Great-grandson reflects on lives, deaths of Isidor & Ida Straus By Masada Siegel, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer It’s one of the great love stories of modern times, filled with honor, integrity and the ultimate act of selflessness. Isidor and Ida Straus were first-class passengers on Titanic. Ida was

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer No one knows for certain how many Jewish passengers were on board Titanic, let alone how many of them died. Of the more than 1,500 people who went down with Titanic, ships later recovered only 340 bodies. A review of the list of

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer There was hardly a place to stand when the funeral service for Ilya Golub began on Dec. 25 in the chapel at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Members of the Russian-Jewish community, friends, business associates and neighbors came to remember the hard working, gregarious Golub,

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer “Hashem makes everything we see and so we pray to Him, Hashem makes our hearts sing, And so we’ll dance and sing for Him.” Hillel Academy Jewish day school’s six kindergartners sang out these words, part of a song they wrote called Caterpillars, Birds &

Memoir of raising 4 biological & 5 adopted kids No Biking In The House Without A Helmet By Melissa Fay Greene • Farrar, Straus and Giroux • 354 pages • $26 Interview By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Former Daytonian Melissa Fay Greene is known for her accounts of

Musical about Southern Jewish family and maid during Civil Rights era at Loft Theatre By Jennie Szink, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Imagine being an 8-year-old who receives a large sum of money for Chanukah, only to lose it to your housekeeper — almost a second mother — because

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer From Sept. 7-13, 23 local business and government leaders participated on the Dayton region’s third Israel trade mission since 2008. The goal of the trip — coordinated by the two-year-old Montgomery County-Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance — was to expand the breadth and

With Charlotte Golden, The Dayton Jewish Observer Josh Halpern, 18, will perform this month with the Polaris String Quartet on National Public Radio’s From The Top, a nationally-syndicated program that features young musicians across the country. The show is expected to air locally at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Cantor Joyce Dumtschin, who was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome in 2009, is scheduled to receive a stem cell transplant at James Cancer Hospital in Columbus on Sept. 27, the day before the eve of Rosh Hashanah. “Only 30 percent of people who need

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer For the first time in 57 years, Beth Jacob Synagogue will not have a Rabbi Fox on the bima. In a letter to the Traditional congregation’s members dated Aug. 22, synagogue President Dr. Herman I. Abromowitz announced that Beth Jacob’s board voted on