February 5, 2021

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Memories of “Uncle” Chuck Arnold

German, Jew, Muslim, Gay: The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus Page 2

The violinist Page 3

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Charles Arnold died Sunday, Jan. 17 at the age of 80.

Better known as ‘Uncle Chuck,’ Arnold grew up in Florida and earned degrees in exercise science and psychology in 1962 from the University of Alabama, where he played football for the Crimson Tide. After college, he moved to Omaha to accept the position of Athletic Director at the Jewish Community Center. After 28 years in that position, he became the executive director of the Council Bluffs Senior Center, a position from which he retired in 2004. At the time, he said: “Your greatest gift to me has been the recognition that age is truly a state of mind.

I will miss the center and all the dear friends I have made in our journey to make this the only comprehensive wellness center for older adults in the region - and the most exciting.

My appreciation to each and every one of the members, volunteers, businesses, civic leaders, elected officials and professional staff who believed in us and supported us. I wish you much health and happiness and look forward to meeting you at the center as a member.”

He was a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Council on Aging and the International Council on Active Aging. He was past president of the Downtown Council Bluffs Noon See Charles “Chuck” Arnold page 11

Biden administration unrolls Middle East policy Page 12

IHE continues Lunch and Learn

REGULARS

Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

7 8 10 11

All programming is from 11:30 ARIEL O’DONNELL a.m.–1 p.m. on the scheduled days IHE Administrative Assistant In 2021, the Institute for Holocaust via Zoom due to COVID-19 precauEducation will continue with the tions for our community members.

Third Thursday On Feb. 18, 2021, the Lunch and Learn Series Institute welcomes Dr. that encapsulates our Steven Wees who will mission and vision of be sharing the testieducating the public mony of his mother, about the Holocaust Elizabeth Wees, who and its contemporary survived the Holocaust.

Elizabeth Bodek Wees importance. The Lunch was born in 1924 in and Learn Series is an Svalava, Czechoslovaopportunity to hear kia. She grew up in an vital information, surOrthodox Jewish family, vivors’ testimonies, and and when the Nazis inprojects happening vaded she was 14 years within our community.

Dr. Steven Wees old. Elizabeth spent time in the Mukacevo Ghetto, as well as several concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Ravensbruck.

She survived multiple death marches, and was eventually liberated by the Soviet Army. Elizabeth passed away in 2016 at the age of 91. Her son, Dr. Steven Wees, has researched his mother’s Holocaust See IHE Lunch

Chuck Arnold

A successful Alice at the JCC

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor The JCC’s recent Alice in Wonderland performance, which was brought to fruition in spite of COVID-19, was a huge success. The play was directed by Jeremy Stoll, with Jessica Westerlin as rehearsal director and Esther Katz in the role of producer.

“We are so proud that 23 actors

were able to safely meet in person for 16 weeks of rehearsals and produce a play,” Esther Katz, Performing Arts Director, said. “It gave these actors as well as the staff something to look forward to each week. They grew together and learned the art of acting. Our mission as a department is to teach the art of dance, acting and piano. In other words, we teach the performing arts in a See Alice in Wonderland page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

News LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D

German, Jew, Muslim, Gay: The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus DR. JEANNETTE GABRIEL Director, Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies The Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies and the Islamic Studies Center at UNO are cosponsoring an event featuring Dr. Marc David Baer, professor of International History at The London School of Economics. Dr. Baer will be speaking on his new book, German, Jew, Muslim, Gay, The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus, during an online event, Wednesday, Feb. 17 at noon.

The presentation will be followed with a question-and-answer period. All the Schwalb Center events are free, but preregistration is required.

Dr. Marc David Baer Hugo Marcus (1880-1960) was born a German-Jew and converted to Islam, becoming one of the most prominent Muslims in Germany prior to the Second World War. This exciting book examines the how the Muslim community in Berlin saved Marcus by assisting his escape from Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp to Switzerland. It also highlights the complexity of German Jewish intellectualism by examining how Marcus positioned Johann Wolfang von Goethe as an intellectual and spiritual model.

In this new biography, Baer uses Marcus’s life and work to shed new light on German Jewish history and anti-Semitism, Islam in Europe, Muslim-Jewish relations, and the history of the gay rights struggle. Marcus’s life offers a new perspective

on definitions of sexuality and the diversity of thought surrounding gay identity during the interwar years as well as postwar Europe. Baer examines how Marcus balanced his various ethnic and religious identities throughout his life to highlight the interconnected histories of Jewish and Muslim communities.

Professor Baer received his PhD in History from University of Chicago. His first book, Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe (2008), received the Albert Hourani Prize from the Middle East Studies Association. His other publications include: The Dönme: Jewish Converts, Muslim Revolutionaries, and Secular Turks (2010); Death on the Hippodrome: Gender, Tolerance, and Conversion in 17th century Istanbul (2016); and Sultanic Saviors and Tolerant Turks: Writing Ottoman Jewish History, Denying the Armenian Genocide (2020).

As part of this event, Columbia University Press is offering a special discount on the purchase of German, Jew, Muslim, Gay. Detailed information on how to register for this program, take advantage of this discount, and learn more information about Schwalb Center programming, is available on the Schwalb Center website at https://www.unomaha. edu/college-ofarts-and-sciences/schwalb-center/ index.php.

Alice in Wonderland

Continued from page 1 safe environment and then share what we do with the community to bring them together! We are so pleased that together we accomplished that goal.”

The JCC’s Performing Arts Department was able to seat 50 audience members on two different nights in January.

“The audience was socially distanced and all wearing masks in our BRAND NEW state of the art Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater,” Esther said. “We are housed on the amazing Staenberg Omaha JCC campus, which also is a facility we are so proud of ! We were able to bring those 50 audience members in each performance and show them our beautiful facilities. AND we were able to bring hundreds of others virtually into our space! We truly were able to bring people together. This is what the arts do best.”

The cast and crew practiced weekly at the JCC. Because of the large space, they were able to socially distance while learning about the ins and outs of staging a theater performance.

“Many of our cast members are part of each other’s “pods” already,” Esther said, “so they were together, but everyone knew the rules and boundaries and they were all great about keeping them. We also required masks at all times and used lots of hand sanitizer. I would also mention that we did have times when cast members were in quarantine for outside reasons, but we were able to continue while they joined rehearsals via Zoom. It was a learning process for us all!”

This program was made possible by the continued generous support of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Funds: Karen Sokolof Javitch Music Fund, JCC Theatre Program Endowment Fund, Myron (Mike) Milder II Memorial Fund, Kenneth Ray Tretiak Memorial Fund, Ann Woskoff Schulman Memorial Fund, Samuel & Bess Rothenberg Endowment Fund, and Morton A. Richards Youth Endowment Fund.

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The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021 | 3

The violinist After a harrowing train trip from Budapest to Uzzhhorod my wife Bev and I were surprised at how nice our hotel room was. And the next morning we decided to begin to discover the city.

The Uzzh River divided the city into two parts. We were in the city center.

All motor traffic was banned. A bridge which once carried horses and carriages was filled with pedestrians. The RICHARD FELLMAN day was warm with a slight breeze, great for the middle of August. After breakfast in an outdoor café next to our hotel, we took a walk.

Across the bridge we were in the middle of the town square.

Shops in every direction except for two large buildings, one the city’s primary Orthodox Church and the other a unique looking building called the Philharmonia which was once a synagogue. Before World War II there were more than 5,000 Jews in Uzzhhorod, but now there were only a few hundred. Nazis deported the entire population to Kharkov, in Poland, some two hundred miles west and then to Auschwitz where they were murdered.

The written brochure about Uzzhhorod told this story, but there was no marker on the building because the mayor refused to allow the Jewish community to erect a sign which was prepared but remained in the building’s basement. The building was now a music hall.

We walked through the downtown area. There were no longer any Jewish merchants. In front of an open air café in the middle of the city a violinist sat, alone and playing. He smiled as people walked by. Many left bills in his violin case. Behind him was a small bookcase filled with compact discs. We later discovered that it was a complete library of symphonic works

like the collection of a major symphony orchestra.

We stopped and listened. He concluded the piece he was playing, smiled at us and said, “Americans?” It seemed to be a friendly question with a heavy accent. We both answered, “Yes.” That’s all we said. Locals could spot Americans, they said, by the way we dress and by the way we walk and stand.

Then the violinist said “Broadway?” and again we said, “Yes.” He reached around to his library, pulled out a new disc, inserted it, and there it was, the overture to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific. The violinist began, playing without sheet music as if he was the lead musician.

We stood, amazed, and as we were about to leave Bev whispered, “Dick, give him some money.” I told her I hadn’t cashed any American currency yet, and she said, “Don’t worry, he’ll be happy with dollars.” She was correct.

Each time we were in the main shopping area we stopped. He kept asking, as if it were the only word he knew in English, “American?” The answer was always yes, though sometimes we sat in the café.

The violinist often named an American composer who was always either Jewish or somehow connected to Jewish music. Bernstein, Gershwin, Berlin, Barenboin, Perlman and Zuckerman. Then Zubin Mehta, with the explanation that it was the Israel Philharmonic.”

There was always the full symphony orchestra on the cd with violinist in the lead. I always gave him money, and he always smiled and nodded thanks. There were never any other words exchanged. The weather changed. Soon he had a blanket spread in front of him, and we were inside the café.

Then came mid-December, and we were about to leave. My teaching responsibilities under the Fulbright Fellowship at Uzzhhorod National University were concluded. We had become friends with the small group running the Federation which See The violinist page 5

IHE Lunch and Learn

Continued from page 1 journey, and now shares her story with schools and other groups.

“Every day, we saw transports of people going in and not coming out — older people, people with children and all you could see was smoke and fire afterward and the smell was just horrible.”

– Elizabeth Wees On March 18, 2021, the Institute will host Father James Gilg to speak on the subject of Nostra Aetate as it pertains to Fr. James Gilg the events of the Holocaust.

Nostra Aetate is a Declaration from Vatican II that outlines how the Catholic faith should treat those of non-Christian traditions, especially Judaism. Father Gilg believes that teaching these guidelines is pertinent to the discussion of “anti-bias” dialogues, and the foundation for teaching students about

condemning anti-Semitism and bigotry in all forms.

On April 15, 2021, the Institute brings Gary Hochman in for a conversation regarding his upcoming documentary Deadly Deception at Sobibor, a picture that the CT Jewish Ledger called “an unprecedented collaboration in Holocaust research.” Hochman ventures into the excavations of the secret extermination camp Sobibor in Poland, and asks fundamental questions about the historical record as we know it.

Gary Hochman The Institute for Holocaust Education is pleased to have the opportunity to present our Lunch and Learn Series. For more information regarding upcoming programming and to register for classes, please email Executive Director Scott Littky at slittky@ihene.org.

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4 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

At 87, activist rabbi Arthur Waskow is still protesting — and still getting arrested

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chine gun pointed at his block in the Adams Morgan section BEN HARRIS of Washington, D.C., Waskow had an intuition that it was JTA On the day after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Rabbi Pharaoh’s army occupying his neighborhood.

Arthur Waskow gingerly mounted a small wooden stage at That insight inspired Waskow to write the Freedom Seder, Philadelphia’s Independence Mall to address dozens of ac- which referred to King and Mahatma Gandhi as “prophets” tivists concerned that Donald Trump was trying to halt the and introduced quotes from a range of modern thinkers counting of legally cast ballots. alongside the traditional text, including Thomas Jefferson, Nat At 87, the activist rabbi, who has been at the forefront of Turner and Eldridge Cleaver. The Orthodox Rabbinical AlJewish social justice struggles for more than a half-century, is liance of America denounced the work as “most offensive” for in an elevated risk category for the coronavirus; he wore a making radical changes to the Haggadah without rabbinic aumask and kept his distance as he waited his turn to address thority and quoting alleged anti-Semites. the crowd.

“There’s no question, it was chutzpadik,” Waskow said.

When he did, he invoked Moses gathering the Israelites at Waskow had no real standing at the time to rewrite a classic the foot of Mount Sinai and the Jewish of the Jewish canon, but he nevertheless tradition which says that not only were found a ready audience. The following the Israelites then alive present to receive year, on the anniversary of King’s death, the Torah, but all subsequent generathe Haggadah was used as a guide for a tions yet to be born were there as well.

Seder in the basement of a Black church For months as the pandemic raged, in Washington. Hundreds were in attenWaskow barely left his home in Philadeldance and the event was broadcast live phia’s Mount Airy neighborhood — save on the radio. for doctor’s appointments and demonThe Freedom Seder would be the first strations. And it’s not hard to see why of many works Waskow would pen that Waskow considers the two on fairly reimagined Jewish tradition to speak equal footing when it comes to his overmore directly to contemporary concerns, all well-being. initiating a movement that many Jews Not since Abraham Joshua Heschel now take for granted. Passover Seders inmarched with the Rev. Martin Luther Rabbi Arthur Waskow speaks at a news tegrating the oppression of Uyghurs in King in Selma in 1965 has an American conference to show support for a pro- China or the genocide in Darfur hardly rabbi been as indelibly associated with posed mosque at 45 Park Place in New raise eyebrows today. Nor is it uncomthe fight for justice as Waskow. Since his York City, Aug. 5, 2010. Credit: Spencer mon to see rabbis in prayer shawls blowcreation in 1969 of the Freedom Seder, a Platt/Getty Images ing shofars and being arrested at version of the Passover Haggadah that introduced contempo- demonstrations. But in 1968, the idea that Passover had somerary liberation struggles into the ancient story, Waskow has thing to say about the American political situation was a revbeen among the leading voices bringing Jewish spiritual wis- elation. dom to bear on the progressive political agenda. Neither age Waskow continued in this vein with Seasons of Our Joy, a nor a global pandemic has diminished his ardor for the fight. New Age guide to the Jewish holidays (New Age became In September, Waskow published Dancing in God’s Earth- “modern” in subsequent editions). Written in the DIY spirit of quake, the latest in a catalog of more than two dozen books. The Jewish Catalog, the book reintroduced the earth-based, The new work runs through the litany of issues that have an- agricultural roots of the Jewish holidays decades before Jewish imated Waskow for decades — feminism, economic injustice farmers and environmental activists would make such linkand, most pressingly of late, climate change — all refracted ages seem obvious. through the lens of Waskow’s innovative readings of Jewish The following year, Waskow founded the Shalom Center in text and tradition. Nor has advancing age led Waskow to grow Philadelphia, initially to address the threat of nuclear weapons averse to getting himself arrested, which he has done more through a Jewish lens. Over time, the organization came to than two dozen times — he’s lost the exact count — since his focus on other concerns, including Middle East peace, interfirst time while protesting a segregated amusement park in faith relations and climate change. his hometown of Baltimore in the 1960s.

Being a radical is something of a badge of honor for Waskow, In 2019, Waskow was arrested outside an Immigration and who still gets a childlike gleam in his eye describing himself Customs Enforcement office in Philadelphia while protesting as a revolutionary. His decision to seek rabbinic ordination in the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant women. He 1995, when he was 62 and already teaching at the Reconstruchad been arrested in the same location, for the same reason, tionist seminary, was born of his recognition that the rabthe previous summer. binate was a revolutionary institution, a linchpin of the Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, a fellow Philadelphia activist transformation of ancient Judaism from a faith based on temrabbi and the founder of the social justice training program ple rites to one of learning and prayer. at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, recalled an inciJudging by appearances, Waskow seems uniquely suited to dent a decade ago when he and Waskow were protesting the the role of religious revolutionary. A burly man with a wispy Keystone pipeline at the federal building in Philadelphia. white beard and an instinct for impassioned oratory, Waskow Liebling was arrested after jumping over a barricade in an ef- brings to mind the biblical prophets. fort to block the doors, but Waskow, then in his late 70s, could“People have said that I have softened him,” said Rabbi Phyln’t make it over. lis Berman, Waskow’s wife of 34 years. “And I think that I have.

“Arthur laid down on the floor and tried to wriggle under And he has also toughened me.” the barricade to block the door,” Liebling said. “He wasn’t Berman and Waskow met at a conference in 1982, some going to be stopped.” months after she read Seasons of Our Joy and sent Waskow a Waskow was destined for activism from an early age. Both love letter, which he never answered. (It had been lost in the his parents were politically engaged — his father was a labor mail.) Berman confronted Waskow over the lapse and the two organizer who had headed the Baltimore teachers union and struck up a friendship. Four years later they were married and his mother registered Black voters in the Maryland city’s each took on a new middle name — Ocean — inspired by their neighborhood. Both were active with Americans for Demo- shared love of the sea. cratic Action.

Oceans, or the rising levels thereof, are much on Waskow’s After earning a doctorate in history from the University of mind these days as he pours his energies into fighting climate Wisconsin, Waskow went to work on disarmament and civil change. Waskow devotes the first chapter of Dancing in God’s rights for Robert Kastenmeier, an influential longtime mem- Earthquake to retelling the Garden of Eden story through an ber of the U.S. House of Representatives. Later he became a ecological lens before moving on to a range of suggested refellow at the progressive think tank the Institute for Policy sponses, from solar co-ops to increased carpooling to avoiding Studies. In 1970, he testified for the defense at the trial of the industrial meat.

Chicago 7.

But as urgent as Waskow believes climate change to be, he The trial was the first time that Waskow had worn a yar- hopes his legacy will be a deeper shift in Jewish theology — mulke in a nonreligious setting — the judge tried to have him and by extension in the Jewish psyche. Waskow believes that remove it, but relented at the prosecutor’s urging. At the time, modernity has presented Judaism with a challenge on par Waskow “was still wrestling with what this weird and power- with the one faced by the ancient rabbis following the destrucful ‘Jewish thing’ meant in my life,” as he would write later. tion of the Temple. That challenge, reflected in the cascading Though he had always observed Passover, Judaism had failed crises now facing humanity, will require a profound transforto seriously capture his attention until well into adulthood. mation in religious thought — from one centered on serving That changed on an April evening in 1968 as Waskow God as a ruler or king to a more ecological worldview that sees headed home to prepare for the Passover Seder. Federal troops all of creation as part of an interbreathing whole. were out in force to quell riots sparked by the assassination This article was edited for length. Read the full story at of Martin Luther King Jr. just days before, and seeing a ma- www.omahajewishpress.com.

The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021 | 5

B’nai Israel February service and speaker

CAROLE LAINOF Richard Fellman will be the D’Var Torah speaker for the Shabbat evening service Friday, Feb. 12 at B’nai Israel via ZOOM at 7:30 p.m. Since this will be Lincoln’s 212th Birthday, and he is one of Dick’s favorite patriots, the title of the talk is Pretend You’re Abraham Lincoln. Fellman has a long history as a speaker at the synagogue and a long history of political involvement as State Senator, County Commissioner, and UNO adjunct professor in Political Science. A decade ago he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach American Government in Ukraine. So this D’var Torah promises to be of interest to everyone! To ZOOM in to the service please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com.

LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

Rosh Chodesh: A taste of tradition

Richard Fellman

The violinist Continued from page 3 included a school for children. It was Hanukkah. Bev was asked to attend a Friday afternoon class to read stories to the children in English since they wanted the children who were learning English to hear an American accent.

On a cold afternoon Bev and I were walking to the Federation and walking in the same direction was the violinist carrying his violin. We stopped, and so did he. Then he asked us a new question, one he had never asked all six months we knew him.

“Zhid?” which in Russian simply means Jew. There was no need for anything else to be said.

We embraced, first the violinist with Bev and then with me. We walked on together.

It turned out that every Friday afternoon the violinist came to the school to accompany the teacher as she taught the children Jewish songs. This Friday he did the same, but

this time Bev softly sang some of the songs in English, the violinist played, and the children sang.

It was our final day in Ukraine. We knew we would not see him again.

The folks at the Federation told us his story. He was the concertmaster for the Symphony Orchestra of Siberia, but once the Soviet Union collapsed there were no longer government salaries for musicians.

His father was a professor of physics at the university and had died. His mother was old, and he remained to care for her. He had one daughter, a physician, who moved to Israel.

His only income was the stipend each citizen received and tips from his music.

Bev looked at me but didn’t say anything.

Hidden in my wallet were American hundred dollar bills, “just in case money.” I took one, showed it to Bev who nodded yes, and gave it to the violinist. It was equal to half his monthly salary.

GOT WATER? GOT COFFEE?

CASSANDRA WEISENBURGER Temple Israel Director of Communications We have a wonderful experience in store for our next Rosh Chodesh event on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. Our host Berta Ackerson has asked Andie Gordman, Bonnie Leiserowitz, Sandy Nogg and Gretchen Radler to showcase a special food that centers around a Jewish holiday or family tradition and you get to taste each! Let’s get together virtually, have a snack and enjoy the conversations. There is no charge, but registration is required so we

have enough samples for everyone.

RSVP online by Monday, Feb. 8 at temple israelomaha.com/rosh-chodesh.html.

Once you register, you will be sent the Zoom link. The sample boxes will be available for pickup at Temple Israel on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and Thursday, Feb. 11. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Engagement and Events Mindi Marburg.

Rosh Chodesh marks the beginning of the Hebrew month and serves as an opportunity for women of every generation to gather and connect, learn and pray, and socialize and create.

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. For specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact the Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com or leave a message at the BB JCC office 402.334.6443.

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2021 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND PARENTS We will be publishing our annual High School Graduation Class pages on May 21, 2021.

To be included, send us an email with the student’s name, parents names, high school they are attending, the college they will be attending and photo to: jpress@jewishom aha.org by May 3, 2021.

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ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP PAY FOR THESE GREAT JEWISH EXPERIENCES! Scholarship funding also available for post-secondary education, including vocational training and college.

Applications due March 1, 2021 For more info and applications, visit the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s website at www.jewishomaha.org, call (402) 334-6551, or email Diane Walker at dwalker@jewishomaha.org

6 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

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Riots against COVID restrictions continue across Israel Netanyahu agreed to weaken a bill that would have doubled BEN SALES AND SHIRA HANAU JTA fines against those who violated the restrictions at the request A mob of Orthodox Jews torched a bus in Israel amid ongo- of his haredi political allies, according to reports ing riots protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Meanshilw, thousands of people gathered in Jerusalem SunPolice officers in other cities were also injured during riots day morning to mourn Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik, the scion of in Orthodox neighborhoods, where COVID-19 rates have a major rabbinic dynasty. spiked but residents have objected to lockdown restrictions.

In the afternoon, a funeral procession for another leading Sunday’s bus burning in Bnei Brak, a largely haredi, or ultra- rabbi, Yitzhok Scheiner, again drew thousands of mourners.

Orthodox, city near Tel The mass funerals come Aviv, came days after riamid simmering tensions oters there injured seven over the haredi sector’s police officers in clashes handling of the COVIDlast week. Police have 19 pandemic. Both sought to close haredi Soloveitchik, the leader schools and other instiof the Brisk yeshiva, who tutions, which has was 99 and Scheiner, the sparked a violent backhead of the Kamenitz lash from protesters. yeshiva, who was 98, died The bus driver told an of COVID-19.

Israeli radio station that Israel is currently under he was driving in Bnei lockdown in an effort to Brak when he was bring a high infection blocked by protesters rate under control. Yet in burning tires and trash A fire burns during a haredi Orthodox protest against enforcement of a community where cans. Protesters then COVID-19 restrictions in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak, Jan. 24, 2021. Credit: protests against the rules surrounded and entered Tomer Neuberg/Flash90 have sometimes turned the bus, and one of them began punching and kicking the violent and a leading rabbi has openly advised schools to opdriver. He said he called the police but they took 15 minutes erate illicitly, thousands of people streamed into the streets to to arrive. Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical pay their respects. Photos and videos from the funerals service, finally extricated the driver. showed many attendees without masks.

Protesters then set the bus on fire, which also damaged A top Jerusalem police official said authorities were powernearby apartment buildings. less to stop the gatherings, telling Channel 12, “There would “I don’t know how I’m alive,” said the driver, Eyal Tzipori, ac- certainly have been bloodshed” had police intervened. cording to The Jerusalem Post.

Critics of the government said the crowds were evidence Police officers have also been injured by haredi rioters in the that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not have control cities of Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. of the country’s outbreak. Netanyahu has closed the airport Israeli Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef condemned the and distributed vaccines at a world-record pace but has not rioters for “desecrating God’s name.” Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, aggressively stepped in in the haredi sector. a top Ashkenazi haredi authority, is also expected to call for a Soloveitchik and Scheiner were the latest in a string of stop to the riots. major rabbinic leaders in the haredi Orthodox communities Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that all the in Israel and the United States to die after becoming infected protesters from Sunday’s riots in Bnei Brak had been arrested, with the coronavirus.

The Times of Israel reported, though there were only 13 arrests.

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The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society (NJHS) requests help from the community in identifying photographs from the archives. Please contact Kathy Weiner at 402.334.6441 or kweiner@ jewishomaha.org if you are able to assist in the effort to preserve Jewish Omaha history.

Those mittens raised $1.8 million GABE FRIEDMAN JTA Bernie Sanders found a way to turn his superstar social media status into some significant charity — $1.8 million, to be exact, for several charitable organizations across his home state of Vermont.

In case you missed it: A photo of the Jewish senator at the presidential inauguration ceremony wearing homemade mittens went Credit: Brendan Smialowski/ viral after the inauguration. AFP via Getty Images In response, Sanders’ website sold a variety of merchandise with the image on it, including sweatshirts and mugs, pledging to donate the proceeds to charity.

The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021 | 7

Above: Ethel Lerner and her family visited on Jan. 3. Gary Lerner, in the Zoom, lives in Omaha but the rest are from all over the US. After the Zoom, Ethel kept saying “Amazing!” “Amazing, you can do this right in your own living room.”

She loved it!

Below and right: Yes, Bernie has been seen at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home sitting in a chair with mittens. See if you can spot him.

Above: Mazal tov to Fiona Benton, who celebrated her Bat Mitzvah January 15!

Above and below: Friedel students learning about Tu B’Shevat.

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

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

Above: Friedel third and fourth graders enjoying their weekly swim class in the JCC pool.

8 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

Voices

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We remember

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Jan. 27 was International Holocaust remembrance Day, which always makes me wonder: what is different about that day, versus all other days?

That one day, when candles are lit, special commemorations are held around the world, does it really make enough of a difference? The next day, most people go back to life as they know it—I have to ask whether it really makes an impact.

For most people, I’m afraid the answer is ‘no.’

Even if they pay attention on the day itself, maybe post something on their social media or even attend (virtually, in this case) some event somewhere, even if in theory they agree remembering is important, it does not always translate into action the other 363 days.

Take for example the speech delivered by Valdis Rakutis, who is a member of the Seimas, Lithuania’s parliament, and chairman of its commission on historical memory. ““There was no shortage of Holocaust perpetrators among the Jews themselves, especially in the ghetto self-government structures,” Rakutis said in the speech, which took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. “We need to name these people out loud and try not to have people like them again.”

“Rakutis also said that two wartime collaborators with Nazi Germany, Kazys Škirpa and Jonas Noreika, were not to blame for the fact that more

than 95% of Lithuanian Jewry was murdered, mostly by locals and often by followers of the two leaders.” (JTA.com) I want to be surprised, but I’m not. Rakutis is hardly the first European politician to stick his foot in his mouth; it’s happened all over the continent, in Great Britain, in North and South America, you

name it. The archetype of the politician who accidentally (or sometimes not-so-accidentally) admits how truly anti-Semitic their thinking is has become commonplace.

Why even attend a Holocaust commemoration if you are going to say these things—and why attend if you believe these things?

I don’t know the answer to that. I do know that as Jews we approach these commemorations in the hope to educate, the hope it will make a difference.

Every day, that hope becomes more urgent, as many survivors are leaving us and it is up to us to

keep the memories alive.

Marking one day a year is obviously not going to do it. We need more, we need a constant, living memory.

The ADL recently wrote: “Holocaust denial, is founded on stereotypes of Jewish greed, scheming, and the belief that Jews can somehow force massive institutions — governments, Hollywood, the media, academia — to promote an epic lie. In the United States, until the early 2000s, Holocaust denial was dominated by the extremist right, including white supremacists, who had a vested interest in absolving Hitler from having committed one of the most monstrous crimes the world has ever known. Today, Holocaust denial in the U.S. has moved far beyond its original fringe circles on the extremist right to become a phenomenon across the ideological spectrum. A September 2020 survey found that 49 percent of American adults under 40 years old were exposed to Holocaust denial or distortion across social media.” (ADL.org) That is a scary truth, but it’s one we have known for quite a while: those who distort and deny the Holocaust are much busier and much more effective than those who want to educate and speak truth. If you believe it’s all a lie, you get rid of the guilt—and that is an attractive notion to many.

One day to remember is obviously not enough.

Most of us remember the Holocaust every day-it’s how we were raised. It’s time the rest of the world does too.

My grandfather survived Auschwitz and spends his life spreading kindness HANNAH ALBERGA JTA On Jan. 6, a sea of heads bobbed and flags flew outside the U.S. Capitol. A closer look revealed a dark hoodie, skull, crossbones and large white letters: “Camp Auschwitz,” followed by “Work Brings Freedom.” That’s the phrase my 91-year-old grandfather, David Moskovic, saw every day in German, “Arbeit Macht Frei,” when he was a 14-year-old Nazi prisoner.

For nights following the riots, my grandfather roused to recurring nightmares. The mob at the Capitol brought him back to Auschwitz, 1944.

Upon arrival, soon-to-be prisoners were rushed out of cattle cars and had their belongings taken.

Everyone was sorted into two lines: One led to a building with a chimney exhaling bulging smoke; the product of cremating innocent bodies. One led to the camp. His family was split, but by the end of the war he lost everyone:his mother, father, older brother, two younger sisters but not his older sister, Edith.

“You can’t even comprehend what could have happened,” he said to me over the phone from Ottawa when we spoke about the riots.

But he could. He knew what hate-born violence looked like, felt like, the pain, the starvation, the loss, the imprint.

Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, it’s imperative to step into the past as a way to process the present. At 16, my grandfather had suffered more than most people do in their entire lives, but he never let it define him. Instead it fueled a deep, wholehearted sense of kindness that guided the rest of his life.

Following his arrival at Auschwitz, my grandfather, along with his brother and father, was tattooed with his new name — A6024. David Moskovic no longer existed.

For six months he was sent to lay bricks at Buna, a work camp outside of Auschwitz. His daily diet consisted of a slice of hard bread, grass soup with stones mixed in and sometimes a thicker potato soup for dinner. He often saved his slice of bread for his father, terrified for his diminishing body and declining health.

In January 1945, Buna prisoners were rounded up at dusk and instructed to march. Gunshots pierced the air. Prisoners dropped dead. After three days without food or water, they arrived at a brickyard in Glewice, a village in Poland, and were given a slice of bread before being jammed into cattle cars. Each

time the train stopped, the soldiers removed dead bodies, but my grandfather needed these corpses.

He hid beneath them as a blanket. When it snowed, he kept his mouth open to dampen his lips. Later he learned that his father and brother had died.

By the fourth day without food or water, the cattle car stopped at Buchenwald, a concentration camp in Germany. My grandfather rolled off, unable to stand. He saw his uncle dying but did not react, could not react. Survival was the sole focus. Each day he pleaded to God, “Give me one more day.”

David Moskovic, the author’s grandfather, at his 90th birthday party. Credit: Stephen J. Thorne

Finally he was fed a bowl of soup. He snuck back in line for seconds — a death sentence if discovered.

When he saw prisoners on the verge of dying, he took their food vouchers. This was the only way to survive.

He was so skinny he could practically see through his own hand. All that remained was skin and bones.

As the Allies encroached, the Nazis tried to kill as many people as possible. They selected hundreds of prisoners every day, instructed them to dig a large hole and shot them into the mass grave. One day, my grandfather was chosen. He knew once he left those gates he would never return. No one did.

As the selected prisoners began to march, he threw himself to the ground and lay flat while the others stepped on him. Once they left, he ran back to his barrack, hiding in the rafters for hours.

On April 11, 1945, planes flew so low it seemed like they would hit the roofs of the barracks. My grandfather could barely walk outside to see what was going on. A big white sheet hung in the air. The guards were gone. American soldiers had arrived.

When I place the picture of American soldiers liberating my grandfather, handing him the most valu-

able gift imaginable at the time — freedom — next to the U.S. Capitol rioters, I feel nauseous, my muscles tighten and my jaw clenches. The contrast is uncanny.

But it’s a testament to reality. Freedom and hate live in tandem, immersed in a tumultuous relationship: When one pushes, the other pulls.

White supremacy is alive. But my grandfather is alive, too. The Capitol mobs represent a hatred that was growing louder every day. But my grandfather and other survivors represent a love that has the extraordinary power of sowing hope for “one more day.”

Auschwitz is not a historical artifact. The gates did not close on liberation day; they opened a door to generations of hate that may never have an expiration date.

But they also opened the door to freedom for my grandfather, who reminds me that every day is beautiful. He lost his family, his home, his health, his nationality and religious identity.

Yet he started over. The past never tainted his future, but instead showed him a path of resilience. Love became the cornerstone of his life; a sharp contrast to the hate-filled wishes of white supremacists.

Living in Ottawa, while working as a plumber, he dropped off and picked up his three children every day from school, no matter what. He traveled eight hours round trip from Ottawa to Toronto for my school plays, graduations, birthdays, holidays and often just for a visit.

He welcomed a new rabbi by delivering a Shabbat meal. He gifted my cousins’ old toys to children he met in the elevator of his apartment building.

He extended an open-ended offer to take a blind woman for groceries. He made peanut butter sandwiches for the security guard in his building, toasted, just the way he likes it.

His hugs are more like squeezes. His handholds can last hours. His kisses are on both cheeks.

Before the pandemic, my grandfather regularly spoke at schools about his experiences. He often concluded with this sentiment, the same words he says to me at the end of every phone call: “I live a beautiful life. I have three beautiful children. I am a happy man. Be nice to each other. Be good to each other. Take care of each other.”

Hannah Alberga is a Toronto-based journalist.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021 | 9

Spending summers with sick children taught me about healing together despite our differences This work requires us to set aside the safety of our own bubRABBI ARI DEMBITZER bles — and to think about what we can do for others. In the JTA As an Orthodox rabbi in Omaha, Nebraska, people often Talmud, Rabbi Shimon asserts that a person should study want to know what it’s like to live here in the middle of Amer- Torah all day. Rabbi Yishmoel disagrees and says a person ica. The most common questions typically go something like should earn a living and engage with others to complement this: “How many Jews are there?” “Do you live on a farm?” And his Torah learning. of course, “Do you know Warren Buffet?” (The answers: about The Talmud concludes that many have tried to study all day 9,000; no; I wish!)

After addressing these burning questions, I describe Omaha as a city where people are nice for no reason. As someone who grew up in Brooklyn, I have learned a lot from the slow pace and the positive impact that the lack of traffic has on the human psyche.

But my utopian bubble was punctured as I observed the polarization and discord that’s happening throughout America hit here as well. Friends and neighbors have stopped talking to one another over their diverging opinions on political issues, vaccines and masks.

While my new home feels Campers at Camp Simcha. Credit: Camp Simcha divided, the unity I see during my “summer job” gives me hope like Rabbi Shimon’s directive and failed. In explaining this conthat we can rebuild mutual respect in spite of our tremendous clusion, in his Sefer Ein Ayah, Rav Avrohom Yitzchok HaKodifferences and the tremendous challenges we face. hen Kook states that when a person studies all day and is not In addition to my rabbinic duties in Omaha, during the sum- on the lofty level of Rabbi Shimon, and does not do mitzvot mers I relocate to New York’s Catskill Mountains, where I have and engage with others, all he becomes is their mind. If one is served as the co-director of Camp Simcha, a medically super- only engaged in their mind and their own opinions, they will vised overnight camp for children with life-threatening ill- lose appreciation of others. They then tend to become argunesses and chronic disease, for over 20 years. mentative and divisive.

In camp, our bunks are filled with children and staff from At Camp Simcha, our counselors and staff members have all religious backgrounds and walks of life: Zionists and Sat- one goal: to give each child the most joyous, fun-filled experimar Hasidim, Orthodox and secular Jews, and everything in ence possible. When you are compassionate and giving, you between. Though they may have differing worldviews, they tend to look for the best in others. You try to understand othare able to discover common ground and find strength in one ers. And you quickly realize life is too short to dwell on what another. divides us.

A few summers ago, I was lucky to meet two incredible Unlike the world of online vitriol, our camp focuses on kindyoung campers: Matthew, a Reform Jew from Dallas, Texas, ness. We get to know one another, we sing and dance together, and Chaim, a Vizhnitz Hasid from Monsey, New York. we play, we talk, we ask questions, and we build up each other Matthew had never met a Hasidic Jew, and Chaim had not without ever losing sight of our unique identities and what personally known any non-Orthodox Jews. Through their makes us each so special. Hence Rav Kook’s teaching: The way shared experiences as leukemia survivors, the two formed a to increase harmony within diversity is to engage and to give special bond and have remained close friends until this day, to one another. sharing in each other’s joyous occasions.

Rabbi Ari Dembitzer is the co-director of Chai Lifeline’s Matthew and Chaim are my inspiration. While their day-to- Camp Simcha and rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue in day lives feel very different from the outside and the chal- Omaha, Nebraska. lenges they’ve faced are daunting, they teach us that there is The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of more that unites us than keeps us apart and that we can learn the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its from one another without sacrificing who we are. parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The audacity to hope On Jan. 6, I expected bad things to happen, but it was worse than I had expected. On Inauguration Day, I hoped to be enlightened, and I was enlightened with hope...

The question is: What will that hope usher in? What changes with the change of administration? Does the communication divide miraculously heal? Does the pandemic crawl back GARY NACHMAN into its plagued hole? Will racial dispar- Regional Director, ity suddenly be acknowledged, admit- ADL-Plains States ted, accepted and resolved? Does the Region working American’s economy suddenly feel equitable and fair? Will extremists of all stripes discover they have been living in Jonestown and now yearn to be free of it? Will anti-Semitic attitudes finally evaporate? How do we manage through disinformation?

Rarely in history have so many big issues needed to be dealt with given the priority of the evils we must face. Sadly, none of these questions are likely to be resolved simply by the free exercise of our nation’s right to vote. Politicizing loyalty, patriotism, education, communication, faith, not to mention honesty and the pursuit of truth, has numbed our senses of reality and kicked our moral compass off its survivable path.

Ten percent of Americans hold anti-Semitic views. That is over 30 million people! Fifty-six percent of Americans believe

that our country holds racist views according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll from last summer. That is a staggering number representing more than 180 million Americans!

Emotional fatigue and stress, promulgated by any of the above ailments, have left us exhausted. The cuts on our feet from walking on eggshells are starting to get infected... We long for an antiseptic!

Despite all this, and the deer-in-headlights numbness of how one makes the first move towards solutions, there is a glimmer of light. There is a palpable sense that people desire change. And the good news is that the willingness for change appears to have empathetic support from the top. That we can have the audacity to hope and take risks in finding repair.

How do we seek and find solutions? First, we must remove the liars. Then, we can work on repairing the lies. Sometimes with bold protests that bring issues to the fore. Sometimes seeking little victories that we can build upon.

More than anything else, I am optimistic there is a new generation that will not be satisfied with past performance. They recognize that without a sound environment, there is no life to share, regardless of with whom we agree or disagree. They will make every effort to replace discord with harmony. It is our job to encourage, mentor, participate and support in any way we can. We can be the groundswell—one person at a time, one choice at a time.

Then, collectively, we can be the tide that lifts all ships.

Synagogues

10 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN

South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com

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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

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

B’NAI ISRAEL Join us via Zoom on Friday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m. for evening services with a guest speaker Richard Fellman. Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin and Sissy Silber.

Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

VIRTUAL MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9 a.m. and Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Shira, 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 6:25 p.m.

SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.; World Wide Wrap, 10:30 a.m.; BESTT (Grades 3-7), 10:30 a.m.; Virtual Trip to Israel (Grades 8-12), 12:15 p.m.; Dreams Never Dreamed with Kalman Samuels, 2 p.m.

MONDAY: Jewish Law with Rabbi Abraham, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY: Biblical Literacy with Rabbi Abraham, 11:30 a.m.; Virtual Office Hours with Eadie and Amy, 4 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Coffee & Conversation with Rabbi Abraham, 2 p.m.; BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:30 p.m.; Beit Midrash — One People, Many Voices, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Virtual Office Hours with Eadie and Amy, 4 p.m.; Pearls of Jewish Prayer with Hazzan Krausman, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-Feb. 12: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 13: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 6:30 p.m.

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

BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

Classes, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah on Zoom, Whatsapp or Facebook Live. On site services held outside in Sukkah, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required.

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Candlelighting, 5:28 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kids Class, 4:30 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha, 5:20 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Jewish Law in Depth, 9:45 a.m. with Rabbi Moshe; Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 am. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-Feb. 12: Rosh Chodesh Adar — Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 6:45 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Candlelighting, 5:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 13: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha, 5:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:38 p.m.

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

CHABAD HOUSE Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Due to Coronavirus, all services and classes have moved online. For schedules and more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.org or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Lechayim, 4 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Candlelighting, 5:28 p.m.

SATURDAY: Minyan, 10 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Minyan, 8:30 a.m.

MONDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Virtual Pirkei Avot Women’s Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen; Introduction to Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Professor David Cohen.

THURSDAY: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Professor David Cohen; Talmud Study, noon with Rabbi Katzman; Fun with Yiddish, 1 p.m. with Shani Katzman.

FRIDAY-Feb. 12: Minyan, 7 a.m.; Lechayim, 4 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Candlelighting, 5:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-Feb. 13: Minyan, 10 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 6:38 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Virtual services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch.

FRIDAY: Candlelighting, 5:28 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat Service from service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Steve and Nathaniel Kaup, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Felch via Zoom; Torah Study on Parashat Yitro, 11:30 a.m. via Zoom; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS Gan-Gesher, 10 a.m. via Zoom; Adult Ed: Intro to Judaism Class, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex via Zoom.

MONDAY: Makers of Jewish Things, 7 p.m. via Zoom; Ritual Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.

TUESDAY: Synagogue Staff Meeting, 10 a.m.; Tea

& Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

FRIDAY-Feb. 12: Candlelighting, 5:36 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat Service service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

SATURDAY-Feb. 13: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Felch via Zoom; Torah Study on Parashat Mishpatim, 11:30 a.m. via Zoom; Havdalah (72 minutes), 6:38 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE All services canceled until further notice.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.

Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Service: Celebrating Temple Israel’s 150th Anniversary: 150 Years with Rabbi Azriel, 6 p.m. Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom; Shabbat Service/Bar Mitzvah of Asher Tipp, 10:30 a.m.

SUNDAY: Temple Tots, 10 a.m.; Youth Learning Programs, 10 a.m.; Grade 6 Trope, 11 a.m.

MONDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, 11 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: Mindful Meditation with Margot, 9 a.m.; Youth Learning Programs: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6-8 p.m.; Community Beit Midrash: One People, Many Voices: How are the Various Denominations of Judaism Different?, 7 p.m. Register online.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Discussion, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. Join us via Zoom; Rosh Chodesh Event: A Taste of Tradition, 6:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-Feb. 12: Shabbat Service: The Land of Israel: Spirituality, Culture and Politics: Pluralism, 6 p.m.

Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAY-Feb. 13: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

Come get active at the Staenberg JCC! The Jewish Community Center has been a big part of Omaha for more than eight decades and you belong here! From drop-in programs to private lessons, we have the sport programs you are looking for.

We offer private basketball lessons for members and non-members. These 60-minute lessons are a great way to work on specific skills. Players will work on shooting, ball-handling, footwork and much more. Workouts are customized for each player to target specific areas for improvement.

The Omaha ATA Martial Arts Black Belt Academy offers Taekwondo for members age six to adult. The whole family is encouraged to participate together. Classes meet three times a week on Thursdays and Sundays and are held in the JCC Group Exercise Studio. The more members of your family who sign up, the more you save!

Fees are collected on a monthly basis. You must be members of same family to get the discount.

Any testing fees and ATA membership dues are separate.

The JCC Little Lions Basketball Program emphasizes development through skills, fundamentals and great coaching. The JCC offers a competitive and positive environment in a great facility and everyone is welcome! Join our JCC Little Lions Youth Basketball Team! for kids from 2nd to 5th grade (as of Fall 2020). Games will be

played on-site, against other basketball clubs through our JCC Little Lions League. Do you have your own team? Check our website at JCCOma ha.org for details about our Little Lions League.

Our belief is that individuals improve by being taught fundamental skills and concepts that will make them better players. We stress team play and learning the proper offensive and defensive fundamentals in a positive environment. Teams will play tournament games that will challenge them and help them gain experience. Our goal is to provide an atmosphere where kids can learn basketball, compete and develop the passion and excitement to play the game the right way.

The JCC Lions coaching staff has many years of coaching and playing experience. Coaching of the program is coordinated by Jonathan Crossley who has over 15 years of coaching experience.

The JCC coaching staff is highly qualified and committed to providing the tools for your child to be the best they can be!

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg- for more ideas about all the different ways you can get active and involved at the Staenberg JCC, please check out our full programming at www.JCCOmaha.org. If you have any questions please contact Lynette Brannen at 402.590.2144 or email lbrannen@jccomaha.org.

We can’t wait to see you!

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Life cycles IN MEMORIAM CHARLES “CHUCK” ARNOLD

Continued from page 1 Kiwanis and served as a Cee Bee Ambassador.

His biggest impact was as the JCC’s athletic director: there are countless people who have stories, memories and, most importantly, gratitude when they think of Uncle Chuck.

Bill Ginsburg is one example: “I worked with Uncle Chuck from 1963 until about 1970, both as a high school kid and as a college student,” he said. “Chuck was wonderful in that he was handson. He was never an administrator, he couldn’t sit behind a desk but had to roll up his sleeves. He was 6’4,” at least; he truly was a ‘gentle giant’ and was very dear to me. I remember how every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a group of then-senior citizens, including Henry Riekes, Max Platt, Les Burkenroad and Dr. Beber, would come and we would play volleyball with them.”

“The institution’s oldest institution,” the Jewish Press called him in 1983. In an interview he gave on the occasion of his 20th anniversary, he mused about the Jewishness of his job: “What about all this is Jewish? Chuck refers those who ask that question to the Talmud, which says the mind cannot survive without a healthy body. He said further that the strenuous activities at the Center may have helped to dispel a popular image of the Jew as a ‘sedentary, inactive’ person and gave the JCC BlueStar basketball team as an example of how Jewish identity is ‘woven into the P.E. program. Besides, said Chuck, athletic programs in which Jews participate always do much to foster Jewish friendship and association.”

Larry Kelberg said: “Uncle Chuck put the ‘Community’ in the JCC. He was the heart, and he was family. He brought love and warmth to what was much more than a job and kept us all coming back for more. He had the place bustling from five in the morning until nine at night. He had the youth groups, of which there were eight at the time, the synagogues, everyone wanted to be there. There was a sport for every season; we played softball at Elmwood Park and flag football where Beth Israel was built later. The JCC athletic department was the place to be, whether you were athletically inclined or not. We needed nothing else.”

Chuck’s department was instrumental in developing the first pre-school physical education program in the Midwest. It was called ‘Tot Gym,’ and served as a model for educators all throughout the region. The JCC even held training workshops for visiting pre-school teachers.

“It was so popular,” Bill Ginsburg said, “kids would be bused in from different locations in Omaha to learn how to exercise. It was Chuck’s baby.”

Then, there was the rehabilitation program for people with coronary disease, which was supported by the Nebraska Heart Association. Chuck started an educational and pool exercise program for those with rheumatoid arthritis, stress-management workshops and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation classes. A special exercise class for heart patients was called ‘Sweathogs;’ the ‘Early Risers’ met five times per week at 6 a.m. Some of these groups bonded to the point where they held other, more sociallyaimed events, like Hanukkah breakfasts. The Sweathogs wore white T-shirts with, appropriately, a heart on it.

“Once a year,” Larry Kelberg remembers, “he would put all the best kids from the different Blue Star basketball teams on a bus and we would ride to Sioux City and participate in a tournament.

Our parents would stay home; they trusted Uncle Chuck with their kids. He told a lot of jokes, he was a funny guy, but even though the bus was full of rowdy kids, we didn’t dare misbehave.

He was tall and had this booming voice (he never needed a megaphone) and we were on our best behavior, because as much as we all loved him, we were also a little bit intimidated.”

In addition to the many programs he ran, Chuck ran summer camps for many years. He took kids out of the city and gave them memories that would last a lifetime.

“We took the kids 40 miles out of Omaha,” Chuck himself said in 2016, “and it felt like they were far outside the city. Kids would stay anywhere from two to eight weeks and we did nature projects, arts and crafts, and the kids couldn’t wait to meet up with each other for the summer. They all came from different shuls and schools. They didn’t have social media and there was no television at Camp. Camp was a time to look at the stars and smell the trees! Camp gave you new perspective, took you away from indoor electricity and air conditioning. We even had telescopes,

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“The most impressive part of the work Chuck did,” Bob Belgrade said, “was the breadth of the programming. From little kids to senior citizens, he included everyone. He had special programs for women, for teenagers, Chuck’s world was a very inclusive place. I joined Iddy Biddy Basketball when I was about seven or eight years old and have good memories of everything we were taught. Chuck explained the fundamentals of the game, the rules, he taught me how to dribble and how to shoot—unfortunately, I did not possess the basketball gene and was never really good at it. Didn’t matter—I had fun; my friends and I talk about it until this day.”

Bob calls Chuck ‘a great ambassador.’ The ability to engage so many people of so many different ages allowed Chuck to create memories that have lasted.

“We would watch our dads play sports; my dad would drag me along to the JCC and I’d sit there watching him play handball with Chuck. And every week, he’d write a column for the Jewish Press and you’d have to check if your name was in it. Chuck didn’t just run the athletic department, he WAS the athletic department.”

Chuck is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Barton and Brenda Arnold, daughter and son-in-law, Andrea and Paul Ahern; grandchildren: Jacob, Spencer, Zachary, Brendan, Darcy and Devin; sister, Patricia Armstrong, nephews, and companion, Pat Mogil.

Memorials may be made in Chuck’s honor to Barton and Brenda Arnold, 1635 N 107 Ave, Omaha NE 68114. Barton and Brenda will be sending all donations to charities of Chuck’s choice.

DONALD STEPHEN KLEIN Donald Stephen Klein passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Jan. 17, 2021 at age 86 in Omaha. A private burial was held and officated by Rabbi Steven Abraham.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ilene Klein; parents, Edith and Elmer Klein; and grandson Donald Maurice Tikalsky.

He is survived by wife Dolores (Dee), daughters and sons-inlaw, Stephani and Jim Tikalsky and Vicki and Steve Allely; stepdaughters Joann Rogers, Karen Memmel and Maria Vullo; grandchildren: Taylor and Mercer Gunnels, Mitchell and Marissa Sanford, Libby and Carter Haaland, Sid Tikalsky and Gianna Memmel; brother, Phil Klein and sister-in-law, Susie Silverman; and more family and friends too numerous to mention.

Memorials may be sent to the Donald Maurice Tikalsky Camp Scholarship Fund (minnesotajcc.org), the Omaha Jewish Community Center, Planned Parenthood Heartland or the organization of your choice.

MARVIN M. PARILMAN Marvin M. Parilman passed away on Jan. 30, 2021 at age 87.

Private graveside services were held on Feb. 2. 2021 at Golden Hill Cemetery.

He was preceded in death by parents, Bessie and Irving Parilman; niece, Lisa J. Shulman; brother in law, Stan Widman and sister, Dorothy Glazer.

He is survived by his sister, Barbara Widman; niece and nephews; dear cousins; and special friends, Bob and Margie Hladek.

Marvin earned his B.R.E. at and graduated from Yeshiva University in New York City, as well as at the Teacher’s Institute of Yeshiva University. He was a Hebrew School Teacher at Temple Israel and spent most of his adult life mentoring students for their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.

He was a long time employee at Henningsen Foods and Omaha Bedding Co., and was also administrator at Miller Park Presbyterian Church.

Marvin was proud to have served our country in the U.S. Army, Active Duty and Reserves.

His love of music was demonstrated by his participation as member and officer in Voices of Omaha, Nebraska Choral Arts, Omaha Symphonic Chorus, and acting at Dundee Dinner. He served as substitute Cantor at both Temple Israel and Beth Israel Synagogues.

Besides music, Marvin loved traveling, boating, fishing, being with his family and friends.

Marvin was truly loved and will be missed.

Memorials may be made to Beth Israel Synagogue or an organization of your choice.

Explosion outside Israeli Embassy in India GABE FRIEDMAN JTA A bomb exploded outside of the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Friday, damaging three nearby cars but not causing any injuries.

Local police described it as a “very low-intensity improvised device” and said an investigation so far “suggests a mischievous attempt to create a sensation,” according to The Times of Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry stepped up security at other embassies around the world.

“The foreign minister is being updated regularly and has or-

The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021 | 11

dered all necessary security steps be taken,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday.

“The Indian FM assured me that the Indian authorities are committed to the security of all Israeli diplomatic staff and will continue to act resolutely to locate all those involved in the explosion,” Ashkenazi tweeted.

Israeli embassies have already been on increased alert in the wake of last January’s assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

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12 | The Jewish Press | February 5, 2021

News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D

Biden administration unrolls Middle East policy “I look forward to standing with Israel, standing against the RON KAMPEAS unfair targeting of Israel, the relentless resolutions that are WASHINGTON | JTA Statements and appearances by U.S. officials suggest the proposed against Israel unfairly,” she said.

Biden administration’s emerging Mideast strategy: reassuring Her remarks recalled one of the final acts of the Obama adIsrael while resuming ties with the Palestinians ruptured by ministration, when it allowed through a Security Council resPresident Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. olution condemning Israel’s settlement policies. The Senate The acting ambassador to the roundly condemned President United Nations outlined plans to reObama’s failure to veto the resolution. verse Trump administration policies Trump’s U.N. ambassadors went on to concerning the Palestinians. use U.S. influence to nix pro-Palestin“The Biden administration will reian moves at the body. store credible U.S. engagement with Biden has indicated that he wants to Palestinians as well as Israelis,” Richard repair ties between Israel and DemocMills said at a meeting of the U.N. Serats strained by tensions between the curity Council, the first such appearNetanyahu and Obama administraance since Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. tions. Notably, some of the most Mills, a career diplomat, is acting as pointed pro-Israel questions at U.N. envoy until the Senate confirms Thomas-Greenfield’s hearing came Linda Thomas-Greenfield appears before the from Democrats who are close to Biden’s nominee.

“This will involve renewing U.S. rela- Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Biden, like Chris Coons of Connectitions with the Palestinian leadership on her nomination to be the U.N. ambassador, cut, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Palestinian people, relations Jan. 27, 2021. Credit: Michael Reynolds- and Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Pool/Getty Images which have atrophied over the last There remain more differences befour years,” Mills said. “President Biden has been clear in his tween the Biden and Netanyahu administrations than there intent to restore U.S. assistance programs that support eco- were under Trump, but Biden is striving to tamp down Israeli nomic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian anxieties about his revival of some Obama-era policies, when people and to take steps to reopen diplomatic missions that he served as vice president. For instance, Biden wants to rewere closed by the last U.S. administration.” turn to the Iran nuclear deal, which Netanyahu reviles, but Reassurance came Wednesday, when Biden’s nominee for says he will do so in consultation with Israel. Obama cut out U.N. ambassador told senators that she would maintain some Israel until the last phase of the negotiations. of the pro-Israel policies advanced by Trump.

Biden campaigned on restoring ties with the Palestinians, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at her confirmation hearing but it won’t be easy to reverse Trump’s policies, which inthat America would robustly push back against anti-Israel cluded shutting down diplomatic relations and severing asbias at the United Nations. sistance to the Palestinian Authority. Biden must deal with a

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law passed by Congress that denies funding for the Palestinians as long as the Palestinian Authority pays families of Palestinians who killed Israeli and American civilians. Another law makes it hard for a president to allow the Palestinians to reopen an office in Washington unless the P.A. agrees not to seek charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

Trump also shut down a dedicated consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. Reopening that office could face resistance from the Israeli government and the municipality.

At the same time, Biden officials are seeking to reassure Israel that they will sustain some of the tone and substance of changes carried out under Trump.

In one of his first statements Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, described his first conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben Shabbat. They “discussed opportunities to enhance the partnership over the coming months, including by building on the success of Israel’s normalization arrangements with [the United Arab Emirates], Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco,” Sullivan said.

Thomas-Greenfield said she would build on the normalization agreements, called the Abraham Accords, to encourage those countries to change their approach at the United Nations and take an active role in countering anti-Israel actions there.

“If they’re going to recognize Israel in the Abraham Accords, they need to recognize Israel at the United Nations,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield also denounced the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

“The actions and the approach that BDS has taken toward Israel is unacceptable,” she said. “It verges on anti-Semitism and it is important that they not be allowed to have a voice at the United Nations.”

The Obama administration also opposed BDS, but unlike the Trump administration did not make it a front-and-center issue, nor did it liken the movement to anti-Semitism.

Mazal Tov, Aaron!

We are so proud of your achievements – membership in NHS, varsity letter in tennis and a Merit Award from the Band.

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