90301060 NEBR HISTORICAL SOC 1500 R ST LINCOLN NE 68508?' SEWING NEBRASKA AMD IOWA SSNCE 1920
Vol. LXIII No. 17
Omaha, Neb., Fri., January 11, 1985
New BBG president visits For Betsy Winniclt of West Haven, Conn., winning the highest ofI we oft lie B'nai B'rith Girls was the climax of a summer devoted entirely to activities of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization as coordinator of its summer leadership programs. Miss Winnick will be visiting the Cornbelt ReSion Jan. 11-17, and will speak to B'nai B'rith Breadbreakers, Jan. 16 at 12 p.m. in Howard Johnson's Restaurant. She also will meet with local RBYO officero and adviccrc. Thoua interested in meeting with her may contact Dcbra Poleky at 334-8200, ext. 235. Eighteen-year-old Winnick, a BBG member for six years, began considering the position of International N'siah (president) through the encouragement of former president Brenda Silverman. Said Silverman,
cluded thai of president and counselor, and on the international level she served as corresponding secretary. "I want to touch each BBG member and show her there's a lot of potential involvement for her," says Winnick. "She may join for one reason, but once she does the door remains wide open." Winnick has decided to defer attending the University of Connecticut for a year while attending to her BBG duties. Says the teen, Betsy Winnick "Now is the time for me to "Reach for the highest level devote my full energies to of the organization. 1 feel the BBG program. Giving confident that you'll go far half isn't enough. I feel I have so much more to give." in BBC." Winnick, who defeated In addition to her BBYO three other candidates for activities, Winnick took an the position, has had an ex- active role in her high tensive background within school as a representative to the BBG, In addition to both student government being a founding member of and the class council. her chapter, she served as its Winnick's parents, both president, vice-president, of whom were also active as and corresponding secre- members of BBYO, first tary. Her regional posts in- met at a BBYO .gathering.
A six week study tour of Israel with high school students from throughout the U.S. and Canada will'comprise the Israel Pilgrimage program for 1985. An orientation meeting for local tenth and eleventh graders and their parents will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 20 at the Jewish Community Center. The program sponsored'by the Bureau of Jewish Education and administered by the National Ramah Commission includes visits to archaeological sites and places of natural and historical significance using the Hebrew Bible as a guidebook. Modern Israeli political and cultural institutions are also the focus of the program. Hiking, swimming, and climbing all add to an aesthetic appreciation of Israel's natural phenomenon. The tour is guided by scholars and other professionals and includes a basic itinerary that is tentatively as follows: 2.') days at the Jerusalem base (including field trips to the Tel Aviv area, the Dead Sea area, etc.) 11 days at a Galilee center (including field trips to the Haifa area, the Golan, Safed, etc;) 4 days in the Negev Desert. 4 days of a weekend visit with relatives, friends of the family, or another Israeli family. 1984 PARTICIPANT REACTIONS In the summer of 1984, five Omaha young people and one from Lincoln participated in the Ramah pilgrimage. They are: Steve Berman, Daniel Mirvish, Ruth Mithcell, Dana Wayne, Michelle Abramson and Dana Twersky. In discussions after the trip, the participants stated that the program had given their lives an added dimension through experiences which they say they will always remember. The young people hope to make presentations to various young people and youth groups about their experiences.
By Hugh Orgel TEL AVIV (JTA) — Government and Jewish Agency officials confirmed that) large numbers of Ethiopian Jews — probably the vast majority of that community estimated at about 25,000 — ore now in Israel. Details of a secret airlift and absorption process were disclosed at a hastily called press conference in Jerusalem after the local medical broke the story which had been subject to military censorship until now. The officials appeared to have been taken by surprise by these accounts, but readily confirmed their accuracy. ' Akiva Levinsky, Deputy Chairman and Treasurer of the Jewish Agency who is the ranking official of the Agency in the country at the moment., said about 10,000 Ethiopian kl Jews arrived in Israel recently. Israel Radio had reported earlier that,the rescue operation, begun during the administration of former Premier Menachem ^egtn's Likud government, was speeded up last November because of the famine in Ethiopia. Levinsky said a special absorption center was established in Ashkelon for the newcomers and that they are receiving
HOE no By Morris Malinc The executive director of the Jewish Community Center is trying to determine the feasibility of organizing a "Jewish Group Home" for young adults with special needs.
ersheltered."
basis of a group which had socialized at the Jewish Community Center there."
I le said t hat in most cases eligible candidates are working and require a minMr. Rod pointed out that imum of family attention. if a sufficient number of potential residents are availThe Group Home con- able in Omaha and show incept, lie explained, accom- terest in the proposal, he Steven Hod told the Jew- modates six or more young would conduct the necesish Press that he has con- adults who would reside in sary research to determine sulted with one family about the same household with a financial feasibility, the need for such a facility professional who would be and that he would like to see responsible for guidance Here is an opportunity for if additional members of the and supervision. the Jewish community to Jewish community would be , Mr. Rod said that he has provide the means for handinterested in such a project. had experience with such a icapped individuals to make According to Mr. Rod, the facility through his associ- a transition from sheltered concept for a Jewish Group ation with the Minnesota to independent living, Mr. Home involves the recruit- Jewish Group Home in Rod said. ment of young adults who Minneapolis. He suggested that famiare mildly retarded or who "This Home has been in lies who are interested in exhave learning disabilities. existence for more than six ploring the proposal contact "These young adults are years and was started on the him directly at the JCC. currently residing with their parents and are usually ov-
THE PROGRAM The Ramah Community Pilgrimage is based in New York City and has a full-time staff of .directors...and planners. Through it, hundreds ofyoung people from North America from every ideological background meet in Israel to expand their Jewish feelings amidst growing friendships. Many graduates of the program have returned to Israel as exchange students at Israeli universities arid virtually all have felt a bond of Jewish identification which has grown as they have reached adult participation in the American Jewish experience. The program includes courses of study and lectures by recognized scholars from Israel and the United States. It allows young people to learn to know.Jsraelis on a personal level and to increase their knowledge of Hebrew and Jewish practice. Omaha participants will attend weekly preparatory classes sponsored at no cost by the Omaha Rabbinical Association and taught by the community's rabbis.
The Jewish Federation of Omaha's annual meeting will take.place Sunday, Jan. 13 starting with a 12:15 p.m. brunch in the Jewish Community Center. The installation of officers and presentation of awards will take place about 1:15 p.m. grimage participants while individual synagogues provide between $:)()() and $500. In addition, those with demonstrated need are eligible for a grant of up to $500 from the David E, Beber Scholarship Ftind. Thus, up to two-thirds of the program's cost may be supplied through scholarships and grants, part of which are provided regardless of need.
The cost for participation in the program is $2,300 plus round trip travel'to New York and personal expenditures. This amount includes all food, lodging, and transportation costs.
OTHER PROGRAMS Scholarships and grants are also available to eligible young people participating in nationally recognized Israel study tours not sponsored by the community. These include programs sponsored by the National Federation of Temple Youth, National Council of Synagogue Youth, United Synagogue of America, B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, and similar programs. In 198M, Wendy Weiner, an active member of the Beth Israel youth group and former president of the Omaha Jewish Youth Council, attended an Israel study tour sponsored by the National Council of Synagogue Youth, returning with glowing tales of an experience rich in religious and cultural benefits.
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE Up to $2,000 in major scholarships are available. Through the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Jewish Federation of Omaha provides scholarships of up to $1,000 for Israel Pil-
Further information is available through the Bureau of Jewish Education, 333 S. 132nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68154,334-8200; and through Mrs. Sarita Cooper, 333-6740, and Mrs. Linda Mann, 393-7110.
medical care there and at hospitals throughout southern Israel. According to doctors, many of the new arrivals, particularly children, are in very poor health. They are suffering from malnutrition and various diseases common to Africa which local physicians say they have not seen since leaving medical school. Some are contagious and special care is being taken to make sure they do not spread to the rest of the population. Newspaper accounts today listed intestinal disorders, skin infections, malaria and some cases of tuberculosis among the Ethiopians. One doctor was quoted as saying the newcomers resembled the Jews liberated from Nazi death camps after World War II. Medical sources said they were responding well to treatment. But one of the problems facing doctors is the language barrier. Most of the Ethiopian Jews speak only Amharic. Doctors and nurses have been provided with a short vocabulary of key words and phrases in that little known language. • The story of the rescue of Ethiopian Jews broke when the Gush Emunim magazine, Nekuda, published an inter-
view with Yehuda Dominitz, head of the Jewish Agency's immigration department. He was quoted as saying that virtually all of Ethiopia's Jews are now in Israel. It is not known how manyr emain in Ethiopia. The rest of the media elaborated on the story. According to newspaper accounts, the Ethiopian Jews' are being housed throughout the country and in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Unaccompanied children, some of them orphans, have been taken by Youth Aliya. The Jewish Agency apparently decided not to place the Ethiopians in kibbutzim which are largely secular. The Ethiopian Jews are strictly religious in outlook and customs. , Some newspapers published accounts of the secret airlift alongside a report by syndicated Washington columnist Jack Anderson that Israel was helping to train the Ethiopian army, although it has no diplomatic relations with the Marxist government in Addis Ababa. The papers did not draw any linkage between the rescue and Anderson's report.' (See Editorial on p. 4)
ELIGIBILITY AND COSTS High school students from the Omaha Jewish community who will be entering their sophomore, junior or senior years are eligible for the Israel Pilgrimage programs and for the various grants provided by the community.