, April 15
Federation Annual Omaha—"The Ch n g i n g Quality of life In ( ir Community" will be the e of the annual meeting of he Omaha Jewish Federation Sunday, April 15, 1973. Comb ed with a meeting of the F deration Board of Governors, the 7:30 p.m. annual meeting will be held at Beth Israel Sjnagogue. Morley Zipursky, pr sident of the Federation, said that the meeting will be condu< ted without, dinner to encourage the broad participation o the entire community. The meeting will focus on three ma or areas of Omaha Jewish cc iimunity life: The New Jewih Community Center, The I r. Philip Sher Home and the Omaha
Jewish Federation structure. Elections A highlight of the meeting will be the election of five new members to the Federation Executive C o m m i t t e e by the Board of Governors. The Board of Goveriors represents the total community and is composed of re >resentatlves of every adult Jewish organizatidh in Omaha a id of the community at large. Consisting of some 200 .people, tiie Board
of Governors is the representative arm of the community and has the sole responsibility for the selection ^pf the five new board members. Five new members will be elected by the Board of Governors and three will be appointed by the new Federation president. Election of officers of the Executive Committee will also be held at the meeting. • The eight members of the Executive Committee whose three-year terms have expired and who are not eligible for reelection are: Richard Fellman, Mrs. Don Greenberg, Joseph Kirshenbaum, Joe Lipton, Dr. Ben Nachman, Mrs. Morton Richards, Alvin Ross and Irvin Yaf fe. Members of the board with one more year to serve are: Milton Abrahams, Alvin Abramson, Henry Appel, Mrs. Morris Fellman, Neil Cooper, Harlan Noddle,' Ernest Wintroub and Eli Zalkin. Members of the board with two more years to serve are: Leonard Goldstein, Daniel Katzman, Mrs. Isaac Nadoff, E.
Robert Newman, Edward A. Rosen, Eli Schupack, Stanley Slosburg and Mrs. Milton Waldbaum. Constitutional Amendment A resolution setting forth a proposed amendment to the Federation constitution was adopted by the Executive Committee last month. The amendment, which helps clarify the
statement of Object and Purposes of the constitution of the Federation, will be presented for approval at the a n n u a l meeting. The amendment adds the following paragraph at the end of Article II: ^'(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles of incorporation, the corpora-
tion shall be operated and its functions and activities shall be carried on without limitation for any charitable and educational p u r p o s e s within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Coda of 1954 (fit the. corresponding provision of any further internal revenue law of the United States."
THE Serving Council Bluffs,. Des Moiries, Lincoln, Omaha Vol. lit—No.
SO
OMAHA, NEB., Fill., MARCH SO, 1B7S
Omaha Plans Tay-Sachs Testing Programs Omaha—Would you give a few minutes of your time to - prevent the tragic death of a • child? Omaha Jews were asked that question this week in a letter from Dr. James Eisen, a geneticist and Professor in the department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Announcing plans for a testing program in Omaha to identify carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, Dr. Eisen explained that Tay-Sachs Disease is a genetic abnormality which is !10 times more common among Jews of Eastern European origin than any other group. According to Dr. Eisen, a treatment for the fatal disease has not yet been found, however a simple blood ' test, can Identify individuals 1 who carry the gene responsible for tire condition. It Is estimated that there could be 200 such
"carriers" In the Omaha Jewish community. Dr. Eisen stressed that carriers of the mutant gene are perfectly healthy, normal people since fnc disease is not e'x" "• '"TM
Dr. James Eisen
pressed in the carrier state. A child will not be affected if only one parent is a carrier. If both parents are carriers, however, the chances of their child having the disease are one in four. According to Dr. Eisen, a . child afflicted with Tay-Sachs Disease appears quite normal until about C months of age. Then there is general and rapid deterioration leading to convulsions, blindness and total paralysis. Death comes usually by the fourth year. Named after Karen Tay and Bernard Sachs who identified the disease about 90 years ago, nothing could be done to prevent the tragic births until recently. Throughout the country campaigns are now being launched to provide the test for the detection of carriers to all Jews of child-bearing age., The testing program in Omaha is being done on a coopera-
by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, will coordinate the celebrations through suitable programs in major communiities throughout the U n i t e d
The simple bloSM test will be made available in Omaha on June 3 and June 10. "It takes just a few minutes to be tested," said Dr. Eisen, "and can prevent years of needless suffering and tragid deaths.""; In order to complete plans for facilities and personnel, it it necessary to know quickly how many people will participate in the program. All members of the community are urged to complete the card which accompanied Dr. Eisen's letter and' return it promptly.
Tel AvivU, Dean tp Lecture in Omaha
Omaha—Dr. Moshe Lazar, tured at the Universities of Dean of the Faculty of Arts Amsterdam, Leyden and Liege. and Communications at TelProfessor Lazar is the auAviv University, will speak in thor of many articles in He, Omaha on Sunday evening, brew, Spanish and French pubApril 8, at Beth Israel Syna- lications. Among his many gogue, 52nd and Charles, at books are Israeli Poets Today, 7:30 p.m. The lecture, spon- an Anthology. He is the author: ' sored by the Jewish Cultural editor of the Jewish Heritage States, according to a letter -Committee, is free and open to Classic. The, Sephardic Tradireceived by the Omaha co- . the public. Dr. Lazar will dis- tion: Ladina and Spanish-Jewcuss "Israel's Cultural Explo- ish Literature. chairmen. '• , "We invite you t o , join," : sion: Modern Trends in the Arts." wrote Javitz and Ribicoff,/'be- - Professor Lazar was born in (Continued on Page 3) Rumania. Before immigrating to Israel in 1947, he lived in Belgium and France. He holds an M.A. degree in French Civilization, Romance Philology, and History from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and received his doctorate from the „ Sorbonne in 1957. Dr. Lazar has taught at Hebrew University whore he was , Chairman ;of the Spanish and Latin American Studies De• partnfent. > He is presently Chairman of the Theatre Arts Department and Dean of the new Faculty of Arts and Communications of Tel-Aviv Uni-' versity.. He, has served as a visitinff1 "*"""" '***""*^* r»«««*.n'
Two Omaha Co-Chairmen Appointed To National Anniversary Committee Omaha — Word was received in Omaha this week of the ap. pointment of the Omaha cochairmen of the 25th Anniver" sary, Celebration of the State of Israel to the . American Committe for Israel's 25th Anniversary Cele' bration. The appointment of Mrs.' Morris C. Fell'man and Mrs. Philip Grad, coi chairman of the ; Omaha celebration, was announced by the Co'. General Chairmen of the Amer* lean Committee, Jacob K. Jav. itz and Abraham A. Rlbicoff. "This committee will serve • ' to call attention to Israel's not., able advances in the peaceful; '; arts, the sciences; and huinmi •welfare." •'".> /.•"'! ?in 'committee, ,esta.blishea
tive basis between the Nebraska. Health Department's Birth Defects Prevention Program, the: Universty of Nebraska M e d i c a l Center and the Omaha-Douglas County Health Department. Coordinated by the Omaha Jewish Federation, further assistance is being made available by the Omaha Chapters of B'nai B'rith Worn, en and the Omaha Synagogue Council. Dr. Eisen has urged that all all Omaha, Jews between the ages of 16 and 35, married and s i n g l e , participate in the screening program.