July 14, 2023

The Jewish Press

TICHAUER Memorial Garden

Not Our Kind

SHIRLY BANNER

JFO Library Specialist

On July 20 at 1 p.m. the Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group will gather for their monthly meeting. Group members have the choice of meeting either in person in the Benjamin and Anna Wiesman Reception Room in the Staenberg Jewish Community Center or via Zoom. This month they will be discussing Not Our Kind by Kitty Zeldis. New participants are always welcome.

REGULARS

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KELLY TICHAUER-KIRK

My grandparents Walter and Helena Tichauer were both Holocaust survivors. They both suffered unimaginable horror and pain, but never gave up despite extraordinary obstacles or let their experiences define them. Together, after the war, they managed to build an amazing life together, first in Montevideo, Uruguay and then in Omaha, Nebraska. They had two sons, were grandparents to five and great grandparents to 13. They lived the American

Dream. Walter and Helena’s greatest joy was their family and their family legacy was and still is the ultimate victory against Hitler. Though Walter and Helena have both been gone for many years, the impact they made on the lives of their family and each and every person they met was profound. Their memory will not be forgotten. When a Jewish person dies, we say “may their memory be for a blessing” which serves a twofold purpose, to comfort the mourners and honor the newly deceased to ensure their soul is elevated. More importantly, See Tichauer Memorial Garden page 2

Meet the staff: Jason Epsenhart

ASHTON KAY

Jewish Press Intern

We all see this building and marvel at the dedicated people that keep this place clean and safe, both inside and out. I’ve yet to meet someone not impressed by the JCC, not only because of its scale and grandeur, but despite it. Many people underestimate the amount of work and dedication that goes into keeping a building like this in good condition, let alone the pristine state that you and I always know it to be. Not to mention the JCC is constantly in a state of growth, as it’s currently undergoing multiple expansion/remodeling projects simultaneously. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the strong facility team here at the JCC. The facility team has its hands on every aspect of the building, making sure that it’s always up to the standard that we all know. And at the heart of the facility team is our one and only Jason Epsenhart.

Jason is originally from Brooklyn, where his grandparents migrated to

after World War II. He went to trade school where he studied heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Immediately after, he went to work for the Gold Strike Hotel and Casino in Jean, Nevada. Jason said that this exposure to a new world made him learn a lot very quickly.

“It was very exciting for a young man coming from Brooklyn, New York. It was exposure to a whole different world, and I learned a lot very quickly. It was a graveyard shift meaning my shift started at 11 p.m. and ended at 7 a.m.”

Jean is close to the California border, and most of the Gold Rush visitors were an older established crowd.

“They just enjoyed live entertainment and the machines. They weren’t really rowdy. The weekend was a whole different ball game.”

This proved to be much more tame than some of the casinos he would later work at. In some of Jason’s later positions he would be given some pretty bizarre requests.

See Jason Epsenhart page 5

Prejudice is nothing new. Janis Ian voiced this in the lyrics of her classic song Society’s Child, “but honey, he’s not our kind.” Whether it be religious, racial, or sexual orientation, people throughout history have harbored prejudice to varying degrees against groups of people for no rational reasons. In Not Our Kind, Kitty Zeldis deals with this issue of religious prejudice head on.

Eleanor Moskowitz is a teacher in search of a new position mid-term when she and socialite Patricia Bellamy meet through a minor traffic accident. In need of a private tutor for her precocious 13-year-old daughter Margaux, Patricia hires Eleanor. Margaux is recovering from a recent bout of polio and walks with the aid of a cane and is very self-conscious about this malady. Eleanor treats her with the respect she deserves and a close bond is quickly formed between the two.

Patricia has never really had any associations with anyone Jewish before and fears the repercussions that may result from her husband, Wynn, and their social peers finding out. Patricia suggests Eleanor use the name Moss rather than Moskowitz while in their employment to avoid any “awkwardness” and not ruffle any feathers.

As Eleanor and Margaux become closer, Patricia becomes envious of this and a love-hate relationship exists between Patricia and Eleanor at times. The Bellamys relocate from their apartment in New York to their summer country home in Connecticut. To further complicate thing, Patricia’s wandering and philandering brother Tom enters the See Not Our Kind page 3

Backyard Concert Series Page 2

Susan T. Lehr to be new Acting U.S. Attorney Page 5

What happened when a Jewish group and the Moms for Liberty shared a conference hotel Page 6

Jason Epsenhart

Backyard Concert Series

Memorial Garden

Continued from page 1

Jewish theory also teaches us that when somebody dies, if we’ve been inspired by their lives, it is up to the living to continue to think of them with joy, speak their name, do good deeds in their honor and carry on their legacy as that is of merit for the deceased and for the world.

I can think of no better way to bless, honor and remember the life and legacy of my grandparents, Walter and Helena Tichauer than to invite the entire Omaha Jewish Community that so warmly embraced the Tichauer family upon their arrival from Uruguay in 1962 to the dedication of the Walter and Helena Tichauer Holocaust Survivors Reflection Garden which was made possible thanks to the generosity of their son and my father, Fred Tichauer. The garden isn’t just a memorial for Walter and Helena and all Holocaust survivors, but also a place of peace, comfort and reflection for anyone to come and visit to contemplate or remember someone or something special.

The Walter and Helena Tichauer Holocaust Survivors Reflection Garden dedication will be held on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 11 am. All are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

IN THE NEWS

The Old Avoca Schoolhouse will be streaming three online “Playford English Country Dance Tunes Workshops” for recorder players, fiddlers, violists, cellists, bassists, and mandolinists.

The Workshops will be streamed on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 10 a.m., and Friday, Aug. 11, 7 p.m., Central Time.

ASHTON KAY

Jewish Press Intern

The Backyard Concert Series (BYCS) returns in August for four weeks of outdoor musical festivities. The concerts will take place in the pavilion every Sunday in August, with a different band performing every week. Everyone is welcome to attend this free concert, and no reservations are necessary. Be sure to bring chairs and blankets! Each concert starts at 5 p.m. and lasts until 7 p.m. The Dante and Kona trucks will be back, as well as additional food trucks every week, so stay tuned for updates. And as always, the playground and gaga pits will be available for use during the concerts. The Jewish Family Services will be taking donations for their food pantry. Any canned food donations are greatly appreciated.

On Sunday, Aug. 6 at 4 p.m., before the music starts, we welcome all dog owners and their pets for ‘Dog Days of Summer.’ Bring your pooch to play, meet other dogs, and enjoy treats before the Backyard Concert! Canine friends will "dig" these giveaways and activities: pup cups, a doggie photo booth, frisbees and bandanas (while they last) and more. Each dog that attends will also receive yummy party favors to take home! A few easy rules: Please keep your dog on a leash and bring your own dog poop bags.

Then, at 5 p.m., Funk and jazz band Wood Hoops will be sure to have you grooving along to the beat. One week later, on Aug. 14: The professional ensemble Omaha Big Band will amaze you with their high energy and a wide variety of styles.

The third concert takes place Aug. 21 and will showcase The Personics, a cover band with a diverse set list, who have a way of closely replicating all of the songs you know and love.

For our final Backyard Concert on Aug. 28, we welcome Omaha Beat Brigade, a funk, soul, and jam band that will bring you the sounds of Afrobeat. In case of inclement weather, please check the JCC Facebook page/website for cancellation announcements.

The backyard concert series is made possible by the generous support of Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Foundation, Special Donor-Advised Fund of the JFO Foundation, Impact Grant of the JFO Foundation, Etta & Harold Epstein Security Fund, Omaha Steaks, and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor, Andrew Robinson.

We will read, play, and discuss various survival skills for these charming pieces. A treble clef version of the sheet music will be displayed on the screen during the workshop. The Tunes for Two books contain the same tunes in the same keys making it easy for you to play with a friend playing another instrument.

There is limited enrollment, and pre-registration is required. The cost for each workshop is $10. The cost of each optional book is $15 (includes shipping if ordered with workshop registration).

For more information, and to register: https://greenblatt andseay.com/workshops_playford.shtml

INFORMATION

ANTISEMITIC/HATE INCIDENTS

If you encounter an antisemitic or other hate incident, you are not alone. Your first call should be to the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in Omaha at 402.334.6572, or email JCRCreporting@ jewishomaha.org. If you perceive an imminent threat, call 911, and text Safety & Security Manager James Donahue at 402.213.1658.

Growing up at B’nai Israel Synagogue

STEVE SUVALSKY

Having had the opportunity to revisit the revitalized B’nai Israel Synagogue over the past 6 months, I have been asked to share my memories growing up at my historic synagogue. I recall that my first steps into B’nai Israel on Mynster Street in Council Bluffs was following a Sunday School class at the Jewish Community Center on 8th Street. Kenny Sacks took my dad and others on a tour during the reconstruction and I was able to tag along. Seeing the Bemah in the center, the upper three-quarter balcony and the surrounding plastic sheeting was my first glimpse of our synagogue. Why I remember this was that in a short time after the completion of this remodel and attending services with my family at a temporary hall, it would become a location where I spent many hours with two sisters, parents, cousins, aunt and uncle, grandparents and many other Council Bluffs Jewish families. To grow up utilizing the beautiful classrooms, the Irving Cohen Chapel and the main sanctuary are my recollection of wonderful memories.

Soon I was sharing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with other “kinder” in the basement Social Hall or Friday night Oneg Shabbats with delicious cakes, servings of real Mogen David wine and playing in and around the Sukkot on the front lawn. I never thought it was unusual that families came to the synagogue at weekly services. Mine with my parents (Reva and Selwin), grandparents (Frieda and Saul), aunt and uncle (Dotty and Marvin), and cousins (Linda and Bob) all together at each and every service held in this place of tall ceilings and wooden benches. We would always spot our friends sitting on their family’s usual bench on either side of the center aisle, in front of or behind us. The services were mostly in Hebrew so before I knew much Hebrew, I would fidget to try and make the services go quick. My “go to” was playing with my grandfather’s (Saul) or my Dad’s (Selwin’s) tallis tzitsiss, bother my sisters (Ronda and Marti), whisper with my cousins (Linda and Bob) or just look around. Harry Cohen was my favorite to notice. If he was spotted I would get my sisters’ and cousins’ attention. We would smile and he would stick out his false teeth to make us laugh. As the sermon approached or the Torah service started, we would watch families entering and take their seats. Sometimes if I heard someone in the balcony or snoring somewhere among the crowd it would result in a laugh and a shush from my grandmother (Frieda) or my mom (Reva). The High Holiday services were unique in that I remember that the synagogue was full and the services lasted a long, long time. Especially Yom Kippur which was an all-day event. If I was fortunate, Les Krasne would ask me to come up and open the Ark during a prayer in the High Holiday service. The basement (Social Hall) of the synagogue was a gathering place for kids of all ages. We would tell our parents that we needed to go to the bathroom and then we would stay in the basement or go outside and play with our friends until our own parents or another parent summoned us to return to services. There was also a kitchen in the basement that seemed so big! Eddie Tepperman was a mainstay for fixing something in that kitchen. It could be his kugel for a brunch after Sunday morning services or a gourmet Israel Bond Dinner being held in the Social Hall.

Rabbi Karzen was the leader of the synagogue as I recall. He instilled a passion among the congregation to support the synagogue and Judaism in Council Bluffs. Rabbi Karzen taught me during Talmud Torah however, Sunday School was taught by parents and grandparents of Jewish friends from our congregation. I still remember such things as the Hatikvah (national anthem of Israel), various hymns and Jewish traditions thanks to the Rabbi and my Teachers. My mom and grandmother volunteered at Sunday School and they were instructors so attendance at Sunday School and other synagogue functions were part of our family’s weekly routine. The highlight at the end of Sunday School year was the picnic at

Not Our Kind

Continued from page 1 picture and develops a relationship with Eleanor much to her and Wynn’s dismay.

As events unfold in Connecticut, relationships become estranged between Patricia and Wynn, Patricia and Eleanor, and Eleanor and Tom. All parties involved learn that some events have consequences which are life changing. Please feel free to join us on July 20 in person or via Zoom.

Roberts Park. Families, Sunday School friends and the entire Jewish Community would gather in the park to play games, eat a picnic lunch and take an annual group photo. There were times without a Rabbi at B’nai Israel. This led to after-school weekly round trips for the Sunday School and Talmud Torah classes from either a Council Bluffs Public School or the synagogue on a reserved city bus to Beth Israel synagogue in Omaha. The ride was fun for me moving from seat to seat, playing with friends during the ride (heaven forbid in today’s regulations). It didn’t seem that this travel type of Jewish education took a lot of time despite the fact that the bus had minimal heat in the winter and no air conditioning on the bus in the spring which made these trips memorable. Students of many ages from most of the Council Bluffs Jewish community would ride the bus with me and then return to B’nai Israel Synagogue later in the day to a crowd of welcoming parents and grandparents. Sam Sacks was the religious leader for many years during that time. He and my grandfather, Bobo (Saul Suvalsky) and other regular congregants (Joe Katelman, Abe Katelman, Lou Katelman, Morris Katelman, Ben Schneider, Harry Cohen, Harold Finkel, Ben Seldin, Isaac Sternhill, Louie Passer, Vic Mashbein, Sam Eveloff, Isaac Friedman, Ed Tepperman, Les Krasne, Lloyd Krasne, Sam Bubb, Chick Perlis, Leo Meyerson, Ken Sacks, David Gallner, Harry Kubby, Sherman Sperling, Maynard Telpner, Boone Jug/Zeph Telpner, Sam Colick, David Goodman, Sam Saltzman, Ben Gershun, Morris Grossman and so many whose names I am unable to recall) worked well together to ensure there was a Saturday and Sunday Minyan and High Holiday services at B’nai Israel. Looking back, the individuals listed above and who I have not listed drove to Council Bluffs weekly (as they do today) despite the Midwest weather to maintain the synagogue! This commitment is an example of the ongoing passion and attitudes of so many that remain unrecognized today. I wish to include my parents (Reva and Selwin), grandparents (Frieda and Saul Suvalsky, Ruth and Frank Cohen) and Jewish friends who perpetuated Jewish studies in Council Bluffs.

Being one of the older students, my grandfather along with Mr. Sacks took over my Bar Mitzvah preparations throughout the summer of 1966, so I could have my service in our Council Bluffs synagogue. They tutored me in the Irving Cohen Chapel as I practiced at the Chapel Bemah. Mr. Sacks was insistent that I continually practice my Haftorah and throughout the summer he taught me what I would perform on my Bar Mitzvah day. Mr. Sacks also helped me prepare a customary speech to thank my parents, grandparents, sisters and family for all that made it possible for me to become a Bar Mitzvah. Reading from the Torah as I still remember reciting my own Torah portion and leading other prayers was one of the proudest moments of my life.

After my Bar Mitzvah I only went to services in Council Bluffs until my younger sister (Marti) and our first cousin (Linda) had their joint Bat Mitzvahs. No post Bar or Bat Mitzvah classes were being given so there were no activities in my age group at the Council Bluffs synagogue other than High Holiday services or an occasional Bar or Bat Mitzvah. As I recall, from junior high school through my high school graduation I was called by my grandfather to come immediately to the synagogue so there could be a tenth person for a Minyan.

As I look back at my 15-17 years as a student and congregant, I think about the sweat and tears that made the building into this synagogue. The impact on my beliefs for being Jewish and a promoter of the State of Israel is a tribute to so many before me. I thank those unnamed, including current patrons and those whom I recognize on the headstones in the Oak Hill/Bikhor Cholim Cemetery. The rejuvenation of this historical building, the extraordinary contributors and today’s supportive congregants brings me joy beyond words. I will forever have a special place in my heart for B’nai Israel Synagogue on Mynster Street in Council Bluffs.

The Dorothy Kaplan Book Discussion Group meets on the third Thursday of every month at 1 pm. New members are always welcome.

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

Steve and Bob Suvalsky

The Kripke Library: Changing with the times

SHIRLY BANNER AND MARK KIRCHHOFF

The Kripke Jewish Federation Library is now known as “The Kripke-Veret Collection.” More than a name change, this is an evolution of how library materials are provided to the community. The physical renovation of the building included an analysis of how space throughout was being used and how that space might best be utilized into the future. In examining library space use, it was recognized that it had become a primary location for educational presentations, agency meetings, small gatherings, parents helping children with homework, professionals providing tutoring, and a welcoming space for students who had been involved in one of the many “J” activities to wait being picked up by parents. Checking out books had dropped to an extremely low level and using the scholarly resources was next to nothing. In response to this, that entire area is now the Learning Commons that includes a curated library collection on a smaller scale, enhanced areas for individuals, and gathering spaces for small groups. The Learning Commons provides enhanced capabilities for educational presentations, larger group meetings, and a social reception area. We encourage those who have not visited the Staenberg Omaha JCC to do so to enjoy all the changes, including this renovated space, and to take advantage of what is now available.

The Kripke-Veret Collection is a tribute to the generosity and dedication of three individuals. The “Kripke” name is from Rabbi Myer Kripke (z”l) who was the Rabbi of Beth El Synagogue from 1946-1975 and his wife Dorothy Kripke (z”l) who was a well-respected author of Jewish family-content books. A generous donation to the Jewish Federation Library made by the Kripkes when the library relocated to a large area within the JCC in the Fall of 2000 prompted the library space to be renamed in their honor.

The “Veret” in the Kripke-Veret Collection comes from Paul Veret (z”l) who served in a variety of positions within the Jewish Federation and the community for 33 years. Veret was involved in the completion of Esther K. Newman camp facilities and the addition of the Dr. Philip Sher Home for the Aged and other services provided by the Federation. He served as Executive Director of the Federation, Executive Vice-President of the Federation, editor of the Omaha Jewish Press, and was instrumental in the development of the Omaha Federation Library. Through his generosity, the bulk of the collection that established the original library was the gift of Veret’s private collection. Were it not for Paul Veret’s insights and dedication to Jewish culture and education, the Kripke-Veret Collection would not exist in the capacity it does today.

The Kripke-Veret collection has been widely acclaimed over

the years for its extensive scholarly works. While googling the internet has become a turn-to mode for research today, the works have not lost their value or esteem. In considering the best location for the collection, the JFO recognized that the Criss Library at UNO shares JFO’s appreciation for these works. Numerous productive discussions resulted in UNO and the JFO entering into an agreement for UNO to accept the books, catalogue them in their system, make them available to the public, and to forever have them known as the “Special Kripke-Veret Collection.” While COVID slowed down the cataloguing, the work continues with an anticipated completion date soon.

“It is an absolute honor and privilege to preserve and provide access to the Kripke-Veret Collection of the Jewish Federation,” Library Services Dean Dave Richards said. “This hallmark collection joins other related holdings in Archives and Special Collections. This collection, developed and cherished by the Omaha Jewish community, will be available for scholars, students and the general public, and, significantly, for future generations.”

Following his visit to UNO’s Criss Library, Bob Goldberg, the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s CEO remarked, “The partnership that has developed between the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the University of Nebraska’s Criss Library is a testament to our mutual commitment of not only preserving the Kripke-Veret collection, but also of making it accessible for both academic and general use. It is a new page in the book that began with Paul Veret’s donation to the JFO so many years ago and enhanced by the Kripkes’ generosity to create a suitable space for the collection. The care and dedication of the people now curating these works ensures that the vision of our benefactors will endure well into the future.”

Presently available on the JCC campus is a wide variety of adult and children’s books, DVD’s, audiobooks, and Russian language books. New materials are routinely being added and are noted monthly in the “Recent Additions to the KripkeVeret Collection” of The Jewish Press. Some of these are on display and readily available for check-out. Much of the collection is in storage on-site in a climate-controlled environment, and is available through the on-line catalogue. For assistance in using the on-line catalog, contact Shirly Banner at 402.334.6464 or sbanner@jewishomaha.org

With the Kripke-Veret’s physical collection of nearly 4,000 titles on the JCC campus, we remain a mighty and viable source for Jewish books, DVDs and so much more. So, if you haven’t visited the Kripke-Veret Collection since the start of the pandemic, we encourage you to come and see all the library and the rest of the remodeled JCC facility has to offer.

B’nai Israel to honor National Council of Jewish Women

RENEE CORCORAN

B’nai Israel Synagogue and Living History Museum of Council Bluffs Iowa, will be honoring NCJW for their many contributions to our community. A new exhibit honoring NCJW is now a part of the Living History Museum and Synagogue.

“We are very proud of our newest display depicting the many years of programs and generosity of NCJW to our entire Jewish Community” said Mary Beth Muskin. “We need to remember the goals of NCJW, which were improving the quality of life for

women, children and families by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms” Janie Kulakofsky added. The special reception and tea with be held on Sunday, Aug. 6 from 1 to 3 p.m., at B’nai Israel Synagogue, 618 Mynster Street in Council Bluffs. All NCJW members are invited to attend and visit the new display as well as tour the entire Living History Museum. Please RSVP to the B’nai Israel website, cblhs.org by Monday, July 24. For further questions email nwumom@cox.net

Trade scholarships available for the 2023-24 academic year

An anonymous donor in our community has created two trade school and/or cosmetology school scholarship opportunities, up to $5,000 each, to go towards the 2023-24 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, Transportation and Horticulture. It is not too late to apply for this 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 avande kamp@jewishomaha.org or jpress@jewishomaha.org for more information.

Becki Brenner, left, and Alice Klein

Jen Conway (UNO cataloging associate), left, Shirly Banner, Sharon Comisar-Langdon, Bob Goldberg, Dave Richards (UNO dean of Library Services), Angela Kroeger (UNO metadata coordinator), and Amy Schindler (UNO director of Archives and Special Collections). Credit: Mark Kirchhoff

Susan T. Lehr to be new Acting U.S. Attorney

MICHAEL NORRIS

DOJ Criminal Chief

Career prosecutor Susan T. Lehr has been named the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska to take over following the retirement of Interim United States Attorney Steven A. Russell. Lehr’s appointment will be effective on July 1, 2023.

Lehr, a 1988 graduate of the Denver University College of Law, has been with the United States Attorney’s Office since 1999. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Lehr worked as a prosecutor in the Buffalo and Douglas County Attorneys’ Offices. Lehr is originally from Omaha. During her tenure with the Department of Justice, Lehr has handled a wide variety of criminal cases and currently serves as the District of Nebraska’s First Assistant United States Attorney. She also completed a detail assignment to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. Lehr will serve until a new U.S. Attorney is appointed by the President.

ORGANIZATIONS

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch our email for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com

Jason Epsenhart

Continued from page 1

“Crazy here is a lot different than what we deemed crazy in Las Vegas. Totally moving all furniture around in a suite because one of our very well-to-do players was into Feng Shui. So certain pictures were offensive. Or certain directions of how beds or couches face. That had to be done in a four hour period.”

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice claiming to use energy forces to harmonize with environments.

“Accommodating movie stars with very direct requests. Everything from the color of the lightbulbs to the lampshades to very delicate palates of food.”

Jason described how sometimes he’s asked to accomplish in eight hours what would usually take a day and a half to two days. He says that there’s no way to describe what an average workday looks like for him because his job varies so much. The most challenging part is pools.

“Everything especially revolves around pools because of the safety that goes into having three or four hundred kids in your aquatics centers. Besides, there’s a science that goes into maintaining the chemistry of pools.”

Sometimes, his job can involve wildly different tasks.

“Just yesterday there was a baby bat that was injured that wandered into the pavilion restroom. Removal of that while trying to respect and be good neighbors of our wildlife is just one example.”

Jason came to Nebraska City in 2010 after traveling through five states before that. He wanted to live in a quieter place with more quality of life where he could continue to work hard. He worked for the Arbor Day Foundation, and found he loved the friendliness and the atmosphere of the midwest. However, because Nebraska City was isolated from Omaha, he was unaware of Omaha’s vibrant Jewish community.

Jason recognizes that the community in Omaha is one of the strongest because of its dedication to its members. Now, Jason

Rosh Hashanah GREETINGS

This year you can send your greetings through these very special ads that will run in our annual Rosh Hashanah issue. Each ad can be personalized with your name, the names of your children or your grandchildren. Just fill out the form below and send or bring it to the Jewish Press office. But hurry; these ads will only be accepted through July 25, 2023

has been here for around two and a half years, and he feels accepted as part of the Omaha Jewish community. He says that how welcomed he feels speaks volumes to the friendliness of the community. Since he’s been here he’s seen the campus, its amenities, and its membership grow. Jason says it’s impossible for him to pick a favorite part about the building.

“Every time I walk into our lobby or I’m down by the fitness center or I’m down by the school, all the activity amazes me. I can’t pick a favorite. I’m just floored by all we offer and the beauty of our building. It is all one incredible package.”

While Jason is impressed by the growth that is being seen by the building, he thinks that we all could balance that out with internal growth. Jewish values should guide us in how we treat our staff. As much as we are investing in these projects, we need to serve our members and community that make it all happen.

At the end of my discussion with Jason, he offered to share a very interesting perspective with me.

“My grandparents’ history, they were survivors of the camps in World War II. They came to America with hope and dreams and, God bless them, they worked hard to have a pretty decent life here and raise a family.”

Jason says that he feels a sense of pride from being able to serve his community.

“I am sustaining and filling what my grandparents wanted to see. A place for education, a place for children to come and congregate and be safe. Support of our synagogues and our rabbis and our community. I think those are Jewish value items that I cannot necessarily fulfill in other aspects of my career or I didn’t have the opportunity to do.”

Now that Jason has the opportunity to fulfill these values, it is what drives him.

“It’s a very personal mission and I’m proud of everything that all agencies contribute to this campus. I think that my grandparents would be proud to see this and they would be astonished at what is right here in Omaha, Nebraska.”

Susan Lehr

What happened when a Jewish group and the Moms for Liberty shared a conference hotel

JACKIE HAJDENBERG JTA

It was still winter when the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs learned that its June conference would share space at a hotel with an unexpected guest: a conservative “parents’ rights” group that is driving book bans across the United States.

Among the books pulled from classrooms at the behest of Moms for Liberty members have been several Holocaust-related or Jewish titles, including a version of The Diary of Anne Frank. The group’s conference would bring together backers of the group’s agenda, purportedly to protect children from dangerous influences in their schools. It would also attract protesters who view Moms for Liberty as a vanguard for a radical right wing that is increasingly taking aim at LGBTQ rights.

That gathering at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown took place alongside the national convention of the men’s club group and took its attendees by surprise, said convention cochair Mark Givarz.

It was too late for the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, which is associated with Judaism’s Conservative denomination, to reconsider its conference location. The group had already signed a contract with the Marriott, and approximately 400 attendees from across the country had already booked travel for the event. Plus, the organizers had already put together a whole program and made plans to set up a temporary synagogue for the duration of the event.

So the group proceeded, putting out a statement rejecting Moms for Liberty and emphasizing that it holds very different values.

“We believe that every person is made b’tzelem elohim — in God’s image, and deserving of loving-kindness, respect, and dignity,” the statement said. “As such, the FJMC strongly ad-

vocates for equal rights for all, including the LGBTQIA+ community. At the FJMC we welcome all participants with love, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, which is why our Inclusion Initiative is a vital part of our programming.”

As the event drew nearer, Givarz and his co-chair Rick Wronzberg continually monitored the Moms for Liberty website for updates on guest speakers, concerned about the possibility of security issues at their own event. In the days before the conference, Moms for Liberty announced that three Republican candidates for president would speak: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been a particular champion of the parental rights movement. All three draw support from Republican Jews —including a subset of the men’s club convention attendees — driven in part by their records on Israel.

Moms for Liberty also ignited new controversies as the conference neared. A chapter in Indiana quoted Adolf Hitler in a newsletter; an apology followed, but so did an illumination of other instances when group members had cited Hitler approvingly. A report in Vice documented ties between the group and multiple white supremacist and extremist groups, including the

Proud Boys, whose founder has a history of antisemitism and whose members were integral to the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol. And the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate, officially declared Moms for Liberty an “extremist” organization, along with several other parental rights groups. A few people who had planned to attend the FJMC conference canceled because of the overlap out of concerns for the atmosphere, Givarz said.

“They didn’t want to disrupt their Shabbos with the nonsense,” he said. “Can you blame them?”

Tensions were high as the conferences got underway, as hundreds of protesters against Moms for Liberty gathered outside the Marriott. Police, Secret Service and hotel security amassed to keep the peace and protect the political speakers, and several protesters were arrested.

Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs leaders said they and their attendees felt safe despite the crowding. And Givarz said encounters between the two conferences were mostly neutral. He said that throughout the conference, he had brief, cordial conversations with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, recalling that he told her a significant portion of his attendees were “very pissed off” about Moms for Liberty’s presence, though he noted that a smaller subset would likely be interested in hearing from the group’s speakers.

Descovich told JTA she did not recall that phrasing. She said she remembered hearing from a leader of the men’s club group that “half of them liked us and half of them didn’t like us, but that they weren’t there to be political.” She was also unaware of the Jewish group’s statement regarding Moms for Liberty, and upon being informed of it, told JTA, “This is America, you can have disagreements and debate on ideas. That’s what our country is about.”

Read more at www.omahajewishpress.com

Police and protestors stand outside the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown during the Moms for Liberty summit. Credit: Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images

Women in the Jewish community came together at Lauritzen Gardens to ‘plant joy.’ Top: Renee Kazor, Emily Kazor, Helene Shrago, Melissa Shrago and Rocky Stern; above: Vicki Klein-Allely, Mary-Beth Muskin, Nanci Kavich, Tamar Yellin; below: Sandy Nogg, Judy Roffman, Ilene Arnold; below: Caryn Scheer, Marcy Rogers and Devra Bram; bottom: Andrea Erlich, Heather Kelln and Renee Zacharia.

SP O TLIGHT

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Above and below: Summer camp at the J is in full swing. Credit: Ashton Kay

Above and below: Students at the ELC found relief from the hot weather during ‘Mud Day.’

Above: ??? were the first place winners in the Father’s Day Cornhole Tournament, JFO’s third and last Sunday Funday for the time being.

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Not phrased well

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor

Trying to eliminate antisemitism from the British media is a never-ending battle. This past week, the BBC had to apologize once again when one of its anchors told former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during an on-air interview that “Israeli forces are happy to kill children,” according to journalist Ben Sales.

Here’s the story, in a nutshell:

“Journalist, Anjana Gadgil, was interviewing Bennett about the Israel Defense Forces’ incursion this week into the Palestinian West Bank city of Jenin. Israel conducted the operation to root out terror cells in the city and maintains that all of the Palestinian dead, regardless of age, were militants. Near the beginning of the 8-minute interview, Bennett repeated that message, to which Gadgil responded, ‘Terrorists, but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children.’

“In response, a spokesperson for the BBC told the Jewish Chronicle, a British newspaper, that the network apologizes for Gadgil’s statement. ‘While this was a legitimate subject to examine in the interview, we apologize that the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate,’ the BBC spokesperson said, adding that the network has endeavored to cover Jenin in an impartial and robust way.” (JTA.com)

‘Not phrased well’ is possibly the euphemism of

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL

JTA

For a brief and slightly embarrassing period in my teens, I wanted to run away with the circus. I sent a letter to Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus, asking for an application to their Clown College in Sarasota, Florida. I got back a polite letter saying I was too young to apply, but they invited me to visit backstage during their next residency in New York.

For some reason, I didn’t take them up on their invitation. And the next time I had any contact with Ringling Brothers, I was running away from the railroad tracks where the circus was parked in Philadelphia. I was on assignment for a national magazine to uncover evidence that the children of circus performers were being exploited. I didn’t find what I was looking for, and I have what might be an invented memory of a circus strongman in tights blocking my way. Needless to say I didn’t get any backstage invitations from the management.

When I started covering Jewish affairs, I assumed my circus days were over. That is, until I received a copy of Under One Tent: Circus, Judaism, and Bible, an intriguing new book edited by Ora Horn Prouser, Michael Kasper and Ayal Prouser. It’s a fascinating if at times unwieldy mashup of the history of Jews and circus, an introduction to what the editors call “Sacred Arts,” and a primer on how dance, circus skills and other movement can enhance the study of Jewish text.

Horn Prouser and Kasper are associated with the Academy for Jewish Religion, the nondenominational seminary in Yonkers, New York. Ayal Prouser is co-founder of Time Flies Circus. The book grew out of AJR’s Sacred Arts program, which uses “embodied” arts to explore the Jewish canon. Like the National Endowment of the Arts, which funds circus performers, they insist that circus is an art form, one that includes gymnastics, acrobatics, juggling, clowning and “equilibristics” (tightwalking and other balancing acts).

Beyond the performance aspects, they also recognize the “heritage, codes, and history of circus.” The editors contribute a chapter on Jewish circus history, which begins with Resh Lakish, the Talmud sage who was said to have performed as a gladiator

the century and one of the cringiest apology statements I’ve seen. Language is a funny thing; oftentimes our word choice betrays our real intentions. Somewhat similar to ‘I’m sorry you feel that way,’ or ‘I’m sorry, but.’

I didn’t mean it that way. You misunderstand, you

is often how media outlets respond (hello, CNN) and I’m not necessarily against it, since I don’t shed tears when an antisemite, mysogynist, racist -you name it- loses their job.

But: how do we really make this better? The narrative that Israel kills children, isn’t it just another chapter in a long history of libels? What’s the difference between being accused of killing Christian babies to put their blood in the matzah, and what Adjana Gadgil told Naftali Bennett? Never mind that elswhere in Israel, a Palestinian child internally severed his neck during an accident, and subsequently had his life saved by Jewish doctors. That won’t make the news, because it’s not convenient.

I think, in addition to getting angry at these types of events, I would like the BBC to understand how exhausting these bad apologies are.

are overreacting, why are you so sensitive? If these words sound familiar, that’s because you’ve heard them many times before.

Making a mistake is one thing; it happens, we all do it. But growing that mistake with a bad apology somehow makes things so much worse. It’s like a promise they will do it again (which, in the case of the BBBC, is a sure thing) and have no real intentions to learn their lesson.

This is not me suggesting they should have immediately fired the anchor in question. I know that

at Rome’s Circus Maximus. Their Jewish circus hall of fame includes the mime and Holocaust survivor Marcel Marceau, the Belgian resistance fighter and lion tamer (no kidding) Sara Hauptman and Paul Binder, the cofounder of the nonprofit Big Apple Circus.

Performer and researcher Stav Meishar writes about Jewish circuses under the Nazis. Famed outfits run by three Jewish families in Germany — the Blumenfelds, the Lorches and the Strassburgers — did not survive Hitler. Meishar mourns the “nearly complete annihilation of the German-Jewish circus royalty.”

But the focus of the book is on educational technique. Drawing on Howard Gardner’s theory of “multiple intelligences,” the editors and their contributors set out to demonstrate how movement generates insights beyond the written word. The editors offer an “awkwardly Freudian” example from Genesis 24, when the patriarch Isaac beds his wife Rebecca in the tent of his late mother Sarah. At a workshop held at Limmud NY, the annual Jewish learning festival, three women were urged to consider the episode while forming an acrobatic pyramid, stretching to hold each other in balance. One student came to understand the Bible passage as “referencing intergenerational maternal and female support — everyone doing their part.”

This approach may strike some as, well, a stretch, but there is a long history of using art and drama to teach the Bible. In 1995, Peter Pitzele wrote his book “Our Father’s Wells,” a popular introduction to what he called “Bibliodrama” — learning Jewish text through the theater arts. Rabbi Amichai LauLavie, founder of the experimental NYC congregation Lab/Shul, uses such techniques in his “Storahtelling” workshops and performances.

Brooklyn artist Deborah Ugoretz offers workshops in Jewish paper cutting and manuscript illumination, promising to “reveal the deeper meaning found in texts and ideas.”

Rather than saying you’re sorry and not really meaning it, perhaps the production team can take up the goal of telling better stories? How about, instead of only telling the negative stories and lying in the process, all of us tell the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the positive, the questionable, all of the above? Rather than a good or a bad story, how about an ongoing story, one that has many chapters and aims to be comprehensive?

Israel as the bad guy, it sells, we know. But if your main reason for news is to sell a story, you have bigger problems.

— by design

I may be the last person able to make light of an approach that combines circus and Torah: This week I start teaching an online class in Judaism and humor that suggests you can unpack a Jewish joke using the techniques of Torah study and come out

with insights that are no less valuable or “serious.”

Traditional yeshiva-style learning emphasizes that there are as many ways to understand the Bible as there are clowns in a tiny car, and Sacred Arts aims to uncover a few more. “Reading, imagining, and thinking produce one sort of understanding,” the editors write. “Making and doing produce another.”

If that means reading about the Binding of Isaac while walking a tightrope, as one student does in the book, why not?

So go ahead, Torah teachers: Send in the clowns. Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor at large of the New York Jewish Week and managing editor for Ideas for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 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.

BBC anchor Anjana Gadgil interviews former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on July 4, 2023. Screenshot from Twitter

In their classroom, Torah is a three-ring circus

Students at the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, New York study a biblical text through circus movement, 2022. Credit: Ora Horn Prouser, from Under One Tent

Black, Jewish, transgender: The assault on LGBTQ+ people targets everything that I am

NATE LOONEY

JTA

In 2012, after eight years of army service, I left the military and began my gender transition. Eleven years later, as a BlackJewish-transgender man, upon arriving in South Carolina for a meeting of the Wexner Field Fellowship for Jewish professionals, I wondered whether using an airport restroom that matched my identity could put me on a collision course with law enforcement.

South Carolina was one of a slew of states that had considered “bathroom bills,” and I had to check whether I’d run afoul of the law before relieving myself. I waited until I checked into my hotel room just in case and wondered how it must have felt for the transgender people who lived there full time.

That experience of wanting to leave a place where you are vulnerable is not unknown to me as a Jew; migration is at the heart of the Jewish experience. For millennia we were labeled a “wandering people” as we sought safety and freedom. Two million Jews came

is now brewing as over 130,000 transgender individuals and their families have fled states where anti-transgender legislation has been enacted, with over one million Americans considering a similar path.

Credit: Getty Images

to the United States from Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century; they fled oppression and sought a better life. It is also familiar from other aspects of my heritage. Six million Black people moved from the American South to other regions of the country from the 1910s through the 1970s, changing the very complexion of our society in profound and far-reaching ways.

But today, a new migration is underway, a terrible, painful one in which trans people are being forced to move away from states in which they face discrimination, disparagement and dehumanization on a daily basis.

Even as major metropolises such as New York flew rainbow flags this month, in other parts of the country, many transgender people were packing their belongings or pondering if now was the time to join the exodus.

This year, there have been over 500 pieces of proposed antiLGBTQ+ legislation with a specific focus on the transgender community. Some states have enacted legislation that restricts transgender rights in healthcare, education and participation in sports. Others are restricting transgender people’s access to gender-affirming healthcare, such as hormone therapy and gender affirming surgeries. An internal refugee crisis

Our Jewish community is not immune to this new reality. Yet still, Jewish communal leaders in these states are grappling with how to best support their staff and community members while remaining in compliance with ever-changing legislation. While anti-transgender legislation has occupied significant attention in the current news cycle, there are 1.6 million transgender individuals living in the United States, half of a percent. However, when we focus on the younger demographic between the ages of 13 to 17, we find that they make up 300,000 of the total transgender population, one in five. Although this seems like an insignificant amount of the American population, we must remember that the Jewish community is approximately 2.4% of the population, 7.4 million. Imagine if a quarter or half of all Jews in the impacted states were questioning their basic civil rights, access to medical care, security over their bodies, or whether to leave their homes?

Fortunately, there is reason for hope. When I shared my disconcerting South Carolina bathroom experience with colleagues at the Wexner gathering, I was overwhelmed by the shows of support, including from many parents of transgender or gender non-conforming children who had experienced similar uncomfortable experiences with their children. Most surprisingly, a black-hatted, bearded Orthodox rabbi approached me and stuck out his hand. Rabbi Mike Moskowitz, who has a transgender family member and has fought to create inclusion for transgender people in Orthodox Judaism and beyond, saw me and my humanity. He has been a powerful advocate for how we can embrace and uplift trans members of our community through a Jewish lens.

Rabbi Moskowitz taught me that the very first chapter of the Code of Jewish Law, the Shulchan Aruch, teaches that each one of us must be “metzar vedoeg al chorban” — anguished and concerned about the destruction of the Temples, both of which fell, according to Jewish lore, on the 9th of the month of Av.

That month’s name, Av, also means father. In the same way a parent doesn’t get to pick and choose which child to care about, Moskowitz said, we as a Jewish community and broader society have to recognize that our collective liberation, safety and security are tied to ensuring everyone in our community has an opportunity to thrive.

The destruction of both Temples was the result of Jews ignoring the humanity of fellow Jews. The lesson for me is that we can’t care about God without caring for all of God’s creatures.

Rabbi Moskowitz noted we are approaching the saddest time in the Hebrew calendar, the period between the 17th of the month of Tammuz (which falls this year on July 6) and Tisha B’Av, or the 9th of Av (July 26-27). In Hebrew, this three-week period is called Bein HaMitzarim (“between the troubles”). It is connected both thematically and linguistically with the Exodus from Egypt, known in Hebrew as Yetziat Mitzrayim. Moses, he noted, was chosen to lead the Israelites out of bondage because he took on the sacred responsibility to conduct others to safety. Though the troubles we face can be overwhelming, none of us are powerless. You can find ways to show that you care about the trans people and their loved ones in your local community. Support parents of trans kids, most of whom are fighting for their children’s right to thrive in an ever-polarizing world. Shift away from the political discourse and towards recognizing the humanity of the individual. Support those who are resisting the push to criminalize transgender expressions, such as the federal judge in Tallahassee who just struck down the statute that prohibited Florida’s Medicaid program from paying for medically necessary treatments for gender dysphoria.

Today, in the United States of America, we must follow Moses’ example and work together to stop the troubles that cause these migrations. We must not allow the situation to become so threatening that people will want to leave their familiar surroundings in search of new, safer homes. We need to do all we can to make it possible for trans people to stay in their homes and enjoy the same protections that all of us are guaranteed under the law.

Nate Looney is director of Community Safety and Belonging at Jewish Federations of North America. 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.

How Jewish summer camp became a refuge for LGBTQ+ youth

RABBI TAMARA COHEN

JTA

These past few weeks, many parents in my circle have been counting pairs of socks, labeling them with their kids’ names and packing duffle bags as they prepare to send their kids to summer camp. It’s an exciting week for parents and kids alike. This year, it’s also potentially lifesaving.

Saving a life is of the highest import in Jewish law, and that value — pikuah nefesh — makes breaking many other laws possible, even necessary, for the purpose of saving a life. This year, it is American law and the fear-based climate igniting new local and national campaigns targeting LGBTQ+ people, and particularly transgender youth, that is posing a significant threat to the wellbeing and lives of some Jewish teens.

Camp has always offered a refuge to teens. The Jewish community’s investment in Jewish summer camp is also an investment in people who are at the cutting edge of creating transformative, affirmative, creative Jewish spaces. LGBTQ+ and ally staff are using their creativity and passion to ensure that their institutions are vehicles for hatzalah — for saving lives and for the thriving of teens of all gender and sexual identities, and those still in the very developmentally appropriate process of experimenting and figuring out who they are and might be.

Last Sunday, I spent two hours as part of a Zoom training for counselors and camp professionals from Jewish summer camps from all over the country. Each of them will be running Moving Traditions’ Tzelem teen groups as an elective to provide LGBTQ+ teens with a dedicated safe, sacred space to explore and celebrate the various ways that Judaism and Jewish community can honor them as who they are — human beings created in the image of God, b’tzelem Elohim.

Among the things we discussed was how staff will have to navigate the intricacies of new legislation while also staying true to their ethics and values. At some camps, division heads and counselors — like school teachers in Florida — will have to engage in Talmudic-like legal contortions to inform trans campers that they see them but cannot call them by their pronouns without informing their parents because of the new laws. Camp leaders will also have to decide how to talk to campers — and to their often politically diverse parent bodies in ways that are educational, compassionate and clear, not an easy task in such a divisive, fear-fueled national climate.

I’m glad to say that this is happening, thanks to the many brave and committed Jewish educators and camp leaders who are answering this call. Eight years ago, I spearheaded the creation of Tzelem by Moving Traditions through a collaboration with Keshet. Moving Traditions already had a long history of running Rosh Hodesh groups for girls and Shevet for boys: transformative, small, mentor-led affinity groups that support

friends and family who can’t relocate and drain their communities of their talents and some of the amazing kids who used to be part of the tapestry of Jewish youth groups, Hebrew schools and friendship groups in the communities where they lived. Many Jews with their own ancestral trauma joke with one another about never setting down roots too strongly, that they keep one suitcase packed. But this isn’t a joke and it’s not the past — it’s real and it’s happening right now.

This is a moment of crisis to which the American Jewish community must respond with the same rigor and financial resources we would muster to help oppressed Jews anywhere else in the world. And we shouldn’t stop at helping Jews. Just as HIAS has for many years, we should extend our resources and expertise in resettlement beyond the oppressed of our own people. Did we ever imagine the refugees could be internally displaced Jewish families with transgender kids? I did not, but here we are.

One small way to start is to make sure that more Jewish summer camps can be temporary places of refuge. I’m deeply grateful that more camps are doing that this summer. But as trans and LGBTQ kids find freedom this summer, let’s work on ways to help them and their families protect their freedom throughout the year. Let’s work for the day when every state in the union can be a safe haven for trans and nonbinary and all LGBTQ+ teens.

teens to build resilience, a strong sense of self and the foundation of a life-long Jewish community. I believed that for some teens, a LGBTQ+ or specifically trans and nonbinary affinity space and mentor would be the best way to ensure that the positive outcomes of Rosh Hodesh groups and Shevet were extending to LGBTQ+ teens as well.

The board and staff centered their educational work on the experience of listening and learning from non-binary, transgender and LGBQ+ youth. Doing this work takes moving beyond polarized positions and opening ourselves up to the possibility that God’s image (and God for that matter) is much more varied than we ever imagined.

Charles Blow wrote in the New York Times recently about the migration of LGBTQ kids and their families from states with discriminatory laws to states with protections — and the potential for more of these internal American political refugees. Jewish educators who work with Moving Traditions have been sharing their own painful decisions to move to protect their family members. As they move, they leave behind

Jewish summer camps were created at a very different time in American Jewish history than the one we are living in now. They were an intervention often by Jews who had been in the United States longer and were more likely to have economic means — to give poorer, more recently immigrated Jews who lived in hot, crowded city apartments an opportunity to send their kids to breathe fresh air, play on open fields and swim in lakes under the open sky. LGTBQ+ kids need not only fresh air to breathe, but the ability to be in communities where they can stop holding their breath, holding their fears quietly, where they can breathe easy knowing they belong and that they are recognized for who they are.

Rabbi Tamara Cohen is the chief program officer for Moving Traditions. Recently announced as a winner of the 2023 Covenant Award, she is a nationally renowned Jewish educator.

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.

Counselors and other staff take part in a Moving Traditions “CultureShift” training at Camp Tel Yehudah in Barryville, New York. Staff learn how to navigate gender, healthy boundaries, sexuality and power dynamics. Credit: Moving Traditions

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

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

Monthly Speaker Series Service, Friday, July 14, 7:30 p.m. with our guest speaker, Debbie Salomon Katelman and she will speak about her work as an advocate for people with disabilities Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

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

BETH EL

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

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

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

SATURDAY: Pride Parade with the Omaha Jewish Communtiy with services at 8 a.m. at the Brandies Building and Parade at 10 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services with guest speakers from the JFO Partnership and JAFI Medical Speakers Delegation, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream followed by Kiddush Lunch with Enhanced sponsorship by the Jewish Federation of Omaha; Havdalah, 9:40 p.m. Zoom Only.

SUNDAY: Note: Morning Minyan, 9 a.m. Zoom Only; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Camp-Style Family Night, 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY: Board of Trustees Meeting, 7:15 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 21: Kabbalat Shabbat 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

SATURDAY-July 22: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Havdalah, 9:30 p.m. Zoom Only.

Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.

BETH ISRAEL

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:39 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:45 a.m.; Kids Class, 7:30 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity 9 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:46 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit 9 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 8:40 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Board of Director Meeting, 7 p.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:30 a.m.; Shacharit,

6:45 a.m.; Beth Israel Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group, 7 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Halacha Class with SEED 7:45 a.m.; Rosh Chodesh Av Supper, 6 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:40 p.m.; Parsha Class, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 21: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Halacha Class with SEED, 7:45 a.m.; Mincha/ Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:34 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 22: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:45 a.m.; Kids Class, 7:20 p.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 8:20 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity 8:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:40 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 in-person and via Zoom (ochabad.com/academy). 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, 5:45 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/ Lechayim; Candlelighting, 8:38 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 9:45 p.m.

SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps: Video Presentation 9-9:30 a.m. and Breakfast, 9:45 a.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha, 9:30 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 7 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

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

THURSDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Parsha Reading, 10 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study (Sanhedrin 34), noon; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) Class, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-July 21: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5:45 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ocha bad.com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 8:33 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 22: Shacharit 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 9:39 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

At least 7 wounded in Tel Aviv terror attack

BEN SALES

At the time of printing, this was a developing story.

TEL AVIV | JTA

At least seven people were wounded July 3 in a terror attack in Tel Aviv as a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into people waiting at a bus stop.

Video from the scene showed the attacker then emerge from his white truck and begin stabbing patrons at a nearby street cafe. According to the Israel Police, he was shot dead by a civilian with a gun.

Multiple victims were wounded seriously in the attack, which occurred in the city’s northern district. The attacker killed on site has been identified as a man from the southern West Bank.

The attack came while a major Israeli military raid took place in the Palestinian West Bank city of Jenin, aimed at rooting out terrorist cells. It is among the largest Israeli military operations in the West Bank in decades, involving hundreds of combat soldiers. Israeli forces have killed 10 people and injured approximately 100, according to the health ministry of the Palestinian Authority, which decried the operation as a “war crime.”

Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai referenced the Jenin operation in remarks from the scene of the Tel Aviv attack on Tuesday.

“We estimate that as a result of the activity in the Judea and Samaria region, the motivation and potential for a terror attack will rise,” he said, using the Israeli government’s term for the West Bank. “Therefore, we have increased our forces. I also ask civilians to stay aware. We’ll do everything we can to provide security.”

The attack comes amid increasing violence that has largely been centered in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale raid on suspected terrorists in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens.

An Israeli soldier was wounded in the July 3 operation but has returned to the fighting.

The raid is the most extensive in Jenin since the second intifada, which also saw intense fighting in the city, according to the Jerusalem Post. Jenin has been the site of multiple deadly raids this year by the Israeli military, which says the city is a locus of Palestinian terror groups that have killed dozens of Israelis this year.

The raid is an effort to stem that violence, which has escalated in recent months in the West Bank.

being offered in person.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Alex and music by Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Oneg Host: TBD; Shabbat Candlelighting, 8:39 p.m.

SATURDAY: SShabbat Morning Service 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parashat Matot-Masei; Potluck Dinner and Game Night, 6 p.m at SST; Havdalah 9:46 p.m.

SUNDAY: Men’s Bike/Coffee Group meet, 10:45 a.m. at The Mill on the Innovation Campus. We sit outside, facing east. For more information or questions please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail. com; Jewish Book Club Meeting, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.; Pickleball, 3-5 p.m. at TI. Everyone is welcome.

THURSDAY: High Holy Days Choir Rehearsal, 7 p.m. at SST.

FRIDAY-July 21: Kabbalat Shabbat Service with Rabbi Alex and music by Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Oneg Host: TBD; Shabbat Candlelighting, 8:34 p.m.

SATURDAY-July 22 Shabbat Morning Service 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parashat Devarim; Havdalah, 9:40 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

FRIDAYS: 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’s service is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander

FRIDAY: Drop in Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m. In-Person; Shabbat B’yachad Service: Pride Shabbat, 6 p.m. InPerson & Zoom.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Service and Pride Parade, 8 a.m. on the Second Floor of Brandeis Bldg; Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: Yarn It, 9 a.m. In-Person

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom

FRIDAY-July 21: Drop in Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m. InPerson; Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.

SATURDAY-July 22: Torah Study 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Saturday Morning Shabbat Morning, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom. Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

In addition to the Israelis killed, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year, and the territory has been the site of several riots by Israeli settlers who have burned buildings, crops and cars.

In April, a car rammed into a group of civilians

on the Tel Aviv promenade, killing one and wounding seven. Israeli authorities characterized the incident as a terror attack, though the suspect’s family has said it was an accident. In March, a Palestinian attacker killed one person and wounded two in a shooting in Tel Aviv.

Police and rescue forces at the scene of a car ramming attack in north Tel Aviv on June 4, 2023. Credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90

Life cycles

MARRIAGE

PHILLIPS/CASTINADO

Lilly Phillips and Brett Castinado were married on July 8, 2023, at 6:30 p.m., at Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel, officiated by Cantor Joanna Alexander.

Lilly graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Psychology from Stanford University, and a Master’s Degree in SocialOrganizational Psychology from Columbia University. She is an Organizational Development Consultant. Lilly is the daughter of Dr. Eric and Julie Phillips of Omaha.

Brett received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he graduated Cum Laude. He is a financial advisor and founder at CWS Wealth Partners. He is the son of Brent and Cathy Castinado of Omaha.

Lilly’s sister, Eva Phillips, was her maid of honor and Brett’s brother, Brock Castinado was his best man.

The couple honeymooned in Switzerland and live in Omaha.

JEWISH PRESS READERS

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BIRTH

OMRI MORDECHAI GOLDBERG

Jennifer and Adam Goldberg of Kiryat Gat, Israel, announce the May 24, 2023 birth of their son, Omri Mordechai.

He is named for his great grandfather, Martin (Mordechai) Lehr z”l. He has a sister, Hila.

Grandparents are Bruce and Cindy Goldberg of Omaha, and Yigal and Wendy Hadad of Ottawa, Canada.

Great-grandparents are Joan and the late Martin Lehr of Omaha, Carol and the late Manny Goldberg of Boca Raton, Leah and Morris Melamed of Ottawa, Canada, and Ruth and Abba Hadad of Moshav Zimrat, Israel.

Before someone offers you alcohol or other drugs, decide what you are going to say.

Having the facts can give you confidence. For more information, call

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FOR SALE - SATELLITE

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FOR SALE - SENIORS

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WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR

What to Expect