August 21, 2020

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The Jewish Press AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA | WWW. JE WISHOMAHA.ORG

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A story about fear and nerve Page 3

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The Arthur L. and Betsy Davidson Emergency Assistance Fund

National LIFE and LEGACY Initiative tops $1 Billion JAY KATELMAN Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Local Jewish organizations secured 659 legacy commitments from 324 individual donors totaling $20.9 million to date through the LIFE & LEGACY® initiative.

324 Omaha area donors have made 659 legacy commitments to support the Greater Metro Omaha Area Jewish community. These

ADL-CRC Voters’ Corner Page 5

JEWISH PRESS STAFF hen Art Davidson passed away in August 2019, his family wanted to find a more permanent way to honor his memory. Reflecting on his life, they envisioned something that typified his quiet, caring nature, always finding solutions and supporting those around him. As owner of Davidson’s furniture for over 40 years, he viewed his staff as an extension of his family, celebrating their accomplishments and striving to support them in times of crisis and educational endeavors.

Art and Betsy’s son, Doug Davidson said, “My parents always believed that we are part of a community, that community is important, and that we should be helping one another and trying to lift each other up.” Doug said they believed very strongly that people that needed a helping hand should get one. Betsy agreed “When people are in need, we always wanted to help if we could.” Art and Betsy extended their deep love of community to many organizations See Davidson Emergency Assistance Fund page 3

W

“(Not really) Goodbye” Page 12

REGULARS

Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

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Staenberg gift will strengthen Creighton ties to Jewish community MICAH MERTES Campaign Content Writer University Relations, Creighton University “To remember this history is not for the sake of keeping alive the memories of old tyrannies, but to recognize present tyranny, for these patterns are in us still.” — Doris Lessing We face a crisis of memory. In 2020 — 75 years after Auschwitz was liberated — only 400,000 survivors of the Holocaust are still living. In Nebraska, the number is just 13.

“It’s vital that we keep these voices heard and keep their stories going,” says Michael Staenberg, a St. Louis businessman and philanthropist born and raised in Omaha. “These times especially show us that we need to have respect for people, that we need to recognize that the color of a person’s skin or their religious beliefs

Students on the trip — Nuremberg to the Hague on Aug 5, 2014

should never change how we think about them or treat them.”

Staenberg has made it his life’s

work to keep these stories fresh in our collective memory. Through the See Staenberg gift page 2

commitments are part of an ongoing, collaborative endowment building effort that includes 10 Omaha area Jewish organizations and congregations. The Omaha LIFE & LEGACY initiative is coordinated by the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation in collaboration with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Local Metro Omaha partners are the Jewish Federation of Omaha, Anti-Defamation League - Plains States Region, Institute for Holocaust Education, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, Friedel Jewish Academy, Chabad Lubavitch of Nebraska, Beth Israel Synagogue, Beth El Synagogue, Temple Israel, and B`nai Israel Synagogue.

“The goal of LIFE & LEGACY is to assure future financial stability for all of the Jewish institutions in the Omaha metropolitan area. Our fellow Omahans have generously stepped up to include all ten of the Omaha area LIFE & LEGACY partners in their estate plans,” said Howard N. Epstein, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. “They will give these gifts, totaling almost $21 million, through their wills and estate plans, by designating their selected organizations as beneficiaries of retirement plans, life insurance, and through charitable trusts. Those are all gifts that will come to fruition after their lifetimes. Several LIFE & LEGACY supporters have already given gifts of cash and appreciated stock; they want to see their See LIFE & LEGACY page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020

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Staenberg gift

Continued from page 1 Staenberg Family Foundation, he supports dozens of causes throughout the Jewish communities of St. Louis, Denver and Omaha, including the Tri-Faith Initiative and the $25 million renovation of the local Jewish Community Center.

Now, Staenberg and his family’s foundation have made a gift to support a Creighton School of Law program that creates more witnesses — to fight against rising anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and to keep these stories alive long past the last remaining survivor. Because to ensure we don’t repeat the atrocities of the past, first we must learn, first we must remember.

In 2012, the School of Law began offering a program for students to learn firsthand about the Holocaust and the world court that emerged in its wake. From Nuremberg to The Hague combines in-class instruction with immersion trips to the Bavarian city that hosted the 1946 Nazi war crimes trials, as well as The Hague’s International Criminal Court.

The trip also includes a three-day Holocaust immersion component, with students visiting the Auschwitz concentration camp, the Jewish Quarter in Krakow, the Oskar Schindler Factory and the Jewish Heritage Museum. This component is vital. It’s also the most expensive part of the program, and Staenberg’s gift will fund student travel and housing costs for years to come.

Each year, dozens of Creighton students re-

Michael Staenberg

turn from Europe as new witnesses to an atrocity. They describe the experience as lifechanging. “It opened my eyes not only to the injustices of the past but to what we can do about it today,” says Creighton law student Taylor Swift.

In the returning students, the University and leaders in Omaha’s Jewish community saw a great opportunity. Creighton has since partnered with the Institute for Holocaust Education and the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation to coordinate local education efforts.

In 2021, law students will attend local high See Staenberg gift page 3

LIFE & LEGACY Continued from page 1 charitable dollars do good while they are still living.”

“LIFE & LEGACY gifts are designated to endowment funds. These funds will be invested, and the available income generated will be distributed each year to the Omaha area LIFE & LEGACY partners, as selected by the donors, to be used by the partner organizations to ensure their programs, operations, and initiatives,” said Jay Katelman, Omaha LIFE & LEGACY Coordinator. “Endowments are designed to generate revenue for our partner organizations year after year, so our LIFE & LEGACY donors are literally helping to ensure a financially solid Jewish Community for generations to come.”

In less than eight years, LIFE & LEGACY has motivated more than 17,000 donors in 63 communities across North America, including in the Greater Metro Omaha area, to commit more than a billion dollars in current and after-lifetime assets to the Jewish organizations which shaped their lives. In challenging times like these, endowments provide organizations with the financial stability to meet evolving needs. Legacy commitments ensure that organizations that are providing impactful programs and services during both calm and turbulent times have the necessary resources to adapt.

“The cooperation and collaboration fostered by LIFE & LEGACY as local organizations work to a shared goal of endowment building is especially critical now,” said Arlene D. Schiff, National Director, LIFE & LEGACY. “Even in the midst of so much disruption and uncertainty, we continue to empower many generous and committed

individuals and families to give back to the Jewish organizations that have played and are playing an important role in their lives.”

The commitments made by the Greater Metro Omaha’s legacy donors are just the beginning of a community-wide effort to ensure a bright Jewish future. A full list of LIFE & LEGACY participating organizations and the donors who are supporting them can be found at https://www.jfofoundation.org/.

“Providing Jewish organizations with a strategy to help secure their long-term financial goals is absolutely vital, especially now in the middle of an economic crisis,” said Harold Grinspoon, founder of HGF. “Supporting our Jewish institutions is critical to ensuring future generations are able to enjoy our rich culture and heritage. I am thrilled that LIFE & LEGACY is motivating donors to make legacy commitments that will sustain vibrant Jewish communities for years to come.”

To learn how you can be part of securing the Greater Metro Omaha’s Jewish future call LIFE & LEGACY Coordinator Jay Katelman at 402.334.6461 or by e-mail at jkatelman@ jewishomaha.org.

LIFE & LEGACY is an initiative of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) that assists communities across North America, through partnerships with Jewish Federations and Foundations, to promote after-lifetime giving to build endowments that will sustain valued organizations and vibrant Jewish communities for the next generation and beyond. Through training, support, and monetary incentives, LIFE & LEGACY motivates Jewish organizations to secure legacy gifts, steward donors, and integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the Jewish community.

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A story about fear and nerve RAMI ARAV In Memory of my mother, Gertrude (Gerti) Gisella Glück Arav (1923-2012) My father, a ‘Sabra’, which is what they used to call those born in Israel, never called my mother a Holocaust survivor.

“You were never in the camps,” he said to her. “Only those who were in extermination camps are survivors. You were not”.

This was the notion in those days. People who did not go through the horrors of a concentration camp were not considered to be ‘survivors.’ But what about the ordeal that they had gone through, fearing every day for dear life?

Indeed, my mother was never in the camps, but the trauma of being persecuted during the war, living in anxiety and fear of death for the six years, was something she could never forget or recover from. She was born in Bratislava, today the capital of Slovakia. Several years before she was born, it was a thriving city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire by the name of Pressburg. The Jewish population in this city spoke German, not Slovakian and ironically, they were the last cosmopolitan citizens of the myriad ethnicities that made the empire, even long after the empire collapsed at the end of Great War. When she was a young girl, the family moved to a city in north Hungary called Shaiosempeter, the town of Saint Peter on the river Shaio. In this town her grandfather was head of a Yeshiva and a president of the Jewish courthouse (Av BeitDin). As was customary in Jewish communities in Europe, the Yeshiva of her grandfather was named after the town in which

it was located. In English it would be called ‘the Yeshiva of St. Peter on the River Shaio’.

During WWII, Hungary was ruled by a dictator named Mikos Horthy. As much as he feared communism, he despised extreme right nationalists just as much. His attitude toward Hitler was ambivalent and he thought that he was caught in the middle of two evils, Germany and the Soviet Union. He feared them both, but decided to collaborate with the Nazis.

It was not full compliance, but there was some support.

Hitler demanded a few times that the Jews of Hungary were deported to Auschwitz. Horthy only partially complied, but did impose anti-Semitic, racial laws on the Hungarian Jews.

He deployed the Hungarian military to fight together with the Nazis, but only in the second or third lines. When they were engaged they were easily defeated. Interestingly, Jews were also in some of these units.

By the beginning of 1944, it was apparent that the end of the Third Reich was near. Horthy came to realize that the Soviets were not as evil as the Germans were and decided to switch sides. He was about to sign a full surrender in March 1944 to the Soviets, when Hitler found out and conquered Hungary in ‘Operation Margarethe.’ Following the Nazis occupation, Adolph Eichmann went to Hungary and placed his headquarters in Dohany, the old Moorish style reform synagogue, while he resided in the luxury hotel across the street. The Dohany is the only synagogue in Hungary to survive the Nazi era.

See A story about fear and nerve page 4

Staenberg gift Raful and the recently deceased Rodney Shkolnick.

Continued from page 2 “Now, with this new and innovative chapter,” Kelly says, school visits coordinated by IHE during its “Week of Understanding” — a program in which Holocaust survivors share “the School of Law more fully joins forces with the Jewish their experiences. With fewer and fewer survivors remaining, community to engage in Holocaust education.”

The importance of this partnership can’t be overstated, Creighton will strive to keep their stories alive. says Howard Epstein, ‘JD 96, “Through this innovative executive director of the Jewpartnership, Creighton is ish Federation of Omaha equipping our most precious Foundation. asset, our students, to ad“This is something that will dress this particular form of benefit the whole community, racism in a profoundly meanat Creighton, in Omaha and ingful way — one which beyond,” says Epstein. “And builds on a historically strong these programs cannot occur relationship with our Jewish unless people step up to supcommunity,” says Michael port the causes they believe Kelly, JD, Creighton professor in, as Michael (Staenberg) has and Senator Allen A. Sekt, done, again and again.”

JD’36, Endowed Chair in Law. As a Creighton alumnus Kelly, who accompanies himself, Epstein is thrilled to students on the annual trips, Students on the trip — Nuremberg to the Hague see the University strengthsays the program continues the law school’s long relationship with the Jewish commu- ening its ties to the Jewish community.

“Through my experience at the law school, I recognize nity. He notes that the namesake of his own endowed title was Jewish, as were Milton Abrahams, BA’26, JD’27, HON’86, that there’s a spirit of inclusivity at Creighton, of equality and and Philip Klutznick, JD’30, HON’56, who endowed the legal fairness to all, a commitment to caring for others. That’s clinic and law library. And for more than 20 consecutive something you don’t see everywhere, and we must continue years, the law school was led by two Jewish deans — Larry to embrace it and share it, however we can.”

Davidson Emergency Assistance Fund help. For Betsy, this really hit home, “When I was in college, I Continued from page 1 throughout the years. From Art’s involvement in Kiwanis, Op- found myself in a position of having to leave school and take eration Bridge, The Scottish Rite, and Habitat for Humanity, care of my mom. She died of cancer at a very young age, it’s and Betsy’s involvement Women Voters, National Council of really hard when the unexpected happens.”

Jewish Women, and Temple There are two important Israel, to their joint involve- “Art Davidson took care of the people who worked criteria for this fund. First, it ment in Tuesday Musical, for him. He was kind, gentle, fair, and treated us like includes anyone who works Great Books, the Foreign for these organizations, family. He always maintained a safe and pleasant Jewish or not and second, Affairs program at UNO, work environment. In 2005 my wife passed away anyone who utilizes this and so much more.

Art’s family wanted to ex- and even though I had been retired for three years, fund will do so with the tend this philosophy to the Art closed Davidson’s for the day so that he and the promise of full confidentialpeople that work so hard to employees could attend the funeral. That is just one ity. Art & Betsy’s daughter, keep our community going.

Mary-Beth Muskin said, of many examples of what kind of man he was, loved “It’s just like my dad to The Arthur L. and Betsy Davidson Emergency Assis- and respected by all.” bring ALL people, Jewish, - Jim Oestmann, Davidson’s Furniture Employee non-Jewish, into the fold. tance Endowment Fund, established at the Jewish We wanted to make sure Federation of Omaha Foundation, was set up to provide one- this fund embodied that spirit.” She went on to clarify, “it was time emergency financial assistance to people who work for also vital to us that those who use this fund remain confidenthe Jewish Federation of Omaha, its affiliates and agencies, tial and that we try to eliminate extra barriers between them synagogues, and other Jewish institutions in the Omaha area. and the support that they need.”

Funds can be used to cover immediate living expenses and The Davidson family is happy to have found such a personal basic necessities like food, prepayment for medical proce- and meaningful way to honor Art and his long-lasting comdures, medicine, clothing, rent, mortgage assistance, trans- mitment to building and helping his community. portation, utilities, retainer fees for critical legal expenses, and If you would like to establish an endowment fund for a costs relating to immigration and naturalization issues. cause meaningful to you, please contact Howard Epstein at Doug said that part of what they were looking to do when the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, hepstein@jew establishing this fund, was acknowledge and provide a safety ishomaha.org, or 402.334.6466. net for when things come up and people need a little extra

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A story about fear and nerve

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the sign of the cross. She looked with fear. How do you do it?

Continued from page 3 The synagogue, still functioning today, is located in the middle What comes first? Upper left to upper right or vice versa? What of town, close to the Danube River. It is a beautiful building, if I do it wrong? They will probably notice right away and that with red and white layers of bricks, a large rosette in front and will be my end. All these thoughts flashed through her mind. two tall towers flanking the entrance. The interior is lavishly Then, all of the sudden, the entire congregation kneeled. decorated. Two galleries give Again, she looked around anxthe structure a sense of glamiously, trying quickly to learn our and splendor. Out of this how to do it properly. place, Eichmann planned the What knee are you supposed annihilation of the Jews of to use first? What if I kneel on Hungary. According to Gabriel my left and it is supposed to be Bach, the Israeli prosecutor of on the right? Once again, the Eichmann in his trial in Israel, fear of being discovered was Eichmann said to him. “I knew overwhelming. Was it stupid to that we will be defeated by the take the advice of my friend and Allies, but I will win my war come to this devout Catholic against the Jews.” For him, community without knowing the forcing defenseless people into rituals? Surely, they would find gas chambers was ‘a war to out that I have no clue. win.’

She did not know at that time Eichmann had a bitter expethere is no significance to what rience with the resistance of knee you go down on first, but the Warsaw Ghetto, so he it was enough to scare her to planned to send the Jews from death. small towns and the periphery Slowly within the following of Budapest first and then to weeks, she learned the chants deal with the Jews of Budapest. and the prayers and gained a At the same time, he imposed little more confidence. Then hardships on them in order to one Sunday she said to the keep them busy. One day he family: ordered the Jews to move to “I will not go to church today.” ghettos, another day to wear “Why?” the family asked. the Yellow Star of David, on an“The priest is so antisemitic I Gertrude G. Arav, 1947 other day to turn in all the cannot stand his sermons.” typewriters, another day he demanded gold. He did all this to She was 21 years old and it took nerves to say the words out make the Jews agitated by his constant whims. Fortunately, loud, but the priest’s sermons were beyond what she could his plot did not fully succeed. There are a number of reasons stand. for that. The Soviets were now in the territory of Hungary and Following my mother’s arrival, her mother came to stay with they advanced rather quickly. In addition, the Swedish diplo- the family. They welcomed her thinking again that she was a mat Raul Wallenberg managed to save a large number of peo- relative. However, my grandmother only spoke German and ple. Nonetheless, out of an estimated 825,000 Hungarian Jews, broken Hungarian, but no one noticed that. more than a half a million perished and only 260,000 survived.

In the meantime, on the eastern front, the Germans were Most survivors were from Budapest. beaten by the advancing Soviets and some units were sent back My mother lived in Budapest at that time. She was kicked to recuperate. One of these units was stationed in the village. out of school by the early orders of Horthy and found a job in The German supply lines collapsed rapidly and the fatigued a fashion shop where she learned how to sew. Her boyfriend, unit in the village started to feel hungry. The hunger drove the a Christian young man named Fodor, realized that the situa- soldiers out of their camp and down to the village, seeking food. tion was becoming dire and decided to help her. He gave my One day during their search for food, one of the soldiers overmother his sister’s papers and told her to leave the city and go heard my mother and grandmother talking in German. to a small village where his family lived. She was instructed to “On Sunday I plan to go to the temple” my mother said. tell them that she was a member of their family and she would The German soldier responded quickly. “We do not go to like to stay there until the end of the war. Many years later, my TEMPLES, mind you. We go to a church.” mother planted a tree for him in the famous Garden of the My mother was dumbfounded. She had made a mistake.

Righteous in Jerusalem. This garden, with its thousands of She had a recurring thought - That’s it. They found out who we trees, was designed to honor the non-Jewish rescuers who are, and they will kill us. during the Holocaust risked their lives to save Jews from exBut to her great surprise, the soldier turned to her. termination by the Nazis.

“Do you speak Hungarian and German?”

Taking his advice and the papers, she packed a few things “Yes, I was in Austria.” in a little suitcase and left the city. A few hours later she “If so, come with me, I have a job for you.” knocked on the door of this family and presented herself as a “A job? What kind of a job?” she asked. family member from Budapest. The villagers were excited to “I want you to translate a couple of things for these stupid host “a family member” from the big city. peasants.”

“It is a great honor for us to host you” the father of the family See Gertrude Arav page 5 proudly said. “It is not every day my fellow villagers have guests from the capital city”.

ORGANIZATIONS On Sunday morning, the family went to the church. My B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS mother was prepared to go with them, but she was apprehenDue to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home temporarily being sive. Her heart raced. She had never been inside a church durclosed to the public, B’nai B’rith Breadbreakers will not meet ing a service and did not know what to do. She thought, what until further notice. For specific speaker information, please if they find out that I am Jewish? They will probably turn me over email Gary.Javitch@Gmail.com, Breadbreakers chairman. to the Gestapo.

For more information or to be placed on the email list call When entering the church, she saw that everybody made 402.334.6443 or bnaibrith@jewishomaha.org.

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The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020 | 5

ADL-CRC Voters’ Corner ELLIE BATT, CAROL BLOCH AND PAM MONSKY Each week, from now until the election on Tuesday, Nov., 3, the ADL-CRC Plains States Region will provide the essentials on the upcoming election regarding voter registration, mail-in ballots, etc. We will be providing information and tips just like this to help you cast your ballot securely and with confidence. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Monsky, pmonsky@adl.org or 402.334.6572 or Gary Nachman, Regional Director, gnachman@adl.org.

This year, with many of us looking to vote early (either by mail or in-person), voter safety and clarity of the process are more important than ever. ADL-CRC is committed to doing our part to help.

In Judaism, a mitzvah is our responsibility to do good works.

Spread this information and help your neighbors voices be heard. Let this mitzvah be one we all share this election season.

Important Voting Deadlines for Douglas County: Friday, Oct. 16—Deadline for voter registrations to be postmarked or to register at other agencies, or delivered to the election office.

Friday, Oct. 23—Mail-in deadline for early voting ballots to be requested to be mailed.

How to request a mail-in or early ballot for Douglas County: • Completed applications may be returned to the Election Commission by mail, drop box, in person to the Douglas County Election Commission, 12220 W Center Rd, Omaha, NE 68144 (Bel Air Plaza), fax to 402.444.4181, or email by attaching a picture of the completed application and sending it to earlyvoting@votedouglascounty.com • A voter can print an Early Voting Ballot Application from the Douglas County Election Commission website www.votedouglascounty.com; or send a request with the following information: Name of Election (e.g. 2020 General Election), Voter’s Name, Voter’s Home (Registered) Address, Address where ballot should be mailed, if different from voter’s home address, Voter’s Date of Birth, Voter’s Phone Number, Voter’s Email Address, Voter’s Signature or the signature of the person acting as an agent.

Next week: Drop Box Locations

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Gertrude Arav Continued from page 4 “Like what?”

“Like that we are starving and we want food.”

So, my mother had a new job, translating to the villagers what the Germans wanted to confiscate. One day it was a pig, the other day chicken, vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk and even cows. After a while, my mother could not take it any longer. Remember, she was a young girl with some Chutzpah, not unusual for her age. She could not watch the German soldiers unscrupulously loot the poor villagers, without even suggesting paying for the food.

“Today I am not going with you” she said one day to the German soldier who knocked on her door.

“Why?” he asked.

My mother did not know what would sound convincing enough to refuse to a German soldier. Then suddenly she said.

“My boots are very dirty, they are full of mud, I cannot go in dirty boots. I am sorry.”

“Fraulein (Young lady), if I will clean your boots, will you go?”

“If you clean my boots I will.”

So, the German soldier sat down to clean her boots. My mother looked at him all the while and said to herself, if you only knew. You, a German soldier, cleaning the boots of a Jewish woman...

Days later, this soldier came to take her for another confiscating mission. On the way he abruptly turned to her and said: “I know you are Jewish.”

“No, I am not, I am Hungarian Catholic.”

“No, you are not, I have seen Hungarian Catholics, you are different, I have seen Jewish people, you are Jewish, I know” That’s it, my mother thought and she could feel that this time it really was the

end. She could not hide her identity any longer. It was a burden she could not take. She turned to him and said: “Yes, you are right, I am Jewish, now go ahead and kill me.”

When my mother told me this story, she could only quote the soldier exactly in his own words, in German. She could never forget what he said: “I would be the greatest pig on earth, if I kill you. I hate this regime, I hate the war. If we are going to lose the war, it is because what we have done to the Jews.”

“You see” he continued “my sister is a nun and when they drafted me to the military they did not let me say goodbye to my family and to my beloved sister.”

In February 1945, the village was conquered, the unit dispersed, some retreated to Germany and days later Budapest was conquered. The Jews were liberated. The danger was over.

My mother was still in the little village when the Soviets entered. During a small skirmish in the village the anti-Semitic priest was killed. Then my mother saw Soviet soldiers for the first time.

One morning, a soldier asked her to

identify herself.

“I am Jewish” she said, for the first time without fear.

“If you are Jewish and not a pretender, say the Shema” he demanded.

Tears covered her eyes. A Jewish soldier! She could have never anticipated that.

Twenty years later, my parents went to Hungary. My father wished to see the places where she had been during this dreadful time. One day they drove to the village. They knocked on the door. The same family was still there, they recognized her and warmly welcomed them home. They stayed a few hours to chat and exchange stories from the wartime.

When my parents returned home, I asked my mom “Did you tell them that they actually hid a Jew during the Holocaust and that you are not their family member?”

“No” she said “I did not tell them who I really was.”

“Why?” “They gave me refuge, they were kind, but they were so anti-Semitic, I did not want them to regret it.”

Beauty Queen of Jerusalem JTA Production is underway on what is being billed as one of the most ambitious Israeli TV series ever.

The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, Sarit Yishai-Levy’s epic bestselling novel about a fictional Sephardic family, is being produced by the country’s Yes Studios of Fauda and Shtisel fame and will feature four languages, including Ladino.

Shtisel star Michael Aloni, along with Hila Saada of The Baker and The Beauty and Itzik Cohen of Fauda, will feature in the cast.

“We have all fallen in love with the story of the Armoza family and cannot wait to see it materialize on screen,” Yes Managing Director Danna Stern told Deadline. Two seasons have initially been ordered.

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6 | The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020

The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020 | 7

Rabbi Hillel said

“If I am not for myself, who will be? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

These words remind us that though self-interest is our right, we also have a duty to care for others. Today.

For over a century, Jewish Family Service of Omaha has focused on providing crucial aid to individuals, couples and families facing challenges in their lives.

Between July, 2018 and June, 2019, our efforts have been sustained by the following contributors who chose to balance their own needs with the needs of others.

Grants

Members of our community deserve to live with dignity. These grants provide financial assistance, counseling services, YACHAD activities and other critical programs that strengthen Jewish family life.

Dennis Schuman Charitable Foundation Herbert Goldsten Trust Lazier L. Singer Memorial Fund for Youth Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation - Worldwide Grant Program Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Supporting Foundation Sokolof Foundation Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Teen Foundation of Young Jewish Giving The Carolyn Kully Newman Memorial Fund The Milton S. & Corinne N. Livingston Fund The Phillip* and Terri Schrager Supporting Foundation

Endowments

Tikkun Olam -- repairing the world -is a moral obligation. Through these endowments, JFS continues to help people build lives of hope and joy.

Beatrice Karp LIFE & LEGACY Endowment Fund for Jewish Family Service Craig Saylan Memorial Endowment Fund Edith & Paul Goldstein Endowment Fund Glazer Family Endowment Fund Harris Family Endowment, Donor-Advised Fund Harry & Fannie Stock Rothkop/Theodore Rothkop Fund Howard and Judy Vann Family Education Fund Ike Friedman JFS Financial Assistance Fund Jake & Mary Wine Fund Jennifer Beth Kay Memorial Fund, Donor-Advised Fund Jerome J. and Frances O. Milder Endowment Fund Jewish Family Service Campaign Legacy Fund Jewish Family Service Discretionary Fund Jewish Family Service Endowment Fund Kutler Dental Custodial Fund Leo & Frances Rodick Memorial Endowment Fund Lippett Family Endowment Fund Louis Friedman Fund for New Americans Mark & Sophie Sturm Immigrant Education Fund Mickey (Sturm) Stern Memorial Endowment Fund Nancy Noddle JFS Financial Assistance Fund Nathan and Rose Lillian Fine JFS Tzedakah Endowment Fund

Endowments

Omaha Jewish Community Legal Assistance Donor Advised Fund Parsow and Simons Families Special Needs Community Fund Paul & Joy Grossman Family Endowment Fund Paul Alperson Endowment Fund Pennie Z. Davis Family Life Education Fund Perlmeter Family Jewish Family Service Assistance Fund Richard “Pete” Lee Memorial Endowment Fund Robert Sturm JFS Housing Assistance Endowment Fund Rosalie & Milton Saylan Endowment Fund for JFS Ruth & Bernard Raskin Endowment Fund Ruth & Otmar Liebenstein JFS Financial Assistance Endowment Fund Samuel & Delma Goodman Youth Fund, Donor-Advised Fund Steven Bloch President’s Fund Yachad Endowment Fund

Life and Legacy

Bruce Meyers David & Shirley Goodman David Kohll David Lieberman Debbi Josephson Gary & Barbara Goldstein Gilda Pieck Gloria Kaslow Howard Kaslow Janet Kohll John Atherton & Marti Rosen-Atherton Sherry & Larry Shapiro Thelma Lustgarten

In Kind Donations

Alan & Carol Parsow Alan & Linda Muskin Allen and Eden Ostravich Ann Pickel Annette Van de Kamp-Wright Bagel Bin Beth El Synagogue Beth Israel Synagogue Bob and Barbara Goodman Bruce Goldberg Bruce Meyers Debra Kronick Diane Walker Donald Goldstein Dottie Rosenblum Dr. James Wax Gary Javitch

In Kind Donations

Girl Scout Troop at Friedel Howard Kutler HyVee I-GO Van & Storage Co. Isabella Wright Jan Wayne Jeff Zacharia Joan & Charles Shapiro Joanie Marshall Jonathan and Linda Isaacman Joni Jacobson Jordana Kurtzman Joshua Shapiro Joyce Ashley Judy Roffman Kael Sagheer Kraft Family Linda Fischer Marge & Jim Bresel Marty and Iris Ricks Mary Beth Muskin Maxine Noodell Meghan Vieregger ORKIN Pre-K 6th Temple Religious School Rabbi Maximo & Jeanne Shechet Rachel Martin RBJH Renee Handleman Rocky Lewis Sara Howard Sara Kohen Select Moving & Storage Shari Sterenberg Sharon Kirschenbaum Shirley Smallheiser Steve Littky Steven and Marsha Senft Susie Norton T.O. Haas Tire and Auto Temple Israel Synagogue The Abraham Family The Feldstern Family The Koom Family The Pennie Z Davis Child Development Center

Back to School

Alan and Linda Muskin Edye Roffman Howard and Gloria Kaslow Jordana Kurtzman Mercedes Obora Michael and Susie Norton National Council of Jewish Women

Back to School

Contributions & Tribute Cards

Rabbi Maximo and Jeanne Shechet Jan Goldstein Special Donor-Advised Fund of the Jewish Jarold & Gail Kohll Federation of Omaha Jason and Laurie Epstein Jeremy & Annette Wright Project Dreidel Al Bloch and Fefe Passer Joan M Kaiman Alan and Linda Muskin Joanne and Jerry Freeman B’nai B’rith/Henry Monsky Lodge Joe and Tina Meyers Jack and Helene Shrago Joseph A. Erman Jeff and Sharon Kirshenbaum Joye & Steve Wees Joe and Tina Meyers Judie Goldetsky Larry and Sherry Shapiro Judy Roffman Rabbi Maximo and Jeanne Shechet Kerry and Michael Hollst Rabbi Steven and Shira Abraham Lenore Ross Rabbi Stoller & Karen Flayhart Margo Parsow Sharon and Howard Kooper Martin & Iris Ricks Steve and Patty Nogg Maxine & Joe Kirshenbaum Sue Meyers Michael Heifetz Ted and Amee Zetzman Michael Levine Ted and Jamie Friedland Miriam Moran Mort Zuber Project Tzedakah Mr. and Mrs. Bob Goodman Allen and Eden Ostravich Mr. and Mrs. Howard Friedman Beth El Synagogue Patty & Mike Sherman Beth Israel Synagogue Phyllis Aronson Bruce Meyers Rick & Fran Juro Gary Kudym Rita and Robert Yaffe Howard Kutler Sander J. Kasin Karen Gustafson Shari Engman Temple Israel Synagogue Sherry & Larry Shapiro The Pennie Z Davis Child Development Center Sheryn & Arnold Joffe Shirley & David Goodman Contributions & Tribute Cards Sissi Lapides ANONYMOUS Steve and Marcia Pitlor Abby and Adam Kutler Stewart and Judith Tully Adam and Sarah Yale Sue Meyers Al Bloch & Fefe Passer Susie Cohn Amy D. Reynolds and Ben Shapiro Suzi & Mike Mogil Amy Hruska Tammy & Carl Birnberg Arnold & Sheryn Joffe Tammy Rubin Benjamin Wiesman Tom & Ronna Sherman Carl Frohm Memorial Fund Zelda Friednash Carol and Steve Bloch Cindy Kohll Persky & Joshua Persky Claudia G. Sherman Rev. Trust Colleen and Valentino Madia David and Shirley Goodman Deborah Friedman Doris & Harry Alloy Dr. Fred and Sarah Kader Gail and Phillip Raznick Gary Nachman Gloria Kaslow Ike and Roz Friedman Foundation Jack Shrago

Friends Campaign

The Talmud says, “A good friend is a tower of strength. To find one is to find a treasure.” Friends of JFS help families in crisis receive guidance to put their lives back in order.

Friend for Life Amy Forss Friedland Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Howard Kaslow Judy and Keith Josephson Tom Fellman

Friends Campaign

Friends Campaign

Friends Campaign

Angel Dr. Alan and Debbie Kricsfeld Ann and Gordon Moshman Mr. and Mrs. Bob Goodman Bruce Meyers Deborah B Josephson Donald and Andi Goldstein Jeff and Sharon Kirshenbaum Jim and Judy Farber Judy Roffman Karen and Jeff Gustafson Sandy and Paul Epstein Steve and Patty Nogg Sylvia B. Cohn Tina and Joseph Meyers

Supporter Brent Bloom Helen Rifkin Howard and Sandra Friedman Iris and Martin Ricks J.D and B.J Thompson Jennifer Meyerson John Atherton & Marti Rosen-Atherton Mary and Tom Bernstein Mary Sue and Alex Grossman Sharon Brodkey Teresa Drelicharz

Circle of Friends 2 ANONYMOUS Anne and Allan L. Cohen Benjamin Johnson Betty and Jack Kozlen Boris Turetsky Carolyn R. Stern Claudia Sherman Darlene E Golbitz David and Julie Herzog Deborah Denenberg Dolores M Goodman Dorothy K Rosenblum Esther Silver and Sabina Shapiro Galina B Tsed Garrett Taub Janey W Dann Judith Kaplan Leon and Sally Wintroub Lynne-Carol and Errol Saltzman Marilyn J Zevitz Mark Ocheretyanskiy and Lyudmyla Lariana Mary Berman Milton and Doris Parker Paula Endelman Peter J Brodkey Richard and Wendy Goedeken Roxanne Kahn Shelley Eisenman Steven and Barbara Rothenberg Steven and Margo Riekes Susan H Silverman Susan Long Yuliy & Svetlana Tronyak

Benefactor James McMullen Janie and Allan Murow Jay and Nancy Noddle Jeffrey A. Passer Michael and Susie Norton Mr. and Mrs. Natan Schwalb Mr. and Mrs. Steve Zalkin Murray and Sharee Newman Sally A. Zipursky The Todd & Betiana Simon Foundation

Champion Lisa and Gary Epstein Philip Michael and Nancy Lindow Wolf Susan Fellman Witkowski Patron Allan S Noddle ANONYMOUS Beth Brodkey Caryl Martinez Charlotte Zipursky Dr. and Mrs. Larry Malashock Fefe Passer FMTC, IRA Custodian Matthew Y Faier Gary and Lorrie Katelman Gerald and Cookie Hoberman Harold and Alice Kosowsky Harriet (Sissy) M Katelman Silber James Polack Janie Kulakofsky Jason and Laurie Epstein Jeff and Ellen Platt Patron Jody and Buzz Malashock John and KayLynn Goldner Judith Feigin Judith I Roffman Mary Wampler and Philip Bierman

Patron Michael I and Elena Shnayder Molline R Cassman Mr. and Mrs. Howard Epstein Norman and Suzy Sheldon Richard and Terryl Zacharia Richard M Fellman Steve and Carol Bloch Susan Rothholz Toba A Cohen-Dunning Wayne Schwarz

Sponsor 2 ANONYMOUS Arkadiy P and Larisa Ginzburg Arnold L and Helen A Epstein Caryn Rifkin Charney Rosinsky Clinton and Helene Weber David Goldberg Dorothy R Spizman Gates, Harry and Linda Georgine S. Koom Helen and Leslie Kay Helga Patterson Jeremy and Annette Wright Joan and Terrance Bernstein Joan M Kaiman Joel I and Mary Ann Rich Julie C Anon Lenore Ross Leslie Kully Lois Milder Margie and Bruce Gutnik Marilyn Tipp Mark and Alla Rubezhan Matt and Jennifer Kirshenbaum Michael and Andrea Siegel Miles S Remer Morris and Cindy Friedman Nancy Nogg Nancy Rips

Sponsor Patricia and Michael Sherman Patricia L Mogil & Scott S Tatelman Ronald Giller Sandra N. Nogg Sherry and Larry Shapiro Stanley and Angela Krieger Steven and Bonnie Levinger Terri & Dick Zacharia Thomas and Kate Kirshenbaum Vicki M Perlmeter

*Of Blessed Memory All contributions are as of June 30, 2019. We apologize if your name was omitted from this list. Please call JFS at 402-330-2024.

Jewish Family Service is able to do its work because members of this remarkable community genuinely care about one another. Thank you for your generous support.

8 | The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020

Above: Each neighborhood of the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home received SMPL One-Touch Radio and Music Player, which allows Residents to keep listening to their favorite songs with ease. This music box is simple to use by pressing the extralarge button to start/stop the music. The device is pre-loaded with 75 American classics from the last century and can handle additional 1,0000 songs or audiobooks. It is a big hit with Residents and the staff. Pictured Angela Jones, CNA with Alexander Gutis.

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS

Top, above, below and bottom: One recent Wacky Wednesday at the RBJH featured the RBJH Renaissance Faire. Staff channeled their inner Game of Thrones characters and got medieval for the day. We couldn’t find the giant turkey leg; instead, employees enjoyed an incredible buffet of chicken tenders and wings with many delicious sides by Tanner’s Bar & Grill.

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: One last visit with dog Teddy to the JCC for Andy Isaacson, before he and his wife Amy move with their three daughters to Portland, Oregon.

Left: Vivian Katelman, pictured with her parents Jay and Katrina, on her first day at the Pennie Z. Davis CDC!

Above: Residents of the RBJH are staying cool creating ice cream cone masterpieces.

Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Abby Kutler President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Michael Ivey Accounting Jewish Press Board Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp.

The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press.

Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha. org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’

Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

Editorial The Jewish Press is an agency of the Jewish Federation of Omaha. Deadline for copy, ads and photos is: Thursday, 9 a.m., eight days prior to publication.

E-mail editorial material and photos to: avandekamp@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.

American Jewish Press Association Award Winner

Nebraska Press Association Award winner 2008

National Newspaper Association

The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020 | 9

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.

Patience is hard ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor It is a bit of a mystery why, lately, it has taken the Omaha US Post Office from Wednesday until the following Monday to actually get you the paper.

We’ve called, and called some more. We’ve emailed.

Once, we actually talked to a person. He couldn’t figure it out either—maybe because he wasn’t working in Omaha; I reached him actually at the national 1-800 number.

The one message we consistently get from the voice mail (which is often the only sign of life we get) is that the Post Office is seriously understaffed and we need to be patient.

I sound defensive while writing this and for that, I apologize. The thing is, we are just as frustrated as you are, because we really, really want that paper on your kitchen counter before Shabbat! Not on Saturday morning, definitely not on Monday.

And yet, our frustration is nothing to what’s happened in other Jewish communities. For instance (and this type of headline ruins my day): “New Jersey Jewish News succumbs at 74.”

Staff writer Johanna Ginsberg wrote: “For more than 70 years, the New Jersey Jewish News (NJJN) has been essential Shabbat reading. Its pages have reported the Jewish issues of the day, from the declaration of Israeli statehood and the trial of Adolf Eichmann to the struggle for Soviet Jewry; from celebrations of early b’not mitzvah to the hiring of female clergy; from upheaval in late 1960s Newark to Jewish participation in #BlackLivesMatter protests; from the raid on Entebbe to murders in Pittsburgh, Poway, and Jersey City. While examining controversies within the Jewish community and providing an ethnic lens for local and national news, it also spotlighted the area’s people, places, and general goings-on. It is the chronicle of the Jewish community in this part of the state. This week’s issue marks the final print publication.”

It’s a story we are, by now, all too familiar with. It leaves me, every time, with a mixture of sadness and gratitude. Sadness, because once a paper stops publishing, it’s gone forever; because it’s another paper gone, another piece of Jewish American history disappearing. Gratitude, because I live and work in a community that is dedicated to not let

Credit: Stephen Goodwin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

that happen. Yet.What it also does is put things in perspective.

Maybe someday the financial pressure will become too much and we will make different decisions; perhaps someday I will be like editor Gabe Kahn, who wrote: “It’s heartbreaking that it has come to this, that we will no longer be able to share the rich and varied stories of the Greater MetroWest community, that we will lose touch with many of our sources and amazing individuals we’ve covered, not to mention the constant contact among NJJN staff, professional relationships that almost immediately

morphed into close friendships.”

For now, here in Omaha, we keep at it, which is fortunate, because we have many more stories to tell.

Frankly, our biggest problem at the moment remains how to get the paper to you, the reader, on time. Here is how it is supposed to work: We send our paper digitally to the printer before noon every Monday. They print the full run and load it onto their truck (minus a small stack that they send to our office via messenger, which we receive Wednesday afternoon). The truck travels to Omaha, where the driver delivers our Jewish Press to the Main Post Office to be sorted and distributed to you, the reader.

While we wait for this issue to be resolved, while we wait for someone to answer our many, many requests for help, we want you to know: We are aware of the problem and we feel your pain. Unfortunately, the best we can do under the circumstances is keep putting the digital edition on our website at www.omahajewishpress.com. If you would like for us to email you that link directly, please reach out to the editor at avandekamp@ jewishomaha.org. And, of course, we have to practice our patience skills.

Update: I am happy to report that after six (!) days of silence, we did receive an email. In it was a questionnaire, asking us to rate the USPS regarding our recent interaction. We told them there had been none and to please email us. We are sort of starting to feel like we’re in high school and we got stood up for homecoming. Here we are, all dressed up, but nobody will take us to the dance.

And so we remind ourselves: at least we’re still here. This, too, shall pass. Someday, the pandemic will be over. Someday, everything will go back, maybe not exactly to where we were, but at least to some semblance of normalcy. Won’t it?

What I wish they taught us in Hebrew school SAMANTHA TENER This story originally appeared on Alma.

I received what I believe to be an average Jewish American Conservative synagogue education. I attended Jewish preschool, the full run of weekly, then biweekly Hebrew school, and completed “Hebrew high school” all the way through the rabbi’s confirmation class. This was all at my synagogue outside of Philly, with a predominantly Ashkenazi congregation in a predominantly Ashkenazi part of the Jewish Diaspora. And, of course, I am of Ashkenazi descent (99.2%, according to 23andMe).

So what exactly did these many years of Jewish education teach me? I learned the fundamentals of Judaism: stories from the Torah and ancient Israel, holidays and their traditions, Jewish values, to read and write Hebrew (but not actually to understand the meaning), and to decipher trope for cantillation. I also learned about Zionism, the Holocaust, the birth of the State of Israel, and modern-day Israeli culture, providing some context for the past century of Jewish life.

I appreciate what I learned, but Jews have been around for millennia. Why did I only learn about the biblical and early post-biblical times, and then select topics from recent centuries? What happened to us during all those years in between?

Again, Jews have been around for millennia, and a lot of this time was not spent in Israel.

I wish I had learned more about the Jewish Diaspora. How has the Diaspora grown throughout history? What are all of the unique Jewish Diaspora populations that have formed? What languages did/do they speak? What pressures have these populations faced and how were their respective cultures shaped? How are these populations doing today?

In Hebrew school, I did hear and learn the terms Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrahi. We even briefly discussed Ethiopian Jews. I didn’t give these terms

much thought. But of course, these terms — these people — mean so much more. It wasn’t until I took a deep dive into Wikipedia’s page on the Jewish Diaspora that I learned about more specific cultures within these labels. Apparently there’s a large Bukharian Jewish population in New York, which is fascinating to me considering I had never even heard the term Bukharian before. There are “Mountain Jews” in the Caucasus of Persian Jewish origin.

Credit: Design by Emily Burack/book via CSA Images/Getty Images.

Who knew? Not me! Communities like the Cochin Jews persisted in India for centuries. I certainly had no idea! After a combined 13 years of Jewish education, it’s all the more baffling that I’m just learning about these communities now through some random clicks on Wikipedia.

Even when it came to my own Ashkenazi ancestors, I got a better picture of old-world Ashkenazi life from watching Fiddler on the Roof than anything I learned at my synagogue. I always wondered why, when reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish at services, my older relatives chanted “Yisgadal v’yiskadash” while my peers and I said “Yitgadal v’yitkadash.” It wasn’t until reading Aaron Lansky’s book Outwitting History that I learned “Conservative congregations across the country changed from Ashkenazic to Sephardic Hebrew. The osten-

sible reason was to bring liturgical Hebrew in line with the spoken language of the young State of Israel.” While I understand the decision to unify Jews of the Diaspora with the official language of Israel, my family came to the U.S. speaking Yiddish. Now that I am aware of it, I don’t love this erasure of Yiddishkeit. What else was omitted from my Jewish education?

Maybe if it were 1850, I’d be busy in the throes of shtetl life with very little knowledge or care for Jews outside of my personal community. But it’s 2020, and I live in the great American melting pot with a high-speed internet connection. My country’s Jewish population and my congregation may be predominantly white European Ashkenazim, but we have diverse Jews among us everywhere we look.

We have the ability to connect with and learn about Bukharian Jews, Beta Israel, Moroccan Jews, Jews of color and Jewish converts of different backgrounds.

There’s no reason we should have to embark on these Jewish studies on our own. Education on Jewish Diaspora cultures and the diversity of Jewish identities should be an integral part of formal Jewish education. Without this, we are left in a state of ashkenormativity that is damaging to those who don’t fit a Eurocentric definition of being Jewish. By taking the time to learn about the different origins and customs of all Jewish backgrounds, we will end up united in a more holistic understanding of Judaism.

Personally, I am in awe of Jewish resilience. But I cannot properly understand or appreciate this resilience without seeing the full spectrum of the Jewish people. I wish my Jewish education could have at least tipped me off to all I was missing.

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 | August 21, 2020

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 We will not be holding services on Friday, Sept. 11.

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.; Jonah Katz Bar Mitzvah, 7 p.m.; Havdallah, 9:02 p.m.

SUNDAY: Torah Study, 10 a.m.; BESTT Supply Pick Up, 3:30 p.m.; USY Film Club, 7 p.m.

MONDAY: Joshua Ben Nun with Dr. Leonard Greenspoon, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: USY Check-In, 5:15 p.m.

THURSDAY: Teen Book Club, 4:30 p.m.; Shul Music with Hazzan Krausman, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-Aug. 28: Kosher Food Orders Due; Roasted Chickens To-Go Pick Up, 10 a.m.-noon; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-Aug. 29: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m.; Courtney and Sabrina Schwarz B’not Mitzvah; Havdallah, 8:51 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, 7:55 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Havdalah, 8:56 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); JYE BI Parsha and Halacha, 10:30 a.m. with Rabbi Yoni (Zoom).

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); JYE BI Parsha and Halacha, 10:30 a.m. with Rabbi Yoni (Zoom).

WEDNESDAY: Shacharit, 7 am.; Deepening Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari; Laws of Shabbos, 8 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp).

THURSDAY: 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. 28: Shacharit, 6:45 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, 7:44 p.m.

SATURDAY-Aug. 29: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Havdalah, 8:44 p.m. (Zoom).

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

FRIDAY: Erev Shabbat Service, 6:30 p.m. service leaders/music: Leslie Delserone & Peter Mullin and additional music with Nathaniel and Steve Kaup; Candlelighting, 7:56 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, service leaders/music: TBD, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:45 a.m. on Parashat Shoftim led by Robert Rickover; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:25 p.m.

TUESDAY: Tea & Coffee Time with Temple Friends, 1:30 p.m. via zoom.

FRIDAY-Aug. 28: Erev Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Elaine Monnier, 6:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 7:45 p.m.

SATURDAY-Aug. 29: Shabbat Morning Service, service leaders/music: TBD, 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10:45 a.m. on Parashat Ki Teitzei led by Rick Kohn; Havdalah (72 minutes), 9:24 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE All services canceled until further notice.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME 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, 7:55 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Ends, 8:55 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.

THURSDAY: Intermediate Hebrew Reading and Prayer, 11 a.m.; Talmud Class, noon with Rabbi Katzman.

FRIDAY-Aug.28: Candlelighting, 7:44 p.m.

SATURDAY-Aug. 22: Shabbat Ends, 8:43 p.m.

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, 8 a.m.

FRIDAY: Tot Shabbat, 5:30 p.m.; Shabbat Evening Service, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m.

MONDAY: Jewish Law & the Quest for Meaning, 11 a.m.

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

TIFERETH ISRAEL 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: Zoom Evening Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 7:56 p.m.

SATURDAY: Zoom Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 8:55 p.m.

FRIDAY-Aug. 28: Zoom Evening Kabbalat Shabbat, 6:30 p.m. Candlelighting, 7:45 p.m.

SATURDAY-Aug. 29: Zoom Shabbat Morning Service, 10 a.m.; Havdalah (72 minutes), 8:44 p.m.

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

ChaiFlicks, the ‘Jewish Netflix,’ is here STEPHEN SILVER JTA It was only a matter of time: A Jewish Netflix has arrived.

That moniker is probably the best description of ChaiFlicks, a film and TV streaming platform focused on Jewish-themed movies that launches Wednesday. It helps that its creators were once in business with the real Netflix.

Neil Friedman, founder of the Jewish-focused distribution company Menemsha Films, said he sold two films to Netflix: the 2015 bakery-set drama Dough and the 2016 Israeli film The Women’s Balcony. But since then, Netflix has shifted its focus to its original offerings.

In 2017, when Netflix passed on another film that the founders were distributing — 1945, a rare Hungarian production about the effects of the Holocaust — the idea for ChaiFlicks began.

“We realized then and there that if we were going to have our films on [a subscription video on demand] channel, we would have to initiate our own channel,” Friedman said.

The service was offered earlier this year in a beta version for Menemsha Films’ mailing list subscribers, spokesman Gary Springer said. But on Wednesday, the service will be open officially to all at a price point of $5.99 a month, or $65.99 a year.

ChaiFlicks also offers a 14-day free trial.

It’s launching with over 150 titles, including feature films, documentaries, shorts and other entertainment, all of it either Jewish- or Israeli-themed.

While it doesn’t have nearly as much content, ChaiFlicks also offers something that newer, bigger streaming services like HBO Max and Peacock

don’t: It’s available on every major streaming plat- programming, Friedman said, he and his two coform, including Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV, founders expect that Menemsha titles will become as well as both iOS and Android mobile devices, in a minimal part of the ChaiFlicks presentations. addition to a desktop version. The tech for the site Those co-founders are Heidi Oshin, a fellow Menis powered by the video platform Vimeo. emsha Films staffer, and Bill Weiner, who once “We have not had any issues with Roku or Amazon,” Friedman said. “We are a small niche streaming service and that has its advantages so as not to affect the preexisting ecosystem in the VOD and streaming worlds.”

The ChaiFlicks lineup at the start includes Natasha, A Home on the Range: The Jewish Chicken Ranchers of Petaluma, Holy Land Hardball, In Search of Israeli Cuisine, Heading Home: The Tale A screenshot from ChaiFlicks, a Jewish-themed streaming platform.

Credit: ChaiFlicks of Team Israel, the show Soon

By You and other titles that might be familiar to worked for the large production company now those who follow the Jewish film festival circuit. called Regency Enterprises.

Shekinah: The Intimate Life of Hasidic Women and Friedman estimated that the service will add Bulgarian Rhapsody are among the titles that will about three new films per week. Categories include come to the service in the week after launch. comedy, drama, documentaries, food, music, “We started ChaiFlicks... as soon as the pan- sports, LGBTQ stories, shorts, “The American demic hit in March, as we had the advantage of Sephardi Federation presents...” and specific cateowning 80 Jewish and Israeli titles of our own,” gories for individual countries and regions, which Friedman said. “Since such time, although still in include Israel, Europe, France and South America. the beta stage for the channel, we have been acAlso on the way, according to the spokesman quiring third-party product for ChaiFlicks to the Springer, is a partnership with the Jewish Women’s extent that we as of today have 150 titles for Chai- Theater in Santa Monica, California, and agreeFlicks alone.” ments with some Israeli film companies.

As the service continues to acquire third-party

Life cycles B’NOT MITZVAH COURTNEY LAUREN SCHWARZ AND SABRINA MONICA SCHWARZ Courtney Lauren Schwarz and Sabrina Monica Schwarz, daughters of Lori Kooper-Schwarz and Wayne Schwarz, will celebrate their B’not Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Beth El via zoom.

Courtney and Sabrina are seventh-grade students at Westside Middle School.

Courtney’s interests include gymnastics, art, attending Herzl Camp and reading.

Sabrina’s interests include tae-kwon-do, swimming and attending Herzl Camp.

They have an older sister, Melanie.

Grandparents are Sharon and Howard Kooper, and the late Vivian and the late Morton Schwarz.

Israel suspends West Bank annexation JOSEFIN DOLSTEN JTA In a diplomatic breakthrough, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are normalizing ties.

As part of a peace deal brokered by President Donald Trump, Israel will pause its plans to annex areas of the West Bank, according to a joint statement released Thursday by the White House.

“Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and

At the Round Table: Contemporary Israel JAMIE SKOG-BURKE Director of Development, JFO On Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., we will host a round table discussion with Jewish Community Professionals about Contemporary Israel via zoom.

This online event is partnership between the Jewish Federation of Omaha, the Klutznik Chair of Jewish Civilization at Creighton and the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As our community continues to focus on responding to local news & needs, we want to make sure that you are staying up to date on what is happening in Israel.

Join us to hear perspectives from Credit: Zachi Evenor, licensed under both Israeli & the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 American Jewish Unported license. voices about current events in Israel. “Several months after three back-to-back-to-back elections, when so many people were keeping track of events in Israel in a very in-depth way, now is a good time to re-engage in the most important news. I’m very excited to discuss the latest events in Israel with our community,” newly appointed Director of the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska, Ari Kohen, said. The evening will end with a Question & Answer section in which you can get your questions about Israel answered.

Topic our guests will discuss: • The Israeli election & what has happened since • The Israel Unity Government • The West Bank annexation • What’s happening with Netanyahu’s trial • Israeli social protests Guest Speakers include Ari Kohen, Professor of Political Science, Schlesinger Professor of Social Justice, and newly appointed Director of the Harris Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln; Ron Lugasy, Community Shlicha; Alan Potash, Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Omaha and Rabbi Yoni Dreyer, Assistant Rabbi at Beth Israel Synagogue.

For more information please contact Jamie Skog-Burke, JFO Director of Development at jskog-burke@jewish omaha.org.

TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements may be e-mailed to the Press at jpress@jewishomaha.org; or mailed to 333 So. 132 St., Omaha, NE 68154. Readers can also submit announcements -- births, b’nai mitzvahs, engagements, marriages, commitment ceremonies or obituaries -- online at www.omahajewishpress.com/site/forms/. Deadlines are normally nine days prior to publication, on Wednesdays, 9 a.m. Please check the Jewish Press, for notices of early deadlines.

The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020 | 11

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a military base in Ramla, Israel, Aug. 4, 2020. Credit: Yossi Aloni/Flash90

Muslim world. The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are confident that added diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible, and will work together to achieve this goal,” the statement read.

The statement, which referred to the two countries as “two of America’s most reliable and capable regional partners,” said that Israel and the UAE will sign agreements in the coming weeks related to investment, tourism, air travel, security, opening embassies and more. The two nations also will work together on developing a vaccine for the coronavirus, it said.

The Gulf states have been growing closer with Israel in recent years, but the UAE is the first to establish formal ties with the Jewish state. The countries share a goal of countering Iranian influence in the Middle East.

Most Arab countries do not recognize Israel’s existence. The Jewish state currently has ties only with Egypt and Jordan.

“The UAE is employing its decision for normal relations with Israel,” the UAE’s foreign minister said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel.

Speaking to media Thursday, Trump suggested that agreements between Israel and some of its other Muslim neighbors in the region could come soon, the Times of Israel reported.

“Things are happening that I can’t talk about,” he said.

After promising the move during multiple election campaigns last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been pushing to annex parts of West Bank around July 1.

The plans were delayed after the Trump administration voiced concern with the idea.

MacFarlane adapting Herman Wouk WWII novels CURT SCHLEIER JTA Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is adapting Herman Wouk’s epic World War II novels The Winds of War and its sequel, War and Remembrance, into a limited TV series for NBCUniversal.

Wouk, who died last year at 103, wrote numerous popular works of fiction — Majorie Morningstar (about a young Jewish woman who wants to become an actress), Youngblood Hawke (about a young writer supposedly modeled on the novelist Thomas Wolfe) and The Caine Mutiny, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize.

The author, an observant Jew, also wrote This Is My God, a book summarizing the tenets of Judaism intended for both Jews and non-Jews.

The Winds of War and War and Remembrance established the author’s reputation as a master of historical fiction — works featuring stories of personal conflict set against significant events. In this case, the books follow the experiences of Navy officer Victor Henry and his family from the German invasion of Poland through the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

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12 | The Jewish Press | August 21, 2020

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

“(Not really) Goodbye” SAM KRICSFELD Intern, Jewish Press

My summer internship here at the Jewish Press has come to an end.

The internship began in uncertainty as I wrote my first editorial and did some research from my own dining room. It began feeling just like the months of school I had to complete from home, and I was worried I would be relegated to writing impersonal stories and editorials.

Thankfully, Annette figured out a way to get me into the office. I would end up working in the office with only three people this entire summer – Annette, of course, as well as Assistant Editor Lori Kooper-Schwarz and Creative Director Richard Busse. Despite being in a small group, I felt extremely welcome and supported when at the office. Everybody was kind, efficient and helpful. It also helped me realize that the Press is really a team effort – everybody plays a big part.

One of the most important things I learned was how to insert my voice into my writing – Annette called it “Sam sauce” – and was reminded that I always have and always will be a part of our community. This summer reconnected me with my Jewish Omaha roots; although I never quite strayed from them, the bonds were strengthened and ensured.

In addition to writing, I completed three major research projects this summer. I compiled a list of all the Jewish print publications in the United States, sorted and catalogued every Press article from the back half of 2019 and did the preliminary

research for an upcoming 2021 project – more on that later.

History played a huge part in my life this summer. When not at the Press, I was scanning vintage photographs from family photobooks (which led me to find Harold Kaplan’s picture). Additionally, many of my projects led me to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, where Renee Corcoran helped me find unique pictures and documents for various articles and research projects (she also took me down to the secret vaults).

I can look back at this summer and say without a shadow of a doubt that this was my most productive yet. Thanks to the Press, my experience has increased exponentially, and I have learned to take pride in my work.

Now, I’d like to thank the Academy...

Seriously, though, I have many people I’d like to thank – Renee at the NJHS, the Kaplan family, Esther Katz and Jessica Westerlin of the JCC Performing Arts, lifelong friends and JCC Camp counselors Julia Raffel and Ben Brodkey, and everyone gracious enough to let me interview them. Here at the Press, Richard and I have become friends because of our mutual interest (obsession) with cars and design. I’d like to thank him for giving me so many pictures and posters of cars that he found online and for talking with me about cars, British TV, design and music. Lori and I talked about the difficulties of the pandemic and school, and I thank her for being so kind to me.

Of course, my biggest thanks are due to Annette, who facilitated my internship, mentored me, honed my writing style, supported me and was extremely lenient when things happened this summer that got in the way of work. In the wake of all the changes that happened this summer (pandemic, JCC construction and a new printing company for the Press), she was levelheaded, patient and always made time to talk to me.

Equal thanks to my family; my mother and father helped me proofread early drafts of my editorials, and along with my

grandparents were constantly reassuring and supportive of my work. Even Rachel deserves some thanks. My family has always been a bastion of love and comfort to me, and I cannot thank them enough for not only this summer, but for my entire life.

Thank you to Jeff Kirshenbaum and Sharee and Murray Newman for funding and founding the Jewish Press Summer Internship, and finally, thank you. If you are reading this and/or have read my other articles, I appreciate you. Being heard is a great feeling, and many of you have let me know what you think of my work. You are why the Press exists and are keeping alive a mainstay of Jewish Omaha that still stands after 100 years.

By the way, this is not by any means a goodbye. I spent a lot of time this summer interviewing and writing articles about Jewish healthcare professionals from Omaha for the upcoming Rosh Hashanah edition. You’ll see some of my work in September. I’ll work some more for the Press in December and January, too. And remember the 2021 project I mentioned?

We’ll be covering a seriously important topic over the course of 12 months: Judaism’s traditions regarding death and mourning. But don’t tell anyone yet.

The Arts Publishing date | 10.109.20

Space reservation | 09.30.20

Contact our advertising executive to promote your business in this very special edition.

SUSAN BERNARD | 402.334.6559 | sbernard@jewishomaha.org