By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Master fund raiser and community builder Robert Fitterman, who served as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton from 1948 to 1978, died on May 22. He was 95. His 30-year tenure with

            By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Last year, most historical materials of the Jewish Federation were randomly piled up in the basement of Covenant House in Trotwood or stuffed in a storage closet at the Federation’s downtown office at 33 W. First St.

              If you’re enjoying the Ten Decades of Tzedakah page in The Observer during Federation’s centennial year, you’re benefiting from the Federation Archives and the valuable information it contains about the history of our Federation. Thanks to the generosity of the Clarence and Judith

                    Medal of Honor recipient from Piqua recognized again for his valor during the Civil War Story and Photos by Maxwell Nathan Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer, February 2001 Fifty people from Central and Western Ohio gathered in a Cincinnati

          Barely remembered today, service delivery for itinerant Jews was a hot topic during the Federation’s first decades By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Judaism teaches that all Jews are obligated to give tzedakah, to provide righteous giving to those in need. A Jew is

            The aspirations of the Jews who founded Dayton’s major arts ensembles enrich us to this day By Burt Saidel, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer June 1999 Dayton’s rich arts life is the envy of many cities that are much larger and more metropolitan.

          Dayton’s first Jewish settlers arrived in 1842. In 1850, the first Jewish house of worship was established in Dayton. The congregation eventually adopted the Reform ritual and evolved into Temple Israel. In 1887, 19 Orthodox Jewish settlers built Beth Jacob Congregation. Beth Abraham Synagogue was

                By Renate Frydman Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer News of Israel’s preemptive air strike on Egyptian airfields on June 5, 1967 — in advance of a mass Arab invasion of Israel — spread quickly across the Jewish federations of North America.

By Marshall Weiss and Bob Thum, The Dayton Jewish Observer “June 8 marked the most dramatic opening meeting of a campaign in the history of this community,” trumpeted the lead story of the Dayton Jewish Community Council’s JCC News of June 25, 1948. On June 8, Golda Meir, the only

Milton A. Marks, the Federation’s oldest living president, looks back on the East End, leadership, and his mentor By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer When Milton A. Marks was a year old in 1919, his parents moved to Dayton’s East End from Kentucky; the Dayton National Bank had recruited