February 17, 2017

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Holocaust survivors share personal stories

See what Mainstreeters has to offer in March Page 5

Week of Understanding 2016 Holocaust Survivors and Liberator: Agnes Schwartz, left, Bea Karp, Fred Kader, Sami Steigmann, Sidney Finkel, Magda Brown, Milt Kleinberg, Kitty Williams, Roy Long.

Liz FELDSTERn Executive Director, IHE rom March 27-31, the Institute for Holocaust Education will once again host Week of Understanding in schools in Omaha and the surrounding area. Now in its seventh year, this event provides opportunities for area middle and high schools to invite Holocaust survivors and U.S. military liberators to their schools. e 2017 program is expected to reach more than 5,000 students and community members with survivor and liberator testimony.

See Holocaust suvivors page 3

CDC Tu B’Shevat Seder Page 8

Reaffirming Jewish-Catholic relations Page 16

inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

12 14 15

Marty Shukert brings Musical Pre-Purim Bash at the Omaha Children’s Museum Midrash sessions to Beth El

MARK KiRCHHOFF Community Engagement and Education Chag Sameach! It’s a Pre-Purim Bash at the Omaha Children’s Museum at 500 South 20th Street on Sunday, March 5 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. e event is open to all Omaha families raising Jewish children. e evening features all of your favorite museum exhibits plus a dairy dinner, hamantaschen and fun Purim activities. Kids will have the opportunity to make shalach manot (gi baskets) and to decorate a mask or a crown for the occasion. Families on the current mailing list

Teresa and Andy Ruback with Max and Chloe will receive a postcard reminder shortly. e card has a blank mask on the front for your child to cut out, color, and decorate for an early start on the evening. e event is free of charge, with reservations required by Feb. 28. Phone 402.334.6463 or email mkirchhoff@jewishomaha.org to make your reservation. e Bash is headed by PJ Library’s terrific host See PJ Library page 2

OzziE nOgg in the work of some of my favorite As part of Beth El Synagogue’s Jewish, but primarily secular, ongoing Sunday Morning Speaksongwriters and composers.” ers Series, Marty Shukert will The first Musical Midrash sespresent Musical Midrash on Sunsion on Sunday, March 5, will day March 5, 19 focus on God As and 26. Each sesInspiration. “The sion begins at topic of God is 11:15 a.m. and is obvious,” Shukert offered to the ensaid, “and will intire community clude the work of at no charge. such artists as “I grew up lovBob Dylan and ing Jewish liturgiLeonard Cohen, cal music, including his especially easy final profound during the recording, You golden age of the Want It Darker.

Beth El Choir We’ll also listen and Cantor to works by Aaron Edgar,” Randy Newman Shukert said. ‘I who wrote a tune have no extraor- Listen to Bob Dylan and Leonard called God’s Song dinary talent for Cohen when Marty Shukert presents and Regina SpekMusical Midrash sessions at Beth El. tor, who commusic. I’m a mediocre piano player, once posed a fascinating song, Laughing played guitar poorly, have good With, that lists all the times in life pitch and an okay but not great when we don’t laugh at God. Powsinging voice. But I do like to erful stuff.” make connections, and that led The second Musical Midrash me to the Musical Midrash series. I session on Sunday, March 19, will have always tried to incorporate explore Texts as Lyrics. “We’ll look Jewish perspectives and ethics into at references to Hebrew texts and my own secular work. It was pretty liturgy in music,” Shukert natural for me to seek similar links See Musical Midrash sessions page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

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Opportunities for Adult Education at Temple Israel

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SCOtt Littky Program Director, Temple Israel ontinuing education is central to who we are as Jews. So central that we are to continue to learn up to our last days. As the scholar Akiva was dying, we learn that he comments on how he now finally understood the meaning of the Shema. In Rabbinic teachings we learn, “If your teacher is in town, go and learn from him!” At Temple Israel at the end of February and into March, we will continue to offer new opportunities to increase our Jewish knowledge.

Beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and continuing on March 1 and 8, Barry Grossman will teach Jewish Influences in Modern Comic Books! Grossman has been collecting and reading comics since he was a child. When asked about his class he stated, “I plan to offer an overview of how Jewish comic book writers and artists influenced comic books which are a major part of pop culture in the United States today.” Class will begin each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and are open to all.

PJ Library

Rabbi Darryl Crystal will be the instructor in March for our Thursday morning adult class. He will teach Meanings within Meanings, Stories within Stories: Uncovering the Wisdom of Torah. In explaining this class, Rabbi Crystal said, “The Rabbis believe that beyond the words of a story in the Torah, every word and letter conveys a message from the Divine. The mystics expressed this idea when they said that the Torah is not just parchment and ink, it is black fire written on white fire.

The early sages who wrote the Torah commentary known as Midrash, Medieval rabbis and mystics, modern scholars and contemporary writers all offer interpretations of the Torah for the age!” Rabbi Crystal’s class will meet on March 2, 9, 23 30 and on April 6 beginning at 10 a.m. Again, all are welcome.

If you would like more information about any of our Adult Education programs and classes at Temple Israel, please contact Program Director Scott Littky, slittky@tem pleisraelomaha.com or 402-556-6536.

Continued from page 1 experience,” Andy said. e PJ Library program families, Adam and Abiis designed to strengthen gail Kutler with Sam and the identities of families Henry; Matt and raising Jewish children Stephanie Beneda with and their relationship to Shalom, Judah and the Jewish community.

Eliyana; Andy and Teresa Nationally the program is Ruback with Max and supported by the Harold Chloe; Brandon and Kari Grinspoon Foundation Tauber with Taylor, Tori through partnerships with and Halle. philanthropists and local “PJ Library events at the Jewish organizations. PJ Omaha Children’s MuLibrary provides age apseum have been so much propriate books for chilfun over the years,” said dren mailed to the child’s host Andy Ruback. “ey 2015 PJ Library at the Omaha Children’s Museum home each month. have traditionally been held during the celebration of Hanukkah. I think this year’s Omaha’s participation in the book subscription program is pre-Purim event is going to be extra special.” Andy expossible because of the generous support of the Dorothy plained that in addition to the fun of the museum, the and Myer S. Kripke Institute for Family Literacy. e PJ Lievening will help prepare attendees for the upcoming holibrary families also extend a special thanks to the Murray H. day. “Families won’t have to worry about getting in costume and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation, and Esther for this event; PJ Library will provide everything needed to K. Newman/Carolyn Kully Newman for the funding which decorate a mask or crown as well as assemble a basket of makes this Pre-Purim Bash possible.

What could be better for the celebration of Purim than Purim treats to gi on the holiday,” he explained. “It is the celebration of Purim ahead of time? Mark your calengoing to be a fun evening where multi-generations will share the joy of Purim. I’m excited about this opportunity – dars, make your reservations, recruit and join your friends especially for the kids – to share a community-wide Jewish for a fun evening.

Holocaust survivors

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 3

Continued from page 1 In order to accommodate the 25+ speaking engagements scheduled for the week, Omaha’s local Holocaust survivor speakers will be joined by survivors from outside the area. Our guests will include Marion Blumenthal Lazan of New York, Robbie Waisman of Vancouver, Sonia Warshawski of Kansas City, Magda Brown and Agnes Schwartz (both of Skokie, IL). More information about all of these speakers will be included in an upcoming article in the Jewish Press. Local speakers featured during the week will be Dr. Tom Jaeger, Dr. Fred Kader, Marcel Kahn, Bea Karp, Kitty Williams, and U.S. Army Liberator, Col. Roy Long.

In addition to Week of Understanding’s educational opportunities for schools, the public is also invited to hear an eye-witness account of the Nazi atrocities. On Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m., Marion Blumenthal Lazan will share her testimony at Countryside Community Church. Marion and her family were trapped in Germany once Hitler came to power. ey managed to get to Holland, but soon thereaer it was occupied by the Nazis. For the next six and a half years the Blumenthals were forced to live in refugee, transit and prison camps that included Westerbork in Holland and the notorious Bergen-Belsen in Germany. Even aer the end of the war, it took three more years of struggle and waiting before Marion came to the United States, at the age of 13.

She is the author of Four Perfect Pebbles. is event is a collaboration with the Center for Faith Studies. ere is no cost to attend and reservations are not necessary.

Week of Understanding is an effort to maximize the opportunity for Nebraskans to hear from Holocaust survivors and liberators while these eye-witnesses are still among us. e program is made possible by generous support from e Sherwood Foundation, Omaha Public Schools, Wahoo Public Schools, and the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation.

See full digital issues: https://issuu.com/jewishpress7

community

Annual Langer’s Deli lunch

On Feb. 8 the annual Langer’s Deli Lunch took place. Attending this year were Back row: Mort Glass, former Omahan, now Irvine, CA; left; Mike Meyer, former Omahan, now Laguna Beach, CA; Shel Rips, former Omahan, now Los Angeles, CA; Carl Riekes, Omaha; Keith Liberman, former Omahan, now Los Angeles, CA; Gary Gitnick, former Omahan, now Los Angeles CA; Steve Bloch, Omaha; Murray Newman, Omaha; Mike Erman, half Omaha, half Los Angeles, CA; Front: Jacob Savage, former New York City, now Los Angeles, boyfriend of Lexie Newman.

Musical Midrash sessions Continued from page 1 explained, “and in addition to Dylan, Cohen, Newman and Spektor, we’ll include modern composers such as Leonard Bernstein and Steve Reich, and subjects like the Akedah -- the binding of Isaac -- in unusual places.”

Shukert chose Trains and Other Unlikely Metaphors for the final Musical Midrash session on Sunday, March 26.

“We’ll consider a selection of not necessarily Jewish subjects that take on a different perspective in the work of

these Jewish writers. An example will be a comparison and discussion of Randy Newman’s song, Dixie Flyer, and Steve Reich’s powerful but not generally well-known, Different Trains.

One year, when I taught Beth El 8th Graders the Holocaust unit, Different Trains was the only thing that grabbed the kids’ attention and silenced them.”

“A couple of years ago,” Shukert continued, “I did a short learning session that included songs by Dylan and Leonard Cohen, with a discussion of

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some of the theological issues and perspectives embedded in their songs.

This three-session Musical Midrash series expands that idea. It gives us time to unpack the meaning, and sometimes struggle, of these principally secular works by creative musical forces who were also Jewish. I hope that hearing and talking about these works will lead to a lively open discussion and allow us all to learn from each other. At worst, we’ll listen to some good music.”

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intergenerational Book Club

4 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

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Supergirl

WilliAM l. Blizek In Supergirl, we learn in just this way that the Kutin famUniversity of Nebraska at Omaha ily says prayers three times each day and that they eat only essie Auritt’s first documentary film (e Birdkosher food. ey observe the Sabbath on Saturday, and on man, 2013) introduced us to the charming and that day they do not drive, nor do they use any electrical dequirky owner of vices that are not on a Rainbow Music timer. e children attend in the East Vila Jewish school, women lage. At 70, Bill, known are to dress modestly, and throughout the neighborsome Orthodox Jewish hood as the Birdman, does men wear a small cloak not work for the money, under their shirts with but because he loves the fringes (tzitzit) hanging work; helping customers from each corner. My fafind the music they want vorite scene in the film is to hear. when Naomi’s mother In Supergirl, Auritt intakes her shopping for her troduces us to another fasBat Mitzvah dress. When cinating character, Naomi you see the dress Naomi Kutin. At the beginning of selects you know she has Jessie Auritt and Bill the movie, Naomi is a strength of character. nine-year-old Orthodox Jew who is setting world records Finally, we learn that not all Orthodox Jews follow the for, of all things, power liing. Watching this pre-teen grunt same rules and that some Orthodox Jews would prohibit a and huff, just like the behemoths of power liing, is so odd young girl from participating in any athletic competition. that it is almost comical. But, then you realize that this isn’t For various reasons there may be other things that we funny. Naomi is just as serious about power liing as any would want to learn about Orthodox Judaism, but the in300-pound muscled giant. troduction we get from watching Supergirl is an important And, when we take Naomi seriously, we get to see a reone in a country that prides itself on its diversity and in a markable young woman navigating her sport and her life, world that seems more intolerant with every passing day. both of which include trials and tribulations.

William Blizek is the Founding Editor of the Journal of As we follow Naomi on her pre-teen journey we learn Religion and Film, and is Professor of Philosophy and Reabout the sport of power liing, about what teens must do ligion at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is also to compete at the highest levels of their sports, about Orthe editor of the Continuum Companion to Religion and thodox Judaism, about being exceptional, and about being Film (2009). is slamdance film festival review was first part of a family. published in Journal of Religion & Film and has been And, we learn that in the end the most important reprinted with permission from the author. William Blizek strength we can develop is “strength of character.” Supergirl can be reached at wblizek@unomaha.edu. is a fascinating look into each element of Naomi’s life. For those interested in religion, Supergirl provides what I would call a gentle introduction to Orthodox Judaism and not a theological or academic or political one.

Because of this, it seems to me that it is more honest and more enlightening. It’s as though you simply asked your B’nAi B’rith BreAdBreAkers neighbor what he’s doing this weekend. Your neighbor tells heath Mello will join us to explain why he should be Omaha’s you that he’s got to get a haircut, pick up the dry cleaning, next mayor on Wednesday, Feb. 22, noon. For more information and that he’s going to watch the football game and have dinor to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or ner at his parents’ house on Sunday. is is what we want to bnaibrith@jew ishomaha.org. know about our neighbor.

Organizations

Marvin Parilman with students

Students in Mrs. Tunning’s Honors Reading class from Alice Buffet Magnet Middle School and Residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home participated in a book club for two semesters. The students first visited the Blumkin Home in the Fall for a meet-and-greet session explaining the project. Mrs. Tunning graciously provided all participants with the book The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The activities staff passed out the books to 25 Residents and also read the books in the lounge to prepare for the next visit at the school. On Jan. 26, the Residents toured Buffet Middle School and had the opportunity to discuss the book with their new-found friends.

Don’t miss Clue: The Musical

The internationally popular game is now a fun filled musical which brings the world’s best known suspects to life and invites the audience to help solve the mystery: who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room and with what weapon. Comic antics, witty lyrics and a beguiling score carry the investigation from room to room.To purchase tickets, call Laura Wine at 402.334.6419. Advanced ticket purchase is strongly recommended. Tickets will only be sold at the door when seats remain the day of the show. Performances are at the Jewish Community Center Theater, saturday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.

Musical Theater Community Acting Group performances have been made possible by the following Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Funds: Karen Sokolof Javitch Music Fund, Morton A. Richards Youth Program Fund, Samuel & Bess Rothenberg Memorial Endowment Fund and JCC Theatre Program Endowment Fund.

Kindergarten Round-Up For prospective parents | Sunday, February 26 | 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

For prospective students | Wednesday, March 1 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Both events take place at Friedel Jewish Academy. | 335 South 132 Street Make reservations at 402.334.0517 or friedelacademy@fjaomaha.com.

Learn more about our exceptional student experience at www.FriedelJewishAcademy.com.

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 5

Mainstreeters offers March Madness MaggIe COnTI Director of Activities and Outreach Programs, RBJH Here’s the fun and games line-up.

Lunch with Sarah Baker Hansen, Omaha World-Herald Food Critic: Monday, March 20 at 12:30 p.m. in the Blumkin Home Auditorium.

Come hear Sarah’s reviews on the best restaurants in Omaha plus the Food Prowl and the Locally Grown series that focuses on trends in and around Omaha. Sarah was born and raised in Omaha. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in News-Editorial Journalism. For your entree, choose either meatloaf with mashed potatoes or baked salmon with rice pilaf. Both entrees are served with soup, roasted mixed vegetables, challah rolls and apple pie for dessert with a beverage of The Intergenerational your choice. Cost is Orchestra of Omaha with $10 per plate. Make Conductor Chuck Penington checks payable to Jewish Social Services and send full payment to: Mainstreeters c/o Maggie Conti, 323 So. 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. Reservations are appreciated by Monday, March 13.

Free concert by the Intergenerational Orchestra of Omaha, Chuck Pennington Conductor: Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m. in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home on Main Street.

Jewish Senior Services invites you to a concert performance by this non-profit group of youth and senior musicians playing popular orchestral music, show tunes, and vocals. e Orchestra’s mission is to combine the talents of two diverse generations of musicians for the purpose of creating beautiful music and then sharing that music with others. Bring a friend. Everyone in the community is welcome. is event is generously sponsored by Linda and Jerry Gordman.

Join Us at the Movies: Suffragette on Friday, March

31.is free showing (with free popcorn) starts at 1 p.m. in the JCC eater. Inspired by true events, Suffragette is a moving drama exploring the passion and heartbreak of those who risked all they had for women’s right to vote – their jobs, their homes, their children, and even their lives. Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep lead the cast of a powerful drama about the women who were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality in early-20th-cenury Britain.

Rated PG-13 for some intense violence, thematic elements, brief strong language Sarah Baker Hanson and partial nudity. No reservations necessary. Invite a friend. If you’d like to enjoy lunch at the Star Deli at the Blumkin Home before the movie, call Maggie at 402.334.6521 to reserve a table. e Star Deli opens for business at 11:30 a.m. Lunch is on your own.

JCC Cultural Arts Department Presents Clue, e Musical at the JCC eater on Sunday, Feb. 26 for 2 p.m. show. Cost of $5 per person (includes 50% discount for Mainstreeters). Pick up your tickets at call table.

There is no assigned seating so come early to get the best seats. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Please note to make check payable to Jewish Community Center. e audience is invited to help solve the Mystery. Deadline for reservations is Monday, Feb. 20. Send a check: c/o Maggie Conti, Director of Activities and Outreach Programs, 323 South 132 Street, Omaha, NE 68154. For questions call 402.334.6521.

Mainstreeters welcomes all Jewish residents of the Omaha area age 60 plus. e group offers a mixed-bag of social events and learning opportunities that give participants the chance to meet new people, exercise their brains, take part in new activities and continue enjoying life to the fullest.

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6 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

Trump says settlements not good for peace, but won't condemn Israel

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1 6 9 2 0 Wr i g h t P l a z a | O m a h a , N E | l o u i e s w i n e d i v e . c o m

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Promote your business in this special issue with an ad and a short article.

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Susan Bernard | 402.334.6559 | sbernard@jewishomaha.org

too bad a deal like that was made.” resident Donald Trump said the Last week the Trump administration imexpansion of Israeli settlements posed sanctions on 25 individuals and entidoes not help peacemaking efties from Iran two days aer the forts between Israel and the administration had put Iran “on notice,” as a Palestinians, but added he did White House spokesman phrased it, follownot wish to condemn the Jewish State. ing a ballistic missile test.

Trump spoke about the peace process durSpeaking about Netanyahu, Trump said ing an interview with Israel Hayom, an Isthey “have good chemistry” and the prime raeli daily owned by Sheldon Adelson, a minister “is a good man.”

Republican donor and close associate of Is“He wants to do the right thing for Israel. raeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. e Israeli daily published an excerpt Feb. 10 and promised to publish the interview in full on Feb. 12.

Asked about Israeli settlements, Trump said they “don’t help the process. I can say that. ere is so much land le. And every time you take land for settlements, there is less land le.”

President Donald Trump speaking with executives and union repreBut when asked whether sentatives from the Harley Davidson company at the White House, he would condemn Israel Feb. 2, 2017.

Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images for its settlements activities, he said: “No, I don’t want to condemn He would like peace; I believe that he wants Israel. Israel has had a long history of conpeace and wants to have it badly. I have aldemnation and difficulty. And I don’t want ways liked him,” Trump said. to be condemning Israel. I understand Israel Asked about his plans on whether to very well, and I respect Israel a lot, and they move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from have been through a lot.”

Tel Aviv, Trump said Israel should act “reaIn addition to the settlement issue, Trump sonably” in the peace process and expressed also addressed the Iran nuclear deal. hopes for a breakthrough. He added that “e deal with Iran was a disaster for Isboth sides should act reasonably. rael. Inconceivable that it was made. It was Asked again about the embassy specifipoorly negotiated and executed,” Trump said. cally, he said he was studying the subject and e 2015 agreement reached between added it is not an easy decision and has been Iran and the United States under former discussed for many years. Trump also said President Barack Obama and five other no one wanted to carry out the decision and world powers offers Iran sanctions relief in that he is thinking about it very seriously. exchange for a partial scaling back of some “I am thinking about the embassy, I am of its nuclear activities. Israel has opposed studying the embassy, and we will see what the deal, claiming it paved the Islamic Rehappens,” he said. public’s path to obtaining nuclear weapons.

During the campaign, Trump said he faObama defended it as the best way to prevored moving the embassy, which Congress vent Iran from obtaining those capabilities. said in 1995 should be moved, but which has Instead of Iran “being thankful” to Obama been kept in place by presidential decrees. “for making such a deal, which was so much Asked whether he believes the Palestinito their advantage, they felt emboldened ans need to make concessions, Trump even before he le office,” Trump said. “It is replied in the affirmative.

Bubbly with Barbra fundraiser at the Omaha Community Playhouse

The Omaha Community Playhouse is holding its the performance in the Howard and Rhonda Hawks fundraiser, Bubbly with Barbra: A Tribute to Barbra Mainstage Theatre and after the performace at Streisand, on Friday, March 31, 6-9 p.m. The 8:30 p.m., a dessert and coffee Bar in the Omaha event, featuring local singer and actress Camille Community Playhouse Owen Lobby.

Metoyer Moten and Friends singing the songs of For more information or to purchase tickets, conBarbra Streisand, will benefit the productions and tact Jana Coburn at 402.553.4890 ext. 147 or call programming of the Omaha Community Playhouse. the Box Office at 402.553.0800. Reservations will Honorary chairs are Bruce and Gerry Lauritzen. be taken through March 17.

Tickets are $125 per person, which includes a There are several Sponsorship opportunities availcocktail hors d’oeuvres reception, performance, a able: Oscar Level, $5,000; Tony Level, $2,500 and coffee and dessert bar and $80 tax deductible con- Grammy Level, $1,000. tribution.

All sponsors will receive tickets and recognition The event program starts at 6 p.m. with cock- according to their sponsorship levels and priority tails and hors d’oeuvres in the Omaha Community seating. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact the Playhouse Owen Lobby, followed at 7:30 p.m. by development department at 402.553.4890 ext. 145.

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This Orthodox soup kitchen director rallied support for his Yemeni neighbors. Some donors aren’t happy.

NEW YORK | JTA ders who were unhappy that the strictly kosher soup Alexander Rapaport, a Brooklyn Hasid, says his experikitchen serves anyone who wants a meal, regardless of relience being the victim of anti-Semitism forces him to call out gious background. hatred against others. So Rapaport, who runs a network of In December 2015, Rapaport attended a protest at New kosher soup kitchens, helped organize a communal show of York City Hall following a call by Trump, then a presidensupport last week for a local Yemeni-owned bodega in reac- tial candidate, for “a total and complete shutdown of Mustion to President Donald Trump’s lims entering the United executive order temporarily banStates.” ning immigration from seven While Rapaport has considMuslim-majority countries. ered being less outspoken, he Not everyone was happy about said hiding his views wouldn’t the gesture. be honest.

“I received your solicitation let“I don’t want to take anyone’s ter in the mail along with this money under false pretenses. phone number,” read a text mesYes, I am personally very prosage he received. “Aer seeing, immigrant, and if that makes though, that you protested Presime unqualified for your donadent Trump’s executive order, and tion, please don’t give it to me,” thus shamefully sided with those he told JTA. Alexander Rapaport, rear left, attending a protest at New e complaints come at a who are putting American lives in danger, I am no longer able to York City Hall after presidential candidate Donald Trump critical time for Masbia, which called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., Dec. 9, 2015. is seeking to raise $250,000 to donate to your organization.”

Credit: Cem Ozdel/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images complete renovations for its e message, Rapaport told JTA, was referring to a fundraising letter he sent a few Queens location. weeks ago to about 1,500 “top donors” — those who had Masbia is now serving meals outside the old Queens given a one-time three-figure donation to the New Yorkbuilding, which is being demolished, but weather condibased Masbia Soup Kitchen Network. tions in the winter can make it impossible. at means on Rapaport, who lives in the strongly Hasidic Borough some days, the over 200 people served dinner by the soup Park neighborhood, said that other donors approached kitchen may go hungry. him in the street to complain about his stance on immigra“We are serving hot food on the street in front of our old tion following his show of support for the shop. Last week, site, right under the scaffolds of that building,” Rapaport aer Yemeni-American bodega owners organized a strike said. “is is not the way we want to feed people.” to protest the president’s temporary travel ban, Rapaport News of the donor pushback, however, spurred some to inshowed his support by going to a local store with other crease their giving, such as Rabbi Jonah Geffen, whose Upper community members and pasting Post-it notes with “mesWest Side synagogue has hosted a fundraiser for Masbia. sages of love and solidarity” on its storefront.

In a Facebook post, Geffen called on friends to join him is isn’t the first time Rapaport’s outspokenness has anin donating to the soup kitchen network. As of late Friday gered donors. morning, the post had raised over $2,000 through Facee 38-year-old father of seven has gotten complaints book posts and donations made directly through Masbia’s aer he spoke up for immigrants previously and lost funwebsite, Rapaport said.

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 7

usnews VNA’s 20th Annual Art & Soup fundraiser benefitting shelter nursing

Visiting Nurse Association will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its popular Art & Soup fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Embassy Suites – La Vista Hotel and Conference Center. Hosted by Honorary Chairs John and Andrea Marshall, this annual event features some of the most delicious soups, breads and desserts served by the area’s best chefs and restaurants. There is also an opportunity to view and purchase items from over 40 local artists, who donate at least 50 percent of their sales to VNA. This year’s theme is “Celebrate YOUR Neighborhood!” Each participating restaurant will be preparing soups that best represent their part of the city, and attendees are encouraged to participate as well.

Sponsored in part by Nebraska Medicine, this signature event enables VNA to provide nursing services in all homeless and domestic violence shelters in Omaha and Council Bluffs, as well as to youth living on the streets, through its shelter nursing program, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017.

In 2016, VNA shelter nurses provided 9,472 face-to-face visits to 189 children, 233 teens and young adults, and 2,001 adult women and men.

Advance Art & Soup tickets are now available for $50 online at www.theVNAcares.org or by calling 402-930-4170. Tickets will be $55 at the door. Those attending the Patron Party will have first access to the Art & Soup event, and be first to taste the delicious soups and specialty treats while previewing the silent auction, as well as receive first access to original artwork on sale from some of the area’s most sought after artists. Patron Party exclusive access is from 1 to 2 p.m. for $100, which includes entry to Art & Soup through 5 p.m.

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8 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

worldnews CDC Tu B’Shevat Seder

Kids and staff at the Pennie Z. Davis Childhood Development Center celebrated Tu B’Shvat in style with songs, storytelling and the appropriate foods.

British Jews open safe space for Syrian women in Turkey

ISTANBUL | JTA organization’s office in Istanbul. And this is crucial, she n a region awash with half a million Syrian refugees said, “because Syrian women don’t want to go to a space and the predators they attract, home used to be the that also has men. ey are conservative and their husonly safe space for Samiyeh Hilo and her infant son, bands don’t allow it.”

Mohammed.

Even among more liberal refugees, some women are hesiA teacher of English in her 30s, Hilo was smugtant to venture alone into the street in Gaziantep, where gled out of her besieged city of Hama in 2011 and into 350,000 refugees constitute a fih of the population in the Turkey. She has mostly stayed indoors since settling in a overcrowded city. Relations between Turks and refugees are camp for refugees of Syria’s civil war in the Turkish town of tense and sometimes turn violent, like in 2014 when thouIslahiye, 70 miles north of Aleppo. sands of Syrians le for fear of reprisals over the stabbing of “I didn’t go out much a Turkish landlord by a because it’s not a safe enrefugee who felt he had vironment for me and for been taken advantage of. my child, anything could Women are especially happen,” Hilo, a devout vulnerable, according to a Sunni Muslim, told JTA Council of Europe report during a phone interview from last year that cited in December about her multiple cases of rape, first five years in Islahiye, pimping, sexual harassa suburb of the city of ment and gender-based viGaziantep in Anatolia. olence, including in But Hilo’s situation and Turkey, which has nearly that of hundreds of other three million Syrian Syrian women in Islahiye refugees. Children are animproved dramatically in other at-risk group, which June when the LondonTurkish and other sweatbased World Jewish Re- Syrian women attending a lesson at Women’s Support Center in Islahiye, shop operators are quick Turkey, Nov. 25, 2016. Credit: Tanya Freedman/World Jewish Relief to exploit. lief group and Turkish aid workers opened a women’s-only educational and recreHaving identified the need for a women’s-only center, the ation center, offering a rare safe space for female clients.

International Blue Crescent wrote a project proposal, “It completely changed my life,” Hilo said of the center, which World Jewish Relief -- an international aid agency where she now works as an English teacher for other that British Jewry founded in 1933 – last year decided to refugees while her son is being looked aer at an onsite support as its only sponsor. nursery. e result is a place that stands out among facilities for With an annual budget of under $200,000, the Women’s refugees because “it has a lot of joy and hope,” said Tanya Support Center of Islahiye is operated by 18 female staffers Freedman, the digital communications manager at World -- most of them refugees themselves -- out of a three-story Jewish Relief. She visited the facility in November and, beresidential building with a pink facade on the outskirts of fore coming to work at World Jewish Relief, was involved Islahiye. More than 1,500 women have used the facilities, in helping refugees in France. which World Jewish Relief designed and funds exclusively, Most of the clients at the Women’s Support Center cover with the Istanbul-based International Blue Crescent runtheir heads, and some cover their faces, according to strict ning the place on the ground as the implementing partner.

Islamic custom. ey remove the face coverings once inAmenities include a computer room with 20 machines; side the building since there are no men around, Freedman psychotherapy sessions; Turkish and English-language told JTA in an interview this week in London. classes; cooking and knitting workshops; child care servOne woman, 32-year-old Fatima from Aleppo, uses her ices, and literacy training. time at the center to socialize, but also to make elaborate To be sure, the Women’s Support Center is not the only felt bags in bright pink colors with bamboo handles. She facility for refugees operating in the vicinity of Islahiye and sells the bags for $3. Her friend Duaz, a 23-year-old mother Gaziantep, a nearby city that is a major destination in of two whose husband died while fighting in the civil war, Turkey for immigrants from Syria. e United Nations helps Fatima model the bags while wearing a face scarf. As High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Blue the women chat at the center, Duaz’s boys, aged 3 and 5, Crescent and the Red Crescent all have community service play in the nursery with Fatima’s 2-year-old son, Omar. units for refugees in the area, where tens of thousands are Many of the older women are protective of Sara and serviced.

Amena, two 15-year-old girls who are among a dozen or so But before the establishment of the Women’s Support teenagers who make use of the center. Unlike the AleppoCenter, “there was no space for women in Gaziantep and born Amena, who lives with her parents, Sara’s family is Islahiye,” Neslihan Kılıçarslan, a project manager for the still in Syria, in Idlib.

International Blue Crescent, told JTA in an interview at her See Safe space for Syrian women page 9

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 9

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Residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and students of the Friedel Jewish Academy worked in pairs with national-known storyteller and facilitator, Rita Paskowitz. Rita’s dynamic background as an actress, storyteller, writer, and comedienne worked with both populations and a story-sharing partnership was formed. The six-day artist-in-residence program was scheduled for Feb. 2-10, 2017 with a final performance on Friday, Feb. 10. At the end of the workshop, the student gave a presentation about their new friend and a memory book filled with photos and the Resident’s story. The intergenerational program will be a gateway for more projects in the future that will allow the Jewish youth and elderly in our community to interact and encourage friendships and team-building.

This program was supported in part by a grant from the Herbert Goldsten Trust, Ruth Frisch & Oscar S. Belzer Endowment Fund and the Ruth Riekes Richards Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

Safe space for Syrian women Continued from page 8 â€œî ˘e women treat the girls and Sara, especially, as though they were their own daughters,â€? Freedman said.

World Jewish Relief, which has a core budget of approximately $6 million and about 22 salaried sta, has raised more than $1 million since 2013 for Syrian refugees – the second-most successful drive in the organization’s history, according to Richard Verber, its head of external aairs.

Conducted alongside World Jewish Relief ’s projects helping Jews in Ukraine and Moldova, the Syrian aid eort “reflects not only the generosity of British Jewry,â€? he said, “but also how the refugee experience strikes a chord in the hearts of a community with a strong generational memory of what it means to flee your home at a moment’s notice.â€? î ˘e center does not display any mention of its Jewish sponsor, which is a prominent member of the OLAM network of Jewish international aid groups.

And while partner groups like the International Blue Crescent are aware of World Jewish Relief ’s involvement, neither party broadcasts to the clients that one sponsor is Jewishly aďŹƒliated, said Verber, whose group’s logo is made up of the leî‚? half of a Star of David. “Our priority is to deliver aid to those in need, full stop,â€? Verber said. “Sometimes we get the added bonus of exposing people to the substantial humanitarian work facilitated by British Jews, but in other cases, highlighting this could be complicated, exposing projects to risk. So while we never hide it, we don’t always insist on PR either.â€?

Elsewhere in the world, other Jewish groups have also raised considerable funds

for Syrian refugees, including $2 million by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief.

Syrian refugees Duaz, left, and Fatima showing off two of Fatima’s handmade felt bags at the Women's Support Center in Islahiye, Turkey, Nov. 25, 2016.

Credit: Tanya Freedman/World Jewish Relief Coming from some of Syria’s most rural areas – including Sunni provinces where residents were denied education options by the oppressive Alawite minority rule of President Bashar Assad – many refugees are illiterate.

Among the center’s literacy students is 32year-old Aliyah, a seamstress from Aleppo who came to Turkey six years ago with her 5-year-old daughter and husband. Aliyah is learning to read and write in Arabic and Turkish, and says she hopes one day to teach others in her position. “It feels like at last I’m doing something of value,� she said in a recent interview with Freedman. “I love having somewhere to go where I can feel comfortable.�

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Omahans are among the most gen- HoWaRD epsTein Executive Director, erous, charity-minded people in the JFO Foundation United States. e vast majority of Omaha’s Jewish adults give to the annual Federation campaign, and most belong to and pay dues to their synagogue or temple. e ADL/CRC, IHE, NJHS, the Friedel Jewish Academy, NCJW, Chabad, JFS, the Blumkin Home and other worthy Jewish organizations receive ongoing support from generous Omaha Jews.

How do you make a maximum impact, now and aer your lifetime, and leave a lasting legacy for Omaha’s Jewish community? How do you take care of your own family now and into the future, yet still leave a generous gi?

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the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewish omaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.

Jewish groups praise court for upholding stay on Trump’s travel ban

RON KAmPeAS has joined an amicus brief in Marye Anne Frank Center for Mutual WASHINGTON | JTA land against the ban.

Respect called the court’s ruling “a Jewish groups welcomed a federal One of the HIAS tweets was a revictory for American freedom over appeals court ruling upholding a stay minder that the battle against the ban Presidential tyranny.” on President Donald “e court has sided with Trump’s ban on the entry of refugees who thirst for hope refugees and travelers from over a president who yearns seven Muslim-majority to hate,” the center said in a countries. statement.

“We applaud the Ninth Trump appeared ready to Circuit’s ruling, and hope take his case to reinstate the that it sends an important ban pending further legal remessage to the nation and view to the Supreme Court. the world that the United “SEE YOU IN COURT, States is a nation that does THE SECURITY OF OUR not exclude people based on NATION IS AT STAKE!” he their faith and welcomes said on Twitter. those seeking refuge,” the Neither Trump nor his Demonstrators at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport protesting Donald Anti-Defamation League team has explained what imTrump’s executive order imposing a freeze on admitting refugees said in a Twitter statement minent danger cannot withfrom certain countries into the United States, Jan. 29, 2017. posted just minutes aer the stand the temporary stay on Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images court ruled ursday. his order, which was issued e tweet noted that the ADL had is not over and may yet be upheld by about a week aer he assumed office joined an amicus brief in the legal ac- the courts. last month. No terrorist committing a tion originally brought by Washing“We will continue fighting Pres. crime on U.S. soil has hailed from any ton state against the ban.e Trump’s executive order until we’ve of the seven nations listed in the ban. unanimous decision of the 9th Cirre-secured the American tradition of Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the cuit panel of three judges was a nar#WelcomingRefugees to our shores,” minority leader in the Senate, called row one, upholding last week’s it said. on Trump to give up on the executive decision by a federal court in Seattle HIAS is spearheading rallies on be- order. to stay the ban pending further conhalf of refugees to take place in nearly “President Trump ought to see the sideration of its legality. a dozen states this Sunday. One focus writing on the wall, abandon proAlso commending the ruling was the will be Trump’s executive order. Also posal, roll up his sleeves and come up American Jewish Committee, saying backing the rallies are the ADL, the with a real, bipartisan plan to keep us on Twitter it was “an important moAmerican Jewish World Service, the safe,” he said on Twitter. ment for U.S. democracy and values.”

National Council of Jewish Women, Alan Dershowitz, the noted constiHIAS, the Jewish group advocating and the rabbinical associations of the tutional lawyer, had similar advice. on behalf of immigrants and refugees, Conservative, Reform and Recon“Precedent trumps President tweeted links to the decision. It also structionist movements.

Trump,” he said on CNN.

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 11

usnews ADL/CRC workshop

On Thursday, Feb. 9, a number of high school and college students’ parents learned how to respond to anti-Semitism on campus. The workshop, presented by the ADL/CRC and hosted by Ayana Boykins and Shiri Phillips, focused on how to recognize hate crimes and hate speech, as well as how to respond when they occur.

The staff of the Plains States Region of the ADL/CRC is committed to addressing the issues of prejudice and discrimintaion that affect the people of Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. They can be contacted at 402.333.1303.

12 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

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Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view.

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Untold stories

I

AnnETTE vAn DE KAmP-WRIghT Editor of the Jewish Press t was a short news brief that landed in my email the other day: “American Chabad Rabbi called security risk in Russia, ordered to leave,” the headline read.

There wasn’t even a byline.

Here’s what happened: Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, Chabad’s envoy in Sochi, had his staying permit revoked. He and his family will be deported under a provision dealing with threats to national security. There really wasn’t much more to the story, so I started digging.

Sochi, Edelkopf’s current place of residence, is best remembered for its 2014 Winter Olympics. Back then, the Chabad envoy made the news in more positive ways. Those were the first games at which the Olympic villages had designated synagogues, complete with prayer books and Torah scrolls, he told Haaretz’ Ashel Pfeffer at the time. Edelkopf and his helpers distributed kosher food, conducted prayer services and even gave lectures on Judaism for the small number of Jewish-observant athletes. In addition, he spearheaded an effort to give out booklets on spirituality to nonJews. Sochi, home to approximately 2,000 Jews, is a popular vacation destination; more opportunities for outreach.

At the time, the American-born rabbi praised Putin’s regime, saying: “I’ve had people shout at me ‘dirty Jew’ in California. It would be unthinkable here. A few years ago, a woman wrote a nasty piece about Jews in a local newspaper. We complained and she was fined, given a suspended prison sentence and forbidden from writing in a newspaper for ten years. So where is there a better democracy? Here, or in the U.S., with its separation of state and religion?”

He also said: “The government here respects the Jewish people and they miss all the Jews that emigrated.”

If that’s true, what changed?

There was another interesting detail in that original brief from the wire:

“The Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities kosher store and was fined 2,000 rubles for selling kosher of Russia condemned [Edelkopf’s deportation]. Boruch Gorin, wine without a license. That infraction, some allege, was a federation spokesman, told the French newsagency AFP later used as a pretext to expel him and his family. that this was “far from an isolated incident.” He added that If there is a large-scale push to remove Jewish religious at least seven rabbis have been forced to leave Russia in re- leaders from Russia, I don’t see enough evidence. Maybe cent years for alleged immigration violations.” (JTA.com) the story is difficult to piece together because there really I found four. In 2003, Rabbi Elyiashiv Kaplun was de- isn’t a story. At the same time, one could ask the question: ported from Rostov after working there for seven years, al- how many rabbis need to be expelled before we judge it as legedly for violating visa rules.

“They permanently saw in me a spy, a criminal, although they never brought any charges against me,” Kaplun said.

One of the leaders of Russia’s Jewish Communities, Rabbi Adolf Shayevich, however, claimed on national radio the fault lay with Kaplun himself. (AP) Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, was deported in 2005. He went on a trip to Israel, but when he returned he was stopped at the border without explanation. Three months later, he was allowed back in. This time, Adolf Shayevich did demand an answer, The city of Sochi, Russia, former home of Rabbi Ari Edelkopf but reportedly received none.

Credit: Ganoshenko Roman via Wikimedia Commons Then, in 2009, Rabbi Yisroel Silberstein was deported from Vladivostok for misstating the pur- a structural problem in Russian society? pose of his stay on his visa. He had written “cultural ties” The Associated Press reported that, since 2000, “the numrather than “religious activities.” The website Boker tov, ber of foreign religious workers being denied permission to Boulder.com alleged two other rabbis were also deported work in Russia has decreased sharply, according to religious from the same region, but I could find no other mention of activists. In 2002, five Catholic priests had their visas rethem. voked, and five U.S. Protestants who ran a church in central Finally, there’s Osher Krichevsky, Chief Rabbi of Omsk, Russia were refused permission to return to the country.”

Siberia. He was deported in 2014, for “illegal trading of alIf that is the case, it might not be Jews who are singled out, cohol.” The rabbi himself was not directly given a reason, but foreign religious leaders in general. That would give this according to writer Gianluca Mezzafiore. Here is a story that story, if it is indeed a story, a different focus. I’d really love to actually did make the rounds and was published by a number get to the bottom of this, but since the reporting is almost of news outlets. Apparently, Rabbi Krichevsky opened a as vague as the allegations, I just might be out of luck.

We’ll lose the campus if Israel becomes a partisan cause SEffI KogEn JTA For decades, supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship have insisted on strong bipartisanship rather than allying their cause with the Democrats or Republicans. So even while a typical bit of punditry over the past few presidencies was to assert that Bill Clinton, or George W. Bush, or Barack Obama was “the most pro-Israel president in history,” Israel advocates nevertheless kept their heads and painstakingly maintained strong relationships on both sides of the aisle.

Now some are eagerly making the same grandiose claim about President Donald Trump - that he will be the greatest friend Jerusalem has ever had. While we should and do welcome friendship from President Trump and look forward to working with him to strengthen the American-Israeli relationship, there are dangers in this perception.

Loath to turn the crucial cause of U.S.-Israel ties into a political football, savvy advocates both on campus and off have traditionally resisted branding one party or the other as insufficiently “pro-Israel.” But partisans have taken a different path. It is increasingly common to hear Republicans assert that they are the true keepers of the U.S.-Israel relationship -- a claim that can be heard from some Democratic activists, too. Disturbingly, some prominent Democrats -- particularly the young and the populist -- are rejecting the old orthodoxies of the friendship. The result is that on both ends of the spectrum, and with conflicting intent, Israel’s star is being hitched to Trump’s ascendant wagon.

This is a mistake for three reasons.

First, Donald Trump was not a conventional candidate and his is likely not to be a conventional presidency. The animus that he inspired among Democrats was particularly acute on college campuses and may lead future Democrats to define themselves as critics of all causes President Trump embraces.

If Israel’s American friends allow their more liberal alliances to wither, and fail to nurture understanding and support for Israel among longtime coalition partners, Israel may find itself on the outs if and when the pendulum swings and Democrats reclaim Congress or the White

motivated support for Bernie Sanders.

Finally, supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship should maintain, and be seen as maintaining, their independence from this -- or any -administration. Israel’s supporters committed to a negotiated, secure, two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -the position consistently favored by American Jews and Israelis alike -- may find themselves competing for the president’s support with advisers opposed to the twostate vision. A retreat from traditional U.S. policy on the conflict will present a serious challenge to pro-Israel advocacy on American campuses, where Palestinian statehood is widely seen as the only just outcome.

On campus, support for IsA banner extolling President Donald Trump seen in Jerusalem, Jan. 20, 2017. rael must be nurtured among Credit: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images students on the right and the House. Already, when asked by Pew whether left, in the sciences and the liberal arts, among they sympathize more with Israel or the Palesstudents both religious and secular, rich and tinians, only 33 percent of Democrats say Israel poor, gay, straight and everywhere in between. (compared with 74 percent of Republicans). This Supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship have should worry all lovers of Israel, as being a true built ties and advanced Israel’s security and wellpro-Israel advocate means keeping the issue as being with successive American presidents. In nonpolitical as possible, regardless of your own that spirit, and with that objective, advocates political preferences. look forward to working with President Trump, Second, college students -- many of whom are who time and again has voiced strong support more likely to see Israel as the Goliath towering for the Jewish state. over a Palestinian David rather than as the But as they engage the new administration, spunky David facing down the giant Arab world pro-Israel advocates must not abandon the strat-- polled as particularly allergic to Trump. The egy of bipartisan and intercommunal outreach concern, then, is not just that the next crop of that has formed the foundation for nearly 70 Democrats elected won’t assign proper value to years of overwhelming public support for Amerthe U.S.-Israel relationship, but that Israel could ica’s one democratic ally in the Middle East. lose an entire generation of American friends.

Seffi Kogen is the American Jewish Committee’s Remember, for many campus progressives, even assistant director for campus affairs.

Obama was too conservative -- a sentiment that

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 13

One year and counting: Western Wall prayer fight must go on JERUSALEM | JTA One year ago, we thought we had made history. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government passed the Western Wall agreement, for the first time granting official recognition to non-Orthodox Jewish streams and women’s rights at Judaism’s holiest site. We were proud of achieving a historic compromise because we knew it was the only way of instilling social change in society. e compromise was painful for us, but we thought it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

One year later, that document feels more like a bitter betrayal. Facing a rebellion from his haredi Orthodox coalition parties, Netanyahu shelved the agreement and now even allows talk, by his own ministers, of annulling it. For him, it seems that love of power has proven greater than his own integrity. e government has to provide Israel’s Supreme Court with good cause for the prohibition on women’s prayer with a Torah at the Kotel. It has to justify its failure to implement the Western Wall agreement we negotiated for three years.

And it has to explain why we do not have a seat on the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. e extremists in the government have taken on an impossible task: defending blatant discrimination against women and liberal Jews. In 2017, the law won’t have it, and the people won’t have it. ese men are grasping at straws. ey have resorted to reviving King George V, who wrote the 1924 king’s Order in Council decreeing proper custom for the British Empire.

His majesty decreed that no civil court had standing to rule over religious holy sites.

For what have we stood for 28 dogged years? We have stood, sometimes in the rain and other times while facing violent assault and even arrests, for the right of Jewish women to partake of an unquestionably noble tradition: praying at the Western Wall from a Torah scroll. at is it.

By doing so, we have stood for all Israel -- for the Israel that is described in its Declaration of Independence as a nation in which people of all backgrounds and both sexes live as equal citizens under the same laws.

A distorted authority acting illegally, protected by the highest institution of the land -- the state rabbinate, under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office -- has fought us hand over fist to prevent us from enjoying our basic rights: the freedom to pray as we wish.

Women of the Wall is at the forefront of a larger Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman being arrested following her battle to maintain Israel as a Jewish and democratic group’s prayer service at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Oct. 16, 2012. state with freedom and equality for all.

Credit: Women of the Wall Israel, however, is much greater than that Cabinet Women of the Wall lives by two abiding principles: that table. Women of the Wall has returned to the Supreme Court, Jewish women have the same innate rights as Jewish men, and where we feel hopeful our demand for justice will be heard. that despite differences, we will treat one another with respect.

Every time we pray at the Wall, I recall with gratitude the Given the resurgent prominence of women’s equality and paratroopers who fought for the Western Wall in 1967 and civility in public discourse as urgent political topics, who come to stand and pray with us. ese men know what Women of the Wall members are pioneers. We always real combatants look like, and they look like us -- deterknew that without these two precepts, civic society as we mined, righteous women fighting for what is ours. know it will disintegrate.

One year aer the Western Wall agreement was passed, there is one thing I ask of my Jewish brothers and sisters around the world: Stand with us.

Fight for the better face of Israel.

Every time you meet a representative of the state, a group GAbe FrieDmAN other Jewish-themed signs seen at this weekend’s protests, of schoolkids, a consul, maybe even Israel’s ambassador to ousands of demonstrators flooded airports across the references the Holocaust. the United States, Ron Dermer, make sure you let them DiNuzzo identified the Muslim father and daughter as country to protest President Trump’s executive order know that you stand with Israel, and that you demand Israel Fatih and Meryem Yildirim temporarily banning stand for you, too. of Schaumburg, Illinois, travel from seven Musis is a time to persevere and let Israel’s imperfect leadand the Jewish father and lim-majority countries. ers know that we still believe in a more perfect state. son as Rabbi Jordan Bene Internet has been Anat Hoffman is chair of Women of the Wall. dat-Appell and Adin Bensaturated with images dat-Appell of Deerfield, from the various Illinois. Rabbi Bendat-Approtests.

LeTTer TO THe eDiTOr pell is program director of But this photograph Dear Editor, the Institute for Jewish Spirhas perhaps resonated Bravo Omaha Jewish Literacy ituality and the Center for the most on social It was with much pride that I read my Omaha home of the last 42 Jewish Mindfulness in media. years was extending access to the Kripke Library -- more hours open, Chicago. e photo, taken by more library use, a boost to literacy.

Bendat-Appell explained Chicago Tribune photogAnd the Omaha Jewish Press has gone digital. Copies of the Press to the Tribune that Adin’s rapher Nuccio DiNuzzo, going back to 2014 are now on line. Another boost for access and imagmaternal grandparents were shows a Jewish boy ination. The combination of open door library and retrospective newspaHolocaust survivors who wearing a kippah and a per access, stretching back over 100 years, and the work of the Nebraska themselves spent time in Muslim girl wearing a Jewish Historical Society, are resources located within a stone’s throw refugee camps. hijab holding protest Screenshot from Nuccio DiNuzzo/Twitter JTA.com of each other in the JCC. It is a marvel of innovative communal and ed“Our tradition is not amsigns while they both sit ucational thinking, always a Jewish Omaha hallmark. biguous about remembering our history for the sake of on their fathers’ shoulders at Chicago’s O’Hare InternaOliver b. Pollak acting out in this world today,” he said. tional Airport. e Jewish boy’s father’s sign, like many richmond, CA

The photo that went viral

It is the very definition of chutzpah: Officials who receive salaries from the state, including Orthodox rabbis, claim the state has no standing. ey want extremist rabbinic rule.

14 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

synagogues 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

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun

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

offutt air forCe Base

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244

rose BluMkin Jewish hoMe

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

teMPle israel

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

tifereth israel

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

B’nai israel sYnagogue

Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on March 10, at 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker David Alloy who will discuss The resurgence of the UNL Chapter of the Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu. Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! Our services are led by lay leader Larry Blass.

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

Beth el sYnagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. fridaY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. saturdaY: Morning Service/Cup of Coffee with God, 9:30 a.m.; Junior Congregation, 10 a.m.; Mini-Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:45 p.m. weekdaY serViCes: Sundays, 9:45 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. sundaY: Hamantashen Baking, 9 a.m.; No BESTT Classes; Torah Study, 10:15 a.m.; Adult Education, 11:15 a.m. featuring speaker Dr. Gerald Steinacher on The Red Cross and the Holocaust; USY/Kadima Purim Carnival Prep and Lunch, 12:15 p.m. tuesdaY: Rabbi Abraham’s A Wisdom Tradition -- An Inside Look at Ethical, Moral and Spiritual Lessons of Judaism, noon at Whole Foods. wednesdaY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; USY Movie/ Lounge Night, 5:30 p.m.; Rabbi Abraham’s A Wisdom Tradition -- An Inside Look at Ethical, Moral and Spiritual Lessons of Judaism, 6:15 p.m.; Hebrew High Classes, 6:45 p.m.; Hazzan Krausman’s Echoes & Reflections -- A Multimedia Approach to the Holocaust, 7:30 p.m.

Scholar-in-Residence, Rabbi Robert Harris, friday, feb. 24sunday, feb. 26.

Serve lunch at the Nebraska AIDS Coalition, friday, feb.

24, 11:30 a.m.

Shabbat's Cool (Grades K-7), saturday, feb. 25, 10 a.m.

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

Beth israel sYnagogue

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. fridaY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 5:43 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 5:43 p.m. saturdaY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Parade, 9:45 a.m.; February Simcha Kiddush, 11:30 a.m.; Insights in the Weekly Torah Reading, 4:40 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 5:25 p.m.; Havdalah, 6:44 p.m. sundaY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m.

MondaY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, noon; Hebrew America Class-Level II, 7:30 p.m. tuesdaY & wednesdaY: Shacharit, 7 a.m. thursdaY: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Ethics Class with Rabbi Ari, 7:45 a.m.; Woman’s Class with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m.; Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Shlomo, noon at UNMC.

ChaBad house

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. fridaY: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. saturdaY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. followed by a festive kiddush luncheon. sundaY: Shacharit, 8:30 a.m. followed by Sunday Secrets: Jewish Fun Facts class at 9:15 a.m. weekdaYs: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing.

MondaY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. wednesdaY: New Tanya Series -- The Anatomy of Your Soul: Who Are You?, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Mendel Katzman; Women’s Jewish Values Class: Three Jewish Values, noon (lunch served). thursdaY: Advanced Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Mendel Katzman; Women’s Jewish Values Class: Three Jewish Values, 8 p.m.

Purim in Persia, sunday, March 12, 4 p.m. at the JCC. Fun, food, games, music, costume contest and prizes for all!

All programs are open to the entire community.

Congregation B’nai Jeshurun

Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. fridaY: Candlelighting, 5:46 p.m.; Pre-neg, 6 p.m. hosted

by Emily Judds and Nicole Taege; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m. saturdaY: Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m. B’not Mitzvah of emily Judds and nicole taege; No Torah Study; LJCS Family Havdalah, 7 p.m. at South Street Temple; Havdalah (72 Minutes), 7:18 p.m. sundaY: LJCS Teacher Professional Development, 9 a.m. at South Street Temple; No LJCS Classes; South Street Temple is partnering with "We Can Do This" to provide weekend meals to the children of the F Street Community Center. Join us as we provide lunch on the third Sunday of every month. Food/monetary donations, meal preparation and assistance with setting up, serving, and clean-up are needed! We will serve at 2:30 p.m.

For more information, email Sarah Beringer at sarah.m. beringer@gmail.com. tuesdaY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Misty’s, 6235 Havelock Ave. Please contact Deborah Swearingen with any questions; Kochavim Rehearsal, 6:45 p.m. wednesdaY: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. thursdaY: Temple Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m. adult eduCation tuesdaY: Intro to Judaism, Session #9, 6:30 p.m. led by Rabbi Lewis. wednesdaY: Intro to Prayer Hebrew, 6 p.m.

Game Night and Potluck, saturday, feb. 25, 6 p.m.

President’s Office Hours, sunday Mornings, 10 a.m.– noon at SST. If you have any Temple business you would like to bring before the Board of Trustees, potential programs, or new ideas, please let us know! Call for an appointment at the Temple at 402.513.7697. Or if you prefer, email David Weisser at president@southstreettemple.org.

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

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saturdaY: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Amichai Schwab (grandson of Cantor and Annette Fettman).

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

teMPle israel

fridaY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. saturdaY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Torah Reader: Beth Slovut and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer. sundaY: No Religious School; Taste of Tri-Faith, 12:45 p.m. at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St. Fun, food, and meet and get to know our Tri-Faith neighbors. Please bring a brunch or dessert item that reflects a tradition in your family. No pork (check ingredients) or shellfish. Please bring your food item to Countryside Church at 12:30 p.m. Sign up is easy! Just email Bonni Leiserowitz at bonnil@century link.net and tell her what you are bringing to share. Questions?

Contact the Tri-Faith Committee of Temple Israel chairs: Bonni Leiserowitz, Lee Needelman, Lisa Lewis; More Than A Joke: A Jew, A Christian, and a Muslim Walk Into a Pub, 5 p.m. at Sean O’Casey’s Pub 2523 S 140th Ave. When members of the

three Abrahamic faiths come together to discuss faith and everyday life, a lot of laughter may ensue, but it’s more than a joke. wednesdaY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; Family School, 6 p.m.; Jewish Influences in Mondern Comic Books, 6:30 p.m. with Barry Grossman. thursdaY: Amsterdam, Prague and Malta: A Jewish Journey, 10 a.m. with Cantor Shermet; Kol Rina Rehearsal, 7 p.m. at Temple Israel.

Kol Rina and Saint Paul United Methodist Choir, friday, feb. 24, 6 p.m., Temple Israel and sunday, feb. 26, 11 a.m., Saint Paul United Methodist Church, 5410 Corby Street.

Come enjoy the combined choirs sing this weekend with the theme of Unity. On friday, feb. 24, The Rev. Scott Shreve from Saint Paul United Methodist Church will be speaking during services at Temple Israel. On sunday, feb. 26, Rabbi Berezin will be speaking at Saint Paul United Methodist Church.

Temple Tots Shabbat, saturday, feb. 25, 9 a.m. All children and their families are invited to participate. Enjoy stories, songs, crafts (and bagels, of course!) with your child, while connecting with our Temple Israel community.

Meanings within Meanings, Stories within Stories: Uncovering the Wisdom of the Torah, thursdays, March 2, 9, 23 & 30 and april 6, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Crystal.

tifereth israel

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. fridaY: Services, 6:30 p.m. saturdaY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. followed by a Kiddush Luncheon. sundaY: LJCS Teacher Professional Development, 9 a.m. at South Street Temple; No LJCS Classes; PJ’s and Pancakes, 5:30 p.m. Children ages one-12 are invited to our PJ Library event. PJ’s and Pancakes will feature a story time and eating breakfast for dinner! Please RSVP to Nava in the office if you and your family are able to join this program. Don't forget to wear your pajamas! tuesdaY: Ladies Lunch Group, noon at Misty’s, 6235 Havelock Ave. Please contact Deborah Swearingen with any questions. wednesdaY: LJCS Hebrew School, 4 p.m. at TI. Purim Extravaganza, saturday evening, March 11 at the Coren Home. Join us for a light dinner beginning at 6:15 p.m. followed by a reading of the Megillah for adults and teens and entertainment for the younger children and pre-teens (starting at approx. 7 p.m.) The evening will end with storyteller, Pippa White, (8-8:30 p.m.) joining us all. Please RSVP by calling the office 402.423.8569 or emailing Nancy at corenancy@gmail. com by March 5 so we can plan on the amount of food. needed. Wear a costume...bring a noisemaker (if you want) ...

The date of the Tifereth Israel Annual Meeting has been changed from June 4 to May 21 at 3 p.m. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.

Personal

Anna Yuz-Mosenkis and her family would like to thank everyone in the Omaha community for the generous and caring support we received after the passing of our beloved husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather, Igor Mosenkis. We sincerely appreciate your visits, cards, meals, offers to help, and donations to organizations that are important to our family. Igor would have been very pleased to see how the community came together to celebrate his life and comfort his family. anna Yuz-Mosenkis and family

angela Merkel cancels joint Cabinet meeting

BERLIN | JTA German Chancellor Angela Merkel has canceled a planned top-level joint Cabinet meeting with Israeli leaders, reportedly out of frustration over Israel’s controversial new settlements law.

The binational consultation was set for May 10 in Jerusalem. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Merkel’s office offered the September national elections in Germany as the reason for the cancellation, but the chancellor appears to be taking a more critical stand toward Israel in order to improve her chances of winning a fourth term.

Surveys repeatedly show that many Germans are critical of Israel because of how they believe the Palestinians are treated there. A 2015 poll by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that 48 percent of Germans shared the negative view.

An unnamed Israeli government source told Haaretz that the

chancellor and the German Foreign Ministry were extremely upset over the bill passed in Israel last week that allows Israel to take possession of private Palestinian land on which West Bank settlements or outposts were built, as long as the settlers were not aware of the status of the land when they were built.

Reportedly the law, which can still be challenged, retroactively legalizes 4,000 settler apartments built on private Palestinian property in the West Bank. Palestinian landowners who come forward are entitled to generous compensation.

The law has drawn criticism in Israel and abroad, including from France, the European Union and the United Nations. Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, has suggested the law could violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. The United States has not condemned the law, though it has said the settlements do not help peace efforts.

The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017 | 15

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lifecycles Bat mItzvah

deLaNey eLIzaBeth graham

Delaney Elizabeth Graham, daughter of Melinda and John Graham, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Temple Israel.

Delaney is a seventh-grade honors student at Westside Middle School and is a participant in the Duke University Talent Identification Program.

Delaney has played competitive softball since she was in kindergarten. She has performed on stage in the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Campaign Cabaret and several of the JCC’s Musical Theater Community Group’s productions, including the upcoming Oklahoma!. Delaney will return to Shwayder Camp this summer for her fifth season.

For her Mitzvah Project, Delaney continues to volunteer at Munroe-Meyer Institute as a junior counselor.

Grandparents are Jan and Steve Fischer, Kathy Graham, Marty Riemenschneider and the late Paul Graham.

IN memorIam

BerNard s. FINkeLsteIN

Bernard S. Finkelstein of Memphis, TN (formerly of St. Louis, MO) passed away Feb. 12 at age 79 with his family by his side. Services were held Feb. 15 at Beth Sholom Memorial Gardens in Memphis, TN. He was preceded in death by his parents, Irvan and Rebecca Finkelstein.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Becker Finkelstein; son, Andrew Finkelstein, daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Jason Cameron, and son and daughter-in-law, David and Rebecca Finkelstein; grandchildren: Ari, Ethan, Asher Finkelstein; sisters and brothers-in-law, Gerri and Dr. Michael Oshry, Carol and Sanford Stern; sister-in-law, Pamela Becker.

He was an uncle, cousin and friend to many, whose gentleness, wit and smile will be greatly missed.

Memorials may be made to Ronald McDonald House of Memphis or Beth Sholom Synagogue of Memphis.

moshe gershovIch

Moshe Gershovich passed away Feb. 8 at age 57. A memorial service will be held Friday, Feb. 24 at UNO's Thompson Alumni Center. Services will be from 11 a.m.-Noon followed by a luncheon.

He was preceded in death by his father, Arye Gershovich.

He is survived by his wife Beth Brown Gershovich; mother Nechama Gershovich; sister, Zivit Semo; and nephews: Orr and Eden Semo.

Moshe Gershovich was born on Aug. 24 1959 in Tel Aviv. He received his B.A. from Shimon Ben Zvi School in Givatayim, Israel; his M.A.from Tel Aviv University, and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Before coming to Omaha, Moshe taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Al-Akhawayn University in Morocco. He also served in the IDF in the educational area for 5 years. He started at UNO in 2001. His title at UNO was Professor of History, Director of the Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies Memorials may be made to the Natan & Hannah Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies (01105940) via the University of Nebraska Foundation (NUF) website or sent to NU Foundation, c/o Randall Roberts, 2285 South 67th Street, Ste. 200, Omaha, NE 68106. Checks should be made out to the University of Nebraska Foundation (NUF); please note the fund number 01105940 in the memo or on the check.

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Jodi Levine and Jon Ungar are engaged to be married.

The bride-to-be graduated from The University of Kansas in 2009 with a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Strategic Communication. She now lives in Denver, Colorado, where she works in fundraising for the AntiDefamation League of the Mountain States Region.

She is the daughter of Michael and Cheryl Levine and granddaughter of Gardner and Harriet Lerner of Albany, New York and the late Joseph and Marion Levine of New York.

Her fiancé graduated in 2006 from Johnson and Wales in Denver, Colorado with a degree in International Business. He currently works for Colorado Commercial Companies as a Senior Associate Broker.

He is the son of Jeff and Sandy Ungar of Columbus, Ohio and the grandson of the late Bell and George Ungar of Columbus, Ohio and the late Cindy and Harry Golub of Cleveland, Ohio.

Jon and Jodi met through a mutual friend in the Denver area and are planning to be married on Sept. 10, 2017 in Colorado.

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Amy Leigh Saylan and Luke Louis Schwartz were married Nov. 26, 2016 at the Hilton Omaha. The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Hillel Greene.

The bride is the daughter of Jacki and Steve Saylan, and the granddaughter of the late Edythe and Arthur Friedman, Rosalie Saylan and the late Milton Saylan. Amy graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.

She is the Sales Manager and Event Consultant for Complete Weddings and Events.

The groom is the son of Chris and Marty Schwartz of Stanton, Nebraska and the grandson of Alice and the late Eugene Sobotka and Milton and JoAnn Schwartz. Luke graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is a Division Business Manager at Gallup.

After a honeymoon in Hawaii, the couple is residing in Omaha.

NFL stars pull out of Israel visit

JERUSALEM | JTA Two top National Football League players pulled out of publicity trip to Israel, saying they felt “used” by the government.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett on Friday posted a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. on Twitter with the caption: “Im not going to Israel.” On Saturday, he tweeted that he would one day take his own trip to Israel and also visit Palestinian areas. e trip was announced by Israel’s Tourism and Public Diplomacy Ministries on Feb. 5. e NFL delegation was to feature 12 current or former players.

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16 | The Jewish Press | February 17, 2017

worldnews

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Reaffirming Jewish-Catholic relations VATICAN CITY

delegation of top leaders from the Anti-Defamation League met on Thursday with Pope Francis at the Vatican, where they voiced support for the pontiff’s ongoing efforts to denounce anti-Semitism and praised his advocacy on behalf of refugees, as well as his efforts to encourage greater understanding among Christians, Muslims and Jews.

“We know you understand and share our concern about the resurgence of anti-Semitism, especially in Europe,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, in an address to the pope in a private audience at the Vatican. “And we share your concern about the horrendous persecution of ethnic and cultural minorities, many of them Christians. Indeed, we are troubled that the world seems not to pay enough attention to this tragic situation.”

The ADL delegation to Rome, consisting of 35 lay leaders from across the United States, was led by Mr. Greenblatt and Marvin D. Nathan, ADL National Chair. The meeting continues a long and historic relationship between ADL and the Catholic Church that stretches back decades and includes interfaith dialogue and educational efforts against anti-Semitism held in cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. ADL leaders in the past have held numerous audiences with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II. “Sadly, anti-Semitism, which I again denounce in all its forms as completely contrary to Christian principles and every vision worthy

of the human person, is still widespread today,” said Pope Francis, in his remarks to the ADL leaders. “I reaffirm that ‘the Catholic Church

Pope Francis

feels particularly obliged to do all that is possible with our Jewish friends to repel anti-Semitic tendencies.’” Pope Francis also commended ADL for “combining efforts to counter defamation with education, promotion of respect for all, and protection of the weakest,” and expressed gratitude for the League maintaining dialogue and close relations with the Catholic Church.

In ADL’s first private audience with Pope Francis, Mr. Greenblatt thanked the pontiff for

his steadfast support of the Jewish State of Israel and for the Holy See’s commitment to carrying out the ideals of Nostra Aetate, the seminal Vatican II Council document that declared anti-Semitism a sin and reversed 2,000years of church teachings about Jews. He presented the pope with a gift of a traditional Jewish tzedakah, or charity, box and a photographic portrait of the pope with his good friend and associate, Rabbi Avraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mr. Greenblatt decried the rise of violent religious extremism that has plagued many parts of the world and praised the Catholic Church for taking a strong stand against extremism and terrorism, while encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to come together in search of peace.

“We are deeply troubled by the rise of violent extremism and of reactionary nationalism, including in the United States,” Mr. Greenblatt said. “The love of neighbor, enshrined in the book of Leviticus and considered the greatest commandment by both Jesus in the Gospels and Rabbi Akiva, seems to be in short supply.”

ADL’s leadership mission to Rome and the Vatican (hashtag #ADLRomeMission) has also included meetings with Italian elected officials, leaders of the Jewish community in Rome, various high-ranking Vatican officials and Israeli and American ambassadors to the Holy See. The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Chuck Schumer condemns ‘troubling’ White House Holocaust statement

JTA Sen. Chuck Schumer condemned the White House International Holocaust Remembrance Day statement, calling it “troubling and unfortunate.”

Schumer, the Senate minority leader from New York, made the comments to Haaretz, a day after House Democrats failed to pass a resolution slamming the White House statement, which did not specifically mention Jews.

“The abominable Nazi Final Solution had as its target the extermination of the Jewish people. This is a fact. And one that must always be remembered,” Schumer told the Israeli daily. “It is troubling and unfortunate that the administration did not acknowledge and honor the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime in the Shoah.”

Schumer’s great-grandmother and seven of her nine children were killed by the Nazis. On Jan. 26, the day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Schumer participated in the #WeRemember social media campaign.

The Jan. 27 White House statement was widely criticized by Jewish organizations for not singling out the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. But Trump administration officials have been defiant, saying the statement simply sought to be “inclusive.” On Monday, an aide to President Donald Trump called criticism of the statement “asinine.”

Democrats on Capitol Hill have tried to keep the issue alive. On Tuesday, Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., sought to force a vote on the resolution, which was sponsored by more than 100 Democrats, emphasizing that the Nazis targeted Jews during the Holocaust and calling on the White House to affirm that fact. But Republicans blocked the effort in a party-line vote.

“It is beyond belief that President Trump would allow a Holocaust remembrance statement to go out under the banner of his White House that did not discuss the genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people,” Crowley said. “The Trump administration doubled down and defended its statement, despite many pointing out the consequences of such inaccuracies.”

On Saturday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told Haaretz that the Trump White House was “in the camp of Holocaust denial” and that there were “anti-Semitic themes” in the administration’s statements and explanations.

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