The Israel and Overseas committee at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati is making some major changes to Israel programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Historically, Israel and Overseas (I&…
Today—despite it still being 2020—I have good news to share.
First, the courtyard at the Mayerson JCC is open again for J Café dining. The Friday omelet bar is back too! Now they are grilling for lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays (weather allowing). And outdoor heaters are on their way. …
This past year, in different ways, the pandemic has set us adrift in uncharted waters. We have lost some of our anchors—our routines, bumping into friends, or working alongside our colleagues.
Jewish holidays are anchors in time.
Rosh Hashanah anchors the year, giving us a framework to r…
The Jewish Federation’s Israel Center poses with author Yossi Klein Halevi after his talk at the Mayerson JCC in October. [pictured: Jennifer Clark, Darya Solomon, Yossi Klein Halevi, Amnon Maggid, May From]
“Over the last couple of years, I have been in so many discussions and talks wi…
Growing up, I couldn’t have told you that Tisha B’Av is a Jewish holiday. But last week, that day felt alarmingly relevant to the moment we are all living through. Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning for the disasters that have befallen our people, originally the destruction of both Temple…
“At any point during all of my volunteering, if someone asked me, ‘what’s the most important thing to you other than your family,’ my answer always is the Jew…
These past few weeks gave us a taste of normalcy, only to have it sour in the summer heat. After success toward flattening the curve on COVID-19 cases and excitement about summertime easing of restrictions, we've faced alarming new summertime surges. These surges combined with increasing unc…
In these hot and hazy days, it is sad to note that one of the few things uniting Ameri…
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.
“The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s exceptional 4-star rating se…
“It’s unprecedented,” said Max Yamson, Executive Director of Camp Livingston.
At June 17’s SAFE Reopen Group meeting of our agencies’, schools’ and congregations’ senior professionals, I was struck by how our community, through creative use of online strategies, has been…
After a national search, we recently hired Jan Evans as the Director of Strategic Impact, a critical function for the organization. We interviewed several strong national candidates but the strongest was right here in Cincinnati. This role replaces the Director of Community Building positio…
This week, as we are emerging from quarantine, mass demonstrations have continued in our city and across our nation. The demonstrations and many of the issues they raise are emotional and complex. Many across our community are concerned and are asking how to better understand and support ref…
With pain and discord overflowing this week, we need perspective more than ever. The core value I return to, that underlies all Jewish thought, is this: because every human being is created in the image of G-d, we have an unbreakable commitment to affirm and protect the dignity of every huma…
Last week, our Annual Meeting challenged us to ask—What have we accomplished over the past year and what are our priorities for the coming year? This is the “Why” that we wrestle with at every Annual Meeting. But our board’s leaders affect how we answer them: “how” will we be bol…
I remember that when my Rabbi handed me a copy of the Torah portion from Leviticus that I would chant at my bar mitzvah ceremony, I was appalled. The portion went into detail about when people with certain symptoms must be quarantined. I had two thoughts. First: “What a strange, archaic, a…
