Opponents Flood Ohio Senate Hearing on Israel Trade Partnership Bill
Opponents of House Bill 188 outnumbered supporters at a May 12 Ohio Senate Finance Committee hearing on the state’s proposed trade and innovation partnership with Israel. HB 188 was introduced by Rep. Thomas Hall and Rep. Eric Synenberg last year. The bill passed the Ohio House in November by a vote of 73 to 10. The May 12 session was the bill’s second hearing before the Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Bill Cirino. The bill would establish a 17-member commission to strengthen economic, academic and technological collaboration between the two states.
At Krohn, Fragility Takes Flight
Butterflies have returned to Krohn Conservatory, and with them comes one of Cincinnati’s loveliest seasonal rituals. This year’s show, Destination Monarch, is cheerful, crowded, warm, and visually generous—a reminder that some of creation’s most memorable lessons arrive on delicate wings.
Glenn Bochner speaks at CCFI event
At a recent luncheon hosted by CCFI, the Cincinnati Coalition for Israel, featuring Glenn Bochner and representatives from SKIES, Sharing Knowledge & Innovations, Empowering Success, much of the discussion centered around a simple reality: modern information wars are no longer won through long policy papers and carefully crafted statements. They are fought through emotion, culture, speed, and whatever captures attention first online.
Anti-Zionist Protester Out on Bond After Bringing a Sword to City Hall
Alexandra Dalton, who also goes by Alexander and “Big Al,” was released on bond Thursday after allegedly smuggling a concealed sword cane into a Cincinnati City Council meeting. Dalton appeared before the Council draped in a keffiyeh to criticize the city’s redevelopment plans for Piatt Park. During her testimony, she directed repeated, pointed comments toward Councilman Mark Jeffreys, “No answers, no accountability … but what do you expect from a Zionist?”
Charges Filed After Coordinated Harassment of Yeshiva Students in Golf Manor
Jackson Mettler, 19, of Springboro, appeared before a judge on Wednesday morning following a May 4 incident in which prosecutors say he targeted students at Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati, an Orthodox Jewish high school on Section Road.
A Sacred Partnership: Adath Israel Formally Installs Rabbi Scott Shafrin
The sanctuary at Adath Israel was filled with a palpable sense of renewal on Shabbat, April 18, as the congregation gathered for the formal installation of Rabbi Scott Shafrin as its next Senior Rabbi. Succeeding Rabbi Moshe Smolkin, Rabbi Shafrin’s installation was more than a formal transition of power; it was described by congregants as a “lifecycle moment,” marking a new chapter of growth and communal connection.
Mimouna: One More Night
The moment Passover ends, something different happens in parts of the Jewish world. Homes open up, people start coming and going, and the night turns into something that feels like an extension of the holiday rather than the end of it.
Mimouna is a Moroccan Jewish tradition that takes place right after Passover. Friends, family, and neighbors stop by throughout the evening. There’s no real formality to it. You show up, you’re welcomed in, you eat, you talk, you stay as long as you want. The kitchen is active again after a full week of restrictions, and we make mufletta, a quick, easy, slightly oily flatbread, hot off the pan and gone just as fast. Tables are filled with sweets, nuts, pastries, and anything that brings a sense of abundance back into the home.
Cincinnati Turns Out for Jewish Comic Modi
If there was any doubt about the vitality of the Cincinnati Jewish community, Thursday night’s turnout for the comedian Modi put it to rest. In what has become a recurring trend of successful Jewish acts visiting the Queen City, the local comedy club was pushed to its literal and figurative limits.
University of Cincinnati Kicks Off Shifting Paradigms
On Sunday, April 19th, the University of Cincinnati (UC) chose to lean into complexity rather than retreat from it. The kickoff of “Shifting Paradigms,” a three-day conference, served as more than just an academic gathering; it was a powerful reminder that constructive, nuanced conversation about the Middle East can still thrive on a modern campus. Hosted by UC and supported by the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Academic Engagement Network, and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the event brought together diplomats, scholars, and local leaders to examine the Abraham Accords not as a static historical moment, but as a transformative pivot toward a new regional future.
Yom HaShoah Commemoration Calls Community to Remember—and to Speak
In a city where history is not merely preserved but actively told, the Yom HaShoah Community Commemoration on Sunday, April 12, at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center offered a solemn and necessary charge: remembrance must be honest enough to include not only the crimes of perpetrators, but the silence of those who stood by.