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Remembering Alan Simon ADL-CRC presents Supreme Court Review Page 2
John Lewis and the Jews: Six moments that showcase an enduring alliance Page 5
There’s Jewish space for queer people Page 12
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Beth El Synagogue presents Georgia Dow
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ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor maha Steaks is saddened to announce Alan D. Simon, a fourth-generation family owner of Omaha Steaks, has passed away July 11 at the age of 85. A private burial was held Sunday, July 19. Alan is preceded in death by his parents Lester and Trudy Simon and his brothers Stephen Simon and Frederick Simon. He is survived by his wife Anne Simon, son Bruce (Stacy), daughter Janice Tecimur (Timur), and four grandchildren Talia, Ellie, Natalie, and Chase. Born Aug. 8, 1934 in Omaha, Nebraska, he was one of the fourth-generation destined for the Omaha Steaks life. Alan attended Central High School and graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2005, he and brothers Fred and Stephen were inducted in the Central High School Hall of Fame. He was Chairman of the Board for the company which was founded by his great-grandfather and grandfather in 1917. Alan pioneered the direct-to-consumer food industry and built Omaha Steaks into a world-renowned brand. Today the mail-order/online food company is run by the next generation - his son Bruce Simon, his nephew Todd Simon, and a team of professional managers along with over 1,500 associates. The fifth-generation owners oversee the business, which includes more than two million active See Alan D. Simon page 11
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two-time Canadian Jujitsu Champion, HAZZAN MICHAEL KRAUSMAN she specializes in treating anxiety and Beth El Renowned Psychologist Georgia stress management for both children Dow will speak following Beth El’s and adults as a top Psychotherapist at Shabbat services on Saturday, Aug. The Montreal Center for Anxiety and 8 at approximately 11:15 am. Depression. Georgia appears as a I fancy myself guest on several tech something of a wantpodcasts including to-be computer geek. Host of Review and Whether I’m driving ZEN & TECH, where in the car or working she explains the difout at the JCC, I enjoy ferent ways that psylistening to tech podchology can help our casts, especially those interconnected lives. talking about Apple She is a frequent computers. Of the speaker at seminars, many podcasters that conferences, and corI enjoy listening to porations. She is also and watching, GeorCo-Founder of Anxigia Dow is second to ety-Videos.com and none. Georgia brings Senior Editor at Moa warm, fresh and enbile Nations. Dow Georgia Dow gaging approach to also writes about and technology, and she projects her ex- reviews Apple-related and connected planation through the lens of a clini- devices. Georgia is a licensed teacher cal psychologist – this, together with who found that she cared more about her computer expertise, makes for a how her students felt about themfascinating combination. selves and the world they live in than According to her resume, “Georgia the curriculum, so she went on to get Dow, MA, has over 20 years of experi- another degree in therapy in order to ence in teaching and counseling. pursue that dream.” With degrees in Psychology and EduA couple of weeks ago I was watchcation, a Master’s degree with Distinc- ing a podcast during which Georgia tion in Art Therapy as well as being a See Georgia Dow page 2
Alan Simon
United Way of the Midlands awards $10,000 to JFO
ALAN POTASH CEO, Jewish Federation of Omaha The Jewish Federation of Omaha is pleased to announce it was recently awarded a one-year grant of $10,000 from United Way of the Midlands. Thanks to the generosity of United Way donors, 145 current clients have continued to receive needed mental health care and counseling through an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha, Jewish Family Service. The Jewish Federation will also be the recipient of $18,293 from Campaign designations.
Jewish Family Service is able to provide counseling services to individuals (they need not be Jewish clients) who require a Sliding Fee rate, either because they do not have insurance or because they income qualify. On March 1, 2020 Jewish Family Service launched TeleMental Health Services via Zoom as an alternative to in-person therapy sessions. As the pandemic gained a foothold, all sessions became virtual. Jewish Family Service conducted approximately 200 virtual sessions with existing clients See United Way page 3
2 | The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020
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JCC re-opening FAQs Will the Fitness Center have modified hours? Yes. The Fitness Center will have modified hours. The plan is to increase hours with each subsequent week. The only access point to the facility will be the Phil Sokoloff Fitness Center Entrance (Member Services entrance) on the east side of the building. Access to the Fitness Center will NOT be allowed through the west facing entrances on the front of campus. Are the locker rooms open? Yes. Use of the locker rooms will be available. Showers, restrooms, and lockers will be available. Towel service will be provided in the indoor locker rooms. Please place all used towels in designated drop areas before exiting the locker room. Locker room locations will be the same as they were before the closure. Per construction – all men will use the upstairs women’s health spa. All women will use the downstairs women’s locker room. Is the basketball gymnasium open? Yes. Starting July 6 limited open gym hours will be available. We ask that all members bring their own basketballs, as we will not be providing equipment. Men’s Drop In Basketball will resume on July 6. Drop-In Volleyball will resume July 11 and will be held on Sundays from 9-11 a.m. Pickleball and table tennis will not be available until further notice. Is the racquet ball court open? A: Yes. Court #2 will be available starting
July 6. Please bring your own equipment, we will not be providing any at this time. To reserve court use, contact Member Services at 402.334.6426. Monday -Thursday: 5-8 p.m. Fridays: 5-7 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays: 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Will guests be allowed? No. At this time guests are not allowed. What can I bring with me? We ask that all members try to limit the amount of personal items they bring with them. Starting July 6, lockers/locker room use will be available. We will NOT hold items at the Member Services Desk. Please plan accordingly. PROGRAMS & SERVICES Can I still check out equipment from the Member Services Desk? No. Equipment will not be available for check out until further notice. Can I store my items at the Member Services Desk? No. No items will be allowed to be stored at member services so please plan accordingly for your visit. Will concessions/coffee still be available from the Member Services Desk? Yes. Starting July 6 limited concessions and coffee service will be available. Is there still a Lost & Found area? There will be a lost and found area however See JCC re-opening page 4
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SUSAN BERNARD | 402.334.6559 | sbernard@jewishomaha.org
ADL-CRC presents Supreme Court Review
PAM MONSKY Community Development Liaison, ADL-CRC Protest fires burn, statues topple and a pandemic rages making this year’s Supreme Court term one like never before. The spectacle of the Chief Justice presiding over an impeachment trial, a victory for LGBTQ rights and more challenges to Executive policies set the stage for another America’s Town Hall program with distinguished legal scholars Dahlia Lithwick, Erwin Chemerinsky, Frederick Lawrence and Paul Clement as they unpack the most important cases of the term, and what to expect next year. Please join ADL and the National Constitution Center for the annual Supreme Court Review on Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. We invite you to sign up today at Omaha.adl.org to watch our live broadcast of this America’s Town Hall event. Registration is free and open to all. We’re also pleased to let you know that 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) credits will be available.
Georgia Dow Continued from page 1 Dow was explaining how the new health features of the Apple watch could be very beneficial in helping people with anxiety. While I was fascinated by the content from an Apple fan point of view, it occurred to me that it would be wonderful to have Georgia Dow speak to us on a Shabbat morning about the connection between technology and anxiety, and perhaps give us some strategies as to how we approach this. Considering that we all have been spending more and more time using Zoom and other computer programs, I felt as though this would be extremely relevant to all of us. Figuring that I had nothing to lose, I emailed Georgia and asked her if she would be willing to come and speak to us by Zoom. To my delight, Georgia agreed to be our guest on Aug. 8 immediately following Shabbat services at approximately 11:15
a.m. Ms. Dow will give a brief presentation and then entertain questions from those who are participating in the Zoom discussion. If you wish to submit a question in advance for Georgia, email me at hazzan krausman@bethel-omaha.org. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Omaha community to have a conversation with an internationally known expert with such a unique skill set. Georgia Dow’s topic is especially relevant at this time when we are all facing anxiety caused in no small way by the technology that we have to confront daily. Be sure to join us for Shabbat Services on Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. followed by the presentation by Georgia Dow. The link to the service and all events at Beth El can be found on our website at http://www.bethel-omaha.org. I am positive this will enhance our Shabbat experience and be uplifting for our soul.
The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020 | 3
Beth El Education and Youth Departments are having a busy summer ROBBY ERLICH Beth El Engagement Coordinator The Education and Youth Departments at Beth El Synagogue have been very busy this summer providing our children meaningful and fun opportunities while gearing up for the upcoming BESTT school year. The first week of June, Beth El planned the Annual Kamp Kef, which was a week long virtual camp for the over 20 campers and their families. They participate in Shira, Amanuet, Chuggim, jokes, movies and more. Each family got a bag of supplies for the activities while Eadie Tsabari and Amy Dworin provided virtual instruction through recorded videos on YouTube. For other Kamp Kef activities, Eadie and Amy provided live engagement on Zoom. For one camper, first grader Jonah Erlich, his favorite part of Kamp Kef were the live virtual joke sessions. For families, they could not tell who was having more fun, the campers, or the staff ! Amy Dworin, Youth Engagement Director, has completed: • Programmed Wednesday nights; every Wednesday night is a different program. Past programming have been Zoom hang-outs, Zoom EMTZA Book Club, and Zoom EMZTA Film Club. • Has kept the kids engaged through phone calls, collaborative games and surprise physically-distant visits and car parades.
• Has lead college student engagement programs like a physically-distant Friday night service at a park and has routinely checked in with college students. Eadie Tsabari, Director of Congregational Learning, has been overseeing the Summer Keep in Touch learning program. This learning program is for BESTT students where they are being tutored in Hebrew and service leading. The program has about ten students participating and everyone is doing an awesome job. In addition to coordinating the Summer Keep in Touch learning program, Eadie is attending at least one professional development activity a week. Eadie is seeing what is happening in all parts of the world... and then being thrilled and happy that we live in Omaha. Eadie is also busy working with her faculty to get prepared for the start of the BESTT school year. “Our teachers are coming up with awesome projects and activities for the kids together with their families to do”, Eadie explains. The Education and Youth Departments have done a marvelous job with keeping our children and adolescents engaged during a time of major face to face summer activity reduction due to COVID-19. Eadie and Amy will work hard to continue to deliver excellence to Beth El in the upcoming months to come.
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United Way Contnued from page 1 since our campus closed March 17. These are individuals who might not have otherwise been able to continue to receive the benefits of therapy. For more than a century, Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Omaha has provided crucial aid through mental health needs, financial needs, and other forms of support to the Omaha Metro Jewish community, as well as other nonJewish community members including our surrounding neighbors. JFS follows our moral responsibility through Tikkun Olam or “Repair the World,” holding strongly to the belief that it is everyone’s responsibility, if they are able, to take care of vulnerable members of our community. According to the United Way of the Midlands, 61,000 adults and 20,000 children in Nebraska live with a serious mental illness. As a result, Mental Health Care and Counseling remains a targeted need for the Omaha community (and identified in the United Way of the Midlands 2025 Goals and Strategic Plan) due to its positive impact on the overall health of a person, and the potential for negative implications of untreated mental illness such as poor school performance, unemployment, housing challenges, etc. We feel the goals of Jewish Family Service align with the United Way Community Care Fund’s initiatives of providing quality physical and mental health care services in order to improve health and health care access in the form of qualified, mental health care providers, programs and services. Then comes the goal of making sure that services are accessible to the target population, those living in poverty (UWM’s target population). JFS has created an array of valuable and impactful programming and has introduced innovation avenues for offering care, including our Play Therapy Program and our new Tele-Mental Health or Virtual Therapy which launched in March, 2020. With the help of this grant, Jewish Family Service is able to offer Tele-Mental Health services to the community during this time of crisis. We have an eight-year-old client who was adopted as a toddler because her biological parents were unable to care for her. She has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and has experienced anxiety and depressive symptoms related to the death of a close father figure a few years
ago. In addition, she recently became the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of an adult male neighbor who had befriended the family and was a trusted part of her everyday life. Individual sessions along with family therapy sessions with her mother focused on grief, loss, and empowerment through play therapy. Today she is experiencing fewer sleep problems and symptoms of anxiety. She is resilient and is building many strengths that will help with current and future challenges. She has certainly benefitted from being able to continue therapy sessions through this pandemic. Alan Potash, CEO of the Jewish Federation Omaha expressed his gratitude to United Way of the Midlands and their donors, saying this, “Jewish Family Service strives, each and every day, to provide the highest level of service to improve the quality of life for every individual in our community. During this COVID-19 crisis, JFS has expanded their efforts by providing tele-mental health options to meet individual needs. We are thankful to United Way for their generous support and we thank all who contribute to the United Way of the Midlands.” The Jewish Federation of Omaha has, for many years, held an internal campaign to benefit United Way of the Midlands where we educate and promote the importance of the work UWM does in the Omaha community. United Way of the Midlands has served the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro for more than 95 years. Guided by best practices and community input, it approaches poverty in a specific way – a “united” way. With the support of volunteers, community partners and donors, UWM invests donor dollars efficiently and effectively in our local community. These dollars fund basic needs, education and financial stability programs at local nonprofits, creating a circle of support for people in need. Please visit unitedwaymidlands.org for more information. The Jewish Federation of Omaha works each day to fulfill its mission to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. We strive to achieve our goals through the basic core values of Judaism: collective responsibility, community, education, health and well-being, integrity, leadership and stewardship.
ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS Due to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home temporarily being closed to the public, B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers will not meet until further notice. For specific speaker information, please email Gary.Javitch@Gmail.com, Breadbreakers chairman. For more information or to be placed on the email list call 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.
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4 | The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020
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Sen. Richard Marvel and Ethics in Politics Ethics? Where have they gone? Do American politicians in the second decade of the 21st century know what the word means? How far back in our history must we go to find someone who lived and worked in the world of real politics who measures up to what we expect? There are answers. Maybe just a few. Maybe in the distant past. Maybe small. RICHARD FELLMAN Maybe even insignificant. Maybe never enough. But listen to this story. It takes place in the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature in the 1973 Session. The One House Legislature began in Nebraska in 1937. There is no Senate and no House. There is just one legislative body and everyone in it is called a Senator. There are only 49 senators. There are no political parties. No majority or minority leaders. In reality, every member admits he or she is a Republican or Democrat, or at times an Independent, but nobody runs under a party label. Oddly enough, it really works well. In the more than 80 years since it was created the voters of Nebraska have never attempted to revert back to the old way; and every year delegations visit from other States to see how it functions, but no state has ever attempted it. The obvious reason... Legislators would have to vote themselves out of a job. Nebraska passed the Unicameral law in the depths of the Great Depression under the leadership of the states, great U.S. Senator, George W. Norris, and the total cost of the Legislature in its first year was one-half of what it cost the prior year. I served in the Unicameral. 1973 was my freshman year. My desk on the Legislative floor was towards the mid-section and in the middle of a row of three. On my right was a former sheriff from western Nebraska, a man who was a WWII hero and who said almost nothing except when he was asked. Everyone liked him. He was Sen. Otho Kime. To my left was a tall, thin man from Hastings, a mid-sized town in central Nebraska. He was Sen. Richard Marvel. In the late 1930s, just before the war, he had studied politics in Germany. After the war and his military service in the South Pacific, he obtained a Ph.D in American Government. He had been a senator for a number of years and was then the chairman of the important Budget and Appropriations Committee. To supplement the meager salary of $4,800 a year for serving
in the Legislative, he taught American Government at a local university. Both in the Legislature and in Academia he was highly regarded. He was tall. I was short. He had gray hair. Mine was still dark brown. He was a Republican. I was a Democrat. But what we had in common, along with a half dozen of the 49 men in “the body,” as those inside liked to call it, was our given name. We were both “Richard,” together with about ten per cent of the other senators. One morning, mid-session, a complicated bill involving educational funds was being debated. It was difficult to understand because it was all math and formulas involving one aspect of education on top of another. I listened. Sen. Marvel sitting next to me also listened, but he was also studying who was for or against the bill because it was his bill. He steered it through committee and was in the midst of doing his best to get it approved by the Legislature. He wanted every available vote from every senator. Admitting to myself that I did not really understand it, I leaned over to Dick Marvel, rolled my chair up to his, and simply said, “Dick, I don’t understand this at all. Can you sort of explain it?” Nothing was said, but he took a pencil and a yellow pad and began to draw a chart. He was careful, but he took time and was not at all rushed. He drew lines, and circles, and put dollar signs in spots. Then he began, so quietly, to explain his chart. It took a few minutes. Some speaker was going on and on, and nobody seemed to be especially interested. Marvel kept explaining, not trying to influence me, but hoping to make me understand all of it. And it worked. I was catching on. I told him so. He smiled. Thanked me for listening to him. Then he said something I’ll never forget. “Dick, this is my Bill. I want it to pass. I’m working on every vote I can get. And I’d like your vote.” Here it was coming. I had been in this spot many times before. But Marvel continued. “This Bill will help my school system in Hastings, and in all the mid-sized towns in the State. But you represent Omaha, and the large school districts, and this Bill will hurt the schools in Omaha. My advice to you, just from me to you, but not to anyone else, is for you to vote against my Bill. I hope you understand.” What would America give to have that conversation take place these days in every legislative body, whether local, state or national?
JCC reopening Continued from page 2 all items will be moved to a storage area at the end of each day. All items left at the J will be taken to a donation center on a weekly basis. Is Fit & Sit open? Yes. Starting July 6, limited morning hours of Fit & Sit will be available. Can I bring my kids with me? Can they play in the gym or wait on the couches/seating area while I work out? Only members, ages 16+, with a reservation will be allowed to enter the facility. All lobby seating and lounge areas are not available until further notice. Can I drop my kids off at the J? No. The only children allowed in our facility at this time are those registered for summer camp, dance classes, or other programming. HEALTH & SAFETY PROTOCOL Do you have enhanced safety protocol? Yes. In addition to following the State of Nebraska Health Department, Douglas County, and the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, The J is implementing extra precautions to help our community stay safe and healthy. This includes extensive cleaning protocols and social distancing practices within each of our classes, programs, and facility areas. What other safety measure are being taken? • Mandatory face masks for staff in building common areas. • Sneeze guards have been installed at the Member Services Desk. • We are strictly adhering to limits on the number of individuals entering the facility, based on capacity guidelines by state government. • We have implemented the temporary closure of certain
areas within the building where social distancing is difficult to maintain. • Staff are required to wear a mask when working closely with others, take their temperatures daily and stay home if ill. • All Members are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask during the check-in process, before their workout, after their workout, and when exiting the facility. • We are observing enhanced cleaning protocols, but still ask that members also wipe down all equipment, machines, and other surfaces BEFORE and AFTER use using the cleaning supplies provided. • We encourage frequent hand washing. • We have additional hand sanitation stations throughout the facility. Please use them. What are your cleaning protocols? • We will be cleaning all high touch points frequently • We ask that members also wipe down all equipment, machines, and other surfaces BEFORE and AFTER use using the cleaning supplies provided. • Nightly deep cleaning and sanitizing of all equipment. • Additional and routine training with all staff on proper cleaning and sanitation techniques. • Hand sanitizers placed at facility entrances and throughout the building. • Sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the fitness center floor with sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer. For more information and to check our many Frequently Asked Question pages, please visit our website at www.jcc omaha.org. The Jewish Community Center has been a big part of Omaha for more than eight decades! We opened our doors in 1925 and still, today continue to serve everyone in the community with our state-of-the-art facilities, outstanding programs, and dedicated staff. We’ve been here in the past, we’re here today and we’ll be here tomorrow.
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John Lewis and the Jews: Six moments that showcase an enduring alliance RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON | JTA When John Lewis, the civil rights icon and congressman from Georgia, died at 80 over the weekend, Jews in America and abroad lost an ally of nearly six decades. Lewis never tired of telling folks to “get into good trouble,” to defy the authorities and the conventional wisdom. It was a creed that guided him as he helped organize the 1963 March on Washington; that led to police severely beating him in Selma, Alabama, in 1965; and that underscored his 33-year career in Congress. He also had a close relationship with the Jewish community dating to the 1960s, fortified by alliances he forged throughout his congressional career. Many Jewish leaders on both sides of the aisle lauded Lewis when he announced his cancer diagnosis last year and mourned him this week. Here are six Jewish moments from Lewis’ long and storied career working toward justice in America. Praying with his feet That Selma March? It started with 12 men and women joining arms and leading others across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Among those 12 were Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. The rabbi was asked after the march whether he found time to pray. Heschel famously answered: “I
John Lewis, D-Ga., and Norbert Bikales, who was part of the Kindertransport from Berlin to France in July 1939 following the deportation of his parents and brother to Poland, light one of six candles representing the more than six million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust, in a ceremony in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., April 9, 2002. Credit: Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
prayed with my feet.” Lewis, then 25, was right alongside them. Coalition-building There’s a narrative that the unity that defined the Black-Jewish alliance in the 1960s dissipated by the 1980s, in part because Black leaders like Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson vocally embraced advocacy for Palestinians. If that was the narrative, Lewis did not seem to be reading the book. In 1982, he
worked with the American Jewish Committee to found the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition. It was an alliance that culminated in 2019 in the founding last year of the Congressional Black-Jewish Caucus. Let my people(s) go Jews have been hesitant at times to link Jewish suffering with that of African Americans. Lewis was not. At a mass Washington demonstration in 1987 calling for the libera-
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tion of Soviet Jewry, Lewis did not hesitate to make the connection. “I stand here not so much as a member of Congress but I stand here as a human being,” Lewis said. “Almost 25 years ago I participated in a march here for jobs and freedom. Hundreds and thousands of members of the Jewish community marched with us then. I think it’s fitting for me to be with you today. “Our message, the message of the Black community, is one that is very simple. We are saying to President Reagan, Mr. President, tell Mr. Gorbachev to open the doors, open the gates and let the people out. I said that as long as one Jew is denied the right to emigrate, as long as one Jew is denied the right to be Jewish in the Soviet Union, we all are Jews in the Soviet Union.” Spurning Farrakhan In 1995, Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan set out to convene Black men in Washington, D.C., at a rally meant to extend the symbolism of the 1963 March on Washington. Some prominent figures from the civil rights movement attended the Million Man March on Washington, including Rosa Parks, but Lewis said he would not because of Farrakhan’s track record, which then as now, included anti-Semitic comments. “I cannot overlook past statements by Louis Farrakhan — and others associated See John Lewis and the Jews page 6
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John Lewis and the Jews Continued from page 5 with the Nation of Islam — which are divisive and bigoted,” Lewis told Newsweek at the time. “Although its general goal of encouraging African American men to be responsible is sound, the march is fatally undermined by its chief sponsor.” Boycotting Bibi but supporting Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015 accepted an invitation from then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, to speak in Congress against President Barack Obama’s Iran policies. Boehner, who had not consulted with Democrats in Congress or the White House about the invitation, framed Netanyahu’s speech as a more serious take on Iran, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus saw it as an all-too-familiar dis: The white man was pushing the Black man out of the limelight. Pro-Israel groups and figures also had been caught by surprise by the invitation; nonetheless, the prospect of a boycott appalled them, and they set about trying to persuade Democrats to turn up. Lewis would not have it — but he emphasized his support for Israel in his decision not to attend the speech. “I am saddened that the speaker would threaten this historic position, bipartisan support of our Israeli brothers and sisters, by this action,” he said. Israeli officials joined the chorus of world-
wide leaders mourning Lewis this week. “The US lost a hero. Israel lost a friend,” tweeted Dani Dayan, the outgoing consul general of Israel in New York, along with a picture of a 2015 tweet from Lewis himself saying, “I don’t take a backseat to anyone in my commitment and support of Israel.” Opposing BDS while backing the right to boycott Lewis was opposed to the movement to boycott Israel, but — his thoughts cast back to the business boycotts that helped propel the civil rights movement — he was fiercely defensive of the right to boycott. He opposed state laws and proposed federal laws that would penalize boycotters and joined two freshmen congresswomen who back the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel in sponsoring a resolution affirming the right of Americans to boycott, a resolution centrist pro-Israel groups lobbied against. Co-sponsoring the resolution was “a simple demonstration of my ongoing commitment to the ability of every American to exercise the fundamental First Amendment right to protest through nonviolent actions,” he said at the time. “I want to make it very clear that I disagree strongly with the BDS movement,” Lewis said in the same statement. He put his words in action, co-sponsoring a resolution that condemned but did not penalize the BDS movement.
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Rivkin: ‘Get a grip’ and lead MARCY OSTER JERUSALEM | JTA President Reuven Rivlin of Israel has some advice for his nation’s lawmakers: “Get a grip!” He made his remarks on Thursday a day after reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to bring down the government and call for new elections, along with the coalition crisis sparked by a vote on legislation that would ban gay conversion therapy.
it!” he said. Rivlin added: “The State of Israel is not a rag doll you drag around as you squabble. Our people, all of them, need you to be focused, clear and finding solutions to the unprecedented crisis that the State of Israel and humanity as a whole finds itself in. It’s in your hands to take action. Prove it to us!” Netanyahu has decided to bring down the government and move to another vote in the
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, center, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, head of the Likud party, and Benny Gantz, chair of Blue and White, to discuss forming an emergency unity government, March 15, 2020. Credit: Koby Gideon/GPO
At a meeting with social workers to show appreciation for them as they return to work after a 17-day strike, Rivlin said he was watching the developments, like all Israeli citizens, with “deep concern.” “From here, as a citizen just like any other, speaking to you on behalf of us all, speaking to you in their voice, I say to you all: Get a grip! Stop the talk of early elections, a terrible option at this time, and save yourselves from
fall rather than turn the office over to Benny Gantz in November 2021, the Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday. Rivlin told the social workers: “At a time when we are fighting coronavirus, you social workers are on the front line. You are essential workers, the ICU of the wards, of Israeli society, especially at this time of crisis. Without you, we would not win this battle. Your patients need you, we need you.”
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Who and what is QAnon? The U.S. military will take over the country; the reANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT sult will be utopia and peace on earth. There is Jewish Press Editor plenty of other misinformation coming from this A pandemic, an election year, racial tensions, fedmovement, like the fact that the future COVID-19 eral troops descending on cities, muggy hot vaccine will kill you and that bleach is a miracle cure weather and lots of anxiety for everyone to share: for coronavirus. Finally, what would a good conspirit sounds like the perfect time for a robust conspiracy theory be without a hefty dose of anti-Semitism? acy to make the rounds. Enter QAnon. You may have seen the name (or sometimes just the letter ‘Q’) pop up here and there; from the fringe it has begun to seep into mainstream media coverage. Based on the idea of a ‘Deep State’ government consisting of pedophiles and Satanists, it is not really something new (someone always thinks someone secret is in charge) but it is interesting in the sense that this one doesn’t just live online. It is coming out into the streets. Placards, badges, signs at random protests and retweets by real-life, bona fide elected politicians are giving QAnon much more attention than, say, the Credit: Rick Loomis/Getty Images Flat Earth Society. “Several aspects of QAnon lore mirror longstandFrom a June article in the Guardian: ing antisemitic tropes,” according to the Anti“QAnon is a movement of people who interpret Defamation League. “The belief that a global as kind of gospel the online messages of an anony“cabal” is involved in rituals of child sacrifice has its mous figure, “Q,” who claims knowledge of a secret roots in the antisemitic trope of blood libel, the thecabal of powerful pedophiles and sex traffickers. ory that Jews murder Christian children for ritualWithin the constructed reality of QAnon, Donald istic purposes. In addition, QAnon has a Trump is secretly waging a patriotic crusade deep-seated hatred for George Soros, a name that against these “deep state” child abusers and a has become synonymous with perceived Jewish “Great Awakening” that will reveal the truth is on meddling in global affairs. And QAnon’s ongoing the horizon”(As if President Trump wouldn’t be tweeting about Satan worshipers non-stop if he obsession with a global elite of bankers also has deeply antisemitic undertones.” thought they were secretly in charge). The ADL calls it the “kitchen sink approach.” This “Great Awakening” is sometimes referred to “QAnon contains a number of deeply convoluted as “The Storm.” Thousands of cabal members are and all-encompassing conspiracy theories; it is a expected to be arrested and sent to Guantanamo.
host of seemingly disparate ideas touching on everything from the faked death of JFK, Jr. to Satanic blood rituals and nuclear deterrence.” Why do people choose to believe any of this? The answer lies somewhere in the human psyche. The neverending search for the truth, feeling helpless to change your own life and blaming someone else, always “the other” for your misery. Simply dismissing followers as “crazy” will not do. “Experiments have revealed that feelings of anxiety make people think more conspiratorially,” Melinda Wenner Moyer wrote for ScientifAmerican.com. “Such feelings, along with a sense of disenfranchisement, currently grip many Americans, according to surveys. In such situations, a conspiracy theory can provide comfort by identifying a convenient scapegoat and thereby making the world seem more straightforward and controllable.” She also wrote: “In May 2018 the American Psychiatric Association released the results of a national survey suggesting that 39 percent of Americans feel more anxious than they did a year ago, primarily about health, safety, finances, politics and relationships. Another 2017 report found that 63 percent of Americans are extremely worried about the future of the nation and that 59 percent consider this the lowest point in U.S. history that they can remember. These feelings span the political spectrum.” It’s not good news for us. Anytime anxiety goes up, more blame needs to find a home. Too many times, that blame lands with minorities. Blacks, Jews, gays, immigrants. And that is perhaps the most logical way to assess whether something you read or hear is part of a conspiracy theory: does it, when followed to its logical conclusion, end up scapegoating? It’s a question we must never, ever stop asking.
May his memory be a blessing: Four lessons we can learn from civil rights hero John Lewis MARK PELAVIN ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND | JTA The day is one of my most vivid and treasured memories. I was associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and we were in the middle of our flagship public policy conference. One of my responsibilities was to assign Reform Movement leaders to introduce each of our speakers. The power went right to my head, and I began by assigning myself to introduce John Lewis, the congressman from Georgia who was an icon of the civil rights movement. Somehow the many higher-ups who reviewed the list either did not see what I had done or were focused elsewhere. And so I had the opportunity, the privilege, the honor, to stand on the stage that day and tell Rep. Lewis, face to face, exactly why he was my hero. That feeling has only deepened in the decades since. Now, with a little more perspective, and in honor of one of the most remarkable, most American, lives ever lived, I want to suggest four key lessons (among hundreds) that we can all learn from John Lewis’ life and work. First, Lewis was never patient. (In fact, in his draft remarks for the 1963 March on Washington, he wrote, “‘Patience’ is a dirty and nasty word.”) He worked closely with more established leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King, but he demanded — and earned — a seat at the table; he knew that it was critical that the movement always hear the voice of younger leaders. He was 21 when he became one of the original Freedom Riders, 23 when he was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington, and 25 when he led the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. I think we can all ask ourselves what our institutions would be like if we had 23-year-olds in key decision-making roles. How much talent are we missing out on while we wait for it to develop?
Second, Lewis did not quit. As I look at Lewis’ life I wonder how often others (including myself ) would have walked away from the battle. Would I have continued after being beaten the way Lewis was? Would have I walked away after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and thought I had earned some rest? Would I have given up on public service after losing my first bid for Congress? Would I have retired
Rep. John Lewis speaks at a news conference in the Capitol on the Voting Rights Advancement Act, Dec. 6, 2019. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
when political opponents began to dismantle what I had sacrificed so much for? Would the election of the first African-American president have been a signal that the nation had turned a corner? John Lewis never gave up, never stopped working to make this country the place he knew it could be. His voice was powerful to the end. Third, Lewis used his hard-earned moral authority widely. Lewis understood that the struggle for equality needed to include equality for all. He was a strong supporter of LGBT rights, for example, and was always a great friend and ally to the Jewish community. Lewis believed that peace and safety
were key elements of Dr. King’s “Beloved Community,” which led him to be a leading opponent of the Iraq war and — as recently as 2016 – to lead a sitin on the House floor in support of anti-gun violence legislation. He simply refused to take a narrow view of his responsibility. Finally, it’s impossible to talk about John Lewis without talking about his faith. Lewis was a civil rights leader, a legislator, an author, and a mentor to many. But he was always a preacher. The day he and I shared the stage, he gave a version of a speech he must have given thousands of times — about growing up in a two-room “shotgun shack” and practicing his preaching with chickens as his audience. It was more than his style or his cadence that marked Lewis as a preacher — he preached, he taught, with his entire life. Perhaps there is someone in our lifetimes who better met our challenge, set out in the Torah, to “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” than John Lewis, but I have no idea who it would be. Each of us finds strength in different places, but for Lewis that place was in his church and in his faith. That, I’m confident, is no small part of what gave him the confidence and conviction he needed to help us usher in a better time. And how we will miss his leadership. I hope and pray there is a remarkable 23-year old out there today, ready to step forward, and that we will have the wisdom to listen. Or even teenagers preaching to chickens, or perhaps, delivering their b’nai mitzvah talks by Zoom, and getting ready for lives of service. Mark Pelavin, the former director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism and associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, is a writer and consultant living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. 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.
The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020 | 9
Poland has an anti-Semitism problem. IRA N. FORMAN WASHINGTON | JTA During my four years as the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, I was exposed on numerous occasions to one of the great truisms of the past few centuries of Jew-hatred. There are two forms of evils that are frequently, inextricably linked— anti-Semitism and authoritarianism. There is no better illustration of the relationship between rising authoritarianism and anti-Semitism than the recent presidential campaign in Poland. The successful campaign of the ruling Law and Justice party to re-elect President Andrzej Duda was not just about Jews. It was a campaign that relied heavily on attacks against foreigners and minorities of all stripes, especially the LGBTQ community. Duda pledged to ban LGBTQ adoption and samesex marriage. He said “LGBT ideology [was] more destructive than communist indoctrination.” The ruling party employed the slogan “LGBT are not people.” They also displayed anti-Semitism in shocking, crude ways. Though Poland once was the home of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, today there are only approximately 10,000 Polish Jews remaining, a tiny minority in a country of 40 million. The attacks on Jews during this campaign demonstrate that in a nation where checks on state power, judicial independence and press freedoms are being rapidly eroded, anti-Semitism can thrive even when there are few Jews to target. Some of the schemes used by the Law and Justice (or PiS) campaign were similar to the type of effective, dog-whistle anti-Semitism used by increasingly authoritarian leaders in countries like Hungary. Such rhetorical tactics never directly use the word “Jew,” but bigoted voters still receive the message. Tax-payer funded television in Poland, which in recent years has been controlled by the ruling party, tied the opposition candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, to the well-known Jewish philanthropist George Soros. For good measure, government media also implied that Trzaskowski is not a good Catholic and declared he does the bidding of “a powerful foreign lobby.” Duda and his allies extended the idea that Jews in Poland are not fully Polish through a forceful rejection of restitution for pre-World War II Jewish property.
The real power broker in Poland — the founder and President of PiS, Jarosław Kaczyński — capped the government campaign by being interviewed on the right-wing Catholic and traditionally anti-Semitic radio station Radio Maryja. He took the opportunity to castigate the opposition candidate, Trzaskowski, for even considering restitution for Jewish property. He stated that “[o]nly someone without a Polish soul, a Polish heart and a Polish mind could say something like that …” State television reiterated this sentiment by asking whether the opposition candidate “will fulfill Jewish demands.”
President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda walk to a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, June 24, 2020. Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President Duda himself exploited the issue of restitution for pre-WWII Jewish property. Arguing against any settlement of Jewish claims, he proclaimed that he would never reward one ethnic group over another. This type of rhetoric led Polish Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich to respond that “[t]he Jewish community of Poland was shocked that President Duda made a statement that specifically appealed to the votes of antiSemites.” The government left no stone unturned driving home this message. At one point in the campaign, state television dug up a statement by the Mayor of Warsaw that he believed in the god of Spinoza — the Jewish 16th-century Enlightenment thinker. From this quote the station deduced that the Catholic leader of the opposition must be hostile to Catholics since he was an admirer of this “Jewish philosopher.”
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Some, perhaps thinking wishfully, have speculated that Duda’s campaign tactics were merely convenient political ones. They argue that now that the election is over, the ruling party will abandon this scapegoating of the tiny Jewish community. Perhaps Kaczyński, Duda and other PiS luminaries don’t harbor any ill will toward Jews. But even if this is true, it does not absolve the governing party. The issues of restitution for stolen Jewish property and complicity in WWII atrocities by some Poles has been heatedly debated in recent years. Surveys reveal rising levels of anti-Semitic attitudes among many Poles. The cynical manipulation of bigotry by the ruling party in this recent election can only have negative, real-world consequences for the Polish Jewish community. What can be done to discourage would-be authoritarians from stoking hatred for political gain? No sole actor, be they a multilateral organization, an international NGO or even the government of a superpower, has the ability single-handedly to stop abuse of human rights in another nation-state. The Trump Administration, however, is in a unique position to make the re-elected government of Poland sit up and take notice. The Polish government relies on the United States for critical support on many issues, not the least of which is protection from potential Russian aggression. The Trump Administration has leverage to protect minorities in places like Poland. The scapegoating of minorities for political advantage in the run up to the Polish presidential election can’t be undone. Yet we can use some of our influence to send a message to the Polish government and those political actors who would act similarly that there is a price to be paid for homophobic and anti-Semitic demagoguery. That can’t be done by just handing out carrots like invitations to the White House. It’s time to use some sticks in support of human rights in Poland. Ira N. Forman served as the U.S. State Department's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism from 2013 to 2017. Currently he is the Senior Advisor for Combating Antisemitism at Human Rights First and a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Jewish Civilization. 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.
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Synagogues
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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
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
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE
Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive Omaha, NE 68144-1206 402.556.6536 templeisraelomaha.com
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 for our monthly Shabbat Speakers Series on Friday, Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m. with a guest speaker. Masks are required and social distancing guidelines will be followed. Our service leader is Larry Blass, and as always, an Oneg wil follow service. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel! For information on our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail.com or any of our other board members: Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Mary-Beth Muskin and Sissy Silber. Handicap Accessible.
BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman. VIRTUAL MINYAN SCHEDULE: Mornings on Sundays, 9 a.m. and Mondays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.; Evenings on Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m. FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Havdallah, 9:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Virtual Art Gallery Walk, 7 p.m.; USY Film Club, 7 p.m. TUESDAY: African-American & Jewish Connections in Music with Jeannette Gabriel, 2 p.m. WEDNESDAY: Virtual Tai Chi with Beth Staenberg, 3 p.m.; USY Check-In, 5:15 p.m.; A Rabbi and A Reverend Talk about Sex, 7 p.m. THURSDAY: Pie Baking with Jamie Skog-Burke, 2 p.m.; Shul Music with Hazzan Krausman, 7 p.m. FRIDAY-Aug. 7: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. SATURDAY-Aug. 8: Shabbat Morning Services with guest speaker Georgia Dow, 10 a.m.; Havdallah, 9:22 p.m. Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.
BETH ISRAEL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. Classes, Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdalah on Zoom, Whatsapp or Facebook Live. On site services held outside in sukkah, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required, FRIDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m.; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Kabbalat Shabbat, 7 p.m. (Zoom); Candlelighting, 8:23 p.m. SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Havdalah, 9:27 p.m. (Zoom) SUNDAY: Rambam: Rabbi Moshe, 9:45 a.m. (Zoom) MONDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp). TUESDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer,
7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp). WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp). TURSDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Middot with Rabbi Ari, 9:30 a.m. (Zoom); Parsha Inspiration with Rabbi Ari, 4:30 p.m. (Facebook Live). FRIDAY-Aug. 7: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Kabbalat Shabbat (Zoom), 7 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:15 p.m. SATURDAY-Aug. 8: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Havdalah, 9:18 p.m. (Zoom). Please visit orthodoxomaha.org for additional information and Zoom service links.
CHABAD HOUSE Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Mendel Katzman. Due to Coronavirus, all services and classes have moved online. For schedules and more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.org or call the office at 402.330.1800 FRIDAY: Candlelighting, 8:23 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Ends, 9:26 p.m. MONDAY: Personal Parsha class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani; Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Mystical Thinking, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Katzman; Introduction to Reading Hebrew, 10:30 a.m. FRIDAY-Aug. 7: Candlelighting, 8:15 p.m. SATURDAY-Aug. 8: Shabbat Ends, 9:17 p.m.
B’NAI JESHURUN The Temple office is on reduced hours until further notice and all services and activities are being offered via livestream or teleconferencing. Please call 402.435.8004 or email office@southstreettemple. org for further information or to make an appointment for a visit, if necessary. You may also email Board president Nicholette Seigfreid at president@south streettemple.org. South Street Temple’s events can be found at https://south streettemple.org/calendar/. FRIDAY: Erev Shabbat Service, 6:30 p.m. service leaders/music: Elaine Monnier; Candlelighting, 8:24 p.m. SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, service leaders/music: TBD, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:45 a.m. on Parashat Vaetchanan led by Elaine Monnier; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:53 p.m. SUNDAY: Charles and Nancy Coren Farewell Reception, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Tifereth Israel; Temple Board of Trustees Meeting at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. TUESDAY: Tea Time with Temple Friends, 1:30 p.m. via zoom. THURSDAY: Ritual Committee Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
FRIDAY-Aug. 7: Erev Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: TBD, 6:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 8:16 p.m. SATURDAY-Aug. 8: Shabbat Morning Service, service leaders/music: TBD, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:45 a.m. on Parashat Eikev led by Robert Friedman; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:44 p.m. Our next gardening date is Sunday, Aug. 9 at 8:30 a.m. We will appreciate many of you joining in to keep up the garden work. We wear masks, socially distance, and work for about an hour.
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE All services canceled until further notice.
ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME
The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home is currently closed to visitors.
TEMPLE ISRAEL
Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander. DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. FRIDAY: Shabbat Evening Service, 6 p.m. SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, noon. THURSDAY: The Israel Forum, 10 a.m. Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.
TIFERETH ISRAEL
Virtual services conducted by Nancy Coren. FRIDAY: Zoom Evening Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. Candlelighting, 8:31 p.m. SATURDAY: Zoom Shabbat Morning Service with Nancy Coren, Danny Neiden., 10 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Charles and Nancy Coren Farewell Reception, 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Tifereth Israel. FRIDAY-Aug. 7: Zoom Evening Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. Candlelighting, 8:24 p.m. SATURDAY-Aug. 8: Zoom Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:23 p.m. Please visit tiferethisraellincoln.org for additional information and Zoom service links. The Lincoln Jewish Community School is looking for a Lead Teacher for our Preschool/Kindergarten classroom. The LJCS is seeking a candidate who is dependable, energetic, creative and nurturing. Early Childhood education experience is preferred. If you or someone you know is interested in interviewing for this position, please contact Andrea Halpern at ahalpern1386@gmail.com.
RBJH Residents enjoy bicycle for two
experience. The seat is adjustable with no steps MAGGIE CONTI and comes with safety belts and back supports. Director of Activities and Volunteer ServA user-friendly switch will turn on the motor ices, Rose Blumkin Jewish Home to give the tricycle power to use under any cirResidents of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home cumstance, especially going up hills. are enjoying a timely treat with the new purThe Resident does not have to pedal if they chase of the FUN2Go three-wheel tandem are tired or unable to do so. The RBJH Physical adaptive cycle, and it couldn’t have come at a Therapist, Jill Gregg, was thrilled with the cycle more appropriate time. It is just the ticket to and stated that it would give clients the option breathe in the fresh air after being indoors of an outdoor therapy session. Chris Ulven, with the COVID-19 restrictions for months. It Executive Director, said: ”Watching the Resihas been a blast riding around the campus dents smile and laugh as they get to enjoy and surrounding neighborhoods. something they haven’t done for years, probaLast year, numerous Residents waited on bly decades... is priceless! They can feel young Main Street at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home again and enjoy the wind in their face, even if to test drive the Fun2Go three-wheel tandem for just a few minutes.” from All Abilities Cycles from Jefferson, Iowa Resident Joie Simon said: ”Being on the bike with the owner John Brunow. These adaptive is a good feeling, like being a kid.” cycles are manufactured in the Netherlands Jill Ohlmann, Activities Coordinator, while from a company called Van Raam, which has learning to navigate the bike, said: “Getting out been making bikes for almost 100 years. and riding the bike is a great stress reliever.” Each bike is made individually on behalf of Thank you to the following generous donors: the customer’s needs. Indisputably test driving the 2020 Staenberg Family Foundation Anywas a captivating experience for not only Resthing Grant, the Shirley & Leonard Goldstein idents but for the staff as well. The Fun2Go is Supporting Foundation, the Parsow Family a double rider cycle, a three-wheel tandem, Endowment Fund, Harriet Lobel Endowment easy to maneuver, and is designed for conversation as the riders sit side by side. One person Dottie Rosenblum was taking a spin to see the JCC outdoor Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. steers, but both can pedal and have a full view pool.
Life cycles BIRTH NYLA WOODS Emily and Andre Woods of Omaha announce the July 13, 2020 birth of their daughter, Nyla Woods. Grandparents are Peter and Genevieve Gordon of Omaha, Donna Woods of Birmingham, Alabama, and Roderick and Kirstin Woods of Fallon, Nevada.
IN MEMORIAM
ROSALIE “WHIZ” BABENDIR Rosalie “Whiz” Babendir passed away on June 10. She was preceded in death by her husband, Irving “Sonny” Babendir. She is survived by her son and daughter in law, Keith and Terri Hammock-Babendir and daughter, Leslie Babendir, former daughter-in-law, Kim Ross; grandchildren: Jamie, Adam; Amanda and Ross Babendir; Hannah Rosalie Babendir; greatgrandchildren: Mylà, Sam, Elyas, Kaitlyn, Luna and Kayla; nieces and nephews: Kenny, Gene, Steve, Marc and Don Kaplan and Barb and Bob Bergman; her extended family, Bud Hartlaub and Diane Thurkildsen. Rosalie “Whiz” was born May 28, 1925 in Omaha to Sam and Sylvia Kaplan. She was raised with her four siblings, Morrie, Sanford, Ben and Bess. Whiz graduated from South High School in 1943. Five years later, she would marry the love of her life, Irving “Sonny” Babendir on March 14, 1948. The two remained married for 61 years. Sonny passed away on Aug. 6, 2009. She was a great beauty inside and out. Whiz had a wonderful sense of humor, and her laughter was as contagious as her beautiful smile. She loved life, and life loved her right back. Whiz always offered warmth and kindness to those that knew and loved her and adored her family. Her vivacious personality, love of pampering, laughter, dancing and a good game show. She was one of a kind! Rosalie and Sonny's daughter Leslie was a devoted care giver to both of her parents throughout their lives. Our lives will not be the same without her. We will miss her so very much, and we will always have her song in our hearts. We would also like to thank the amazing medical professionals at The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home who cared for Rosalie during her last days. You made her passing peaceful and gave our family great comfort. Memorials may be made to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home or VNA Hospice Care.
ALAN D. SIMON Continued from page 1 customers across the country and more than 55 retail stores in 27 states. “Alan was a great man that led an amazing, impactful life. He was a family man, businessman, and philanthropist described by loved ones as intelligent, savvy, and innovative,” said Nate Rempe, President of Omaha Steaks. “Alan was a true leader at
Omaha Steaks and in the meat industry and will be greatly missed.” In the meat industry, Simon stood as a leader and innovator. In the late 1950s, he transformed the way meat was shipped industry-wide by creating a first-of-its-kind system that allowed Omaha Steaks to deliver large quantities of steaks at once. Famously, he modeled the idea on the methods used to package his favorite socks. Under his leadership, the company grew to include three plant locations in the Omaha area and a multitude of new products – from custom cuts of steak to poultry, pork and seafood. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Meat Institute (AMI), The Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFCo), and the National Association of Meat Purveyors (NAMP). Simon was inducted into several business and industry Halls of Fame: in 2006 the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s Omaha Business Hall of Fame, in 2009 the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, and in 2011 the North American Meat Association (NAMA) Hall of Fame. “He was a leader and innovator in the industry and a mentor to many, including myself,” said his son Bruce Simon, Chief Executive Officer of Omaha Steaks. “He left a lasting impact in Omaha and the community in Dana Point, California. He will be forever missed.” While Simon preferred to avoid the spotlight, he worked tirelessly in his communities and created a lasting legacy. Organizations he loved and worked with included the Southern California Organizations of Retired Executives (SCORE) and several startups he mentored, like the Rancho Santiago College District Institute for Women Entrepreneurs. He also served on the Board of Directors for several civic, charitable and cultural organizations including the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Sciences, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Omaha Symphony, the Boy Scouts of America, Goodwill Industries, the Salvation Army, and Omaha Children’s Hospital. He also served on the Board of Trustees at Creighton University as the Information Technology Chair. In 2005, the Simon family received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Jewish Federation of Omaha. The award recognizes individuals or groups who promote human welfare, advance social reform and commit their time and energy beyond expectations. At the time, then-Campaign Pacesetter Chairman Jim Farber, said: “A family like the Simons doesn’t come along every year. Generosity is often measured in financial terms, but there is another form that is even more important. It is generosity of the spirit. The Simon’s leadership has influenced others to give and take responsibility for helping make Omaha a complete community. Their reach is felt in every aspect of our lives—culturally, religiously and in helping the disadvantaged.” In a less well-known story from the Omaha World Herald in Aug. 17, 1959, Alan was featured as an avid Chess player. He played a game via short-wave radio with opponents in Manasquan, New Jersey. When one of the players literally blue a fuse on his radio, the game had to be called off. Please send memorials to Segerstrom Center for the Arts, or an organization of your choice.
NY Tenement Museum’s indefinite closure cent pay cut in March. He is being paid BEN SALES JTA $25 a month in order to retain his health The Tenement Museum, which tells insurance. the stories of Jewish and other immi“Our educators make our programs grants who lived on New York City’s come to life,” Vogel said in a statement. Lower East Side, announced that it is “They are an important part of the Mulaying off its tour guides and other partseum’s success. We had hoped to avoid time workers — a total of 76 employees. this drastic step.” The museum, like most cultural instiThe museum’s federal loan period tutions in New York City, has no firm re- A group takes a tour of the Tenement Mu- ends on Sept. 20, but it is hoping to avoid seum, which tells the stories of Jewish and further layoffs afterward by attracting opening date. In mid-March, the museum had fur- other immigrants to New York, in 2008. visitors and schools on virtual tours, and loughed the workers, in addition to lay- Credit: Kiko Niwa conducting outside tours of the neighing off or furloughing nearly all its full-time staff. A $1.4 million borhood for single families. federal payroll loan on April 27 enabled the museum to bring The interior, however, will remain closed indefinitely. Other back its full-time staff. But on Wednesday, the museum an- New York museums, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and nounced that it would be furloughing its part-time workers. the Museum of Modern Art, have discussed reopening in the In addition to tour guides, or educators, the part-time work- coming months. But the Tenement Museum consists of period immigrant apartments from more than a century ago — ers include front-desk and retail employees. The museum’s president, Morris Vogel, also took a 99 per- conditions that would make social distancing impossible.
The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020 | 11
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12 | The Jewish Press | July 31, 2020
News LOC AL | N AT I O N A L | WO R L D
There’s Jewish space for queer people. I just had to find it. SHIRA ROMANOF This story originally appeared on Alma. “Would you be comfortable with a gay guy being in your cabin?” It was another humid summer day in which some of us had taken shelter back in our cabin to avoid the heat. I remember my breath catching in my chest, feeling out of place as some other people in my aidah, or grade, sat on a bed on a quiet afternoon discussing if another camper our age was gay or not. I was 13. The guy shook his head. “Of course not. I don’t care,” he said. The girl who had asked him looked pensive. “I don’t think I’d want a lesbian in my cabin,” she said. “I don’t think I’d be comfortable with them watching me change.” I averted my eyes, the discomfort starting to flare in my body. I shook my head and willed myself not to give away the guilt I felt, like I always did. I had always tried to be respectful, never looking at the girls in my cabin in that way. But my stomach turned into knots and I reminded myself to keep pretending I wasn’t affected by that small exchange. I had never heard the word “bisexual.” My exposure to LGBTQ people was limited to stereotypes that I saw played out on TV and people my age making fun of them. I was already different enough in my own mind without being that. I had dealt with, and still deal with, severe anxiety since I was in elementary school. I had trouble making friends. I felt out of place already. I vowed to ignore my feelings for girls for fear of being othered in my own head more than I already was. My Jewish camp had always felt like an escape from the pressures I felt at school, to a small extent — I still struggled to make friends and find my place as I dealt with my anxiety and the discomfort of my attraction to other girls. I became boy crazy that summer — I was 13 — not only because I desired the attention I felt like I never had, but also to distract my fellow campers from the way I felt about girls. I hated that
summer; it not only caused me to struggle with my budding sexuality, but cemented my feelings of alienation as the people around me made fun of my obsession with boys. I never truly felt comfortable with my sexuality while at camp, even when I came out as bisexual at 17 and came back as a counselor after high school. I noticed a much more tolerant environment than when I was a camper, but the assumption of heterosexuality still remained. My first summer as a
Credit: Header image design by Grace Yagel. Original image by Jennifer Kosig/Getty Images
counselor, my campers would make lists of guys they thought I was possibly dating, and I suggested they add girls to the list, which they reluctantly did. As counselors, we were not allowed to discuss our sexualities or private lives with campers, which was well and good in theory. In reality, campers almost always assumed us to be straight, and merely contesting or telling the truth about ourselves could get us in trouble with staff. There was no room for me to completely be myself with my campers, and the fact that I couldn’t fully be transparent to campers who could possibly also be queer cut me deeply. I quit camp near the end of my second summer working there for a multitude of reasons, but mostly because I finally came to terms that I was done trying to fit into an environ-
ment I had never fully felt comfortable in. I also went to high school at a Jewish day school. In my community in the tight-knit northern suburbs of Chicago, kids often would go to Jewish school and camp together until graduating from high school. I saw most of the same people nearly 365 days a year, but at least in high school, I was able to meet new friends who had come from other middle schools. I first learned what bisexuality really meant on Tumblr, and learned most of my knowledge of queer history and structures on the internet. But no one in my school was out, and I still felt alone and terrified as I came out one day in a classroom, surrounded by the watching eyes of my class. While the reaction to my coming out was greatly supportive, it was terrifying being the only out person when I knew many of my peers were making homophobic jokes and rolling their eyes at me and my friends at the same time. But in time, I became more comfortable with my love for Judaism and my queer identity. I became heavily invested in my Judaic studies classes and spent half of my gap year in Israel studying Talmud. I realized I didn’t want to sacrifice my growth and values for a world in which I never felt comfortable. Instead I needed to find a new space, both queer and Jewish, that I could live in and fully be myself. I was lucky enough to find that community in college, full of accepting and loving people who are queer, Jewish, both or neither. I spent every Shabbat at Hillel, fully comfortable with myself and my devotion to my faith, without any hesitation to try to blend in or waver in my values. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to see more similarities than differences between queer and Jewish communities. Both value the chosen families of community, and both experience life with a deep sense of pride and the desire to live joyously despite external struggles. It’s a life in which I can’t choose between, and which I often find myself deliriously happy. Read the full story at www.omahajewishpress.com.