By Carin M. Smilk, JNS Everyone has heard of the unlikely hero—that person who, despite all odds, comes to the rescue. And then there’s the likely hero — that person trained to do the right thing as a result of career and happenstance. In the movies, such roles are often

Review by PJ Grisar, Forward Art Spiegelman’s life was always doomed to be one that wrestled with a larger legacy — or a 500-pound mouse. In his book Breakdowns, about his artist’s journey, he illustrated his Holocaust survivor father, Wladek, giving him a Yiddish-syntaxed lesson in packing. “Use what little

Review by Simi Horwitz, Forward Early in Nir Bergman’s Pink Lady, Bati (Nur Fibak), a married Haredi woman and the mother of three children, is riding a city bus when she becomes aware of a dark-skinned man, perhaps an Arab, eyeing her. She is at once attracted, intrigued, and profoundly

By Andrew Guckes, Baltimore Jewish Times Abby Ginzberg has made a lot of films. None, however, was as important or as personal to her as Labors of Love: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Szold. Ginzberg, as it turns out, is a distant relative of Szold and the granddaughter of

Dayton ophthalmologist Dr. Mike Bloom will share his experiences of volunteering to care for wounded patients at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel over the last two years, at the American Friends of Soroka Medical Center’s Hope, Healing, and Heroism Dinner, 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 17 at the Boonshoft Center

In the news series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer ‘America Is On Track To Literally Die Off,’ New Fertility Data Warns. Fertility rate: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born. Falling birth rates could upend global economy in 20 years. The Birth-Rate Crisis Isn’t

By Sam Fisher, Cincy Jewfolk A Springboro man faces charges of ethnic intimidation and menacing following an incident outside a Jewish school in Golf Manor. Jackson Mettler, 19 of Springboro, was charged in connection with a May 4 incident at Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati on Section Road. “A Jewish child should

By Casey Couch, Cleveland Jewish News The Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found that antisemitic incidents across Ohio dropped sharply in the last year, falling 47% from 394 incidents in 2024 to 209 in 2025, according to data released on May 6. In a statement, ADL Regional Director

  The Class of 2026 – Celebrating our high school graduates   Hannah Simone Dritz Parents: Jay and Michele Dritz Grandparents: Robert and Phyllis Dritz, Rod and Cindy Frilot School: Miami Valley Activities: MVS Soccer, Track, Basketball, Half Marathons, Full Marathon, YMCA Junior Leadership Dayton, MVS Musicals, Hope Squad, Sources

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