by Annette van de Kamp-Wright, Editor of the Jewish Press, Omaha

The recent JCC Maccabi Games brought us much excitement in the form of 1000 athletes, who temporarily made themselves at home in our community. However, not all our guests were wearing soccer cleats or high tops: Dalit Ben Shalom and Neta Dror were two visitors who came with an entirely different purpose: to create something beautiful as a permanent reminder of the 2010 Maccabi Games.

Neta Dror, left, Naava Naslavsky, Ellie Batt, and Dalit Ben Shalom. The JCC commissioned the project in honor of the generous ‘Chai’ family sponsors.

 Kim Goldberg is the co-Chair of the Art Taskforce for the Partnership’s Central Area Consortium.

“I met Dalit for the first time in October of 2009, when I was in Israel with the Partnership during the Israeli Festival for Alternative Theater in Akko. I visited her studio, and was blown away by her beautiful mosaics. Of course, I thought right away that she might be a great fit for Maccabi.”

 Goldberg has been involved with Partnership’s Art Taskforce since 2006, and in 2009, was occupied locating the right person to come and interact with the Maccabi teenagers. “Dalit and Neta have such warm personalities, and an easy manner, and so I thought it would be perfect if they could come to Omaha during the Games, and create something permanent for our building. Something we can look at after this is all over, that symbolizes what we’ve accomplished here.”

 Dalit and Neta agreed; in July 2010 they arrived, tools in hand, in Omaha and began their preparations. During their time here, they created three panels depicting the Tree of Life, which will find a permanent home in the JCC gallery. Visitors will be able to see the panels each time they walk through the hallway, and, according to Dalit Ben Shalom, should “think about the tree of life. Think about your Jewish roots, and how a lot of small pieces make up the big collective. That is what we are, we may be spread all over the world, but together we make a beautiful piece of art.”.

 “I expected to find a nice community, that would treat me right.” Dalit also said, “and I  found exactly that. This is such a nice place, with such nice people; especially the Goldberg family, who housed us, treated us so well. They gave us literally everything we needed, and Neta and I felt right at home.”

Dalit Ben Shalom and Kim Goldberg work on the Tree of Life -mosaic together

Dalit and Neta have been working together for a long time: “We grew up together in Kibbutz Eylon in the Western Galilee, right by the Lebanese border, in the Partnership region. She is the best! I hope everyone in the community here will think of Neta and me whenever you see the artwork.”

 The opening of the Maccabi Games really impressed Dalit: “To sit there, be a part of it and all sing HaTikvah together was amazing. And, of course, watching the Israeli team participate was great. Sometimes in Israel we feel alone; this experience has taught me that people here feel close to us, that you really are concerned about us in Israel. It makes me feel very safe. It is really nice to see that people here truly have a connection with Israel and with Israelis.”

   Neta Dror agrees: “We met really warm and welcoming people here, and felt among friends the entire time. The nice thing about working with the Partnership is that, even though we don’t live very close to each other, we are all going in the same direction; we all put our communal efforts into making something we love, and maintaining it.”

Shlicha Elya Wilson and Neta Dror, below, are joined by one of the many Maccabi athletes.

“This trip has been a very big experience, an adventure,” Dalit added, “I never knew that much about Americans, but this trip has shown me a lot about how you all live, and especially how concerned you all are with what happens in Israel. We are so far away, and at the same time so close. Of course, I will also be taking home my memories of all the beautiful places I’ve seen. We would like to thank the entire Jewish community in Omaha, for making us feel so welcome.”

 Kim Goldberg is very happy with the outcome: “This was such an open process,” she said, “with two artists who had the ability to share on many different levels. They purposely came early, before the Games started, so they could get acclimatized, and meet people here. It’s such a blessing that we could share in their creative energy; kids and adults from all over had the opportunity to participate in the creation of the mosaic, and now we have these beautiful pieces as a permanent reminder of this great time. Furthermore, this gives our community an immediate, tangible, and long lasting connection to Israel.”