Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete February 2019 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Ronald (Ron) Bressler died on Dec. 24 at Brookdale of Englewood with his devoted wife of 61 years, Irene Bressler, by his side. He is survived by his children, Dawn Bressler Kaye (Dr. Jack Kaye) of Annandale, Va., Kevin (Karen) Bressler of Dayton, and Andrew (Shellie) Bressler, of Washington, D.C.;

By Josefin Dolsten, JTA With the Women’s March only days away, local chapters and major progressive groups are continuing to distance themselves from the national leadership, which is scrambling to hold on to its big tent. Though the national organization was once seen as a beacon of hope for progressives following Donald

National Women’s March leaders’ tolerance for antisemitism overshadows local event Editor’s note: The Dayton Women’s March has been cancelled due to inclement weather hitting the Dayton area on Saturday. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Masha Kisel of Oakwood joined the first national Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in

An Interview With Moriel Rothman-Zecher By Marshall Weiss, The Observer It’s been a year of roller coaster highs and lows for Moriel Rothman-Zecher, who with his wife, Kayla, moved from Jerusalem to his childhood home — the hippie-centric village of Yellow Springs, Ohio — in November 2017. The Israeli-American’s first

By Martha Moody Jacobs, Special To The Observer Women who are activists in Dayton’s interfaith community met their counterparts from Israel when the Jewish Federation hosted a delegation of 13 Israelis over four days in November as part of the Federation’s Partnership2Gether program. For almost a year before their arrival

By Masha Kisel, Special To The Observer Mr. Lieberman, the principal of Solomon Schechter Day School in Chicago, called all the Russian fifth graders into his office. He drew a triangle on the green chalkboard. “This is a Christmas tree,” he said. He drew a cross inside the triangle. “And

By Jane Kaufman, Cleveland Jewish News More than 400 Jews packed Temple Shomer Emunim in Sylvania Township on Dec. 11 to hear about a Holland, Ohio man’s plot to attack two Toledo-area synagogues. Damon M. Joseph, 21, who has the alias Abdullah Ali Yusuf, was arrested Dec. 7 and accused

By Ben Sales, JTA The advance copies of Deborah Lipstadt’s new book, Antisemitism Here and Now, display a cover photo of a white supremacist carrying a tiki torch. But that iconic image of the August 2017 white power rally in Charlottesville, Va. could now be replaced by another one: Police

With Rachel Haug Gilbert, The Observer Filmmaker Julia Reichert is the recipient of the 2018 International Documentary Association’s Career Achievement Award. Her new documentary with Steven Bognar, American Factory, will be screened as part of the Sundance Film Festival’s 2018 documentary competition lineup. In November, the Dayton Chapter of the