July 15, 2016 by Jewish Press

thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA

this week

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2017 Campaign Chairs

Mayor wants his Greek city to remember its Jewish past page A12

inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles

8 10 11

Double adult Bat Mitzvah

reAl eSTATe 9 iconic sites that celebrate American Jewish history Section 2

7 Elie Wiesel books that show his influence page A4

SpONSOreD By The BeNJAMiN AND ANNA e. WieSMAN FAMily eNDOWMeNT FuND

Pictured clockwise from the bottom left: Cory, Brian, Jaime, Jordan and Taylor Nogg. ANNeTTe vAN De kAMp-WrighT The Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Annual Editor of the Jewish Press Campaign kicks off on Sept. 1, 2016, and t’s the big question that gets asked the Campaign Team is delighted to anevery year before the Jewish Federation nounce that Jaime and Brian Nogg have of Omaha starts its Annual Campaign, agreed to take the helm. and this year is no different: Who are To Brian, that means making time for our our Campaign Chairs? Which lay lead- community: See 2017 Campaign Chairs page A2 ers are ready to step up and lead the way?

Courts Matter Coalition of Nebraska

BeCky BreNNer for NCJW-Omaha Section On June 27, the U.S. Senate voted 90-0 to confirm judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., to the federal bench in the District of Nebraska to fill an emergency vacancy. The Courts Matter Coalition of Nebraska, a collection of Nebraska organizations united in efforts to ensure a functioning federal judiciary, praised the move, which brought to end one of the nation’s 30 federally recognized judicial emergencies, where cases have piled up to a critical level because the court is functioning below capacity. “We are pleased that this vacancy is filled so that the District of Nebraska is fully staffed and can better

Nebraska State Supreme Court chambers manage their overloaded docket,” said Carol Bloch, of coalition member National Council of Jewish Women-Omaha. “However, more than 80 judicial vacancies still remain throughout the country -- including on the U.S. Supreme Court. There are still 29 judicial emergencies, and 20 federal judicial nominations continue to languish on the Senate floor despite the support of their home state senators.” “The Senate must work to ensure that this country’s independent judiciary can function properly,” said

Rebecca Gonzalez of Nebraska Appleseed. “We urge Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and their colleagues to do their job to ensure all Americans can have their day in court. Before senators leave for a seven-week break on July 15, we call on the Senate to consider all pending nominees, including the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland, so the Federal judiciary can fully function.” Court vacancies continue to hamstring the justice system at many levels because See Courts Matter Coalition page A3

Ozzie NOgg When Sophie Ambrose Friedlander and Alice Weiss became adult B’Not Mitzvah at Beth El Synagogue during Shabbat morning services on June 11, they joined a growing number of men and women who have observed this rite of passage not at the age of thirteen, but later in life. During the last decade, the practice of an adult marking a Bar or Bat Mitzvah has become increasingly popular in both Reform and Conservative congregations.

Sophie Ambrose Friedlander

Alice Weiss

“Over the past decade, adult Jewish education has gone through a revival where adults are seeking out ways for Judaism to speak to them and not just to their children,” said Beth El’s Rabbi Steven Abraham. “Our adult B’nai and B’not Mitzvah classes, led by Hazzan Michael Krausman, have been a vital link for many of our adult congregants to greater fulfillment and participation in our community. It was an honor learning with Alice and Sophie, seeing them every week in synagogue and watching them meet their goal. However, the greatest joy was seeing them at Beth El after their special day. Our community is a better place because of their continued presence.” Sophie’s parents chose to raise their three daughters without exposure to formal religion, instead allowing them to find their own paths. “I didn’t connect with Judaism until graduate school,” Sophie said, “so I didn’t have a chance to go through the Bat Mitzvah education and ceremony at the age of thirteen. Although I’m grateful that my parents allowed me and my sisters to make our own independent choices, I’ve felt like I had a lot of catching up to do in my Jewish life, both in terms of my education and other experiences. When my son was born, I was reminded that one day I would need to See Double Bat Mitzvah page A3

A2 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

community 2017 Campaign Chairs

Continued from page A1 “We want to make positive changes in regards to the Annual Campaign process and donor engagement. We also want to inspire our generation to become involved and excited!” Both Jaime and Brian are happy to do this together, as a couple. “We want to show our children an example of community effort and commitment,” they say. “As a couple, it is easier to stretch the message to both our peers and to our combined connections in the community.” Jaime Nogg is the daughter of Judy and Craig Goldford and grew up in St. Louis. She has one brother, Jeffrey. Brian is the son of Patty and Steve Nogg and has a twin brother Jeff and a sister, Annie. Jaime and Brian have three sons: Jordan, 10, Cory, 7 and Taylor, 5. Patty and Steve have some experience chairing a Campaign, so it was easy for Jaime and Brian to find helpful advice close to home: “They mentioned to focus on a few initiatives that we believe are important,” Brian says, “and to try and get our generation and younger involved. They also told us the more volunteers we can work with, the better. Patty specifically suggested finding ways to have younger community members mentored by the older generation.” Jaime and Brian are aware there is a big difference between being a donor and actually chairing the entire Campaign. They

know what they are signing up for: “You really find out why others love this community,” Jaime says. “We know why we ourselves, donate every year, and why we love it. We love the closeness. It is easy to

this community that year after year, lay leaders like Jaime and Brian step up and donate their time and effort. In doing so, they join a long list of Campaign Chairs who have paved the way. In turn, the Noggs are

participate, get involved and really make a difference. In addition, there are opportunities for everyone, from our preschoolers to our seniors. Just think of the CDC, Summer Camp, trips to Israel, all the programming at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” She adds, “Through this process we can learn about what that looks like for others, what they care about, and help donors better understand why we all give to the Campaign and how their donation is put to work.” It speaks to the strength and dedication of

role modeling to their children what it means to get involved. “Jordan, Cory and Taylor will watch us as we actively make time to raise money for our community,” they say. “We will give them examples focusing on the things they are most familiar with, like the Kids Campaign and community parties such as the ones for Purim and Hanukkah. They also know what it means to visit friends and relatives in the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, and various JCC sports programs. Talking about how Campaign benefits the programs they

know and love will make it real for them.” Alan Potash, Jewish Federation of Omaha CEO: “Brian and Jaime’s passion for sustaining our Jewish community is wonderful to experience firsthand. It is exciting to see the next generation join in and accept important roles and responsibilities to further our mission.” Steve Levinger, Federation Chief Development Officer, was thrilled when Bruce Friedlander, JFO Board President, shared the news that Brian and Jaime Nogg had agreed to serve as the 2017 Annual Campaign Chairs. “Our Campaign theme is, ‘For Every Generation... Federation’ and I would be hard pressed to come up with another couple who better represents the spirit of our focus at the JFO. The Nogg family have been leaders in Jewish Omaha for multiple generations, and it’s wonderful to see Brian, Jaime, and their sons emerging to share their passion and creativity! “We all know that the need to provide relevance to the next generations of Omaha Jews is priority one. As the central gateway to Jewish Omaha, it is essential that the Federation meets and exceeds the wants and needs of our younger community, and we need to do a better job of ensuring there is an understanding of ‘why Federation’. In other words, why is it that our Federation’s agencies work is essential to sustaining a strong Jewish Omaha? We need to answer that question and the Noggs are in a position to help in this regard.”

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | A3

Beth El offers Tot Shabbat Potluck Picnic at the JCC

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Ozzie NOgg riday, Aug. 5, Beth El Synagogue will host a Tot Shabbat Potluck Picnic at the JCC Outdoor Pavilion. “There is no charge to attend, and the event is open to non-Beth El members, as are all our activities,” said Margie Gutnik, Beth El Program Director. “Tot Shabbat is designed for children 2nd grade and younger, and is led by ‘Miss’ Patty Nogg.” The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with Jewish-themed games and activities. Age-appropriate services start at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. Participants are asked

Double Bat Mitzvah

Continued from page A1 support his Bar Mitzvah education, which would require me to know Hebrew, understand the Shabbat service, and know how to read trope. But I also wanted this moment for me – I wanted to take the time out of my busy life to push myself to grow in my Judaism.” Sophie is married to Jim Friedlander. Their son Will is now almost two. For Alice Weiss, the adult Bat Mitzvah role model lay close to home. “My late mother observed her adult Bat Mitzvah at age 75,” Alice said. “She always encouraged me to study, learn, get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. She has been an inspiration to me throughout my life, and I know she was with me at Beth El on this special Shabbat.” Alice also credits her husband Ken and their grown children, Sara, Anna and Sam, for “encouraging me to go on this journey and supporting me all the way.” According to Hazzan Krausman, “Reading Torah is one of the most inspirational and meaningful experiences one can have, and teaching people to read Torah is among the most fulfilling work I do. I’m always inspired by the dedication of the adults who choose to read Torah, either for the first time or to renew the observance of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. At Beth El,” Krausman continued, “we work to ensure that each individual in our community has an opportunity to deepen their connection to their Jewish heritage. For thousands of years, the Torah has remained consistent, identical to every scroll that has been read throughout time and in every Jewish community on the planet. Moreover, the same portion is simultaneously being read everywhere Jews gather to pray. For Sophie and Alice to stand on the Bimah and read Torah -- in an ancient text written with no vowels, no musical notes, no punctuation — was a formidable task that required deep concentration and great commitment. They were, at that very moment, connecting to the Jewish people in every generation throughout time and space. There is nothing like it.” Classes for Sophie and Alice started in October of 2014. They met for one hour a week with Hazzan Krausman, and upped their atten-

Courts Matter Coalition

Continued from page A1 of Senate inaction, and more vacancies continue to rise. The Senate has allowed just 20 judicial nominees to be confirmed since last year. Judicial vacancies have nearly doubled since 2015, and since last year, the Senate has confirmed 18 judges, the fewest number in more than 50 years. Today, there are 83 judicial vacancies, from the Supreme Court to district courts throughout the country. Judge Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court has been pending for more than 100 days without even a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee. For too many Americans, this means costly delays to trials and hearings as they await their day in court. For most,

4742 S. 177 St. | $387,000 to bring a dairy or vegetarian picnic dinner for their family. Beth El will provide dessert and beverages. For space reservations, which are appreciated by Thursday, Aug. 4, please call the Beth El office, 402.492.8550. “We encourage families with young children to be part of this very different and special summertime Tot Shabbat celebration,” Gutnik said. “We’ll enjoy singing, movement and prayer outside at the JCC, all of which will explore the wonder of Judaism and the value of being part of this unique Omaha Jewish community.” Families need not be JCC members to attend.

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David and Bobbi Leibowitz dance at Shabbat services to support their lessons. “Bringing Will to the synagogue had the potential to be stressful,” Sophie said, “especially when he started walking but was unwilling to be left in the nursery. Rabbi Abraham encouraged me to not stress when Will made noise during services, or even ran up the aisles, giving high fives and fist bumps to everyone along the way. Rabbi reminded me that if I kept hushing Will and begging him to sit quietly, Will would see the synagogue as a place where he did not want to be. As a result, at 22 months Will is totally comfortable at the synagogue and squeals with delight when the Torah comes out of the ark. I’m very grateful to Rabbi Abraham and Hazzan for making this possible. I’m sure their attitude is why Beth El is now bursting with so many young families.” Rabbi Abraham helped Sophie and Alice gain insight into their Torah portion -- Bamidbar -- in which God instructs Moses to number the Israelites, to count the names of all males 20 years old and upward. “In my study,” Alice said, “I discovered just how important Bamidbar is to the creation, the strength, the perseverance and the survival of the Jewish people, where everyone is counted, and not just male adults. Today we count women, those under age 20, the disabled, members of the LGBT community. Today, everyone is counted, and everyone can help create a community where each person is valued and appreciated for the unique gifts and contributions he or she makes. And in turn, each of us has a responsibility to develop our own spiritual journey within the broader Jewish framework, to recognize our own talents and skills, and to decide how each of us will contribute for the betterment of the community.” “Through Bamidbar,” Alice continued, “I discovered the reason I decided to become a Bat Mitzvah. Reading Torah and helping lead the service, though a challenge, was an enriching and meaningful experience that allowed me to contribute to the Beth El congregation. I can put forth this effort. I’ve learned that becoming a Bat Mitzvah is not about me. It’s about me fulfilling a role to make our Jewish community stronger, more inclusive, and more appreciative of the unique contributions of those within it.”

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Welcome Home Picnic for College Age Temple Israel’s annual Welcome Home Picnic for College Age students was held on Sunday, June 26. Students in attendance enjoyed visiting and catching up on each other’s lives. For more information on future programs for College Age students, please contact, Aliyah Lasky, Director of Youth and Young Adult Engagement, at 402.556.6536.

7 Elie Wiesel books that show the range of his influence GAbE FrIEDmAn JTA Most people know Elie Wiesel as the author of Night, one of the first published autobiographical accounts of what life was like inside Nazi concentration camps. e book, which helped shape the American understanding of the eﬀects of the Holocaust, has since become a staple on high school reading and best-seller lists. But Wiesel, who passed away Saturday at 87, wrote more than 50 books of fiction and nonfiction -- and not all were focused on his harrowing experiences in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. He was interested in political activism, philosophy and religion, and his books ranged from novels that question the existence of God to a journalistic exposé on the plight of Soviet Jewry. Here’s the Wiesel reading list everyone should know.

night (1960) Arguably the most influential book on the Holocaust, Night brought the atrocities faced by Jews in the concentration camps to the forefront of American consciousness. e book’s narrator, Eliezer, chronicles his hellish experience in Auschwitz through a lyric, fragmented style now acknowledged as a “genuine artistic achievement.” Young Eliezer survives the torturous labor and murderous Gestapo, but his belief in God is forever altered. Dawn and Day (1961, 1962) Along with Night, these two works form a trilogy that deals with the Holocaust and its aereﬀects. Although Night has been variously described as a memoir, a novel and a “testimony” (by Wiesel himself), these two books are decidedly fictional. In Dawn, a Holocaust survivor moves to prestate Israel (what was then the British Mandate of Palestine), joins the Irgun (a predecessor of the Israel Defense Forces) and struggles with an order to execute a British oﬃcer. In Day, a Holocaust survivor comes to terms with his World War II experiences while recuperating in a hospital aer being injured in a car accident. The Jews of Silence (1967) In 1965, Wiesel was sent to the Soviet Union by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. His observations on the plight of Jews there --

who suﬀered from anti-Semitic discrimination and were forbidden to publicly practice their religion -became the catalyst for an activist and political movement in the West that eventually helped thousands migrate to Israel and other countries in the 1980s. “I would approach Jews who had never been placed in the Soviet show window by Soviet authorities,” he wrote. “ey alone, in their anonymity, could describe the conditions under which they live.” A beggar in Jerusalem (1970) Wiesel turned his imagination to the SixDay War in this novel originally written in French, which won France’s prestigious Prix Medicis award. Wiesel, who worked as a journalist in France aer being liberated from Buchenwald, muses on suﬀering and loss through the protagonist David, a Holocaust survivor who runs into a group of beggars near the Western Wall days aer the war. eir stories bring him back to his painful memories of World War II and fighting Arab soldiers in the 1967 war. Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic masters (1972) Wiesel, who struggled with his faith aer his Holocaust experiences, never lost his fascination with Hasidism, the ecstatic spiritual movement of which his grandfather was a follower. Souls on Fire is a collection of lectures on the lives of the early Hasidic masters from Eastern Europe, starting with the movement’s founder, the Baal Shem Tov, and including storytelling rabbis and kabbalists who continued the tradition. e portraits combine history and legend, and along the way, Wiesel wrestles with the question of whether men can speak for God. The Trial of God (1979) is eerie story -- one of the very few plays Wiesel wrote - is set in a Ukrainian village in 1649, where a Cossack pogrom has just wiped out all but two of the town’s Jews. Instead of staging a Purim play, the survivors -- along with three actors -- stage a mock trial of God. Although the play is set in the 17th century, Wiesel has said he based it on an event he witnessed at Auschwitz, when three rabbis came together to indict God for allowing the Holocaust to happen.

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Transportation for participants and gear will be provided from the start until the trip’s conclusion. In addition, support vehicles will escort the cyclists for logistical and safety reasons. A large vehicle will be provided to transport gear to each hotel. Staff will include an event organizer, project manager, and a cycling coach to lead the rise and act as a tour guide for site visits. The cost to register for the bike journey is $2,500 until Sept. 1, 2016. Late Registration is $2,650 until Oct. 15, 2016. The price is based on a shared double room for all nights. All breakfasts and dinners are included. The prices mentioned do NOT included airfare and private health insurance. For information regarding this exciting offering contact Harel Nahmani at transalp.israel@gmail.com or Heidi Benish, P2G Resource Dev. Coordinator at Heidi @Jafi.org. Partnership2Gether is a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America that promotes people-to-people relationships through cultural, social, medical, educational and economic programs. This Partnership is between 14 communities in the U.S. Central Area Consortium, Budapest, and Israel’s Western Galilee region. For more information regarding the Partnership2Gether platform, contact Nate Shapiro at nshapiro@Jewishomaha.org.

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | A5

worldnews Clinton camp disavows writer who accused Elie Wiesel of ‘inciting hatred’

JTA NEWS STAFF and to carry his message forward,” Sullivan wrote of Clinton. he Clinton campaign rejected comments by a Responding to the campaign’s statement, Max Blumenthal journalist who accused Elie Wiesel, the Holoaccused Clinton of remaining silent when Wiesel accused caust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Palestinians of “ritual child sacrifice.” He was referring to an who died July 2, of advertisement in 2014 by The “inciting hatred” Jewish Values Network in and “defending apartheid.” which Wiesel spoke out “Secretary Clinton emphatagainst Hamas and allegaically rejects these offensive, tions that it had intentionally hateful, and patently absurd placed munitions and fighters statements about Elie Wiesel,” in areas near children. Jake Sullivan, a policy adviser Blumenthal’s tweets were to Hillary Clinton’s presidenechoed by other critics of Istial campaign, said in a staterael, including Dorothy Reik, ment shared with JTA on president of the Progressive Wednesday. “She believes Democrats of the Santa Monthey are wrong in all senses of ica Mountains and a member the term.” of the Los Angeles County The statement was in reDemocratic Central Commitsponse to a series of tweets tee. In an email posted on soover the weekend by Max Blucial media, Reik wrote that menthal, a journalist who she agreed with Blumenthal’s often writes critically about Is- Elie Wiesel in Paris after being awarded the French literature tweets about Wiesel, adding, rael. Although Blumenthal has Medicis prize for his novel “Le Mendiant de Jerusalem,” Nov. 26, “I had met people who made Credit: AFP/Getty Images their livings from the holono connection to the Clinton 1968. campaign, he is the son of Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime caust [sic] but never to the extent that Wiesel did.” confidante and adviser to the presumptive Democratic presiIn a letter to the chair of the Los Angeles County Demodential candidate. The connection is mentioned frequently cratic Party, the Anti-Defamation League’s Pacific Southby other journalists when writing about Max Blumenthal. west regional director, Amanda Susskind, wrote that the Just hours after Wiesel’s death on Saturday, Max BlumenADL was “deeply disturbed” by Reik’s email and urged the thal wrote a flurry of tweets insisting Wiesel should not be party to “denounce these repugnant sentiments.” be honored because of his unwavering support for Israel. “Elie Wiesel is dead. He spent his last years inciting hatred, defending apartheid and palling around with fascists,” Blumenthal wrote. “Elie Wiesel went from a victim of war crimes to a supporter of those who commit them. He did more harm than Sandy Gordon, 3rd Degree Black Belt and owner of Integrity ATA good and should not be honored.” Martial Arts, recently returned from competing at the ATA TournaIn his response, Sullivan said Blumenthal and others ment of Champions in Little Rock, Arkansas. “should cease and desist” from criticizing the Auschwitz While there she competed in form, sparring, weapons and combat survivor and author. sparring. “Elie Wiesel was a hero to her as he was to so many, and Mrs. Gordon came home with a bronze medal in sparring, making she will keep doing everything she can to honor his memory her a 3rd place World Champion

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The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | a7

in post-Brexit scotland

Continued from page a6 denly the only dependable figure for many “Clearly, the Scottish leadership have real- Scottish Jews,” Howard Singerman of Glasized that the anti-Semitism issue is a litmus gow remarked. A former Labour voter who test of sorts for Scottish society and we are has rejected that party over a series of antiseeing serious efforts to address the comSemitic and anti-Israel remarks by various munity’s concerns,” said Mark Gardner, the Labour leaders, he said he is considering Glasgow-born director of communications of CST. Other European parties “could do far worse than follow their example,” Gardner said. Ahead of SNP’s bid for a second independence vote, Sturgeon’s Jewish charm offensive puts her on better footing with Scottish Jews than Salmond ever enjoyed. Frustration over the vote for a British exit is palpable on the streets of Edina view of the edinburgh hebrew Congregation synagogue, which was burgh, the capital of Credit: Wikimedia Commons Scotland, where 74 percent built in 1932. voted against leaving the EU. Many locals voting SNP for its strong social platform. have hung Scottish and EU flags on the He never would have done so under windows, and 52 percent of respondents to Salmond, he said. a Sunday Times poll said they would vote Scotland’s major Jewish groups have taken for independence from the U.K. following a formal position neither on Brexit nor on Brexit. independence. For Singerman and many Many young Scots have taken to wearing other Jews who define themselves as proud a safety pin on their jackets – a gesture Scots, independence would be going a step against the xenophobic rhetoric that the too far. Brexit vote unleashed in England (but not Some Scottish Jews, Borowski said, have in Scotland). Others placed placards readan instinctive aversion to anything called or ing “Everyone’s welcome” on windows over- perceived as nationalist. Others simply looking Edinburgh’s narrow, cobbled and think independence is either too costly or winding streets. impractical. Many think their bid for sepaEdinburgh’s Rabbi Rose says members of rate EU membership would be blocked by his congregation are “taking out European members wary of their own separatist passports” to make sure they remain EU cit- movements, including Spain, France, Belizens – an option open to many Scottish gium and Italy. Jews because, unlike older U.K. Jewish com“As a Scottish Jew you can feel more trust munities, most of them are descended from toward Sturgeon,” said Evy Yedd, a co-presiJews who left Eastern Europe from the 19th dent of the Glasgow Jewish Representative century onward. Some Jews in England are Council. But she remains suspicious of doing the same, The Independent reported. other SNP lawmakers and said she’s conAt a breakfast at the Edinburgh Hebrew vinced that “the independence thing is a Congregation, Rose collects fees from about total and foolish waste of time.” 12 congregants who’ve come for Sunday salmon, bagels and coffee. “This used to be worth a lot more last week,” he remarks with annoyance about the cup full of British pounds. Following Brexit, the pound had its B’nai B’rith BreadBreakers sharpest-ever two-day decline against the Speaker to be announced for Wednesday, dollar, reaching $1.31 -- a level not seen July 20, noon. For more information or to be since 1985. placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or With the economy and political establishbnaibrith@jewishomaha.org. ment in disarray, “Nicola Sturgeon is sud-

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Usa triathlon national Championships

Beth dWOrkin The USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships are coming to Omaha august 10 - 14 and we need YOU! One of the many reasons that Omaha was chosen as the host city was its overwhelming support of national events like the USA Swimming Olympic Trials, College World Series and FEI Equestrian Jumping and Dressage Finals. We anticipate 15,000 visitors; including 6500 Triathletes will visit during race week. Triathletes will swim/bike/run their way throughout the area. The event will begin at the Swim Venue/Transition Area, Carter Lake, and then cyclists will leave the transition area, head toward Boyer Chute via River Road and after returning to the transition area, run through Downtown Omaha including TD Ameritrade Park and back to the finish line in Levi Carter Park. We are very proud to show off our community to

visitors from across the country. As you might imagine, an event of this magnitude needs many volunteers to be successful... approximately 900! There are opportunities for volunteers of all ages. EVERYONE can get involved in this national event right here in our community. We need everyone to get involved. Race packet stuffing and distribution, run and bike course support, lifeguard and SUP support, swim land support and security bags check, just to name a few. Many different timeslots are available on Wed. 9 a.m.-7 p.m., thurs. 1:30-7:30 p.m., Fri 9 a.m.7 p.m., sat 5 a.m.-8 p.m., sun 5 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. We hope to engage the entire community in the many facets that will make the USAT National Championships truly stand out to our triathletes and visitors. Thank you again for your support in making this event a huge success for Omaha! Please email beth@raceomaha.com to get involved.

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a6 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

worldnews In post-Brexit Scotland, Jews warm up to leaving UK

Cnaan LIpHSHIz EDINBURGH, Scotland | JTA he last time that Scotland voted on whether to become independent from the United Kingdom, most of its 7,000 Jews thought doing so was a bad idea. Worried that Scottish independence would encourage nationalism and embolden an already aggressive anti-Israel movement with deep roots in the pro-independence camp, Jews here were relieved when, during a 2014 referendum, 62 percent of Scottish voters supported remaining in the United Kingdom. Less than two years after that supposedly definitive vote, Scotland and its Jews are preparing for yet another U.K. independence vote. This time around Scottish Jews may be more receptive to such a vote, thanks in part to anger over the June 23 Brexit referendum in which the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. The head of Scotland’s government, Nicola Sturgeon, has called another U.K. independence vote “highly likely,” thanks to the Brexit results. In contrast to English voters, who favored Brexit, most Scots voted to remain part of the E.U, and Scotland’s ruling Scottish National Party has said it would not allow Scots to lose their EU citizenship. Many Scottish Jews are now more at ease with the idea of split from the U.K., due to vigorous trust-building actions by Sturgeon, who heads the ruling Scottish National Party, or SNP -- an offshoot from Labour that is now Britain’s third-largest party. “They have certainly engaged with the Jewish community very strongly,” Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, or ScoJeC, said of SNP, which Sturgeon came to lead in 2014. Under Sturgeon’s predecessor, the former SNP party leader Alex Salmond, the city councils of Glasgow and Fife

flew the Palestinian flag during Israel’s 2014 war in Gaza -a move many Jews interpreted as an act of solidarity with the terrorist group Hamas. At that year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a popular arts festival, two Israeli troupes canceled their performances in response to pro-Palestinian protests.

Howard and Claire Singerman standing outside Mark’s Deli, a Jewish restaurant in Glasgow, July 4, 2016. Credit: Cnaan Liphshiz Citing police figures, ScoJeC reported a record 50 anti-Semitic incidents in 2014 in Scotland and an “unprecedented number of Jewish people who expressed anxiety about their perception of increased antisemitism in Scotland.” The rise in hostility cannot “be excused as merely political protest” against Israel, the group’s report said. At the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation -- a large Orthodox synagogue located at the foot of a range of green hills -the staple prayer for the safety of Israeli soldiers was dropped at least once that year so as not to offend non-Jews during the conflict. “Discretion is the better part of valor,” Rabbi David Rose said at the time.

Salmond, who had called for applying sanctions against Israel, largely ignored pleas by Jewish community representatives to curb the vitriol, according to Howard Singerman, former treasurer of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council. But Sturgeon, his successor, is taking action, according to Borowski. He cited her “extremely strong message” during a conference on hate crime co-organized last year by the Chief Constable and the head of Scotland’s prosecution service. “I don’t want to be the first minister, or even live in a country, in which Jewish people feel that they want to leave or hide their identity,” she said then. She also distanced the SNP from “the unsavory and horrible creeds that call themselves nationalism.” If you choose to live in Scotland, she said, “it doesn’t matter where you’re from; it’s not about identity but about everyone who lives here sharing the responsibility to make Scotland as good as it can be.” Sturgeon told Borowski she wanted her ministers “seen engaging with the Jewish community, not merely making statements.” She met with Israelis in Scotland, and attended Jewish communal events and met with Jewish students concerned about vitriol on campus. Under Sturgeon’s leadership, ScoJeC saw its budget increased twice, once by 28 percent and then again by 20 percent on top of that. Last year, the Community Security Trust, or CST, British Jewry’s watchdog on anti-Semitism, criticized an SNP lawmaker in the Scottish parliament, Sandra White, for retweeting an anti-Semitic caricature. It featured a sow labeled “Rothchild” nursing piglets labeled as Islamist terrorist groups, the CIA and Israel. Sturgeon called the incident “abhorrent” and apologized for it, as did White. See In post-Brexit Scotland page a7

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A8 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

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(Founded in 1920) Eric Dunning President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor richard Busse Creative Director susan Bernard Advertising Executive lori Kooper-schwarz Assistant Editor Thierry Ndjike Accounting Jewish press Board Eric Dunning, President; Andy Ruback, Past-President; Sandy Friedman, Treasurer; Andrew Boehm; Scott Farkas; Paul Gerber; Alex Grossman; David Kotok; Debbie Kricsfeld; Abby Kutler; Pam Monsky; Paul Rabinovitz; Nancy Wolf and Barry Zoob. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish LIfe, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ 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. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment. Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication. E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@jewish omaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha. org.

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Something’s cooking

ANNETTE vAN DE KAmp-WrIgHT Editor of the Jewish Press here are times when you need a distraction from your continued obsession with The News. Not that I am admitting to anything, but sometimes I need to get out of my own head a little and just stop thinking so hard about anything and everything. Especially during an election year, it feels like I am forever one unfortunate tweet away from pulling my hair out. That’s okay; I have tools. My biggest anti-stress strategy is my kitchen. Disclaimer: I am not a super chef. I am admitting that up front because I know my sister will AspArAgus roll-ups read this and when it comes to food, When you want your guests to she’s my hero. Plus, she’s had a first- think you went through a lot of trouble row seat to some of my mess-ups in to make an appetizer, or want to bring something spethe kitchen. Don’t ask. cial to a meal, try these. Yes, there is some work, but There are few things as relaxing as stir- you can make them ahead and freeze. Then thaw what ring a pot of a different sort. Chopping in- you need. gredients, hearing the satisfying sizzle as loaf of fresh white bread you drop the onions in the hot olive oil, 8 ounces blue cheese knowing exactly when things start to smell 8 ounces cream cheese right and having the decision of which 1 beaten egg spices to put in your lentil soup be the hard- 1 pound asparagus (fresh is best, but frozen est one you’ll make that day. Ah, peace. spears are fine too), cooked but crunchy Although the best kinds of recipes are the 1 stick melted butter ones you know by heart, sometimes a Get out a rolling pin and flatten the fresh slices of cookbook is needed. I have a modest col- bread (cut off crusts). lection of about 25 books in my kitchen, In a small bowl, mix the blue cheese with softened 20 of which I never use. They are simply cream cheese and the egg. there because they are pretty to look at. Spread the cheese mixture over each slice of bread. When I first opened Sandra Goldberg Lay one spear on each slice. Roll up tightly and secure Wendel’s new cookbook, Chewish, Recipes with a toothpick to prevent unrolling. with Stories from Nama’s Kitchen, I couldPlace on cookie sheet with raised sides; pour melted n’t quite decide whether it fell in “I’ll actu- butter over them until they are drenched. ally use this” category. Inside, she shares Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cut each 36 recipes from her grandmother’s very, roll in 2 or 3 pieces. very Jewish kitchen, including farfel and (Nama’s recipe card says this recipe makes approximatzo ball soup. mately 42 rolls). I don’t need another recipe for matzo

ball soup. I already know exactly how I like to make it. But then, I noticed some surprising items, like Reuben roll-ups, Vinegar Strudel and Toffee Cookies with Chocolate Top. I can be talked into anything if it involves toffee and chocolate. “Nama was Diana Silverman Goldberg,” Sandra writes, “my grandmother. When she married Louis Goldberg and he moved her halfway across the country in 1919 to Sioux City, Iowa, she learned to cook. I made sure her handwritten recipes in the loose pages and recipe boxes scattered throughout her kitchen ended up in my kitchen when we moved her to assisted living, because when we remember Nama, all life revolves around food. The kitchen is the United Nations, where the world’s problems can be solved over a nice bowl of matzo ball soup.” In addition to her grandmother’s recipes, Sandra also includes a short section on Reubens. Starting off with the original Blackstone’s recipe for Thousand Island Dressing, she includes something devilishly tempting called “Reuben Dip.” And then, there is a recipe for something called “Asparagus Roll-ups.” I’ll be honest: I haven’t tried them myself yet, but I am planning to. I think you should too, which is why I’m including the recipe to the left. No, not the toffee chocolate recipe... if that’s the one you want, you’ll have to get your hands on Sandra’s book. Visit Amazon.com or chewish.com, or download it to Kindle, iPad and other e-reader devices.

The ‘religionization’ of Israel is troubling, but the fears about it are hysterical sHuKI FrIEDmAN JERUSALEM | JTA Religionization! Religionization! To read the newspaper headlines in Israel, to view its documentary films and attend its expert panels with academics, a stranger might think that upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, he or she will have arrived at nothing less than a Hebrewspeaking version of Iran. According to those who fear for Israel’s Jewish and democratic future, religionization (“ha’datah” in Hebrew) is everywhere. Within Israel’s educational system, right-wing and religious ministers are infusing class curricula with religious content. The justice system in the country increasingly includes judges and other senior level officials who are religious, and are threatening, so it appears, to implement “Hebrew” law. Israel’s communications sector is suddenly being overrun by men wearing skull caps, who are bringing their worldviews and values from home to the workplace. The chief of police is religious as well. And at what point will the people’s army transform into God’s army? In such an atmosphere, the use of any Jewish content in official government statements; any attempt by a religious person to stand up for her rights; the celebration of any Jewish holiday at any secular school anywhere, and every mention of God within the context of the Israel Defense Forces is more proof that religion is taking over our lives -- that we are in the throes of a terrible process of religionization. The reality, however, is clearly different from this perception. Tel Aviv is not Tehran. Neither is it Jerusalem. The IDF is fighting for the country and its people, not God. Israel’s educational system is not rediscovering religion en masse. And while the Israeli public is most certainly changing, it’s actually doing so in the direction of secu-

larization. The status quo in the country between religion and state is long since dead. Commercial and leisure activities during the Sabbath are more widespread today than in the past and homosexual couples are receiving official recogni-

Headlines could convince a stranger that Israel is like a Hebrew-speaking version of Iran, shuki Friedman writes. Credit: Lior Zaltzman tion. All this in spite of the fact that for 30 years there has existed an ultra-religious veto, overtly or covertly, within the government. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. I, as well as many citizens, religious and secular, believe that these two characteristics are critical to the country’s existence. Just as Israel’s Jewish image and identity must be cultivated, so must its democratic character and liberal and humanistic values. And no, there is no contradiction between Jewish and democratic. The exact balance between these values is not gospel. Neither is it the exclusive knowledge of the religious or secular. Even the Supreme Court, which has occasionally had to rule on these issues, has often done so mechanically. How then can we determine the location of the golden mean? Only through public discussion that is serious and open to all. Only by listening to one

another and being willing to understand the value of creating a synthesis between these two values, and acknowledging the need to sometimes compromise. Only then will it be possible for the unique and valuable combination – a Jewish and democratic state – to thrive. Nevertheless, critics of religionization talk about it as if it is a demon uniquely threatening Israel’s culture and society. This is the easy way out for politicians, activists, members of the media and the academy. When there is a common enemy that is as threatening as the religious demon it is much easier to close ranks, hiding together behind the issue. Yet demonizing religion comes with a price. And the price is high. The price is the suppression of all public debate on this and related issues. The price is the stifling of every serious attempt to address in an open and comprehensive manner the topic of religion and state, and the relationship between Judaism and democracy. Fear-mongering over the religious demon leads to exaggerated, hysterical descriptions that occur whenever an attempt is made to add a Jewish dimension to the Israeli public sphere, or to promote the expression of Jewish spiritual treasures not only inside of synagogues but within Israeli life itself. The hysteria over this issue is dragging us straight to the bottom. Instead of dialogue, we are being subjected to a cacophony of screaming from all sides. This demon must be put back in the closet, which should then be buried deep in the ground. In place of this demon, the public sphere will be filled with serious and meaningful dialogue on the Jewish and democratic values of Israel. Shuki Friedman is the director of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Center for Religion, Nation and State and a law professor at Peres Academic Center.

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | A9

A stranger at synagogue told me to take my son â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;somewhere elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

LeiLAh Mooney Joseph I thought about telling her that I had helped organize the someone in the Pulse shooting? Did she go home and think, Kveller via JTA communitywide vigil for the victims of the Orlando shootâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Wow, I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe I lost my cool like that -- how embarIt finally happened. My son is almost nine months old, ing that she tried, and failed, to exclude me from. That I rassingâ&#x20AC;?? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know. and this week, for the first time, a stranger came up to me had spent all week holding back my tears and desperately Actually, the person I really wish I could talk to is the and asked me to â&#x20AC;&#x153;take him somewhere else.â&#x20AC;? Even worse, it needed a solemn moment of reflection among my commuother target of this womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s misguided scolding -- the man happened at synagogue. nity, even if I had to do it sitting on the floor behind the last who was standing next to me holding his 1-year-old son. The woman who approached me was quite obviously not pew while my son nursed. That leaning over a woman who The man who had also relegated himself to the back of the a member of our congregation -- and when some of the is nursing a baby and interrogating her (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there anyroom, trying to keep his kid quiet as he listened with tears clergy and lay leaders later heard what happened, they in his eyes to the prayer for peace. The man who were a combination of embarrassed, irritated and beturned beet red and fled the sanctuary as soon as she mused. Each of them said to me, with a smile, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well, approached us and asked us to take our kids elsewhere. clearly she is not a member here.â&#x20AC;? This was obvious to Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I wish I could say to that dad: me, as it was to them, because our congregation -I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know your name or what brought you to the Adas Israel in Washington, D.C. -- is about the most Orlando vigil that night. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a memkid-friendly place I have ever been. ber of another congregation or if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re even religious. Walk into our main sanctuary on a given Saturday I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a single parent or if you, like me, and amid the chanting and praying and shuffling of were flying solo that night because your partner was pages, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll hear a symphony of childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voices. working. But I hope that encounter wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discourage Laughing, singing, crying, asking questions -- doing all you from bringing your son back to shul. I hope you the things kids do. Look around and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see kids on didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave Adas that night with the message that a the bimah, kids in the pews with their families, kids sanctuary is no place for children. I hope the next time walking the aisles, mamas nursing babies, papas someone asks you if you can take your son somewhere clutching kids under a tallis as they rock rhythmically else, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll remember seeing me stand my ground and back and forth. In one service, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll even find a play feel brave enough to do the same. I hope that in the fuarea for kids off to the side of the room. ture, when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re alone with your son, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesiItâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of my favorite things about our community, tate to come to synagogue, whether to pray, to sing, to and I can safely say that someone who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe A synagogue interior, though not the one mentioned in this piece. learn or even just to schmooze. I hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll bring Credit: iStock your son with you and give yourself a chance to expechildren belong in sacred spaces wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t last more than a week at Adas. where else you can do that?â&#x20AC;?) is never OK, even if you are rience whatever it is you come to synagogue for. Being a The day after my unfortunate confrontation with this also a woman. That if she would leave me alone long parent does not disqualify you from those needs, those moanonymous heckler, I thought a lot about writing someenough to listen to the speaker, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d hear him explaining ments or those places. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re anything like me, you might thing addressed to her: â&#x20AC;&#x153;An open letter to the woman who that Talmud demands we prioritize life over death, which realize that it only enhances them. tried to kick me and my son out of our own sanctuary.â&#x20AC;? I could help explain why itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in fact appropriate for a happy, Leilah Mooney Joseph is a writer and activist who blogs thought about telling her that I take my son to synagogue gurgling baby to be present at a vigil or memorial service. at https://medium.com/@LeilahMJ. She lives in Washingwith me because I believe that if we want our children to I thought about publishing one of those open letters, one ton, D.C. learn how to behave in synagogue, if we want them to deof those rants that seem to so often go viral these days. But I Kveller is a thriving community of women and parents velop a love of Judaism, not just a sense of obligation, we realized that for all the things she chose not to see or find who convene online to share, celebrate and commiserate have to bring them with us and let them be themselves in out about me, there are plenty I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about her either. their experiences of raising kids through a Jewish lens.Visit the sanctuary. Did I meet her on one of her worst days? Did she lose Kveller.com.

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a10 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

synagogues b’nai israel synagogue

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 402.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

beTh el synagogue

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

beTh israel synagogue

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

chabad house

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

congregaTion b’nai Jeshurun

South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org

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Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244

rose blumkin Jewish home

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154

Temple israel

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

TifereTh israel

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

b’nai israel synagogue

There will not be Friday night services in July and August. Services and speaker series will resume sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. For information on our historic synagogue, please contact any of our board members: Mark Eveloff, Rick Katelman, Carole Lainof, Marty Ricks, Sissy Silber, Nancy Wolf and Phil Wolf.

beTh el synagogue

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. friday: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. saTurday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; MiniMinyannaires, 10:45 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:45 p.m. weekday serVices: Sundays, 9 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; weekdays, 7 a.m. & 5:30 p.m. sunday: Torah Study, 10 a.m. Lunch at the Nebraska AIDS Coalition, friday, July 22, 11:30 a.m. All classes and programs are open to everyone in the Jewish community.

beTh israel synagogue

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. friday: Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv & Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.; Friday Night Dinner, 8:30 p.m. Menu: Fried Chicken, potatoes, vegetable and dessert. $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 4-12, and free for ages 3 and younger. RSVP to the synagogue office; Candle Lighting, 8:37 p.m. saTurday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Parade and Kids Classes, 9:45 a.m.; Summer Simcha Kiddush; Insights into the Weekly Portion, 7:35 p.m.; Mincha/Seudah Shlishit, 8:20 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:44 p.m. sunday: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Bagels and Beit Medrash, 9:45 a.m. weekdays: Shacharit, 7 a.m. monday: Progamming Meeting, 7 p.m. Thursday: Women’s Class, 9:30 a.m. Farewell Kiddush Lunch in honor of Rabbi Yaakov and Ilana Weiss and family, saturday, July 23.

chabad house

Services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. friday: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m saTurday: Minyan and Meditation, 9:30 a.m. sunday: Minyan, 8:30 a.m. weekdays: Minyan and Meditation, 7 a.m. Tuesday: Dynamic Discovery with Shani Katzman, 10:15 a.m. A class for women based on traditional texts with practical insights and application. RSVP by calling the office. wednesday: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Rochi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office; The Development of the Oral Tradition, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Katzman. RSVP by calling the office. In memory of Forrest Krutter -- Efrayim Menachem Ben Avraham Yitzchak. Thursday: Women’s Study at UNMC with Shani Katzman, noon. RSVP by emailing Marlene Cohen at mzcohen@ unmc.edu.

congregaTion b’nai Jeshurun

Services conducted by Rabbi Craig Lewis. friday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Pre-neg, 6 p.m. hosted by Linda Glaser; Shabbat Evening Service, 6:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:38 p.m. saTurday: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:30 a.m. on Parashat Chukat; Game Night/Potluck Supper, 6 p.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 10:07 p.m. monday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Tuesday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Ladies Lunch, noon at Venue, 4111 Pioneer Wood Dr. #100, Lincoln. wednesday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Thursday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Choir rehearsal, 7 p.m.; High Choir rehearsal, 7:30 p.m. LJCS Camp Israel, friday, July 22, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. President’s Office Hours, sunday mornings, 10 a.m.–noon at SST. If you have any Temple business you would like to bring

before the Board of Trustees, potential programs, or new ideas, please let us know! Call for an appointment at the Temple or just to chat any time at 402.513.7697. Or if you prefer, just email David Weisser at president@southstreettemple.org.

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

rose blumkin Jewish home

friday: Chef’s Demo, 1:30 p.m. with Beth Israel. saTurday: Services, 9:15 a.m. led by Steve Riekes. Services will be held in the Chapel. Members of the community are invited to attend.

Temple israel

friday: Shabbat Evening Services & Picnic: D’var Torah by Rabbi Darryl Crystal, 6 p.m. led by Rabbi Crystal, Rabbi Susman and Cantor Shermet. saTurday: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.; Shabbat Morning Services, 10:30 a.m. Torah Reader: Denise Blake and Haftarah Reader: Miles Remer; TiYPE Schmoozing for Young Adults, 6:30 p.m., Stinson Park, 2285 South 67 St. Young adults age 18+ are invited to come enjoy food and drinks, havdalah and get to know our new assistant rabbi, Rabbi Sussman. RSVP required. Tuesday: Executive Committe Meeting, 6 p.m.; Board of Trustees Meeting, 7 p.m. wednesday: Movie & Discussion Nights at Temple Israel: Avalon - the struggle of a Jewish family to live the American dream while holding their family together, 7 p.m. Movie followed by a discussion. Thursday: Adult Education Class with Rabbi Sussman, 10 a.m. Mitzvah Day with TiYPE, sunday, July 31, 10 a.m., 6412 North 42nd St. Help TiYPE at the Temple Israel Cemetery to make our space of remembrance nice for our community. Please RSVP to Director of Youth and Young Adult Engagement Aliyah Lasky, 402.556.6536, by monday, July 25. Take Me Out to the Ball Game:Omaha Storm Chasers Baseball Game, sunday, aug. 7, 5 p.m. Cost is $10 per ticket. RSVP to the Temple Israel Office. Annual Tri-Faith Picnic, sunday, aug. 14, 12:30-2:30 p.m. at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St. Please join us for food & fellowship! Rain or shine! Halal burgers & kosher hot dogs provided. Bring a side dish or dessert to share! (Please, no pork, shellfish or gelatin dishes) Open to all supporters of the Tri-Faith Initiative! Questions? Contact info@trifaith.org or 402.934.2955.

Temple Israel Golf Outing, monday, aug. 15, noon at Shadow Ridge Country Club. Invite your spouse or friends to join us for cocktails, dinner and awards banquet! Schedule: noon – Lunch, 1 p.m. – Shotgun and 6 p.m. - Dinner with cash bar. Player Options: Includes 18 holes of golf with cart, lunch, driving range and dinner. Cost: Participant $135 (Singles — we’ll find a group for you to join!), Foursome $540, Dinner Only $30. Services conducted by lay leader Nancy Coren. Office hours: monday-friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

TifereTh israel

friday: Services, 6:30 p.m. saTurday: Morning service, 10 a.m. followed by a Simcha Shel Shabbat birthday celebration in honor of Tifereth Israel's July and August birthday's and will be sponsored by Howard and Lori Feldman in honor of their daughter Emma's July birthday. monday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Tuesday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel; Ladies Lunch, noon at Venue, 4111 Pioneer Wood Dr. #100. Any questions, please contact Deborah Swearingen. wednesday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Thursday: LJCS Camp Israel, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. LJCS Camp Israel, friday, July 22, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tifereth Israel. Please let Nava in the office know of any personal information changes as she is working on the new TI directory. Please inform the office of any landline/cell number, address or name changes ASAP. Thank you.

To submiT announcemenTs

B’nai Mitzvah announcements may be e-mailed to the Press with attached photos in .jpg or .tif files to jpress@jewishomaha.org; or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Forms are available through Omaha and Lincoln synagogues, by contacting The Jewish Press at 402.334.6448, or by e-mailing: jpress@ jewishomaha.org. Readers can also submit other announcements -births engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at the Jewish Federation of Omaha website: www.jewishomaha.org. Click on “Jewish Press” and go to Submit Announcements. Deadlines are normally eight days prior to publication, on Thursdays, 9 a.m. Check the Jewish Press, however, for notices of early deadlines prior to secular and Jewish holidays.

Jewish groups condemn racism, anti-semitism in 2016 campaign JTA News sTAff The Anti-Defamation League and 27 other Jewish social justice organizations penned a forceful open letter imploring political candidates to put an end to the racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia they say has emerged in this year’s campaign. Although the letter released Thursday does not mention a candidate by name, it comes during a week in which Donald Trump has fended off charges of sharing a tweet, perceived by some as anti-Semitic, that originated on a far-right internet bulletin board. The letter also alludes to affronts to Muslims, Syrian refugees and Mexicans, all of whom have been singled out by the presumptive Republican candidate during his presidential campaign. “We are deeply concerned by suggestions that Muslim Americans should be targeted by law enforcement, simply because of their faith,” according to the letter. “We object to hurtful characterizations of entire ethnic groups as criminals. We are pained by anti-Semitic epithets hurled at Jewish Americans on social media.” Organized by the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, a coalition of Jewish organizations, the open letter’s signers include HIAS, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish

Women, and groups representing the Conservative and Reconstuctionist denominations. “We share a belief that public figures, including those who aspire to hold elected office in service to people of all races and religions, have a responsibility to forcefully and unequivocally condemn these dangerous phenomena,” the letter said. The letter invokes the experiences of Jews to emphasize the danger of allowing prejudice to spread through the words of public figures. “The Jewish community knows all too well what can happen when particular religious or ethnic groups become the focus of invective. We have witnessed the dangerous acts that can follow verbal expressions of hate,” it said. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations among the signatories are not permitted to be directly involved with political activism nor show partisanship, although they may engage in advocacy on behalf of their principles. “This letter is not about left or right, it’s about Jewish and American values,” Abby Levine, director of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, told JTA. “If any Jewish person in this country doesn’t understand, doesn’t at least acknowledge this concern and shock at what’s happening in our country, they are just not being honest about our community and our society.”

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | a11

PEOPLE WHO READ NEWSPAPERS ARE

lifecycles eNgagemeNt

ReiN/patzik

Josi and Rick Rein of Highland Park, Illinois, announce the engagement of their daughter, emily Beth, to Benjamin michael patzik, son of Marla and Alan Patzik of Northbrook, Illinois. The bride-to-be graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science. In August, she will complete the Graduate Physician Assistant Program from Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona, and return to Chicago to begin her career as a Physician Assistant. She is the granddaughter of Carol Farber of Chicago, Illinois, and the late Ajon Farber of Omaha, Nebraska, and the late Huntley and Miriam â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mimiâ&#x20AC;? Rein of Glencoe, Illinois. Her fiancĂŠ attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and a Master of Accounting Science degree. Currently he works as a Senior Analyst at Marco Consulting Group in Chicago, Illinois. He is the grandson of Shirley Patzik-Samuels of Northbrook, Illinois, and the late Burton Patzik, and Sally and the late William â&#x20AC;&#x153;Billyâ&#x20AC;? Keene of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He is also the step-grandson of the late Stanley Samuels. A wedding is planned for Dec. 3, 2016, in Chicago at the Standard Club where Emilyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maternal and paternal grandparents were both married.

Valuables found in Polish town

JTA NEWS STAFF WARSAW, Poland | JTA A backhoe operator working on a construction site in Poland dug up a glass decanter filled with valuables, including Jewish artifacts. Among the objects discovered inside the decanter found June 15 in Minsk Mazowiecki were kiddush cups, silver cutlery, a gold pocket watch and gold coins. î ˘e owner of the objects, whose material value was estimated to be about $10,000, was not identified. î ˘e discovery was reported on the website of the city, which is located about 25 miles east of Warsaw. Minsk Mazowiecki, in central Poland, was the site of a Jewish ghetto that was liquidated in July 1942.

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Jewish DNC staffer killed

JTA NEWS STAFF WASHINGTON | JTA A young Jewish staffer for the Democratic National Committee was shot dead in an apparent robbery near his home in Washington, D.C. Seth Conrad Rich, 27, was shot early Sunday morning in the Bloomingdale neighborhood, near the Capitol, about a block from his home. Police in announcing the killing did not ascribe a motive, but his father, Joel, told the Washington Post that the police believe his son may have been the victim of a botched robbery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He wanted to make a differ- Seth Rich, the voter expansion ence,â&#x20AC;? Joel Rich told the news- data director for the DNC, was also involved in Jewish outreach. paper. Credit: Facebook Seth Rich, the voter expansion data director for the DNC, worked on databases to help voters identify polling stations, the Washington Post reported. Colleagues told JTA that he was also engaged in Jewish outreach. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our hearts are broken with the loss of one of our DNC family members over the weekend,â&#x20AC;? Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the DNC chairwoman, said in a statement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seth Rich was a dedicated, selfless public servant who worked tirelessly to protect the most sacred right we share as Americans â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the right to vote. He saw the great potential of our nation and believed that, together, we can make the world a better place.â&#x20AC;? Rich, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, was the boating education director and staff programming director at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin in 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seth communicated proactively to facilitate the success of the campers with special needs who were in his class and went above and beyond to provide opportunities for all of my campers to participate successfully in the boating program,â&#x20AC;? said a reference on the LinkedIn site from the campâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s special needs head, Talia Kravitz. A colleague and friend, speaking anonymously, said Rich was proud of his Jewish upbringing in Omaha.

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A12 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

worldnews

Thessaloniki’s mayor wants his Greek city to remember its vibrant Jewish past Ron KAmpeAs Washington | JTA “I am proud to be a Vlach,” says Yiannis Boutaris, the mayor of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city. Ostensibly, we’re here at the Washington Hilton to discuss Boutaris’ bid to put the Jewish back in Thessaloniki, a city -- perhaps best known as Salonika -- once home to the largest numbers of Jews in Greece. But I’m the one who brought up the Vlachs, a dwindling minority of speakers of an ancient Latin dialect, scattered throughout the Balkans. When he ambles over, I greet him with the “Ci fac?” I have learned from my wife’s family. Pronounced “Tzi fatz,” it more or less means “what’s up?” His eyes widen a little. “Gini!” he says, he’s fine. He looks at his aide, Leonidas Makris, with a look that suggests, “I thought you told me this guy was Jewish?” I explain my connection, through marriage, to the Vlachs, insular shepherds whose descendants, starting a century ago, assimilated throughout Balkan societies. He asks me where my wife is “from.” I know better than to say Washington, and I tell him Perivoli, the tiny village in the Pindar mountains where our family has summered. He smiles, recognizing the village as one of a constellation of mountaintop Vlach summertime refuges, even before I have completely pronounced it. Boutaris, a youthful, wiry 74, was here in June to be honored by the American Jewish Committee at its annual Washington conference. He is among 508 American and European mayors who have signed on to the AJC’s Mayors Against Anti-Semitism pledge. Boutaris stands out among the mayors, though, for his commitment to his city’s Jewish meaning. At his most recent inauguration, he wore a yellow patch reminiscent of the ones forced on Jews during the Holocaust. It “was received as a definite position against the Golden Dawn,” Greece’s anti-Semitic, ultranationalist party, he said. “Everyone knows what the yellow star was,” he said. The gesture also infuriated the city’s powerful and at times intrusive Greek Orthodox leadership. Boutaris, a vintner by trade, enjoys recounting his bouts with his city’s prelates. He recalls his first election campaign, spearheading an alliance of left-

A street in the Ladadika neighborhood, which used to be the Jewish quarter in Thessaloniki, Greece. Credit: Wikimedia Commons leaning parties in 2010. “I said in a public speech, ‘the archbishop acts like the mujahedin!’” he said, referring to the Muslim jihadis in various countries. On Thessaloniki’s national day, Oct. 26, the archbishop warned him, “‘You will never see the municipality chair’!” The next month, Boutaris won the election handily. Of the archbishop’s expressed enmity, he says: “I think this helped a lot,” although he hastens to add that he has since achieved a détente with the church. Boutaris’ city, an Ottoman haven for Jewish refugees from the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions, was famous for centuries for its Jewish plurality. Its reputation for tolerance diminished when the city was riven by nationalist struggles as the Ottoman empire collapsed in the early part of the 20th century, and then by a devastating fire in 1917 that drove many Jews to emigrate. There remained a vibrant community nonetheless, even as the ethnocentric Greek nationalist movement exerted pressure on minorities – Turks, Jews, Vlachs – to repress their languages and identities and become Greek. Two of my Jewish grandparents were born there. In 1941, the Nazis occupied the city and in short order deported over 95 percent of the community to death

camps and labor camps. Salonika’s Jewish past is a faint echo now, recalled only in the occasional neighborhood name – like the Modiano market, named for a prominent Jewish family. Boutaris, like the other 188 European mayors who signed onto the AJC pledge, casts it as a means of containing the anti-Semitism reemerging on their continent. Boutaris and the other signers “are individually and collectively sending a powerful, if not unprecedented, message to their larger communities,” David Harris, the AJC CEO, told JTA in an emailed statement. He and Makris, his assistant, are not comfortable discussing Greece’s status, according to Anti-Defamation League surveys in 2014 and 2015, as the continent’s most anti-Semitic country. Some 67 percent of the population hold anti-Semitic views, the more recent survey said. The mayor and his assistant believe the survey is vastly exaggerated. Makris tries to explain the results as a product of a deeply pessimistic Greek political culture, where poll respondents are likely to believe the worst about their leaders, immigrants, minorities, their next-door neighbors -- just about everyone -- but otherwise behave in a welcoming manner. There is a deeper, more resonant dimension to Boutaris’ Jewish outreach, one that aligns with his origins as a Vlach, a people disappearing into Greece’s forcefully monolithic culture. Boutaris wants Greeks to remember that their country was once not so monocultural, that there were other peoples that once thrived here. His focus in Washington is raising awareness about a Jewish cultural center he hopes to found. (The city has a small Jewish museum.) He has raised $20 million so far; he needs another $5 million or so for operating costs. The one thing he does not want it to be is another Holocaust memorial; instead, he wants a monument to a community that thrived in Thessaloniki for 500 years and that helped define the city. “Enough with the Holocaust, enough with the mourning, although we will never forget,” he says. “We want to bring up the Jewish heritage, which should not stop with the Holocaust.” “Attention must be paid” might as well be his mission statement. “No one knows what Thessaloniki could have been,” he says, “if it hadn’t lost 95 percent of its Jewish community.”

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | b1

section2 REAL ESTATE

9 iconic sites that celebrate American Jewish history GAbe FRIedMAN and ANdRew SIlow-CARRoll e recently celebrated Independence Day in the U.S. That means time for many Americans to take a day off, watch some fireworks and grill large amounts of meat to enjoy with friends and family. Of course, the 4th of July -which commemorates the adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence -- is one of the most important dates in American history. And since that day in 1776, Jews have made their mark on the U.S. in myriad ways. The holiday weekend may be behind us, but why not take a moment to celebrate the history of Jewish people on these shores? Granted, the American Jewish story may be a complicated, sprawling one. Still, some special sites manage to symbolize decades of Jewish struggle, migration and triumph -- from the birthplaces of cultural icons to the earliest examples of houses of worship. If you’re not already on vacation as you read this, you may not want to join the 43 million Americans

who are expected to hit the highways this holiday weekend. But good news: There are still nine weeks left of summer; plenty of time to squeeze in a road trip or two. So for those feeling adventurous, here are nine places to visit that best connect the Jewish story to the American story.

A view of the front of the Tenement Museum.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A view inside the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

loweR eAST SIde TeNeMeNT MuSeuM, New York, New York A trip to Ellis Island may tell you how your ancestors arrived in the United States, but a visit to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum may show you how they lived. The narrow, five-story apartment building at 97 Orchard Street preserves an era when almost 240,000 people crowded into each square mile of the Manhattan neighborhood. Between 1880 and 1924, nearly 75 percent of the 2.5 million mostly Ashkenazi Jews who came to the United States took up residence on the Lower East Side. Among the museum’s three restored apartments is one recreating the 1878 home of the Gumpertz family, Jewish immigrants from Prussia. The threeroom, walk-through flat -- tiny front parlor, kitchen, combination living room-bedroom -- shows

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where Nathalie Gumpertz raised her four young children while making dresses to keep them clothed and fed. (Gumpertz passed away in 1894 at age 58.) Some of the museum’s guided tours include costumed actors who reenact daily life from the period. The museum, a National Historic Site, recalls the poverty and struggles of immigrants, as well as a period during which “America was a safety valve and a haven, a place of renewal and a source for support” for Eastern European Jews, as Irving Howe wrote. TouRo SyNAGoGue, Newport, Rhode Island The oldest synagogue building in North America is the Touro Synagogue of Newport, Rhode Island, which dates to 1763. The congregation’s history is a rich one: A newly elected President George Washington famously wrote a letter to the synagogue’s warden in 1790 declaring that the U.S. government “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance... May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other See 9 iconic sites page b2

B2 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

realestate

9 iconic sites

GoMez Mill HouSe, Newburgh, New York Continued from page B1 Jewish history’s best-kept secrets and is likely the oldest Jewish inhabitants.” The letter remains one of the earliest emblems A Sephardic merchant named Luis Moses Gomez, whose site in North America. Subsequent owners, such as the Dutch of American religious liberty and the separation of religion family had been forced out of Spain during the Inquisition, colonist Wolfert Acker and 19th-century landowner William and state. bought 1,000 acres of land in Newburgh, New York in 1714. Henry Armstrong, built multiple floors on top of the original The synagogue, built by Spanish and Portuguese Jewish He and his two sons, Jacob and Daniel, became well-known house structure, but it remains a pristine historical artifact. immigrants (and renovated in 2006), has been in the news traders in New York and eventually accumulated 2,400 School children visit every year to experience what SUNY recently: Congregation professor Harry Stonebeck has Jeshuat Israel, which worships called “a most dramatic and irat the synagogue, wanted to replaceable incarnation of sell some valuable, historic American history.” ornaments that adorn their BeTH JACoB CeMeTerY, Torah scroll. Congregation Galveston, Texas Shearith Israel in New York, which has acted as Touro The island city of Galveston Synagogue’s financial trustee is known as Texas’s beachy for over 200 years, tried to tourist destination on the stop the sale. In May, a fedGulf of Mexico. But it was eral court sided with the also one of the first havens for hometown congregation. Jews in North America. Debates aside, the building A Portuguese-Jewish merstill holds Orthodox services chant named Jao de la Porta An exterior shot of the Beth Sholom synagogue. The mill wheel at the historic Gomez Mill House in Newburgh, financed one of the first Euand offers tours each week. Credit: Wikimedia Commons New York. Credit: Wikimedia Commons ropean settlements on GalveTeMple BeTH SHoloM, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania During his storied career, Frank Lloyd Wright designed only one synagogue: the futuristic, pyramidal Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Penn. The striking National Historic Landmark features an outdoor fountain, two sanctuaries and a complex array of geometrical designs in its walls and ceiling. Aside from being an architectural masterpiece, the building is also an emblem of 20th-century suburbanization and the Jewish attempt at assimilation into white middle- and upper-class America. After World War II, government policies aimed at reducing the cost of suburban construction -along with expanding highways and the booming auto industry -- brought whites out of cities in massive numbers. Jews joined the migration, hoping to move beyond their past as immigrant outsiders who were often excluded from bastions of privilege, like universities, country clubs and, sometimes, jobs. The Beth Sholom congregation began in northern Philadelphia in 1919 but moved to Elkins Park in the 1950s (the final Wright-designed synagogue was not completed until just after his death, in 1959). It has continued to serve its Conservative congregation ever since.

acres of land. They built a trading house made of stone and an adjacent mill next to a creek that became known as “Jew’s Creek.” The family traded timber and lime with Algonquin Native Americans, travelers and local residents. Today, the Gomez Mill House remains one of American

Jerry Slusky’s next challenge

Jerry Slusky is a partner at Smith Slusky Law and is recognized as one of the top real estate planning, zoning, development and financing lawyers in the region. He served as President of the Jewish Federation from 1994-95 and was inducted into the Midwest Real Estate News Hall of Fame. What is perhaps most noteworthy about Slusky is that, even with a career spanning over 40 years, he’s showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to a robust legal career, Slusky is at the helm of an apartment development firm, SB Communities. Founded in 2012, SB communities is dedicated to setting a new paradigm of style, service, and options in the landscape of Midwest apartment living. SB apartment communities can be found in Grand Island, Kearney, and a new expansion into Ankeny, Iowa. “The response has been great” Slusky says of each new apartment. “We’re

ston in 1816 and the French-Jewish pirate Jean Lafitte took over the island the next year during the Mexican War of Independence. Lafitte turned it into a pirate colony and smuggling base until he lost control of it in 1821. See American Jewish history page B3

excited to settle into a new community and grow right along with it.” Jerry Slusky is also the mind behind The CRE Summit, a highly anticipated annual conference event for commercial real estate industry professionals. It is the largest of its kind in the Midwest, breaking attendance records year after year. The upcoming Summit will mark its 28th year, but Slusky is not settling there. Plans to add another event under the CRE Summit name are underway. “This event will narrow in its focus on the present and future of technology in the commercial real estate industry,” Slusky explains. Taking into account Slusky’s personal outlook, it’s no wonder how he keeps the pace. “It’s easy to keep going when you’re always looking forward,” he says. “I’m always open to the next collaboration or the next challenge. That keeps the momentum going.”

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american Jewish history Continued from page B2 Several decades later, Galveston would become one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. By the turn of the 20th century, after anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe spurred a wave of Jewish immigration to the United States, East Coast cities like New York were already becoming crowded and unsanitary. In response, with the aid of New York financier Jacob Schiff and the Galveston Jewish community’s Reform rabbi, Henry Cohen, the Galveston Movement plan was launched in 1907. Through 1914, the plan diverted over 10,000 Jewish immigrants to Galveston -- about a third of the number who immigrated to the then British Mandate of Palestine during the same period. Eventually, many of these immigrants moved away to different cities. But the Jewish community’s imprint lives on: The Conservative synagogue Congregation Beth Jacob, with its his-

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Beth Jacob Cemetery in Galveston, Texas. Credit: Wikimedia Commons toric cemetery, remains active, as does Congregation B’nai Israel, the oldest Reform synagogue in Texas. CanTer’s Deli, Los Angeles, California Depending on whom you ask, the

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B4 | The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016

With you for life

9 iconic sites

Continued from page B3 Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond (from Arthur Miller to Henry Winkler to Michael Mann) Canter’s Deli in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles has been a lasting link to their Jewish roots. Canter’s is also a symbol of American Jewish culture’s westward migration. When the Jersey City deli owned by Ben Canter and his two brothers failed after the stock market crash of 1929, the Canters moved west like many other Jews who were hoping for a fresh start. Now, having been featured in Jewy shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Transparent, the deli is as prominent a symbol as any of “Jewish L.A.” While the city’s homegrown culture is sometimes maligned as an imitation of New York’s, it has clearly taken on a flavor of its own. The Art Deco restaurant is a monument in its own right, with a famously entrancing autumn leaf-patterned ceiling and a neon sign from the 1950s -- and by L.A. standards, that’s practically ancient. CongregAtIon MIkVeh ISrAeL, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia calls itself the “Synagogue of the American Revolution,” and with good reason: Founded by Spanish and Portuguese traders in the 1740s, the synagogue served as a refuge for Jews from New York, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah during the War of Independence. Haym Solomon, who helped

Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles.

in the United States, the synagogue still holds fast to the Spanish-Portuguese traditions of its founders, and honors the legacies of Sephardic Jews who formed the original Jewish communities in the New World. Today, you can tour the building it has occupied since 1976 -- close to its original site, and not far from the exceptional National Museum of American Jewish History -Credit: Flickr Commons and you’ll be shown a white marble ark enclosure dating from 1859, a kohane’s ceremonial chair donated in 1816 by dentist and “bleeder” Moses Lopez and an oak reader’s lectern that may date back to 1782, when the congregation was in its first building.

BoB DyLAn’S ChILDhooD hoMe, Hibbing, Minnesota Has there been a more iconic Jewish artist or storyteller than Bob Dylan? The Congregration Mikveh Israel is the oldest continuous congregation man born Robert Zimmerin the U.S. Credit: Wikimedia Commons man and nicknamed “The Bard” has connected generafinance the war, and the Gratz brothers, tions of Jews to the history of American who supplied the Continental Army, were music, paving the way for the success of members. See American Jewish history page B5 Now the oldest continuous congregation

The P.J. Morgan Company was established in 1967, and focused on new construction, building more than 400 homes and several hundred apartment units. The company managed more than $250 million of real estate holdings and more than 100 employees. In 1986, P.J. Morgan sold the company to a group of employees in anticipation of running for the office of Mayor of Omaha, for which he was elected in 1989. P.J. Morgan Real Estate began when P.J. returned to the real estate industry after serving two terms as mayor. Today, we are proud to be one of Omaha’s most renowned and respected full service real estate firms providing local, regional and national advisement. We offer commercial sales and leasing, property management, association management, residential sales, business brokerage, investment consulting and auction services. A successful businessman, an accomplished elected official, and a concerned community fundraiser and volunteer, P.J. has been a leader in the City of Omaha for more than 30 years. His legacy of community service continues today; we are very active in the community we love – serving not just in our industry but also as supporters of civic and charitable organizations. At P.J. Morgan Real Estate, we’re with you – right there at your side as your real estate advocate and friend – through every stage of life and every turn you take along the way. We’re with you to rent your first apartment, to search out your perfect home and when it’s time to move. We’re with you when you open up shop and when you want an office of your own. We’re with you to manage your investment property and to sell your business when it’s time to slow down. No matter what stage of life you’re in, P.J. Morgan Real Estate is here for you. PAID ADVERTISEMENT

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American Jewish history

The Jewish Press | July 15, 2016 | B5

Continued from page B4 other Jewish folk songwriters, from Paul Simon to Leonard Cohen. His story -- from the small town of Hibbing, Minnesota to the clubs of New York City’s Greenwich Village -is an unlikely Jewish but quintessentially American one. The annual Dylan Days festival (a celebration complete with tours of Dylan’s former home in Hibbing) ended in 2014 and Zimmy’s Restaurant, which was decorated with Dylan paraphernalia, shuttered the same year. But Duluth, the city where Dylan was born, still holds a Dylan Fest, which includes a bus tour of Hibbing -- the town only 90 minutes away, where the singer formed his first bands and covered songs by the likes of Elvis Presley and Little Richard. The Zimmerman family home in Hibbing, Minnesota. Credit: Wikimedia Commons The house is privately owned but there’s nothing stopping you from passing by to take an exterior pic or two -- then move on, like a rolling stone.

CongregATIon SHerITH ISrAel, San Francisco, California For more than 150 years, Americans have been going west to embrace the new -- or, at least, escape the old. Driving the point home is a monumental stained-glass window in the Spanish revival main sanctuary of Sherith Israel in San Francisco, a Reform temple that survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (and served, for 18 months after that disaster, as the city’s courthouse). The synagogue was established by Jewish pioneers during California’s Gold Rush, and the current building was conseA view of Temple Sherith Israel in San Francisco, California. crated in 1905. Credit: Wikimedia Commons The window shows Moses and the Israelites ing their backs on tradition; the window is a midrash -- an on the way to Sinai. Look closely, though, and you’ll see alternative biblical story -- that conflates the Jewish yearnthat’s not the Wilderness of Sinai in the background -- it’s ing for a promised land with the American dream of new El Capitan, the iconic towering cliff in the Yosemite Valley. The 200 families who founded the synagogue weren’t turn- beginnings.

realestate Auschwitz blueprints secreted to Israel

JTA NEWS STAFF BERLIN | JTA sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought back original blueprints of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp to Israel from Germany seven years ago, likely without knowing he was doing something illegal, according to a German journalist. The blueprints were given to Netanyahu on a trip to Germany, Kai Diekmann said in an interview for the latest issue of the expat Israeli magazine Spitz. They are now in the archives at Yad Vashem. Diekmann, the former chief editor of Bild Zeitung, Germany’s mostread daily, told Spitz the German Federal Archives and Ministry of Interior wanted to hold on to the historical documents, which were drawn by an Auschwitz prisoner and include the signature of Heinrich Himmler. But Diekmann thought they belonged in Yad Vashem and presented them to Netanyahu in August 2009 in Berlin. Netanyahu could not have been prosecuted for simply accepting the gift and bringing it home, Diekmann said. Diekmann’s colleague, Sven Felix Kellerhoff, an editor for Die Welt and the Berliner Morgenpost, apparently had agreed that the documents belonged in Israel. See Auschwitz bluprints page B6

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At Museum of the Jewish People, an iconic exhibit of miniature synagogues breaks new ground

DeBrA KAMin TEL AVIV | JTA n 1978, when Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People opened, it did something big. But it did it in the smallest way possible. Among the museum’s first exhibits was a gallery filled with 18 miniature synagogues, each as intricate and tiny as a dollhouse. Representing houses of worship from around the world, the Synagogue Hall -- like the museum itself -- was a picture of global Jewish diversity, its models reflecting the wide range of building styles that house Jewish prayer. A rendering of the Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People’s updated Synagogue Hall. Visitors to the museum Credit: Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People gasped at the fine detailing of the curved pews, the twinlaunch is a desire to evolve from a muWhile serving under President Bill kling miniature chandeliers and the seum that catalogs the Jews of the DiClinton as the envoy to Romania, stunningly diverse takes on the “aron aspora into a museum that tells the Moses fell in love with one particularly hakodesh” -- the holy arks that have ever-changing story of the entirety of historic Bucharest synagogue: The stored Torah scrolls for thousands of Jewish people -- as transient, technolChoral Temple, a red-brick replica of years. Soon the Synagogue Hall was ogy savvy and varied as they may be. Vienna’s Leopoldstadt-Tempelgasse one of Beit Hatfutsot’s most recogIt’s an ambitious makeover, and one Great Synagogue, features Moorish nized and most beloved permanent ex- that’s been made possible thanks to a turrets, ornate ceilings and lavish rohibitions. generous gift from Alfred Moses, who coco details. For nearly four decades, the beauty served as the U.S. ambassador to RoMoses prayed there for years, and of these scale models remained unmania in the 1990s. after his return to Washington and his changed. But technology -- and muThe attorney and philanthropist, beloved -- and significantly more seum patrons’ technological aptitude himself no stranger to grand synamodest -- Kesher Synagogue in the -- has vastly shifted in recent years. So gogues, spent years practicing diploGeorgetown section, Moses felt he had as Beit Hatfutsot-The Museum of the macy abroad on behalf of the United a new insight on the vast diversity of Jewish People this month unveils a States. During the many years he was prayer styles that has shaped Jewish massive $100 million overhaul, its stationed in Europe, he made sure to worship across the globe for centuries. most beloved exhibit is getting a highfind time between statecraft to pray at “I’m an observant Jew, and I visited tech makeover as well. some of the oldest and grandest Jewish many of those synagogues over the At the core of Beit Hatfutsot’s reSee Museum of the Jewish People page B8 houses of worship on the continent.

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realestate Netanyahu said to authorize construction of 1,400 new settlement homes

An aerial view of Israel’s largest settlement, Maale Adumim, March 12, 2008. Credit: David Silverman/Getty Images JTA NEWS STAFF “This raises legitimate questions about Israel’s long-term Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized intentions, which are compounded by continuing statethe construction of new housing for Jewish citizens in the ments of some Israeli ministers calling for the annexation of West Bank and east Jerusalem. the West Bank,” a spokesperson for Ban said. An anonymous Israeli official confirmed Netanyahu gave Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi decried the initiative as the green light to build the nearly 1,400 new homes, the As- evidence that Israel is bent on “destroying the viability, insociated Press reported Tuesday, primarily in response to tegrity and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state.” the rash of Palestinian attacks on Israelis and visiting AmerPeace Now, the Israeli organization that tracks settlement icans since September 2015. expansion, addressed both the increasing violence of PalesNearly 600 new units will be built inside the Maale Adutinians against Jews, and the potential problems with placing mim settlements, a suburb near Jerusalem that Israel claims more housing on land Palestine hopes to claim for their state. as indisputable territory, with another 200 homes to be built “There is no justification for violence, and the recent inside Jerusalem itself. The projected plan also calls for over deadly attacks on Israelis must be condemned in the 600 units to rise in an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem. strongest possible terms, but settlement construction in the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon immediately critiheart of the future of the Palestinian state is endangering cized Israel for the impact of the new settlements on peace both the possibility for peace and two states and the secuagreements, and urged Israel to reverse the decision. rity of Israeli citizens,” the organization said in a statement.

Auschwitz blueprints

Continued form B5 The Bild Zeitung had decided to buy the drawings “because we did not want them to get into the hands of neo-Nazis or other such terrible people,” Kellerhoff told JTA in 2009. He also said in an email that it was significant that “we have originals of [these] plans in Germany.” Holocaust historian Robert Jan van Pelt, one of the experts who helped verify the documents, told JTA on Wednesday that Kellerhof informed him in August 2009 “that the drawings would go to Yad Vashem. Nothing... suggested a cloak-and-dagger operation.” The story of how these building plans came to light in the first place remains mysterious. An antiquities dealer reportedly offered them to the Bild Zeitung, an Axel-Springer newspaper, in 2008. The documents may have been held for years in the former East German secret service archives.

Let’s catch up!

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realestate Museum of the Jewish People Continued from page B7 years,” Moses, 86, told JTA in a phone interview. “I have some sense of what life was like, particularly in Eastern Europe for Jews, so I decided to make a pledge.” Not just any pledge -- a gift of $6 million, of which $5 million has been specifically earmarked for the refurbishment of the synagogue gallery. “Jewish life has both diversity and permanence,” Moses said. “My hope for this exhibition is that it will give visitors a sense of the durability of the Jewish message, and an appreciation of earlier generations and how they expressed their Judaism within the confines of a synagogue.” The new Synagogue Gallery will include the same 18 beloved structures that it opened with, as well as three new models. Each display has been altered to showcase the way in which the structure reflects three specific roles that sit at the heart of a synagogue: social gatherings; studying; work and prayer. And rather than simply present material in a one-way stream to visitors, the new exhibit -- like the rest of the revamped museum -- will be fully interactive. It will prompt its audience to consider several questions: What are the forms of creativity that synagogues have fostered in the past and present? Where will Jews congregate as well as think and worship together in the future? Like the ever-shifting and always debat-

The updated and expanded Synagogue Hall features many interactive elements. Credit: Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People able definition of what makes a Jew, the physical boundaries of a synagogue are difficult to map and even more difficult to qualify. Acknowledging that modern Jewish communal life occurs in a variety of spaces under a number of pretexts, the new exhibit draws upon all sorts of media to show the modern evolution of the synagogue. A video art installation from artist Ron Slavin will anchor the center of the exhibit, while four animated films, each set in a different time period, will show different types of

congregations. Meanwhile, a comedic film starring the Israeli satirist Kobi Arieli will make lighthearted note of the differences in the ways Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews pray. In keeping with the philosophy of Beit Hatfutsot’s entire overhaul to make the museum a central, interactive portal for the stories of Jews around the world, individual prayer is also an option for visitors. A huge repository of Jewish prayers can be selected by the visitor and forwarded to personal

email accounts or smartphones. At the same time, museum patrons are also encouraged to create their own prayers and add them to the database so they can be shared by other guests. Kids will have the chance to design and build their own synagogue models, and music lovers can select from a number of recordings of “piyutim,” or Jewish liturgical prayers, to listen to the sounds and rhythms of Jewish prayer across the globe. A stained glass window created in Germany in 1919 by Freidrich Adler, along with antique Judaica items, like prayer books and manuscripts, will anchor the exhibit in history. At its core, the revised exhibition will showcase the individuality of Jewish prayer, and the roles that both private reflection and communal worship have played in shaping the modern face of Judaism. “Whatever message is derived from the synagogue experience is always an individual message,” Moses says. “A synagogue service means different things to different people. It always will and always has. [The new gallery] is a representation of the fullness of Jewish life -- what it was, and what it will continue to be.” This article is part of series sponsored by the Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, the sole institution anywhere in the world devoted to sharing the complete story of the Jewish people with millions of visitors from all walks of life.