Cincinnati Jews Showed Out at the Great American Ballpark
The Jewish Community showed out at the Great American Ballpark for the Reds vs. Kansas City Royals Tuesday, June 2 filling over 550 seats across the stadium. The weather was in the 70s and spirits were high. This event marked the X annual Jewish Community Night at the Reds which was organized by staff of the Mayerson JCC.
Braiding Together Cincinnati’s Jewish & Queer Communities
Walking into the JCC’s Amberley Room for the annual Rainbow Challah Bake, I was quickly and warmly welcomed by everyone there. Some were people I knew, like the event’s organizer, Wyn Garfinkle, and many were not. But whether it was my 100th time meeting someone, or my first, I knew one thing: I was exactly where I was meant to be. The queer and Jewish communities are both spaces that pride themselves on being welcoming of others, no matter their background, and I felt that in the JCC during the event.
Jewish Federation of Cincinnati Marks 130 Years With $16.1 Million in Giving
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati held its 130th Annual Meeting on May 20, gathering roughly 300 community members for an evening that blended institutional history and fundraising results.
Board Chair Sherri Symson opened the program with a video narrated by Danielle Minson tracing the organization’s origins to three civic leaders who founded it in Cincinnati’sWest End in 1896. “Wow, 130 years in just five minutes,” Symson remarked after the video concluded. The evening’s framing leaned heavily on continuity: the Federation, Symson noted, had outlasted every individual who built it, which is the measure of any enduring institution.
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.
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.
At Z3 Cincinnati, Young Jews Aren’t Walking Away—They’re Asking Hard Questions
One of the hallmarks of Jewish culture is open communication. Furthermore, it is asking hard questions and being willing to hear the answer, even if you don’t agree. This ability to ask, listen, argue, and eventually agree to disagree was on full display at the inaugural Z3 Cincinnati Conference. In Keynote speaker Zack Bodner’s presentation,
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.
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.
Nazi Caricatures Are Returning to Ohio
On Tuesday, a sticker of a hook-nosed caricature, a relic of Der Stürmer, pointing at the rising price of unleaded at an Ohio gas station. Underneath, in dripping red letters, is a blunt, ancient accusation: “THE JEWS DID THIS!” This is not Nazi Germany. It is Ohio in 2026.
CAIR Leader’s Graphic ‘Skin Bank’ Rant Rocks Ohio Senate During Antisemitism Hearing
ebruary 18th saw the continuation of the second legislative attempt to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into state law. The hearing for Senate Bill 87 drew a wave of dissent, consisting of 67 testimonies from a broad coalition including the ACLU of Ohio, Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Ohio, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign.
The dissenters opposed the formal codification of the IHRA definition, which is currently in practice via Executive Order 2022-06D, issued by Governor Mike DeWine. While DeWine’s order required state agencies and public universities to adopt the definition following a surge of antisemitic incidents, the order is set to expire at the conclusion of his term. Proponents of SB 87 argue that without codification, the protection of Jewish Ohioans remains at the mercy of future governors’ discretion. If enacted, Ohio would join at least 37 other states that have already codified the definition.