Dayton

With JFNA funding, Federation expands to full-time security director
Retired longtime Centerville Police Officer John Davis will also provide security assessments/emergency plans for any local Jewish organizations at their request By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Jewish Federation Security Director John Davis remembers the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education being built in Centerville. When the Federation

Jewish Family Services director heads East for synagogue work
‘How grateful I am,’ Tara Feiner says of her 11 years in Dayton By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer It was Tara Feiner’s brother, Josh Laster, who urged her to apply for the job — his job. Josh had been executive director of Congregation Beth El in Voorhees, N.J.

Documentary Oct. 8 next on Israel in Focus series
The Jewish Community Relations Council will screen the next documentary in its three-part Israel in Focus series, October 8, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education. Executive produced by Wendy Sachs and Debra Messing and directed by Sachs, the documentary digs

Hadassah presents OSU MeshugaNotes concert
Dayton Hadassah presents OSU Hillel’s a cappella group, the MeshugaNotes, 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5. Founded in 1999, the “Shugs” sing OSU spirit songs, oldies, current radio music, and classic and contemporary Hebrew songs, all arranged by current or past members. The venue will be provided with registration, which is

Jewish War Veterans program about PTSD
U.S. Air Force Col. (Ret.) Stafford Ouderkirk will talk about trauma and show the 2014 documentary Invisible Scars at Jewish War Veterans Post 587’s brunch, 10:30 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 7 at Temple Beth Or. Invisible Scars was produced by the Crosswinds Foundation for Faith & Culture, a Christian organization that

Miami Valley Mikvah celebrates founders, 18 years
The Miami Valley Mikvah will honor its founders, Patti and Lee Schear, Susan and Martin Schear, and Brenda Rinzler, at 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 7 at the facility, 600 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. The Miami Valley Mikvah was established as an entity in 2007; the facility opened in September 2009.

League of Women Voters to hold interfaith panel on DEI at UD Fitz Center Aug. 13
The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will host an interfaith panel discussion, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A Religious Perspective, at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 13 at the University of Dayton’s Fitz Center. Panelists include Pastor Gerald A. Cooper of Wayman Chapel

Traumatic invalidation paper coauthor keynotes Federation annual meeting brunch, Aug. 17
Trauma therapist Miri Bar-Halpern — who with Jaclyn Wolfman coauthored the paper Traumatic invalidation in the Jewish community after Oct. 7 in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment in May — will keynote the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton and its agencies’ annual meeting brunch, 11:30 a.m.,

Columbus Kosher BBQ truck for PJ Library/Chabad Shabbat in the Park
If you’ve been dreaming of kosher barbecue — and at a family-friendly price — things are looking up. For its next Shabbat in the Park, PJ Library in partnership with Chabad of Greater Dayton will bring in Smoked on Chai Kosher BBQ food truck from Columbus, Friday, Aug. 22 from

Observer honored for best religion reporting — and as best monthly — in Ohio
Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest, sponsored by the Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus Society of Professional Journalists chapters statewide, announced July 7 that Dayton Jewish Observer Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss received its 2025 first-place award for Best Religion Reporting in its small newspaper category (circulation below 40,000), and named The Observer