July 9, 2021

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J ULY 9, 2 02 1 | 29 TAMMUZ 5781 | VO L. 1 01 | NO. 37 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, JU LY 9, 8: 40 P.M.

An exceptional level of care Kaplan Book Group returns live and in-person Page 5

B’nai Israel Poker Run Page 6

Sunday conversation with Shlichah Sivan Page 12

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Dinosaurs, Dragons & Renee Corcoran retires Demons in today’s World

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

GABBY BLAIR Jewish Press Staff Writer he Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, along with all other long-term care providers, is surveyed by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services- at least annually- and undergoes the Nebraska Fire Marshalls Life Safety Code Inspection yearly during this process. Additional surveys conducted by both federal and state survey agencies for infection control were also conducted in 2021. As in years past, the RBJH has passed all of these assessments with flying colors, again earning a nationally recognized 5-star rating.

Executive Director, Chris Ulven, credits the normalization of conducting daily routines and care at the highest quality levels throughout the RBJH as key to maintaining the Home’s ratings.

“When the surveyors arrive, it is business as usual at the RBJH. We have nothing See Exceptional care page 3

7 8 10 11

Dr. Anthony Le Donne

Dr. Leonard Greenspoon

MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Program and Communications Assistant It’s all quite plain and simple, you

know. G-d spent six full 24-hour days working fingers to the bone, barely able to make it into the next 24-hour period, but finally completing the work of creation at the end of the sixth day, settling into the recliner, lighting a candle or two, eating some challah and some of the freshest chicken ever, and relaxing through the Sabbath. Or if you are Christian, creation is commemorated a day later and relaxing begins on Sunday.

What to do while relaxing isn’t exactly clear, but sports games might See Views on creation page 3

Sarah Roffman, left, Renee Ratner Corcoran, Rick Roffman, Silvia Greene Roffman and Maria Roffman Ruback.

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Renee Corcoran, who has been the Executive Director of the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, is retiring after two very busy decades.

“During her tenure, Renee has contributed greatly to protecting and preserving the history of our Jewish community,” said Ben Justman, NJHS Board President. “Her commitment has made it possible for other volunteers to ensure Jewish Omaha’s history has a promi-

nent place within the Jewish Community Center.

Prior to joining NJHS, Renee had an illustrious career in politics. She worked as an aide with Mayor and then Senator Edward Zorinsky and subsequently worked for Congressman John McCollister. The fastpaced, high-stress world of politics took a backseat to motherhood when daughter Ashley was born.

“It all started when my daughter had to do a report for school about Ed Zorinsky,” Renee said.

See Renee Corcoran page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021

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Family fun outside

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Renee Corcoran

Continued from page 1 “We visited the Historical Society’s archives, I became close with Mary Fellman and she convinced me to come help out while Ashley was in school, organizing the files. In 2001, when Mary retired, the board asked me to fill her position. Mary and I always hit it off; she told me she trusted me to do the work and I’ve long treasured that as a big compliment.”

Mark Wiesman, NJHS Board member added: “Her achievements include growing the archive’s collection of historical materials and the development of several books as part of the Memories of the Jewish Midwest Series.

One of these books, Mom and Pop Grocery Stores, celebrated and documented Jewish grocery stores from Omaha, Lincoln, Greater Nebraska, Council Bluffs, and Southwest Iowa from the early 1900s onward. It was published in 2011 in Dr. Ben Nachman’s memory.”

“Besides Mary,” Renee said, “Ben Nachman always sits on my shoulder. He had an enormous influence. Of course, there were others, including Louise Abrahamson, Joanie Bernstein, Midge Bowers, Helen Epstein, Sue Milward, Debbie Josephson and Bob Belgrade.

Nan Katz came in every Wednesday to volunteer, like clockwork; we became great friends.

Over the years, I have had the privilege to work with a large number of extremely dedicated people. I am sure I’m forgetting some names! Having so much support really kept me going.”

Renee oversaw the creation of several other

journals and books. In addition to the volume about the grocery stores, the NJHS created journals about South Omaha, World War II veterans and, most recently, about the Jewish history of Council Bluffs. Under Renee’s guidance, the NJHS earned several community service awards. One of those was for the 2014 Omaha Reunion, which brought countless former Omahans back to the community.

“It’s about more than simply preserving our story,” Renee said. “It’s about sharing it with the community. These stories belong to all of us and make us who we are.”

Thinking about the archive and the stories it tells makes her sentimental, she said.

“I love Omaha, I love the stories about Jewish Omaha and all its wonderful people. I’ve worked for the Historical Society all these years because I’ve genuinely loved doing the work. I sincerely hope the community will continue to record and share their memories, so we can preserve the story of Jewish Omaha for future generations.”

The NJHS Board of Directors congratulates Renee on a well-deserved retirement!

If you would like to make a tribute in honor of Renee’s retirement and help to keep Jewish history in Nebraska and Council Bluffs alive, visit https://nebraskajhs.com/home/trib ute_cards or make checks payable to the: Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, 333 South 132nd Street, Omaha, NE 68154.

Visit us at omahajewishpress.com

SARA KOHEN Friedel Jewish Academy Director of Advancement Families from across the community joined Friedel Jewish Academy and PJ Library Omaha for two recent outdoor programs. These programs were designed to connect families and provide fun, hands-on learning opportunities for children.

At Green Up the Park, families used equipment borrowed from Keep Omaha Beautiful to clean up trash in Hefflinger Park. They also planted vegetable seedlings in felt grow bags they received as part of the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Holidays at Home program and set up drip irrigation systems with Friedel teacher Ashley Barrow. Finally, families watched a composting demonstration courtesy of Hillside Solutions.

Backyard Animal Adventures was another collaborative program. Thirty families, with kids ranging in age from newborns to 12, gathered in the JCC’s backyard to meet animals from Wildlife Encounters and partici-

pate in other animal-related craft and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects with Friedel teachers. Maital Neta said: “This was a really fun event that allowed us to meet new people and learn some cool facts about animals!”

These two programs are part of an ongoing partnership between Friedel and PJ Library Omaha to engage families with young children in the community. This partnership was made possible by generous grant funding from the Esther K. Newman Memorial Fund, Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation, Milton S. & Corinne N. Livingston Foundation, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools and the Staenberg Family Foundation Anything Grant.

Look for more fun programming for families in the fall.

To learn more about Friedel, contact Sara Kohen at skohen@fjaomaha.com. Contact Jennie Gates Beckman at jbeckman@ jewishomaha.org with questions about PJ Library.

The Jewish Press Endowment The purpose of this endowment fund is to ensure the Omaha Jewish Press continues to serve the Omaha Jewish Community.

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Exceptional care Continued from page 1 to hide and nothing ‘extra’ to do for show while being surveyed, and the surveyors know this. Many of them have surveyed the RBJH for a number of years and the positive feedback we receive from them helps us to maintain our high expectations and level of care as status quo.”

He continued: “While these surveys are always a bit stressful for the staff given they are being scrutinized for a full work week by surveyors, we conduct ourselves at the same high level year round. Staff dedication to providing not only high quality care to our Residents, but to maintaining everything in the facility - from the structure itself, to the equipment we use, to the cleanliness of all corners of the building keeps us amongst the highest rated Homes in the nation.”

Natalie Osborne, Nurse Manager and Infection Preventionist elaborated on survey procedures: “Survey results are imperative to maintaining certification for Medicare and Medicaid. Compliance with all issued regulations is of utmost importance. During a 40-hour work week, we had four surveyors observing everything from Staff -Resident interactions and care to housekeeping, cleanliness and quality assurance and control. They also reviewed documentation, policies, care plans, medical records, job descriptions, auxiliary professionals who provide care at our facility, and staff background checks, licensure and in-services. While being under the microscope adds extra stress to the staff, it is minimal because we, at the RBJH, maintain the same high level of quality year round so when it is time to be surveyed, we are ready.”

Given the pandemic and its particularly devastating impact on many senior care facilities across the nation, increased infection control surveys have become an important part of the procedure. The Blumkin Home went nearly nine months into the pandemic before having a single Resident test positive, and even then, spread was contained to just a handful of Residents- a testament to the efforts of the administrators and staff who sacrificed their own interactions outside of work in

order to reduce the risk of bringing the virus in to the Home.

“We had our first Infection Control inspection early on during the pandemic and a second more recently. We were amongst the first facilities to close our doors and implement increased precautions and PPE use before there was any guidance to do so,” Chris said.

Combined, this year’s DHHS and Fire Marshall surveys found only four minor deficiencies at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, all of which were quickly addressed.

Chris Ulven said: “On the Life Safety Code Survey, one was for the placement of an empty wheeled cart in the basement that was parked in front of an electrical panel. I have never seen that cart there any other time I have been in that room, but that day it was. Another was due to an oxygen concentrator being left on by a Resident in their room when the Resident had stepped out for a few minutes. The two received from DHHS were requests for revisions to clarify written protocol/policies. We were doing what we were supposed to be doing, but it wasn’t in policy and wasn’t documented that we were doing it. Of all the things they look at, if this is all they can find, I’ll take two tags like this every year! The surveyors were very impressed with the RBJH - especially the way the staff worked together seamlessly as a team and the overall mood of Residents- and joked they were really having to look hard for something to correct. The team that surveyed the RBJH surveys around 50 facilities per year and has seen it all. Their overwhelmingly positive feedback and stellar ratings for the RBJH makes us all proud and is a testament of the exceptional level of care our staff provides. We are continually grateful for the trust and support of the community and will continue to do the very best for our Residents and their families.”

The RBJH is currently open to visitors over age 16, with a limit of two visitors per Resident at one time in order to control the number of people in the facility for infection control purposes. Younger children may be allowed to enjoy outdoor visits with relatives; families should direct questions to RBJH staff.

Views of creation Continued from page 1 play a part. On reflection, this might not be accurate and there could be more to the story.

Since their earliest days, Jews and Christians have wondered about how the world and all its inhabitants came to be. Some have taken relevant biblical passages as straightforward accounts of what actually happened. Others were more likely to discern the meaning of these texts through symbolic or metaphoric approaches. Modern advances in science have often led to heated exchanges over whether or not “biblical” and “scientific” understandings contradict each other or are compatible.

Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, a well-known scholar of Jewish Studies and Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University, along with Dr. Anthony Le Donne, a well-respected authority on Christianity and Professor of the New Testament at Union Theological Seminary, will join together on July 12, 19, and 26 to explore creation and related topics in a three-part Zoom series. Each session will begin at 7 pm. Registration is required and may be completed by going to jewishomaha.org and clicking on the Dinosaurs, Dragons, & Demons: Jewish and Christian Views of Creation sliding banner towards the top of the page. True to form, these scholarly men have tagged each week’s discussion with an appropriate

title: July 12, Parks, Parshahs, and Periodicals: What Are Americans Thinking? – July 19, Sacred Texts and Evolving Sects: Historical and Theological Trajectories – July 26, The Variety of Jewish and Christian Understandings in Response to Scientific Discoveries.

Throughout the three-part series the presenters will be guided by two main themes as described by Dr. Greenspoon.

“First, there are historical and linguistic considerations in exploring the topic of creation, and those considerations will be a part of each discussion, especially from Jewish perspectives. Second, we live in a country in which approximately 40% of the population believes that the world was, indeed, created in six 24-hour periods about six thousand years ago.

These fundamentalists have an increasingly large voice in our political debate, educational policies, and cultural/entertainment enterprises. We need to be aware of these developments. Dr. Le Donne and I look forward to sharing our thoughts on this topic.”

This series is brought to you by the Jewish Federation of Omaha in partnership with the Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization at Creighton University. Be sure to visit the webpage and register for the series. One Zoom link is valid for each of the three evenings. You likely will expand your beliefs about creation by participating.

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Our Inner Critic In order to truly consider our self-esteem, self-confidence and efficacy, we must be able to acknowledge and listen to our inner dialogue or self-talk. Listening to that inner-dialogue (sometimes it can seem like inner chatter) can help us to notice how we view ourselves. Often times our inner dialogue will include both positive and negative.

When we pay attention to our inner di- TIA MANNING, alogue, we often notice that what we MS LMHP LPC are saying is affecting our self-esteem, LADC confidence and efficacy. Like heavy PREA Advocacy weights, our negative self-talk could be Coordinator at Nebraska Coalition affecting how we see ourselves. On the to End Sexual and other hand, positive, helpful thoughts Domestic Violence can help us to feel empowered. Being mindful of how we talk to ourselves is a practice of self-love.

A GUIDED MEDITATION TO QUIET THE INNER CRITIC To start this mindfulness practice: Please find yourself a posture of ease and support.

I’d like for you to focus on your breathing. Notice the feeling in your belly as you inhale, and then breathe out as best as you can.

However you are feeling right now, leave things alone for these next few moments. If your attention begins to wander that’s ok.

Bring yourself back by paying attention to your breathing.

For many of us this is already enough to bring self judgement, i.e. “I’m not going to be good at this” or “I should do this

more often”. For this brief practice today, reflect on somewhere in your life you do feel judged. At school, work, in your relationships.

Notice first how judgement is more than just a single thought. It often affects how we feel, with tension and unease in our body, it can even influence our emotions.

Now I would like you to notice where your thoughts go when you are experiencing this negative self talk and the thinking patterns that come flooding into your mind.

For the next few moments, I would like you to practice leaving that voice of judgement, that negative inner critic. Do not validate it, do not wrestle with it, do not appease it, and do not try to push it away. Acknowledge it what it feels like to you, and then let it be.

On each breath-in, acknowledge whatever you are experiencing right now. What are you noticing in your body? Your thoughts? Your emotions?

On each out breath-out, give yourself permission to feel relief. What would you say to a close friend with the same inner thoughts?

Breathing out, giving yourself permission to have relief and strength... Breathing in, this is how things are; breathing out focusing on ease or whatever else comes to mind.

Wish yourself well, not because you deserve it more than anyone else does, but because you deserve it as much as anyone else does.

The Mental Health Series is presented by The Jewish Press and the Jennifer Beth Kay Memorial Fund.

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KAREN M. GUSTAFSON, MS, NCC, LIMHP Executive Director, JFS Let me introduce you to Beth Kujath, our new part-time therapist. Beth is an Omaha native. She did her undergraduate work at University of Nebraska-Omaha with a degree in Education and Human Service. Following graduation, she worked at the Salvation Army in Early Head Start. During that time, she did home visits with families to teach parenting skills and address mental health needs. She left Early Head Start to start and develop the Baby Talk program at Heartland Family Service, Beth Kujath which provided education and parenting support to parents with children from birth to five years old. While at HFS, she completed her masters in social work through a virtual program at Boston University.

Beth is currently an elementary school social worker with

Omaha Public Schools. She has also worked in a variety of settings including home health, hospital social work, hospice, developmental disabilities, and domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Beth has been married for two years to her husband Josh and is mother to two rescue dogs, Hooey and Tucker. She likes to travel, craft, read and try new places to eat in her free time.

Beth will be available for appointments in the evenings and weekends in the near future. We are currently waiting to get her credentialed with a variety of insurance companies, including Medicaid and Medicare. In the meantime, Beth will be developing some programs aimed at children and families which fits perfectly into the new JFO Strategic Plan. Beth will also engage with our Yachad program as an extra adult mentor and as a substitute should the need arise as her schedule allows.

We are very excited to welcome Beth to our JFS staff. I think you will find her engaging and enthusiastic. On day one, we already had her developing some back-to-school programming.

If you wish to reach Beth, please call the JFS Main Office at 402.330.2024. Until she gets settled and has regular office hours in the evenings and weekends, we are fielding all inquiries on her behalf.

The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021 | 5

Israel reintroduces mandatory face masks JTA With COVID-19 infections rising in Israel, the government has reinstated some emergency measures that had been lifted when the virus was thought to have been beaten there.

Obligatory masks in all closed spaces were reintroduced as health authorities detected 200 new patients daily in testing.

The mask requirement had been lifted on June 15, along with many other restrictions, following a sharp drop in new cases and weeks with zero fatalities and patients with severe symptoms.

Last week, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that the current date for opening the country to individual tourists is Aug. 1, a month later than the previous deadline of July 1. Driving the infections is a highly contagious Indian variant of the COVID-19 virus, Kan reported. Some evidence suggests that the variant can affect some who have been fully vaccinated, the report said.

About 85% of Israel’s adults has been fully vaccinated. But that leaves about 3 million unvaccinated minors, who are fueling the current rise in cases, the Weizmann Institute said. A rapid vaccination rollout led to a dramatic decrease in cases, which led many to believe that Israel had won the fight against COVID-19. So far, 6,429 people have died of COVID-19 in Israel.

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. Cindy Gonzalez, feature writer from the Omaha World-Herald, will discuss the dramatic upcoming changes that will take place at the Omaha Riverfront on Wednesday, July 14, noon. For specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact Breadbreakers chair Gary Javitch at bread breakersomaha@gmail.com or leave a message at the BB JCC office 402.334.6443.

News LOCA L | N ATION AL | WO RLD

Kaplan Book Group returns live and in-person SHIRLY BANNER Library Specialist On July 15 the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will be resuming their monthly meetings in person and via Zoom in the new Benjamin & Anna E. Wiesman Reception Room.

They will be discussing Second Person Singular by Palestinian author Sayed Kashua. Kashua is the creator of the Israeli sitcom Arab Labor. The second person singular point of view is perhaps the hardest point of view to write an entire novel from and takes great skill. Kashua’s novel was written in Hebrew and has been translated for us.

The novel tells the story of the intersecting lives of two men living in Jerusalem: the “lawyer” a successful Arab criminal attorney and “Yonatan,” a young Israeli social worker-turnedartist. It starts with a seemingly random discovery and purchase by the lawyer of a used copy of The Kreutzer Sonata

by Leo Tolstoy and subsequent discovery of a note written in Arabic in his wife’s handwriting to the previous owner of the book, Yonatan.

I waited for you, but you didn’t come. I hope everything’s all right. I wanted to thank you for last night. It was wonderful. Call me tomorrow?

These words begin the lawyer’s jealous and frantic search for the book’s previous owner, Yonatan as well as details about his relationship is to his wife. The search is not an easy one.

Six years previously, a young, newly graduated social worker begins a job at an outpatient substance abuse treatment clinic. The social worker is unchallenged by what he does and his roommate Wassím suggests he get a second job. Wassím tells him about a position working evenings and nights where

he becomes a care giver to Yonatan, a young Jewish man in a vegetative state. The social worker develops an unusual one-sided relationship with Yonatan, eventually assuming his name and identity. As the masquerading Yonatan becomes more involved in photography, he quits his social worker job and eventually applies and gets accepted into a prestigious art school the real Yonatan once dreamed of attending.

Kashua creates a story of love and betrayal, honesty and deception and postulates whether it is possible to reinvent one’s self. Are we all victims of our insecurities? How much do our insecurities shape our lives?

Please feel free to join us on July 15 in person or via Zoom.

The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion group meets on the third Thursday of every month at 1 pm. New members are always welcome. To view books discussed by the group over the past several years, go to www.jewishomaha.org, click on the “Community & Education” pulldown tab and navigate to “Kripke Jewish Federation Library,” then to “Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group.”

The group receives administrative support from the Community Engagement & Education arm of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. For information about the group and to join in the discussion, contact Shirly Banner at 402.334.6462 or sbanner@jewishomaha.org.

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B’nai Israel Poker Run

HOWARD KUTLER On a picture-perfect Sunday morning in June with nothing but clear blue skies above, 40 people came together at the little synagogue off Broadway in Council Bluffs for a special event. The event was the B’nai Israel Synagogue Poker Run to benefit Life & Legacy organizations of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

Drivers and their passengers enjoyed a beautiful drive through the Loess Hills of Iowa with stops in Crescent, Beebeetown, Neola, Underwood, and finishing back at the synagogue. After completing the drive, teams gathered in the social hall to be dealt five cards for a game of Draw Poker. The top ten best poker hands were awarded $500 each, plus a Joker card donated by the Jewish Fed-

eration Foundation valued at $100.

Each team was given the opportunity to donate their winnings towards a Life & Legacy organization. Jewish Family Service, Yachad, the Institute for Holocaust Education, and B'nai Israel Synagogue were the chosen organizations who received donations from the event. It was a fun time bringing people together after being apart for over a year.

Education spotlight JEN STASTNY I’ve been blessed, blessed to teach at one of the finest high schools in the country, blessed to teach in a diverse community, and blessed to have made the friends I did early in my career. I began teaching at Central High School in 1998, and by the 2000-2001 school year, I was teaching seniors. I wanted to teach my students about social justice, and I began teaching Night by Elie Wiesel that year. I understood from that experience that I had a lot to learn. Then, I met Beth Seldin Dotan, and the friendship and mentorship I experienced from her changed the course of my life.

I attended the first course Beth taught at the Institute for Holocaust Education just after the IHE opened its doors. Learning about the courage, creativity and humanity of the Danish rescuers taught me that the Holocaust was not just history, that it was human beings. I needed to understand it to become the teacher my students need. I benefited from the wisdom of Beth and the other teachers who attended that session and others, and I received opportunities I could never have imagined.

Over the years I have participated in countless classes, cultural events and meetings through the IHE and JCC. After, of course, the classes Beth taught, one of the most memorable was the focus group presentation of the Echoes and Reflections curriculum presented by the ADL, USC Shoah Foundation and Yad Vashem, facilitated by Deborah Batiste. From that work and other

work we did, Beth chose to take me to Israel in 2006 to study at Yad Vashem. Due to forces beyond our control, that event was relocated to New York, where Beth and I learned alongside other educators from all over the country.

I was lucky enough to be chosen to study at Yad Vashem the following summer with a new group of educators, with Beth always by my side, teaching me more than any tour guide ever could. At the first conference we attended in 2006, Beth and I were tasked with creating an action plan for using what we learned. We audaciously planned a Holocaust Literature class and proposed it to my curriculum supervisor at Omaha Public Schools. Though our supervisor had denied all the English classes colleagues and I had previously suggested, that fall the stars aligned and my supervisor said yes. She even used her extra budget to buy some copies of Night. Since 2007, I have taught Holocaust Literature at Central High School, a course that counts as senior English, which the students have the option to choose.

Ever since the first night I met Beth Seldin Dotan, I wanted to make her proud and to help her in any way I could, to educate our community about the lessons of the Holocaust. I have tried, in every conversation about what I do with adults in my building, other teachers across the country, students, and parents to help people understand not only how important it is to educate ourselves and remember, but also to challenge ourselves to use what we learn to make our community stronger, kinder, more accepting and more inclusive of all people.

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The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021 | 7

June 15, the Sokolof recipients received their awards at the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue. Above: Daniel Stein, left, Sophie Cemaj, Laura Kirshenbaum, Karen Sokolof Javitch, Ilana McNamara and Sokolof Teacher of the Year Naomi Fox Boehm. Below: Claudia Boehm, left, Doris and Harry Alloy, Shelly Fox holding Naomi and Andrew’s daughter Dalia Fox Boehm, Naomi Fox, Andrew Boehm and Babe Cohn.

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Top, above, below and bottom: RBJH Residents and staff celebrated Certified Nursing Assistant Day/Pride Month in the courtyard serving up classic STAR deli food with world-famous onion rings, fried pickles, and lemonade.

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.

Left: Clockwise, from left: Jessi Taylor, Mariana Nieto, Jennie Gates Beckman, Pam Monsky, Halley Taylor, Scot Shinbara, Alex Beil, Jamie SkogBurke, Leigh Chaves and Kael Sagheer at the JFO staff Pride event.

Below: Ariadna Wells, left, Richard Goedeken, Angela Love, Mary Bachteler, Jason Epsenhart and Diamond Stokes.

Below: Planning the Israel Teen Trip are Jamie SkogBurke, left, Jennie Gates Beckman, Ben Cohen, Cantor Joanna Alexander, Edie Tsabari, and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

8 | The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021

Voices

The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920)

Margie Gutnik President

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.

Broken glass

40,000 posts with the hashtag #covid1948, implying that the founding of Israel unleashed a deadly virus upon the world. Facebook groups with names like ‘Humans againast Zionism’ are no longer the outlier.

A few days ago, a 19th century synagogue in Orastie, Romania, had its windows destroyed. It’s an old synagogue, there is no active Jewish com-

announced a campaign fundraiser with Nick Fuentes of ‘America First.’ They were photographed together, smiling.

“Fuentes [...] has questioned the number of Jews who were killed in the Holocaust and believes that Israel has a malicious influence on U.S. policy,” according to JTA’s Ron Kampeas. When the pushback came, Gosar seemed surprised: “Not sure why anyone is freaking out,” he said on his Twitter feed. “I’ll say this: there are millions of Gen Z, Y and X conservatives. They believe in America First.

They will not agree 100% on every issue. No group does. We will not let the left dictate our strategy, alliances and efforts. Ignore the left.”

The aftermath of vandalism at the synagogue of Orastie, Romania, which was But whether we agree recorded on June 28, 2021. Credit: Transylvania News or disagree on certain ismunity in Orastie. The police established it was sues is not really the point. The point is that antivandalism; several teens were identified as perpe- Semitism is on the rise, is getting worse by the day, trators. It’s a story symbolic of how the world treats has become something that we are learning to acJews. By breaking windows of the synagogue, even cept as a fact of life, rather than something that is after the people themselves have long gone, as if to never, ever acceptable. write one final exclamation mark. By destroying, It can be one broken window, or a politician asstepping on, disrespecting who we are and any- sociating with a Holocaust denier. It might be a thing associated with us—even if it is a building no mob beating Jews in the streets of New York or longer in use. The broken glass is a reminder we someone spreading one false hashtag on Instahardly need. gram. But at the end of the day it’s all just more broMeanwhile, in Arizona, Congressman Paul Gosar ken glass.

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ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Just before I began writing this, I decided it would be a great idea to watch a little news. I turned on CNN, spent three minutes listening to political reporting, same old, same old, before the newscast shifted to a special report about the worsening of anti-Semitism in America. Images of Jews being beaten appeared on the television screen. The newscaster quoted warnings from the ADL, there was no counter-opinion, no ‘other side-’ argument.

Watching all the things we already know on cable is a little surreal. You have to ask yourself if other people are finally noticing. You wonder why it’s taken so long. You contemplate what it is like to watch the segment as a non-Jew. Do people listen?

Do they believe their TV? Do they care?

A day later it still bothered me and I’ve been wondering why. I probably read, listen to and watch an unhealthy amount of stories about antiSemitism, both here and in other countries. None of this is new. Perhaps, I expect to read these stories in the Jewish news sources, but am taken aback when I see it in the mainstream because I don’t expect it there? In fact, I’m counting on it not being there. After all, hate against Jews being underreported is something we’re all used to.

The thing is, once it does hit the mainstream and non-Jews no longer have an excuse, will anything change? If people know about it, will they do something? There is a certain comfort in believing that the rest of the world doesn’t step in because they just don’t know the full story. But what if they do, and they still don’t care about us?

The Anti Defamation League reported more than

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Gay Jews shouldn’t have to choose between their pride and their Zionism

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ETHAN FELSON JTA To everything there is a season. June is Pride season, one where LGBTQ people proudly refuse to choose between our identities and our demand for the freedom to live equally and without fear.

A Wider Bridge, which builds meaningful relationships between LGBTQ people in North America and Israel, has always stood for our ability to celebrate all our identities without being forced into boxes. This year is no exception. And this year it’s especially personal to me.

Just last week I was saddened to see vile antisemitic hate against Manny’s, a cherished establishment in San Francisco, when it was vandalized with “Zionist Pigz” to intimidate the owner and likeminded Jews for their Zionism. We stand with Manny, a Wider Bridge trip alum, as he refuses to choose between his LGBTQ identity and his Zionism.

Another friend of mine and A Wider Bridge member recently saw her synagogue vandalized with swastikas. A non-Jewish member of our Wider Bridge family has been verbally attacked just for saying that he likes traveling to Israel.

On campus, Jewish students including LGBTQ activists are being bullied and feel forced to take a side in a conflict taking place on the other side of the world.

In Israel, we’ve seen bigots run for — and win — seats in the Knesset on anti-LGBTQ platforms, calling themselves “proud homophobes.”

On social media, at conferences and rallies, friends of Israel are routinely attacked with slurs about “pinkwashing.”

With all the progress made by the LGBTQ community over the past few decades, it is easy to forget that most of Pride’s history has been a season of protest. It began in 1969 with the Stonewall riots, where brave individuals – including trans, Black and brown heroes — stood up to police brutality. It continued with our communities demanding an end to discrimination in the workplace and in housing, and

forcing our leaders to face the AIDS crisis head-on. Jewish life. As aspiring LGBTQ leaders work to exThat spirit of protest and courage must stay alive plore and celebrate their Jewish faith, some feel today. We must refuse to choose one identity over an- forced to hide in the closet — and to check their other, stay in solidarity with those who feel forced to LGBTQ identity when they walk through the door. choose between their LGBTQ identity and their ZiThis Pride, we are standing up to celebrate all our onism, and refuse to live in fear. Nobody should have identities. The late trailblazer Harvey Milk once to choose between their activism and their safety. said: “Once you have dialogue starting, you know We are proud to support Israel not in spite of, but because of our progressive values.

This month, together with our allies, we will experience pride both virtually and in the streets with joyful scenes celebrating our identity, our lives, our successes and the long road we have traveled in just a few decades.

We will pay tribute to those brave people who fought for the right to choose marriage and raise our families, and to those still fighting against discrimination, bullying and even the A Wider Bridge created a new inclusive flag whose rainbow colors ability to choose our own pronouns. and Star of David represent inseparable parts of the identities of Politicians, who once ran on plat- LGBTQ Jews. Credit: A Wider Bridge forms to take away rights and marginalize the LGBTQ you can break down prejudice.” We will force that community for electoral gain, will court us as a critical dialogue this Pride Month — no matter how uninterest group whose support is essential to their po- comfortable it may be for some. litical futures. America’s largest corporations, which We will let people know how we feel when we’re once fired their employees just for being who they are, told that Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, should will sponsor pride events and run commercials and not even exist. And we will prove that we can stand sell products expressing their solidarity. Baseball up for racial justice and equality and support Israel teams will host Pride Nights at their stadiums. at the same time.

This has been amazing progress, so we really do When we go to synagogue, we will do so proudly. have much to celebrate.

We will educate, we will be leaders and we will But there is much unfinished business. The prob- break down barriers. lem facing LGBTQ Jews is not just a collection of We will be our full selves everywhere: on the anecdotes. It’s a systemic issue that our community streets, on campus, at work and in our synagogues. feels on all sides.

Because we refuse to choose.

In the organized Jewish community, many feel Ethan Felson is executive director of A Wider forced to check part of their identity when they Bridge. seek to get involved. While there has been progress The views and opinions expressed in this article are in LGBTQ representation in politics and on corpo- those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the rate boards, leadership is sadly lacking in American views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021 | 9

The Surfside tragedy recalls South Florida’s long hold on the Jewish imagination and reality THANE ROSENBAUM JTA Until a 13-story building inexplicably collapsed in the middle of the night, placing the whereabouts and lives of 159 residents in doubt, few gave Surfside, Florida, very much thought before last week. The town was, after all, a South Florida misnomer. There’s no surfing. The white caps on the Atlantic Ocean never provide enough tubular lift. The people of Surfside skew older. Nearly half its 6,000 residents are Jewish, and of those, many are Orthodox.

You can call Surfside sleepy, but even that wouldn’t describe it. Nothing truly special had ever happened there. Now, with a tragedy so titanic — and still unfolding — its name will become synonymous with misery.

To the casual observer, Surfside was a breakaway township from its more widely known neighbor, Miami Beach, just to its south. Those over the border on Miami Beach, and in Bal Harbour, the village to Surfside’s immediate north, for many decades had good reason to regard themselves as South Florida’s very own Old City of Jerusalem — a mixed enclave with a major Jewish quarter, and a bit more decadence.

Surfside didn’t have the Art Deco Jazz Age sparkle or swinger elegance that the Eden Roc and Fontainebleau hotels offered back in the 1950s into the ’70s. In Surfside, the Americana was the swankiest hotel. It once showcased a very young Jackson 5, long before any Billie Jean took notice of Michael.

A rare excitement, but the town’s residents didn’t beg for more.

Surfside enjoyed the stillness — on land and sea.

I know about Surfside. I grew up on 74th Street on Miami Beach. The horrific spectacle that FEMA has now declared to be a national emergency site is on 87th Street. By the time the Champlain Towers was built in 1981, I had long decamped for college and then New York.

I frequently return to Miami Beach, but mostly in my imagination. Many of my novels have featured scenes with Miami Beach as the backdrop. My last one, “How Sweet It Is!,” selected by the City of Miami Beach as its Centennial Book, is a nostalgic return to 1972 — a valentine, I call it — when Miami Beach was, oddly, the center of the world.

During that summer, Miami Beach hosted both the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions. Unlike the infamous Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, the Miami Beach police somehow avoided clubbing the heads of Vietnam War protesters.

Jackie Gleason, who no longer had his TV variety show — once filmed live on Miami Beach — was palling around with his buddy, Frank Sinatra, who had recently retired — for the first time. You could find them drinking in hotels along Collins Avenue, recapturing the easy camaraderie of their younger days at Toots Shor’s saloon near the Theater District in Manhattan.

The cavalcade of stars did not stop there. Muhammad Ali

sparred at Angelo Dundee’s 5th Street Gym and did speed work on the quicksand of the beach — in heavy sweat clothes. He was trying to reclaim the heavyweight championship forfeited when he conscientiously objected to fighting the Vietcong.

Meyer Lansky, the notorious Jewish gangster who two years later would be fictionalized in The Godfather Part II, had in 1972 just been extradited from Israel back to Miami Beach to stand trial for tax fraud. He would spend his days at Wolfie’s Restaurant on 21st Street surrounded by an aging crew of Jewish wise guys still smarting over Fidel Castro’s takeover of their Havana casinos in 1959.

Miami Beach, Florida, April 1974. Credit: Bernard Gotfryd Photograph Collection/Library of Congress

All of them appear in “How Sweet It Is!” (yes, Gleason’s signature signoff), reimagined, of course — along with one more special guest. The Yiddish novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer, not long thereafter a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was spending the winters in Surfside. While there he unsparingly fictionalized the Jews of Poland before the Holocaust, and those who survived and lived in New York thereafter, capturing their comical lives of heartbreak, betrayal and loss.

Ensconced just over the Miami Beach city line, situated right in between two Jewish enclaves populated with those who had fled or escaped one hardship or another, Singer made a canny choice for a writer with a gravitational pull for the shortcomings and desperate moral choices of humankind.

One wonders what he might have written about the Champlain Towers today, a short distance from his own apartment.

All the avenues of Surfside were named for American and British authors. (Just west of the Champlain are Carlyle, Dickens, Irving and Emerson avenues.) Eventually a street would be named for him. He must have enjoyed the irony that some of the hotels of Surfside once restricted Jews. One shamelessly boasted “Always a view, never a Jew.” Singer strolled the sunbaked landscape in a white suit and impish teardrop fedora. Always taking notes, he fiercely studied and measured the patterns of these transplanted Jews: melting snowbirds and Holocaust survivors looking to the sun to cure memories of more ashen, cloudier days; widows and divorcees

looking for a male ticket back to the Northeast or out of loneliness; young families tired of the transit strikes and crime waves of New York; Hasidim who dressed in the sweltering Sunshine State as if still in Lublin; and vaudevillians wearing makeup suitable to the burlesque surroundings of Miami Beach.

All of them immortalized in Kodak color, or in the pages of My Love Affair with Miami Beach, a book of photos by Richard Nagler, for which Singer wrote the introduction in 1990. Imagine them as Singer once did: plotting affairs, swatting tennis balls, staring at stock tickers, clacking mah jongg tiles, gliding discs along shuffleboard courts and gesturing wildly about socialism.

“For me, a vacation in Miami Beach was a chance to be among my own people,” Singer wrote.

He found them sitting on the Broadway medians and inside the cafeterias on the Upper West Side, too, of course. But the Jews from Miami Beach were somehow of a different species — and not only because they were more prone to skin cancer.

It was a Shangri-La of Jewish misadventure, a shtetl still trembling but without Cossacks, the Chosen People out of choices, the detour of a once wandering tribe — finally at rest in and around sleepy Surfside.

And now it is home to new waves of Jews, reflecting the area’s diversity: retirees, of course, but also younger and wealthier Jewish families, many drawn to a booming Chabad; a large cohort of Hispanic Jews with feet in North and Latin America; a smattering of Israelis; and more Sephardic Jews than the national average.

The residents of the Champlain Towers were asleep until a nightmare roused them. Will any survive to tell this tragic tale?

In time, this beachside plot will become another reminder of senseless Jewish death in America — acts of hate, or negligence, or of God: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan and the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; the Leo Frank lynching, The Temple bombing in Atlanta, the Crown Heights riots; and the antisemitic shootings at the Jewish Community Center of Los Angeles and Jewish Federation of Seattle, and then at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and Chabad synagogue in Poway, California.

At times like these, disasters, whether unnatural or manmade, leave the same feelings of loss.

Miami Beach has served as a refuge for some, and as a playground for others. An infinite coastline of condos always seemed to be rising from the sand. Today, unimaginably, we know that one can come crashing down.

Thane Rosenbaum is a novelist, the author of How Sweet It Is!, The Golems of Gotham, Second Hand Smoke and Elijah Vislble, among other works of fiction and nonfiction.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

Synagogues

10 | The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021

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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: 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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

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

B’NAI ISRAEL We will not being holding Shabbat services in July.

Join us in-person on Friday, Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m. for evening services. Our service leader is Larry Blass.

Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber.

Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9 a.m. and Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.

FRIDAY: Passport to Shabbat - Culture Connection: South Africa, 4:30 p.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El; Havdalah, 9:40 p.m. on Zoom.

SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.

THURSDAY: Passport to Shabbat: Mandala Dot Art, 4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 16: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El. SATURDAY-July 17: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El; Tisha B’Av and Eicha, 9:15 p.m. on Zoom and at Beth El. Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.

BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer.

Classes, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah on Zoom, WhatsApp or Facebook Live. On site services held outside in pergola, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required.

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbos, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:41 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 8:20 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:49 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 8:10 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 8:10 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 8:10 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari

(Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 8:10 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 8:10 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 16: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 am.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbos, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 17: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Kids Class, 10:30 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 8 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.; Fast of Tisha B’Av Begins, 8:54 p.m.

Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.

CHABAD HOUSE All services are in-person. All classes are being offered online at Ochabad.com/classroom. For more information or to request help, please visit www. ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 6 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/Lecha yim; Light Candles, 8:40 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Red, White & Blue Kiddush; Shabbat Ends, 9:48 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit & Coffee Conversation, 9 a.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Virtual Pirkei Avot Women’s Class, 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Mystical Thinking (Tanya), 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introduction to Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study [Sanhedrin 17], noon with Rabbi Katzman.

FRIDAY-July 16: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 6 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad. com/Lechayim; Light Candles, 8:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 17: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Red, White & Blue Kiddush; Shabbat Ends, 9:43 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch.

Note: Some of our services, but not all, are now being offered in person.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Candlelighting, 8:41 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Malot-

Masei, noon via Zoom; Havdalah, 9:49 p.m.

SUNDAY: Men's Jewish Bike Group of Lincoln meets Sundays at 10 a.m. rain or shine to ride to one of The Mill locations from Hanson Ct. (except we drive if its too wet, cold, cloudy, windy, hot or humid) followed by coffee and spirited discussions. No fee to join, no dues, no president, no board or minutes taken. If Interested please email Al Weiss at albertw801@ gmail.com to find out where to meet each week; Come learn and play Pickleball, 7-9 p.m. All equipment furnished. Wear comfortable clothing. For questions, call or text Miriam Wallick at 402.470.2393. or miriam57@aol.com. Miriam is also offering free lessons to anyone who wants to learn!

MONDAY: Makers of Jewish Things, 7 p.m. via Zoom.

TUESDAY: Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

THURSDAY: Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 16: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Candlelighting, 8:38 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 17: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Devarim, noon via Zoom; Havdalah, 9:44 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

FRIDAY: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.

Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Join us via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom or In-Person.

SUNDAY: 2nd Sunday Breakfast Service — Stephen Center, 8:30 a.m.; Rosh Hashanah Bibliodrama Rehearsal, 5:30 p.m.

MONDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, 11 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

TUESDAY: Kol Rina Rehearsal, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Mindful Meditation with Margot, 9 a.m. Join us via Zoom.

THURSDAY: Challah at Home with Lee Needelman, 8 p.m. Join us via Zoom.

FRIDAY-July 16: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. Join us via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY-July 17: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. Join us via Zoom or In-Person; Tisha B’Av Service, 7 p.m.

Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

Republican state lawmakers liken coronavirus protections to Nazi laws RON KAMPEAS JTA Republican lawmakers in Washington state and Alaska likened coronavirus mandates to Nazi laws — a phenomenon that Holocaust remembrance and Jewish groups have said is offensive.

State Rep. Jim Walsh of Washington wore a yellow star over the weekend in a speech to conservative activists in Lacey.

“It’s an echo from history,” Walsh wrote on a Facebook page where the event was recorded, The Seattle Times reported. “In the current context, we’re all Jews.”

Walsh apologized Wednesday afternoon on a conservative radio talk show.

“This gesture went too far,” he said on the Jason Rantz show on KTTH AM 770, adding, “It was inappropriate and offensive. I’m terribly sorry that it happened and that I was a part of it.”

Washington does not require vaccinations, but employers must verify that employees are vaccinated before lifting mask mandates.

In Alaska, state Rep. Ron Gillham posted on

Washington State Rep. Jim Walsh compared coronavirus vaccine mandates to the Holocaust in a video posted to his Facebook page. He later apologized. Credit: Screenshot

Facebook a photo of Nazis being executed, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

“Members of the Media who lied and misled the

German People were executed, right along with Medical Doctors and Nurses who participated in medical experiments using living people as guinea pigs,” Gilliam wrote. “Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it.”

Gillham removed the post when the local media informed him that it was a photo of Nazis being executed in Ukraine in 1946. The lawmaker told the media he removed the post only because the photo was inaccurate and that he was not advocating for executing media, but for accountability.

Alaska does not mandate vaccinations, although its government encourages them.

A number of Republicans across the country have drawn fire for likening coronavirus protections to the Nazi era. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., apologized for making the comparison.

Speaking of Walsh, Dee Simon, the director of the Seattle-based Holocaust Center for Humanity told The Seattle Times: “Our government is making an effort to protect their own citizens, not kill them.”

Life cycles IN MEMORIAM

ELLIOT BURT BROWN Elliot Burt Brown passed away suddenly on June 22, 2021. at age 92. The family plans to have a memorial service later this summer.

He was preceded in death by brothers Hillard and Charles.

He is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Judy Brown and daughter, Beth Brown Gershovich.

He was passionate about living well with type 1 diabetes. He loved spending time with friends, playing poker, and learning new things.

Elliot was a former member of Beth Israel and Beth El synagogues. He was a former AZA adviser and president of Cornhusker Lodge of B’nai B’rith from 1959-1960. He sold business products for nearly 40 years, then volunteered for several years at the Diabetes Education Center of the Midlands.

Memorials may be made in his honor to the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, where he was a proud participant in research during his life and in his death.

RICKI EIRENBERG Ricki Eirenberg passed away on June 21, 2021. Services were held on June 23 at Fisher Farm Cemetery.

He was preceded in death by father Bernard Eirenberg, mother Sarah (Pinchas) Eirenberg, and sister Frances Plotkin.

He is survived by his nephew and niece-in-law, Jay Plotkin and JoAnne McCall; and many friends.

Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home.

GEORGIA ANN STEINBERG Georgia Ann Steinberg passed away on June 21, 2021. Services were held on June 24 at Golden Hill Cemetery.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in over 150 newspapers. Reach thousands of readers for $225/25 word ad. Contact The Jewish Press or call 1-800-369-2850.

Biden kneels CNAAN LIPSHIZ JTA President Joe Biden has had four children of his own, but he is clearly impressed by mothers who raise more.

In a meeting with Israel’s outgoing president Reuven Rivlin at the White House on Monday, Biden knelt before Rivlin’s bureau chief, a haredi Orthodox woman named Rivka Ravitz, in deference to the fact that she has 12 children.

Rivlin had mentioned to Biden that Ravitz, 45, a key adviser for years, runs a household of 13 in addition to her demanding job when the president knelt before her to express his admiration. Rivlin clasped his hands in apparent surprise as he and Ravitz looked down on Biden, who lowered one knee to the floor and bowed his head.

Rivlin will be replaced as president next week by Isaac Herzog, who headed the Jewish Agency. The trip to the United States is Rivlin’s last overseas trip as president.

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She was preceded in death by parents, Solomon and Ruth Mezey and husband, Seymour Steinberg.

She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and Shane Perrin, and son, Jeffrey Steinberg; grandchildren: Josh Perrin, Rylee Perrin; and great-grandson, Grayson.

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The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021 | 11

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12 | The Jewish Press | July 9, 2021

News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D

Sunday conversation with Shlichah Sivan MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Program and Communications Assistant Sivan Cohen, soon to be Community Shlicah for the Omaha Jewish community., appeared on my Zoom screen precisely at 9:00 a.m. so that we could begin our remote conversation. She apologized that she had just completed a work-out and a shower and was rushing to start on time. It was then that I noticed that her hair was wet and I saw the distinct contrast of skin tones around her eyes compared with the rest of her face. I concluded that she had been wearing swim goggles and swim ming in the sunlight. But most importantly, she brought forth a friendly Sivan Cohen greeting and positive energy that prompted a voice in my head to say, “This is going to be an enjoyable conversation.”

Prior to our Zooming together, I had reviewed her application materials and was impressed with all that she had done.

“Aren’t you tired?” I asked. She laughed and shared that she enjoys experiencing new things: “Some are planned, some just happen, some are things people tell you to do, and some are a combination of all these things. If you want to get the most out of life, you take advantage of what is presented to you.”

Sivan is currently a hydro-therapist and swimming instructor. She has been a physiotherapist for kindergarten special education children and has been a substitute elementary

school teacher. She has been a translator and administrative staff member for the Ministry of Immigration and Integration in Haifa. In her second year of national service, she organized social and cultural activities for new immigrant children from Ethiopia – also providing guidance and assistance to the whole family. On behalf of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), she participated in a shlichut to Camp Ramah in Georgia, USA where she worked with older special education children. And all of this is just for starters.

Sivan currently lives in Akko, a city familiar to many in the Omaha Jewish community either from previous shlichim, through trips to Israel, or sadly, by the recent news of turmoil in the city.

“Yes, there was a lot of destruction,” Sivan said, “especially the restaurants. Much of that damage remains,” Sivan shared.

She also saw some irony in how the people are responding to this situation. “Israelis are known for having long memories when injustice and evil is done to them. It is ironic that in this case, many people have short memories. Two weeks after the turmoil many people seemed to push it aside and got on with life.” She explained that Akko depends a great deal on the tourist industry – “Akko is such a beautiful, place with ancient buildings. Tourists love to visit the city, but tourism shut down right away because of the fighting. Fortunately, people are beginning to visit once again.”

No stranger to travel herself, following her shlichut in Georgia, Sivan traveled up the east coast of the United States, visiting the high-points yet making sure to see beyond the glitz and glamor of the tourist attractions. She then crossed the border into Canada, soaking in the culture there. For Sivan, travel is always about people. Her inspiration on where to go next comes generally from an idea she has or from her mother.

“When my mother finds a good price on an airfare, she contacts me and suggests that I go there next.” She’s traveled through the southern states of the United States and to Mex-

ico and Central America. “I love the diversity of people I meet and all of the differences in how they approach life,” Sivan shared.

And now the big question: “Why did you choose the United States for a shlichut?” Sivan replied that “the Agency” (JAFI) was really encouraging her to go to Belgium or France. She had lived in Europe before and is fluent in French. But perhaps because she had lived there before and because the United States was more distant from Israel, she craved the possibility of adventure in America.

“Not only the United States,” she said, “but the Midwest, like Nebraska. Many shlichim come to the United States and want to go to New York, or California, or other well-populated areas.

In Omaha I think that I will have a better opportunity to really get to know and enjoy the people. I think life there will be something I will truly enjoy.”

Sivan, along with 50 or 60 others, is currently engaged in the several-weeks-long education and orientation seminars through JAFI to help prepare her for her new ventures. She is learning some of the ways that Israeli culture and American culture are alike and different. She laughed as she explained she had been told that Israelis are much more direct in giving their responses and opinions than are Americans.

“I guess you have to ‘hear between the lines’ sometimes with Americans,” she said. “With Israelis, it’s always a big YES or a big NO. You don’t have to guess and you don’t have to ask for an opinion more than once. I think we have to learn not to come off too strong.”

As part of her final preparation, Sivan is contacting two of our previous shlichim, Ron Lugasy and Yoni Doron, obtaining first-hand advice to help her transition into her new role in the Omaha community. Acquiring travel documents, deciding what to bring, arranging for flights – all that is happening.

Here in Omaha, we are anxiously waiting for August when we can welcome Sivan as our new shlichah and friend.