December 27, 2013

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

Temple Israel attends URJ Biennial

December 27, 2013 24 Tevet 5774 Vol. 94 | No. 15

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by DAVID GOLBITZ Temple Israel Staff Writer More than 5,000 Jews from across the United States and Canada met for five days in San Diego for a week of worship, song and schmoozing at the Union for Reform Judaism 2013 Biennial. Held every two years, Biennial is a convention for North American Reform Jews to come together to discuss the status of the Movement and reaffirm their commitments to living Jewish lives and to their congregations. “I think the experience for me, this being my first Biennial, was this: while I enjoyed studying with the masses, thinking and exchanging ideas with large groups, the defining lesson for me was the feeling of fellowship and loving kindness I felt in sharing the experience with our own group,” said Lise Sasson, a member of the Leadership Development program. “I now have this novel, empowering sense of pride for and connection to Temple Israel and my Omaha home.”

That feeling of camaraderie was felt by many of the Temple Israel contingent who attended the Biennial. “It was a great opportunity to deepen connections with members of our group I already knew and to make new connections with members I did not know as well before this experience,” said Andie Gord-

man, who was also attending Biennial for the first time. In addition to attending learning sessions and listening to keynote speakers, the Temple Israel group met with old friends, like Rabbis Eric Linder and Debbie Stiel, and made new ones. “On Thursday night the entire

Omaha contingency, including Rabbis Stiel and Linder, had a raucous dinner together,” said Board of Trustees President Sally Kaplan. “Rabbi Marantz dropped by, too; it was wonderful to see our rabbis again. There were 22 of us at the table, a wonderful group of new leaders, current leaders and clergy. For me, the best part of the Biennial was sharing it with these wonderful congregants. I am so grateful to the Meyers family for making it possible for so many to attend.” The Leadership Development program paid for registration for current and past participants through the Jon Meyers Leadership Fund. Some of the most memorable moments at this year’s Biennial were the Friday evening and Saturday morning worship services, during which the 5,000 attendees came together to worship and pray as a group. “The Shabbat worship was the most beautiful and moving of all the Continued on page 3

A visit from the Western Annual Bible Quiz Galilee Medical Center has three winners

Jewish congregations to volunteer at Food Bank Page 7

Bedouin want recognition, not relocation Page 12

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

Aryeh Epstein, left, Sara Paperin and Crystal Epstein 8 10 11

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Program Coordinator, The Center for Jewish Life The Center for Jewish Life recently welcomed Sara Paperin, the International Liaison for the Western Galilee Medical Center, for an Omaha visit. Located in Nahariya, Israel, the Western Galilee Medical

Center serves a highly diverse population, serving even those beyond Israel’s northern border. As one of the many programs supported through Omaha’s participation in Partnership2GETHER, involvement in the work of WGMC has a strong history in the Omaha community. Ms. Paperin met with members of Omaha’s Partnership committee and staff members and also connected with a group of medical professionals at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. During her talks, she discussed the role of the WGMC which is the one major medical center in the region, serving over 600,000 residents. The medical center is a 660 bed facility, handles 500600 emergency room visits daily and Continued on page 5

Front: Isaac Rogers, Sam Lieb, Jacob Spivack and Zev Krausman; Middle row: Gloria Kaslow, Rabbi Yaakov Weiss, Josephine Slovut, Elissa Wiener, Sam Kricsfeld and Gary Javitch; Standing in the back are Ari and Steve Riekes. by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPon our Bible knowledge. WRIGHT On December 11, the contest (held for the 28th time) filled the Editor of the Jewish Press Who was Balaam? How old was auditorium at the Jewish CommuJoseph when he got married? nity Center with contestants, family Where, exactly, was Ur? For that members and supporters. Sam matter, do you know how long it Kricsfeld, Zev Krausman and took Moshe to destroy the golden Josephine Slovut split first place by calf? There are a lot of details in the winning 180 points each. Also comTorah we can’t necessarily remem- peting were Jacob Spivack, Elissa ber when the need arises. Luckily, Wiener, Sam Lieb, Sol Marburg, our community has the Annual Ed- Justin Norton and Isaac Rogers. ward Zorinsky B’nai B’rith Bible Gloria Kaslow presented the Quiz, which reminds us to beef up Continued on page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | December 27, 2013

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Behind the headlines ALAN POTASH, Regional Director of ADL Plains Region In recent weeks, we have started to see a variety of reports impacting how one looks at issues important to the Jewish community. The first one was from the Pew Research Center on the Portrait of Jewish Americans, which continues to get lots of play in the Jewish world. The second one is ADL’s, biennial survey about attitudes towards Jews in America. Thirdly, the FBI released the 2012 hate crimes statistics. Plus, the number of reports coming out of Europe and the Middle East about the rise of anti-Semitism. Let’s start with the Pew study and its look at perceived and experienced discrimination towards Jews. Due to a prior engagement, I was unable to be at the Rabbis’ presentation addressing the Pew study held at Temple Israel. I did receive several phone calls following the evening’s presentation about an issue that came up during the discussion--discrimination against Jews. According to the study, 43% of respondents say Jews face discrimination and 15% say they have experienced discrimination in the past year. Are these percentages significant? What might the 15% be experiencing? In ADL’s recent survey of attitudes, 12% of people questioned responded with answers that would reflect anti-Semitic propensities. For the past 50 years, ADL has used the same index to measure attitudes. The 11 questions are randomly placed throughout a longer list of questions. In 1964, when the study was first used, the propensity for anti-Semitism was 29%. The lowest it has ever been is 12% (recorded in 1998, 2009 and 2013). An overall average from the time the study was first introduced is 16%. What makes the study by ADL unique is the methodology of separating out results by individuals who have antiSemitic propensities versus the rest of the population. For example, answering the question: “Do Jews have too much power in the business world?”, 78% of individuals with a propensity for being anti-Semitic answered “true” versus 17% for the general population. One finding that still bothers me is the response to this question: “Are Jews responsible for the Death of Christ?” 57% of individuals with a propensity for being anti-Semitic versus 26% of the general population—but, the general population still believes Jews are responsible for the death of Christ. Wow! If one compares the Pew study percentage of Jews being discriminated against (15%) and the ADL survey, (16%), the likelihood that 15% of Jews are discriminated against in some way is concerning. A sampling of the 11 questions ADL uses are below: “Please answer true or false to the following” (to look at the complete study go to www.adl.org/). Jews stick together more than other Americans. Jews always like to be the head of things. Jews are more loyal to Israel than America. Jews have too much power in the U.S. today. Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street. Jews have too much power in the business world. What does 15% look like in our community? If there are 6500 Jews in Omaha, 15% is 975 in the past year alone. Could that mean 975 people have experienced some sort of discrimination because they are Jewish? And 43% feel Jews face discrimination, which is 2,795 people. For some people those numbers might seem high and for others it might not be high enough. I can tell you that I didn’t receive 975 calls this year, but the calls that I did receive would surprise most in the community. How about a car with the phrase “f___k Jews” scrolled into it, or the walking path that says “Jews are Satan,” or graffiti on a bridge that says ‘kill Jews” accompanied with a swastika? These are just a few examples this year in Omaha. What has the ADL learned from the studies Anti-Semitic propensities have declined to 12%, matching the lowest scores recorded in ADL research on the matter: 12% in 1998 and 2009. • Education remains a strong predictor of anti-Semitic propensities. Most well-educated Americans are remarkably free of prejudicial views, while less educated Americans are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views. • Age is also a strong predictor of anti-Semitic propensities. Younger Americans – under 39 – are also remarkably free of prejudiced views. • Perceptions of disproportionate Jewish power in the U.S. continue to dominate the views of the most anti-Semitic. • Remarkably, since 1964, approximately 30% of Americans have consistently believed that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America, even though the makeup of

the U.S. population has changed dramatically during these years. • Hispanics born outside of the U.S. are significantly more likely to hold anti-Semitic views than Hispanics born in the U.S. • Anti-Semitic propensities within the African American population continue to be higher than the general population, but are in decline. • The steady growth of the U.S. Hispanic population – now at 15% of the adult population – means that Hispanics, combined with African Americans (12%), now comprise 27% of the American population, a number that is sure to grow in the coming years. This population increase of the most anti-Semitic cohorts also means that it will be an ongoing challenge to reduce overall anti-Semitic propensities. Hate Crime Statistics The third report is the Hate Crime Statistics report submitted by local law enforcement agencies and compiled by the FBI. This year’s report is for statistics from 2012. The 2012 FBI report documented 5,796 hate crimes. While this appears to represent a 7% decrease from 2011 figures, and the lowest number of reported hate crimes since the program’s inception in 1991, this comparison is misleading because of extreme under-reporting by law enforcement agencies. HCSA reporting has been voluntary since 1991 and only 13,022 law enforcement agencies out of approximately 18,000 provided data to the FBI in 2012. By comparison, approximately 14,500 agencies reported in 2011. Single-bias incidents Analysis of the 5,790 single-bias incidents reported in 2012 revealed that: 48.3% were racially motivated. 19.6% resulted from sexual-orientation bias. 19.0% were motivated by religious bias. 11.5% stemmed from ethnicity/national origin bias. 1.6% were prompted by disability bias. Religious bias Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,166 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-biased offenses showed: 59.7% were anti-Jewish. 12.8% were anti-Islamic. 7.6% were anti-multiple religions, group. 6.8% were anti-Catholic. 2.9% were anti-Protestant. 1.0% were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc. 9. 2% were anti-other Nebraska’s numbers were not included in the report due to a late submission. When I contacted the Nebraska Crime Commission, I was given the report they submitted to the FBI. Of the 30 hate crimes reported in Nebraska, 20% were motivated by religion. Of the religious ones, 60% targeted Jews, 30% targeted Muslims and 10% targeted Catholics. Interestingly, those numbers closely mirror the national statistics. There are certain thoughts we can take away from each of these studies. One is anti-Semitic propensities still exist and anti-Semitic incidents still occur in our community. Through the hate crimes statistics the FBI compiles, the Jewish community is still the target for people’s hate. In my opinion, education plays a critical role in all of these outcomes, whether it means educating the Jewish community on Jewish issues or educating the general community on Jews. For more information about how to respond to antiSemitic incidents or these reports, please feel free to call our office at 402.333.1303.

Bible Quiz Continued from page 1 questions, while Lodge President Ari Riekes served as timekeeper and host Gary Javitch kept score, assisted by Nikki Flatowicz. This year’s contest featured a new element: audience participation, moderated by Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Gross. Each time contestants finished a round and the judges (Cantor Wendy Shermet, Dr. Leonard Greenspoon and Rabbi Yaakov Weiss) needed time to add the scores, the interactive quiz kept the audience occupied. Using their smart phones, audience members could answer questions based on the Bible as well as Jewish trivia/pop culture by texting a code. It added excitement to the event and kept the audience engaged. The B’nai B’rith Bible Quiz is held every year and is open to all Jewish high school students. If you are currently in eighth through 11th grade, and you think you have what it takes, we hope to see you there in 2014!

December 27, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 3

URJ Biennial Continued from page 1 of American Hebrew Congregations from seven Biennials I have attended,” Kaplan 1973 - 1996, honors an individual who has said. “The music, including our own Jon shown a passion, leadership and commitMeyers, was glorious, and the clergy leading ment in relation to World Jewry. the services were so inspiring. I cried Rabbi Jacobs and Rabbi Hartman also through most of the Saturday morning serv- announced a partnership between URJ and ice, it was that beautiful.” Jon Meyers has attended Biennial six times, and he participates in the Biennial Choir made up of congregants from across North America. “The services were very moving and inspirational,” he said. “Totally amazing. It was an honor to be a part of it as a Biennial Choir member.” Leadership Development member Todd Hutton was also in awe of the worship services. “It was difficult to imagine how organizers could take Rabbi Aryeh Azriel, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, and Justin Cooper 5,000 people, put them into a convention hall and make it feel like a sacred the Hartman Institute that will see the space, but they did,” he said. Institute providing educational materials to This year’s Biennial also featured a live URJ member congregations. video address from Benjamin Netanyahu, URJ will select 30 congregations next year who became the first Israeli Prime Minister to participate in the first stage of this program. to address the Biennial. He discussed, “The goal of this joint initiative with the among other things, opening prayer at the URJ is to support and enhance Israel engageWestern Wall in Jerusalem to all Jews in a ment work throughout the Reform more egalitarian way. Movement by creating a new narrative Other speakers included URJ President regarding the significance of Israel in Jewish Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Rabbi David Saperstein life,” said Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the and Rabbi Donniel Hartman of the Shalom Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. Hartman Institute, a Jewish education center Videos from the Biennial are available at in Jerusalem, who accepted the URJ urj.org/biennial. Schindler Award to World Jewry for his Temple Israel member Justin Cooper was father, Rabbi David Hartman, who passed overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the away in February of this year. Biennial and found it difficult to put his finThe Schindler Award, named for Rabbi ger on just what he was most touched by. Alexander Schindler, President of the Union “Do I talk about the Jewish professionals I

met who have dedicated their lives to creating a spark inside each of us to hopefully pique our curiosity just enough to seek yet one more explanation, one more reason to be Jewish, and one more reason that makes being Jewish relevant?” he said. “Or should I describe the opportunity to observe our clergy interacting with their colleagues, so they, too, can reignite their passion for Judaism and create that sense of awe and wonder for their congregants back home? Do I tell you about the innermost thoughts that people freely shared about their prayers

and fears about raising their kids Jewish, or their fear that they, may lack the personal commitment or know-how to be Jewish in an ever-increasing fast-paced world?” Amidst all the thoughts and emotions Cooper brought home with him, the one that most stands out after spending five days with 5,000 Reform Jews from across the continent is this: “Maybe the greatest takeaway from the Biennial is that we as a Reform Synagogue at Temple Israel in Omaha are not alone.”

German museum agrees to restitute Nazi-looted drawings by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- The city of Cologne agreed to return six valuable drawings looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art collector. The drawings will be restituted from the Ludwig Museum to the heirs of Alfred Flechtheim, the German museum said. The drawings are by Karl Hofer, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Ernst Barlach, Aristide Maillol and Wilhelm Morgner, and will remain on public display in the museum. Flechtheim was an art collector in Germany. Hundreds of his paintings went missing after the Nazis came to power and took over his gallery in Dusseldorf. He and his wife fled to London in 1933; he died there four years later. In recent years, Flechtheim’s heirs have been working to reconstruct his extensive collection. “There are dozens of famous paintings and artifacts still at large in many muse-

ums,” according to Urbach and Markus Stoetzel. The Ludwig Museum also agreed to restitute five drawings by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel and Georges Kars to the heirs of Curt Glaser. The drawings will remain on display at the museum and eventually will go on display in the city of Cologne, according to the museum. Glaser, an art collector who had served as the director of the National Art Library in Berlin until the Nazis came to power, auctioned off most of his collection in 1933 in order to flee the country. Recently, Germany’s Finance Ministry announced that it would not return two 18th-century paintings by Bernardo Bellotto to the heirs of Max Emden. The ministry said the sale of the paintings was not forced because he had already left Germany for Switzerland when they were sold, The Associated Press reported.

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Community Calendar FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 Beth El Brings Shabbat to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Beth El Social Action Committee Serves Dinner, 5:30 p.m. at The Stephen Center MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 Daf Yomi: Week in Review, 7:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Introduction to Judaism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1 Rabbi Weiss’ Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2 Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Hiddur Mitzvah, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown FRIDAY, JANUARY 3 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH First Friday Shabbat Service and Dinner, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel SATURDAY, JANUARY 4 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Bet Israel Pre Tu B’Shvat Shabbaton, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Adult Ed Class: The Secrets of the Jews, 10 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Hazzan Krausman’s Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El Beth El BESTT Kibbutz Chaverim Lunch and Swimming, 12:15 p.m. at the JCC 39 Forever Annual Business Meeting, 2 p.m. at Parkwood Terrace Clubhouse MONDAY, JANUARY 6 Daf Yomi: Week in Review, 7:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Friedel Teacher In-Service – No School for Students Tai Chi Class, 6 p.m. at Beth El Beth El Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group Meeting, 7 p.m. at the home of Patty Nogg Jewish Press Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Introduction to Judaism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel TUESDAY, JANUARY 7 Friedel Students return Rabbi Abraham’s Weekly Class, 10 a.m. at Beth El BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Adult B’nai Mitzvah Study, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8 Rabbis and Presidents Meeting, noon BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El BESTT Hebrew High Dinner, 6 p.m. at Beth El Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Judaism and Religious Literacy, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Weiss’ Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, JANUARY 9 Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Hiddur Mitzvah, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown at Temple Israel Center for Jewish Life Board Meeting, noon Planning and Community Engagement Committee Meeting, noon at Noddle Companies JCC Dance Training Company Tech/Dress Rehearsal, 4 p.m. FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to you, 4 p.m. at Remington Heights Family Shabbat Services & Congregational Dinner, 6 p.m. Beth El

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Shabbat’s Cool, 10 a.m. at Beth El Des Moines/Omaha Shabbaton, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El PJ Library Event, 6:30 p.m. at Pump It Up

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22 BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Judaism and Religious Literacy, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Weiss’ Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Torah Tots, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Hazzan Krausman’s Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El TED Talks, 11 a.m. at Temple Israel Temple Israel SJ Conversation, noon Beth El-Beth Israel-Temple Israel-Chabad joint Volunteer day, 1 p.m. at the Food Bank of the Heartland JCC Dance Training Company Performance, 5 p.m.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 23 Kindergarten Round-Up, 9 a.m. at Friedel Hiddur Mitzvah, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown at Temple Israel Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel UNO Class History of Jewish Philosophy, 6 p.m. Sisterhood Dames and Drinks, 7 p.m. at Beth El

MONDAY, JANUARY 13 Daf Yomi: Week in Review, 7:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Tai Chi Class, 6 p.m. at Beth El Friedel Executive Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m. Introduction to Judaism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel TUESDAY, JANUARY 14 Rabbi Abraham’s Weekly Class, 10 a.m. at Beth El Jewish Medical Ethics, noon at the Med Center BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Adult B’nai Mitzvah Study, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel JCC Board Meeting, 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15 BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Annual Campaign Telethon, 5 p.m. Community Tu B’Shevat Seder, 6 p.m. BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Weiss’ Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, JANUARY 16 Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Hiddur Mitzvah, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown at Temple Israel Holocaust Survivor Testimony from Lou Leviticus, 11:30 a.m. at at the Strategic Air & Space Museum IHE Film Series (Suskind), 7 p.m. FRIDAY, JANUARY 17 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH SATURDAY, JANUARY 18 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Temple Israel Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El OU Political Awareness, 10 a.m. at Beth Israel Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El JCC Youth Department Overnight, 6 p.m. SUNDAY, JANUARY 19 Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Hazzan Krausman’s Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El Musical Theater Auditions, 3 p.m. MONDAY, JANUARY 20 Daf Yomi: Week in Review, 7:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Tai Chi Class, 6 p.m. at Beth El Friedel Board Meeting, 7 p.m. Introduction to Judaism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel TUESDAY, JANUARY 21 Rabbi Abraham’s Weekly Class, 10 a.m. at Beth El The Ethics of Our Fathers, 2 p.m. at Remington Heights Executive Committee Meeting, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel Hebrew 101, 6 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. Adult B’nai Mitzvah Study, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Hebrew Beyond the Page, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24 Beth El Serves Lunch, 11:30 a.m. at Nebraska AIDS Coalition Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Beth El Our Shabbat Tables, 7 p.m. SATURDAY, JANUARY 25 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Temple Israel Have a Cup of Coffee With God Learner’s Service, 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Junior Congregation, 10 a.m. at Beth El Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Experience Shabbat for Grades K-6, 4 p.m. JYG Temple Israel Hunger Games, 6:30 p.m. Beth El USY Havdalah, 8 p.m. at Home of Alysssa Cohen SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m. at Beth El Weekly Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Torah Tots, 10:45 a.m. at Beth El Hazzan Krausman’s Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. at Beth El MONDAY, JANUARY 27 Daf Yomi: Week in Review, 7:45 a.m. at Beth Israel Federation Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Boardroom Tai Chi Class, 6 p.m. at Beth El Introduction to Judaism, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 Rabbi Abraham’s Weekly Class, 10 a.m. at Beth El Jewish Senior Services Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Boardroom Hebrew 101, 6 p.m. BBYO Night, 6 p.m. BBYO Parent Information Meeting, 6 p.m. Adult B’nai Mitzvah Study, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Board Meeting, 7 p.m. at Beth El Hebrew Beyond the Page, 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29 BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m. at Beth El Judaism and Religious Literacy, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel BESTT Hebrew High, 6:45 p.m. at Beth El Rabbi Weiss’ Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. at Beth Israel THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Adult Study, 10 a.m. with Debbie Massarano at Temple Israel UNO Class History of Jewish Philosophy, 6 p.m. Sisterhood Challah Baking Class, 7 p.m. at Beth El IHE Film Series Hiding & Seeking, 7 p.m. FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Naomi Levy, 6 p.m. at Beth El Shabbat Dinner with Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Naomi Levy, 7 p.m. at Beth El

All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Pat Anson at 402.334.8200. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the above events.

December 27, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 5

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Hebrew, Hebrew and more Hebrew by MARK KIRCHHOFF Center for Jewish Life The headline in the Dec. 13, 2013 edition of the Jewish Press reads, Improving Hebrew literacy among American Jews. The article was written by journalist Julie Wiener from New York and among other things, the article related how the Hebrew language has helped identify Jewish people. Wiener quotes Arnee Winshall, CEO of Hebrew at the Hebrew Language Council of North America, as saying: “Judaism is not just a religion, it’s a people. We talk a lot about ‘Am Yisrael’ [the people of Israel], and a language is part of what distinguishes a people.” If you are among the 48% of Jews who do not know the Hebrew alef-bet and would like to change that, or if you have an interest in improving your ability in Hebrew, now is a good time to take action. The Center for Jewish Life (CJL) is offering three different levels of Hebrew classes beginning Jan. 21. One of these classes will surely fit your needs. Mor Sheinbein returns to teach Hebrew classes and this year brings with her a new type of class that many have requested. Designed especially for the traveler or someone who wishes to be able to have the first level of Hebrew conversation skills, Mor’s new class, Hebrew Beyond the Page, focuses on helping participants meet that goal. In her work with the students at Friedel Jewish Academy, Mor knows that immersion in a second language replicates the way in which a first language is learned and is very effective. Sheinbein is adapting what she does in her professional life with children to her professional life with adults. This eight -week course begins Jan. 21 and ends on March 11. Classes will be in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library from 7:30 – 9 p.m. Fee for the course is $70, reduced to $54 for those in good standing with their contribution to the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Hebrew 101, another eight-week class, also meets Jan. 21 – March 11, from 6 – 7:15 p.m. in the Kripke Library. This

Western Galilee Medical Center Continued from page 1 sees 5,500 births each year. WGMC is nationally recognized for its work in genetics and women’s health. They are also the first in Israel to offer a physician’s assistant program, working with Touro College. In the near future, a state-of-the-art research facility will open, partnering with Bar Ilan University with significant funding provided by Raya Strauss Ben-Dror. In recent months the WGMC has played a key role in treating victims of the Syrian conflict. When the neurosurgery unit opened in March, the center immediately became the top treatment locale for injured Syrians. There are no fewer than 20 Syrians being treated at any given time; and through the end of September there had been a combined 2,000 days of treatment for the nearly 200 patients. As an operation coordinated through the Israeli Defense Force, the first arrivals were handled in secrecy. In later weeks when children, women and the elderly arrived, the information was then shared with the international press. When Dr. Masad Barhoum, WGMC Director General, was asked about treating the wounded, some of whom might be terrorists, he responded that it was the professional obligation, moral duty and privilege of the medical staff to help those brought to the hospital. “When you walk through the front doors, you will not see Jews, Arabs, Christians or Druze. You will find patients and caregivers,” he added. Through its Partnership2GETHER involvement, WGMC offers several programs. MED2GETHER is an exchange program which gives medical professionals the opportunity to work with colleagues, learn from one another and open

Beth El’s Tai Chi class to resume next month

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Jessie Wees 402.334.6559 | jwees@jewishomaha.org

class is especially designed for those who have very little or no familiarity with Hebrew. Mor, who consistently receives high praise from students, teaches the alef-bet in the context of teaching a beginning vocabulary. Recognizing words, learning how to pronounce them, learning how the language works, and taking the first steps in verbal communication are all part of this course. The fee is $70, reduced to $54 for those in good standing with their contribution to the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Hebrew 102 is the third course being offered this year. Hebrew 102 is open to anyone with a solid foundation in the basics of Hebrew such as what you would acquire by taking Hebrew 101. It provides a great opportunity to advance abilities and to brush up on what you already know. This is an active learning class. You will enjoy challenging yourself, practicing greetings, using basic phrases, and building a vocabulary. Participants should come with a willingness to “try on” the language through speech and written communication. This six-session course will follow a Tuesday/ Thursday schedule, meeting March 18, 20, 25, 27, April 1 and 3. The class will be in the Kripke Jewish Federation Library from 6–7:15 p.m. The course fee is $53, discounted to $41 for those in good standing with the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Whether it is to take a step towards identifying more closely with a Jewish heritage, to learn in preparation for a trip, or to meet a challenge that you have wanted to meet, these Hebrew classes are designed to help you meet these goals. Don’t put it off. Call Mark at 402.334.6463 or email mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org to register. To allow for adequate time to prepare, registration is needed by Jan. 10. These classes are coordinated through the Center for Jewish Life, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, whose mission it is to maximize the involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling, and meaningful Jewish experiences.

by JILL BELMONT Beth El Publicity After a brief hiatus, Beth El’s popular Tai Chi class will return next month, led again by certified instructor Beth Staenberg. Tai Chi involves gentle, non-impact movement and is known for improving balance. The six-session class will begin on Monday, Jan. 6, from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., and is open to all adults in the Jewish community. Cost to attend is $30; to register and pay online, visit Beth El’s website, www.bethel-omaha.org.

the door to potential collaborations. The Medical Externship program is a one-month opportunity for medical students to take part in rounds, participate in the wards, attend lectures and receive informal instruction at the hospital. The hospital also works with the Partnership office yearround to welcome visitors in the region, providing tours of the facilities and sharing the WGMC story. “We are always happy to meet visitors from the 12 Partnership communities and have the chance to ‘show off ’ our wonderful facility,” states Paperin. “To tour the new ER -- an above ground facility that is fully fortified as a shelter against conventional and non-conventional weapons -- and explain how funding from the Partnership communities was key in receiving additional funding from the Israeli government, shows the real power of Partnership.” Partnership2GETHER is a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel and coordinated by the Center for Jewish Life, an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Partnership promotes people-to-people relationships between Israel and communities throughout the world. Omaha is one of 12 cities in the U.S. partnering with the city of Akko and the Matte Asher region in northern Israel, sharing cultural, social, medical, educational and economic programs. Partnership is one of the many programs of the Center for Jewish Life whose mission it is to maximize Omaha’s Jewish Community in imaginative, compelling, and meaningful Jewish experiences. For more information, call 402.334.6445.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS There will not be a session on Wednesday, Jan. 1. ESPN's national sports reporter specializing in college football is Omaha’s Mitch Sherman, their senior writer, who will discuss the husker season football and take questions on Wednesday, Jan. 8, noon, at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. An optional buffet lunch costs $11; beverage service only is $3.For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. LOMIR REDN YIDDISH The Lomir Redn Yiddush group will be on hiatus from Dec. 20 through April 2. For information, please call Anne Skolkin at 402.343.1638.

6 | The Jewish Press | December 27, 2013

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PJ Library® wants you to Pump It Up by MARK KIRCHHOFF Administrative Assistant, Center for Jewish Life It’s time for fun when PJ Library goes to “Pump It Up,” 960 South 72nd Street, where a great evening is planned for kids and parents alike. On Saturday, Jan. 11 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., exuberance will rule for the younger set when they bounce, climb, slide and more at this lively entertainment facility. Featuring indoor arenas filled with gigantic inflatable slides, bounce houses, obstacle courses and more, no matter the weather outside, the activities will keep everyone happy and warm. The event is especially geared for children up to 8 years of age, but older siblings and grandparents are welcome as well. In keeping with the PJ theme, attendees are encouraged to bring a new pair of children’s pajamas that will be donated to a local shelter. This will be a wonderful exchange – a child will feel the warmth of your gift, and you will feel the warmth of giving. In addition to the facility attractions, Omaha’s Community Shaliach Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan will provide musical entertainment. Snacks and other activities will also be a part of the evening. “Last year’s PJ Library event at the Children’s Museum was such fun,” commented Beth Cohen, CJL Executive Director. “Many parents thanked us for giving their children the chance to ‘be Jewish’ in a non-synagogue setting and that is a goal again this year. We think Pump It Up will be another great venue to give parents the chance to visit with friends and make new acquaintances while their kids enjoy an evening with their buddies.”

PJ Library is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, made possible through partnerships with philanthropists and local Jewish organizations. The program offers free, high quality Jewish books and music each month to more than 100,000 children in over 175 different communities. Omaha has over 50 families and more than 80 children participating in the program. Families find it to be a great resource for placing Jewish materials in the hands of their children. All families raising Jewish children from age six months through eight years are welcome to participate. If you are not enrolled, this will be a great opportunity to do so - and to have some fun at the same time. Local funding for the PJ Library program is provided by the Dorothy and Myer S. Kripke Institute for Jewish Family Literacy. Funding for the January event and other upcoming PJ programs is provided by the Special Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation and the Esther K. Newman/Carolyn Kully Newman Memorial Funds. The event is free, but reservations are requested to allow for proper planning. This is an evening of family entertainment and adults must remain on site with their children. Please make your family’s reservation by Jan. 6 to Mark at 402.334.6463 or mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org. The PJ Library Program is coordinated through the Center for Jewish Life whose mission it is to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences.

Kurt Knecht performs Shabbat Shira concert

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by NAVA HALPERN (2008-2013) from the American Society of Kurt Knecht will perform a Shabbat Shira Composers, Authors, and Publishers. His concert, on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. in the composition Missa Prolationem was awardTifereth Israel social hall in ed the Folsom Prize for the Lincoln. Accompanied by celmost outstanding dissertalist Justin Lepard, Kurt will tion of the University of present a diverse concert that Nebraska in 2009. will include one of his piano As an eclectic performer, compositions, the unofficial Kurt has been a featured premiere of his new cello soloist with groups ranging sonata, some jazz by Jewish from Smokey Robinson to composers, and some The Florida Orchestra. Kurt klezmer music. This will be a also regularly appears as a program that will appeal to all concert organist and collabtastes in music and to all ages! orative pianist. He performs Kurt Knecht is a composer, in the improvisation duo organist, and conductor curMondegreen with violist rently living in Lincoln, Jonah Sirota of the Chiara Justin Lepard Nebraska. His compositions Quartet. have been described as “funky” and “joyous” He is the music director at St. Mark’s on in the Washington Post, and the American the Campus in Lincoln and the artistic Record Guide has called him a “fresh voice.” director and conductor of the Lincoln His compositions have become a staple of Lutheran Choir. He received the Bachelor of the modern choral festival literature and Music from the University of Tampa with have been performed at festivals and con- concentrations in Piano Performance and certs in over 37 states. Performances of his Theory, the Master of Music in compositions include international per- Composition from Southern Methodist formances at festivals and concerts in University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, in Composition with a minor in Organ Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, the Performance from the University of United Kingdom, and Cuba, and a perform- Nebraska – Lincoln. Kurt is also part of our ance at the Kennedy Center by the Grammy Tifereth Israel community. He is the husAward winning Washington Chorale. band of Jennifer Rosenblatt and father of Upcoming performances of his composi- Zach and Avi Knecht. tions include the World Choir Symposium This program is sponsored by Tifereth in Seoul, Korea, the International Clarinet Israel and the South Street Temple. Join the Society Conference, and the National Jewish community in its yearly tribute to Conference of the Organ Historical Society. Jewish music. It will be an afternoon to He has received the ASCAP Plus award enjoy and remember!

December 27, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 7

Jewish congregations come together Israel in the classroom to volunteer at Food Bank by JILL BELMONT to do something for the common good of Beth El Publicity the needy in our own community.” “It’s not what one says but rather what Shifts are scheduled for 1 p.m. to 2:30 one does, that makes all the difference in p.m., and 2:30 to 4 p.m.; volunteers may the world.” - Pirkei Avot In the spirit of bringing the Jewish community together for a day of volunteering, Beth El has organized a multi-congregational community service day at the Food Bank for the Heartland, 10525 ‘J. St. Planned for Sunday, Jan. 12, Beth El’s congregants will join together with members of Temple Israel, Beth Israel and Chabad House, to sort and package food for less fortunate members of the Omaha community. All participants are asked to bring a Tuffy Epstein, left, Dan Murow and Sherry Shapiro were non-perishable food item among Beth El members who participated in Beth El’s last volunteer day at the Food Bank. with them for donation. “Much of the good work that the Food also work during the entire afternoon. Bank for the Heartland does is accom- Sign up online at www.bethel-omaha.org; plished by volunteers,” said Cheryl Lerner, for more information, contact Lerner at who is chairing the program. “The servic- cldancer@aol.com. es they provide make it possible for Food “I encourage everyone to be informed Bank to continue feeding the hungry in about the issue of hunger in our own comNebraska and western Iowa. According to munity,” she said. “Most of us are fortunate Food Bank figures, in 2013, 20,883 hours to be able to go the grocery store or out to of volunteer service were performed for eat, with little thought as to the experience the Food Bank. These hours are valued at of those for whom a regular meal is an $382,914!” uncertainty, and a meal out is a luxury. It Saying that “tikkun olam is important to is our obligation as Jews, as human beings, us all,” Lerner added that, “There have to be part of the solution. When you open been few opportunities for members of the your eyes to the need, turning a blind eye is Omaha Jewish community to get together no longer an option.”

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN that collection. Program Coordinator, The Center for Jewish Life The day ended with attendees breaking Sixteen educators from Beth El, Beth Israel, into small groups and using their creative Friedel Jewish Academy, the Pennie Z. Davis talents. Based on the success of the Child Development Center and Temple Partnership’s “Shining Stars” program two Israel received programming ideas, website resources and shared their past experiences in bringing Israel in their classrooms during a teacher in-service held on Dec. 15. The in-service, presented free of charge by the Center for Jewish Life through the Community Shaliach program, was led by Omaha’s shaliach, Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan. Participating teachers included Naama Artzi, Joan Cooper, Toby Fellman, Back row: Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan, left, Jill Idelman, Deb Finnicum, Naomi Fox, Patsy Wallace, Joan Cooper, Deborah Massarano, Naama Cari Green, Rabbi Jonathan Artzi; Middle row: Deborah Kronick, left, Sinde Katskee and Gross, Jill Idelman, Sinde Cari Green; Fron row: Toby Fellman, left, and Sarah Linn. Katskee, Natasha Kraft, Deborah Kronick, Sarah Linn, Deborah years ago, the Partnership Education Task Massarano, Eadie Tsabari and Patsy Wallace. Force is seeking input for a new program The first segment of the in-service which will focus on the theme of “L’Dor focused on the many programs offered V’Dor.” Attendees brainstormed ideas and through the Educational Task Force of developed some outstanding options that Partnership2GETHER. These programs Eliad will share. provide a variety of ways to connect with The next teacher in-service is planned for Israelis. Twinning, Hava Nagila Gan, the April when Israeli teachers visit Omaha as a annual Educator’s Mission and teen delega- part of the Partnership’s Educator’s Mission. tions are just a few of the options. Eliad In-service programs are available to educashared videos of programs and discussed tors from the synagogue religious schools, ways in which the programs and projects Friedel and the CDC. could be added to a classroom curriculum. The Community Shaliach program and Eliad then shared websites that provide a Partnership2GETHER are programs of the wide variety of resources for Israel educa- Center for Jewish Life whose mission is to tion for all ages. He discussed “The Aleph- maximize Omaha’s Jewish Community in Bet of Israel Education” formulated by the imaginative, compelling, and meaningful iCenter - (www.icenter.org) – and talked Jewish experiences. For more information, about the various values and ideas found in call 402.334.6445.

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8 | The Jewish Press | December 27, 2013

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

The wrong word

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press I wanted to call this editorial “Academic freedom, my tuches” but I’d probably receive some phonecalls. If you are a regular reader of this page, you know by now I find few things as irritating as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. “Here we go again,” I think, when yet another group of activists, politicians, church or what-have-you speaks in favor of boycotting Israel. They are misinformed people, in search of a cause that will make them feel better about themselves, jumping on an easily accessible bandwagon. Harsh? Maybe. But I’m of the opinion that harming the economy of the only democracy in the Middle East is shortsighted and hurts all Israeli citizens, including those who supposedly have the support of these do-gooders. So when the American Studies Association recently passed a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions, I paid attention. It is one thing to ask people not to buy Ahava or Soda Stream, but an academic boycott? How is it possible that people who are presumably well educated could be this misguided? How does that compute with academic freedom? In commenting on the resolution, many of ASA’s members invoke apartheid-era South Africa. It’s a strong word, apartheid, it carries powerful baggage, and it’s not something anyone wants to be caught defending. At least that we can all agree on. Here’s the problem, though: apartheid, the way it existed in South Africa, has very little in common with the current situation in Israel. “I know all too well,” says former Justice of the South African Constitutional Court Richard Goldstone, “the cruel-

ty of South Africa’s abhorrent apartheid system, under which human beings characterized as black had no rights to vote, hold political office, use “white” toilets or beaches, marry whites, live in whites-only areas or even be there without a “pass.” Blacks critically injured in car accidents were left to bleed to death if there was no “black” ambulance to rush them to a “black” hospital. “White” hospitals were prohibited from saving their lives.” (NYTimes.com)

Israeli Arabs, Goldstone points out, “vote, have political parties and representatives in the Knesset and occupy positions of acclaim, including on its Supreme Court. Of course, the Palestinian people have national aspirations and human rights that all must respect. But those who conflate the situation in Israel and the West Bank and liken both to the old South Africa do a disservice to all who hope for justice and peace.” South African Member of Parliament and Reverend

Kenneth Meshoe goes a step further when he says: “Labeling Israel an apartheid country trivializes the word apartheid, minimizing and belittling the magnitude of the racism and suffering of South Africans of color. It is an insult to every South African who endured the inhumanity and pain of it.” (TimesofIsrael.com) And while organizations like ASA muddy the waters of free and open debate, there are other voices, such as Meshoe’s recently founded DEISI, which stands for Defend, Embrace, Invest and Support Israel. Its purpose: to mobilize high school and university students from South Africa to go to Israel, because once they go they will see apartheid in Israel is a lie. Using apartheid to describe Israeli society is like calling President Obama a fascist, or calling yourself a spelling Nazi because you know the difference between affect and effect. We throw these words around whenever we feel like it, and eventually they lose all meaning, and we in turn become desensitized. Editor’s note: Do you have a unique Passover custom? Are you expecting family from out of town, or do you have special foods you’d like to share? Maybe you have some photographs from years past you’d like to show off? We would love to hear from you for our April 11 issue. If you want to be included in our annual Passover edition, please email me at avandekamp@jewishomaha.org before Feb. 1. We look forward to featuring as many community members as possible. Don’t forget: this is the last paper of 2014; we don’t publish on Jan. 3. That means you’ll have to wait two weeks for the next issue, but it allows us to do some housekeeping and take a little vacation. Rest assured, we’ll be back next year refreshed, with many exciting plans for another great year!

How Jerusalem can help finance U.S. Jewish day school education

Focus on issues YOSEF I. ABRAMOWITZ JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Every decade or so, yet another demographic survey reveals the obvious: The AmericanJewish community is in flux, with affiliation falling. Each time, the community circles back to what we know works: high-quality Jewish education, along with Jewish camps and Israel programs. Taken together, these are effective identity builders, especially if repeated over many years. I am a product of the Solomon Schechter Day School system, and my children attended the independent Jewish Community Day School when we lived in Newton, Mass. My Jewish education, bolstered by Young Judaea and other camps and Israel programs, sparked several decades of serving the Jewish people in the nonprofit realm. This meant I was doubly taxed: first, the expensive day school bills, and second, a lower salary than friends and family members because I worked for Jewish nonprofits. The Jewish community needs new ideas to ease the financial burden on families. I was a scholarship kid growing up and am grateful for the assistance I received from the community and Hadassah. We also have seen that new programs that require seemingly out-of-reach financial resources can work. Example No. 1: Birthright Israel. Part of Birthright’s success is attributable to the Israeli government’s decision to allocate significant funds to enhance Jewish identity of youth outside Israel. This serves as positive testimony of what can be done when we see Israel as a full partner in preserving and enhancing Jewish identity worldwide. Now Israel, and the strength of its economy, also can play a critical role in making day schools affordable in new ways. Israel has an excellent credit rating -- A+, according to

(Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Jessie Wees Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Barbara Kirkpatrick Bookkeeper

Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, Caryn Scheer, Bobbi Leibowitz, Past President; Scott Farkas; Sandy Friedman; Noah Priluck; Paul Rabinowitz; Mark Senal; Nancy Wolf; David Kotok, Sarah Grossman-Lopez. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishoma

Standard & Poor’s. The Bank of Israel could make long-term, low-interest loans available to Jewish families, perhaps working with an Israeli bank that has a U.S. affiliate. Or at the very least, it could provide a loan guarantee for day school parents. While our children were at Jewish Community Day School, my wife, Susan, and I took out a $23,000 loan one year to help cover tuition through Prepgate, a commercial service for private-school families. It carried a relatively high interest rate of LIBOR plus five to ten percent. If the loan were generated by the Bank of Israel and passed along to us at cost, it would be far more affordable. Here’s how Israel’s financial role would work: While a child is enrolled in Jewish day school, part of the repayments would be covered for parents -- half by the local Jewish federation and half by the State of Israel. Payments would be frozen whenever the recipient visited Israel, whether on summer programs, junior year abroad, MASA or some other long-term program. If the recipient immigrates to Israel by a certain age and stays for at least three years, then all or part of the loan would be forgiven. According to Nefesh B’Nefesh, each North American immigrant adds significant financial benefit to the Israeli economy, so this works from a macro-economic perspective. If the recipient becomes a full-time Jewish communal professional, then there should be some loan forgiveness as well. Another idea would be to help offset tuition costs by focusing on Jewish communal endowments. More money is being generated now by Jewish foundations and endowments than by annual federation campaigns -- a sign that our community needs to create new strategies to finance major initiatives in Jewish life. The truth about Jewish endowments is that they are managed very conservatively by outside professional money managers and not performing as well as they could.

Even a modest two percent increase in annual returns, from the federation endowments of more than $14 billion, would produce about $300 million annually that could be earmarked for Jewish education -- especially if the two percent were generated from safe, Israel-based investments. Here’s one example: Solar fields in Israel are financed 80 percent by Israel’s very conservative commercial banks and 20 percent from equity investors, who enjoy a roughly nine percent annual average return for 20 years, linked to inflation and backed by the Israeli government. That is more than double the return on an Israel Bond. Imagine a federation endowment investing money in Israeli infrastructure projects -- in, say, their Partnership 2000 communities in Israel -- and using the boost in profits to lower the cost of Jewish education back home. These truly would be worthwhile investments because they promote social and environmental benefits in Israel while generating enough funds to support Jewish education in North America. The State of Israel is also creating a sovereign wealth fund to invest wisely the huge windfalls it expects from its recently discovered natural gas deposits -- an estimated $125 billion over the next two decades. While Israeli education, defense, renewables and society certainly should be the major recipients of the profits here, asking Israel to set aside 10 percent of the funds, or $12.5 billion, to finance affordable Jewish education around the world would radically transform lives and strengthen Israel by strengthening Jewish peoplehood. Yosef I. Abramowitz, the winner of a Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, lives in Jerusalem and works with two Israeli solar companies. This is part of a series of essays on Jewish day schools being published by the Sustainable Stories project of PEJE, the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education.

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material and photos to: avandekamp @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.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: avandekamp@jew ishomaha.org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced 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

professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 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 email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.

December 27, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 9

The Week in Review

Behind the headlines ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN, National Director of ADL In the struggle against anti-Semitism and prejudice, there are days, and sometimes even weeks that go by when all is quiet, and when the actions of bigots seem to be in check. And it seems during those quiet periods that the haters -while never entirely disappearing from the scene -- are once again marginalized or pushed to the far fringes of society enough to render them less potent, or at least, less visible. It is during those lulls that we take some comfort that our work to end prejudice around the world may be having an impact. Then there are days and weeks when we are reminded that the struggle is far from over. At those times we are awakened with shocking news of another vicious anti-Semitic attack or another outrageous expression of Holocaust trivialization by a public figure or a celebrity who should know better. This, sadly, has been one of those weeks. A week where, despite all of the tributes to the life and legacy of that great freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela, abject bigotry raised its ugly head more times than we wish to enumerate, and where we were reminded once again that the scourge of antiSemitism is more than just a historical curiosity, but very much a current event. Consider a few of the manifestations of anti-Jewish bigotry that crossed our desks here at the Anti-Defamation League over the past few days. The celebrity musician and former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, who has long made no secret of his stridently pro-Palestinian views, gave an interview with a sympathetic online publication where he invoked classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the music industry. “The Jewish lobby is extraordinarily powerful here and particularly in the industry that I work in, the music industry,” he told his interlocutor. Waters also had some choice words to characterize Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Right-wing Israelis, he charged, “believe that the indigenous people of the region that they kicked off the land in 1948, and have continued to kick off the land ever since, are subhuman. The parallels with what went on in the 1930s in Germany are so crushingly obvious....” I had, somewhat reluctantly, defended Waters in the past against the charge of anti-Semitism. But his comments last week put his sentiments in a new light. Judging by his latest

statements, Waters has absorbed classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and these have now seeped into the totality of his views. His comments about Jews and Israel have gotten progressively worse over time. It started with anti-Israel invective, and has now morphed into conspiratorial anti-Semitism. We also woke up to the news that a former MTV reality show celebrity, Tila Tequila, had come out on her Facebook page as a devotee of Adolf Hitler. Not only did she post a series of pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic expressions, sending them instantly to her thousands upon thousands of online followers, but she drove the point home by posing for photos as a scantily clad Nazi temptress, brandishing a handgun and wearing a Nazi armband in front of an image of the infamous Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. (All this from a person who had earlier told her fans that she was thinking of converting to Judaism). Now she said she believed she was the very reincarnation of Hitler himself. It was pretty transparent, to us at least, that this was little more than a sick publicity stunt. And, to some extent, it worked. The calls started to light up our switchboard, and the online Jewish magazine Tablet was one of the first to take the bait, publishing a piece on her sudden “conversion” to Nazism and her “raunchy Auschwitz shot.” Here was a person who was desperate for publicity at all costs. So, naturally, like so many others seeking to grab the limelight or to score political points, she reached for an old standard that is bound to stir up controversy -- the outrageous Hitler comparison, the Holocaust trivialization. Fortunately, she found herself very much alone at this sick party, as many of her followers on Facebook found the stunt as repugnant as we did -- voicing disappointment, shock, outrage and anger. By the end of the week, Facebook had taken action to close down Tequila’s account and remove the hateful anti-Semitism and praise for Hitler that she had put out there into the ether. We then learned from one of our partner anti-hate organizations in Romania that a group of Christmas carolers had appeared in a live broadcast on Romanian public television singing a “folk tune” with perverse anti-Semitic lyrics. The carolers, members of a folk ensemble called “Dor Transilvan,” wearing traditional Romanian garb, sang a Christmas song that seemed quaint and innocent enough, except if one listened carefully to the lyrics. They started out innocuously enough with words about the birth of “a beautiful child” named Jesus, but quickly devolved into a brand of anti-Semitism more fit for the Middle Ages than for modern times. “The kikes, damn kikes,” they sang, didn’t believe in Jesus, and so, they sang, “...this is what the kike is good for. To make kike smoke though the chimney on the street.” We have long known that anti-Semitism was not a thing of

the past in Europe. Although we have not polled on antiSemitic attitudes in Romania, ADL phone surveys in various other European countries in 2012 found as much. Still, it was shocking beyond words and unaccountable to see it manifested so blatantly as a call to burn Jews broadcast live on national television (!), and unchallenged by the hosts. At first this generated little controversy, until government leaders finally woke up and stepped in to say that it was unacceptable. There also were disturbing reports out of Italy. First, we learned that the longtime former Klansman and avowed white supremacist David Duke had turned up in Venice, where he was now under court order to leave the country because of his “socially dangerous racist and anti-Semitic views.” Duke had not relocated to Italy for the food or the culture or the climate, but in an apparent effort to establish a neo-Nazi group in Europe, a continuation of his four decade-long crusade to spread his hateful anti-Semitic and racist ideology in the U.S. and around the world. This was quickly followed by news of anti-Semitic remarks by the leader of the populist Pitchfork Movement, which is currently one of the leading groups behind the antigovernment protests in Italy. Here, again, was manifested the age-old canard about Jewish greed and control of global financial markets, reminiscent of the infamous 19th century anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” The protest leader, Andrea Zunino, said in an interview with the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, “We want the government to resign. We want the sovereignty of Italy, which is the slave of bankers like the Rothschilds. It’s curious that five or six of the richest people in the world are Jewish.” Not content with that patently anti-Semitic observation, Zunino went on to suggest that Hitler’s actions during the Holocaust may have been motivated by anger at his “initial Jewish financial backers.” Finally, there was this bit of news closer to home: In Florida, a Jewish women who wrote a letter to the Palm Beach Post expressing disappointment that a public menorah lighting ceremony the previous week was not in keeping with Jewish traditions received an anonymous letter in the mail with a clipping of her published letter and Post-it note, on which was written, “Very comical! It is what you are -Go to Israel. HA, HA.” All of these incidents, while each very different from the next, share in common the fact that they once again have brought anti-Semitism to the fore. There is still much work to be done. And when bigotry rises up to the surface, as it has done countless times this week, our determination to overcome the forces of intolerance in society becomes that much stronger. This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post on Dec. 13, 2013.

Reform Judaism tries for “reboot”

Behind the headlines URIEL HEILMAN SAN DIEGO (JTA) – What do you get when you bring together 5,000 of the Reform movement’s faithful for a conference in sunny San Diego in mid-December? Four days of singing, learning, schmoozing and worrying at a gathering that seemed equal parts pep rally and intervention session. For pep, there were the spirited prayer services, the morning-till-night stream of musical performances and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, or URJ, who compared the challenges facing the movement to giant waves, crying: “Surf ’s up!” “Big waves require more skill and courage to ride, but if ridden artfully they enable us to go faster and further than ever before,” Jacobs said, a giant screen projecting a swell behind him. For the intervention, there was session after session devoted to the challenges facing the movement, especially the question of how to engage young adult Jews who, by and large, are steering clear of Reform synagogues. “I think the Reform movement needs to remember that no matter how much we double down on great programming, it might not increase the likelihood that those young people are going to walk in,” Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson, a Reform rabbi who is president of the Wexner Foundation, said in a conference session focused on the recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. Jewry. “I think that’s really hard for this gathering to keep in mind, because we are the people who love what we do, and we just think if we do more of it and do it better and do it more often and do it faster that they’re going to come.” Though Reform is the largest denomination in American Jewish life, there was palpable concern at the conference that the movement is headed for a diminished future. The fastest-growing group in American Jewry is Jews of no reli-

gion, and the denomination doing best at holding its own is Orthodox, according to the Pew survey. Reform membership is dwindling, synagogues are struggling to secure their bottom lines and, as Jacobs noted at the last biennial, 80 percent of Reform Jews are “out the door” by the end of high school. Many never return: Fewer than half of Reform parents have their children enrolled in some kind of Jewish youth, camp or educational program, the Pew survey showed. Jacobs has promised to “reboot” the movement, and he is focusing his efforts on young people. In his Dec. 12 biennial speech, Jacobs pushed for Reform communities to practice “audacious hospitality” by being as welcoming as possible to intermarried families and unengaged Jews; announced that URJ had just sold half of its office space in Manhattan and was investing $1 million from the proceeds to reshape its youth engagement strategies; and detailed the ways the Union was making youth engagement a priority, including expanding Reform summer camps and NFTY, the National Federation of Temple Youth. “Trends are a wake-up call, not our destiny,” Jacobs said, noting that a shrinking Reform movement helped reverse its decline in the 1930s by repositioning itself to be more open to traditional Jewish practice and Zionism. “We adjusted our concept of who we are and what was needed to strengthen Jewish life,” he said. “We must be as open to reinventing ourselves today as in the past.” At session after session, the talk was about how to reinvent synagogues, the central pillar of Reform Jewish life. “My 20-year-old son wouldn’t be caught dead doing anything our synagogue does,” one audience member announced in a session on North America’s top models of engaging Jews in their 20s and 30s. But the variegated dynamism on display at the biennial also belied the demographic challenges of a religious movement whose median age is 54 and only 17 percent of whose members, according to Pew, say they attend synagogue services at least once a month.

The five morning services offered at the biennial ranged from “Yoga Shalom: A Shacharit Embodiment of Prayer” to a visual service with no prayerbook to an Israeli-led service integrating prayer with pop music and poetry. Plenty of kippot were in evidence, sported by both men and women. The virtual smorgasbord of conference sessions offered up to 33 concurrent options at some points. Participants could hop from “The Synagogue as a Center of Health and Wellness” to “Meaningful Routes to Involvement with Israel” to “Clergy Retirement: Preparing for Congregational Transition.” Biennial organizers also invited several Jewish leaders from outside the movement to share their ideas for revitalization, including Rabbi Sharon Brous, a Conservative rabbi who heads the popular nondenominational IKAR community in Los Angeles; Ron Wolfson, a professor of education at American Jewish University; and Rabbi Donniel Hartman, an Orthodox rabbi who leads the Shalom Hartman Institute and accepted an award from the URJ honoring his late father, David Hartman, also an Orthodox rabbi. Absent from the conference was any representative from the other major force in Jewish life focused on outreach, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, though it was the subject of some curiosity, envy and anxiety at the biennial. Many spoke of their struggles competing with Chabad for adherents, asking how their cash-strapped synagogues can compete with Chabad’s free or lower-cost offerings. While trying to reshape the movement, the URJ is also trying to transform its own organization. The chairman of URJ’s board, Steve Sacks, acknowledged that the financing system “needs significant overhaul.” The union also is strengthening its relationship with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the movement’s rabbinical school and academic center, in part by moving most of the URJ youth-programming professionals to the HUC campus in Manhattan. “The biggest challenges of Jewish life,” Jacobs said, “cannot be tackled separately but must be faced together.”

10 | The Jewish Press | December 27, 2013

Candlelighting

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 | 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com For information on our historic synagogue – dates and times for Friday night services, please call 712.323.8885. FRIDAY, Feb. 14: Services, 7:30 p.m. followed by an oneg with guest speaker, Richard Fellman, Retired Lawyer and Adjunct Professor at UNO on Jews in Cuba. The community is invited. Miles Remer will officiate at all of the Speaker Series Services.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Nebraska AIDS Project Lunch, Help prepare and serve lunch at 11:30 a.m., contact Joan Marcus for more information, hmarcom@juno.com; Beth El Brings Shabbat to the Blumkin Home, 2:30 p.m., led by Rabbi Abraham; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; MiniMinyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Following services, ring in the new year with a mimosa toast during Kiddush; MinchaMa’ariv, 4:45 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; USY at 11:15 a.m., USYers will go to the Durham Museum to view The Science of Fear. For more information or to RSVP, contact Betsy Goodman at betsy4589@gmail.com, or 402.321.1806; Cook/Serve at the Stephen Center, 5:30 p.m. Beth El members will prepare and serve dinner at the Stephen Center at its temporary home, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 5301 South 36th Street. Advance registration is required; sign up online at www.bethel-omaha.org, or contact M’Lee Hasslinger at mlee011@gmail.com. TUESDAY: Wrestling with the Rabbis of the Talmud, 10 a.m. weekly adult-education class led by Rabbi Abraham. No charge to attend; everyone is welcome. WEDNESDAY: No Choir Rehearsal this week. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Morning services, 9:30 a.m.; MiniMinyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 5 p.m. SUNDAY: BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; The Secrets of the Jews, monthly, adult-education class led by Andy Greenberg, 10 a.m. Cost is $36 for members, $45 for non-members. Register online at www.bethelomaha.org; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. with Hazzan Krausman; Kibbutz Chaverim, Sunday, Jan. 5, our youth group will have a 12:15 p.m. lunch at Beth El, and then head to the JCC for an afternoon of swimming. Pick up kids at the ‘J’ at 3 p.m. Cost to attend, $10. RSVP by Dec. 29 to Eadie at etsabari@bethel-omaha.org. MONDAY: Tai Chi, Better Balance for everyone, Six-week class at the synagogue, 6–6:45 p.m., led by certified Tai Chi instructor, Beth Staenberg. Non-impact movement, perfect for men and women of all ages. Cost, $30. Register online at Beth El’s website; Women’s Rosh Hodesh, 7 p.m. Book exchange and discussion of favorite books, at Patty Nogg’s home. RSVP to noggster2@aol.com, or Wendy Berenson at munch765@aol.com. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew High Dinner, 6 p.m. and classes at 6:45 p.m. Family Shabbat Service, Friday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m. Dinner follows at 6:45 p.m. Reservations are required for dinner: $10 for adults (members); $12.50 (non-members). Children 7-12 are $5 (members); $7.50 (non-members). All children 6 and under are free. Register and pay online by Monday, Jan. 6. Shabbat’s Cool/Shabbat Shira, Saturday, Jan. 11, 10 a.m. A Shabbat for BESTT students; lunch will be served. Multi-Congregational Day at the Food Bank, Sunday, Jan. 12. (see full story on page 7.) Torah Tots, Sunday, Jan. 12, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m., our class will celebrate Tu B’Shevat with planting activities, and fun lessons about Israel, trees and the seven species. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Jonathan Gross. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 4:44 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit (Barchu), 9 a.m.; Good Shabbos Nebraska: The Potash Twins, 10 a.m.; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:49 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. THURSDAY: Shacharit - Rosh Chodesh, 6:45 a.m.; Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha-Ma’ariv, 4:49 p.m. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Shacharit (Barchu), 9 a.m.; Good Shabbos Nebraska: Lennie Solomon, 10 a.m.; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 5:54 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Daf Yomi: Week in Review with Rabbi Gross, 7:45 a.m. TUESDAY: Women’s Study Group, 6:30 p.m. at the home of Kathy Weiner. WEDNESDAY: Coffee and Your Jewish News, 7:45 a.m.; Rabbi Weiss’s Weekly Class, 7:45 p.m. THURSDAY: Sacred Grounds, 9:30 a.m.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.; Breakfast Bonanza, 9:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush lunch. SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.; Breakfast Bonanza, 9:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 10 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. All programs are open to the entire community.

CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Elaine Monnier. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Va’era. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 1 p.m.; Celebrate Si Kominsky’s 90th Birthday, 2-4 p.m. at Ferguson House, 700 S. 16th in Lincoln. WEDNESDAY: No LJCS Classes; Temple office closed. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: Family Dinner and Early Family Shabbat Service, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Bo. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Purim Spiel Rehearsal, 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY, 6:30 p.m. Intro to Judaism led by Rabbi Lewis. THURSDAYS, Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on Friday, Jan. 17, 7 a.m.

Friday, December 27, 4:44 p.m. Friday, January 3, 4:49 p.m.

at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1040 P Street. Keynote speaker is Dr. Marilyn Johnson-Farr, professor at Doane College. For more information, call Nancy Knapp at 402.472.1663. To attend please RSVP to the Temple office.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 SATURDAY: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Shabbat Services, 9 a.m. led by Andy Greenberg. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel and Tami Field. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.; Torah and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer. SUNDAY: No Religious School TUESDAY: No Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class THURSDAY: Hiddur Mitzvah: The Art of Beautifying Judaism, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: First Friday with College Kids and Young Adults: Candlelighting, 5:30 p.m. and Service, 6 p.m. with dinner immediately following. Please RSVP for dinner by contacting Temple Israel at 402.556.6536 or RSVP@templeisraelomaha.com by Wednesday, Jan. 1. Shabbat Lounge after dinner featuring the Potash Twins, Adeev and Ezra. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. SUNDAY: No Religious School TUESDAY: Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 6:30 p.m. with Na’ama. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; Judaism and Religious Literacy, 6:30 p.m. with Bishop Scott Barker. THURSDAY: Hiddur Mitzvah: The Art of Beautifying Judaism, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Brown. Shabbat Shira: Sermon-in-Violin by Susanna Perry Gilmore, Friday Jan. 10, 6 p.m.

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a special Kiddush Lunch prepared by and sponsored by Marcia Kushner in memory of her father Ed Tepperman and in honor of her niece Stephanie Schaffer visiting. SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; Join Si Kominsky to celebrate his 90th Birthday, 2-4 p.m. at The Ferguson House, 700 S. 16th in Lincoln. WEDNESDAY: The office will be closed; No LJCS Classes. FRIDAY, Jan. 3: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY, Jan. 4: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Kidduch Lunch. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan through Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Community Adult Ed, 10 a.m.-noon. WEDNESDAY: Hebrew classes (grades 3-7), 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on Friday, Jan. 17, 7 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1040 P Street. Keynote speaker is Dr. Marilyn Johnson-Farr, professor at Doane College.

JEWISH PRESS NOTICE The Jewish Press office is closed Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014; There will be no Jewish Press on Jan. 3, 2014, due to staff vacations and a need to upgrade computer equipment. Questions? Call 402.334.6448.

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December 27, 2013 | The Jewish Press | 11

A Holy Obsession

In memoriam ALVIN NOGG

Sparks from the word RABBI MYER S. KRIPKE Parsha Vaera With the aid of archaeologists and others, historians are beginning to piece together the origins of ancient peoples of Biblical times. Our ancestors became a People by reason of a religiouscultural decision. When they appear as Israel, in CanaanPalestine, it is approximately the end of the thirteenth century B.C.E. At about the same time, other peoples begin to be identified: Canaanites, Ammonites, Midianites, Moabites, Amalekites and Philistines. The Philistines come from outside the mainland of southwestern Asia, but most of the others were related to the ancient Hebrews. Something is known about these peoples, our ancient cousins. Some of their practices and ancient customs are similar to our Biblical ancestors’. Some of their literature bears similarities to our own. Even in law, we may speak of an ancient “Semitic common law.” The Biblical law differs significantly and crucially, but the common ground is there. On one point, however, there is a uniqueness to the Biblical account. That point is the enslavement of the Hebrews in Egypt and their liberation, the subject of the Sidrot of Exodus we are now reading. Not one of these ancient people, not one, has any memory of enslavement and liberation. There is no “Semitic common exodus” narrative. The theme does not occur elsewhere. Nor, for that matter, is that theme found among nonSemitic peoples, like the Greeks, Persians, or Romans. That theme is a Hebrew Jewish theme. The implication is, of course, that this is actual “history.” Our ancestors actually were slaves in Egypt, liberated in a mighty rebellion. In religious terms, it was the mighty hand of God, God who liberated the slaves through His servant Moses. Now the corollaries of this enslavement-liberation theme led to a whole system of religion and morality. First of all, note that the Ten Commandments do not begin, “I am the Lord thy God, Creator of heaven and earth.” They begin, characteristically, “I am the Lord thy God, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Religion begins, for Jews, with a passion for freedom. It will not stomach the idea of superrace and slave-race. It demands freedom. It is this that led to the passion for social justice, which is the unmatched hallmark of the prophetic tradition, a passion, a yearning, a demand, a holy obsession with justice, truth, and freedom. It is this holy obsession that continues, a golden thread through the Bible and all of the Rabbinic literature. It is the thread that unites Biblical Israel with rabbinic Judaism and with the developing Judaism of all ages.

Boycott of Israel prompts two universities to quit ASA by JNS NEWS STAFF (JNS.org) Brandeis University and Penn State Harrisburg on Wednesday announced they have withdrawn from the American Studies Association (ASA) following the ASA membership’s Dec. 15 vote to endorse a boycott of Israel. The Brandeis University campus announced it has quit the American Studies Association following the association’s boycott of Israel. “We view the recent vote by the membership to affirm an academic boycott of Israel as a politicization of the discipline and a rebuke to the kind of open inquiry that a scholarly association should foster,” the Brandeis American Studies Department said in a statement. “We remain committed to the discipline of American Studies, but we can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture: freedom of association and expression.” Dr. Simon Bronner, the head of the American Studies department at Penn State Harrisburg, said in a statement, “In the wake of the passage of the resolution by the ASA to boycott Israeli institutions, which programs and departments such as Penn State Harrisburg’s program in American Studies consider to curtail academic freedom and undermine the reputation of American Studies as a scholarly enterprise, the chair of the American Studies program at Penn State Harrisburg plans to drop its institutional membership and will encourage others to do so.”

Alvin Nogg passed away on Dec. 20. Services were held on Dec. 24 at Beth El Synagogue, preceded by graveside services at Beth El Cemetery. He is survived by his wife Manya Nogg; daughter and sonin-law, Sharon and Lee Stearns; son, Randy Nogg; grandchildren: David and Crystal Stearns, and Lara and Sam Child; great-grandchildren: Lola Child and Tali Stearns; brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Ozzie Nogg; and nieces and nephews.

ABRAM RABKIN Abram Rabkin passed away Dec. 5 at age 88. His life ended, but his paintings will be cherised and admired by present generations and generations to come. He was born in 1925 to be an artist. The world came to him in colors and shades, bright and dark. In 2011 he was named an Honored Artist of Russia -- a very high recognition given to a living master of art by the Union of Russian Artists and Russian government. WWII turned his life around, and made him a soldier He reproduced his war memories in numerous drawings and sketches. During his career, Rabkin created a gallery of more than 400 paintings, depicting his home shtetl Bobruisk and its inhabitants. His art work and fame traveled as far as Israel, USA, Canada and Europe. In March-May of 2001, Omaha had two unforgettable exhibitions of his 172 museum quality paintings, which became possible through the vision, leadership and sponsorship of Shirley and Leonard Goldstein, Darlyn and Tom Fellman and Nebraska Arts Council. The two subject matters -- My Shtetl and The WWII Around Me -- comprised all his art and existence. Memorials may be made to Bemis Art Center.

Canada calls for Richard Falk’s dismissal by JNS NEWS STAFF (JNS.org) Canada has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to dismiss its special investigator, Richard Falk, over a recent statement accusing Israel of having “genocidal intentions” against the Palestinians in an interview on the Russia Today (RT) television network. “When you target a group, an ethnic group and inflict this kind of punishment upon them, you are in effect nurturing a kind of criminal intention that is genocidal,” Falk told RT. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird called on the U.N. to dismiss Falk immediately. “Canada has previously called for Falk to be fired for his numerous outrageous and anti-Semitic statements and these comments underscore once more the complete and total absurdity of his service as a UN Special Rapporteur,” Baird said in a statement. Falk has a long history of making anti-Israel and antiAmerican remarks, including the floating of conspiracy theories. Last spring, he drew widespread condemnation when he suggested that U.S. and Israeli policies were responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.

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Bomb explodes on bus near Tel Aviv; no one hurt by JTA NEWS STAFF JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A bomb exploded on a public bus in Bat Yam, a city neighboring Tel Aviv, after the passengers had been removed. The passengers had alerted the driver to a suspicious package left on the vehicle, which was traveling from Bnei Brak to Bat Yam in central Israel. The bomb, which was placed in a black backpack with wires sticking out, detonated as a police sapper was working to defuse it. It is unclear if the bomb was a terror attack or criminal in nature. Police sources told the Times of Israel that it appeared to be a terror attack. Bus passenger David Papo first identified the bomb and helped remove other passengers. In a telephone call, Israeli President Shimon Peres thanked Papo for his quick action. Papo told Peres why he decided to examine the bag. “I didn’t understand how someone could leave such a big bag on the bus,” Papo said. “I tried to lift the bag, but it was so heavy that it raised my suspicion further. When I opened the bag, I saw what it was. “When the explosion happened, we were in the road helping the police to stop passers-by and the traffic. Only afterwards when I saw the hole in the bus did I understand the damage that could have been caused.”

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In hardscrabble villages, Bedouin want recognition, not relocation by BEN SALES “It’s not about taking the Bedouin and making a transfer,” WADI AL-NAAM, Israel (JTA) – In this unofficial said Doron Almog, director of the office of Economic and Bedouin town of 14,000 not far from Beersheva in the Negev Community Development of the Negev Bedouin in the Desert, families live in clusters of shanties with intermittent Prime Minister’s Office. “It’s relocation from poverty to electricity provided by generators or solar panels. modernity. This will happen together with the Bedouin.” A communal structure has soft plastic walls and dirt In Lakia, one of seven Bedouin towns set up by the govfloors, with a small pit at one end for an open fire that provides the room’s only heat. Roads in many places are demarcated only by piles of rocks. For decades, Bedouin tribes like those living in Wadi al-Naam and similar settlements all over southern Israel have waged a battle with the Israeli government over land rights, with the government refusing to recognize the unofficial settlements or give them electricity or infrastructure and the Bedouins refusing to move. Ismail Barfash, a local locksmith, says if he wanted to move to the nearby recognized Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, he would have long ago. “I like the quiet here,” Barfash said. “No one comes here to ask what you’re doing. I prefer to die here and not move some- The city of Rahat is the largest Bedouin settlement in Israel. Credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash 90 where else.” Last week, Israel was set to bring a major resolution to the ernment about four decades ago as an experiment in transidispute by enacting a law -- years in the making and follow- tioning the historically nomadic group to a more modern, ing months of Knesset debate -- that would have legalized urban lifestyle, one vexing issue is what the newly resettled some Bedouin villages and given them infrastructure while nomadic Bedouin would do in their new urban digs. forcing others to relocate to recognized towns, where they “Bedouins used to plant olive trees and work the land, but would be given small land plots and some cash grants. that isn’t appropriate for the city,” said Nabhan El-Sana, projBut the plan was shelved late last week with no vote after ect director for the Lakia Local Council. opponents on the right and left expressed concerns. Now the Life in the Bedouin towns is not easy. According to Israel’s government must go back to the drawing board. socioeconomic rating system, no Bedouin town scores betSome opponents of the law and many Bedouin say the ter than a two out of 10. Residents tend to be poor, unemgovernment wants to confiscate their land and profit from it, ployment is high, infrastructure is in short supply and using it for industry or the military. The government says it municipal budgets are small. Those who work usually do so wants to settle the claims so that it can use the lands to outside of town in nearby Jewish villages or cities. develop housing and infrastructure. “The situation is very difficult,” said Talal Alkrinawi, The law would have addressed the status of approximate- mayor of Rahat, the largest Bedouin city in Israel. “The ly 110,000 Bedouin who live in unrecognized villages in the worst communities are the Bedouin towns. The reason is northern Negev. that the government didn’t invest resources to develop

industry and economy in the Bedouin cities. They didn’t worry about quality of life.” Alkrinawi says that 79 percent of Rahat residents live below the poverty line. In 2009, the unemployment rates for Rahat and Lakia were 12 percent and 19 percent, respectively, compared to 6 percent nationally. In Rahat, the average annual salary is less than $20,000, compared to more than $32,000 nationally. A government-sponsored employment program in Rahat run out of a new community center for young people aims to put more of the city’s young adults to work. It offers employment counseling, professional certification programs and entrepreneurship coaching. But Hasan Abu Zaid, the youth center’s director, says many challenges persist. One of the greatest is the relatively small proportion of Bedouin with college degrees. About 46 percent of Israelis aged 25 to 64 have college degrees, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, but only 6 percent of Rahat residents do. “The picture is not rosy,” Abu Zaid told JTA. “We believe that employment must be accompanied by business development in the town. The Bedouin population always worked. It’s not that they don’t want to work.” Government officials say that programs like the youth center plus a final settlement to land disputes will help growth in Bedouin employment rates and quality of life. The government is developing an industrial park outside Rahat, as well as a new neighborhood in the city that will offer subsidized housing to local Bedouin. “We need to plan things and execute them slowly,” said Ami Tesler, head of the Community Relations Department for the Bedouin in the Prime Minister’s Office. “If you understand you have a certain number of families in a certain area, you have to plan schools and roads. It’s a process.” Many Bedouin living in the unrecognized villages do not see relocation as the answer, however. Attia Alasam, head of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages, says he prefers that the government instead recognize the unofficial villages, settling land disputes and providing the villages with infrastructure and basic services. “They need to solve this with dialogue,” he told JTA. “The state says I want to do good to you. When it destroys my village, what’s good about that?”

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