Voices

The Jewish Press

(Founded in 1920)

Abby Kutler

President

Annette van de Kamp-Wright

Editor

Richard Busse

Creative Director

Susan Bernard

Advertising Executive

Lori Kooper-Schwarz

Assistant Editor

Gabby Blair

Staff Writer

Mary Bachteler

Accounting

Jewish Press Board

Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha. org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

Editorial

The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org.

Letters to the Editor Guidelines

The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org. 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. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450.

Postal

The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.

Whether ignorance or malice, hate in any form hurts someone…

When hate wounds us, we have a clear choice: ignore it and hope it goes away, or face it. But when our hurt is derived from another placeone less easily understood, the choices become less clear. Why would an educator uncap their dry erase GARY NACHMAN marker and, without any Regional Director, context, elevate the words, ADL-Plains States benign or not, of Hitler and Region display them for all to see? Was the conclusion that a reasonable quote, even if ascribed to a mass murderer, deserves to be echoed? Was it intended as a history lesson in irony or a challenge in the form of intellectual provocation? Could it have been something even worse? We’ll never know. Not really. Whether offered with ignorance or malice, the weight of words carries irrevocable consequences. Once in the public domain, it is not only our intent we must take responsibility for, perhaps more importantly, their impact. Impact creates culture, it creates the climate in our schools and the realities we must face in our communities. Intent may be elusive, but impact is clear, it’s raw and unfiltered. Highlighting a person responsible for the murder of 6 million Jews and countless other minorities, because he may have said something mildly thoughtful once, legitimizes the author. It diminishes the memory of those millions who perished. It gives credibility to other things he may have said and paves the way for hate speech and worse. Once we legitimize those who openly prescribe to hate in the public square, we lose our sense of what it means to be fair, what it means to be just. We are dangerously close to that place now. The events of the past few years, even the past two months, highlight growing extremism. In this time, in this moment, words matter. Westside Community Schools seem to have understood this. They took swift action to address a challenging incident without delay and did so with candor and responsibility. They took ownership when others have chosen to deflect. This reflects the maturity and sensitivity required to truly lead students to become better, future citizens. Leading by example, they showed that rather than arguing intent, we gain greater understanding by acknowledging the hurt caused, apologizing for it, educating ourselves and others, and striving to do better. The need for education starts with our community, teachers, parents and students. ADL is committed to doing our part in working with schools to build spaces where facts are shared, and personal and cultural experiences are considered in every choice made. We need all citizens to do your part, despite ideology or political affiliation. We cannot do this alone. We ask that we all do more in renouncing hateful speech, xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, and most importantly, ignorance. This is so important particularly when the offending party is in your own political party, state, community, school, or family. It is the only way we have a chance to reverse this very real, and very deadly, trend. Let’s applaud Westside for their professionalism and care for their future citizens. Together, we have a chance of removing hate. We are grateful to partner with Westside Community Schools and the Institute for Holocaust Education in addressing this matter. Could this happen again? Certainly, in some form or another it will. Westside has set the bar of intolerance, as seen from this incident, I anticipate future episodes will be handled with equal sincerity.

Hitler quote displayed at Westside Middle School prompts action from District administration

BENJAMIN KUTLER

Westside Wired Managing Editor On Monday, Feb. 1, an email was sent to all Westside staff members, students and families regarding an incident that had happened that day at Westside Middle School. The email addressed the actions of a teacher who chose to display a quote by Adolf Hitler as the “quote of the day” in a hallway. The email from Westside Middle School Principal Kimberly Eymann and Superintendent Mike Lucas included an apology and was followed up with a second email explaining some of the action that would take place. “We used our morning announcements time and 30-minute homeroom period in all classrooms to discuss the severity of this situation,” Eymann and Lucas stated in the email. Eymann and Lucas also said that they have been working closely with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to help guide them through the steps to come. “The ADL helped us determine some appropriate videos and talking points to share with our students in all homerooms for the rest of the week, Wednesday–Friday,” Eymann and Lucas stated. Eighth-grader Ryan Kugler said his classes are located in the same hallway area that the quote was displayed. Kugler said he is impressed with the way that the school has handled the situation. “I think that the school is handling the situation pretty well, and I like how they are educating kids and teachers on why the quote being written was so wrong,” Kugler said. Westside Director of Communications and Engagement Brandi Paul said that the administration was nothing shy of disturbed by the incident. “We were very upset; so many of our students and staff and families and communities were,” Paul said. “We know the power of even hearing the name Hitler can have on any of us.” Paul said she knows that many positive learning opportunities will come from this. “We are trying to use it as a teaching moment for everyone: our staff, our students, our families,” Paul said. “We sent out resources encouraging families to talk about it at home.” Since the quote was written on Monday, several news sources have covered the story. The Omaha World-Herald, WOWT, KMTV and The Times of Israel have all reported on the incident.

reflect on the Westside community. “I hope that that’s what people think of Westside from this,” Paul said. “That we don’t just take a challenge. We don’t just accept something negative. We’re going to take that and get better from it. We are going to learn from it.” Kugler said he thinks that seeing a quote written by Adolf Hitler could be more impactful on Jewish students like himself. “I think that the quote shouldn’t have been written and that it was insensitive to many people at Westside,” Kugler said. “Being Jewish makes the quote have a bigger effect on me because I have lots of friends and family who would also not like the quote.” Paul said she hopes people who feel that the administration’s reaction to Westside Middle School Credit Westside Community Schools Website the incident was dramatic Paul said she is aware of the local and regional should consider how they would feel if they had a attention that the incident has received and high- different background. She said she also hopes that lighted the importance of sending an email to the they consider how it may affect other students. community right away. “Everybody is going to perceive this situation a “We certainly understand that this has been all little differently,” Paul said. “What we have to do as over the place; we can’t change that,” Paul said. a school district is remember that we are serving “That was one of the reasons that we wanted to 6,000 students from 6,000 different backgrounds send out our messages to our school and our com- with 6,000 different beliefs, and we want to support munity first. That trust and transparency are so im- all of them.” portant to us... We wanted you guys to hear it from With the future in mind, Paul said that this misus first, to hear the facts and all of the details that take will have long-lasting effects on the district we could provide first so you would know what and the community as a whole. was going on and you could reach your own con- “This isn’t something that is going to go away,” clusions yourself.” Paul said. “This is a commitment and a mission for Paul cited the quote by Charles R. Swindoll, “Life us to improve all of those things… over the long is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react term in our curriculum and in our culture inside to it,” to highlight how she hopes the incident will our school.”

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

“Is the Jewish deli the new synagogue?” Andrew Silow Carroll asked in his headline for a recent JTA article. He poses the question after speaking with author Rachel Gross, who recently published her book Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice. The notion that Jewish life can be found outside the synagogue is not new, but is perhaps a more urgent and topical concept now that so many synagogues are—and remain— closed. We are about to go into Passover without having opened the doors and that means we have completed an entire cycle of holidays—outside our synagogues. Yet, Jewish life in Omaha continues, from the never-ending Zoom classes, services and meetings to random phone calls, food drop-offs, social-distance walks (when it’s warm enough) and life-cycle events we refuse to miss—even if we attend from our living room. More than ever, we are aware of what’s missing when we can’t physically come together. Once we can open those doors again, we will flock back stronger than ever, determined to enjoy each other’s company- I do not doubt that. “I’m arguing against a bunch of things,” Gross said. “One is a really narrow understanding of American Jewish religion tied to legacy institutions like synagogues, federations and JCCs. Thinking narrowly about Jewish religion, especially as synagogue services, has led American Jewish community leaders and some scholars to see American Jewish religion in decline. And I, building on the work of many scholars in religious studies, see religion really broadly. I think about religion as things that are meaningful to people and that place people in meaningful conversations with their community, and things that establish really sacred relationships between people, the divine and ancestors — a whole range of sacred relationships and networks. And when we think about religion that way, it lets us broaden our scope and see American Jewish religion as thriving in places that American Jewish community leaders have not largely focused on.” There is a lot here we can pick apart and criticize. In fact, I think there is enough in this paragraph to debate for weeks. But, besides the fact that JCCs do not equal religion (where did she come up with that?), we are more than a religion, we are a people, and so of course not every Jewish aspect of our lives happens in shul. And: Jewish life, if you want to narrowly define it only in religious terms, happens in the home as much as at synagogue. And our homes are still very much open, thank you very much. besides, even though synagogues have closed, if services move online, are they really closed? So we temporarily exist in a different space, so what? Gross also said: “Everything depends on money and, in fact, everything depends on material culture, which is the academic term for stuff. I think it’s a mistake to think of religion as “higher things” divorced from the material world in which we live. I’m interested in how religion works in real people’s real lives. And that’s through commerce and that’s through material goods. We’re physical beings in a physical world.” I’m not entirely sure why this irritates me so much, and please don’t take my word for it, but I think Gross assumes a great many things about how organizations and synagogues operate. Whoever said our religious life was divorced from the everyday and the mundane? Don’t those already go together? Why else do we have a bracha for handwashing and getting up in the morning and, for goodness’ sake, going to the bathroom? It sounds like she has some preconceived notions that lead her to conclude Jewish organizations and synagogues just don’t get it. She also introduces the idea that the Jewish identity that is expressed in food will most likely pop up elsewhere in our lives as well. Just because we experience eating a bagel as a “Jewish thing” doesn’t mean it will be the only Jewish thing. Maybe; I can agree with the notion that our shared food has created a cultural bond, but I can’t think of eating a knish or a brisket as a religious experience—or even a pathway to religion. I want to have my cake and eat it. I want the food and the service. I want the books and the music and the prayers, the life cycle events and the sermon. I want the vacations to Israel and the hamsas on the kitchen wall, the jokes and the movies and the Priestly Blessing. Most of all, I want to know that the synagogue is my home. The underlying problem here is the idea of choice: to be Jewish is something that must be expressed a certain way to be valid. Gross accuses Jewish organizations and synagogue

leadership of the sin she commits herself: the faulty belief that there is a right way to be Jewish, that there is only one way. You either get stuck in how things used to be, or you move with the times. Perhaps I just don’t get it (it wouldn’t be the first time) but every time an academic tries to explain us to us, I feel like there are a lot of empty words on the page. Tell me Jewish life does not only take place in the synagogue, and I’m with you. But don’t imply the synagogue is no longer relevant. You want ‘real?’ The synagogue, for many of us, is very real. The Jewish deli is not ‘the new synagogue.’ Neither are the museums, the theaters, the library or the kosher section at your local supermarket. The synagogue is what it has always been, a patient building that welcomes us home, where we can pray, bond, build relationships and be ourselves. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Left: Beyond the Synagogue; right: Rachel B. Gross Credit: JTA.org

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