Here are their stories. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Beneath the 70-foot-tall Dayton Soldiers’ Monument topped by a statue of a “private soldier of the Volunteer Army of the Republic,” the graves of more than 11,000 Civil War Union soldiers cascade in perfect concentric half circles downhill and

Over the years, The Observer has shared the story of Piqua clothing merchant David Urbansky, one of four Jews to receive the Medal of Honor from Congress for service in the Civil War. In Private Urbansky’s case, it was for “Gallantry at Shiloh and Vicksburg.” The Prussian-born Urbansky served with

How small habits mend a fractured world Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Dog-waste bags beside park trails, private audio blasting in crowded coffee shops, and drivers plowing through zipper-merge points all raise the same question: What exactly is happening to our shared values? The

Linda Ohlmann Kahn and Dennis Kahn, formerly of Dayton and now of Boynton Beach, Fla., along with Ronit and Sam Litwack of Palm Coast, Fla., are delighted to announce the arrival of their new grandson, Walter David Kahn. Proud parents, Andrew and Alina Kahn, welcomed him into the world on

Look for Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site!     To read the complete November 2026 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Jerome “Jerry” Cohen, age 90, of Troy, passed away Sept. 19. Born on the 4th of July in 1936 in Brooklyn, N.Y., Jerry always had a flare for life. Jerry graduated from NYU business school, and moved to Dayton in 1964. He became the manager and TV personality for Concord

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Yellow Springs resident Ellis Jacobs says he became aware of the plight of Springfield’s Haitians the same way as people across the United States. “Trump and Vance decided to demonize them and scapegoat them in a shocking, appalling, and all-too-familiar way. And you

Michael Kimmel’s new book traces how first-generation Jews created the dolls, games, comics and stories that shaped generations of children. By Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTA On Saturday mornings in the 1960s and ’70s, instead of going to synagogue, I watched cartoons. Like millions of other American kids, I binged on Fat

A student at Centerville’s Watts Middle School deliberately drew a swastika on his arm in front of two Jewish students on the playground at recess Sept. 2. “Right when I was made aware, I pulled that kid from class, and (the student) did not go back to class until I

Elaine Arnovitz sat for an interview with The Observer on Feb. 17, three days before she was to retire. The evening prior to her final day — after 14 years as Beth Abraham’s business director — a fire suppression system valve broke, flooding the second and first floors of the