Life cycles

IN MEMORIAM

HELEN RIFKIN

Helen Rifkin passed away on April 14, 2021 in Omaha. Services were held April 16, 2021 at Temple Israel Cemetery and was officiated by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

She was preceded in death by husbands, Ben Rifkin and Dave Chorney; her mother, Margaret Handler; sisters, Betty Hoppe and Lauralee Renn; and nephew, Daniel Renn.

She is survived by son, David Rifkin, sons and daughters-inlaw, Gary and Caryn Rifkin, and Tom and Diane Rifkin; grandchildren: Laura and Sean Banks, Jennifer and Mike Bryan, and Annie Rifkin; great-grandsons: Sam and Jake Bryan, and Sawyer Banks; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Paishe and Phyliss Rifkin; nephews and nieces-in-law: Rick and Holly Renn, Bob and Debby, Bill and Susan, Ed and Deby and Don and Melissa Rifkin and their families; and cousins, Bernie and Susan Handler.

Mom was a strong and loving woman who lived a full, happy and accomplished life. Few knew that she graduated Central High School at 16 and earned a scholarship to the Kansas City School of Art. Unfortunately, her mother thought leaving home at 16 wasn’t a good idea.

Instead Mom married the love of her life Ben. She enjoyed what she said was the happiest part of her life raising her family. She devoted decades of her life to volunteering, including being President of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society. She worked for the JCC coordinating JCAC, the singles programs and Visions, the senior program.

Mom enjoyed many deep and meaningful friendships over her lifetime. When the phone rang it was usually for Mom from a friend seeking advice or a shoulder to lean on. She was truly a special person who will long be remembered by those she knew.

Memorials may be made to Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, Nebraska Humane Society, or the organization of the donor’s choice.

ALLEN JAY ROSS

Allen Jay Ross passed away peacefully on April 17, 2021, at age 88. A private family memorial service was held in Omaha. Burial will be in New York. A celebration of Allen’s life will be held in Omaha at a later date.

He is survived by his wife, Judy Zweiback, daughters and sonsin-law, Alison Ross Green and Jonathan Green and Amanda Ross Bacon and Zack Bacon; grandchildren: Oliver Green, Charlie Green and Sam Green; extended family: Jeff Zweiback, Tim Zweiback, Wendy Burkhardt, Amy Zweiback, Zane Brzezinski, Sydney Burkhardt, Max Zweiback and Mia Zweiback. He was a very proud uncle and a special cousin who kept in constant touch with his family. He amassed a wealth of meaningful friendships from his youth to the present. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Allen was the finest of men who found beauty and joy in every aspect of his life. He was a proud veteran of the US Navy He was a respected and successful businessman. He valued family over everything else in life.

JACK SHRAGO

Jack Shrago passed away on March 31, 2021. Private family services were held on April 1, 2021.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Helene, son and daughter-in law, Michael and Melissa Shrago, grandsons: Ethan and Noah Shrago; brother, Leon Shrago; sister, Barbara Parker; brother-in-law, Murray Rose; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Renee and Louie Kazor; nieces, nephews, family and friends.

Memorials may be made to Beth Israel Synagogue or Friedel Jewish Academy.

BAR MITZVAH

MAX SILVERMAN

Max Silverman, son of Michala and Adam Silverman, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at Temple Israel. Max is an eighth-grade honor roll student at Grandview Middle School. He is a member of student council and the 2017 NMEA All-State Children’s Choir. Max is interested in baseball, football, basketball, track, playing tuba, cooking and baking. For his mitzvah project, Max is volunteering with Elkhorn Kid’s Campus. He has a brother, Cael. Grandparents are Pam and Jim Silverman of Omaha, and Wanda England of Omaha. Great-grandparents are Frances Silverman of St. Louis, MO, and Erma Imler of Lees Summit, MO.

LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

On behalf of our daughter, Ruby, Jeff and I would like to thank our Omaha Jewish community for the many kind words of support and loving kindness extended to her, and us, these past few weeks.

Since speaking on April 2, Ruby has been on the receiving end of many lovely gestures, phone calls, notes, emails and texts. Heartfelt words of apology have been offered, accepted and appreciated.

Speaking to the very emotional subject of Race always unleashes energy. May that energy last, be used productively and move us all forward with mutual respect and open hearts as we make our way along the Race line.

May Ruby’s painful, individual “incident” serve to shine light on the much bigger “issue” of Race and all it entails.

There's plenty of work to do. Jeff and I are all in. We hope you will be, too.

Shalom, Ellen Platt

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LOCAL | NATIONAL | WORLD Derek Chauvin’s conviction represents a beginning, not an end

PHILISSA CRAMER

TC Jewfolk via JTA Enzi Tanner didn’t watch the trial of Derek Chauvin. Even as the jury returned guilty verdicts Tuesday afternoon on all three counts against the former Minneapolis police officer — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — the community safety organizer at Jewish Community Action, a Minnesota social justice organization, had been thinking of issues bigger than the result. “My biggest concern before was in focusing solely on the trial, it makes us about one incident,” Tanner said. “It’s about that 9 minutes and 29 seconds on May 25. And that’s what it ends up being about and not the broader system. Even in the trial, people are arguing that Derek Chauvin is a rogue police officer, that he’s not typical. And he is.” For Tanner, a Jew of color, the state of policing and public safety in the country is the intersection of his work as an organizer and who he is as a person. And the April 11 killing of Daunte Wright by a police officer in nearby Brooklyn Center only strengthened his resolve to pursue broader efforts to transform public safety through his work at the Jewish Community Action, which shifted last year to focus squarely on responding to George Floyd’s death. (The officer in the Wright killing has been charged with manslaughter.) “This last week actually provided more opportunities and more clarity than before,” he said. “Before the murder of Daunte Wright and around the trial, we [were] already planning and trying to work on some political education pieces on what’s next.” Fueled by a belief that fear is holding back needed changes in policing, Tanner is putting together a workshop for his organization on anti-Black racism, fear and the need to be secure. “We have a narrative in this country about anti-Black racism and fear, and it allows for that confusion between security and actually being secure,” he said. “Fear is a physical reaction, it’s not just a psychological thing. When we watch scary movies, we actually react to that, so getting in tune with that, and our initial reactions, I just think that’s important.”

A virtual training on Sunday started tackling some of the difficult conversations that come around the topic of reimagining public safety. A portion of the training included about 20 minutes of breakout rooms with scenarios of how to practice having conversations about policing. One of those needed conversations is about the movement to “defund” police in Minneapolis and beyond — a term that Tanner says has a different meaning depending on whom you ask. To him, it means the middle ground between reform, which requires investing more money into police forces, and abolition, doing away with police entirely. “Folks who want to defund, it’s this middle ground. It’s saying that we have enough resources as a community to provide for what we need,” he said. “When you talk about defunding, you’re talking about reallocating, and as you’re talking about reallocating, to me it actually opens up the world to dreaming of what’s possible. How can we imagine a world in a society that we’ve never seen? And it’s scary as hell.” For Tanner, the road ahead is certain to be difficult — but it’s one that he sees traversing nonetheless as an action with a deeply Jewish antecedent. “I just keep imagining our ancestors being at the Red Sea and being like, ‘OK, you go,’ ‘No, you go first.’ And then everyone else is like, ‘This is a really bad idea, y’all. We don’t even know what’s over there. We haven’t even seen it before.’ And I feel like, in many ways, we get a chance to do this, make mistakes, learn and grow,” he said. The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday, a day after Chauvin’s conviction, that it would investigate the Minneapolis Police Department. Previous investigations have ended with agreements, known as consent decrees, between federal and local authorities to changes in policing and oversight. Regardless of the conviction, Tanner said justice isn’t done. “There is no justice,” he said, “because there is no redemption or repair in a cage.”

Read statements from Jewish organizations in Minneapolis and beyond about the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd on our website at www.omahajewishpress.com.

Enzi Tanner is the community safety organizer for Jewish

Community Action, a social justice group in Minnesota. Credit: Tanner via TC Jewfolk

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Mazal Tov, Aaron!

We are so proud of your achievements – membership in NHS, varsity letter in tennis and a Merit Award from the Band.

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Love, Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters

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