January 13, 2017 by Jewish Press

thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

this week

OzziE NOGG American politics, international affairs, Israeli news magazine Jerusalem Report, he entire community is inJudaism and social, cultural and literary managing editor of The Jewish Week of vited to an important conver- issues. Tobin lectures widely across the New York and as a nationally syndicated sation with columnist in Jewish Jonathan weeklies. He previTobin and ously served as an edJ.J. Goldberg on Friday ucation specialist with evening, Jan. 20, at the World Zionist OrBeth El Synagogue. ganization in The presentation is tiJerusalem and was a tled, Left vs. Right, The member and secretary Battle for Israel’s Soul. of Kibbutz Gezer, near “Mr Tobin and Mr. Tel Aviv. Goldberg is Goldberg are well-inthe author of Jewish Power: Inside the formed, respected Jewish journalists, and American Jewish Eswe’re fortunate to have tablishment, published in 1996. them in Omaha to talk Tobin, who repreabout subjects that are J. J.Goldberg, editor-at-large sents a conservative difficult to talk about,” Jonathan Tobin, chief political blogger at Commentary Magazine of The Forward stance and Goldberg, said Eadie Tsabari, who brings a liberal viewpoint will deBeth El Director of Congregational United States on college campuses and Learning. “We’ll begin with Kabbalat to Jewish organizations and synagogues, bate several critical issues: Is Israel Shabbat Services at 6 p.m., followed by locked in a tragic dispute between two and has appeared on CNN, BBC Radio, Shabbat dinner and the presentation at 7 FOX News and local network affiliates peoples claiming the same land or a p.m. Please join us.” global conflict between Western democto discuss politics and Jewish issues. J.J. Jonathan S. Tobin is the senior online racy and Islamist terrorism? Is partition Goldberg is editor-at-large of the newsinto two states the only way to ensure Iseditor and chief political blogger of paper The Forward, where he served as rael’s survival – or is it the surest path to Commentary, the neo-conservative mag- editor-in-chief for seven years. In the azine of opinion and ideas covering past he served as U.S. bureau chief of the See Left vs. Right page A2

Family Bingo Night at Temple Israel page A5

15-year-old Orthodox girl is a pingpong chamion page A12

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B’nai Israel welcomes Mary Beth Muskin NANcy WOlf for B’nai Israel Synagogue Please join us at B’nai Israel in Council Bluffs on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. when we welcome Mary Beth Muskin as our next Shabbat Series speaker. Her topic will be ADL-Now More Than Ever, and she will share the efforts of ADL in the schools with the No Place for Hate and Anti-Bullying initiatives, among other important issues. Mary Beth Muskin is currently Regional Director of ADL-CRC Plains States Region. She moved to this position after her retirement as Director of Counseling at Omaha South High School, Omaha Public Schools. In that position, she worked with staff, staff development and students. Her area of expertise is adapting curriculum and developing intentional guidance. She has additionally served as Assistant Professor and Program Director at Creighton University in the Counselor Education Program. Dr. Muskin’s research focus continues to be in

Mary Beth Muskin the area of curriculum development and underserved populations. Mary Beth has extensive P-12 experience in the educational setting as a classroom teacher, career planning and job placement coordinator and a counselor. Adult Education experience includes Grant Writing and extensive work within the ESL classroom. She worked as a Bilingual Consultant and has counseled and put together education programs for Mental Health facilities. Dr. Muskin enjoys spending time with her family, reading, walking, and traveling. We look forward to hearing from Mary Beth and welcoming her to our synagogue. Hope to see you there.

Temple Israel’s scholar-in-residence

ScOTT liTTky vering commitment to addressing Program Director, Temple Israel the issues of prejudice and disThe next scholar-in-residence at crimination. The goal of the AntiTemple Israel is Bob Wolfson on Defamation League serves as his Friday, Jan. 27 daily mission: through Sun“To stop the day, Jan. 29. defamation of Bob Wolfson’s the Jewish peoscholar weekend ple; to secure is being sponjustice and fair sored by the treatment for all Hermene citizens alike.” Zweiback CenA 1979 ter for Lifelong Creighton UniJewish Learning. versity Law Wolfson reSchool graduate, cently retired Wolfson pracfrom his positiced law and tion as the Asworked with his sociate National family business Director of Reas well as served Bob Wolfson gional Operaas an administions for the Anti-Defamation trative law judge for the Nebraska League where he served for 10 Equal Opportunities Commission, years. He formerly served for 18 as a hearing examiner for the years as the Regional Director of Omaha Civil Rights Hearing the Plains States Region of the Board and as a commissioner of Anti-Defamation League/Comthe Nebraska Equal Opportunities munity Relations Committee of Commission. the Jewish Federation of Omaha. An Omaha native who recently Motivated by both his childhood returned from a decade in New experiences as a victim of bigotry York City, he is proud of his strong and his dedication to the Jewish Omaha family and roots. Bob says commandment to repair the his greatest joys in life are his wife See Scholar-in-residence page A2 world, Bob has shown an unwa-

A2 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

community

Beth El’s Young Adult event features comic Chris D’Elia OzziE NOgg

eth El Synagogue’s Young Adult Committee (YAC) will host a grownup’s night out on Saturday, Jan. 28. The evening begins at 7 p.m. at Brix in Village Pointe. “Beth El will supply appetizers to munch on and people can buy their favorite wine, beer or soda from the full bar at Brix,” said Abigail Kutler who co-chairs YAC with her husband, Adam. “Then we’ll all head over to the Funny Bone at around 8:45 p.m. for the 9:30 p.m. show headlining Chris D’Elia, one of the most sought after stand-up comics around. You won’t want to miss it.” Best known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC situation comedy Whitney, D’Elia played the role of Danny Burton on the sitcom Undateable, and was also a series regular on TBS’s Glory Daze playing ‘the Oracle’ William Stankowski. D’Elia has been featured

on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Showtime’s Live Nude Comedy, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, and participated in the 2015 Roast of Justin Bieber on Comedy Central. D’Elia’s first multicity stand-up comedy tour, Under No

BrOOkE WilCzEWski BBYO, Omaha Council Mazkirah I hope you all have had a happy, healthy, and blessed Hanukkah. Over the past month, BBYO has been up to a lot of interesting and exciting programming. On Dec. 2, Omaha Council helped its second annual Global Shabbat; on Dec. 9-11, Mother Chapter ran a successful fundraiser at Bagel Bin; and on Dec. 13, MZ Yoshanah was visited by Israeli Schlihim to take a cooking class and a successful gift exchange. Along with all of these fun programs, Omaha Council has been gearing up for the Winter Regional Convention hosted in Omaha this year by hosting an extremely successful,

council-wide “Hype-Up” program on Dec. 27, eating Chinese food and watching movies to get excited for the upcoming convention. Although a lot of fun was had in December, months end and time continues... To more exciting things in January! On Jan. 15 from 91:30 p.m., Omaha Council’s Mazkirim, Brooke and Max, and Morim, Ben and Emily, will be leading a 7th and 8th grade only “Connect” program at Outward Bound to get middle-schoolers excited about BBYO. Payment ($45) is due at the time of RSVP (Checks should be made payable to BBYO) and a waiver

BBYO update

Chris D’Elia

Influence, brought him to over thirty cities across the United States and Canada. Variety recently named him one of their Top 10 Comics to Watch. “The Funny Bone has a wide variety of drinks and food to choose from,” Adam Kutler said, “so together with Chris D’Elia’s stand-up performance, this will be a really fun event.” Tickets for D’Elia’s show are $35 plus tax. The goal of Beth El’s Young Adult Committees is to offer a variety of events, some kid friendly -- like the annual fall visit to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch -- and some adult-only events like the upcoming evening at Brix and The Funny Bone. “We’d love to have input from the community as to ideas for future events,” Abby Kutler said. “Feel free to contact me at aerpelding @gmail.com with your ideas or for more information.” YAC events are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

can be accessed by contacting Rachel Martin (rmartin@jccomaha.com). Please feel free to ask questions before

signing any and all 7th and 8th grade Jewish boys and girls up! We cannot wait to meet you all! Stay warm!

Left vs. Right

Continued from page A1 ever-increasing bloodshed and possibly even endangering Israel’s survival? This post-election program is part of a comprehensive project to increase thoughtful and civil conversations about Israel.

There is no charge for Shabbat dinner, but registration is required and can be made a the Beth El Synagogue website: www.bethel-omaha.org. Dinner registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 13. Those who have signed up for the Jan. 20 session of Our Shabbat Tables are invited to attend this special Beth El edition of the program. Babysitting and children’s activities will be provided during the debate between Mr. Tobin and Mr. Goldberg. Left vs. Right, The Battle for Israel’s Soul, is sponsored by The Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies at UNO, Natan and Hannah Schwalb and Beth El Synagogue.

Scholar-in-residence

Continued from page A1 of over 40 years, Sibby, and his adult children, Rebecca and Alex and Alex’s wife, Carly. On Friday evening, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. Wolfson will speak during services. His topic is The Jewish Community: Strengths and Challenges. On Saturday, Jan. 28 at noon, his talk is titled Stories and Conversations from the front lines: 29 Years with the ADL. On Sunday, Jan. 29 at 10:30 a.m., hiss topic is The Politics of Hate. All of Bob Wolfson’s talks are open to the public and all are invited to attend. For more information on any of these events, please contact Program Director Scott Littky 402.556.6536.

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Honoring Esther Wax

Liz FELDstErn Executive Director, Institute for Holocaust Education Acclaimed choreographer, Carolyn Dorfman, will give an “Up Close and Personal” presentation in the JCC Theater on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. The program will include demonstrations and performances by the 10 dancers from Dorfman’s company. While part of a weekPicured above: Esther Wax, long educational residency, the program on the 17th will right: JCC Dance Class, circa 1988. focus on celebrating the 38year history of the JCC dance program. The idea for marking this special occasion came from Patty Nogg, Chairperson for the Dorfman events. “It’s amazing to think the stellar JCC dance program has been going strong for so long. I have admired the program

since the very beginning, when my Annie danced here!” Patty said. The evening will celebrate the highly-regarded JCC dance program, including special recognition for past directors and the many past and current dance teachers. Esther Wax was a beloved member of the JCC dance family who passed away this past May. Her years of dedicated service and beautiful piano accompaniment will be honored at the Jan. 17 event, which is open to the community.

NCJW announces support for the Women’s March on Washington

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) forjoining Planned Parenthood, United State of Women and mally announced its support for the Women’s March on other reproductive health, rights and justice colleagues to Washington. NCJW CEO Nancy K. Kaufman sent the folturn the energy of the March into action. The day will inlowing statement to supporters: volve issue and advocacy training to ensure folks return “The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is pleased to announce our support for the Women’s March ALiCE KLEin the betterment of our State and country. We are President, NCJW-Omaha Section your neighbors. Join with us as we make an impact On Jan. 21, hundreds of thousands will join to- moving forward as one. gether for the Women’s March on Washington and The Omaha March starts at CenturyLink at 10th sister events across the nation, including the and Capitol. The doors open at 5 p.m. The national Women’s March in Omaha. For those who cannot anthem will be at 5:30 p.m. One quick speech bemake it to DC, please join us as we march in Omaha fore the March commences at 6 p.m. and circles to show our solidarity for the protection of our Gene Leahy Mall. Then back to CenturyLink for the rights, our safety, our health and our families -- rec- programming and hot chocolate. ognizing that our vibrant and varied communities are If you are interested in going to DC for the the strength of our wonderful city and this country. Women’s March on Washington, there are buses We are a coalition of diverse women brought to- leaving Omaha on Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. The trip costs gether by our concerns about the divisiveness cre- $200 per person. If you are interested in taking the ated by the political conditions that have arisen over bus, please contact Ronda Rankin at ronda. the past years. The important issues of our times, rankin@gmail.com. She is one of the organizers racism, sexual assault, immigration, human traffick- of the March and is handling the transportation deing, were brought up in some of the ugliest ways. tails. For more information, please visit https:// on Washington on Jan. 21. As We are citizens of Nebraska who want to unite for www.womensmarch.com/. a progressive faith-based women’s organization, we are thrilled to join in solidarity with the organizers, march sup- home with the tools they need to get and stay engaged in porters and participants to send a message to the new Concritical advocacy efforts in the weeks and months ahead.” gress and administration that the rights of women, families “The march and efforts surrounding it fit squarely within and communities must be protected.” NCJW’s mission to improve the quality of life for women, “In addition, NCJW is helping to organize ancillary events children and families and to protect individual and civil on Friday and Saturday with our Jewish community partrights. We could not be more pleased to help raise the critiners. Because the March takes place on Shabbat, one of the cal faith voice in this movement to protect our rights, safety, most important ritual observances in Judaism, we are workhealth and families with the many vibrant and diverse coming to ensure meaningful opportunities to gather and learn munities and partners that are the strength of our country.” together in Washington, DC. On Sunday, Jan. 22, NCJW is

Women’s March in Omaha

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reface: This column He noted that “Twenty-five years was originally written ago, we left Columbia with the a little over eight years wind at our backs. But in spite of ago. As President our successes, many in our nation Barack Obama prehave not shared in the prosperity pares to leave office, and in honor of the last quarter-century, and of Martin Luther King Day, I offer some are worse off than before. a revised version of the column. It We must continually be reminded has been fun these past eight of the work that remains to proyears bragging that the two of us teddY tect our union and repair our WeinBerGer were classmates. And since last world.” Still as serious as ever. summer, I have been able to back Note: I was going to conclude, as up my story with physical evidence. As I I did in 2008, by saying that next to Barack was helping my parents clear out their Obama, everyone else in Columbia’s Class of Brooklyn home of 41 years, I found my old 1983 is equally non-presidential. However, college graduation program. There it is in my friend Barbara McCaskill, a specialist in black and white: Barack Hussein Obama’s African-American literature, whom I am dename amidst the “O” graduates, and lighted to say was, last Spring, promoted to Theodore Weinberger’s name amidst the “W” graduates. Since finding the program, I have also felt much better about my “starlessness” (one, two, or three stars after a name indicate cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude, respectively). The President of the United States was no college star either. Barack Obama is my favorite college classmate. He and I graduated from Columbia College in May 1983. Thanks to him, I was freed from an excruci- Last February in atlanta, where, in the mid 1980s, Barbara and i were ating quarterly ordeal. both doctoral students in english literature at emory University. Four times a year Columbia College Today, Full Professor of English at the University of our alumni magazine, makes the long trek Georgia, thought differently, and I agree. all the way out to my post-office box in Here is Barbara’s ending: “President Barack Givat Ze’ev, Israel. And four times a year, Obama’s legacy reaches back to Martin with fear and trepidation, I used to rip open Luther King’s legacy. Both remind us that the plastic covering, flip to the “Class Notes” what has made America a beacon to the free section in the back, find “83,” and then world, in spite of its flaws and stumbles, is begin the nasty business of seeing how I the American people’s refusal to put our hemeasure up to the other guys (all guys in roes -- male or female, white or black, rich or fact, since we were Columbia’s last all-male poor, yellow or brown -- on a pedestal for class). But ever since November 2008 I have long. Instead, we know that each of their lives been at peace when CCT arrives. Because mirrors back to us the core of empathy and no one can compete with Barack Obama. responsibility that every one of us possesses, Game Over. and that any one of us can activate on behalf For the record, I don’t remember Mr. of the common good and for the betterment Obama from my college days, nor do any of of our families and communities. The very my friends. Perhaps he was a more serious point of leadership, whether Martin Luther student than we were and didn’t circulate King’s, or President Obama’s, or yours and much. Looking at the situation from a differ- mine, is to empower us all to be the commuent perspective (i.e., from the perspective of nity of awakened citizens which is central to the person who paid for Columbia’s tuition), our nation’s capaciousness and majesty.” my Dad called me after the 2008 Democratic Happy Martin Luther King Day! Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 Convention to say: “Maybe if you had had a with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, little less fun in college you too could have and their five children. Their oldest four, been President of the United States.” Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie and Ezra are veterIn the Spring of 2008, Mr. Obama sent a ans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger short letter to the class, which was read can be reached at weinross@netvision.net.il. aloud at the reunion and printed in CCT.

Organizations

B’nai B’rith BreadBreakers

Dick Fellman, a professor at UNO, will talk about the dynamic political changes and provide a historical perspective on Wednesday, Jan. 18, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

JFS needs your help

The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | A5

community

Jewish Family Service aims to collect 60 empty 2-liter plastic soda bottles, rinsed out and clean, for a project that Yachad will be working on with the residents of RBJH to celebrate Tu B’Shvat. Volunteers are welcome to join us at the actual activity on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m., where we will be helping the residents plant small trees in the 2liter bottles and decorate the bottles with faces. This project is funded in part by the Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Your empty, rinsed bottles can be dropped off near the front desks of the JCC and the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Photo credit: SMC by English Wikimedia, via Wikimedia Commons

Family Bingo Night at Temple Israel Scott Littky Program Director, Temple Israel About this time every winter, cabin fever starts to set in. It is too cold to be outside and we are all looking for activities for our

Prizes will be awarded for the winner of each game. We look forward to having guest bingo callers throughout the evening. Further, we are excited to have Rabbi Brian Stoller and his family in attendance and are

families to participate in together. Temple Israel’s Family Bingo Night on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 5 p.m., will serve as a chance to cure your cabin fever. The evening will begin with Havdalah led by Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin followed by dinner. Our meal will be soup, salad and a baked potato bar. For dessert, we are asking each family in attendance to bring one dessert item to share. After dinner we will be playing bingo!

excited to be able to introduce him. Rabbi Stoller has been selected to be the new senior rabbi of Temple Israel and his selection will become official after a congregational meeting on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 11:30 a.m. The cost for the Family Bingo Night is $5 a person or $15 a family. Please RSVP to RSVP@templeisraelomaha.com or 402.556.6536 by Thursday, Jan. 19. If you have any questions about this event please contact Program Director Scott Littky.

omaha commuity Playhouse goes Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days is a fantastic journey filled with exotic locations and cultures, with comedy and suspense leading the way. Englishman Phileas Fogg and his French manservant, Passepartout, create a strange pairing with their distinct cultural backgrounds. The two men travel around the world in an unprecedented 80 days to win a simple wager, but they leave an incredible story about loyalty and friendship in their wake. Their journey challenges both Fogg and Passepartout in many ways, but they come out as winners in the end. This production consists of five extremely resourceful actors who bring Jules Verne’s incredible story to life. Making the most of the Playhouse stage, they create all the exotic locales, the international cast of characters and even an elephant! Adapted by Mark Brown from the novel by Jules Verne, this hilarious story takes audiences on a whirlwind journey by boat, train, hot air balloon and

lots of quick changing costumes and scenery to locations such as London, Bombay, Hong Kong and New York. Comedy, suspense and certain mayhem ensues as the delightful pair travels the world meeting an assortment of exotic and entertaining characters. This production is directed by former longtime Omaha Community Playhouse artistic director Carl Beck, who retired in 2014, but recently returned to help direct the 41st annual production of A Christmas Carol and direct Around the World in 80 Days. Tickets are available at the OCP Box Office, by calling 402.553.0800 or online at www.omahaPlayhouse.com or www.ticketomaha.com. Single tickets are $36 for adults and $22 for students for Thursday – Sunday performances, and $28 for adults and $18 for students for Wednesday performances. Group rates are available for groups of 12 or more people.

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community Hanukkah at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home

Omaha Jewish Women’s Mission to Israel e are thrilled to announce that the Jewish Federation of Omaha will once again partner with JWRP to sponsor an Omaha Jewish Women’s Mission to Israel for mothers of children 18 and under. The dates of the trip will be Nov. 26 - Dec. 6, 2017. What is JWRP? The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (www.jwrp.org) was established in 2008 by eight diverse women in the Washington D.C. area who saw a deep need to create an inspiring trip to Israel that will empower women to change the world through Jewish values that transform the women, their families and communities. What’s unique about Jewish Federation of Omaha’s partnership is that we have the opportunity to bring nine women committed to the work of Jewish Federation of Omaha to experience Israel with a focus on learning, leading and community. Through the JWRP Israel curriculum, we will learn Jewish values that elevate our leadership, and, through our trip experiences, we will connect this learning to the programs and projects in Israel that our dollars support. Requirements to participate: Be Jewish or identify yourself as Jewish. This includes converts and special cases where the woman is married to a Jew and raising the kids as Jews, be physically and emotionally healthy, be willing to participate in pre-and post programming with the Jewish Federation of Omaha and have an interest in becoming more actively involved in the Jewish community. Once your application is received we will contact you to schedule an interview. Please contact Louri Sullivan, Senior Director of Community Impact and Special Projects at 402.334.6485 or lsullivan@jewishomaha.org with any questions.

Kooper-Fellman scholarships

Top row: L.O.V.E. sponsored a festive Hanukkah/Birthday Party with fancy cupcakes and refreshments at tea time for the Residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Jeffrey Taxman, along with his daughter Chelsea Rose Taxman, entertained. Jeffrey Taxman, left, with volunteers Ricki Skog and Mark Kazor; second row: Vera Bernstein enjoying the festivities; The Russian Cultural Club with special guest of honor Shirley Goldstein and her special friend from Moscow along with Izrail Aronchik; third row: Friedel Jewish Academy students joined Residents of the Home with a winter craft project. Together, they made old fashioned snowflakes. Student Gabor Petro with 3rd and 4th-grade teacher Paul Maudlin helped design a unique snowflake for Mitzi Monovitz; Ricki Eirenberg making Hanukkah cards; and row four: Dottie Rosenblum enjoying the Hanukkah Party sponsored by Mainstreeters and Sheila Tomps dressed for the occasion during that same Hanukkah Party.

The Robert H. and Dorothy G. Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year. It will be based on financial need for Jewish students with ties to the Omaha community who are pursuing their post-secondary education. This is limited to undergraduate studies only and does not include any graduate programs. Robert Kooper had a long history of service to the Jewish community. He was elected B’nai B’rith President in 1929, headed Beth El Synagogue in 1941 and was President of Highland Country Club in 1951. In addition, he was the President of the Jewish Federation of Omaha from 1958 to 1961. He died in 1961. Mrs. Kooper was a strong supporter and worked with the Jewish Federation and Beth El Sisterhood. She passed away in May 1995. “Awarding a scholarship to a young Jewish person is a very appropriate way of honoring my parents,” Howard Kooper said. He and his wife Sharon fund the Kooper Charitable Foundation Trust. Tom Fellman serves as trustee for the Foundation. Applications for the Robert H. and Dorothy G. Kooper scholarship can be obtained by writing to Howard Kooper’s office at 809 North 96th Street, Omaha, NE 68114 or by

emailing jroos@broadmoor.cc. The application packet must be received back in Howard Kooper’s office no later than March 1, 2017. The Bruce M. Fellman Charitable Foundation Trust has announced the availability of scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year. These scholarships will be awarded based on financial needs of students pursuing their post-secondary education. It is limited to undergraduate studies only and does not apply to graduate programs. Bruce, son of Tom and Darlynn Fellman, was a 1982 graduate of Westside High School. He was active in BBYO and served as President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer of Chaim Weizman AZA. He attended George Washington University in Washington D.C. and was participating in the University of Pittburgh’s Semester at Sea at the time of his death in 1984. Trustees for the Foundation are Louri Sullivan, Terri Schrager and Howard Kooper. Applications may be obtained by contacting Howard Kooper’s office at 809 North 96th Street, Omaha, NE 68114 or by emailing jroos@broadmoor.cc. The application packet must be received back in Howard Kooper’s office no later than March 1, 2017.

The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | A7

Beth El offers updates on Welcoming the Stranger initiative ozzie Nogg During a Shabbat kiddish lunch on Saturday, Jan. 14, the Beth El Synagogue congregation will hear the first of three updates on our local immigrant community and the synagogue’s progress with its Welcoming the Stranger initiative. The Jan. 14 program features Feroz Mohmand who, before his arrival in Omaha, was an aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Feroz and his wife, Gharghashta (G) Katawazai - the youngest woman ever elected to Afghanistan’s Parliament - fled their homeland in 2012, less than 24 hours after they endangered their own lives by warning U.S. officials of a possible plot to kill Americans. According to Allan Murow, Chair of the Welcoming the Stranger initiative, “Feroz and G went from being Kabul’s young political power couple to hiding out in Turkey where U.S. officials sped their refugee application process to get them into the United States. Today, Feroz runs the Lutheran Family Services Career and Connections, a mentoring program aimed to support long-term career advancement for English-proficient new Americans. His personal narrative is powerful and his current work inspirational.” At the second program, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28 at Beth El, a young Syrian mother will describe her flight from persecution, her journey to the United States, and her eventual arrival in Omaha. This past September the young woman told her story at UNO during the Voices of Survival program sponsored by the Institute for

Holocaust Education and Lutheran Family Services. The third and final program of the series is set for Saturday, Feb. 11. Speakers are Lacey Studnicka and Beth Katz, who will discuss the state of immigration and the impact of today’s political climate. Ms. Studnicka, Lutheran Family Services Program Development Officer, has fourteen years experience welcoming refugees and is responsible for community outreach and developing programs to welcome those who are driven from their homes and communities by armed conflict, gross human rights violations, and fear of persecution. Beth Katz is the founder and former Executive Director of Project Interfaith. In that capacity, she frequently speaks on interfaith issues at local, national, and international events including the Istanbul Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, and at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions. Beth is currently an adjunct professor at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “This past September,” Murow said, “Beth El welcomed and helped settle a Syrian refugee family -- dad, mom and five young children. As we continue to work toward offering a helping hand to the surging immigrant population, we are pleased to host these three Shabbat luncheons to keep the congregation current on various topics and programs impacting the immigrant community in Omaha. Please plan to join us for Shabbat services, lunch, and these informative sessions on Jan. 14, Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.”

Temple Israel’s Annual Hanukkah Dinner

Scott Littky Program Director, Temple Israel close to 200 people were in attendance for temple israel’s Annual Hanukkah Dinner. Before services they had the opportunity to light their Hanukkah menorah, marking the 7th night of Hanukkah.

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A8 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

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(Founded in 1920) Eric Dunning President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Accounting Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Sandy Friedman, Treasurer; Andrew Boehm; Paul Gerber; Alex Grossman; Jill Idelman; Mike Kaufman; David Kotok; Debbie Kricsfeld; Abby Kutler; Pam Monsky; Paul Rabinovitz and Barry Zoob. 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 Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@jewish omaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha. org.

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ANNETTE vAN DE KAMP-WRIGhT Editor of the Jewish Press hen on Sunday Jan. 8, a truck drove into Israelis at the entrance to the Jaffa Port, and wounded four were cut off by another vehicle, and bullets started flying. a group of IDF cadets, the story quickly people. The attacker continued to stab pedestrians and mo- Mark's car flipped over after swerving off of the road; Mark made headlines. The soldiers, cadets in torists as he ran down a residential street, seriously injuring died at the scene. That same day, 13-year old Hallel Yaffa an officers’ training course, according three people before being shot and killed by police. One vic- Ariel was stabbed to death in her bed by 19-year old Palestinian Mohammad Tarayreh, who had broken to the Jewish Teleinto her home. graphic Agency, “had just gotten off of a bus In October, two people died and six were inon early Sunday afternoon on the promenade jured in a shooting near Ammunition Hill. in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of eastIn December, a police officer was stabbed in ern Jerusalem, also known as East Talpiot.” the head and wounded in an attack in the Old Ha’aretz reported the victims were identiCity of Jerusalem. fied as “20-year-old Yael Yekutiel from Gi“The continuous operations in the West Bank vataiym, 22-year-old Shir Hajaj from Ma’ale and Jerusalem prove that the Jerusalem inAdumim, 20-year-old Shira Tzur from Haifa tifada is not an isolated event, but rather a deand 20-year-old Erez Orbach from Alon cision by the Palestinian people to revolt until Shvut. Hajaj was a commander in the Israel it attains its freedom and liberation from the Defense Forces officer's course, while the Israeli occupation,” Hamas representatives others were cadets in the same course.” said in a statement, following Sunday’s attack. Of course the world is shocked for all of And so, nothing changes. In the meantime, five minutes, of course we’re not really surwe are having endless discussions about UN prised. One of the many problems with terror votes and what John Kerry did or did not say attacks is that there is almost a sense of norin his speech. It’s all talk, and it doesn’t make mality. We’d be surprised if there weren’t any ‘incidents’ for any length of time. That is, Members of ZAKA search and rescue organization gather human remains from a much difference to the latest victims. Settleuntil one of these attacks hits someone you truck-ramming attack in eastern Jerusalem that killed four Israeli soldiers and in- ments? Boycotts? Foreign nations having ohCredit: ZAKA photo by Yehezkiel Itkin so-important opinions? Mike Huckabee know personally. For the rest of us, how jured 15 others, Jan. 8, 2017. often do we ask ourselves how bad it really is? Terror at- tim later identified as American tourist and US Army veteran promising to ‘Make Israel Great Again?’ Until there is an end tacks in Israel are not outliers; they are the norm. When will Taylor Force, died of his wounds in an Israeli hospital soon to these bloody, cruel and random murders, peace is not after the attack. within anyone’s grasp. we collectively decide we’ve had enough? In June, four Israelis were killed and five injured when Show us that you are serious about wanting a future; In February 2016, two teenage Palestinian boys entered a supermarket and stabbed two Israelis, before being appre- two Palestinian terrorists opened fire in the Sarona Market stop stabbing, hitting and shooting innocents, and then, and hended and shot by other customers in the store. One of the in Tel Aviv. The attackers wore suits to disguise themselves only then, something will change for the better. Because this is not the road to ‘freedom and liberation.’ victims, off-duty IDF soldier Sergeant Tuvia Yanai Weissman, as ultra-orthodox Jews before they began shooting. Later that month, Rabbi Michael Mark was driving his car with Sources: Haaretz.com, JTA.com, JewishVirtualLibrary.org, was killed. In March, a Palestinian attacker began stabbing random his wife and two children near Mount Hebron, when they Jerusalem Post and IsraelToday.com.

Blaming Obama doesn’t advance the cause of Middle East peace RICK JACOBS JTA What did Secretary of State John Kerry say that caused former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren to say that U.S. policy toward Israel has become “sad, tragic and dangerous?” That led Sen. Ted Cruz to say that Kerry and President Barack Obama are “relentless enemies of Israel”? That inspired Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu’s spokesman to refer to the American “abandonment of Israel?” Nothing that successive American administrations, Democratic and Republican alike, have not said before. But that, of course, is hardly a measure of success. If the goal of Kerry’s Dec. 28 speech was to defend the U.S. decision to abstain on an unbalanced, ill-timed United Nations Security Council resolution, then it was a failure. Further, the administration’s regretful and wrong-headed, although not unprecedented, decision to abstain rather than veto a deeply problematic Security Council resolution affected the way most American Jews and Israelis heard Kerry’s speech. If the speech had been given following a U.S. veto, his words would have been listened to with far more openness. Kerry’s speech offered some of the most forceful denunciations of Palestinian instigation of violence that we have ever heard from the podium at the State Department, specifically indicting both Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He spoke about America’s strategic partnership with Israel and his own heartfelt personal connection to that nation. And Kerry made a powerful case that the only lasting solution envisions two states, Israel and Palestinian, for two peoples. The Secretary was right, too, to shine a spotlight on Palestinian incitement of violence and the veneration of terrorists, and on the runaway freight train of the settlement expansion, driven by the most right-wing elements in Israeli politics and supported by the Israeli government. The entire settlement enterprise is designed to

make the realization of a two-state solution more difficult, if not impossible. And it is impossible to ignore the trends by the current government in Israel to solidify and thicken the settlements, even at the expense of legislating to upend the Israeli Supreme Court. Settlements, of course, are far from the only impediment to progress. Kerry made his view clear: “Let me emphasize, this is

dented support, U.S. military aid that is unmatched. It would also be wrong to ignore the harshness of the criticism aimed at the Obama administration. It is inexcusable to accuse the president or his secretary of state of being “anti-Israel” when they express views held by many Israelis. Indeed such “anti-Israel” voices as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak welcomed Kerry’s speech. The plain truth is that the Palestinians, the Israelis and the U.S. have not been blameless during this latest chapter of working toward peace. Blaming one party is hardly accurate or constructive. Too many Israelis hold the Palestinians totally responsible, and too many Palestinians hold only Israel responsible; and yes, too many Americans also apportion responsibility unfairly on one of the two sides. And the incoming U.S. administration seems to hold the Obama administration as the main culPresident Barack Obama speaking with John Kerry during a bilat- prit in the current stalemate. None of eral meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in these approaches is accurate or conNew York City, Sept. 21, 2016. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images structive. not to say that the settlements are the whole or As a new U.S. administration prepares to take even the primary cause of this conflict; of course office, we hope and pray it will not begin by they are not. Nor can you say that if the settleabandoning a two-state solution. No one naively ments were suddenly removed, you’d have peace believes that two states for two peoples living without a broader agreement. You would not.” side by side in security and peace is around the Let us, in turn, be crystal clear: The significant corner, but it remains a beacon of possibility, esobstacles to peace fall overwhelmingly on the pecially when all the other options are so deeply Palestinian side, including an unwillingness to flawed. clearly recognize Israel’s very right to exist and Deep bipartisan support for the State of Israel ongoing incitement to terrorism that leads to must not be undermined. I am afraid that Israel murderous acts. is becoming a completely partisan issue, and for Kerry is also correct, of course, that the United that there is plenty of blame to go around. I’d ask States should not, and cannot, dictate a solution. -- no, beg -- that the U.S., Israeli and Palestinian But his speech reminds us that the U.S. has an in- leadership, present and future, stop blaming dispensable role to play. And it is simply impossi- everyone else and accept responsibility for movble to ignore that the support for Israel -ing us forward, not backward. bipartisan support that has been Israel’s bedrock, Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for a strong pin in its own security -- is critical. This Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish movement administration has provided Israel with unprece- in North America.

The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | a9

Imams and rabbis seek a common strategy to counter anti-Muslim hostility Ron KaMpeas release announcing the summit. WASHINGTON | JTA Police in Maryland’s Washington suburbs have reported a A year ago, when several dozen Washington-area Jewish spike in vandalism, particularly in schools, that invokes and Muslim religious and lay leaders jostled for spots in a Nazi imagery. Nationally, the Anti-Defamation League and group picture, the mood was convivial. the Southern Poverty Law Center have reported an increase The most novel item on the agenda for that November in incidents since the election targeting blacks, Muslims, 2015 confab was bringing non-Middle Eastern Muslims immigrants, the LGBT community and women. The latest into the Jewish-Muslim dialogue. The meeting and the FBI hate crimes report showed a 67 percent rise in the venue -- an Indonesian-American Muslim center in Silver number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the past year. Spring, Maryland -- helped “dispel the myth that Muslims are inherently of Middle Eastern descent,” a release said. Last month, the meeting of the third Summit of Greater Washington Imams and Rabbis was better attended – a hundred or so leaders were on hand at Tifereth Israel, a Conservative synagogue in the District of Columbia, and the group picture was just as friendly. But in that anxious “we’re in this together” way. Following an afternoon packed with tales of Muslims enduring taunts, vandalism and bullying in schools, the host rabbi, Ethan Seidel, sang a HaImams, rabbis, and Jewish and Muslim lay leaders posing for a group photo sidic melody to calm the rabbis, imams and lay at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2016. leaders as they scrambled into place. Credit: Ron Kampeas What changed? The name some said they could hardly mention: Donald Trump, the president-elect. In the roundtable discussions and in plenary sessions, Tales of harassment and threats against Muslims participants struggled to pin down what they could do to abounded at the summit, an initiative of several local diaameliorate the current climate. logue groups and the New York-based Foundation for EthParticipants described initiatives, like mosque and synanic Understanding. And throughout the event, the Trump gogue twinnings, that began after the terrorist attacks on impact was often implied, if not explicitly cited. Sept. 11, 2001, when there was more of a national consenThe first session broke the gathering into lunch groups, sus that Muslims in America deserved protection from and participants found printouts on their tables asking counterattacks. But these initiatives had been in place for them to discuss how Jews and Muslims should “respond to years and had not prevented the acceleration of anti-Musthe present social and political climate.” lim sentiment in the country. “Basically, they want us to react to the results of the last What went wrong? Participants seemed at a loss to underelection,” said Dr. Ira Weiss, a physician who is involved in stand. the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Greater Washington, Rabbi David Shneyer said his progressive congregation, tossing the printout back onto the table. “Some of what Kehila Chadasha, had a post-election meeting with a strong Trump said during the campaign was not only intolerant turnout – 50 members from a 100-family community – and but dangerous.” that one of its conclusions was to “hold media more acThe coming-together, where rabbis and lay leaders reprecountable.” sented the spectrum of Jewish religious streams, was “espe“What does it mean, holding media more accountable?” cially significant at a moment of increased bigotry, when Seidel asked. both communities are feeling vulnerable,” Seidel said in the “I can’t explain at this point,” Shneyer said.

Some participants said the rabbis, imams and lay leaders needed to break out of their bubbles of mutual affection and travel to the America that had elected Trump. “We need to reach out to communities where the likelihood of a difference of opinion exists at a higher rate,” said Abdul Rashid Abdullah, representing the National American Muslim Association on Scouting and sporting a scoutmaster’s shirt. Abdullah said he had been raised a Roman Catholic and converted to Islam when he was 18. “I came from a household that’s probably supporting Trump,” he said. “By God’s will, I’m not on that route – but I could have been.” Rabbi Sid Schwarz, a senior fellow at Clal: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, outlined to the larger group what his lunch table came up with, including volunteering to register as Muslims should Trump make good on his campaign proposal to set up a national Muslim registry. (The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, proposed the same idea last month at his organization’s plenary in New York.) But Schwarz also voiced a sense of helplessness that permeated the discussion. “There’s got to be a more proactive agenda to counter the way Trump has characterized Islam as radical,” he said. “How do you get out of the vacuum?” a participant asked. “Reverse freedom rides,” someone else said. “We take our bubble into the hinterlands.” Some practical ideas emerged, including synagogue members appearing outside mosques during Friday prayers bearing signs expressing support, and setting up volunteer systems that would accompany children to school who had been subjected to harassment there. Rabbi Jason Kimmelman-Block, the director of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, spurred participants to sign his group’s petition urging President Barack Obama, before he leaves office, to dismantle the National Security Exit-Entry Registration System, an existing structure that Trump could use to facilitate a Muslim registry. Walter Ruby, the Muslim-Jewish relations director for the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, said a 10-person steering committee would be chosen from those attending the meeting. Rabbi Gerald Serotta, the executive director of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, circulated an outline of a rapid response system should hate see Imans and rabbis page a11

A10 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

synagogues B’NAi isrAEl syNAgOguE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

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

CONgrEgATiON 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

rOsE BluMkiN JEWish hOME

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

TEMplE isrAEl

Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com

TiFErETh isrAEl

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

B’NAi isrAEl syNAgOguE

Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Mary-Beth Muskin, Regional Director of ADL-CRC Plain States Region on ADL-Now more than ever. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Our services are led by lay leader Larry Blass. For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

BETh El syNAgOguE

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FridAy: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. sATurdAy: Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Welcoming the Stranger Lunch, Noon Kiddush is sponsored by Rabbi Steven and Shira Abraham in honor of their anniversary and Shira’s birthday; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5 p.m.; Parents’ Night Out, 5:30 p.m. WEEkdAy sErViCEs: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. suNdAy: No BESTT Classes; Torah Study, 10:15 a.m. TuEsdAy: Rabbi Abraham’s Ethics & Values: A Jewish Guide to Life’s Most Difficult Questions, Noon at Whole Foods. WEdNEsdAy: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Rabbi Abraham’s Ethics & Values -- A Jewish Guide to Life’s Most Difficult Questions, 6:15 p.m.; Carolyn Dorfman Dance Program for 8th Graders: Dinner at 6 p.m. and Program from 6:30-8 p.m.; Hebrew High Classes, 6:45 p.m. Shabbat dinner followed by a conversation on Israel with Jonathan Tobin and J. J. Goldberg, Friday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. Sisterhood Shabbat, saturday, Jan. 21, 9:30 a.m. Shabbat’s Cool (Grades K-7), saturday, Jan. 21, 10 a.m. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETh isrAEl syNAgOguE

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. FridAy: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 5 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 5 p.m.; Shabbat Dinner-Scholar-inResidence, Rabbi Shalom Hammer, 6 p.m.; What are We Fighting For? The Challenges of Instilling Ideology in the IDF, 7 p.m. sATurdAy: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; Israel’s Sturggle for Survival and Vision of Continuity, 12:15 p.m.; Insights in the Weekly Torah Reading, 4 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 4:45 p.m.; The Awakening of Jewish Identity in Israel, 5 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:04 p.m. suNdAy: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m. MONdAy: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, Noon; Read Hebrew America Class, 7:30 p.m. TuEsdAy & WEdNEsdAy: Shacharit, 7 a.m. ThursdAy: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ethics Class with Rabbi Ari, 7:45 a.m.; Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday,

ChABAd hOusE

9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. FridAy-: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. sATurdAy: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. followed by a kiddush luncheon. suNdAy: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m. followed by Sunday Secrets: Jewish Fun Facts class at 9:15 a.m. WEEkdAys: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. MONdAy: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. TuEsdAy: Women's Workshop: Twelve Values Part 2, Noon. WEdNEsdAy: New Tanya Series -- The Anatomy of Your Soul: Who Are You?, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Mendel Katzman. ThursdAy: Advanced Talmud Class, Noon with Rabbi Mendel Katzman; Women's Workshop: Twelve Values Part 2, 7 p.m. All programs are open to the entire community.

CONgrEgATiON B’NAi JEshuruN

Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FridAy: Candlelighting, 5:04 p.m.; Pre-neg, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m. sATurdAy: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah

Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Vayechi; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:35 p.m. suNdAy: No LJCS Classes; South Street Temple is partnering with “We Can Do This” to provide weekend meals to the children of the F Street Community Center. Join us as we provide lunch on the third Sunday of every month. Food/monetary donations, meal preparation and assistance with setting up, serving, and clean-up are needed! We will serve our first meal at 2:30 p.m. For more information, email Sarah Beringer at sarah.m.beringer@gmail.com; Book Club, 2:45 p.m. at Scooter’s on 84th & Van Dorn and will discuss Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller. TuEsdAy: Ladies Lunch, Noon at Carmela’s Bistro & Wine Bar, 4141 Pioneer Woods Dr. #110. Please contact Deborah Swearingen with any questions. WEdNEsdAy: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. AdulT EduCATiON WEdNEsdAy: Intro to Prayer Hebrew, Session #11, 6 p.m. ThursdAy: Beginning Conversational Hebrew, Session #10, 6:30 p.m. Join us after Shabbat Evening Service on Jan. 20 for a Baked Potato Bar supper: Baked potatoes with a variety of toppings. Volunteers are needed to help with setup and cleanup, and to provide and prepare toppings. Contact Dottie Shapiro at greydot65@aol.com if you’d like to get involved! An Invite from Tifereth Israel: ADL representative, Mary Beth Muskin will speak at Tifereth Israel on sunday, Jan. 22, at 1:30 p.m. about the findings of the NOW IS NEVER national conference as it relates to the upswing in antisemitic acts in this country. We invite South Street Temple to join us as well. We will have a babysitter available during this presentation.”

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FridAy: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

rOsE BluMkiN JEWish hOME

sATurdAy: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Steve Riekes. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMplE isrAEl

FridAy: Shabbat Comes to You at Remington Heights, 4 p.m.; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, James Farber and Angie Krieger will be speaking during services. Their topic will be Life in Omaha before and during the civil rights movement. sATurdAy: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Torah Reader: Scott Goodman and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer. suNdAy: No Religious School; More Than a Joke: A Jew, A Christian, and a Muslim Walk Into a Pub, 5 p.m. TuEsdAy: Youth Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.; Executive Meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. WEdNEsdAy: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6:30 p.m.;The Binding of Isaac: 2,000 Years of Struggle with the Torah, 6:30 p.m. with Rabbi Crystal.

ThursdAy: Amsterdam, Prague and Malta: A Jewish Journey, 10 a.m. with Cantor Shermet; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 7 p.m. at St. Paul. Family Bingo Night, Havdalah & Dinner!, saturday, Jan. 21, 5-8 p.m. Please see full story on page A5. Grief Support Group with Marla Cohen, MS, NCC, LMHP, sunday, Jan. 22, 10 a.m. For those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Congregational Meeting, sunday, Jan. 22, 11:30 a.m. In December the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of hiring Rabbi Brian Stoller. Temple Israel by-laws require that the congregation ratify the Board’s decision. We have invited Rabbi Stoller and his family to join us so that you can meet him in person and hear his vision for our congregation. Let’s Meet our Tri-Faith Neighbors, Wednesdays, Jan. 25 & Feb. 1, 6:30-8 p.m. On Jan. 25, Rev. Eric Elnes, Ph.D., Senior Minister of Countryside, will help us gain an understanding of the beliefs and principles in their movement, the United Church of Christ. On Feb. 1, a representative from the American Muslim Institute will aide us in learning more about the principles and practices of Islam. Scholar-in-Residence Bob Wolfson, Friday, Jan. 27-sunday, Jan. 29. Please see full story on page A1.

TiFErETh isrAEl

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FridAy: Services, 6:30 p.m. sATurdAy: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. followed by a Lunch & Learn session with Bob Hutkins, UNL professor of food science on 4000 years of Famines: How Food Crises Shaped Civilizations from Genesis to Today. Bob will also be sponsoring and preparing lunch for us that day. suNdAy: No LJCS Classes; Jewish Book Club, 2:45 p.m. at Scooter’s on 84th & Van Dorn and will discuss Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller. Please contact Zoya Zeman with any questions; You are invited to join us in a celebration of Charlie's 70th birthday from 2-5:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. No presents please. Regrets only by calling 402.423.5695 or emailing corenancy@gmail.com. MONdAy: Synagogue Office Closed for MLK Day TuEsdAy: Ladies Lunch Group, Noon at Carmela’s Bistro & Wine Bar, 4141 Pioneer Woods Dr. #110. Please contact Deborah Swearingen with any questions. WEdNEsdAy: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. ADL representative, Mary Beth Muskin will speak at Tifereth Israel on sunday, Jan. 22, at 1:30 p.m. about the findings of the NOW IS NEVER national conference as it relates to the upswing in antisemitic acts in this country. We will have a babysitter available during this presentation.” BBQ & Basketball Event for Tifereth Israel & Beth El Families, sunday, Jan. 29. Lunch will be served from 12:15 -2:30 p.m. at Tifereth before the UNL/Purdue men's basketball game beginning at 3:30 p.m. Cost of lunch is $8 per adult and $5 per child ages 2-12 (max. lunch charge of $40 per family). Game tickets are $11 each (25 available). Reserve game tickets by contacting: Ariella Rohr arohr@bethel-omaha.org and sending payments to: Beth El, 14506 California St., Omaha, NE 68154 by Jan. 22. Lunch reservation and payment to: Tifereth Israel office@tiferethisraellincoln.org by Jan. 22.

Beth El Adult Ed: New semester will focus on Jewish Wisdom

OzziE NOgg Beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 31 and running through Wednesday, March 29, Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue will offer the second semester of adult education classes - Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers based on topics covered in the book of the same name by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. Participants are invited to attend either a luncheon class at Whole Foods on Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m., or a dinner session at Beth El on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m., following minyan at the synagogue. The subject on both meeting days will be the same. In Jewish Wisdom, Rabbi Telushkin weaves together a tapestry of stories from the Bible and Talmud, and the insights of Jewish commentators and writers from Maimonides, Rashi, and Hillel to Einstein, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Elie Wiesel. “A richer source of crucial life lessons would be hard to imagine,” Rabbi Abraham said. “Along with his compelling commentary, Rabbi Telushkin addresses issues of fundamental interest to modern readers: is it ever okay to lie; when to give and when not to give Tzedakah; are we

commanded to love our enemies; how to teach children to respect both themselves and others. We will use Rabbi Telushkin’s book, Jewish Wisdom, as a jumping off point to look at issues facing our family and friends in 2017.” The Tuesday classes - noon to 1 p.m. - are scheduled for Jan. 31; Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; and March 7, 14, 21, 28 at Whole Foods, 10020 Regency Circle. The store provides a private room for the study sessions. There is no charge to attend the class, and participants purchase lunch on their own. The Wednesday evening classes are set for Feb. 1, 8, 15, 22; and March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. “The Wednesday evening sessions run from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m., and cost $54 which includes the price of dinner,” said Eadie Tsabari, Beth El Director of Congregational Learning. “All Beth El adult education classes are open to the community, and we invite you to attend.” Jewish Wisdom sessions require online registration, available on the synagogue website, as is a link to Amazon for book purchases. Please go to: www.bethel-omaha. org. Students are responsible for purchasing their own copy of the book.

The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | A11

lifecycles BAT MiTzvAH

jordYN ASHLEY kirSHENBAuM

Jordyn Ashley Kirshenbaum, daughter of Nikki and Adam Kirshenbaum, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Temple Israel. Jordyn is a seventh-grade Honor Roll student at Elkhorn Ridge Middle School. Her interests include playing tennis and volleyball, and hanging out with her family and friends. For her mitzvah project, Jordyn had a bucket list of projects which included volunteering at Completely Kids, Kicks 4 A Cure and a back-to-school backpack drive for Womenade of Elkhorn. She has a brother, Joseph. Grandparents are Kate and Tom Kirshenbaum, and Victoria and Roger Sorenson. Great-grandfather is Joe Kirshenbaum.

An update from the Jewish Community Center Connect with the JCC and find out the latest news about programming for you and your family. Find us on Facebook under JCC Omaha, JCC Omaha Youth Services & Camp or JCC Omaha Fitness. You can also stay in touch with us through Twitter: @JCComaha or look us up on Instagram: JCComaha. When coming to the JCC, please remember to bring your Membership I.D. card. It is the fastest means of entry into the building. If you have questions on our procedures, contact us at 402.334.6426. Jan. 15, Sunday Aernoon Swim Lessons start, we have our next StoryWalk, Little Lions Winter League Begins and Sunday Family Story Time is at 3:30 p.m. We oﬀer a School Break Special on Jan. 16, and Youth Basketball begins Jan. 17. On Jan. 19, IHE presents the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Legacy Project at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum, and on Jan. 19 we oﬀer Challah Tots at 10 a.m. and a Maccabi Information Night at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22, the Katrina Swanson Artist Reception will take place from 1-3 p.m. For all these programs and more, please visit our website: http://www.jewishomaha.org/jcc/.

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Continued from page A9 crimes occur. Shaffie said Muslims and Jews should set an example by broadening the current paradigm of “utilitarian” collaborations -- joining in legal challenges, for instance -to establish deeper friendships. She described how the women in her group, the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, visit each other’s homes “when babies are born, when someone passes.” “Loving someone else for the sake of God,” she said, is a means of “standing together as protectors, not defined by common victimhood, but a common heritage of dignity and love.”

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usnews

This 15-year-old Orthodox girl is a pingpong champion BEn SAlES NEW YORK | JTA She’s beaten a table tennis Hall of Famer. She’s beaten Jewish philanthropists in suits and high heels. She’s beaten tennis champion Rafael Nadal. And she’s only 15. Like many Orthodox Jewish teens, Estee Ackerman was raised around a basement pingpong table, a traditional gathering spot for Sabbath-observant kids on long Saturday afternoons. But unlike her peers, she took her avid interest in the game to professional clubs, coaches and, eventually, tournament championships. Earlier this month, the Long Islander won five medals -- including two golds -- at the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships in Las Vegas. “In table tennis, anyone can beat anyone,” Ackerman told JTA. “In basketball, when you’re taller, you have a much, much bigger advantage. In pingpong, it’s so different. It doesn’t matter about your age. It’s hysterical when me and the other teens are beating 30- and 40-[year-old] big, strong men.” Ackerman, on her winter break from the Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Queens, was dressed in a long skirt and a loose fitting T-shirt with the letters USA emblazoned on the front. The skirt, standard dress for modern Orthodox girls like her, didn’t stop Ackerman from schooling her dad (and, um, this reporter) with a series of serves that spun so hard, they skid across the basement floor after bouncing off the table. But her favorite move? The smash, mid-volley. “At the tournaments people are not surprised because they all expect a hard competition,” she said. “They don’t care what your age is.” Still, she added: “I wouldn’t say I get bored of peo-

ple saying, ‘Oh, I can’t believe a 15-year-old player can be great.’”

Estee Ackerman holding certificates representing the five medals she won in this month’s U.S. Open in table tennis. Credit: Estee Ackerman

Ackerman’s interest in pingpong stems from her father, Glenn, who set up the table in the basement of the family’s West Hempstead home seven years ago. The idea was to give Ackerman and her brother, Akiva, some consistent physical activity. But after his watching eight-year-old daughter improve after playing just a couple times a week for an hour or so, Glenn Ackerman took her to a nearby table tennis club for lessons from a professional. “She had a talent, a knack for the sport,” Glenn Ackerman said. “More so, I saw she had the desire to work hard. I always choose hard work over talent. She’s willing to practice endless hours.” In Vegas, Ackerman took home two gold medals in what’s called “hardbat play” – games where the paddles don’t have any padding. She is ranked in the top 30 among U.S. female players under 18. “I was overwhelmed when I won the event,” she said of one of her gold medals. “This lady I played --

it’s like my dad playing John McEnroe.” Earlier this year, Ackerman was one of the final 16 qualifiers for the three-person U.S. women’s Olympic table tennis team that competed in Rio de Janeiro. She didn’t make the squad, but hopes to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Ackerman’s table tennis training contends with a school day that ends past 5 p.m., as well as obligations to her school’s girls’ junior varsity basketball team -- incidentally, she is the leading scorer. While she trains every evening, she also has an abridged practice schedule. On Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Ackerman will play the game with friends, but only for fun in her synagogue clothes, not the T-shirt and shorts she wears while competing. Nor does she run any practice drills or work with coaches. This way, she’s not doing anything that could be construed as work. “If my friends come over, I’ll go down and have some fun with them,” she said. “They get a good laugh out of it. I wonder how much better of a player I would be if I played on the holidays and Shabbat.” Ackerman and her dad hope to bring the sport out of informal Shabbat play into Jewish day schools. Its versatility – unfettered by weather or the players’ physical size – could lend itself to league play, something several Jewish schools have organized for other sports. But unlike in China, where table tennis is among the most popular sports, Glenn Ackerman believes it is shunned as a serious pursuit in the U.S. “The stigma is, it’s a basement sport, it’s a garage sport, it’s a rainy day sport, it’s a sport for nerds,” he said. “We are trying to bring the sport out of the basement and into the mainstream.” Ackerman’s ban on playing on the Sabbath extends to tournaments -- in 2012, she had reached the round

of 16 at an event, only to forfeit a match when it began too late on a Friday evening. She and her father now try to mitigate potential conflicts by asking tournament organizers to refrain from scheduling at least one key event on Friday night or Saturday. “I said to myself, this situation was going to happen to me one day,” Ackerman recalled. “I had to choose my religion or the love of the sport. On Shabbat, to be in my uniform, to go down to be competing in a national tournament, this is not in the spirit of Shabbos. This is not what Hashem would want me to do.” Following her decision to sit out the match, Ackerman was honored by several Jewish groups, including the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, and Meor, an Orthodox Jewish campus group. She has played table tennis at the benefit dinners of a few Jewish organizations, facing off against guests clad in black tie. In May, she defeated Patty Wasserman, a Hall of Famer who won three U.S. Open women’s singles titles -- including at 13, the youngest player ever to accomplish the feat. (She was Patty Martinez until marrying fellow Hall of Famer Si Wasserman in May.) Wasserman, 64, also played on three U.S. Olympic teams. But one of Ackerman’s most exciting matches was against Nadal when she was 11. They were brought together during a promotional event ahead of the 2013 U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Nadal won that tournament, besting Novak Djokovic. But he couldn’t beat Ackerman. “He was a little surprised at me,” she said. “He didn’t expect a little American girl to be good at pingpong. Him being the best tennis player in the world, I thought he knew how to play.” Ackerman paused before adding: “But I won most of the points.”

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The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | B1

section2 HEALTH+WELLNESS

How the Israeli army wages war on waistlines

ANDreW TOBIN of the bulge. Unlike most health club “boot camps” -- in NETANYA, ISRAEL | JTA which drill sergeant-like instructors push participants tone fit young soldier scales a rope. Two others ward extreme diet and exercise -- the Israeli army takes a practice hand-to-hand combat. A large group very different approach to weight loss than it does to marches across the sand. preparing its soldiers for war. But those were just the inspirational photoe head of Changes in Shape, Maj. Shani Fonk, 33, said the graphs on the walls. e actual soldiers crowded in the one-room building here on the Orde Wingate army base were mostly paunchy middle-aged officers. On a Tuesday morning before sunrise, several dozen of them stood around in socks and workout gear as they prepared to weigh in for a session of Changes in Shape, the Israeli army’s weight-loss program for officers. At least once a week during the six-month program, IDF officers -- most of them high ranking -- come from all over the country to this coastal Israel city to check their weight, exercise and learn about a healthy lifestyle. e program offers support for the rest of the week and throughout the year as well. Officer Yaara Bareket overseeing stretches at the Wingate army base Although celebrated for its Mediterranean diet and in Netanya, Israel, Dec. 13, 2016. Credit: Andrew Tobin long-lived citizens, Israel is getting fatter. About half of Israeli adults are overweight or obese, the Healthy Ministry secret to the program’s success is built into the army’s culture. found in 2014. at compares to 71 percent of Americans “Everyone feels at home here,” she said. “ey feel like we over the age of 20 who are obese or overweight, according really want them to succeed, from the inside, with no connecto the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015, tion to money or pride, because we care. We really, really care.” but a rise from 32.2 percent from a decade earlier. Yair Karni, 65, a fitness coach in the program who was is year, Israel’s Health Ministry launched a campaign one of Israel’s greatest marathoners in his day, expressed a against unhealthy food. Health Minister Yaakov Litzman less sentimental view of his work. “I take fat people and called for a ban on McDonald’s and the ministry sponsored make them thin,” he explained. a television advertisement against so drinks featuring a On Tuesday, aer registering their weight and body fat Coca Cola-like bottle. Last week, Litzman urged Israelis to percentages, the officers headed to the gym to walk and jog “avoid eating sufganiyot,” the fried donuts traditionally for an hour. Karni led the workout with help from friendly eaten here during the Hanukkah season. young female soldiers in black sweatshirts. Some of the offiChanges in Shape is the contribution of the Israeli army, cers chatted as they navigated the cones that had been set one of the most powerful institutions in Israel, to the battle up. One took a call on his cell phone.

At the front of the pack was Dror Gonen, 43, a chief petty officer in the Israeli navy, where he has served for 25 years. He struggled with his weight his whole life, and several years ago his weight started ballooning, reaching over 300 pounds. Along with his wife, he had bariatric surgery in 2013, and lost about 100 pounds. en, last year, his weight began to creep upward again. Gonen joined Changes in Shape in November. He is to be discharged from the army in April, along with more than a dozen other officers, to make room for a younger generation. Gonen plans to work with at-risk youth and hopes to make a good impression at job interviews. Like Fonk, Gonen said the key to the program’s effectiveness is the sense of community in the army. In the first seven weeks of the program he lost more than 15 pounds. But he worried he would struggle to stay on track aerward. “It’s easier [in the program], because all of us are almost the same,” he said. “Our way of life is the same. We are eating almost the same food. Our daily routine is almost the same.” “It will be harder on my own, but I’m looking into local running groups,” he said. Gonen’s concern is backed up by research. A study of season eight contestants on The Biggest Loser, a hit NBC reality show, found that six years later, most of them regained much if not all the weight they lost. Four of the 14 contestants in the study were heavier than before they went on the show. e researchers pointed to a slowdown in the contestants’ metabolism as well as constant cravings and binges, perhaps due to a reduction in hunger-regulating hormones. Israel has its own version of The Biggest Loser called Going Down Big Time. But Fonk -- who is in charge of the entire Healthy Lifestyle Department at Wingate -- said that unlike ratings-driven reality shows, Changes of Shape’s communal approach helps See War on waistlines page B5

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B2 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

health

Warm up your child’s winter with WeBop at the Holland Center

Children can catch the rhythms of jazz each week when Omaha Performing Arts’ early childhood jazz education program WeBop begins Jan. 24. For eight weeks at the Holland Center, a rhythm section taps out basic tunes while kids, their parents and other musicians dance, move, and sing together. Omaha Performing Arts premiered the program in Nebraska in 2016 through a partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center and Columbia University, who developed the curriculum. Classes are expanding in 2017. The ABC’s of Jazz term runs Jan. 24 to March 25 at the Holland Performing Arts Center. Children ages 2-5 will learn swing, blues, improvisation, call and response and more with local teaching artists and musicians. Classes are separated by age group, meeting Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays. Syncopators (ages 4-5) meet Tuesdays from 6 to 6:45 p.m., Stompers (ages 2-3) meet each Thursday from 10 to 10:45 a.m., and Gumbo Group (ages 3-5) meet Saturdays from 11 to 11:45 a.m. in the Cassling Education Center inside the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas Street. The $200 registration fee also includes up to two parents or guardians -- registration for the second child of the same parent family receives a discount. “The WeBop program is a wonderful interactive introduction to jazz. It was a hit with everyone last fall,” said Dominic Green, Omaha Performing Arts Community Engagement Manager, “We are excited to allow even more young people and their families an opportunity to have fun with the genre of jazz.” WeBop is not a child drop-off program. Families who want to participate outside of the age-designated time can contact dgreen@om ahaperformingarts.org or call 402.661.8425. Registration is available online at www.OmahaPerforming Arts.org. PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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How my daughter and I survived my abusive husband CHeryl KrAvITz Kveller via JTA t was like this... I was raised in an Orthodox home. My family lived in a 95 percent Christian neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. I was a pretty rebellious middle schooler, and by the time I reached high school, I was fighting back in the only way I knew how -- having sex with a Catholic boy. I became pregnant at 16. e only choice my parents felt they had was to throw me out of the house. Some time passed. My daughter was born, and she was a beautiful gi. I went to school, trudged to work, and eventually my parents and I reconciled. But deep down I still felt like I deserved punishment. ese were the heady early days of journalism for female writers. I walked into one of the community newspapers and immediately got a job as a reporter. When my daughter turned four, she and I moved to Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, and at 22, I was named the editor of the Hyde Park Herald newspaper. I enrolled my daughter at the Jewish community center and went to a job I loved. A staﬀ member asked if I would consider interviewing the new executive director of the Hyde Park JCC. I read his bio: Yale educated, good-looking, great job. Jewish. He asked me out to dinner. Perhaps this was a way to make peace with my self-diagnosed bad girl. We became engaged aer a few months. The day before the wedding, Larry was upset that I was on the phone for a long time with my best friend. I chalked it up to nerves when he found an antique cup she had given me and smashed it against a wall. We had a big Jewish wedding in late October. We’d barely known each other a year. I was recruited by a local hospital for a position as its communications director. With Larry’s encouragement, I le my beloved newspaper job and changed careers. I made a larger salary and listened when he told me that since I’d never had to manage this much money before, I should turn my paycheck over to him. I had no funds except for a meager allowance from him. I stopped seeing friends, came home right from the oﬃce and did what I could to please my husband. I questioned my sanity but was too insecure to do anything about it. He began complaining about his job. He alienated people, and community leaders with whom I had been close were calling for his removal. One of his mentors suggested the time was right to leave. ere was a job opening in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to head the JCC there. Within a few weeks, the job was his. We le Chicago and the life I’d always known. No friends, no job, separated from my family, with no money of my own, I went to Oklahoma. My isolation was now

complete. Meanwhile, he was named executive director of the Tulsa JCC and assistant director of the Jewish federation. He was a big deal. e next eight years have turned into one long nightmarish memory. We got to Tulsa and I was restless. I wanted a job outside the home. My urge to go back to work was met with approval, and within two months I’d found a perfect position with the Red Cross. I started to write for local magazines and the newspaper. I was feeling better.

ings were OK for a while, and then Larry began collecting my paycheck again. His temper was hot and he began drinking. Nothing I did was right. He berated me constantly about my looks, my intelligence, my ability to be a “good Jewish wife.” Meanwhile, on the outside, he was a leader in the Jewish community. Who would believe a word I said? Jewish men weren’t abusers and middle-class women weren’t abused. It’s hard to remember when it got worse. It might have been when I resisted handing over my paycheck for the first time, or when the phone kept ringing because I’d won an award for my newspaper column. e pouting and drinking grew with any outside recognition I received. So I started withholding information, sharing only those items that I knew would gain Larry’s approval. A raise would do that. Or another freelance job. I signed my checks over to him. I didn’t know how to use a checkbook. I can’t remember the first time Larry hit me. At first, the aggression was confined to pushing and verbal abuse. If I saved my allowance and bought a new dress, he would complain about how badly it fit or how ghastly the color was. Nothing I did was right. Logic says anyone with any self-respect would have le, but my self-respect was in shreds. I felt there was nowhere to turn. It went on this way for years. I covered my wounds with long sleeves and long pants. Larry again lost his job. He had been drinking constantly by this time, and while I was See My abusive Jewish husband page B4

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The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | B3

GOT WATER? GOT COFFEE?

Dutch insurer defends circumcision coverage

month, wrote that Zilveren Kruis is moving into the niche that until recently had been occupied only by specialized insurance companies catering specifically to Muslims. Zilveren Kruis began including non-medical circumcision of boys in some of its plans in 2014. In northern Europe, non-medical circumcision of boys is under attack from critics who see it as a foreign influence by Muslims and by progressives who say they do not object to such influences per se but view this particular custom as violating children’s rights. A similar debate has evolved around the ritual slaughter of animals. Both customs are partly shared by Jews and Muslims, though, among other diﬀerences, Judaism has stricter regulations on both. About half of Dutch Jews do not perform circumcision on their boys, according to a 2009 survey by the community. Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs said that Zilveren Kruis’ inclusion of circumcision is “clearly meant to benefit Muslims, not Jews,” as mohelim, or trained Jewish circumcisers, perform it for free. Zilveren Kruis’ decision, Jacobs said, to See My Circumsicsion coverage page B4

Discussing urological problems Let’s be honest, urological health isn’t something people like to think about. Urine leakage, urgency, sexual dysfunctions, infertility, prostate issues and vaginal prolapses aren’t easy topics to discuss. It can be awkward and embarrassing to the point that you would rather suffer silently than discuss the problem. Unfortunately, if ignored, these issues can worsen over time and impact your life in unexpected ways. Frequent urination can disrupt your sleep (or your partner’s), prohibit travel and cause you to miss out on fun activities like school programs, sporting events and going to the theater. Leakage stops many women from simple activities like going running, laughing, and even sneezing. Pelvic pain stops many women from enjoying sex and erectile dysfunction can cause a great deal of emotional distress regardless of your age. These issues are often a normal part of aging but luckily there are treatments available that address the conditions and restore your quality of life. Sometimes it can be as simple as lifestyle changes such as: adjusting your fluid intake, avoiding bladder irri-

tants, or losing weight. Other times there are medications or minimally invasive procedures that restore functioning with little to no side effects. Adult Pediatric Urology & Urogynecology, PC is an independently owned practice that has served the Omaha and Council Bluffs communities since 1982. With seven board-certified urologists and two board-certified urogynecologists, our physicians and staff understand the sensitive nature of these conditions and strive to provide the highest quality of care possible. We pride ourselves on having the latest treatment options available to our patients; with our outpatient surgery center and radiology, we provide convenient care often at a lower cost than the hospital systems. Whether you want a safe, reliable circumcision for your infant, suffer from kidney stones or any of the issues mentioned above or need treatment for cancers of the urinary tract, we are your one stop shop to resolve your urinary tract, issues so you can get back to the people and things that matter most. You’re in good hands with us!

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AMSTERDAM | JTA A major insurer in the Netherlands defended its coverage of circumcision in boys younger than 18 for religious reasons amid criticism of the practice and the impact of Islam in society. Zilveren Kruis, the kingdom’s largest insurer, included religious circumcision in its 2017 brochure published earlier this month. “We are seeing that some of the insured parties want to be circumcised or have their boys circumcised,” the agency, whose name means “Silver Cross,” wrote in a statement published Tuesday on its website in response to “various questions over why some complementary plans include reimbursement for non-medical circumcision.” René van Rijckevorsel, the acting editorin-chief of the conservative Elsevier weekly, wrote on Twitter that Zilveren Kruis was encouraging female genital mutilation. Aer Zilveren Kruis clarified that its insurance covers only males, va Rijckevorsel said he also considered this “mutilation.” But in its statement, Zilveren Kruis suggested its coverage encourages parents to have the procedure performed hygienically in licensed clinics. e right-leaning news blog GeenStijl, which says it is accessed 2 million times per

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My abusive husband

Continued from page B2 in Atlanta receiving an award for my work at the Red Cross, he was arrested for drunk driving. I remember it was close to the High Holidays that year and he locked me in the house, hitting me and forbidding me to attend synagogue. is is where you come in. My life was saved because a friend noticed. I thought I had developed a pattern of camouflage to disguise my pain from the outside world. e night I finally le, I called that friend and asked if my child could spend the night. Mercifully, my husband had never abused my daughter. My friend started questioning me: Why wasn’t I letting anyone into the house? How come I was always wearing long sleeves? Why was I always so secretive about Larry? And then she asked the important question. You’re being hurt, aren’t you? Can I help you?” I told her I was in a bad situation that was getting worse. I promised that if she let my daughter spend the night at her house, I would sleep in my daughter’s room with a phone nearby. When I arrived home from work, Larry was drunk. I turned on the oven to heat a frozen dinner. He grabbed me by the hair and threw me to the kitchen floor, kicking me as I tried to crawl away. I prayed for my life. I prayed that there would be a sign that someone cared about me. I promised that if my life was spared, I would do what I could to help other women in the same situation. Larry wouldn’t let up, finally grabbing my arms and sticking them in the oven, burning them on the rack. I fell screaming. He kicked me again, stormed into the bedroom and soon passed out from the alcohol. I found my way to the bathroom and put salve on my arms. So drained I could barely move, I crawled into the guest room and fell asleep on the floor. A few hours later I heard pounding on the front door. It was a police oﬃcer and my friend. She had tried to call but I hadn’t heard the phone. She cared. Suddenly I cared, too. Here was my sign. I walked outside and into her waiting arms. She said we could stay with them for awhile. ey lent us money until I received my next paycheck, the first one I could use to finally establish my own checking account. I was issued a lifetime protective order. Larry was required to stay away from my daughter and me. Larry has died. In some ways it was his final strike at me. I’d spent years living in fear of him and he wasn’t even alive. Since I heard that news, I made good on my promise that if my life was spared, I would do what I could to help other women in the same situation.

I urge you to look for the signs and be a friend. rough the years since I made good on my promise, I have helped hundreds of women leave their abuser. I just received an award from the Montgomery County Family Justice Center for my work as an advocate. It’s high praise, but I like to think that the highest praise you can give someone is this: A number of years ago, I was back in Oklahoma and visited my friend. We talked, laughed and caught up on our lives. As I was leaving, I turned and met her eyes. “anks,” I said. “anks for saving our lives.” My wish is that someone can say that to you. e following are common warning signs of domestic abuse: Extreme jealousy or insecurity; constant belittling or put-downs; explosive temper; isolation from family and friends; making false accusations; erratic mood swings; physically inflicting pain or hurt in any way; possessiveness; telling someone what to do; repeatedly pressuring someone to have sex. Check out the National Domestic Violence Hotline for information and resources. is article is part of the Here. Now. series, which seeks to destigmatize mental health, and is made possible by UJA-Federation of New York and e Jewish Board. You can find other educational mental health resources at www.kveller.com/article/mental-health-what-you-needto-know/. Cheryl Kravitz is a communications professional who consults with a number of nonprofit organizations. She is an advocate for survivors of domestic abuse. Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens.Visit Kveller.com.

Circumcision coverage

Continued from page B3 oﬀer reimbursement does not aﬀect Jews but is a “positive thing” for society because it helps avoid health risks in Muslim circumcisions, which are sometimes performed by unqualified relatives. Separately, in October a Swedish court rejected a Muslim mother’s request for reimbursement from her municipality of the circumcision of her son, the Vetlanda Posten local newspaper reported.

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War on waistlines Continued from page B1 participants shed pounds gradually by making long-term lifestyle changes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Studies around the world show that 50 percent of the people who do these programs relapse,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;î ˘e diďŹ&#x20AC;erence is other programs donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make a holistic change. We intervene in all aspects of the oďŹ&#x192;cersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives: nutrition, physical fitness, psychology, family support.â&#x20AC;? She said research on the success rate of the program was not yet ready to be made public. Karni, however, oďŹ&#x20AC;ered that 60 percent of participants succeed in the sense that five years later they have kept the weight oďŹ&#x20AC; and remain fit. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fit means they can complete a 10-kilometer run,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fool a 10K run, you know?â&#x20AC;? Every Tuesday, aî&#x201A;?er the workout -which is followed by a light breakfast of eggs, salads and coďŹ&#x20AC;ee -- Karni teaches the healthy living class. Last week, he started by warning of a new temptation that is coming to Israel: A Burger King hamburger with sufganiyot for buns. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the worst combination: white flour and white sugar and fried,â&#x20AC;? he said, standing at the front of a classroom. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And then of course thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the hamburger they put inside.â&#x20AC;? He went on to explain the pitfalls of popular approaches to weight loss, including juice cleanses, diet pills and the Atkins diet. î ˘e oďŹ&#x192;cers, accustomed to being in charge, were not shy about interrupting, causing frequent outbursts of calorie-burning laughter. In a more serious moment, Gonen asked, â&#x20AC;&#x153;When the road weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on ends, and we need to start a new one, how do we continue? Do you have tools to help us know

The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | B5

health Israel to cut funding to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;anti-Israel bodiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Yair Karni leading a workout at the Wingate army base in Netanya, Israel, Dec. 13, 2016. Credit: Andrew Tobin

Participants in Changes of Shape weighing in on the Wingate army base in Netanya, Israel, Dec. 13, 2016. Credit: Andrew Tobin what to do aî&#x201A;?er we finish the program?â&#x20AC;? Fonk chimed in: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know you caught the bug of wanting to continue, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing. Take it to your units. I know people who have taken it to their units, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easier if you get other people involved. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be surrounded by support.â&#x20AC;?

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JTA NEWS STAFF Israel will cut approximately $6 million of its annual contribution to United Nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bodies it deems â&#x20AC;&#x153;anti-Israelâ&#x20AC;? following the passage by the U.N. Security Council of an anti-settlement resolution. î ˘e cuts represent â&#x20AC;&#x153;an act of protestâ&#x20AC;? in response to the resolution adopted last month and target â&#x20AC;&#x153;the portion of the U.N. budget allocated to anti-Israel bodies,â&#x20AC;? said a statement Friday by Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s U.N. mission. î ˘ose bodies include the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian Rights, the Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices AďŹ&#x20AC;ecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, and the Special Information Program on the Question of Palestine of the U.N. Department of Public Information. Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual contribution to the United Nations amounts to over $40 million, a spokesman for the mission told JTA in an email. î ˘e U.N.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget for 2016-17 totals $5.4 billion, with the U.S. being the largest contributor followed by Japan and China. î ˘e resolution adopted last month â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 14 countries voted in favor, with only the U.S. abstaining â&#x20AC;&#x201D; called Israeli settlements â&#x20AC;&#x153;a

flagrant violation of international lawâ&#x20AC;? that damage the prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the resolution and said he was planning to cut Israeli aid to U.N. bodies, according to the Israeli daily Maariv. Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to cut funds is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the first in a series of steps under consideration by the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Mission in reaction to the recent Security Council resolution,â&#x20AC;? the statement said. î ˘e mission is planning to move ahead with additional initiatives aî&#x201A;?er Donald Trump assumes the U.S. presidency on Jan. 20. Trump had called for a U.S. veto of the resolution, and slammed President Barack Obama aî&#x201A;?er the vote for treating Israel with â&#x20AC;&#x153;total disdain and disrespect.â&#x20AC;? American presidents have long protected Israel from extreme censure at the U.N. As recently as 2011, President Barack Obama vetoed a similar resolution on settlements that, like this one, was adamantly opposed by Israel. On î ˘ursday Jan. 5, Sen. Ted Cruz, RTexas, urged the U.S. to cut taxpayer funding to the U.N. unless the international body repeals the anti-settlement resolution, according to a statement.

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B6 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

news ADL lauds House repudiation of U.N. resolution on Israel

NEW YORK, NY he Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the passage of a House of Representatives resolution repudiating the recently passed United Nations Security Council resolution on Israel and urged the U.S. to oppose and veto future biased resolutions on Israel at the U.N. Security Council. î ˘e resolution also aďŹ&#x192;rms that â&#x20AC;&#x153;a durable and sustainable peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians will come only through direct bilateral negotiationsâ&#x20AC;? and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the United States should work to facilitate serious, direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions toward a sustainable peace agreement.â&#x20AC;? Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair, and Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement: We commend the House of Representatives for repudiating the biased U.N. Security Council Resolution and for aďŹ&#x192;rming its commitment to ensure that all final status Israeli-Palestinian issues, including settlements, are resolved through direct negotiations between the parties. î ˘is vote and the statements, even by

some Members who did not support the Resolution, sends an important signal about the deep bench of support in Congress for Israel and for a negotiated two-state solu-

tion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As we enter a period of one party government, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vital for Americans and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to move forward in unison, building on decades of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bipartisan support for its vital ally and sister democracy, Israel. A similar measure was introduced yesterday in the Senate rejecting the Security Council resolution and at the same time, strongly supporting a two-state solution for both Israelis and Palestinians. î ˘e Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_News.

Italian Jews, IsraAID bring help to homeless earthquake victims in Italy JTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;NEWSâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;STAFF Italian Jews joined the IsraAID nonprofit organization in bringing help to people in central Italy who remain homeless after earthquakes last summer and fall. A delegation from the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, or UCEI, and IsraAID visited the earthquake zone in recent days and delivered thermal blankets, jackets, shoes, portable heaters and other material, the UCEI reported. A series of powerful quakes in late August and Oc-

tober near the towns of Amatrice and Norcia killed nearly 300 people and left thousands homeless. In cooperation with Italian civil protection, the Italian military and other organizations, IsraAID has been carrying out relief work in the affected zone since September with the logistical support of the UCEI, which also has been collecting funds and material since the quake hit. IsraAID has also brought a team of psychologists trained in dealing with the effects of post traumatic stress disorder.

Omaha Transportation and Technical Museum

The Omaha Transportation and Technical Museum available for sewing clubs and other groups that is designed to get people involved in history. We want the feel of antique machines. Once upon a time, museums had recording studios want to provide a hands-on experience to our visitors. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re given the romantic picture through the that allowed visitors to send a message home as a movies. We see people in beautiful white clothes souvenir. Organizations like the USA were able to neatly pressed. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wonderful advance from record messages for service members abroad. We the rock at the stream to the modern automatic plan on having two period-recording studios. The washing machine. Our goal is to show and allow first will be a 1905 acoustic studio. The second will people to experience these wonderful steps. Iron- be a 1925 electrically recorded studio. These stuingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another process that went through several dios will be available for people to perform as the steps from the cast iron sad iron to electric. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re musical giants of the period. Our current goal is a $10,000 ad campaign. Our going to have all of the steps, including the natural overall goal is to be self-sufficient. Donations can gas iron. Clothing in itself is something we take for be made through Great Western Bank. Checks can granted. We can go to a store and get a large variety also be sent to Omaha Transportation and Technical of outfits â&#x20AC;&#x153;off the rack.â&#x20AC;? Before the perfection of Museum, PO Box 27272, 7300 Main Street, Ralthe sewing machine, most clothing was made by tai- ston NE 68127. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a 501(c)3 and all donations lors. We plan to have the tailor shops equipped with are tax deductible. Visit our website, www.otatm. period sewing machines. These machines would be webs.com. PAIDâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;ADVERTISEMENT

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The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017 | B7

Five Israeli startups that want to change your everyday life

Ben SAleS would be especially useful in Israel, a country with a JTA unique native language that few others speak. LexiAs any pro-Israel activist will tell you, innovators fone works in 15 languages, from Arabic to Taifrom the Jewish state have invented products and wanese Mandarin. technologies you use all the time, from instant-mes- Sensibo: Making your home more efficient saging technology to Waze, the crowdsourced traffic Sensibo works to make home air conditioners more app. Israel’s tech scene is famously thriving, with about 5,000 startups across the country. Nearly 1,500 of those are in Tel Aviv alone -that’s one startup for every 300 residents of the city, the highest ratio in the world. A new wave of Israeli companies is inventing more technologies to improve day-to-day life, A commercial for Sensibo, a “smart” air conditioner. and 16 of these innovaCredit: Screenshot from YouTube tors are in Las Vegas this week to present at the Consumer Electronics Show, efficient. It’s a small disc you stick on any remoteone of the world’s premier technology trade shows controlled air conditioner or heater: As long as the that draws more than 150,000 attendees. unit is on automatic mode, it will heat your house beFrom slouch-prevention technology to a device that fore you wake up or cool it down before you get home turns any surface into a touchscreen, here are six re- from work. Like many smart home devices, a phone markable Israeli innovations participating in the show. app controls it. Sensibo claims it can reduce air-conUpright: Stop slouching, already! ditioning energy usage by up to 40 percent. It’s a product perfect for concerned Jewish moth- Bird: Turn any surface into a touchscreen ers everywhere: a wearable device that makes you sit Sick of being glued to your phone, tablet or comup straight. puter? Check out Bird. It’s a wearable device -- also According to Upright Technologies, habitually bad somewhat sushi-like in appearance -- that fits on the posture can begin as early as age 12. And with our tip of your finger and turns any surface into a touchculture having us sitting and staring at screens all day, screen -- tables, walls, you name it. Made by the bad backs can be hard to avoid. startup MUV Interactive, it lets wearers move objects Upright aims to solve the problem with a small, and click on icons simply by touching. In the video, white device that looks like a ball with a piece of for example, a child plays a video game that is prosashimi on top. Place the “sashimi” -- it’s really a sen- jected on the walls of a living room. sor -- on the small of your back and connect it to your HearPhones: Making hearing aids fashionable phone; it will provide a gentle buzz whenever you and easy slouch too much. The app also guides users through a As most people age, hearing loss occurs -- yet program to get them in the habit of using good posture. Alango Technologies says only 15 percent of those lexifone: erasing the language barrier with hearing loss use hearing aids. Why? Because In a global economy, not knowing English or another they are often complicated to use and aren’t particucommon language can be a barrier to doing business. larly effective. Lexifone is an app that aims to solve the problem by So Alango developed HearPhones, a hearing aid making the “languages” section of your resume all but technology that can be adapted to a pair of headirrelevant. phones, a Bluetooth set or any other external device Lexifone’s function is simple: It instantly translates that people often wear on their ears. By merging hearwhatever you say into the language of whomever ing aids with everyday devices, Alango makes them you’re speaking to, and vice versa. So if you’re on a easier to manage (from an app on your phone, natch). call to an associate in Rome, you won’t need to know Bonus factors: HearPhones technology also allows anything more than “ciao” (actually you don’t even the device to become a Bluetooth headset or slow need to know that). It’s easy to understand why this down rapid speech to make it easier to understand.

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B8 | The Jewish Press | January 13, 2017

health

Five things we just learned about Donald Trump’s Jewish doctor Ben sales

e already knew that Harold Bornstein, M.D., personal physician to President-elect Donald Trump, was a bit unconventional. To recap: His public letter about Trump’s health, released a year ago, included a typo and was swimming with hyperbole, assuring readers that Trump “will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” We also learned that the doctor is an Italian aficionado, delivering a speech in the language at his son’s bar mitzvah. Now, a three-hour interview that Bornstein, a gastroenterologist, gave to the medical publication Stat has filled out the picture -- and it hasn’t really changed much. Here are some nuggets from the colorful portrait of the Jewish man who keeps Trump healthy. He sounds relaxed about the prospect of Trump dying in office. Bornstein -- who took over the practice of his father, Jacob, who grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home -- hadn’t considered that, at 70, Trump would be the oldest president ever to take oﬃce. But the doctor isn’t too worried about the threat of his passing away. “If something happens to him, then it happens to him,” Bornstein told Stat. “It’s like all the rest of us, no? at’s why we have a vice president and a speaker of the House and a whole line of people. ey can just keep dying.” Bornstein isn’t sure whether he’ll move to Washington, D.C., to continue attending to Trump. But if he does, he’s not planning to regularly share information publicly on the president’s health. “Ronald Reagan had pre-senile dementia,” Bornstein said. “I mean, seriously, did they share that one with you, or did Nancy just cover it up?” He called Hillary Clinton “an old lady.” Trump’s pretty healthy, Bornstein said: “He’s a few pounds

overweight, which everybody can see, and that’s it.” But the doctor wasn’t as kind in his assessment of Trump’s defeated rival, Hillary Clinton. While Bornstein said Trump isn’t “an old man the way my grandfather was an old man,” he called Clinton “an old lady. She’s an old lady. It’s funny, isn’t it?”

Harold Bornstein, left, and his wife, Melissa

Credit: Facebook

(During the campaign, Bornstein claimed to know some of Clinton’s health history, which he deemed “not so good.”) He took Italian lessons from women he found on Craigslist. Bornstein has tweeted and emailed in Italian, and the back of his business card says “dottore molto famoso” (translation: very famous doctor). How did he learn the language? According to Stat, “for ten years, he took private Italian lessons from women he found through Craigslist postings, paying them about $60 an hour for weekly sessions.” like Trump, he isn’t a fan of the press. Since releasing the health report, Bornstein has been media shy (including declining a request, in Italian, from

this reporter). He allegedly demanded cash in exchange for an interview with the Huﬃngton Post. Stat was able to speak with Bornstein aer the publication contacted his sons. But five days aer the interview, Bornstein threatened the publication and demanded that no article be published. “I happen to have known the Sulzbergers for 50 years,” Bornstein told Stat, referring to the owners of e New York Times. “I’m going to make sure you don’t ever work again if you do this.” He saves on administrative costs by putting scotch tape on medical forms. Bornstein is no fan of the Aﬀordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, because it gives too much power to insurance companies, accordDonald Trump ing to Stat. Credit: politicalhype.com But he’s found a clever workaround for the rising costs of practicing medicine: When the billing and diagnosis codes changed for health insurance claims forms, Bornstein decided to place Scotch tape over two parts of the form, which somehow allowed him to get around upgrading his computer system, according to Stat. “He loves being this sort of creative, out-of-the-box sort of guy nobody really understands, you know?” said his son Jeremee, a student at Tus University in Boston.

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