For this year’s Women of Valor luncheon, Beth Abraham Synagogue Sisterhood will celebrate women who provide spiritual leadership to local Jewish congregations and make unique contributions across the Jewish and general community. The honorees are: • Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel • Rabbi Judy Chessin, Temple Beth Or • Courtney

American Israeli singer and songwriter Rami Feinstein will perform at the community Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration of Israel at 75, Sunday, April 30, 2-5 p.m. at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. Kosher Israeli food by Rochel Simon will be available for purchase at the

But number of children with area Jewish congregations down by 45.6% since 2015 By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Based on data from the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, the identified Jewish households and population across the Miami Valley have hit plateaus after decades of shrinking. The Observer’s analysis

Smith College Jewish Studies Prof. Joel S. Kaminsky and Hartford International University President Joel N. Lohr will lead the 43rd Annual Ryterband Symposium in Judaic Studies, Thursday, March 30 at United Theological Seminary. The symposium is co-sponsored by The University of Dayton, United Theological Seminary, and Wright State University. At

To showcase Jewish life in the Miami Valley for those considering a move here, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton launched a three-minute video, Are there really Jews in Dayton?, on Feb. 9 at jewishdayton.org, YouTube, and social media sites. The video, directed by native Daytonian Stephen Levinson, features members

Upper Miami Valley & Greene Co. included in volunteer’s chronicles By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Austin Reid, 26, grew up in Lancaster, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus, in Fairfield County. The Jewish congregation there, B’nai Israel, had closed a few years before he was born. “Like many

In the Netherlands, he and his family rescued Jews from the Holocaust By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Longtime Tipp City resident Marinus Bosma — a recipient of the title Righteous Among the Nations from Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel — died Nov. 4 at

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer With the recent hiring of three Judaic scholars in our region, we introduce you to them here. They are Jenny Caplan, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Chair in Judaic Studies at University of Cincinnati; Elliot Ratzman, chair in Jewish studies and visiting assistant professor

Seeds project offers $500 a year for K-12 Jewish student experiences By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Beginning Jan. 3, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton will offer each Jewish student in the Miami Valley from kindergarten through 12th grade a $500 annual subsidy toward Jewish programs locally or

By Marc Katz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Native Daytonian Justin Hollander was already 29 years old in 2008 and three-plus years into a law career when he took a tedious, low-paying, entry-level job as a “stat stringer” at San Diego Padres games. During home games, he sat next