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By Rlchart Pearl OMAHA-Omaha's Jewish population may be closer to 7,000 than the generally accepted figure of 6,500. And while It appears to be a community with a somewhat lafger-than-usual element of ' older (more mature) people, it is also apparently a very welleducated community, financially very sound and with a "very great" degree of stability. , Such are some of the * preliminary findings q/ the demographic survey of the Jewish community undertaken last fall by the Omaha Jewish Federation,
which received its first report at its July 1 board meeting.. Hie report was made by Dr. Murray Frost of the Center for Applied.Urban Research at the University of Nebraska at O m a h a . Both he and Federation Executive Director Lou Solomon stressed that the findings p r e s e n t e d were only preliminary and that further study of the survey would be .The survey, begun last September during the adm i n i s t r a t i o n of thenFederation President Harlan J. Noddle, was designed by Dr. Frost In conjunction with
Charles A. Monasee, then Federation vice president and Advisory Committee chairman. The purpose of the survey was "to define the community it (ibe Federation) serves in order to help it (Federation) better meet the needs of community members." The preliminary report had been expected by mid-winter. It was delayed until now due to what Dr. Frost said Thursday was the "very good-response" from the community - which necessitated much additional collating of Information. He said some 1,165 families
out of approximately 2,600 — or about 45 percent — responded to the survey. Normal response is about 10 percent. ' . More definitive answers from the survey are expected in either late summer or early fall, Solomon said. The survey showed what appears to be a strong Jewish community identification, although the indicators of this will need further study, according to Dr. Frost. Other results of the survey indicate there may be as much as 20 percent of the Jewish
community over age 60; that there are more college-age persons than those of high school age; that about 75 percent of the heads of households are married; that there Is a divorce rate of about five percent; that twochildren families account for more than one-half of the Omaha total. Other indications are that the community is very well educated, with over 70 percent having had some college; about three-fourths of the heads of households are selfemployed; about one-third of (Continued on Page 3)
Rabin Praises 'Mission Incredible' (Combined JTA-Israell Wire Service) JERSUALEM —. "In a bold, resoureceful and sophisticated effort; the Israeli Defense Forces have succeeded in carrying out the decision of the government of Israel to save and liberate from captivity the passengers of the Air France plane, who were hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and kept prisoners in Uganda, with their lives In danger." With these words Premier Yitzhak Rabin began his address July 4 to a jubilant and applauding Knesset on what has been described here and abroad as the most daring and/incredible rescue mission in military history. ' Rabin did not give many details of the operation to the specially convensed session attended by President Ephrlam Katzir and other Israeli notables as well as by foreign diplomats wh<^ crowded the visitors' gallery, . •. "The Israeli Defense Forces have achieved one of their most exemplary victories from both the human and, the moral and military operational points of view, a remarkable
manifestation of Jewish fraternity and Israeli valor," Rabin declared. • Continuing, the Premier stated: "Together with the families who have lost their dear ones, we morun our dead, uniformed and civilians, victims of the vile Arabterrorism,and send to the wounded our best wishes for their recovery. .' "Members of the Knesset, this operation of redemption of captives is worthy of Jewish and Israeli pride arid of worldwide acclaim. The decision for this government of Israel, and on Its sole responsibility. We did not consult with any other government in advance, nor shall we lay responsibility on any other country or government... "In the hijacking of the Air Force plane to Entebbe, all indications showed that the Uganda ruler (President Idi Amin) was collaborating with the terrorists, while using deceit and false pretenses. , .', "This was the situation on the eve of July 1,1978: The time of eSrpiry of the ultimatum grew Increasingly closer. The release
of non-Israeli hostages (48 last Wednesday and 100 last Thursday) more and more exposed the malicious conspiracy against Israeli citizens. The political efforts bore no fruit. The sand in the hourglass was about to run out, leaving no possibility for an Independent rescue effort. "Under these conditions, the government of Israel decided unanimously to take the.only way left to rescue our people and to announce our willingness to release detained terrorists. Close upon the Cabinet's resolution (last Thursday), we accordingly informed the French government,- through the negotiations were conducted with the terrorists, we were prepared to adopt even this alternative — In default of any other — to rescue our people. - "Members of the Knesset, this was not a timesaving tactic, and had only this choice been left, we would have stood by our decision, as a last resort. "Throughout the entire time since the capture of the plane, • J. (Continued on Page2)
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SERVING OES MOINES, Vol. LV No. 35
..COUNCIL BLUFFS. LINCOLN, OMAHA Omaha, Neb., Fri., July 9,1976
Scrapbooks Reveal A Past of Service
By Richard Pearl OMAHA-A native Omahan, Sanford Freedman, 27, was among the second group of hostages to be freed by the terrorist group \jrWeh hijacked an Air France jetliner over 1xh weeks ago. Israelis asked that the passenger list not be released at the time of the hijacking and Freedman's relatives and friends here, fearing far his safety, also declined to talk of the situation;
By Barbara Simon throughout the 20's. OMAHA-The "old days" The mementos of the 30's reminiscences in the recent and 40's are the ones which Prior to the hijacking, - Passover edition of the Jewish stow the activities for which Freedman, 27, son of Mrs. Prsss caused many Omahans Mrs. Fromkln Is widely Irving (Ruth) Freedman and -to leaf through scrapbooks remembered. She organized and memories. Junior Hadassah In 1921 and Sophye* ( M r s . M a x ) served first as president and Fromkin's scrapbooks came then as senior advisor for IS to the attention of the Jewish years. JERUSALEM Press' recently, and they She was very active In President Idi Amin of Uganda poured out a cornucopia of Omaha P.T.A., arranging to has cried "foul." letters, photos, newsdlpplngs "You have wronged me, I bring fine orchestral concerts and testimonials to a life of with guest conductors to am counting now the txx ies of service "and -i dedication to Omaha schoolchildren. She my soldiers." he told Raariv Omaha culture) and Jewish helped .organize the Mid- correspondent Url Dann who organizations, Central States and Midwest. reached him by telephone, Region Chapters of the Union Sunday, July 4, at the The oldest,photo showed of O r t h o d o x J e w i s h Presidential office in KamSophye (then. Weinsteln) Congregations Women's pala. around age 3 as she looked Branch, was their first Commenting on the rescue . when her father hoisted her up president and served later as raid, Amin complained that upon, the; stage at the Old honorary president. Israel just hadn't played Brandels Theater to sing •"Htatikvah'' when Chalm As a child Sopbye sang HatlkMrs. Fromkln spent 50 cricket. *<your Heijcules Weizmann came to speak vah when Chalm Weizmann years at various times on planes flew In and my soldiers here. The scrapbooks yielded spoke in Omaha around 1900. many__locaj amLnaHQnal dld j w t _want_Jo_ shootLthenL the confirmation certificate boards — the Jewish Com- down," he told Dann. Amin vigorously denied that From that same period munity ^Cestejr, Hadassah, r marriage con- came a newsphoto of" Ijie Bern Israel sisterhood, Bern he S o cwSpefmed wl}S the tract between Sophye Weln- Omaha Symphony including Israel Synagogue among . hijackers. He claimed that, on the contrary, he had defended, stein and Max Fromkln in Sophye playing the violin as t h e m . •...-. - ;•;.-,,• • , ; . . : • < " - =•' $ 9 Israeli hostages. He said (Continued on Page 11) jijhe.^(jldy.w^tlr ,t|je
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the late Mr. Freedman, had been touring Israel for.two weeks with his mother; his brother Marvin and Marvin's wife, Nancy, and Steve and Marlyne Protas. All but Steve Protas are former Omahans. Mrs. Freedman and her husband are the former owners of Blackstone Pharmacy here. Sanford Freedman, who is working towards his doctorate In English at Harvard, was en route to Paris to study tor the summer when the plane's course was altered by the terrorists, according to Suzie Somberg, a relative.
He was released with" the second group of hostages after Israel agreed to negotiate with the terrorists. Mrs. Somberg . said Freedman talked very briefly with his family via telephone at about 3 a.m. after arriving in Paris late last week. Even then, be was said to be afraid to speak freely because he feared harming others still held hostage. Freedman, now living in Cambridge, Mass., is a graduate of Central High School. He did undergraduate work at Columbia University and studied at Cambridge University.
Idi Amin Cries 'Foul'to Israel he had left the Organization of African Unity meeting on Mauritius to help work for t h e i r r e l e a s e without blooksned. Amin insisted that the hijackers were the only ones holding the hostages and that his soldiers remained some 200 meters distant from the building where they were being held. He said he had allowed the hijacked Air France jet to land at Entebbe last Monday only because It was running out of fuel. "We really took good care of Sie hostages," Arr.in tcW Dann. "We gave them everythlng-food, toilet articles and so on-r-and what do
we get in return—you kill my people." Amin claimed that his troops could have given battle to the Israeli commandos but they did not. He said he had control of the situation and, after all "It was only a small thing." Dann said he had surprisingly little difficulty reaching Amin by phone. He said lie spoke to only one official in Kampala before Amin himself came on the line. ._ He said the conversation lasted a half hour, that Amfif sounded in tears some of thethe Ugandan leaner Tfaa1 really grasped what Sap-, pened. _. _ ,-,- . — ^