October 1, 2021

A N AG E N C Y O F T H E J E W I S H F E D E R AT I O N O F O M A H A

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O C TO B E R 1 , 2 021 | 2 5 TIS H RE I 578 2 | VO L. 1 01 | NO. 49 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 6: 47 P.M.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Opening minds Page 4

BETH KUJATH, LMHP, LCSW Jewish Family Service Therapist ctober is recognized nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic Violence is also referred to as “intimate partner violence,” as it occurs more frequently among married, dating or intimate partners. It is defined as when an individual establishes and maintains power and control over their partner through physical, sexual, emotional or financial means.

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) defines it as “a pattern of coercive and assaultive behaviors that one former or current intimate partner uses against the other.” Every 24 minutes someone is a victim of physical violence, rape or stalking in the U.S. according to the CDC. Women are more likely to be victims

O Additions to the Kripke Library’s collection Page 5

Mallorca’s Jews’ triumph over the Spanish Inquisition Page 12

while risk of death goes up when the victim is trying to leave the abusive situation or the abuser is being served court orders (divorce papers, a protection order or custody paperwork).

Why does an abuser abuse their partner? It is their decision to choose violence. Alcohol, drugs, low income, unemployment, stress or mental illness do not cause violence. Oftentimes, abuse occurs in multiple ways and can look different for each relationship. When one abusive tactic no longer works, they will move on to another to get the desired results.

What can you do? Hold the abuser accountable. Domestic violence is never “caused” by the victim.

Shift the blame away from the victim and ask, “Why doesn’t the abuser stop?” Be an up-stander, rather than a bystander. Don’t look the other way when you notice someone may be a See Domestic Violence Awareness page 3

100 Days of Impact Chesed Center The CDC on

Mental Health

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

7 8 10 11

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH? Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, poor mental health and mental illness are not the same.

A person can experience poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness. Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience periods of physical, mental and social well-being.

WHY IS MENTAL HEALTH IMPORTANT FOR OVERALL HEALTH? Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. For example, depression increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Similarly, the presence of chronic See Mental Health page 2

SAM KRICSFELD Chesed Center, created by Garin Ometz Akko, is just one of the programs benefitted by your support of the JFO Annual Campaign. Your support helps provide food and clothing for the needy in Akko.

Chesed means loving kindness.

The Chesed Center aims to provide that to the underprivileged in Akko by supplying food, secondhand clothing and more. According to Chesed Center Grant Manager, Reut Gets, it is the leading project

in the Akko area and becomes a major supporter of the city’s needs during times of crisis.

“In Akko there are many needy families, for whom the Chesed Center is the only hope of providing sustenance for their empty pantries,” Gets said. “The recipients come to the Center to receive food packages with fresh vegetables, canned and dry foods, and sometimes meat and poultry for the holidays. These families deal with palpable hunger.”

See 100 Days of Impact page 3

2 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

Foundation offers match to Endowment Gifts LINDA POLLARD Endowment Assistant/Staff Writer, JFO Foundation The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation has launched an initiative to match contributions made to any new or existing endowments which provide perpetual annual funding for the Federation campaign or cover costs to maintain, repair and preserve the newly renovated Staenberg Omaha JCC. The Foundation will boost your gift with a 20% match: Your $1,000 endowment gift becomes $1,200 Your $5,000 endowment gift becomes $6,000 Your $25,000 endowment gift becomes $30,000 Your $100,000 endowment gift becomes $120,000* *Maximum match = $20,000 To qualify for the match, your gift of $1,000 or more must reach the Foundation by Dec. 31, 2021.

“At its September meeting, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Board unanimously voted to offer this incentive match,” said Board President Bob Belgrade. “Omaha’s Jewish community generously supports the Federation annual campaign year after year, and the Foundation Board wants to make it easy and convenient for everyone to continue that support even after their lifetimes.” Howard N. Epstein, Foundation Executive Director, explained, “A Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment (PACE) Fund is a permanent fund which endows any donor’s annual Federation campaign gift. The Lion of Judah program recognizes women who contribute a minimum of $5,000 each year to the Federation annual campaign. A Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE) Fund is a permanent fund which endows the annual Lion of Judah gift,” Epstein continued.

“The Foundation invests your PACE or LOJE Fund, income is reinvested and the PACE or LOJE grows tax-free. Upon your

death, the income generated by the fund will make an annual donation in your name to the Federation campaign.”

“The newly renovated Staenberg Omaha JCC has been refreshed for the next generation. All areas of the “J”, the fitness center, pools, dance and yoga studios, meeting and community rooms and theater are being extensively utilized by our JCC members and guests,” added Belgrade. “The entire facility is fresh, new, and inviting, and we want to keep it that way. The Foundation Board voted not only to match PACE and LOJE gifts, but to also dedicate some of those matching dollars to donor’s contributions to new or existing endowments which cover costs to maintain, repair and preserve the JCC.” Between now and Dec. 31, 2021, the Foundation will match gifts to new or existing PACE and LOJE funds and to the Jewish Federation of Omaha Facilities Repair and Replacement Endowment Fund or to any other endowment fund established for the specific purpose of paying costs to repair, replace and renovate buildings, aquatics facilities, equipment, furniture and fixtures in the newly renovated JCC. The Foundation welcomes charitable gifts of cash, appreciated securities, real estate and certain other assets. Your gift can go directly into your PACE fund, LOJE fund or the JFO Facilities Repair and Replacement Endowment Fund. For gifts of $10,000 or more, if you prefer, the Foundation will establish an endowment in your name or in honor of a loved one. The endowment funds will be invested, and each year, the income generated will be available for the intended purpose.

Please contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director of the Foundation, to make arrangements for your endowment gift.

Howard can be reached at 402.334.6466 or hepstein@jew ishomaha.org.

Mental Health Continued from page 1 conditions can increase the risk for mental illness.

CAN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH CHANGE OVER TIME? Yes, it’s important to remember that a person’s mental health can change over time, depending on many factors.

When the demands placed on a person exceed their resources and coping abilities, their mental health could be impacted. For example, if someone is working long hours, caring for a relative or experiencing economic hardship, they may experience poor mental health.

HOW COMMON ARE MENTAL ILLNESSES? Mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States.

• More than 50% will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime.

• 1 in 5 Americans will experience a mental illness in a given year.

• 1 in 5 children, either currently or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.

• 1 in 25 Americans lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression.

WHAT CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS? There is no single cause for mental illness. A number of factors can contribute to risk for mental illness, such as • Early adverse life experiences, such as trauma or a history of abuse ( for example, child abuse, sexual assault, witnessing violence, etc.)

• Experiences related to other ongoing (chronic) medical

conditions, such as cancer or diabetes • Biological factors or chemical imbalances in the brain • Use of alcohol or drugs • Having feelings of loneliness or isolation

For Members.MD, your health comes down to relationship development Joel Bessmer, MD, FACP, is one of the first concierge medicine physicians in Omaha. While running the internal medicine residency program at UNMC for 11 years, he discovered his passion – Relationship Medicine. Dr. Bessmer gave out his personal cell phone number to his patients at the hospital so they could reach him any time. He was a driving force in solidifying this type of personal medicine at UNMC by establishing the Personal Service Medical Practice. From that practice model, Members.MD was born in 2010.

Forward to 2021. Suzan Crabb, MD is new to the Members.MD team, but not its concept. Relationship Medicine is her expertise from practicing over two decades. Here’s the Members.MD difference – Dr. Crabb now has the time she needs to dive deeper into the health of her patients.

The benefits of more time are two-fold. The first is that Members.MD annual physicals last an hour and a half or more, whereas in traditional medicine, 20-minute annual physicals scratch the surface. Members.MD physicians have the resources to administer relevant tests that take a deeper look,

including exhaustive bloodwork. Follow-up appointments have no time constraints, allowing your Members.MD physician to go through results with you thoroughly and provide education that isn’t necessarily available elsewhere.

Second, Members.MD physicians find the personal relationships they develop with patients to be the most impactful part of achieving patient health. Members.MD patients feel they can talk deeply with their physician about their life. It’s in those conversations that physicians can understand the why of patient health. Where patient-physician relationships are lacking, those deeper things are not going to come up – especially not in a 20-minute appointment.

Dr. Bessmer’s vision has always been consistent. Everything in the practice is hand-chosen – from the rare, in-house Fotofinder testing machine, to the physicians who get it. Dr. Suzan Crabb embraces and embodies this practice model and is now welcoming new patients. See her ad feature in this Jewish Press, and call Members.MD at 402.779.8400 today.

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The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021 | 3

Shaare Zion memories

In August, the City of Sioux City demolished the building that previously housed Shaare Zion Synagogue, the city’s conservative Jewish congregation from 1927 to 1994.

Judy Brodkey has been collecting memories of the synagogue and has compiled them into a draft digital document, Shaare Zion Synagogue: Personal Recollections and Historical Materials. The first part includes personal memories from current and former Sioux Citians; the latter part includes historical materials about the synagogue and some of the events that took place there. To request a free digital copy of the document, email shaarezionmemories@gmail.com.

Please send additional Shaare Zion recol-

lections to shaarezionmemories@gmail. com by Oct. 30, 2021. The final document will be shared with the Iowa Jewish Historical Society and several historical museums in Iowa. To send additional recollections, attach a Word document or write your thoughts in the body of an email. Please put “Shaare Zion” and your name in the subject line. Photographs of Shaare Zion or events that happened there are also welcomed. Jpeg files are preferred.

We hope former Sioux Citians and their family members will appreciate reading these recollections and learning more about this beloved institution that was one cornerstone of a vibrant Sioux City Jewish community.

News LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

100 Days of Impact

Domestic Violence Awareness Continued from page 1 may be a victim or an abuser, do something!

You can ask the victim if they need a safe number to call and explain that there are resources out there of people who can help. If you notice someone is being assaulted, call the police. Change the culture to promote healthy relationships. Stand against comments or jokes that are degrading to women, portraying women as property or the entitlement mentality.

The Omaha Metro has a variety of resources available to assist victims in our community. There are 24-hour hotlines to talk with a caring and empathetic individual that will keep the conversation confidential.

If in need of shelter to escape a violent situation, Heartland Family Service and Catholic Charities have confidential shelters available in undisclosed locations in the Omaha Metro. Support groups are available to adults and children to understand and work through the trauma they may be experiencing while in the relationship. Know that, as a victim, you are not alone!

Contact any of the local resources for help: Women’s Center of Advancement, 402.345.7273 (24-hour hotline), Heartland Family Service:, 800.523.3666 (24-hour hotline), and Catholic Charities, 402.558.5700 (24-hour hotline).

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Continued from page 1 The Chesed Center is run solely by volunteers, some of whom are also recipients of supplies. The Center distributes approximately 550 food packages per week.

Before the pandemic, some of the Chesed Center’s elderly or disabled recipients who were homebound received deliveries directly to their homes. Now, all the recipients receive deliveries despite the massive increase in requests.

According to Gets, Garin Ometz Akko, the organization behind the Chesed Center, is one of the most influential organizations in Akko and the Galilee in terms of range of activities and local influence. Its goals are to close social gaps in Akko’s population, strengthen education, community and Jewish identity, and to promote Jewish migration to

Akko and the Galilee.

Other Chesed Center partnerships include the Akko Municipality Department of Social Services, Leket Israel (which donates produce), Latet (which provides products for the food packages) and various other social organizations in Akko.

Donations provided to the JFO Annual Campaign allow the Chesed Center to buy more food, create more food packages and reach more people in need. Previously, funds were used to buy a van for collecting and delivering food packages throughout Akko.

Your support in the JFO Annual Campaign makes a difference not only in local and national lives, but also in the lives of Israelis.

Thank you to the donors who have supported the campaign.

4 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

News

Re-introducing Generation Now

LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D

Opening minds

SIVAN COHEN Omaha Community Shlicha Opening Minds through Art (OMA) returns at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home for an eight-week autumn session.

Christina Caniglia and Jill Ohlmann, RBJH activities coordinators and OMA facilitators, are the organizers for this program which aims to inspire Residents to create something beautiful.

In July, Christina and Jill participated in training sponsored by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, to become OMA facilitators.

This past week I had the opportunity to take part in this fascinating work. Many Residents were thrilled with their finished masterpieces, not realizing their hidden artistic talents.

RBJH is proud to be the only skilled nursing facility participating in OMA in Nebraska.

OMA was founded in 2007 by Elizabeth Lokon, an artist and gerontologist at Miami University (Ohio) Scripps Gerontology Center. Dr. Lokon combined her love of art and geriatrics to develop a program that benefits both the elders and student volunteers. As the Community Shlicha for the Jewish Federation of Omaha, I will be joining the activities staff who have already been working side-by-side with Residents. The Home is blessed to receive a three-year grant from The Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) to support this program.

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

MAREN ANGUS JFO Philanthropy Coordinator GenerationNow, formerly Young Jewish Omaha, is set for a relaunch on Saturday, Oct. 23 with a bonfire at Shady Lane Ranch in Council Bluffs at 7:30 p.m.

The night will begin after Havdalah with a hayrack ride that will transport the group across 360 acres of land to a private bonfire site where there will be adult beverages, snacks and guitars if attendees feel inclined to bring one. Attendees are also encouraged to bring blankets and chairs.

GenNow is for Jewish Omahans under 40 and over 21 years of age. Programming will have a social focus in order to give young Jewish adults a space to pursue their Jewish identity comfortably. It’s also important that the Jewish Federation of Omaha creates a home base for young Jewish professionals and provides them with unique opportunities that introduces and keeps them involved with the Jewish community.

The relaunch event will be free to everyone who RSVP’s at igfn.us/f/2wta/n.

Visit and like the Facebook page at facebook.com/Gen NowOmaha to stay up to date with everything GenNow. If you have any questions, please contact Maren Angus at mangus@jewishomaha.org or 402.334.6485.

The Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith is pleased to announce the resumption of its award-winning speaker program via ZOOM. Although the Home auditorium remains temporarily closed, we’ll continue presenting an outstanding lineup of thought-provoking keynoters. For specific speaker information and/or to be placed on the email list, please contact Breadbreakers chair Gary Javitch at breadbreakersomaha@gmail.com or leave a message at the B’nai B’rith JCC office 402.334.6443.

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Publishing date | 11.19.21 Space reservation | 10.26.21 Contact our advertising executive to promote your business in this very special edition.

SUSAN BERNARD | 402.334.6559 | sbernard@jewishomaha.org

The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021 | 5

Additions to the Kripke Library’s collection

SHIRLY BANNER Library Specialist, Kripke Jewish Federation Library Young Adult: The Light of Days Young Readers’ Edition: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judith Batalion As their communities were being destroyed, groups of Jewish women and teenage girls across Poland began transforming Jewish youth groups into resistance factions. These “ghetto girls” helped build systems of underground bunkers, paid off the Gestapo and bombed German train lines. At the center of the book is eighteen-year-old Renia Kukielka, who traveled across her war-torn country as a weapons smuggler and messenger. Other women who joined the cause served as armed fighters, spies and saboteurs, all risking their lives for their missions.

Never before chronicled in full, this is the incredible account of the strong Jewish women who fought back against the seemingly unstoppable Nazi regime. It follows the women through arrests, internment and for a lucky few, into the late 20th century and beyond. It also includes an eight-page insert of black-and-white photos, so that readers can see firsthand the extraordinary women who bravely fought for their freedom in the face of overwhelming odds.

Adult: We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall Set at the iconic 1939 New York World’s Fair, Susie Orman Schnall’s We Came Here to Shine is historical fiction featuring two bold and ambitious women who navigate a world of possibility and find out what they’re truly made of during a glorious summer of spectacle and potential.

Gorgeous Vivi is the star of the Aquacade synchronized swimming spectacular and plucky Max is a journalist for the fair’s daily paper. Both are striving to make their way in a world where men try to control their actions and where secrets are closely kept. But when Vivi and Max become friends and their personal and pro-

fessional prospects are put in jeopardy, they team up to help each other succeed and to realize their dreams during the most meaningful summer of their lives.

Perfect for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Beatriz Williams, We Came Here to Shine is a story of ambition, friendship and persistence with a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary NY World’s Fair.

Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson Defending Britta Stein is a story of bravery, betrayal and redemption―from Ronald H. Balson, the winner of the National Jewish Book Award Chicago, 2018: Ole Henryks, a popular restauranteur, is set to be honored by the Danish/American Association for his many civic and charitable contributions.

Frequently appearing on local TV, he is well known for his actions in Nazi-occupied Denmark during World War II―most consider him a hero.

Britta Stein, however, does not. The ninety-year-old Chicago woman levels public accusations against Henryks by spray-painting “Coward,” “Traitor,” “Collaborator,” and “War Criminal” on the walls of his restaurant. Mrs. Stein is ultimately taken into custody and charged with criminal defacement of property. She also becomes the target of a bitter lawsuit filed by Henryks and his son, accusing her of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Attorney Catherine Lockhart, though hesitant at first, agrees to take up Mrs. Stein’s defense. With the help of her investigator husband, Liam Taggart, Lockhart must reach back into wartime Denmark and locate evidence that proves Mrs. Stein’s innocence. Defending Britta Stein is critically-acclaimed author Ronald H. Balson’s thrilling take on a modern day courtroom drama and a masterful rendition of Denmark’s wartime heroics.

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Israeli philanthropists Save the Date help dozens flee Afghanistan CNAAN LIPSHIZ JTA Several Israeli philanthropists have helped bring to Abu Dhabi dozens of asylum seekers, including female athletes, fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

The rescue operation led by Aaron G. Frenkel, an aviation professional who had helped airlift thousands of Jews out of the Soviet Union, ended on Sept. 6, as 41 asylum seekers from Afghanistan reached Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress detailed the operation in a statement Sunday.

Frenkel, who is the chairman of the Congress, teamed up with the group’s honorary president, Alexander Machkevich, and the Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams to extract the passengers from Afghanistan to neighboring Tajikistan.

Adams provided the funds for chartering a private jet from Tajikistan to Abu Dhabi, carrying on board members of Afghanistan’s former women’s cycling team, human rights activists and members of a robotics team, including women, the statement said. All were deemed at risk of reprisals from the Taliban, the statement said.

The Israeli international humanitarian agency IsraAID and officials from several governments also were involved in the rescue operation.

“When troubling events such as the current situation in Afghanistan occur in the world, we have an obligation to act as leaders,” Frenkel said. “If it is within our power to provide assistance then it is our duty to come to the rescue of any human being.”

In the 1980s, Frenkel used his connections in the aviation industry to help the Jewish Agency airlift Jews out of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union prior to its collapse.

David Page, two-time Emmy-winning television producer and creator of the ground-breaking Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, wrote Food Americana as a highly entertaining mix of food culture, pop culture, nostalgia, incredible personalities and everything new on the American plate. He is excited to share more about his book with Omaha on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. planned as a hybrid (in-person and via Zoom) event. Please visit www.jewishomaha.org for details and to register.

More information about this event will follow!

Who Am I? The Nebraska Jewish Historical Society (NJHS) requests help from the community in identifying photographs from the archives. Please contact Kathy Weiner at 402.334.6441 or kweiner@jewishomaha. org if you are able to assist in the effort to preserve Jewish Omaha history.

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6 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

Two bills in Congress reflect split among Jewish Democrats We’ll match your gift to a new or existing endowment fund at the Foundation.

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Contact Howard Epstein, Executive Director 402-334-6466 hepstein@jewishomaha.org www.jfofoundation.org

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cupation. The loudest voices in the Jewish community might RON KAMPEAS not say that, but American Jews do,” he said. Levin was referWASHINGTON | JTA There were two groups of Jewish Democrats working Capi- ring to a Jewish Electoral Institute poll in July, taken after the tol Hill last week, each leveraging their Jewishness to advance Gaza conflict, in which 58% of Jewish voters said it would be what each believed to be a critical remedy after Israel’s conflict appropriate to restrict aid to Israel so it could not spend U.S. with Hamas in May. money on settlements.

Those remedies were radiManning, a first-term memcally different. One group, led ber of Congress, was previously

by Kathy Manning, D-N.C., the chairwoman of the Jewish wanted more unconditional Federations of North America, aid for Israel’s defense. The and has for years been deeply other, led by Rep. Andy Levin, involved in Jewish philanD-Mich., wanted strictures on thropy. Though she did not how Israel spends U.S. defense cast her appeal for Iron Dome assistance. funding in Jewish terms, the Each group was backed by a team of Democratic colleagues lobby that claims to speak on she assembled to press the behalf of the Jewish commuHouse to advance the bill was nity. And each hoped to cap- Rep. Andy Levin speaks at a press conference introducing his entirely Jewish. ture headlines with major “Two-State Solution Act” on Capitol Hill, Sept. 23, 2021. He is It included Reps. Ted Deutch flanked by; Hadar Susskind, left, the president and CEO of and legislation.

Debbie Wasserman The competing appeals for Americans for Peace Now; Rep. Alan Lowenthal; Rep. Sara Ja- Schultz of Florida, Brad attention revealed a growing cobs; Rep. Peter Welch; and J Street President Jeremy Ben- Schneider of Illinois, Elaine divide not just among Democ- Ami. Credit: Ron Kampeas Luria of Virginia, Dean Phillips rats, but among the Jews in the party’s ranks. Once Israel could of Minnesota, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. Manning’s count on Democrats, and especially Jewish Democrats in Con- statement announcing the standalone bill made it clear that, gress, to deliver on requisitions for defense assistance with few for this group of Jewish Democrats, funding the Iron Dome questions asked. was sacrosanct.

That’s no longer the case, as the fight among Democrats “The Iron Dome is a critically important defense system over whether to include $1 billion in funding to replenish Is- used by Israel, one of our closest allies, to save civilian lives rael’s Iron Dome missile defense system in a spending bill from terrorist attacks,” she said. made clear.

Levin did not assemble an exclusively Jewish group, but six In the September 23 press conference, Levin announced he of the 14 members signing on as co-sponsors are Jewish, inwas leading a group of lawmakers who wanted to enshrine as cluding Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Sara Jacobs and Alan U.S. law the two-state solution as the preferred outcome to Lowenthal of California, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, and John the Israeli Palestinian conflict. That in itself would likely gar- Yarmuth of Kentucky. All of his fellow lawmakers present at ner broad support among Jewish Democrats, but Levin’s bill the press conference — Jacobs, Lowenthal, Schakowsky and also mandates strict oversight of how Israel spends defense Peter Welch, D-Vt. — told JTA they support the Iron Dome assistance, and also bans spending on any project that en- funding. trenches Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

The split also was reflected in who was backing each initiaManning, meanwhile, spearheaded the bill that would de- tive: lobbying for Manning’s bill was done by the American Isliver $1 billion in new money for the Iron Dome, per a request rael Public Affairs Committee, the country’s largest pro-Israel

by Israel’s government. The U.S. House of Representatives powerhouse that is historically centrist and center-right. overwhelmingly approved that bill.

Levin rolled out his bill at the press conference with J Street, Progressives led by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group that in recent years and “the Squad” forced Democrats to remove the same has endorsed some restrictions on U.S. assistance to Israel. amount of money from a stopgap emergency government At the press conference, Schakowsky, the party’s chief funding bill earlier in the week. deputy whip, said the Jewish community was not immune to The standalone bill was approved overwhelmingly, but the the cries for social justice that have emerged in recent years. debate laid bare the tensions that some progressives have un“I’ve been in Congress now for 22 years, and I have actually leashed among Democrats. seen the sea change in attitudes toward creating peace in the “We can not only talk about Israelis needs for safety while region,” she said. “There is a national movement for justice for Palestinians are living under apartheid,” said Rep. Rashida all in our country, in many different ways, and I think that now, Tlaib, D-Mich., a Palestinian American who was one of a hand- certainly, the choice of the majority of American Jewish has ful of votes against the funding. “We should also be talking come out: We want security for the State of Israel and we want about Palestinian needs for protection from Israeli attacks.” to see a Jewish democratic state that has become impossible Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla, who is Jewish and who chairs the on the face of the occupation, and the justice for Palestinians House Middle East subcommittee, discarded a speech that has to be part of what we are asking for.” emphasized the defensive nature of Iron Dome and instead In his interview with JTA, Levin said the bill was in line with turned his rhetoric on Tlaib. the teachings he grew up with as a Reconstructionist Jew. He “I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor is one of only two members of Congress to have been a presiof the House of Representatives and label the Jewish demo- dent of a synagogue; the other is Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., with cratic state of Israel an apartheid state,” he said. “When there’s whom he has said he has bonded over the experience. no place on the map for one Jewish state, that’s antisemitism.”

“The mitzvah that is repeated more than any other in the Accusing a caucus colleague of antisemitism is extraordinary. Torah, 36 times,” is to protect the stranger, he said. “I submit Levin said in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic that if you’re really a person of faith, you have to think, well, Agency that the vast majority of the American Jewish com- the Torah just isn’t talking about any old stranger, really. We munity backs his approach, which is to advocate for aid for probably need to think of, who [are] the hardest strangers, Israel — but with rigid oversight to make sure the money does who is the difficult stranger to love as ourselves and to come not inhibit the two-state outcome. to break bread with and to support and love. I think the ques“The Jewish community by two to one, or more than two to tion answers itself for the Jewish people: The hardest stranger one, favors shaping aid to Israel so it does not extend the oc- is the Palestinian people.”

Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show at Mid-America Center The Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show will be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9-10 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

The show is billed as one of Iowa’s largest shows, with over 150 talented exhibitors presenting and selling thousands of unique, handmade products. Among the various products being sold at the show are leather goods, wine barrel furniture, paintings and prints, ceramics, wall hangings, toys, blankets, jewelry, metal art sculptures, pet products, etched and stained glass, yard and garden art, pottery, candles, clothing, quilts, aprons, pillows, doll clothes, baskets, rugs, place mats, table runners, purses, floral arrangements and wreaths, wood and metal signs,

soap and lotions, emu oils and many more original products.

Exhibitors will also be selling coffee cakes, dips, salsa, barbeque sauce, soups, jams, jellies, cheese and sausage, wines, fudge, honey, food mixes and roasted nuts. All items offered for sale to the public are handmade by the exhibitor.

The hours of the show are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $6 and children 10 and younger are free. Parking is free throughout the show.

All patrons who attend the show on Saturday will receive a two-day re-entry stamp.

For more show information, please call Callahan Promotions, Inc. at 563.652.4529.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021 | 7

Above and below: The BI Youth Dream Team (and some older members) stepped up their game with the sukkah and the decorations!

Above: Ms. Esther’s Ballet III’s working hard on rotation.

SP O TLIGHT

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS SUBMIT A PHOTO: Have a photo of a recent Jewish Community event you would like to submit? Email the image and a suggested caption to: avandekamp@jewishomaha.org.

Above: Annette and Renee at the RBJH garden for Tashlich.

Above and below: Friedel is partnering with the JCC Performing Arts Department to create a new, yearlong Performing Arts Program for Friedel students. Students are being introduced to theater, dance and music and will learn how these elements combine to form a performance piece.

Above, below and bottom: PJ Elementary met up for some sweet apple picking recently. Folks from all over Jewish Omaha came together with many families meeting one another for the first time!

8 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

Voices The Jewish Press (Founded in 1920) Margie Gutnik President Annette van de Kamp-Wright Editor Richard Busse Creative Director Susan Bernard Advertising Executive Lori Kooper-Schwarz Assistant Editor Gabby Blair Staff Writer Mary Bachteler Accounting Jewish Press Board Margie Gutnik, President; Abigail Kutler, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen; David Finkelstein; Bracha Goldsweig ; Mary Sue Grossman; Les Kay; Natasha Kraft; Chuck Lucoff; Joseph Pinson; Andy Shefsky and Amy Tipp.

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Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole.

Why we care ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Here’s a story that hit the news last week: “A translator for a Nazi death squad died at home in Ontario at the age of 97, ending a decades-long effort to deport him from Canada for his role in the murders of tens of thousands of Jews. Helmut Oberlander, who was born in Ukraine in 1924, had long said that he was forced on pain of death at age 17 to become an interpreter for Einsatzkommando 10a, a Nazi unit. The death squad killed nearly 100,000 people, most of them Jews. Oberlander had not been accused of directly taking part in killing anyone.

“In 1954, he emigrated to Canada and hid his activities during the war, eventually raising a family.

His Nazi past appears to have been discovered as early as the 1960s. In the mid-1990s, the government began the process of revoking his citizenship, which succeeded after repeated appeals. He was in the midst of deportation hearings when he died on Wednesday.” (JTA.com) Trying to figure out why I find stories like these so troubling is not easy.

Part of it is the photo that accompanied the news brief: it shows a young man with piercing blue eyes (I assume, it’s a black-and-white so maybe they’re green, whatever) staring into the camera. The young Helmut Oberlander looked like he came straight from central casting. Exactly who you imagine when you’re little and you first learn Nazis exist.

Part of it is the news stories in Canadian papers

that show pictures of him “outside his condo in Florida.” Wait, what? A Nazi who makes a good life in Canada and then retires to a condo in Florida, it’s almost cartoonish. I can’t even.

A photo of Helmut Oberlander when he was a translator for a Nazi death squad. Screenshot

There is, of course, plenty to be frustrated about when old enemies ‘get away with it’ and don’t ever really pay for their crimes. At the same time, how would they? Even if they are caught, even if they go to prison at the ripe old age of, say, 88, does it really make a difference?

Perhaps that’s why I’m troubled. Nothing that happens to these people will ever even begin to make anything right. So we do we care? They are almost all gone anyway. I know; that sounds harsh, but let’s face it: there aren’t that many actual Nazis

left—just as we are watching our number of Holocaust survivors dwindle with the passage of time, so to do the perpetrators disappear because nobody can live forever. Again, why do we care?

Here’s why. The Holocaust, to the majority of people alive today, is history. Very few of us are left who experienced this first-hand; because of that, there is a real danger it will become just a story in a book.

Something to make movies about, something to write about and discuss, sure, something to learn from, even. But a story nonetheless. With each passing decade, it becomes less real, more abstract.

And when that happens, we lose the sense of urgency, the understanding that as human beings, we have the capacity to let things go horribly wrong. I think it is that enormity, that calamity, those sheer numbers of dead and that unbelievable cruelty we continue to wrestle with—and when that becomes more fictitious in our collective minds, we absolutely run the risk of letting it happen again.

Remembering the Holocaust and all its accompanying atrocities is important because of that sense of urgency. It should not become less ‘hereand-now’ simply because time has passed. It should remain as prominent in our collective consciousness as if it happened yesterday. And if putting an old Nazi on trial and in jail helps us remember that, then good. If said Nazi dies a peaceful death before there can be any reckoning, it’s a shame. Not because we are vengeful, but because the crimes he committed, the atrocities he watched and did nothing to stop, are real. They are not to be treated as stories in a history book.

Shmita is Judaism’s sabbatical year. It can be a model for tackling climate change and inequality.

SEN. MEGHAN KALLMAN AND RABBI LEX ROFEBERG JTA We are in an era of multiple interlocking crises.

From record-breaking heat waves to wildfires to water shortages, from rising authoritarianism to a pandemic rampaging across the world, it is clear that, to survive, human beings will need to make urgent, major changes to how we live.

Bold policy proposals already exist to address these problems, both nationally and in different states. Additionally, we — one of us a politician, the other a rabbi, and both progressives — want to suggest another possibility, gleaned from Jewish tradition: the ancient idea of shmita, the sabbatical year, which can guide our work in this urgent moment when everything we do matters.

Both of us are millennials, and therefore have come of age under the worst inequality since the Gilded Age — exacerbated and symbolized by a student and healthcare debt crisis. The disastrous effects of climate crisis, extinctions, displacement and environmental degradation are threatening to turn life into a nightmare for most on the planet.

These problems can be traced to a global obsession with unending growth.

Our only chance to avoid that is to drastically reenvision our society and its priorities.

Both of us are also, in particular, Jewish millennials.

We have, in different ways and at different points in our lives, felt called to participate in Jewish communities of learning, prayer and communal gathering.

Despite our involvement in those spaces however, neither one of us learned of shmita’s existence until adulthood. It is time for our Jewish spaces, around the world, to re-prioritize this sacred ritual, and apply its wisdom in concrete ways to our own times.

The word “shmita” is observed every seven years.

The shmita year began several days ago, on Rosh Hashanah. “Sabbatical” tends to refer to respite from work, typically in a university context. But the shmita year is slightly different. It is a collective sabbatical, a radical recalibration of society as a whole, in order to align it with principles of justice and eq-

uity for human beings and for the lands we inhabit.

Shmita offers a framework for how we might enshrine seemingly individual choices as social values.

The shmita year has two major components. The first is that it serves as a rest for land: Just as humans get to observe a sabbath once every seven days, the land that we inhabit gets a sabbath, too. In biblical times, it meant that the land should lay fallow for a

An oil derrick near farm fields in Oklahoma. Credit: Sarah Nichols/Flickr Commons

year, and the gleanings left for the needy and even animals. Through shmita, our relationship to land can shift from one of control and domination to one of appreciation and interdependence. Clearly, such lessons are applicable to this moment as well.

Shmita’s other major component is that debts are forgiven. This is done to address financial inequities that grow over time, and to enable everyone to have the opportunity to thrive. Debt forgiveness every seven years disrupts wealth-hoarding and provides relief to those struggling to meet their basic needs.

Shmita approaches justice expansively.

These ideas can be, and should be, used in practice — not just in our ancient texts, and not just aspirationally. For instance: we could forgive debts, and change the systems that cause such terrible indebtedness. Two-thirds of contemporary U.S. bankruptcies are over medical issues and medical debt; we must make healthcare free and universal to solve this problem over the long term. Collectively, U.S. college students owe nearly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt; President Biden could and should forgive up to $50,000 per borrower in federal student debt through executive action. Over the medium term,

we must make public colleges and universities free, to avoid re-creating the same problem — something that our home state of Rhode Island is already on its way to doing. This year, its General Assembly permanently enacted RI Promise, the free tuition program at the Community College of Rhode Island.

The idea of shmita can also guide us in acting to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Shmita proposes that for a year, humans must avoid treating land simply as a means to our ends; we must not think in terms of limitless expansion, but rather in terms of sustainability and rest. Leaving the land fallow rejects the notion that our planet, and its resources, exist only to serve us.

Our state’s Act on Climate bill sets legally binding targets for emissions reductions; now we must act urgently to meet them. Measures like mandating net-zero emissions in energy generation, a critical move that passed only the Senate this session, are crucial first steps. We need to rebuild our food systems, and expand public transit and clean energy production. Neighborhoods are building community gardens while offering training for formerly incarcerated people, rethinking financial systems and experimenting with basic income. Communities and legislatures are mobilizing around these issues, but we need more action, faster, and at every level.

The choices we make now will determine the survival of millions within the next few decades.

We must seek out every strategy available to us as we take on the challenges that threaten the inhabitants of our country, other countries and our planet. That includes strategies anchored in ancient wisdom, like the shmita year. We need to act collectively, for everyone’s health. Because a society that takes care of itself and its most vulnerable is one that is, quite simply, the only moral option.

State. Sen. Kallman represents District 15 in the Rhode Island State Senate.

Rabbi Lex Rofeberg is the Senior Jewish Educator for Judaism Unbound.

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 | October 1, 2021 | 9

What ‘The Wire’ actor Michael K. Williams taught my Jewish students at NYU JOE WOLFSON JTA Between 2008 and 2011, one of the ways I survived in yeshiva was The Wire, HBO’s groundbreaking police drama.

Tosafot and Rambam throughout the day, Brother Mouzone, Avon Barksdale and McNulty late at night.

Our beit midrash had a main lower part and an upper part up some steps. These were the low rises and the high rises. The fish pond in the garden was the docks. When one of my rabbis asked me about my dating life, the scene of imprisoned Avon asking young Marlo how things on the street were going came to my mind. I responded as Marlo did: “It’s all in the game.”

I can own my weirdness, but I wasn’t alone. A friend who had attended elite private schools and universities in the U.K. before moving to Israel to work in tech his life was about as far removed from the Baltimore ghettos as possible. He told me he loved The Wire so much because “I can just relate so well to the characters.”

Ridiculous and outrageous as this may be, it’s a testament to the unique brilliance of “The Wire.” I can only assume that if Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews responded this way to The Wire, then other cultural subgroups were similarly riveted.

To call it the greatest TV show of all time is too simplistic. It’s a strong competitor for the most powerful presentation and trenchant critique of inner-city America — as relevant now as when it first came out. Where The Sopranos is a microscopic focus over five seasons of a single individual, The Wire has a cast of hundreds. My havruta at Cambridge, an English literature student who first introduced me to the show, made the astute observation that The Wire can be usefully compared to a Dickens novel in which the central character is the city of London. The central character in The Wire is the city of Baltimore.

Yet even amid all this brilliance, one character especially stood out. Omar Little, a frightening stick-up artist who nevertheless lived by a code of honor, stole nearly every scene in which he appeared.

The actor who played Omar Little, Michael K. Williams, died last week on the eve of Rosh Hashanah at age 54. Years after the show aired, I had the privilege of getting to know Williams.

In 2015, I began working as a rabbi at New York University’s Bronfman Center for Jewish Life. Downtown Manhattan boasts more than its fair share of famous folk, and one day the man I could only think of as Omar literally bumped into me. Any desire to respect his privacy was overwhelmed by my excitement. Far

from being annoyed at my intrusion, he was exceedingly gracious and even agreed to record a Shanah Tovah greeting for our community. We arranged to get coffee a couple of weeks later.

Humble, gracious and curious is how I would describe that coffee.

I asked a few questions about The Wire. I told him how many Jews were obsessed with the show and completely baffled him when I showed him the brilliant Omar Omer counter.

He told me about his family, and his plan to spend Thanks-

Rabbi Joe Wolfson, left, and Michael K. Williams brought the actor's prison documentary, Raised in the System, to NYU's Bronfman Center in 2019. Credit: Wolfson

giving with his mother, siblings and wider family. I told him about my mother-in-law who was fighting cancer.

I told him about my work with students at NYU and he told me about his nephew who had recently left jail after 20 years and the HBO documentary “Raised in the System” they had made together focusing on the school-to-prison pipeline. He wanted to find audiences for the documentary’s message. I wanted to find a way for our community to think seriously about criminal justice. We decided to work together.

Few of the tributes in recent days have focused on Michael’s work as an activist, but I am reasonably confident that if he could choose one of his works that people would watch in the aftermath of his passing, it would be “Raised In The System.”

Shortly before Passover, in the spring of 2019, the Bronfman Center and the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at NYU hosted Michael for a viewing of the documentary and a panel discussion.

It’s impossible to watch the documentary and not feel broken-hearted over the lives of beautiful young people who get sucked up within the prison industrial complex. In its 45 minutes, the documentary takes a viewer from being an outsider to the issue to a passionate believer that incarceration rates are a national priority issue which must and can be fixed.

Yet the stars of the evening were not Michael and the documentary, but the guests he brought with him to tell their stories.

Dominic Dupont, Michael’s nephew and documentary partner, had been released recently following two decades behind bars for murder. He said he “treated prison like a university,” attained counseling qualifications and became an inspiration to other prisoners in helping turn around their lives.

Derrick Hamilton, who spent 27 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, taught himself law while inside and overturned his conviction — and those of many of his wrongfully convicted fellow inmates.

Dana Rachlin, a young Jewish woman and a frequent collaborator with Michael, came along with a dozen black teenagers whom she referred to as “her kids.” Dana had founded a charity that worked with kids at the schools in Brooklyn with the highest school-to-prison graduation rate. Her work sought to break this pipeline and had achieved remarkable success.

Those people I have been privileged to know, such as Michael, for whom every day is a challenge, show us the truth that we would all do well to remember, that teshuvah is not something that is “achieved,” a destination arrived at. Rather teshuvah, like the recovery from addiction, is an ongoing process and struggle that is never over but requires constant work and regular re-examination.

As Michael went through many struggles, he simultaneously used his story, fame and innate brilliance to help others.

And he did this with humility and a smile.

No matter how great Omar Little is, Michael K. Williams was infinitely greater. May his memory be a blessing.

Joe Wolfson is the rabbi of the Orthodox community at New York University and received the Jewish Week's 36 Under 36 honor in 2020 for his COVID relief work.

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.

This article was edited for length. Read the full story at www.omahajewishpress.com.

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

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Synagogues

10 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

B’NAI ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

618 Mynster Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503-0766 712.322.4705 email: CBsynagogue@hotmail.com

BETH EL SYNAGOGUE

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

BETH ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE

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

CHABAD HOUSE

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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN

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

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

Capehart Chapel 2500 Capehart Road Offutt AFB, NE 68123 402.294.6244 email: oafbjsll@icloud.com

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

323 South 132 Street Omaha, NE 68154 rbjh.com

TEMPLE ISRAEL

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

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: TIFERETH ISRAEL

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

B’NAI ISRAEL Join us via Zoom on Friday, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. for evening services. Our service leader is Larry Blass.

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, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber.

Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL Virtual services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

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

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

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Jr. Congregation (Grades 3-7), 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 7:40 p.m. Zoom only.

SUNDAY: Blood Drive, 8 a.m.; Jo on the Go, 9:15 a.m.; BESTT (Grades K-7), 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Torah Tots, 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 5:30 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

TUESDAY: Mussar, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:15 p.m.; Hebrew High (Grades 8-12), 6 p.m.

THURSDAY: Revisiting the Classics, 7 p.m. with Hazzan Krausman.

FRIDAY-Oct. 8: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream.

SATURDAY-Oct. 9: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Jr. Congregation (Grades 3-7), 10 a.m. followed by GaGa Shabbat; Havdalah, 7:25 p.m. Zoom only.

Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and 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 pergola, weather permitting. Physical distancing and masks required.

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 6:49 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m. with Shiran Dreyer; Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Havdalah, 7:46 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv/Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv/Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan Eating and Learing, 5:30 p.m.; Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/ Ma’ariv/Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Character Development, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 6 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv/Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.

FRIDAY-Oct. 8: Nach Yomi — Daily Prophets, 6:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (WhatsApp); Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Deeping Our Prayer, 7:45 a.m. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbos/Candlelighting, 6:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 9: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m. with Shiran Dreyer; Daf Yomi, 5:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 6:30 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos, 6:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:35 p.m.

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

CHABAD HOUSE All services are in-person. All classes are being offered in-person/zoom hybrid (Ochabad.com/classroom). For more information or to request help, please visit www.ochabad.com or call the office at 402.330.1800.

FRIDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 6 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/Lecha yim; Candlelighting, 6:47 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 7:44 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Parsha and Coffee, 9:45 a.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Candlelighting, 6:55 p.m.; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.

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

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Advanced Hebrew Class, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study (Sanhedrin 18 — No advance experience necessary), noon with Rabbi Katzman.

FRIDAY-Oct. 8: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 6 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad. com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 6:35 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 9: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 7:33 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch.

Note: Some of our services, but not all, are now being offered in person.

FRIDAY: Jon Harris Bar Mitzvah; Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Jon Harris and the Star City Kochavim, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Candlelighting, 6:50 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex, and Jon Harris at TI; Havdalah, 7:47

p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS Classes begin, 9:30 a.m.; Men's Jewish Bike Group of Lincoln meets Sundays at 10 a.m. rain or shine to ride to one of The Mill locations from Hanson Ct. (except we drive if its too wet, cold, cloudy, windy, hot or humid) followed by coffee and spirited discussions. No fee to join, no dues, no president, no board or minutes taken. If Interested please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com to find out where to meet each week; Help take the sukkah down and store it for next year, noon; Come learn and play Pickleball, 7-9 p.m. at Peterson Park. Everyone is welcome; just wear comfortable clothes and tennis or gym shoes. If you need a paddle, contact Miriam Wallick by email at Miriam57@aol.com or by text at 402.470.2393 before Sunday.

TUESDAY: Tea & Coffee with Pals, 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Grades 3-7, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY-Oct. 8: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Leslie Delserone and Peter Mullin, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Candlelighting, 6:38 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 9: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Noach, noon; Havdalah, 7:36 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

FRIDAY: Virtual Shabbat Service, 7:30 p.m. every first and third of the month at Capehart Chapel. Contact TSgt Jason Rife at OAFBJSLL@icloud.com for more information.

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home‘s service is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Brian Stoller, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin and Cantor Joanna Alexander.

DAILY VIRTUAL MINYAN: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. via Zoom.

FRIDAY: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. via Zoom or InPerson.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or InPerson;.

SUNDAY: Youth Learning Programs — Grades PreK-6, 9:30 a.m.; Temple Tots, 9:30 a.m.-noon InPerson; Temple TED Talk, 11 a.m.

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

WEDNESDAY: Youth Learning Programs: Grades 36, 4-6 p.m.; Community Dinner, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-12, 6:30-8 p.m.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom or In-Person; Challah Baking, 8 p.m. with Rabbi Berezin.

FRIDAY-Oct. 8: Shabbat Service, 6 p.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY-Oct. 9: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person; Shabbat Service, 10:30 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

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

Poway synagogue shooter pleads guilty to 113 federal hate crimes BEN SALES JTA The man who opened fire on a synagogue in Poway, California, in 2019, killing one and injuring three, has pleaded guilty to a 113-count federal hate crime indictment.

The guilty plea comes with a recommended sentence of life in prison plus 30 years. The charges the shooter faced, which also relate to his arson of a mosque a month earlier, carried a maximum sentence of the death penalty.

“The defendant entered a synagogue with the intent to kill all those inside because of his hatred for Jewish people, and days earlier used fire in an attempt to destroy another sacred house of worship because of his hatred for Muslims,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a statement Monday. “There is no place in American society for this type of hate-fueled violence.”

On April 27, 2019, the final day of Passover, John Earnest, a white supremacist, walked into the Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, near San Diego, and began shooting at worshippers. The attack occurred six months to the day after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, which killed 11 Jews at prayer.

Earnest killed one woman, Lori Gilbert Kaye, and injured three others, including Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and a child. In a manifesto, he mentioned the A view of the Chabad congregation in Poway, Calif. Credit: Google shootings at mosques in Christchurch, Street View New Zealand six weeks earlier. terror,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy S. GrossTwo more fatal antisemitic attacks would occur man in a statement. “We emphatically reject the delater that year, in Jersey City and Monsey, New York. fendant’s hate, racism and prejudice, and we hope “This nation stands with Lori Gilbert Kaye’s fam- the conclusion of this case brings some measure of ily and the survivors of these unspeakable acts of comfort to all those affected by his heinous crimes.”

The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021 | 11

Life cycles BIRTH JEMMA ELEANOR SCHWARTZ Allie Willensky and Brian Schwartz of Los Angeles joyfully announce the July 30, 2021 birth of their daughter, Jemma Eleanor.

Grandparents are Andi and Donald Goldstein of Omaha, Kitty and David Willensky of Palm Springs, CA, and Judy and Ronnie Schwartz of Bradenton, FL. Great-grandparents are Lenore and the late Irving Ross, Evelyn and the late William Willensky.

BAR MITZVAH AYDEN MICHAEL HOLLST Ayden Michael Hollst, son of Kerry and Mike Hollst, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Temple Israel.

Ayden is an eighth-grade student at Elkhorn Valley View Middle School.

Ayden enjoys baseball and basketball, playing computer games and he loves his dog.

For his mitzvah project, Ayden participated in the Walk for the Cure, and raised money for Alzheimers by setting up a car wash in his neighborhood. He also volunteered at the assisted living facility in Valley, where his grandmother lives.

He has a brother, Ryan and a sister, Shaylie.

Grandparents are Joan and the late Kevee Kirshenbaum and Rosie and the late Harvey Kennec.

IN MEMORIAM MARILYN PHYLLIS MANVITZ Marilyn Phyllis Manvitz passed away on Sept. 20 at age 89.

Services were held on Sept. 23 at Beth El Cemetery at 84th & “L” Street.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Justin (Judd) Manvitz, and her parents, William and Betty Lerner.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Todd and Wendy Manvitz, daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Kyle Hutchings; grandchildren: Alissa and Matt Arbeiter, Diana and Jason Williams, and David Manvitz, Whittany, Steffany, Bradley, and Victoria Hutchings; great-grandchildren: Addison and Jackson Williams; and sister, Gloria Sax. Marilyn was originally from Rock Island, Illinois. She attended the University of Iowa where she met her husband, Justin. After her graduation, they were married and moved to Omaha. They were married for over 60 years. She was very active in different organizations including National Council of Jewish Women and Hadassah where she served as President of both organizations.

Marilyn enjoyed travel, golf, reading, her Mahjong and Bridge groups, friends, and above all, family. For many years, she contributed and enjoyed helping with bookkeeping at her family’s business, Omaha Compound Company.

Memorials may be made to your favorite organization.

See full digital issues https://issuu.com/jewishpress7

Sheila Bromberg, Jewish harpist who was first woman to play on a Beatles album, dies at 92

RON KAMPEAS JTA Sheila Bromberg kept busy as an in-demand harpist in London in the 1960s, but when she got a request for a gig at EMI’s Abbey Road studio from 9 p.m. to midnight she felt she couldn’t turn it down: She was, after all, a single mother to two small children.

Yet it wasn’t until the Jewish harpist heard a male with a Liverpudlian accent behind her that she realized she was about to make history.

“Well, what you got on the dots?” she recalled Paul McCartney asking her that night early in 1967. McCartney, who could not read music, wanted to hear her play the score he had dictated to Mike Leander, a music arranger.

Bromberg, who died at 92 on Aug. 17 at a hospice in Aylesbury, England, was about to become the first woman to perform on a Beatles album. She played the harp accompaniment on She’s Leaving Home, the agonizing snapshot of the void between parents and a daughter, on the Beatles’ music-changing album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In a 2011 profile on the BBC, Bromberg, who had a pitch-perfect ear for accents, mimicked McCartney struggling to explain precisely what he wanted from her and the string orchestra.

“No, no, I want something, eh … ” she quoted him as saying.

“He couldn’t describe it, he couldn’t express it, and he was waiting for someone to bring it out of the air.”

George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, was, atypically, on another gig; McCartney was missing the one man who could explain what he wanted.

Bromberg and the orchestra went through three hours of takes. At midnight, Bromberg recalled, Erich Gruenberg, the German-born Jewish lead violinist who had trained in Mandate Palestine and who was also much in demand as a session musician, “tucked his violin under his arm and said, ‘Now it is midnight, ve have to go home because ve are vorking in ze morning.'”

“Well, I suppose that’s that then,” McCartney responded, according to Bromberg.

When the album came out, she realized McCartney had gone with her first take, but dubbed it so it had a doubling effect. “That’s what he was after,” she recalled herself thinking.

“Yes! Clever!”

Her delicate arpeggios set the scene for a young woman “silently closing her bedroom door, leaving the note that she hoped would say more.”

The parents’ anguish — “Daddy, our baby’s gone,” the mother cries out — cut to the bone of a generation watching their children drifting away. “Something inside that was always denied for so many years,” McCartney sings, as Bromberg’s gentle strokes reemerge at the end of the track.

Bromberg was born in London. Her paternal grandfather was a noted Jewish musician in Ukraine before fleeing because of pogroms, and her father and son also were orchestral musicians.

Bromberg recorded with other artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dusty Springfield and the Bee Gees. She appeared on Monty Python’s Flying Circus playing the harp in a wheelbarrow and performed on the soundtrack of two James Bond movies.

She got nine British pounds for her Beatles gig — about $190 in today’s money. She seemed for a period resentful that the song was the apparent apex of her career. “I’m noted for four bars of music,” she once said. “I found that a little bit bizarre.”

Her listing on a music teacher website concludes, after listing her qualifications (“I studied Harp with Gwendolin Mason for whom Ravel wrote the Septet') with a throwaway: “I also worked with the ‘Beatles.'”

But as she settled into retirement in Lane End, a village in Buckinghamshire in south-central England, she felt more comfortable with her role. “It was an awfully long time ago now but still it’s a worthwhile project and I enjoyed playing with them,” she told her local paper in 2013 (the article noted that Bromberg, then 84, was still available to teach music, and added an email address). In her retirement, she trained to use music to counsel children with mental disabilities.

On the BBC in 2011, she appeared live in the studio with Ringo Starr and surprised him with a rendering on the harp of Yellow Submarine, one of a handful of Beatles songs on which the drummer sang lead.

“It does feel a bit good,” she told the BBC about her Sgt. Pepper’s participation. “Thinking about it now, I really feel very proud to have been part of it.”

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12 | The Jewish Press | October 1, 2021

News LOC AL | N ATI O N A L | WO R L D

Mallorca’s Jews’ triumph over the Spanish Inquisition CNAAN LIPSHIZ JTA Before the Spanish Inquisition, the island of Mallorca had a sizeable Jewish community. Every fall, the island became dotted with the leaf-roofed huts that Jews are commanded to erect during the holiday of Sukkot.

But that all changed under the Inquisition’s campaign of persecution that began in 1488 ( four years before it started on Spain’s mainland) and was only officially abolished centuries later in 1834.

This year, however, the island’s tiny Jewish community in the capital Palma is determined to reintroduce its Sukkot tradition with a public statement.

Ahead of the holiday this week, the Jewish community along with the municipality of Palma have erected what organizers are calling the island’s first “public” sukkah since the Inquisition, situated in the city’s former Jewish Quarter.

“It’s one of several firsts for the Jews of Mallorca, and it’s especially meaningful because it restores something from this community’s past,” said Dani Rotstein, founder of Limud Mallorca and secretary of the Jewish Community of the Balearic Islands. A tourism and video production professional from New Jersey, he has led efforts to promote Mallorca’s Jewish community since he moved there in 2014.

To be fair, Palma has seen its share of sukkahs since the Inquisition. The city and the island, which is a popular vacation destination off of Spain’s eastern shores, for decades has had a small but active Jewish community of about 100 members, plus several Jewish expats. They are celebrating the 50th anniversary since British expats founded the community in 1971.

Palma also has a synagogue, a small Jewish museum and a resident rabbi.

But this year’s weeklong holiday of Sukkot, which begins Monday night, will mark the first time that a sukkah will be built on public grounds with funding from the local municipality. It was erected at the Ca’n Oms mansion, the seat of the city’s department of culture and other municipal bodies. Jews and non-Jews will be able to enjoy cultural programming from Limmud Mallorca, including lectures in the sukkah and tours of the area, over the course of two weeks.

The public sukkah is part of a European-wide initiative European Days of Jewish Culture, a series of events celebrating Jewish heritage in dozens of cities in Europe each year in September and October.

This development is the latest in a series of moves by Rotstein and others designed to commemorate the pre-Inquisi-

tion presence of Jews in Mallorca, who became known as Some Jewish traditions remained in chueta families, such Chuetas, the local name for Anusim — or those who were as the lighting of candles on Shabbat, covering mirrors during forcibly converted to Christianity during the Inquisition. mourning and the spring cleanings associated with Passover.

On Rosh Hashanah, local Jews hosted a festive service and But over time the island’s Jewish population dwindled. musical concert to celebrate the new Jewish year, with the coBut, ironically, society’s exclusion of Chuetas proved to be operation of a local Catalan cultural center, in its garden lo- the key to Judaism’s revival in Mallorca, historians say: becated in the old Jewish quarter. cause they were not allowed to intermarry freely with the It was symbolic to participants because of a painful chapter Christian population, Chuetas married among themselves. in the history of Mallorca’s Jewish community. In 1677, local This helped preserve a distinct chueta identity well into the crypto-Jews, who risked their lives by practicing their faith while pretending to be Christian, held a Yom Kippur service in secret in a garden outside the city walls.

Local Jews say that when Spanish rulers learned about the service, they salted the garden’s soil to ensure that nothing could ever grow there again, and doubled down on eradicating Jewish celebrations from the island.

In recent years, authorities have made an effort to acknowledge and atone for such atrocities.

In 2018, local authorities un- A leather shop that used to be a synagogue in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Credit: Cnaan Liphshiz veiled a memorial plaque at the Palma square where 37 1970s, when the dictatorship of Fransisco Franco finally colcrypto-Jews were publicly burned in what was once known lapsed, opening Spanish society to the rest of Europe. locally as “the bonfire of the Jews.”

When that happened, Mallorca had thousands of people In 2015, the city helped build a small Jewish museum in who defined themselves as Chuetas, a minority that numbers what used to be the Jewish quarter. The area, featuring sand- about 20,000 today. stone facades and quiet, cobbled streets, used to be a thriving In recent years, Chuetas who returned to Judaism and conand heavily Jewish shopping and business area, with many verted have taken the community’s reins. In 2018, two Chuetas tanneries, shoe shops and butcher shops. Today few if any were elected to the community’s four-person executive board.

Jews live there, and most visitors are tourists.

And in June, the community received, for the first time since Also in 2015, the parliaments of Spain and Portugal passed the Inquisition, a rabbi who was born in Palma to a chueta laws that give descendants of Sephardic Jews the right to cit- family, Nissan Ben Avraham. izenship. Millions of dollars in public funds are being invested This process, as well as the public events for Rosh Hashanah in preserving and developing Jewish heritage sites in those and Sukkot, “are a victory,” Iska Valls, a chueta returnee to Jucountries. daism and the wife of Toni Pinya, one of the Jewish commuMany chueta families continued to practice Judaism in se- nity’s chueta board members, told the Jewish Telegraphic cret. Even those who did not keep up their Jewish practice at Agency. the time were treated with suspicion and excluded in many “It’s a victory [over] the Inquisition and proof that we are ways from the rest of society. like a phoenix, rising once more from the ashes,” she said.

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