October 6, 2023

The Jewish Press

35th Annual Symposium

LEONARD GREENSPOON

Hardly a day goes by without a news story or feature about relations between the State of Israel and Jews living in the Diaspora. With so much going on, it can be difficult to keep in mind that there is a long and rich history of these interactions, going back to Second Temple Judaism.

So it is that this fall’s Symposium, titled The Jewish Diaspora and the Promised Land: Origins, Developments, Future Prospects, provides the historical contexts as well as contemporary texts.

There are 15 presenters on Sunday Oct. 22, and Monday, Oct. 23. Three presentations center on developments in the ancient world. Shlomo Zuckier, Princeton University, will speak on Atonement and the Land in Early Biblical Interpretation: Land of Israel and Diasporic Perspectives. Zuckier will consider the biblical theme of atonement for the Land and its reception throughout Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. As he demonstrates, this topic touches on a variety of central issues across the period: valuation of the Land of Israel and patriotism; conceptions of the Temple; conceptions of atonement, whether it is primarily achieved through sacrificial means or not; and the perspectives of both the Land of Israel and Diasporic texts on the Land.

Miriam Ben Zeev, Ben-Gurion University, investigates Roman Jews in the First Century CE: A Case Study. Beginning in the second century BCE Jews arrived in Rome both from Judaea

REGULARS

Spotlight 8

Voices 9

Synagogues 10

Life cycles 11

and from other Mediterranean places. As Ben Zeev shows, with minor exceptions, the attitude of the Roman government toward these Jews was tolerant. And yet, the war fought in Judaea against the Roman government in 66-70 CE altered the balance and had negative effects on the life of the Jews. This was the first time that events transpiring in Judaea would have direct repercussions for Diaspora Judaism.

Circle Theatre presents The Wise Men of Chelm

FRAN SILLAU

On Nov. 18 & 19, 2023, Circle Theatre will present two Chelm stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Theater at the Staenberg Kooper Fellman JCC. Circle Theatre actors will present The Wise Men of Chelm, adapted by Sandra Fenichel Asher, based on Jewish folktales.

In this Chelm story, an angel, carrying a sackful of foolish souls back to heaven for repair,

snagged his sack on a tree on top of a tall mountain. The sack tore and all the poor, foolish souls spilled out of the ripped sack, and fell down the mountainside into the town of Chelm, where they have stayed ever since.

For each Circle Theatre production, a partnering social service organization is invited to perform a brief opening act. Actors from Quality Living Inc will present their own adaptation of the Singer play When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw adapted by local playwright JR Dawson. Quality Living Inc is a world-class rehabilitation center in Omaha, specializing in limb loss, spinal injury, stroke and brain injury.

Dawson, a writer and educator with an MFA in Creative Writing, works across the Midwest as a teaching artist. In 2021 she collaborated with the Institute of Holocaust Education

See The Wise Men of Chelm page 2

Aaron Koller, Yeshiva University, will be making the third presentation with an ancient focus. Its title is Language and Identity in Israel and Diaspora: Ancient Perspectives on a Modern Problem. Koller begins by identifying the United States where the vast majority of Jews cannot conduct a conversation in Hebrew. Is this a potentially fatal problem for the community or a sign of its strength in a new English-speaking Homeland?

Koller cannot locate any parallel among pre-modern Jewish communities that survived, but there are parallels in communities that disappeared into the mists of history. The significance of Hebrew for Jewish cultural survival is hard to overstate, and American Jews rush headlong into the translation industry at their own peril. There are also three presentations covering the historical expanse from See Annual Symposium page 3

MARK KIRCHHOFF

JFO Community Engagement and Education

The 21st Annual Omaha Jewish Film Festival will take place on Oct. 16, 17, 18, and 19 at 7 p.m. in the Alan J. Levine Performing Arts Center at the Staenberg Omaha Jewish Community Center.

The festival opens with iMordecai, the story of Mordecai (Judd Hirsch), a man from another era, facing the challenges of the modern world. His son presents him with an iPhone to replace his flip phone, and the help he receives from tech instructors opens the door to new experiences for him.

My Neighbor Adolf is the second festival showing. This 2022 film is the story of a grumpy Holocaust survivor living in South America who convinces himself that his

neighbor is Adolf Hitler. He becomes acquainted with him, attempts to collect evidence of his belief, and forms a nuanced friendship in the process.

With two strong films opening the festival, it is gratifying to know that two great films will close it. That Orchestra with the Broken Instruments, hosted by Aviva Segall and Patrick McNamara, will be screened on Oct. 18. What can come of a broken string, a fractured echo chamber, and rusting valves? What magic can come about when one brilliant conductor, three gifted composers, and 100 musicians meet for four days of rehearsals? After all, they speak different languages. They are a mixture of professionals and amateurs who are See Jewish Film Festival page 2

Rabbi Geiger to lead you on a spiritual journey Page 4

Lion Behind the Pin Page 5

Welcome to the New Friedel Jewish Academy Page 12

Nadav Berman Abraham David Paul Finkelman Victoria Khiterer Menachem Keren-Kratz

Hana Waisserova Motti Zalkin Marzena Zawanowska Miriam Ben Zeev Shlomo Zuckier

Aaron Koller Daniel Lasker Amir Segal Martin Shichtman Yossi Turner

FILM FESTIVAL

OMAHA

Jewish Film Festival

Continued from page 1 young and old, and of diverse ethnicities. Their instruments are broken. They have so little time. In this documentary, an orchestra is created against all odds for a one-time-only concert in Jerusalem. It is a poetic, engaging take on “broken and whole” that aims to create harmony in a discordant city.

Concluding the festival on Oct. 19 is Tiger Within hosted by Dr. Leonard Greenspoon. This is a story that sparks questions of ignorance, fear, lies, family, love, forgiveness and our divided world at large in dramatic fashion. In the final film performance of his life, Ed Asner plays the role of Samuel, a Holocaust survivor who meets homeless, abused, 14-year old Holocaust denier and sex worker Casey. Samuel has promised his now deceased wife to rid himself of the lingering hatred in his heart. Casey must struggle to find a way to free her own life of its misery. Their meeting has the potential for healing and freedom for both. This year’s festival is available to you by purchasing a 4-ad-

The Wise Men of Chelm

mission pass for $10 or an 8admission pass for $15, available from jewishomaha.org or at the ticket table. Single admission tickets are available at the table for only $5. Each admission includes a free bag of gourmet popcorn and a bottle of chilled water.

We’re excited about this year’s Omaha Jewish Film Festival and we are thankful to our supporters - The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation Funds: Ruth Frisch & Oscar S. Belzer Endowment Fund, Klutznick/Creighton Custodial Fund, Lindsey Miller-Lerman (Avy L. & Roberta L. Miller Foundation); Kenneth Ray Tretiak Memorial Fund, Lois Jeanne Schrager Memorial Fund, and the Foundation IMPACT Grant. Keep reading the Jewish Press and watching your emails for more details about the festival. Visit jewishomaha.org now for information and for purchasing passes. Your contact for answers to questions is Mark Kirchhoff, mkirchhoff@jewish omaha.org or 402.334.6463.

Continued from page 1 and Circle Theatre to write When We Go Away, a play about Holocaust survivors in the Midwest. Her debut novel, The First Bright Thing is currently available.

‘Shtetl,’ an interactive cultural dance form, will be showcased by participants from YACHAD, the JCC Performing Arts and Friedel Jewish Academy. Courtney Stein Cairncross, Circle Theatre teaching artist with a masters in cultural dance, will lead workshops with a core of participants this fall.

Serving as advisor to the Tales of Chelm production is Barry Berko, Isaac Bashevis Singer historian and researcher, and a student in Religious Studies. Mr. Berko will give a brief introduction on Singer and then host a lobby table with publications and research on Singer.

Tickets for the 7 p.m., Nov. 18 and 2 p.m., Nov. 19 productions can be purchased online at https://circletheatre omaha.org/ at $20/ticket.

This production is made possible through the generosity of The Nebraska Arts Council, The Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Humanities Nebraska, the Staenberg Anything Grant, and Gloria and Howard Kaslow.

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Annual Symposium

Continued from page 1

the medieval period through the early modern era. The first of these is the keynote presentation by Daniel Lasker, Ben-Gurion University. It is titled Zionism’ Before Zionism: 2000 Years of Jewish Attachment to the Land of Israel.

The second presentation in this grouping is by Marzena Zawanowska, University of Warsaw. It is titled Between the Holy Land and Diaspora: Medieval debates in Al-Andalus over the Status of the Land of Israel in Judaism. She identifies a series of debates on whether it was necessary for Jews to live in the Land of Israel or perhaps it was equally possible to lead a truly Jewish life in the Diaspora. In her paper, Zawanowska explores divergent responses to this ideological dilemma, highlighting the uniqueness of Judah Halevi’s position. He rejected the Diaspora model, longing instead for the rebuilding of Jewish life in Zion as the divinely given homeland of the children of Israel.

The final paper in this grouping is titled The Jews of Egypt and Their Ties with the Land of Israel in the Sixteenth Century. It is offered by Abraham David, Jewish National Library of Israel, Jerusalem. He uncovered sources leading to the conclusion that beginning in the early sixteenth century the Jews of Egypt maintained firm ties with the Jewish community in the Land of Israel. The severe economic crisis that struck the Ottoman Empire from the last quarter of the sixteenth century had some influence on the network of relations among the Jews of the countries in it. As the heads of the Safed community observed, “Egypt has lost our brothers who were a pillar of support to us and in it there is no Jewish Mua’llim or courtier.”

Two papers focus our attention on developments from the nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth: Paul Finkelman, Marquette University School of Law, The Other Promised Land: The Golden Medina and the Escape from Official Anti-Antisemitism, and Menachem Keren-Kratz, independent scholar, Israel, The State of Israel, Eretz Israel, or the Diaspora: Jewish Orthodoxy’s Debate Over the Settlement in Palestine.

Finkelman’s paper centers on how the United States created an “alternative” to the biblical promised land. In the age of the American Revolution, the United States became the first nation in the world where Jews were equal citizens at the national level. They held significant offices starting with the Washington administration. Finkelman also highlights well-known American Jews like Louis Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter, who were Zionists, and Lessing Rosenwald and Rabbi William Fineshriber, who opposed creating a Jewish state precisely because they believed the United States was the Promised Land.

Keren-Kratz begins his presentation by noting that the concept of Jewish Orthodoxy emerged in the early nineteenth century. He then turns to a second trend that developed in that century, namely nationalism. Jews began considering themselves a nation worthy of their own territory. Facing this new concept of Jewish nationalism, three major trends emerged within Jewish Orthodoxy. There were rabbis who claimed that Jews can fully accomplish their national, religious, and spiritual quests only in Eretz Israel. Another trend regarded Jewish nationalism as a heresy and totally condemned it. The third group consists of Orthodox Jews who denounced Jewish nationalism and particularly Zionism, but encouraged observant Jews to settle in Palestine for religious and practical reasons.

There are three presenters that deal directly with activities in the Post-World War II period. First is Hana Waisserova, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The title of her presentation is Women Diaspora: Testimonials and Their Precarious Ethos and Pathos. Her presentation focuses on autobiographical narratives of women Holocaust survivors who eventually left the country of their birth, Czechoslovakia, and settled abroad. These accounts of their survival and their resettlement, all published with significant delay, offer many incentives to rethink The Jewish Diaspora and the Promised Land. These accounts are intimate, physical, emotional, and gendered stories of survival and exile; their problematic reception reveals the often dismissed ethos and misjudged pathos of women’s voices.

Next is Victoria Khiterer, Millersville University, whose presentation is titled Let My People Go: The Struggle of Kyivan Jews for Immigration to Israel. Her paper will analyze the struggle of Kyivan Jews for immigration to Israel and the support of Israeli diplomats for their efforts. Khiterer’s work is based on secret police (KGB) reports, which she found in Kyiv and Israeli archives. These reports show that many Kyivan Jews responded enthusiastically to news about the establishment of the State of Israel and wanted to immigrate there. But Jewish emigration was not allowed from the Soviet Union until the early 1970s and was very restricted thereafter.

The third paper in this grouping is Motti Zalkin, Ben-Gurion University, An Eye Gazes toward Zion? Post-Soviet Jewish Immigrants and the ‘Promised Land’. Zalkin begins by calling attention to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s as an event that marked the beginning of a new era in Jewish immigration. Over the course of only seven years, approximately one million six hundred thousand Jews crossed what was known until then as the Iron Curtain. They immigrated of their own free will. In his lecture Zalkin will examine some lesser

known aspects of this wave of immigration, among other things the multidimensional perception of concepts such as The Promised Land

Two presenters look at the Symposium topic through the lens of popular culture: Amir Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Homeland Run: Israeli Baseball and American Transmigrants, and Martin Shichtman, East Michigan University, Reimagining Jewish Masculinity in the Films of Adam Sandler and Sacha Baron Cohen. Segal’s paper addresses an aspect of cultural transfer and transformation by immigrants, focusing on the case of Israeli baseball, brought to Israel by Jewish migrants from the United States. His analysis is based on interviews with twenty Jewish migrants from the United States to Israel who are engaged in Israeli baseball. Segal’s study contributes to our understanding of transnational migration. So it is that Israeli baseball provides Jewish migrants from the United States with a means to identify with Israel as well as a sense of transnational belonging and, counter intuitively, eases their acculturation to Israeli society. Shichtman invites us to consider the careers of Adam Sandler and Sacha Baron Cohen, both of whom have performed complex negotiations with the visual culture of Jewish masculinity, venturing between stereotypical images of the emasculated Jewish man and the hypermasculine New Jew. Schichtman opens up a post-Holocaust landscape, in which Sandler and Baron Cohen have complicated contemporary issues of Jewish identity, including questions of ethnicity, religious engagement, nationalism, and tensions between Israeli and American Judaism. To illustrate these themes Shichtman focuses on Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and Baron Cohen’s The Spy The two final papers look at developments that are relevant to understanding today’s circumstances and may be perceived as crucial for looking into the future. The first is Nadav Berman, University of Haifa, Synagogue Judaism’ as Conceptual Tool for Examining Jewish Peoplehood. Berman begins by identifying the relationship between religion and state as one of the main dilemmas of the State of Israel as Jewish and democratic. He asks, Do all Israel’s citizens of all religions enjoy equal rights and dignity? Are Diaspora Jews of all denominations treated equally by Israel’s government? As Berman sees it, the answer to these questions, for sure, is not straightforwardly affirmative. In particular, it is not clear how Israel would sustain its character as a Jewish-democratic nationstate. Berman calls attention to synagogue Judaism as a concept that is profoundly connected with Diaspora Judaism, but is often sidelined from the Israeli mainstream.

Yossi Turner, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, has titled his presentation, Diaspora, Homeland, and the Future of the Jewish People. Turner’s paper involves a view of Jewish existence, in present day Israel and the contemporary Diaspora, considered along with an evaluation of the conditions necessary for the continued existence of the Jewish people. Turner then subjects differing aspects of Jewish life to the conditions necessary for the long-term continuation of Jewish existence. Against this backdrop he will claim that the test of viability for Jewish life, in Israel and in the Diaspora, is to be found in the extent to which the Jewish culture being created provides for a return to the interpretive mediation that has characterized Judaism throughout the ages. Turner will also make suggestions as to how this might be accomplished.

On Sunday, Oct. 22, Symposium activities will take place at the Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus of the JCC. There will be presentations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the keynote beginning at 7:30 p.m. On Monday, Oct. 23, presentations will take place in Creighton University’s Harper Center. They are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. Both days also feature kosher lunches that are free and open to the public.

Support for the Symposium is generously provided by these community funds: The Ike and Roz Friedman Foundation, the Riekes Family, the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai B’rith, The Dr. Bernard H. and Dr. Bruce S. Bloom Memorial Foundation, and Karen and Gary Javitch.

The Annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization is also jointly sponsored by three Nebraska universities: Creighton University: The Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization and The Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: The Harris Center for Judaic Studies, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha: The Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies.

For comments or questions, contact Professor Leonard Greenspoon at ljgrn@creighton.edu or 402.280.2304. For further information, see the Klutznick Chair website at //creighton.edu/ccas/klutznick

INFORMATION

ANTISEMITIC/HATE INCIDENTS

If you encounter an antisemitic or other hate incident, you are not alone. Your first call should be to the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in Omaha at 402.334.6572, or email JCRCreporting@jewishomaha.org. If you perceive an imminent threat, call 911, and text Safety & Security Manager James Donahue at 402.213.1658.

Rabbi Geiger to lead you on a spiritual journey

MARK KIRCHHOFF JFO Community Engagement and Education

If you are seeking to enrich your life with profound wisdom and spiritual growth, your journey begins now. Rabbi Mordechai Geiger, Assistant Rabbi at Beth Israel Synagogue, invites you to join him for an enlightening exploration of the classic work, Duties of the Heart. Your journey begins on Oct. 15 from 4–5 p.m. in the Wiesman Reception Room at the Staenberg Omaha JCC. The journey continues on Nov. 19 with a break in December. Subsequent meetings will be on the first Sunday of each month – all sessions at 4 p.m. in the Wiesman Reception Room.

Rabbi Geiger is an experienced teacher with a passionate commitment to his own spiritual journey and inviting others to join with him in the travels. He holds smicha from Rabbi Yitzchak Berkowitz and a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Science and Human Services from Bellevue University. These classes promise to be an engaging experience. Rabbi Geiger explains, “I have cherished Duties of the Heart for over seven years. It was penned by Bahya ibn Paquda and is a timeless masterpiece that delves into profound teachings of faith, gratitude, and trust. Rooted in logic

and philosophy, these principles are meticulously woven into the fabric of Torah teachings.” Rabbi Geiger will bring his personal understanding and insights to every session.

The sessions promise to be interactive, fostering a dynamic learning environment. “Together, we’ll explore the profound teachings of faith, gratitude, and trust through logic and Torah sources. Each session will encourage questions, discussions, and personal reflections, making it a collaborative growth journey,” Rabbi Geiger explains.

Who should participate? No matter your Jewish learning or background level, these classes are designed for adults seeking spiritual growth and meaning. Whether you’re new to these concepts or have been on a lifelong journey, the Duties of the Heart classes are tailored to enrich your understanding.

For more information, contact Rabbi Geiger at mgeiger@orthodoxomaha. org. Take advantage of this opportunity to embark on a journey that will enhance your understanding of faith, gratitude, and trust while fostering personal growth and connection. We look forward to seeing you on this incredible journey of self-discovery and spiritual expansion.

Trade scholarships available for the 2023-24 academic year

An anonymous donor in our community has created two trade school and/or cosmetology school scholarship opportunities, up to $5,000 each, to go towards the 2023-24 academic year.

Not every student who advances into higher education signs up for a four-year curriculum. Some high school graduates seek job training that lasts a year or two and then places them in the workforce. Such opportunities include, but are

live

not restricted to: Information Technology, Construction, Industrial, Transportation and Horticulture. It is not too late to apply for this upcoming school year!

Qualified students who have unmet needs regarding tuition for either a two-year trade school program or a trade certificate program can contact the Jewish Press at avande kamp@jewishomaha.org or jpress@jewishomaha.org for more information.

Rabbi Mordechai Geiger

Lion Behind the Pin

Sept. 12, Lions of Judah and Pomegranates, as well as their guests, joined for an inspirational presentation, titled ‘Lion Behind the Pin.’ New Lions and Pomegranates received their jewelry.

Column 1: Betsy Baker and Gail Veitzer; Katherine Finnegan; Darlynn Fellman, left Rachel Sullivan, Andee Scioli, Pam Friedlander, Jill Goldstein and Jess Cohn; Louri Sullivan gives Tali Applbaum her Pomegranate necklace; Sandi Epstein, left Stacey Rockman, Patty Nogg and Sharon Brodkey.

Column 2: Sharon Kirshenbaum, left, Louri Sullivan, Lori Epstein, Amy Bernstein Shivvers and Katherine Finnegan.

Column 3: Pam Friedlander, left, Tali Applbaum, Caryn Scheer, Jennie Gates Beckman and Jaime Nogg; Nancy Schlessinger and Patty Nogg; Louri and Rachel Sullivan and Darlynn Fellman; Margie Utesch and Jennie Gates Beckman.

Column 4: Zoë Riekes and Margie Gutnik; Caryn Scheer and Louri Sullivan; Andrea Siegel, left, Sharon Kirshenbaum and Talia Applbaum.

For information about the Lion of Judah and Pomegranate levels of giving, please contact Director of Development Rachel Ring at rring@jewishomaha.org or 402.334.6443.

Intro to Judaism

NAOMI FOX

It’s never too soon to begin learning and never too late to continue. Starting in mid-October, Intro to Judaism will give adult learners a foundation in Jewish holiday significance and ritual, life cycle celebrations, core beliefs, the Torah and other sacred texts, antisemitism, Israel, and even Jewish food! (Yes, there will be snacks!)

In addition to our interactive classroom discussions, prepare for enriching experiences as guest speakers and an immersive Shabbat evening service bring an extra layer of depth to our sessions. This class is great for people in interfaith families, people raising Jewish children, individuals considering conversion, and anyone else looking for an overview of many aspects of the religion. Whether one is completely new to Ju-

daism or are already acquainted, this course is designed to engage the mind, fuel curiosity, and foster meaningful connections. Join us to create a community of learners and enhance your own understanding.

Intro to Judaism will generally meet on Sunday mornings at the Jewish Community Center for 90 minutes. There is no cost to enroll in the course, but an optional donation to the Jewish Federation of Omaha is presented upon registration. Please visit www.JewishOmaha.org and navigate to Community Engagement and Education, Adult Education to learn more!

If you have questions, please reach out to Naomi Fox nfox@jewishomaha.org or Mark Kirchhoff mkirchhoff@ jewishomaha.org

Meeting gets personal

RON KAMPEAS JTA

As they prepared to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, leaders of U.S. Jewish organizations expected to ask him about his contentious effort to weaken the Israeli judiciary.

They didn’t expect to get an answer from Netanyahu’s wife, Sara. But that’s what happened when Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism and an outspoken critic of the overhaul, asked about Netanyahu’s condemnation of the protest movement, which the prime minister recently accused of cooperating with Israel’s adversaries. Jacobs said he tied his question to Yom Kippur, which began Sept. 24 night.

Pipeline

opens

Oct. 6 at the Omaha Community Playhouse

Pipeline opens at the Omaha Community Playhouse on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. The show will run in the Howard Drew Theatre through Sunday, Nov. 5, with performances on Thursdays through Sundays.

Where does the pipeline to prison begin? A gripping, thoughtprovoking, harrowing drama, Pipeline is the journey of a mother and educator who tries desperately to keep both her son and her students on straight-and-narrow paths. Masterful story-

telling woven with cinematic elements, Pipeline is an examination of the American education system and the obstacles that students, educators and parents encounter to achieve success.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are on sale now, with prices varying by performance. Tickets may be purchased at the OCP Box Office, by phone at 402.553.0800 or online at Oma haPlayhouse.com

US eases travel for Israeli citizens

RON KAMPEAS

JTA

As of November, Israelis will be able to enter the United States without a visa, a major change that Israel has long sought, that will ease travel for hundreds of thousands of its citizens.

Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, which now includes 41 countries, means that Israelis traveling to the United States will no longer have to go through a months-long visa application process that carried the threat of denial. It also

means that Palestinian-Americans living in the West Bank and Gaza will be able to enter Israel after completing a form and a short waiting period. Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian travel were one barrier to its joining the Visa Waiver Program earlier. Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, announced Israel had successfully passed a three-month test of its commitment to treat Palestinian-Americans equally. As part of the program’s reciprocity requirement, The United States mandates that countries in the program allow U.S. citizens to enter without restrictions.

“I said it was almost Erev Yom Kippur, and I’m asking you about the way your government has demonized not only the protesters but so many of the people who are at risk,” Jacobs told the JTA. “And he gave an answer and Sara Netanyahu asked if she could follow up with asking me a question.” Sara Netanyahu asked if Jacobs would condemn the death threats against her family. I heard the emotion,” Jacobs said. “She’s not wrong.”

At the meeting, attendees said Netanyahu raised the topics he preferred to discuss, such as the threat from Iran and prospects for a treaty with Saudi Arabia. And the American Jewish leaders brought up topics on their mind as well — among them the judicial overhaul; relations with the Palestinian Authority; Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners; and women’s rights in Israel.

The meeting at the Israeli consulate in New York City took place hours after Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly, which focused on the potential Israeli-Saudi deal as well as the Iranian threat. Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden earlier in the week.

The meeting included 24 representatives of groups across the Jewish political and denominational spectrum. Most of the groups in attendance have voiced criticism of the judicial overhaul, which aims to sap power and independence from Israel’s Supreme Court, in addition to other Israeli government policies. The judicial overhaul has also sparked a mass protest movement in Israel that has offshoots abroad: In New York, a crowd of protesters demonstrated outside of the consulate on Friday, Sept. 22.

Read more at www.omahajewishpress.com.

Protesters outside the Israeli consulate in New York City, Sept. 22, 2023. Credit: UnXeptable

JBL Hall of Fame inducting

Jeffrey P. Gold, MD

JAY KATELMAN

JFO Director of Community Development

Jewish Business Leaders Bagels & Breakfast will end 2023 with a bang! We celebrate by inducting UNMC’s Dr. Jeffrey Gold into the Jewish Business Leader’s Hall of Fame at Happy Hollow Club, 1701 S 105th St, Omaha, NE 68124 in the Grand Ballroom. We will meet Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. This will be a wonderful Hall of Fame, and a great way to end 2023. We are so honored to have Dr. Gold come speak to our group.

Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, is a nationally recognized leader and tireless advocate for transforming higher education, academic medicine and health care delivery. He became the eighth Chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Vice President of the University of Nebraska System and chair of the board of UNMC’s principal clinical care academic health system partner, Nebraska Medicine, in early 2014. He has been repeat-

ORGANIZATIONS

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

edly recognized as a Top 50 Health Care Executive and as a Top 100 Physician Executive, and has earned many national awards for service leading numerous community volun-

teer programs, philanthropic campaigns and programs. He has been married for more than 45 years to a physician and has two adult children.

Breakfast will be buffet style provided by Happy Hollow. We will have Kosher options from Star Catering, and as always, Stories will be on site to provide coffee for all. For more information, please contact Jay Katelman at jkatelman@jewishomaha.org, or call 402.334.6461. Please register for the event using the link: http://tinyurl.com/JBLUNMC

The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch our email for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com

SP O TLIGHT

PHOTOS FROM RECENT JEWISH COMMUNITY EVENTS

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

GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

Above, right and below: Last Friday morning, staff from across campus gathered at Food Bank for the Heartland to help pack bags for the BackPack Program. The program provides weekend meals for children whose families have limited resources, distributed to 256 schools in 113 school districts in Nebraska and western Iowa. Our team, alongside Bellevue University staff, were proud to have packed 124 cases equaling 992 bags of meals! This volunteer opportunity was part of United Way of the Midlands Day of Caring - a day where over 500 volunteers complete projects at 38 nonprofits across the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro.

Above: Rabbi Alex Felch leading over 50 members of the Lincoln Jewish Community (plus a couple of dogs) in Tashlich at Antelope Park.

Left: Mary-Beth Muskin, left; Harmon Maples, Nebraska Community Engagement Manager for ADL; and Janie Kulakofsky outside B’nai Israel Synagogue.

Below: Progress is steady at the JCC’s future Pickleball location!

Above: Shelly Fox watches as her mother, Doris Alloy plays her mom’s piano

Above: Rabbi Maximo Shechet prepares cholent while Rabbi Mordechai Geiger watches and below: apple picking before Rosh Hashanah.

Above: Challah deliveries for folks around town to wish them a happy New Year and remind them how important they are to our community.

Voices

The Jewish Press

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The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the JFO are: Institute for Holocaust Education, Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Social Services, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Press Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: www.jewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

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The Book Ban Czar

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

Never mind that I am sort of tired of the habit to throw ‘Czar’ behind anything for a snappy headline (does no one remember what an actual Czar is?), the idea that we need someone in this position is terrifying.

“The appointment of Matt Nosanchuk,” Andrew Lapin wrote, “comes as the thousands of book challenges nationwide have focused on books with LGBTQ as well as Jewish themes, in addition to works about race. Nosanchuk was named a deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Education’s civil rights office earlier this month.

In that role, he will lead training sessions for schools and libraries on how to deal with book bans, and warns districts that the Department believes book bans can violate civil rights laws.”

Banning books because you don’t like the content is a worrisome part of the culture wars America has found itself in. And while right now it might be a symptom, if not stopped, it will become part of the cause.

Teaching kids uncomfortable truths is, well, uncomfortable. But it needs to be done nonetheless, and what better way to do it than by providing insightful books? You may not like LGBTQ, but shouldn’t your kids still know? You may think young students shouldn’t hear too many details

about the Holocaust, but has it occurred to you they can handle more than you think—and they can even make up their own minds?

We’ve said it for years: one of the biggest stumbling blocks to creating a just society is ignorance. Ban-

An important question to ask when talking about banned books is: are we banning books, or are we banning people?

“Banning books is not new,” Claire Katz, professor of philosophy at Texas A&M said. “But if we focus only on books, then we lose sight of the root cause of the problem — banning ideas and controlling people’s access to information that allows for critical and independent thought... Totalitarianism proceeds by attacking the outward culture.”

Terri Pantuso, assistant dean in A&M’s Arts and Sciences department and instructional assistant professor in the Department of English, said:

RABBI

SHLOMO ZUCKIER

This story was originally published on My Jewish Learning.

JTA

For those of us who don’t regularly think in theological terms, the High Holiday liturgy can be jarring to read. Some of the messages are relatively easy to relate to, like the reminder of human frailty in Unetaneh Tokef (“Who will live and who will die?”) or the expression of remorse over our shortcomings in the confession litany (“We have sinned; we have been disloyal…”). But the traditional High Holiday prayer book also includes some far more abstruse ideas.

An obvious challenge is the centrality of animal sacrifice to the way the Day of Atonement was observed in the ancient Temple, a ritual we recount in detail during Yom Kippur. But the prayers also repeatedly invoke ideas about God that are far removed from our regular discourse.

Consider the repeated refrain of “And so, place your fear, O Lord our God, on all your creations.” Or this sequence describing God: “Who knows the inclination of all creations/ All believe that He creates them in the womb/ Who can do anything and unifies them together.” Reflecting on God’s exaltedness, pleading for mercy from a deity who knows our thoughts and holds the power of life and death over us — these are notions that are hard to grasp and difficult to come to terms with. How do we conceptualize and relate to God without recourse to a seminar in theology?

Even as it creates this challenge, the liturgy provides a solution by offering a range of different modes of relating to God. Nowhere is this clearer than in Ki Anu Amekha, a short poem (piyyut) recited multiple times on Yom Kippur to introduce the Viddui, the confessional prayer. It reads:

For we are your people, and you are our God.

We are your children, and you are our Father.

We are your servants, and you are our Lord.

We are your congregation, and you are our Portion.

We are your heritage, and you are our Destiny.

We are your flock, and you are our Shepherd.

ning books about the Holocaust, about slavery and systemic racism, about anyone and anything that is seen as ‘other,’ means raising a generation that is defenseless. Because guess what: all these things you don’t want them to know will still be there.

I know; I’m preaching to the choir. We are the people of the book, and we know better than anyone what book bans lead to.

The American Library Association documented 1,269 attempted book bans in 2022. By comparison, that number in 2021 was 721. It makes me want to start a banned-book club.

“We’ve had books banned since the establishment of public schools. It is troublesome because it robs students of a diverse reading experience and further ties the hands of K-12 educators. Oftentimes books by people of color are banned because they discuss ‘uncomfortable truths...’ Also, books that deal with issues surrounding gender and sexuality are banned, and that is bothersome to me, as children who relate to those issues need to know they are not defective.”

Kids who don’t read about ‘uncomfortable truths’ grow up to be adults who don’t understand those truths, and the value in learning about otherness. Yet, most headlines focus on the act of banning, or the groups promoting the banning, more than on the actual books themselves—or the ideas they represent.

Maybe my idea to start a banned-book club isn’t so bad after all. Let’s all make a reading list.

We are your vineyard, and you are our Keeper.

We are your work, and you are our Maker.

We are your dear ones, and you are our Beloved.

We are your treasure, and you are our God.

We are your people, and you are our King.

We are your chosen ones, and you are our Chosen One.

This piyyut presents a list of relational pairs that characterize the relationship between Israel and God in various ways, all of which draw on comparisons to nonDivine relationships. It appears to be an expansion of a midrash on Song of Songs 2:16 that proposed several of these relational pairs, justifying each with a biblical verse.

It is followed in the High Holiday prayer book by an additional stanza that relates more directly to themes of sin and forgiveness that are the leitmotif of the Day of Atonement, contrasting the human penchant for sin with God’s compassion and mercy. Less clear is the function of the section cited above. In what way does delineating this litany of relationships serve as a fitting introduction to a confession ritual?

I would argue that the purpose of listing these various relationships is to invite each of us to find ourselves in the poem as we stand before God and request atonement. People are complex and multifaceted, and the way we relate to an infinite God is bound to be even more varied and intricate. Some people may relate best to God as a father who loves his children even as he disciplines them. Others may connect better to a political metaphor, seeing God as the king exercising dominion over his nation. Some of us experience God more intimately, as a shepherd tending the flock or a vintner caring for grape vines. Others see the relationship between Israel and God as one of passionate love as described in the Song of Songs. And some may see

God primarily through the history of the Jewish people, as having chosen Israel for a particular divine destiny.

Each line of this piyyut depicts a particular quality of relationship between God and Israel, but none of them exhausts it. God simultaneously in-

habits all of these modes of relation depending on the person, the point in time and the broader context in which the relationship manifests itself.

The poem, and the High Holy Days liturgy overall, represents God in these various ways not because everyone in synagogue is expected to develop a complex theology that can encompass them all, but because we can all likely connect to at least one mode of relating to God in our prayers. As each of us focuses on and resonates with a particular aspect of the God-Israel relationship, our collective recitation of Ki Anu Amekha serves to express the rich and varied tapestry of God. And hopefully our Father, our King, our Shepherd, our Lover, our Destiny will see fit to grant Israel forgiveness and make 5784 a year filled with blessings.

Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier is a scholar of ancient Judaism and a research associate at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

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.

If you tried to connect to God on Yom Kippur, here’s a prayer for you

Credit: Getty Images

The graphic novel version of The Diary of Anne Frank, one of the books regularly under fire. Credit: Stringer/AFP via Getty Images

Synagogues

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

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

Monthly Speaker Series Service, Friday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. with our guest speaker. Our service leader is Larry Blass. Everyone is always welcome at B’nai Israel!

For information about our historic synagogue, please contact Howard Kutler at hkutler@hotmail. com or any of our other board members: Renee Corcoran, Scott Friedman, Rick Katelman, Janie Kulakofsky, Howard Kutler, Carole and Wayne Lainof, Ann Moshman, Mary-Beth Muskin, Debbie Salomon and Sissy Silber. Handicap Accessible.

BETH EL

Services conducted by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

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

FRIDAY: Hashanah Rabbah Morning Service 7 a.m.; Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m.; Our Shabbat Tables in Homes

SATURDAY: Shmini Atzeret Morning Service with Yizkor, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Junior Congregation (Grades K-12) 10 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv/ Havdalah & Simchat Torah Celebration, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY: BESTT SimTot Youth Programming (Grades K-7), 9:30 a.m.; Simchat Torah Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Simchat Torah Tots (Ages 3-PreK), 10 a.m.

TUESDAY: Pirkei Avot, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham.

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

FRIDAY-Oct. 13: Six-String Shabbat 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 14: Shabbat Morning Service and Bar Mitzvah of Kooper Menin, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Junior Congregation (Grades K-12) 10 a.m.; Havdalah, 7:20 p.m. Please visit bethel-omaha.org for additional information and service links.

BETH ISRAEL

FRIDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 6:45 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat 10:30 a.m.; Yizkor 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class, 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush, 11 a.m.; Shtiegers, 4:37 p.m. at the Geigers; Tehillim Youth Class, 4:52 p.m. with Rabbi Tal; Soulful Torah: Unpacking the Or HaChayim’s Teachings, 5:37 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:30 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity 7 p.m.; Hakafot, 7:30 p.m.; Candlelighting, 7:39 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Simchat Torah Kids Program 9:45 a.m.; Kiddush noon; Mincha/Ma’ariv 6:40 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:36 p.m.

MONDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Monday Mind Builders 4 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.

TUESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.

THURSDAY: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Character Development, 9:30 a.m.; Mincha/ Ma’ariv, 6:40 p.m.; Parsha Class, 6:50 p.m.

FRIDAY-Oct. 13: Nach Yomi, 6:45 a.m.; Shacharit, 7 a.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Candlelighting, 6:29 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 14: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:30 a.m.; Youth Class 10:45 a.m.; Kiddush 11 a.m.; Shtiegers, 4:26 p.m. at the Geigers; Tehillim Youth Class, 4:40 p.m. with Rabbi Tal; Soulful Torah: Unpacking the Or HaChayim’s Teachings, 5:25 p.m.; Mincha/Ma’ariv 6:20 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity, 6:50 p.m.; Havdalah, 7:27 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 and via Zoom (ochabad.com/academy). 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.; Kids Hakafot and Torah Dancing in Pajamas, 6-7 p.m.; Candlelighting, 6:40 p.m.; Adult Hakafot, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY: Sheminit Atzeret Service 10 a.m.; Yizkor, 11:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush Lunch in the Sukkah; Hakafot, 7:30 p.m.; Light Holiday Candles after, 7:37 p.m.

SUNDAY: Simchat Torah Services, 11 a.m., Deli-style Kiddush and Dancing with the Torah, noon; Farbrengen: Take the Holidays with You, 6:30 p.m. at the Katzman Residence; Holiday Ends, 7:35 p.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha, 9:30 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introduction to Writing Hebrew Script and Vocabulary Practice, 5 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Parsha Reading, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Introductory Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 7 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen.

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

THURSDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Parsha Reading, 10 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 11 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Talmud Study (Sanhedrin 34), noon; Introduction to Alphabet, Vowels & Reading Hebrew, 6 p.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) Class, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY-Oct. 13: Shacharit 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 5:45 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ocha bad.com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 6:28 p.m.

SATURDAY-Oct. 14: Shacharit 9:30 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 7:26 p.m.

LINCOLN JEWISH COMMUNITY: B’NAI JESHURUN & TIFERETH ISRAEL

Services facilitated by Rabbi Alex Felch. All services offered in-person with live-stream or

teleconferencing options.

FRIDAY: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Shabbat Candlelighting, 6:42 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. at TI; No Torah Study; Havdalah, 7:40 p.m.

SUNDAY: LJCS Classes, 9:30 a.m.-noon; Men’s Bike/Coffee Group meet, 10:45 a.m. at The Mill on the Innovation Campus. We sit outside, facing east. For more information or questions please email Al Weiss at albertw801@gmail.com; Pickleball is on haitus until Oct. 15. Anyone interested in playing or learning how to play can text Miriam at 402.470.2393; Havdalah, 7:38 p.m.

MONDAY: SST & TI Offices Closed.; Federation Board Meeting, 7 p.m. via Zoom.

TUESDAY: Taste of Judaism Class: God/Jewish Spirituality, 7-9 p.m. with Rabbi Alex at SST. Please email lincolnjewishcommunity@gmail.com to register.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Classes (Grades 3-6), 4:30-6 p.m.; Adult Ed Movie Night: Ushpizin, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at SST.

FRIDAY-Oct. 13: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Shabbat Candlelighting, 6:31 p.m. SATURDAY-Oct. 14: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. at TI; Torah Study noon; Havdalah, 7:29 p.m.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE

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

ROSE BLUMKIN JEWISH HOME

The Rose Blumkin Jewish Home’s service is currently closed to visitors.

TEMPLE ISRAEL

In-person and virtual services conducted by Rabbi Benjamin Sharff, Rabbi Deana Sussman Berezin, and Cantor Joanna Alexander

FRIDAY: Drop in Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m. In-Person; Integrated Dinner, Shabbat, Torah Celebration & Consecration Experience, 5:30 p.m. In-Person.

SATURDAY: Torah Study 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Shemini Atzeret: Service and Yizkor, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom.

SUNDAY: Grades PreK-7, 9:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Coffee and Conversations with the Board Members, 10 a.m. In-Person; Social Justice Round Table, 10:30 a.m.; Book Club, 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: Yarn It, 9 a.m. In-Person.; No Youth Programming.

THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom; Rosh Chodesh Candle Making, 7:15 p.m. In-Person.

FRIDAY-Oct. 13: Drop in Mah Jongg, 9-11 a.m. InPerson; Shabbat B’yachad Service, 6 p.m. In-Person & Zoom.

SATURDAY-Oct. 14: Torah Study 9:15 a.m. In-Person & Zoom; Shabbat Morning Service and Bar Mitzvah of Ari Blumkin 10:30 a.m. In-Person & Zoom. Please visit templeisraelomaha.com for additional information and Zoom service links.

Right-wing extremist attitudes on the rise in Germany

TOBY AXELROD

JTA

A new survey by a political think tank shows a major increase in right-wing extremist and antisemitic attitudes in Germany. The study published on Thursday indicates that 8% of people in Germany have a right-wing extremist worldview, up from 23% in previous years. It was commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

An antisemitic worldview is held by 5.7% of respondents, up from 1.7% two years ago, and 3.3% in the previous survey. The number of those who totally rejected antisemitism dropped to 79.9 % from 88% and 86.8% in the previous two studies. In recent decades, many surveys of antisemitic attitudes in Germany and elsewhere in Europe have shown similar levels.

Six percent of respondents liked the idea of a dictatorship, up from 2-4% in previous years. More people identify as right or right of center: 15.5 % compared to 10% in the previous two studies.

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Chairman Martin Schulz

told German media that evidently “part of [German] society has less and less trust in democracy and feels threatened socially and economically.” He

stones were overturned in a Jewish section of the town cemetery of Köthen, in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The vandalism that took place between Sept. 15 and 19 is under police investigation.

As yet, police have no information about the perpetrators, but restoration costs are estimated at 20,000 euros, or at least $21,300.

Meantime, Germany has banned a neo-Nazi group after raiding the homes of its leaders across the country, in a move the government said “sends a clear signal against racism and antisemitism.”

suggested that it was important to stand up to the right-leaning trend as represented by the rising popularity of the anti-immigrant, anti-European Union Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in polls. The study came days after more than 40 grave-

The Hammerskins, a local spinoff of a group founded in the United States in the late 1980s, are accused of promoting criminal activities and of opposing the German constitution. According to a recent report from Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the group was the only remaining neo-Nazi organization active nationwide.

Read

An aerial view of the palace in Köthen, Germany.

Credit: Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt, Henrik Bollmann/Wikimedia Commons

Life cycles

BIRTH

LILA FLORENCE SMALL

Lindsay and Michael Small of Omaha are thrilled to announce the Aug. 28, 2023, birth of their daughter, Lila Florence.

Grandparents are Jill and Mark Belmont of Omaha, and Holly and Jerome Small of Youngstown, Ohio.

Great-grandparents are Barbara and Marshall Kushner of Omaha; the late Florence and Joseph Belmont; the late Anna and George Cohen; and the late Eleanor and Jerome Small.

B’NAI MITZVAH

ARI RHYS BLUMKIN

Ari Rhys Blumkin, son of Chris M. and Matt Blumkin, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at Temple Israel.

Ari is an eighth-grade student at Westside Middle School.

Ari takes guitar and vocie lessons at Rave on Studios and trains in Taekwondo at Siso Martial Arts. He loves learning about the different areas of the family business and discovering ways to contribute to its success. In his free time, Ari enjoys spending time with his friends and family.

For his mitzvah project, Ari has turned his love for animals into volunteer hours at the Nebraska Humane Society.

Grandparents are Chris L. and Ron Blumkin of Omaha.

Great-grandparents are the late Frances and Louie Blumkin of Omaha.

KOOPER DAVID MENIN

Kooper David Menin, will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, at Beth El.

Kooper is a seventh-grade student at Brownell Talbot.

Kooper is interested in basketball, golf, robotics club, riding his bike and doing art projects.

He has a younger brother, Charlie.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

As has been done for many years, the Henry Monsky Lodge of B’nai Brith has supplied beautiful pine boughs to decorate the sukkahs located on the JFO campus at: The Rose Blumkin Home, The Early Childhood Development Center, The Friedel Jewish Academy and the JCC.

Steve Riekes, a Trustee of the Lodge, wishes to thank David Jacobs and family, who brought the boughs to the campus and Gary Nachman, who supplied the pine boughs from his farm.

STEVE RIEKES

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.omahajew ishpress.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.

IN MEMORIAM

POLA BUCHEISTER KATSKEE

Pola Bucheister Katskee of Omaha passed away on Sept. 18, 2023, at age 65, following a severe stroke. Graveside services were held on Sept. 21, 2023, at Fisher Farm Jewish Cemetery in Bellevue and were officiated by Rabbi Steven Abraham and Hazzan Michael Krausman.

She was preceded in death by her loving and devoted husband, Melvin Katskee, and her parents, Freda and Joseph Bucheister who were both Holocaust survivors.

She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Dr. Anne and Rob Mass; brother and sister-in-law, Arie and Dr. Louise (Ruberman) Bucheister; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Sindie and Jerry Katskee, and Judy and Milton Katskee; nieces: Daniela Mass, Emily Mass, Rachel Winthrop (Edward), Naomi Gaca (Michal), Aliya Taylor (Justin), Gayle Green (David); nephews: Zachary Bucheister (Baylah), Joshua Bucheister (Shazeen), Adam Bucheister, Benjamin Mass, Richard Katskee (Rachel), and many more great-nieces and great-nephews.

Pola was born in Omaha on May 17, 1958, attended school in Omaha and graduated from Central High School. She was employed for most of her life by the Douglas County Court Clerk’s Office in the Omaha City/County Building.

She married Melvin Katskee in January of 1981. They were married for 39 years until his death in June of 2020. Pola will be remembered for her sweet disposition, joyful spirit, and her love of hats. Memorials may be made to Beth El Synagogue, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or the Florida Atlantic University Molly Fraiberg Judaica Collection.

NINA KAREN FREIFELD GILES

Nina Karen Freifeld Giles passed away on Sept. 18, 2023, at age 73 at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro, GA. A memorial service was held on Sept. 22, 2023, in the chapel of Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home in Statesboro. The family received friends following the service.

She is survived by her husband, Timothy David Giles; daughter, Anna Beth Giles; grandchildren: Margot Poppy Jones and Isabella Mia Jones; brother and sister, Martin Freifeld and Alison Cowan (and her dog, Lily).

Nina was a loving mother, wife, and grandmother. She was born on Jan. 17, 1950 in Springfield, MA. She graduated from Easton Area High School (Easton, PA) in 1967. Nina received a fullride art scholarship to the prestigious Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia and went on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa and Master of Fine Arts from East Carolina University. Coming from a family of artists, Nina thrived in her art career and was commissioned to paint several large murals and other public art in spaces like the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta. She also enjoyed sending family and friends handmade cards and gifts throughout the year.

Nina was an excellent teacher, having served both the public and private school systems for over 30 years. Even in her retirement, she would tutor students of all ages in the visual art medium. She was an incredible painter, specializing in large canvas paintings, charcoal drawings, prints, and woodcuts.

In her spare time, she loved to volunteer in senior living communities, painting with residents and reading to them. She was a strong spiritual believer and would imbue tenets of kindness and charity into all the work she did. Nina was greatly loved and will be tremendously missed by her family and friends.

Memorials may be made in Nina’s honor to an organization of your choice, in alignment with her spirit of kindness and charity. Friends may sign the online register book at www.joinerander son.com

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Welcome to the New Friedel Jewish Academy

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Friedel Jewish Academy’s new middle school, Sept. 12, brought teachers, heads of School (current and past), board members, volunteers, parents, members of the clergy and other community members together for a grand celebration. In between speeches by Beth Cohen, Head of School, Director of Learning Initiatives, Melissa Shrago, and volunteer Ari Kohen, guests enjoyed a kosher spread and tours of the new addition.

“When we talked about building a middle school,” Beth Cohen said, “we really had two distinct projects happening at the same time. There was a construction project, the taking of a 6,000 square foot concrete shell and turning it into an inviting and engaging educational space, and then there was the development of a unique 5th through 8th grade educational experience.”

Beth recognized those who made it happen, including:

The team from RDG Planning & Design, with lead architect Kevin Ruff; the team from Ronco Construction, led by our Project Manager Nate Bledsoe; the partners from the Jewish Federation of Omaha, led by current board president Mike Siegel, incoming president Nancy Schlessinger, CEO Bob Goldberg and COO Phil Malcom, and particularly Jason Epsenhart, who attended weekly construction meetings on behalf of the Federation, and James Donahue, the campus security director, for providing his expertise as Friedel planned for its new space; Jeff Kirshenbaum and Ari Kohen, who volunteered to be members of the construction team, giving their time every week and providing valuable input as decisions needed to be made.

Beth also shone a spotlight on Friedel’s staff:

“The foundational work done by our teachers is unmatched in Omaha,” she said. “For instance – did you know that 100% of our students finished last school year reading at or above grade level? That is just one of the many data points showing

the impressive student outcomes.”

In addition, Beth recognized adminsitrative assistant Mercedes Obora and director of advancement Sara Kohen.

Sara’s portfolio includes both recruitment and fundraising. Just to give you a snapshot of Sara’s work:

• There were 39 Jewish children in Omaha eligible to enroll in kindergarten this school year. 16 of them enrolled at Friedel. That’s 41% of eligible children choosing Friedel, an enrollment rate that is unheard-of in the Jewish day school world, thanks in large part to Sara’s work to inform families about all that Friedel has to offer.

• Since 2015, our annual income from grants has grown from $17,000 to $90,000, and we have been successful in securing grants from within the Omaha Jewish community, from the greater Omaha community, from state-wide grants and through grants from national philanthropic organizations. Finally, Beth introduced Director of Learning Initiatives, Melissa Shrago:

“I could tell you all about how she’s won both the Alice Buffet Outstanding Teacher Award and the Sokolof Outstanding Teacher Award,” Beth said. “I could tell you that she has an amazing sense for mentoring teachers and for connecting with students. I could tell you that we laugh a little too much in the office and that she has introduced animal prints to my wardrobe. But, the most important thing for you to know about Melissa is that she jumped on board with our dream of building a middle school, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Invited to help cut the actual ribbon were unwavering supporters of the school and the daughters of Leonard and Phyllis Friedel, Randi Jablin and Lynne Gelman; Lisa Marcus, on behalf of her siblings Jeff and Randi, with deep appreciation to their parents, Jerry and Linda Gordman of blessed memory;

Jay Gordman and Lloyd Roitstein, board members of the Dan Gordman Fund which has contributed for decades to support the day school and Jewish education in Omaha; Beth, Melissa, Ari Kohen and Jeff Zacharia.

Beth acknowledged the building isn’t completely done: “You may be looking around and thinking... um, Ms. Cohen... it doesn’t seem like everything is quite done yet,” she said. “And, yes, I’ll give you that, there is work left to finish. But, as our construction superintendent repeatedly said, ‘The kids gotta go to school!’ Our construction team was laser focused on our opening date of Aug. 16. Aside from some jackhammering, the school day was uninterrupted by construction, and we opened our middle school on schedule. The construction team has met weekly since December of 2022, and we were not without the challenges of delayed steel deliveries and missing HVAC parts. But, there is a quote from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks that I think sums up the drive that was behind our construction team: “The world our children will inherit is born in the schools we build today.”

Jeff Zacharia, left, Melissa Shrago, Ari Kohen, Randi Jablin, Lynne Gelman, Lisa Marcus, Jay Gordman, Lloyd Roitstein and Beth Cohen.