Ohio purchased $42 million in Israel Bonds in the largest single government purchase of Israel Bonds in US history. The Mach 1 purchase increases the total amount of Israel Bonds in the Ohio's treasury portfolio to more than $80 million. The Cleveland Jewish News reported it as the largest such buy in US history. “We believe this is a sound investment for the taxpayers of Ohio and consistent with our strategy of investing in safe and strong securities,” Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is …More

Oberlin College canceled classes yesterday after a campus wide trend of hate crimes, including swastika and homophobic graffiti and racial epithets used during Black History Month. The Ohio school put a halt to scheduled classes to host “unity rallies” to draw attention to the rising problem. In recent weeks, Oberlin has encountered students dressed in KKK-style robes, the n-word scrawled over Black History Month posters, and swastikas graffitied on windows. In one incident, a student posted a sign …More

Benjamin Netanyahu has plans to visit the Jewish day school in Toulouse that was violently attacked last March. [Arutz Sheva] A middle school football player speaks out after being attacked for his Judaism. [WCNC] Three suspects have been named in the Jewish grave decimation in New Zealand. [TVNZ] Israel was a key topic in last night's presidential debate. [Jewish Week] Who are the greatest Jewish baseball players of all time? [Huffington Post] A look at the Ohio Jewish vote. [Forward] Arab media …More

The American Jewish Committee has conducted a survey of Jewish voters in Ohio, earning similar results to recent studies. The poll found Barack Obama leading challenger Mitt Romney 64 percent to 29 percent. Last month, the AJC looked at Florida Jewish voters, finding the president with 69 percent of the vote over Romney’s 25 percent. Likewise, last week the AJC released a study on the national Jewish vote, showing Obama with 65 percent of Jewish constituents compared to Romney’s 28 percent. The …More

Republican US Senate candidate Josh Mandel is returning campaign donations under investigation by federal authorities. Mandel's spokesman told the Cleveland Jewish News on Thursday that Mandel returned $105,000 from 21 donors from Suarez Corp. Industries, a marketing firm. Benjamin Suarez, the firm's Canton-based owner, may have reimbursed his employees for giving campaign contributions to the campaigns of Mandel and US Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), according to reports last week in the New Republic and the Toledo …More

A federal investigation into campaign funds for Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel is currently underway. Allegations arose that business owner Benjamin Suarez, of Canton, OH, may have reimbursed his employees for donations made to the Jewish Republican’s campaign. According to reports, staff at the Suarez Corp Industries gave a total of $100,000 to Mandel’s camp, as well as that of US Rep. James Renacci. Federal law prohibits employers awarding benefits or compensation to workers who donate to a …More

A now-defunct Muslim charity was removed from a US government list of suspected terrorist organizations following a legal battle of more than four years. KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development Inc., reached a settlement with the Treasury Department on Tuesday that would delete the Ohio-based group from the list and allow it to distribute nearly $1 million in funds raised for humanitarian causes, the Toledo Blade reported. KindHearts must remain dissolved, though its leaders can form a new …More

An Ohio Graduation Test question that draws a direct correlation between the Holocaust and Arab resentment over the formation of the State of Israel was withdrawn for future tests. The question on a test given to Ohio 10th-graders in five subject areas raised concerns among Ohio Jews, the Cleveland Jewish News reported. Joyce Garver Keller, executive director of the Ohio Jewish Communities representing eight Jewish communities in the state, told the newspaper that following a March 30 meeting with Ohio …More

Drew Lovejoy, a biracial Jewish boy from Ohio, is breaking plenty of stereotypes. The 17-year-old high school student has made a name for himself in the world of Irish dance, winning the All Ireland Dancing Championship for the third year in a row. The annual contest in Dublin marks one competitor as best in the world, and it’s a title Drew has gotten comfortable with. Born of a black Baptist father and white Jewish mother, the teen told the New York Times that Irish dancing has given him a place to feel …More

The Ohio Senate race is heating up, with six GOP candidates vying to match up against democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown. The current favorite for the March 6 primary is young Jewish military veteran and current state treasurer Josh Mandel. “I know Josh was actively recruited by top party leaders and insiders to run for this seat,” Matthew Brooks, the Republican Jewish Coalition’s executive director, said to the Times of Israel. “It was a process that unfolded over several months, with Josh …More

The family of a 14-year-old girl has sued school officials in Green, alleging they failed to stop physical and emotional bullying aimed at their daughter in part because she is Jewish. The parents sued in U.S. District Court after withdrawing their daughter from Green High School last month because, according to the lawsuit, officials did nothing to stop the taunting, violence and threats of violence. The name of the family is being withheld to protect the identity of the girl. …More

A 35-year-old housewife from the American midwest has given a nightmarish account of being hauled out of her plane seat without warning, handcuffed, strip-searched and detained for hours along with her immediate seatmates – all because an unidentified fellow passenger thought she looked suspicious and it was the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Shoshana Hebshi, who is of part-Saudi, part-Jewish descent, said she believed the three of them were targeted solely because of the colour of their skin. She and her …More