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Vol. LXXXVI No. 14 Omaha, NE

Celebrating 85 Years of Service to Nebraska and Western Iowa

War Makes Western Galilee Hospital Expert in Mass Casualty by CAROL KATZMAN Editor of the Jewish Press The week prior to my visit to the Western Galilee Hospital, the annual Emergency Response Group Training hosted 15 medical professionals from Ohio and New Jersey. This time, the training brought a real sense of what happens during a mass casualty event like last summer’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The hospital, located just east of Israel’s northern coastal town of Nahariya, sits just three miles from the Lebanese border. Situated on a main east-west highway, the massive white buildings in the complex made it a target for the Iranian-backed Dr. Arie Eisenman heads the Internal Medicine department of the Western Galilee Hospital’s emergency room, only three miles from Lebanon on Israel’s northern border. terrorist group. its affect on the hospital, we sat down with Dr. Arie And by now, everyone knows the hospital was hit. Luckily for patients, the hospital’s President, Prof. Eisenman, head of the Emergency Room’s internal medShaul Shasha, had insisted on building a major under- icine department. Originally from France, Dr. Eisenman ground installation. Within one hour after the katyusha worked at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he still lives rockets began to fall on July 12, the staff evacuated near- with his wife and family. “When I arrived in Nahariya that Wednesday (July 12), ly everyone into the underground hospital. That included all patients in the 700-bed hospital, 50 children from I found myself in the middle of a war,” Dr. Eisenman told the Jewish Press. “There was smoke and fire everythe daycare center, and visiting families and friends. When a katyusha hit the northern facing rooms of the where. I knew it was about the kidnapped soldiers.” He ophthalmology wing on July 28, no one was there. The reached the hospital to find wounded civilians and soldamage remains, however, because, as Judith diers already there. They came in daily waves, sometimes Jochnowitz, International Liaison, says, “We’ve had two or three waves a day. “We all stayed past our shifts more than 800 visitors since the war ended on Aug. 25. that first day,” he said, “but after Haifa was bombed, it They want to see the damage; they want to understand didn’t really make a difference.” So he started commutwhat happened here.” In the six years prior to Aug. 25, ing back and forth. “Sometimes I would hear the sirens in which Jochnowitz has held this position, she only go off; sometimes I didn’t. Even so, by the time you received 600 visitors--donors, volunteers and the media. could hear the sirens, it would be too late anyway.” In order to understand the magnitude of the war and Continued on page 2

24 Kislev, 5767 December 15, 2006

Conflicting Conservative Opinions Expected to Open the Way for Gays by BEN HARRIS NEW YORK (JTA)--Even before the ink was dry on the Conservative movement’s decision to accept gay rabbis and allow same-sex commitment ceremonies, its impact was already being felt. Rabbi Jerome Epstein, Executive Vice President of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the movement’s congregational arm, immediately announced that he was recommending a change in the organization’s hiring practices, which had required employees to be observant of Jewish law--effectively barring gay men and lesbians. That sentiment was echoed by USCJ President, former Omahan Ray Goldstein. “I see no reason why we should not revise our hiring policies so we may consider applicants for United Synagogue jobs no matter what their sexual orientation may be,” Epstein said in a statement. “United Synagogue’s leadership will discuss the issue at our next scheduled meeting.” With advocates on both sides of the issue warning that the Dec. 6 decisions by the Committee on Jewish Law Continued on page 4

Two Jewish women exchange vows under the chuppah in a recent ceremony in New York. Credit: Rebecca Weiss Photography/Reprinted from Lilith Magazine, summer 2006

Part III: The Project Dreidel Chronicles

It Can Happen to Anyone by SHARON BARGAS for Jewish Family Service Welcome to the third installment of the Project Dreidel Chronicles. Starting with the first chronicles almost seven years ago, maintaining the privacy and integrity of the people who receive services from Jewish Family Service continues to be paramount. The story you are about to read is true, and used with permission. We continue to respect their wishes by changing names and altering details that members of our community might recognize. Through Project Dreidel, JFS provides Hanukkah gifts and Jewish holiday meals to families in our area who cannot afford them. But sometimes, families and individuals have unexpected emergencies that require immediate intervention. JFS is there to provide the financial and emotional support needed to get back to normal. Your gift to the JFS “Friends” Campaign is what allows us to take care of each other. Despite our best efforts, our community’s needs continue to outpace the gifts to the Annual Campaign. Your increased campaign gift ensures that every Omaha Jewish

Inside Opinion Page see page 12

community member will have access to professional and compassionate help in a Jewish environment. To find out how you can help make a difference in the lives of others, please contact JFS at 330.2024. In this week’s story, one Jewish family learns that financial trouble can happen to anyone. Life was good. The Freemans had been blessed with good health, a happy mar-

riage and the love of their daughter, Lily. Dan worked at a local banking institution to financially support the family. Sara stayed home with Lily and the couple was expecting their second child. They spent time as a family and celebrated Shabbat at home every Friday with Sara’s mother. The Freemans lived in a modest two-bedroom home where they planned to have their children share a bedroom, allowing Sara to stay home. The Freemans were a typical middle class family until they were taken by surprise by two unexpected lifechanging events. Within a period of several days, Sara’s mother, a once lively and independent woman, had a stroke and needed additional care. This care required daily living assistance and Sara felt it was her responsibility to take care of her mother; therefore, moving her into their small home. The Freemans suddenly had a full house and

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Some Jewish Groups to Miss Bolton: Page 3

grandma was now staying in Lily’s room. Sara says her home had become a “three-ring circus.” She found herself simultaneously taking care of her aging mother and a toddler, while attempting to make it through the last trimester of her pregnancy. For her, it meant days spent running from wiping a runny nose, to traveling from one doctor to another, helping dispense medication while cleaning toys off the floor and making three meals a day for everyone. Additionally, Dan and Sara were worried about the new financial responsibilities they had taken on, and those they were about to acquire as a result of expecting a new baby. Through it all, with continued laughter and a positive attitude, Sara knew that they would make it through this tough time. One day, instead of greeting her daughContinued on page 15

Coming Next Week: Senior Living Issue

Beyt Shalom Celebrates 11th Anniversary Tonight at Services: Page 9

Lincoln’s Jewish Federation Installs New President, Board: Page 16

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 Hanukkah Dinner, 6:45 p.m. at Temple Israel Hanukkah Dinner, 7 p.m. at Beth El SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Tot Shabbat & Lunch, 11:15 a.m. at Beth El Shabbos Hanukkah Lunch, 11:30 a.m. at Beth Israel C 20s and 30s Vodka and Latkes, 7:30 p.m. at Beth El L SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 I P Class with Rabbi Seth Nadel, 9:45 a.m.at Beth Israel Adult Education, 10 a.m.-noon at Beth El & Mishpacha University, 10 a.m. at the Chabad House Nashir Community Jewish Choir, 11 a.m. at Beth El Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing, 12:30 p.m. S A MONDAY, DECEMBER 18 V JSS Senior Luncheon, noon E Women’s Book Group, 1 p.m. at Beth El Hadassah Board Meeting, 1 p.m. Chabad Hanukkah Party, 4 p.m. at Moylan Ice Plex Jewish Film Series, 7 p.m. at Beth El Derech Torah: Judaism 101, 7:30 p.m.

C L I P & S A V E

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19 Women of Worth Prayer Circle, 9 a.m. at Chabad House Share the Moment, noon at Temple Israel Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing, 5 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Board Meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Israel

C L I P

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20 USY International Convention, Boston, Dec. 20-27 Abba, Eema and ME, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Latke Sales & Lunch, 11 a.m. at Friedel Jewish Academy Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. at Chabad House

C L I P

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21 Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Getting More Out of Prayer, noon at Beth El Yiddush Group, 1 p.m. Book Discussion Group, 1 p.m. at Kripke Library NCJW Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Beth El Rosh Hodesh Group, 7 p.m. at Sylvia Wagner’s Advanced Parshah Study, 9 p.m. with Rabbi Gross

S A V E

All events held at the JCC unless otherwise indicated. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of events. To keep calendar accurate or for questions, call Marlene Hert at 334-6437. FOR A COMPLETE LISTING, VISIT THE FEDERATION’S WEBSITE: www.JewishOmaha.org (click on calendar)

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Hospital Expert in Mass Casualty Continued from page 1 for colds, flu and allergies all flocked to WGH. “Everyone laughed at Prof. Shasha when he proposed “We became a place of last resort,” Jochnowitz noted, the underground shelter,” Dr. Eisenman continued. “even for the homeless population.” “They’re not laughing now.” Burnout was a constant companion during the sumProf. Shasha begged, pleaded, and finally insisted on mer. The staff worked long hours and most refused to building the shelter, according to Eisenman and leave the Western Galilee, though many of them had Jochnowitz. “No one listened,” they agreed. “Officials sent their families to stay with friends or relatives in the thought he was crazy!” But the hospital’s president pro- south. ceeded with his plan and approached donors who had Even Dr. Eisenman took a short vacation to Turkey pledged funds for a new emergency room in order to with his wife, a social worker at Rambam Hospital in divert the funds for the underground shelter. The Haifa, and their children. “There were lots of Israelis at donors agreed, and the plan was enlarged to include bomb-proof lead and concrete doors, as well as protection against biological and chemical weapons. While Rambam Hospital in Haifa also has underground space, according to Dr. Eisenman, it was used before the war for mechanical storage and archives. When Haifa was hit, Rambam administrators quickly cleared it out in order to use it for patients and staff. Dr. Eisenman described the conditions in the WGH shelter as “not ideal, but safe. It was hot, we had to remind everyone constantly to drink water,” he said. But it was secure. “However, we realized that the ambulances were still unloading patients at the above ground emergency room. And it was unprotected.” So the ER staff began directing ambulance drivers to a ramp that leads to the underground shelter. Originally built to unload supplies, it became a lifeline for the wounded. “The real heroes of this war was MADA--Magen David Adom--and the fire department,” Dr. Eisenman acknowledged. “Their staff searched for wounded in the fires, in bombed out buildings. While we were under cover, they weren’t. I truly admire what they did.” Dr. Eisenman noted that the staff, patients--and the Photos from top: The north-facing rooms in patients and staff to its underground facility; children from the daycare, WGH’s ophthalmology wing remained Judith Jochnowitz, WGH International could still hear the bombs untouched since hit by a katyusha rocket; Liaison, center, explains to Mike Katzman, even underground, “espe- the Lebanese border is only three miles right, and a group of donors how the move cially the one that hit the away. Part of the bomb remains on view in was accomplished. More than 800 people-hospital,” he added. the rooms. WGH’s driveway allows ambu- donors, the media, and others--have visited “Everything shook. It start- lance drivers to drop off patients directly WGH since the war ended on Aug. 25. In the ed a fire, but we extin- into the underground shelter. Below left: six years since Jochnowitz has been guished it ourselves, even Within one hour, WGH had moved all its International Liaison, only 600 had visited. before the fire department arrived.” The emergency room staff--which consists of 22 staff in internal medicine, 15 in trauma and 10 in pediatrics--used humor to deflate the situation. One photo on the wall of his office shows staff wearing buckets on their heads and another shows a staff member aiming a fire extinguisher like a rocket. the hotel,” he said. “We didn’t enjoy the vacation at all. Following the interview with Dr. Eisenman, Judith All we did was sit around, watch television and talk Jochnowitz took a group of donors on tour of the facil- about the war. We couldn’t wait to get back.” ity, including the underground shelter. “A week after the Now back in the old emergency room, Dr. Eisenman war ended, staff from all the other hospitals in Israel said that the wing will soon be demolished to make way came to WGH to learn how we handled mass casualty,” for a modern state-of-the-art facility. It’s expected to she explained. “We’re still tracking 420 patients from take four years. the war; 320 are still receiving medicine, group therapy (You can visit the hospital’s website at: or some kind of relaxation technique.” www.wgh.org.il to track its progress, make a donation Jochnowitz is no stranger to Omahans. In addition to online or read more about the summer war experience. meeting them on her home turf in the Western Galilee, Or make a donation directly to the hospital through she attends the biannual conferences of the Central “Friends of the WGH” by making your tax-deductible Consortium’s Partnership with Israel; Omaha is one of check out to PEF and indicate “Donation for 10 Jewish communities in the Partnership, chaired by Association #693,” Friends of the Western Galilee Zoe Riekes and now staffed by Federation executive Hospital. Mail to: PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., Director Jan Goldstein. In fact, they all met in Dayton, 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York City, NY OH, following this interview for the Partnership’s fall 10017.) Dr. Eisenman repeatedly expressed his pride in his meeting. The WGH, which was founded as a small regional staff. “We moved everything in the middle of the birthing center, serves more than 400,000 residents of night,” he said, including the computers, the beds, and the Western Galilee, with 2000 on staff and more than equipment. “Not one staff member left. Of the 2000 300 volunteers. During the summer war, it became the employees of the hospital, no one skipped work. Not primary hospital to treat wounded soldiers from the one.” He notes that 75% of the staff in the emergency room IDF. Many of the early arrivals at WGH during the war suf- are not even Jewish. “We have employees who are also fered from anxiety. And local citizens showed up looking Muslim, Druze and Christian. They come from kibbutto fill prescriptions when all the pharmacies closed. zim, moshavim, villages and little towns in the Western Diabetics, outpatients with heart conditions and hyper- Galilee. All cultures meet here. We all came to do whattension, new mothers and those with just routine needs ever we could to save lives.”

December 15, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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As Bolton Resigns U.N. Post, Groups Will Miss His Frankness by RON KAMPEAS nomination in earl 2005. Bush made Bolton an interim appointWASHINGTON (JTA)--The bluntness and take-no-prisoners rhetoric that cost ment, constitutionally set to expire Dec. John Bolton his job as U.S. ambassador 31. Seeking to keep Bolton through his to the United Nations is what endeared own term, the president renominated him this summer. him to pro-Israel groups. Bolton’s chances at first seemed good. Bolton resigned from the post Dec. 4, heading off what was certain to be a failed Top Jewish Democrats, including Senate attempt to finally win confirmation from Caucus Chairman Charles Schumer of New York, said Bolton’s staunch friendthe U.S. Senate this month. “I’m not happy about it--I think he ship of Israel was helping to change their deserved to be confirmed,” President Bush said at a ceremony accepting Bolton’s resignation. “You’ve been a stalwart defender of freedom and peace.” With another lightning rod, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on his way out, the White House is eager to get Rumsfeld’s replacement nominee, Robert Gates, confirmed, said Steve Clemons, an analyst with the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. Fighting for Bolton might have hindered what is expected to be a John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council after fast track for Gates. “It’s an implicit quid pro quo,” casting a veto of a draft resolution calling on Clemons said. “Going after Bolton Israel to halt its military incursion in the Gaza this week,” the beginning of the final Strip, on July 13, 2006. Credit: Paulo Filgueiras/UN lame-duck session of the 109th Congress, “could have thrown Gates off minds. Bolton helped shape U.N. Security track. It’s a tactical decision.” Bolton's 18-month term has been Council Resolution 1701, which ended stalked by his reputation for tough talk. the Israel-Hezbollah war of terms Israel could accept, including a robust U.N. He once said the United Nations could function as well if the top 10 stories force that would keep Hezbollah out of of its towering East River headquarters in the south. More significantly, he proved an effecNew York City were sliced off. His contentious relationship with col- tive diplomat, nudging China and Russia leagues at the U.S. State Department-- toward acceptance of sanctions against one staffer told the Senate that as under- Iran unless it suspends its uranium secretary for arms control, Bolton “kissed enrichment. Bolton persistently cited the Iranian up and kicked down”--blocked his initial

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Relations Committee to block Bolton’s nomination unless Rice was more forthright in her criticism of Israel’s plans for settlement expansion. Democrats were not about to save Bolton now that a Republican had signed on for his professional demise. The writing for Bolton was on the wall. Clemons said Bush’s abandonment of Bolton did not necessarily signal a change in the policies that won the ambassador the admiration of some proIsrael and Jewish groups. “It doesn’t mean Bush is any less set in his ways,” he said. Dan Mariaschin, executive vice-president of B’nai B’rith International, agreed--but said Bolton’s straightforward way of making the American case at the United Nations would be missed. “It was the clarity of his thinking on existential U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, right, issues,” such as Iran’s potenshakes hands with Malcolm Hoenlein, the conference's exec- tial for becoming a nuclear utive vice chairman, and Harold Tanner, the group's chair- threat to Israel, that made man, looks on at an Aug. 22, 2006, event in New York. Bolton an asset, Mariaschin Credit: Lorenzo Ciniglio said. “It will be hard to find someone as open in his thinking as Jewish Committee. “John Bolton has done an extraordi- Bolton.” nary job of advancing America’s interests at a time of critical importance,” AIPAC EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE spokesman Josh Block said Dec. 4. Due to the closing of the Jewish Press Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), the office on Monday, Dec. 25, and Monday, staunchest Republican Iraq war opponent Jan. 1, there are early deadlines as follows: and a tough critic of Israel’s settlement for the Dec. 29 issue, the deadline is policy, threw a monkey wrench into the Wednesday, Dec. 20, 9 a.m., for all ads, artiworks. In a Sept. 7 letter to U.S. cles and photos; for the Jan. 5 issue, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 27. Chafee said he would use his prerogative Questions? Call 402.334.6448. as a senior member of the Senate Foreign president’s Holocaust denial as a central factor in determining that country’s threat. Jewish groups broke with a tradition of keeping out of confirmation battles. Bolton earned endorsements from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith International, the World Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress and the American

Give yourself a special gift this Hanukkah... Establish a donor-advised fund with the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Your uncle will help with the expenses. ★ If your donor-advised fund is set up (with a minimum contribution of $5000) and ★ funded by December 31, 2006, you will be entitled to take a tax deduction for the ★ value of your gift, subject to the following limits: 1. A gift of appreciated common stock owned for more than one year allows 1. you to deduct up to 30 percent of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)* or... 2. A gift of cash entitles you to deduct up to 50 percent of your AGI.* *Any amount not deducted in 2006 may be deducted in the next five years. ★ You can recommend charitable donations to local and national charities for a ★ minimum of $100 from your donor-advised fund. ★ Checks are mailed directly to your designated charity with a letter indicating that the ★ donation is from your donor-advised fund. Copies of the letter are sent to you. ★ The Foundation will send you a quarterly summary of the balance in your fund ★ including a summary of the donations. ★ The confidentiality of your charitable recommendations will be maintained by the ★ Foundation.

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December 15, 2006

Conflicting Conservative Opinions Continued from page 1 Law and Standards could irreparably fracture the movement, the two-day meeting was closely monitored around the Jewish world. In the end, the committee endorsed three separate teshuvot, or responsa, on the issue. One, by Rabbi Joel Roth, affirmed the movement’ traditional ban on gay rabbis and commitment ceremonies. Another, by Rabbis Elliot Dorff, Daniel Nevins and Avram Reisner, reversed those positions while upholding the biblical prohibition on male intercourse. Both papers earned 13 votes, a majority of the 25-member committee. A third opinion, by Rabbi Leonard Levy, also affirmed the movement’s traditional position on homosexuality while rejecting the now-common view that homosexuality is an orientation one cannot control. Levy’s position earned the minimum six votes required for acceptance. Roth and Levy, along with Rabbis Mayer Rabinowitz and Joseph Prouser, resigned from the law committee to protest its endorsement of the liberal Dorff paper. At the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, leaders long have made clear their intention to ordain gay rabbis if the law committee allowed it. At the Dec. 6 meeting, Dorff, rector of U.J.’s Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, said he expects the seminary to announce a final decision within weeks. In New York, the Jewish Theological Seminary has been less forthcoming. Though he has said publicly that he supports gay ordination, incoming Chancellor Arnold Eisen promised to consult with faculty, students and the community before making a decision he emphasizes is not halachic in nature. A survey of opinion within the movement is to be conducted before reaching a final decision. “We are going to consider what we think best serves the Conservative movement and larger American Jewish community,” Eisen wrote in an e-mail following the decision. “We know the implications of the decision before us are immense. We fully recognize what is at stake.” Momentum has been building for years for a more permissive Conservative attitude toward homosexuality. Despite the committee’s 1992 decision upholding the ban on gay rabbis and commitment ceremonies, a number of Conservative rabbis do perform such ceremonies. That number is expected to grow now that rabbis have received halachic sanction from the movement’s highest legal body. “I think there will be a significant change,” said Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, a JTS graduate and leader of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, a Manhattan synagogue for lesbians and gay men. An outspoken proponent of changing the traditional prohibition on homosexuality, Cohen performed commitment ceremonies for gay couples even before the

committee’s decision. She said opponents of change no longer will be able to use the law committee’s 1992 statement on homosexuality as an excuse to continue excluding gay men and lesbians from the movement. “According to the current position of the movement, gay men and women are lesser human beings than heterosexuals,” Cohen said. “Gay people can be kept out of every level of lay leadership in our movement. Until now, rabbis have been able to say, ‘There’s nothing I can do. My hands are tied.’” But by deciding that continuing the ban on gay ordination and commitment ceremonies also is a legitimate position, the committee has ensured that local rabbis who oppose a change in policy will have a halachic authority to cite in making their case. Beth El’s policy has not changed, according to Rabbi Mordechai Levin, and he will not be officiating at any commitment ceremonies, he wrote in an email to the Jewish Press on Dec. 6. “Beth El Synagogue welcomes and values every person, heterosexual or homosexual--we don’t make any distinctions,” he added in an e-mail on Dec. 12. “We have gay congregants who fully and actively participate in the religious, educational and social aspects of our synagogue. There is no change in the way we welcome them and there is no change in our halakhic standards.”

Rabbis Kassel Abelson, left, Elliot Dorff, Joel Meyers and Alvin Berkun, hold a news conference on Dec. 6 in New York City, announcing the Conservative movement’s endorsement of a halachic position allowing gay rabbis and commitment ceremonies. Credit: David Karp/JTA There is considerably less ambiguity at the movement’s seminaries, where much of the agitation to change policy has originated. KeshetJTS, a student advocacy group, says a survey showed that eight out of 10 members of the JTS community would support ordaining gay rabbis. “I think that congregants are ahead of their rabbis on

many issues, and this is one of them,” said Rabbi Steve Greenberg, an openly gay Orthodox rabbi and senior teaching fellow at CLAL-the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. “I can tell you that there are people who have wanted to go to the seminary to become a rabbi and have chosen to go elsewhere, and will be thrilled that that option will now be open to them.” One such person is Aaron Weininger, an openly gay senior at Washington University in St. Louis and a lifelong member of the Conservative movement. His decision on where to apply to rabbinical school hinged on the law committee’s decision. “I would like to be able to apply to a Conservative seminary, and for both ethical and personal reasons right now that’s not an option,” Weininger told JTA before the vote. Weininger said he would apply to the University of Judaism, but would also consider JTS if that became an option. Like other advocates of liberalization, Weininger said what’s at stake is not just the status of lesbian and gay men in Conservative Judaism but the movement’s entire approach to interpreting halacha. He hopes the decision will lead to greater clarity in the way movement authorities negotiate the line between fidelity to tradition and the demands of contemporary life. “Morality is at the very core of law, and that law really drives us toward our aspiration of holiness and justice,” Weininger said. “And so if we in turn interpret law to exclude people, we really violate the intent of the law.” Rabbi Alan LaPayover, one of very few openly gay rabbis who has served as the spiritual leader of a Conservative synagogue--he was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College--called the decision “a very big step.” Given the nature of the Conservative movement’s process, “they did the best they were able to do,” said LaPayover, the former rabbi at Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, PA. Given the multiple opinions allowed by the law committee, neither advocates nor opponents of change will feel compelled to adjust their positions. Still, many observers are hopeful that the decision will open a vital discussion within a movement that once was America’s largest Jewish denomination. Rabbi Menachem Creditor, a leading advocate for change within the movement, said Eisen’s use of the committee debate as an opportunity for discussion at JTS is a step in the right direction. “That’s a revolution,” Creditor said. “It might be quiet, but I think it’s going to change things on the ground because rabbis can’t ignore the inclusion of whichever teshuvot will be accepted. We can’t ignore it. There’s no hiding it. It’s transparent.”

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December 15, 2006

JTS Responds to Ruling on Gays BEHIND THE H EADLINES by ARNOLD EISEN JTS Chancellor-elect The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) of the Rabbinical Assembly has now issued its ruling on the status of homosexual behavior. We are all in their debt for the years of hard work and sustained reflection they have put into this issue. Views on the matter among all of us at JTS differed widely before this weekâ€™s decision, and they will no doubt continue to differ widely in the wake of this decision. Opinions on both sides of the issue are strongly held and passionately felt. As we embark on the next stage of our consideration of gay and lesbian ordination at JTS, I am confident that the long-standing JTS tradition of embracing and respecting significant differences of opinion will continue to guide us. I write to remind you of the steps through which we at JTS will carry the discussion forward in coming weeks. First, let me emphasize that the halakhic authority for the Conservative Movement and the institutions associated with it rests with the CJLS. The Law Committee has split on the status of homosexual behavior according to Jewish law; its rules and those of the Rabbinical Assembly regard each of the opinions authorized as equally legitimate. The ball is thus in our court with regard to the question of ordination of gays and lesbians at JTS -- a decision regarding admission and graduation requirements that we will treat as such and not as the matter of law that stood before the Law Committee. We at JTS are not poskim. We will not be adjudicating matters of halakhah. However, we are going to consider what we think best serves the Conservative Movement and larger American Jewish community. We know that the implications of the decision before us are immense. We fully recognize what is at stake. This is why we are determined to conduct a thoroughgoing discussion of which we can all be proud no matter what outcome is eventually reached. We have commissioned a survey with Stephen M. Cohen to determine where rabbis, Conservative Jewish laypeople, and the movement's leadership stand on the issue. This data will be in hand before JTS reaches its deci-

sion on the matter. I have invited the heads of the other seminaries affected by the CJLS decision--Machon Schechter in Jerusalem, the Seminario RabĂnico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires, and the Ziegler School of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles--to join me for a frank airing of the matter. JTS students will be informed about the details of the Law Committee decision in coming days and will over the next month or so have a chance to debate with one another the pros and cons of the ordination of homosexuals. They will also have the opportunity to make their voices heard by faculty and administration. Through the Campus Life Committee, the Deans of Student Life and the five schools will continue to consult and plan for both possible outcomes of this process. Faculty will hold several discussions of the matter in coming weeks with the aim of making a clear and reasoned determination. Let me note that this critical phase of the discussion, and the very debate itself, is a hallmark of JTS--and Conservative Judaism more generally--of which we can be proud. We have the burden and privilege of this debate not because we are in the middle, but because of our commitment to halakhah on the one hand and full immersion in the culture and society of the present on the other hand. We are dedicated to thoughtful change as an essential element of tradition--which is not to say that the change proposed to us now is right or necessary, but that the process of considering it thoughtfully, whatever we eventually decide, is to us inescapable and welcome. One could say that such debate defines us--and that, well-conducted, it strengthens us. Of course debate on this and similar matters has the potential to wound us as an institution and a movement. It also, however, has the power to remind us of what we stand for, and why despite our differences--or even because of them--we choose to stand together. That is why I hope you will all join me in doing our very best to ensure that we do this right. I firmly believe that the way we discuss the matter in coming weeks may well have as great an effect on the future of JTS as whatever decision we eventually reach. Argument le-shem shamayim is for us a long and valued tradition. Never has it been more needed than now. Let me just add in conclusion that if you have suggestions or thoughts about either the process or its outcome, please do not hesitate to communicate them to me.

Response from USCJ Leaders NEW YORK--United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which represents more than 750 Conservative synagogues, with 1.5 million members, today welcomed the movementâ€™s decisions on gay men and lesbians and moved toward changing its own hiring policies. Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and a voting member of the Law Committee that made todayâ€™s ruling, issued the following statement: â€œThe decisions of the Conservative Jewish movementâ€™s Law Committee, which allows individual synagogues and other institutions the flexibility to embrace the policies they believe are most appropriate for their community, afford Conservative Jews the opportunity to now be even more welcoming of the broad diversity in our community. â€œTodayâ€™s decisions reaffirm the importance of Jewish law, halacha, in our everyday lives. Regardless of how one feels about this specific issue, the decisions reached today are founded in the deep and abiding respect for halacha. â€œI no longer have any reason to believe that halacha

stands in the way of fully engaging gays and lesbians in our organization. Based on that conclusion, I see no reason why we should not revise our hiring policies so we may consider applicants for United Synagogue jobs no matter what their sexual orientation may be. United Synagogueâ€™s leadership will discuss the issue at our next scheduled meeting. â€œAlthough I have the greatest respect for the Law Committee decisions, I donâ€™t agree with the recommendation that gay men and lesbians are best advised to find â€˜restorative therapyâ€™ to change their sexual orientation.â€? Dr. Raymond Goldstein, United Synagogueâ€™s international president, said, â€œI am proud of Law Committee decision, which demonstrates the pluralism that is one of our movementâ€™s greatest strengths. As I travel around North America, I am struck by both the diversity and the shared values and commitment of our congregations. The Law Committeeâ€™s decision, arrived at after much deliberation, argued with both passion and respect, is a prime example of that pluralism in action.â€? Goldstein, a former Omahan, is a member of Beth El Synagogue.

Lotsa Latkes Keep BESTT Families Busy by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity Coordinator Beth El Synagogue was bustling with excitement last Sunday as children, parents and grandparents enjoyed BESTT's third annual Family Hanukkah Party. During the morning families enjoyed a variety of arts and crafts, games and a singalong, as well as delicious latkes and doughnuts in the Latke Cafe, sponsored by Men's Club, Bag â€˜n Save, and the Shrago family. Above: Aaron Stein, left, and Zach Bram make their moves while playing a special

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 15, 2006

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NCJW to Dedicate Kripke Library Children’s Entrance in Memory of Karin Levine by LISA LIEB drew a wonderfully diverse group of women together NCJW Co-Vice President of Public Relations each month for thought-provoking, lively, and always On Thursday, Dec. 21, the National Council of entertaining discussions.” Jewish Women (NCJW)-Omaha Section will dedicate In addition to providing funds for the entrance to the the Kripke Library children’s children’s section, NCJW donated another entrance in memory of Karin $500 to the library towards the purchase of new children’s books. Levine. Born and raised in “It’s a tremendous honor that our library Louisville, Kentucky, Levine was chosen to pay tribute to such a special lived in Omaha for just ten person, and Karin’s spirit will always be years before losing her battle remembered here. We appreciate the genwith cancer. In that short time she touched many lives erosity of NCJW,” said Gary Katz, Kripke Library Administrator. “I can’t think of a with her spirit, energy and unwavering faith. better way to honor Karin’s passions for Levine founded the Judaism, education, literature, and of course, NCJW, than for the Omaha secNCJW Book Club, making tion to help with the improvement of the the Kripke Library project a children’s section of the Kripke Library,” natural way to honor her memory. “Karin was the Joseph Katz enjoys the new fence in the chil- Marburg replied. chairperson of the NCJW dren’s section of the Kripke Library. The dedication will take place at NCJW’s Book Club for five years,” said Deb Marburg, President open board meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 7 p.m. of Omaha Section, NCJW. “Her contagious enthusiasm The community is welcome to attend.

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Beth Israel Offering “The Kosher Kitchen” Classes by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue What are the rules for reheating food on Shabbos? How do you incorporate the newest kitchen technologies in to a kosher kitchen? The laws of Kashrut are complex, but there is a way to improve your knowledge. Beth Israel Synagogue’s Associate Rabbi, Seth Nadel, is teaching “The Kosher Kitchen” classes during the month of December, and the community is invited to participate. Rather than holding the classes at Beth Israel, Nadel made arrangements with some renown cooks in the community to hold the classes in their kitchens. “This is a great opportunity to take the special things that we have here in the synagogue and bring them to people’s homes,” he stated. “This is another way to engage people and get them involved. My goal is to make a fun, comfortable atmosphere.” Each class consists of two segments. First, Nadel provides an in-depth look at one area of the laws of Kashrut. According to Nadel, “Rabbinic literature discusses how keeping kosher imbues us with sanctity. I think it’s important to review these complex laws. Everyone would benefit from these classes, whether it be a novice or the most experienced kosher cook. All of us can use a

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.

good review of Jewish law as it pertains to cooking. For example, there are new technologies available for kitchens that are designed to make our lives easier. But these helpful tools also provide us with new challenges.” Another reason Nadel wanted to offer “The Kosher Kitchen” to the community stems from his love of cooking. “Actually, I do a lot of cooking for Shabbos,” he noted. Following Nadel’s segment, there is a class with an experienced kosher cook. Participants learn to cook some tantalizing kosher dishes. Liat Shyken hosted the first class, “We Are What We Eat?,” at her home. Future classes will be held on Tuesdays, Dec. 19 and 26, 8 p.m. The class on Dec. 19, “Kashrut for the 21st Century Kitchen,” will be held at the home of Sherry Taxman. On the 26th, the class is entitled, “Rabbi, I Accidentally ...” and will be held at the home of Susie Shyken. Please contact the synagogue office for directions to the classes. Nadel’s enthusiasm for his classes is evident as he looks toward the coming months. “I hope to hold classes or events that include guest chefs or cookbook authors,” he said. “We’ll see how things go in December and make plans from there.” For more information, call the office at 556.6288.

B’nai B’rith Sponsors 11th Annual Hanukkah Run by GARY JAVITCH President of Henry Monsky Lodge Hanukkah is not the ‘Jewish’ Christmas. Nor is it a major holy day. Yet it is an important time for Jews to celebrate an ancient victory for religious freedom. Hanukkah, also known as the “The festival of lights,” is a holiday marked by candle lighting for eight nights. Each year as part of the festival commemoration, Henry Monsky Lodge B’nai B’rith sponsors a walk/run. This year’s special theme is freedom from terrorism. We chose that theme, according to Lodge trustee Steve Riekes, because “Since 9/11 terrorism prevention has influenced more of the activities in which we participate. We see how it affects lives not only in America, but also in Europe and the Middle East. And we will not let terrorism keep us from fully living our lives in America. Moreover, the run symbolizes the success of our religious diversity in a pluralistic society.” The event will take place on Sunday, Dec. 24, start-

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ing at the Jewish Community Center at 9:30 a.m. Participants should meet at the Sokolof Fitness Center. You do not have to be a runner to participate. The “Run” is not a race. This unique event is a group activity to draw attention to this year’s theme. As usual, at the conclusion of the run, refreshments will be served. Participants will follow a prescribed five-mile route through Candlewood, TOGETHER, beginning and ending at the JCC. A van will follow behind the group. Participants who feel tired or would like to walk less than the five miles may elect to ride in the van for such portions of the route as they desire. If you wish to enter, please send a check for $18 (Students: $10) payable to B’nai B’rith Henry Monsky Lodge and mail it to Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, c/o Lois Epstein, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. A long-sleeved t-shirt is included. For those who cannot physically participate, donations can be sent to the above address as well.

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by JANET HENTHORN Sokolof Scholarship Coordinator at the Jewish Federation Foundation Applications for the second annual Phil and Ruth Sokolof Honor Roll Merit Scholarships are now available. Administered by the Sokolof Scholarship Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, these awards are based not on financial need, but on merit. Applicants must be residents of the Omaha metropolitan area. Scholarships for $10,000 each will be awarded to two graduating high school seniors for their college or university education. Criteria for these scholarships are overall good character, scholastic performance and achievements, and community service. Similar criteria apply for $10,000 merit scholarships to two Jewish students who are currently enrolled in or

have been admitted to a course of study at a college or university leading to a career in the field of health care. In addition, there will be up to two merit scholarships available from the Karen Sokolof Javitch Music Appreciation Fund. These awards, based on the same criteria as the above scholarships, will be for Jewish students attending a college, university or music conservatory majoring in or pursuing a degree in music performance, composition or music education. Scholarship application forms can be downloaded from the Center for Jewish Education Scholarships and Grants page on the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s website at www.jewishomaha.org. To have an application form mailed or with any questions, you may contact me at: 334.6551 or e-mail me at jhenthorn@jewishomaha.org. Applications must be submitted by March 1, 2007.

December 15, 2006

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

Page 7

IN THE NEWS “An Affair to Remember,” Celebrating the Golden Age of Hollywood is the 2007 Heartland Family Service Friends theme for their annual Gala. A kickoff was held recently to announce the upcoming plans for the Gala. Co-chairs for the event are Sarah Andersen and Julie Brewer. The Feb. 17, 2007 Gala will be held at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel. The evening will start off with cocktails, along with a silent auction, followed by dinner and an oral auction. Honorary chairs for the event are The Watanabe Family. Prior to the Gala on Dec. 7, an underwriting tea will be held at the home of Dianne Scott. The annual Gala is the organization’s single largest fund raising event and funds raised from the evening will go to support the mission of Heartland Family Service, which is to strengthen individuals and families in our community through education, counseling and support service. President of the Heartland Family Service Friends Board is Patti Pryor. For more information about Heartland Family Service or to become a member of the Friends guild contact Laura Iliff at 552.3000. Do you have a professional skill you could share with an organization in a developing country? Do you sometimes daydream about joining the Peace Corps but can’t commit two years? Then American Jewish World Service’s Volunteer Corps can help you make this dream a reality. The AJWS Volunteer Corps places Jewish professionals-working or retiredwith community-based social change

organizations in developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. While immersed in another culture, volunteers share and transfer their professional skills during placements that last from three to 12 months. Two-month assignments are available for senior professionals and retirees. Couples are welcome and may choose to work at the same or different organizations. The kinds of organizations where people volunteer are diverse, encompassing areas such as health, education, human rights advocacy, and microfinance. What they all have in common is the opportunity for volunteers to do innovative lifechanging work with marginalized communities. AJWS will work with you to find the best match in terms of need and duration. Among the many assignments where AJWS volunteers are currently sharing their expertise and making a difference are: Thailand, where a couple from Warwick, NY with backgrounds in organizational development and strategic planning is providing management training during a two-month assignment at a youth services organization that offers HIV prevention programs; Ghana, where a fifth grade teacher from Philadelphia is developing educational materials during a six-month stint with an organization that helps refugees; and Nicaragua, where a social worker from Chicago is providing training in social work practices, computers and English during an eight-month placement at a public health group in an impoverished neighborhood. Skills that are frequently requested by organizations include: computer training,

small business development, strategic and business planning, fundraising, management, marketing, organic farming, medical and public health training, human rights advocacy, and community organizing. Volunteer Corps is one of several service programs offered by AJWS, an international development organization motivated by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice. Based in New York, AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. It does this work through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education. Currently, AJWS works in 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The upcoming application deadlines for Volunteer Corps are January 10, 2007 (for placements beginning from May 1 to August 31, 2007) and May 2, 2007 (for placements beginning from September 1 to December 31, 2007). For more information, please visit www.ajws.org or call 1.212.792.2888. Teddy Weinberger has been named a senior fundraiser for the Education Department of the Jewish Agency for Israel (officially the Jewish Zionist Education Department). Weinberger is a frequent contributor to the Jewish Press. He lives in Givat Ze'ev, Israel, with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. One of his main responsibilities in this new position is fundraising for MASA. The Gateway to Long-term Israel Programs, enables thousands of Jewish

young adults to spend a semester or a year in Israel in one of over 100 approved programs by providing information, scholarships and more. MASA is made possible by the support of the Government of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel and its partners, the United Jewish Communities of North America and the Keren Hayesod around the world. Joel Schlessinger, MD, BoardCertified Dermatologist, was installed as president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery (ASCDAS) last week. He is a founding member of this nonprofit professional association based in Tallahassee and dedicated to promoting the advancement of ethical cosmetic dermatology as a medical and surgical discipline. "Cosmetic dermatology in 2007 has achieved a cultural and medical following. We intend to keep it safe and groundbreaking," he told members at the recent meeting in Las Vegas. Dr. Schlessinger has been a leader in laser development, injectable fillers and dermatologic research and has participated in multiple studies of lasers and medications. He is the author of numerous articles on skin conditions and co-author of white papers on laser hair removal and skin care. Dr. Schlessinger is a BoardCertified Dermatologist as well as being Board-Certified in General Cosmetic Surgery. He is in private practice in Omaha, Nebraska, and president of LovelySkin.com, a leading website for skin care products (www.LovelySkin. com).

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 15, 2006

Jewish Book Month Wraps Up with More than 400 Attending Last Week’s Events

Temple Youth Group Dishes Up a Lot of Meatballs by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator

Photos from top left: author, lecturer, and “entertainer” Dr. Ron Wolfson captivated more than 200 people with his insights into becoming God’s partner in repairing the world. Using examples from his book, God’s To-Do List, Wolfson urged the crowd to take on God’s midot---or characteristics. The next day, about 150 gathered to hear mother and daughter authors, Sheila and Perri Klass explain the (sometimes hysterical) background behind their collaborative book: Every Mother Is a Daughter. Andi Willensky puruses a

copy of their book, available by order at the Kripke Library, along with Wolfson’s book. Among the crowd at Wolfson’s presentation was Susan Rothholz, a past co-chairman of the Kripke Library, and Father Stephen Boes, Executive Director of Girls and Boys Town. This year, JBM also featured new author Elisa Albert, who introduced her book, How Is This Night Different?, and Rabbi Lawrence Kusher, author of Kabbalah: A Love Story, as well as the annual Jewish film Festival and “Chanu-Kids.”

Photos from top: Getting ready to welcome nearly 250 people to their annual spaghetti dinner, Omaha Temple Youth Group (OTYG) members Jackie Neesman, left, Sarah Bleicher, Annie Rips, and Ashley Bernstein pause from preparations on the morning of the dinner and auction. Matt Kirshenbaum and his daughter, Laura, four, make a bid on one of dozens of baskets donated for the auction. Auctioneers John Glazer, left, and Bruce Goldberg added their own brand of humor to the live auction which followed the dinner and helped OTYG garner approximately $17,000. The proceeds will be donated to Camp CoHoLo near Gretna, Camp Rainbow near St. Louis, Missouri; Temple’s Jewish summer camp scholarship fund; and all three of Temple’s youth groups: OTYG, Junior Youth Group, and Club 56. Camp CoHoLo and Camp Rainbow are one-week summer camps for children suffering from cancer and blood disorders. The youth groups will use their share of the proceeds to provide programming and scholarships for travel to chavurot (conclaves).

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Beyt Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue Celebrates its 11th Year Anniversary on the First Night of Hanukkah by DR. JENNI SCHLOSSMAN have also had a few rabbinical students travel to Omaha once per month during their last year in the President of Beyt Shalom Beyt Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue celebrates Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Presently, Rabbi its 11th year anniversary tonight on the first night of Myer Kripke, a student of the founder of Reconstructionism, Mordechai Kaplan, acts as our rabHanukkah. The synagogue has always had a small vibrant congre- binic advisor. In the last eleven years, he and the other gation who have worked together these eleven years on rabbis helped prepare our fifteen B’nai Mitzvah students every aspect of synagogue life, including leading servic- and have officiated at all of our life-cycle events. Marti Nerenstone, our lay leader and ritual director, es, teaching religious school, and creating adult educahas mentored us through tion programs. almost every service and holBeyt Shalom’s first year iday for the past ten years. began with High Holiday She brings her love of song services in 1995. We decided to our celebrations, and has to use the Reconstructionist traveled each summer to prayer book “Kol Hava Nashira, a Jewish song Haneshamah” (Voice of the leaders’ workshop. Once per Soul) that reflects the values month Marti, Beyt Shalom of the Reconstructionist religious school students, movement. The prayer book post-B’nai Mitzvah teens is user friendly, containing and congregants conduct transliteration, Hebrew, translation, and commentary Here are members of Beyt Shalom looking at our Torah Shabbat services at the Rose all together. This allows for before re-rolling it to the beginning, during Simchat Torah, Blumkin Home. Besides singing, Beyt full participation in services 2006. From left: Alice Weiss, Isaac Ferber, Adam Trubnikov, Shalom members love to by everyone, regardless of Jeff Ferber, Lila Ferber cook and eat, and we pride previous Jewish education. ourselves on having regular Beyt Shalom Synagogue Havdalah potlucks, commushares the Reconstructionist nity seders for Tu B’Shvat philosophy that includes and Passover, and baking strong commitments to classes. Our lively adult eduboth Jewish tradition and to cation seminars have delved the search for contemporary into spirituality and kabbalmeaning. Reconstructionists ah, the Talmud, and the encourage all Jews to foundations of the enhance their own lives by Reconstructionist movereclaiming our shared herment. One interesting class itage and becoming active spent six weeks discussing participants in the building the Public Television special of the Jewish future. “Genesis” with Bill Moyers. Our future is nourished by Beyt Shalom congregaour thriving religious school. In 1995, classes met Beyt Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue’s 5th-6th grade tion’s enthusiasm and dediat the Westside Community graduation in June of 2006. Back row, from left: Teachers: cation towards Judaism and Center. From 1997 to the Jenni Schlossman, Jeff Ferber, Marti Nerenstone, Robin synagogue life is reflected by present, we have met at the Hellwig (not pictured: Maya Wertheimer) Middle, in front of all our congregation. We JCC. Our teachers are expe- Jeff Ferber: Lila Ferber Front row, from left: Isaac Ferber, have worked hard these past eleven years to create a warm rienced congregational Sam Munzesheimer, Lee Lohman, Ben Lohman. members. Robin Hellwig began teaching the youngest and egalitarian Jewish atmosphere, welcoming members children in 1997, and is still with them now, as four of from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. Everyone is welcome to attend all Beyt Shalom servicthem near the age of B’nai Mitzvah. Maya Wertheimer has been our Hebrew teacher since Beyt Shalom started, es and events, including the High Holidays. Please join and Jeff Ferber joined the teaching staff in 1998, a few us tonight at 7:30 p.m., to celebrate the first night of years after earning his Religious Studies degree from Hanukkah and our 11th anniversary celebration, includUNO. ing much food and song, at 3012 So. 119th Street. Visit Our first rabbi, Rabbi Ruth Ehrenstein, became the our website, www.beytshalomomaha.org, to find out first female rabbi in Omaha to lead a congregation. We more about Beyt Shalom.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 15, 2006

Storyteller at Temple Connects with Listeners of All Ages describing a bagel, which “is a donut that by CLAUDIA SHERMAN Temple Israel Communications Coordinator went to college,” according to his mothPart storyteller, part actor, and part er. After removing “a bagel hole” from stand-up comedian, Joel ben Izzy took his briefcase, he went on to talk about his his listeners at Temple Israel’s Shabbat own journey, including the loss of his worship services on Dec. 1 along on a tai- voice, “the lessons that followed, and the lor’s journey from Krakow, Poland. The gifts they gave me.” “I liked it when he was tailor makes a difficult telling stories,” comthree-week trek in mented Phil Bierman. I search of buried treasure thought it was great lisbut eventually finds it tening to other people’s hidden in his own stories. It was very interkitchen at home. The esting. Some of the other old Yiddish folktale, stories were unbelievable which touches audiences and sweet. Ben Izzy got on many levels, turns people to tell their stories, out to be a lesson in and they were all very understanding where touching. He got the you come from so you crowd engaged.” can determine where That afternoon, ben you’re going. Izzy appeared at the At Sparks Beneath the Kripke Jewish Federation Surface, a study session Library’s Chanu-kids preceding Shabbat worship services, ben Izzy An animated storyteller, Joel ben program. He told stories talked about Jacob’s Izzy tells a tale at Temple Israel dur- for about an hour to journey, which, “of ing his weekend residency there. approximately 50 chilcourse, mirrors that of the Jewish people dren and then signed his book, The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness. in so many ways,” he said. Despite people questioning that there “He’s a good storyteller,” said Sylvia Kaiman who heard ben Izzy. “I found are Jews in Omaha as the award-winning professional storyteller made his way to him to be entertaining,” she added. On Sunday morning, Dec. 3, ben Izzy Nebraska through snowbound Chicago’s led a workshop, “Turning Curses into Midway Airport, ben Izzy, said, “I’ve met Blessings,” on finding and telling one’s the warmest people here. I’ve had the own stories. He began the discussion by most wonderful time!”

MARRIAGES KOHN/ILKO Jill Elizabeth Kohn and Ricardo A. Ilko were married by Rabbi Lenard Rosenthal on Sunday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m., at the lighthouse on Harbor Island in San Diego, CA. The bride is the daughter of Sherry and Mark Kohn. She is the granddaughter of Mary Kohn of St. Louis Park, MN, and the late Anne (Jan) and Julius Katzman, and Ben Kohn. The newlyweds reside in Chula Vista, CA. SHUKERT/ABRAMOWITZ Rachel Shukert, daughter of Marty and Aveva Shukert, and Benjamin Abramowitz, son of Dr. Joseph Abramowitz and Kerry Abramowitz of Cape Town, South Africa, were married Sept. 10 in New York City. Former Omahan Rabbi Paul Drazen officiated at

the wedding at the Yale Club. The bride earned a BFA at New York University and is an author and playright. She is the granddaughter of Doris and Nate Shukert and the late Pearl and David Hahn. Her great-grandmother is the late Rose Garland Meyerson. Her attendants included her sister, Ariel Shukert, and friends, Lauren Marks, Stephen Brackett and BJ Lockhart. The groom is a graduate of the Red and Yellow School of Cape Town, SA, and is the Associate Creative Director/Vicepresident at McCann-Erikson in New York City. He is the grandson of the late Donald and Lucia Abramowitz, Molly Michel and the late Tim Michel. His attendants included his brothers, Gregory and Asher Abramowitz and Colin Jowell, a friend. The couple resides in New York City.

Beth Israel to Hold Blood Drive by MARY BORT for Beth Israel Synagogue Have you made any New Year resolutions for 2007? While many of us resolve to do things for ourselves such as lose weight or get more organized, there is one resolution that is sure to help others. You can resolve to give the gift of life and donate blood. You’ll have the opportunity to become a donor when Beth Israel Synagogue hosts an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Sunday, Jan. 7, 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The community is invited to participate in this life-giving event. According to a news release provided by the American Red Cross, the demand for blood is greater than blood donations. With almost 60% of Americans eligible to give blood, less than 5% actually donate each year. This means that more people need to donate blood. To that end, the Red Cross engages in community outreach, making it convenient for people to donate. Rather than having to drive to the Red Cross, they come to you. “We were contacted by the Red Cross to hold a blood drive,” explained Executive Director, Beth Cohen.” So, we brought the matter up at our November

Board meeting and Gary Shyken volunteered to serve as chair of the blood drive. We’re excited about the opportunity to offer the community a convenient way to donate blood.” Prior to the day of the blood drive, potential blood donors are asked to schedule a specific time, in which to give blood. To schedule the appointment, contact Gary Shyken at 505.9913 or visit the Red Cross web site, www.givelife. org. The Red Cross web site has the specific schedule for Beth Israel’s blood drive. Type in Beth Israel’s sponsor code, 0091879, and click the “search” button. You’ll see “Beth Israel Synagogue;” click on it and you’ll then see the schedule of available times to donate. Pick an available time that is convenient for you. According to Cohen, “The Red Cross web site also provides great information for anyone interested in donating blood. It lists the requirements for donors. For example, if you’re on a medication, you can check the site to see whether or not you’re eligible to donate.” If you resolve to give the gift of life and would like more information, contact the office at 556.6288.

ORGANIZATIONS YOUNG ENERGETIC SENIORS Members will meet Monday at the JCC. Join us for the Annual Hanukkah Party with Cantor Gaston Bogomolni from Beth El Synagogue. Try your luck with bingo at 10 a.m. with Miles and Eileen Remer. For transportation call Dee Dee at 330.4272. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH Come to the Yiddish meeting at the JCC on Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Call Anne Skolkin at 343.1638.

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Tom Gouttierre will speak at Breadbreakers on Wednesday, Dec. 20, noon, at the Regency Lodge, according to Gary Javitch, chairman. Gouttierre is the Director of the Center for Afghan Studies at UNO. His topic will be “The Taliban Return: An Afghanistan Update.” All men and women in the community are invited to attend Breadbreakers. Cost is $11 for a complete lunch and $3 for beverage service only.

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ENGAGEMENT GINSBURG/HELLER Beth and Bill Ginsburg announce the engagement of their daughter Laynie to Dr. Joshua Heller, son of Margaret and Lewis Heller of Lawrence, NY. The bride-to-be is a graduate of the University of Arizona and is currently employed at Maccabi USA/ Sports for Israel in Philadelphia, PA. She is the granddaughter of Jean Elkon and the late Wallace Elkon, and the late and Henry Ethel Ginsburg. Her fiancé graduated from Brandies University and Temple Medical School. He is currently a resident in neurosurgery at Temple University Hospital. He is the grandson of the late Abe and Annie Heller, and the late Rita and Edward Mermell. A Sept. 2, 2007 wedding is planned at Beth El Synagogue in Omaha.

Switch Day is Back at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home by LOIS WINE Director, Jewish Senior Services After a two-year absence, Switch Day is back this year. This is when we call on volunteers to relieve staff members who take the Christmas holiday off to be with their family members. Have some fun while doing a mitzvah. The housekeeping staff will be off on Sunday, Dec. 24, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., when volunteers will be needed. The dietary department staff will take Christmas Day off. Volunteers are needed to serve breakfast and set up for lunch, help prepare lunch and dinner, and to serve and clean up. Volunteers will also set up for breakfast the next morning. We will need volunteers Monday, Dec. 25, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. We also need volunteers to bake cookies for tea time, and visit and watch football with the residents. If you are interested in helping out in any of these areas, please call my office and schedule a time. To sign up, please call me at 334.6519.

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The Omaha Community Playhouse is presenting Urinetown The Musical. Feb. 9-March 18, 2007 in the Howard Drew Theatre. Auditions for this production will be held Monday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m., and Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m. Urinetown director Carl Beck seeks 15 or so able bodied men or women between the ages of 20 to 50. Bring a song, learn a dance and don’t miss auditions for Urinetown. Those auditioning should enter through the west “Stage Door” entrance at the Omaha Community Playhouse. A limited number of scripts are available for check-out prior to the audition. Call 402.553.4890, ext 110 for details. Omaha Performing Arts brings Marie Osmond’s The Magic of Christmas to the Peter Kiewit Concert Hall in the Holland Center on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. Boasting a name synonymous with wholesome, family entertainment, Marie Osmond brings her classic warmth and musical talents to the stage. Osmond will also perform a medley of some of her top hits over the last 25 years along with a video showcasing the highlights of some of the most famous Osmond Family shows. Tickets are on sale now for Marie Osmond’s The Magic of Christmas, part of the Omaha Performing Arts Presents 2006/07 season. Tickets may be purchased through Ticket Omaha online at www.ticketomaha. org, by phone at 402.345.0606 or in-person at the Ticket Omaha box office at the Holland Center, 13th and Douglas streets. Tickets are priced from $19-$50. Omaha Performing Arts joins with The Presenters to host New Year’s Eve 2006 with The Manhattan Transfer at the Holland Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. Acclaimed as one of the world's great jazz vocal quartets, The Manhattan Transfer has spent the last three decades creating album after album of chart-topping, Grammy winning hits. Their music encompasses both traditional and progressive jazz, and reaches out into Latin, world and pop music. Concert-goers are invited to join The Manhattan Transfer as they ring in 2007 at the beautiful Holland Center during a special New Year’s Eve concert. Tickets are $40-$100. Tickets may be purchased though Ticket Omaha by phone 402.345.0606, or online at ticketomaha.org. The Omaha Children’s Museum will celebrate the New Year like no other place in Omaha! The museum will begin partying Sunday, Dec. 31, 6 p.m., and won’t

stop until all the bubble wrap has been popped and families have enjoyed the Holiday Lights fireworks, which will end at approximately 8:30 p.m. During the event, the museum will become one large carnival, with games and prizes, face painting, balloon artists, science and magic shows and much more. Families can watch the downtown Holiday Lights fireworks, which begin just after 8 p.m., from inside or outside the museum. With the celebration ending around 8:30 p.m., mom and dad have plenty of time to make it to “grown up” New Year’s parties. Omaha Children’s Museum announces it will host Kevin Clash, the puppeteer and creator of Elmo’s character, at the museum for two events in February 2007. Kevin Clash, whose characters include Elmo, Hoots the Owl and Baby Natasha, is “Sesame Street’s” Senior Puppet Coordinator and Muppet Captain. He began building puppets at the age of ten and performed on Baltimore’s Harbor Front and local television as a teenager. Clash’s first television work was for the CBS affiliate in Baltimore. He came to Sesame Street after attracting the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love. Clash and his 2006 book My Life as a Furry Red Monster have recently been featured on “The Today Show”, “Oprah” and NPR’s “Morning Edition.” Clash and Elmo’s visit to the museum is in conjunction with Frontier “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?” This traveling exhibit on display at the museum through March 4 invites visitors to become a part of the magic that made Sesame Street a legendary educational children’s program. The two events include a storytelling and performance for children and families as well as a dinner benefiting Omaha Children’s Museum. Storytime with Elmo, Saturday, Feb. 24, 9 a.m., at the Omaha Children’s Museum. Kevin Clash and Elmo will tell stories and answer questions from children in the audience. Tickets for this event are $5 for museum members and $10 for non-members. Any remaining tickets after member tickets are sold will go on sale to the general public in person at the museum and by phone on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m. To purchase by phone, call 402.342.6164, ext. 424. CORRECTION Max Rogers-Marcovitz, mentioned in “A Nebraska Homecoming in Israel” in the Dec. 8 Jewish Press, also is the son of Omahan Mimi Rogers. He attends MerCaz HaTorah yeshiva in Israel.

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December 15, 2006

Linking Israel/Palestinian Solution to War in Iraq Is a Mistake This newspaper isn’t the first to say a solution to the War in Iraq can’t be won by solving the more than 58-year-old Israel/ Palestinian conflict. But what can you expect when the leadership of the Iraq Study Group includes former Secretary of State James Baker III? Even if he didn’t say the now infamous statement, “F--- the Jews,” he’s in bed so deep with the Saudis, he’s lost all credibility with finding a solution. The Jewish Press isn’t going to comment on what’s right or wrong with the Iraq Report, other than question the recommendations regarding Israel--and those dealing with Israel’s neighbors. (Well...we would like to know why only one member of the study group ventured beyond the Green Zone to actually interview soldiers on the ground, while the rest holed up in a closely guarded hotel. Learn much, did you?) The Study group calls for opening talks with Syria and Iran. Why? For the last three years Syria’s open border with Iraq has allowed hundreds, if not thousands of terrorists to pour through. They’ve caused American casualties, not to say thousands of Iraqi deaths. Yes, it was the fault of the U.S. military by not sealing those borders after toppling Saddam, but our errors shouldn’t be compounded by rewarding Bashar Assad for supporting our enemies in the War on Terror. We’ve said before in these pages that Syria has nothing we want or need...no oil, no other natural resources, no influence in the Arab

world, except apparently with Hamas and non-Arab Iran and Hezbollah. Assad has already proven he won’t interfere with their master plans for conquest--which of course, would give him control of Lebanon. Iran, which just convened an International Conference for the Denial of the Holocaust, compounds the miscarriage of justice of its President in calling for the destruction of the State of Israel. What, exactly, Mr. Baker, are you planning on talking to President Ahmadinejad about? His timetable for acquiring nuclear weapons? His support of suicide bombers? His plans for aiming a nuclear-tipped warhead at Tel Aviv (which, by the way, would also wipe out much of Gaza--but the Iraq Study group insists that the Israel/Palestinian conflict is “inextricably linked” to the Iraq war--so much for Iranian sympathy to the Palestinians. This “sympathy” in the Arab world is a myth. For nearly 60 years, Arab states from Saudi Arabia to Libya have used the Palestinians to whip up their own constituencies against Israel, the Jews and the West, thereby diverting attention from the real problems in their own countries. Solve the conflict in Gaza and the West Bank and all other conflicts in the Muslim world will go away, you say? Tell us, what does this have to do with Shi’ites blowing up Sunni market-

places or Sunnis bombing Shi’a mosques? Or Fatah shooting Hamas? Or the Taliban in Afghanistan? Or the widening Muslim slaughter of other Muslims in Sudan, Chad and now the Central African Republic? Iran and Syria are not our friends; neither is Saudi Arabia, whose billionaires continue to bankroll terrorist organizations posing as pseudo charities. Stalling until the oil runs out is not a good option; neither is forcing Israel to make more concessions. Gaza proved that.

Jewish Press Committee Bobbi Leibowitz, Vice-Chairman; Stan Mitchell, Secretary; Scott Meyerson, Treasurer; Michael Siegel, Finance Chairman; Joanie Jacobson, Immediate Past-chairman; David Herzog; Susan Lehr; Jamie Meyerson; George Quittner; Melissa Schop; Michael Sigmond; Jim Simon; Nancy Skid; and Dorothy Spizman. The role of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to involve Jews in meeting Jewish communal needs locally, nationally and in Israel. Centers of Excellence of the Federation are: Community Relations, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Education, Jewish Family Service, and Jewish Senior Services. The Jewish Press is a constitutional committee of the Jewish Federation. Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Jewish the Committee, Federation of Omaha or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: As we met together on Nov. 29, at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, KY, we gave thanks to God for life and sustenance and recalled with joy our shared role as people of God who bring a unique and vital perspective to a world marked by secularism and fundamentalisms of various kinds. We give thanks to God for bringing us to a “new season of dialogue and understanding,” as the words from this year’s PC (USA)’s General Assembly resolution on Israeli-Palestinian peace invited us to do. We believe that we have taken a significant turn at this meeting toward just such a time of renewed engagement. Since the days before the American Revolution, Presbyterians and Jews have lived together in this country and worked together for the common good. In the spirit of that history, at this meeting we renewed our partnership in a number of ways: • We initiated an ongoing national consultation among our communities. • We decided to undertake an effort to bring together congregations of the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist Jewish Movements with Presbyterian congregations in a number of areas of the country for fellowship and study, and to support congregations already engaged with one another. • We agreed to join together in public policy efforts on crucial issues of our day, beginning with advocacy for an increase in the minimum wage. To this end, we will also explore fresh ways to work together on immigration issues, the situation in Darfur, and other justice concerns. The major focus of our day together, however, was on issues related to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and the long search for peace, justice, and security for the people who live there. We discussed actions of the 217th General Assembly (2006) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) relating to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and the concerns of the Jewish community regarding their interpretation and implementation by the church. That assembly

affirmed what have been the consistent positions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and also introduced a “turn” in certain policies concerning Israel and the Palestinians. Together, we welcomed the potential for working together invited by those General Assembly actions. We discussed frankly and openly our different perceptions of the situation in the region and found some ways to begin working together in this area that has most divided us in the past. Together, we affirm that peace for Israel and the Palestinians should be built on the foundations of security, justice, and the establishment of two viable states. Our specific approaches to peace differ, but we believe that we can, and must, be strong advocates together-and together with other Christian and Muslim colleagues-for a renewed peace process. We fully intend to work together for peace in the Middle East with other Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders. Together, we affirm the statement of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Middle East Peace, which will be issued as one part of renewed efforts for peace as the new Congress convenes at the end of this year. Moreover, because we think economic development and peacemaking in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are crucial to the success of the peace process, we will be assessing a variety of Israeli and Palestinian organizations and projects that can then be recommended with confidence to our congregations. From these small steps, we pray that God will lead us to other creative joint efforts, and help us build a road to mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace for a region and a world desperately in need of it. Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Rabbi Jerome Epstein, Executive Vice-President, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Dr. Carl Sheingold,

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

Executive Vice-President, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism To the Editor: I sent letters to President Jimmy Carter, Emory University President Jim Wagner, and Dr. John Hardman, Executive Director of the Carter Center resigning my position as Middle East Fellow of the Carter Center of Emory University. This ends my 23-year association. Many still believe that I have an active association with the Center and, act as an adviser to President Carter, neither is the case. For the record, I had nothing to do with the research, preparation, writing, or review of President Carter’s recent publication. Any material which he used from the book we did together in 1984, The Blood of Abraham, he used unilaterally. President Carter’s book on the Middle East, a title too inflammatory to even print, is not based on unvarnished analyses; it is replete with factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments. Aside from the one-sided nature of the book, meant to provoke, there are recollections cited from meetings where I was the third person in the room, and my notes of those meetings show little similarity to points claimed in the book. Having little access to Arabic and Hebrew sources, I believe, clearly handicapped his understanding and analyses of how history has unfolded over the last decade. This book does not hold to those standards. My continued association with the Center leaves the impression that I am sanctioning a series of egregious errors and polemical conclusions which appeared in President Carter’s book.I can not allow that impression to stand. Dr. Kenneth W. Stein Prof. of Contemporary Middle Eastern History, Political Science, and Israeli Studies, Director, Middle East Research Program and Institute for the Study of Modern Israel

Editorial The Jewish Press is a Constitutional Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1-402-334-5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: ckatzman@jewishomaha.org.. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be singlespaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions, but should be printed as soon as possible to ensure timeliness. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For more information, contact Carol Katzman, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly on Friday for $31 per calendar year U.S.; $36 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or e-mail to: jpress@jewishomaha. org.

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Rededicate the Holy on Hanukkah by Repairing your Inner Temple

BEHIND THE HEADLINES by RABBI SHEFA GOLD JEMEZ SPRINGS, New Mexico (JTA) -- Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the ancient Holy Temple where our ancestors worshipped. Each year we recall the “great miracle that happened there.” Although the Temple no longer stands in Jerusalem, we can still take part in a ritual of rededication of the holy. In our time, God-worship has developed beyond the animal sacrifice that took place in the Temple: Prayer and service are what we offer God. The altar of stone that was swept away finds its true place at the center of the temple of our soul, where the infinite meets the finite, where the spark of God bursts into flame within us. Making our lives into a dwelling place for divine presence, a Mishkan -- the portable sanctuary that we carry through our wilderness journeys -- takes work and attention to detail, a commitment to spiritual practice. The Book of Exodus contains detailed instructions for building the Mishkan. The Mishkan’s very purpose is to provide a space within where we can receive the mystery of presence. God says to us (Exodus 25:8): “Make for me a holy place so that I can dwell among you.” Inside, among the nation of Israel, and inside...our own hearts. God’s message to us is: Yes, it is possible to stay connected with Me at all times, in all places, even as you engage in the life of the world. But as the story of Hanukkah reminds us, even the holiest place can become desecrated. It is simple, if heartbreaking, to recognize the desecration of the physical Temple. It is a much subtler process to probe the desecration of the inner Temple. We examine the Temple within by asking the very questions that confronted Judah Maccabee upon retaking the Temple: What needs repair? What requires renewal? How shall we kindle the eternal flame? Hanukkah offers us an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the holy, to our connection to God. As the days grow short and the night darkness long, we are invited to enter into the darkness of our own hearts. There, buried beneath the rubble of our disappointments, we find the miraculous spark of our divinity, the awesome knowledge that we are each created in the image of God. This is the spark with which we kindle our menorah. If we heal the personal desecrations we each have suffered and rededicate our lives to holiness, the miracle of Hanukkah happens inside us. Each night of Hanukkah, we light another candle. Each night the light grows brighter, shining its radiance into our own hidden places. It is truly miraculous that the single spark of hope that we excavate from the darkest part of our hearts can ignite the radiant fires of passion which illuminate our way forward, even on the darkest night. Rabbi Shefa Gold is author of Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

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Failure to Pass Budget Bills Could Stall Democrats’ Incoming Agenda

N EWS ANALYSIS by RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON (JTA)--The Republicans’ failure to fund government before they hand over Congress to the Democrats will have little effect on Israel, but domestic welfare programs Jews care about wil suffer, community officials said. In an extraordinary comment posted last week on its wesite, the United Jewish Communities’ Washington office fumed that the lame-duck Congress’ failure to pass most of its budget “is considered to be a politically motivated distraction for the newly installed Democratic Congressional leadership, preventing them from tackling their incoming agenda for the 110th Congress.” The UJC, which generally abjures sharp criticism of either party, said retirement community and elderly-care programs would be affected by the delay. Thomas Kahn, who doubles as the Democrats’ top budget official in the U.S. House of Representatives and as president of the American Jewish Committee’s Washington chapter, cited a “range” of issues of Jewish concern that will be affected, ``from child care to education to environmental protection." “The bottom line is because the Congress failed to do its job and is going home for Christmas vacation, it means a number of critical domestic services will be underfunded” until Feb. 15 at the earliest, he said. Spending that affects Israel is not impacted. Foreign operations, which accounts for the $2.8 billion Israel receives annually, is going ahead at 2006 levels, which differ little from levels promised for 2007. The Defense Appropriations Act, which affects collaborative U.S.Israel programs such as the Arrow anti-missile program, is one of only two that were passed before the midterm elections. Democrats are concerned that the domestic agenda they touted, and which helped them win back Congress, will be delayed as the new Congress deals with unfinished business. House Democrats within three weeks pledged to pass legislation funding embryonic stem-cell research; raising the minimum wage; reforming ethics; reforming health care to open up bidding on federal purchases of pharmaceuticals; balancing the budget; funding research on energy alternatives; reducing interest on student loans; and implementing the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations. An array of Jewish groups was looking forward to the renewed stem-cell funding effort; a number of other groups, led by the Reform movement, also back the Democrats’ pledge to raise the minimum wage. Other groups, including the American Jewish Congress and AJCommittee, are looking forward to examining

Democratic proposals for energy independence. “We’ll have to figure out for the security of the nation how we fund those things” while passing appropriations, a senior Democratic staffer told JTA. Both houses have passed versions of the appropriations bills. At issue are the versions of the bills that emerge after the Senate and House conference, and which must be passed on a second reading. Congress rarely meets the Oct. 1 deadline for passing appropriations bills, and this year only Defense and Homeland Security appropriations packages passed, leaving another nine appropriations bills waiting for the lame-duck session. In past years Congress returned after midterm elections to pass the remaining appropriations during the lame-duck session. This year, however, after losing the midterms and ending 12 years of dominance in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans decided to punt the remaining appropriations to the next Congress. Instead they are passing “continuing resolutions” that allow the budget to go ahead at minimum 2006 levels with no add-ons. Conservative Republicans, who are leading the effort to pass the continuing resolutions, deny they are playing politics with Democrats, saying it’s part of their recent efforts--which predate the elections--to strip earmarks, or “pork,” from spending bills. They’ve said they would be happy to pass “clean” budget bills, not the omnibus bills that typify appropriations. Naturally occurring retirement communities, pioneered by UJC, are currently funded solely through earmarks, though there are plans for a federally funded program. The NORC programs help keep the elderly semiindependent and living close to family. Another UJC-favored earmark is a new family caregiver support program that streamlines access to community services for people who are responsible for caring for their elderly relatives. The UJC said the delay would affect 19 NORC programs, as well as pioneer caregiver support programs in Durham, N.C., and New Haven, Connecticut. William Daroff, UJC’s policy vice president and director of its Washington office, predicted that the earmarks would be back in place by February. After that, he said, UJC would work to make NORCs permanent. “One of our goals in the next Congress is funding for the Older Americans Act, which made NORC permanent,” he said.

...the United Jewish Communities’ Washington office fumed that the lame-duck Congress’ failure to pass most of its budget “is considered to be a politically motivated distraction for the newly installed Democratic Congressional leadership, preventing them from tackling their incoming agenda for the 110th Congress.”

EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE Due to the closing of the Jewish Press office on Monday, Dec. 25, and Monday, Jan. 1, there are early deadlines as follows: for the Dec. 29 issue, the deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 20, 9 a.m., for all ads, articles and photos; for the Jan. 5 issue, the deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 27. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

I’m Proud to be a Jew

F OCUS ON ISSUES by RABBI SHEA HECHT It seems that an imminent prisoner-exchange deal is once again on the political table of the Middle East. This time, the talks reportedly include the freedom of up to 1,400 Arab terrorists in return for one Jewish captive soldier - Gilad Shalit. Gilad Shalit is scheduled to be transferred to Egypt, and from there to Israel, as part of the deal. As part of the transfer, Israel will release an unknown number of terrorists sitting in their jails. The identities of the terrorists to be freed are not yet known, nor whether Israel has agreed to the never-ending PA demands to free the killers of Government Minister and former IDF General Rehavam Ze’evi and convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti. What’s also unknown is whether any of this will actually happen, because similar agreements have reportedly been “nearly ready” several times in the past, yet did not materialize. Interestingly enough, recently Prime Minister Ehud Olmert implied that such a trade could never take place.

Olmert insisted that terrorists would be freed only after the kidnapped soldier is returned home. “I hereby declare,” he said, “that when Gilad Shalit is released and returned to his family, safe and sound, the Government of Israel will be willing to release many Palestinian prisoners-including ones who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms--in order to increase the trust between us and prove that our hand is truly extended in genuine peace.” The question of releasing hundreds of terrorists in exchange for kidnapped Israelis has long been a controversial one in Israel. IDF historian Meir Pa’il says that even if the theory that if Israel gives in to Hamas demands, terrorists will kidnap more Israelis is true - “It’s important for every soldier and Israeli to know that if he is taken captive, we’ll do everything to redeem him.” Retired Colonel Meir Indor of the Almagor Terror Victims Association supports an opposing view. He said, “That’s important, but it’s also important for every soldier and every Israeli to know that he won’t be the next candidate for kidnapping. The kidnappers must be dealt with forcefully.” Jewish law puts incredible emphasis on the value of every single life. There is tremendous importance put on

the life of the unborn, the sick, the infirm, and the old. Religious law deals with many questions that only great Rabbis can answer on issues of life and death, and whose life takes precedence in cases where multiple lives are at stake. No person is considered inessential or replaceable. According to the Torah each person represents a soul that is given a certain amount of time on this world and shortening that soul’s journey by even one moment is considered murder. And now, if this trade comes to fruition--if this trade is even considered--very Jew in Israel will receive a message, a message that makes me proud to be a Jew. Though this trade may not necessarily be a strategically sound move, it is definitely one that sends an intrinsically beautiful message that each individual Jew is more precious to the Jewish nation than 1,400 terrorists. Conversely, every Muslim has gotten the message that if even one Jew was put on one side of a scale there would have to be more than 1,000 Muslims to make the scale even. Every person who reads the news or hears of the trade has been sublimely told that the life of a Jew is worth more than 1,000 Muslim lives. And what a powerful message that is.

Page 14

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 15, 2006

Candlelighting Friday, December 15, 4:37 p.m.

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

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

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

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

Chabad House An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 S. 120th St. Omaha, NE 68144-1646 330.1800 nebraskajudaism.com email: chabad@aol.com

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 S. 20th St. Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 435.8004 southstreettemple.org

Offutt Air Force Base SAC Memorial Chapel 301 Lincoln Highway Offutt AFB, NE 68113 294.6244

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 333 S. 132 St. Omaha, NE 68154

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

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

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

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

to reserve space, call

Allan Handleman, 334.6451, or Terri Greenwood, 334.6559.

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

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

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Fri., 8:30 a.m-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 4:37 p.m. Hanukkah candles should be lit before Shabbat candles. This Shabbat, welcome Rabbi Ari Dembitzer, High Holiday chazzan, who will lead a musical Kabbalat Shabbat. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Free babysitting, 9:30 a.m.; Children’s Classes, 10 a.m. (call the office for schedule); Kiddush sponsored by Sisterhood; Hanukkah lunch follows; Mincha follows lunch; Suedat Shlishit with p.m.; Gemara class, 4:45 Havdalah, 5:43 p.m. following Havdalah, enjoy Rabbi Dembitzer and the Beth Israel All-Star Band. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; “Reading the Rambam” with Rabbi Nadel follows breakfast, 9:45 a.m.; Rabbi Gross’s Sunday morning class is on break unil Jan. 7; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. TUESDAY: The Kosher Kitchen, 8 p.m., “Kashrut for the 21th Century” at the home of Sherry Taxman. WEDNESDAY: NCSY PreConvention Rally for Senior NCSYers, 7 p.m. at Beth Israel. THURSDAY: Women of the Torah class, 9:30 a.m.; Advanced Parsha Study, 9 p.m.; Dec. 2125: Sr. NCSY Winter Conclave at Eaglewood Resort.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE FRIDAY: Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service, 6 p.m.; Hanukkah Hoedown, following 6 p.m. Kabbalat Shabbat services. Adults, $12.50, children (6-12) $8.50, children 5 and under are free. For reservations, contact Margie Gutnik. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush is sponsored by the Nachman/Potash families in honor of the B’nai Mitzvah of Ezra and Adeev and the return of the Potash family to the community; Tot Shabbat & Lunch, 11:15 a.m. to noon, led by Esther Katz. Lunch will follow: $5 for adults; free for children six and younger. RSVP by calling the office; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:40 p.m. Sitter Service is available during Friday night and Saturday morning services, on a drop-in basis, at no charge. SUNDAY: Bible Discussion Group, 10 a.m.; Living Hebrew, 10 a.m., with Susi FrydmanLevin; “The Weekly Parasha: It’s All About Me?!,” 10 a.m., led by Andy Greenberg; “Jewish Pot Pourri,” 11 a.m., led by Frydman-Levin. W E E K D AY S E R V I C E S : Sundays, 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.; weekdays 6:55 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. THURSDAYS, noon: Rabbi Levin leads Getting More Out of Prayer: Insights into the Siddur. VODKA & LATKES: Saturday, Dec. 16, 7:30-11 p.m.; for all Jewish community members in their 20s and 30s (single and married). Cost is $10 ($15 at the door); free babysitting will be provided with advance reservations, with snacks for the children. To RSVP, send a check to “Vodka & Latkes,” Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha NE 68154. BESTT: First and second graders visit the Blumkin Home residents on Sunday to celebrate Hanukkah. WOMEN’S BOOK GROUP: Monday, Dec. 18, 1 p.m., at the synagogue; women in the Jewish community are welcome. ABBA, EEMA & ME: For children from birth to three years old, and their parents. Next session, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. JEWISH FILM SERIES: Dec. 18, 7 p.m., at Beth El. Cost is $36 for the series or $6 per session. For more information, contact Margie Gutnik. WOMEN’S ROSH HODESH GROUP Wednesday, Dec. 20, 6 p.m. at the Wedgewood Townhomes Clubhouse, 966 So. 118 Plaza. Theme: “Those Embarrassing Moments I Thought I'd Never Live Down.” To RSVP, contact the hosts, Ozzie Nogg, at 342.7870 or ozzienogg@cox.net, or Susi Frydman-Levin, at 932.6488 or susifrydmanlevin@cox.net.

BEYT SHALOM FRIDAY: Shabbat in the Home.

CHABAD HOUSE Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Service, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Maamar class, 9 a.m.; Service, 9:30 a.m.; Kiddush luncheon follows the service. SUNDAY: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Living Torah, 9:30 a.m., 20minute broadcast; Mishpacha University presents Mishpacha Mornings, 10:15-11:45 a.m. Hanukkah Party for the young. For information, call 391.7640, e-mail TippiM@ aol.com or visit www.ochabad. com. WEEKDAYS: Minyan, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Hanukkah on Ice community party, 4-7 p.m. at the Tim Moylan Ice Plex, 12550 West Maple Road. TUESDAY: Women of Worth Prayer Circle-Tehillim & More, 9 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Kabbalah Circle, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Jewish Thought, 12:45 p.m. All events and programs are open to the community. For information or to register, call 330.1800 or visit www. Ochabad.com.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN Services conducted by Rabbi Ilan Emanuel.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. led by Rabbi Emanuel, with oneg provided by Paul Blum and Nathalie Smith. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. all led by Rabbi Emanuel; Hanukkah Latke Party/ Potluck, 6 pm. We’ll provide latkes, songs, and dreidels. Bring a dinner item to share, menorah and candles and a wrapped item for children’s gift exchange ($5 value). E-mail tstemple@neb.rr. com or call at 435.8004 to RSVP. Questions? Call Lon Hollibaugh at 488.4338. SUNDAY: LJCS School-wide Hanukkah Program, 11 a.m.noon. WEDNESDAY: LJCS Hebrew class (grades 2-8), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION SUNDAYS, Dec. 10 and 17, 7 p.m. Maimonides. This two session course will introduce and explore Maimonides’ ideas and philosophy and how it remains relevant and vibrant for today’s world. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FAITH BUILD 2006: You can help Our Hanukkah mitzvah project this year in two ways: Contribute: Our goal is to raise $1,000 for house paint. A member of our congregation will provide a dollar for dollar match. Send checks payable to “Habitat for Humanity” to the Temple office. Volunteer: We will put together a team to paint the interior of the house. You must be at least 16-years-old. Contact Barb Straus at jebs@navix.net.

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m., led by Miles Remer.

TEMPLE ISRAEL FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Rabbi Aryeh Azriel and Cantor Wendy Shermet will lead the service; Family Hanukkah Dinner, 6 p.m. following the Shabbat Service. SATURDAY: Sparks Beneath the Surface, 9:15-10:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SITTER SERVICE: Available each Friday evening for the 7:30 p.m. service, Saturday mornings when there is a bar or bat mitz-

vah, and Sunday mornings when there is Religious School. Advance reservations and a $5 donation are appreciated. Sorry, there are no facilities for infants. SUNDAY: Teacher Learning Coffee, 9:30 a.m.; Religious School (K-6), 10 a.m.-noon; Club 56 Scavenger Hunt, noon at Temple Israel. WEDNESDAY: No Religious or Family School; No Middle/High School. LIFELONG LEARNING TUESDAY, DEC. 19: Adult B’nai Mitzvah, 6:30–8 p.m. DECEMBER RED, GREEN & BLUE: Sunday, Dec. 17, 10 a.m. Rabbi Azriel and Rabbi Eric Linder will meet with interfaith families to discuss the interfaith challenges with the winter holidays. MONDAY: Congregational Conversation, 7 p.m. at the Home of Andi Willensky (16299 California St.) to discuss the Temple Israel Building Project and the Tri-Faith initiative. RSVP to the Temple office.

NEIGHBORHOOD MINYAN FRIDAY: Minyan, 4:45 p.m. SATURDAY: Services, 9 a.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Services conducted by Rabbi Royi Shaffin. Minyan, MONDAY and THURSDAY, 9 a.m. FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by a light oneg. SATURDAY: Weekly Parashah class, 8:30 a.m.; Morning service, 9:30 a.m. followed by Shabbat lunch and Talmud class. SUNDAY: LJCS Annual School Hanukkah party, 11 a.m.; Annual Synagogue Hanukkah party presented by the Men’s club begins at 12:30 p.m. and includes lunch. TUESDAY: The Ladies’ Lunch Bunch will meet at Olive Garden, noon. If you need a ride, call Elaine Evnen. WEDNESDAY: Men’s Lunch Group meets at the Knolls, 12:30 p.m. Call Yale Gotsdiner at 423.7066; LJCS Hebrew class (grades 2-8), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION Monday and Thursday evenings, 7-9 p.m. Beginning Hebrew, Siddur, and Chumash: Feeling Knowledgeable and Comfortable at Services with Rabbi Shaffin.

Friedel’s Latke Sale This Wednesday Friedel Jewish Academy will host its annual Latke fundraiser on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Students, including O’Bryen Edwards, a first-grader at Friedel, right, teachers and parents will work together all day baking latkes and packaging sour cream and applesauce. All visitors are welcome to join students for lunch, 11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., for $5. This will include two latkes and accompaniments. Take-out is also available and will be sold in packages of 10 latkes with applesauce and sour cream for $10. Order by calling 334.0517 before Tuesday, Dec. 19.

December 15, 2006

The Limits of Inducement

SPARKS FROM THE WORD by RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parashat Vayetze If my remarks here put me a week behind in the succession of the Sidrot, so be it. But I am obliged to comment again on the inducements that have been offered by the world community to Syria and Iran to make nice. Ahmadinejad of Iran is particularly an unsavory character. Indeed, he is a 100%certified S.O.B. It bothers me greatly that the United Nations is trying to buy him off. Consider, on the contrary, the gifts that Jacob sent to Esau in an attempt to persuade Esau to meet him peacefully, rather than with anger. Esau, after all, was a gentleman. Despite what rabbinical Judaism made of him, the Bible itself pictures Esau as put upon, rather than an unpredictable aggressor. It did not need Jacobâ€™s gifts to buy Esauâ€™s peacefulness. Although he had been clearly harmed by Jacob, Easu felt no need to get revenge. Esau was, to repeat, a gentleman.

It Can Happen to Anyone Continued from page 1 ter in the morning with hugs and smiles, she fought back the tears. The night before, Dan had come home early with bad news--his job had been terminated. This news sent Sara over the edge. She wasnâ€™t sure how they were going to make it through this difficult hurdle. The family was completely unprepared to deal with the legal, financial and emotional issues. They turned to JFS for help. Jenny Meyerson, Financial Assistance Coordinator, was concerned about Saraâ€™s health, and was able to provide her with emotional support ensuring her that JFS was going to help her family. JFS provided Dan with gas vouchers so he could drive to his job interviews. The family also received food vouchers and assistance in paying their bills until the Freemans got back on their feet. Sara contacted Jenny almost a year after Dan lost his job to tell her that they wouldnâ€™t need assistance any longer. Dan had found a job and the couple felt they could begin tackling their financial situation. She was so grateful for the generosity of JFS that she now gives back to the community by helping other families through Project Dreidel. â€œI owe it to this community to return the favor they provided to my family. We canâ€™t give much, but we feel good about giving what we can.â€? â€œWe strive to have our Jewish assistance clients live with dignity,â€? says Karen Gustafson, JFS Director. â€œQuite often, a person or familyâ€™s wish is to give back to those that helped them; this is the rebuilding of self-worth.â€?

Not so Ahmadinejad. He is happy to make threats of violence against Israel and the United States, in the hope that this will produce valuable inducements from the U.N. He expects to get enough to put Iran among the major players in the Middle East, and indeed, in the world. He hopes to be the Hitler of our day. Could it be so: and let his end be like Hitlerâ€™s in his day.

Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE

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

Worldâ€™s Best Known Physicist Meets Israeli Prime Minister

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World renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, right, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the prime ministerâ€™s Jerusalem offices on Sunday, Dec. 10. Hawking delivered a lecture earlier to young Israeli scientists at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem and during his five day trip to Israel was to meet with various scientific communities both in Israel and the West Bank. Hawking, a professor at Cambridge University, won the prestigious Wolf Prize in Physics in Israel in 1988. The visit was arranged by the British Credit: GPO/BPH Images/JTA Embassy in Tel Aviv.

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Beth Elâ€™s Abuzz During Annual Boutique

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The halls of Beth El were filled with shoppers last Sunday during Sisterhood's fourth annual Boutique. More than 30 vendors kept attendees browsing and buying during the event, which raised raised around $2,500 for the synagogue auxiliary group. Photos from left: Boutique workers, front row: Leigh Emas, left, and Carol Nathan, and back row: Jori

Kravitz, Caryn Rifkin, Marcie Spivack, event chairman M'Lee Hasslinger and Patti Adler kept things running smoothly during the afternoon. Vendors filled the synagogue's social hall, selling items such as jewelry, clothing, home accessories, books and artwork.

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Jewish Press, Omaha, NE

December 15, 2006

The Little Federation That Could

LINCOLN CENTER

Israel 26 times since 1987. Schneiderman said the greatest reward is the enthusiastic reaction of the Israelis she meets. Supporting Israel and Israel’s economy is important. “It is the most guilt-free shopping you will ever do,” added Kushner. The crowd enthusiastically received the inaugural screening of Dr. Ben Nachman’s film, “Oral Histories of Lincoln,” which features stories from many long time residents and natives of Lincoln. “The important thing is to preserve these stories before it is too late,” remarked Nachman. He is also on the board of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, and has already produced a film about the Jewish history of Omaha. In Kushner’s closing remarks, she urged all Lincoln

by JENNIFER ROSENBLATT The Jewish Federation of Lincoln held its annual dinner earlier this month at Congregation Tifereth Israel. The nearly 100 attendees were treated to a gourmet dinner prepared by David Brockman, Amy Zlotsky, and Jaine Evnen. The evening included the election of new board members, the annual report, campaign updates, a guest speaker, and a film screening. Attendees from Omaha included the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Executive Director, Marty Ricks and his wife Iris, Dr. Ben and Elaine Nachman, and Jan Schneiderman. President Federation Marcia Kushner opened the meeting with an invitation to join in Hatikvah. Elaine Monnier lead the singing while Kurt Knecht accompanied on piano. The newly elected board members are David Feingold and John Mossow. Jaine Evnen accepted the position of President and appointed Sarah Kelen as the new campaign chairman. Sue Schreiber presented the annual campaign report. The Federation expects the 2006 campaign to top $107,000 in pledges and grants by Dec. 31. A total of $60,000 will be sent to the UJC with $28,000 ear- Photos from top left: Retired Judge Abe Novicoff, left, Art and LaReine Abrams, and Sally marked for the Israel Gordon enjoy dessert before the film. Dr. Ben and Elaine Nachman of Omaha; he spoke at Emergency Fund, of which the meeting. Tifereth Israel President Julie Brockman, Vice President Richard Evnen, Andy $18,000 was above and Merliss, and newly appointed Federation President Jaine Evnen. families to join and support the important work of the beyond original pledges. In addition, nine campers received substantial scholar- NJHS. Kushner also recognized the NJHS Lincoln ships to Jewish summer camps, in conjunction with the board members Max Neiden, Sheldon Kushner, and Esther K. Newman Memorial Fund of Omaha. Funding Bob Evnen. As she ended her years years as president, Kushner recwas also available to high school students who wanted to attend summer programs in Israel and Europe. ognized Sue Schreiber, who has raised more than Currently, the Federation is offering a $300 incentive $350,000 during her past three years as campaign chairgrant towards registration and transportation fees, as man. “Her passion has been a driving force for the well as additional scholarships, for any 2007 campers Federation,” expressed Kushner. She also expressed her gratitude to the Jewish Federation of Omaha for their wanting to attend Jewish summer camps. The Jewish Federation of Lincoln is planning its first unflagging support, and especially to Marty Ricks for his solidarity mission trip to Israel. Kushner, Dr. Jean ongoing advice and assistance. Kushner thanked her fellow board members as well as Cahan, Rabbi Royi Shaffin, and Rabbi Ilan Emanuel are organizing the trip, tentatively scheduled for mid March David Brockman, Amy Zlotsky, and Jaine Evnen for 2007, coinciding with UNL and Lincoln Public Schools preparing and serving the meal; Lori, Carly, and Emma Feldman for creating the table centerpieces and setting spring breaks. To generate excitement and support for the trip, the tables; Gail Wishnow for setting the tables; and Gary speaker Jan Schneiderman of Omaha, a past national Hill for technical assistance. For more information on the Lincoln Israel Solidarity president of the National Council of Jewish Women, spoke about her experiences in Israel. She has visited Mission 2007, contact Kushner at 423.5959.

David Broza to Perform Live Via Satellite from the 92nd Street Y in New York City by RACHEL BLUM JCC Jewish Program Director On Sunday, Dec. 24, 7 p.m., the Live from NY’s 92nd Street Y Satellite Broadcast series will feature Israeli singer-guitarist, David Broza. With 23 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums, Broza has gained fans in every corner of the He world. became a superstar in his homeland of Israel by his early 20s with his debut album “The Woman By My His Side.” American debut David Broza album, “Away From Home,” was praised by the New York Times as one of the best pop albums of the year. His performance career includes headlining with Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Sting. Transcending national and artistic boundaries, this guitarist-composer sings in English, Hebrew and Spanish--and with his flamenco and salsa-tinged folkrock melodies and keen talent for breathing musical life into sensual snippets of poetry, Broza is a formidable musical force of nature. He commands and captivates his audience heart, mind, soul and gut. This live via satellite concert will be held in the Jewish Community Center Auditorium, and participants can expect singing, dancing, and an overall good time. The concert is open to the Jewish community. Tickets are $5 and can be obtained in advance by contacting Cindy Reed, JCC Registration Associate, at 334.6419. For more information about the Live from the 92nd St. Y series in general, please contact me, at 334.6404 or rblum@jccomaha. org. Prior to the Satellite Concert, a special reception for all Jewish college students will begin at 6 p.m. in the JCC’s social hall; food will be served. College students should RSVP to Lesley Gendelman, JCC Community Services Director at 334.6418. The reception and concert are free to all Jewish college students, made possible by an anonymous donation. Information about “Opportunity Omaha” will also be available. In addition, all Jewish high school teens are invited to come early to the JCC Teen Lounge for dinner at 6 p.m. Cost for the teen dinner and concert is $5. To RSVP for the teen dinner, please contact me at 334.6404.

In every age a hero or sage came to our aid We thank our heroes who supported AFMDA throughout the year and especially our CODE RED campaign during the Lebanon War. Your generosity enabled the heroes of Magen David Adom to answer every call.

George Lennon and Sandy Rosen, Co-Regional Directors 3175 Commercial Avenue, Suite 101, Northbrook, IL 60062 888-674-4871 • 847-509-9802 • info@afmda.org