Jewish Omaha Pride

Continued from page 1 members to take part in the Pride Parade. His hope was to ensure that Judaism’s voice was heard and present in the celebration of Pride. Matt Hazimeh, a member of Beth El, was simultaneously hard at work at Beth El Synagogue to organize his congregation around the Pride festivities. Matt was moved by the political climate of the day to organize marchers to support the greater Omaha LGBTQIA2S+ community. Temple Israel and Beth El decided to join forces, and together with the passion and enthusiasm of their dedicated task force and the added partnership of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, they were able to bring together over 100 people to march together as a united Jewish community.

Since then, at least 50 adults and children have marched under the banner of Jewish Omaha each year.

Leading up to the 2018 Pride Parade, Pride Task Force members Sarah Gilbert, Noa Gilbert, and Sandy Nogg spearheaded the effort to build a beautiful rainbow chuppah that we march under each year. Just as the chuppah is open on all four sides representing welcoming, love, and acceptance, so too do the marchers hope to embody the same qualities.

Hazimeh, Friedman, and all those working on this year’s Pride efforts are hoping for record numbers. They want all ages - children, grandchildren, friends, and others - to join us for our Pride Celebration, whether you’ve attended every year, or this would be your first year marching.

Pride 2023 is the weekend of Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15

JEWISH

Omaha Pride Events

INCLUDE:

Pride Shabbat at Temple Israel (In per- son and via Zoom) on Friday, July 14,

6 p.m. Clergy will give a Pride Blessing and feature guest speaker Noa Gilbert, winner of Temple Israel’s Youth Leadership Award. Following services, there will also be an oneg in honor of Pride.

Shabbat Morning Service & Pride Parade (In person) on Saturday, July 15,

8 a.m. Services will take place downtown on the 2nd Floor of the Brandeis Building (210 S. 16th Street). The congregation of Beth El will be providing breakfast. Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander of Temple Israel will be leading services.

Following services, all those wanting to march in the parade, including those who cannot attend services, will head to the staging area. The staging area is between Capital Ave and Mike Fahey Street on 16th Street, where we will find our spot in the parade line. Look for Temple Israel’s Director of Education, Jennie Gates Beckman, who will be holding the spot in the parade line.

Children of all ages are welcome at all Pride events. As we wait in line, children’s activities will be provided to help keep our youngest community members busy!

Please remember to wear comfortable walking shoes, a lot of sunscreen, and even a hat or sunglasses! It will be a hot, humid day, so bring your water bottles! Pride water bottles and water to refill will be available.

Marchers will be handing out Skittles with information about the rainbow chuppah they are marching with as well as Jewish Omaha posters for those who are curious about Judaism.

If you are unable to walk, but still want to participate, you can find a place to sit along the parade route. Marchers needing parking assistance may contact Temple Israel Director of Events and Engagement, Mindi Marburg, 402.556.6536.

There is an updated t-shirt design for this year on a white background, which allows for the same shirt to be ordered in sizes from a newborn onesie to adult size 5X so the entire family can show their Pride in matching style. Please order your shirts by July 1 to receive them in time for the parade.

The Pride Team looks forward to you joining this fun morning event spreading joy, creating community and celebrating diversity. To find all registration information and the link to purchase shirts, please visit www.templeisrael omaha.com/pride

Each year Beth El hosts this camp experience for rising kindergarten to rising 5th grade students. It is held the four days following Memorial Day. Our high school and college students serve as counselors. Grandparents, known as the “Bubby Brigade” volunteer with activities as well. It really is a community event.

This year’s theme was Kamp Kef is Out of This World. I must say, it lived up to expectations! We had a visit from the Omaha Children’s Museum with their space-themed outreach program, which was coincidently called Space, It’s Out of This World. We took a field trip to the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland. We baked challah, learned Israeli dances, had amazing ruach sessions, played games, launched water balloons, rode our bikes, created amazing works of art, and so much more. Of course, there was an epic slip ‘n slide. Each evening, our campers and our counselors were wiped out!

According to one camper, Austin Abramson, “Kamp Kef Rules! It was always such a fun time! This year was a lot of fun! My favorite part was the field trip. I love airplanes so much! The counselors are awesome and made camp a lot better. My favorite counselors were Tyler and Ari and Ethan but it is hard to choose!”

His big brother Dayton agreed. “Kamp Kef was so much fun this year! My favorite part of camp was the mud slide because I am the mud slide king. The counselors are amazing and made sure we were all having a great time. I love all of the counselors!”

Parents see the value of Kamp Kef as well. Dayton’s and Austin’s mother, Marissa among them, “I love the tradition of Kamp Kef and how my kids look forward to it each year!

They are very upset on the last day because they know they have to wait a whole year to go back to Kamp Kef. It is such a fun week for the kids and they are definitely exhausted when I pick them up so I know they had a great time!”

By the conclusion of the week, it was clear why Kamp Kef is so successful—our teens! Our high school and college counselors did the bulk of the planning and prep for Kamp Kef. Each day they brought the energy and enthusiasm that made the campers excited to come each day. They worked incredibly hard from the moment they arrived in the morning on the first day, until the clean-up was done on Friday. Incidentally, they had to do the difficult cleaning tasks at the conclusion of Kamp Kef in the pouring rain. Our young adults showed incredible leadership. The entire community can be proud!

A special thank you to the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Foundation for their continued support of Kamp Kef. Without them, this amazing opportunity for our young people could not happen.

I can now see why so many people were asking about Kamp Kef a year ago. I cannot wait to get started planning next year’s Kamp Kef.