her topic will be “The Black Swan of the Middle East.” Whitson will discuss Syria, as well as the turbulence/impact on other countries. The lecture is sponsored by the Religious Studies Program at UNO. For more information, please contact William L. Blizek: 402.554.3347 or wblizek@unomaha.edu. An article entitled Jewish Educational Theatre written by RESPECT’s Executive Director Dr. Patrica Newman and Education Director Ilana Weiss was recently published by the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in their journal, Jewish Educational Leadership. RESPECT is an Omaha-based non-profit organization that provides premier research-based theatre programs to create a genuine dialogue about healthy relationships. Information about RESPECT can be found at www. respect2all.org.

The highly-antic i p a t e d National Jewish Retreat in Greenwich, Connecticut was an unprecedented success, with over 800 Jews from all over the world in attendance. Dubbed the “ultimate Jewish experience”, the event included music, comedy, gourmet food, and a feast for the soul. Rabbi Mendel Katzman was among the world renowned scholars and lecturers who presented during the five unforgettable days.

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6 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

Temple Israel says good bye to Lonnie Williams after 40 years

ESCAPE t h e c o l d SNOWBIRDS

Please let the Jewish Press know in advance when you are leaving and when you are returning. Sometimes several papers are sent to your“old”address before we are notified by the Post Office. Every time they return a paper to us, you miss the Jewish Press and we are charged 70¢! Please call us at 402.334.6448 or email us at jpress@jewishomaha.org.

Together, we care for the needy here at home and provide a safety net for the most vulnerable in our community. Federation helps Jews connect in Omaha in ways that are meaningful to them, whether through trips to Israel, service projects, or educational experiences.

The 2012 Annual Campaign

Donate. Volunteer. Make a difference. jewishomaha.org/donate o r c a l l 4 02 -3 3 4 - 6 4 8 5

by CLAUDIA SHERMAN was an atheist when I first started (at Temple Temple Israel Communications Coordinator Israel). I called myself a spiritual person, but Among his first assignments in 1972 work- working here is the closest I came to having ing at Temple Israel, Lonnie Williams cut the a spiritual foundation.” grass and took care of the lawn in general. He He also recalled some people who had a worked part-time for a year and a half when large impact on his life, including Rabbi he first started. “My Dad Sidney and Jane Brooks was working here,” Lonnie and Dorothy Spizman. mentioned, “and I had a “She was like a mom to family to support.” Father me, especially when my and son worked together at Mom died. There were Temple Israel for about people I came to appreciseven or eight years prior ate and respect. This place to the elder Lonnie became my home as much Williams retiring for medas my family or anything ical reasons. else. This is where I A native Omahan, became a man instead of a Lonnie attended Kellom strong-willed child.” School and Technical High One person to whom he School. Before he came to is particularly grateful is Temple Israel, he worked Ajon Farber. “he changed at Griffin Pipe in Council After 40 years, Lonnie Williams my life,” Williams Bluffs and All Makes bids farewell to Temple Israel. explained, “because he Office Equipment Company. He also spent recognized that I was suffering from alcohol two and a half years in the U.S. Army. dependency. I’ve been sober for 17 years After some 40 years (counting part-time because of him.” and fulltime), Williams retired from Temple Carol Farber, Ajon’s wife who now lives in Israel this past summer. Like his father, his Chicago, talked about the “beautiful relaretirement was prompted by medical issues. tionship” her late husband and Lonnie had. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel reflected the congre- “We knew Lonnie’s father very well, and we gation’s sentiments toward Lonnie, “I will knew Lonnie from the time he was a young miss him!” man. Ajon saw that Lonnie had a problem Reflecting back on his years at Temple that was solvable and helped set him in the Israel, Williams confided that “everybody -- right direction. Lonnie was so incredibly staff, clergy, and congregants -- respected accepted into the Temple AA group. Lonnie what I did and gave me a lot of support. was part and parcel of the congregation. I Congregants were my biggest backers. More have a very special place in my heart for him. people than he could count would seek him Lonnie is a most remarkable man, and Ajon out when they came to worship services if loved him as a human being and as a son.” he wasn’t standing at his usual post at the For about the past 25 years, Williams has south door of the social hall nodding his been the Building and Grounds Supervisor head and greeting congregants as they head- at Temple Israel. Over the years, his family, ed toward the sanctuary. including sons Lonnie and Artez and “Like anything,” Williams admitted, over daughter LaTisha have grown up. He has 21 the years, “things change. Staff members grandchildren who all live in Omaha. changed. The education curriculum Temple Israel mourned with Williams when changed, traditions changed. Little things his wife of 23 years, Marilyn, died of a heart changed. I always liked the Purim Carnival attack in 1996. which also changed over time.” He smiled as He also saw a lot of Temple Israel kids he recalled one “freezing year, they tried to grow up. “I’d see them as little nuisances, have a pony ride. He also remembers having and they grew up to become responsible just left work on May 6, 1975, when a torna- adults. That was a joy to see. A lot of them do struck Temple Israel. “I came back the made it a point to come say hi to me.” next day to begin the clean up. The chapel As for retirement, “I haven’t gotten bored was the only secure room we had.” yet!” he insisted. Promising to return to visit “But the thing that changed me the most his friends at Temple Israel, Williams urged was learning about Judaism,” revealed the congregation, “Don’t forget the old traWilliams. “It made me rethink religion. I ditions.”

Lion of Judah luncheon by SHERRIE SAAG Community Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha The 2012 Annual Campaign’s Lion of Judah luncheon was held on Monday, Sept. 19 at Crave, in Midtown Crossing. Guest speaker was Dr. Shani Ben Harouch of the Western Galilee Hospital in Israel. A specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Ben Harouch spoke of the Hospital’s commitment to quality medical care for all residents in the Western Galilee, whether Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. Top photo: Joodie Veitzer, left, Jill Erman, and Joan Lehr; bottom photo: Susie Blumkin, left, and Anne Shackman.

September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 7

Sukkot and Simchat Torah at Beth Israel by BETH COHEN Executive Director, Beth Israel Celebrate the fall season with the joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah at Beth Israel. There will be activities, services and meals that you won’t want to miss! The first day of Sukkot is Thursday, Oct. 13. Morning services will be at 9 a.m. followed by a lunch in the synagogue’s sukkah. Lunch includes turkey and challah stuffing, and the cost for the meal is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4 to 12 and free for children ages 3 and under. Please make reservations for the lunch by contacting the synagogue office. On the second day of Sukkot, Friday, Oct. 14, a Kiddush in the sukkah will follow 9 a.m. services. Shemini Atzeret is on Thursday, Oct. 20, and will include services at 9 a.m. with the Yizkor service after the sermon. Shemini Atzeret is the final day of Sukkot and represents the closing of the holiday season. During the yamim noraim, the days of awe, we are closer to God than at any other point of the year. Shemini Atzeret is thought of as God’s way of saying to us, “Before you leave, spend just one more day with me.� Hakafot, joyous dancing with the Torah, for Simchat Torah will begin on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6:45 p.m. Simchat Torah celebrates both the completion and the beginning of our annual cycle of reading the Torah. Enjoy a dairy dinner on Erev Simchat Torah following Hakafot. The menu includes Betty’s famous Mac & Cheese, tuna salad, and fabulous dairy desserts. $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4 to 12 and free for children ages 3 and under. Call the synagogue office to make your reservations. Simchat Torah morning services will be held on Friday, Oct. 21, beginning at 9 a.m. Services will be followed by a Kiddush. “Simchat Torah has become a particularly emotional holiday for me,� says Rabbi Jonathan Gross of Beth Israel. “This will be my eighth time celebrating at Beth Israel which means we have heard the whole Torah together seven times. It is obvious to everyone how our level of Torah scholarship is constantly ascending, and it is a direct result of the hard work of everyone in shul. As the rabbi, I am truly proud and can’t wait to celebrate together. As a father, I am particularly looking forward to the special aliyah, Kol Ne’arim, when all of the children of the congregation are called to the Torah. Beth Israel boasts a membership that includes over 75 children. In a few years, we’ll need a bigger bimah!� To make reservations for meals, or for more information about Beth Israel’s service schedule, please contact the synagogue office at 402.556.6288 or BethCohen@ OrthodoxOmaha.org.

Rosh Hashanah Greetings from

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Catering to the community’s needs by OZZIE NOGG Dan Stewart, recently-named Star Catering Coordinator, is relishing the new responsibilities on his plate. “My short term goal is to make our catering operation as organized and efficient as possible,� Stewart said. “Long term, I want to help expand the market for Star Catering while continuing to offer the best food and customer service possible. The Star management team is passionate about bringing a top-notch product to this community. We’re a Dan Stewart unique operation, and those special qualities are an important part of who we are and what we do.� Though Stewart is new to food service, he’s a sales and marketing veteran, having served as General Manager at Renze Display and V.P. of Sales at Pickering Creative Group. Stewart is also a member of the $2 Million sales club at Midwest Sign & Screen Supply. It was in his position as Sales Manager at Signs By Tomorrow -- during the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home New Beginning construction process -- that Dan met Mike Silverman, Omaha Jewish Federation CEO, and Josh Gurock, Jewish Social Services Facilities Coordinator. “Mike and I would bring Dan these wild suggestions for donor recognition signs for the spaces on Main Street and

he was willing to put up with our zaniness, which right away proved he was easy to work with and a real professional,� Gurock said. “He was attentive to our requests and let us know when a project was on schedule or if it was going to be delayed. When deciding on candidates for the Catering Coordinator position, it was Dan’s communication and interpersonal skills that put him above the rest. Dan was the perfect choice to become the face of Star Catering because he knows how to put the customer first.� Star Catering provides food service for meetings, special occasions, parties and life cycle events, both on-site and off campus. As Star Catering Coordinator, Stewart will follow up on quote requests, create marketing tools and help make sure the various catering service elements run smoothly. Stewart (with a smile) said he’s also learning how to make Cheese Frenchees for the Dairy Deli and handle wait staff duties during the Friday Star Deli lunches. Of course, working in a kosher kitchen for the first time does present a learning curve. “Thank goodness for all the people on staff who have helped me understand the rules and traditions,� Stewart said. The kitchen’s location in the labyrinth lower level of the Blumkin Home presents another kind of puzzle. “At first, I was constantly lost down there. Now, I can find my way to the employee lounge for coffee, but I have to leave a trail of challah crumbs to find my way back.� “I really enjoy it here,� Stewart continued. “I’m impressed with the respect shown to the Blumkin Home residents and the level of dedication shown to the Jewish community as a whole. My work at Star Catering gives me the opportunity to contribute my part to both those areas.�

A gift from FJA to JFS

Volunteers needed for B’nai B’rith Sukkot building event

JFS’ Sandee Nogg receives an envelope from Friedel student Myra Dennison; inside it is tzedakah collected by the entire student body during the 2009-10 schoolyear.

by BETH BROWN-GERSHOVICH Administrative Assistant, B'nai B'rith Monsky Lodge B’nai B’rith Henry Monsky Lodge will be preparing for Sukkah by holding their annual Sukkot Building Event, on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m., at the Jewish Community Center. Come help us adorn the JCC Campus’ three Sukkas. We are in need of able-bodied individuals to help us lay pine boughs on the Sukkah of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s courtyard, Friedel Academy and the Pennie Z. Davis Child Development Center. Kosher lunch will be provided. The Sukkot Holiday begins on Thursday, Oct. 13. Middle School and High School student volunteers will receive credit hours that are required for their school’s civic and community service projects; this could also be a nice Mitzvah project for upcoming Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. For more information or to sign up, call 402.334.6443 or email bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

8 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

For service above and beyond, the award goes to... by SHERRIE SAAG Community Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha

E

very year, the agencies of the Jewish Federation of Omaha recognize outstanding volunteers who give their time, expertise and energy to make our Jewish community a better place. This year is no exception. The following volunteers will be recognized for their outstanding service on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in the JCC campus theatre. The entire community is invited as the Federation honors their participation and involvement.

Ellie Batt

Bob Cohen

David Finkle

Judi Finkle

Tony Gedroez

David Kohll

Justin Kohll

Sharon Comisar-Langdon

Bobbi Leibowitz

James May

Kristy McGuire

Denise Meyers

Susan Polack

Ben Shapiro

Anti-Defamation League/CRC Kristy McGuire According to Alan Potash, ADL Director, Kristy is one of the most committed and active volunteers the ADL is fortunate to have. “She has the ability to promote the agency’s work by consistently encouraging her students to attend lectures and guest speaker programs throughout the community,” he stated. Kristy is one of the lead facilitators for the Prejudice Elimination Workshop. She also co-facilitates the CYberAlly workshop and chaperoned the Robert B. Sturm Youth Leadership Mission. The Center for Jewish Education Sharon Comisar-Langdon Education has always been a personal and professional passion for Sharon. As a member of the Center for Jewish Education’s Community High School committee, she was instrumental in forming the Omaha Hebrew Chai School. “Her strong leadership and negotiation skills were admired by all, and we were fortunate Sharon continued as chairman of the school’s first Board,” said Mary Sue Grossman, CJE’s Associate Executive Director. Sharon also serves on the CJE Board and according to Grossman, always provides invaluable experience and insight for its programming and projects. Institute for Holocaust Education Bob Cohen Beth Seldin Dotan, Director, Institute for Holocaust Education, is thrilled to honor Bob as Volunteer of the Year. “His time and

Jim Wax

devotion to Holocaust survivors in our community is immeasurable, and we cannot thank Bob enough for the quiet and priceless service he provides on our Governance Council,” said Dotan. Cohen has served on the Institute’s Board for more than five years. He chaired 2007’s Kristallnacht event at the Joslyn Museum and the 2010 Yom Ha Shoah observance at Temple Israel. But the hours of volunteer time devoted to the reparation needs of Omaha survivors is, perhaps, his greatest gift. He has worked with Beit Tzedek Legal Services for Holocaust Survivors and connected Kutak-Rock offices outside Omaha to Beit Tzedek to further pro-bono legal assistance for local Holocaust survivors. Jewish Federation of Omaha Ellie Batt Ellie Batt has made significant contributions throughout Jewish Omaha since returning to our community a few years ago. She has devoted hours of work and her considerable leadership skills during her two terms as co-chair of the Annual Campaign, and in her active involvement with Partnership with Israel. “Ellie is a woman of tremendous vision” said Jan Goldstein, JFO Chief Development Officer. “She is willing to devote her time and resources to building Jewish community here in Omaha, in Israel and around the world. She is a “hands on” volunteer and it is with great pride that we have named her the Federation Volunteer of the Year.”

The Jewish Press Bobbi Leibowitz Bobbi Leibowitz has been a Board member of the Jewish Press and served as its President for three years. She was in charge of the 2010 search committee for its new editor and agreed to remain as President for a third year to ensure a smooth transition. “During that time, Bobbi was available day and night to answer questions and provide invaluable advice. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty. As a result, what could have been a challenging time instead was a time of excitement and reinvention,” said Annette Van De Camp-Wright, Jewish Press Editor. Jewish Community Center 2010 Maccabi Games Volunteers John Glazer, President, Jewish Community Center, felt the following individuals deserved recognition for their outstanding work during the Omaha Maccabi Games. “These individuals went above and beyond to ensure our event was a huge success,” said Glazer: David Finkle, medical volunteer at Skutt Athletic venue, Judi Finkle and Denise Meyers, food and catering coor-

dinators at the JCC Auditorium, Susan Polack, medical volunteer at opening, closing, zoo and Amazing Pizza Machine evening programs, Ben Shapiro, volunteer at Day of Arrivals and all evening programs, David and Justin Kohll provided all medical supplies used throughout the Games, Tony Gedroez and James May, transportation “gurus” who managed the parking, school and coach buses. Jewish Social Services/RBJH Jim Wax Last year, Jim organized the new senior social group, Mainstreeters and prior to that, was chairman of the group, Visions, for over ten years. He is president–elect of L.O.V.E. (League Offering Volunteers for the Elderly) at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Jim is described as a man of action whose devotion to providing social, spiritual and educational programs to the community’s senior members is appreciated every day. Maggie Conti, director of Activities and Community Outreach, relies on Jim so much, she affectionately calls him “my personal advisor”. Lois Wine, Director of Volunteer Services says, “Jim is a volunteer extraordinaire.”

The Ruach of Federation Continued from page 1 Jewish Academy and was a member of the search committee for current Principal Ron Giller. When she began volunteering for Friedel, the school had 18 students. She acknowledges the hard work and long hours working on academic and Hebrew proficiency standards for the school, but happily says it was all worth it to see it grow and flourish today. Currently, she serves as President of the Center for Jewish Education board. “Bonnie is very committed to Jewish education and leading the agency,” states Mary Sue Grossman, the agency’s Associate Executive Director. “She is the first to volunteer for whatever is needed, whether its the Jewish Film Festival the Friends of the Library campaign or the Omaha Jewish Chai School’s Curriculum Committee,

Bonnie is continually involved.” Grossman adds, “I am fortunate to call Bonnie a friend. Her support is key to the future success of for the Center for Jewish Education.” “Moving to Omaha from the East Coast, it was easy to see that here, everyone lends a hand to help out. I was always so happy just to be involved. A smile and a thank you is all the payback I’ve ever needed,” Bloch explained. “I feel as if we, the community, should thank the Jewish Federation of Omaha for providing us with opportunities to volunteer. I receive so much more than I give. And I’m happy to pass that on.” The Spirit of Federation awards will be handed out at a special Federation event on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in the campus theatre. Everyone is welcome to attend.

September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 9

Double the impact, double the awards

Doing a World of Good

by SHERRIE SAAG Community Development Associate, Jewish Federation of Omaha “Significant community impact” is not an easy thing to judge. How does one measure it? What are the criteria? These questions are considered each year when the Jewish Federation of Omaha determines the recipient of its annual Community Service Award. It is a testament to the work of those involved that this year, there isn’t one, but two programs deemed worthy of an award for community service. Jewish Family Services’ JFStival! and the Jewish Community Center’s 2010 Omaha Maccabi Games will be recognized for their “creative programming which made a significant impact on the community” on Monday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in the JCC campus theatre. The community is invited to attend the awards evening. Jewish Family Service marked its once-in-a-lifetime 100th Anniversary with a joyous JFStival! on June 6, 2011 at Beth El Synagogue. The event brought the entire community together for much-deserved recognition of the daily work done by Jewish Family Service. The event increased awareness of its programs and services, with over 300 people in attendance and raised over $80,000 in conjunction with the agency’s yearly Friends Campaign. Gloria Kaslow was recognized as the JFS Woman of the Century with Andi Willensky as JFStival! Chairperson and Todd and Betiana Simon and Carol and Steve Bloch as Honorary Chairs. An honorary award is an amazing achievement for any organization, but even more so for one whose work is performed outside the public eye in order to respect the privacy and confidentiality of its clients. The anniversary event brought the JFS mission of strengthening and preserving life in the Jewish community into public view for all to appreciate. Over the course of time, JFS continues to provide care and services individuals, couples and families require when facing challenges in their lives. Financial assistance, counseling, Project Tzedakah, Project Dreidel and family life education; these are among the ways that JFS restores dignity, hope and

meaning to the neediest among us. “This event emphasized important fundamentals of Judaism: each of us is important, each of us deserves respect, each of us shares responsibility for caring for one another. JFS lives these principles every day and for everyone who walks through our doors,” said Karen Gustafson, Jewish Family Service Director. Michael Silverman, Federation Chief Executive Officer

together to accomplish this makes them more than deserving of Federation’s Community Service Award, said John Glazer, President, Jewish Community Center of Omaha. Two years in the making, the 2010 JCC Maccabi Games brought together 1,000 Jewish teens and 400 JCC leaders for a week of athletic competition, social interaction and educational programming. The Omaha games included 10 different sporting competitions, opening ceremonies in Ryan Center at Creighton University, Closing Ceremonies at the Strategic Air and Space Museum, and a Day of Caring and Sharing at the Holocaust Memorial in Lincoln. To make all this happen, there were more than thirty working committees and over 350 homes housed visiting athletes. The task Celebrating 100 years of Jewish Family Service at hand was truly one of collaboration, ingenuity and determination from everyone in the community. Close to 10,000 lunches and dinners were served and well over 400 volunteers “got in the game!” According to the Sept. 2010 issue of the JCC Centerpiece, the Omaha Jewish population rose by almost 33% that week! With these numbers, one begins to comprehend the scope of the programming involved. “Yasher Koach and congratulations to all the volunteers! Nationally and locally the JCC has received so many positive remarks about our hospitality, our facility, our teamwork, and our wonderful Jewish community. Uniting as a community for such an enormous and spectacular event not only supports the mission of the agreed, adding, “JFStival! was all about celebrating the Jewish Federation of Omaha, but it also creates a shared incredible work of Jewish Family Service. This award honors Jewish memory among people of all ages which will resonate them for all they do every day, every week, for 100 years.” for many years to come,” said Aaron Rosenfeld, Executive Sharing the Community Service Award this year is the Director, Jewish Community Center of Omaha. JCC’s Maccabi Games, which took place on campus and “The opportunity for this many Jewish teens from across throughout the city Aug. 1-6, 2010. The Maccabi Games are the country and Israel to meet and compete is truly unique, one of the largest and logistically challenging programs any there really is nothing else like it. Spiritually and emotionalJewish community can undertake. ly, the impact of being together with so many Jewish people “The 2010 Omaha Maccabi Games were not only recog- in one location for 6 days is a force felt long after Maccabi nized as a great success locally, but also nationally by the ends and everyone departs for home,” said Esther Katz, JCC JCC Association. That fact that our community came Cultural Arts Director.

Please join us for the Jewish Federation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award community-wide Buddy Goldstein awards event The Phil & Terri Schrager Spirit of Federation Award Bonnie Bloch & Jim Farber Community Service Award (co-winners) 2010 JCC Maccabi Games & JFStival! Celebrating 100 Years of Jewish Family Service

Monday, October 17 7 p.m. | JCC theater A special musical performance from the upcoming production of the Wizard of Oz.

Bruce Fellman Memorial Young Leadership Award Mike Siegel Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Young Leadership Award Stacie Brodkey

Volunteers of the Year Jewish Federation of Omaha | Ellie Batt Jewish Community Center | Maccabi Games volunteers David Finkle, Judi Finkle, Denise Meyers, Susan Polack, Ben Shapiro, David Kohll, Justin Kohll, Tony Gedroez and James May Jewish Social Services/RBJH | Dr. Jim Wax ADL/Community Relations Committee | Kristy McGuire Jewish Press | Bobbi Leibowitz Center for Jewish Education | Sharon Comisar-Langdon Institute for Holocaust Education | Bob Cohen

10 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

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Grow YOUR BUSINESS Advertise For advertising opportunities in the Jewish Press... Call Allan Handleman at 402.334.6451 or email: ahandleman@jewishomaha.org Call Howard Goldstein at 402.334.6559 or email: hgoldstein@jewishomaha.org

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 BESTT Classes K-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Bible Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El JWI Mah Jongg Tournament, noon BBYO Chapter Board Training, 1 p.m. Beth El’s YAC Goes to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, 5 p.m. Live from the 92nd Street Y Reception, 5:30 p.m. Live from the 92nd Street Y - Spitzer and Dershowitz, 6 p.m. MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Monday Moadon - Grades 2-7, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Tashlich Service, 6 p.m. at Trendwood Park Tashlich Dinner, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 Eye on Israel, noon Cardoza Society Dinner & Speaker, 6 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers Lunch & Speaker: Charles Mikhail, noon at Blumkin Home Scholars Club for Grades 4-6, 4 p.m. at Blumkin Home BESTT Classes, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at Blumkin Home Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m. BILU USY Lounge Night, 7 p.m. at Beth El FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 NE Partnership for Philanthropic Planning Meeting, 9 a.m. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 JCC Closed for Yom Kippur Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Break-the-Fast Dinner, 7:35 p.m. at Beth Israel SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 Help Put Up the Synagogue’s Sukkah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel No BESTT Classes at Beth El Weekly Bible Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El WRJ Meeting, 10 a.m. at Temple Israel B’nai B’rith & BBYO Sukkah Building, 10:30 a.m. Chaverim, Kadima & USY Sukkah Decorating, 4 p.m. at Beth El MONDAY, OCTOBER 10 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Monday Moadon - Grades 2-7, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Monday Night Women’s Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 Beth El’s YAC Parent/Toddler Playgroup, 10:30 a.m. at Caryn Scheer’s Home Eye on Israel, noon ADL/CRC Board Meeting, noon JFO Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Live from the 92nd Street Y - Paula Dean and Reception, 7 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel JCC Board Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 Scholars Club for Grades 4-6, 4 p.m. at Blumkin Home Erev Sukkot JCC Closes at 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 Sukkot JCC Closed Lunch in the Sukkah, noon at Beth Israel Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El 39 Forever Presentation, 6:30 p.m. at UNO Planetarium SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16 BESTT Classes PreK-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Bible Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Intercongregational Community Sukkah Hop, 12:15 p.m. Nebraska Shakespeare Workshop, 5 p.m. Soup in the Sukkah, 6 p.m. at Chabad Nebraska Shakespeare Community Performance, 6:30 p.m. MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Mainstreeters Luncheon Program, 12:30 p.m. Monday Moadon - Grades 2-7, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Jewish Federation Awards Presentation & Reception, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 Eye on Israel, noon Star Deli Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at Blumkin Home Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Friedel BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel BESTT School Committee Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 Scholars Club for Grades 4-6, 4 p.m. at Blumkin Home Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m. Simchat Torah Celebrations, 5:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Simchat Torah Service & Congregational Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 BESTT Classes K-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El 24th Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium, 10 a.m. Adult Education, 10 a.m. at Beth El BESTT B’nai Mitzvah Parents Meeting, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El Beth El Kadima & USY go to Ditmars Orchard, 1 p.m. MONDAY, OCTOBER 24 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Monday Moadon - Grades 2-7, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Friedel Scholastic Book Fair thru Oct. 27 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25 Friedel Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:30-8 p.m. Beth El’s YAC Parent/Toddler Playgroup, 10:30 a.m. at Caryn Scheer’s Home Eye on Israel, noon BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel JFO Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. A Guided Tour of the Guide of the Perplexed, 8 p.m. at Beth Israel WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26 Scholars Club for Grades 4-6, 4 p.m. at Blumkin Home BESTT Classes, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Omaha Jewish Chai School, 6:30 p.m. B’nai Tzedek Kickoff Event, 6:30 p.m. BESTT 8th Grade Class, 6:45 p.m. at Blumkin Home Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 Women of the Torah, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Beth El Women’s Book Group, 1 p.m. Lomir Redn Yiddish, 1 p.m. Friedel Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4;30-8 p.m. Kadima & USY Pie Baking, 6 p.m. at Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 BBYO New Members Convention in Kansas City thru 30th Birthday Blessings, 6 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel 3rd-5th grade Shabbaton, 10 a.m. at Beth El Junior Congregation (Grades 2-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30 AIPAC summit, 9 a.m. BESTT Classes PreK-7, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Bible Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El LOVE’S 40th Anniversary Celebration, 11 a.m. MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 Teleconferencing Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. Monday Moadon - Grades 2-7, 4:30 p.m. at Beth El Latte & Learning for 8th-12th Graders, 7:30 p.m. at Starbucks, 114th & Dodge

All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 11

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by RON KAMPEAS AND URIEL HEILMAN NEW YORK (JTA) -- Mahmoud Abbas outlined a vision for an independent Palestine that hewed to the two-state formula but also revived rhetoric that hearkened back to an era of Palestinian belligerence. Shortly after concluding his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, the Palestinian Authority president was followed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who laid out a very different vision of the two-state solution that underscored the depth of the gulf between the two leaders. While Netanyahu spoke of the need for Israel to maintain a “long-term Israeli military presence in the West Bank,” Abbas argued that the Palestinians had already made their compromises. “We agree to establish the state of Palestine on only 22 percent of historical Palestine on all of the territories of Palestine occupied by Israel in 1967,” Abbas said. He added, “Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or delegitimizing it, we only aim to delegitimize the settlement activity.” Abbas’ emphatic endorsement of two states, and his repeated calls for peaceful support from Palestinians who were watching him were signals that he was still committed to the two-state solution. “I do not believe anyone of conscience can reject our application for full membership in the United Nations and our admission as a member state,” he said. But Abbas also had harsh rhetoric for the Israelis, accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” targeting Palestinians for assassination, strengthening its “racist annexation wall” and carrying out excavations that, he alleged, threaten Islamic holy places. Abbas repeatedly invoked 63 years of “Nakba,” or catastrophe, and repeated his commitment to unity with Hamas, a terrorist group committed to Israel’s destruction. He made reference to Muslim and Christian ties to the holy land -the site of Jesus’ birth and where Muslims believed Muhammad ascended to the heavens -- but omitted any reference to Jewish claims. For his part, Netanyahu accused the Palestinians of racism and ethnic cleansing in their call for a state with no Jewish settlers -- “Judenrein,” in Netanyahu’s words, using the Naziera term. “That’s ethnic cleansing,” he said. He accused the Palestinians of wanting statehood but not peace. “The truth is, so far the Palestinians have refused to negotiate,” he said. While Abbas called for a timeline for peace negotiations culminating in an agreement -- but did not set one out himself. That, and his commitment to prior agreements with Israel, seemed to be aimed at assuaging Israeli and U.S. concerns that he would follow up the application with unilateral actions. Israel and the United States have emphatically opposed the Palestinians’ statehood recognition bid at the U.N. But if Abbas’ bottom line was aimed at pushing back

against charges that he was acting unilaterally, his rhetoric was bound to raise hackles -- and seemingly did, given the walkouts by at least two members of the Israeli delegations, Cabinet ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Yuli Edelstein, and the refusal to applaud by Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy. After the speech, Rice tweeted: “When the speeches end today, we must all recognize that the only way to create a state is through direct negotiations. No shortcuts.” Abbas also invoked, to vigorous applause, his predecessor Yasser Arafat’s 1974 appearance before the same body. He cited Arafat’s raising of an olive branch on that occasion, saying it was still held out -- but did not mention the gun Arafat wore, against U.N. regulations and at his insistence. That pistol disgusted the United States and Israel at the time, and for years helped define Arafat in the West not as a man of peace, but as a blood-seeking grandstander. Netanyahu called on Mahmoud Abbas to launch talks immediately in New York and said he was ready to “move ahead” with U.S.-backed parameters. “I extend my hand, the hand of Israel in peace -- I hope you will grasp that,” Netanyahu said. “If we genuinely want peace, let us meet in this building.” Abbas had reiterated in his speech his precondition that Israel freeze all settlement building. It was the first time Netanyahu publicly suggested that he was ready to negotiate on the basis of parameters President Obama laid out in a speech in May; at the time, Netanyahu had objected vigorously to Obama’s call for negotiations based in 1967 lines, with mutually agreed land swaps. “There were things in the ideas” Obama proposed “about borders that I didn’t like, there were things about the Jewish state that I’m sure the Palestinians didn’t like,” Netanyahu said. “For all my reservations, I was willing to move ahead.” Netanyahu reportedly has in recent weeks privately told American interlocutors he is willing to work with Obama’s parameters.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Charles J. Mikhail, an attorney from Mississippi on Wednesday, Oct. 5, noon at the Blumkin Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $10; beverage service is $3. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Yiddish teaches an optimistic vision that allows us to view the world with joy and hope. Come join us at the Blumkin Home, every Thursday in the board room, at 1 p.m., to reap “The Joys of Yiddish!” For information call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

12 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Amuse Me

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press Now that we have a brand new year ahead of us, what will we do with it? Will we search for the next Casey Anthony, hope for a bigger Twitter sex scandal (with juicy pictures!), or eagerly anticipate the next Charlie Sheen-esque breakdown? Or will we do something useful with our time, something morally responsible? Let me get back to you on that. I have often wondered why it can be so hard to pay attention to the “important news.” The grown up political conflicts, the border issues, revolutions, famines, civil wars; keeping track of who does what, why they do it, and where to find them on the map often feels like work. At the same time, sordid tales of scandal enter our brains almost without us noticing. Would we be more interested in the Syrian conflict if Assad had an affair with Lady GaGa? Would more people know how to find Libya on the map if Ghadafi tweeted pictures of his underwear? Serious news, good; scandalous drivel, bad. We all get it: when we accidentally watch Entertainment Tonight, we should apologize for wasting our time. And yet, there is something to be said for paying attention when the lives of public figures take a wrong turn. Take Megan Fox, for instance. A young, pretty actress, on track to have a nice career: she was plucked from obscurity, cast in the movie Transformers, and all was going well. Until, during the filming of the movie’s third installment, she compared director Michael Bay to Adolph Hitler. Apparently, he made the mistake of expecting her to show up on time. This did not go over well with executive producer Steven Spielberg, and Fox was fired immediately. Fox wasn’t the only one who found out how unpopular

that behavior was: there was Fashion designer John Galliano’s public disgrace after he uttered a string of antiSemitic slurs in a restaurant. There were the Hitler dolls that are being sold in Taiwanese grocery stores. And, of course, there’s always Mel: the latest news is that he is planning to make a movie about Judah Maccabee, which caused Anti Defamation League’s Director Abraham Foxman to make the following statement: “We would have hoped that Warner Bros. could have found someone better than Mel Gibson to direct or perhaps even star in a film on the life of the Jewish historical icon Judah Maccabee. As a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty, Judah Maccabee deserves better. It would be a travesty to have the story of the Maccabees told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views. Not only has Mel Gibson shown outward antagonism toward Jews and Judaism in his public statements and actions, but his previous attempt to bring biblical history to life on the screen was marred by anti-Semitism. Rather than listen to respected religious leaders, both Christian and Jewish, who voiced concerns then about the insensitive elements of his depiction of the last hours and crucifixion of Jesus, Gibson showed contempt for those voices and refused to make changes that might have helped turn his passion of hate into a passion of love. While we do not argue with Mel Gibson’s right to make this film, we still strongly believe that Warner Bros. should reconsider Gibson’s involvement in this project.”

If even Abraham Foxman finds it important enough to respond, this type of news fluff must be worthy of our attention. I guess the question is not whether we should watch and listen (we do that anyway) but what we can learn from it. The world of entertainment often serves as a measuring stick: if the behavior displayed by the famous and popular is suddenly unacceptable, we are reminded of our moral compass. Adultery, criminal acts, and yes, anti-Semitism and intolerance often causes a massive fall out. Maybe the fact that we can’t get enough of gossiping about who-said-what means we are on the right track, and we don’t always have to feel bad when we keep an eye on the Megan Foxes of this world. After all, it’s nice to know that whenever someone publicly makes a faux pas, they are held accountable.

Durban’s 10th anniversary is no cause for celebration

Behind the headlines DANIEL S. MARIASCHIN (JTA) -- Which nation doesn’t let women drive? Jails dissenters by the thousands? Beheads minors? Persecutes homosexuals? Executes children? Encourages “honor killings”? Unfortunately, quite a few nations. But not Israel. Yet Israel was the sole focus of a global racism conference that took place in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Ten years later that conference -- perhaps the most open display of anti-Israel hatred ever to take place at a United Nations forum -- is slated to be remembered and celebrated in New York this month. As B’nai B’rith International President Allan Jacobs, who will head our NGO delegation to the opening of the U.N. General Assembly this month, put it, “This celebration represents the world body’s failure to prevent the Durban process from realizing its original objectives: to discuss and combat the horrific racism and widespread intolerance that plagues many regions throughout the world.” The 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, also known as the Durban Conference, degenerated into such a hate fest of baseless and politically motivated Israel bashing that B’nai B’rith delegates -- the Jewish community’s largest representation there -- along with the U.S. representative, Israeli leaders and other nongovernmental organizations of good conscience walked out in protest. The original mission of the conference was worthwhile, laudable and highly necessary as combating global racism and intolerance is key to a more tolerant and peaceful global community. However, when this noble mission was hijacked by groups with a myopic worldview -- groups that can see no wrong in nations with truly egregious human

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rights violations but find fault with the very existence of the Jewish state -- the original conference was discredited and became devoid of meaning. The follow-up Durban Review Conference of 2009 held in Geneva unfortunately was no better. High-level representatives to the review conference used the podium to negate the Holocaust and lambast Israel. A number of countries and Jewish NGOs again took part in a massive walkout to protest the proceedings as well as the hatred espoused by Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The anti-Israel sentiments embraced in the original conference were baselessly reaffirmed in Geneva. As B’nai B’rith said in a statement delivered by honorary president Richard Heideman to the United Nations Durban Review Conference in April 2009, “In summary, Mr. Chairman, we do not believe that a single victim of racism or xenophobia will have reason to find solace from this process filled with pious declarations of intent.” Syria, Sudan, Iran, Rwanda and Zimbabwe are just a few examples of nations with deplorable human rights records and continuing systemic gross human rights violations that cry out for global attention. Nonetheless it is Israel -- a true democracy -- that singularly receives all the blame and all the wrongful attention of her opponents in the world. The systematic human rights violations in countries such as Syria are where a conference to combat racism and intolerance should be focused rather than upon Israel, which respects the rule of law. How is it possible that this U.N. process still disproportionately makes reference to Israel while putting on the sidelines states that conduct official policies of racial discrimination? The blinkered focus manages to ignore Israel’s record as a democracy with a myriad list of contributions. Cutting-edge medical technology emanates from Israel and

benefits the world. Israeli doctors treat thousands of Palestinian and Arab patients each year from multiple locations without regard to religion or national origin. Israel helps the world stay connected via its leading-edge communications inventions and innovations. Israel could easily be considered among the world’s first first-responders, often reacting faster to global natural disasters than nations that are bigger and closer. Nevertheless, the U.N.’s revalidation of the anti-Israel focus and outcome of the original conference undermines its credibility as an overseer of global racism and rights. It is encouraging that Durban is increasingly being recognized for the biased conference it proved to be; more and more nations are declaring that they will sit out any commemoration of Durban. Most recently, Austria, Australia and Germany joined such nations as Canada, Israel, the United States, the Czech Republic, Italy and The Netherlands, among others, in declaring that they will forego events related to “celebrating” Durban. The message sent is that politics needs to be relegated to the margins in any remembrances of Durban. There is some chance for a more positive outcome this time around. Some reports indicate that efforts have been made to excise the political references that single out Israel. However, there is no guarantee that the event will be anything other than more of the same. It is the sincere wish, a decade on, that things will be different. The United Nations must return to the crucial business that the original conference never ended up addressing -- focusing on how to end racism and intolerance, and making the world better for the truly oppressed and for those who truly have no voice. Daniel S. Mariaschin is executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International, which has been accredited as a U.N. NGO since 1947.

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September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 13

Israel should support the Palestinian statehood push

Focus on issues MICHAEL J. WEIL (JTA) -- Israelis and Jews around the world are awaiting the Palestinians’ push at the United Nations for statehood with trepidation. The official response of the government of Israel and American Jewish groups has been to do everything possible to prevent any action at the U.N. and to line up votes against it. Only America and a few other nations have joined Israel’s side. Most European countries are likely to either support the Palestinians or abstain. The current Israeli strategy seems certain to fail. While the Palestinians are unlikely to get the Security Council’s approval because of the U.S. veto, they will get the support of the General Assembly. Legally a General Assembly vote means little, but it doesn’t matter. As far as the world goes, Palestine will have achieved statehood. And it won’t stop there. Israel will be accused of establishing settlements in a foreign country, and each time Israel acts in response to a rocket from Gaza or an attack from the West Bank, it will be attacked verbally for threatening the sovereignty of a neighboring country. Israel will find itself embroiled in lawsuits at the International Court at The Hague and in other European countries, accused of violating the rights of a sovereign nation. The new “frontline” in the Israel-Palestinian conflict will be about water, airspace, territorial waters, imports and exports, taxation and more. Israel cannot win in this battle. There is, however, an alternative to Israel’s current

approach and our community’s wall-to-wall condemnation of the Palestinian plan: Israel should support Palestinian statehood in the strongest manner. This is the right approach on both moral and pragmatic grounds. As an Israeli and a Zionist, I have a moral duty to support any people that desires national self-determination. This was our dream for 2,000 years, and we began the journey toward realizing that aspiration in Basel 120 years ago. We achieved statehood in 1948, and yet we still struggle to have our right to self-determination accepted. Today, we need not only to defend our Jewish state but also to support others seeking self-determination. Is there any moral reason to deny that right to the Palestinians? True, they have only become a people in recent times, but what right do we have to say that they are not a nation entitled to their own state? Our doomed attempt to prevent recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations will only serve to bolster the cause of those who are trying to delegitimize Israel’s national rights. Israel would do better by endorsing the Palestinian effort to gain recognition, and it should be the first nation to vote in favor of Palestinian statehood. This should be followed by demands that the Palestinians prove they can fulfill the responsibilities of statehood. The new Palestinian government must develop an economy that can provide for the well-being of its citizens. It must teach its children to respect all peoples and remove antiIsrael rhetoric from its textbooks and media. The Palestinian government’s police force needs not only to protect its own citizens but also to ensure that terrorism is rooted out. The new state must embrace democracy and protect civil rights. These have been the demands of the citizens of

Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Syria during the Arab Spring, and the Palestinian people deserve the same. They are entitled to a free press, free speech and freedom of religion. The status of Palestinian women must be advanced and their rights protected. The new Palestinian government faces an especially difficult challenge in dealing with Jewish settlements. Yet a modern state must learn to live with citizens of other countries and peoples of other faiths in its midst. It will behoove the new Palestinian government to protect the Jewish settlers and guarantee their rights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should call upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to fulfill the responsibilities of government. Netanyahu should offer to meet with the head of the new Palestinian state to negotiate borders and resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries. I do not expect that the Palestinians will be eager to return to peace negotiations. But their refusal will put the Palestinians on the defensive and expose their current statehood push as just an empty public relations tactic. Meanwhile, by supporting Palestinian statehood, Israel would underscore its willingness to move forward and achieve the ultimate goal of peace. This approach is a lot better than the one now being pursued by Israel. It is also the morally correct, Zionist and Jewish thing to do. Michael J. Weil is the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. He lived in Israel for 30 years and served in the IDF. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not represent the policy of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

A Palestinian state should be the result of negotiations

Focus on issues MERVYN DANKER SAN FRANCISCO (j. weekly) -- To establish its independence, Israel had to win a war against the combined might of the Arab nations in 1948. The Arab failure to destroy the nascent Jewish state became known, in Orwellian Arab vernacular, as “Nakba,” a catastrophe. For the next 20 years, neither Jordan nor any of the other Arab states even spoke of giving Palestinian Arabs their independence, concentrating instead on boycotting and delegitimizing Israel. Only some years after the Six-Day War of 1967, when Israel, beating back the annilihation attempt by Egypt, Jordan and Syria, found itself in possession of the West Bank and Gaza Strip did the Arabs suddenly develop a passion for Palestinian statehood. Even though Arab national aspirations in Palestine are little more than a century old and developed in response to Zionism, Israel, whose Jewish roots in the land go back thousands of years, repeatedly has sought a negotiated settlement so that Israel and a Palestinian state could live side by side in peace. Generous Israeli offers were made at Camp David and Taba under President Clinton’s aegis in 2000-01, but Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat walked out on the talks. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pulled all Israelis out of Gaza, but instead of developing into an embryonic Palestinian state, the region became a Hamas-ridden launching pad for anti-Israel terror. Subsequent Israeli attempts to restart negotiations have met a wall of Palestinian refusal to recognize it as a Jewish state and insistence on a refugee “right of return” to Israel proper -- both positions clearly intended to keep up the conflict, not solve it. Rebuffing the very idea of a Jewish state means the Palestinians are not ready to concede that Israel was the place of origin of the Jewish people, the focus of its prayers and dreams for centuries and the center of a renewed Jewish people today in the wake of the Holocaust. Indeed, Palestinian

negotiators seem to deny that Jews constitute a people at all. Combining this with the demand that anyone claiming to be a descendant of a Palestinian who left what is now Israel should be allowed to return confirms that the Palestinian strategy is indeed to snuff out the Jewish state demographically, turning Israel into a second Palestinian state alongside the one to be created in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas, classified by the United States and the European Union as a terrorist organization, condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden and has categorically rejected any acceptance of Israel. Coming at a time when the Palestinian Authority is allied with Hamas, passage of a U.N. resolution backing the creation of a Palestinian state could put an abrupt end to any hope for the resumption of peace talks with Israel. It also could reverse Palestinian economic progress by triggering a cutoff of the annual $400 million that the Palestinian Authority gets in American aid and possibly lead to violence in the West Bank when the Palestinians realize that an empty U.N. declaration makes not an iota of difference to the situation on the ground. In their quest for unilateral statehood, the Palestinians themselves are deeply divided in the vision of their future state. The Fatah faction sees itself as part of a secular Arab world, whereas Hamas envisions an Islamic Palestinian state. The U.N. vote could well create a Palestinian crisis resulting in a destructive civil conflict - a conflict that could spread into Israel, Jordan and other neighboring Middle East states. While it is tempting to imagine that the United Nations can magically create a Palestinian state, only a return to the peace table and negotiations with Israel can do that. While it may take a little longer, a settlement reached that way is the only kind that can last, preparing the groundwork for an agreement whereby a new Palestinian state and the existing Jewish state agree to an end of the conflict. Once such a deal is reached, Israel should be the first to propose U.N. membership for the democratic and peace-loving Republic of Palestine. Mervyn Danker is the regional director of the American Jewish Committee’s Northern California office.

Ask Mike MIKE SILVERMAN, CEO, Jewish Federation of Omaha Dear Mike, My family and I will be visiting Omaha from New York City for the first time in 2 years this coming Sukkot. We are very much looking forward to visiting the JCC and the Rose Blumkin Home. This coming Sukkot, the last days of Yom Tov fall out on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 20-21. Given that the Star Deli is usually open on Friday’s are there special plans being made to have the deli open during the intermediary days of Sukkot? I and my family very much would like to experience the Star Deli during my visit given all the great food and reviews that I have been reading about in the Jewish Press. Thank you in advance and sincerely, Evan Saltzman (Riverdale, NY) Evan, We have thought about how best to serve our community during this time and have come up with the following: the current plan is to close the deli for Rosh Hashanah on Friday, Sept. 30 and for Sukkot on Oct. 14 and 21. We will be open for a BBQ Deli Dinner on Oct. 18 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. In celebration of the holiday we will be offering a special dessert buffet in the Sukkah. The deli will resume to its normal Friday lunch schedule starting Oct. 28. I hope to see you, and our entire Jewish Community, during this time. Mike

JEWISH PRESS NOTICE The Jewish Press will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 13-14, for Sukkot. Questions? Call 402.334.6448

14 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com FRIDAY: Services followed by Oneg, 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Kol Nidre services, 7:30 p.m. with guest, Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, We are Crossing the Jordan River; But How about the Missouri? SATURDAY, Oct. 8: Services, 10:30 a.m. with guest speaker Dr. Oliver Pollak, Would the Synagogue of 1911 be Recognizable in 2011? Concluding service and Break-the-fast potluck, 5:30 p.m. Please call 712.323.8885 to RSVP and let us know what dish you’d like to bring.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Rabbi Steven Abraham and Cantor Beth Schlossberg. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush given by Beth El; Evening Services, 6:55 p.m. GET YOUR MORNING MIDRASH!: Meet with Rabbi Abraham on Saturdays at 9 a.m. to discuss the week’s Torah portion, midrashim (rabbinic stories), plus medieval and modern biblical commentators. The class is open to everyone (knowledge of Torah is not required). Class will conclude prior to the beginning of Shabbat services. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: BESTT Family Assembly, 9:45-10:15 a.m. in the social hall annex. Parents of students are invited to attend each week. USYers will sell bagels and donuts from 9 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. each Sunday; Bible Study Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Young Adult Committee is hosting a family outing/picnic to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, 4 p.m. Admission to Vala’s is $13 per person, free for children ages two and younger. Dinner at 6 p.m.; meal cost is $6.50 for adults, $4.50 for children ages four to 12, no charge for children ages three and younger. To RSVP, send a check – made payable to Beth El – to the synagogue. For more information, contact Sonia Tipp at 402.968.5519, or stipp0811@yahoo.com; or Lynda Fischer, at 402.996.0383, or ljlaz@aol.com. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Kol Nidre, 6:55 p.m. SATURDAY, Oct. 8: Morning service (Yizkor), 9 a.m.; Alternative service, 9:45 a.m.; Family Service, 10:30 a.m.; Study session, 4:35 p.m. with Rabbi Jules Harlow; MinhaNe’ilah service, 5:35 p.m.; Children’s procession, 7:10 p.m.; Sounding of the Shofar, 7:20 p.m. SUKKAH-BUILDING: Volunteers are welcome to help Men’s Club members as they construct the sukkah on Sunday, Oct. 9, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. If possible, bring tools and work gloves. Breakfast and lunch will be served. SUKKAH-DECORATING: Our USY, Kadima and Chaverim youth groups will decorate the sukkah at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9. JEWS ‘N’ BREWS: Monday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m., at the synagogue. BETH EL PLAYGROUP: Playgroup for children ages five and younger and their parents, will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 10:30 a.m. at the home of Caryn Scheer. (see full story on page 4.) All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

a.m.; Children’s Classes begin with Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; The Laws of Shabbat, 4:30 p.m.; Advanced Parshah Study for Kids (ages 10 and up), 5:30 p.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Twitter Topic Class, 5:30 p.m.; Mincha, 6:30 p.m. followed by Seuda Shlishit; Havdalah, 7:47 p.m. SUNDAY: Fast of Gedaliah begins, 6:01 a.m.; Selichot, 8:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Fast ends, 7:38 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Selichot, 6:40 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Weekly Teleconference Mishnah Class, 10:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross. Contact the office for information on how to call-in to the conference call; Tashlich service, 6 p.m. at Trendwood Park, 132nd & Pacific Streets, followed by dinner at the synagogue. TUESDAY: Rabbi Mizrahi’s Weekly Class, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Scholars Club for fourth-sixth graders, 4 p.m. at the Blumkin Home; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Gross. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Selichot, 6:40 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Kol Nidre, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Torah Reading, 9:30 a.m.; Sermon, 10 a.m., followed by Yizkor; The Book of Yonah class, 4:15 p.m. with Rabbi Gross; Mincha, 5:15 p.m.; Neilah, 6:30 p.m.; Fast Ends, 7:35 p.m.; A dinner to break the fast will be held at the synagogue.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Morning Services, 9 a.m.; Shofar Sounding, 11 a.m.; Evening Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Minyan, 10 a.m.; Youth Minyan, 10:30 a.m.; Mini Mensch title will be awarded. Special Farbrengen Kiddush luncheon in honor of Chai Elul follows the service. Join Rabbi Katzman, noon-1 p.m.; W.O.W. Parsha, Prophets and Prayer, 12:45 p.m.; Evening Services, 6:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Fast of Gedaliah; Morning Services, 8:30 a.m.; Evening Services, 6:45 p.m.; Fast ends, 7:32 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Services, 7 a.m. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Service, 7 a.m.; Kol Nidre, 6:30 p.m. All programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Stacy and Kevin Balter. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Ha’azinu. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple. THURSDAY: Choir rehearsal, 7:30-9 p.m. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Yom Kippur Evening Service, 8 p.m. SATURDAY, Oct. 8: Yom Kippur Children’s Service (Parents are encouraged to attend) 9 a.m.; Yom Kippur Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Yom Kippur Afternoon Service, Yizkor (Memorial Service), and Neilah (Concluding Service), 3 p.m.; Break-the-Fast Potluck, 6 p.m.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross and Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Torah Reading, 9:30 a.m.; Sermon, 10 a.m., followed by Shofar blowing; Kiddush is sponsored by Sisterhood; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:50 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Free babysitting, 9:30

MEMORIAL SERVICES Sunday, Oct. 2 Oak Hills/Bikhor Cholim, Council Bluffs, 10 a.m. Beth El Cemetery, 84th and ‘L’ Sts., 11:45 a.m. Temple Israel Cemetery, 6412 No. 42 St., 1 p.m. Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, 3 p.m.

Candlelighting Friday, September 30, 6:50 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway | Offutt AFB, NE 68113 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRAYER GROUP 1317 North 57 Street | Omaha, NE 68132 | 402.551.6609 There will be no services starting Sept. 30 until after Simchat Torah. Services will resume Oct. 28.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Morning service, 9 a.m., led by Miles Remer. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m. led by Alan Shulewitz. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Kol Nidre, 7 p.m. led by Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY, Oct. 8: Yom Kippur Services with Yizkor, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg; Mincha & Neilah, 3 p.m. led by Marti Nerenstone. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 7023 Cass Street | Omaha, NE 68132-2651 | 402.556.6536 www.templeisrael-ne.org FRIDAY: Shabbat Shuva Service: Why Does Rosh Hashanah Come Before Yom Kippur, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Linder and Cantor Shermet. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.; Taschlich, following Shabbat at Elmwood Park. SUNDAY: Teacher Meeting, 9 a.m.; Grades PreK-6, 10 a.m.; JYG Event, noon; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 1 p.m. TUESDAY: Kol Rina Rehearsal, 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-8, 6-8 p.m.; A Jewish Super Hero Repents, 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY-Oct. 7: Kol Nidre Service, 7:30 p.m.; Sitter Service is available. SATURDAY-Oct. 8: Children’s service, 9 a.m.; Tot Service, 9 a.m.; Morning Service, 10:15 a.m.; Reading and Meditations, 12:30 p.m. read by lay leaders; The Shofar Calls You to Tell a Story, 12:30 p.m.; Moments of Remembrance, 2 p.m.; Sermon discussion, 3 p.m. with congregation members and clergy; Afternoon service/Yizkor/Neilah/Havdalah, 3:45 p.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAY: Morning Service, 9 a.m.; Youth Services, 11 a.m.noon led by Marina Kushner and Avi Knecht; Mincha, 6:30 p.m.; Shabbat Service, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Study Session on Pirkei Avot, 9:30 a.m.; Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High, 10 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple. FRIDAY, Oct. 7: Kol Nidre, 6:15 p.m. SATURDAY, Oct. 8: Yom Kippur, 9 a.m.; Youth Services, 11 a.m.-noon led by Marina Kushner and Avi Knecht; Mincha, 5:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:39 p.m. with Break-the-fast meal to follow.

Dead Sea Scrolls debut online by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Internet users can now view the Dead Sea Scrolls online. The Israel Museum on Monday launched the Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project, which provides access to high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as additional data and background information. The project is a collaboration of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Google R&D center in Israel. Five scrolls have been digitized: the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll and the War Scroll. It marks the first time that the collection of scrolls is being photographed in its entirety since the 1950s. The entire collection includes 900 manuscripts comprising

about 30,000 Dead Sea Scrolls fragments. “We are privileged to house in the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book the best preserved and most complete Dead Sea Scrolls ever discovered,” said James Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher director of the Israel Museum. “They are of paramount importance among the touchstones of monotheistic world culture, and they represent unique highlights of our Museum’s encyclopedic holdings. Now, through our partnership with Google, we are able to bring these treasures to the broadest possible public.” The Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library project is being funded with a major gift from the Leon Levy Foundation, with additional major funding from the Arcadia Foundation and the Yad Hanadiv Foundation.

Pulverente MONUMENT CO.

September 30, 2011 | The Jewish Press | 15

Turn over a new leaf

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Rosh HaShana If you are playing a game and you get three balls to hit a moving target, and you miss the target all three times, and you ask for another chance, they will tell you: “You’ve had your chance.” The game of LIFE is different. Last year, you may have said to yourself: I will study, I will learn, I will make myself a better person.” Now, you ask for another chance, and the book of LIFE answers: “Of course! You may have another chance every year.”

If, last year. you promised yourself you would do thus and so, and it didn’t happen, and you ask for another chance, the book of LIFE answers: “Of course. If you didn’t make good last year, you may have another chance.” That is what Rosh HaShana tells us: here is a New Year. In it, you have another chance to become the person you had hoped to be. You will make it this year! The book of LIFE does not refuse another chance. Even another. Even still another! That is what Rosh HaShana tells us. You should not have failed last year, but if you did fail, the game is not over! Here is another year, new and fresh, so give yourself a chance. You will not run out of opportunities. This is a New Year; try to make yourself the person you had hoped to be. It is like turning over a new page in your writing book! The New Year offers new chances, new opportunities! Be glad that you have not failed...seize the opportunities! The New Year allows you to try again, to improve your efforts. It is Rosh HaShana!

PHYLLIS JOY KERN FRIEDEL Continued from page 1 unanimously voted for a new name: in January of 1987, Friedel Jewish Academy was officially renamed in Phyllis and Leonard’s honor. “It is our hope,” the school board said in a statement, “that our children’s contributions to the Jewish community of Omaha, as a result of the education this gift makes possible, will serve as a living testimonial to the generosity of Phyllis and Leonard Friedel.” Marty Ricks, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation Foundation has immense respect for what the Friedel family has given Omaha: “About eight years ago I met Phyllis for the first time at lunch at the ‘Grove’ near her condo in Los Angeles.” Ricks remembers. “I heard all about Leonard and the girls and the grandkids, and her acting career. She talked about their decision to leave a major endowment for Omaha’s Jewish day school. I have a vivid memory of a very enjoyable lunch, hearing the life story of a very positive and happy lady. She was so proud that with her loving husband, they were able to leave such a meaningful legacy in the Jewish community where they spent so much of their lives. Since their endowment fund was created in 1988, it has distributed approximately $700,000. Thanks to the vision of Leonard and Phyllis, we have a vibrant day school that has a stellar reputation for its Judaic and secular educators that helps to form outstanding students.” While living in Scottsdale, Phyllis continued her philanthropic work with the Jewish Federation of Phoenix and Temple Solel. She continued to act in local theater, and decided to become a serious actress when, after the 2002 death of her husband, she moved to LA. In Los Angeles, she continued her involvement with the Jewish community through the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the Jewish National Fund, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, and the West Coast Jewish Theater. She didn’t stop there: as recently as August of 2011, the Anti-Defamation League’s Connecticut Director of Development, Victor Levitt, presented Phyllis with a lithograph to honor and recognize the Friedel Foundation. The Foundation was designated a “Champion” for its generous gift to the Anti-Defamation League Foundation’s Legacy Endowment Campaign, which will fund ADL’s Confronting Anti-Semitism program in Connecticut. Phyllis Friedel’s biggest impact, however, remains evident in the students of Friedel Jewish Academy, who will be able to attend a quality Jewish day school for years to come. “We are terribly saddened by the news of Phyllis passing,” says Ron Giller, FJA Principal. “At the same time, we are so grate-

ful for what the Friedel family has done for our school, and for our community. To give our students this opportunity is a phenomenal thing, it’s a gift that can’t be measured because of the sheer number of kids that have come through these doors. They didn’t just endow a building, they endowed young minds, and the importance of that can’t be overstated.” “Our community will be forever grateful to Phyllis and her family for the legacy that they have left,” said Jody Malashock, President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. “As we see the FJA students grace the halls of our campus we are reminded of how fortunate we are of the generosity and committment of Phyllis and Leonard to providing a quality Jewish education for our children. On behalf of the Federation, our heartfelt condolences go to the entire Friedel family.” Phyllis was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Leonard L. Friedel; sister, Rita Freeman; brother, Norman Kern. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law Lynne and Steven Gellman, and daughter Randi F. Sherman, as well as four grandchildren: Jay, Becca, Lyndsi and Matthew; nieces, nephews, and friends. Services were held Sept. 21, at Green Acres Mortuary in Scottsdale, AZ. Memorials may be sent to Friedel Jewish Academy (402.334.0517), the West Coast Jewish Theater, P.O. Box 1723, Studio City, CA 91614, or the charity of your choice.

MANUAL HIMELSTEIN Manual Himelstein passed away on Sept. 22 in Long Beach, CA. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Anne; daughter and son-in-law, Vicki and Dennis Nishida; and son David. He was born in Omaha June 4, 1918, and was a proud veteran of WWII.

DAVID (MOSHE YOSEF) REICHENBERG David (Moshe Yosef) Reichenberg of Spring Valley, N.Y passed away on Sunday, Aug. 28 during the aftermath of hurricane Irene. Mr. Reichenberg gave his life in an act of mesirus nefesh. He was known by many in the Omaha community as the son-in-law of former long-time Omaha residents and members of Beth Israel Synagogue, the late Rae and Shelly Coren. He is survived by his wife Ruth Miriam (Coren) Reichenberg; daughter, Rifka Hadassa, and three sons, Yehoshua Ahron, Eli Yacov and Akiva. A fund has been organized to assist the family. Memorials may be made to Ohr Samayach-Reichenberg Fund, 3 Manor Drive, Monsey, N.Y 10952, 845.425.1370 or by visiting www.reichenbergfund.org.

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE

CORRECTION In our Sept. 16 edition, the caption below Navah Harlow’s picture on page 10 implied she is presenting together with her husband. This is incorrect; Harlow is presenting by herself, during Beth El morning services Oct. 1. The Jewish Press regrets the error.

The Jewish Press will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 13-14 for Sukkot, and Thursday and Friday, Oct. 20-21, for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. The deadline for all ads, articles and photos is Wednesday, Oct. 12, 9 a.m. for the Oct. 21 issue. Questions? Call 402.334.6448

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16 | The Jewish Press | September 30, 2011

Roseanne Barr: Meditate with me by DVORA MEYERS NEW YORK (JTA) -- When one thinks of Roseanne Barr, “meditative” is hardly the first adjective that comes to mind. The Emmy Award-winning comedian and actress, who reached superstar status with her role as a blue-collar matriarch on her hit eponymous sitcom, was never known for her mellow side (assuming she had one). Whether in character or doing standup, she was loud, crass and often politically incorrect.

Barr as farmer also subverts the stereotype of the environmentalist as a crunchy, granola-type hippie. The first episode of the show had her explaining her problems with a foreign invasive species with a flurry of expletives that were bleeped by Lifetime’s censors. (George Carlin would’ve been proud.) Her newfound vocation is worlds away from Los Angeles and the sitcom she created that explored the issues of working-class Americans in the early ‘90s. And what of those blue-collar citizens? Can they possibly follow in Barr’s footsteps, or is regular organic eating probably too expensive for a working-class family? “It’s not expensive to grow your own garden,” Barr said. “It’s the cheapest thing in the world. For a family of four, two acres will feed them for a year.” Barr prides herself on having “solutions” such as the above for the myriad problems facing the world, which is part of the reason she has announced her intention to run for president of the United States and prime minister of Israel simultaneously. “I would have to say that as far as politics go, there aren’t many more evolved women than myself,” she said. Watching the tent cities spring up across Israel has heartened her. Roseanne Barr, along with her sister, is hosting a retreat “There’s always a tipping emphasizing the softer, greener side of Judaism -- as well as point of bullshit,” she said, that of Barr herself. “and they’ve reached it.” Yet despite her reputation for volume, volBut as often as she makes grandiose and ubility and controversy, Barr, 58, and her sis- bizarre statements, Barr punctures her ter, Geraldine, will host a women’s spiritual- bravado with a joke. While referring to the ity and meditation weekend at the Isabella traditionalist view that only men over the Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in age of 40 are allowed to study Jewish mystiConnecticut later this month. The retreat cism in the conversation, she cracked, “I’m will emphasize the softer, greener side of allowed to because I’m over 50. I have raised Judaism -- as well as that of Barr herself. my children and I’m bearded.” (She doesn’t “I started meditating about 17 years ago,” appear hirsute onscreen, yet she is wearing Barr said during a phone interview from her hair gray these days.) Hawaii, where she now lives and works on “Judaism as a philosophy before a religion the 40-acre macadamia nut farm that she was extremely goddess-centered and bought five years ago. It is also the setting of nobody knows that,” Barr said. her Lifetime reality show, Roseanne’s Nuts, For her part, she would like to step all the which chronicles her attempt to live a “radi- way outside of the tradition rather than concal and organic life” with her musician tend and try to reform it. boyfriend Johnny Argent, who she met on “If I was black, I wouldn’t be listening to a her website, Roseanne’s World. (She has KKK person saying I’m not good enough,” claimed that others have met their basherts, she said in a jab at more right-wing corners or soul mates, on her site so perhaps if the of the Jewish world. farming thing doesn’t work, she might conDespite such hang-ups, her involvement sider giving JDate a run for its money.) in community events such as the retreat at But don’t mistake Barr for Henry David Isabella Freedman reveals an openness Thoreau in Walden. She has not fallen off the toward tradition. grid. She regularly tweets to her fans, posts to In her most recent book, Roseannarchy: her blog and recently penned a cover story Dispatches from the Nut Farm, she acknowlfor New York Magazine about the perils of edges that “feminist Jews argue against the fame, narcissism and breaking into the old patriarchy while honoring it.” boys’ club known as network television. And Still, she writes, “I cannot NOT be a Jew.” finally, let’s not forget that she appears weekThis remains true even if you snap up a ly on an actual television show. farm in a noncontiguous state. Judaism (and Suffice it to say, Barr is hardly the reality show cameras) will always find you. unplugged environmentalist type.

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