8 | The Jewish Press | April 23, 2021
Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Abby Kutler President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Mary Bachteler Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha. org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
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A safe space?
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor “A year after the filing of a federal civil rights complaint alleging an ‘unrelenting campaign of anti-Semitic harassment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,’ Shira Hanau wrote for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “the school is set to have a new dorm specifically for Jewish students. While the dorm is meant to be a place where Shabbat and kosher observance will be easier, it is also intended to be a response to the recent spate of anti-Semitic incidents on campus.” In and of itself, a safe space in which to practice ritual and be unapologetically Jewish, it sounds attractive. Easier to clean during Passover and such. The laid-back feeling of a Friday afternoon that leads to shared Shabbat dinners. Being at least somewhat on the same page can help college students create their own family- I remember what that was like. But: when it is in response to an alleged pattern of anti-Semitism, including swastika graffiti, vandalism at Jewish centers and harassment of Jewish and pro-Israel students, the narrative becomes a little ugly. “If there’s one place on campus you want to be comfortable, it’s at least where you go to sleep at night,” Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, director of the Illini Chabad, said. He’s right, of course. And yet, the idea that Jewish students need their own building just to feel safe on campus makes me sad. Coming together and living together because you want to is an entirely different thing than doing so in response to hate. Is a space still ‘safe’ if it is specifically de-
signed to let some people in but keep others out? Why do the Jewish students need to find safety in a separate building because others can’t contain their hate? Are you turning over the rest of campus to the anti-Semites, pretending everything is okay because the Jewish students are safe in their own building?
vandalism and outright violence. And maybe I’m just irritated that we still live in a world where ‘safe spaces’ are necessary. A world where I cannot trust that when our children go off to college, we can’t assume they will be just fine. If there is anti-Semitism on college campuses, there is racism, there is islamophobia, there is homopho-
A view of the entrance to the University of Illinois at at Urbana-Champaign Credit: Beyond My Ken/ Wikimedia Commons
I’m overreacting, of course. No Jewish students are being forced to live in that building. It’s not a ghetto. And yet, the hint of separation doesn’t smell right. Any time we respond to hate by retreating, by isolating ourselves and pulling away from those we should have a dialogue with, we do the world a disservice. We also make it easier for anti-Semitism to go unchecked. If there are those who think it’s okay to spray paint swastikas on buildings, what jokes do they make when nobody’s watching? What conversations take place when there is nobody there to object? If we want to fight the hate, shouldn’t we be present when that hate manifests? If we speak up at the jokes and inappropriate comments, we might be able to change the tone before it leads to
bia and there is xenophobia, because I don’t believe that anti-Semitism ever operates in a vacuum. When one group experiences hate, others follow— it’s how those things work. What’s next, separate housing for every group that experiences hate? Where does it stop? How about we just demand that the haters behave better? One of the biggest learning opportunities at any university comes from the people you meet and interact with. Yes, that diploma and those grades are important, but the life lessons you gain from meeting people who are nothing like you is much greater. The safest space, after all, is the space where we can all be at home, no matter who we are, what we believe, or where we come from.
A shooter terrorized my favorite grocery store in Boulder. This simple Jewish prayer for dew is helping me mourn. LISA TRANK JTA The day was cold, but not too cold — typical March weather for the Rocky Mountains. I was heading to Boulder to pick up one of our daughters from the University of Colorado. COVID had canceled their regular spring break, but she needed some time away from campus, so off I went. Her twin sister had opted to stay on campus. I stopped at the King Soopers in South Longmont, a town 12 miles northeast of Boulder. We’ve shopped at this store for the 21 years we’ve lived in this town. Many of the employees have been there the whole time, from the days when I’d push the bright red car cart with three kids to now, shopping for my husband and myself. This morning, I was picking up a few of our daughter’s favorite items — blueberries, Yerba Mate, fresh basil for the pesto I was planning on making for dinner that night. I arrived at her dorm and texted her. She scrambled in and we turned back toward home. She had an essay due and lots of studying for calculus and chemistry. She was excited to see our dog and sleep in her own bed. As we pulled off the Diagonal Highway, the thin stretch of road that connects Longmont to Boulder, my daughter said, “I got an alert. There’s an active shooter at the South Boulder King Soopers.” I drove the two or three miles home with a nervous pit growing in my stomach. I turned on my computer and proceeded to watch in horror. I called our other daughter. She was safe and very anxious. I began to make plans to head back to pick her up when a second area of Boulder was being investigated and shut down. I realized I couldn’t get to her. I told her to stay in her room. A few hours later, the extent of the tragedy was made public: Ten people, including three store employees and a Boulder police officer, were dead. Ten people killed in less than one hour. While shopping and working at a grocery store. Friends on Facebook who live in Boulder marked themselves “safe.” I received texts and calls asking
if we were OK. I marked myself and my family “safe.” Boulder, Sandy Hook, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and every That was 10 days ago. place in our country hit by gun violence, we often My husband and I lived in Boulder for six years turn to prayer for comfort and answers, as well as before moving to Longmont, and have shopped at to honor those lost. that very King Soopers store many, many times. I tried to pray, but the vastness of the grief caused Our family has enjoyed celebratory brunches at a cafe located in the same shopping center, and we have friends who live in that area. One of our daughters worked at a grocery store last summer. Two days after the shooting, my husband and I brought our daughter back to campus. We arrived in Boulder at sunset, Dew drops on a leaf Credit: Getty Images pink and orange clouds converging over the Flatirons. For the first by unmitigated gun violence is overwhelming. I time since the shooting, I cried. Brief, hot tears jut- had no idea where to start. ted down my cheeks. Perhaps I could simply pray for a drop of dew. We took both girls to get something to eat, This morning, I woke up to snow dusting on dropped them back at school and drove back to grass that is trying hard to turn green and tulips Longmont in silence. pushing themselves out of the hard, cold earth. It’s In the days that followed, I went through the mo- not dew, but that will come. Spring is short in the tions and prepared for Passover. In the entry of our Rocky Mountains. King Soopers were three simple flower arrange“Dew, precious dew to make the mountains ments on a folding table with a handwritten sign: sweet...” “In their honor.” Lisa Trank is a writer of Jewish children’s litI bought daffodils, tulips and yahrzeit candles erature, personal essays and lifestyle articles. along with whatever was on my list. I went home, Her work has been published in Tablet, Kveller, cooked soup and kugel, and set the seder table. Tiferet Journal and the Jewish Women’s Archive, The next morning, I received an email message among others. She is a member of the Society titled “A Prayer for Dew.” I opened the email and for Children Book Writers and Illustrators. She read the prayer. I knew we prayed for rain on lives in Longmont, Colorado with a constant Sukkot, but dew on Passover? view of the Rocky Mountains. “Dew, precious dew, unto Your land forlorn …” The views and opinions expressed in this article are When faced with such a huge sense of loss, espe- those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the cially for a quiet and connected community like views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
