Update from Bob Goldberg, CEO

Meet me in Jerusalem!

This week, a group of twenty-two community members embarked on a trip to Israel, the first community-wide trip organized by our Jewish Federation since 2018. From my perspective, it is always good to spend time in Israel. Having feet on the ground in Israel is special. You can never predict how the experience will impact someone, but it is almost always deep and meaningful. This is particularly true for those traveling there for the first time. No matter the multitude of news, books, magazines, movies or other information about Israel someone might consume, being there, meeting with Israelis, and experiencing its vibrancy, diversity, and complexity firsthand allows one to have a more personal and intimate relationship with the state and its people.

This trip is chaired by Andi and Don Goldstein and staffed by Rachel Ring, JFO Director of Development, with the itinerary organized by Jan Goldstein and Iris Ricks through their work with Amiel Travel. It is a great group, with a busy and exciting itinerary, and I am sure they are having a spectacular experience. Our Omaha friends have a front row seat to Israeli democracy at work. They are visiting at a time when Israel is immersed in turmoil surrounding the government plans to overhaul the judicial system. Israel’s government is currently led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who represents the Likud party.

Israel is a parliamentary democracy, consisting of dozens of parties, and smaller parties that become part of the ruling government coalition can have influence far beyond their number of seats in the Knesset. The Netanyahu-led coalition includes representatives from Likud, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam. This coalition is currently moving forward proposals with major reforms to Israel’s judicial system, which would bring the judiciary under control of the government. Some of the specific changes proposed are aimed at preventing the High Court from acting as a check and balance on government actions, limiting the High Court from challenging laws even if they conflict with Israel’s Basic Laws, and giving the ruling government control over selecting judges. Opponents argue it will weaken Israel’s democracy and put minorities at risk, while supporters say it is much needed reform to control an activist court.

Our Omaha friends on this trip will hear plenty of strong opinions. They will hear from news anchors, guest speakers, hotel workers, waiters, taxi drivers, and others, who will all have vital points of view that they are eager to share with their American guests. The speed with which the government is moving these bills through the Knesset has caused deep rifts in Israel and has led to more than ten weeks of protests by hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrating to express their concern about a weakening of democracy.

Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, has worked to negotiate a compromise, which is aimed at addressing what many consider needed changes to the rules governing the judiciary and the balance of powers, but to do it in a way that helps gain buy-in from the general population and avoids a constitutional crisis. To date, those leading the charge for these changes, Yariv Levin, Justice Minister, and MK Simcha Rothman, head of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, have said that they are open to compromise but will not stop or slow down the process.
This has led to a cacophony of voices, including our own Jewish Federation movement, legal experts, business and financial leaders, global Jewish organizations, and interested parties around the world, imploring the Prime Minister and his government to slow the process and negotiate modified changes with the goal of achieving broad national agreement. Our Jewish Federation joins many other voices in urging the leaders to embrace President Herzog’s compromises to this current crisis, and to work to preserve and strengthen the democratic system with its checks and balances, embracing both majority rule and the protection of minority rights.

Israel will soon celebrate its 75th anniversary. We are the lucky ones. We are living at a time when we can travel to and experience the modern State of Israel. Because, after all, our people have yearned for the same opportunity for centuries. I love Israel. I do not always love its government’s policies, but I love Israel and the Israeli people, and I support them. Their democratic right to elect their leaders is sacred, as is their right to protest, speak up, defend their country, and negotiate their future.

As I watch this situation unfold and keep up on the latest news hoping for compromise to be reached, I am eager to hear from our Omaha friends when they return. I am interested to hear how their front row seat to Israeli democracy influences how they see Israel, understand its complexities, and perhaps how it may inspire them to learn more, engage more, and hopefully return to Israel again and again.

Shabbat Shalom,

Bob Goldberg
CEO

10/14/25

Today is a day of hope and, we pray, the beginning of healing for the hostages, their families and all of Israel.
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Update from Mike Siegel

Chag Sameach! Purim starts this Sunday evening, commemorating the story of Queen Esther. She tells King Achashverosh of Haman’s deceit and saves the Jewish people from near destruction. We celebrate by dressing in costumes, attending carnivals, eating hamantaschen and giving shalech mones or mishloach manot. These are gifts of food or drink that are sent to family, friends and others on Purim. It is meant to ensure that everyone has enough food for the Purim feast held later in the day, and to increase love and friendship among Jews and their neighbors.

Jews were among the first to participate in “spring cleaning.” To prepare for Pesach, families thoroughly clean their homes, disposing of all their chametz (risen grain). It is customary to shop for food that is Kosher for Passover (KFP). Whether you make your own matza balls or rely on the boxed mix, KFP products are difficult to locate in Omaha. Many of our community members have expressed frustration regarding the lack of availability of Passover products.

This concern was brought up at our Rabbis and Presidents meeting and we discussed and researched strategies to address the issue. This is one of the traits I love about living in Omaha – working together as a community.
I am pleased to announce that three local grocers will carry a wide variety of Kosher for Passover products this year. HyVee on 132nd & Dodge, Bakers on 120th & Center and Family Fare on 144th & Center have all made plans to carry KFP items this year.

The Rabbis and Presidents group worked with community members to give these stores a comprehensive list of products to have available for Passover. This list includes dairy products, grocery items, beverages, Seder items, and even a limited supply of pre-packaged kosher meats. Each location will have signs throughout the store guiding you to the Kosher for Passover products. I would like to thank Linda Saltzman, Helene Schrago, Rabbi Abraham and Rabbi Dreyer for working with the grocery managers to distinguish between Kosher and Kosher for Passover. They guided them on items to purchase and the timing as it relates to Passover. This group has put in numerous hours to make this happen and they deserve our gratitude.

Another trait I love about this community is supporting causes that enhance Jewish living in Omaha. Whether it is your tradition to buy KFP products or not, I ask you to recognize that these grocers stepped up and agreed to support our Jewish community. If you are able, please support them by purchasing your KFP products locally. Take time to recognize them for going the extra mile.

Some KFP products are already in stock and you should see the full array of items by next week. I ask you to keep in mind that this is a work in progress. Supply chain issues are still occurring. Please be understanding if your favorite matzo meal or gefilte fish is not on the shelves. If these groceries determine this was a successful first run of the program, it will allow us to expand not only KFP offerings, but also enhance the everyday kosher selections.

Your Federation and your synagogue leaders heard the community’s concerns about KFP products and worked together to find a solution. Thanks to some of our dedicated community members and willing store managers, we were able to expand the KFP product selections. The proverbial ball is now in our court to make it successful. I am confident that you will step up and support these willing participants.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach!

Mike Siegel
JFO President

10/14/25

Today is a day of hope and, we pray, the beginning of healing for the hostages, their families and all of Israel.
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Update from Phil Malcom

Happy Friday, and it’s nice to speak with all of you again!

As a part of the JFO’s new leadership structure, you’ll occasionally receive brief updates from me regarding the operations of our campus—how we do business and what we measure. Think of it as the nuts and bolts of how we accomplish our mission. Today I want to talk to you about one of those ways we’re working hard to accomplish the mission behind the scenes.

One of the most important parts of building and sustaining a vibrant Jewish community is ensuring that people feel safe in the spaces where community happens. We’ve spoken quite a bit over the last year about security, and today I’m thrilled to announce the next step in our ongoing efforts to provide a safe and secure campus. Last year we brought James Donahue on board to guide our security initiatives and help us plan for the future. We quickly identified the need for dedicated security officers in our building. This is a growing trend in other communities, and the need is no less important in Omaha where so many of our services are housed in one place. Our team got to work identifying ways to scale this needed resource, and we are now ready to begin adding security officers to our team.

We will be partnering with a local security provider, Elite Tactical, for this service. James led a very thorough bidding and vetting process with a panel of campus representatives, and Elite was the clear frontrunner at the end of this process. Elite has been an excellent partner to our campus on an ad hoc basis over the last couple years, and we are thrilled to bring them here full-time.

In the very near future, you can expect to see at least one armed guard in the building at all times. These guards are thoroughly trained by Elite Tactical, and they also undergo training from our team to ensure they are familiar with our campus, respect our Jewish values, and understand the unique service offerings throughout our facility. We have every confidence in this new partnership, and we believe that between James’s leadership, our own updated security procedures, and our new security force we are positioning our community to be more secure than ever.

Some may hear about this and wonder if there is cause for alarm. James monitors threats to the Jewish community both locally and nationally, and though there are currently no credible threats of violence against our Omaha community, we believe the best posture is preventative, rather than reactive. Similarly, in an age of growing antisemitism, we want people to feel safe on our campus. So please don’t be alarmed, and instead know that we are doing everything we can to ensure that our communal spaces are secure for your visit. This is critical to our mission, and we are excited to be taking the next steps forward as a community.

If you have any questions about the new security force on campus, please don’t hesitate to reach out to James Donahue. He can be reached at jdonahue@jewishomaha.org.

Thank you, and Shabbat Shalom,

Phillip Malcom
JFO COO

10/14/25

Today is a day of hope and, we pray, the beginning of healing for the hostages, their families and all of Israel.
Read More