Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Sokolof Merit Scholarships
April 17, 2015 28 Nisan 5775 Vol. 95 | No. 31
This Week
Chamber Series Concert at Temple Israel Page 2
y
Tod ay ’s
el Jewish Acad ied em r F
w is
ol
i
n
a
Je
O
of
ma
ha
TING A R B CELE0 YEARS 5 h Day S cho
Celebrating 50 years of Jewish Day School in Omaha Page 5
by SUZANNE SINGER has been working at Sokolof Scholarship Chair Cahoy’s Gymnastics, 2015 marks the 10th coaching classes ranging year that the Phil and from men’s gymnastics to Ruth Sokolof Honor Roll tumbling for 3-5 yearMerit Scholarships are olds. He has also taught being awarded. Phil at Premier Gymnastics. Sokolof, Omaha busiDuring all four years of nessman and philanthrohigh school, Sam has pist who died in 2004, been involved in BBYO, chose to honor two stuserving as Vice President Sam Lieb Elissa Wiener Amanda Bucher Amy Levinger dents for their freshman and then President of year in college and two students in Chaim Weizmann. Currently he is the health care field. In addition, to Council Vice President. He is also a honor his daughter Karen Sokolof member of USY and participates in Javitch, he created the Karen Sokolof Beth El’s Merit Scholarship program, Javitch Music Fund for students purwhich requires youth group particisuing a degree in music performance, pation, religious service attendance, composition or music education. He Hebrew High attendance, involvespecified that these $10,000 scholarment in yearly special projects and ships be based not on financial need, Jewish oriented community service but on the criteria most important to hours. Through his four years of high Arthur Masyuk Adeev Potash Ezra Potash him -- personal achievement, school, he has tutored Bar/Bat MitzOmaha World-Herald All Academic vah age children at Beth El on Saturscholastic performance, community community is invited to attend. Sam Lieb Team Nominee. He was a member of day mornings and helped students service and overall good character. Sam, a student at Burke High the Burke Science Club and com- learn prayers as well as organized Scholarship winners for their Freshman Year of College are Samuel Lieb School, has taken a heavy load of AP peted in the Quiz Bowl and Science Youth Services. and Elissa Wiener; in Health Care are and honors classes that have included Olympiad. As a senior, he is a Burke In his recommendations, Sam was Amanda Bucher and Amy Levinger; a full range of offerings from the Sci- Ambassador, a school group that praised for excelling in both academin Music are Arthur Masyuk and Ezra ence, Math, Foreign Language, His- welcomes new students, volunteers at ics and in the extra- curricular arena. and Adeev Potash, who are sharing tory, Economics and English school events, and contributes to a One of his teachers mentioned his inone scholarship. They will be honored departments. He is a Burke AP positive atmosphere at the school. terpersonal skills and leadership, sayAs a sophomore and junior he was ing, “Sam has taken the time to at a Community Reception on Tues- Scholar, a member of the National day, May 12 at 7 p.m. in the Rose Honor Society as well as the Spanish on the Burke Varsity pole vaulting ‘include and welcome’ a student who Blumkin Home Auditorium. The National Honor Society, and an team. Throughout high school, he Continued on page 3
Israeli ConsulGeneral’s visit Discover Israel by bike Page 7
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
Next Month Mother’s Day See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
9 10 11
UNO’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. B.J. Reed, left; Consul-General of Israel to the Midwest, the Honorable Roey Gilad; UNO Chancellor, Dr. John Christensen; Schwalb Center Director, Dr. Moshe Gershovich; Director of Academic Affairs, Israeli Consulate to the Midwest, Ms. Stacy Rudd. by DR. MOSHE GERSHOVICH Director, Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies On March 18, one day after the Israeli elections, the Consul-General of Israel to the Midwest, Roey Gilad, visited Omaha and participated in a series of events both in the Jewish community of Omaha and at UNO.
The Schwalb center for Israel and Jewish Studies hosted the Consul General, who was accompanied by the Consulate’s Director of Academic Affairs, Ms. Stacy Rudd. On Thursday morning, March 19, the Consul General visited the Modern Middle East class at UNO, taught by Dr. Moshe Gershovich. His presentation about the recent Israeli elections and U.S.-Israeli relations was followed by a lively Q&A session. At the end of the class, Gilad and Rudd joined the students for a group picture. The Consul General and Ms. Rudd met with UNO’s Chancellor. The meeting focused on ways to enhance cooperation between UNO and Israeli academic institutions. Continued on page 2
Welcoming Louri Sullivan by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPlege freshman, Samantha a sophoWRIGHT more in high school and Tommy is Louri Sullivan recently joined the in seventh grade. She is the daughJewish Federation of Omaha as the ter of Tom and Darlynn Fellman. newest member “I learned from of the Financial my parents that Resource Develphilanthropy is opment team. tremendously Her title: Direcimportant,” she tor of Commusays. “They emnity Impact and phasized givingSpecial projects. back to our “The position community. They was established,” always give me Louri says, “to good advice, and focus the FederaI always listen.” tion’s attention Steve Levinger, on the entire Senior DevelopJewish commument Director, nity. We must says: Louri Sullivan offer relevant “Louri underprogramming, create meaningful volunteer opportunities, and together we can build a stronger Jewish community. I think we all play a part in that.” Louri brings a love for the Omaha Jewish community, and looks forward to making a real difference. Originally from Omaha, she attended the University of Texas in Austin as a business marketing major. After working in the real estate business for many years, she made the switch to the nonprofit world and is excited to do so. She has four children: Rachel is a sophomore in college, Josh is a col-
stands what this community needs, and I am excited to work with her. She is very connected, not only within our Jewish community, but in the general community as well.” Prior to joining the JFO staff, she has been involved with Boys and Girls Club, Children’s Hospital, the Westside school system and the Pennie Z. Davis CDC. Marty Ricks has known Louri since he and his wife Iris moved back in 1998. In a roundabout (and typically Omaha) way, they are family: “My nephew, Scott Schneiderman, Continued on page 2
2 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
Chamber Series Concert at Temple Israel by SCOTT LITTKY Program Director, Temple Israel Excitement is building around Temple Israel for a very special evening of music to be held on Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. The concert titled Our Biblical Heritage: Music of Haydn, Prokofiev, Milhaud, and More! is being presented by the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Judith Clurman will be the conductor along with the Creighton University Chamber Choir, A. Barron Breland, director. of The Voices of Résonance. and Cantor Wendy Shermet will also be participating. The program for the evening will include: Ruben: Circle of Life, Prokofiev: Overture on Jewish Themes, Judith Clurman Milhaud: La création du monde, Kirschner: Tsadik Katamar Yifrach and Haydn: The Creation (selections). Judith Clurman is an Emmy and Grammy nominated conductor, vocal educator, and choral specialist. Her love of music from many genres has allowed her to seamlessly build bridges across an array of diverse musical styles. As conductor and collaborator, she has worked with many of the world’s finest musical organizations including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Ballet, Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the American Songbook Series, Omaha Symphony, and the New York Pops on Carnegie Hall’s subscription series. Always an advocate of new music, Clurman has commissioned and premiered works by over fifty prolific American composers. A Who’s Who of composition icons, this esteemed list includes Milton Babbitt, Marvin Hamlisch, Nico Muhly, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Rouse, and Howard Shore. She has also been involved with highly praised U.S. premieres of music of Philip Glass, Rossini, and Wagner, along with the World-Premiere of a newly-discovered canon text by Mozart for the Mozart Bicentennial, and
Louri Sullivan
a Leonard Bernstein arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, performed at Harvard. Clurman currently conducts Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), is a Visiting Artist at the Curtis Institute of Music, and collaborates with the Omaha Symphony on their Sacred Voices concerts. She conducted “The Music in My Mind” for Marvin Hamlisch’s children’s book, Marvin Makes Music. Her critically acclaimed CD, Celebrating the American Spirit, with EVUSA, Kelli O’Hara, and Ron Raines, was featured on National Public Radio on Inauguration Day, Jan. 21, 2013. She has recorded for New World, Sono Luminus, and Delos. Her publications and choral arrangements are published by G. Schirmer, Schott, Subito, and Boosey and Hawkes Music. She is currently a member of ASCAP, ASCAP’s Special Classification Committee, and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. For the April 29 performance, “In the beginning...”, Clurman leads the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra in a FREE concert of symphonic and vocal music inspired by Biblical themes of creation. This inaugural performance by the Omaha Symphony is at Temple Israel. No tickets are necessary for this free concert presented by the Omaha Symphony in partnership with Temple Israel. Join the artists after the concert for a complimentary reception in the Temple Israel Social Hall.
Israeli Consul-General Continued from page 1 The Consul-General’s visit culminated in a special session of the Schwalb Center’s Middle East Forum, which was devoted to the Israeli elections. The panel took place Thursday afternoon at UNO’s Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center and was attended by over 100 students, faculty, and community members. Joining Mr. Gilad on the panel were Dr. Curtis Hutt, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies; Mr. Assaf Gavron, Israeli author and AICE Visiting Israeli Professor at the Schwalb Center; and Dr. Gershovich. Moderating the MEF was Dr. Patrick McNamara, Visiting Professor of Political Science and International Studies at UNO.
Continued from page 1 married Larry Meyerson’s daughter Heidi. Larry Meyerson is Darlynn Fellman’s brother and Louri’s uncle.” This will be a good fit, according to Ricks. “Louri has a lot of knowledge about this community, and she will bring creativity as well as passion to her work.” Louri calls it the perfect job: “I have grown up in and loved this community, and I love talking to as many members as possible about it. When we work together, we can make great things happen!”
March of the Living by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) -- Thousands came out for the the March of the Living in Budapest, where World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder reminded the Hungarian government to speak out against anti-Semitism. Lauder also denounced the far-right Jobbik party, the second largest in the country, as “extremist” on Sunday at the annual commemoration of the Holocaust in the Hungarian capital. “The March of the Living also reminds us what happens when the world is silent,” Lauder, the event's keynote speaker, told the crowd, which was estimated as high as 10,000. “We will never be silent again. And when it comes to antiSemitism, the Hungarian government must never be silent. “Today, when the world looks at Hungary, it does not see its great culture. It does not see its beautiful cities. It does not remember its great and glorious past. Today the world sees Hungary and they see Jobbik. They see an extremist party that promotes hate.” Jobbik is behind only the ruling Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. About 560,000 Hungarian Jews were killed during the Holocaust, most of them in 1944. Today, Hungary’s Jewish community numbers around 100,000. Lauder stressed that the Hungarian Jewish community is “alive and well.” “And the Hungarian Jewish community is not going anywhere. We march today to say: We are here. We are alive. And here we will remain,” he said.
Thank you
It’s more than a donation.
t’s your legacy.
to those who have already made a LIFE & LEGACY™ commitment!* Welcome to Jewish Omaha’s LEGACY SOCIETY! *As of April 7, 2015
Rabbi Steven & Shira Abraham Michael Albert Anonymous (15) Joyce Ashley John Atherton & Marti Rosen-Atherton Elyce & Aryeh Azriel Ellie Batt Sandra Belgrade Mark & Jill Belmont Harry Berman & Beth Cohen Steven R. Bloch Carrie & Josh Brown Marla & Bob Cohen Drs. Michael & Karen Cohen & Family Pam Cohn Justin Cooper Ronald & Cheryl Cooper Deborah Denenberg Norman & Eunice Denenberg Pam & Dennis DePorte Howard & Sharon Epstein Richard Evnen
James & Judy Farber Yonatan & Liz Feldstern Toby Fellman Cantor Leo & Annette Fettman Alan J. Fredricks Joanne & Jerry Freeman Robyn & Bob Freeman Lois N. Friedman Lynne Friedel Gellman H. Lee & Carol Gendler Charitable Fund Donald Gerber Dan & Sarah Gilbert David Gilinsky & Katherine Finnegan Ronald Giller Darlene & Sherman Golbitz Alan Goodman David & Shirley Goodman Andie Gordman & Dan Fitzgerald Linda & Jerry Gordman Steven Gottlieb Andy & Carole Greenberg Barton H. & Caryl B. Greenberg Joshua & Amanda Gurock Mendy & Michael Halsted
M'Lee Hasslinger Bonnie Kuklin Horwich Randi Friedel Jablin Sylvia Jess Debbi Josephson Frances Juro Richard Juro Marcel & Ilse Kahn Gary & Sally Kaplan Myron Kaplan Beatrice Karp Gloria C. Kaslow Howard J. Kaslow Cookie Katskee Julee Katzman Donald S. & Delores Klein David & Janet Kohll Howard M. & Sharon Kooper Shane & David Kotok Alan & Deborah Kricsfeld Janie Fox Kulakofsky Howard & Nancy Kutler K. Wayne & Carole A. Lainof Felicia & Scott Littky Jody & Neal “Buzz” Malashock
Chaya Sarah Malkah Jon & Denise Meyers Tina & Joe Meyers Stanley & Evelyn Mitchell Eli & Ann Modenstein Janie & Allan Murow Murray & Sharee Newman Allan S. Noddle Patty Nogg Steve Nogg Alan S. Parsow Carol Parsow Margo Frohman Parsow James & Susan Polack Alan E. Potash Mary & Joel Rich Philip & Diane Rich Marty & Iris Ricks Carl Riekes Zoë Riekes Margo Riekes Steven J. Riekes Debbie & Lloyd Roitstein Susan Rothholz Lynne-Carol Saltzman
Rosalie & Milton Saylan Carol & Ed Schneider Jeff Schweid Aviva Segall & Patrick McNamara Mr. and Mrs. Ben Shapiro Gary & Liat Shyken Gerald & Judy Simons Nancy B. Skid Carolyn "Rocky" Stern David Keiser & Lillian Keiser Stoms Foundation Louri Sullivan Barry H. Summer Marilyn & Steven Tipp Irving & Gail Veitzer Norman & Joodi Veitzer Jim & Esther Wax Aaron Weiner & Therese Vaughn Nancy L. Wolf Renee & Jeff Zacharia Charlotte & Morley Zipursky Sally & Jim Zipursky Rosie Zweiback & Mace Hack
Help secure the financial future of Omaha’s Jewish community through the LIFE & LEGACY™ initiative. LIFE & LEGACY is a collaboration between the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and our local Jewish partner organizations: The Jewish Federation of Omaha and its Agencies, Beth El Synagogue, Beth Israel Synagogue, Temple Israel, Chabad House, Anti-Defamation League, Friedel Jewish Academy, Institute for Holocaust Education, and Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. Howard N. Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466, hepstein@jewishomaha.org This is the year to make your LIFE & LEGACY commitment.
Contact the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation today!
Margo Parsow, LIFE & LEGACY Coordinator 402-334-6432, mparsow@jewishomaha.org
April 17, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 3
Sokolof Merit Scholarships Continued from page 1 was not part of a group, as well as taking charge to make sure that our Testers get recognition during our Competition season. In today’s busy, self-interested world, Sam makes for a very special person.” Sam, the son of Lisa Lieb, is planning on attending either the University of Minnesota or Macalaster College. Elissa Wiener Elissa is a senior at Central High School. In addition to taking a full compliment of AP and Honors classes in a wide variety of subjects, she is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate, one of only 20 in a class of 540 pursuing that very demanding program. She has been on Central High’s Honor Roll throughout her four years, including the Golden Eagle Distinction her freshman year. She was also honored at Purple Feather Day, an annual academic achievement recognition. She has been a member of Central’s Forensics Team, a staff writer for the Central High Register, a member of the Drama Club, and a cast member for six Central High Drama productions. An officer in Central’s French Club, she was also a leader in Central’s Book Club as well as a peer tutor. Elissa was in a year-long leadership development program sponsored by Creighton University for high school sophomores selected from across the Omaha community. She has been recognized for her writing skills in competitions sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s School of Communication, the Nebraska Journalism Education Association and the Nebraska Press Women’s High School Newspaper Contest. Elissa headed a new venture for Central, “Eagles for Literacy: Operation Africa,” working with UNO students in collecting over 2,500 books and raising awareness of literacy problems in Nigeria and Cameroon, with the goal of building libraries for children. She also worked with the student group fundraising for an Education Center for Afghani girls. She has been a member of BBYO for four years, including service as a Board member. At Beth El, which Elissa calls her home away from home, she was chairperson of the Purim Carnival requiring 5-10 hours per week over three years. She is also a Merit Scholarship Participant in Beth El’s service program, a teen counselor for their Shabbat School and youth overnights and conventions. She is President of USY and teaches in Beth El’s Talmud Torah. Elissa, the daughter of Audrey and Richard Wiener, is considering attending the University of Minnesota, University of Texas in Austin or Brandeis University. Amanda Bucher Amanda is pursuing the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy at Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Her undergraduate work was at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. At Creighton, Amanda has been involved in Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity which hosts social and philanthropic events. She has served on their scholarship committee and is now on the Executive Board as Second Vice Regent. She is the Membership Coordinator and is on the Operation Immunization Committee for the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) and now serves on the Operation Immunization Committee. She is also a member of the Midwest College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Pharmacists. Through her work with APhA-ASP, she was involved in coordinating the “Shoo the Flu at CU” clinics on the Creighton campus where fellow students, faculty and staff could come for their immunizations. She helped new students as a Creighton School of Pharmacy and Health Professions Welcome Week Ambassador in 2013 and in 2014 and was in charge of planning the Resource Fair. She was inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma National Pharmacy Leadership Society. Amanda has been a volunteer with Project Homeless Connect, helping provide medical care to the homeless community in Omaha. Through Kappa Psi, for the past two years, she has given presentations to numerous elementary schools on behalf of the Omaha Poison Control Center. After obtaining her intern license in October 2012, she has worked at a Hy-Vee Pharmacy. In the recommendations for the Sokolof Award she was praised for her dependability, her willingness to come early or work late, her work ethics, and her compassion and empathy in dealing with customers, showing great patience in discussing their prescriptions and in making sure they understood the directions and answering any questions they may have. Amanda is the daughter of Michelle and Ronald Bucher. Amy Levinger Amy is currently in the Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner Degree Program at Clarkson College. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan where she was accepted into a “learning community” called the Health Science Scholars Program and had the opportunity
to shadow health care professionals within the U of M Hospital System. She joined the Student Nurses Association which gave her additional exposure to people and activities within her field of interest. As a sophomore, she began her clinical rotations and was selected to lead a study group of freshman nursing students as a tutor. A highlight of her junior year was being selected to participate in an alternative spring break trip to Morazan, Honduras, as part of the School of Nursing and Women’s Studies service learning experience. She was immersed in the Spanish speaking culture and worked in the local village health clinic where she consulted with patients, assisted in the birthing center and taught English to students at a local school. In her senior year, her Community and Public Health rotation was designed to promote health and wellness and disease prevention in a community with low socio-economic makeup. She conducted home visits with the elderly and uninsured and made referrals to local physicians. She planned and participated in a community health fair where she provided flu shots, conducted blood pressure screenings and created a presentation on healthy eating habits. She began her professional practice as a Registered Nurse in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington D.C. However, all of her experiences through her years of nursing school made her realize that she wanted to further her education and become a Nurse Practitioner where she would be working with patients on a different level. Her volunteer activities have included involvement in the Make A Wish Foundation, Relay for Life and SOME (So Others Might Eat) serving meals to the homeless and organizing clothing and food donations for that community. Through Hillel she organized a Purim Carnival to raise money for the Haifa Relief Fund following devastating fires and also through Hillel traveled to Israel on Birthright. Amy’s parents are Bonnie and Steve Levinger. Arthur Masyuk Arthur Dmitiyevish Masyuk is currently at Indiana University Bloomington pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. He is also working towards a Bachelor of Arts in the French language. Arthur has been accepted into the Master of Music program for Violin Performance at DePaul University in Chicago. At IU Jacobs School of Music, Arthur plays in the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Conductor’s Orchestra, in ad hoc performances organized and led by conducting students in the Masters program and in composition recitals. He is also taking piano lessons to advance in what he hopes will become an adequate secondary instrument. Recently he performed in a Master Class directed by the visiting professor Kyung Sun Lee of Seoul National University. He is also formally training at IU in solo, chamber and orchestra violin. An IU professor described him in his recommendation as being an outstanding violinist who is preternaturally curious, imaginative in his playing and a superb leader. He has received an IU Distinction Scholarship, a Music Deans Scholarship, and he has rehearsed with the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto. Arthur regularly performs in a friend’s band at the Sherwood Oaks Christian Church during Sunday Services and has played Romanian folk tunes with an ethnomusicology student and his colleagues at the IU Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology Coffee House events. He also plays for the Millard West High School orchestra students and for the Residents of the Rose Blumkin Home when he is in Omaha. He fondly recalls playing for Mr. Sokolof and being complimented by him for his playing. He attends Shabbat services at Hillel, and on Yom Kippur he played Kol Nidre on his violin at the evening service. At IU he has served on the Read Residence Center Judicial Board handling cases of student misconduct in the dormitory as well as planning student government events. He is a volunteer at the Bloomington Bike Project where he takes apart donated bikes, separates and organizes the parts, and then assists community members with their bike repairs. Arthur has worked as a translator from French to English, as an online French tutor on Tutor.com as well as an IU athletic tutor. Arthur is the son of Karina and Terry Brown. Ezra and Adeev Potash Ezra and Adeev Potash are identical twins who are sharing a $10,000 Karen Sokolof Javitch Music Fund Scholarship. Ezra, who plays the trombone, is a student at the Manhattan School of Music where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance. Looking at his Spring transcript schedule, the course list includes: Humanities IV and 9 Jazz classes: Harmony and Counterpoint, EarTraining, Required Piano, Trombone, Trombone Jury, Combo, Ensemble, Improvisation and Improvisation Section. A heavy load! According to Ezra, at first his Continued on page 4
Buying orSelling? Marty, Alan & Anne Cohen
21924 Mayberry Circle 3126 S. 96th St. 17255 Washington St. 2719 N. 190th St. 6515 Daly Circle 1513 S. 192nd Avenue Circle 828 S. 182nd St. 620 N. 159th St. 1018 S. 90th St.
$59,950 $209,900 $265,000 $286,500 $318,900 $439,950 $477,000 $515,000 $720,000
Give us a call! Elkhorn treed lot District 66, Over 1/2 acre treed lot SOLD Outstanding new construction, Ranch Ralston Schools,Walk-out Ranch, 4 car garage Exceptional new construction Elkhorn Elkhorn Ranch backs to natural stream Barrington Park newly remodeled 1.5 Story 1.34 acres, District 66 Classic 2.5 Story
Marty Cohen
Alan Cohen
Anne Cohen
402-690-1591
402-677-2524
402-850-4161
Sign your LIFE & LEGACY Letter of Intent by April 30th to be included in the first year celebration.
Contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466 | hepstein@jewishomaha.org | www.jfofoundation.org
ATTENTION:
GMO AND NON-GMO FARMERS | LAND OWNERS
GRAIN ELEVATORS | DISTRIBUTORS | EXPORTERS | TRANSPORTERS
Justice for GMO Corn Losses! Ta legal action for financial losses Take caused by Syngenta’s GMO corn seed. Get the compensation you deserve! Call us today for a free consultation.
800-798-9986 !"#$%"&'(!)*++$,%!-".)/!,,!,0)1$&,$+)2)3*%"',$4567)1,&%8&#*()$9:8!.);<=>)?*@)A*B%0)C4&+!)>==0)D*((*"0)EF)GH;IJ7)K*"!")(&@!(-)+$)'!),!9!,,!L7
4 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
Tritz Plumbing Inc. 402-894-0300 www.tritz.com repair • remodel
commercial • residential
family owned and operated since 1945
netNebraska.org
Michael G. Kreekos DDS FAMILY DENTISTRY
General Dentistry | Senior Citizens Discounts Nursing home visits available Limited in House visits available for Evaluation and Consultation
402.334.0328 11836 Elm St. #2 | Omaha, Ne 68144 email: kreekosdentistry1@yahoo.com | fax: 402.334.0330
Basic computer skills made easy! Whether it’s a one-time lesson or ongoing instruction and support, learn how to use the computer with Dr. David M. Cohen, Ph.D., an educator and innovator who specializes in teaching computer skills to persons with little or no experience.
Learn: How computers work • How to use programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint How to e-mail friends and family • How to play games on the computer Shop, read newspapers & books and watch videos online How to use SKYPE for free video-conferencing with your children and grandchildren Call today to see how we can tailor our services to meet your needs.
Cohen’s Computer Club 402-637-3935 www.CohensComputerClub.com
David M. Cohen, Ph.D.
JCC Jewish Athletic Award nominations now being accepted by LYNN BATTEN JCC Publicity Nominations for the 2015 Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year and JCC Athletic Wall of Fame awards are now being accepted. Applications for both awards can be picked up at the JCC Member Services Desk, or downloaded at www.jccomaha. org. Nominations for the JCC Athletic Wall of Fame award should be returned to Ed Heller, JCC Director of Health and Fitness. Nomination forms for the Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year should be returned to Rachel Martin, BBYO and Teen Director. Completed nomination forms can also be dropped off at the JCC Member Services Desk. Nominations for both awards are due by Thursday, April 30. The JCC Athletic Wall of Fame award recognizes Omaha’s Jewish athletes who have participated in JCC sports programs and also made significant contributions to the Jewish community, the general community and/or the Jewish Community Center. Nominations for this award will be approved and judged by the JCC Health and Fitness Committee. A plaque will be added to the Wall of Fame at the Jewish Community Center and the recipient will receive a certificate of recognition. To be eligible for this award, all must meet the following
criteria: All nominees must be Jewish and have participated in at least one JCC sponsored sports program. Nominees need to have lettered or excelled in a varsity sport for a high school or university, and/or won a city or state championship in a particular sport. All nominees must demonstrate community involvement, with at least 3-5 years of service towards the betterment of the community. This service is to be contributed to the Jewish Community Center and/or the Jewish community by being active on committees, or volunteering. For more information, contact Ed Heller at 402.334.6580 or eheller@jcc omaha.org. The Outstanding Jewish High School Athlete of the Year award recognizes the achievements of Omaha’s Jewish athletes who are currently seniors in high school. The recipient of this award is not required to be a current member of the Jewish Community Center. To be eligible for this award, all must meet the following criteria: All nominees must be Jewish and in their senior year at a local high school. All nominees must have lettered in a sport at the varsity level. For more information on this award, please contact Rachel Martin at 402.334.6404 or rmartin@ jccomaha.org.
Sokolof Merit Scholarships Continued from page 3 relationship with music was for fun; then it was for discipline; and now fortunately, it has blossomed into a career. In one recommendation, he was praised for being extremely hardworking and constant in his desire for growth -artistically, technically and with a keen eye for career growth opportunities. Adeev, who plays the trumpet, is studying at Purchase College State University of New York (SUNY) for his Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance. His Spring transcript is equally challenging with Chemistry and the Arts, Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Combos, Private Study: Jazz Trumpet, History of Jazz II, Jazz Repertoire VI and Jazz Arranging. Jon Faddis, who conducts the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York (the successor to the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band) and has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and others, said, “When I
was a guest soloist at UNO, I was asked to give feedback on Adeev’s High School Band. After hearing his prowess in the upper register of the trumpet, I knew that I was listening to someone with special talent. I have since worked with him for two and a half years. He has succeeded my expectations and prepares his lessons with skill and maturity well beyond his years.” Ezra and Adeev have been campers and then counselors at Herzl Camp in Webster, Wisconsin. They were uniformly praised for their musical talents that helped bring a sense of togetherness and spirit to the Camp through their music. They have both returned to Herzl with a greater understanding of their skills and how they can best be used in the camp environment. Their parents are Amy Nachman and Alan Potash. The Sokolof Merit Scholarship Awards are administered by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.
SMEAL FIRE APPARATUS CO. 610 W 4th ST. Snyder, NE 68664
We are currently looking for employees in these areas: A full line of benefits available including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, 401(K), profit sharing and more.
Production Line Ability to use hand tools
Shipping & Receiving Clerk Tarp Specialist Sewing Tarps Part-Time
HIRING BONUS
Paint Applicator Administrative Assistant Waterjet Operator Fabricators Ability to use hand tools and welding experience preferred but not required.
Materials Manager
Jewish Social Services JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE | JEWISH SENIOR OUTREACH
THE ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
EOE/Substance Screening
Auto Body Mechanic Material Handler Forklift
Automotive Electronic Tech Apprentice Entry Level Engineering Position
Maintenance Pump & Plumbing Mechanical experience plumbing fire trucks needed
Welder Mig/Tig experience required
Inventory & Warehouse experience required. ERP & MRP preferred.
Electricians
Parts Technician Paint Prep Hydraulic Assembly
Engineering Designer
Automotive experience a plus Solid Works & CAD experience a must
Welder Positions Neligh Plant
Applications are available at www.smeal.com or call: 402-568-2224
April 17, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 5
Friedel Jewish Academy
Friedel Seder
y
Tod ay ’s
Editor’s note: In last week’s issue, we featured the first Academy became the school’s official corporate name. part in a series of three articles about Friedel students, According to Isabella Wright, a graduate of Friedel and and what they have to say about their school. This week, now an eighth grader at Millard North Middle School, you can read part two. “Learning a second language early on is a good start in genby CLAUDIA SHERMAN eral education,” referring to learning Hebrew at Friedel. for Friedel Jewish Academy “Spending your first years of school with people who are Rabbi Steven Abraham, Beth El Synagogue, pointed out Jewish like you, even though in Omaha we are a minority, is that “a day school is a sign of viability for a Jewish commu- a great experience for any Jewish child. It gives you a strong nity. It makes our community one where people can live ver- sense of community.” Isabella is the daughter of Annette van sus one where people pass through.” He went on to say that “one of the best parts of my day is when I get to be at Friedel watching our youth enjoying being Jewish.” “For our community to remain viable, we need to attract young families to Omaha,” pointed out Marty Ricks, Jewish Federation chief developDanny Denenberg Isabella Wright Noah Blair ment officer. “For some families, the existence of a Jewish day school is a de Kamp-Wright and Jeremy Wright. i s w h e J A requirement when considering a move to a Danny Denenberg, son of Tippi l c e ad new city.” and Steven Denenberg, has been ir ed em F Lloyd Roitstein has served on the a student at Friedel since he Friedel Board for 15 years including two was in kindergarten. The terms as president and also as fundraissixth grader said, it’s imporing chair. “The first time I toured tant to have a Jewish day Friedel about 15 years ago,” he said, “I school in Omaha, fell in love with how all the students “because kids should were having a great time learning, know good Jewish values treating each other like family, the and how to live a good love and admiration they had for the Jewish life.” teachers and staff, and the knowledge Noah Blair, a fourth they had for Judaism! Our students are grader at Friedel and the son Je fantastic!” He stressed the need to supof Gabby and Jason Blair, li w is o port a school that provides an outstanding thinks Friedel “helps us learn h Day S cho Jewish education, fully celebrates Jewish holiabout who we are and the reasons days, fosters the growth of our community’s future behind our traditions. Even though it’s leaders, and attracts and keeps Jewish families here as really small, it’s a really fun school, and we the school has for the past 50 years when Omaha Hebrew learn a lot of important things.”
a
n
O
of
ma
ha
G N I T A S R B CELE0 YEAR 5
Top picture: Participating in the play telling the story of the Hebrew slaves escaping Egyptian bondage are second and third graders Gali Gavron, left, Sasha Denenberg, Donivan Polivka, Darby Smith, Batsheva Shyken, and Liora Shapiro; bottom picture: About to take their seats for the seder are Sophia Mavropoulos; front row, left; Aviva Chana Shyken; Donivan Polivka; Noah Shrago; Mendel Wright; Jack Cohen, back row, left; Julian Witkowski; and Noah Blair.
Organizations B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, April 22, noon. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.
Yom Ha’Atzmaut F E S T I V A L
Thursday, April 23rd Children’s Carnival 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. | JCC Pavilion Carnival games, prizes, inflatables, face painting, airbrush tattoo artist, magician, and balloon artist for kids of all ages! Food from Star Catering will be available for purchase..
15th Annual B’nai B’rith Jewish Trivia Contest 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. | JCC Auditorium Please RSVP before April 22nd. FREE pizza will be served to participants. For more information please e-mail bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org or call (402) 334-6443.
Sokolof Lecture & Reception With Ari Shavit The Ruth and Phil Sokolof Lecture Series is sponsored by the Sokolof Family Foundation and the UNO Schwalb Center
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. | JCC Theater Ari Shavit is an Israeli reporter and author. Shavit is considered one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today and is a lead commentator on Israeli public television. His latest book, My Promised Land: A Personal Journey Through the History of Israel, is a deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel. A dessert reception, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Omaha, will follow the lecture. This program is made possible with the support of the following Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Funds:
Herbert Goldsten Trust, Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Foundation, & the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation.
Ari Shavit
6 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
Divas on the Bima: Concert to Benefit Scholarship Fund by MARGIE GUTNIK Cantor Elizabeth Shammash Program Director, Beth El is with Tiferet Bet Israel in Beth El Synagogue will welBlue Bell, PA. She received come Divas on the Bima to her investiture and Master of Omaha this Spring as feaSacred Music from JTS in tured performers at the annu2007. She also holds a al Cantor’s Youth Scholarship Master’s degree in Music and Fund Concert planned for Voice Performance from Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Manhattan School of Music, The concert is a Beth El traan artist diploma from dition dating back to Beth El’s Boston University’s Opera previous synagogue location Institute and a B.A. in Italian on Farnam Street. The FundStudies from Brown raiser benefits the Youth University Scholarship Fund of Beth El Her operatic work includes Synagogue, which supports major roles with New York Jewish summer experiences for City Opera, Boston Lyric Beth El kids including summer Opera, Berkshire Opera, Divas on the Bima: Jen Cohen, left, Magda Fishman, Alisa Pomerantz-Boro and Elizabeth Shammash. camp and trips to Israel. Palm Beach Opera, Israel Concert chairs are Pam and Bruce Friedlander. “We are work, Cohen entered the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, and the Beijing Music thrilled to chair the Cantor’s Concert. When it comes to our in New York City and upon investiture, Cantor Cohen was Festival. Concert and chamber music appearances include kids, we feel that camp and trips to Israel are very important proud to receive the Women’s League of Conservative the China National Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, activities to support as a synagogue and Jewish community.” Judaism Kol Isha Award. In 2010, she served on a task force Berlin Radio Symphony, Los Angeles and Seattle According to Hazzan Michael Krausman, raising funds for charged with restructuring the cantorial school at JTS. She is Symphonies and Boston Baroque. these scholarships is more important than ever. “This year, currently Cantor of Temple Beth Shalom in Cherry Hill, As is evident by these exceptionally accomplished the number of students participating in a Jewish summer New Jersey. Hazzans, the “Divas on the Bima” concept evolved from a Magda Fishman is also a graduate of the Jewish desire by the four musicians to project their talents beyond experience by far exceeds all previous years and so scholarTheological Seminary and joined Temple Beth El in their respective synagogues where they lead Sabbath and ship requests are greater,” he explained. Divas on the Bima are four highly acclaimed Cantors from Stamford, CT in 2014 after previous cantorial positions in holiday services. “We each have carved out our own musical congregations on the East Coast, brought together by a Manhattan and Los Angeles. niche, but are eager to learn from one another while having As a mezzo-soprano who is both a cantor and singer-musi- some fun,” Shammash explained. “The Divas concert allows mutual desire to share their love of both traditional and modern liturgical music. The concert will feature an array of cian, Cantor Fishman’s repertoire includes liturgical master- us to convey the lighter side of our collective talents.” pieces, Israeli songs, jazz, musical theater and her own compopular, Israeli and Jewish music. Hazzan Krausman added, “We are most fortunate to be All four are full-time hazzanim with congregations of their positions. Prior to her investiture in May 2011, she served in hosting the Divas on the Bima. These four women are own, but come from diverse backgrounds and specialties, the Israeli Army Orchestra as vocal soloist and trumpet play- among the finest Hazzanim and leading voices of our generer. She has performed extensively around the world, includ- ation. Several of them attended Jewish summer camp and including Nashville, opera, and instrumental performance. The divas include Cantor Jen Cohen of Temple Beth ing the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Canada, the traveled to Israel as teens and all of them are passionate supSholom, Cherry Hill; New Jersey; Magda Fishman, Temple Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New Jersey Performing porters of these types of Jewish experiences that we are Beth El, Stamford, CT; Cantor Alisa Pomerantz-Boro of Arts Center, Prague State Opera, and the Israeli Embassy in working so hard to provide for our Omaha youth.” Congregation Beth El, Voorhees, New Jersey; and Tiferet Bet Washington. She won first prize at the Cantors Assembly in General admission tickets are $18 and additional levels of the highly competitive “Cantor’s Idol” competition. Israel’s Cantor Elizabeth Shammash, in Blue Bell, PA. support include: Counselor-in-Training, 2 Tickets, $50; Growing up on Mercer Island, Washington, in a rabbinic Counselor, 4 tickets, $100; Song Leader, 6 tickets, $350; “Each of these women could headline her own show, and so to have them all together at one performance in our beau- home, Alisa Pomerantz-Boro knew from an early age that Waterfront Director, 6 tickets, $500; Arts & Crafts Director, tiful Beth El sanctuary in Omaha; well, we are extremely for- she would continue the family’s long line of rabbis and can- 8 tickets, $1000; Program Director, 8 tickets, $2,500; tors. At her investiture as a Hazzan, she was awarded the Assistant Camp Director, 10 tickets, $5,000; Catering Chef, tunate,” said Chair Pam Friedlander. The Divas will be accompanied by Scott Stein, a New York Jacobson Memorial Prize in Hazzanut. As a cantorial stu- 10 tickets, $7,500 and Camp Director, 10 tickets, $10,000. City-based musician and son of a Cantor. New to the Cantor’s dent, Hazzan Pomerantz-Boro held the position of Assistant Make checks payable to Beth El Synagogue and mail to Concert this year is the opportunity for past and future schol- Cantor at New York’s prestigious Park Avenue Synagogue. 14506 California Street, Omaha, NE 68154 or you can purShe served as the Hazzan at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San chase online at www.bethel-omaha.org. Your donation (less arship recipients to join the Divas on stage singing. Cantor Jen Cohen grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, and Diego for 13 years and came to Congregation Beth El in $5 per person) is tax deductible. Names of supporters at the earned a B.A. in East Asian Studies, Magna Cum Laude, Voorhees, New Jersey in 2004. Counselor level and above will be listed in the program if Hazzan Pomerantz-Boro was among the first 12 women to payment is received by Friday, April 24. from Yale University. She moved to Nashville, Tennessee and toured the U.S.; recording two CDs and earning nomina- be inducted into the Cantors Assembly, the professional For more information, please contact Beth El Program tions for Campus Entertainer of the Year three years straight. organization of Conservative cantors, where she currently Director Margie Gutnik at 402.492.8550 or program After transforming experiences in volunteer and interfaith serves as the International Vice President. ming@bethel-omaha.org.
A New Choice in Senior Living
Mother’s Day
Flower & Balloon Sale
Resident First Focus: Omaha’s first senior living community where Independent Living apartments are licensed for Assisted Living, so residents don’t have to move when they need more care. 1111 Sterling Ridge Drive Phone: 402-504-3111 heritage-communities.com Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Support
Now Open
Apartments Available!
African Violet
$8
Blooming Plant
$15
Balloon Bouquet
$25
European Garden
$40
Please send order with check made payable to LOVE by May 1, 2015 to: Linda Cogen c/o Rose Blumkin Jewish Home 323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154 (402) 334-6519 On Friday, May 8, Resident orders will be delivered, and all pick-up orders will be available in the RBJH Gift Shop between 1 and 4 p.m.
Thank you for brightening Mother’s Day!
April 17, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 7
For serious bike riding enthusiasts: Discover Israel by bike by MARK KIRCHHOFF Center for Jewish Life PARTNERSHIP2GETHER is offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience for serious bike riding enthusiasts. You are invited to discover Israel by bike – from the northern border with Lebanon in the Western Galilee to the eastern border with Syria along the Golan Heights, to southern Israel in the Jordan Valley to Eilat. Not only will you be able to experience Israel’s topography, demographics, borders, scenery and history through the Cross-Israel Bike Trip, you will be doing so through the unique relationship of PARTNERSHIP2GETHER. The adventure begins on Oct. 19 when you will be picked up at Ben Gurion Airport for the drive to the Western Galilee and a chance to get organized before the ride starts at Rosh Hanikra on Oct. 21. This scenic first day will be a test of your endurance as well, as you bike to Adamit Park, continuing towards Tzfat through the Biriya Forest, across the Jordan River via the Bnot Yaakov Bridge, descend to the Sea of Galilee, ascend to the Golan Heights and end in Kibbutz Afik for an overnight stay. By the end of the day you will have made a total cumulative climb of 9,514 feet over 81 miles and you will likely be ready for a good night’s sleep. Day two will be 3,373 feet over 94 miles; day four 6,400 feet over 56 miles and the final day, on Oct. 24, will be 5,520 feet over 103 miles. This tour is definitely for experienced riders ready to challenge their endurance and prepared to enjoy the beauty of Israel. When asked to describe the experience, Tsur Halamish, one of the participants in the first ‘Trans Israel’ trip, said “I participated in the October 2014 Trans Israel and it was an exceptional experience, I loved every moment of it! Preparing for the event was a wonderful opportunity to set a target and work toward getting back into shape. The
ride takes you across all of Israel, north to south, and you slowly see the change in landscapes and terrain. Being on the bike definitely gives you a different perspective of your surroundings. The logistics were handled very efficiently by Harel and his team and each participant received a full logistics envelope with a riding coach, food stops, mechanical support, and accommodation. Everything was taken care of so all the riders did was cycle, enjoy the camaraderie, and clear our minds.” Perhaps the most telling comment of all was when he added, “Priceless! Memorable! I’d love to do it again.” Cost of the CrossIsrael Road Bike Trip is $1,900 not including airfare and private health insurance. This price is based on a shared double room; a single room is available for an additional $350 for the five nights. Accompanying you on the trip will be professional bike instructors and a tour guide, explaining about locations on the way while assisting with transportation of equipment and other needs. PARTNERSHIP2GETHER is a program of The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America. The program promotes people-to-people relationships through cultural, social, medical, educational and economic programs. This Partnership is between the 13 communities of the U.S. Central Area Consortium, Budapest, and Israel’s Western Galilee. The PARTNERSHIP2GETHER program in Omaha is through the Center for Jewish Life as part of its mission to maximize involvement of Omaha’s Jewish community in imaginative, compelling and meaningful Jewish experiences. For additional program information and to apply, please contact Harel Nahmani at transalp.israel@gmail.com or Heidi Benish, P2G Development Coordinator, at HeidiB@jafi.org.
Serving Generations…
Bill Cutler III
402-391-3900 7805 W. Center Rd. BELLEVUE CHAPEL 402-291-5000 Bellevue DWORAK CHAPEL 402-346-1144 16th & Vinton
Bill Cutler IV
www.heafeyheafey.com
This Yom HaAtzma’ut, celebrate red, white, and blue.
Week of Understanding by LIZ FELDSTERN IHE Executive Director 2015 marked the 5th year of the IHE’s annual Week Of Understanding. The program is a collaboration with OPS and other districts, with the goal of providing as many students as possible with the opportunity to meet survivors of the Holocaust and WWII The Week of Understanding survivor speakers gathered at U.S. military liberators Countryside Community Church. and to hear their stories first-hand. For the past few years, the demand from schools exceeds the number of speaking engagements our local survivors can handle, and we have been bringing out-oftown survivors to Speaker, Agnes Schwartz, receives flowers from the students. Omaha for this special week. This year, we brought in a total of four speaking engagements during the Week Holocaust survivors, who joined three local (March 23-27), with a total of more than survivors and one local liberator in speaking 8,000 student listeners! By far, our largest at the schools. We provided more than 30 Week of Understanding yet.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s only official emergency medical response agency, has been saving lives since before 1948. And supporters like you provide MDA’s 14,000 paramedics and EMTs — 12,000 of them volunteers — with the training and equipment they need. So as we celebrate Israel’s independence, save a life in Israel with your gift to MDA. Please give today.
AFMDA Upper Midwest/Chicagoland Cindy Iglitzen-Socianu, Director 3175 Commercial Avenue, Suite 101 Northbrook, IL 60062 Toll-Free 888.674.4871 midwest@afmda.org www.afmda.org
8 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
Second-generation survivor sees ‘remarkable window’ into past by HILLEL KUTTLER The Seeking Kin column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. TEL AVIV (JTA) -- A few blocks from Sylvia Selvas’ home near the Mediterranean Sea is the apartment where she last saw her friend Sarah Haim. That was 59 years ago, when Haim stopped by to tell Selvas that she was moving to the United States. Selvas recently welcomed a visitor to her second-floor residence on Yirmiyahu Street in the hope of finding her friend. Two weeks after the interview, “Seeking Kin” learned that Haim had died at 81 in 2009 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. But now Haim’s son, previously unaware of the friendship, said he looks forward to speaking with Selvas. Selvas and Haim, both Greek Jews, met as teenagers in the late summer of 1946 at a detention camp in Cyprus. British Mandatory authorities had turned back the Henrietta Szold, a boat on which they and other Holocaust survivors had sailed from Sounion, Greece, toward prestate Israel. Selvas, a Salonika native whose maiden name was Tabokh, recalled that the British transferred them in February 1947 from Cyprus to Atlit, near Haifa, where they were detained for three more months before being released to the Jewish Agency’s care in Kiryat Haim. Haim settled at Kibbutz HaGoshrim, in the Upper Galilee. Selvas was picked up by relatives living in Tel Aviv, settled in the city and in 1949 met and married Yom Tov, a cobbler who also hailed from Greece. About then, the kibbutz sent Haim to Tel Aviv for a course on becoming a child-care provider. During the months-long program, she stayed two nights a week with the Selvases at 302 HaYarkon St., sleeping on their pullout sofa and returning to HaGoshrim the next day. In July 1956, shortly after Selvas gave birth to her daughter Aviva -- her first child was Moshe -- Haim visited for the last time. She brought a baby gift and some big news: She was moving to Los Angeles. Haim’s sister and mother, living in the family’s native Athens, would join her there. Selvas received a letter from Haim after the move, even saving the envelope showing the address. But the letter and envelope have gone missing just when Selvas, 86, wanted to find her old friend. Selvas lacks even a photograph of Haim.
“Who had cameras then?” she said, citing Israel’s austerity period. “We were poor and worked just to live.” Times were tough for the new immigrants in California, too, Selvas remembers Haim writing in Greek. Selvas responded, but didn’t hear back – probably because she had moved to the apartment in which she still resides. The Haim she knew possessed “much courage, education
Left picture: Sarah Haim, shown while living in Israel from 1947 to 1956, died in Los Angeles in 2009. Credit: Harry Zinn; right picture: Sylvia Selvas, displaying a photo of her late husband and their four grandchildren, had hoped to locate her long-lost friend from their native Greece. Credit: Hillel Kuttler and manners.” They had a “good friendship,” Selvas said, and sometimes cried together about their common survival in hiding and becoming fatherless. A break in finding Haim occurred when a listener to the Israeli radio program “Hamador L’Chipus Krovim” (Searching for Relatives Bureau) identified two women with her name who had died in recent years in the United States. The show’s host, Izi Mann, alerted “Seeking Kin,” whose search uncovered several obituaries leading to Harry Zinn, a Los Angeles lawyer. He confirmed that his late mother was the missing woman. She was born in Kavala, near Salonika, he said, but her family hid in Athens during the German occupation: Laura, the youngest of three girls, in an orphanage; Haim and her mother, Henriette, with a Christian family; and the eldest daughter, Allegra, elsewhere with their father, Solomon, the
Dr. Blaine “Buddy” Roffman
owner of a successful textile company. Solomon died of tuberculosis, and Henriette “went to great lengths, and at great risk, to have him buried in a Jewish cemetery,” Zinn said. Allegra was captured during a roundup and deported to Auschwitz, where she died in the hospital two weeks after the concentration camp was liberated. Henriette and Laura remained in Athens postwar, but Haim preferred Israel. “She was the Zionist and felt there was a need for a place for Jews to be safe,” he said. Haim spoke little to her two children – like Selvas, she had a son and then a daughter – about the Holocaust or her Israel years. “The little I pieced together was she was happy in HaGoshrim,” Zinn said. But when Henriette and Laura decided to join a cousin who had moved to Los Angeles, Haim decided, “reluctantly, to join her mother and sister in America” rather than be farther away in Israel, he said. On a 1984 visit to Israel, the Zinns visited HaGoshrim, where Haim caught up with several residents she had known decades before. She apparently didn’t visit Selvas; Zinn hadn’t known of their friendship, although he said that Laura, now 84, knew. After their parents’ death three months apart in 2009, Zinn and his sister -- Helene Allegra Zinn’s middle name memorializes her aunt -- established a Holocaust studies scholarship at UCLA in their honor. Zinn said that when he speaks with Selvas, it might be in Ladino, which he learned when Henriette lived with the Zinns. “It’s a remarkable window that’s opened into the past that how can you not want to look through,” he said of Selvas’ search for his mother. “It’s a really emotional thing to find this connection and this information. It feels like finding some buried treasure you weren’t even looking for.” Please email Hillel Kuttler at seekingkin@jta.org if you would like “Seeking Kin” to write about your search for long-lost relatives and friends. Please include the principal facts and your contact information in a brief email. “Seeking Kin” is sponsored by Bryna Shuchat and Joshua Landes and family in loving memory of their mother and grandmother, Miriam Shuchat, a lifelong uniter of the Jewish people.
In Memory of
Dr. Roffman served as the President and long-time board member of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. May his memory be a blessing. From the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Board of Directors and Staff
Class of 2015 High School Seniors and Parents
We will be publishing our annual High School Graduation Class pages on May 22, 2015. To be included, we need your graduation photo and the information below. You can also email the items to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
High School Senior Information
Name ________________________________________________________________________ Parent(s)’ Name(s) ________________________________________________________________________ Current High School ________________________________________________________________________ College you plan to attend ________________________________________________________________________ Send by May 1 to: The Jewish Press | 333 So. 132 St. | Omaha, NE 68154
April 17, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 9
Point of view
American Jewish Press Association Award Winner
Nebraska Press National Newspaper Association Association Award winner 2008
We’re busy by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Now that the Passover holiday is behind us, you may wonder what the Jewish Press is up to next. Of course, we never work on just one project at a time; in addition to producing our weekly paper, we have many other things going on. For starters, we are getting ready to bring back the Jewish Press Club. Next week, in the April 24 issue, we’ll explain in detail what has changed and what will remain the same. This will be our fourth year, and we are excited to share with you the different ways in which you can support us. We have finalized our board nomination process. Our past-President, Bobbi Leibowitz, together with a small nomination committee, has invited our new board members. These new members will be voted in during our April board meeting, and at the start of the new budget year, July 1, they will get to work. While I can’t share their names with you just yet, we are incredibly happy with the quality of people who are joining us. In August of 2014, the Jewish Press held an exhibit in the JCC Gallery. This exhibit included a series of photographs by the very talented Mike Macchian. Thanks to the support of Linda and Harold Mann at the Frohm Foundation, Mike spent hours capturing the actors of the JCC Musical Theater Community Acting Group during the dress rehearsal for Bye Bye Birdie. Cultural Arts Director Esther Katz and I thought it would be nice if those images found a permanent home in our building. We could select the best of Mike’s photos, and add new ones with each play the JCC puts on. It just so happens there is a white stretch of wall right
between the Jewish Press offices and the Cultural Arts department, and so I am happy to announce we are working to showcase the theater photos there. It’s a great example of different departments working together for a common goal. In the meantime, we are gearing up for award season. Every year during its Annual Meeting (which will be June 1)
the Jewish Federation of Omaha and its agencies put the spotlight on a number of valued volunteers. For us at the Press, this means thinking ahead, and planning which article goes on which front page. We have to know who is being honored, and who writes which article. Months before the
actual announcements appear in our paper, we start organizing information, interviews and photos. Then there is our Graduation special. Each year in May, we feature all Jewish high school seniors. That means our assistant editor Lori spends months collecting details about every graduate. Since they don’t all go to the same school (boy, would that simplify things!) she has to talk to all the synagogues, call parents, check with BBYO and sometimes figure things out through the grapevine. Being done with the Passover edition also means moving on to the Rosh Hashanah edition. It’s only five months away, which is not as long as you’d think. We need a theme; we need to come up with stories and people to write them. We need a front page, an editorial message, photographs and advertisers. For New Year, we need rabbis’ messages. We also need synagogue schedules. I recently received a call from a reader who pointed out that putting holiday recipes in the actual holiday issue is a little late, and I think she’s right- so we are going to change that and publish those a few weeks ahead. That way you can actually plan to make some of those recipes (why didn’t I think of that one sooner?). There is rarely a dull moment at the Jewish Press. But: that is why we like it here. Being this busy only happens because, as an agency, we are relevant to this community. Compare that with some other Jewish papers that limp along with syndicated content only, and you’ll see why it is worth every minute, every deadline, every week. Because the stories we publish are a reflection of a community that is active, engaged and very much alive. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you marry a Jew, you’re one of us by STEVEN M. COHEN and JOY LEVITT NEW YORK (JTA) -- Millennia ago, before rabbis existed or conversion was invented, thousands who were not born Jewish became part of the Jewish community through a very simple act: They married a Jew. Sarah was the first, followed in turn by Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. Thousands more followed -- both biblical characters and many more whose lives as Jews were never explicitly recorded in the Bible. In effect, our ancestors said to them, “If you marry us, you’re one of us.” Centuries later, at a time when the number of American Jews marrying non-Jews has reached an all-time high -- 80 percent of Reform-raised Jews who married in 2000-2013 married non-Jews -- thousands are again choosing to join the Jewish people, but nowhere near as many as we would like. Unbeknownst to even keen observers of Jewish life, about half of those who identify as Jews but were not born Jewish never underwent formal rabbinic conversion. The 2013 Pew survey of American Jews found 79,000 adult Jewish converts, but another 83,000 who identify as Jews even though they reported no Jewish parents and had not undergone conversion. How did they become Jewish? Many married Jews. Others have Jewish grandparents or more distant Jewish ancestry and are reclaiming their roots. Some do call themselves fully Jewish, but many say they are “partially Jewish,” a newly burgeoning group first documented in the Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011. To take a real example: One of us has a good friend -- a well-known scholar in Jewish life. She (a born-Jew) and her husband, born Protestant, raised their children as Jews. He never converted, but he did learn to read Hebrew, say Kiddush on Friday nights, and fully participate in all the Jewish holiday preparations and ceremonies. According to his wife, if asked if he is Jewish, partially Jewish or nonJewish, he’d answer, “Jewish!” This seemingly novel phenomenon of joining the Jewish people without rabbinic formalities should not be surpris-
(Founded in 1920) Andrew Ruback President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Jessie Wees Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Bookkeeper
Jewish Press Board Eric Dunning, President-Elect; Scott Farkas, Sandy Friedman, Paul Gerber, Debbie Kricsfeld, David Kotok, Paul Rabinovitz, and Nancy Wolf. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www jewishoma ha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’
ing. In today’s America, more and more social identities are personally chosen and socially constructed. Religious identities have become among the most fluid, with more intermarriage and more people changing their religious identities than ever before. Here’s an added appeal to newcomers: Jews have become the most admired religious group in America, a Pew center study reported last year, having risen from the least socially desirable ethnic group in the early 1960s, according to a study at the time. Or as Matthew 20:16 puts it so well, “Those who are last now will be first.” Even more significant may be those who marry Jews who think of themselves not as Jewish but as “fellow travelers,” like the biblical category of “ger toshav,” or “resident supporter.” Some become part of our community because they sense an opportunity to feel part of something important and meaningful. And they often do this despite the fact that we don’t exactly put out the welcome mat for them. We know that where both parents identify as Jews, nearly all their children identify as Jews as well. And when only one parent sees himself/herself as Jewish, only a minority of their children grow up as Jews. Aside from raising the inmarriage rate, how can we create more households where both partners see themselves as part of the Jewish people? One answer is for all of us to change the way we think of, and treat, those who love and marry our children, family members and friends. Basically we should agree and fully internalize the idea: If you marry a Jew, you’re fully part of our community until proven otherwise. The default option is that you’re in. If you don’t want to be seen as part of the community, you need to opt out, or “unsubscribe.” (And if you do, unlike those pesky email lists, we’ll respect your choice.) In other words, born Jews would undergo a subtle but critical shift in the way they relate to family members and friends not born Jewish. It would mean fully including them in holiday practices, life-cycle ceremonies, and Jewishly centered social action and political activities. It would mean concretizing (if not promoting) the social reality that rab-
binic conversion is not the only way to join the Jewish people or function Jewishly in a Jewish family. It would also mean that more intermarried couples would come to see themselves -- and be seen by others -- as inmarried. The widespread presumption of Jewish-by-marriage will set many couples on upward Jewish journeys. Most critically, their children will see themselves far more often as Jewish, if for no other reason than both their parents see themselves as members of the Jewish people. This is going to take some work. We have overdeveloped muscles of defense when it comes to who’s in and who’s out. These muscles have been strengthened by anti-Semitism, to be sure. For much of the 20th century, as the Jewish community in America both acculturated and tried to maintain deep connections to Jewish tradition and culture, there was an ongoing struggle about how and if it was possible to engage fully in American life and still preserve high inmarriage rates. Jews today are facing an unprecedented opportunity to share our rich tradition with thousands who are searching for meaning and looking to raise healthy and happy children with a deep connection to community. Certainly, some who marry us will decide to officially “join” the Jewish people through rabbinic conversion. Our arms should be wide open and encouraging to those on this path. Conversion classes and experiences need to be excellent, accessible and, frankly, more affordable in order to attract larger numbers. Our community needs to set this as a priority. But for those who choose to be part of our community without formal conversion -- who come to the Passover seder and drive their children to Hebrew school, who sit shiva with us, or who bring their sons into the community at a brit milah, who shep naches at their daughters’ bat mitzvah and who go to Israel on vacation -- we say welcome. It’s a pleasure to know you. Come learn. You’re one of us if you want to be. Steven M. Cohen is a research professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive. Rabbi Joy Levitt is the executive director of the JCC Manhattan.
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.
The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer, but the name can be withheld at the writer’s request. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid per-
Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial
material and photos to: avandekamp @jewishomaha.org; send ads (in .TIF or .PDF format) to: rbusse@jew ishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jew ishomaha.org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.”
sonal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
10 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
Synagogues B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE 618 Mynster Street | Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 |712.322.4705 email: BnaiIsraelCouncilBluffs@gmail.com For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California | Omaha, NE 68154-1980 | 402.492.8550 www.bethel-omaha.org Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m..; Our Shabbat Tables, in congregants’ homes. SATURDAY: Shabbat Service, 9:30 a.m.; Shabbat’s Cool (for Grades 3-7), 10 a.m. followed by lunch; Mini Minyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8 p.m. WEEKDAY SERVICES: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Musical Shacharit for Rosh Hodesh Iyar, 9 a.m. followed by a light breakfast; Women’s Rosh Hodesh Group attends Musical Shacharit, 9 a.m.; BESTT Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Babies, Bigger Kids & Bagels, 9:45 a.m.; Torah Study Group, 10 a.m.; Adult B’nai Mitzvah Class, 11 a.m. WEDNESDAY: BESTT Classes, 4:15 p.m.; Hebrew High School, 6 p.m. at Temple Israel. THURSDAY: USY Elections, 5:30 p.m. Lunch at NE AIDS Coalition, Friday, April 24, 11:30 a.m. BESTT Kindergarten Round-Up, Sunday, April 26, 11:15 a.m. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street | Omaha, NE. 68154 | 402.556.6288 www.orthodoxomaha.org Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 7:30 p.m.; Havdalah, 8:51 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Midrash, 9:45 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Shacharit, 7 a.m. MONDAY: Scholar’s Club for Boys, 3:30 p.m.; Teen Class, 7 p.m.
B’nai Mitzvah Cara Marantz, daughter of Rabbi Craig and Betsy Marantz, will become a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, April 25, at Congregation Kol Haverim in Glastonbury, CT . Cara is a seventh-grade honor student at Smith Middle School in Glastonbury, CT. She loves to dance, and is on four dance teams; tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. She also enjoys spending her summers at URJ Crane Lake Camp in West Stockbridge, MA. For her mitzvah project, Cara raised money for the Beauty Bus Foundation to supply 100 bags of beauty to the Dequattro Cancer Center in Manchester, CT. You can learn more by visiting carasmitzvahproject.wordpress.com. She has a brother, Jared. Jeremy Silverman, son of Mimi and Michael Silverman, will become a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 25, at Temple Israel. Jeremy is a seventh-grade High Ability Learner student at Kiewit Middle School. His interests include hockey, drums and smiling. For his mitzvah project, Jeremy volunteered at the Omaha Food Bank. He helped pack, weigh, sort and label food for the homeless and less forunate. He has a brother, Adam. Grandparents are Elly and Harold Silverman of Boynton Beach, FL, and Liz and Shelly Feinman of New York, NY.
TUESDAY: Wrestling with Rashi Class, 8 p.m. with Rabbi Weiss. THURSDAY: Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m.; Med Center Chaburah, 1 p.m.; Scholar’s Club for Girls, 3:30 p.m.; Avot UBanim-Parent Child Learning, 7 p.m.; Jews and Brews, 8:30 p.m.
CHABAD HOUSE An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street | Omaha, NE 68144-1646 | 402.330.1800 www.OChabad.com | email: chabad@aol.com Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m SATURDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. SUNDAY: Minyan and Meditation, 8:30 a.m. WEEKDAYS: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. TUESDAY: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. WEDNESDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. THURSDAY: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@unmc.edu. All programs are open to the entire community.
CONGREGATION B’NAI JESHURUN South Street Temple | Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street | Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 | 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. FRIDAY: FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE! Shabbat Evening Service, 7:45 p.m. with oneg following hosted by Jennifer Lewis. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m. celebrating the Adult B’nai Mitzvah class; Holocaust Remembrance Week: A Personal Documentary with Oliver Pollak, 2 p.m. at Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14 Street.; Game Night/Potluck, 6 p.m. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan - Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; LJCS Teachers, 12:15 p.m. at South Street Temple; Jewish Book Club, 1 p.m. at Zoya Zeman’s and will discuss The Lawgiver (different and provoking using traditional Jewish comedy) by Herman Wouk; Temple Board of Trustees Meeting, 1:30 p.m.; Holocaust Remembrance Week: World Memory Project, 2 p.m. at Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14 Street. Genealogy experts will demonstrate and teach how to use the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s World Memory Project, powered by ancestry.com; Adult Education Travel Series “Jewish Cuba” with Al and Leah Weiss, 3 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. TUESDAY: Ladies’ Lunch Group, noon at Florio’s, 7300 S. 13th St. Questions? Please contact Stephanie Dohner. WEDNESDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. THURSDAY: Anniversary Planning Committee Meeting, 5:30 p.m. President’s Office Hours, Sunday Mornings, 10 a.m.–noon at SST. If you have any Temple business, programs, or new ideas you would like to discuss with Temple president David Weisser, please email him at president@southstreettemple. org or call him at 402.513.7697, or stop by the Temple between 10 a.m. and noon on Sundays when religious school is in session.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road | Offutt AFB, NE 68123 | 402.294.6244 FRIDAY: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 323 South 132 Street | Omaha, NE 68154 FRIDAY: Chef ’s Demo, 1:30 p.m. with Beth Israel. SATURDAY: Service, 9:15 a.m. led by Steve Riekes. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.
TEMPLE ISRAEL Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive | Omaha, NE 68144-1206 | 402.556.6536 http://templeisraelomaha.com FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m; Grade 6 Family Retreat,
Candlelighting Friday, April 17, 7:48 p.m. 5 p.m. at Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m. Harper Gordman, daughter of Danielle and Jeff Gordman, will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. SUNDAY: Grades K-6, 10 a.m.; Beginning Prayer Study, 10 a.m. with Elyce Azriel; Torah Chanting -- We would love you have you chant!, 10 a.m.; Parent/Toddler Group, 10:30 a.m. for children ages 2-3. Dani Howell will be facilitating activities, games and songs for toddlers with their parents. For more information please contact Director of Lifelong Learning Debbie Massarano, dmassarano@templeisra elomaha.com. You can just drop in or you can let Debbie Massarano know you are coming; Non-Jews Raising Jewish Children, 11 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel. Although this is a continuation from last year’s class, we invite anyone interested to join. WEDNESDAY: Grades 3-6, 4 p.m.; School Dinner, 6 p.m.; Family Night, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6 p.m.; Scholar-inResidence Ari Shavit: Conversation with our Teens, 6 p.m.; Al Had’vash v’al Haoketz: The Honey and the Sting – Ari Shavit, 6:30 p.m. THURSDAY: What Makes a Value Jewish?, 10 a.m. with Debbie Massarano. First Annual Sterling Ridge Drive Poker Tournament, Tuesday, May 5. Dinner at 6 p.m., Tournament at 7 p.m. Cost is $50 and includes dinner and tournament. For more information, please contact Program Director Scott Littky, 402.556.6536.
TIFERETH ISRAEL Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard | Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 | 402.423.8569 www.tiferethisraellincoln.org Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. FRIDAY: Services, 6:30 p.m. SATURDAY: Morning service, 10 a.m. and this week’s Shabbat coincides with the Green Faith initiative to “Bring a Scientist to Services.” Dr. Vitaly Zlotnik will give the d'var Torah about the status of water in our ecosystem. Services will be followed by Kiddush lunch hosted by Sofia and Vitaly Zlotnik in memory of Roza and Ansel Zlotnik; Holocaust Remembrance Week: A Personal Documentary with Oliver Pollak, 2 p.m. at Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14 Street. SUNDAY: LJCS Gan - Grade 7, 9:30 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Hallah High Lite, 9:45 a.m.-noon at South Street Temple; Hallah High, 9:45 a.m.-noon at Tifereth Israel; Haftorah Reading class, 11-11:50 a.m.; Holocaust Remembrance Week: World Memory Project, 2 p.m. at Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14 Street. Genealogy experts will demonstrate and teach how to use the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s World Memory Project, powered by ancestry.com; Adult Education Travel Series “Jewish Cuba” with Al and Leah Weiss, 3 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. TUESDAY: Ladies’ Lunch Group, noon at Florio’s, 7300 S. 13th St. Questions? Please contact Stephanie Dohner with any question. WEDNESDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 4-6 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Annual Mayor's Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, April 30, 7:30 a.m. (doors open at 7 a.m.) at Cornhusker Marriot Hotel, 333 South 13th Street. Speaker: Dr. Sarah Sayeed, Director of Community Partnership. If you are interested please send your check for $25 to Nava in the office no later than Tuesday, April 21.
Firecrackers and bullets by JTA NEWS STAFF (JTA) A New Jersey man was arrested for throwing lit firecrackers outside a synagogue and yelling “God is greatest” in Arabic. Rizek Musheisen, 21, of Clifton, fled in a car after the incident at the Ahavas Israel Synagogue in neighboring Passaic, the Secure Community Network said Monday in a notification sent to Jewish community leaders and local law enforcement. The Orthodox synagogue, located about a half hour from New York City, was full of worshippers at the time of the incident. On Monday, April 13, shots were fired outside the West End Synagogue in Nashville, according to The Tennessean. Police identified at least one bullet hole between two windows at the front of the building. The shooting outside the 400-member Conservative congregation occurred hours before a Holocaust memorial ceremony at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
Pulverente MONUMENT CO.
April 17, 2015 | The Jewish Press | 11
In memoriam MYRON HARRY “MIKE” MILDER Myron “Mike” Milder passed away peacefully on April 12 at age 88 at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. Services were held April 13 at Temple Israel. He was predeceased by his son Myron Milder II and his brother Orvel Milder. He is survived by his wife, Lois; his daughter, Emily Milder; granddaughter, Abbey Milder; and beloved nieces and nephews. He was an Omaha native and former chief executive officer of Milder Oil Company. From the 1950s through the 1970s, Mr. Milder was active in local and national politics. He served as National Field Director for the Committee to Re-elect President Richard Nixon in 1972 and National Field Director of the Citizens for Gerald Ford Committee in 1976. Mr. Milder was an elected delegate to the 1968 Republican National Convention and attended every GOP national conventions from 1956 through 1972. He regularly attended state and county GOP conventions, served as Regional Chairman of the Henry Cabot Lodge for President Campaign and was a member of the Carl Curtis for Senate finance committee. Mr. Milder played a prominent role in national organizations, including the Young Republicans and the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1954, he chaired a 14-state Young Republicans Midwest Council Convention in Omaha. He held key leadership positions in the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, including President of the Nebraska Chapter and Vice President of International Affairs for the national Organization. Through his work with the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Milder developed a lifelong interest in youth welfare, which he demonstrated in his support for local organizations, including the YMCA, Mental Health Associates of Nebraska and the Meyer Therapy Center. Mr. Milder also traveled extensively. As a U.S. delegate to the Junior Chamber International, he attended World Meetings and Congresses in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Puerto Rico and Scotland. During these trips and the many others he took with his wife Lois “Ducky” Milder, Mr. Milder developed close friendships with people around the world who became frequent guests in his Omaha home. Mr. Milder, the son of Hymie Milder and Ella Braunstein Milder, was born and raised in Omaha. He attended Central
High School, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, George Washington University and the University of Omaha. While serving in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946, he also attended the University of Idaho. Mr. Milder was a member of the Omaha Planning Commission in 1955. He was named Omaha’s outstanding young man in 1959 and led the local Easter Seal drive in 1964. He served on the executive boards of the Meyer Therapy Center, Anti Defamation League and Northwest Omaha YMCA. Mr. Milder will be remembered as an avid fisherman, international traveler, loyal friend and devoted husband, father and grandfather. Memorials may be made to Project Harmony, Temple Israel Summer Camp Fund or CASA of Douglas County.
BLAINE ROFFMAN, M.D. Blaine M.D. Roffman passed away on April 6 at age 80. Services were held on April 8 at Temple Israel. He is survived by his wife, Judy Roffman; daughters and sons-in-law, Shari and Steve Goldberg, Carin and David Rosinsky and Linda and Todd Zimmerman; grandchildren: Brady, Reghan and Kayce Goldberg, Samantha and Sydney Rosinsky, and Rylee and Zane Zimmerman; sisters-in-law, Silvia Roffman and Susan Eisner. He was a past president of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation and of Temple Israel. Memorials may be made to the Douglas County Health Center Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) or the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.
Rachel Rosenberg passed away on April 3 at age 91. Services were held April 7 at Beth El Synagogue. She was preceded in death by her husband Carl. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Annie and Ken Tuvman of Minneapolis, and son, Stuart of Los Angeles; grandchildren: Adam, Isaac, Carly, Jared; and great-grandson: Shane Carl Tuvman. She was an Omaha Jewish community activist, author, public speaker and educator, and Holocaust Survivor. Together with her husband, she ran “Carls’ Tailor Shop” for more than 40 years. The family thanks the greater Omaha community for their love, support, and care. To know her was to love her and she loved you all!
Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; faxed to 402.334.5422, 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 the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.
Saturday, April 25 2 p.m. 11365 SW 114th Road DeWitt, NE Rick & Amy Gerlach (800)869-0398 View Sale Lots at www.gerlachshowpig.com
1439 So. 13th 402-341-2452
Frank L. Ciciulla, Jr.
Wayne, NE www.hhoa.net 888-200-4460
Build Your New Home for as little as $1,000 down & lock in the interest rate of a lifetime! Log on to our website to see the thousands of families that have built their new home for less. You may find one in your backyard!
Your Home Building Partner since 1995 Turning your Dreams into Reality!
CAREER OPPORTUNITY
TRUCK DRIVERS WANTED Grand Island Express has immediate openings for OTR Class A Drivers. We have great pay, fuel bonuses, and excellent benefits. If you value family like we do, give us a call & join ours! 866-472-6347 or visit us at www.giexpress.com
RACHEL ROSENBERG
To submit announcements:
!"#$%&''()*%+,-*).$%/$01%234%/)*,
60 Years Experience With Jewish Lettering and Memorials
Wanted — Service Technician Full time farm equipment mechanic position is available at HorizonWest Inc. in Scottsbluff, NE. We offer competitive wages, 401k retirement plan and an incentive program. There is also Health/Dental/Life Insurance, personal time off, 7 paid holidays, uniform/tool allowances and factory schooling/training. Call: Adam or Bruce at 308-635-3727 Or toll free at 888-322-7344 Or send resume to PO Box 1070 Scottsbluff, NE 69363 Or e-mail to scottsbluff@horizonwestinc.com
Service Tech/Mechanic !"#$%&'%#()&'%*+&,-&)$$.,%/&0$1&!&02))3#,45&56751,5%*58&-519,*5& #5*:%,*,!%;45*:!%,*+&<!1,$2-&)$*!#,$%-&!9!,)!=)5+& >5&$0051&*$475#,#,95&?!/5-&!%8&02))&=5%5@#-+& A!))&B?!,%5&CDE3FFG3CHHF&$1&I,4&CDE3JKL3EHFH&$1&8$?%)$!8&!%&!77),*!#,$%&!#& ???+.!"#$%,%#+*$4;M$=$77$1#2%,#,5" ;M 77
"Offer a good product at a fair price and always remember our customer is the number one asset of the business.”
&
&
N5),/:& O)=,$%& A1$0#$%& &
Nebraska STATEWIDE CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING works! Place your 25 word ad into thousands of Nebraska homes for $225. Contact the Jewish Press at 402-334-6449 or call 1-800-369-2850. BANKRUPTCY: FREE initial consultation. Fast relief from creditors. Low rates. Statewide filing. No office appointment necessary. Call Steffens Law Office, 308-872-8327. steffensbankruptcylaw.com. We are a debt relief agency, which helps people file bankruptcy under the bankruptcy code. GUN SHOW, April 24, 25 & 26th. Westfair-Fairgrounds, Council Bluffs, IA, Exit #8 off I-80. Fri. 4-9 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Info, 563-608-4401, www.marvkrauspromotions.net. KEARNEY GUN/Coin Show, April 18th and 19th, Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Expo Center, Fairgrounds, Kearney, NE.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. Rooted. But Not Standing Still.
AFFORDABLE PRESS Release service. Send your message to 171 newspapers across Nebraska for one low price! Call 1-800-369-2850 or www.nebpress.com for more details.
Career Opporunity
ATTN: COMPUTER Work. Work from anywhere 24/7. Up to $1,500 Part-time to $7,500/month Full-time. Training provided. www.WorkServices8.com.
Economic Development President Custer County, Nebraska The Custer Economic Development Company is seeking an Economic Development President responsible for the coordination of activities, programs and operations focused on the retention and expansion of existing businesses, attracting new businesses and creating jobs while preserving the quality of life in Custer County Nebraska. Completion of a bachelor’s degree, advanced education, training and completion of professional economic development training preferred. A combination of education and experience will be considered. Will be required to travel and work a varying schedule, including nights and weekends. Full-time salaried position. Compensation based on experience and skills. Benefit package provided. Candidate required to establish residency in Custer County within three months of employment and have a valid driver’s license. Submit cover letter, resume and 3 professional references no later than 5pm CT, Friday, May 29th, 2015. For a complete description, contact: Stuart L. Fox, Chairman • stuartf@nesb.net Custer Economic Development Corporation P.O. Box 2 • Broken Bow, NE 68822 308-870-5012 • www.custercountyne.com
VINTAGE VILLAGE Antique Mall, 2425 O Street, Lincoln, 402-742-0063. Storewide Sale! April 1-15, 10-7 Daily. 56 Dealers. New selections arrive daily! Antiques, collectibles, jewelry. RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT Outlet; new & used restaurant equipment. See www.Chillmasters.biz, call 1-800-526-7105, or stop by our Showroom to see what’s in stock for you! Sioux City, IA. MID-AMERICA FEEDYARD, Ohiowa, NE, hiring full-time feed truck driver & Yard Crew! Competitive hourly wage with benefits. Drug, background tests required. 402-295-2216. Apply: www.midamerica-feedyard.com. LAYNE SEEKING pump installers, laborers. Travel requirement and clean driving record. Layne offers benefits and wages $15 to $18 per hour. E-mail 1072@layne.com or 308-2341914. MILLWRIGHTS NEEDED: Currently looking for Millwrights with at least 1 year experience. Lots of work available. Must have own hand tools and transportation. Call 402-445-6171. BUTLER TRANSPORT Your Partner in Excellence. CDL Class A drivers needed. Sign on bonus! All miles paid. 1-800-528-7825 or www.butlertransport.com. EXPERIENCED CDL-A Driver residing east of US 281, South operations, high % drop and hook, out and back dispatch, paper logs, 3,000 miles/week. Lanny @ DTS, 402-699-3465, www.trukrrnebraska.com.
12 | The Jewish Press | April 17, 2015
ARI SHAVIT Best-selling Israeli Author, Columnist and Journalist Tw wo Lectu ures Free & Ope en to o the Co ommunitty
Thanks to a generous donation by Darlynn & Tom Fellman and Debbi & Speedy Zweiback, we are excited to host these events:
PRE ESE E N TS
Conversation with our Teens Wednesday, April 22, 6 p.m.
My Promised Land: A Personal Journey Through the History of Israel
Israel and American Jewry: Two Miracles Now Challenged Wednesday, April 22, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. Jewish Community Center
Ari Shavit is seen weekly on “Israeli News.” In addition, during the recent Gazan Operation, Ari was seen on “CNN” and other International Television. He was just contracted by HBO to create a series based on his book, “My Promised Land: The Triump and Tragedy of Israel.” Ari speaks with a modern voice of the realities of Israeli history and current Israeli life. This will be a powerful experience for our entire Omaha community.
With support from the Plains States Region of the Anti-Defamation League and The Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.