Meet Sivan. She’s a Cleveland native, but this summer she’s living and interning in Israel! Sivan is a participant with Onward Israel Cleveland, a program that allows 20-25 year olds to spend their summers living and interning for 8 weeks in Tel Aviv. Follow Sivan’s journey every week to see all the amazing things she’s doing while in Tel Aviv! To learn more about this experience, visit our I-connect page.

July 30 is the perfect day to wear white. It clearly falls between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces uncovered similarities in their work with troubled youth during a visit to Bellefaire JCB in University Heights on April 24. The soldiers, who were visiting Cleveland for a week to participate in Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies in the area, engaged in a professional exchange of ideas with Bellefaire employees and mental health professionals during their time at the facility.

Meet Jenna. She’s a Clevelander who attends Ohio University, but this summer she’s interning in Israel! Jenna is a participant with Onward Israel Cleveland, a program that allows 20-25 year olds to spend their summers living, working, and playing for 8 weeks in Tel Aviv. Follow Jenna’s journey on this blog each week, and to learn more about all Israel opportunities, visit I-connect page.

I remember my first day of work after college vividly. My manager sat me down for an introductory chat and stated flatly, “if it’s going well, don’t screw it up.”

I grew up at the largest reform temple in North America, Temple Israel, in West Bloomfield, Michigan. As the great-granddaughter of a founding member, all of the major milestones in my life occurred there.

When I first came to work at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland more than 25 years ago, I was given a daunting task: managing the care and preservation of our community’s Jewish cemeteries. Even though I have lived in Cleveland my entire life, it was not until I began my work at the Federation that I heard others mentioning local cemeteries that I never knew about. I later realized that many of our older Jewish cemeteries depict the history and movement of our community.