By Zoe Kourlas, Grade Eight, Hastings Middle School 2022 Max May and Lydia May Memorial Holocaust Art and Writing Contest, sponsored by the Greater Dayton Holocaust Education Committee  

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer To say Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati’s connections with Dayton-area Reform congregations run deep would be an understatement. It was natural for the architect of Reform Judaism in the United States, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, to reach out from his Cincinnati perch to

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer In the April issue of The Observer, we interviewed Centerville resident Maryna Braginsky, who shared what her immediate family in Ukraine endured over the first weeks of Russia’s invasion. Her mother was sheltering in the basement of her house in Sumy, a city

UD law professor on why it couldn’t happen today, how & why the U.S. Supreme Court raised the free speech bar By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Though they were all in their 20s and 30s, the five young men were already well-respected in their professions and for championing

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer While being interviewed March 22 as part of an Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs video series, civilian employee Brian Koontz said the greatest moment of his career was in 2007, “when Israel destroyed a Syrian reactor that was in a

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer Centerville is now the home of U.S. manufacturing for an Israeli company that produces universal, autonomous drone docking and recharging stations. Niv Aharoni, CEO and founder of Strix Drones, made the announcement April 11 at Sinclair College’s National UAS Training and Certification Center. “We were

By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel How do we approach seemingly mythical, magical, or otherwise logically implausible creatures referenced in the Bible and rabbinic literature (Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud)? Using Natan Slifkin’s book, Sacred Monsters as a primary source, I explored this question in a recent lecture. One congregant asked why

The power of stories series Jewish Family Education With Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Attacked, stripped, and dumped underground, a teen shivered while the gang debated his fate for disrespecting “the family” and making pretentious claims to power. Traded to local traffickers and transported to a foreign country,

With Bark Mitzvah Boy, The Dayton Jewish Observer Lisa Michaels, who has volunteered with Ohio’s Hospice for several years, tells us that its Pathways of Hope Grief Counseling Center needs male volunteers in particular for its Camp Pathways program for children and teens ages 7 to 17 who have experienced

Marshall Weiss, editor and publisher of The Dayton Jewish Observer and project director of Miami Valley Jewish Genealogy & History, will present the talk, Judaism and Americanism in Dayton a Century Ago, at 9:45 a.m., Sunday, May 8 at Temple Israel, 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. The brunch program is part