Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

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Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

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The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati is the backbone that catalyzes our community in a common purpose.

To build a flourishing, inclusive, and diverse Jewish community. We empower everyone to participate through learning, volunteering, leading, and social action. We care for everyone in our community and ensure all have access to a full and meaningful life.

10/25/2026

Julie and Steve Shifman grew up in families where giving was just part of life. Before settling in Cincinnati together. They came home and became leaders in the Jewish community and in Greater Cincinnati.

Four sons. Decades of volunteerism. And a legacy gift through Create Your Jewish Legacy.

"Our time here matters," Steve said. "Knowing that some people might be enjoying a different or better life because of something that we have done. Just leaves the world a little bit better."

10/22/2026

Congratulations to three members of our community on their induction into the Greater Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame: Phil Cohen (z"l), John Michelman, and Karen Hoguet!

This honor recognizes leaders who have shaped the business community and inspired the next generation of entrepreneurs across Greater Cincinnati. Phil Cohen's induction comes posthumously, a recognition that carries on long after the work itself.

We're proud to call these honorees part of our community, and even prouder of what they've built.

10/21/2026

For generations, Jewish women have gathered around the mahj table. Friendships were made there. Advice was traded there. Plenty of good ideas got their start there, too.

Our Lion of Judah women pulled up a chair at Kenwood Country Club for an afternoon of Mahj and Mitzvah. While gathered, they packed care packages for early childhood teachers at Jewish schools across Cincinnati to support the teachers who give our youngest children some of their first Jewish experiences.

Thank you to our Lions for showing up for all aspects of our community.

10/19/2026

"I tried to keep it a secret," Ava says. The secret was that she'd never been bat mitzvahed.

She grew up one of three Jewish kids in a class of 500. No Hebrew school, just "bits and pieces" of Jewish life: the traditions, the Hanukkah fun. "It made me who I am," she says. But when she stood in Jerusalem with thousands of Jewish athletes after winning a karate gold medal with Maccabi USA, that old doubt crept back in: was she Jewish enough to be there?

Then she got to Miami University. She almost skipped the Hillel welcome barbecue. Walking in alone felt like too much. Her roommate told her to go. She went. She kept going back.

Today, Ava is the one who notices a freshman hovering by the door and pulls them in. Every Friday, she's back at the Shabbat table.

"I felt like I had a community."

Your gift saves a seat at the table for a person looking for a place to belong.

10/16/2026

Rini knows there is a Passover table in Cincinnati that exists because of a gift.

She's experienced it through the stories of those in our community. Someone who didn't have enough money for groceries walks into the food pantry and gets to shop with dignity. They feed their family. They have a Passover meal.

She's been in the room for these stories many times. Every time, they still touch her heart.

That's the work of your Annual Campaign gift.

10/15/2026

Every candidate we interview for the shlichut position gets the same question. If there is an election in Israel while you are here, how would you explain it to an American audience, and how would you stay impartial?

Moria answered it seven weeks into the job.

She set one ground rule before she started. English is her second language, election vocabulary is unforgiving, so she asked the room to help her out. The room fed her the words she needed, "judicial," "precinct," and she kept going.

The best part was the feeling in the room. We ran out of chairs Wednesday evening at the Mayerson JCC. Walk-ins kept finding spots along the back wall. Newcomers sat with the regulars we see at many of our programs, and the space for dialogue is our commitment to this community.

Israel votes Tuesday, October 27.

10/14/2026

Antisemitism on campus is real. Cincinnati Hillel offers a place where Jewish students can be themselves, no explanation needed.

Every Friday night they have a seat open for a free, kosher Shabbat dinner for students at UC, NKU, and Xavier. Beyond Shabbat, Hillel offers holiday programs, Israel engagement, and leadership opportunities that help students build Jewish pride.

We help fund Cincinnati Hillel through Local Allocations, because our students deserve a place they can find community.

That's Federation.

10/13/2026

Every winter near Kibbutz Be'eri, red anemones cover the fields. Visitors drive in to see them and get their cars stuck in the mud. Chen Even was always the first one there to pull them out.

In Sderot, Dolev Swisa grew plants on his balcony. Every morning, he went out to see what had bloomed.

Both men were killed on October 7, 2023.

Last week, our community gathered for Memories in Bloom. We remembered Chen and Dolev, and the people of Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Sderot, and those lost at the Nova festival. Neighbors read their stories aloud.

Then we planted a field.

Each ceramic anemone was made by hand, by members of our community together with friends from Kibbutz Carmia, our sister community near the Gaza border.

This year, we gathered with no hostages left in Gaza. We feel the relief. We hold on to the hope. And every day, we still miss the people who aren't here.

The field is in bloom in the courtyard of the Mayerson JCC. Come see it.

10/12/2026

Congratulations to the Friedman and Claybon Families! Recently, Jim and Meredith Friedman and Kathy and Dr. Louis Claybon received the 2026 AJC - American Jewish Committee Community Service Award for their leadership in Jewish life and across Cincinnati.

Nearly 50 years ago, Kathy and Jim's father, Justin Friedman (z"l), received AJC's Human Rights Medallion for building understanding between Jewish and non-Jewish communities. He and his wife, Frances (z"l), started this family's tradition of community service, one their children are still carrying forward.

Jim is part of our Federation family, too. As our former director of planned giving, he helped Cincinnati families plan the legacy they would leave. Now his own family's legacy is the one being celebrated.

Justin and Frances started it. Their family carries it forward. May their memory be a blessing.

10/11/2026

When the Jewish Welfare Fund came door to door in the 1940s, Roberta's father sat her and her brother down and told them: whatever you receive in your allowance, you give something from it. Every Sunday.

That lesson never left her.

As adults, Roberta and her husband Mel (z"l) Fisher became dedicated to our Jewish community. Mel served as president of our Federation. And when their sons began giving their own time and money to the community, it only deepened their commitment. To the next generation, Mel said, "Help people. It will come back to you."

Their legacy gift through Create Your Jewish Legacy carries more than dollars. It carries what they most want the next generation to know.

"What you leave is your name, so live it well and wisely." - Roberta Fisher

Address

8499 Ridge Avenue
Cincinnati, OH
45236

Telephone

+15139851500

Website

http://www.jewishcincinnati.org/

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