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Kaplan Book Group ends the summer with The Last Bathing Beauty Page 4
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Jews and Crime Jesse Abelman
Kimmy Caplan
Dan Clanton
Joel Gereboff
Chaya Halberstam
Elena Hoffenberg
Mara W. Cohen Ioannides
Motti Inbari
Victoria Khiterer
Menachem Keren-Kratz
Joseph E. Kraus
Jeffrey A. Marx
Therapeutic Drumming Experience Page 5
LEONARD GREENSPOON Creighton University Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization his year’s Symposium presenters come from as far away as Israel and as close as Crete, Nebraska. They teach at a variety of academic institutions from large public universities to small liberal arts colleges. Some are graduate students; others senior professors. What brings them all together is their knowledge of and enthu-
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Yonatan S. Miller
Iran’s supreme leader blames protests on Israel and US Page 6
REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND
2022-2023 Omaha Beit Midrash MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement and Education The 2022-2023 Beit Midrash (house of study) series begins on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in hybrid form – via Zoom or in the Wiesman Family Reception Room at the Staenberg
on Wednesdays through May 17 with breaks for holidays and some additional programming. Omaha Beit Midrash was conceived over a lunch that Rabbi Brian Stoller of Temple Israel and Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue shared in 2019. They set upon
Omaha JCC. The Zoom link is available on the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s webpage, www.jewishoma ha.org by clicking on the sliding banner at the top. Sessions will continue
establishing a community learning experience that would extend beyond the “one and done” concept. Planning and organizing resulted in the first session coming to life in October of 2019. Even when Covid hit, Beit Midrash survived – even thrived – in the virtual land of Zoom. Dialogue with the clergy has been broad, deep, interesting, informative – and occasionally a bit controversial. We are hoping that with the anticipated increase of in-person participation this year, the discussions will continue to be equally spirited. We owe See Omaha Beit Midrash page 3
siasm for the topic of this fall’s 34th Annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization, Chronicling Jews and Crime: From Law-Makers to Law-Breakers. This event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 23, and Monday, Oct. 24. With four venues—University of Nebraska at Omaha on Sunday morning, the Jewish Community Center of Omaha Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus on Sunday afternoon, Beth El Synagogue on Sunday evening, and Creighton University on See Jews and Crime page 3
Motti Zalkin
The amazing story of Joseph Polonski
Joe Polonski, with his wife, Bluma
SCOTT LITTKY Institute for Holocaust Education Executive Director Late last fall I received a call from former Omaha resident, Rose Viny. She introduced herself as the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Joe and Bluma Polonski. In the course of our conversation she began to tell me the amazing story of her father and his experience at Treblinka. She then asked if the IHE would be interested in showing a
new movie that had just been produced and narrated by Holocaust educator and expert, Michael Berenbaum. So, with that in mind the Institute for Holocaust Education is honored to be able to show the movie, Escape from Treblinka: The Joseph Polonski Story, on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the Jewish Community Center. When speaking about her father, See Escape from Treblinka page 2