Jewish Cincinnati News

Coalitions of One: Moving Beyond Labels

Earlier this week, the JCPA hosted a national conference on “Coalition- and Bridge-Building Post-October 7th.” It was excellently designed, offering many novel perspectives on community relations during this challenging time. One thought from a workshop particularly resonated with me, es…

Our Israel Advocacy Matters to Zahava Tamir

Breakfast this past Monday made us all smile. (l-r): Tzach Shmuely (our new Shaliach), Felicia Zakem (Chief Planning Officer), Danielle V. Minson (CEO), Martha Brand Dave (Community Building Associate), Jan Evans (Director of Allocations), Josh Blatt (Board Chair) and Yarden Neeman (outgoing…

Practicing Resiliency in the Face of Political Violence

Some months ago, I joined a cohort of community organizers from across Ohio. Our group is a “resiliency network”—a coalition dedicated to countering outbreaks of identity-based hate. In that group, we have reflected at length about the impact and meaning of political violence.

For Jew…

A Rabbi, a Priest, and a Minister Walk into a Bar...

I know it's a tired refrain to say “SNL is no longer funny.” Still, as someone who digests copious amounts of news, I make a point of watching its recurring segment on current events, the Weekend Update. Periodically, the Update’s two cohosts—Colin Jost and Michael Che—swap jokes w…

Examining Crisis-Level Antisemitism in 2023

A few weeks ago, the ADL published its 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in the United States. From our local experience and preliminary data, we knew it’d be bad. How bad it was, precisely, shocked even me.

In 2022, the ADL tracked 3,698 antisemitic incidents, and that was a then-new a…