Even though she grew up in East Lansing, Michigan – “enemy territory” as she calls it – Tamara Cofman Wittes headed south to Northeast Ohio to get her undergrad at Oberlin College. Her senior year, she wrote her thesis on the history of Jewish Cleveland, which sparked a successful career researching Jewish and Middle Eastern culture. Today, she serves as a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

A Cleveland Festival to Celebrate Art, Music, and Israel’s 71st Independence Day!

The city of Cleveland and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland celebrated the announcement that Cleveland and Beit Shean and Valley of Springs in Israel will become official Cleveland sister cities during a short ceremony at the Cleveland Public Library Louis Stokes Wing in Cleveland on May 2.

Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, is always one of our favorite days of the year and it's because of community members like you who make it so special and fun!

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland is thrilled to share this milestone achievement. Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in Beit Shean/Valley of Springs who helped make this partnership possible.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Young Leadership Division (YLD) is helping to prepare the next generation of Jewish Cleveland leadership through unique experiential professional and volunteer opportunities.

As a kid in Israel, we grow up with the understanding that one day we will wear the IDF uniform and we’ll be responsible for people’s lives.

On March 7, the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, will host “Dancing Conversation: Cultural Diplomacy.” This event will explore how dancers' experiences performing in the United States, Israel, and around the world have informed their expression and in some cases, changed their lives. To register for this event, please visit www.jewishcleveland.org.

The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, will host “Dancing Conversation: Cultural Diplomacy,” on Thursday, March 7 at 7:00 pm at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building (25701 Science Park Drive in Beachwood). Registration cost is $10/person. To register for this event, please visit www.jewishcleveland.org.

Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and Shadi Abu Awwad see a future where there is peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. As leaders of the non-profit organization, Roots, they are building a unique network of local Palestinians and Israelis who have come to see each other as the partners needed to make changes and end the ongoing conflict between the two cultures. Through their work, they are fostering a grassroots movement of understanding, nonviolence, and transformation founded on dignity, trust, mutual recognition, and respect.