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Neurim - Omahd's homeluna m Israel By Barbara Chandler, Federation public relations director There are few things in life more heartwarming ing the children celebrate not only Israel's indepenthan a smile on the face of a child who has lived in dence day, but their own freedom as well. About terror, or hope in the eyes of a child who saw no half of Neurim's 1,200 students live in dormitories future. The Jewish Agency rescues Jewish children on campus. The rest go to school there but live at from places of terror and brings them to safety in home in towns nearby. Israel through a program called Youth Aliyah. Last fall, a portion of Omaha's regular 1993 Approximately 14,000 students receive Youth UJA allocation was used to renovate five pre-fab Aliyah services in Israel. Half of them are Israelis buildings that house 36 of the resident students. from deprived backgrounds. The other half are Twenty of those students came to Israel from the immigrants from Ethiopia, the former Soviet former Soviet Union without their parents. The Union, Eastern Europe and other areas of the other 16 are Israelis who cannot live at home with . world where Jews are oppressed. their families. The Omaha Jewish community supports the In addition to a warm, caring environment, work of Youth Aliyah through the annual Neurim provides students with educational trainUJA/Federation Campaigns, but it is sometimes ing to prepare them for life as productive, responsidifficult to visualize how that support is really help- ble Israeli adults. Vocational training is offered for ing Jewish children. careers in construction, office work, automotive However, last fall, Alan Pakes, Director of mechanics, nursing, electronics, computer science Communications for the Jewish Agency for Israel, and technology-related fields. The educational prohelped Omaha establish a personal connection with gram also prepares those students who choose to go Olga Dugatco, who is an Olympic runner, • one of the Youth Aliyah villages in Israel. on to universities. came to Neurim from Russia two years ago. It is called Hadassah-Neurim and is located on Some Omahans have already made a personal the coast of the Mediterranean Sea just north of connection with the students at Neurim. Those who Netanya. The village was founded jointly in 1948 went on the Women's Division Leadership Mission by Youth Aliyah and Hadassah. last October visited Neurim, and participants of Omaha chairmen for this Israel connection pro- this year's Family Mission also visited there. gram are Patty Nogg and Mike Platt Both have In anticipation of summer Israel trips for some '. been to Israel on UJA misions and have met chil- Omahans, Mrs. Nogg arranged for teens going to dren who were brought to Youth Aliyah villages Israel this summer to write to students at Neurim. from Ethiopia as well as from the former Soviet One Omaha "teen has already received a response Union and-Eastem Europe. (see page ??). On the 1993 community mission, which Mr. and A memorable visit to Neurim is planned for the Mrs.' Platt chaired, he was particularly moved by Shalom Community Mission in October when parthe young men he'ihet who had come from ticipants will be welcomed by ihe students v/ha ttve Ethiopia. in the renovated dormitories and everyone will cele"These children have overcome tremendous brate this personal link between Omaha and hardships and are building a new life in Israel. Neurim. Meeting them was a very moving, overwhelming Anyone planning to travel to Israel who would experience," he remarked. like to visit with our students at Neurim is encourMrs. Nogg, who chaired the 1992 community aged to contact Jan Perelman at the Federation mission with her husband, Steve, visited a Youth office at 334-8200. Neurim students Guy Pelinker from Haifa Aliyah village on Yom Ha'atzmaut and enjoyed see(See related story and photos on page 6) and Sara Sankez from Moshav Safririm.
Bomb kills, injures scores, levels building in Argentin^_ By Susan Bimbaum NEW YORK (JTA) — The Argentine Jewish community was left reeling after a bomb ripped through its communal offices in Bhenos Aires on Monday morning, wreaking death and havoc in the building and surrounding ntighborhood. "There is awful consternation and ei^rmous confusion," said a statement by representatives of the Latin American Jewish Congress, which is headquartered in Buenos Aires. The blast completely leveled the seven-story building housing the Jewish Kehilla, or Jewish community organizations. At least 17 people were killed in the attack, and 127 injured, according to government officials. The explosion took place as employees were arriving for work just before 10 a.m. local time. An estimated 100 people wore inside the buildioff at the time. The death loll was expected to rise as workers sifted through the rubble. Among those- killed were two police officers in a car stationt-d outside the building as a security measure. The blast echoed the one that demolished the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in March 1992. No one was ever triad for that attack, which killed 30 and injured 250. At the time of that bombing, the Islamic Jihad in Beirut issued a ttatament claiming responsibility. In this laiett attack, a group calling itself Islamic Command called a local radio station to take rMponsibility. Two fortignar.. were reportedly arrttted in con-
nection with the attack as they were trying to leave the country iVIonday, but Argentine officials declined to say whether they were members of any specific g^up. Argentine President Carlos Menem had sealed the country's borders in order to prevent the escape of any suspected bombers and had appealed on the airwaves for calm. Passengers who had already boarded p'anes were returned to airport terminals In Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called the attack "a coward|y, criminal, despicable act" and Foreign Minister Shimon Feres said, "We will do all we can to help those who have suffered in this attack." The blast cast a pall over the opening of talks between Israel and Jordan on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, in Israel, told reporters that the attack in Argentina was n reminder that "there are still enemies of pcacf" throughout the world. "We redouble our efforts," he said, "while commiserating with the Jewish people in that terrible incident in Buenos Aires." Jordan also condemned the attack, as did the Palestine Liberation Organization. Feyez al-Tarawneh, Jordanian ambassador to the United States who is heading the Jordanian delegation to the talks in Ein Avrona in the Arava, said Jordan condemned all terror acts. He said he hoped the peace process that was being discussed would end such acts. Meanwhile, UrBel's Foreign Ministry opened an •mergancy hot line to answer anxious queries fVom the tans of thousands of immigrants ftx>m
Argentina who have family in Buenos Aires. The blast sent ripples of fear throughout the Argentine Jewish community of 220,000, the largest in South America, which had barely recovered from the 1992 attack on the embassy. Observers noted the similarities between the two attacks, including the apparent use of car bombs in both incidents and the fact that each building was undergoing construction work when the blast occurred, with workers freely coming and going This time, the bomb struck one of the community's most important addresses. The building housed the DAIA, the umbrella organization of Argentine Jewry; the AMIA, the community's 100- year-old main social service agency for the poor and aged; a library of YIVO, the Jewish Research Institute, where the archives on Jewish life in Argentina are stored; and the Jewish Community Council, amonf^ other organizations. A spokesperson at Hadassah in Buenos Aires siiui the community was in "a stale of shock." '"They are really frightened," said Bernice Tonnenbaum, coordinator of Hadassah International, who was in touch with her col leagues in Buenos Aires. She said that '"a call was made for complete silence in the area" so that any cries for help from under the debris could be detected. The result was "eerie," she said. Tannenbaum said she hod been told there wera calls on Argentine radio for donations of ditfaraiit sorts, from money to blood to equipment, and civilian guards. (Continued on p«g« 11)