As the war in Israel entered Day 3 following a surprise attack from Hamas near the Gaza border, 2,000 people came together Oct. 9 at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland to pray and show support for the Jewish state.

On behalf of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Board of Trustees and staff, we thank you for your support of and participation in these efforts. We will keep you posted on developments as regularly as is feasible. In the meantime, we welcome your questions and suggestions.

In the early morning of Oct. 7, Dan Zelman, board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, like many people, checked his phone immediately upon waking up. To his surprise it was flooded with news about terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip on the state of Israel.

We invite you to join us for a special community gathering in support of Israel on Monday, October 9 at 5 pm at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland offices in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building (25701 Science Park Drive). This event will feature comments from local clergy, community leaders, and others as we come together to demonstrate our unshakeable stand with Israel at this time of crisis.

“Hine ma tov, shevet achim gam yachad, how good it is for brothers & sisters to sit together.” These words rang true throughout our recent trip to Israel with a delegation of leaders from the Ohio House of Representatives hosted by Ohio Jewish Communities and the Negev Foundation.

The Cleveland Jewish community has been instrumental in bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel, and our support does not end there. Cleveland's sister communities of Beit Shean and the Valley of Springs are home to Beit Alfa absorption center.

An Israel at 75 Microgrant is pre-approved funding for a program or project in the Cleveland Jewish Community geared towards Israel programming that support one or more of these goals. Organizations or individuals will be reimbursed for expenses (up to the agreed upon amount) after completion of their project.

The world is the street artist’s canvas and often unsuspecting passersby are their audience. Many are also studio artists who work in similar styles to their public work and experiment with new media.

The Cleveland and Israeli Jewish communities were well-represented at the 77th annual One World Day Aug. 27 in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as the Greater Cleveland community came together in a showcase of its diversity.

After graduating from the College of Wooster in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Ellie Shafron did not know where her career path would take her, but knew she wanted to spend the next year in Israel.