Tag: Jewish

Join Mats Michaelsen as he guides you through the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center’s museum. Mats is from Ilsede, Germany where, one year ago, he finished high school and will start studying once he returns home this August. During his time in school, Mats tried to learn as much as possible about the processes that led to the Holocaust in his country and is still interested in improving his understanding of the time through different perspectives. He likes to share his experience in growing up in the society of the perpetrators but is also keen to exchange that with people coming from a different history. As a young German, he feels the responsibility to keep the memory of this horrific atrocity alive and make an effort to improve the world we all live in.

This motivation led him to apply for an international volunteer program, Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP). This organization sends young people to different countries in Europe, Israel, and the U.S. to work with victims of the Holocaust, at educational facilities, or with marginalized people. Their work aims at creating dialogue between different people and reducing prejudices, thus building a society for everybody. During this special museum tour, Mats will reflect on his year of volunteer work at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, where he’s been an invaluable asset to our work.

This is Mat’s last official museum tour before returning home to Germany, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity.

Reserve your free ticket today!

The Cincinnati offices of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) invite you to join us for a rare opportunity to hear from the area’s three Jewish elected officials, all in one evening on

Thursday, June 29th, 6:00pm at the Mayerson JCC Amberley Room.

You will hear from Cincinnati City Councilmember Mark Jeffreys, Ohio State Representative Dani Isaacsohn, and Congressman Greg Landsman in conversation about how their Jewish identity informs their public service, how they contemplate issues and what motivates their decision making. Offering a blend of personal and political perspective, these representatives will share their experience in public office as Jews while discussing issues of relevance to the community.

This conversation will be moderated by Justin Kirschner, AJC Regional Director and Rabbi Ari Balaban, JCRC Director. The evening is co-hosted by AJC and JCRC in partnership with the Mayerson JCC and Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

* This is an excerpt, reprinted from Jewish Family Services.*

Dear friends and colleagues,

Jewish Family Service requests your help to encourage Jewish individuals or those living in Jewish households between the ages of 12 and 26 to complete a Youth Metal Health Survey, the results of which will help assess our community’s mental health gaps and needs for this age demographic.
That survey is accessible at the QR code and link below.
The Ask—please share this link and/or QR code in any upcoming external or internal communications such as emails, printed newsletters, or via your social media channels.
The survey was developed by the Jewish Federation of North America’s BeWell initiative, in consultation with Rosov Consulting. The Miami Jewish community has already fielded this survey.

The Backstory.

The Federation funded a one-year mental health pilot initiative at Jewish Family Service (JFS) in 2021. Last year, the Foundation committed three (3) years of support for JFS to expand that effort. Recently, the Foundation, in partnership with the Federation and JFS, launched a local Mental Health Resiliency Roundtable, comprised of professionals, practitioners, and community volunteers to work collectively to identify gap areas and generate creative solutions on how to address them.

Why is this Important? 

In an uncertain world, young people face increasing levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of an accelerating mental health crisis, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” and 1 in 5 saying they have contemplated suicide. Now that we’ve heard from them, we want to hear from their parents to determine where there is alignment and where additional work might need to be done.

Mobilizing for Change. 

As part of Cincinnati 2030, the Jewish community is mobilizing to create the support young people need as they face challenging moments. As a community, we are working to counteract:
  • Social stigma which prevents people from seeking help.
  • Lack of practical knowledge about the stressors young people face.
  • Professionals, educators and parents don’t know where to turn for information, guidance, or a supportive community.
  • A critical shortage of accessible or affordable mental health professionals.
Please help us get the word out starting today! JFS will share key take-aways with the community once results are final. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Sincerely and Shabbat Shalom,
Brian Jaffee, Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati,
Danielle V. Minson, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Liz Vogel, Jewish Family Service

The Jewish Community Relations Council’s 2023 Annual Meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 13, at 7:00PM in the Mayerson JCC Amberley Room.

Reserve Your Tickets Now

JCRC Director Rabbi Ari Ballaban and Assistant Director Jeremy Spiegel will be joined by outgoing Board President Mark Barsman, incoming Board President Ben Schneider, and Jewish Federation of Cincinnati CEO Danielle V. Minson for a night of celebrating this year’s accomplishments. Former and future Cohen Family Leaders in Light Institute Fellows will help us look forward to a promising future.

Our meeting will feature an ideologically diverse panel of nationally recognized experts who will discuss American Jewish responses to the recent ongoing turmoil in Israel. There will be opportunities to share questions that may be addressed to the panel, listed below.

Enjoy Kosher desserts from Sweet Butter Bakery, coffee, and other non-alcoholic beverages following the meeting.

Ample parking is available in the Mayerson JCC parking lots. If you have questions, please contact Rabbi Ari Ballaban at aballaban@jfedcin.org or 513-203-8553.

One might not immediately associate Frank Stella (b. 1936), the American painter, sculptor, and printmaker noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction with a cumulative, lyrical poem that concludes the traditional Seder, or festive meal, on the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Had Gadya (One Little Goat) is one of the earliest recorded songs for children. Just as each verse of the song builds on one before it, Stella builds on the original 1919 series of prints by Russian-Jewish avante-garde artist El Lissitzky (1890–1941). Lissitzky, who began his career illustrating Yiddish children’s books, created a print for each stanza of the famous song. Stella first encountered these works in the Tel Aviv Art Museum in 1981 and was profoundly inspired by their movement and the vibrancy of the simplified, graphic forms.

Frank Stella’s Had Gadya print series took two years to complete. The large prints were created using a combination of various techniques—lithography, linoleum block, silkscreen, and rubber relief with collage elements and hand-coloring. The prints were finally published by Waddington Graphics, London, in 1984. After completing the edition, Stella created between two and nine variants of each of the twelve Had Gadya illustrations.

The Skirball Museum is the second venue for a national tour of the three Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion campuses in North America. Frank Stella: Had Gadya appeared at the Los Angeles campus March 31–December 31, 2022 and will be on view at the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum on the New York campus September 7, 2023 – March 2, 2024.

The identity of Siona Benjamin, an Indian-American-Jewish artist, is layered and multi-faceted, just like her artwork. Raised as a Jew and a member of the Bene Israel community in largely Hindu and Muslim Mumbai, Benjamin addresses inclusion and exclusion through her art, and considers and challenges perceptions about culture, race, and religion. In crossing boundaries and building bridges, she asks viewers to do the same.

Thursday, April 20 at 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm ET

5:30 pm ET | Reception (in-person only).
6:15 pm ET | Siona Benjamin takes us “Beyond Borders” with an illustrated talk about her artistic journey to this deeply personal and wide-ranging body of work. In-person and via Livestream.

Registration required.

Dr. Samantha Baskind, Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University and curator of this exhibition, will discuss how Siona Benjamin’s layered and multifaceted identity influences her artwork. Mingling styles derived from comic books, Pop Art, Bollywood, Indian and Persian miniatures, and Hebrew illuminated manuscripts, Benjamin blends tradition with innovation, while navigating feelings of inclusion and exclusion. Dr. Baskind is the author of five books and more than 100 articles, mainly on Jewish American art.

Registration required at THIS LINK.

Jewish Family Service’s 80th Annual Meeting
7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, 2023
Amberley Room of The Mayerson JCC
8485 Ridge Ave, Cincinnati Ohio 45236
We have much to celebrate this year. For eight decades, JFS has been an important and integral part of our community. And we’ve evolved over the years to address ever-changing needs. Today we serve people throughout our diverse community—with professionalism and expertise.
As we like to say, JFS is here for everyone—whether it was helping Holocaust survivors and their families immigrate and assimilate in the 1950s, or guiding Cincinnati’s struggling youth to high-quality mental health resources today in the 2020s—we believe that everyone deserves to live with dignity, security, and hope.
Keynote Speaker Tricia Stern
In addition to celebrating the historical and current accomplishments of JFS, we will welcome our keynote speaker, Tricia Stern, Vice President of Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services at the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA). Tricia is an expert on ways to meet the significantly increasing mental health needs of youth, young adults, and parents.
The annual meeting is also a great opportunity to acknowledge and honor our donors, lay leaders, and volunteers. From 1943 to today, we have consistently benefited from your extraordinary generosity and stewardship. With Jewish Family Service’s 80th Annual Meeting, we hope in some small way to demonstrate our sincere appreciation.

AJC Cincinnati will celebrate its 30th annual Community Intergroup Seder on March 21, 2023. In partnership with the Skirball Museum located on the historic Hebrew Union College campus, this year’s program will feature a Passover-themed art exhibition in addition to aspects of a traditional Passover seder, meaningful conversation and a delicious catered lunch. Rabbi Matthew Kraus will officiate the popular event that will welcome community leaders and others from diverse backgrounds as we join to commemorate the Passover holiday, the Jewish exodus from slavery to freedom.

Tuesday, March 21
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Skirball Museum Cincinnati on the HUC Campus

Space is limited so register here and reserve your seat today.

Wednesday, February 8

8:00-8:30 a.m. | Breakfast*

8:30-9:30 a.m. | Program

Mayerson JCC, Amberley Room
You will learn about the Federation’s critical work supporting our community and hear from our special guest speaker, Gideon Bernstein. The well-known author will share inspiring stories as well as his approach to giving. He will help you rediscover the simple joys of giving your time, talent, and treasure to help the people and causes that you love most.
Impact Breakfast Gideon-01.jpg
Gideon Bernstein, Author of Giving: A Handbook to Happiness for the Modern Philanthropist.
RSVP by January 25