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CLIMATE ACTION AND A NEW KOSHER KITCHEN IN NEBRASKA Lo Ta’amod: David Kaufmann and the refusal to look away Page 3

Jewish Women in Sports: Strength, space and visibility (Part 1) Page 5

Who are the Beautiful Little Fools? Page 7

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life Cycles

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SARA KOHEN Friedel Jewish Academy Director of Advancement here are Jews in Nebraska?” is a question I often hear when people ask where I live. The answer is yes—Omaha has a vibrant Jewish community, including an outstanding Jewish day school, Friedel Jewish Academy. At Friedel, we are proud to be part of that community and connected to the broader Jewish world through organizations such as Adamah’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Friedel is a community Jewish day school serving stu-

Returning Home: Part III

ITAY JFO Community Shaliach In December of 2025, Itay, our community shaliach, accompanied Jay Katelman and synagogue leaders on the Jewish Omaha teen trip to Israel. You

read about Jay’s impressions in our Jan. 23 edition. This is part III of Itay’s story. We began Saturday morning with synagogue services and then rested. On Sunday, we woke up to a rainy, gloomy day, but it didn’t stop us. Although we couldn’t go to Masada or Ein Gedi, after many hopes and prayers the road to the Dead Sea opened, and we made it. We floated in the water, covered ourselves in mud, laughed, and enjoyed the moment — and of course met the camel “Pistachio,” Jay’s second great love. The next day, despite the rain, we traveled to Caesarea, saw remains of See Return Home page 2

dents from kindergarten through eighth grade. We joined the JCLC in 2023, and it has been an invaluable resource— offering guidance on climate action, financial support, and opportunities to learn from organizations with similar goals and challenges. Even before joining JCLC, our school leadership had identified environmental education and sustainability as goals. We seek to develop positive middot (“character traits” in Hebrew) in our students, including preparing them to be responsible stewards of our world and working to reduce our See Climate Action page 2

Tradition

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor With celebrating holidays and milestones come congratulatory cards. It is not often those cards are Jewish-themed, so when Margie and Bruce Gutnik’s daughter Julie, 28 years ago, designed Jewish greeting cards for Hallmark, Margie and Bruce were understandably filled with nachas. To this day, they keep the cards framed in their house. “I grew up with strong ties to my

Judaism,” Julie said, “through efforts by my parents and because of friends I grew up with, from preschool through high school graduation. And they're still my closest friends today. That's a special thing, to know and love people as long as I've known my family. I grew up very curious about the world, asking a lot of ‘why’ questions.” “When I designed these cards, I was the editorial director of the Tree of Life card line (among others),” she See Tradition page 3