December 3, 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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DECEMBER 3, 2021 | 2 9 KIS LE V 578 2 | VO L. 1 02 | NO. 8 | CANDLELIGHTING | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 4:37 P.M.

PJ Elementary hits the mark 2021 Year-End Planning: Significant tax changes likely Page 5

The 2022 Grammy Awards: The Jewish nominees from Doja Cat to Drake to an Israeli cellist Page 8

The group spread out over 4 lanes for 2 rounds of bowling.

JENNIE GATES BECKMAN JFO Director of Community Engagement & Education osted at The Mark Bowling alley in Elkhorn, 22 children and 16 parents from all over Jewish Omaha spent two hilarious hours bowling on a Sunday afternoon. For many it was a reunion of sorts, with some kids knowing each other from the ELC or from camp. For others,

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like Stacy Feldman, it was a new opportunity: “We recently moved to Omaha and the PJ Library bowling program was our first. What a great way to meet other families in the community. It was awesome for me to meet other moms and my kids had a blast connecting with classmates and meeting new kids in our area. Can’t wait until the next one!”

Launched this past summer, the PJ Elementary initiative See PJ Elementary page 3

Telling Israel’s story to the world Page 9

Unraveling Racism

REGULARS Spotlight Voices Synagogues Life cycles

11 12 14 15

MURPHY SCOTT WULFGAR Communications Coordinator, Plains States Region (ADL-CRC) On Thursday, Dec. 9, the Ruby Platt Allyship Initiative (RPAI), in association with the Anti-Defamation League’s Plains States Region (ADL-CRC), the Jewish Federation of Omaha ( JFO), Beth El Synagogue and Temple Israel, kick off Unraveling Racism with Adam Fletcher Sasse—a 4-day series of events aimed at challenging our perceptions about the meaning of racism, about our Black/Jewish shared history in North Omaha, and the overall concepts of

white privilege and white supremacy.

This collection of educational and interactive opportunities represents our community’s latest entry in the endeavor of elevating inclusion and awareness within the Jewish community. Each day will focus on a different topic, or thread, as participants engage with concepts and ideas to help them better understand and reconcile the past, and to actively engage in anti-racism work and allyship in the here and now. All events will be led by North Omaha native and author, Adam Fletcher Sasse. Reservations to and information about all events can be made through ADL-CRC’s website: omaha.adl.org/rpai.

The 4-day schedule of events will include: THURSDAY, DEC. 9, 2021 Educator Speaker Series: Addressing White Privilege and More from 4:30– 6 p.m. in the JCC Community Engagement Venue features an in-person only, interactive workshop See Unraveling Racism page 3

Friedel’s new Director of Learning Initiatives

SARA KOHEN Friedel Jewish Academy Director of Advancement Ashley Barrow, Friedel’s new Director of Learning Initiatives, is a familiar face around school. Mrs. Barrow, who has a bachelor’s degree in Education with an Early Childhood Endorsement and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, is in her eleventh year at Friedel.

In her new position, Mrs. Barrow

is adding to her existing roles of teaching student’s weekly innovation learning classes and serving as the school librarian. Now, Mrs. Barrow also is helping the school develop new programs that enhance the student experience. After training in these programs, Mrs. Barrow is training other staff so they can be implemented in the classrooms.

Her favorite new program is See Friedel page 2

2 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

Friedel Continued from page 1 Friedel’s Compost Club. As part of this effort, Mrs. Barrow has trained the “Green Team,” fifth and sixth graders who help the younger students compost food waste, paper towels and lunch containers. Mrs. Barrow says the Compost Club is meaningful to her “because keeping compostable waste out of landfills will begin to save our Earth for generations to come.”

Another project Mrs. Barrow is leading is Friedel’s No Place for Hate Committee and Books Matter Program. No Place for Hate and Books Matter are ADL programs aimed at creating inclusive school cultures and preventing bias and bullying. As Friedel’s coordinator, Mrs. Barrow works with a student committee to plan activities for the whole school. For instance, Mrs. Barrow recently used the book Same, Same, Different as part of Library lessons, and fifth and sixth graders led an all-school discussion about how we are the same and how we are different from our schoolmates.

Mrs. Barrow is also proud of her role in helping start a new standardized testing program, a vertical garden, a mileage

club, staff dress-up days and a new spin on healthy habits week. Mrs. Barrow’s favorite thing about working at Friedel, however, is not just one program.

Rather, she loves how tight-knit the school community is. She says, “I don’t think it’s typical for a teacher to know

everyone’s first and last name in a school and recognize parents at pick up and drop off, but at Friedel, all the teachers do.”

We can’t wait to see what Mrs. Barrow does next!

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The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021 | 3

News

PJ Elementary

LOCA L | N ATION AL | WORLD

Unraveling Racism

The youngest bowler of the group, Mia, came out with the highest score! Pictured are Naama Abraham, left, Mia Werner, Sadie Beckman, Shayna Feldman and Anna Pitman-Kogan

Continued from page 1 plans monthly meet-ups designed to provide a casual, fun atmosphere where families with children in elementary school can build and maintain ties to their Jewish peers from across the greater Omaha area.

Unlike some of the other programs PJ Library runs for younger children, this series is focused almost exclusively on allowing kids (AND parents) to hang out and spend time with one another, in settings where the activity itself doesn’t get in the way of folks meeting one another or having a conversation.

There are no rules for defining Jewishness with these programs. Families of all backgrounds are welcome and siblings of all ages may join.

“We realize that families are busy. Whether you can attend monthly or just once doesn’t matter; we just want to stay connected!” says co-organizer Abigail Kutler.

PJ Elementary folks are encouraged to join the community at the Hanukkah Extravaganza from 3-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5, while in January families will be meeting up Sunday, Jan. 23 to go ice skating and sledding at Mahoney State Park.

Support for PJ Library in 2021 has been made possible by funding from the Special Donor-Advised Fund at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, as well as the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation. For more information about the program series and to make sure you receive notice of all the events, visit: https://www.survey monkey.com/r/PJElementary.

Continued from page 1 for educators. Attendees will explore the role of white privilege and white supremacy, focus on the history of education and current realities of white supremacy in education and explore how to dismantle white privilege in learning and teaching.

History: The Framework of Our Legacy from 6:30–8 p.m. in the JCC Theater, in-person and via Zoom live stream. This panel discussion looks at the legacy of the Jewish community in North Omaha and the impact our unique history has had on Omaha’s development.

Panelists include Eric Ewing, Brenda Council, Adam Fletcher Sasse and Marty Shukert. The discussion is moderated by ADL-CRC Regional Director Gary Nachman with a small reception after.

FRIDAY, DEC. 10, 2021 History: Meeting the Elders from 1–3 p.m. in the JCC Wiesman Room is a limited seating, in-person-only event for anyone who has a story to share with Adam about their family’s history or their own personal account of the journey of the Jewish Community in North Omaha.

White Supremacy: Unravelling What We Don’t Know from 6–7:30 p.m., Adam Fletcher Sasse delivers Temple Israel’s Friday evening D’var Torah in-person and

streaming live via Temple Israel’s FB Page.

SATURDAY, DEC. 11, 2021 Privilege: Owning It & Putting It to Work from noon–1:30 p.m. Adam Fletcher Sasse delivers a short D’var Torah during Beth El’s Saturday morning Shabbat service, followed by discussion both inperson at the synagogue and streaming via Beth El’s usual Saturday morning

service link.

Privilege: The Power of Youth Voice in Action from 6:30–8:30 p.m. in the JCC’s Community Engagement Venue is an inperson only, youth workshop with Adam Fletcher Sasse.

It aims to engage young people to explore meaningful ways of challenging oppression and injustice, and deepen their skills as leaders in every facet of their lives. This workshop is suitable for teens (grades 7-12).

Kosher pizza dinner is included.

SUNDAY, DEC. 12, 2021 Apathy: Benign Neglect & White Flight from 2–4 p.m. in-person at Omaha’s CULXR House (24th Street) and streaming via Zoom is a panel discussion about the often overlooked and (to some) seemingly invisible thread of passivity has created intrenched segregation, generational imbalances of power and wealth, and fueled misconceptions and perceptions about entire sections of our city and the people who live here. Panelists will include Preston Love Jr., Terri Sanders and Adam Fletcher Sasse and the discussion will be moderated by former ADL-CRC Regional Director, Bob Wolfson.

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS INVITES THE COMMUNITY TO AN

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$ODQ 3RWDVK THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2021 • 2:30 - 3:30 P.M. Shirley & Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue 333 South 132nd Street • Omaha, NE

Please join us as we thank Alan for his years of service and wish him well in his future endeavors.

RSVP by December 16th to Jessi Taylor at 402-334-6407 or jtaylor@jewishomaha.org

4 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

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

B’Nai Israel Friday Night Service

CAROLE LAINOF Sivan Cohen, our Community schlicha will be the Friday night guest speaker at B’nai Israel on Dec. 10, beginning at 7:30 p.m. She is a connoisseur of Israeli wine and spirits and will host a wine tasting during the Oneg after services.

Sivan brings much life experience to her current position as schlicha for the entire Metro area. She is a physiotherapist by profession and a wine sommelier representing several Israeli

Sivan Cohen

wineries and distilleries.

Sivan will talk about her impressions of Jewish life in our area and discuss some of the programs and groups she has been involved with so far. We look forward to getting more acquainted with our emissary from Israel!

Services will be led by congregation members. We invite anyone to join us in our historical synagogue on Mynster St. in Council Bluffs. Everyone is always welcome at B’Nai Israel

Save the date: Appreciation and farewell for Alan Potash

Mark your calendars for Thursday, Dec. 30 at 2:30-3:30 p.m.! The Jewish Federation of Omaha and its board of directors invite the entire community to attend an appreciation and farewell reception for Chief Executive Officer Alan Potash.

After seven years, Alan’s last day as CEO for the Jewish Federation of Omaha is Dec. 31, 2021. We also sincerely thank Alan for his meaningful role as Executive Director of the ADL-Plains States Region.

We plan to come together in the Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Community Engagement Venue. Dessert will be served and everyone is welcome.

Please join us as we wish him well in his future endeavors, and thank him for all he has accomplished during his time here.

We ask that you send your RSVP to Jessi Taylor at 402.334.6407 or jtaylor@jewish omaha.org by Dec. 16 at the latest.

Winter session of Exploring Judaism classes

gregation in Alexandria, VA. During the sumMARK KIRCHHOFF Community Philanthropy & Engagement mer of 2014, Scott returned to live in Omaha The winter session of Exploring Judaism where he served for three years as the Probegins on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and continues gram Director at Temple Israel. Scott is curon subsequent Mondays through March rently the Executive Director for the Institute 7, 2022. (The first Tuesday for Holocaust Education. Scott class is a one-time adjusthas taught Exploring Judaism ment.) Classes are from 7through the Jewish Federation 8:30 p.m. Exploring Judaism of Omaha since 2015. is designed for those in the Registration is currently open process of conversion, those by going to the Jewish Federainterested in refreshing their tion of Omaha’s website (jew knowledge of Judaism, or ishomaha.org), and selecting those with a general interest the sliding banner for Explorin Judaism with a desire to ing Judaism at the top of the learn more. Classes will again page. From there, follow the be conducted virtually via links as presented. A class sylZoom. Pending a determinalabus button is also available tion that there will be no on that page. Alternately, you COVID-related concerns, the may register by calling Mark Scott Littky session discussing the mikKirchhoff at 402.334.6463 or vah will be an on-site tour at the Staenberg emailing him at mkirchhoff@jewishom Omaha Jewish Community Center and the aha.org. The fee for the series is $180 per Rose Blumkin Jewish Home. If this is not pos- person. The Jewish Federation of Omaha sible, or for those unable to attend that ses- ( JFO) presents the class as a gift, free of sion, informational videos teaching about charge, to current contributors to the Annual the mikvah will be used.

Campaign of the JFO, to those who are active Exploring Judaism is taught by Scott Littky, congregants of an Omaha synagogue, to an experienced Jewish education profes- those who are being guided in a conversion sional. He began his career in Jewish educa- process by the clergy of one of the synation in 1985 as a religious school teacher. gogues and to JFO employees. Payment proFrom 1988 until 1997 he served the Bureau of cedures will be presented upon registration.

Jewish Education of Omaha as a Community We encourage you to begin or refresh your Teacher. He taught at Friedel Jewish Acad- knowledge of Judaism by participating in this emy in addition to afternoon religious school class. Register now and recruit a friend to parprograms. Scott served 17 years as a Director ticipate with you. The conversations you are of Education beginning at Beth El Synagogue likely to have between classes can be a meanin Omaha, followed by Beth Israel Synagogue ingful addition to your learning and generate in Ann Arbor, MI, and Agudas Achim Con- additional questions for the next class.

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2021 Year-End Planning: Significant tax changes likely ers and $8,000 for married joint filers).

• Expansion of the IRA Charitable Rollover.

Proposed legislation would expand the annual limit on IRA charitable rollovers to $130,000 ( from its current level of $100,000) for direct transfers to charity, and permit transfers to charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities of up to $400,000. A House proposal would index the rollover amount to inflation and permit one-time transfers to charitable remainder trusts and gift annuities at a $50,000 level.

UPCOMING TAX CHANGES: • An end to the expanded charitable deduction for itemizers. COVID relief legislation passed in 2020 provided that charitable contributions made in cash to most charities (but not DAFs) were generally deductible to up to 100 percent of a taxpayer’s gross income, rather than the usual 60 percent (with a carryover subject to certain limitations). This generous rule is set to expire at the end of 2021, and the Biden Administration has not proposed to extend it.

• Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are back. For 2020, the CARES Act suspended the requirement that those who are 70½ or older take an RMD from certain retirement savings accounts (including IRAs, 401(k)s, and Roth 401(k)s). This requirement is back for 2021 (though it applies beginning at age 72), and the Biden Administration has not proposed to suspend it again. RMDs from IRAs and 401(k)s are taxable income.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR YEAR-END TAX PLANNING ARE LISTED BELOW: • Determine if (and how much) the ordinary income rate increase will affect you. If you have significant income in excess of the $450,000/$400,000 threshold, the proposed rate increase means it may be beneficial to defer deductions (including charitable deductions) to 2022 and beyond. This, however, is counter to the standard “tried and true” yearend tax planning mantra of deferring income and accelerating deductions to reduce the current year’s bill, which can have significant time-value-of-money benefits.

• Use appreciated assets to make a charitable gift in 2021. As in previous years, gifts of appreciated assets (stock) remains a best practice. With the continued bull market and potential and the proposed retroactive increase in the capital gains tax rates, charitable donations of appreciated property are more valuable than ever, providing not only a deduction to the donor but also the potential to avoid the higher capital gains tax.

• Consider accelerating noncharitable gifts.

The proposed decrease to the unified estate/gift credit takes effect with respect to transfers that occur after Dec. 31, so for taxpayers who are intent on making significant gifts (either during their lifetime or in the form of bequests), accelerating those gifts may provide a significant tax advantage.

• Consider donating to a DAF this year for maximum flexibility. If you are considering making a significant donation to charity over time but want a deduction today, this may be the last year to utilize the current flexibility provided by a DAF. It can be especially beneficial to donate appreciated property, because by doing so such property escapes capital gains taxation forever. The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation operates donor advised funds and will be happy to assist.

See 2021 Year-End Planning page 6

ORGANIZATIONS B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS 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.

Please let the Jewish Press know in advance when you are leaving and when you are returning.

Sometimes several papers are sent to your “old” address before we are notified by the Post Office.

Every time they return a paper to us, you miss the Jewish Press and we are charged! Please call us at 402.334.6448, email us at jpress@jewishomaha.org or see our website at omahajewishpress.com.

It’s not too late to save a life in Israel this year.

Photo by Kobi Gideon / FLASH90

Congress has been debating major new federal programs and the tax changes designed to fund them.

Individuals and their professional advisors should bear in mind these potential changes as they consider HOWARD EPSTEIN end-of-the-year tax Executive Director, JFO Foundation planning decisions.

The most significant legislative proposals and proposed tax law changes affecting individuals are listed below. Unless otherwise noted, the proposed tax changes would be effective no earlier than the 2022 tax year.

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS: • Increase top ordinary income rate to 39.6 percent and add a 3 percent surtax for high earners. The 39.6 percent rate would apply to joint filers with taxable income over $450,000 and unmarried individuals with taxable income over $400,000. An additional “surcharge” of 3 percent would apply to taxpayers with adjusted gross income (minus any investment interest deduction) in excess of $5 million.

• Increase the top tax rate for capital gains.

Under current law, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at a maximum rate of 23.8 percent. The House Ways & Means Committee proposes to raise the capital gains tax rate to 28.8 percent for taxpayers whose taxable income exceeds $450,000 (married filing jointly) or $400,000 (individual).

Unlike most of the other proposed changes, this change generally would be effective for gains realized on or after Sept. 13, 2021.

• Reduce the unified estate and gift tax exemption. Under current law, individuals may transfer up to $11.7 million during their lifetimes or at death and be exempt from the estate and gift tax. The proposed legislation restores the exemption to its 2010 level of $5 million for bequests and gifts made after Dec. 31, 2021.

• Eliminate the estate tax benefits from certain grantor trusts. Under current law, taxpayers may use a trust that is disregarded for income tax purposes but not for estate tax purposes (a so-called “intentionally defective grantor trust”) to allow assets’ future appreciation to escape the estate tax.

• Restrict the use of donor advised funds (DAFs). Under current law, taxpayers are allowed an immediate deduction for a contribution to a DAF. The contributed money may grow inside a DAF indefinitely until the taxpayer (or his/her designee) recommends the DAF grant the money to a charity. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Charles Grassley (RIA) have introduced a bill that would significantly restrict the flexibility of DAFs, most notably by requiring DAFs to distribute the contributed funds within 15 years of contribution in order for the taxpayer to receive an upfront deduction. These changes generally would be effective for contributions that occur after the date the legislation is signed into law.

• Expansion of the universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers. Proposed legislation seeks to expand the current universal charitable deduction enacted in the CARES Act of March 2020. The proposed legislation would allow a charitable deduction up to onethird of the standard deduction available to non-itemizers (about $4,000 for individual fil-

SNOWBIRDS

For more than 90 years, American donors have provided vehicles, training, and supplies to Israel’s national paramedic and Red Cross service, equipping them to treat the sick and injured under the most difficult circumstances and to save lives.

In fact, this past year Magen David Adom’s 30,000 EMTs and paramedics have been on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus while also contending with terrorist and rocket attacks, riots, car accidents, and other threats to Israeli lives.

If you want to make a real difference in Israel, no other organization has a greater impact on its people than Magen David Adom.

Make an end-of-year donation at afmda.org/saving-lives-2021 afmda.org

6 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

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Jury docks Charlottesville rally organizers $25 million

justice, this case has provided a model for accountability.”

RON KAMPEAS In a 2020 essay for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Spitalnick JTA A jury awarded $25 million against the white-supremacist said the goal of the lawsuit was to hold far-right organizers organizers of the deadly 2017 Charlottesville far-right rally, al- “accountable in court for the violence they orchestrated, with though it deadlocked on awarding damages under federal law. the potential to bankrupt and dismantle them through large Even as she declared victory in their effort to thwart organ- civil judgments.”

The millions of dollars the jury awarded were based on izers of potentially violent white supremacists events, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers reportedly hopes to retry the rally or- claims made under Virginia laws that award damages in cases of conspiracy; racial, religious or ethnic harassment and vioganizers on federal charges.

Jurors in the civil case against 24 groups and individuals lence; assault and battery; and intentional infliction of emodeadlocked on whether to award damages based on a federal tional distress.

On the conspiracy charge, jurors awarded $500,000 in damages conspiracy law that plaintiffs’ lawyers said underpinned their bid to crush the neo-Nazi movement. The result is that 17 de- against 12 individuals and $1 million against five organizations. fendants who mounted a defense will be required to pay substantive damages to nine people injured physically or emotionally during the violent weekend, but based only on Virginia state laws. (Seven groups and individuals who did not defend themselves — some could not be tracked down — will have default judgments rendered against them.)

Yet to be seen is whether substantial damages awarded under Virginia law will inhibit far right violence elsewhere in the country. A University of Virginia Jewish history professor, James Loeffler, who is covering the case, quoted the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Roberta Kaplan, as saying outside the court that she plans A memorial for Heather Heyer who was killed. On August 12, 2017, a car was to retry based on the two federal claims.

In a statement, Kaplan and her lead co-coun- deliberately driven into a crowd of people who had been peacefully protesting rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing one and injuring 28. sel, Karen Dunn, said the verdict “finally” ren- the Unite the Right Credit: Getty Images dered justice for the plaintiffs.

The claims for damages based on harassment and violence “The evidence was overwhelming that leaders of the white supremacist movement from all around the country planned were entered against five individuals who helped organize the for months to bring violence and intimidation to the streets rally and who were prominent in efforts after 2016 to latch onto of Charlottesville and that our brave clients, among many oth- President Trump’s nativist rhetoric as a means of drawing more ers, were injured when they dared to stand up for their values,” supporters to the white supremacist and neo-Nazi causes.

Those five are Richard Spencer, Jason Kessler, Elliott Kline, they said. “Today’s verdict sends a loud and clear message that facts matter, the law matters, and that the laws of this this Richard “Azzmador” Ray and Christopher Cantwell, who all country will not tolerate the use of violence to deprive racial featured prominently at events on Aug. 12, 2017, and the days and religious minorities of the basic right we all share to live that followed. Some, such as Spencer and Kessler, had gained mainstream media attention prior to the march because of as free and equal citizens.”

Kaplan and the group Integrity First for America, which re- their political activity on the fringes of the right-wing.

The other state claims, having to do with assault and emocruited plaintiffs and lawyers, went into the case two years ago in hopes of crippling the violent far right. Defendants, tional distress, apply only to James Fields, who is serving mulsome of whom represented themselves and some who hired tiple life sentences for killing Heather Heyer and wounding at white supremacist lawyers, used the case to platform their ex- least 19 other people when he rammed his car into counterprotesters. Those damages amount to $12 million of the overtreme views and to recruit others to their cause.

Integrity First declared victory. “These judgments under- all $25-plus million.

As soon as the clerk of the court announced the damages, score the major financial, legal, and operational consequences for violent hate — even beyond the significant impacts this lawyers for the defendants asked that they be capped at case has already had,” the group’s executive director, Amy Spi- $350,000 according to Virginia tort law. Many of the defendants talnick, said in a statement. “And at a moment of rising ex- have already said they will not be able to pay the damages, and tremism, major threats to our democracy, and far too little that they have been financially drained by the defense.

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2021 Year-End Planning Continued from page 5 • Charitable donations of cash may be useful if offsetting a large portion of taxable income. 2021 likely will be the last year you can use a charitable donation of cash to offset more than 60 percent of your adjusted gross income. For taxpayers who are in a position to make a significant charitable gift, this may provide an opportunity. Note that contributions in excess of 60 percent of AGI cannot be made to a DAF, so careful planning is in order to balance DAF and non-DAF contributions.

• Consider if an intentionally defective grantor trust is right for you. If you have property that you expect to appreciate significantly in the future, 2021 may be your last chance to use an intentionally defective grantor trust to mitigate the estate tax that would otherwise apply when the property is passed to your descendants.

• Look into an IRA charitable rollover. The IRA charitable

rollover is an attractive option because it can satisfy the RMD requirement without incurring income tax, even if you don’t itemize your deductions. Under current Federal regulations, the Jewish Federation of Omaha is eligible to receive IRA charitable rollovers, and will be happy to do so. However, the Foundation is not eligible to receive charitable IRA rollovers.

As with any significant tax and charitable planning, it is always advisable to carefully consider potential changes in the context of your complete financial profile. We also recommend that you monitor the above legislative proposals as Congress debates them.

Disclaimer: The Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation does not provide tax advice. This article is written to provide information only. We urge you to consult with your own professional tax, legal and financial advisors before taking any action. Contact Howard Epstein at 402.334.6466 or hepstein@ jewishomaha.org for more information.

The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021 | 7

Remains of Jewish COVID-19 victims transferred

day of Mimouna, which is celebrated by MoDAVID I. KLEIN roccan Jews at the end of Passover.

JTA At the time, Morocco had no official diploThe bodies of seven Moroccan-Jewish vicmatic relations with Israel, making coordinatims of the COVID-19 pandemic were flown tion between the two countries over the to Israel after being interred in a Casablanca burial of Moroccan Jews in Israel an imposJewish cemetery more than a year ago. sibility.

Many Israelis vacationing in the The transfer was arranged by ZAKA, an IsNorth African country even found themraeli volunteer rescue and recovery organiselves stranded when Morocco closed its zation which focuses on ensuring Jewish borders and Israeli planes were forbidden burial rites for victims of terror and natural disasters, as well as the Casablanca Chevra from entering to bring them home.

In December 2020, Morocco and Israel Kadisha, a local Jewish burial society.

Among the dead was Rabbi Sholom Eidelman, one of the first emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who lived in Morocco for more than 60 years. A second funeral held 18 months after his death drew many of his students in Israel, including former Israeli Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who was born and spent much of his childhood in Casablanca.

Eidelman and the others whose bodies were brought to Israel all Israeli tourists receive a rose and a welcome beverage died during the first months of the upon arrival at Marrakech-Menara International Airport COVID-19 pandemic when the after taking the first commercial flight between Morocco virus ripped through the Moroccan and Israel, on July 25, 2021. Credit: Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images Jewish community.

During the first month of the pandemic, normalized relations in exchange for U.S. Jews represented more than 10% of Mo- President Donald Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s known COVID-19 deaths, despite roccan sovereignty over the disputed region making up less than 1% of the country. The of Western Sahara.

As part of the arrangement, Morocco virus was believed to have first spread opened its borders to Israeli flights. The first through the community after a Purim party Tel Aviv-Marrakech route was flown last July; and Jewish wedding in March 2020. last week, as Israel’ s entry requirements loosIn the community of approximately 2,000 ened, its passengers included the pandemic Jews, the string of deaths was devastating victims’ bodies and those accompanying them. and cast a pall on the normally festive holi-

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Less than half of Jewish Israelis support army draft

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel SHIRA HANAU Democracy Institute, warned that shifting JTA A new poll conducted in Israel found that a from a universal draft to a professional army majority of Israelis support abolishing its would be disastrous for Israel’s security.

“We may find ourselves in a situation in mandatory army draft.

The Israel Democracy Institute has been which a small minority of idealists serve in studying the question since 2017, and this was the military alongside those who chose to the first time that it found that more Israelis were supportive of the idea of abolishing the draft than were opposed to it.

In this year’s survey, 47% of Jewish respondents believe the draft should be abolished while 42% disagreed. In 2017, just 38% supported “professionalization” of the army, Israeli soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade during a swearwhile 59% opposed it. ing-in ceremony in Jerusalem, Nov. 11, 2021. Credit: Arie Leib In Israel, all citizens are Abrams/Flash90 drafted into the army at age 18, though Arab and Druze Israelis are given sign up for lack of any better employment opexemptions, as are most haredi Orthodox cit- tions,” Plesner said.

He added: “It is important to understand izens and many religious women.

The poll also indicates that among younger that, without retaining some form of the ‘peoIsraelis, support for the draft is far lower than ple’s army’ model, Israel’s security cannot be among older Israelis, which could increase guaranteed for the long term.”

The poll, which surveyed 1,003 Israelis in public support for ending the draft in the years to come. Among those ages 18-44, 54- Hebrew and Arabic, was conducted by the Is57% supported abolishing the draft while just rael Democracy Institute via phone calls and 31-32% of those ages 55 and up felt the same. the internet between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4.

8 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

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

The 2022 Grammy Awards: The Jewish nominees from Doja Cat to Drake to an Israeli cellist SHIRA HANAU JTA Some of the music industry’s most popular Jewish artists were included in the 2022 Grammy Award nominations unveiled on Tuesday.

Here’s a roundup: Doja Cat, a Black and Jewish pop star-rapper hybrid who has become one of the most listened-to artists in the world — Spotify lists her as the 7th-most-streamed musician on its

was nominated for Best Rap Performance for his hit Way 2 Sexy and Best Rap Album of the year for his latest LP, Certified Lover Boy. Despite having once participated in a mock re-staging of his bar mitzvah on Saturday Night Live, he has been guarded in recent years in talking about his Jewish identity.

Stephen Schwartz, the legendary musical theater writer, was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots, a scrapbook musical including songs from a range of his musicals, including Wicked, Pippin and Godspell.

Doja Cat performs at the Austin City Limits Festival, Oct. 9, 2021. Credit: Jim Bennett/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Drake at the Los Angeles premiere of the HBO series Euphoria, June 4, 2019. Credit: Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

platform as of Wednesday morning — racked up nominations in seven categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, Melodic Rap Performance and Rap Song. She has a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish South African father.

Jewish day school grad Jack Antonoff, who wore a Star of David necklace to the MTV Music Awards in 2017, has become one of the most in-demand pop producers in the industry. He was nominated for Non-Classical Producer of the Year for his work in the past year with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Lorde and others.

Canadian Jewish rapper Drake, winner of four past Grammys (in addition to a record-breaking 29 Billboard Music Awards),

Aaron Dessner, part of the indie rock band The National, was included in Taylor Swift’s nomination in the Album of the Year category for the album Evermore, which he helped write, along with Antonoff. (The pair did the same with Swift’s Folklore album last year.) Dessner’s brother Bryce, who is also in The National and was also included in the nomination for helping in the recording process, wrote a classical music piece in 2013 partially inspired by their Jewish grandmother’s heritage and immigration to the United States.

Israeli cellist Matt Haimovitz was co-nominated for his work on an album up for Best Classical Solo Voice Album. He was also nominated last year in the classical compendium category.

The awards ceremony will take place Jan. 31 in Los Angeles.

A ‘West Side Story’ Hanukkah

LISA KEYS New York Jewish Week via JTA The opening shot is a panorama of the George Washington Bridge, its tower and the surrounding buildings transformed into a flickering menorah with all nine of its candles lit. A West Side Chanukah Story, the opening text announces — and immediately, the very New York sounds of traffic and car horns give way to a familiar sequence of snaps and the wordless singing of a well-known tune.

So begins the latest Hanukkah parody video from the New York-based Jewish a cappella group Six13. The video is a voicesonly compilation of and riff off of some of the greatest hits from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s iconic 1957 Broadway musical, West Side Story, including Maria (reimagined here as Menorah) and Tonight (which becomes Eight Nights).

While Hanukkah a cappella parody videos have become something of an annual tradition in recent years, a major inspiration for this particular video is the forthcoming reboot of the 1961 film version of West Side Story. Directed and coproduced by Steven Spielberg, with an updated screenplay

by Tony Kushner, the new film is set to hit theaters on Dec. 10. “When I heard that was coming out, I was like, when?” original Six13 member and chief arranger Mike Boxer said.

“We are doing this, for sure.”

Six13’s Hanukkah-inspired musical medley, filmed on location in Manhattan, is chockablock with clever Festival of Lights puns and imagery. For example, in On Chanukah — a version of the West Side Story showstopper America — the lyrics include: “Chocolate money on Hanukkah/Latkes are crunchy on Hanukkah/Presents from Bubbe on Hanukkah/I want a puppy for Hanukkah!” (This last lyric is notably a reference to David Digg’s 2020 instant classic, Puppy for Hanukkah.)

It’s truly a delightful watch from this well-seasoned group, which first formed 18 years ago as an outgrowth of a co-ed Jewish a cappella group at Binghamton University. After college, Boxer and a few buddies missed the camaraderie of the group, he said. And so they formed Six13; essentially “just guys who like to sing,” as he described it.

“Over the years, the guys would get a promotion at work, or would do things like get into med school, or have a third or fourth kid, and their time [with the group] would expire,” Boxer said. “The silver lining was, every time we lost someone, we gained someone who was even better.”

These days, Six13 consists of eight members, most of whom range in age from 26 to 32, according to Boxer, who, at 41, is the elder of the group.

Singing a cappella, Boxer points out, is something Jews, regardless of their musical abilities, do all the time. “That’s something everyone around the world is going to be doing on Sunday night,” he said, “singing a cappella around their menorahs.”

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The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021 | 9

Telling Israel’s story to the world times I make mistakes, but I laugh it off. It’s RENEE GHERT-ZAND Tamar Schwarzbard is grateful for getting the only way to learn. I even spoke in Hebrew to tell Israel’s story to the world every day— on a TV morning show!” not through lectures or opinion columns, but Despite Schwarzbard’s positive attitude, she via social platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Face- doesn’t shrug off the challenges of aliyah. She book, YouTube and Instagram. credits Nefesh B’Nefesh with helping her and A U.S. native who immigrated to Israel eight other new immigrants navigate Israel’s buyears ago, Schwarzbard isn’t just any online reaucracy. After the pandemic arrived, advocate for Israel. As head of new media at Schwarzbard was forced to go a year and a Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it’s her job half without seeing her parents, brother or to communicate with global audiences about other relatives back in the United States. her adopted home.

But she also found herself at her most creDepending on the day, Schwarzbard over- ative during the pandemic. She launched the sees between 20 and 30 employees at the For- Foreign Ministry’s TikTok account, which aceign Ministry’s headquarters in Jerusalem. She crued 146,000 followers in just six months. is in charge of the ministry’s branding and digWith social media taking up so much of her ital ecosystem, which operates in six languages. time and energy during the day, Schwarzbard Schwarzbard works primarily in English, but makes a concerted effort to turn off her comshe supervises work carried out in Hebrew, puter and silence her phone in the evenings.

Farsi, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. The She has also limited her personal social media Jerusalem-based ministry team works with presence to Twitter and LinkedIn. over 100 Israeli missions and embassies worldwide.

“For me, the excitement is less about the social media and more about the worldwide reach and the opportunity to shape hearts and minds,” she said.

This 31-year-old Jerusalemite is one of a growing number of American immigrants to Israel playing increasingly prominent and Tamar Schwarzbard is one of a growing number of American imimportant roles in Israeli migrants to Israel playing increasingly prominent and important government or business. roles in Israeli government or business. Credit: Tamar Schwarzbard Schwarzbard sees her success as a combinaWhen not working, Schwarzbard likes to run tion of luck and good timing — and an exam- in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park and read historical ple of how Israel is capitalizing on the value nonfiction. She’s acquired a sizable circle of and unique contributions of new immigrants friends — both native Israelis and immigrants. who come with university degrees or profes“I have a hybrid social circle,” she said, “but sional track records.

I would have to say that my closest friends are “My potential as an olah is appreciated. I’ve Israelis I met here, including fellow former been truly welcomed,” Schwarzbard said. “I students, roommates, and colleagues from don’t take it for granted.” work. It is important to break out of the Growing up in the Flatbush neighborhood American olim bubble.” of Brooklyn as the youngest of four children Although Schwarzbard tries to separate work in a modern Orthodox family, Schwarzbard from personal time, the reality of her job is that always imagined herself making aliyah — im- she is on call 24 hours a day, six days a week migrating and living her adult life in Israel. (seven days a week in times of national crisis).

Her family was Zionist, including her four She says she doesn’t mind, because she Holocaust survivor grandparents. Her pater- knows she is making a broad and significant nal grandparents and one of her older sisters impact. She loves to engage with people, creimmigrated ahead of her. Another sister made ating relationships and opportunities for diaaliyah after her. logue. She especially likes it when she can As with all American olim nowadays, their leverage other olim in her work. immigration was facilitated by Nefesh B’NeShe encourages other young people to confesh, which assists with immigration from sider making Israel their home, despite the North America in partnership with Israel’s challenges.

Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish “Israel is a land of opportunity. You can reAgency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael ally make a difference and leverage the skills and JNF-USA. you have from growing up abroad,” she said.

When Schwarzbard moved to Israel from “You can make it to the top of your field here.”

New York in August 2013 after graduating Networking, she says, is key. “That is why I from Yeshiva University’s Stern College with a always respond to other immigrants who history degree, she was unsure where she was reach out to me on LinkedIn.” going professionally. She had secured a reSchwarzbard rejects the Hebrew descripcruitment position with Yeshiva University’s tion of what she does as “hasbara,” which she Israel office so she could hit the ground run- says connotes propaganda. ning, but she didn’t view the post as a career“What we do is public diplomacy. There is making job. nothing we need to justify or be defensive She ended up going back to school, getting about,” she said. “What we do is tell Israel’s a master’s degree in communications and story and prepare for the future. We engage, journalism at the Hebrew University ( free or create relationships, and respond.” heavily discounted university tuition is one of Schwarzbard says her goal is to share what the benefits Israel offers new immigrants). she herself has discovered since making While still in school, Schwarzbard took a stu- aliyah: “Israel is a normal country. It is perdent position in the Foreign Ministry’s digital fectly imperfect, and it is far more than the Isdiplomacy department, and she ended up raeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel is a complex staying on after completing her degree in 2017. place, and our stories are similar and relevant

By January 2020, Schwarzbard had worked to those of other places around the world.” her way up to her current position, where she’s This article was sponsored by and proalso a deputy to the head of digital diplomacy. duced in partnership with Nefesh B’Nefesh, Schwarzbard credits the Hebrew language which in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry education she received at Brooklyn’s Shu- of Aliyah, The Jewish Agency, KKL and JNFlamith School for Girls for putting her in a USA is minimizing the professional, logisgood stead upon her arrival in Israel. She only tical and social obstacles of aliyah, and needed one semester of ulpan, an intensive has brought over 65,000 olim from North Hebrew course, to get up to speed.

America and the United Kingdom for “I threw myself into Hebrew and Israeli cul- nearly two decades. This article was proture. It was sink or swim,” she recalls. “Some- duced by JTA’s native content team.

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10 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

Dreaming of post-pandemic Jewish life.

CNAAN LIPSHIZ MUNICH | JTA The scene here was supposed to be jubilant this week: After a year and a half of lockdowns and curtailed community activity, rabbis from across Europe were due to gather for a conference to dream big about post-pandemic Jewish life.

Instead, rising COVID-19 case counts caused the Conference of European Rabbis to cancel the three-day event.

“When infections began rising we realized we needed to postpone to March,” said Gady Gronich, the group’s Munichbased CEO. “It was done with a heavy heart. But it had to be done.”

The government didn’t pull the plug on the event, Gronich said, but as the scale of the fourth wave became apparent, “it became inevitable.”

The surge in cases across Europe, but especially in Germany and Austria, has put a damper on what many had hoped would be a lasting emergence from pandemic strictures. After

the most recent lockdown in Munich ended in May, many community leaders had invested in reinvigorating communal activity. Now, locals are gearing up to instead celebrate Hanukkah alone and wonder yet again about what the future holds.

“We were pretty active in the community before COVID, but now not so much, because there’s very little that they’re able to offer,” Andi Katz, a mother of two, said outside the Ohel Jakob Synagogue. “I miss full community life very much.”

But conditions now are better than earlier in the pandemic for Munich’s Jewish community of about 9,500 members – Germany’s second-largest after Berlin. Katz was watching her two young sons play in Saint Jacob’s Square, the site of the city’s Jewish community complex housing the synagogue, Jewish museum and cafe, and Einstein, Munich’s only full-service kosher restaurant.

All of the facilities and others in Munich were closed from March to May 2020, and residents’ movement was restricted

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to the immediate surroundings of their homes, in an effort to beat back the pandemic’s punishing first wave.

Now, as is the case in many places where the availability of vaccines has transformed the pandemic’s risks, the facilities are open with precautions in place. Per a government mandate imposed last week, vaccination certificates are required for entry, and masks are inspected to make sure they meet the stringent FFP2 standard. On a recent day, one foreign visitor was turned away because her mask was lower quality.

Synagogues, too, are open, at least for now. Ohel Jakob, one of two synagogues to hold services on weekdays, not just Shabbat, drew 30 men on a recent evening — a larger-thanaverage crowd as members fear a potential restrictions ahead.

“I don’t usually come to synagogue but it’s always nice to be able to,” said Micha Gendelmann, a local Jewish man in his fifties who was born in what is today Ukraine. “So today I took off early from work to actually make use of the synagogue being open.”

Currently, houses of worship are allowed to operate if they observe social distancing. But an imminent closure of places of worship and other gathering spots seems possible in Bavaria, the southern state whose capital is Munich, and whose authorities have been among the most stringent in Europe in terms of applying COVID-19 emergency measures during the current wave.

Last week, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder ordered the closure of all bars, clubs and live venues for at least three weeks starting Nov. 24. Munich’s famed Christmas market was canceled last week, at the same time that the Conference of European Rabbis decided to defer its meeting.

The measures applied in Germany are laxer than in neighboring Austria, which announced last week that it would become Europe’s first democracy to impose a vaccine mandate for all adult citizens. Germany and Austria have some of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, though their rates are higher than the United States’.

The prevalence of disease, combined with the relatively large numbers of unvaccinated adults, mean Germany is projected to experience many instances of serious illness and death in the coming months.

“The current pandemic situation in Germany is dramatic, I can’t say it any other way,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week. “The fourth wave is hitting our country with full force.”

Given the current conditions, “the Conference of European Rabbis needed to demonstrate responsibility” by canceling its meeting, said Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the body’s president.

The group’s steering committee of 35 people met in Munich as scheduled. With fewer distractions and mingling opportunities, “the discussions were very brisk and focused,” Goldschmidt said.

Goldschmidt was less able to envision a silver lining for a communal lockdown. Online services and other community events were well attended during the first two lockdowns, he observed, “but when the novelty wore off, attendance dropped. It’s not a replacement to actual communal life.”

Indeed, a new lockdown would be a “painful blow and setback” to Yaacov Sellem, the 44-year-old catering professional who runs the community’s only kosher restaurant, which opened at the Saint Jacob’s Square Jewish complex in 2007.

The new restrictions and the cancellation of the rabbis conference are “part of our routine lives nowadays,” said Schlomo Hofmeister, the Munich-born rabbi of the Jewish Community organization in Vienna. “We try to live a normal life, we try to plan for normality and again and again we are overtaken by reality.”

The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021 | 11

Above: Jesse Bloom, Rabbi Shais Taub and Rabbi Mendel Katzman.

Above: 8th-10th Grade Holocaust Studies Class visits Union Station in KC – Auschwitz, then and now.

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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.

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Above: Lourdes Secola, Helen Kay and Rochi Katzman at Rabbi Shais Taub’s presentation on Mental Health.

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12 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021

Voices

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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. 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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Be the miracle

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT Jewish Press Editor Just as I was ready to write a nice op-ed about giving to the Annual Campaign, something disappointing happened. On Monday, Nov. 22, I came to work to find the latest issue of the Catholic Voice on my desk. Like the Jewish Press, the CV is a communitybased paper and it has been published in the Omaha diocese for 118 years. I usually just glance at the front page; I don’t actually read much of it, but I like to keep it around in case I want to consult with anyone on their staff. We serve a very different audience, but underneath the skin, we are the same. As a highly localized community paper, we face the same challenges and experience the same conundrums.

“This issue,” it said on the front page, “is the final one being published in printed form.”

Inside, editor Dan Rossini explains what brought the CV to this point, which is a combination of decreased advertising income and the lingering effects of the pandemic. It’s heartbreaking to see a publication that has served its readers for 118 years disappear. Yes, Northeastern Nebraska Catholics will be able to get their news online, but we all know it is not the same, no matter how optimistically we may spin it. It’s impossible not to take it personally whenever another small paper goes under. I cannot count how many we’ve lost over the past decade. And yet, here we still are: our smallbut-mighty Jewish Press that continues week after week, is somehow hanging in there.

There is a very specific reason for that: you. So, back to that Annual Campaign plug: because you

all give so generously to our Jewish Federation of Omaha, the Jewish Press can continue to print as well as maintain a robust online presence. The

question so many other communities, both within the Jewish world as outside of it, have asked: do we continue to fight and print, or do we go online only?

I believe it is the wrong question. It is not an ‘either-or’ issue; it should be both. If we genuinely want to engage as many members of our community as possible, we cannot rely on the internet alone. We have to do both, and we have to do them equally well. That means funds need to be allocated to our print edition (which, let’s face it, hasn’t seen a profit in recent history) so those who need to hold a tangible lifeline in their hands can find it in their mailbox. For those of us who live online, the news needs to be at our fingertips. The website

needs to be updated as often as our skeleton staff can handle. The thought of leaving even one reader behind is unacceptable. We are not in this business to make a profit; we are in it to build and maintain relationships.

I know many of you have already pledged generously to the 2022 Annual Campaign. If you haven’t yet, I would like to ask you to do so soon.

You don’t need to do it for the Press alone; we are but a small part of the whole. Campaign allows us to connect, have programming, support our agencies, the synagogues, Jews in Israel and more. From the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home to the Early Learning Center, this campus provides us with a permanent home, where we can always feel welcome. Looking back on the past 22 months, at everything that’s happened, I cannot help but think it is a little miraculous to walk into the building and see community members partake in programming, work out, or drop off their kids. Coming together.

However, bricks and programming—essential as they are—are only part of the equation. The real miracle is you. Please continue to be that miracle, and make your pledge to the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s Annual Campaign today.

Alex Edelman’s new comedy show raises contentious questions about Jewish identity. He says that’s the point.

BEN SALES New York Jewish Week via JTA If you click through Twitter, you may come upon a list of some 250 accounts called “Jewish Nat’l Fund Donors.”

But it’s safe to say that no one on the list has ever given any money to the actual Jewish National Fund, an organization best known for acquiring land and planting trees in Israel.

That’s because the list is made up exclusively of antisemites and was created by Alex Edelman, a Jewish comedian. He chose that name, he said, “just because it annoys people when they’re added to the list.”

“It’s actually a pretty diverse group of people,” Edelman, 32, told the New York Jewish Week. “The sad thing is this list used to be several hundred people longer, but Twitter has actually done a good job for the last couple years.”

Edelman, a comedian who has appeared on latenight TV is also an amateur tracker of online antisemites in his spare time. That hobby led him to attend a meeting of white nationalists in New York City in 2017 — a story that forms the core of his latest solo show, Just For Us, which opens off-Broadway on Dec. 8. But even as the show tells the story of that meeting, Edelman emphasized that Just For Us isn’t about antisemitism — it’s about what it’s like for Ashkenazi Jews to navigate whiteness in America.

“Broadly, it’s about, What does it mean to be a Jew in a space that’s not Jewish?” he said. He added later, “Everyone focuses on the white identity people at the center of the meeting, these racists.

Maybe this is revealing, but the show’s about me.

They [the white nationalists] are entirely secondary to me talking about how I feel about myself.”

Negotiating the boundary between Jews and non-Jews has always been an undercurrent of life for Edelman, a Modern Orthodox Jew who attended Jewish day school in the Boston area and studied for a year in an Israeli yeshiva. Appearing on the late-night show Conan in 2018, Edelman told the crowd, “I’ve never had bacon. I’m that kind

of Jew... I’ve tried cocaine, but I’ve never tried bacon.” (“Jews either love that joke, or they’re upset by it,” he told me. On a video of the performance, you can hear an Israeli in the crowd yell “Good for you!” in Hebrew.)

Alex Edelman, a Modern Orthodox standup comedian who was the head writer last year for Saturday Night Seder, is now performing a show centered on the time he attended a white nationalist meeting.

Credit: Stephanie Augello

Edelman has managed to make food a recurring theme in his exploration of what it means to be Jewish in a country and world that is overwhelmingly not. We met at Sable’s, a classic New York City deli on the Upper East Side that probably qualifies as one of the most Jewish places ever (cf. the “Jewish rye bread” sold at the counter and a menu heavy on both smoked fish and pastrami). But Edelman said that he tries to visit delis in every place he performs, whether it’s Denver, L.A. or Indianapolis.

“You can find a deli almost in any city,” he said.

“I’m a bit of a snob. But when you’re on the road, you take what you can get, and they’ve got Dr. Brown’s cream soda and a decent tuna sandwich, and I’m all for it.”

He’s excited to perform Just For Us,” which premiered at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2018 and later, he said, “took a nap” for the pandemic. This is its U.S. premiere.

Tellingly, he feels that the show is just as relevant after three years in which the experience of antisemitism has changed significantly — from the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting to the antisemitic rhetoric that accompanied the 2020 election to, most recently, antisemitic tropes in debates over COVID vaccines.

“At the core of this show is the conversation about Judaism and, in particular, my Judaism and its relation to whiteness. That is a huge part of the show, and that has not changed,” he said. “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t think antisemitism is ever going out of style.”

Edelman is also excited to perform the show in front of an audience that will presumably have a substantial number of Jews, which is a rarity for him. He got his big break in 2014, when he was named Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and has done a fair amount of work since then in the U.K., which has seen an ongoing antisemitism controversy plague its political system for the past several years.

In 2019, Edelman made a four-minute documentary about antisemitism for the BBC, in which he manages to cover an impressive amount of ground — from summarizing historical tropes about international Jewish conspiracies to describing the discomfort Jews often feel when they’re buttonholed by people asking their opinion on Israeli policies.

“Is it frustrating to have to do a documentary for the BBC where you explain that Jews are people?” he said. “I have lots of patient conversations with people about Jews and Judaism because I am, to some people, the most Jewish person they’ve ever met... I don’t view it as part of my job but I do view it as part of my personhood.”

“My favorite thing to do is argue and discuss and have discourse,” he said. “When people ask me what my favorite thing about Judaism is I always say it’s discourse. It’s not a fun answer. People want bagels.

People want me to say it’s bagels, but it’s not.”

This story was edited for length. To read the full interview, go to www.omahajewishpress. com.

The Jewish Press | November 26, 2021 | 13

My teenage son wasn’t surprised when antisemites attacked him on TikTok. That makes me angry.

JESSICA RUSSAK-HOFFMAN JTA “Why does everybody hate us?” My son Izzy asked me this question after a man with a machete attacked Jews at a Hanukkah party in Monsey, New York, in 2019. Izzy was 12 years old when he flopped onto the couch, kicked up his feet and asked the question no Jewish parent wants to hear.

I spoke to him about the history of antisemitism, how it’s always irrational, and how when we’re hurt for being Jewish, we need to be even more outspoken in our Judaism. That to really be a “Bear Jew,” like the Nazi-hunting character in the revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds, we stand up and fight back with pride.

As Elsa says to Jojo in Jojo Rabbit, “There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants.

We were chosen by God.” So when the antisemitic comments started to pour in after a TikTok video of Izzy laying tefillin went viral earlier this month, he was somewhat prepared and, sadly, unsurprised.

A few weeks ago we went to New York for a wedding and stayed with my sister Melinda Strauss, who shares videos about Jewish life and kosher food with over 420,000 followers on her account My Orthodox Jewish Life.

Some of her followers had asked to see a video of someone putting on tefillin, the black box and leather straps used by Jews in their weekday morning prayers. When she saw Izzy about to daven, she asked if she could film him as he wrapped the tefillin around his head and arm.

Izzy and his aunt joked all the time about her TikTok and how if he ever stayed at her house, he’d want to be featured, so he gladly obliged.

At first the comments were a combination of sweet and curious. Some people thanked her for sharing the beauty of her faith, and some wanted to learn more about tefillin. A week or two went by.

And then Izzy wandered into the living room with a halfsmile on his face. “Mom, I’m famous,” he quipped. He told me there were over 3 million views and he’d scrolled through over 2,000 comments and found... lots of antisemitism. He sat

down next to me. I opened the app and looked through it with videos and comments, and rarely takes down reported videos him, mocking the really dark comments that included: “That’s — with notable exceptions being videos created by Jews that it! To the gas chamber.” “Should of died in the gas chamber.” were bombarded with false reporting from antisemites.

“Gas them allllllll.” “Yo! Hitler is behind you.” “I snitched on u Melinda’s account has been suspended on multiple occasions to the Germans.” “Zey are in ze attic.”

We also made jokes about the Jesus-specific comments that included: “Does he have to wear that to apologize for killing Jesus?” “Repent and believe in Jesus Christ!” “When do y’all crucify Jesus? Ah. Wait. Y’all already did that.”

Izzy’s sense of humor is perfectly suited to this classic Jewish coping mechanism of mocking antisemitic accusations. I recently read Sholom Aleichem’s The Bloody Hoax, and laughed with recognition at the description of Jews coping with a blood libel accusation by having faux-Talmudic debates about the halacha, or Jewish law, of slaughtering Christian children to use their blood for matzah. (Halacha does not deal with this issue because it is not part of Judaism, despite what anti- The comment section of Melinda Strauss’ TikTok account filled up with antisemitic remarks after she posted a video of her nephew Izzy, above, putting on a semites throughout history have said.)

It is almost a rite of passage to be welcomed set of tefillin. Credit: TikTok/Montage by Grace Yagel into this centuries-old tradition of using humor to respond to for videos about Shabbat and keeping kosher. the irrational accusations the world throws our way.

I am angry that I have to help my children develop their coping The comments included plenty of judgmental cracks accusing mechanisms. I am angry that even though we managed to report Izzy of being brainwashed, and those were the ones that both- and successfully remove a couple of the most vile comments, ered him the most. Because while he’s used to hatred against more have replaced them. The TikTok of Izzy laying tefillin now Jews, he can’t understand why anyone would think it’s wrong has more than 8 million views and over 13,000 comments. for a Jewish kid to be brought up keeping Jewish practices.

And yet I cling to a tiny glimmer of hope, thanks to the non“I’m not indoctrinated. I’m Jewish,” he said with frustration.

Jews in the replies defending Jews and defending Izzy. And to I’m kvelling with pride. But I’m also angry.

Bear Jews everywhere, laying tefillin every morning and refusIzzy doesn’t feel unsafe or shaken in his Jewish identity. He ing to cower. knows his parents have his back, that we keep him physically Jessica Russak-Hoffman is a Seattle-based author repsafe and protected. And he isn’t surprised that there is anti- resented by Emerald City Literary Agency. For more inforsemitism, not even at 14. And that is why I am angry: As a mation, visit www.jessicarussakhoffman.com. mother and as a Jew, I am angry that Izzy was not surprised, The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of and I am angry that this is the norm. the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its I am angry that TikTok allows antisemitism to thrive in parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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Synagogues

14 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 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 In-Person on Friday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. for evening services with guest speaker, Sivan Cohen, our Community Schlicha. The service will be led by the members of the congregation. 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.; 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. at Beth El; Havdalah, 5:30 p.m. Zoom only.

SUNDAY: Siddur 101 with Hazzan Krausman following morning minyan; BESTT (Grades K-7), 9:30 a.m.; Torah Study, 10 a.m.; Torah Tots (ages 3-5), 10 a.m.

TUESDAY: Mussar, 11:30 a.m. with Rabbi Abraham at Beth El & Zoom.

WEDNESDAY: BESTT (Grades 3-7), 4:15 p.m.; Hebrew High (Grades 8-10), 6 p.m. at Beth El; Israel Meeting (Grades 11-12), 6:30 p.m. at the JCC; Community Beit Midrash, 7 p.m. via In-person at the JCC or on Zoom.

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

FRIDAY-Dec. 10: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Tot Shabbat, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY-Dec. 11: Shabbat Morning Services, 10 a.m. at Beth El & Live Stream; Jr. Congregation (Grades 3-7), 10 a.m. at Beth El; ADL-CRC Presents Privilege: Owning It & Putting It to Work with Adam Fletcher Sasse, D’Var Torah at services, disccussion following at lunch; Havdalah, 5:30 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); Menorah Candlelighting, 4:28 p.m.; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbos/Candlelighting, 4:38 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Torah Class/Kids Class, 10:30 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m. with Shiran Dreyer; Hanukkah Brisket Kiddush Lunch, 11:30 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha, 4:30 p.m.; Shalosh Seudos/Laws of Shabbos/Kids Activity, 4:50 p.m.; Ma’ariv/Havdalah, 5:41 p.m.; Menorah Candlelighting (after Havdalah), 5:42 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Daf Yomi, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 p.m.; Hanukkah Carnival, 4:30-7 p.m.; Candlelighting (or later), 5:30 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, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 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); Kids Class, 3:45 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 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); Daf Yomi, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Wednesday School, 4:15 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 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 am. with Rabbi Ari (Zoom); Daf Yomi, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-Dec. 10: 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, 4:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-Dec. 11: Shabbat Kollel, 8:30 a.m.; Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Tot Shabbat, 10:45 a.m. with Shiran Dreyer; Daf Yomi, 3:50 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Mincha/Ma’ariv, 4:30 p.m.; Laws of Shabbos, 4:50 p.m. with Rabbi Ari; Kids Activity, 5 p.m. with Rabbi Yoni; Havdalah, 5:42 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, 4:30 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochabad.com/Le chayim; Candlelighting, 4:37 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Light seven lights on the Menorah after 5:40 p.m.; Shabbat Ends, 5:40 p.m.

SUNDAY: Shacharit, 9 a.m.; Parsha and Coffee, 9:45 a.m.; Light eight lights on the Menorah after 4:55 p.m.

MONDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Personal Parsha Class, 9:30 a.m. with Shani Katzman; Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar, 10:30 a.m. with Prof. David Cohen; Annual Menorah Parade, 3:30 p.m. begins at Boys Town. With music and fun Hanukkah activities. RSVP at ochabad.com/chanukahrsvp.

TUESDAY: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Virtual Pirkei Avot Women’s Class, 7 p.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-Dec. 10: Shacharit, 8 a.m.; Inspirational Lechayim, 4:30 p.m. with Rabbi and friends: ochab ad.com/Lechayim; Candlelighting, 4:37 p.m.

SATURDAY-Dec. 11: Shacharit, 10 a.m. followed by Kiddush and Cholent; Shabbat Ends, 5:40 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: Hanukkah Service, service leaders/music:

Rabbi Alex, Star City Kochavim and Community Choir, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Candlelighting for Hanukkah - six candles, 4:41 p.m.; Shabbat Candlelighting, 4:41 p.m.

SATURDAY: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Miketz, noon; Havdalah, 5:44 p.m.; Candlelighting for Hanukkah - seven candles, 5:44 p.m.; Hanukkah Celebration: Latkes, Music and More, 5:45 p.m. at TI. SUNDAY: LJCS Classes, 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; Intro to Judaism Class, noon at TI; Candlelighting for Hanukkah - eighth candles, 5:30 p.m.; 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; Jewish Ethical Teachings Class, 7 p.m. with Rabbi Alex.

WEDNESDAY: LJCS Classes, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY-Dec. 10: Kabbalat Shabbat Service, service leaders/music: Rabbi Alex, Steve and Nathaniel Kaup, 6:30 p.m. at SST; Shabbat Candlelighting, 4:41 p.m.

SATURDAY-Dec. 11: Shabbat Morning Service, 9:30 a.m. with Rabbi Alex at TI; Torah Study on Parashat Vayigash, noon; Havdalah, 5:45 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: Hanukkah Service, Dinner and Winter Gear Drive, 5:45 p.m.

SATURDAY: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or InPerson; OTYG Volunteer Event, 1 p.m.

SUNDAY: Blood Drive, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Temple Tots, 9:30 a.m.; Youth Learning Programs (PreK-6), 10 a.m.; TED Talk, 11 a.m..

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

TUESDAY: Rosh Chodesh: Love Yourself Empowerment, 7:15 p.m. hosted by Annette van de Kamp and Courtneay Saylan. Join us In-Person.

WEDNESDAY: Youth Learning Programs: Grades 36, 4-6 p.m.; T’failah, 4:45 p.m.; Community Dinner, 6 p.m.; Grades 7-10, 6:30-8 p.m.; Israel Education for Grades 11-12, 6:30-8 p.m. at the JCC; Community Beit Midrash, 7 p.m. at the JCC. THURSDAY: Thursday Morning Class, 10 a.m. with Rabbi Azriel via Zoom.

FRIDAY-Dec. 10: Shabbat Shira, 6 p.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

SATURDAY-Dec. 11: Torah Study, 9:15 a.m. via Zoom or In-Person.

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

Get your ticket for the ultimate Sunday Funday FED event!

Are you ready for some football?

Join us for this FED (Federation's Early-Career Division) event on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021! FED is the space for Omaha's young Jews to connect.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City are teaming up to host the annual FED Event in Kansas City! Join us for a tailgate party and BBQ before taking our seats in Arrowhead Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs battle the Las Vegas Raiders.

This event is open to community members ages 21-45 and their partners, spouses and friends. To register, please visit our website at www.jew

ishomaha.org and click on the slider. Cost is $80 per person and covers round-trip bus ride, game ticket and tailgate.

The bus leaves Omaha JCC parking lot at 6:30 a.m. and will return immediately following the game.

For more information about this or any future event, please contact Philanthropy Coordinator Maren Angus at man gus@jewishomaha.org or 402.334.6485. We can’t

wait to see you there!

Life cycles IN MEMORIAM MELVIN (JERRY) FREEMAN Melvin (Jerry) Freeman passed away on Nov. 20, 2021. A memorial service will be held on Dec. 27, 2021, at 12:30 p.m. at Temple Israel.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Joanne (Levey) Freeman.

He is survived by sons and daughters-in-law, Bob and Robyn Freeman and John and Karen Freeman; daughter, Ellen Freeman; grandchildren: Adam and Allie Freeman, Alex Freeman and Brian Zuerlein, Ally Freeman and Geoff Silverstein, Lauren Freeman and Matt Sculnick, Susan Freeman; eight great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Lucy Freeman; many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Memorials may be made to Temple Israel or the organization of your choice.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor, A new film starring Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell called The Shrink Next Door is a true story about a Jewish psychiatrist who takes over the life of one of his Jewish patients. The doctor is Dr. Isaac "Ike" Herschkopf. In the early 70s he was a camp counselor at Camp Moshava and also at Esther K. Newman. These were Orthodox Jewish camps that teenagers from Beth Israel in Omaha and other Orthodox synagogues around the Midwest attended. I became very good friends with Ike at camp and generally found him to be very engaging, funny, and interesting. Though we were close at the camp, we haven't had any connection since. Now that he is the subject of an unflattering portrayal of him, I'm curious if there are other SYO'rs (Synagogue Youth Organization) who might want to share any recollections they have of Ike from bygone camp days. I bet many will recall his tremendous basketball skills and interesting psychological discussions.

Eddie Epstein 9924 U St. 3B Omaha,NE 68127 402.517.1922

Visit us at omahajewishpress.com

White House Hanukkah party

The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021 | 15

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RON KAMPEAS WASHINGTON | JTA The Biden White House was planning an in-person Hanukkah party for this week.

The Hanukkah party has been a White House tradition since 2001. But the Trump administration’s decision to hold one in person last year, as the coronavirus pandemic raged, turned the normally bipartisan meet-and-mingle into a politically polarized event.

This year, the pandemic is ongoing, and there were concerns about in-person Hanukkah and Christmas events as a result, insiders told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. But the event was set to take place with a menorah lighting at the White House on Dec. 1, with invitations going out Wednesday, just one week before the party. Organizing a party this close to the date of a holiday — Hanukkah started Sunday night — is unusual for a White House.

President Joe Biden has been attending more in-person events recently that involve mixing with people. Last week he and his wife, Jill Biden, also attended a Thanksgiving get-together with military families in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

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16 | The Jewish Press | December 3, 2021