LP record: What is Judaism   (12/23/17)
In a 1954 LP record we hear Abba Hillel Silver explain the principles of Judaism.

Jewish History Hub   (12/20/17)
A new Facebook group, to announce new pages and build a community interested in our area's Jewish history. Now named Northeast Ohio Jewish History.

Making a Connection   (12/18/17)
This website and The Lost Jews of Unsleben in Germany connect.

The 70th anniversary of U N Resolution 181  (12/06/17)
On November 29, 1947 the United Nations passed Resolution 181 that divided the British Mandate into Jewish and Palestinian sections, and Jerusalem.

An improved logo for our Jewish Federation  (10/24/17)
Many Clevelanders will welcome this unannounced change.

B'nai Jeshurun Congregation 150 year timeline   (10/17/17)
Two large banners display key dates in the congregation's rich history.

The Cleveland Jewish Center Controversy (1920s)
The most complete study of a four year dispute over mixed seating is a new essay by Professor Ira Robinson in the American Jewish Archives Journal.

Our community's oldest signed document  (8/24/17)
In 1840 the Israelitic Society petitioned Cleveland City Council for a Jewish section of the city cemetery An historic document, just-discovered.

Federation's Names and Logos Over the Years   (8/08/17)
We present a useful page from their old website

The Yizkor Plaque in the Maltz Performing Arts Center   (7/26/17)
After millions had seen it at the 1939-1940 World's Fair it became part of the Memory Corner in The Temple's sanctuary .

The Flock Farm and Meyer and Slova Flock   (7/12/17)
The Harpersfield Ohio farm where the Geneva Jewish farmers met and its owners Meyer and Slova Flock.

Silver's Gift to the Geneva Ohio Jewish Farmers   (5/04/17)
What was the source of those funds, what was their purpose?

Geneva Ohio Jewish Farmers   (3/08/17)
The now lost agricultural community about 50 miles east of Cleveland and their 1928 and 1929 picnics.

B'nai Jeshurun Congregation 150th anniversary   (3/03/17)
A new overview page plus the Cleveland Jewish News remarkable Timeline page.

The Wiesenfeld's Adopted Grandchildren  (2/26/17)
Michele Lowy Seligmann tells how she and her sister Ellen became  the "adopted" granddaughters of Leon and Esther Wiesenfeld.

Jewish Community Council  (12/30/16)
Formed in 1935, the Council included 140 organizations before it merged with the Jewish Welfare Federation in 1951.   (PIP)

Leon Wiesenfeld  (12/27/16)
This Polish-born journalist was editor of Cleveland Yiddish-language papers, a fighter for his people, and an ardent Zionist.

Jewish Life in Cleveland in the 1920s and 1930s (12/27/16)
Wiesenfeld's memoir is a little known treasure of tales of Cleveland many years ago. We publish the entire 160 page book. (pdf)

Involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement  (10/21/16)
The text of extensive interviews of Louis Rosenblum by Daniel Rosenblum (pdf)

Tiffany Mosaic at the Euclid Avenue Temple       (8/16/16)
We show the glass mosaic with a line from a Psalm of David, created by Tiffany Studios, that hangs in the choir loft.

Invocations at Republican conventions       (7/19/16)
The text by Abba Hillel Silver (1952) and Ari Wolf (2016)

Resettlement of Russian Speaking Jews    (5/18/16)
Read Rachel Davidson's carefully researched report written for Federation in August 2013. 

Lou Rosenblum and Herb Caron appearance   (5/17/16)
We give a "taste" of the May 15, 2016 talks by these leaders of the campaign to free Soviet Jewry.

Soviet Jewish Oral History Project  (5/03/16)
The Soviet Jewish Oral History Collection will become a new WRHS research resource in the fall of 2016.

Set an empty chair at your Seder table  (4/18/16)   editorial
We suggest that an empty chair at your Seder table be a reminder of the 20th century Exodus of Soviet Jews.

B'nai Jeshurun Congregation 140 year timeline   (2/09/16)
We display four images - a visual presentation of key events in the history of our city's first Conservative congregation.

The Federation Decision of September 2008   (12/24/15)
Our community discussed if Federation's offices should move to Beachwood or stay downtown. We document the decision, which was to do both.

Demolition of Federation's old building.  (12/17/15)
1750 Euclid Avenue, Federation's home for 45 years (1965-2010), has been torn down. For many it was a symbol of our commitment to the city.

Tiffany Windows at Euclid Avenue Temple   (12/11/15)
Robert N Brown took new pictures of the windows, to appear in a book on Tiffany's work in synagogues. We upgraded the images on our pages.

Laying the cornerstone of the Scovill Avenue Temple  1886   (12/08/15)
A remarkably rich and detailed newspaper account of the cornerstone laying of Anshe Chesed's Scovill Avenue Temple on October 21, 1886.

A Stitch in Time   (11/11/15)
A history of Cleveland's garment industry, published by the Western Reserve Historical Society. By Sean Martin PhD, curator of the Jewish Archives.

Opening Concert of the Maltz Performing Arts Center  - 2015   (9/30/15)
On September 27, 2015 the Violins of Hope concert opened Silver Hall at CWRU's Maltz Center for the Performing Arts.

Dedication of the Eagle Street Synagogue - 1846    (9/14/15)
In the Plain Dealer archive we find an amazingly detailed account of the dedication of Anshe Chesed's (and Cleveland's) first synagogue building.

The Untold Story of Freeing Soviet Jewry  (9/02/15)  editorial
Cleveland's resettlement of thousand of newcomers from the Former Soviet Union is a wonderful story that deserves to get much more attention.

United Jewish Cemeteries  (8/13/15)
Formed in 1890 by Cleveland's two Reform congregations to own and operate their cemeteries.

Going to the Schvitz   (6/11/15)
Former Clevelander Irv (Earl) Seidman writes of his 1945 visit with his father to the baths in the old Kinsman - Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

Tetiev Today  (5/24/15)
In the early 1900s many from this small town in Ukraine, including Sam and Minnie Klausner, came here. Fred Livingstone shares images from his visit.

The Jewish Independent's "Jewish Society Books"   (4/23/15)
From 1915 to 1925 eight "Blue Books" listed Jewish organizations, officers, members and histories. With images of pages in the 1924-25 edition.

Abraham Lincoln's Funeral   (4/17/15)
Cleveland's small Jewish community joined in mourning the slain president when his funeral train spent a day in Cleveland.

Jewish Cemetery in Unsleben Bavaria  (4/16/15)
Jewish life in Unsleben has nearly vanished, but we can share four photos of its Jewish cemetery just sent to us.

How this website evolved  (11/30/14)
Snapshots of the changes in our design over the years, plus a just-discovered page,  our oldest, created more than 16 years ago.

Jewish Carpenters Union Local 1750 and Carpenters Hall  (10/14/14)
At its peak around 1911 the union had nearly 200 members. In 1925 it built Carpenters Hall on East 135th and Kinsman Avenue.

Hebrew Free Loan Association    (10/13/14)
We present an extensive history of "The Hebrew Free Loan Association 1904 - 2003" by Stanley Lasky PhD

Photo Gallery: Corky and Lenny's Delicatessen    (9/29/14)
A painting of "Corky" Kurland and Leonard Kaden hangs in the WRHS Library.

Photo Gallery: Jewish Carpenters Union    (9/26/14)
Nearly 200 Jewish carpenters in their white uniforms on Labor Day 1911.

Aaron Garber Library    (9/18/14)
Founded in 1924, the central library of our Jewish community, it closed on August 30, 2014 after 35 years in the Siegal - Agnon Building. (5 pages)

Photo Gallery: Aaron Garber Library    (9/13/14)
Just closed, this was the largest Jewish library in northern Ohio.

Photo Gallery: Willson Avenue Temple    (8/02/14)
Once the home of The Temple - Tifereth Israel, our oldest still-standing synagogue.

Photo Gallery    (7/12/14)
This new section is a place forsome of our most striking images, each with a caption to tell of its place in history. Herb Ascherman's Rabbis is now here.  

Abe Nebel and the Alsbacher Document
Abraham Lincoln Nebel was an avid student of Cleveland Jewish history whose study of our pioneer families led to the discovery of the Alsbacher Document.

Abba Hillel Silver death notices   (4/16/14)
They ran on, column after column -- the expressions of respect and sympathy that were published in the New York Times two days after his death.

Moses Alsbacher and his descendants (4/09/14)
He led the first party of Jewish settlers here from Unsleben Bavaria and whose family safeguarded the Alsbacher Document for more than a century.

Index to Cleveland Jews appearing in Who’s Who books (3/06/14)
Paul Klein lists nearly 800 Cleveland area Jews and which publications have articles on them. many with portraits.

The Alsbacher Document  (3/04/14)
The ethical directive given to Moses Alsbacher, leader of the party of 19 that left Unsleben Bavaria in May 1839 to come to Cleveland.

Appendix to Jewish Cleveland before the Civil War (2/27/14)
Two years of research by Stanley Lasky PhD and Nancy F Schwartz found the 850 Jews who lived in Cleveland by 1861. We list them all.  (8 pages)

Jewish Cleveland before the Civil War  (2/09/14)
An important essay on antebellum Jewish Cleveland by Nancy F Schwartz and Stanley Lasky PhD, published in 1994. Now available on the web.  (2 pages)

Chibas Jerusalem  (11/09/13)
On or just before November 7, 2013 part of this old building, once built in 1926 by one of our largest Orthodox synagogues, collapsed.

Jeffrey Morris synagogue history collection  (9/15/13)
His "Jewish Cleveland: Haymarket to the Heights" is the best online trove of images and documents on the history of our old shuls.

Stained Glass window in memory of Rabbi Israel Porath  (7/18/13)
In the chapel at Oheb Zedek Cedar Sinai Synagogue.

The Stranger  by Shony Long  (6/26/13)
A lovely and now confirmed story about the "tenth man" at a Heights Jewish Center morning service and Rabbi Israel Porath. 

Rabbi Israel Porath  1886 - 1974  (6/21/2013)
Israel Porath was the "dean" of Cleveland's Orthodox rabbis. Family members (two here, four in Israel) furnished content for a 20 page section of this site. 

Cleveland's  CCAR presidents   (3/01/2013)
Which Cleveland rabbis have led the Central Conference of American (Reform) Rabbis? Just-elected Rabbi Richard Block is the fifth.

The beginnings of the Soviet Jewry movement in Cleveland   (3/01/2013)
Co-founder Herb Caron relates how the fight to free Soviet Jews began here in 1963.

The 1966 proclamation on Soviet Jewry   (2/26/2013)
Cleveland proclaimed December 9-11, 1966 to be a "Sabbath of Dedication for Soviet Jewry". We show the proclamation with a photo of its signing.

Jewish Cleveland - by Jane Avner  (1/08/2013)
A one page history of Jewish Cleveland, by Jane Avner PhD, co-author of the revised edition of "Merging Traditions". From Encyclopaedia Judaica. (2006)

The 25th anniversary of Summit Sunday  (12/11/2012)
We report on the December 6, 2012 commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Free Soviet Jewry demonstration in Washington, DC.

Rabbi Michaelis Machol (12/09/2012)
Nathan Arnold writes about Rabbi Machol, Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple's last European-born rabbi, who served them for 36 years (1876 - 1912).

Abba Hillel Silver Archives (3/14/2012)
About the Silver archives, stored at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland.  On 235 reels of microfilm, it is available to scholars worldwide.

Mayfield Cemetery deeds (8/18/2011)
The three real estate deeds (1887 - 1890) that established Mayfield Cemetery and its joint ownership by Tifereth Israel and Anshe Chesed.

Two early confirmations  (6/23/2011)
We find, display and comment on two Plain Dealer reports on confirmation ceremonies: one in 1864 at Anshe Chesed and one in 1868 at Tifereth Israel.

Cleveland's  Holocaust Memorial (5/10/2011)
Kol Israel Foundation's memorial in Zion Memorial Park was dedicated in 1961.

The Jewish Scene radio broadcasts  (3/02/2011)
Starting in 1978, for more than 21 years these community-sponsored Sunday radio broadcasts won many awards and had an audience that reached 60,000.

This Tempting Freedom [pdf]  (2/10/2011)
In 1973 Allan Peskin PhD, Professor of History at Cleveland State University, wrote the history of our first Jews and Anshe Chesed, our first synagogue.

The Jewish Orphan Asylum  (1/14/2011)
Professor Gary Polster provides a page on the institution founded in 1868 for Jewish orphans of the Civil War. We know it today as Bellefaire - JCB.

Jewish members of Cleveland City Council  (1/10/2011)
Our page now tells about 28 of them. We think we've found them all.  (Famous Last Words)

1899 - Jewish leaders fight for political reform  (12/22/2010)
"Uptown" leaders try to persuade immigrant Jews to vote for a reform mayoral candidate. The next day's Plain Dealer told the story in incredible detail.

The Rise and Fall of Czar Bernstein 1907        (12/10/2010)
A Plain Dealer Sunday Supplement story about Harry (Czar) Bernstein, Republican political boss and entrepreneur, and his fall from wealth and power.

A 1920 directory of Jewish Cleveland  (11/21/2010)
We found the American Jewish Yearbook for 1920-21. We've captured the Cleveland pages to show organized Jewish life here 90 years ago.

What Elie Wiesel told the Dalai Lama  (10/15/2010)
Because Wiesel's reply speaks to the purpose of these pages, it's now at the top of our "About This Website" page.

Federation moves east - a chronology  (9/22/2010)
We use press releases and newspaper accounts to outline the 2008 debate about moving east, the decision of 9/11/2008, and the move to Beachwood.

The Eagle Street Synagogue building around 1928   (9/7/2010)
Railroad historian Drew Penfield found this sad picture of Cleveland's first synagogue building, now being used as part of a freight depot.

Annual review of Jewish organization website history pages  (8/31/2010)
This year's survey finds improvement, though there are still some, including one more than 100 years old, whose pages say nothing.

The Tannersville photo taken in 1906   (8/17/2010)
The only photo on the web of "Abe" Silver at his first Zionist meeting. He is at the 1906 national conference in the Catskills, only 13 years old, in knickers.

Zvi Hirsch Masliansky's Eulogy  (8/06/2010)
In 1943 Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver gave a eulogy for the man who had been his oratorical inspiration. We show the handwritten notes for it.

Leonard Case's great gift to Cleveland's Jews  (7/20/2010)
Why, in 1843, did Leonard Case Sr, a Protestant, give The Israelitic Society (Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple) land for its first synagogue?

CJN's new Digital Archive    (7/5/2010)
The Cleveland Jewish News Digital Archive, a searchable resource, has every CJN issue since its first one in 1964. It's a wonderful new resource.

Abba Hillel Silver's funeral   (6/15/2010)
The four-page description of the service The Temple mailed to its members a few weeks after his funeral.

Abba Hillel Silver's gravesite   (5/25/2010)
It is e beautiful, simple space in Mayfield Cemetery, marked by a huge granite boulder: wife Virginia on one side, son Daniel Jeremy Silver on the other.

Former B'nai B'rith building on East 55th Street lost by fire  (5/20/2010)
Here, on February 24, 1917, 24-year-old Abba Hillel Silver gave a speech that The Temple's trustees heard. They immediately decided to bring him here.

Our first three cemeteries  (5/10/2010)
This page, developed with Nate Arnold, began with the rededication of Fir Street Cemetery, then to Willet Street, and last to Mayfield Cemetery.

Bernstein's Elbow   (5/01/2010)
Around 1900 Harry (Czar) Bernstein, the Jewish ward leader had so much influence that a bend was made in a street to leave his saloon undisturbed.

Site Map   (4/15/2010)
With more than 250 pages it was time for a one-line-per-page Table of Contents.

Virtual Tour of Old Jewish Cleveland   (4/8/2010)
Nate Arnold, who has led many all-day bus tours of old Jewish Cleveland, "scripted" this virtual tour of the old neighborhoods and their "shuls".

Congregation Brith Emeth and Rabbi Philip Horowitz   (3/30/2010)
Professor Alan Levenson's essay on this Reform congregation (1959-1986) and Philip Horowitz (1922-2002), its founding rabbi.

The Temple at University Circle Starts a New Life   (3/19/2010)
On March 19, 2010 it was announced that The Temple at University Circle will start a new life as the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center of CWRU