By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Dennis Day remembers that when he started as a custodian at Beth Abraham Synagogue, every one of its 600-plus seats was full on the High Holidays. That included the bleachers he set up in the social hall balcony, overlooking the back of the

Unanimously approved wording expresses sympathy, not blame, in Israel-Hamas war. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer The Dayton City Commission unanimously passed a resolution Dec. 20 on the “current conflict in the Middle East” that “urgently calls for a cease-fire with the release of all civilians being illegally held

Steve Markman, commander of Dayton’s Jewish War Veterans Post #587 — who served on and off in that role since 2008 — died Jan. 2. He was 76. Under his leadership, the post volunteered at the Dayton VA Medical Center, participated in naturalization ceremonies to welcome new citizens, coordinated the

The community is invited to attend the Dayton area’s Scout Shabbat service, 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 10 at Beth Abraham Synagogue. The service will honor participating Scouts, Scouters, and Scout Alumni. Scouts of all faiths are welcome. Current Scouts and Scouters are asked to register at miamivalleybsa.org/calendar and to wear

Muki Jankelowitz, Temple Israel’s tour guide on past trips to Israel, will lead a free, three-part Zoom series, Complicated History: Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Middle East, at 4 p.m., Sundays, Feb. 4, 11, and 18. A licensed Israel tour guide, Jankelowitz was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. After he made

Temple Anshe Emeth in Piqua, Temple Beth Or in Washington Township, and Temple Israel in Dayton were among more than 200 Jewish institutions across the United States to receive email bomb threats at the end of December. The three area temples received these “swatting” threats at 8:25 a.m. on Tuesday,

Jewish texts inspire the universal messages in Toronto native’s paintings. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Elyssa Wortzman had just arrived in Dayton in the fall of 2022 when she was invited to join the Women Strong Art Project. “This group of women artists was looking for a Jewish

Local updates connected to the Israel-Hamas war By Marshall Weiss, The Observer Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Past President Debby Goldenberg described this year’s JCC Chanukah celebration as particularly poignant. Federation staff and layleaders personally invited non-Jews to the program who have expressed their support for the Jewish community since

Temple Israel and Omega Baptist Church will join together for their annual pulpit exchange over MLK weekend. Pastor Joshua Ward will deliver the sermon at Temple Israel’s Shabbat service, 6:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 12. An Oneg reception will follow the service. Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz will deliver the sermon at Omega

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Bethel Local Schools Superintendent Matthew W. Chrispin informed families with children in the school district via a Dec. 4 letter that the district is “actively investigating the details” of “controversial posts shared by one of our employees on their personal social media platform.”