Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

March normally brings about the promise of Spring, the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament, and preparations for Passover. Instead, we find ourselves grappling with the uncertainty of what will happen in the coming weeks and days.

Over the past month, our news feeds have been inundated with stories about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). What started out as a few cases abroad has turned into tens of thousands of cases worldwide, with some of the infected in Ohio only hours away from Dayton.

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington D.C. for the Jewish Federation of North America’s FedPro Institute.

It didn’t hit me that I had accomplished something really big in my life until I was sitting in a chair, wearing my cap and gown, and listening to commencement speeches.

As 2019 comes to a close, I can’t help but take a moment to reflect on the past year. There were many wonderful things that happened during the past 12 months. Unfortunately, we were also faced with some challenges and tragedies. 

In my role as CEO, much of my job requires me to make decisions. When making these decisions, I have to weigh several factors.

It’s hard to believe that in the year 2019, issues that seemed to be a thing of the past are not only still a part of our world, but growing in intensity.

On October 27, 2018 – what was to be a peaceful Shabbat morning – 11 members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community lost their lives in a horrific act of hatred.

When my 8-month old son, Noah, died in 1994, I was completely heartbroken. Losing my only child devastated me.

This past weekend, I received a statement from the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation. A 20-year-old man posted a video on Instagram on July 11th which showed someone shooting a semi-automatic rifle with the caption, “Police identified the Youngstown Jewish Family Community shooter as local white nationalist Seamus O’Rearedon.”