Four veterans of World War II — which ended 78 years ago this September — attended Jewish War Veterans Dayton Post #587’s 75th Anniversary Brunch, held May 28 at Temple Beth Or. The oldest among them was Robert Kahn, 99, who escaped Nazi Germany following Kristallnacht. After his arrival in

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer The traveling version of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Americans and the Holocaust exhibit, on display through June 21 at the Dayton Metro Library’s main library, poses questions to those who take it in — What did Americans know? What more could have

By Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA For a movie about the Holocaust, the Belarussian film Persian Lessons has some comic potential. Set in a concentration camp somewhere in Western Europe, it involves a Jewish inmate who survives by giving Farsi lessons to a Nazi officer who dreams about opening a restaurant in

By Stephen Silver, JTA The real Mordecai Samel, at the time in his late 70s, really didn’t want an iPhone in 2015. The Holocaust survivor who had been living in south Florida since 2004 didn’t see a need. His taped-together flip phone worked fine. But his son Marvin insisted. One

By Joanne Palmer, The Jewish Standard When we’re children, we are taught — and naturally tend to believe — that good things happen smoothly, that goodness always is straightforward. We don’t learn about complications and doubts, much less about working through them, until much later. We are taught and believe

Temple Israel’s Jewish Cultural Festival returns Sunday, June 11 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Food will be available for purchase from El Meson, Brock Masterson’s, and My Favorite Muffin. Also available will be treats from Graeter’s, Temple Israel’s bakery, and The Dayton Beer Co. Entertainment includes The Flying Klezmerians,

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Like so many middle schoolers, 12-year-old Polina hangs out with her friends, riding bikes after school and on the weekends. She and her friends constantly check on their chats to find out the latest news among their classmates. Unlike her friends, she keeps

Dayton’s Flying Klezmerians and Aaron Kula and Chaim Rubinov of the Boca Raton-based Klezmer Company Jazz Orchestra will team up to perform two concerts, May 7 and 8. The JCC will present their performance of Jubano Jazz — a blend of Latin rhythms and klezmer tunes — at 2 p.m.,

Audrey MacKenzie, who worked in the Jewish Community Center Early Childhood program for 20 years — 17 of them as its director — died April 5 following a prolonged battle with cancer. She was 68. A Chicago native, Audrey came to the JCC with 24 years of early childhood experience,

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