April 2, 2021

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A PR I L 2 , 2 02 1 | 2 0 NISA N 578 1 | VO L. 1 01 | NO. 24 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 7:33 P.M.

Cutting the ribbon

JFS presents Dr. Jeremy Goldberg GABBY BLAIR Jewish Press Staff Writer

Jewish Family Service would like to invite all members of the community to join us on April 6, 2021 from 7-8 p.m. for a free Zoom event featuring Dr. Jeremy Goldberg as he presents: “Are You Thriving or just Surviving? What is YOUR next step to living well?”

Tri-Faith Initiative presents “To-Gather” Page 4

New JCC spaces a perfect fit for OAYO Page 6

Omaha Primary Candidate Statements Pages 8-10

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor unday, March 21, the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Community Venue was the stage for an official celebration of our Campus Transformation. The event came complete with a ribbon cutting. Tom and Darlynn Fellman, Don Goldstein, Marsha and Milton Kleinberg, Howard Kooper, Nancy and Joel Schlessinger and Michael Staenberg wielded the scissors in celebration of our renovated Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus. Those who were not able to join for brunch in-person joined virtually.

The event required masks, and social distancing was observed.

“It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and joy of those attending in viewing the

S

near completion of the JCC renovation,” Don Goldstein said. “It was the first opportunity for many to see the improvements and to envision the endless possibilities of the remodeled spaces.”

Jewish Federation of Omaha CEO Alan Potash began the event by saying the campus transformation “is not just about the campus, but about the overall impact it will have for our community.”

Potash thanked the donors and said: “There are new additions being made every day and we are busy working on the exhibits that will be in the Milton Mendel & Marsha Kleinberg Hall of History, Blumkin Institute of Holocaust Education Exhibit and the Riekes Museum. We look forward to sharing this building with generations to come.”

See Cutting the ribbon page 3

Join us for Yom Ha’atzmaut!

REGULARS

Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Reserve your calendars for Sunday April 11 at 1 p.m., when Beth El, Temple Israel and the Jewish Federation of Omaha invite you to virtually attend Yom Ha’atzmaut Across America.

On Yom Ha’atzmaut, we celebrate Israel’s Independence, specifically remembering the Declaration of Independence in 1948. In Israel and the Diaspora both, the day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies and observances.

Memorial Day, or Yom Hazikaron, ends at sunset, and immediately flows into Independence Day. An of-

ficial ceremony is held every year on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery, to mark this intentional transition of time and spirit, which includes a speech by the speaker of the Knesset, artistic performances and the ceremonial lighting of twelve torches, one for each of the tribes of Israel. Every year, a dozen Israeli citizens who made a significant social contribution in a selected area are invited to light the torches. Many

cities hold outdoor performances in cities’ squares featuring leading Israeli singers and fireworks displays. Streets around the squares are closed to cars, allowing people to sing and dance in the streets. With most Israelis now vaccinated, it promises to be a bigger party than last year.

Because Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, which corresponded with the 5th of Iyar that year, See Yom Ha’atzmaut page 2

An expert in behavior change and an advocate for kindness, Dr. Jeremy Goldberg is a self-described compassionate scientist with a punk rock spirit, dedicated to improving the world.

Currently residing in Vancouver B.C., the Los Angeles native recently completed his Ph.D. at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. A desire for a deeper understanding of how attitudes influence actions, why habits form and how to live in a way that has a positive impact on the world motivated Goldberg’s studies.

“I was fed up and burned out. I wanted to learn more about how and why my behaviors led to the life I was living. The more I learned, the more I realized that people needed to know and hear that they are not alone in their struggles. It is never too late to change our own behaviors or habits and that starts with being kinder to ourselves and each other.”

Goldberg founded “Long Distance Love Bombs” in 2010. An organization that acts as a therapeutic toolbox for inspiring, encouraging and affecting transformational change, Long Distance Love Bombs has a growing following in communities worldwide.

Goldberg’s TEDx talks have reached thousands; his positive mindset and ideas for simple ways to improve the world starting with small purposeful actions has grown his following on social media platforms.

“Are you Thriving or just Surviving?” will provide insights and methods to living better, easier lives, and sorting through the often overwhelming anxiety and emotions that arise from life stressors.

Dr. Goldberg will also discuss

2 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

Luminaries of the Reform Movement coming to Temple Israel CASSANDRA WEISENBURGER Temple Israel Director of Communications Temple Israel is excited to announce that Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism and Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, will be our virtual scholars in April.

This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from the two top institutional leaders of the Reform Movement.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. The URJ leads the largest and most diverse Jewish movement in North America, reaching more than 1.5 milRabbi Rick Jacobs lion people through nearly 850 congregations, 15 overnight camps, the Reform teen youth Movement NFTY and the Religious Action Center in Washington DC. For nearly 150 years, the URJ has been at the forefront in promoting an open, progressive Judaism.

A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York. Before that, during his tenure as the rabbi of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, he created the first homeless shelter in a New York City synagogue.

He’s a tireless advocate for an Israel that is secure, Jewish, democratic and pluralistic, with a vibrant Reform Jewish community. Rabbi Jacobs has studied for two decades at Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute, where he is a senior rabbinic fellow.

Rabbi Jacobs is regularly featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, The Washington Post, Ha’aretz, The Forward, NPR and CNN, among others.

Shabbat Evening Service: Reimagining Jewish Life: Before, During and After the Pandemic, Friday, April 9, 6 p.m.

Shabbat Study Session: A Closer Look at the Dramatic Shifts in Reform Jewish Life, Saturday, April 10, 9:15 a.m.

Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., president of Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion, is a leading political scientist and

distinguished Jewish communal leader. Dr. Rehfeld’s career has bridged both the academic and professional worlds as Associate Professor of Political Science at Washington University (2001 to 2019) and as President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis (2012 to 2019). The academic values of thinking, writing and teaching are the core of his identity, coupled with a passionate commitment to building communities based on the Jewish values that are central to his life. He is an advocate for pluralism, inclusion, and racial and social justice, and an activist in combatting anti-Semitism, advancing peace and security for the state of Israel, and strengthening the ties binding Jews worldwide.

Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D. As HUC-JIR President, Dr. Rehfeld leads the four-campus international institution of Jewish higher education and seminary for Reform Judaism, which educates leaders to serve the Reform Movement and the Jewish people worldwide as rabbis, cantors, educators and nonprofit management professionals, and offers graduate programs to scholars and clergy of all faiths. He also holds a tenured faculty position as Professor of Political Thought. Dr. Rehfeld oversees campuses in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles and New York, an annual operating budget of over $41 million, 36 full-time tenured faculty, and an enrollment of about 400 full-time students and 800 part-time education students.

A product of the Reform Movement, Dr. Rehfeld was involved in the Reform camping movement for over 35 years as a camper and song leader at Kutz Camp and more recently as faculty of the URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Institute. He lived in Israel for a year prior to college, where he studied Hebrew on a kibbutz ulpan and was an early participant in the work-study program Livnot U’l’hibanot.

Shabbat Evening Service: The Pragmatic Foundations of Prophetic Judaism, Friday, April 23, 6 p.m.

Shabbat Study Session: The Crisis of Authenticity in Reform Judaism, Saturday, April 24, 9:15 a.m.

Zoom links are available on www.TempleIsraelOmaha. com.

Yom Ha’atzmaut Continued from page 1 Yom Ha’atzmaut was originally celebrated on that date. However, to avoid Shabbat desecration, it may be commemorated one or two days before or after the 5th of Iyar.

Yom Ha’atzmaut Across America is a live virtual concert experience hosted by Hadar and Sheldon, featuring some of the most recognizable names in Jewish music and leadership around the world.

“My friends Hadar Orshalimy and Sheldon Low reached out to me about this concert,” Temple Israel’s Cantor, Joanna Alexander, said. “I spoke to Hazzan Krausman about making this a community event. Hadar and Sheldon are both amazing and have become quite professional with the technology these days! I’m so excited to have the Omaha Jewish Community and Temple Israel be part of this musical celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut! Sheldon Low, Hadar Orshalimy, Josh Nelson and Chava Mirel are some of the top American Jewish artists of today and to hear them perform live with their bands will be an amazing treat during this year of pre-recorded music! Not only will we celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, but we will also help feed people in need through the partnership with Mazon. As we all know, this year with COVID has been tough, and so many people are suffering food insecurity or hunger. Mazon will help alleviate that stress for people as we move towards the other side of this hard year.”

Sheldon Low is one of the brightest young stars in Jewish rock music today, performing in over 100 rock concerts, ‘Light up Shabbat’ services, seminars and artist-in-residence weekends in Jewish communities throughout North America. Recently, he began releasing music with his wife, Hadar Orshalimy under the name Hadar and Sheldon. Both of Sheldon’s children’s albums were distributed across the globe by PJ Library.

When you register for the concert at www.jewishomaha.

www.KauthforCouncil.com Paid for by Kauth for Council campaign

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

org, you can also order a kosher falafel lunch from Beth El, to make this at-home concert even more festive! Lunch includes pita, falafel, tzatziki sauce, hummus, chips and a cookie. The deadline to order food is April 6 and food pick-up is at Beth El, Sunday April 11 between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

Cost of the lunch is $6 for a kid’s meal and $9 for adults; you can also purchase a 3-pack for $18 or a family pack for $36.

The virtual concert itself is free to attend. The concert link will remain active for 24 hours following the event should you have a schedule conflict.

“Join us to hear joyful, inspiring music,” Cantor Alexander added, “sing or dance along in the comfort of your own living room, celebrate Israel and know that we are helping to feed those in need all at the same time! What more could you want from a Sunday afternoon!”

Thank you to the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation and Special Donor Advised Fund for the Jewish Federation of Omaha and its agencies for helping us celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday together as a community.

For more information or if you need help with the link, please contact Jamie Skog-Burke at 402.334.6440 or jskogburke@jewishomaha.org.

Dr. Jeremy Goldberg Continued from page 1 strategies for developing a plan to move forward from the challenging times we are currently living in. Please be sure to mark your calendars for April 6, 2021 from 7-8 p.m. for what is sure to be an inspiring event.

Registration is required for this free Zoom event. Please visit www.jfsomaha.com to register and to learn more about the important services JFS provides to our community.

For more information about Dr. Goldberg, please visit https://www.longdistancelovebombs.com/about.

This event is made possible thanks to funds from the Pennie Z. Davis Family Life Education Fund and the Sokolof Foundation.

The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 3

News LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

Cutting the ribbon Continued from page 1 Mark Martin, Executive Director of the Staenberg JCC, shared some of the many ways our campus is being used: “Just today, we have a pickleball tournament, play practice, an OAYO practice in our new theater, spin class, yoga class, water fitness class, boot camp and so much more. The final product is more than I ever could have imagined from my first talk with Michael Staenberg in 2014. Thank you, Michael, for pushing us to think big. Thank you to all of you, because we could not have done it without you.”

Michael Staenberg spoke about what it means to give and why he does it—as well as why it is important to not give alone, but to inspire other donors to join. “My father taught me we weren’t a 10 percent family,” he said, “we were a 20 percent giver. We always have to give more and do more.”

Staenberg also emotionally shared that while a teenager, his father unexpectedly passed away and the JCC became his home away from home. He developed life-long friendships at the J and was embraced by many adults in the community, like the late “Uncle” Chuck Arnold, who provided him with guidance and mentoring. He encountered similar experiences at the JCCs in Kansas City and St. Louis as he embarked on his career.

Doron Krakow, President and CEO of the JCC Association of North America, prerecorded a

message to share with those in attendance: “I want to thank Michael Staenberg,” he said, “whose passionate commitment to his roots in the Jewish community, in particular the world of Jewish Community Centers, whose vision and philanthropy has brought beauty and practicality, achievement and opportunity to a growing number of JCCs. Thank you for honoring us once again.”

One of the most touching moments came when Milton Kleinberg took the stage and shared a few words with those in attendance.

“In 1984, I first came to Omaha from Milwaukee to look for business opportunities,” he said. “The first place I went was the JCC. I walked in and said, “Wow, This is a great place.” When I came home to my wife, I told her if I could find the opportunity to do business in Omaha, that’s where I wanted to be.

For several years, I drove back and forth between Milwaukee and Omaha. It was 550 miles; I’d go home Friday afternoon and come back Sunday night. This place (the JCC) saved my sanity. About 32 years ago, our daughter made Aliyah and I told Marsha we needed to move to Omaha. That’s when I stopped traveling back and forth. I was born overseas, but nowadays, when people ask me where I’m from, I tell them right away: Omaha is my home. This is a wonderful community and nothing can make me move.”

On so many levels, in so many different ways, Omaha’s JCC is fresh, new and exciting.

With all the physical changes, however, the soul and sense of community at OUR J remains a constant. If you have yet to see the facilities, a visit is highly recommended! Our future absolutely is now and we invite everyone to be a part of it!

IN THE NEWS The Old Avoca Schoolhouse in Avoca, Nebraska, will be streaming an online “Jigs Play Along” for folks who play fiddle, violin, viola, cello, bass and mandolin. This fun “Play Along” will be on Sunday, May 23, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., US Central Time.

Each participant will receive a pdf copy of our Jig Sampler for Two, written for the instrument of their choice. The 20 traditional tunes in the Jig Sampler for Two collection are curated from previously published Greenblatt & Seay Publications: Canadian Fiddle Tunes for Two, Gardening Fiddling Tunes for Two, Gow Family Scottish Tunes for Two, Holiday Tunes for Two, Irish Fiddle Tunes for Two, Playford English Country Dance Tunes for Two, Scottish Fiddle Tunes for Two, Wedding Fiddling Tunes for Two and Welsh Fiddle Tunes for Two. During the session, we will play, and experience what makes these tunes so special and fun.

Pre-registration required. The fee for the “Jigs Play Along” is $15.

For more information, and to register, email Debby at debby@greenblattand seay.com.

I would appreciate your vote on April 6

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4 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

News

Building update

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

Tri-Faith Initiative presents “To-Gather” WENDY GOLDBERG Tri-Faith Executive Director Tri-Faith Initiative invites proposals for “To-Gather,” a public art initiative encouraging conversation about religious diversity and bridging differences.

“To-Gather” encourages architects to form multi-disciplinary teams of artists, contractors and fabricators to conceptualize, design and build one-of-a-kind picnic tables to be placed throughout the city.

The project is part of a larger effort by Tri-Faith Initiative to utilize art as a vehicle to inspire participation and public discourse on social issues and shared community values.

“Picnic tables are an iconic representation of people gathering for hospitality, sharing food and taking time to sit and hear each other’s stories,” says Wendy Goldberg, Executive Director. “The basic features of the iconic American picnic table are similar, yet distinguishable by the details. In the differences, we notice the table’s essence -- the aspects that make it both unique and familiar. Religious pluralism also creates and honors space for both the unique and the familiar.”

Picnic tables are also central to the story of Tri-Faith. As the idea was formed to build a synagogue, church, mosque and interfaith center together on shared land, it was said that “if only a picnic table were constructed as a place for interfaith gathering, the mission of Tri-Faith would be fulfilled.”

“Picnic tables are a place we come together to share food, stories and a sense of community. Like the Tri-Faith Commons, the picnic table is a symbol of a place where we can build relationships and trust across lines of difference,” adds Goldberg.

Locations throughout the city -- including North Omaha, South Omaha, Midtown, Downtown and the Tri-Faith Commons -- have already been selected

to host these unique gathering spaces.

“To-Gather” teams are expected to self-fund or self-sponsor their projects. A

limited number of stipends are available to teams who qualify. New community donors are invited to join the growing

group making this project possible.

Details, project timeline and team instructions can be found at trifaith.org/ to-gather.

ABOUT TRI-FAITH INITIATIVE: Inspired by the faith of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim congregations, Tri-Faith Initiative cultivates inclusive environments to advance interfaith relationships and understanding. The Tri-Faith Commons is located in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently houses Temple Israel, Countryside Community Church, American Muslim Institute and the Tri-Faith Center. For more information, visit trifaith.org.

It was a relief to share the first edition of this new column in the March 26 issue, aiming to provide a weekly update on the state of the Kripke Federation Collection in relation to the beautiful new Learning Commons.

For those who might have walked through the Commons since Friday, March 24, 2021, you should have noticed our temporary “Save the Space” JENNIE GATES(like a Save the Date – but holding the BECKMAN space) display of books giving the JFO Director of community a taste of more to come. Community Engagement & The more robust curated display Education will be housed on a beautiful custombuilt modular shelving unit that will “snake” it’s way through the Commons in an S-shape. This unit will arrive in the next 4-6 weeks and will support the bulk of the materials on display in the Learning Commons. The selection of materials on view will be curated and rotated, according to not only the nearest Jewish holiday, but also upcoming programming on our campus and throughout Omaha. Beyond the main “S” stacks, we will also be adding several additional bookcases throughout the space to house a more permanent collection of volumes we feel should always be available in a Jewish Community Library. If you have any interest in being part of the team guiding decisions of what ends up on display at any given time - please reach out!

TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Readers can also submit announcements -- births, b’nai mitzvahs, engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at www.omahajew ishpress.com/site/forms/. Deadlines are normally nine days prior to publication, on Wednesdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.

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NJHS presents Jewish Roots to history, memory and civic responsibility.

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2021 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

Synagogue architecture MARTY SHUKERT We are excited to invite you to Beth El for an extensively illustrated presentation by photographer Michael Craig Palmer on the American synagogue architecture of Eric Mendelsohn on Sunday, April 11 at 7 on Zoom. Eric Mendelsohn was one of the great modern architects of the twentieth century, as well as a designer deeply influenced by his strong Jewish identity.

Born in Germany in 1887, his first project was a bet tahara, a place for the preparation of the deceased for funerals, an amazing and now restored small building full of respect for these final rituals. He received international fame for the revolutionary design of the Einstein Tower observatory in Potsdam, and his status grew with the streamlined design of the Schocken Department Stores throughout Germany during the 1920s. In 1933, he and his wife Louise escaped Germany and settled in Mandatory Palestine, opening an architectural office in Jerusalem. He wrote, “We shall live quietly for ourselves, for the work – for our people. There is no other, no greater task – Yerushalayim. We must make it worthy... ”to build the Bible.” He certainly did, designing both the Hadassah Hospital complex and Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus, and taking Hebrew lessons from the daughter of Eliezer ben Yehudah. After World War II, the Mendelsohns moved to the United States, and eventually worked and taught in San Francisco. In this last phase of Mendelsohn’s life and career, he designed seven synagogues,

four of which, all in the Midwest, were built. Three of these buildings – Park Synagogue in Cleveland, Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul, and Temple Emmanuel in Grand Rapids – are still used as synagogues, while the fourth (and best known to our members), B’nai Amoona in St. Louis, is now a community arts center.

These great and evocative structures have received relatively little individual attention. Our guest, photographer Michael Craig Palmer, has filled this gap with his new book Eric Mendelsohn’s Synagogues in America, with both beautiful images and insightful commentary. We think his presentation is especially appropriate as we adapt the design of our own distinctive building to contemporary needs. We are excited to welcome Mr. Palmer to speak about Mendelsohn, his American synagogues and the design philosophy of this great and thoughtful designer, who wrote: Judaism is not simple-minded and unambiguous, but full of contradiction... Open the great document of Jewish antiquity wherever you want. One will find everywhere the feeling and experience of duality, and everywhere the striving for unity... It is the quest for unity that lit the creative forces of the Jew... The creative Jews are the victors over duality, their positive overcoming the yes over the no, the creation over despair, the triumph of yearning.

To sign up for this program, please visit www.bethel-omaha.org. Questions can be directed to Robby Erlich, Engagement Coordinator at rerlich@bethel-omaha.org.

HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AND PARENTS We will be publishing our annual High School Graduation Class pages on May 21, 2021. To be included, send us an email with the student’s name, parents names, high school they are attending, the college they will be attending and photo to: jpress@jewishomaha.org by May 3, 2021.

The Jewish Press

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New JCC spaces a perfect fit for OAYO GABBY BLAIR Jewish Press Staff Writer

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The Omaha Area Youth Orchestras are one of the first groups to take advantage of the functional new spaces in the Staenberg JCC. For Aviva Segall, OAYO Music Director, the completion of renovations at the JCC couldn’t have come at a better time.

“The COVID pandemic was initially a challenge for us to navigate,” she said. “Usually, our schedule is planned out months if not years in advance. Obviously, we stopped rehearsing in person at the start of the pandemic, but immediately adapted to offering online options in the very same week that we cancelled our March 2020 concert. Right away, our young, dedicated musicians volunteered to give virtual personal concerts to Residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home and helped with Omaha Public Library’s virtual story time program. Zoom meetings focused on careers for musicians outside of the traditional concert settings, practice skills, tours of instrument-making shops, fascinating insights by college music professors both local and across the country. They were fun and kept our students engaged. My personal favorites were the sessions we had with Aviva Segall film composer and performer friends from my time in Los Angeles. We watched movies and had them comment in real time about movies they performed on!”

Segall continued: “Starting the 2020-2021 season, we were more educated on safety protocols and came up with innovative ways to rehearse, while maintaining proper adherence to COVID guidelines. We had a lot of help from Dr. John-Martin Lowe, an OAYO parent and Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Inter-Professional Health Security Training and Education at UNMC, in guiding our decision making. We are so fortunate to have students dedicated to their art; a majority relied on their music and the camaraderie they have in OAYO to maintain some balance in their lives.”

In a normal year, OAYO rehearses primarily at the University of Nebraska - Omaha but also has concerts at venues such as the Holland Performing Arts center. Unfortunately, these locations were not able to house outside groups this year. Most public schools were unavailable and other open venues could not offer space on a regular enough basis. Fortunately, OAYO Executive Director, Sophia Potter, had connections to Camp Kitaki, which was a perfect venue to start outdoor rehearsals with full orchestra.

“We started rehearsals with beautiful weather in September,” Segall said. “But when we were snowed out of our planned outdoor concert in late October 2020, I was reminded of the Yiddish expression: ‘Humans plan and G-d laughs’. But everyone involved in OAYO-staff, musicians, parents and coaches-have been tremendously flexible and we have made the most out of what we have.”

Segall continued:“In February, we rehearsed at Kaneko, but then needed to find rehearsal and performance spaces that would allow our orchestras to maintain proper social distancing for the rest of the season.”

Currently, the Orchestras are split between string groups and a wind and brass ensemble (rehearsing at Creighton Prep) which allows all young musicians to remain properly socially distant and masked. “Even so, finding places that could accommodate our needs was a challenge.”

Segall, a community member and longtime supporter of the JCC, was amazed by the transformation of the facility which she describes as beautiful, functional and thoughtfully welldesigned. “My daughter, Leora, who is a member of the JCC Dance Training Company, came home excited about the renovations. I reached out to Esther Katz, JCC Performing Arts Director, about the possibility of using spaces. Although she and I had briefly discussed using the space back in September, the renovations were still underway and based on my long experience at the JCC pre-renovation, it was not a space that could accommodate us well.” However, with all of the changes, the JCC was now the perfect location. “Here we were scrambling to find a space for our students and it turns out it was right there at our very own JCC! “Although we have not been able to play in the theater yet, I had the pleasure of attending the Dance Training Company recital shortly after the unveiling. The improvements to the entire facility- and especially the theater- amazed me. The stage, curtains, sound, acoustics and lighting... it was phenomenal. This is truly a first-rate renovation and significantly better than anything I would have thought possible. I want to give credit to the leadership and vision of Esther Katz and the vision of the entire Jewish Federation and Donors for making this transformation a reality for our community now and into

the future. We can’t wait to play in the theater, but are also so pleased with the acoustically excellent rooms we are using for our rehearsals” There were many variables that fell into place at just the right time for Segall and OAYO. First and foremost, was the recent completion and opening of the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater, The Benjamin & Anna E. Wiesman Family Reception Room and the Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue. With the renovations wrapping up on these venues coinciding with a tentative relaxing of guidelines and an open schedule as far as bookings, Segall exclaims, “Just as with music, the timing of everything was perfect! I have no doubt that under pre-COVID ‘normal’

circumstances, these phenomenal venues would have been booked months in advance by other groups as soon as renovation completion permitted.”

The smaller orchestral group sizes are another factor in making the JCC work. “We have our three Orchestras divided into string groups and a wind ensemble, so around to 25 people per ensemble. I conduct two of these and Patricia Ritchie, Assistant Conductor, leads another. We will add our introductory Prelude Strings group in the near future after receiving student musician recommendations from the school districts.

Only strings are at the JCC right now, although the wind ensemble will get to enjoy the JCC for our concert. Masks are on the entire time and everyone is appropriately distanced.”

OAYO rehearsals take place every Sunday with various groups practicing between 1:30-6 p.m. The glass enclosed Wiesman Family Reception Room has had the unexpected added bonus of providing a hint of beautiful music throughout the reimagined JCC lobby much to the delight of members who enter the building. However, it is just a hint, as the Wiesman Family reception room has impressive sound-proofing for an all-glass room. “It is lovely for our student musicians to be performing and see those entering the building stop for a few moments to listen or to see the effect of the rehearsals on the young dancers coming in for practice. I especially love seeing all the little dancers twirling and leaping on the other side of the glass. It is so gratifying to have this opportunity not only to have a safe space to practice, but to also hopefully impact the community in such a positive and unexpected way.”

“During the past season, the OAYO staff ’s mantra has been, ‘When life hands you lemons, make lemon bars, because they are way yummier than lemonade!’ The past year has been an opportunity to focus on what we can do instead of dwelling on all the things we cannot do. We have consciously tried to model resilience for our students and help them develop and build on this important capacity.”

Omaha Area Youth Orchestras will be holding two different performances in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the JCC; the first is scheduled for March 21, the second for May 9. OAYO is also planning an outdoor full orchestral concert, their first since the onset of the COVID Pandemic, at SumTur Amphitheater on June 13. They are excited that the stage size and outdoor location will allow them to reunite string and wind instruments.

For more information about Omaha Area Youth Orchestras, including membership, sponsorship, and details on OAYO video audition submissions (deadline is April 30, 2021), please visit www.oayo.org.

The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 7

News

Who Am I?

LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

Daily Minyan in the age of COVID

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

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. Jean Stothert, mayoral candidate, will speak on Wednesday, April 7, noon. For additional specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact Breadbreakers chair Gary Javitch at bread breakersomaha@ gmail.com or leave a message at the B’nai B’rith JCC office 402.334.6443.

ELLY GORDMAN The COVID pandemic has brought disruption to people’s lives, businesses and communal organizations, but it has also presented opportunities. Just ask Rabbi Brian Stoller of Temple Israel.

Rabbi Stoller wanted to start a weekday morning minyan since he came to Temple Israel almost four years ago, but hadn’t found the right opportunity. When the synagogue closed its doors and transitioned to services and educational programs on Zoom, the time seemed opportune.

Daily morning prayer has been a spiritual practice of Rabbi Stoller’s for about 15 years.

Each morning he has put on tallit and t’fillin and prayed the morning service, giving him a meaningful way to start his day. As it became clear that staying at home had become the way of life, he thought people would be looking for spiritual sustenance to help them with the social isolation. He started the Temple Israel morning minyan on Zoom and invited congregants to join him in prayer from his basement.

“The weekday minyan has proven to be a very holy way to begin our day together in community,” said Rabbi Stoller. “Although we’re not in the same room together physically, it is very intimate because we are in each other’s homes every morning. There’s no pretense at all. People come in their pajamas, drinking their coffee, whatever. It’s very real.

And very sacred.”

Re-Elect

Ben Gray for Omaha City Council Paid for by Ben Gray

A year later there is a list of about 60 people who have attended with some frequency. Between 15 and 20 people participate in the minyan each day, including those from places such as California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New York and Texas. In some cases people have searched the Internet looking for a Reform minyan they can join. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of Union of Reform Judaism, wanted to say Kaddish for his mother so he joins the minyan several times a week.

Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, senior rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City, recently sent an email to Rabbi Stoller inquiring about the Temple Israel minyan: “Some of our congregants may check in in the coming days as we're thinking about starting a weekday minyan, and many folks, including Rick Jacobs, told me that Temple Israel is the gold standard in the movement!”

Rabbi Stoller’s insightful observation that people would crave social connection

through prayer has proven to be true. Reflections from participants have confirmed that being a part of the Temple Israel minyan has become meaningful and important to their lives: “I find the practice of daily prayer the ideal way to start my day. My morning prayers ground me and renew my spirit.”

“Seeing members of our community and new friends who have joined our minyan keeps me hopeful in a time when it is so easy to feel hopeless. Morning minyan is an opportunity to tune out the noise of the news and the mundane matters of daily life and connect with the One who put me here, with the wisdom and values of our tradition and with one another.”

Rabbi Stoller has trained a group of volunteers to be prayer leaders when he is unable to attend minyan. The response to their skills leading the service has been greeted with positive responses in the Zoom chat with many “Yasher Koaches.”

Rabbi Stoller plans to keep the virtual minyan going even after the COVID pandemic has been declared over and congregants can return to worship in the Temple Israel building. “Zoom makes the minyan so accessible to people,” he said. “They can participate right from home. It’s very easy. There’s no pretense. Plus, they can devote 30 minutes to prayer, and then get on with their day. The virtual minyan is the perfect way for our community members to make daily prayer a regular part of their lives.”

VOTE APRIL 6TH

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8 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

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

OMAHA MAYORAL CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

MARK GUDGEL

Mark Gudgel’s campaign for Mayor of Omaha is the very definition of grassroots. It began with three teachers sitting on his front porch doing what teachers do: trying to figure out how to improve the future for the students they love so dearly. Looking at Omaha, Gudgel and his colleagues came to the nonpartisan conclusion that Omaha should be better, and they took it upon themselves to make it so.

Mark is a seventeen-year veteran of teaching high school, and is perhaps best known for his courses on the Holocaust and genocide.

Though he doesn’t go by his formal title, Gudgel earned a doctorate in Character Education, and is one of the world’s foremost experts on the use of Holocaust film in education.

In addition, Gudgel is a Fulbright Scholar, and spent six years employed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Shortly after his first trip to Rwanda, Mark cofounded the Educators’ Institute for Human Rights with his friend, Drew Beiter, and together they began hosting conferences in Rwanda, empowering the nation’s teachers to rebuild the country through education. Mark served as the organization’s executive director for six years, stepping down after his son Titus was born in 2015. His daughter Zooey followed in 2017.

Currently, Mark teaches at Omaha North High Magnet School. He regularly takes students to the United Nations, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, and the USHMM where he once worked. Mark feels his passion for human rights and equity is perhaps his greatest asset. He views the mayorship not as a career change, but merely as the logical next step in a career spent in public service, and he promises to

wear his “teacher hat” to city hall each day.

Mark hopes you’ll visit GudgelForMayor.com to learn more, contact him, volunteer, or donate.

JASMINE HARRIS I’m Jasmine Harris - a public health expert and community organizer born and raised in North Omaha.

I’m running for Mayor of Omaha because I believe that everyday people, like you and me, know the solutions to the problems that our city is facing. I know this because I haven’t just dedicated my career to these issues, I’ve lived and overcome many of them in my own life.

Too many of the issues that I faced as a Black woman and single mother 19 years ago are still holding us back. All over our city, Omahans are struggling to make ends meet -- and our city leaders have failed to address the most basic issues felt by our friends and neighbors.

After getting a Master’s degree in Public Health from UNMC, I turned my focus to addressing the underlying conditions that impact quality of life for Omaha residents. Since then, I’ve been a proven leader of people, mobilizing local residents and grassroots experts to change government in meaningful ways -- together.

I’m running for Mayor to be the inclusive, proactive leader that our city needs. I’ll be your partner in City Hall to address issues like COVID-19, public safety, and equitable access to city services.

We are in a fight for our future, and I’m ready to work as hard as you do to make this city a comfortable place for everyone, regardless of zip code. It’s time for us to move Omaha forward, together.

Join me at www.voteforjasmine.com to donate, volunteer and learn more today.

On

A journey of love through the cosmos.

Sa

le No w!

R.J. NEARY I am running for Mayor because I believe we need to reconnect the neighborhoods of our city and create a prosperous recovery from the pandemic.

I’ve been married to my wife Liz for 35 years and have two wonderful grown daughters. I started at Investors Realty in 1987 and have been President and Chair for many years. I helped to seal the deal on many great projects in Omaha during that time.

I served on the Omaha Planning Board, including two years as Chair. I have served on the Boards of Habitat for Humanity and the Holland Children’s Movement.

I will put that experience as a business leader to work as your next mayor.

HERE’S MY 12-MONTH PLAN: • I will appoint a Pandemic Czar who will act as the point person for the Covid economic recovery • Begin to fix crumbling, pot-hole strewn streets once and for all using best available technologies • Adopt a climate action plan to be part of the solution for reducing greenhouse gases and environmental equity • Improve city services by making garbage and recycling pickup work well again, for all residents • Connect and revitalize our neighborhoods through funding and focus on neighborhood associations and technology • Improve substandard housing by adding inspectors and support staff immediately, and identifying a reliable funding program to establish more affordable housing in our city • Improve Racial Equity by elevating an equity officer in my cabinet and eliminating barriers to advancement

• Make government more transparent through a culture of continuous improvement in all departments and a published report card of performance • Improve public safety through innovations, including the development and implementation of a special social services unit that will respond to non-violent 911 calls.

I hope to earn your support! My website is nearyforomaha.com and my email is rj@neary foromaha.com.

Omaha Community Playhouse presents Constellations Marianne is a cosmologist, keen on quantum theory and the idea that each of life’s infinite possibilities plays out in some parallel universe. Her chance encounter with Roland marks the beginning of a romance with countless outcomes. But when Marianne’s health begins to fail, the balance between destiny and freewill begins to shift.

Eloquent, sweet and haunting, Constellations is a complete emotional journey from beginning to end.

Tickets are on sale now at OmahaPlay house.com and the OCP Box Office, 6915 Cass Street, 402.553.0800.

The show will run in the Howard Drew Theatre at OCP from April 30 through May 23. Performances will be held Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

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The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 9

ADL Webinar puts Holocaust education front and center MURPHY SCOTT WULFGAR Extremism is dominating the news, Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism are at record highs, and the topic of Holocaust Education is once again front and center, not just in our schools, but in the public square. We are losing an entire generation of first-hand survivors at a time when hearing their stories couldn’t be more important. Whether, and to what extent, we keep a doorway to the lessons of the Shoah open and accessible to all people is a direct measure of how likely we, as a society, are to let the past repeat itself.

On Monday, April 19 at 1 p.m. CST ADL’s Central Division series will present The Future of Holocaust Education, featuring experts from Echoes & Reflections, a leader in the field of Holocaust education that utilizes unparalleled expertise and resources from three world leaders in Holocaust education: the USC Shoah Foundation: Institute for Visual History and Education; Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center; and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Echoes & Reflections is dedicated to reshaping the way that teachers and students understand, process and navigate the world through the events of the Holocaust, viewing it as more than a historical event—as part of the larger human story. In that context, the panelists will tackle questions regarding the relevance, immediacy and challenge of making Holocaust Education synonymous with civic education in today’s schools.

OMAHA CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE STATEMENTS PETE FESTERSEN | District 1 “It’s been an honor to serve on the Omaha City Council and together we’ve accomplished many great things. We renovated the Benson, Dundee and Florence neighborhood business districts. We prioritized public safety and deterred property crime.

And we held the line on property taxes.

It’s been a challenging time for our city with civil unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to stay focused on keeping our citizens safe and healthy during the pandemic and continuing our economic recovery. This includes rental assistance for those in need and financial support for our restaurants and small businesses that have struggled over the last year.

I will continue to prioritize public safety, police-community relations and neighborhood street resurfacing and am working on community-wide strategies for affordable housing, public transit, and mental health.

During these difficult times, we need proven leadership that can bring people together to address these complex issues. I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me and would appreciate your support as we continue to focus on the future of our community.”

BEN GRAY | District 2 I have demonstrated in a variety of ways that I know how to get things done. I have worked hard for this city and especially for District 2. I love Omaha and I love being in a position to seriously get some major work done. I promise if I’m elected I will continue the necessary work for our city.

COLLEEN BRENNAN | District 5 My family arrived in Omaha with most of the immigration in the early 20th century. Like other ethnic groups of the day, we lived in our own neighborhoods, worshipped in our own churches and continued to observe many of our old traditions.

Those days were not easy, and all of us who descended from those times share an important old Omaha bond.

I was married in my senior year in college, and we had a son who was born with non-verbal autism and epilepsy. I was on my way to becoming a concert pianist, but those dreams were over. When he died several years ago, it left a void in my life, and I guess running for City Council is my way of filling it. My joy comes from helping others.

My interest in government grew out of my need to solve the problem we had with Mattie’s insurance coverage. In those days, families like mine didn’t have many options or much help.

So, I did what mothers do every day. I got organized and gathered support, and after three years, the Nebraska Insurance Reform Bill, was enacted into law. It was one of the first health care reform bills of its kind in the country. For my efforts, I was honored by Autism Speaks with their national “Parent Advocate of the Year Award.”

I want my kids, and your kids to see that government does not have to be angry or hateful to work. As a matter of fact, it works best when you reach out, find common ground and build relationships with those with whom you disagree. I want to be an example of integrity, public service and putting the needs of others before my own. I believe that is the way this is all supposed to work.

KATHLEEN KAUTH | District 5 Kathleen R. Kauth is running for Omaha City Council in District 5. Kathleen is the President of K.T. Beck Enterprises, LLC, a mediation and conflict coaching consultancy. She and her family have lived in Omaha for 8.5 years, after moving around the country many times. She has been married to Andrew for 27 years, and they have raised (and are still raising) 3 wonderful sons, ages 23, 19 and 17.

As the wife of an Army Reservist who was called to active See Omaha City Council Candidate Statements page 10

Ariel Behrman

Sheryl Ochayon

The webinar will feature Sheryl Ochayon (Panelist, Director of Echoes & Reflections for Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Jerusalem, Israel) and Ariel Behrman

(Panelist, ADL National Director of Echoes & Reflections, New York, NY) in a discussion moderated by the Institute for Holocaust Education’s (IHE) Education Coordinator, Kael Sagheer.

To register or learn more about this event, the speakers, and the organizations involved, visit omaha.adl.org/events.

10 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

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OMAHA CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE STATEMENTS Continued from page 9 duty during her last pregnancy to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the mom of an Army ROTC Cadet who just happened to be born on 9/11, she strongly supports our military and first responders.

The majority of the mediation and conflict coaching Kathleen does is with small to mid-sized businesses and organizations who are experiencing conflict in the workplace. She also offers eldercare mediation. Eldercare mediation is working with older adults and their families as they age and have to face incredibly difficult decisions about end of life issues. Kathleen often says that the business mediations are exciting and interesting, but the eldercare mediations feed her soul. Helping families rebuild connections that will last after a loved one is gone is a passion for her.

As a mediator and conflict coach, Kathleen is well versed in working with individuals and groups that may have very different opinions about what should be done and the best way to do it. Getting people to hear each other and speak in clear direct language about what they hope to achieve and helping them resolve their conflicts is one of her greatest strengths. Her skills will be well used at the City Council level.

For more information about Kathleen, check out her campaign website at: www.KauthforCouncil.com.

JEFF MOORE | District 5 My name is Jeff Moore and I’m running for Omaha City Council in District 5. I am asking for your vote but I feel you should know something about me so you can feel good about your decision.

I was born and raised in Omaha. After I graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Journalism degree, I started my career with State Farm. I have been the owner of my small business for 32 years. During this time I have volunteered for numerous organizations such as the Food Bank of the Heartland, The Heart Association and The American Red Cross. My wife and I are Ambassadors at The Omaha Visitor’s Center. Mayor Stothert appointed me to the Omaha Planning Board in 2016.

We believe in giving back to the community.

I believe that the experience I have had with my career, the Omaha Planning Board and experience in the community will help me serve Omaha as a City Councilmember. Working with people over the years has helped me develop my listening and communication skills that are essential to serving on the City Council.

My priorities if I get elected to the Council are to work to keep our taxes down. I strongly support the Omaha Police and will work to make sure they are the most thoroughly trained department in the country. I would like to develop Omaha as a Midwestern destination to attract more visitors so we can increase tax revenues.

If elected, I will work with and for people. I will be accessible and honest to all of the citizens of Omaha. I am Jeff Moore and I’m asking for your vote. To find out more, visit MooreforOm aha.com.

DON ROWE | District 5 My name is Don Rowe, and I am running for Omaha City Council in District 5. For over 20 years I have been a leader in the Millard business community. As Vice President of Sales for Millard Lumber, I have participated in major development projects and negotiations throughout the city.

This experience has helped shape my vision for the future of Omaha: More opportunities for everyone, strong infrastructure, sound fiscal management, business development to attract more good jobs, and top-notch police and fire departments to keep our families and businesses safe.

Our Mayor has done a great job for our city, but she needs more help on the City Council. We need a Councilmember in District 5 that has strong negotiating experience and has been a trusted leader in the community for decades.

My wife and I love Omaha. We believe it is one of the best places in America to live and raise a family. I want to keep it that way, while continuing to make improvements.

With that in mind, here is my pledge to the people of District 5: • I will always listen. I know I don’t have all the answers, and

Colleen Brennan City Council Endorsed by Steve Rosenblatt Paid for by the Colleen Brennan for Omaha Committee

I want to learn as much as I can from my community before acting.

• I will not support any tax increases. Our taxes are high enough! Families must find ways to budget and do more with less, and I believe Omaha can do the same.

• I will work to give our police and firefighters the tools and training they need to stay safe on the job while being outstanding community partners.

I’d appreciate your vote and support on April 6th as I campaign to make this great city even better. Please visit DonRowe Omaha.com to learn more.

BRINKER HARDING | District 6

My name is Brinker Harding, and for the past four years it has been my honor to serve and represent Omaha’s 6th City Council District. My district includes the home of the Jewish Press and Jewish Community Center, and I’ve enjoyed listening and learning from leaders in the Jewish community and throughout my district.

During my time on the City Council, we have: • Improved public safety by adding a new police precinct in my district and securing new equipment for Omaha’s firefighters • Widened and improved roads throughout the city • Created a 20-year road maintenance plan with voter support • Added new development projects to create more jobs and help prevent “brain drain” • Maintained as many city services as possible during the COVID shutdowns without raising the tax levy • Balanced the city budget • Worked to improve quality of life for the people of Omaha By working with the Mayor and other Councilmembers, we have created an impressive track record of success for our city.

But we are only getting started. As I look forward to my next term, I know that together we can continue to make improvements to Omaha.

My biggest focus in my next term will be rebounding from the pandemic. Omaha families and businesses are struggling, and I feel it is the responsibility of the City Council to do all we can to safely get our economy – and our lives – back to normal.

I am asking for your support and vote in the upcoming Primary Election on April 6. To learn more about my campaign and goals, please visit BrinkerHarding.com. Thank you!

AIMEE MELTON | District 7

Hello, I am Aimee Melton, and for the past eight years, I have had the honor to serve as the representative for District 7 on the Omaha City Council. During my time on the Council, I have appreciated and valued the relationships I have developed with the leaders in the Jewish community through my district and the City of Omaha. Together, we have accomplished a lot in our City to include the following: • Made improvements to public safety by adding nearly 100 sworn police officers, adding a 5th police precinct and securing new equipment for Omaha Firefighters • Widened and improved roads throughout the city and developed a 20-year Master Roads and Infrastructure Plan • Added new economic development projects throughout the city, from Downtown to Elkhorn • Maintained as many city services as possible throughout the COVID pandemic without raising the tax levy • Balanced the city budget as Chair of the Finance Committee Working alongside Mayor Stothert and my colleagues on the City Council, we have strengthened the core of our City and helped propel Omaha forward for years to come. Our work is not complete, however, and with your support for a third term, we can continue this track record of success.

My priorities in a third term will be to continue to focus on the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining a strong and safe community by supporting public safety, and working to create more economic development opportunities for all throughout our community.

I am asking for your support and vote in the upcoming Primary Election on April 6. To learn more about my campaign and goals, please visit MeltonforOmaha.com. Thank you!

The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 11

Above: Josh Sullivan, left, Darlynn Fellman, Tom Fellman, Ted Friedland and Nancy Rips at the campus’ ribbon cutting, March 21. See full story on page 1.

Above: Amelia, daughter of Ariella and Joe Rohr, catches up on the news.

Above and below: Friedel third- and fourth-graders learned about teepees and earth lodges—and then built their own models of them.

Below: The RBJH Resident artist Annette Fettman is finally getting the chance to catch up on her ceramic adventures in the Messy Activities Room. Annette enjoyed hearing her daughter Renana Gross and her husband Steve Kristoff’s bluegrass CD called Harvey Branch String Band while painting her ceramic vase. This album’s high-energy acoustical sound was perfect for listening while creating.

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

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

Above and below: Jane Cohen celebrates her birthday in style at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home with a showering of family, love and music.

Above: Who needs the Food Network when you get “Live” with Sabine Strong? It is so splendid to have our volunteer coordinator back at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Sabine made brownie bites for all to enjoy.

12 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

How to ask and when to listen ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor On Tuesday, April 13, at 2 p.m. CST, ADL’s Plains States Region (ADL-CRC) will present the next offering in its Food for Thought Series, “How to Ask & When to Listen: Using Media to Foster Black/Jewish Allyship.” This insightful and introspective discussion between two prolific local press editors—Terri Sanders, editor and publisher of the Omaha Star and Annette van de Kamp-Wright, editor for the Jewish Press —will focus on how Jewish & Black communities can help each other during a time when both racism and anti-Semitism are dramatically increasing.

Two community papers, representing two segments of Omaha, that –against all odds—continue to publish. Maybe it’s because we’re all stubborn, maybe we’re clinging to the past, or perhaps there is a more important reason: our communities need local news. The question ‘Why are we still here?’ is something we’ll address.

However, when you put a Black editor and a Jewish editor in the same space, there are additional issues we should bring to the forefront. Both of us write for a community that is no stranger to racism, xenophobia, or violent attacks. Both of us also understand there is much to celebrate in and about our respective communities—it is tremendously important to pay attention to that. Perhaps even more so.

Would you keep reading your Jewish Press if every story we published was about violence, hate, antiSemitism? If all we ever wrote was about the horror of belonging to a people who some feel don’t deserve any sympathy? I hope not. We, after all, have

more than one story to tell. Remember the way you feel when you meet someone and they immediately bring up the Holocaust the second they find out you’re Jewish?

I imagine the Black community feels no different.

Yet those of us not part of that community oftentimes pay more attention when a knee lands on a

man’s neck, when protesters tell us to wake up, when the mainstream news reminds us the world is an unfair place. It’s understandable: when we see the bad, we feel empathy because we know what the bad feels like. We want to say, ‘we’ve been there,’ ‘we’re with you,’ and, most importantly, ‘we are not bystanders.’

What if we changed that narrative?

What if we didn’t hang back and wait for the violence, for the shaky amateur videos, for the

protests? What if we, as Jews, celebrated with the Black community all life, art, music, accomplishments; what if we paid attention to the good stuff with the same enthusiasm with which we denounce the murders of countless Black women and men?

Personally, I would rather spend an hour explaining to a non-Jew what Passover is all about, or why we drink wine on Friday night, or why we don’t mix our milk and meat, than meet up at a shiva. I would rather come together over Shabbat dinner than during a protest march. I would rather be united in love and friendship than in terror and pain. And while the latter continues to be a common occurrence, we need the love and friendship all the more.

When we celebrate each other, we can build relationships. We can get to know each other not only as victims, but as complete human beings. When we have those relationships, we will know what to say and what to do the next time violence hits either of our communities—because we will be talking to a friend, rather than to a random member of another tribe.

Relationships are not about agreeing all the time.

We don’t have to think, believe or live the same in order to get along. Instead, we can celebrate our differences and foster understanding if we want it.

In Judaism, we emphasize ‘welcoming the stranger.’

It would be a great improvement if we could change our perception of the word ‘stranger,’ and transform that ‘stranger’ into a friend. A friend who looks different, feels different, has different life experiences and different viewpoints, but who nonetheless feels very familiar.

Growing up in Iran, I thought everyone celebrated Passover AYLIN SEDIGHI-GABBAIZADEH JTA Growing up in Iran, I never truly appreciated the difference between spring cleaning, New Year’s and getting ready for Passover. The Jewish holiday takes place almost simultaneously with the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, when the whole country engages in a frenzy of preparations.

Nowruz (A New Day), which marks the beginning of spring, is Iran’s most festive and colorful holiday.

Persians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians and even Bahais all purchase new clothes, make traditional cookies and engage in 12 days of celebrations.

These celebrations include setting a special table, known as a haft-seen, that consists of various items signifying renewal, luck and blessings. The seven S’s, as they are known, would take their ceremonial places on the same number of plates: sabzeh (a green plate of grown wheat); seeb (red apples); samanoo (a wheat-based dish); senjed (a fruit of the lotus tree); seer (garlic); serkeh (vinegar); and sekkeh (coins laid in water). No table would be complete without swimming goldfish, an elaborate mirror to reflect joy to the viewer, hand-painted eggs and a holy book.

Where our Muslim neighbors placed a Quran on their haft-seen table, we placed a Torah or a siddur.

Where our Muslim neighbors sprouted wheat, we grew lentils, given the proximity of the secular holiday to Passover, when we removed wheat from our homes.

For years I believed Passover to be the beginning of the Jewish calendar because it was synonymous with all things new and a promise of starting afresh.

Given the mild climate of the country, by the time the holiday came around, cherry blossoms were in bloom and the aroma of jasmine flowers filled our noses.

Just as the entire country went into full springcleaning mode for the national holiday, Jews scoured their homes of forbidden hametz, or leavened products. In our home, all the closets would be emptied and reorganized. All the rugs would be taken into the yard and washed in hot, soapy water in order to rid even the tiniest morsel of hametz. I knew Passover was close when my grandmother dug out her larger-than-life-size iron pot and

started the process of kashering every item in her in September 1990. kitchen in boiling water.

The story of Iran’s ancient Jewish community unMy grandmother told me stories of stuffing her folds over more than 2,700 years, back to when the mattress and blankets with clean cotton — some- Jews were exiled from Jerusalem through to today, thing I was thankful we no longer had to do. after most members of the community have reloNonetheless, the tasks were still endless, and every- cated throughout the world. Today there are fewer one in the family was involved in the process. than 10,000 Jews left in Iran, the largest Jewish Given that there were no kosher-for-Passover community in the Middle East outside of Israel. shops (or even kosher shops), every cake and My Passover experience here is vastly different cookie had to be made from scratch, a task that en- than the one I grew up with. Every year as I put tailed the washing, drying and blending of all the away one set of dishes and bring out my Passover needed nuts. The week before the holiday, the aroma of roasted nuts would fill the house, and the sweet smell of homemade cookies couldn’t summon the holiday fast enough. Given the lack of kosher products, we hardly consumed any dairy for the eight days, our diets consisting of eggs, meats and, according to Iranian Jewish custom, rice.

Our Muslim neighbors, too, were busy cleaning, readying themselves for the coming of spring. A Muslim family with whom we were particularly friendly would come Foreground, author Aylin Sedighi Gabbaizadeh is shown as over each Passover for a taste of matzah, a child in Iran. The background displays a traditional haftsaying how they looked forward to it all seen table marking the Iranian holiday of Nowruz. Credit: the author; Flickr Commons year. My father’s co-workers knew it was an auspicious time of the year for him and wished him ware, I feel a pang of guilt at how easy it is to get especially well as he took a holiday for the Seders. ready for the holiday compared with what my In the market and in the streets, though, we kept mother and grandmother had to do in Iran. The quiet about our Passover preparations. We did not shelves of the supermarkets here are filled with discuss details with strangers and those with kosher-for-Passover cookies, cakes, chocolates, whom we did not feel a connection. sweets and dairy products. One could almost forget The Seder itself brought its own associations and that we are experiencing a holiday that celebrates customs. At the end of each ritual meal, as we bid the Jews’ escape from slavery. farewell to yet another holiday and sang “Next Year But I am forever grateful for the freedoms that I in Jerusalem,” the words had a deep significance for have been granted here, and to celebrate this most us. Our Seder table became quieter with each pass- auspicious holiday alongside so many of our people. ing year, with so many family and friends already Aylin Sedighi-Gabbaizadeh is a writer who is gone to other promised lands. We each wondered working on her historical-fiction novel about out loud when our turn would come to leave a the lives and trials of women and children in country that treated us like second-class citizens, old Iran. Her articles have appeared on when we would find security and peace in other Kveller.com, The Jerusalem Post and aish. lands. com. Her website aylinsedighigabb.com.

Over time, our entire extended family fled to IsThe views and opinions expressed in this article are rael and the United States. My immediate family those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the was the last of our clan to finally pick up and leave, views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 13

A tale of two Papal visits Looking out onto the sea of religious head coverings – a panoply of zucchettos, kippas, and taqiyahs – the desire for coexistence and tolerance was unmistakable. It was early 2019, and Abu Dhabi was in the midst of its first-ever visit from the leader of the Catholic Church, His Holiness Pope Francis. The trip was historic in innumerable ways.

Its timing was also incredibly apropos, DAVID MEYERSON taking place during what the Emirates Guest Editorial had dubbed the Year of Tolerance.

At the heart of the ambitious Papal schedule was a desire to cultivate interfaith dialogue among the three Abrahamic religions – Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Global news coverage understandably focused on the trip’s signature event, a Sunday Mass service in the national football stadium attended by tens of thousands of Catholics from around the world.

However, it was gatherings such as the intimate ceremony held the night before Mass, attended by leaders of all three Abrahamic faiths, which highlighted the desire of the Emiratis to be truly inclusive of all religious backgrounds.

The same, it would appear, cannot be said for the Pope’s most recent trip to Iraq - at least as it pertains to the full embrace of all Abrahamic faiths. The moving scene of Christians and Muslims coming together in a place where just a few years earlier, war crimes and religious atrocities had taken place was incredibly powerful. And while the visit has been rightly heralded as inspiring, uplifting, and transformative for the country’s besieged Christian community – one that desperately needed an injection of hope – it was nevertheless a missed opportunity for religious pluralism in Iraq and the broader Middle East.

While the full story of religious diversity thriving in the UAE has only recently come to light, Iraq had a remarkable history of religious tolerance and successful coexistence. Although many decades now removed, there was a time when Baghdad was seen as one of the epicenters of the Jewish world. During the first half of the 20th Century, Baghdad’s Jewish community was over 130,000, making up over 25 percent of the city’s overall population. Jewish life was so intertwined with Iraqi culture as a whole that in 1947 Renée Dangor – whose grandfather was once the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad – was awarded the title of Miss Iraq.

Yet, not even 75 years later, when Iraq hosted one of the between the UAE and Israel still did not exist. Moving these most important events in its modern history, Jews were by all types of conversations into the public sphere was likely inaccounts nowhere to be found. It has been reported that de- tended to serve as yet another trial balloon, helping gauge spite Vatican desires for a public Jewish presence during his both foreign and domestic reactions to a new Middle East parvisit, no such attendance was allowed to materialize. Although adigm. There is little doubt that the groundwork for the aforethe number of Jews residing in Iraq has precipitously dwindled mentioned Abraham Accords was years in the making. to at best the single digits in recent years, there are still tens However, it is equally clear that the Emiratis were ready to of thousands living throughout the diaspora - some of whom capitalize on this type of momentous occasion. They saw the would likely have welcomed the opportunity to safely return Pope’s historic visit as not only a way to show the world they to a land where their families have deep roots. were serious about coexistence, but perhaps more imporConversely, during the various functions held during the tantly, their own population as well. The Emirati leadership Pope’s visit to Abu Dhabi, Jewish people were welcomed with made a strategic choice to publicly highlight an important segopen arms. Even those – more than 18 months before the sign- ment of their population – the hundreds of thousands of ing of the Abraham Accords – with significant connections to Catholics who hail from every corner of the globe but now call the State of Israel. I witnessed this desire for interfaith dialogue firsthand.

With no secret made about the fact I had spent several years serving as a regional political director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, I was given the opportunity to help lead a delegation of western thought leaders – primarily journalists and academics – to Abu Dhabi Pope Francis addresses an interfaith gathering at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi on Feb. for the Papal visit. Through- 4, 2019. Credit: the author, David Meyerson. out my time in the UAE, I consistently encountered sincerity, the UAE home. tolerance, and a genuine curiosity towards both my faith and The Iraqi government’s ostensible reluctance to similarly strong support for the Jewish state. embrace all faiths – including their long history with Jews – My experience in this regard was far from unique. Numerous will only impede their nation’s road to recovery. Unfortunately, rabbis participated in events throughout the Pope’s visit, in- it will also delay an opportunity decades in the making to once cluding several who were prominently featured at the Global again serve as a global beacon of hope for religious tolerance Conference of Human Fraternity that ran concurrently with the and coexistence. trip. In high-level meetings our delegation held with senior EmiThe writer is a London-based public affairs consultant. rati officials, religious tolerance was a frequent discussion topic. Before moving to the UK, he served as the Regional PolitThe UAE’s views towards Israel were discussed openly and on ical Director for the American Israel Public Affairs Comthe record. The Minister for Culture proudly showed the group mittee (AIPAC) in the Pacific Northwest. You can find him Jewish artifacts that were displayed in the Louvre Abu Dhabi. pontificating about politics, sports, and life as an expat All of this was taking place at a time when formal relations on Twitter @David_Meyerson.

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Synagogues

14 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org

CHABAD HOUSE

An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN

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

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

TEMPLE ISRAEL

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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

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

B’NAI ISRAEL Join us via Zoom on Friday, April 9, 7:30 p.m. for evening services. Our service leader is Larry Blass.

Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

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

Handicap Accessible.

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

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Passover Shabbat Morning Services with Yizkor, 10 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

SUNDAY: Passover Day 8 Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.

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

TUESDAY: Biblical Literacy with Rabbi Abraham, 11:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY: Coffee & Conversation with Rabbi Abraham, 2 p.m.; BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:30 p.m.; Jerusalem Through the Ages with Dr. Rami Arav, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY: Pearls of Jewish Prayer with Hazzan Krausman, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-April 9: Tot Shabbat, 4 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-April 10: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 8:35 p.m.

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

BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

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

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 6:45 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Candlelighting, 7:32 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kids Class, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:34 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Yizkor, 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:35 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45

a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Omaha Community Holocaust Commemoration, 7 p.m.; Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 am. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.

FRIDAY-April 9: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi with Rabbi Yoni — 30 mins prior to Mincha; Mincha, 7 p.m.; Candlelighting, 7:40 p.m.

SATURDAY-April 10: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:42 p.m.

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

CHABAD HOUSE Due to Coronavirus, classes are being offered online at ochabad.com/classroom. Services are Covid compliant and safe in person at Chabad. For schedules and more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 6 p.m. with Rabbi and friends; LIght Candles at 7:33 p.m.; Count the Omer.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m.; Candlelighting after, 8:34 p.m.; Count the Omer.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 10 am.; Yizkor, 11 am.; Farewell to Pesach: In person safe gathering. Email shalom@ ochabad.com for details; Passover Ends, 8:35 pm.; Count the Omer.

MONDAY: Minyan, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Shacharit, 10 am.; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Havdalah, 8:28 p.m.

TUESDAY: Minyan, 8 a.m.; Virtual Pirkei Avot Women’s Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Minyan, 8 a.m.; Mystical Thinking (Tanya), 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introduction to Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen..

THURSDAY: Minyan, 8 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study, noon with Rabbi Katzman.

FRIDAY-April 9: Minyan, 8 a.m.; Lechayim, 4 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Candlelighting, 7:40 p.m.

SATURDAY-April 10: Minyan, 10 a.m.; Shabbat Ends, 8:41 p.m.

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Steve and Nathaniel Kaup, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom; Candlelighting, 7:35 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.

led by Rabbi Felch via Zoom; No Torah Study; Candlelighting for Yom Tov, 8:35 p.m.

SUNDAY: No LJCS classes; Passover Service with Yizkor, 9:30 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 8:37 p.m.

MONDAY: Makers of Jewish Things, 7 p.m. via Zoom.

TUESDAY: Synagogue Staff Meeting, 10 a.m.; Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: Virtual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, 7:30 a.m.; LJCS Grades 3-7, 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

THURSDAY: Yom HaShoah Service (pre-recorded) from Wyuka, 6 p.m. via streaming.

FRIDAY-April 9: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Leslie Delserone & Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom; Candlelighting, 7:42 p.m.

SATURDAY-April 10: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. led by Rabbi Felch via Zoom; Torah Study on Parashat Shmini, 11:30 a.m. via Zoom; Havdalah (72 minutes), 8:43 p.m.

Garden time, Sunday, April 11, 8:30-10 a.m. (rain date: April 18). We’ll be cutting down perennials & trimming. Bring lawn leaf bags, trimmers, string trimmers, clippers, etc. We’ll have extras to share. If you have questions, please contact Ellin at ellin.siegel@ gmail.com.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE All services canceled until further notice.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

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

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

Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Bonim Family Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Shabbat Service — Racial Justice Sermon Series: “Experiencing the Jewish Teen Trip to Israel while Black: The Right of Passage that Was and Wasn’t” with Ellen Platt, 6 p.m. Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAY: Conclusion of Passover Service and Yizkor, 10:30 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

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

TUESDAY: Radical Justice Lunch and Learn with guest speaker Barry Thomas, noon..

WEDNESDAY: Mindful Meditation with Margot Anderson, 9 a.m. Join us via Zoom; Youth Learning Programs: Grades 3-6, 4-6 p.m.; Grades 7-12 Yom Hashoah Program and Dinner, 6-6:45 p.m.; Yom HaShoah Community Holocaust Commemoration, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Discussion, 9:30 a.m. with with Rabbi Aryeh Azriel. Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY-April 9: Shabbat Service with Scholar-inResidence Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Reimagining Jewish Life Before, During and After the Pandemic, 6 p.m.

Join us via Zoom.

SATURDAY-April 10: Shabbat Study with Scholarin-Residence Rabbi Rick Jacobs: A Closer Look at the Dramatic Shifts in Reform Jewish Life, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom; Shabbat Service — Bat Mitzvah of Renatta Rogers, 10:30 a.m.

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

JCC Summer Membership Special Our JCC is truly unique in that it has something for everyone. Your JCC membership includes access to the Phil Sokolof Fitness Center, over 70 FREE Group exercise classes per week (including Yoga) and the opportunity to partake in all youth and adult programs.

We offer programming in Aquatics, Child Development, Cultural Arts, Dance, Fitness, Sports & Recreation, and Youth Services. We also offer Personal Training, Pilates Reformer Training, Massage Therapy, and Physical Therapy services. Our 28 acre campus houses an outdoor swimming pool, soccer and baseball fields, sand volleyball court, walking trail, covered pavilion, and playground. We know you will discover many reasons to belong here.

Make the J your summer destination! We now have a Family Summer Membership Special – Just $599! (May 1-Aug. 31, 2021) We offer a variety of activities for the entire family... swimming, fitness, day

camps, sports, dance, musical theater and more!

Call 402.334.6426 to join or schedule a tour. This

membership offer is also available to individuals for $399.

The JCC offers various categories, depending on your needs, including Young Adult memberships (age 13-30, Individual memberships (age 31-69), Couple memberships for two adults who share a residence or Family memberships, which covers up to two adults and any children under 25. We also have options for senior singles and couples.

The JCC offers various categories, depending on your needs, including Young Adult memberships (age 13-30, Individual memberships (age 31-69), Couple memberships for two adults who share a residence or Family memberships, which covers up to two adults and any children under 25. We also have options for senior singles and couples.

For additional options, like the Health Spa or a Patron membership, check our website at www.jc comaha.org.

Life cycles BAT MITZVAH RENATTA ROSE ROGERS Renatta Rose Rogers, daughter of Marcelyn and Charles Rogers, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, April 10, at Temple Israel.

Renatta is a seventh-grade student at Beveridge Magnet Middle School.

Renatta enjoys playing the violin for orchestra in middle school & spending much of her summer at Lake Okoboji.

Her hobbies include competitive swimming, ice skating, long boarding, kayaking and spending time with friends and family.

For her mitzvah project, Renatta and her friend Cadee Scheer are making drawstring "Rose Bags." They are named this because both the girls have the middle name "Rose." The bags include an assortment of activities/toys/games to be presented to Project Harmony for the children.

She has a sister, Mallory, a brother, Gavin and a pug named Clovis.

Grandparents are Karolyn Kagan Marti and the late Donald Lloyd Marti of Lincoln, NE and Arnolds Park, IA., and Charles and Patricia Rogers of Papillion, NE. Great-grandparents are the late Gertrude and Moses Kagan of Omaha, the late Lloyd and Elizabeth Marti of Lincoln, NE, the late Darwin and Vera Rogers of Omaha, and the late Howard and Velma Carpenter of Mount Airy, North Carolina.

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The first Reform rabbi JTA On Tuesday night, after Israeli TV stations broadcast the first exit polls from the country’s elections, a rabbi who had just won a seat in parliament tweeted out a traditional blessing of thanks, called the “Shehechiyanu.”

“Blessed are you, Hashem, our God, ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this day,” wrote the rabbi, Gilad Kariv. “Thank you to all my partners on this long journey.”

Rabbis in parliament are far from an oddity in Israel, which sees multiple Orthodox parties serve in each term. But Kariv is not a member of any of those parties, nor is he quite like the rabbis who have sat before him in Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset.

When he is sworn in, Kariv will be the first Reform rabbi to ever serve in Knesset. The leader of the Israeli Reform movement and a longtime religious pluralism activist, Kariv has been running in Israeli elections over the span of almost nine years, but has never won until now. He plans to advocate for religious pluralism and work to counter haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, control over religious affairs in Israel.

The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021 | 15

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16 | The Jewish Press | April 2, 2021

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

The Brexit Passover food shortage

JACOB JUDAH LONDON | JTA It has become a staple of British and Irish political analysis to say that the tangled Brexit trade arrangements will push Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland closer together.

Ultimately, it could lead to a United Ireland, some analysts say.

This year, in the run-up to Passover, the two countries’ Jewish communities are showing one unusual sign of collaboration. Thanks to a Passover food shortage brought on in part by the post-Brexit trade agreement, holiday supplies are being closely coordinated between Dublin and Belfast.

“That dynamic is definitely playing out among the Jewish communities,” said Maurice Cohen, the head of Ireland’s Jewish Representative Council. “Before, we very seldom cooperated on much – if anything at all.”

Great Britain is normally the main supplier of kosher and kosher for Passover products for both the Irish and Northern Irish Jewish communities. But as part of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, new regulatory checks have been introduced on trade between Britain and the E.U., raising the cost of exporting British products into members of the European single market, like Ireland.

Since it is part of the U.K., one would expect Northern Ireland to have maintained its ability to freely procure supplies from England and elsewhere. But under the so-called “Northern Ireland Protocol,” part of the Brexit agreement, Northern Ireland is to remain within the E.U.’s single market for goods as part of an attempt to keep the border between it and the Republic of Ireland open.

“It has been a nightmare,” said Michael Black, the chairman of Belfast’s Jewish community organization. “It has taken me since January to be able to get a supply of kosher meat from England – and even then, it took an extremely convoluted arrangement that will only be a one-off.”

London has introduced a temporary grace period in an attempt to ease disruptions by temporarily suspending some checks on imports into Northern Ireland, but the underlying

A man walks past a sign promoting Brexit and graffiti against an Irish sea border, in Belfast, Feb. 2, 2021. Credit: Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

difficulties have remained.

The fortunes of the Belfast and Dublin Jewish communities have diverged in recent years. After decades of emigration, Belfast’s community has shrunk to below 100 members, the vast majority of whom are elderly.

Across the border, Dublin’s Jews have benefitted from an influx of young Jews coming to work in the republic’s booming technology sector. For the first time since the 1950s, the community is growing again. Current estimates place the number of Jews in Dublin at around 2,000.

Belfast used to receive supplies from a kosher butcher in Manchester every eight to 10 weeks. Since January, even with a butcher who offered to “drive it over himself ” to make sure it arrived, the mountains of new paperwork and added costs demanded a reassessment.

“Nobody’s going to starve, but it just seems ridiculous that

we’ve come to this impasse,” Black said. “It’s either change religion or go vegetarian.”

Black managed to secure a mass Passover delivery after intervention by the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

A British government spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it recognizes the “importance of ensuring the Jewish community in Northern Ireland can continue to access kosher meats and that the process of getting these goods to them is as smooth as possible for traders.”

The spokesperson added: “We were made aware of an issue with a single supplier and have worked proactively and constructively with those concerned to ensure that an alternative GB supplier is now in place.”

This is not what Black understood. He says the arrangement that had been struck was a “one-off ” that would tide the community over but had not solved the long-term issue.

“When the grace period ends, we’ll be back to square one and we will have to work out what to do again,” he said.

“I’m abashed about all this because we are a tiny community,” he added with a sigh. “Getting these supplies in has become a matter of principle with me — and having principles is expensive.”

Belfast is paying 15 euros for a single chicken, he added, while the meat shipment that was coming in — expected for perhaps a dozen families — had added 400 euros to its total cost, all of which came out of a shrinking community budget.

While Jewish communities continue to shrink and consolidate across the U.K. as populations condense into cities such as London and Manchester, cooperation might seem inevitable.

“We have certainly got together in the last two years, more so than before. It’s something that has evolved,” Cohen said, adding with a chuckle: “We’ll see where it ends up going.”