Dayton
Local news

After 12 successful years, Hillel Academy Jewish day school co-principals to retire
When Hillel Academy hired husband and wife Dan and Kathy Mecoli in 2011 as its co-principals in the hopes that they could turn the Jewish day school around, Dan and Kathy agreed they’d try it for three years. Twelve years later, they’ve more than doubled its enrollment to about full

Chabad 30th anniversary gala to honor children of Mangels and Simons
Chabad of Greater Dayton’s 30th anniversary gala will honor the children of its founders and directors, Devorah and Rabbi Nochum Mangel; and the children of Chabad’s longtime youth and program directors, Rochel and Rabbi Levi Simon. The dinner will be held at 6 p.m., Sunday, June 4 at Chabad, 2001

Jewish artifact of late Daytonian’s youth restored by Holocaust & Humanity Center
Survivor’s little prayer shawl to be exhibited as part of Cincinnati museum’s permanent collection. The day 15-year-old David Hochstein boarded a train fleeing from Nazi Germany in 1939, his father’s last words to him were, “Never forget that you are a Jew.” He never saw his parents again. Hochstein honored

Dayton Metro Library hosts Americans and the Holocaust exhibit
The traveling version of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Americans and the Holocaust exhibition will be on display at the Dayton Metro Library Main Library from May 18 to June 21. Dayton Metro Library is one of 50 academic and public libraries selected to host the exhibit for its initial

Tiny windows
The Power of Stories Series, Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Rabbi Joseph Potasnik tells the extraordinary story of days-old twins, one born with a serious heart condition and not expected to live. As the tiny infant’s health began to fail, a nurse petitioned for

Mazel Tov!
Those at Temple Israel’s Friday night Shabbat service on March 31 heard two classically-trained vocalists on the bima. Dayton Opera’s Tenor Artist-In-Residence Carl Rosenthal joined Temple Israel Music Director Courtney Cummings. Carl opened the service with Hinei Mah Tov, Lecha Dodi, and Shalom Aleichem. He also presented a “musical sermon”

Beth Jacob 3rd Women Inspiring Women luncheon
Beth Jacob Congregation’s Third Annual Jewish Women Inspiring Women luncheon will be held at 11 a.m., Sunday, June 4. The event presents women from across the Jewish community sharing their stories of empowerment, strength, and courage. This year’s speakers are Ann Berger, Linda Blum, Jenny Caplan, Susan Gruenberg, Michele Serotkin,

Bark Mitzvah Boy
Look for the Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site! To read the complete May 2023 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Obituaries
Shirley Mae Brook Klausner passed away on March 30 in Atlanta at the age of 97. She is survived by her three adult children: Taree Klausner of Berkeley, Calif., Richard Klausner of Bridgton, Maine, and Debra Klausner of Atlanta. She has three grandchildren: Nate Klausner, Lauren Foehl, Cydnee Jones Klausner,

Community Yom Hashoah Observance evolved from survivors’ bonds
First public commemoration 60 years ago at Beth Jacob Congregation By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer It was 60 years ago when Holocaust survivors invited the public to the Dayton area’s first community Yom Hashoah memorial service, held April 21, 1963 at Beth Jacob Congregation on Kumler Avenue. But