03/16/2026
Remain Vigilant, Ohio Jewish Caucus Says
Moderator Marc Ashed with members of the Ohio Jewish Caucus, Sen. Casey Weinstein, Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, Rep. Karen Brownlee, Rep. Christine Cockley, and Rep. Eric Synenberg. CJN Photo / Casey Couch
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Casey Couch
Members of the Ohio Jewish Caucus gathered at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood on March 12 – hours after the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich. – for a community meeting, in which they encouraged constituents to remain vigilant and communicative about their needs in the state.
In attendance were: Rep. Eric Synenberg, D-Beachwood; Sen. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson; House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati; Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna; Rep. Karen Brownlee, D-Symmes Township; and Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, who all spoke on the collective responsibility they carry representing the Jewish community in Congress during the program. Marc Ashed, assistant vice president of external affairs for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood, moxerated the program, which had been scheduled before the temple attack.
“It’s a profound responsibility, not just to educate people, but to try to be representative of a community that is broader than just the six of our views,” Isaacsohn said. “That takes a lot of listening, a lot of nuance and a lot of trying to be respectful and thoughtful.”
Ohio Jewish Caucus, which previously held similar community events in Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati, was established in its current form in January 2025 to provide a unifying voice for Jewish legislators on issues important to their constituents, the CJN previously reported.
“We have really tried to get out and be present across the state and listen as best we can, so that when we’re discussing our views, they’re informed by you,” Weinstein said, adding that the OJC is the most active caucus that he is involved in.
One of the things that the caucus, especially Weinstein, has recently been active in is advancing legislation, Senate Bill 47, in the Senate on March 4 aimed at incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law for use in investigations and legal proceedings. The measure passed by a bipartisan vote of 27-4 and will now head to the Ohio House of Representatives for consideration.
“I’m sure, for all of us, one of the things that is at the top of the list is finding opportunities to build relationships so that we can break down barriers and see each other as individuals, and not generalize about us being members of the Democratic Party or being one of six Jews in the legislature,” Brown Piccolantonio said.
Cockley said, “By being my authentic self, people realize that they can have a government that works for them, so that’s one way, on a smaller scale, that I try to fight the civil discourse that’s happening right now.”
Ohio Jewish Caucus is also involved in leading the Ohio-Israel Trade partnership, which passed the house, HB 188, and made its way to the Senate last week. Synenberg gave his first sponsor testimony in front of the Senate as a leader on the bill, and Weinstein is working on the Senate’s companion bill.
“It would create an Ohio Israel Trade Commission that would be made up of a wide variety of researchers, business leaders, Jewish community professionals and some representatives and senators as well, that would look at the issue of how we can get Ohio to do more with Israeli companies, whether it’s defense, aerospace or agriculture,” Synenberg said. “These are all Ohio-centric industries that Israel excels at, and 25 other states have these commissions.”
Other issues that the Ohio Jewish Caucus are currently dealing with include antisemitism, labor, and partisanism, which Brownlee commented on.
“The whole partisanism thing is really a problem right now,” Brownlee said. “Our parties were not meant to be a super majority. Our parties were meant to hold tension against one another, to support the checks and balances of democracy, and I think that, as a Jewish community, it’s our time to come together. We’re facing a new era of antisemitism.”
Jesse Rosen, president and CEO of the Mandel JCC, also spoke at the event, welcoming the congressmen and congresswomen into Stonehill Auditorium and touching on the headline of the day.
“We are honored to play host tonight,” Rosen said. “Our belief is that every voice, within reason, deserves to be heard, and I’m very pleased that we could be a part of this community on what is a challenging day in the Jewish community nationally.”
The program demonstrated how members of the Jewish community from diverse backgrounds can set aside their differences to work toward a common goal in critical moments – a sentiment that Synenberg, who was playing host to his five colleagues in the city of Beachwood, told the Cleveland Jewish News.
“It was a really good display of how we are all different, but all similar. How we don’t always agree, but we all work together,” Synenberg told the CJN. “At the end of the day, we have a lot of the same values that are based on us being Jews, and the feedback I’ve gotten from some of the people who I’ve talked to after has all been very positive in terms of, ‘I’m glad that you’re representing us and that the six of you are our leaders for the state.’”
