04/29/2026
Gov. DeWine to receive Federation’s Eisenman Award
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Casey Couch
DeWine
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award for Exceptional Civic Contributions – the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s highest honor, awarded each year at its annual meeting.
This year’s meeting, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 12 at Landerhaven at 6111 Landerhaven Drive in Mayfield Heights, serves as the 122nd Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
Amy Kaplan, annual meeting co-chair alongside her husband, Ira Kaplan, told the Cleveland Jewish News that DeWine’s support and advocacy for the Jewish community, as well as his leadership with the general community, is what initially made him a candidate for the award.
“There’s certainly great gratitude in the Jewish community for Governor DeWine’s support in fighting antisemitism and for offering financial resources to support the security of the Jewish community,” Kaplan said. “But also, he has just been a very principled leader for Ohio, and that has benefited both the Jewish and the general community.”
Kaplan
Prior to her retirement, Kaplan served as the Federation’s vice president of external affairs and director of government relations, making her a good fit to moderate the conversation with DeWine in a “fireside chat” style Q&A at the meeting.
A key policy effort in Ohio over the past year is the proposed Senate Bill 87, which would formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into state law. This legislation, which passed in the Senate in March and is currently pending in the House, builds directly on a prior executive order from DeWine that mandated use of the IHRA definition across state institutions.
In the past year, DeWine has also attended multiple events and spoken on issues related to Holocaust remembrance, most recently making remarks for the 46th Annual Holocaust Commemoration on April 13 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
“He has a longstanding commitment to public service, even before he was governor,” Kaplan said. “He was a senator, held many other elected positions, but his support for the broader community made him what we thought was a really meaningful and fitting choice.”
According to Kaplan, the Eisenman Award recipient is selected through a nominating committee, which is formed new each year, made up of leaders in the Jewish community, as well as partners in the non-Jewish, general community.
“Various people submit names for consideration by the committee, and then the committee selects a recipient whose impact reflects what they consider to be exceptional civic leadership,” Kaplan said.
Federation board chair Jeffrey Wild will also deliver remarks at the meeting, both reflecting on the past 12 months and looking forward to the year ahead. Kaplan said that she hopes all community members will attend as it offers a strong sense of connection to both the local Jewish community and the global community.
“There’s a strong focus on the pride and the connections that have always defined the Cleveland Jewish community, but have really been made even stronger in the last several years as we’ve faced a rise in antisemitism and other challenges,” Kaplan said. “I think what people can expect to leave with is a small sense of pride and how far our community has come together.”
The meeting is free to attend, but registration is required.
To register, visit jewishcleveland.org/news/upcoming-events.
