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Welcome, Amy Shivvers NJHS shares community history with area high school students Page 3
JCC Art Tour Page 6
ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor ith Howard Epstein retiring from the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, we are pleased to welcome Amy Bernstein Shivvers as our next Executive Director. Amy is a native Omahan. She has returned from Chicago with her husband Eric and their beloved rescue dog Ace. Her passions include live concerts, travelling abroad and practicing yoga. Recently, Amy was Senior Regional Manager at Western Governors University where she built a team of nine strategic partnership managers serving employers in the Midwest. Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable online higher education, WGU now serves more than 150,000 students nationwide and has more than 214,000 graduates. Prior, Amy held various management positions at Crain’s Chicago Business, including Director of Events and Marketing Director. “After 20-plus years in corporate America, I felt it was time for a new career path,” explained Amy. “The mission of WGU is to change people’s lives, from which I found great purpose. The work was immensely gratifying and excellent preparation for my responsibilities at the Foundation.” According to Howard Epstein, “Amy’s experience facilitating philanthropy, nurturing professional, personal and corporate relationships, marketing, planning, communications, and executing strategic initiatives will serve her well at the Foundation.”
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Amy Shivvers
As Amy and her husband began considering a return to Omaha, she was introduced to Jenn Tompkins, Executive See JCC Summer Camp page 2
Biden kneels to meet with Holocaust survivors during visit to Yad Vashem Page 7
JCC Summer Camp
REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles
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SIVAN COHEN Omaha Community Shlicha Wow! We are halfway through the JCC summer camps and as I look back, I realize that we have done so much. This summer we are learning about Jewish holidays by doing special activities every Friday. Following
the activity, we begin the observance of Shabbat. Campers also learn about Israeli Tarbut (culture) every Tuesday by engaging in activities that are part of daily life in the country. And it is amazing – we have approximately 200 campers participating in these activities. For the holiday teaching we began with Passover and telling the story of Exodus. We explained why we eat matzah on Passover and had a matzah tasting. The campers also decorated matzah with yummy frosting. Purim featured a reading of the Megillat Esther. To bring this to life, the campers produced a puppet show. A scavenger hunt and a seder See JCC Summer Camp page 2
New to the Kripke Library’s collection
SHIRLY BANNER JFO Kripke Jewish Federation Library Specialist YOUNG ADULT: The Button Box by Bridget Hodder & Fawzia Gilani-Wiliams After Jewish fifth-grader Ava and her Muslim best friend Nadeem are called hateful names at school, Ava’s Granny Buena rummages in her closet and pulls out a glittering crystal button box. It’s packed with buttons that generations of Ava’s
Sephardic ancestors have cherished. With the help of Granny’s mysterious cat Sheba, Ava and Nadeem discover that a button from the button box will take them back in time. Suddenly, they are in ancient Morocco, where Nadeem’s ancestor, Prince Abdur Rahman, is running for his life. Can Ava and Nadeem help the prince escape to Spain and fulfill his destiny, creating a legendary Golden Age for Muslims, Jews and Christians? See Kripke Library page 2
2 | The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022
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JCC Summer Camp
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Kripke Library
Continued from page 1 ADULT: The Hidden Palace: A Novel of the Golem by Helene Wecker This is the long awaited follow up to Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni. Chava is a golem, a woman made of clay, who can hear the thoughts and longings of those around her and feels compelled by her nature to help them. Ahmad is a jinni, a restless creature of fire, once free to roam the desert but now imprisoned in the shape of a man. Fearing they’ll be exposed as monsters, these magical beings hide their true selves and try to pass as human—just two more immigrants in the bustling world of 1900s Manhattan. Brought together under calamitous circumstances, their lives are now entwined—but they’re not yet certain of what they mean to each other. Both Chava and Ahmad have changed the lives of the people around them. Park Avenue heiress Sophia Winston, whose brief encounter with Ahmad left her with a strange illness that makes her shiver with cold, travels to the Middle East to seek a cure. There she meets Dima, a tempestuous female jinni who’s been banished from her tribe. Back in New York, in a tenement on the Lower East Side, a little girl named Kreindel helps her rabbi father build a golem they name Yossele—not
knowing that she’s about to be sent to an orphanage uptown, where the hulking Yossele will become her only friend and protector. Spanning the tumultuous years from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of World War I, The Hidden Palace follows these lives and others as they collide and interweave. Can Chava and Ahmad find their places in the human world while remaining true to each other? Or will their opposing natures and desires eventually tear them
apart—especially once they encounter, thrillingly, other beings like themselves? The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz—but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man. As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever. From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.
tion. The rest is history! During all my years in Chicago, I never really thought of it as home. That special designation was saved for Omaha.” We are very fortunate to have Amy as our new Executive Director. Please welcome her back to our community when
you see her around. And, just in case you missed it, come say goodbye to Howard Epstein July 26 at the Jewish Federation of Omaha appreciation and farewell reception. It’s a great opportunity to wish him well and meet Amy at the same time!
Amy Shivvers
Continued from page 1 Director of Philanthropy and Engagement, who encouraged her to take a close look at our campus. “Next thing I knew,” she said, “Bob Belgrade reached out and told me about the fantastic opportunity at the Founda-
Continued from page 1 with a variety of dried fruit were the activities for Tu B’shvat. Israeli Tarbut was especially fun. We enjoyed Israeli dancing. We practiced our skills with Judaica arts and crafts. We did Jewish cooking by preparing hamantaschen. We even learned responsibility for the environment by gardening and recycling. The second half of the summer camp holds more engaging, educational experiences for the campers. I look forward to reporting on those in a later edition of the Jewish Press.
IN THE NEWS Sandy Gordon has recently been promoted to Catering Sales Representative for Qdoba Mexican Eats. In this expanded position she is responsible for selling Qdoba catering for all types of meetings and events in the Omaha, Lincoln, Council Bluffs, Sioux City, areas, and now Kansas City, and all of North Dakota. Sandy has been with Qdoba for over eight years in the Omaha area.
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THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA INVITES THE COMMUNITY TO AN
Appreciation and Farewell Reception FOR EXECUTIVE VE E DIRECTOR DIR RE OF THE N OF OF OMAHA O JEWISH FEDERATION FOUNDATION
Howard N. Epstein
63 children are able to attend Jewish summer camps this year thanks to our generous donors. More dollars are needed for future camps. Start an endowment today.
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022 • 4:00 - 5:30 P.M. Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue 333 South 132nd Street • Omaha, NE
Please join us as we thank Howard for his years of service and wish him well in his future endeavors.
Call the Foundation office today. 402-334-6466 www.jfofoundation.org
The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022 | 3
NJHS shares community history with area high school students
JILL KUSHNER BELMONT A group of high school students spent a recent morning visiting the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society as part of Omaha Public Schools’ weeklong summer program, “Making Invisible Histories Visible.” Each year, the program selects a specific neighborhood or area of Omaha for participants to learn about. This year’s focus was the history of North 24th Street, which included the relationship between the Jewish and Black communities. During the week, students had the opportunity to conduct research related to the neighborhood, using tools including an intricate mapping system to analyze changes in the community over the years. NJHS Board President Ben Justman, along with fellow board member Jeannette Gabriel, coordinated and led the threehour session, sharing the historical background of the local Jewish community. City planner and urban designer Marty Shukert also gave a presentation that provided context about the demographics of the North 24th Street neighborhood. As a special treat, the teens were given access to several of the organization’s archival collections, allowing them to examine documents and photographs relevant to their topic. “We were thrilled to host this group and share our history and archives,” Justman said. “For many of the students, the program served as a crash course into the field of local history. More importantly, it not only served as an introductory expe-
Associated Counseling Professionals Glen Fineman, LICSW, LIMHP Clinical Social Worker
rience for students to connect with the local Jewish community, but for many, as a first-time encounter with Judaism as a whole. “The teens were extremely engaged, curious and fascinated with the information presented, and we were very pleased to connect with them,” he added. “We look forward to hosting many more school visits in the future, especially once the Kleinberg Jewish Omaha Heritage Center is completed.”
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Local Author Series: Ariel O’Donnell ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Tuesday, Aug. 2, from 10-11 a.m., the Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Jewish Press will host the next local author event. Our guest that day will be Ariel O’Donnell. Ariel will share how she became a poet, and talk about the place of femininity, Judaism and childhood trauma in her work. She will also do a poetry reading, and if you have any questions, you can send them to us ahead of time, ask them in person, or submit them to the Zoom chat! Ariel has always been an artist, and began writing as a child, when she was inspired by her older sister. She is the author of three literary collections: Nicoteane and Other Foolish Mistakes (2015), This Void Beckons (2018), and Amaranthine (2022) Her writing has appeared in the Outrider Review, The Daily
Iowan, and most recently on Medium. She is currently finishing a BA, intersecting the studies of Religion and Philosophy and works at the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Institute for Holocaust Education. “My literary career will always be focused on investigating the human experience in an intimate, yet universal, fashion,” Ariel said. “I hope to remain a constant voice of the mundane, the unconsidered, and the improbably prophetic events of the human narrative.” This event will be both on Zoom and in-person. For the in-person event, refreshments will be served and RSVPs are due by Thursday, July 29. There is no cost for this event. Please look forward to learning more about Ariel and her poetry. For details and to register, go to (https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ tZAvdOGppj0qE9VQ9TPvqtlq2pQ2Ve8fHlTM) or email avandekamp@jewishomaha.org or rring@jew ishomaha.org directly.
Trade scholarships available for the 2022-23 academic year
An anonymous donor in our community has created two trade school scholarship opportunities, up to $5,000 each, to go towards the 2022-23 academic year. Not every student who advances into higher education signs up for a four-year curriculum. Some high school graduates seek job training that lasts a year or two and then places them in the workforce. Such opportunities include, but are
not restricted to: Information Technology, Construction, Industrial, Transportation and Horticulture. It is not too late to apply for this upcoming school year! Qualified students who have unmet needs regarding tuition for either a two-year trade school program or a trade certificate program can contact the Jewish Press at avandekamp@jewishom aha.org or jpress@jewishomaha.org for more information.
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4 | The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022
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Meat your Whiskey What happens when Beth Israel’s Rabbi Yoni Dreyer, Seth Feldman, Jeff Zacharia, and Matt Taub put their heads together? A delicious evening of meat and spirits, that’s what. An event two-and-ahalf years in the making is finally back on the calendar! Meat Your Whiskey will take place Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, 6-8 p.m. at Beth Israel and is sponsored by the Beth Israel’s Men’s Club. Jewish men of all Omaha denominations and affiliations are invited! “The original event was scheduled March 25, 2020,” Matt Taub said, “and was cancelled
due to the pandemic. A lot of meat was ordered and was frozen in the hopes we could eventually have the event. As COVID-19 languished on, we eventually ate the meat on various occasions at different events at shul. Now, COVID seems to be a bit more under control and it looks like we are reordering everything anew.” While this event is open to all Jewish men, registration is requested by Aug. 14. The cost for this event is $25 per person. To register, please visit https://tinyurl. com/biMYW22.
Biden and Lapid pledge to deny Iran weapons CNAAN LIPHSHIZ JERUSALEM | JTA After releasing a joint statement that demonstrates unity on the need to counter the Iranian nuclear threat, U.S. president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid gave statements that demonstrate radical differences in their approach to doing so. The document released on Thursday, the second day of Biden’s visit to Israel, is a 1,500-word statement titled “The Jerusalem Declaration on the US-Israel Strategic Partnership.” It states that the United States is committed “never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon” and is “prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.” But after the leaders’ meeting Thursday, Biden and Lapid gave a joint press conference in which Biden said that in working to prevent a nuclear Iran, “I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this outcome.” Lapid struck a different note, showing some of the daylight between Israel and the United States on the issue of what is widely understood to be the biggest threat in the region. “The Iranian regime should know that if
they continue to deceive the world, they will pay a heavy price,” Lapid said. “Words will not stop them, Mr. President. Diplomacy will not stop them. The only thing that will stop Iran is knowing that if they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force.” Biden also said that Iranian nuclear capabilities threaten not only Israel and the United States, “but the rest of the world.” The declaration also celebrates and adds to the U.S.-Israeli alliance in the context of partnerships with additional regional powers, providing the Biden administration with a positive outcome from his two-day trip to Israel as he prepares for what may prove the more challenging part of his Middle East visit: meetings with the heads of state of the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia. Released after a 50-minute meeting between the two leaders, the declaration also makes some new commitments, such as to a four-way strategic cooperation among Israel, the United States, India and the United Arab Emirates. The joint Jerusalem Declaration speaks of the “unshakeable U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, and especially to the maintenance See Pledge to deny Iran weapons page 5
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch the Press for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com.
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The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022 | 5
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Pledge to deny Iran weapons Continued from page 4 of its qualitative military edge,” a term long in use in international discussion of Israeli military power. The United States “reiterates its steadfast commitment to preserve and strengthen Israel’s capability to deter its enemies and to defend itself by itself against any threat or combination of threats,” the declaration says, and “further reiterates that these commitments are bipartisan and sacrosanct, and that they are not only moral commitments, but also strategic commitments that are vitally important to the national security of the United States itself.” Integral to this, the declaration also states, “is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.” The United States will “confront Iran’s aggression and destabilizing activities, whether advanced directly or through proxies and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the document says. Israel “thanks the United States for its ongoing and extensive support for deepening and broadening the historic Abraham Accords,” the 2020 accords that paved the way to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. For its part, the “United States welcomes these developments and is committed to continue playing an active role” in efforts to “deepen the ties between Israel and all of its regional partners” and “to expand the circle of peace to include ever more Arab and Muslim States,” the declaration also states. Unusually for a diplomatic paper, the declaration also features references to spiritual elements of Judaism. “The United States and Israel affirm that among the values the countries share is an unwavering commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and the calling of ‘Tikkun Olam,’” the Hebrew term
U.S. president Joe Biden meets with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid in Jerusalem, July 14, 2022. Credit: Emil Saltman/Pool
meaning “repairing the world” that has come to stand in for social justice. “It’s not a defense pact, but it amounts to the same thing,” Yitzhak Eldan, a former head of protocol at the Israeli foreign ministry and a former head of its diplomat academy, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the declaration. “In diplomatic terms, this is a warm, long and heartfelt embrace – and one that is not lost on our enemies and new allies in the Middle East,” Eldan added. Following his warm reception in Israel, Biden’s visit to Bethlehem in the West Bank on Friday is off to a rocky start. Amid disagreements between Biden’s team and that of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the two leaders will not be delivering a joint statement at the end of the meeting, as is customary for such meetings. Instead, they will each give a separate statement, Palestinian officials told Haaretz, due to disagreements on the Palestinian side with some of the wording that Biden’s team insisted be in a joint statement, according to that report. Biden referenced the United States’ commitment to a two-
Rosh Hashanah
GREETINGS This year you can send your greetings through these very special ads that will run in our annual Rosh Hashanah issue. Each ad can be personalized with your name, the names of your children or your grandchildren. Just fill out the form below and send or bring it to the Jewish Press office. But hurry; these ads will only be accepted through August 9, 2022.
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state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his first speech in Israel, at Ben Gurion Airport. He also asked Lapid during their meeting “not to surprise” the United States with any moves concerning the Palestinians, Ynet reported. Earlier in the day, Biden and Lapid participated in a video call with the leaders of India and the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Narendra Modi. The meeting, in which Biden and Lapid sat side by side at a conference room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Jerusalem, ended with a joint statement on deepening research and development cooperation between the countries, including on food security and sustainable energy. This gives Biden “achievements under his belt as he continues to Saudi Arabia for a meeting that is at best going forward in challenging circumstances,” Eldan said. In Saudi Arabia, Biden will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader, who is believed to have been behind the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. The visit, which Biden has taken flak for at home, comes amid preexisting disagreements between Saudi and American officials on Iran. The Biden administration is interested in reaching a diplomatic agreement with the Islamic Republic on limiting its nuclear activities. But Saudi and Israeli officials have criticized the terms of the nuclear deal that the United States brokered, then left, in the past, warning Iran cannot be trusted to honor it. Biden has described bin Salman’s alleged role in Khashoggi’s death as “outrageous.” His visit to Saudi Arabia, a major exporter of petroleum, is taking place amid high fossil fuel prices. Biden is expected to ask the Saudis to up production to counter rising gas prices, particularly given his effort to reduce reliance on Russian oil after that country initiated a war against Ukraine.
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JCC Art Tour
6 | The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022
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unday, July 10, the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Jewish Community Center welcomed more than 100 community members for the Art Tour and Open House. Visitors were invited to tour the facility, accompanied by Docent Jan Sanderson, who gave background about the artwork and the creators. In addition, there was a full buffet, people received free art catalogues and watched a presentation of the donor wall by Steve Levinger and Michael Staenberg, who has donated countless art pieces to the JCC. With the exception of what is shown in the Gallery itself, all the artwork is part of the permanent collection and can be viewed any time the building is open. If you missed the Art Tour, please feel free to stop by some time and come see our building for yourself. There is so much to look at!
The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022 | 7
Biden kneels to meet with Holocaust survivors during visit to Yad Vashem
adopted child of another Holocaust survivor. Her adoptive CNAAN LIPHSHIZ mother died three months later of illness she had contracted JERUSALEM | JTA Joe Biden dispensed with both social distancing and the at a Nazi concentration camp, and Quint was again alone in chair arranged for him Wednesday as he embraced two Holo- the world. caust survivors, then knelt to speak with them during his first But a Jewish couple who could not conceive children trip to Israel as U.S. president. “I’m very excited about the meeting and also a little scared of it,” Rene Quint, 86, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency ahead of the scheduled encounter — a brief conversation that she and another survivor, Giselle Cycowicz, 95, were scheduled to have with Biden at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum and a regular destination for foreign heads of state. But the president quickly put the women at ease, signaling to them to sit down after they rose to greet him when he walked over following a Joe Biden speaks to Holocaust survivors Giselle Cycowicz, right, and Rena Quint, during a cerwreath-laying ceremony to emony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem, July 13, 2022. Credit: Debbie Hill/Pool/AFP via Getty Images honor Holocaust victims. Biden took the survivors’ hands and kneeled between them. adopted her and raised her, encouraging her to study and obHe spoke with the women for about seven minutes, kissing tain a master’s degree in education. She moved to Israel in both on their cheeks as their conversation drew to a close. 1984 with her husband, whom she met back in the United “He told me about the importance of Holocaust education States and with whom she has four children. and called us heroes,” Quint told JTA after the conversation, She has worked and volunteered at multiple educational which was largely inaudible to the reporters in the room amid frameworks, including Birthright, an organization that brings the shutter clicks of the assembled photographers. young Jews from the Diaspora to Israel, and at Yad Vashem, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose stepfather which asked her to attend the visit and meet Biden. was a Holocaust survivor, later joined the conversation folCycowicz was born in what is today Ukraine and survived lowed by Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid and Israeli presi- the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp before being reunited dent Isaac Herzog. with her sister and cousin after the Holocaust. She also moved Quint, who was 3 when the Nazis invaded her native Poland to the United States, in 1948, then to Israel, arriving on a stuand who survived the Holocaust pretending to be a boy at a dent exchange program in 1955 and staying to marry and raise labor camp, said she did not tell Biden much about her expe- three children. rience during the genocide, in which her parents were murAt the age of 56, in the 1980s, Cycowicz decided to resume dered. Rather, she spoke about how immigrating to the United her studies, which were cut short because of the Holocaust. States in 1946 had shaped her life. She obtained a PhD in psychology and volunteers to this day “It’s a closing of a circle. When I arrived in the United States with other Holocaust survivors, helping them work through I was a scared little girl, I was 11,” she said. “And now I’m meet- their trauma. ing the world’s most important person.” In the visitors’ book at Yad Vashem, Biden wrote: “We must Quint recalled her immigration to New York City as the never, ever forget because hate is never defeated, it only hides.”
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Above: Omaha’s Second session left for Camp Sabra, July 10. Left: Beth Israel’s ‘teen girl bake-’ evening. Below: The Beth Israel Daf Yomi crew finished tractate Yevamot of the Talmud.
SP O TLIGHT PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.
Above, right and below: JFO’s Full Picture Art Tour & Open House was a great success.
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Top, above, below and bottom: Blue skies and wind in our hair! RBJH residents loved the fishing trip! Two more trips are planned for residents to take advantage of fun in the sun!
Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Margie Gutnik President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Sam Kricsfeld Digital support Mary Bachteler Accounting Jewish Press Board Margie Gutnik, President; Abigail Kutler, Ex-Officio; David Finkelstein; Mary Sue Grossman; Les Kay; Natasha Kraft; Chuck Lucoff; Joseph Pinson. 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 JFO are: Institute for Holocaust Education, Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Community Center, 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: www.jewishomaha.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@jewishomaha.org; send ads (in TIF or PDF format) to: rbusse@jewishomaha.org. Letters to the Editor Guidelines The Jewish Press welcomes Letters to the Editor. They may be sent via regular mail to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154; via fax: 1.402.334.5422 or via e-mail to the Editor at: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org. Letters should be no longer than 250 words and must be single-spaced typed, not hand-written. Published letters should be confined to opinions and comments on articles or events. News items should not be submitted and printed as a “Letter to the Editor.” The Editor may edit letters for content and space restrictions. Letters may be published without giving an opposing view. Information shall be verified before printing. All letters must be signed by the writer. The Jewish Press will not publish letters that appear to be part of an organized campaign, nor letters copied from the Internet. No letters should be published from candidates running for office, but others may write on their behalf. Letters of thanks should be confined to commending an institution for a program, project or event, rather than personally thanking paid staff, unless the writer chooses to turn the “Letter to the Editor” into a paid personal ad or a news article about the event, project or program which the professional staff supervised. For information, contact Annette van de KampWright, Jewish Press Editor, 402.334.6450. Postal The Jewish Press (USPS 275620) is published weekly (except for the first week of January and July) on Friday for $40 per calendar year U.S.; $80 foreign, by the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Phone: 402.334.6448; FAX: 402.334.5422. Periodical postage paid at Omaha, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Press, 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154-2198 or email to: jpress@jewishomaha.org.
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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.
Finding our focus ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor “Global chickpea supply could drop 20% this year,” the headline read. I clicked on it, of course, because this is important stuff and I have to know the full story. I also made a mental note to pick up extra cans of chickpeas every time I shop. I may be opposed to hoarding things like toilet paper and handsanitizer, but chickpeas are another matter. Apparently, the coming chickpea shortage is a result of transportation issues, the war in Ukraine and bad weather conditions, which have caused production to be scaled back. I should worry about these causes, and I do, but how tempting it is for the time being to concern myself with something small, something I can control—like how to deal with a future lack of chickpeas. I can make a mental list of which supermarkets still have plenty on the shelf (Baker’s on 120th has those handy four-packs and they are kosher). You can buy large bags of dried chickpeas at Tulsi on 132nd. I’ll have to soak them for a long time, but that’s not hard. All this should distract me from the real-world trouble that takes up permanent space in my brain. Coping through distraction is something, I think, we are all familiar with. How often do we kvetch about things that absolutely don’t matter, that have no importance in the grand scheme of things, for the sole purpose of not addressing what really worries us? Those chickpeas are a metaphor, as was that toilet paper a few years ago. Nobody was truly in danger of running out. Don’t lie. It’s simply a matter of feeling we have no control over one thing, and
refocusing on something we can control. pick and choose. We have to do it all. ‘We.’ Not you The question is, is this a harmless behavior, is it alone, not I all by myself, but ‘we,’ all of us, together. okay to sometimes look away from the big stuff ? Together, we can move mountains. Remember How often have we heard that phrase: ‘you can’t fix how we always talk about community, and how imeverything?’ (Fun fact: if you google this question, portant it is? How we use the phrase ‘in it together’ you get a lot of articles about anxiety disorders. Thank you, Web MD). The truth is, of course we can’t fix everything. That doesn’t give us license to stop trying. This is not an ‘either-or’ proposition. I can buy extra chickpeas just in case, and take some to the food pantry. At the same time, I can be mindful in how I hurt or help the climate and I can donate to Ukrainian refugees while making sure I do my part in telling their story. None of those things imply I think I can ‘fix everything.’ None of those things need be exclusive. I can do small things, and if you and you and you do them too, we will make a big difference. And if, at times, we feel a little overwhelmed and need to find our Credit: Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images focus again, that’s okay too. so often we’re a little sick of it? This is why. The Mishnah tells us to repair the world. We all The next time you feel overwhelmed and you know the phrase, but rarely do we agree on how ex- don’t know where to look or how to start, rememactly we accomplish it. Let’s face it, it’s a pretty tall ber that you are not alone. Also, add some chickorder. peas to you shopping list. You never know. I think there is a reason for that: we don’t get to
Shaming women who have abortions is not a Jewish ethic DAPHNE LAZAR PRICE JTA I have long been a keeper of women’s stories, many of which relate to fertility and reproductive choices, experiences generally shrouded in secrecy. While I am honored to be trusted with these personal accounts, I look forward to, and am working toward, a time when women will be able to speak more freely about their lives. Judaism offers many powerful lessons about the corrosive and dehumanizing nature of shame. In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade and deprived women of the constitutional right to privacy that includes the right to terminate a pregnancy, this ancient wisdom is more urgent than ever. Orthodox institutions and organizations that are being led by women know this. Yet many of our male leaders are cynically and willfully ignoring women’s experiences, as well as what Judaism says, about the sin of shame. In my Orthodox social circles, where larger families are a badge of honor, few topics are considered more taboo than abortion. But I know of too many cases to deny that it happens: One friend had to terminate the fetus of a twin that was posing a threat to the completion of her pregnancy, as well as her own life. Another, who had just given birth a few months earlier, experienced an unplanned pregnancy, this time with debilitating physical and psychological side effects that severely limited her ability to care for herself, let alone sustain her nursing infant. Yet another was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, whose medical treatment was incompatible with a viable pregnancy. While women are only now starting to come out of the woodwork to share their stories, too many still feel compelled to keep their experiences a secret. These women’s lives and quality of life were saved by Roe v. Wade, handed down by the court in 1973. Yet that ruling never cleared away the stain of shame that opponents of abortion persist in attaching to women who insist on their bodily autonomy and privacy rights. This is clearly still true in the Othodox community. It is also still true in the Jewish community more broadly. It’s the reason National Council of Jewish Women created Rabbis for Repro, a group of Jewish clergy that works to normalize conversation about abortion in Reform and
Conservative synagogues and others that aren’t affiliated with a broader movement. The stigma also lingers in broader society. Even those leading the national fight for abortion rights still struggle to tell these stories. This is largely a function of the dissemination of the nefarious trope of “abortion on demand,” according to which women use abortion as a form of last-minute birth control. All the data and there is much of it, showing that most women who have abortions do not fit this profile debunks this myth.
Credit: Flickr Commons
Yet it persists, and too many male Orthodox rabbis are propagating it. In “welcoming” the Dobbs decision, for example, Agudath Israel wrote that it “has long been on the record as opposing Roe v. Wade’s legalization of ‘abortion on demand.’” Now that Roe is gone, we can no longer fool ourselves that we have the luxury of silence. We in the Orthodox community have a special mission in this regard because the taboos in our culture are so powerful and damaging, because male rabbis who speak in our name are perpetuating and even strengthening them, and because our teachings on shame empower us to speak, and to act. As an Orthodox Jewish woman who teaches Jewish law, I am well-versed in the multitude of Torah, Mishnah Talmud, and pertinent rabbinic sources on this subject. These texts recognize the halakhic reality that when a pregnancy endangers the mother’s life, or would certainly damage her mental or physical health, an abortion is either required or permitted by the necessity of preserving the mother’s life and health. What’s more, when Jewish law determines that a pregnancy must be aborted to save the mother’s life, the supporting religious texts make the case without casting aspersions or judgment, and
certainly not considering it to be a sin. Jewish law takes very seriously the sin of shaming, to the point of comparing it to taking a life. To cite a few examples, the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 58b, states that “Anyone who shames another in public, it is as though he were spilling blood.” In the same tractate, page 59a, the text doubles down on this, arguing that it is better to throw oneself into a furnace, rather than embarrass another. Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 3:11, reinforces the point yet again, stating that “One who causes his fellow’s face to blush in public... even though he has to his credit [knowledge of the] Torah and good deeds, he has not a share in the world to come.” And yet male-led rabbinic organizations, and even well-meaning rabbis who have supported women who terminated pregnancies, shame women by suggesting their decision to terminate a pregnancy is “elective,” or contributes to a “social ethic that devalues life” rather than a conscious choice by women to follow their religious convictions and maintain their human dignity. It’s time to make space for women who have experienced abortion care. When we do talk about abortion, we should place it in the context of maternal health care, a stark contrast to the common parlance referencing abortion as a devastating choice worthy of our pity or contempt. We should signal to women that, should they choose to speak openly about their experiences, they can feel safe. In May, before Roe was overturned, I attended the Jewish Rally for Abortion Justice in Washington, D.C. As I wound my way through the crowds, I heard a woman at the podium announce that she had personally experienced abortion. She invited others in the crowd who had made the same choice to stand up with her. The crowd erupted supportively. It was a liberating moment, for her, for everyone who stood and for everyone who witnessed it. Orthodox women deserve no less. Daphne Lazar Price is Executive Director of Jofa, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. She is also an adjunct professor of Jewish Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
Synagogues
10 | The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022
B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com
BETH EL SYNAGOGUE
Member of United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism 14506 California Street Omaha, NE 68154-1980 402.492.8550 bethel-omaha.org
BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE
Member of Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America 12604 Pacific Street Omaha, NE. 68154 402.556.6288 BethIsrael@OrthodoxOmaha.org
CHABAD HOUSE
An Affiliate of Chabad-Lubavitch 1866 South 120 Street Omaha, NE 68144-1646 402.330.1800 OChabad.com email: chabad@aol.com
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN
South Street Temple Union for Reform Judaism 2061 South 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502-2797 402.435.8004 www.southstreettemple.org
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE
Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154 rbjh.com
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL
Member of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 3219 Sheridan Boulevard Lincoln, NE 68502-5236 402.423.8569 tiferethisraellincoln.org
B’NAI ISRAEL Join us on Friday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m. for evening services. Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! For information on COVID-related closures and about our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber. Handicap Accessible.
BETH EL Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9 a.m.; Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Nebraska AIDS Coalition Lunch, 11:30 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. Beth El & Live Stream; Havdalah, 9:30 p.m. Zoom Only. SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Storm Chasers Game, 5 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Birding, 8:30 a.m. at Standing Bear Lake. FRIDAY-July 29: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream. SATURDAY-July 30: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. Beth El & Live Stream; Havdalah, 9:20 p.m. Zoom Only. Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.
BETH ISRAEL FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:33 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m.; Tehillim for Kids, 5:30 p.m.; Kids Parsha Class, 6:50 p.m.; Mincha, 8:30 p.m.; Shalosh Seudos/Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity, 8:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:39 p.m. SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 7:50 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 7:50 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Board of Directors Meeting, 7 p.m.; Daf Yomi, 7:50 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 7:50 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.;
Character Development, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Kids Parsha Class, 10 a.m.; Medical Ethics, noon at UNMC; Rosh Chodesh Av Supper & Learning, 6 p.m.; Daf Yomi, 7:50 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 8:30 p.m. FRIDAY-July 29: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:27 p.m. SATURDAY-July 30: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m.; Tehillim for Kids, 5:30 p.m.; Kids Parsha Class, 6:50 p.m.; Mincha, 8:20 p.m.; Shalosh Seudos/Laws of Shabbos/ Kids Activity, 8:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 9:31 p.m. Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.
CHABAD HOUSE All services are in-person. All classes are being offered in-person/Zoom hybrid (Ochabad.com/classroom). For more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800. FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5:45 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/Le chayim; Candlelighting, 8:32 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 9:38 p.m. SUNDAY: Sunday Morning Wraps: Video Presentation, 9-9:30 a.m. and Breakfast, 9:45 a.m. MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen. TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Tanya, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Hebrew Reading, 11:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen. THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study (Sanhedrin 18 — No advance experience necessary), noon with Rabbi Katzman; Jewish Law Class, 7 p.m. FRIDAY-July 29: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5:45 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochab ad.com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 8:26 p.m. SATURDAY-July 30: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 9:30 p.m.
LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch. Note: Some of our services, but not all, are now being offered in person. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST. Oneg host: TBD; Candlelighting, 8:33 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parashat
Pinchas; Game Night Potluck Live, 6 p.m. at SST; Havdalah, 9:39 p.m. SUNDAY: Garden Work Party, 8:30 a.m. at SST; Men's Jewish Bike Group of Lincoln meets Sundays at 10 a.m., rain or shine, to ride to one of The Mill locations from Hanson Ct. (except we drive if it’s too wet, cold, cloudy, windy, hot or humid) followed by coffee and spirited discussions. If interested, please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com to find out where to meet each week; SST Board Meeting, 1:30 p.m.; Pickleball at Tifereth Israel is on hiatus until after Yom Kippur 5783. In the meantime, everyone is welcome to play at Peterson Park through the spring and summer; just wear comfortable clothes and tennis or gym shoes. For more information, contact Miriam Wallick by email at Miriam57@aol.com Fast Ends, 9:35 p.m. TUESDAY: Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. FRIDAY-July 29: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Nathaniel and Steve Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST. Oneg host: TBD; Candlelighting, 8:27 p.m. SATURDAY-July 30: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study, noon on Parashat Matot-Masei; Havdalah, 9:31 p.m.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE
FRIDAYS: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s service is currently closed to visitors.
TEMPLE ISRAEL
In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Rabbi Deana Sussmam Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. via Zoom. FRIDAY: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m.; Shabbat Service and Oneg, 6 p.m. via Zoom or In-Person. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or InPerson. WEDNESDAY: Yarn It, 9 a.m. THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom or In-Person. FRIDAY-July 29: Drop-In Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m.; Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. via Zoom or In-Person. SATURDAY-July 30: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person. Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.
Biden’s first stop on Israel trip: Tel Aviv CNAAN LIPHSHIZ TEL AVIV | JTA Joe Biden kicked off his 10th trip to Israel and first as U.S. president on July 13 by declaring that the relationship between the two countries is “bone-deep.” Biden told Israeli President Isaac Herzog “I am home,” according to Herzog’s office, and he attempted to prove it right away. Speaking at Ben Gurion Airport, Biden recounted his extensive personal history with Israel, including a 1973 meeting with then-prime minister Golda Meir that is a favorite — if sometimes embroidered — anecdote. Now as president, I’m proud to say that our relationship with the state of Israel is deeper and stronger in my view than it’s ever been,” Biden said. “And with this visit, we’re strengthening our connection even further.” Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave Biden a warm welcome on the tarmac, where a Y-shaped red carpet, one path for the president and his closest aides and the other for the rest of his delegation had been laid. The dignitaries gave each other fist bumps instead of handshakes, in a nod to the ongoing pandemic. “Welcome, our brother Joseph,” Israeli president Isaac Herzog said, alluding to the fact that Biden shares a name with a Jewish patriarch. “You have
been a true friend and a staunch supporter of Israel and the Jewish people.” The Israel Defense Forces band played three songs: the U.S. and Israeli anthems, followed by B’Shanah Haba’a, a popular and apolitical song by late Israeli poet Naomi Shemer that speaks of certainty about a better future. Biden’s trip, which also includes a foray to Saudi Arabia, is aimed at ensuring a strong future not just for U.S.Israeli relations but for the entire Middle East, amid shifting dynamics U.S. President Joe Biden, with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid at there. The trip comes at a low point in his left and Israeli President Isaac Herzog on his right at a welIsrael-Palestinian relations and ongo- come ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, July 13, ing disagreements about how to han- 2022. Credit: Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90 There is daylight between the two countries on dle Iranian aggression in the region. Biden and Israeli leaders are expected to discuss the forma- the exact tactics that should be deployed to mantion of a joint Arab and Israeli alliance, which age that threat, particularly on whether the United States should reenter the Iran nuclear deal under would include Saudi Arabia, to counter Iran. Biden and Lapid plan to sign what they are call- which the country agreed to roll back its nuclear ing a “Jerusalem Declaration,” that “commits both program in exchange for sanctions relief. Israel countries to using all elements of their national does not like the deal, while Biden wants to rejoin power against the Iranian nuclear threat,” a senior it. Unlike Lapid and Herzog, Biden did not name Israeli official told reporters earlier this week. It will Iran in his remarks. Instead, he outlined elements also contain a commitment to extending U.S. sup- of his Israel itinerary: visits to see Israeli defense technology in action and to Yad Vashem. port for Israeli defense spending.
Life cycles IN MEMORIAM GORDON HOBERMAN Gordon Hoberman passed away on July 10, 2022, in Omaha. Services were held on July 13, 2022, at Beth El Cemetery and were officiated by Hazzan Michael Krausman. He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard & Libby Hoberman. He is survived by brothers, Ken Hoberman and Barry Hoberman, and brother and sister-in-law, John and Susan Hoberman; daughter, Madeline Kerr; granddaughter, Harper Kerr; and numerous nieces & nephews. Memorials may be made to the Diabetes Association or to the fund of your choice at Beth El Synagogue. MARCIA M. LIPSMAN Marcia M. Lipsman passed away on July 11, 2022, in Omaha. Services were held on July 13, 2022, at Fisher Farms Cemetery and officiated by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. She was preceded in death by husband, Harvey Lipsman. She is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Rocky and Jane Lipsman and daughter and son-in-law, Sandra Lipsman and Stuart Sweetow; and several nieces, nephews and their children. Mrs. Lipsman organized performances and concerts in Omaha, and she was a professional singer and dancer in her earlier years. Together with her husband Harvey, she travelled to many loca-
tions in the world, including Russia where she had re-connected with cousins whose family had lost contact after WWII. Marcia and Harvey established the Marcia and Harvey Lipsman Foundation. She will be remembered as the one who always put the needs of friends and family above her own.
René Slotkin dies at 84 JACKIE HAJDENBERG JTA As a physical education teacher at an Orthodox boys school in New York City, René Slotkin frequently wore short-sleeved shirts, leaving the numbers tattooed into his arm visible to anyone. His story of Holocaust survival was remarkable: Slotkin and his sister were among just 200 sets of twins to survive gruesome experimentation by the infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele at Auschwitz, then were reunited six years after being separated. René is survived by his wife June, whom he called “the best woman in the world”; his four children, Zebbe, David, Corrie and Mia; 11 grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. The funeral service was held at Congregation Ohab Zedek on July 17. Read René’s full obituary at www.omahajewishpress.com.
The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022 | 11
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12 | The Jewish Press | July 22, 2022
News LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D
How a Holocaust survivor helped make Bayern Munich a soccer powerhouse JULIAN VOLOJ JTA In May, the Bundesliga, Germany’s top soccer league, concluded its season on what has become a familiar note: the Bayern Munich club won its 10th straight league title, an unprecedented feat in any of the top European soccer leagues. Although the club has become the most successful team in German soccer history, it wasn’t always a juggernaut. The seeds of its domination were planted in the early 20th century by Kurt Landauer, an early Jewish president of the team who survived the Holocaust and returned to helm the team again in the late 1940s. Born in 1884 in Planegg, a suburb of Munich, Landauer joined the club a year after its founding in 1900, first as a player, becoming the goalkeeper for its second (or backup) team, and later as an executive. He became the club’s president in 1913. His first term was interrupted by World War I, during which he fought in the German army, receiving the Iron Cross for his services. After the war, Landauer was again elected as president of the club and proceeded to lead the team into a period of historic growth and development. Landauer was an advocate of professionalizing soccer (it was considered an amateur pursuit until after World War II) and put an emphasis on the team’s youth academy, which was led by Otto Albert Beer, a Jewish FC Bayern official who was later murdered in Auschwitz. Landauer additionally brought in one of the top coaches at the time, the Austrian Richard Kohn, nicknamed “Dombi,” who was also Jewish. Under Landauer’s leadership and Dombi’s coaching, FC Bayern won two South German championships and became runner-up for the
German championship three times before winning the title on June 12, 1932. The 1932 champions were widely considered the team of the future, but half a year later, German President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Key figures left the club, among them Coach Dombi, who
A photo depicting Kurt Landauer is shown at an exhibition titled Players, Fighters and Legends – Jews in the German football and at the Bayern Munich at the FC Bayern Erlebniswelt museum in 2015. Credit: Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images
would continue his career with a number of prominent clubs, including Grasshoppers Zurich, FC Barcelona and Feyenoord Rotterdam. Anticipating that having a Jewish president would harm FC Bayern, Landauer resigned from his position in March 1933. Landauer remained in Munich. In 1938, a day after Kristallnacht, he was interned in the Dachau concentration camp. He was released after four weeks, likely in part because of his World War I service.
The experience destroyed his last hope that things would turn for the better. He fled to Switzerland in May 1939, where he would survive the rest of the Holocaust. Four of his siblings and many other relatives were murdered by the Nazis. Landauer returned to Munich in June 1947, and two months later he again became president of FC Bayern Munich. Under his presidency, he recruited new talent and was instrumental in finding a permanent practice area in the city, now called the Säbener Strasse, where FC Bayern has had its club premises ever since. The club celebrated its 50th anniversary, in 1950, under his presidency. In the aftermath of the war, Landauer’s status as a Jew boosted the club’s reputation, especially with Western fans. But then, in 1951, he was surprisingly voted out of the presidency. He died in 1961. For decades, Landauer’s legacy fell into obscurity. In 1993, when working on a book on soccer and racism, the German historian Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling rediscovered his story. “I was writing a chapter on Jews and antisemitism in soccer. That’s when I realized that it was a buried story. Jewish citizens and their contributions were written out of history from 1933 onwards—and were not written back in after 1945,” SchulzeMarmeling said. In 2006, the year Germany hosted the soccer world cup, Schickeria launched an annual antiracism fan tournament named in honor of Landauer. Some participants unveiled a large banner with his face on it during a game. The club’s officials soon took notice. When the club opened a museum in 2012, the permanent exhibition included Kurt Landauer prominently. A year later, during the club’s general assembly, the team made Landauer an honorary president — only the third in team history.