January 16, 2015

Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

Art. Family. The Holocaust.

January 16, 2015 25 Tevet 5775 Vol. 95 | No. 18

This Week

Pomegranate juice a vehicle for Hasidic help and healing Page 5

January JCC Gallery Page 6

Passover Matzos

by LIZ FELDSTERN Executive Director, Institute for Holocaust Education Fabric of Survival weaves these themes together in a way that awakens our senses and brings many different emotions to the surface. More than a stunning display of fiber art

Rami Shapiro: Scholar-in-residence

Little faith in French authorities Page 12

Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam

Next Week The Women’s Guide See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press

(although Fabric of Survival is much sought after by museums the world over), more than a mother’s gift to her children (although the artist spent 22 years hand-stitching these tapestries to share her memories with her daughters), more than a Holocaust survivor’s narrative (although

8 10 11

by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel Through the generosity of the Hermene Zweiback Center for Lifelong Jewish Learning, Temple Israel is pleased to announce our next scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Rami Shapiro. He will be visiting Temple Israel on Friday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 24.

Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro is widely recognized as one of the most creative figures in contemporary American Judaism. A graduate of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, he also holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Union Graduate School. An award-winning poet, liturgist, and essayist, his prayers are included in worship services across

Rabbi Rami Shapiro the denominational spectrum of American congregations.

Rabbi Shapiro was the founding rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Miami, Florida, and senior rabbi of Metivta, a center for contemplative Judaism in Los Angeles, CA. He currently directs the One River Foundation, and is an adjunct professor of religious studies at Middle Tennessee State University. In addition he pursues Continued on page 2

the artist’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland included leaving her family behind and hiding in a series of villages until liberated by the Russian Army) - Fabric of Survival is an experience that stirs the soul.

This collection of 36 hand-embroidered and collage tapestries is the

work of Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal Krinitz. Sponsored by the Institute for Holocaust Education, the exhibit will be on display at the KANEKO (1111 Jones Street) in the Old Market from Jan. 15 through March 14.

Continued on page 2

In memoriam: Irvin Yaffe

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPthe U.S. Army Signal Corps and WRIGHT Medical Corps in WW II CommuEditor, Jewish Press nity Service.

Irvin Yaffe passed away on JanuHe continued on this path of ary 5 in Austin, Texas. Plans for a community service the rest of his memorial servlife. From 1958 ice are pending. until 1982, he Irvin was served on the born in Omaha Westside Community Schools on January 10, Board of Educa1918 and gradution. He was ated from Cenalso a member tral High School of the Nebraska in 1936. He letState School tered in tennis Boards Associaand basketball and was a memtion. For over ber of the Naeight years, he tional Athletic served on the Honor Society.

Board of DirecHe graduated tors of the Jewish Community from the UniCenter. He was versity of NeIrvin Yaffe one of six cobraska-Lincoln Credit: Nebraska Jewish chairmen on the with a BS in Historical Society original PlanBusiness Administration, and lettered in bas- ning Committee for the building of ketball three years in a row. He used the current JCC, and served as to say he was “the last Jewish per- chair of the JCC Health and Physison to letter in basketball at UNL.” cal Education Committee for more In addition, he served four years in Continued on page 11

2 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

Art. Family. The Holocaust.

Continued from page 1 The public is invited to view the exhibit during KANEKO’s regular hours (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat. 1-5 p.m.).

Admission is free. Several special events are planned for the public, including an Opening Reception on Feb. 6 from 6-9 p.m., and a Saturday night program arranged by the Omaha synagogues to take place Feb. 21. Watch upcoming Jewish Press editions for details on this event, which is open to the Jewish community.

The real goal of the exhibit, however, goes beyond just the general public. An in-depth educational curriculum has been created, and students visiting the exhibit will gain a greater understanding of the Holocaust, as well as cultural diversity, prejudice, individual identity, choice, and personal freedom. Schools from throughout the area will take field trips to the exhibit, and the IHE will be ready with a cadre of volunteer docents.

“The response from volunteers in the community has been fantastic,” said Eunie Denenberg, Chair of the Fabric of Survival events. “This exhibit is something different – gorgeous to look at, but also with an important message. I think people are really responding to that.”

The exhibit’s message will be shared especially well by Krinitz’s two daughters, Bernice Steinhardt and Helene McQuade. The sisters will be in Omaha for a private IHE/KANEKO event at the exhibit, and will also be at the public opening on Feb. 6, ready to answer questions and share insights about their mother’s artwork.

The sisters will also participate in the workshops that the IHE has designed for four OPS middle schools to explore Fabric of Survival. Through a collaboration with Collective for Youth, students in the after-school programs at McMillan Magnet, Morton Magnet, King Science and Technology Magnet, and Lewis and Clark middle schools will spend an entire month focusing on the Holocaust and Krinitz’s story. IHE Education Coordinator Donna Walter explained, “The workshops will give students a great intro-

Rami Shapiro Continued from page 1 his first love, writing, through books and a new column, Roadside Assistance for Your Spiritual Journey, in Spirituality & Health magazine.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s Schedule for Temple Israel Shabbat Evening Service with Rabbi Rami Shapiro: God on the Couch - Why God Needs to Torment the Egyptians - Friday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m.

Torah Study with Rabbi Rami Shapiro: The Trouble with Tribal - Toward a Post-ethnic God, Saturday, Jan. 24, 9 a.m. We will talk about the limitations of a tribal God, the challenges of a universal God, and explore Jewish practices for stepping beyond the former and into the latter.

Family Learning for Experience Shabbat: Beyond Creator and King - New Metaphors for God Using Things You May Find Around Your House, Saturday, Jan. 24, 4 p.m. In this program, we will quickly outline the five ways people talk about God (theistic, atheistic, agnostic, pantheistic, and panentheistic) and then use the fifth as our working example of how to teach God to our children and grandchildren.

Road to Krasnik duction to the Holocaust, but we are especially excited about bringing them to see the exhibit and then guiding them to create their own fiber art projects.” With the help of local artists and art educators, the students will use Krinitz’s work to inspire their own art, focusing on a memory from their personal narrative. “This project takes us outside the IHE’s comfort zone, which is why the artists working with us are so important; but it also embodies everything the IHE’s mission is about – learning about the past and then connecting it to today, helping students to see that the Holocaust is still relevant.”

Funding for this project has been generously provided by the Nebraska Arts Council, Humanities Nebraska, the KANEKO, and others. The public is encouraged to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to view Fabric of Survival at the KANEKO between Jan. 15 and March 14.

Group and guided tours can be arranged by contacting the IHE at info@ihene.org or 402.334.6576.

During his visit to Temple Israel, Rabbi Shapiro will help us explore and delve deeply into our relationship with God. We will look at the five basic ways people envision God with a special focus on Rabbi Shapiro’s approach – panentheism (defined as a combination of the belief that God is the supreme being and God is everything). This Shabbaton will be based on his books, Minyan and Rabbi Rami’s Guide to God. Rabbi Shapiro’s visit to Temple Israel is open to the community. For more information, please contact, Debbie Massarano, Director of Lifelong Learning at 402.556.6536.

To Submit Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154.

Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Submit other announcements -- births, engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Federation website: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press,’ scroll down to ‘Submit Announcements,’ complete form and click on “submit”.

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January 16, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 3

JTA and MJL merge to create 70 Faces Media

by JTA STAFF The organization’s board of directors is led NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Jewish by David Eisner, formerly the president of Telegraphic Agency and MyJewishLearning JTA, and a private investor and entrepreneur announced that they have officially merged involved with many Jewish organizations. to create 70 Faces Media.

Its chairman will be Daniel Gorlin, MJL’s “The driving mission of 70 Faces Media is former chairman and a principal at the to connect as many people as possible to all Boston Consulting Group. Others on the sides of the unfolding Jewish story,” said board include veteran Jewish communal Ami Eden, CEO and executive editor of 70 leaders, Jewish thought leaders and accomFaces Media.

Eden said that 70 Faces Media is committed to maintaining and growing its existing brands -- JTA, Kveller and MyJewishLearning -- as well as creating new brands and content to serve the diverse Jewish community.

He also said the new company remains committed to providing readers with news, information, content and discussion on Jewish topics without political bias or denominational bent.

In deciding to advance the merger, which took effect Jan. 1, JTA and MJL 70 Faces Media CEO Ami Eden, left, Editorial board leaders said the move would Director Deborah Kolben and actress Mayim Bialik in allow both organizations to grow New York celebrating the merger of JTA and My Credit: Cara Paiuk readership and increase revenues Jewish Learning, Jan. 5, 2015. through the formation of unified and plished figures in the fields of digital media, expanded audience development, business law and business. development and fundraising teams.

70 Faces Media is supported by the historic The new organization operates three main respective lead funders of MJL and JTA: the websites that generate 3.4 million page Samuel Bronfman Foundation and the views per month, as well as serves a syndi- National Federation/Agency Alliance -- a cation network of about 70 Jewish and network of 30 local Jewish federations workIsraeli newspapers and websites with more ing in conjunction with the Jewish Federathan 3 million monthly users. tions of North America. The new organizaThe editorial director of 70 Faces Media tion’s list of lead funders also includes the will be Deborah Kolben, the founding editor UJA-Federation of New York, Jane and Stuart of Kveller, MJL’s parenting site. Kolben Weitzman, Jane and Mark Wilf and The Wilf served previously as the news editor of The family, Linda and Brian Sterling, Robert H. New York Sun and the managing editor of Arnow and The Crown Family. the Village Voice. The new organization’s In total, the new organization and its main management team also includes Meredith brands are supported by about 25 foundaLewis, the chief operating officer; Lenore tions, 45 Jewish federations and 2,000 indiSilverstein, the director of administration vidual donors. The law firm Wachtell, and finance; Nancy Clayman, the director of Lipton, Rosen & Katz provided pro bono development; and Leo Lazar, the director of legal counsel to help finalize the merger. business development.

Founded in 1917, JTA for nearly a century The name 70 Faces Media is derived from has been covering developments impacting the Jewish teaching that “the Torah has sev- Jews in North America, Israel and countries enty faces.” The organization’s website around the world. The JTA Archive contains explains: “We take our name from and are more than 250,000 articles dating to 1923 guided by the enduring message of this that are searchable by keyword or date. ancient dictum, that the creation of Jewish MyJewishLearning, Inc., was founded in knowledge and narrative must reflect a wide 2002 by the late Edgar M. Bronfman to range of experiences, perspectives and per- leverage the Internet and other new media sonalities.” to spread knowledge of Jewish religion, hisEden said the new organization is dedicat- tory, values, traditions and culture. It started ed to highlighting a multitude of voices, with MyJewishLearning.com, a transdenom“whether we are reporting the news, helping inational Jewish educational website, before people explore Jewish traditions or hosting adding Kveller.com as well as the The Nosher honest and challenging conversations about food blog and Jewniverse, an eclectic daily parenting and other important topics.” email.

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It’s Super Bowl Sunday at Beth Israel

by MARY SUE GROSSMAN Publicity Chairman, Beth Israel Synagogue It makes no difference if you are a football fan or not; you won’t want to miss the 5th Annual Super Bowl Party at Beth Israel Synagogue. On the evening of Sunday, Feb. 1, head to Beth Israel to hang out with friends, eat, chime in with your comments about those always interesting Super Bowl commercials and, of course, watch Super Bowl XLIX on the big screen. (Okay, it’s actually projected on the wall... but it’s a really big wall!)

Festivities begin with the pre-show and munchies at 5 p.m. followed by game kickoff and dinner at 5:30 p.m. Dinner chairs Shirly Banner and Joey Shyken report that, back by popular demand, the menu will include wings available in spicy, hot or mild plus corndogs and a super nacho-salad bar.

There will also be an assortment of appetizers, chips, veggies, dips and cinnamon popcorn plus a variety of beverages.

The cost is just $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 4-12 and free for 3 and under.

Family pricing of $25 is also available, which includes parents and non-adult children.

Make your reservations by January 25 by emailing BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha. org or call 402.556.6288.

Beth Israel’s Super Bowl Party is open to the community. The mission of Beth Israel Synagogue is to perpetuate the legacy of Torah Judaism in the modern world and provide a home for those who wish to learn about and observe halacha, Jewish law. Beth Israel Synagogue welcomes all persons of the Jewish faith to join, and accepts the diversity of practice and thought among its members. Beth Israel offers a variety of religious, cultural and social programs throughout the year. For more information, please contact Beth Israel Synagogue’s office at 402.556.6288, or e-mail BethIsrael@ OrthodoxOmaha.org.

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4 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

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by SYBIL KAPLAN J by Howard Jacobson, Hogarth (in the UK), Penguin/Random House, $25 hardcover, October 2014 Howard Jacobson, 72 years old, born in Manchester, England, has written 12 books of fiction, best known as comic novels or humor and Jewishness, and five books of non fiction. Currently, he is a columnist for the Independent newspaper.

Until the appearance of J, his 13th novel, he had remained rather obscure in the United States. Since its publication, J has been compared to 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and Clockwork Orange.

Reading J is very strange and disturbing. The book is set in the early 21st century but in a future that is undesirable and frightening because of the occurrence of something like a second Holocaust called “What happened, If it happened,” which dominates the lives of the people and occurred some years ago.

The village of Port Rubin is an island of several thousand people, on the sea, but unattached to any other shore, where all the inhabitants have Jewish last names. The letter “J” is forbidden in the society, and the word Jewish is never mentioned; even the letter “J” has two horizontal lines drawn through the middle.

In a James Kidd review (Aug. 7, 2014) reprinted in the Independent of the United Kingdom (Jan. 7, 2015), Kidd writes, “Port Rubin’s inhabitants are alienated from their past, divorced from their cultural identity and complacent in their relationship with the present. Jacobson constructs an anti-Semitic society convinced that anti-Semitism has been utterly redacted,” i.e., obscured or removed.

In the news Robert Newman was recently awarded the NVMA Pet Memorial Scholarship and the Dr. Harold Hedlund Memorial scholarship. Robert is a second year veterinary student at the Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. He has recently received a ranking of number one in his class.

He works as the student representative for Purina. He is also the treasurer for his class.

Emily Newman graduated from UNO with her BA in Political Science and a minor in Religious Studies with Magna Cum Laude honors in Dec. 2014. Emily has already been accepted to and started her 4 + 1 Program and Master of Science Degree at UNO in the area of Political Science with an emphasis on Israeli Government facilitated by the Schwab Center. Emily was selected by the Schwab Center to attend the Student Leadership Conference with the Israeli Embassy and by the ADL to attend their national training to become a trainer to facilitate high school groups and prepare students to address issues of anti-Semitism on college campuses. Both were held in Chicago this past fall. Emily is the co-founding co-president of UNO’s SSI (Students Supporting Israel) group. This SSI section is now the 21st group in the United States. She worked as an intern with Mayor Jean Stothert’s office this past summer and is currently doing an internship with the ADL. She works for the RESPECT organization as their scheduling coordinator and also as an actor educator in the organization’s middle school mental health prevention and anti-bullying programs. She plans to pursue a PhD in Israeli studies upon finishing her Master’s Degree.

Robert and Emily are the children of Dr. Patricia Newman of Omaha.

In Port Rubin lives Kevern Cohen, 40 years old, a native of the village with no family, a loner, now a wood carver and teacher of a class at the Benign Visual Arts School. His most prominent characteristic is being chronically apprehensive.

He recalls that his father “drew two fingers across his lips when he said a word starting with a ‘J.’” Into his life comes 25-year-old Ailinn Solomons, orphaned at an early age, raised in a convent then adopted, now an artist who makes paper flowers. She has been brought to Port Rubin by a woman named Ez, whom she met in a book group up north where she lived before. A matchmaker at a country fair pairs the two of them.

Kevern and Ailinn fall in love, but it seems to be part of some strange scheme.

Just as Kevern finds information about his past, further along in the book and the relationship, Ailinn finds letters written by her grandmother who had married a Christian and who rebuked her parents’ anxieties about anti-Semitism and left her baby at an orphanage with nuns. The baby grew to adulthood in the convent, became pregnant, left the baby girl and a packet of letters with it, not to be read before the girl’s 25th birthday.

There is also a subplot of several people having been murdered and a police inspector with strange investigative techniques; an art professor who monitors Kevern and spies on his students; and a woman who wants to restore society.

At various points throughout the novel, there seem to be predictions of a future Holocaust that will take place in England, although the tone of the people in Port Rubin seems to be one of predominant passivity in a passive world.

On the one hand, I was very much motivated to read the whole novel and find out what happens; on the other hand, I felt like I was reading some strange mystery and I might never find the answers because the clues are so uncertain. Is the book a satire? Is it a parable? I don’t know.

The experience of reading Jacobson is significant, given his reputation, but one has to be prepared for a very different exposure.

#JeSuisJuif

by ANTHONY WEISS (JTA) -- In the wake of Jan. 7 deadly attack on the offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie swept the internet in solidarity with the victims. Then came #JeSuisAhmed, to honor Ahmed Merabet, the Muslim police officer murdered during the Charlie Hebdo attacks, who has become a symbol of respect for non-Islamist Muslims. After the attack on the kosher supermarket in eastern Paris came #JeSuisjJuif, to show solidarity with the beleaguered Jews of France.

According to hashtags.org, the tweet took off around 7 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, and peaked at around 9 a.m., with just under 4,000 tweets per hour.

According to topsy.com, #JeSuisJuif has been tweeted more than 20,000 times. However, it isn't entirely clear that it's making the same impact as some of the other solidarity hashtags. It's numbers remain miniscule to #JeSuisCharlie, which, two days after the original attack, still posted some 676,000 tweets in 24 hours. More significantly, as the Jerusalem Post has noted, while some of the tweets have been by non-Jews, a significant majority seem to be tweeted by Jews, making it more an emblem of Jewish pride than a display of ecumenical solidarity.

Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, Jan 21, noon.

For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

January 16, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 5

Pomegranate juice a vehicle for Hasidic help and healing

by URIEL HEILMAN The organization was founded 25 years NEW SQUARE, N.Y. (JTA) -- Get Rabbi ago by volunteers in the village, where about Shulim Greenberg talking about the health 7,000 Hasidim affiliated with the Skverer sect benefits of pomegranate juice and he sounds live and where the poverty rate is about 58 like a homeopathic nutritionist -- with a percent, according to census data.

Yiddish accent.

Greenberg’s wife Chavi provided the impetus; Every January, the Hasidic charity run by she was helping a woman in New Square who Greenberg obtains some 40,000 pounds of did charitable work for the sick.

California pomegranates, squeezes them into Most of Chesed’s budget comes via juice and ships the product in eight-ounce Medicaid funding: $3.45 million in 2012, plus plastic bottles to ailing Jews. another $600,000 in government grants, The recipients -- mostly residents of the according to tax filings. But the organization haredi Orthodox strongholds of Brooklyn, also relies heavily on volunteers.

Lakewood, N.J., and New York’s Rockland The meals Chesed delivers to hospital County, where the New Square Hasidic village rooms are cooked in the kitchens of New is located -- apparently believe in the nectar’s Square homemakers who volunteer their time healing powers. and the expense of buying the ingredients.

“People think it heals, but it doesn’t heal,” The group’s Shabbat-in-a-box packages for Greenberg says on a tour of the juice produchospital patients, which include Sabbath tion line during its annual two-week run in essentials, are packed by volunteer schoolJanuary. “It’s keeping the blood count up, children – sometimes as a birthday party mainly for people taking chemo. If the blood activity. Aside from the group’s regular hospicount is good, the body has strength to fight Out of 40,000 pounds of pomegranates, Chesed 24/7 produces between 20,000 and 24,000 tal shuttles driven by staff, some 150 volunCredit: Uriel Heilman teers using their own cars provide additional eight-ounce bottles of juice. the illness.”

Many manufacturers of food and dietary supplements small but crucial way: His juice is unpasteurized. personalized pickup and drop-off service for community “Pasteurized is garbage,” Greenberg said of the heating members traveling to and from hospitals – sometimes as far promote the supposed health benefits of pomegranates, which are high in antioxidants, and the fruit also occupies a process meant to kill bacteria and prevent spoilage. “The away as Boston. prominent place in Jewish tradition. Pomegranates are said whole natural is out.”

The volunteers take their work seriously. Dispatchers keep Pomegranate juice delivery is one small part of Chesed track of the miles logged by the drivers, providing them with to have 613 seeds – the same as the number of mitzvahs, or commandments, in the Torah. Pomegranate decorations 24/7, a $4.5 million charity that focuses on the Jewish sick. monthly updates. While most volunteers log 1,000 to 4,000 adorned the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the robes of its (Until a couple of years ago it was called Chesed of New miles per year, two Chesed volunteer drivers last year each high priest. Greenberg says there is also a reference in a Square; chesed is the Hebrew word for kindness.) logged more than 30,000 miles.

The charity has 16 “chesed rooms” in hospitals in New medieval Jewish commentary to the fruit’s healing qualities.

“My husband gets up in the middle of dinner if he gets a But scant scientific evidence exists to establish these York and New Jersey where patients and family members can call to go and drive someone,” New Square resident Baily hypotheses as fact, and in 2010 the Food and Drug find kosher food and sundries, and an apartment near Kaufman said of her husband, a Chesed volunteer.

Administration issued a warning to the nation’s largest Columbia University Medical Center for family members Gitty Biston, one of the dozens of women who cook meals pomegranate juice manufacturer, Pom Wonderful, for mak- who need to stay near patients. The group also delivers free for hospital patients, says she considers the four meals she ing unproven claims about the fruit’s disease-fighting prop- home-cooked kosher meals by request directly to hospital makes per week an opportunity, not a burden. erties. It is Pom Wonderful that donates the pomegranates to rooms, provides Medicaid-funded day programs for develop“They’re doing me a favor by giving me an opportunity to mentally disabled Orthodox Jews, and runs free shuttle serv- do a mitzvah,” she said.

Greenberg’s charity, Chesed 24/7.

None of that has deterred Greenberg, who says his prod- ices between hospitals and Chesed’s home base in the New Biston found herself on the receiving end of Chesed’s Continued on page 6 uct differs from manufactured pomegranate juice in one Square area, about 30 miles north of midtown Manhattan.

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Jessie Wees | 402.334.6559 | jwees@jewishomaha.org

6 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

Pomegranate juice Continued from page 5 hundreds of crates of donated largesse 14 years ago when fruit across the country from her 3-year-old son was hospiCalifornia to New York. talized after being struck by a “Our mission statement is van in her driveway.

‘Doing well by doing good.’

“I didn’t have any heimisWe’ve enjoyed putting that to che food,” she recalled, practice with Chesed 24/7 for explaining that the hospital the last several years,” said food was hardly edible, Tom Rouse, Pom Wonderful’s intended only for patients vice president of sales for and was not heimische, or North America sales. “We homey. “That’s when I saw believe strongly in the healthwhat it is to sit in a hospital ful benefits of pomegranates, and not have food. When you and we celebrate any organiget a package, you know zation that brings joy to othyou’re being cared for.” ers by doing the same.”

Biston tries to put special The pomegranate seeding care into the packages she work is painstaking. Some 40 makes, including beef or manual laborers working in chicken, a starch like mashed two eight-hour daily shifts potatoes or sweet noodle stand alongside a row of kugel, a vegetable and tables banging on pomegrandessert, such as apple pie. If ates with kitchen mallets to she packs chopped liver, she release the seeds. Before decorates it with cucumbers, bringing their bins to the tomatoes and red pepper in juicers, they sift through the the shape of a flower. For ruby-red kernels to weed out soup, she packs two types of any stray membrane – a croutons. process that is repeated by a And like many of the volrabbinic supervisor wearing a unteers, she includes little plastic beard protector. His notes for the anonymous concern is not kashrut but recipients. “A little something quality control. to sweeten your day” might In the early years of the be attached to a chocolate pomegranate operation, dessert, for example.

Chesed used manual juicers “I want to make sure when to produce the liquid. Now a the patient gets the food they modified machine designed should have something to to grind beef gently presses look at,” Biston said. the kernels to release their “Anything that distracts their juice into a large vat, spitting mind a little is good for out the bitter dross generated Clockwise from top: For two weeks every winter, laborers from the centers of the kerthem.”

Now Biston, a mother of work in two eight-hour shifts daily to squeeze the 40,000 nels into waste buckets. six who works in Chesed’s pounds of pomegranates used in Chesed 24/7’s juice; Gitty Once the juice is bottled, the special-needs programming, Biston is among dozens of volunteers in New Square, N.Y., bottles are placed in a subzehas an ill adult son who has who regularly cook meals for patients at hospitals in the ro freezer in a rented facility been losing weight for region; Rabbi Shulim Greenberg’s organization, Chesed in upstate New York until months for reasons 24/7, receives a truckload of pomegranates each year they are ready to be shipped. unknown. When she request- donated from Pom Wonderful, the nation’s largest pome- In all, the operation produces ed a delivery of pomegranate granate juice producer; and Yechiel Ettinger, an operations 20,000 to 25,000 juice bottles. juice, she said, the juice assistant at Chesed 24/7, helps pick up the home-cooked While most of the conmeals that New Square volunteers prepare for patients at sumers are Orthodox Jews -arrived within two hours.

The pomegranate opera- hospitals in New York and New Jersey. Credit: Uriel Heilman Chesed has freezers stocked tion also relies on donated work and materials. Volunteer with juice bottles in Borough Park and Williamsburg in girls in New Square affix the labels to the juice bottles. Brooklyn, Lakewood, Monsey, N.Y., and New Square -- the David’s Cookies, a dessert food manufacturer with a bottles are available to anyone who asks, says Tzvi Miller, 160,000 square-foot plant in Cedar Grove, N.J., provides Chesed’s director of development. free space at its kosher facility for the juicing operation.

“When someone’s in a hospital, we’re all brothers and sisAnd Pom Wonderful bears the expense of trucking in the ters,” Miller said.

January JCC Gallery: Jenna Johnson and Talia Tene

by LYNN BATTEN Publicity and Gallery Manager Local artist Jenna Johnson’s paintings embody movement, color, and expression with every stroke, while allowing each piece to follow its own path when created.

Dramatic contrast adds depth and feeling to these spectacular pieces.

Artist Talia Tene’s work expresses an extension of personal human observation. Her beautiful sculptural pieces examine her perception of self identity and self exploration, with special attention on her Jewish identity.

From historical and educational exhibits to displays of local, national, and international art, the Jewish Community Center Gallery hosts a wide array of content.

Located just next to the JCC Theater, the Gallery provides individuals an excellent opportunity to immerse themselves in culturally enriching exhibitions. JCC Gallery Hours are Mondays-Thursdays, 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Fridays 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For information contact Lynn Batten, Gallery Manager, at 402.334.6564.

Order a gift subscription to the Jewish Press Send a check for $40, made out to the Jewish Press, to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154.

For more information on how to connect your out-of-town relatives and friends, call 402.334.6448.

January 16, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 7

Make a dent in the Art of Cholent

Serving Generations…

Cooking challenge returns for 2nd year

by BETH EL PUBLICITY Beth El Synagogue’s Iron Chef Cholent Cooking Challenge makes a return appearance on Sunday, Feb. 7 when the very best of the best of Jewish Omaha amateur chefs face off in a true battle for bragging rights as the Iron Chef of Cholent!

Last year’s winners, Hazzan Michael and Laurel Krausman, entered a spicy shredded brisket cholent. The Beth El Men’s Club named their team “Cholent Green”; catchy, but the reference might not have helped in a tasting competition, and the team “Stew-pendous” consisting of Joan Marcus and Lisa Lieb lent their love of cooking to the competitive but friendly atmosphere.

From its beginnings long before anyone can really say, cholent, an overnight stew, satisfied a Jewish cook’s need for a dish that could stay warm throughout the Sabbath. During World War II, before Israelis had proper ovens, cholent was simmered over the small flame of a kerosene stove, the lid covered with two heavy bricks.

Thank goodness, we’ve moved beyond open flames and heavy bricks. Beth El’s Iron Chef Challenge will utilize crockpots, in keeping with 21st century modernity.

The word cholent comes from the French chaud, meaning “warm,” and lent, meaning “slow.” In Israel, it is also called hamim, Hebrew for “warm.”

There are perhaps as many unique versions as there are Jewish family recipes and ingredients are as varied as Brazilian black beans, Moroccan rice, Polish barley and the eastern European delicacy, kishke.

Experiencing a rebirth among Israelis in the last few years, cholent is often served as a main course for parties. It is served on every Israeli army base on Saturday, even in small military units at lookout posts, since the army observes the dietary laws and must serve a traditional Sabbath meal.

Jewish Family Service’s Yachad group is one of the first groups to enter and represents the goal for a truly community-wide competition. According to Karen Gustafson, executive director of JFS, February is National Inclusion Month. “The national Yachad organization was promoting its own cooking competition in support of National Inclusion Month. In the course of considering our participation, I phoned Beth El Synagogue and inquired about using their kitchen facilities,” she continued, “Beth El’s Program Director Margie Gutnik seized on the connection and encouraged us to enter the Synagogue’s Cholent Iron Chef Challenge.”

“We knew the local event would be more meaningful for our Yachad members and planning has already started,” added Gustafson.

While I am told they have chosen a recipe and that it’s ‘traditional, but unique”, Yachad is keeping the ingredients a secret, for now.

“We were enjoying a bowling outing when we decided as a group to participate. Marilyn Zevitz does her own cooking at home, so we’ll rely on her skill set, and Jeff Steinberg knew all about cholent and shared its cultural significance with us. We think our new found knowledge will give us an edge,” said Yachad program coordinator Jan McCarthy.

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The Ten Commandments: “On the Seventh Day thou Shalt Rest”. With no cooking allowed, overnight preparation of the Sabbath meal became its own art form.

“I want to thank Gutnik and Beth El Synagogue for always welcoming our participation and involvement in synagogue programming. Just like Yachad, they represent what inclusivity is all about,” concluded Gustafson.

Iron chef teams will begin preparations in the Synagogue’s kitchen beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5. Cholent will cook beginning just prior to Shabbat on Friday night until the end of services on Saturday morning.

Each team will then report to the Beth El kitchen at the close of Shabbat morning services on Feb. 7 prepared to serve our esteemed “judges”, aka congregants, tastings of their cholent.

Not to worry, judging guidelines will be kept to the highest of standards to ensure each cholent receives the maximum consideration! Judges will be given slips of paper with each team name and these will be dropped into boxes to vote for the following prizes: favorite cholent recipe, best team name, and most creative marketing (best team signage at the serving station).

A team can be an individual or group.

Registration closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, for those who require meat to be ordered. Register online at www.bethelomaha.org or contact Margie Gutnik at programming@beth-elomaha.org.

Additional contest guidelines include: • Recipes can be kept secret! Submit only a list of ingredients you need to make enough cholent to serve 20-25 people.

• There is no fee to participate, but a donation to cover the cost of ingredients is appreciated.

• The synagogue’s kitchen is well equipped for the preparation of cholent and additional cooking equipment is probably not necessary.

• All cholent will be meat or pareve.

• Any “top secret” ingredients must be in unopened packaging, hechshered and checked by Kitchen Manager Laura Bair.

www.heafeyheafey.com

Non-Profit Organizations Coming in February

Jerusalem braces for heavy snow

by EDGAR ASHER The picture shows the scene in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Jan. 7 as the temperature began to drop and the wind increased. Heavy snow was forecast in the capital. The two main highways to Jerusalem were closed at their higher elevation to prevent accidents and leave the roads clear for emergency vehicles. In last year’s cold spell, many vehicles got stuck in snow drifts as Israeli drivers are not accustomed to driving

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in such adverse conditions. Usually, in Israel this kind of weather and road conditions only last for a few days. Credit: ASHERNET

Jessie Wees | 402.334.6559 | jwees@jewishomaha.org

8 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

Point of view

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008

Bad behavior

by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is headed to jail. That is, if his lawyers fail in their appeal; a two-year prison sentence is hanging over his head, courtesy of U.S. District Judge James Spencer. That’s what 11 felony public corruption convictions will get you. That, and no more talk of a potential run for the Presidency in 2016.

It’s a story as old as time: power corrupts, and the list of politicians who once reigned supreme only to end up disgraced is long. So long, we don’t even blink anymore when the truth comes out. We’re used to it. “They’re human,” we tell ourselves, “and they are fallible.”

True. Yet, we hold politicians to a higher standard; we elect them to get things done and stay on the right side of the law while they do their jobs. It’s not too much to ask, is it? Or, maybe it is.

With the next Presidential election just around the corner, we can brace ourselves for an onslaught of media coverage of supposed candidates, and we already know it’s not going to be pretty. We’re no longer dealing with just a number of newspapers and a few television channels. We have Twitter, and Facebook. We have Instagram, YouTube, a never ceasing avalanche of personal blogs, opinion pieces from independent journalists and wanna-be journalists, email pushes from vague political marketing departments and attack ads. Soon, we won’t be able to see the forest for the trees, and they all have one thing in common: to tear down those candidates, to sniff out scandals, and – if there are none to be found – to make something up. Frankly, with this much public vetting, I find it a

mystery anyone still wants the job.

Of course, if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t have to worry. And if a journalist discovers that a candidate has several skeletons, or has a rap sheet a mile long, it absolutely is that journalist’s responsibility to provide full disclosure.

I don’t dispute that: Bob Mc Donnell and those like him made their own bed.

It is when candidates are decent people, not perfect (who is), but certainly hardworking, honest, paying their taxes on time and not interpreting the law and their marriage vows too freely, that the trouble really starts. Because, you know, we’ll find something. We’ll kvetch about your birth certificate, or your weight, or what you did to your dog.

At some point during the last decades, the magnifying glass that is public opinion has gathered some smudges. We, as the audience, no longer see clearly. We criticize without

knowing the truth, we assume a lack of privacy and we take no prisoners when it comes to tearing down any public figure who dares to stick his or her neck out. How do we find the balance between valid criticism and plain old gossip?

How do we return to honest and open debate, and stay away from ridiculous and useless Facebook memes? Or is this bad behavior here to stay? And if it is, what do we do next?

We haven’t quite caught up with the changing technology; these days, everyone with a wi-fi connection can join the debate. It’s not hard to spread your opinion. In fact, once it’s out there, others will eagerly spread it for you. That’s what social media has done for us: we all have an unlimited platform, and those old fashioned rules of ethical journalism no longer apply. Fact checking? Forget about it. It’s on Instagram and Twitter; I didn’t write it and you can’t blame me for sharing.

I propose that, in the time leading up to November 2016, we all try to behave a little more mature. With one caveat: that every single person who thinks about throwing his or her hat in the ring remembers that there’s always (always!) a microphone open somewhere.

If you say something dumb, we’ll find out about it. And some things are just too tempting to make fun of, so please, meet us halfway? Oh, and don’t take bribes, don’t have a baby with someone who isn’t your wife and don’t tie your dog to the roof of your car. Someone will make a song about it and I won’t be able to get it out of my head. Don’t say anything racist. Actually, don’t be racist. Don’t say “oops” during a televised debate.

Promise me all of those things, and I will guarantee you good behavior during election season.

Charlie Hebdo and the temptation of self-censorship

by BEN COHEN Prophet Muhammed, reprinted by Charlie Hebdo in 2011.)

(JNS.org) As predictably as birds flying south for the winGot that? In publishing the Muhammed cartoons, Charlie ter, this week’s abominable terrorist attack on the headquar- Hebdo wasn’t issuing a profound reminder of the willingness ters of the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, brought of other media outlets -- from Yale University Press to the forth the usual burnt-out platitudes from those commenta- New York Times—to censor themselves in the face of Islamist tors who insist that Islamist viothreats. It sought merely to “prolence is rooted in legitimate grievvoke Muslims.” And when you proances with the West. voke Muslims -- and here we come One of the most heinous examto a stereotype held dear by both ples of this outwardly-nuanced, furrow-browed liberal journalists inwardly-confused discourse and right-wing bloggers -- you appeared in a piece for the invite the apocalypse. Ultimately, Financial Times by Tony Barber. we’re to blame for that, because we By the second paragraph, Barber knew all along that these people are was sagely counseling us not to savages, and still we didn’t exercise jump to conclusions about our superior European selfIslamist culpability -- Anders restraint. (Warning to anyone who Breivik, the far-right fanatic who wants to take that last sentence out murdered 77 mainly young of context: please don’t.)

Norwegians in 2011, was a I mention all this by way of an Christian, after all. introduction to a rewarding con(Within a few hours of the Paris versation I had with Michel atrocity, the identities of the three Gurfinkiel, one of the most astute suspects -- all Muslims, and with This depiction of the Islamic State terrorist group's of France’s political analysts, just at least one carrying a prior con- leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was the latest car- hours after the attack. Though he viction for terrorism -- had been toon by Charlie Hebdo before the Jan. 7 attack on is a conservative, Gurfinkiel intirevealed. But had Barber bothered its offices in Paris. mately understands the culture of Credit: Charlie Hebdo via Facebook. the left and its centrality to the to check the earlier news, he would have perhaps registered those eyewitnesses who transformation of European public attitudes over the last reported the assailants shouting “Allahu Akhbar” as they half-century; because of that, he made a critically important embarked on their killing spree.) point to me that I haven’t heard anyone else make.

Then it got worse. The murder of 12 people, Barber insinThe assault on Charlie Hebdo was, Gurfinkiel told me, an uated, might have been avoided had there been “some com- assault on many of the symbols of France: its democracy, its mon sense... at publications such as Charlie Hebdo, and secular nature, its treasuring of the freedom of speech and of Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten, which purport to strike a blow expression. But it was also a poignant assault on the legacy for freedom when they provoke Muslims.” (Here Barber is of the soixante-huitards -- the revolutionary generation of referring to the 2005 publication of the caricatures of the the 1960s, exemplified by the radical students who took to

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the streets of Paris and thereby changed, as Gurfinkiel said, “the French way of life.”

Charlie Hebdo was integral to the culture of this generation.

The French establishment in large part loathed it, regarding the magazine as an outpost of the revolutionaries who could conceivably have unseated General de Gaulle during the heady days of May 1968. Many of its editorial stances -- including on Israel -- reflected the imperatives of a left that is now, in our own time, all too ready to engage in self-censorship.

As an example, and with great sadness in his voice, Gurfinkiel told me about George Wolinski, the Charlie Hebdo cartoonist who, at the age of 80, was brutally murdered in the attack. A Jew born in Tunis to a Sephardi mother and an Ashkenazi father, in the 1970s, Wolinski had been a member of the French Communist Party and a trenchant opponent of Israel. When Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat signed the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978, Charlie Hebdo labeled the affair a “shitty peace,” and Wolinski provided an accompanying cartoon of the two leaders sitting at a table together and breaking wind.

Now, a man who pushed freedom of speech to its limits -including in service of the Palestinian cause -- lies dead, murdered by Islamists who detest the West’s ability to tolerate the grotesque and the tasteless. It is, as Gurfinkiel recognizes, a horrible irony, but it’s one that too many on the liberal left are unable or unprepared to grasp. Thus do we come to platitudes about provoking Muslims.

Fundamental to the stability of free speech is the right to offend, along with the right to be offended. The United States is in many ways the perfect examples of how that works. If a public figure makes a racist comment, or a newspaper says something offensive about Jews, we can be certain that an organization like the Anti-Defamation League will doggedly pursue the wrong-doers for a retraction or an apology. Sure, these humorless tussles can get nasty, but the norms of engagement have been firmly established over the Continued on page 9 The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf.

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January 16, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 9

Martin Luther King Day 2015

Journal entry from Israel TEDDY WEINBERGER It’s no secret that Israel’s supporters are facing difficult times on America’s college campuses. And it’s no secret that anti-Israel rhetoric has a way of morphing into anti-semtic rhetoric. But sometimes I sense that American Jews feel that our need to defend and support Israel excuses us from being concerned about other social issues in general and about race issues in particular.

Case in point: On Wednesday night, Dec. 3, I was in Manhattan and heard Bret Stephens, deputy editorial page editor for the Wall Street Journal, speak about his book America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder. Stephens (who is Jewish) was addressing a Jewish audience at the Tikvah Fund, and in the course of his talk he told us that we could learn a thing or two from black Americans. He said that black Americans have seen to it that racist jokes against black people are absolutely taboo, whereas American Jews have allowed anti-Semitism to flourish in the guise of anti-Israel statements. Stephens made this remark only a few hours after a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the death of Eric Garner. He was not given pause by the grand jury’s decision to reconsider the exact gains that blacks have made in America, and no one in his

audience challenged him on this.

Many times, we Jews seem to play dumb when it comes to race in America. Amid the turmoil in the days following the Staten Island grand jury’s verdict, Joe Piscopo of Saturday Night Live fame said on his New York City morning radio show something like: “I don’t get it. We have a black President, and yet we are seeing lots of police brutality against black people.” I think that many American Jews share Piscopo’s confusion.

I’m happy to say that there are American Jewish leaders who are trying to get us to think and feel differently than we automatically do about race issues. I spent the first Shabbat in December with my cousins Reba and Kevi in Englewood, New Jersey. On Saturday morning I heard Rabbi Shmuel Goldin speak at their synagogue, Ahavath Torah. Rabbi Goldin urged his congregants to be like the patricarch Jacob and move out of their spiritual comfort zones, both when it comes to being sympathetic to Gazan civilians who are without homes this winter (when our comfort zone is to say “the war was their fault”), and to feel for African Americans and what they are going through, especially in light of the Garner case (when our comfort zone is to say “this is not our problem”).

Since I’m often as confused about race in America as Piscopo (as will be seen in what follows), I’m going to end this column with some straight talk by a scholar in this field.

A friend put me in touch with Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Assistant Professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland, and I wrote to her asking if there was anything to note from the current awareness of racism against black people.

Dr. Whitehead wrote back: “As a student of history, I am a bit disappointed when people talk about the ‘current awareness of racism against black people’ as if this is a new occurrence and not an ongoing problem that exists within a political, social, and economic system that is built upon systemic racism. This system that we are functioning under has led its citizens to believe that we are currently a post-racial nation simply because we have a black President. The issues that we struggle with within the black community--including rising illiteracy rates, an active classroom to prison pipeline, extreme poverty, the criminalization of the black male body, broken families, rising unemployment rates, high rates of high school dropouts and teenage pregnancy, the new Jim Crow (to name just a few)--are too vast and complicated to solve by one man over a short period of time. In addition, the issues that we are attempting to address through the #BlackLivesMatter Movement [see blacklivesmatter.com] are only the tip of the iceberg of the work that needs to be done to change the current reality for black males and females. Although I am concerned about the number of unarmed young black males who are being killed at the hands of police officers and vigilantes, I am even more concerned that we do not have solutions in place to address the next wave of problems that we need to address in order to shift the everyday reality of the injustice that is a part of living and breathing while black in America.”

Teddy Weinberger made aliyah in 1997 with his wife, former Omahan Sarah Ross, and their five children. Their oldest four, Nathan, Rebecca, Ruthie and Ezra are veterans of the Israel Defense Forces; Weinberger can be reached at weinross@netvision.net.il.

HarperCollins must not contribute to delegitimization of Israel

by DANIEL S. MARIASCHIN WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Before the HarperCollins Middle East atlas story is deleted from email inboxes, it pays to spend another moment ruminating on the damage caused by companies that ought to know better.

On its website, HarperCollins bills itself as “one of the world’s leading English-language publishers.” It has a storied brand and a list of top-notch authors going back some 200 years. It markets books in more than 150 countries on a wide range of subjects and boasts of having had 400 best-sellers in the past fiscal year.

Among its offerings in 2014 was the Collins Middle East Atlas, which was sold to schools in the Middle East. Atlases are usually reference works, not consulted for daily reading but good to have on the shelf when needed. This edition omitted Israel from maps in the Middle East. The West Bank and Gaza are noted, but not Israel.

Confronted with this omission, a HarperCollins spokesman said that maps marked with Israel’s location would have been “unacceptable” and the omission -- clearly intentional -- was a bow to “local preferences.”

Leaving Israel off the map in Middle East textbooks and atlases is nothing new. Arab countries, from 1948 on, have perfected the practice. Palestinian textbooks not only leave Israel off the map but put Palestinian place names instead of Israeli cities and towns.

Airlines for years have been guilty of the same practice.

Last year, the United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways left Israel off its travel-route maps (all other countries in the region are noted), and does not carry Israeli passport holders. BMI, a British carrier that until 2010 flew to Tel Aviv,

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failed to note Israel on its in-flight maps, but did put Haifa on the map -- in Arabic. At the time, BMI pleaded a “technical error” and subsequently apologized.

HarperCollins has now apologized as well, stating that it will “pulp” all remaining copies of the atlas and offering the nowstandard apology for the omission “and any offense caused.”

So perfunctory! In first defending the map, HarperCollins clearly implied a business motive for its actions. The publisher assumed it could willfully rewrite history, cast aside diplomacy and appropriate a blinders-on approach to its sales in the region. Imagine if other countries engaged in territorial disputes -- and there are many today, from Europe to Asia to Latin America, not to mention the Middle East -- made the same demands of HarperCollins. What if the company bowed to one side or another in these conflicts? Would anyone want to use, or trust, such a geographically incorrect reference?

The international effort to delegitimize and demonize Israel comes from many quarters. Most are predictable: farleft and far-right political organizations, Islamic extremists, a host of “human rights” nongovernmental organizations, the Palestinians themselves. But when otherwise respectable parties like HarperCollins engage in willful distortions of geography or historiography, they legitimize the delegitimizers.

And making matters worse, the company defended its pandering to its Arab customers and their “local preferences.”

As an educational publisher headquartered in New York, not in the Middle East, how can HarperCollins defend not providing students with facts, or in the case of the atlas, the world as it is?

The publisher of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as so many acclaimed works of history, sociology

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Charlie Hebdo Continued from page 8 years, and rarely, if ever, does violence or terrorism ensue.

What the Islamists are doing is preventing Western Muslims from participating in this adversarial culture of ours, which is in many ways a product of the revolutionary 1960s. There are many Muslims who peacefully object to displays like the Muhammed cartoons, but when they speak up, they are hampered by the knowledge that the armed fanatics who share their faith are willing to secure through violence what can't be won through persuasion.

So instead of worrying about provoking Muslims, we should be confronting those within their ranks whose scorched-earth ideology is preventing Muslim advocates from making their case within the parameters of democratic and open debate. As we enter a period in which each day will bring renewed fear of another Charlie Hebdo-like atrocity, we need that debate more than ever.

It is what keeps us civilized.

Ben Cohen is the Shillman Analyst for JNS.org. His writings on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Ha’aretz, Jewish Ideas Daily and many other publications.

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and even the Bible, should have known better. We will never reach conflict resolution between Israelis and Palestinians when an eraser is taken to history, diplomacy -- and maps.

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10 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on Feb. 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker, Ben Justman, Executive Director of the Sarpy County Museum on A History of Sarpy County. Larry Blass will lead the service. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Our Shabbat Tables Dinner, in congregants’ homes.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Services/Have a Cup of Coffee with God, 9:30 a.m.; Mini Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 5:15 p.m.

WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Babies, Bigger Kids & Bagels, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m.; SATO Bowling for Babies Social Action Fundraiser, 4 p.m. at Sempeck’s Bowl in Elkhorn. Register online by Wednesday, Jan. 14 to participate.

TUESDAY: The Wonderful World of Music, 10 a.m. led by Hazzan Krausman.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Hebrew High School, 6:45 p.m.

THURSDAY: Women’s Rosh Chodesh Tallit & Tefilllin Workshop, 7 p.m. led by Rabbi Abraham.

Lunch at Nebraska AIDS Coalition, Friday, Jan. 23, 11:30 a.m.

Kabbalat Shabbat/Family Shabbat, Friday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m. led by 5th and 6th graders, followed by an oneg shabbat.

All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Carlebach Style Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:03 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m. Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 4:45 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:07 p.m.

SUNDAY: Talmud Brachot, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Midrash: Understanding our Prayers, 9:45 a.m.

Bar Mitzvah Alex Goldstein, son of Jill and Joe Goldstein, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 24, at Temple Israel.

Alex is a seventh-grade student at Westside Middle School.

His interests include basketball, football, golf, reading, movies and animals.

For his mitzvah project, Alex is working with the Nebraska Humane Society to raise funds and awareness for the cause of homeless and neglected animals in our community.

He has a a brother, Jack.

Grandparents are Nancy Hornstein, and Judi and David Goldstein.

To Submit B’nai Mitzvah Announcements Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewish omaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154.

Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, by e-mailing the editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org or online at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on ‘Jewish Press,’ scroll down to ‘Submit Announcements, complete form and click on “submit.”

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

MONDAY: Scholar’s Club with Boys, 3:30 p.m.; Minyan followed by Teen Learning, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY: Wrestling with Rashi Class, 8 p.m. with Rabbi Weiss.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.

THURSDAY: Women’s Class: Deepening our connection with God, 9:30 a.m.; Med Center Chaburah, 1 p.m.; Scholar’s Club for girls, 3:30 p.m.; Avot U Banim, 7 p.m.

CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m.

WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m.

TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office.

WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak.

THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu.

All programs are open to the entire community.

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 Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis.

FRIDAY: Freedom Breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, 7 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1040 P Street.

Reservations required; Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Jamie Downing and Jon Carter.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Va’era; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. All ages welcome. Questions? Contact Deborah Swearingen.

SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes MONDAY: Temple office closed for MLK, Jr. Day. TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Cultiva, 727 S. 11th St. WEDNESDAY: LJCS grades 3-7, 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

ADULT EDUCATION TUESDAY: Intro to Judaism, 6:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Lewis.

THURSDAY: Beginning Hebrew, 6 p.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 7 p.m.

Bakers Needed as part of the Temple’s celebration of its 130th anniversary as a congregation and the 90th anniversary of our beautiful building, we are having monthly events culminating in the anniversary gala in May. For many of these events, we would like to serve cookies or other easy to handle dessert items. We are looking to volunteers to supply home-baked goodies. If you are willing to contribute in this way, please let Alan Frank know at afrank2@unl.edu. We’ll have you bring your treats to the Temple and store them in the freezer.

Candlelighting Friday, January 16, 5:03 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Chef ’s Demo, 1:30 p.m. led by Chabad.

SATURDAY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Jim Polack and David Herzog.

Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Azriel.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Destiny Howard, daughter of Sarah and Jeff Howard, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah.

SUNDAY: No Religious School.

TUESDAY: Executive Meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; Family Night, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, 6:30 p.m. with Rabbi Azriel.

THURSDAY: Dilemmas of Faith: God and Spirituality in the Modern World, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Friday, Jan. 23Saturday, Jan. 24. (see full story on pages 1 and 2.)

TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

FRIDAY: Freedom Breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, 7 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1040 P Street.

Reservations required; Services, 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a special Kiddush luncheon for Charlie Coren’s 68th birthday hosted by Nancy, Abby, and Jemma Coren. The luncheon will be followed by Lunch and Learn with guest, Dr. Laurence Sherr of Atlanta speaking on A musical reflection of sorrow, redemption, and the universal in Nelly Sachs’ poetry.

SUNDAY: No LJCS Classes; The Jewish Federation of Lincoln Annual Meeting, 10 a.m. at Tifereth Israel followed by a lecture from Dr. Laurence Sherr on An Introduction to Klezmer and Gypsy Music and their influence on Western Classical Music. Babysitting will be available.

TUESDAY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Cultiva, 727 S. 11th St. (11th & G Street). Please contact Stephanie Dohner with any questions.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS grades 3-7, 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel.

PJ Library families, are invited to join us for PJ's and Pancakes Sunday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. Come enjoy a story and breakfast for dinner! Please let Nava know if you are able to attend.

Reading Haftorah Trope class begins, Sunday, Jan. 25, 1111:50 a.m. Please let Nancy Coren know if you would like to join this class, so she can have materials ready for your participation.

Beth El women wrap themselves in tradition

by MARGIE GUTNIK Beth El Program Director Egalitarianism is one of the fundamental tenets of Beth El Synagogue. That is the belief in equal religious opportunities for both men and women. One of the most prominent religious items, used daily, are Tallit and Tefillin. Tefillin, specifically, are a powerful symbol, a visceral sign that we bind ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and connection to God. Having for years seen the black boxes perched on only male foreheads, the straps wrapped around only male biceps, the objects seemed foreign and exotic, even (or especially) to those of us who did not participate in the practice. Tefillin are rich in symbolism, an ongoing, tangible sign of God’s covenant. In their physicality they convey powerfully the essence of the religious experience. The Talmud emphasizes tefillin’s unique ability to capture holiness but the knowledge behind the act is what makes it meaningful.

Why do some women wear a tallit? Many see the ritual as a means to approach spirituality and in a public setting.

However, again, an examination of the sources behind the practice and an understanding of the ritual reveal a deeper understanding and that is what makes the decision to wear a tallit meaningful.

It is within that spirit of learning and community, that the women of Beth El with come together to learn from Rabbi Steven Abraham about the mitzvot of tallit and tefillin in Beth El’s Chapel on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Womens’ Rosh Hodesh Group, this event is being chaired by Caryn Rifkin and M’Lee Hasslinger. Following the learning session, refreshments will be served and attendees will have the opportunity to browse and purchase a selection of tallit and kippot from Beth El’s gift shop. RSVPs to Caryn at crgr6175@aol.com or M’Lee at mlee011@ gmail.com.

Pulverent e

January 16, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 11

In memoriam LLOYD MYRON ARKIN Lloyd Myron Arkin passed away on Dec. 14. Services were held on Dec. 17 at Congregation Temple Israel May Chapel in St Louis, MO. He was preceded in death by parents, Morris and Ida Arkin.

He is survived by his wife Harriette of 54 years; daughter, Stephanie Arkin, and daughter and son-in-law, Lizabeth and Dave Schaps; grandchildren: Hannah and Julia Schaps; brothers and sisters-in-law, Laurence and Jeanie Schiffer and Suzanne and Richard Miller.

Lloyd was born in Omaha and graduated fron the University of Nebraska. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict and was awarded the Bronze Star. He was a commercial real estate broker in St. Louis for over 40 years.

Memorials may be made to Congregation Temple Israel, One Rabbi Alvan D Rubin Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141.

CHERYL ANNA KIRKE Cheryl Anna Kirke passed away on Jan. 12, 2015 at age 67 surrounded by loved ones. Services were held on Jan. 14, 2015 at Mt. Sinai Cemetary, 7585 Crown Point Ave. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lonnie and Velma June Dorris, and sister, Phyllis Dorris.

She is survived by husband of nearly 48 years, Larry Kirke of Overland Park, KS, sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. Michael and Lisa Kirke of Bennington, NE, and Mark and Jana Kirke of Leawood, KS; daughter and son-in-law, Melissa and Sean Tanko of Las Vegas, NV; grandchildren: Colin, Lauren, Alex and Elyse Kirke, Kornelle and Lawson Kirke, Jackson and Kaitlyn Tanko; sisters and brothers-inlaw, Marsha and Terry Bratton of Denver, CO, and Vivian and Wayne Madsen of Elk Horn, IA; brothers and sisters-inlaw, Wayne and Pam Dorris of San Antonio, TX, and Brian and Vicki Dorris of San Antonio, TX, and Dale and Nancy Dorris of Council Bluffs, IA; and eleven nieces and nephews.

Born on July 19, 1947 in Kansas City, MO. Cheryl was the oldest sibling, and grew up with three sisters and three brothers. She was a fabulous baker who loved to entertain her family and friends, but most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Creighton University Medical School Cancer Center, “in memory of Cheryl Kirke” at P.O. Box 30282, Omaha, NE 68103-1382 or online at www.creighton.edu/giving/howtogive.

JOAN L. RIPS Joan L. Rips died in Omaha on Dec. 25. Services were held on Dec. 28 at Beth El cemetery with Rabbi Steven Abraham officiating.

She was preceded in death by her husband Norman D. Rips; brother, James I. Robinson; and parents, Samuel L. Robinson and Dora Robinson Feder.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Dennis Paley and daughters, Beth Rips of Omaha and Catherine Rips of Indian Wells, CA; grandchildren: Phillip and Jean Paley of Atlanta, Nikki Paley-Cox and Ken Cox of Chicago, and Lauren and Seth Topek of Houston; greatgrandchildren: Nora, Ella, and Izzy Topek and Shevi, Eli, and Huvi Paley; sister, Margorie and Sam Montague of Overland Park, KS; and many life-long Omaha friends.

Joan was a gracious hostess, renowned for her exquisite and sumptuous parties. She was active in National Council of Jewish Women, most notably in the creation of The Kitchen Connection cookbook. She served on the Esther K. Newman Camp committee during its formation. She was also very involved with Russian resettlement, helping new immigrants with housing, transportation, and cultural integration. She was a consummate and inspirational role model for her daughters, grandchildren, and extended family.

Memorials may be made to the Nebraska Humane Society.

EUGENE L. (GENE) STEP Gene Step passed away on Dec. 24, 2014, at age 85 in San Diego, CA. Services were held Dec. 28 at Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Hannah

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Scheuermann, who also grew up in Omaha; sons, Steven, Michael and Jonathan; five grandchildren; and sister, Sally Clayman of Omaha.

He grew up in Omaha and graduatated from Benson High School, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and the University of Illinois, earning an MS degree in accounting and finance. After graduation, he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. Early in his career with Eli Lilly and Company he lived in London and Paris where he helped to establish Lilly’s European business as Head of Northern EU Marketing. In 1969 he returned to Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis where he rose to the position of Vice President of the International division, then President of the Pharmaceutical division, and Executive Vice-Chairman of Eli Lilly and Company. He served on Lilly’s Board of Directors until retiring in 1992.

He also served in posistions of leadership for many civic and charitable organizations including Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Community Hospitals of Indiana, Trustee of the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute, and Trustee of the University of San Diego Foundation, where he was honored for his significant role in fundraising for the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center. His many industry positions included President of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, Chairman of the Board of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, and President of the International Foundation of Infectious Diseases.

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IRVIN YAFFE Continued from page 1 than 30 years. He also served several terms of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Omaha as well as the Anti-Defamation League.

“When we lived in Austin, TX,” said Alan Potash, Interim CEO of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and Plains States Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League, “we connected with Joan Yaffe (Irv's daughter) who worked with my wife Amy at Dell. As soon as we arrived in Omaha Irv and Annette treated us like we were part of the family. Irv was a longtime friend and an ADL board member. Following his regular workouts, Irv would stop into the ADL office and make sure we were all doing okay and if there was anything he could help with. Irv was a true mensch.”

He also initiated the JCC Wall of Fame, which is located in the hallway towards the outside pool. e Wall has facilitated the recognition of Jewish athletes who have made a difference in our community.

Irvin Yaffe’s dedication to a variety of causes did not go unnoticed. He was honored by the Jewish Community Center in 1976, by the Nebraska Council of School Administrators in 1981, the Nebraska State School Board Association in 1982, the National Anti-Defamation League in 1983 and B’nai B’rith International in 2001. In 1987, he was inducted in the Westside School District’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

“Mr. Yaffe was always willing to step up,” says friend Bob Belgrade. “e broad scope of his community service is simply immeasurable, and it is unmatched. He never said no, and gave advice when needed, helped out where he could, and was always positive and constructive. You won’t find a nicer, classier gentleman than Mr. Yaffe.”

He was preceded in death by his parents Nathan and Dora Yaffe, brother, Sol Yaffe and sister, Minnie Breslow.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Annette; daughters and sons-in-law, Joan and Robert Baumgardner, Jr. of Austin, TX, Ann and Lee Phillips of Montclair, NJ; grandchildren: Lucy and Perry Phillips; brother-in-law and sisterin-law, Robert Swezey and Annette Swezey of Los Angeles, and sister-in-law, Dorothy Yaffe of Omaha; nephews and nieces: Arieh and Anne Breslow of Jersualem, John and Sonia Breslow of Scottsdale, AZ, Bob and Rita Yaffe of Omaha, Jane Yaffe-Rowell of Omaha, Richard Swezey of Los Angeles; Kenneth Swezey of New York; and Stuart and Melissa Swezey of Los Angeles; and many grand-nephews and nieces.

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12 | The Jewish Press | January 16, 2015

Among some Jews, little faith in French authorities

by CNAAN LIPHSHIZ PARIS (JTA) -- When he heard that four Jews had died in an attack on a kosher supermarket near his home, 16-yearold Natan Kalifa contemplated staging an act of violence -possibly against Islamists who support the murders -- he recalled Saturday at a vigil outside Hyper Cacher, the market where a 32-year-old jihadist took 21 people hostage and murdered four on Friday before he was killed by police.

Kalifa’s distress was somewhat diminished after hearing French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in a speech at the vigil reiterate his commitment to French Jews. But Kalifa said he still plans to leave France for Israel as soon as he graduates from high school.

In the wake of an unprecedented spree of terror attacks in France last week that claimed 17 lives, many French Jews expressed appreciation for their government's resolute stance against anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, they felt the response to be insufficient at a time when anti-Semitic violence is a daily reality that is already driving out record numbers of Jews.

“The government’s response is impeccable, but that is not the issue,” Serge Bitton, who lives in the heavily Jewish suburb of St. Mande, said at the vigil.

“The issue for the future of our lives here as Jews is how France reacts, not its government. And right now, France is reacting to Charlie, not to Chaim,” Bitton said of public outrage at the Jan. 7 attack on the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12.

Joyce Halimi, 26, attended the vigil with her husband, Julien.

“The government talks, but it’s only words," she said. "We do not have a future here.”

The perpetrator of the Hyper Cacher attack, Amedy Coulibaly, 32, belonged to the same jihadist cell as Cherif and Said Kouachi, the brothers who staged the Charlie Hebdo attack, French police said. The cell reportedly was involved in efforts to recruit jihadists to fight in Iraq.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands marched along with dozens of world leaders in defense of democratic values and in protest of the killings, including the slaying of a police officer by Coulibaly on Jan. 8.

Tellingly, leaders of French Jewry are openly discussing the feeling of insecurity after striving in the past to reassure their coreligionists and inspire them to stay and fight.

“There are thousands of French citizens fighting for jihad in Syria and Iraq. When they return to France, they are truly bombs with a time delay,” Roger Cukierman, the president of the CRIF umbrella group of French Jewish communities, said at a ceremony honoring the victims at the City Hall of St. Mande.

Joyce Halimi, left, and her husband, Julien, at a vigil for victims of the deadly attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, Credit: Cnaan Liphshiz Jan. 10, 2015.

In an interview with Le Figaro, Cukierman called the increase in emigration from France to Israel a “failure for France” and said it owed to “growing insecurity felt throughout the country.”

French Jews, he added, “feel like the nation’s pariah.”

Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of the Grand Synagogue of Paris told Israel’s Army Radio that he estimated the attacks will result in a doubling of the number of immigrants to Israel in 2015.

“There is a tremendous feeling of insecurity and that these events will only worsen,” he said on Sunday.

In 2014, France for the first time became Israel’s largest source of Jewish immigrants, with 7,000 new arrivals – more than double the 2013 figure of 3,289. The year before, 1,917 French Jews immigrated to Israel.

Among the prospective immigrants this year is Sammy Ghozlan, a former police commissioner who founded one of the country’s most prominent watchdogs on anti-Semitism, the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA.

“The departure, it’s a message,” Ghozlan said in an interview about his decision published last week on JSSnews.com. “Leaving is better than running away. We do not know how things will play out tomorrow.”

BNVCA Vice President Chlomik Zenouda, himself a retired police major, spoke of a sense of fatigue.

“I have participated in many demonstrations, many marches, many vigils. The truth is I am getting tired,” Zenouda told JTA after the supermarket murders. “And another truth is that if it were not for my obligations at the BNVCA, I would leave for Israel.”

Part of the problem, he said, was that “police are under orders not to respond, so you see cat-and-mouse games that encourage offenders to test the limits and cross them.”

Zenouda was referring to violent rallies against Israel held over the summer in defiance of a ban by authorities.

“The firm use of force that exists in the United States against violators does not exist here, and that’s part of the problem,” he said.

A further complication is the sheer operational challenge involved in protecting 500,00 French Jews -- Europe’s largest Jewish community -- from home-grown killers with combat experience gained abroad.

“You can guard a synagogue, fine,” Zenouda said. “But you can’t put cops outside each kosher shop. You can’t assign police protection to each family before it goes shopping.”

Another factor eroding trust is the glorification of Palestinian terrorists by French elected officials, said Alain Azria, a Jewish photojournalist who specializes in documenting France’s anti-Semitism problem.

“Look at this place, it’s like Gaza,” he said at the market of Aubervilliers, an impoverished and heavily Muslim suburb north of Paris where the mayor recently honored Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian leader serving multiple life sentences in Israel for terrorist attacks.

In recent months, several French municipalities have conferred such honors on convicted Palestinians.

“Hollande can speak against anti-Semitism as much as he likes,” Azria said of French President Francois Hollande, “but when public officials hold up Barghouti as an example, we will see the result in blood on our streets, which are emptying of Jews.”

Thank you

It’s more than a donation.

t’s your legacy.

to those who have already made a LIFE & LEGACY™ commitment!* Welcome to Jewish Omaha’s LEGACY SOCIETY! *As of January 9, 2015

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Help secure the financial future of Omaha’s Jewish community through the LIFE & LEGACY™ initiative. LIFE & LEGACY is a collaboration between the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and our local Jewish partner organizations: The Jewish Federation of Omaha and its Agencies, Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, Temple Israel, Chabad House, Anti-Defamation League, Friedel Jewish Academy, Institute for Holocaust Education, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society.

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This is the year to make your LIFE & LEGACY commitment.

Contact the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation today!

Howard N. Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466, hepstein@jewishomaha.org Margo Parsow, LIFE & LEGACY Coordinator 402-334-6432, mparsow@jewishomaha.org