May 29, 2026

The Jewish Press

HUMANITARIANS OF THE YEAR

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

The Jewish Federation of Omaha is delighted to announce Maxine, Joe, Sharon and Jeff Kirshenbaum have been named 2025 Humanitarians of the Year. Defined by a shared commitment to leadership, service and responsibility, all have left their mark on our community. Joe has served as chair of the JFO Board of Directors, was a member of the United Jew-

ish Federations’ Board and the recipient of the Ben Gurion Award. Both Joe and Jeff have served terms as president of the Beth Israel Board and have been involved at what was first the Dr. Sher Home, and now the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Joe also led the JFO Foundation’s board.

Maxine became involved with the Jewish Community Center when her kids were small, and “it went from there,” she said. She then directed her efforts towards the JFO See Humanitarians page 3

“Nothing but relationships”

Kathy and Steve Zalkin recently received the Network Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD) Lifetime Achievement Award. Their work, the NAUMD said, “reflects the very best of the uniform industry and the power of building something meaningful together.”

Their story began in 1987 at Kathy’s parents’ kitchen table. With Steve ready to leave his job and strike out on his own, and Kathy bringing a sharp marketing mindset, the two mapped out what would become Alamar Uniforms. The name carried meaning, since it was drawn from Steve’s grandfather Alan and father Marshall. Alamar launched with $35,000, a

Macintosh computer, and a belief that relationships would drive success. Over time, it grew into a respected, multilocation business serving law enforcement, healthcare, hospitality, and corporate clients across multiple states.

Steve and Kathy said the real story was never just about growth.

Remembering Elaine Jabenis

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

In 2014, with the support of her husband Mace, who told her to never give up, Elaine Jabenis published her book Georgia’s Secret She’d attempted novels before, but “I’m not a literary writer,” she said at the time, “I’m a storyteller.” While crafting Georgia’s Secret, she took a friend’s advice to “write what you know, draw on your own experiences.” And those experiences were many.

Elaine died on January 26, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska, at the age of 105.

She was the daughter of Solomon and Ida (Herman) Lagman, and was preceded in death by her husband, Mace Jabenis.

Elaine was born in Omaha, where her father ran a grocery business. She attended Franklin and Clifton Hill School, and graduated from Central High School, where she was involved with the Central High Players and was the editor of the Central High Register.

“Even when I was in school,” she said in a 1989 interview, “I was very involved in the Jewish community. One of my pets became Hadassah. As I grew up, when I was a young married woman and having children, Hadassah was where I spent all my extra time. I produced what was called ‘Hadassah Spectaculars, and I was able to express all the other things, not knowing what I was really preparing myself for. I would write, produce, perform, or whatever.”

“This business is nothing but relationships,” Steve said. “You can’t be a uniform distributor without having good relationships.”

That philosophy shaped everything they built. They built solid relationships with manufacturers who helped them grow, with customers who See Zalkins page 3

Elaine once described her life as “charmed and blessed,” and that is one way to describe her. Other words that come to mind are vivacious, full, creative, inspirational; someone we all want to be like when we grow up. At age 93, she was honored by the Douglas County Historical Society during its annual Runway Fashion Show. The award was for “Women Defining History,” and that is yet another way to describe Elaine’s life. She met the love of her life, Mace, when he was a groomsman and she was paired with him as a bridesmaid in Kansas City. Mace stepped on the train of Elaine’s dress right after saying hello, “and I was furious. He tore my dress and I didn’t like it,” she said. “Four years later, I married him.” She followed him to New York in 1945. One day, she ducked into the New York Times office building to hide from the rain, and noticed a job posting. She filled out the application (she later called it “the greatest piece of fiction she ever wrote”) emphasized her experience as the women’s editor at the Omaha World Herald and before See Elaine Jabenis page 2

Rediscovering Federation Presidents:

Dr. Abe Greenberg (1957–1958)

MARTY RICKS

NJHS Advisory Board Board Member

Years after Dr. Abe Greenberg retired from medicine and left Omaha for Palm Springs, people in the Jewish community still spoke about him with remarkable affection. Mentioning “Doc Abe” almost always brought a story: a late-night phone call he answered, a family member he treated, a baby he delivered, or an act of kindness quietly performed without expectation of recognition.

To many Omahans, he represented a generation of physicians whose work extended far beyond the walls of a hospital. Patients remembered his skill, but even more, they remembered his humanity. At the same time, the Jewish community remembered him as a devoted Federation leader, synagogue president, philanthropist, and bridge-builder within the broader civic life of Omaha.

By the time he served as president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha in 1957–1958, Dr. Greenberg had already become one of the city’s most respected Jewish leaders.

Abraham Greenberg was born in New York City on June 16, 1892. His parents, Harry and Jennie, had emigrated from Russia the year before. When Abe was still an infant, the family moved to Omaha, where his father began working as a fruit peddler, following a path familiar to many Jewish immigrant families of that era.

Little is known about Abe’s earliest years, but his accomplishments soon distinguished him. He graduated from Omaha High School in 1909 and, at a time when few young Nebraskans left the state for college, enrolled at the University of Nebraska. There he earned both his bachelor’s degree in science and his medical degree, completing his studies in 1915 at just 23 years old.

The years that followed were difficult ones for young physicians. Interns and residents often received little or no pay. Then, in 1917, America entered World War I, and Abe was either drafted or enlisted in the service. He spent two years in France as a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps attached to an American Red Cross hospital.

Family stories preserved by his grandson Rick Engel include one remarkable memory involving a young officer named George Patton. According to family recollections, Patton asked Lieutenant Greenberg to change a dressing before senior officers had completed their rounds. Abe initially declined, following

Elaine Jabenis

she knew it, she was hired. For three years, this midwestern girl received a big city education in the newsroom.

Mace, who was in the Air Transport Command of the U.S. Army Air Force during WWII, left the service, and since he hated New York City, he suggested they move back to the Midwest, and their next stop was Omaha. Once there, Elaine began writing for WOW radio, and by 1949 she had her own show. From there, she made the move to television, and hosted a daytime talk show. In the meantime, two children joined their family: M’Lee and Jon. Add “amazing mother” to her list of titles. By the 1950s, she had become a commentator at the Ak-Sar-Ben Ball, and gone freelance. Brandeis Department Store asked her to be a guest commentator at their fashion shows, and eventually offered her the job of fashion coordinator, and then fashion merchandising director. It was a good match: she stayed for 23 years, traveling the world, interviewing many of the fashion world’s great designers, and writing two textbooks on fashion.

“I realized they were bringing many people in for training,” she said, “but the schools had no textbooks. There were textbooks about merchandising, but not specifically for fashion merchandising.” She contacted a friend,

protocol. Patton escalated the matter through headquarters, resulting in new orders allowing attending doctors greater discretion in treating wounded soldiers. Years later, when the film Patton was released in 1970, Abe reportedly told his grandson, “I knew him.”

Another family story recalled Dr. Greenberg helping save the leg of a badly wounded soldier despite pressure from older physicians to amputate. The soldier later remained close to Abe and his wife Blooma for years after the war, even hosting them whenever they visited New York.

After returning home to Omaha, Dr. Greenberg began private practice with physicians Morris Brodkey and Manuel Grodinsky in the Medical Arts Building, launching a medical career that would span more than five decades.

On June 14, 1922, Abe married Blooma Kogan of Minneapolis. Together they raised three daughters, Beverly, Renee, and Phyllis, and built a close and devoted family life. Abe and Blooma were married for fifty years before his passing on Nov. 3, 1972. By that time, they had seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Dr. Greenberg practiced medicine for 56 years, retiring in 1971 at age 79. An OB/GYN internist and surgeon, he delivered countless babies and maintained privileges at many of Omaha’s major hospitals, including Methodist, Lutheran, St. Joseph, Immanuel, and Douglas County Hospital. He eventually served as chief of staff at Lutheran Hospital.

Upon his retirement, Lutheran Hospital honored him with words that reflected the esteem in which he was held:

“As we recall his deep religious commitment to quality service for all people, rich and poor, his quiet humble acts of kindness and generosity would not remain silent as he intended they should — his desire and efforts to bring together Christians and Jews without compromising important precepts of faith ... for his genuineness, humanity, uniqueness and friendship we are grateful.”

Even decades later, people continued speaking about Dr. Greenberg with deep affection. When I moved back to Omaha in 1998, Doc Abe had already been gone for 16 years, yet I still heard stories about him regularly, almost as though he were still practicing medicine.

While researching this article, I found the eulogy delivered by Rabbi Sidney Nadoff of Beth Israel Synagogue following Dr. Greenberg’s death in Palm Springs, where Abe and Blooma

who was the editor of Seventeen Magazine, and was put in touch with a publisher. The resulting textbook Elaine wrote was used for ten years, sold in the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, and even translated into Japanese. It was also during this time she discovered her love of acting. She appeared in numerous stage productions over the years, and won every possible award in the Omaha theater

had retired. Rabbi Nadoff described him as “a man who was dedicated to helping others” and “a brilliant doctor” who “wasn’t concerned about whether they could pay or not.”

Rabbi Nadoff also recalled hearing from one of Abe’s friends:

“It didn’t matter whether he would get paid or not so long as he could help somebody feel better.”

As a physician, Dr. Greenberg became known for tireless service, answering calls at all hours of the day and night when house calls were still common. His grandson Rick Engel remembered that although Abe encouraged him to pursue medicine, Rick ultimately chose dentistry after witnessing how completely the profession consumed his grandfather’s time. Still, Rick described him simply and lovingly: “He was always there for me. He was my confidant. He was always there for his patients.”

Despite the demands of his medical career, Dr. Greenberg devoted enormous energy to Jewish communal life. At age 21, while still in medical school, he encountered Sol Brodkey on the way to a Sunday board meeting of Omaha Jewish Charities, the forerunner of today’s Jewish Federation of Omaha. Brodkey invited him to attend, beginning a lifetime of service.

Before becoming Federation president, Dr. Greenberg chaired both the Jewish Philanthropies Campaign and the Israel Bond Campaign. He helped guide discussions that ultimately led to construction of the Jewish Community Center at 20th and Dodge and also served as president of Beth Israel Synagogue.

His influence extended well beyond the Jewish community. Dr. Greenberg was a founder and president of Omaha’s chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and became widely respected as a civic bridge-builder during a period when interfaith understanding carried particular importance.

For his service, Creighton University honored him as one of Omaha’s outstanding citizens at an event where Eleanor Roosevelt presented the award. In 1965, Dr. Greenberg and Nebraska Governor Frank Morrison were also honored by the Nebraska National Conference of Christians and Jews, with Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey delivering remarks recognizing their efforts.

world. She is the only actress to win a lifetime achievement award from three different theatrical organizations. Add yet another title: “Grand Dame of Omaha Theater.” With Karen Sokolof Javitch, she created Princess Diana: The Musical, which continues to be performed in many versions. She brought that love of theater back to the fashion shows at Brandeis, adding singers and dancers to the events. After Brandeis closed, she formed her own fashion production company, and gave out fashion advice as a television and print commentator. Elaine’s talents and contributions to the wider Omaha community have not gone unnoticed either. In 2007, she was inducted into the Omaha Central High School Hall of Fame, in 2010, she was named an outstanding mentor for UNO students, and she was active with Prevent Blindness Nebraska, which named an award after her. For the Arthritis Foundation, she staged the Woman of the Year Gala, a fashion-inspired benefit event.

Fashion, voice and stage acting, philanthropy, radio and television, they were all things in which Elaine could pour her creativity, and the entire time, she continued to write. She wrote a weekly newspaper column, contributing to the fashion pages of the Omaha World Herald. Yet, it wasn’t easy; Elaine began

Dr. Greenberg’s commitment to service also included leadership within B’nai B’rith and its affiliated organizations, including AZA, Hillel, and ADL. After serving as president of Omaha’s Henry Monsky Lodge, he rose to become president of District Grand Lodge No. 6 and later vice president of B’nai B’rith’s national governing board, then known as the Supreme Lodge, serving from 1965 to 1968.

His impact was so deeply felt that in 1964 Omaha community leaders established a college scholarship fund in his honor, a fund that continues today under the administration of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

Family remained at the center of Abe’s life. In his eulogy, Rabbi Nadoff noted that Dr. Greenberg considered his sons-in-law to be his own sons. In speaking with grandson Rick Engel, I learned that even after Rick’s parents divorced, Rick’s father and grandfather remained close.

During my research, I also exchanged emails with another grandson, Rand, who now lives in the Republic of Kosovo. Reflecting on his grandfather nearly 30 years after Abe’s death, Rand wrote words that capture the enduring emotional bond his family still feels:

“When I thought about my grandfather, I teared up in missing him. At this moment, responding to you, I do again.”

Nearly half a century after his passing in 1972, Dr. Abe Greenberg’s memory still lives on through the patients he comforted, the institutions he helped build, and the generations of Omaha families whose lives he touched. In many ways, his story reflects the larger story of Jewish Omaha itself: immigrants who arrived with little, devoted themselves to community, and quietly built lives of extraordinary impact.

That may be the clearest measure of the man Dr. Abe Greenberg was.

As I was finishing this article, Dick Fellman shared yet another reminder of Dr. Greenberg’s remarkable reach across generations: Doc Greenberg delivered him on May 30, 1935. Readers with memories of Dr. Abe Greenberg are encouraged to share them with Marty at martychs61@gmail.com so those stories may continue to be preserved and passed on.

to lose her sight during the writing of Georgia’s Secret, and underwent four cornea transplants. With each operation, she had to pause her writing. It may have slowed her down, but it did not stop her. Elaine once told an interviewer:

“I haven’t retired from anything, honey. I don’t believe in that. I’m not going to let chronological years interrupt what I want to do.”

She also wrote:

“Of course, it wasn’t all a bed of roses. Far from it. It was tough at times, really tough. But slowly, with persistence, I was able to continue working towards my goals. There is more I want to do-more roles to play on the stage, more books to write, more fashion productions to bring to life, and more contributions to make to my community and certainly to my people.” She did all of that, and more. Elaine is lovingly remembered by her sister, Diana Hahn; her son, Jon Jabenis; and her daughter, M'Lee Hasslinger (Jay Durmaskin). She leaves behind a cherished legacy through her grandchildren: Sarah Frey and Matthew Frey, Jessica Laney (Mike), Grant Jabenis, and Aliyah Jabenis (Matt Howell); great-granddaughters Liat and Yael Frey and Elora Laney; along with many cousins, nieces and nephews, and many dear and special friends. May her memory be for a blessing.

HUMANITARIANS

Continued from page 1

Annual Campaign, as well as Israel Bonds. Known for her hands-on involvement and unwavering commitment, she has contributed her time, insight and care across numerous agencies and organizations.

Sharon, who worked at the JFO from 1994-2015 in a variety of roles, has never stopped volunteering and was the recipient of the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award in 2021.

Jeff was in the unique position of co-chairing the RBJH board with Toba Cohen Dunning, during the pandemic, possibly one of the most challenging times for staff and Residents. Many of you also remember Jeff stepping up when war began in Ukraine in 2022:

“After a whirlwind week, during which Jeff Kirshenbaum and Rabbi Steven Abraham agreed to join the JFNA mission to the Polish-Ukrainian border,” the Jewish Press wrote at the time, “and 28 duffel bags were filled with over-the-counter-medicine by a generous community, the two found themselves on a plane to Warsaw. With the exception of one news outlet referring to Jeff as ‘Rabbi Kirshenbaum,’ everything went miraculously well.”

There is more, so much more, the Kirshenbaums have done to strengthen the lives of Jews in Omaha, and around the world. Were we to list every example, this article would become both exceptionally long, and perhaps somewhat like a philanthropy-grocery-list. So how do we honor people with this many accolades to their names?

“As a transplant from New York and fully immersed in East Coast culture,” Former JFO Executive Director Jan Goldstein said in 2021, “Sharon nonetheless embraced and graced our Omaha Jewish community from day one. What’s more, she did so with authentic sincerity.” The quote could apply to all four (minus the transplant part); it is that word, “sincerity,” that possibly best describes who they are as people.

Joe named Harry Sidman as his mentor.

“He got me involved in the Dr. Sher Home,” he said, “and then at Beth Israel Synagogue, as well as Beth Israel cemetery. Harry told me they needed people to help, and I said yes. That was the beginning of my volunteer life. Back then, we didn’t have the number of volunteers that we do nowadays, and I knew it was important to get involved."

Jewish Omaha means everything to Joe, he said:

“Our community is so important, and I am proud when I see how our community stands tall in comparison to others.”

Maxine’s wish for the future is focused on the next generation:

“I hope that the young people continue to be involved in the Jewish community. As they potentially grow their own families, I hope that they will find the areas of the community that

interest them, and find ways to be engaged as lay leaders.”

Those areas are many, as Sharon pointed out:

“The Jewish community takes care of us from the ELC to the Blumkin Home, and everywhere in between. It gave me personally a sense of belonging. Sometimes we take it for granted, but it is great relief to know that there is a community to be a part of.”

For Jeff, Omaha is simply “Home.” It has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember, and has in great part shaped who he is today, he said.

“I am one small part of the community. Every person - active or not - is a part of the community. I want to see our community grow, thrive, and expand, and I want to be able to play a small part in that. And,” he added, “I feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility to not just be a part of the community but to give back to it. My family and I have utilized the JCC, synagogues and multiple JFO agencies over the years. It is not just a responsibility but a privilege. Every person in our community has the ability to volunteer, donate, and participate to any number of our Omaha Jewish organizations. I tend to feel I get more out volunteering than giving.”

“The generosity of the community is unfounded,” Sharon added. “It is a privilege to have the beautiful Staenberg Omaha JCC and synagogues, and the large number of activities for all ages. Our responsibility is to make sure we get involved and support these organizations so they are around for our future generations.”

Jeff points to his parents as his greatest mentors, but also credits JFO programming:

“There have been many people who have guided and mentored me over the years. My parents set an example for me from an early age to give back and be a part of the community. But, I think what truly started my involvement was being part of the Jewish Omaha Leadership Training (JOLT) program in the early 1990s. I learned firsthand how the JFO worked. Steve Pitlor (of blessed memory) then called to ask if I would serve on the JCC board. Since that time there has not been a time where I have not sat on a board/committee in the Omaha Jewish community.”

Joe’s message for future generations: “Get involved and stay involved with our Jewish community. I am proud of all of the younger people who are stepping up to do the work. Keep it up!”

Please join us in honoring our Humanitarians of the Year on Thursday, June 4 at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Awards Night & Annual Meeting. The program will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by a dessert reception. Those attending are asked to RSVP in advance at www.jewishomaha.org

Beth Israel Annual Meeting

Beth Israel Synagogue’s Annual Meeting was held Sunday, May 3, 2026, overseen by new Executive Director, Laurie Peatrowsky. President, Yosef Seigel welcomed attendees and gave a short synagogue report, including the exciting news that Beth Israel will be onboarding a brand-new Director of Programming and Outreach in August, bringing the synagogue back up to full staff for the first time in months. He also expressed his gratitude to the synagogue board members for their work and support during the past year, and especially thanked outgoing board members Toba Cohen-Dunning and Dr. Howard ("Tsvi") Gendelman -- noting that in Judaism we only increase in matters of holiness, so that they were in effect stepping "up" from the Board. Rabbi Mordechai Geiger also gave a short report, echoing Yosef’s appreciation to the board. The vote for the slate having passed unanimously, the following individuals will serve on the Board of Directors during the coming year. President, Yosef Seigel; Administrative Vice President, Helene Shrago; Treasurer and Financial Vice President, Howard Kutler; Membership Vice President, Bruce Potash; Secretary, Nancy Rampey-Biniamow. Members at large include Shirly Banner, Karen Cohen, Shane Donnelly, Ron Giller, Jeff Kirshenbaum, Debra Roitstein, Michael Shrago, Susie Shyken, Dasha Stein, Harry Weiner, and Phil Wolf.

Zalkins

Continued rom page 1 trusted them with critical programs, and with competitors who often became partners when it mattered most.

Inside Alamar, that same philosophy created a culture where people stayed. Employees built careers, not just jobs. Many remained for decades, and even today, former team members stay in touch, share memories, and credit Steve and Kathy with shaping their professional paths.

“It really was a family,” Kathy reflects. “We listened to people, we worked through things together, and we made decisions that were good for everyone, not just for us.”

The work itself carried meaning far beyond the garments. Alamar outfitted police departments, hospitals, casinos, arenas, and more. Over time, the Zalkins came to understand the deeper impact of their work.

One police officer introduced Steve to his wife by saying:

“This is the guy that keeps me alive every day.” It was a simple statement, but one that captured the weight behind the work. That same sense of purpose extended to their involvement with NAUMD. Long before taking on leadership roles, Steve and Kathy were active participants, committed to the idea that the industry is stronger when people work together. They believed in sharing ideas, solving problems collectively, and

building connections across manufacturers and distributors. When the association needed leadership, they stepped forward. Serving on the board and eventually helping run NAUMD during a critical period. They played a key role in guiding the organization through years of transition and uncertainty, including the challenges of the pandemic.

For them, it was never about recognition.

“The industry gave us the ability to live the life we’ve had,” Steve said. “This was our opportunity to give something back.”

This award recognizes exactly that. A lifetime of entrepreneurship, leadership, and service. A company built with intention. A network strengthened through participation. And a legacy defined not just by business success, but by the people impacted along the way.

When asked about receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, their response was both humble and unmistakably their own:

“It means we’re getting old.”

Maybe so; but it also means something far more important: mission accomplished.

A version of this article was first published by the Network Association of Uniform Manufacturers and Distributors (NAUMD).

Garden

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time, that was enough to get him noticed, not as a future star, but as someone who could be trusted.

time, set aside.

career remains unsettled, shaped by competition, movement, and the ongoing search for consistency.

SETH SCHUCHMAN

In many homes, youth soccer is almost a rite of passage.

I played. My friends played. I remember kids showing up to Hebrew school with shin guards still on, cleats slung over their shoulders, trying to fit practice in between everything else. Years later, my own kids did the same. It is not unique to any one community, but it is familiar. Soccer has a way of weaving itself into family life.

So every so often, it is worth asking a simple question. Who are the players who carry those same beginnings a little further? Who are the ones who make it?

Matt Turner is one of them, though not in the way you might expect.

Turner, now a goalkeeper for the U.S. Men’s National Team, did not follow the traditional path. He was not a highly touted youth prospect or a product of a major academy. At Fairfield University, he was a walk-on, an afterthought who had to earn his place. Even then, nothing came quickly.

That pattern would define his career.

With the New England Revolution, Turner developed into one of Major League Soccer’s most reliable goalkeepers. His game was built on positioning, reflexes, and consistency. He was not flashy, but he was dependable. Over

That trust carried him to Europe. A move to Arsenal brought him into one of the world’s biggest clubs, though largely in a supporting role. A transfer to Nottingham Forest offered something more valuable, the chance to start in the Premier League. For a stretch, he did.

But at that level, roles are rarely secure. Performances are judged quickly, and opportunities can disappear just as fast. Turner has experienced both sides of that reality. He has earned a starting position, and he has had to fight to regain it.

It is here that his career feels less like a straight line and more like something still taking shape.

And in a different way, so does his personal story.

Several years ago, while helping clean out his grandfather’s home, Turner and his father came across a set of old documents. They traced back to his great-grandmother, who had left Lithuania in the early 1920s. The family name then was Turnovski.

It is a familiar story in Jewish history. A name changed. A past left behind. A life rebuilt in America, often with little carried forward except fragments.

For Turner, those fragments had never fully taken shape. He was raised in a household with both Jewish and Catholic influences, but without a strong, singular identity tied to either. What he found in those documents was not just ancestry, but continuity. A link to a story that had been interrupted and, over

call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 2888 (US) or 01-734-761-4700 (International) www.il.proquest.com

Discoveries like that rarely come with immediate clarity. They raise questions. What does it mean to belong to something you did not grow up fully within? What do you carry forward, and what remains part of the past?

Turner has approached those questions in a measured way. He has spoken about feeling connected to his Jewish roots, but more in terms of family and values than formal observance. It is less about returning to something fixed and more about recognizing something that was always there, even if it was not fully understood.

In that sense, his story is not unusual. Many American Jewish families carry similar histories. Names were shortened. Identities softened. Traditions adapted or lost over time. What is less common is the moment when that history becomes visible again, when something tucked away reshapes how a person sees themselves.

Off the field, his sense of identity has followed a similar path. It was not handed to him fully formed. It has come together over time, piece by piece.

Neither story is complete.

And perhaps that is what makes it resonate. Not every path is linear. Not every identity arrives all at once. Sometimes both are discovered gradually, shaped by opportunity, by

For Turner, that moment came not on a field, but in a house, sorting through what had been left behind.

There is a parallel there, though it does not need to be forced.

Turner’s career has been built later than most, through persistence rather than projection. With the U.S. Men’s National Team, he has become a steady presence in goal, trusted in major competitions and relied upon in important moments. At the same time, his club

circumstance, and by moments that only take on meaning later.

For those of us who remember those early days, running from school to practice, balancing schedules, finding time for one more game, there is something familiar in that beginning. Where it leads is not always clear. Turner’s story, on the field and beyond, is still being written.

JEWISH PRESS READERS

A New Chapter Begins: BBYO Omaha April Recap

IDAN ZACCAI

BBYO Director

The energy in our community was at an all-time high following the incredible success of our new tradition: The Golden Cob Awards. This evening was a true testament to the vibrance of our youth, serving as a celebration of the hard work and dedication that defines Omaha BBYO. Our Council Board worked tirelessly to coordinate every detail, from the food to the ceremony itself. Seeing the community gather to support our local chapters was deeply moving and reminded us all of the strength found in our shared heritage and future. We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who attended and cheered on our teens. This new tradition would not have been possible without the generous support of the Lazier L. and Harriet B Singer Memorial Fund for Youth, and the Foundation Impact Grant that transformed our ambitious plans into a reality. Because of this investment in our youth, we were able to honor the achievements of our members in a way they truly deserve, fostering a sense of pride that will carry forward into the next year.

The momentum continued at the Spring Regional Convention (SRC), where Omaha was represented by 14 outstanding participants. These teens carried themselves with immense honor, engaging in programs that challenged their leadership skills and deepened their Jewish identities. The weekend was filled with lots of fun. Our AZAA tournament got cut short as we lost our first game due to a horrible referee mistake,

Council Leadership:

Council Godol: Cory Nogg

Council N’siah: Makayla Lucoff

Mother Chapter Board:

Godol: Taylor Tauber

S’gan: Jakob Lebowich

Mazkir: Zane Robinson

Shaliach: Judah Kohen

Gizbor: Taylor Nogg

MZ Yoshanah Board:

N’siah: Isabelle Dominguez

S’ganit: Stella Lederman

MIT Mom: Molly Epstein

Mazkirah: Shayna Feldman

Gizborit: Kori Lucoff

nonetheless, we will be ready for Fall Regional Convention! SRC was also bitter sweet as this was our seniors last convention, their testimonials during Seniors Lives were inspiring; they have been the backbone of our council for years. While we are sad to see their chapter as active members close, we are incredibly proud of the legacy they leave behind.

As we look toward the future, we are thrilled to announce our newly elected boards. Selecting new leadership is a cornerstone of the BBYO experience, representing a "passing of the torch" that ensures our organization remains by the youth, for the youth. We are confident that this cohort will bring fresh perspectives, respect our traditions while maintaining the inclusive, high-energy environment that makes Omaha BBYO a second home for so many.

Finally, we offer a heartfelt thank you to our outgoing boards. Your commitment and hard work made this past year both meaningful and fun. To our seniors we wish all the best in your new adventure, we are confident you’ll succeed in every path you’ll choose. Come visit us when you’re visiting from college.

Camp JYI BI 2026 – THE place to be for summer fun

MARY SUE GROSSMAN

Camp JYI BI is back again in the summer of 2026! Scheduled for July 6 – July 31, 2026, camp hours will be 9am – 4pm and is open to kindergarten through 8th grade, based on ages for the 2026-2027 school year.

the group visited a farm and were climbing haystacks. When asked about Omaha, she replied that “Omaha is a community that is caring for every person no matter what. They are happy, giving, and always there to help,” she shared. “I think that summer camp will impact those that come not just by the activities and but that’s it is such a fun way to learn with friends of all ages.”

Leora’s top three goals are to

Camp

will be led by a dynamic group led by returning counselor, Leora Traube. Featuring a multitude of activities including sports, nature experiences, cooking, water fun, crafts, dancing, games, Israel time, learning, and more. There will be weekly field trips and special events. Included again will be a line-up of activities by special guests, many of whom will be Beth Israel members, providing an array of experience.

When asked about her favorite memory from last year’s camp, Leora said it was when

first give the kids a great time, next to make each camper feel like they are special and cared for and finally, to create great memories. “This year I would love to incorporate a scrapbook so that by the end of the summer each kid can take home something to look back at their summer,” she concluded.

energy that surrounds the camp is a boost for everyone involved, young and old alike. He encouraged anyone with questions to contact him at Beth Israel at 402.556.6288. The cost is $200 per child per week, with a discounted rate for additional children from the same family. Remaining spots are limited so everyone is encouraged to register no later than June 5. The registration link - https:// www.orthodoxomaha.org/form/campjye-bi-2026.html - is available in the weekly Beth Israel email or at orthodoxomaha.org

ORGANIZATIONS

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch our email for specific information concerning its thoughtprovoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com

“Our kids talk about camp throughout the year with several over the winter months, wanting to make sure that camp would be happening again,” shared Rabbi Geiger. “The

us on

While There Was Still Time: Nicholas

Winton’s Story

SETH SCHUCHMAN

I recently came across a story in my studies that has stayed with me in a way I didn’t quite expect. It’s one of those stories you think you understand at a distance, until you slow down and sit with the details. The more I read, the more I found myself thinking not just about what happened, but about what it means to live our values in real time, when nothing is clear and the outcome is far from certain.

The story is about Nicholas Winton.

In the winter of 1938, Prague had become a place of waiting. Germany had already annexed the Sudetenland, and Jewish families were arriving in the city from surrounding areas, hoping it might offer some measure of safety. No one knew how long that safety would last.

Apartments were crowded. Temporary shelters filled quickly. There were long stretches of uncertainty, broken up by moments of urgency. Parents stood in lines, sat in offices, searched for information that was often incomplete or contradictory. Every decision carried weight.

Winton was not there as part of an official mission. He was 29 years old, working in London, and had been planning a ski holiday. A friend urged him to come to Prague instead, to see what was happening.

What he found was not a system. It was a vacuum. There was no organized effort to move children to safety. No clear process. No roadmap. Just families asking questions that no one seemed fully equipped to answer.

At the beginning, it wasn’t a story about hundreds of children. It was one family sitting across from him. A parent asking if there was any way to get a child out. A hesitation before the next question. What would happen after that?

He began writing down names.

Not as part of a larger plan, but because something had to start somewhere. A list on a page. Then another. Conversations that stretched longer than expected. Parents trying to decide whether to send a child away to a country they had never seen, to live with people they did not know.

There is a particular kind of courage in those moments, and it doesn’t always look the way we imagine. It looks like a mother adjusting her child’s coat before a journey she cannot follow. It looks like a father repeating instructions that may or may not be remembered. It looks like a child holding onto a small bag, not fully understanding why the adults are speaking in quieter, more urgent tones.

Winton, along with others, began to build something that didn’t yet exist. He worked to find foster families in England. He raised money to meet British requirements that each child have financial backing. He navigated paperwork that moved slowly, even as the situation on the ground was moving quickly. None of it was certain.

There were days when progress stalled. Documents delayed. Permissions unclear. The sense, always, that time mattered, even if no one could define exactly how much of it remained.

Trains began to leave Prague.

Each train carried children whose parents had made a decision that no parent wants to make. On the platforms, there were brief goodbyes. A final embrace. A few last words. Some children cried. Others stood quietly, trying to take cues from the adults around them.

There are accounts of children wearing tags with their names, pinned to their coats so they could be identified when they arrived. Small details, but they stay with you. They make the story harder to keep at a distance.

It is tempting to read this with the clarity of hindsight, to assume everyone involved understood exactly what was coming. They did not.

What they had was a sense that waiting was becoming more dangerous than acting.

The final train, scheduled for Sept. 1, 1939, never left. Germany invaded Poland that day. Borders closed. The window, narrow and uncertain, was gone.

For the 669 children who had already made it out, that window was everything.

And then, in a way that still feels hard to fully understand, the story went quiet.

Winton returned to England. He built a life. He married, raised a family, worked, and moved forward. The work he had done in Prague did not become something he spoke about publicly. It was not something he carried as a defining part of his identity.

The lists, the names, the correspondence, were placed in a scrapbook and put away.

Decades passed.

It was not until his wife discovered those materials years later that the story began to re-emerge. That discovery led, eventually, to a moment that has since been widely shared. Winton, sitting in the audience of a television program, was asked to stand. The host then asked if anyone in the audience

owed their life to him.

One person stood. Then another. Then more. Surrounded by people who were once children on those trains.

In the years that followed, he would be widely recognized for what he had done and was eventually knighted, becoming Sir Nicholas Winton.

It is a powerful image. But it is also, in some ways, the easiest part of the story.

The harder part is everything that came before, when there was no audience, no recognition, no assurance that any of it would work.

In Jewish life, we speak often about values. About responsibility. About what we owe one another. But those ideas are not meant to remain abstract. They are meant to show up in moments like these, when the path is unclear and the stakes are not fully understood.

There is a teaching that we are not defined only by what we believe, but by what we do when something is placed in front of us. Not when it is easy, and not when it is certain, but when it would be simpler to step back.

Winton did not act because he knew how the story would end. He did not act because he had a complete plan.

He acted because there was something in front of him that required a response.

And he used the time that he had.

Most of us will never face a moment like Prague in 1938. But we do face moments, quieter ones, less visible, easier to explain away, where something is asked of us.

They do not come with numbers attached. They do not announce themselves as important.

They come as a conversation. A decision. A pause where we can step forward, or not.

What makes Winton’s story worth holding onto is not just what he accomplished, but how he lived in that stretch of time before anyone knew what it would become.

And how, when it was over, he simply went on with his life.

Sources:

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — “Nicholas Winton and the Rescue of Children from Czechoslovakia, 1938–1939”

AboutHolocaust.org — “Who Was Nicholas Winton and Why Did He Bring 669 Children from Czechoslovakia?”

BBC Culture — “In History: Nicholas Winton Rescues Children During WWII”

TIME — “The True Story of Nicholas Winton and the Children He Saved”

Tri-Faith Conference

Tri-Faith Initiative is proud to announce the keynote speakers for their Race, Religion, and Social Justice Conference!

The theme for this year’s RRSJ Conference, “Art as Witness, Catalyst, and Calling,” explores how artistic expression—across theatre, music, dance, visual arts, spoken word, film, ritual, and multimedia—shapes our understanding of identity, faith, and justice. On June 11 2026, the Tri-Faith Commons will feature twenty different breakout sessions, and over two dozen different speakers and presenters who are all passionate about the intersection of social justice and the arts.

Our morning keynote speaker is Siona Benjamin! She has an MFA in painting from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Ill., and an MFA in theater set design from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. She has exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2011 to India, and a second Fulbright fellowship in 2016-17 to Israel. As not just a Jewish artist but also as one who crosses cultural boundaries, she’s received praise in The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, Art in America, Art New England, Art and Antiques, ArtNews, Moment magazine, The Times of India, The Mumbai Mirror, Marg Magazine, and other publications.

Our afternoon keynote speaker is Jewel Rodgers! She has been a spoken word poet for more than a decade, performing in schools, festivals, community settings, conferences, public events, and other venues. Rodgers is an Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award winner for Best Performance Poet in Omaha and a three-time TEDx speaker. She has received numerous accolades, including being a 2022 Union for Contemporary Art Fellow, a 2023 Andy Warhol Populus Fund Grantee, a 2024 finalist in the Blackberry Peach Poetry Slam, and a 2025 AIRIE Fellow.

Registration is still open! Use the code JEWISHPRESS15 to get 15% off of the registration price at RRSJ.org!

ROOFING SIDING GUTTERS

Alan Levine

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press editor

“A person is only forgotten when their name is forgotten.”

— Talmud

In April of this year, every seat in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater was filled for Circle Theatre’s performance of The Descendants In the audience was Monica Sciaraffa, Alan Levine’s partner for many years. We officially dedicated Alan’s dream that day, with a great performance, stories about him, and-most importantly-a vast audience of all ages creating memories in his name.

After the performance, a dessert reception was hosted by the JFO Foundation and its current Executive Director, Amy Bernstein Shivvers.

Marty Ricks, former director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, said:

“We are here to dedicate this beautiful performing arts theater in the name of its major donor, Alan L. Levine. We are especially honored to have with us this evening Monica Sciaraffa, who has joined us from Bend, Oregon. Monica was Alan’s partner for many years. They met in Los Angeles, where Alan built his life after college.”

Howard Epstein, who served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation from 2012- 2022, estimated he and Alan spoke well over 150 times during those years: “Alan also kept in close touch with Marty Ricks; in fact, he had his first conversation with Marty almost 15 years before arrived on the scene.”

Those conversations often centered on Alan’s memories of growing up in Omaha, especially the JCC and Central Highplaces he never forgot, and held dear his entire life. From the first conversation, he made it clear that he wanted to do use

his wealth to do something special for us here in Omaha. Ultimately, he focused his attention on places that that serve Omaha's Jewish elderly and places that serve as gathering spots and make people happy

“At some point,” Bob Goldberg, JFO CEO said, “Marty asked Alan the question: “What do you really want?” It made Alan realize that he wanted to do something that makes people happy… and the theater does that.”

“Just days ago,” Marty said, “we marked the fifth anniversary of Alan’s passing. Monica has returned to Omaha to see, in person, the enduring impact of his generosity to the community he always considered his real home. That impact surrounds us — here in this theater, in the pickleball facility below, and in the continued expansion of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. But Alan’s legacy is more than buildings. It is what happens inside them — moments of connection, creativity, and community.”

Alan said in 2019, “Theater is a living space, it’s vibrant, and it allows many different members, young and old, to stand shoulder to shoulder and connect. In a theater, whether you are a performer or an audience member or otherwise involved with a production, you build relationships with people you might not otherwise meet.”

“To Alan,” Bob Goldberg added, “it was less about the physical space and more about what happens within the space… and that, my friends, is the real gift. And so tonight, as the curtain rises, we don’t just remember Alan—we experience the kind of community he made possible. That is his legacy.”

The photos on this page are part of an album Monica generously donated to our Jewish community. They will help us remember Alan as he was, and they can be viewed at the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society.

JBL welcomes Gene Kowel

JAY KATELMAN

JFO Director of Community Development

The next Jewish Business Leaders event will be held on June 26, 2026, from 7:30–9 a.m., in the Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue at the Staenberg Omaha JCC.

This event will feature Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Omaha Field Office and eight resident agencies across Nebraska and Iowa.

Mr. Kowel was appointed to his current role in October 2020, where he oversees all FBI operations and criminal, national security, and cyber investigations across the two states. Kowel joined the FBI as a Special Agent in 2005 and was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the New York Field Office. He led investigations into terrorism, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, fraud, and other federal violations. He also completed deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the FBI’s counterterrorism mission.

In 2010 Mr. Kowel was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent and subsequently Unit Chief in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

In 2013, Mr. Kowel was named the Supervisor of the Savannah and Brunswick Resident Agencies in southeast Georgia, where he oversaw all FBI criminal and counterterrorism investigations and led four task forces across 19 counties.

Mr. Kowel was promoted in 2016 to Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the Los Angeles Field Office. He led the violent gang, drug trafficking, and violent crime branch for the region.

In 2019, he was selected as the Chief of Staff and Section

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Chief in the Intelligence Branch in Washington, DC. Kowel graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Political and Social Thought and earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He served as an Assistant District Attorney in New York City before joining the FBI. He currently serves as an adjunct Professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law and at Creighton University School of Law.

Mr. Kowel is currently the longest serving leader of any of the FBI’s field offices.

A special thank you to our presenting sponsor Bridges Trust We thank you Platinum sponsors: OMNE Partners, CFO Systems LLC, Horgan Law Firm, Max I. Walker, Security National Bank, and Sun Valley Landscaping, and our Event Sponsors: FBG Facility Services, Koley Jessen, and Alex Epstein.

If you have any questions about this event or other JBL programs, please contact Jay Katelman, Director of Community Development at jkatelman@jewishomaha.org, or at 402.334.6461. Please register for the event using the link or QR code.

IN THE NEWS

QDOBA is proud to announce the promotion of Sandy Gordon to Regional Catering Sales Manager, a well-deserved milestone in her nearly 12-year journey with the company. Sandy has been an integral part of QDOBA’s catering success, most recently serving as a Catering Sales Representative, where she consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership, a deep commitment to guest satisfaction, and a passion for building strong community relationships.

In her expanded role as Regional Catering Sales Manager, Sandy will oversee catering sales efforts across the Nebraska, Sioux City, North Dakota, and Arizona markets. The company looks forward to the continued impact of her leadership as she steps into this new chapter.

THE SOKOLOF AWARDS

The Sokolof Awards, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation

FRIEDEL

Want to support Friedel Jewish Academy? There’s still time to donate to their Annual Campaign before the fiscal year ends on June 30! Donate on our website; by check sent to 335 S. 132nd St., Omaha, NE 68154; or through a gift of securities made through the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS

SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org

Recent additions to the Kripke-Veret Collection News

SHIRLY BANNER

JFO Library Specialist

Young Adult:

A Night Divided by

Jennifer A. Nielsen

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

rum—minor mistakes that nevertheless continually remind her of everything she doesn’t understand about America and parenthood. Mila, meanwhile, is juggling violin and swimming lessons and navigating the treacherous social politics of school with the help of a less-than-helpful guidebook on how

Adult:

But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

Porcupines: A Novel by Fran Fabriczki

Sonia is a Hungarian immigrant who is raising her daughter, Mila — her beloved Milosh — on her own in sunny Los Angeles. Her days are a blur of not-quite-illegal business activities, dodging PTA moms, and baking birthday cakes laced with

across emails between her mother and a man she’s never met, Mila decides to take matters into her own hands and forms a plan that will implode their carefully constructed lives.

to be cool in the sixth grade — all the while trying to get her secretive mother to share something, anything, about her past.

Moving between Budapest before the fall of the Berlin Wall; Washington, DC, in the tense years of the Cold War; and the bright sunshine of early aughts Los Angeles, Porcupines is an irresistible novel about mothers and daughters, secrecy and loneliness, belonging and reinvention — and what happens when the truth can’t be held back any longer.

Sonia is sure that their bond, stitched from drive-through dinners, extracurricular activities, and a lot of exasperated affection for each other—will be enough to satisfy her daughter. But her guarded lifestyle has left Mila lonely, isolated, and ready to write herself into a bigger story. When she stumbles

awn: A Novel by Jordy Rosenberg

In a cluttered rent-controlled apartment in the middle of Manhattan, Barbara Rosenberg is terminally ill, high on opioids, and writing the story of her life. She has opinions about her smutty late husband, her career as the receptionist for a disreputable plastic surgeon, her glory days as an accomplished jazzerciser, and her failed aspirations to be a film noir actress. But what she really wants to talk about are unhinged thoughts on gender, Karl Marx, Zionism, and her two great disappointing loves: an estranged trans son and a long-lost best friend whose betrayal haunts Barbara still. As she descends further into delirium and illness, Barbara finds herself in a nightmare from which she cannot escape, and her circumstances put her on a crash course with these intimates — or are they avenging nemeses? — once again.

Part novel, part someone’s mother’s unauthorized memoir — all diatribe, gutter schtick, and deranged manifesto, Night Night Fawn is a ferociously candid account of intergenerational conflict.

“Hi, I’m Cooper, the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s support dog. Not my official title, but I’m here every Friday with my owner, Michele, and I make everyone feel good. Also, it’s not my first time being in the Press. You could say I’m sort of famous.”

Cooper supports the Jewish Press. Will you?

Voices

The Jewish Press

(Founded in 1920)

David Finkelstein

President

Annette van de Kamp-Wright

Editor

Will Fischer

Creative Director

Claire Endelman

Sales Director

Lori Kooper-Schwarz

Assistant Editor

Sam Kricsfeld

Digital support

Mary Bachteler

Accounting

Jewish Press Advisory Board

David Finkelstein, President; Margie Gutnik, Ex-Officio; Joseph Abrahams, Helen Epstein, Andrea Erlich, Dana Gonzales, Mary Sue Grossman, Hailey Krueger, Chuck Lucoff, Sara Rips, Stewart Winograd and Bob Yaffe.

The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world.

Agencies of the JFO are:: Institute for Holocaust Education (IHE), Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Nebraska Jewish Historical Society (NJHS), Jewish Press, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home (RBJH), Jewish Family Service (JFS), Staenberg Omaha Jewish Community Center (JCC).

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The possible silver lining

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

Have you heard of San Antonio Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo? I hadn’t, until a friend pointed her out.

Michelle Goldberg wrote about her in a New York Times op-ed: “In a Facebook video from last fall, Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist and housing activist running for Congress as a Democrat in Texas, warned about the Jews working with Christian Zionists trying to bring about the Rapture. Speaking of the movie version of the Christian End Times thriller “Left Behind,” she said, “All of the Jews who own Hollywood, they use books and movies to create realities.” She urged her viewers to turn toward the authentic, radical Jesus, “who was fighting this church of Satan 2,000 years ago that still exists.”

In response, Galindo told the local newspaper, the San Antonio Current, that “she’s not antisemitic, but instead is taking a stand against a cabal of “Zionist billionaire Jews” that controls the world. “It’s all very complex. But, it’s my perception that Zionist billionaires run the world,” Galindo said. “They’re of all religions. But, especially Israeli, Jewish billionaire Zionists who disproportionately and factually own a lot of Hollywood production studios, media companies and banks.”

Goldberg’s was “a hit piece,” Galindo claimed, and just more evidence that the Zionists run the world. She must have not actually read the New York Times, I guess.

But wait, there’s more.

“She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a

prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” Galindo wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend, referring to herself in the third person. “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.” (SAC, May 18) But, you know, she’s “not antisemitic.” She even claimed in a recent interview her last boyfriend was Jewish.

Galindo’s day job is providing “Exulted Sex Therapy.” I am not sure what that means. She has an active profile on Psychology Today, which claims she actually holds a degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. On her website, it states she graduated in 2024 from National University, an online college. The language on her page is cringe-worthy (“I see our relationship to sex effecting and being effected by various facets of our life”).

I wonder if she has any clients.

Galindo is running as a Democrat, and any day the Democratic Party’s leadership does not unequivocally put her out with the trash is a day too many. Press releases denouncing what she said do not count if she continues to run as a Democrat. However, last I checked, she’s still in the running. Maybe by the time this paper publishes, she’ll be gone; one can only hope.

This is not new.

“Over the past decade,” Gregory Lyakhov wrote for the Times of Israel, “[it] has shifted dramatically. Jews—once seen as victims of discrimination—are now often labeled as part of the problem. The same party that once fought antisemitism now tolerates and even amplifies it.” He’s right about that, even if he’s wrong about the rest of his thesis, namely that Jews can find refuge in the Republican Party. There are just as many problematic characters on the Right as on the Left.

The rise of antisemitism on both the left and the right of the political spectrum is a given right now; it’s where we’re at, it’s the horseshoe theory in action wherever you look. And it’s funny; while we’ve spent all this time worrying about how divided our country is, there finally seems to be something people can agree on over dinner: it’s all about the Jews. Let’s not pretend this is still only about Israel. We have to face it: we have enemies everywhere, no matter what side they call home. That also means we have to start judging people on their own merit, based on actual words and actions, rather than which party they belong to. And perhaps that is a tiny silver lining.

The new face of Holocaust denial is harder to spot

MENACHEM Z. ROSENSAFT

JTA

When I learned that Holocaust deniers had infiltrated a New Hampshire legislative meeting and tried to insert their view into the state’s Holocaust education efforts, I was personally outraged.

My grandparents, my mother’s first husband and their 5-and-½-year-old son were murdered by Zyklon-B gas in a Birkenau gas chamber in August 1943 — dying cruelly in exactly the way that Germar Rudolf, who was invited by a state lawmaker to testify before a legislative committee, says no Jews were killed.

Rudolf is a prominent figure among Holocaust deniers. For more than 39 years, his “Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust” has sought to delegitimize and undermine the historical record of the mass murder of 6 million European Jews during World War II by promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and characterizing the Holocaust as a myth.

Historian Deborah Lipstadt describes Rudolf as “a hardcore denialist. He says no gas chambers, no plan to kill the Jews. It’s all a myth.” In the course of a 2007 trial in Germany, in which he was convicted of inciting racial hatred, he dismissed the Holocaust as “a gigantic fraud.”

Holocaust denial is not merely the manifestation of an insidious and dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theory. It constitutes a moral clear and present danger motivated by a perverse determination to radically downplay if not expunge altogether the annihilation of 6 million Jews during World War II from the historical narrative.

The alarming reality, however, is that because Holocaust denial is generally considered to be less harmful than other variants of antisemitism, it is far too often allowed to fester and foment under a spurious guise of freedom of speech.

By failing to prevent Rudolf from testifying and not striking his testimony from the official record when he questioned whether and how my grandparents and my brother were murdered, the chairperson of this New Hampshire state House committee lent credence to Rudolf’s nefarious agenda. Sadly, this is anything but an isolated incident.

Professional charlatans such as Rudolf, David Irving, Frank Leuchter, and Ernst Zündel have made

Holocaust denial a career and can be dismissed as such. But I am increasingly unnerved by mainstream or quasi-mainstream figures who spout or otherwise provide a veneer of credibility to Holocaust denial claptrap.

This isn’t new. Patrick Buchanan, the Nixon and Reagan White House official and reactionary populist candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, wrote in a March 1990 syndicated column that it would have been impossible for Jews to perish in the gas chambers of the Treblinka

death camp. Until I outed him and it in a 2009 New York Daily News op-ed, his official website, Buchanan.org, featured a Holocaust denial forum that included such comments as “there simply were not gas chambers or mass crematoriums at any of the German internment camps” and “We have known for some time that the Auschwitz myth is of an exclusively Jewish origin.”

Also in 2009, Bishop Richard Williamson, the excommunicated member of an ultra-right-wing splinter group of the Roman Catholic Church whom Pope Benedict XVI briefly brought back into the fold, declared on Swedish television in 2009 that “I believe there were no gas chambers” and that no more than 200,000 or 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, “but none of them by gas chambers.”

And more recently, Tucker Carlson has given Holocaust deniers a platform on his shows. First, in 2024, it was the Nazi apologist Daryl Cooper who propounded the conspiracy theory that the Third Reich never intentionally annihilated 6 million Jews, insisting instead that as the German army

swept through Eastern Europe, “they went in with no plan for that and they just threw these people into camps. And millions of people ended up dead there.”

Others peddle similar Holocaust-rooted conspiracy theories to millions on social media, which is what makes debunking them especially urgent in this time of surging antisemitism. Podcaster Candace Owens, for example, has dismissed the lethal medical experiments performed by the notorious SS doctor Josef Mengele at Auschwitz as “bizarre propaganda.”

New Hampshire Rep. Matt Sabourin dit Choinière, who invited Rudolf and his acolytes to the legislative meeting, fits right in with this unsavory lot. Not only is he a Holocaust denier, he is also in bed with likeminded groups and individuals whose goal is to sleaze their lies and conspiracy theories into the political, educational and social mainstream.

The New Hampshire case required investigative reporting in part because Sabourin dit Choinière and Rudolf offered a twist on the old formula at the hearing by cloaking their denial in palatable language. They spoke about a quest for truth and, in the case of the lawmaker, averred that he believed that terrible atrocities had been visited upon Jews during the Holocaust, but that there were nevertheless mitigating facts that had to be told. That left one of his colleagues so confused, JTA has reported, that she seemed to indicate agreement with their testimony. In fact, she did not understand that what she was hearing constituted Holocaust denial.

The questions we must ask ourselves are (a) how many others like Sabourin dit Choinière are there around the country, and (b) how do we unmask and defang them? We cannot afford to ignore them in an illusory hope that they will somehow slither back into the ideological swamp from whence they came. The New Hampshire House committee meeting fiasco may actually have been a muchneeded wakeup call as well as a teachable moment.

Menachem Z. Rosensaft is a lawyer and human rights activist, adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School, lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, and author of "Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai after Auschwitz."

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

Synagogues

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766

712.322.4705 www.cblhs.org

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org

BETH ISRAEL

SYNAGOGUE

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154

402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

CHABAD HOUSE

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646

402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY:

B’NAI JESHURUN

South Street Temple

Union for Reform Judaism

2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797

402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

OFFUTT AIR

FORCE BASE

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123

402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com

TEMPLE ISRAEL

Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206

402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY:

TIFERETH ISRAEL

Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org

Monthly Speaker Series Service, Friday, June 12, 7:30 p.m. with our guest speaker. Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information about our historic synagogue, please visit our website at www.cblhs.org or contact any of our board members: David Alloy, Renee Corcoran, Rick Katelman, Gail Kenkel, Janie Kulakofsky, Howard Kutler, Ann Moshman, Mary-Beth Muskin, Debbie Salomon, Sissy Silber and Jenn Tompkins. Handicap Accessible.

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

IN-PERSON AND ZOOM MINYAN SCHEDULE:

Mornings on Sundays, 9:30 a.m.; Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El and Live Stream.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services and Bar Mitzvah of Aaron Sherman 10 a.m. at Beth El and Live Stream; Havdalah, 9:35 p.m. Zoom Only.

SUNDAY: Morning Minyan, 9 a.m. Zoom Only — Summer Schedule; USY Mystery Bus Tour noon

MONDAY: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.; Women’s Book Group, 2 p.m.

TUESDAY: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.; Tapestry; Dr. Erica Brown, 6 p.m. at Beth El.

WEDNESDAY: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.

FRIDAY-June 5: Kamp Kef, 9 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El and Live Stream.

SATURDAY-June 6: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El and Live Stream; Lunch & Learn with Stephanie Vieagas following Shabbat Morning Services

Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.

FRIDAY: Torah from Omaha, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:31 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbos Café, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class, 10:45 a.m.; Soulful Torah, 7:35 p.m.; Mincha, 8:20 p.m.; Kids Activity/Laws of Shabbos 8:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:40 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 8:40 p.m.

MONDAY: Torah from Omaha, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 8:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Torah from Omaha, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Torah from Omaha, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Character Development, 1:30 p.m.; Mincha/Ma ariv, 8:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Torah from Omaha, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

FRIDAY-June 5: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:36 p.m.

SATURDAY-June 6: Shabbos Café, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class, 10:45 a.m.; Soulful Torah, 7:35 p.m.; Mincha, 8:20 p.m.; Kids Activity/Laws of Shabbos, 8:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:45 p.m.

Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.

Join classes via Zoom. Go to ochabad.com/academy. For more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Lechayim, 5:30 p.m. go to ochabad.com/lechayim to join; Candlelighting, 8:31 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat, 9:39 p.m.

SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps, 9 a.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha 9:30 a.m. with Shani; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 6-8 p.m. with David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Aramaic Grammar, 10 a.m. with David Cohen; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 6 p.m. with David Cohen; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 7 p.m. with David Cohen.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 11:30 a.m. with David Cohen.

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10 a.m. with David Cohen; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 11 a.m. with David Cohen; Talmud Study, noon; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 6 p.m. with David Cohen; Code of Jewish Law Class, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-June 5: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Lechayim, 5:30 p.m. go to ochabad.com/lechayim to join; Shabbat Dinner with Erica Brown, 7 p.m. RSVP at ochabad. com/dinner; Candlelighting, 8:36 p.m.

SATURDAY-June 6: Shacharit 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat, 9:45 p.m.

by Rabbi Alex at SST followed by a Community Final Friday Shabbat Dinner hosted by the Temple board and Farewell to Rabbi Alex and Iryna; Shabbat Candlelighting, 8:31 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. led by Rabbi Alex at TI with a Kiddush Lunch following around 11:30 a.m. and Farewell to Rabbi Alex and Iryna; Torah Study, noon on Parashat Nasso via Zoom; Havdalah, 9:40 p.m.

SUNDAY: Men’s Bike/Coffee Group, 10:30 a.m. at Rock 'N' Joe Coffee, 5025 Lindberg St, Lincoln. For more information or questions please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com

FRIDAY-June 5: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:307:30 p.m. at SST followed by an Oneg; Shabbat Candlelighting, 8:36 p.m.

SATURDAY-June 6: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. at TI with a Kiddush Lunch following; Torah Study, noon on Parashat Beha’alotcha via Zoom; Havdalah, 9:46 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch. All services offered in-person with live-stream or teleconferencing options.

FRIDAY: Erev Shabbat Service, 6:30-7:30 p.m. led

Partnership Lecture Series

TAMARA LAWSON SCHUSTER

P2G Central Area Consortium Director

The Partnership2Gether 2026 Lecture Series brings together scholars and faculty from Western Galilee College in Israel, Budapest Jewish University in Hungary, and U.S. based colleges and universities from our Partnership communities. We will offer a series of online interdisciplinary lectures, open to students, faculty, and all community members.

While the first lecture has already happened, there is still plenty of time to sign up for the remaining lectures. On June 21, Dr. Benny Bailey will present “The Crisis of Boys and Men in Liberal Democracies: A Comparison of Israel and the United States.” Dr. Bailey is a faculty member in the Department of Criminology at Western Galilee College, specializing in masculinity, domestic violence, and fatherhood.

On Aug. 24, Dr Boaz Cohen presents “Child Rehabilitation after the Holocaust, and its Relevance for Today.”

Dr. Cohen heads the Holocaust Studies Program at Western Galilee College.

Professor Gabor Balazs earned his PhD in Jewish Philosophy and serves as Rector of the Jewish Theological Seminary-University of

Jewish Studies (OR-ZSE) in Budapest. He heads its Rabbinical Training Program, and on Oct. 20, he will lecture on “Jews and Contemporary Politics in Hungary.”

Then, on Nov. 16, it is the turn of Professor Gunther Jikeli. His lecture is titled “An Old Obsession, New Platforms: How Docial Media Amplifies and Mainstreams Antisemitism.”

Professor Jikeli holds the Erna B. Rosenfeld Professorship at Indiana University’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism.

FRIDAYS: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Benjamin Sharff, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

FRIDAY: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Village Walking Group, 10 a.m.; Rock Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Young Family Fun Day, 3:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: 5th Sunday Breakfast Service, 9 a.m. at Stephen Center — In-Person.

TUESDAY: Mah Jongg Made Easy, 1:30 p.m. In-Person.

WEDNESDAY: Yarn It, 9 a.m.

THURSDAY: Lunch and Learn with Dr. Brown, noon RSVP Required.

FRIDAY-June 5: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9 a.m. In-Person; Village Walking Group, 10 a.m.; Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.

SATURDAY-June 6: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. InPerson & Zoom Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

medical, educational, and economic programs. The Western Galilee Partnership connects 17 U.S. communities of the US Central Area Consortium, Israel’s Western Galilee and Budapest, Hungary.

All lectures are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Central Time, 12:30 p.m. Eastern, 18:30 in Budapest and 19:30 in Israel.

This series is the perfect opportunity to learn, connect, and engage with leading voices from our global Partnership-wherever you are.

Partnership2Gether (P2G) is a program of The Jewish Agency and The Jewish Federations of North America, promoting people-topeople relationships through cultural, social,

Our Partnership is made up of an inclusive and active network of people focused on the mutual exchange of ideas and programs with the goal of developing relationships to strengthen our global Jewish Identity. We are dedicated to connecting people and creating a meaningful difference for Jews in Israel, America, and Budapest. Through committees (Community Engagement, Education, Academia, Resource Development, Medical and Young Adults) community members become change agents and create stronger bonds between our communities.

Life Cycles

ENGAGEMENT

KAZOR/SHNAYDER

Michelle and Stu Kazor, together with Dr. Michael and Dr. Andreea Shnayder, are delighted to announce the engagement of their children, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Kazor and Aidan Thomas Shnayder.

Lizzie graduated magna cum laude in 2025 from Methodist College of Nursing with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is a nurse at Children's Hospital. She is the cherished granddaughter of Bill and Peggy Kolm and Louis and Renee Kazor.

Aidan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska Omaha and works as a residential and commercial real estate appraiser. He is the beloved grandson of Violeta Jordache and, in loving memory, Gigi Jordache, Sofy Shnayder, and Igor Shnayder, of blessed memory.

The couple's wedding will be celebrated in October 2026. Mazel tov to the families!

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

Thank you for your article on Nathan Straus. I have not yet had the opportunity to read the book, but I hope it includes a small, yet intriguing episode related to the founding of the city of Netania in Israel.

In the late 1920s, a group from the organization Benei Benjamin (“Sons of Benjamin”), who saw themselves as right-wing activists, planned to establish a new settlement in the Sharon coastal plain. They had already founded Herzliya and Kfar Aharon. When the Zionist Movement declined to support their new initiative, the organization’s chairman, Oved Ben-Ami, traveled to the United States to raise funds.

They hoped to secure support from the well-known Jewish

"With hearts full of pride and joy, Dr. Michael and Elena Andreea Shnayder, Ph.D are thrilled to announce the graduation of their beloved son, Aidan Shnayder, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).

Aidan earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, with a double minor in Entrepreneurship and Land Development — a beautiful reflection of his ambition, vision, and the bright path ahead of him.

Watching Aidan grow into the kind, driven, and accomplished young man he is today has been one of life's greatest blessings. Surrounded by the love of his family and his fiancée, Lizzie Kazor, this milestone marks not just an academic achievement, but the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

Mazel Tov, Aidan! We could not be prouder of you. May Hashem continue to bless you with success, joy, and good health in all that lies ahead."

LOVE, MOM, DAD, ORION, KAYLA, NATALIE, THE KAZOR'S, AND MAYA

philanthropist Nathan Straus. In a telegram sent to him on the occasion of his 80th birthday, they expressed their intention to name the new settlement in his honor. Although Straus did not respond to their request and did not provide funding, the founders nevertheless named the settlement after him, hoping that he might eventually lend his support.

Today, Netania is a thriving city—the seventh largest in Israel— and an important center of the diamond industry. Yet, this story remains relatively unknown.

I would be grateful if you might consider sharing this with the readers of the Jewish Press.

SINCERELY, RAMI ARAV

Staenberg JCC School Break Specials in August

JCC School Break Specials provide full day programs during school breaks. If you have a little school vacation left after sleepaway camp ends, or your school district starts later than everyone else’s, these are a great option. The program is open to both members and non-members; parents or caregivers drop kids off at the JCC Youth Lounge.

School Break Specials are for Kindergarten up to 7th grade; registration is per day and runs 9 am to 4 pm. Before and after care requires separate registration.

Children should bring a dairy based lunch (no meat) with them every day. We will refrigerate lunches if needed, but please do not send items that need to be heated. A snack will be provided, and before-care breakfast is served from 7–8 a.m. For most days, kids will need to bring their swimsuit (towels will be provided), as well as tennis shoes & socks.

Kids should wear clothes they can move, play, and create in. There is no need to send extra money for activities. We also ask that kids leave their electronics and money at home. Children are solely responsible for all items they bring with them. Below are the dates for August 2026 only; for additional dates, to register, and for more information (and forms), please check our website at jccomaha.org.

See you at the J!

Monday, August 10: Lazy Monday

Happy National Lazy Day! Let’s kick back and relax and start the week off slowly. Come dressed in your PJs or your comfiest clothes as we enjoy some fun and laid-back games and activities. $20 Late fee registrations after 08/03/2026.

Tuesday, August 11: Hip-Hop & Pop Day

Let’s celebrate National Popsicle Day AND National HipHop day! We will make and create our own popsicle creations

and learn some hip-hop dance moves. Today is going to be hoppin’ and poppin’! $20 Late fee registrations after 08/04/2026.

Wednesday, August 12: Music Mayhem

Vinyl Record Day will have us creating our own instrument to make our own music. Let’s jam out together and have a rocking day! $20 Late fee registrations after 08/05/2026. Thursday, August 13: Random Skills and Talents

Are you left-handed? Don’t worry, right-handed friends are welcome too! We will celebrate Left-Hander’s Day by celebrating everyone’s unique skills and talents! $20 Late fee registrations after 08/06/2026.

Friday, August 14: Shabbat Shalom

Celebrate Shabbat with us as we spend time together learning about different ways people celebrate Shabbat and being intentional with this time together. $20 Late fee registrations after 08/07/2026.

Monday, August 17: A JCC Picnic

August is National Picnic Month. As a whole we will create some picnic crafts and décor, make some snacks and then together with our sack lunches, will enjoy a JCC Picnic. We will also get to gym and swim! $20 Late fee registrations after 08/10/2026.

Tuesday, August 18: Fantastic Friendships

It’s Friendship Week, so let us celebrate our friendships, old and new! We will make friendship bracelets, play some partner games and make small gifts for our friends. $20 Late fee registrations after 08/11/2026.

Wednesday, August 19: Photography Fun World Photography Day will have us taking some fun instant polaroids and using them to create some fun arts and crafts. While learning about photography, we will also get to enjoy some fan favorite JCC activities. $20 Late fee registrations after 08/12/2026.

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GUN SHOW

GUN SHOW: June 12-14 2026, Westfair, Council Bluffs, IA Fri 49pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm. $10 (under 12 FREE) . More info: 563-608-4401 www.marvkrauspromotions.net

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