More than 300 children and their families came to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood on Dec. 4 for the Young Families Tzedakah Party, where children under 5 were encouraged to participate in arts and crafts and donate money from their piggy banks and unwrapped toys to the Federation’s 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs.

The PJ Library Program’s PJ Our Way website will have a local flavor.

What started as a single fire on November 22 became a firestorm engulfing many parts of the country. Despite a collective sigh of relief that the flames have been extinguished and that rain is finally beginning to fall, we are painfully aware of the tragedy that has struck hundreds of Israeli families and that a sense of uncertainty remains for them.

The community is invited to the Campaign Closing Celebration, the grand finale of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs, on Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm at the Mandel JCC Stonehill Auditorium (26001 S. Woodland Road in Beachwood).

Eytan Gilboa, a professor, author, and expert on public diplomacy and international communication, will speak about Western news coverage of Israel and the Middle East at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood Dec. 5.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland joins Jewish Federations across North America to raise funds to help address the impact of over 200 fires raging across Israel, which have already displaced nearly 100,000 people. In many places, essential services such as electricity and train lines have been interrupted. Many major roads have been closed intermittently.

There are nights when I like to walk from my dorm to the art museum and stand in contemplation on the promenade. That’s been my reflection spot for several years, and each time I return, I consider how much I’ve changed since the last.