June 28, 2019

thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

this week there will be No Jewish Press published July 5. the next issue will be July 12.

LIFE&LEGACY celebrates five successful years Page A5

A unique educational model designed to help Israel’s at-risk youth Page B1

inside Spotlight Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

B3 B4 B6 B7

WWW.JEWISHOMAHA.ORG

SPoNSoReD By tHe BeNJAMiN AND ANNA e. WieSMAN FAMiLy eNDoWMeNt FuND

Ben Mazur joins Temple Israel

JU NE 2 8 , 2 0 1 9 | 2 5 SIV AN 5 7 7 9 | V O L . 9 9 | NO . 3 7 | 2 SECT IO NS | C A ND LeLi g H ti Ng | FRID AY , JU NE 2 8 , 8 : 4 3 P. M.

RBJH receives stellar rating

L

ozzie Nogg ast month, the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home learned that the facility had passed the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Survey, as well as the

petency checks, putting the proper systems in place. We have staff training year-round so when the surveyors do show up we’re ready and hopefully perform to the expected standards. In the end, the surveyors found only three minor deficiencies that have al-

Nebraska Fire Marshall’s Life Safety Inspection with flying colors again this year. “e survey process is extremely stressful for all of our staff,” said Chris Ulven, Blumkin Home Executive Director. “e surveyors are in the building for approximately 160 hours. Administration is worried about the entire process and outcome, but it’s our nurses, C.N.A.s and dietary staff that have to be observed performing their duties and that’s the truly stressful part. Surveyors stand and watch, just waiting to see a mistake in how they’re doing their job.” e surveys address everything from resident rights to building maintenance to dietary service to emergency preparedness and more. “So much goes into the process of ensuring compliance with regulations,” Ulven said, “including staff education, doing com-

ready been fixed.” According to medi care.gov, the national average for number of deficiencies issued in an annual survey is 7.6 while the Nebraska average is 7.

Jerry Nevins, RBJH Assistant Administrator, understands the survey process from the inside. “e team here at the Home performed in an exemplary manner during the entire process. I am very proud of how all of our staff handled themselves during this very stressful time.”

Teamwork is paramount at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. “Everyone on staff — nursing, social services, dietary, activities, housekeeping, maintenance — works together to meet our residents’ needs,” said Natalie Osborne, Blumkin Home Nurse Manager. “But I will give a special pat on the See Rose Blumkin Jewish Home page A3

Sharon Nazarian, to be special guest at ADL-CRC Fundraiser

PAM MoNSky Community Development Liaison, ADL-CRC e ADL-CRC is thrilled to announce that Sharon Nazarian, the Senior VP of International Affairs for ADL, will be our special guest at the ADL-CRC’s “Rosé at the Rose” Fundraiser on Sunday, July 28, from 3-5 p.m. at the Rose eater in downtown Omaha. Following the event, an intimate VIP dinner will be held at 6 p.m. at Stirnella in the Blackstone District. Tickets for the fundraiser, featuring a Rosé wine tasting, silent auction and live music, are $50. Tickets to the VIP dinner are $100.

In her role as Senior VP of Interna-

Sharan Nazarian tional Affairs, Ms. Nazarian leads ADL’s work fighting anti-Semitism and hate globally and also oversees ADL’s Israel office.

Ms. Nazarian holds a Master’s and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees from the University of Southern California in the field of Political Science, with a specialization in Political Economy and Economic Development. She is also founder of the

Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA and Chair of its Advisory Board.

Ms. Nazarian is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her international policy and foreign affairs work has included fact finding missions to Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, and South Sudan, election monitoring in Ukraine, and academic exchanges in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Our ADL regional offices are at the heart of our mission, leading the charge across our country in the fight against hate,” said Ms. Nazarian. “I am always excited to bring the wide scope of ADL’s International Affairs work in support of Jewish communities literally around the globe such as in Europe, Latin America and of course our Israel Office and connect it to the immediacy and intimacy of meeting community members in our regions. I am thrilled to make my first visit to Omaha’s Heartland and spend time with everyone in the Plains States Region.”

See ADL-CRC Fundraiser page A4

CASSANDRA WeiSeNBuRgeR Director of Communications, Temple Israel Ben Mazur will officially join Temple Israel as our Director of Congregational Learning on July 1. In this role, Ben will oversee youth education and engagement for kids of all ages. His work will include running our religious school, cre-

Ben Mazur

ating multi-generational family learning experiences, overseeing our youth groups, continuing to grow our Temple Tots program, and nurturing Temple Israel’s relationship with our college students locally and beyond.

“Ben is a creative, innovative, warm, and engaging educator who is uniquely suited for this important position on our team. He is widely regarded by his colleagues and students as a thoughtful, easy-going, enthusiastic and inspiring role model who is deeply committed to Jewish life and learning,” said Rabbi Brian Stoller.

When Ben visited Temple Israel in March for his interview, he connected beautifully with our congregants. He sang with our Hebrew-school students and invited them to write personal prayers to God, led our teens in a fun and engaging discussion and creative writing activity, and challenged our adults to think differently about the nature of the soul.

“Ben comes to us with a deep knowledge of the best practices in education. I was excited about the way he talked about both formal and informal learning.

I look forward to watching how he will work with our professional team, parents, and students to help us create a new vision for our religious school,” said Temple Israel President Andie Gordman.

As the Director of Youth Engagement at Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara, CA for the last seven years, Ben has designed and implemented creative educational programs for middle and high-school students, mentored teachers and youth leaders, and boosted post-b’nai mitzvah youth engagement by 75 percent. Ben is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Jewish education at Hebrew Union College’s Executive Master’s Program for synagogue educators.

He is respected by his teachers and classmates for his curiosity, insight, and vision.

See Ben Mazur page A2

A2 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

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Temple Israel welcomes Cantor Joanna Alexander CAssAndrA Weisenburger Director of Communications, Temple Israel arlier this year, Temple Israel was excited to announce the selection of Cantor Joanna Alexander to succeed Cantor Wendy Shermet who retired in May after serving our congregation with grace and distinction since 2001.

“Cantor Alexander will be an outstanding addition to our Temple Israel team and we know that she is the right cantor to lead us into the future.

An experienced and talented cantor known for her warmth and sincerity, her beautiful singing voice, and her energetic presence, Cantor Alexander will bring her stunning musical range and her vision of engaging, participatory, and inspiring music to our congregation,” said Rabbi Brian Stoller. “She has built a reputaJoanna Alexander tion as a dedicated and reliable clergy partner, a loving pastoral caregiver, and a skilled leader of innovation in ways that honor and affirm tradition.”

Cantor Alexander also enjoys teaching children to love Jewish music, is passionate about helping teens develop a Jewish ethical approach to navigating life’s challenges. She is eager to build relationships with them as a teacher in our high school.

As an active partner in interfaith work in New Jersey, she is inspired by the Tri-Faith Initiative and has creative ideas for how music can enhance this sacred work.

“When Cantor Alexander came to visit Temple Israel, our Cantor Search Committee felt an immediate connection with her. It was easy for her to adapt her style to the different groups she met with. It was great watching her lead services with Rabbi Stoller and Rabbi Berezin, and I enjoyed her teaching,” said Temple Israel President Andie Gordman. Cantor Alexander was recommended unanimously by the Cantor Search Committee.

Cantor Alexander will come to us from Temple Rodeph Torah in Marlboro, New Jersey, where she has served since 2008.

“I’m very excited to come to Temple Israel and work with everyone there. My current congregation has around 280 families and I am definitely looking forward to joining a bigger and more professionalized community. I didn’t grow up at a large congregation and this will be my first time working

in one, so I am both excited and nervous. Working at Temple Israel will provide a lot of new and exciting challenges and I know I will learn a lot from Rabbi Stoller and Rabbi Berezin,” said Cantor Alexander. “I have already had a very lovely time planning for the High Holy Days with them and beginning the family High Holy Days programming with Director of Congregational Learning, Ben Mazur. It’s been really nice that my colleagues and I are already on the same page and thinking along the same lines for our vision for the future.”

“I’m also very much looking forward to getting to know the people in the community. Everyone I’ve spoken with really seems to love Omaha (and their synagogue) so I look forward to experiencing the city through what everyone loves about it and make it my own home. I’m happy to hear from everyone and would love to get to know as many people as possible, so please reach out and to schedule a coffee or lunch,” said Cantor Alexander. “I only ask for your patience in remembering so many new names!”

Join our Temple Israel community on Friday, July 5 at 6 p.m., in welcoming Cantor Alexander at her first Shabbat service as a member of our clergy team! This service will be the perfect opportunity to meet Cantor Alexander and get to know her as a person and also her style as a musician, cantor, and worship leader. She, her husband Jacob, and their children Brianna (8), Evelyn (8), and Brian (5) are beyond excited to join our community and to meet you!

Ben Mazur

Continued from page A1 “Dalia and I are excited to move to Omaha and begin this new chapter in our lives. The Temple Israel community seems ready for something new and this is a prime opportunity for innovation. I’m excited to get to know the community and I will always have an open door, so please stop by and share your thoughts and feelings about the synagogue or the community as a whole with me,” said Ben. “Coming from California, we’re excited to experience all the seasons again and Omaha is much more accessible to the rest of the country, including my family in North Carolina.”

“We are very fortunate to be welcoming two very talented individuals to our professional team, and we look forward to integrating Cantor Joanna Alexander and Ben into the life of our congregation,” added Andie.

Join us as we welcome Ben Mazur to our team as Director of Congregational Learning during Cantor Alexander’s first Shabbat service at Temple Israel on Friday, July 5 at 6 p.m.

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Trade School Scholarships available for 2019-20 academic year

An anonymous donor in our community has created two trade school scholarship opportunities, up to $5,000 each, to go towards the 201920 academic year.

Not every student who advances into higher education signs up for a four-year curriculum. Some high school graduates seek job training that lasts a year or two and then places them in the workforce. Such opportunities include, but are not restricted to: Information Technology, Construction, Industrial and Transportation and Horticulture. It is not too late to apply for the upcoming school year!

Qualified students who have unmet needs regarding tuition for either a two-year trade school program or a trade certificate program can contact the Jewish Press at avandekamp@jewishomaha.org for more information.

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home

Continued from page a1 back to those staff members who had to be observed by the surveyors while performing cares like dispensing meds, taking vitals, tending to wounds and toileting needs. It’s very difficult to provide care to the residents with a surveyor watching you.

Even though you provide that care multiple times every day, when someone is standing over your shoulder it feels like you’re under the microscope. It can be very intimidating.”

Current CMS regulations require facilities to learn more about who each resident is as a person, provide greater support for resident preferences, and give residents increased control and choice. “At the Blumkin Home we’ve always strived to know each of our residents on a personal basis, to honor their preferences and choices, to include them in decisions about their care,” said Shelly Fox, Director of Admissions and Community Outreach at Jewish Social Services.

“Judaism considers caring for the community’s elders a sacred trust, and the Blumkin Home focuses on that responsibility 365 days a year. “We are confident and proud to share the manner in which we respect and care for our Residents,” Fox continued. “It was gratifying to have the Nebraska state surveyors make a special effort to convey to us how impressed they were with the attention we provide.” “e staff at RBJH take a lot of pride in the quality of service we provide and how we care for people,” Ulven said. “Everyone plays a role in our day to day success and in our survey results. We truly have very caring and very dedicated staff.”

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The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | a3

community

Jewish Senior Outreach is here to help

sheLLy FOx trusted professional for basic home repairs. Shelly Fox is availDirector of Admissions, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home able to meet with community members and their families to Director of Community Outreach, Jewish Senior Outreach talk about need and helpful interventions or referrals.

In the Omaha Jewish community, we take care of our own.

At Jewish Senior Outreach, our goal is to provide services In doing so, the goal of Jewish Senior Outreach (JSO) is to to our elderly that will keep them safe, healthy and a vital part serve the needs of our community elders.

Last year, through the generosity of Ed and Sally Z”L Malashock, the Malashock Jewish Senior Outreach Fund was established at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. is fund is intended to help the Jewish seniors who are living on their own and would benefit from assistance in their efforts to stay living independently.

JSO connects with the older adults in the community, we get to know them and offer opportunities for them to stay mentally stimulated and socially and physically active.

We also help connect seniors Larry rawlings, providing transportation to appropriate services and Michael Morris, our Meals on Wheels driver making a delivery for a community member programs to meet their physical and psychological necessities as well as their general well-being. of the Jewish community. Achieving this goal is our collective Maggie Conti, Director of Outreach Programs, offers a responsibility. multitude of social and educational opportunities in which If you are interested in any of the mentioned services or community members may participate. ese programs take have another need, please contact Shelly Fox, Director of place at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, elsewhere on the Community Outreach at 402.334.6532, sfox@rbjh.com.

JCC campus as well as off campus in the Omaha community.

For information about Outreach Programs or to get on the mailing list, please contact Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521, mconti@rbjh.com.

Some of the services offered through JSO are: movies, musical and educational programs; transportation; home delivB’nai B’rith BreadBreakers ered meals; handyman services; Social Work case B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers meets weekly on Wednesdays at the management and Health Maintenance Clinic.

Rose Blumkin Jewish Home auditorium from noon to 1 p.m. For Our transportation program is for community seniors to specific speaker information, please email events on the JCC campus as well as transportation to medical Gary.Javitch@Gmail.com, Breadbreakers chairman. For more inappointments. We encourage folks to let us know as far in adformation or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or vance as possible so we are able to accommodate them. e bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. new handyman program was created to provide a known,

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a4 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

community Catchball is coming

J

ESthEr Katz Partnership2GETHER Coordinator oin the Catchball Craze! Next week the Jewish Federation of Omaha in conjunction with the JCC and our Partnership with Israel will host an Israeli women’s delegation who will bring Sports2 GETHER to the Omaha Community. ese women represent the largest social sports group in Israel – Catchball - which has recently expanded to Austria, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and the United States.

Catchball is a variation of volleyball which involves catching, passing and throwing a regulation size volleyball. Catchball is open to all women in the community who enjoy sports activities regardless of age or experience. Class sessions will be available on Monday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 2 at 10 a.m. and/or noon in the JCC gymnasium culminating in a final game at 6 p.m. Participants are invited to attend a dinner following the final game at 7:30 p.m. Please make reservations through Esther Katz, ekatz@jccomaha.org. You only need to attend one of the classes, but are more than welcome to come to all three.

We are excited to host four very special women from Israel who will teach, coach and play with our Omaha participants.

Ariel Barqui made Aliya to Israel coming from Argentina as a child. She works in the city of Karmiel for Keyso providing IT support for customers throughout the world. She is the mother of two and comes from a family of sports lovers with a brother who teaches high school sports and a sister who has played for the national soccer team of Israel for the past 15 years. Bracha Cohen is a mother of six who recently completed her medical residency and is beginning an internship in OB/GYN. Bracha has played Catchball for over a year and enjoys it for the exercise and the opportunity to meet and socialize with other women. Lior Gluska lives in moshav MeiAmi and founded the Catchball-Friendship League in her area. She coaches a number of teams in the Western Galilee.

Lior’s goal is to connect Israeli communities from different backgrounds and cultures through sports, art and dance.

Traveling to Omaha from one of the most beautiful spots in Israel is Limor Matok who lives with her husband and two sons in Kfar Rosh Hanikra. Besides working for a large automobile company for the past 18 years, Limor retired from professional basketball three years ago and found a new sport in Catchball.

We encourage women from throughout the community to take advantage of this unique sport and social experience designed specifically for women! is is only the beginning.

aDL-CrC Fundraiser

Continued from page a1 ADL’s International Affairs Division pursues ADL’s mission around the globe, fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry and prejudice, promoting the security of Jewish communities worldwide, and working for a safe and democratic State of Israel. e International Affairs staff, based in New York, Washington, D.C., and Jerusalem, works with partners around the world with programs and resources on anti-Semitism, hate crimes, cyber hate, and anti-bias education. It also works to counter the delegitimization of Israel.

ADL places a special emphasis on Europe, Latin America and Israel, but advocates for many Jewish communities around the world facing anti-Semitism.

Chair people for “Rosé at the Rose” are Toba Cohen-Dun-

ning and Eric Dunning, honorary chairs are Carol and Alan Parsow. Event sponsors include Kutak Rock, LLP; David Kohll; Omaha Public Schools Foundation; Carol and Alan Parsow, Carol Bloch, Broadmoor Management Company; Belle Terre Vineyard & Reception Hall; Momenta Pain Care; Abrahams, Kaslow and Cassman; Bloom Companion Care; W.H. Ferer Co.; Julie & Jim Fried; Ron Giller; Sheila and Gary Nachman; Stephanie Shakirhev and sons; Kathleen Starr; Danny Cohn and Andrew Miller; Becki Brenner; Gary and Lisa Epstein; Andrew and Kimberly Robinson and Dr. Joel and Mrs. Nancy Schlessinger.

Wine sponsor is the Gudgel family.

For more information about “Rosé at the Rose” and the VIP dinner, please visit our website at Omaha.adl.org.

Omaha Chamber Music Society Summer Concert Series The Omaha Chamber Music Society has announced its 2019 Summer Concert Series, with four performances taking place over four weekends at the Omaha Conservatory of Music. Each concert features musicians familiar to the Omaha community, including artists from the Omaha Symphony, Omaha Conservatory faculty members, and friends to the Omaha Classical Music community. The concerts all take place on Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m., with pre-concert talks happening at 2:10 p.m. in the Recital Hall across from the Conservatory Concert Hall.

PIaNO trIOS: BEEthOVEN’S ARCHDUKE: June 30, 2:30 p.m.

Beethoven’s beloved Trio, dedicated to his aristocratic patron, Archduke Rudolph, is at once noble of spirit, warm, and brilliant.

You’ll also be treated to a bit of Café Music by American composer Paul Schoenfield, who called the piece “high-class dinner music”!

Opening the festivities is Rebecca Clarke’s impassioned Trio that in-

vites you to track its theme through colorful variations.

PIaNO DUOS: ChrIStI aND JENNIFEr rEtUrN: July 7, 2:30 p.m.

What could be grander than two grand pianos played by stellar pianists?! That’s what awaits you when Christi and Jennifer return to amaze us with their artistry. Come along on a musical tour of the European continent, extending from Spain to Russia and including Chabrier’s sultry, zesty España; Shostakovich’s propulsive Suite, Op. 6; and Chopin’s dazzling Rondo, his only work for two pianos.

Tickets are available online at https://www.o mahachambermusic.org/ticketsbeta/ as well as the door at each concert. The Omaha Chamber Music Society is a 501c(3) nonprofit, performs and produces over 16 concerts each season with partners such as KANEKO, Gallery 1516, and the JCC, as well as engages in community service and education programs with Josie Harper Hospice House and Omaha Public Schools.

Planning for possible long-term care at home or in a facility does not need to be so stressful. Headlines in the press of large premium increases for existing LTC insurance and frustrating claims problems have caused many insureds to wonder just how good their coverage is. Here are a few simple things to remember.

LTC premiums have increased especially on policies over 10 years old. The assumptions insurance companies made about their policies simply made their policies underpriced. Most insureds did not remember or were never told premiums on their policies could happen. Ask your agent to help you understand your options to hold down premiums. Your choices are easier to make if you have a trusted advisor review them with you.

Today’s policies are based on more experience thus it is believed they are less likely to have huge premium increases in the future. Discuss that issue with your agent and what you might do should you

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Retirement should be a balance between your retirement dreams and prudent planning for the many financial and health risks that inevitably come with aging. Finding a financial advisor is not always easy. Look for an advisor with an impeccable reputation and the experience to guide you through your retirement years. Ask your advisor for references to clients you could call. It’s your hard- earned savings and your hopes for a happy retirement that are at stake.

Doing some extra homework is always wise.

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The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | A5

LIFE&LEGACY

O

n June 11, 100 people gathered to celebrate the successful completion of year five of the LIFE&LEGACY initiative and to honor the donors, lay leaders and volunteers. The keynote speaker was Bruce DeBoskey, JD, who is a former trial lawyer and Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Mountain States Office. Presently, Bruce is the leader of the DeBoskey Group and is a nationally-syndicated award winning philanthropic strategist. We were very proud of all nine of our Partner organizations all of whom achieved their LIFE&LEGACY goals and received a $500.00 check from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. The theme for the event was Continuing to Plant for Tomorrow, Creating a Legacy Today.

A6 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

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calendar JuLY 2019

All events held at the Jewish Community Center unless otherwise noted. This calendar does not include all community events. For a complete listing, visit the Federation’s website: www.jewishomaha.org (click on calendar). To keep calendar accurate, call Pat Anson at 402.334.8200. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the accuracy of the events.

FRIDAY, JUNE 28 JCC Extreme Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Beth EL Shabbat & Shakespeare On the Green, 6 p.m. at Elmwood Park

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SUNDAY, JULY 14 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El MONDAY, JULY 15 Jewish History: Your History with Rabbi Shlomo, noon at Beth Israel

MONDAY, JULY 1 WEDNEDAY, JULY 17 Jewish History: Your History with Rabbi Shlomo, P2G: Academic Symposium, All day event, TBD noon Jewish Business Leaders, 7:30 a.m. at Happy Hollow Country Club TUESDAY, JULY 2 Breadbreakers and Speaker, noon at RBJH Jennifer Kay Memorial, 5:30 p.m. at Beth El THURSDAY, JULY 18 WEDNESDAY, JULY 3 Connecting with Our Faith with Rabbi Ari, Breadbreakers and Speaker, noon at RBJH 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Israeli Dancing, 7 p.m. at Beth El THURSDAY, JULY 4 Connecting with Our Faith with Rabbi Ari, FRIDAY, JULY 19 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH FRIDAY, JULY 5 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH

SATURDAY, JULY 20 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel

SATURDAY, JULY 6 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel

SUNDAY, JULY 21 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Israeli Cooking Workshop, 4:30 p.m. at Beth Israel

655 North 114th Street • Omaha, NE Mon. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - close • Fri. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sat. 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. • Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 13 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel Relay for Life of Greater Omaha, 5 p.m. at Stinson Park

SUNDAY, JULY 7 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El

MONDAY, JULY 22 MONDAY, JULY 8 Jewish History: Your History with Rabbi Shlomo, Musical Theater Camp 2019, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. noon at Beth Israel JCC Active Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

IHE Governance Council Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 Jewish History: Your History with Rabbi Shlomo, Breadbreakers and Speaker, noon at RBJH noon at Beth Israel JCC Dance Open House, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY, JULY 9 Musical Theater Camp 2019, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

JCC Active Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

ADL-CRC Board Meeting, noon WEDNESDAY, JULY 10 Musical Theater Camp 2019, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

JCC Active Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

Breadbreaker and Speaker, noon at RBJH THURSDAY, JULY 11 Musical Theater Camp 2019, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

JCC Active Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

Connecting with Our Faith with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel FRIDAY, JULY 12 Musical Theater Camp 2019, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

JCC Active Sports Camp, 9 a.m.

Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH Temple Israel Shabbat Comes to You, 4 p.m. at Remington Heights

THURSDAY, JULY 25 Connecting with Our Faith with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m. at Beth Israel Beth El Jazz on the Green at Turner Park, 5 p.m.

J Camp Overnight, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, JULY 26 Star Deli, 11:30 a.m. at RBJH SATURDAY, JULY 27 Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. at Temple Israel SUNDAY, JULY 28 Torah Study, 10 a.m. at Beth El Beth El StormChaser Baseball Game, 12:30 p.m. at Werner Park MONDAY, JULY 29 Jewish History: Your History with Rabbi Shlomo, noon at Beth Israel Friedel Board Meeting, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 Breadbreakers and Speaker, noon at RBJH

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Allen Passer founded United Services in Omaha in 1966. While helping his parents run a neighborhood grocery store at a young age, he learned the importance of treating others with honesty and respect. With those values, he founded United Services. Allen’s son Mark Passer began working for his dad at the age of 16. As the present owner, Mark has added additional exterior services, plus interior renovating, to create a full service home

The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | a7

improvement company.

Mark attended Westside High School - graduating class of ‘86 - and was active in athletics, wrestling being his #1 sport. Mark continued to wrestle while attending the University of Nebraska Omaha, before joining United Services full time. Mark says, “I’m happy to be able to continue my father’s vision and work every day to honor his legacy.”

Mark is pleased to have as part of the United Services team his sister Sheri Dietrich and longtime friend Jason Franklin, who sits on the board directors for the JCC. In memory of Allen Passer, who loved spending time at the JCC, United Services will donate $50 to the JCC for every purchase made by Jewish Press subscribers in 2019.

For a free estimate for your next home improvement, call Mark at 402.572.1144

from head to toe: A guide to well-being for seniors

Everyone needs take a head-to-toe approach to much larger problem. As we age, common and nonstaying healthy and happy, no matter your age. threatening causes hinder our ability to remember.

What do we mean by “head-to-toe”? Well, people Talking about your loved one’s forgetfulness or tend to think of the mind and the body separately. a change in their “normal” can seem like an intimiBut mental health is unquestionably tied to physidating feat. But having these conversations will cal health. Even the smallest change can influence enable you to establish a baseline in defining what your quality of life. Preparedness and forethought “normal” means for your loved one and can help can help you, and your family, take these changes you identify changes down the road. The Comfort in stride and adapt to a new normal.

Keepers’ website has valuable resources that will By definition, “well-being” is the state of being aide you in having these conversations: comfortable, happy, and healthy. And because www.comfortkeepers.com/omaha-ne. aging is an individual journey, no two people’s If you think your loved one needs help adjusting “normal” is the same—in fact, the staff at Comto a new “normal” at home, it is best to talk with fort Keepers is constantly forming new definitions trusted resources. Let your loved one know you of “normal” based on our clients. care about them. Then, discuss the situation with Another thing that varies by person is forgetful- your family and your family’s doctor. You can also ness. Forgetfulness is a common aspect of aging. reach out to a reputable in-home care provider, like It’s easy for young people to brush off memory Comfort Keepers®, for a consultation: loss, but for a senior, it can feel like the start of a 402.991.9880.

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community

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JFS Vocational Concierge Michelle Sorgenfrei-clark reetings from the office of the Vocational Concierge at Jewish Family Services! Summer is upon us and that means that we look forward to longer days filled with sunshine and nights spent with family and friends and outdoor activities. Summer also means that school is out and many youth are looking for part-time employment.

Jewish Family Services has a program that exists to assist people find employment/volunteer positions, remove barriers to obtaining employment, and provide general assistance to any person, regardless of age, level of education or experience find the employment they are seeking.

Before I tell you more about the program, let me tell you a little bit more about me as I am new to the position of Vocational Concierge. My name is Michelle and I am a Nebraska born and raised gal. I was born and raised in Grand Island, NE and moved to Omaha to attend UNO, where I obtained both my BSW and MSW. I have practiced social work for my entire career. My experiences in social work include working in child welfare and with the geriatric population, as well as medical social work. I previously worked at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home for about three months in 2017 and for about two months in 2019 in the position of discharge social worker. I worked in this posi-

tion temporarily as the permanent discharge social worker was on leave. is experience, which was a wonderful and fulfilling, led me to wanting to remain involved in work on the campus. When I saw the position of Vocational Concierge advertised. I thought it was

a wonderful opportunity to continue to be a part of this community!

I am excited to continue to expand this program in order to serve as many people as possible! According to the Nebraska Department of Labor, Nebraska’s unemployment rate in April of 2019 was 2.9%. Nebraska is fortunate to have such a low unemployment rate; but if you are one of the 2.9% that is unemployed, that statistic doesn’t mean much. ere are various barriers that can lead to difficulty in obtaining employment. e Vocational Concierge exists to reduce barriers and provide support in obtaining employment. If anyone in the Jewish Community is in need of assistance with obtaining employment, please reach out to me via email at msorgen frei-clark@jfsomaha.com or by phone at 402.334.6495. Please also call if you just have questions or want more information. I look forward to working with you!

a8 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

community

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Peaceful Coexistence: Schwalb Center in Morocco PatriCk MCNaMara Director of Schwalb Center, UNO he University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies sponsored a new study abroad course on Peaceful Coexistence: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Morocco. Dr. Patrick McNamara, the center’s current director, designed and taught the course. Seven UNO students and two community members joined the trip. Patrick stated/commented, “I wanted to lead this study abroad because my predecessor, Moshe Gershovich, loved Morocco and tried to offer this course before he got sick then passed away. So much of what we did and saw was inspired by Moshe, and his memory lives on there.” e theme of the course resonated with the people of Morocco, government officials, and diplomats. We had a highlevel briefing at the US Embassy in Rabat that included the acting lead political counselor, the embassy press attaché, and Cristian Martinez-Lusane, the US Foreign Service Officer who authors the annual report on religious freedom in Morocco. She noted/commented, “Moroccans will love your class because the title and topic of peaceful coexistence is exactly what they promote.” e course included many highlights of incredible Jewish history, such as in Fez where we visited the Jewish cemetery, restored synagogue in the “Mellah” or Jewish Quarter, and Al Qarawiyine the world’s oldest continuously operating university – started by a Muslim woman in 859 CE – where the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides studied.

The group learned that there are tens of thousands of practicing Christians in Morocco. Since the visit of Pope Francis in March 2019, Moroccan Christian converts have felt more included. One of the leading public intellectuals in Morocco, Mohamed Chtatou, who joined the group for lunch at the famous Rick’s Café in Casablanca, said that “as more Moroccan Chris-

tians come out of the closet, they will bring a new upli to Christianity here.” Dr. Chtatou shared that the Maliki Islam that is practiced in Morocco is a more “moderate school of Islam” and tolerant of other faiths. Members of UNO group visited churches in Marrakech and Casablanca and had interesting conversations and observations of Christians during the trip.

e King of Morocco is “commander of the faithful,” and that includes Christians and Jews, not just Muslims. He takes this role seriously and is beloved by the people of Morocco because of that. We met with Imam Bouchikhi of the Katoubia Mosque, the largest and most famous in Marrakech, who is a leader in the Moroccan-sponsored training in moderate Islamic thought for hundreds of Moroccan and other African imams. He told us that the reason for peaceful coexistence is that King Mohammed VI provides “political stability and freedom to establish and worship at mosques, churches and synagogues.” He also pointed out that the King recently gave orders and financial support to restore 13 synagogues and confirmed that there is no ban on (personal) conversion to Christianity in Morocco. e rich Jewish history has a reward in the form of tourism.

She’s always been the independant type. We aim to keep her that way.

We call our approach Interactive Caregiving™, which keeps our clients mentally and physically engaged while focusing on their needs.

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We heard estimates of 75,000 Israelis a year visiting Morocco.

Aer the founding of Israel, most of the Moroccan Jews made aliyah and moved to the new state. e Jewish population of Morocco went from roughly 300,000 in 1948 to about 3,000 today. In Israel, Moroccan Jews now make up the second largest diasporic group (aer Russia), numbering approximately one million and having a strong voice in Israeli politics. e Jews who return to visit Morocco are oen surprised by the warm welcome and increasingly well-preserved Jewish history there.

Dr. William Lawrence, Visiting Professor of Middle East and North Africa history, politics and international relations at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs, who was a friend and fellow scholar of Morocco with Moshe, accompanied the group. One of the students commented, “It was great to have Dr. Lawrence with us. His knowledge and contacts opened up many learning opportunities for our group.”

Dr. Lawrence observed that much of the interest in peaceful coexistence started with Moshe’s research on Moroccan Jewish history and his leading Smithsonian tours that highlighted visits to unrestored sites that few groups, if any, were visiting at the time. “Moshe really planted the seeds for the tours around this theme,” Dr. Lawrence said. “And his research on Moroccans who fought for the French in World War II was also groundbreaking and led to the Moroccan veterans eventually receiving pensions from France.”

Dr. Chris Allen, who with his wife Elaine came on the trip, recalled our last day’s visit to the Jewish Museum in Casablanca, which was run by a Muslim woman, the only Jewish museum in the Arab world and one of only two in Muslim majority countries. “At the Jewish Museum, I realized that the course title was a bit of a misnomer, because coexistence is just Morocco. We heard about when the King of Morocco was pressured by the Nazis to turn over the Jews and he refused saying, ‘We don’t have any Jews. We are all Moroccans.’”

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The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | B1

section2 COMMUNITY

A unique educational model designed to help Israel’s at-risk youth

Michael Staenberg leads the way at Yemin Orde Youth Village in Israel. education and at-risk youth differently.”

The Village Way Yemin Orde Youth Village is home, school and safe haven to 430 at-risk and immigrant youth from Ethiopia, the Former Soviet Union, France, Brazil and native Israelis.

Most of Yemin Orde’s fragile teens are first generation Israelis – or their parents are first generation Israelis - and are from Israel’s See The Village Way page B2

Katrina Swanson 402.679.3595 www.katrinamethotswanson.com

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second chance, but a third chance. e Village Way methodology’s holistic approach to education works with great success. Anyone can teach the three R’s of learning, but Village Way educators help their students achieve success not only in school but in life, as well,” Staenberg said. “I found it unique that ongoing financial and emotional support continues for graduates well into adulthood. e Village Way offers an opportunity to look at

Dar VandeVoort

BArBArA SherBIll Director of Communications, Friends of Yemin Orde On June 18, 2019, 96 graduates of Yemin Orde Youth Village’s high school, located near Haifa, will proudly stand on a stage before their peers, family and teachers to accept graduation certificates in anticipation of the next hopeful chapters of their lives.

Such an accomplishment might seem typical for American teens during annual high school graduation rituals. However, for Yemin Orde’s at-risk immigrant youth who have called the Village home for the past several years, this achievement is nothing short of a miracle. anks to an innovative educational methodology, called the Village Way, Yemin Orde’s graduates, indeed, thousands of at-risk youth across Israel, now have high hopes for a bright and productive future.

Michael Staenberg, a native Omahan and St. Louis-based businessman and philanthropist, was greatly inspired by the success of the Village Way methodology in helping at-risk and immigrant youth overcome the complex challenges they face as they strive to be productive and upright citizens of Israel. Staenberg visited Yemin Orde Youth Village for the first time in March 2019 and returned two months later to share his personal story with the 11th grade class and consult on the Village’s capital project plans.

“Yemin Orde gives at-risk youth not just a

B2 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

The Village Way

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Continued from page B1 professional, meaningful and authentic edulowest socio-economic sectors. ey have cator. ey note improvements in their ability suffered trauma from destructive childhoods to deal with daily challenges in their work, framed by elements such as extreme poverty, develop stronger relationships with their stufamily dysfunction, abandonment, loss and dents and see their at-risk youth achieve betviolence.

Israel’s Ministry of Education considers Yemin Orde a model of educational excellence. e Village’s remarkable success at transforming the lives of Israel’s at-risk youth provided a paradigm shi in the educational philosophy for Israel’s growing population of underserved adolescents. In 2006, Israel’s Ministry of Education urged Yemin Orde educators to expand the Village Way methodology nationwide.

Village Way Educational Initiatives (VWEI) launched with this mission in mind.

Since the launch, staff in 49 schools and villages throughout Israel have trained in how to apply a holistic approach to education for their challenging students. VWEI partners with youth villages, residential therapeutic communities and high schools with large populations of at-risk youth, including schools in Arab communities.

Since 2006, VWEI has impacted 18,800 youth and 2,300 educators in Israel. By 2021, VWEI hopes to partner with 61 educational communities and impact 25,000 youth and 2,550 educators. e Village Way Educational Institute, which operates under the auspices of VWEI and is similar to U.S.-based “think tanks,” provides a blueprint for how each partner educational community can integrate the successful methodology to transform immigrant and at risk youth into productive members of Israeli society through value driven education and support.

In addition to partnerships Top: Youth in classroom at the Village; middle: the beautiful and with educational communities therapeutic overlook at Yemin Orde; and bottom: Youth in classin Israel, the Village Way Edu- room with educator. cational Institute has introduced the Village ter outcomes in school and, later, in life.

Way methodology in academic settings, inOne educator noted, “Before we brought cluding full-semester courses in the educa- the Village Way into our school, most of our tion departments at Israel’s Oranim Teacher’s students did not have dreams. Now, we have College and the prestigious Hebrew Univer- a framework to help us encourage our stusity of Jerusalem. dents to dream and have aspirations. e Vile Village Way Educational Initiatives lage Way unifies us as educators and allows also operates three pre-military gap year us to have a fresh attitude about our fragile leadership programs (Mechinot) to prepare teens and about teaching, too.” marginalized young men and women for Staenberg agrees that the Village Way service in the IDF. model offers an opportunity change the na“ e Village Way offers a great educational ture of education for Israel’s at-risk youth training ground for many important life population for the better. skills. Israel’s at-risk youth will be the coun“It is amazing to see the changes in the try’s next generation of leaders and it is criti- youth in the school communities that are imcally important that they receive our help,” plementing the Village Way methodology. IsStaenberg said. raeli educators can now help their struggling Village Way empowers educators and students students go on to improved lives and from a As Israel’s at-risk and immigrant youth mindset of survival to leadership,” said Staenpopulation continues to grow, it becomes vital berg. “I encourage everyone to visit Yemin for its educators to embrace a new educational Orde which is located near Haifa overlooking model in order to better teach and connect to the Mediterranean Sea. I guarantee that young underserved segments of society. meeting the students and staff will be a highWith the help of the Educational Institute’s light of your trip.” cadre of professionals, educators develop an Visit yeminorde.org for more information understanding of what it means to be a more or email info@yeminorde.org.

The Jewish Press | June 21, 2019 | B3

Above: How Sweet! NCSY/Beth Israel teens Brad and Zoe Berman, Leora McNamara and Becca Denenberg -led by Faige Jeidel (and special helper Lea)- took a few moments to pose in the Beth Israel Kitchen with some sweet and tasty ingredients for the teen cheesecake baking day in preparation for Shavuot.

Above: Kimberly Robinson and Stacey Rockman attending the National Women’s Philanthropy Spring Board Retreat, June 3-5 in New York City.

They joined 150 women from over 60 communities to engage and reflect on leadership and best practices from JFNA to enhance Women’s Philanthropy and our community as a whole.

Below: Good buddies Sadie Tam, Ella Seigel and Talia Kohen, prepare to daven at Beth Israel's final JYE-BI event of the year.

Below: Danielle Gordman and Gretchen Radler took a few moments to show some love and sign the wall before renovations started on the JCC auditorium.

Above: Lior Nicholson showed off her sushi making skills at the BI-NCSY final board meeting and sushi making event held earlier this month at Beth Israel.

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

Above: Rose Blumkin Jewish Home Residents enjoyed touring the Henry Doorly Zoo. Pictured are: Richard Peters, left; Emily Clement, Activities Coordinator and Ron Budwig.

Below: Rabbi and Shani Katzman from the Chabad House gave a program to Residents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home on Shavuot. Pictured is Shani Katzman showing Residents the prepared parchment known as klaf, made from the skin of a kosher animal.

Above: Ezra Blair is colorful and bright as he shows off his tie-dye painting at Beth El’s Kamp Kef!

Top right: Kamp Kef’s newly formed girl band held a jam session and Maeve Yellin, Meagan Dubrow, Quinn Wisecarver and sisters Lola and Zoey Aryal helped everyone rock out!

Bottom right: Maya Isaacson and Ilana McNamara kept it ‘classy’ and enjoyed sharing their classical musical talents with Kamp Kef.

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

B4 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

viewpoint thejewishpress

(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 Thierry Ndjike Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex Officio; Laura Dembitzer; Candice Friedman; Jill Idelman; Andy Isaacson; Michael Kaufman; David Kotok; Natasha Kraft; Debbie Kricsfeld; Eric Shapiro and Amy Tipp.

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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.

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The dancing Jews

E

GABBy BLAIR Staff Writer, Jewish Press veryone loves a good wedding, right? As the happy couple begins their life together, the evening is one of hope and opportunity... dreams waiting to come true.

We can perhaps look at the Israeli-Palestinian relationship as a very unhappy arranged marriage. The world sits around like meddlesome relatives hoping things will somehow work out for the best, vacillating between making criticisms and offering unrealistic ideas that make no one happy.

Various reports in Israeli media surfaced last week about a Fatah official being fired after four Jews were filmed dancing at his son’s wedding in Deir Qadis, an Arab village outside of Ramallah. Videos posted on social media generated an onslaught of hateful comments calling for the groom’s family to be punished for “insulting the village and the Palestinian nation as a whole.” What a way for the newlyweds to begin their ‘happily ever after.’

I never realized that dancing at a Palestinian wedding while Jewish was an offense that warranted calls for corporal punishment and firing from one’s jobs; apparently, it is.

Radi Nasser, who worked for the Palestinian Education Ministry and also served as Deir Qadis council head, claimed in Haartez that “the Jews were brought to the party in a plot to harm my reputation.” I kind of feel bad for him. It was his kid’s wedding and he was probably walking around on top of the world; then BOOM. Just like that, persona non grata.

After securing the guest list for questioning (good luck to those poor folks), Fatah announced they would hold a vote of no confidence against Nasser. Fatah spokesman Osama Qawassmeh called the Jewish guests “terrorist settlers,” whose attendance at the wedding was a “cowardly, condemnable, despicable and reprehensible act.” I would think words like that should be reserved for something obviously less serious than dancing, like maybe... random rocket attacks on civilians, but, I digress.

The Education Ministry then released an official statement saying that they would form a special council to de-

cide what punishment would be meted out against Nasser and his family before stating “this scathing violation of all our national values is an affront to every Palestinian.”

Let that sink in a moment. Jews celebrating at a Palestinian wedding by dancing is a violation of Palestinian values and affront to all Palestinians. This is a real statement made by the people in charge of EDUCATING Palestinian youth.

Credit: Wikimedia commons

In all seriousness, what an amazing opportunity was wasted here. This could have been a way for the Palestinian Authority to differentiate themselves from Hamas. To demonstrate how committed they are to being a real peace partner for a two state solution, but no...they are not, even if some of their constituents might be. As Abba Eban said at the Geneva Peace Conference in 1973, they “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

This story brings to mind the Midrash of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa, in which a rich man’s enemy is accidentally invited to his party. Rather than being gracious and pursuing the opportunity to make peace by allowing Bar Kamsa to stay, the host humiliates him and orders him to leave. An act that ultimately leads to the destruction of the Second Temple.

So, what were the dancing Jews doing there, how did they get there, and who exactly, invited them?

Lets start with the what: Obviously, they were there for the simcha, not to kill anyone... (unless you count them slaying with their moves on that dance floor!) And if you were wondering how everyone realized there were- gaspJews dancing in their midst...I am pretty sure it was their kippot and peyot that gave them away. There is no shortage of online videos and pictures of them smiling and posing for pictures and dancing with other attendees; even being lifted up and sitting on shoulders as the group jammed out to some really good Arabic music. It looked like everyone was having a fun time at a great party.

Next is the how: If you have ever travelled around Judea and Samaria, a.k.a. the ‘West Bank’, you have certainly passed by roads marked by large red signs that begin with the words “This road leads to a Palestinian village...” Essentially, these are “enter at your own risk” warnings, ensuring travelers are aware that the area could be potentially dangerous and not to count on being bailed out by the IDF. Based on the fact that they appear wellgroomed and are wearing clean white shirts and dress pants, I am going to guess they arrived by car rather than sneaking across hilly desert land just to crash a wedding in an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous Arab village.

Last is the who: This is where the story gets fuzzy. Apparently, the dancing Jews are auto mechanics- friends and coworkers of either Nasser family members or other guests who were invited to the wedding. Either way, they were there by invitation. Naturally, Fatah and the Education Ministry are ignoring Nasser’s pleas for mercy on his family. Nasser claims he kicked the Jews out after he became aware of them and is begging Fatah to instead punish whoever they arrived with. I am going to go on a limb here and guess that armed with the wedding guest list and plenty of video footage, Fatah will be doling out plenty of punishments to any Palestinians who tried to be peaceful with the Jews.

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.

Let’s start talking about our dehumanizing immigration system

BEThANy MANdEL MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. | JTA Last summer, I was on the phone with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer assigned to Armando Rojas, our deported synagogue custodian of two decades, assuring him that I could vouch that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community. That should have been obvious: Armando had no criminal record, a steady job and a family who needed him.

The ICE officer’s responses were taut and clipped.

Without thinking about it much, I said, “Well, I just want you to know how important he is to us.

And I want to thank you for taking such good care of him.”

For the first time in the conversation, there was a pause, and the ICE officer seemed caught off-guard.

Finally, he said, ”Many people don’t understand that, but that’s what we do and what we are here for.

To help people. I appreciate you saying that.”

There has been a great deal of heated debate about whether it is appropriate to call the growing number of immigration detention facilities in this country “concentration camps,” a term most recently used

by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. I will leave it to scholars to parse the terms of rhetorical escalation.

But what I can say from personal experience with our opaque immigration system is that it is not only devastating for those who go through it, but also for the Americans who are employed by it. Using terms like “concentration camp” may have technical merit, but I worry that it actually frees those working in the system from taking any criticisms seriously.

Armando came to this country from Mexico nearly 30 years ago. In the 20 years he worked in our synagogue, he paid Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes.

While Armando was in ICE detention awaiting deportation, our attorney filed for a stay with a judge. Within a week he was suddenly, and without

any notice to his family, deported to Mexico. This was in February.

I emailed the ICE officer assigned to his case the day he was deported asking him to call me. Hours later I received an email back from the officer saying he “regretted” to inform me that Armando was put on a plane to Mexico “before his attorney was able to file a request for a stay.”

An immigrant released after spending six months in an ICE detention facility hugs her daughter while being reunited with family at Portland International Airport, Sept. 2, 2018. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images As it turned out, the stay of deportation was actually granted before Armando was deported, a factor an immigration judge later pointed out, scolding the government for “erroneously deporting” Armando.

The truth was, the ICE officer knew all along that our attorney was working on a stay: Our attorney had spoken with him as soon as Armando was placed in ICE detention. Subsequently the officer had been difficult to reach, sometimes going a few days without returning our attorney’s calls.

By the time I responded to the ICE officer, we had heard from Armando on the other side of the border and what had happened to him. I emailed the ICE officer back, CCing our congregational leadership, decrying the fact that Armando was dropped into a country he hasn’t been to in decades with no chance to collect belongings or

money, nor to contact his family.

I added that “Armando is beloved in our community of 500 families; he is a kind, generous and caring person. But you didn’t need to know any of that in order to know that no human being should ever be treated this way.

“And you ‘regret’ to inform me? Is this how you always treat human beings?”

I received no communication back.

I do believe the ICE officer “regretted” the swiftness of the process. I also know that he was working in a system with orders from the top to speed up “expedited removals” of “aliens.” Both the process and the language are built to distance those who function within it from relating to the people in their care as human beings.

Later we learned that the ICE officers who dropped Armando’s group at the border taunted them, saying “you’ll all probably get kidnapped.”

But should we be surprised by this behavior when we put Americans in the position of taking parents and children away from their families?

In April, Armando’s son and members of my congregation met Armando in Tijuana so that we could be with him while he asked for asylum. At the border between Mexico and the United States, we all smelled alcohol on the Customs and Border Patrol officer’s breath. A few yards from us, a dozen or so mothers and children sat in the dirt waiting for someone to listen to their stories, a function of Border Patrol’s metering policy of turning away asylum seekers by saying, sometimes disingenuously, that the detention facility is “at capacity.”

How else is someone supposed to cope with this but by numbing themselves?

In June, Rojas was taken into custody, sent to Albany and began waiting for a chance to seek asylum from an immigration judge.

I can only imagine what goes on in the hearts See Immigration system page B5

Jews in Arab countries suffered unbearable discrimination. Why do our stories remain untold?

MIRIAM SHEPHER Israel, and my mother was struggling to provide for us.

LOS ANGELES | JTA It was on this kibbutz where my life as an Israeli really June 20 is World Refugee Day. And according to the began and where I discovered a true sense of family. I learned United Nations page devoted to this commemoration, every about the land and people of Israel, and came to understand minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, per- that I was blessed to live in a time where the centuries-old secution or terror. dream of the Jewish people was a realI am one of those people. ity. I fell in love with my country.

In 1948, when I was six months My family’s path has led us to Amerold, my mother risked everything to ica, where my husband and I have escape Tunisia with my siblings and raised our children, but I have never me in search of a better life. My faforgotten where I come from. ther stayed behind until he could Yet it seems that to international bodmeet us years later at our final destiies and human rights organizations, nation. We crammed into a ship we are invisible. Aren’t we just as decalled the Negba and endured a difserving of global sympathy as any ficult journey to France. We waited other refugees? for a year until it was our turn, at last, Beginning in 2014, the State of Israel to enter the land that my mother had sought to correct this injustice by passalways considered our home: Eretz A Jewish mother and her children pictured out- ing into law a memorial day to comside a synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, Jan. 1, Israel. memorate the tragedy of these Jews who I am just one of 850,000 Jewish 1950. Some 850,000 refugees from Tunisia and were forced to flee their homes. Now, refugees from Arab countries and other Arab countries were expelled from their every year on Nov. 30, my story and the Iran who left, fled or were expelled countries after the creation of Israel. Credit: stories of hundreds and thousands of from the countries where they had Graphic House/Archive Photos/Getty Images other Mizrahi Jews are honored. lived, in many cases, since the Babylonian period. In the years But if we aim to recognize every refugee story on World that followed the independence of the State of Israel, Jews in Refugee Day, this story must also be told today.

Arab countries suffered unbearable discrimination and acts In Tunisia, the Jewish community was repressed. Today I have of violence that led to their forced expulsion. Jews were forced many privileges that my family in Tunisia did not. I am blessed out of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, to engage in work through the Israeli-American Council that Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and later Iran. They left behind their strengthens Jewish identity, bridges Israeli Americans and Jewproperty and belongings, carrying only necessities as they es- ish Americans, and ensures the continuity of the Jewish people. caped to safety. Entire Jewish communities were wiped out, There is no greater way to pay tribute to my past than by and centuries of religious customs, traditions, culture and ensuring that this history is present for our future generations. music vanished from the Middle East and North Africa.

That is how I answer those who sought to erase my history.

Like my family, nearly half of these refugees settled in Israel.

Miriam Shepher is a member of the National Board and Our stories remain largely untold. Many still do not know Los Angeles Council Chairwoman Emeritus of the Israeliof our collective trauma.

American Council.

I carried my roots with me, even as I grew up in Israel. My The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of life changed at the age of 11 when I was given the opportu- the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or nity to live on a kibbutz. My father had since passed away in its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | B5

Immigration system

Contunued from page B4 and minds of immigration employees tasked with carrying out the family separation policy. I shudder to think of what will happen to people in our country taken from their families, as well as those who receive the orders to remove them if even a fraction of the threatened mass deportations are carried out.

Immigration officials with whom I came into contact wanted to “help people,” expressed “regret” and were possibly self-medicating their way through their jobs.

While we must fight the injustice of what’s happening in our country, we must not inadvertently associate those who work in the immigration system with those who carried out a genocide. Using such language, easily dismissed, allows those complicit in the system to abdicate their own responsibility for the daily indignities and traumas they carry out, since they can rationalize away the criticisms they believe are overblown.

We don’t need to resort to hyperbole; what they are being asked to do is bad enough.

Using such loaded language also, ironically, destroys our own empathy. Calling a detention facility a concentration camp makes it too easy to distance ourselves from the full picture. In reality, ICE officers are our fellow Americans, and they are trying to do jobs that many of them did not accept under these conditions. They are being tasked with carrying out increasingly cruel policies that force them to do dehumanizing things. And we need them to see that.

We are responsible for addressing what led our country here. But we are also responsible for what happens to ICE officers – and for seeing them as human beings.

If we hope to stop the dehumanization at our borders, we have to take responsibility for all of it.

Rabbi Aaron Brusso is the rabbi of Bet Torah in Mount Kisco, New York, and serves on the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international professional organization of Conservative rabbis.

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B6 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

synagogues B’nai israel synagOgue

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

Beth el synagOgue

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

Beth israel synagOgue

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

chaBad hOuse

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

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

Offutt air fOrce Base

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

rOse BluMkin Jewish hOMe

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

teMPle israel

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

tifereth israel

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

B’nai israel synagOgue

Join us for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series after a brief haitus we will next meet on friday, sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. with guest speaker Dr. Marvin Bittner on the Importance of Vaccinations. Our service leader is Larry Blass, and as always, an Oneg to follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, contact any of our board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Howard Kutler, Carole Lainof, Wayne Lainof, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf, or email nancywolf16620@gmail.com.

Handicap Accessible.

Beth el synagOgue

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. friday: Nebraska AIDS Coalition Lunch, 11:30 a.m. — offsite; Shabbat and Shakespeare on the Green, 6 p.m. at Elmwood Park. saturday: Pride Parade, 9 a.m. downtown; Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha following Kiddush. weekday serVices: Sundays, 9:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. sunday: Torah Study, 10 a.m. tuesday: Mahjong, 1 p.m.; Kiddush for Jennifer Kay following Minyan at 5:30 p.m. and Kiddush at 6 p.m. thursday: Office Closed; Late Morning Minyan, 9 a.m. friday, July 5: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. saturday, July 6: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha following Kiddush. sunday: Torah Study, 10 a.m. tuesday: Mahjong, 1 p.m.; Chesed Committee visits Remington Heights, 2 p.m. thursday: Shanghai, 1 p.m.

Chesed Committee visits The Heritage at Sterling Ridge, thursday, July 17, 2 p.m.

Beth israel synagOgue

Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:30 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 8:44 p.m. saturday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Sponsored Kiddush,, 11:15 a.m.; Insights into the Weekly Torah Portion, 7:40 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 8:25 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:53 p.m. sunday: Shacharit, 9 am.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

MOnday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Jewish History — Your History, noon with Rabbi Shlomo at the JCC; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. tuesday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Torah Tuesday, 1 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. wednesday: Rosh Chodesh Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. thursday: Office Closed—Independence Day; Rosh Chodesh Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. friday, July 5: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 7:30 p.m.; Candle Lighting, 8:44 p.m. saturday, July 6: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Insights into the Weekly Torah Portion, 7:40 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 8:25 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:51 p.m. sunday: Shacharit, 9 am.; Night Under the Cochavin, 6 p.m. Register with the office; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

MOnday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Jewish History — Your History, noon with Rabbi Shlomo; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. tuesday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Torah Tuesday, 1 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. wednesday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Board of Commissioners Meeting, 6:30 p.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. thursday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Connecting with Our Faith, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m. at Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

chaBad hOuse

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats,

study and shmoozing. saturday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. weekdays: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. sunday: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Sunday Secrets, 9:15 p.m. following Minyan.

MOnday: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. wednesday: Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman. thursday: Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Katzman. friday, July 5: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. saturday, July 6: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. weekdays: Shacharit, 7 a.m. followed by coffee, treats, study and shmoozing. sunday: Service, 8:30 a.m.; Sunday Secrets, 9:15 p.m. following Minyan.

MOnday: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani. wednesday: Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman. thursday: Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Katzman.

All programs are open to the entire community. For more information call 402.330.1800 or visit www.Ochabad.com.

cOngregatiOn B’nai Jeshurun

Services conducted by Rabbi Teri Appleby. friday: First Friday Family Service, 6:30 p.m. led by Eva Bloom and featuring music by Elaine Monnnier and Mark Miller; Oneg, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:44 p.m. saturday: Special Torah Yoga Service, 9:30 a.m.; No Torah Study; Havdalah (72 minutes), 10:14 p.m. sunday: Garden Work Party, 8:30-10 a.m. Let Ellin Siegel know if you have any questions at ellin.siegel@ gmail.com; Adult Hebrew Prayer Class, 11:30 a.m. tuesday: Mussar: Inner Ladder, 7 p.m. wednesday: Rosh Chodesh Tammuz thursday: Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, Office Closed—Independence Day. friday: First Friday Family Service, 6:30 p.m.; Oneg, 7:30 p.m hosted by David Nachenberg; Candlelighting, 8:43 p.m. saturday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study on Parashat Korach, 10:45 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 10:12 p.m. sunday: Adult Hebrew Prayer Class, 11:30 a.m. tuesday: Movie Screening: Paris to Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Pop-Up Shabbat Dinners—No Service at Temple, friday, July 12.

As you start to make summer plans, consider sending your child to LJCS CAMP ISRAEL, July 22–aug. 2, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Light Kosher dairy snack and lunch included. Tuition for each week is $75 per camper. This program is open to children ages 5-14. We require ALL campers to be registered through the LJCS, therefore we cannot accept drop-in guests.

Offutt air fOrce Base

friday: Services, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month.

Visit us at jewishomaha.org

rOse BluMkin Jewish hOMe saturday: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Jim Polack. saturday, July 6: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Jim

teMPle israel

Polack.

Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend. friday: Shabbat Evening Service, 6 p.m. saturday: March @ Heartland Pride, 8 a.m. March with the Jewish community at the Heartland Pride Parade in downtown Omaha. To sign-up for the walk, please contact Temple Israel, 402-556-6536. The morning will begin at 8 a.m. with a Rise & Pride Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Brian Stoller at Pioneer Courage Park at 16th & Dodge. At 9 a.m. we will line up at 15th & Howard. Look for the group with the Rainbow chuppah! At 10 a.m. the parade will begin and the route will circle through the Old Market and end near 14th & Leavenworth; No Torah Study at Temple Israel; No Shabbat Morning Service at Temple Israel. sunday: 5th Sunday Breakfast at the Stephen Center, 8:30 a.m. friday, July 5: Joanna Alexander’s First Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Be a part of Temple Israel history as we welcome Cantor Alexander and her family at her first official Shabbat service as our new Cantor. Ben Mazur, our new Director of Congregational Learning will also be welcomed at this service.

A delicious oneg will follow. saturday, July 6: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Service, 10:30 a.m.

Temple Tots Havdalah with Cantor Alexander and Ben Mazur, saturday, July 13, 4:30 p.m. Join us at the playground (weather permitting) for some outdoor fun with our youngest members! All families with tots and older siblings are invited. We will enjoy activities, crafts, dinner, and Havdalah.

Bring your own picnic dinner and Temple Israel will provide the popsicles! Please RSVP to Temple Israel, 402.556.6536.

Holy Smokes at Temple Israel, tuesday, July 23, 7 p.m.

Cigars. Beer. Whiskey. Rabbi Stoller will lead this men-only evening at Temple Israel featuring philosophical discussions of

tifereth israel

men’s issues and perspectives from Jewish texts. This event is free, though reservations are required. RSVP to Temple Israel, 402.556.6536.

Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: Monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. friday: No Shabbat Service; Candlelighting, 8:44 p.m. saturday: Shabbat Service, 10 a.m. followed by light kiddush lunch; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:44 p.m. thursday: Office Closed. friday, July 5: No Shabbat Service; Candlelighting, 8:43 p.m. saturday, July 6: Shabbat Service, 10 a.m. followed by light kiddush lunch; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:42 p.m.

As you start to make summer plans, consider sending your child to LJCS CAMP ISRAEL, July 22–aug. 2, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Light Kosher dairy snack and lunch included. Tuition for each week is $75 per camper. This pro-

Pittsburgh Jewish community rallies around city church after learning of bomb plot

Marcy Oster JTA Pittsburgh’s Jewish community has rallied around a city church aer the arrest by the FBI of a man who was planning an attack. e Rev. Michael Anthony Day of the Legacy International Worship Center said at a service Sunday that the first call he received aer learning of the would-be attack was from Rabbi Ron Symons, senior director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

“He said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m on my way to my fourth interview,’” Day recalled. “He said, ‘Well, I need to find you. I just need to give

you a hug.’”

Members of the Jewish community attended the Sunday service in solidarity with the church, according to local reports. ey were joined by members of the Islamic community and leaders of other local churches.

Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, of suburban Pittsburgh, on charges of plotting to bomb the church in support of the Islamic State. e religious communities in Pittsburgh rallied around the local Jewish community following the Oct. 27 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building that le 11 worshippers dead.

The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019 | b7

entertainment

now showing: Echo in the Canyon

Gabby blair Staff Writer, Jewish Press Music enthusiasts rejoice and mark your calendars for Echo in the Canyon, a film focused on Laurel Canyon’s exceptional music scene and its influence on popular American music at Film Streams Dundee Theater (4952 Dodge St) beginning on June 28. First screening will take place at 5 p.m.

Directed by Andrew Slater, Echo in the Canyon features no shortage of big names in music, and provides a behindthe-scenes look and tells the untold stories of many artists and songs that have left their indelible mark on American music.

Jakob Dylan, former Wallflower front man and son of Bob Dylan, takes viewers on a detailed tour full of interviews and performances by such artists as: Brian Wilson, Michelle Phillips, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty (in his last film interview). Contemporary musicians influenced by their predecessor’s music such as Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor and Norah Jones, to name a few, also make appearances.

Former Omahan Geoff Pearlman is a member of the EITC Band from the film and it’s accompanying soundtrack. When asked about his role, he shares, “As for how a kid from Omaha ends up on such a project, I headed to Boston after graduating from Burke in ‘87 to attend Berkee College of Music, and afterwards moved to San Francisco and eventually down to LA ,where I have been working as a studio and live musician and engineer as well making my own records as an artist since 2000 (www.geoffpearlmanmusic.com).”

Pearlman continues, “All of the EITC musicians came from a long-running weekly jam at the Canters Kibbitz Room, a bar at the world famous Canters deli in LA. Andy Slater, the filmmaker and record producer, likes to say ‘I found them in a deli!’ It was very low-key process where the band (Dan Rothchild-bass, Fernando Perdomo-electric guitar, Matt Tecu-drums, Jordan Summers-keyboards, vocalist Justine Bennet and myself) would have these quiet, little gatherings in Andy’s living room playing and arranging these songs that ended up being the record. I primarily play a Rickenbacker

jewish press notices

The Jewish Press will be closed on thursday, july 4, for Independence Day. There will be no Jewish Press on july 5, 2019. The deadline for the July 12 issue is tuesday, july 2 at noon. Questions?

Call 402.334.6448.

12-string guitar on the record and in the film, which to me is an important role in the music from the era, I mean, the opening notes of the Byrds’ Mr. Tamborine Man say it all. And what an honor it was to play with Roger McGuinn, who joined us onstage at the premier in LA!” Geoff shares that, “It began as ‘just a record’ and grew in

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From there, I believe Eric Clapton was the first to talk to Jakob for the film and that got everyone else on board to tell some amazing stories about what happened and how they made all that amazing and important music in Laurel Canyon between 1965-67.”

Be sure not to miss this special film while it is in town, June 28-July 4. For a full list of show times and more details, visit https://filmstreams.org/films/echo-in-the-canyon.

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B8 | The Jewish Press | June 28, 2019

entertainment

W

What the popularity of Shtisel tells us about the non-Orthodox majority

Daniel Treiman NEW YORK | JTA ould the builders of New York’s Temple Emanu-El ever have imagined that their congregation’s sanctuary would one day be packed to the balconies with thousands of devout followers of a black-hatted Orthodox rabbi and his family? That was the scene last week when the citadel of high Reform Judaism on Manhattan’s Upper East Side was overtaken by Shtisel-mania.

Fans of the Israeli TV series about the day-to-day dramas of a haredi family in Jerusalem filled the Fifth Avenue synagogue to see the show’s three stars discuss their surprise Netflix-streamed hit. Demand was so intense that the organizers — Emanu-El’s Streicker Center, The Jewish Week Media Group and UJA -Federation of New York — added a second night when the first quickly sold out. Some 4,600 attended over the two nights, according to the event’s sponsors.

The Shtisel stars had just come from two events in Los Angeles and would soon head across the Hudson to another synagogue event in New Jersey. Wherever they went, excited fans followed, some flying in from far away to hear from their small-screen heroes.

The first night at Temple Emanu-El, the three Shtisel actors — Dov Glickman, who played family patriarch Shulem Shtisel; Michael Aloni, who played Akiva; and Neta Riskin, who played Giti — and producer Dikla Barkai seemed as surprised as anyone at their show’s success, marveling at the crowd of thousands assembled before them.

They recounted their more modest initial expectations for the show.

Aloni said Shtisel did not exactly have the hallmarks of an international hit: There was no sex or car chases. “We all shared this feeling that we were doing something great that no one would watch.”

Yet this quiet show about private family dramas in Jerusalem’s insular haredi community made a big splash. In Israel, where Shtisel first aired in 2013, its popularity bridged the secular-religious divide. Its two seasons cleaned up at the Israeli Television Academy awards, while TVless haredi Jews found ways to watch avidly and surreptitiously. But it wasn’t until Netflix picked up the show in December that Shtisel got a

second life as an international sensation. There are plans for a third season and also for an American version set in Brooklyn.

The popularity of Shtisel first became apparent to me when I realized that everyone in my tiny Orthodox shul seemed to be watching it.

I didn’t appreciate what a phenomenon it had become until a nonreligious friend who is uninvolved in organized Jewish mentioned that it was one of the only shows she had watched in the past two years.

Shtisel has a certain voyeuristic appeal to some Jewish viewers.

Credit: Netflix/Dori Media

Shtisel fandom is not a parochial allegiance. Look no further than a 13,000-member Facebook group devoted to the show, where fans from across the country and around the world — Jews and non-Jews of varied religious backgrounds — probe the show’s depths and obsess over its minutiae, from analyzing its handling of bereavement to gushing over Aloni’s good looks.

To what does Shtisel owe its popularity? For starters, it’s just excellent TV: superbly written, well acted, with compelling characters and rich story lines. There’s also, no doubt, a certain voyeuristic appeal: an opportunity to gaze into a mysterious and cloistered world.

For many Jewish viewers, I suspect, curiosity about our haredi kin is a significant part of the show’s attraction. We non-haredi Jews can appreciate that haredim are connected to us, and are, in some sense, our mishpocha. Yet our connection to the haredi world is attenuated by

a profound religious chasm. Shtisel allows us to bridge that divide from the comfort of our couches. That’s because the show’s themes are deeply relatable: love, longing, loss, fidelity and infidelity, filial and parental responsibility, conformism and rebellion, and dreams, both chased and crushed. (Dreaming is a central motif, with depictions of dreams lending a magical element to a series rooted in its characters’ earthly struggles in a community defined by fear of heaven.)

Shtisel is fundamentally about its characters’ relationships played out within the confines of their community. The outside world intrudes only sparingly — the American soap operas enjoyed by Shulem’s mother, much to her pious son’s dismay; the overheard roar of a military air show on Israeli Independence Day; the “damned evil people,” a phrase invoked

by Shulem’s brother Nuchem to decry unseen but hostile outsiders. Even Akiva, whose dream of a career as a painter is scorned by his father — a religious scholar with a low regard for any arts that are not culinary — but encouraged by a secular patron, keeps the nonreligious world at arm’s length. Aloni in his remarks at Temple Emanu-El was adamant that leaving the haredi world was never a consideration for his character.

While Shtisel is a show about a haredi family, Judaism is not the show’s subject but context. For the entire first season, we do not so much as see the inside of a synagogue. But every aspect of the Shtisels’ everyday lives is suffused with Jewishness, from the way the characters dress, the words they use, the way they greet one another and the blessings they utter before they take a sip of water.

This is one way in which Shtisel differs from the recent bumper crop of shows with Jewish protagonists. A Jewish story line in a show about American Jews might involve going to synagogue or Israel, (Transparent), going on Birthright (Broad City) or going to a Palestinian chicken restaurant (Curb Your Enthusiasm). It requires stepping out of the day to day. After all, most American Jews live in ways not so different from those of our non-Jewish neighbors. For us, Jewishness is more of a subject than a context. We need to act to be Jewish. On Shtisel, they need to simply be. The show’s characters inhabit a thick and rich Jewish context. And that is what makes the universal human stories at the heart of Shtisel into a great Jewish drama.

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