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Grinberg named Klutznick Chair

arat Grinberg, PhD, has been named the next Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and will join the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences Department of Modern Languages in July 2026. Dr. Grinberg currently serves as a professor of Russian and humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. At Creighton, he will primarily teach within the Honors Program and the Magis Core, bringing his expertise to students across the University. Dr. Grinberg immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in 1993, graduated from the joint degree program between the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University in New York City in 1999, and received his PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago in 2006. Grinberg is a widely published scholar whose books include “I am to Be Read not from Left to Right, but in Jewish: from Right to Left’: The Poetics of Boris Slutsky, Aleksandr Askoldov: The Commissar, and, most recently, The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines. He also translated and edited Mikhail See Klutznick Chair page 3

It’s time for fun! Beth Israel’s annual Hanukkah carnival Page 5

The power of music Pages 7 & 8

Call for removal of UN official who denied Oct. 7 rapes Page 12

The Kaplan Book Group’s next assignment

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life Cycles

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SPONSORED BY THE BENJAMIN AND ANNA E. WIESMAN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND

SHIRLY BANNER JFO Library Specialist Mark your calendars! On Thursday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m., the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will gather for its monthly meeting at the Staenberg Omaha Jewish Community Center in Conference Room A. Join us in person or tune in on Zoom — either way, you’re in for a thought-provoking discussion. This month’s featured book is The Assignment by Liza Wiemer, a gripping novel inspired by the real-life

actions of two New York High School seniors who refused to stay silent when faced with a disturbing moral dilemma presented as a classroom assignment. Logan March and her best friend Cade Crawford are members of Mr. Bartley’s History of World Governments class when they are given the assignment of debating the “Final Solution” from the Nazi point of view. Their work will be based upon reenacting the Wannasee Conference’s debate of the genocide of the Jewish people by means of extermination or by sterilization, ghettos, and work camps. Logan and Cade aren’t Jewish, and no one in their small town appears to be See Kaplan Group page 3

Jewish baseball players SETH SCHUCHMAN NJHS Advisory Board member Baseball has always held a special place for Jewish Omaha. Long before national broadcasts and the downtown stadium, our city watched the College World Series grow from a local event into a beloved American tradition. And from the beginning, the Omaha story has always included one unmistakable name.

Sandy Koufax

Johnny Rosenblatt was born in South Omaha in 1907, the son of Jewish immigrants who believed in education, civic duty, and opportunity. He was a gifted athlete at South High and played semi-pro baseball before entering public life. When he became mayor in 1954, Rosenblatt was already deeply committed to improving parks and community facilities across the city. One of his major priorities was Omaha Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1948. When the College World Series was searching for a permanent home after brief stays in Kalamazoo and Wichita, Rosenblatt worked closely with civic leaders and the NCAA to bring it here. In 1950 the CWS arrived in Omaha, and in 1964 the stadium was renamed in his honor. For sixty summers Rosenblatt Stadium shaped life in this community. Jewish families filled the stands, worked concessions, and passed down memories from generation to generation. There are many wonderful Jewish baseball stories and players and choosing only a few was no easy task. But the men highlighted here represent the depth of our community’s impact on the sport and the lasting mark Jewish athletes have made on America’s game. Hank Greenberg (1930–1947)Detroit Tigers Greenberg debuted in 1930 and became one of the most feared hitters of his generation. He finished with 331 home runs, more than 1,200 RBIs, a .313 career average, and two American League MVP awards. He also endured persistent antisemitism. One widely documented See Jewish Stories in Sports page 2