In Cleveland, 5765 was a roller coaster year: from the highs of the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities held here in November to the lows of being named the "poorest" big city in the country. A later study saw Cleveland moved to 12th poorest.

On the positive side of the ledger, our city saw some cosmetic improvements. Shaker Square acquired a new owner and a bevy of new tenants, and Cedar Center started a long-overdue makeover.

New developments on E. 4th St. and the Warehouse District revitalized downtown, while a hard fought national election divided Cleveland Jews n at least briefly.

Anti-semitsim, while not a major area of concern for Northeast Ohioans in 5765, continued to rear its head in the area. At The College of Wooster, vandals scrawled swastikas and other derogatory messages onto seven dorm room doors in October. Later, eight students turned themselves in for the crimes, but Wooster's Jewish students questioned the validity of the school's investigation into "hate speech."

Local radio host and shopkeeper Brahim "Abe" Ayad, who lost his suit to get back on the airwaves, took his anti-semitic talk show to the Internet.

In New York City, college student and Cleveland native Aharon Horwitz helped lead a protest against alleged anti-Israel professors at Columbia University in April. Horwitz's group, Columbians for Academic Freedom, became a locus for national media coverage of anti-Zionism on college campuses.

The United States Supreme Court declined to review concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk's denaturalization case in October, putting him a step closer to deportation.

Jewish Clevelanders, already known for their generosity, opened their wallets even wider in 5765. Iris Wolstein gave $6.25 million to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in memory of her late husband Bart. Dr. Ronald and Helen Ross gave $2.5 million to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, endowing a surgical chair. Sydell L. Miller of Solon-based Matrix Essentials gave a whopping $70 million to the Clinic for a new cardiac care pavilion.

The Jewish Community Federation's Campaign for Jewish Needs raised a record $31.1 million by May, breaking last year's record of $30.2 million. In addition, Congress's 2005 omnibus appropriations bill earmarked over $1 million in federal funding to Jewish nonprofit organizations in Cleveland. As a result, the JCF's budget increased 2.8%, with day schools and the JCC as the largest beneficiaries.

It was a year of rapid change for our Jewish institutions. Within the space of months, the Mayfield Jewish Community Center was sold and its contents auctioned off. Ground was broken for Bluestone, a new $35 million residential development on the site, in July. The Mayfield J's programs were dispersed to other locations in the Heights.

Synagogues went on a building boom. The dramatic new Park Synagogue East opened its doors in Pepper Pike, and Kehillat Yaakov Warrensville Center synagogue broke ground on a new facility on Cedar Road in Lyndhurst, both in August. Beth Israel-The Heights Temple built a new accessible front entrance, and Kol Chadash moved into its new home at the Cleveland Hebrew School/Kadima Gan building in Solon in March.

Thousands of miles away from Cleveland, a new Jewish center guided and funded in large part by the Federation opened in St. Petersburg, Russia, in September.

Chevrei Tikvah, Cleveland's gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender congregation became a chavurah (group of friends) within Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in June.

Four Reform temples debuted a new voluntary dues program to reach out to unaffiliated Jews, and Menorah Park ended its Jews-only admissions policy in July, becoming the first Jewish nursing home in Cleveland to admit clients of all faiths. In another first for the city and state, 14 Menorah Pak residents, each accompanied by a "buddy," traveled to Israel for 10 days in September.

On the academic scene, Oberlin Hillel won an honorable mention in the 2004 William Haber Award for innovative programming, and Kent State University Hillel launched fundraising for a new 10,000-sq.-ft. building.

Community issues in 5765 were sometimes contentious and at other times unifying. The Federation's 86-page update to the demographic profile of Cleveland's Jewish community in February found that the older population is growing, but intermarriage is lower than the national average.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district voted "no" on a proposal to expand Fuchs Mizrachi School at Gearity Elementary in January, but voters gave a resounding "yes" to school tax issues in Beachwood, Solon and South Euclid-Lyndhurst.

Clevelanders worked together to stage the enormous United Jewish Communities' 73rd annual General Assembly downtown in November and were amazingly active on both sides of the political aisle in the November presidential elections.

When Hurricane Katrina hit in August, Clevelanders opened their homes to residents driven from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Area temples like Temple Israel Ner Tamid and Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple provided Katrina aid by the ton with in-kind donations. The Federation raised over $300,000 for a disaster relief fund to be disbursed by UJC.

Reporter Arlene Fine's June CJN article about the plight of indigent Holocaust survivors in Cleveland jarred Clevelanders to open their hearts and wallets for these often overlooked individuals.

Local high school students raised thousands of dollars for Israeli terror victims in March by getting kosher restaurants to contribute part of their income for one day.

Several movers and shakers with Cleveland roots caused a stir. Stephen H. Hoffman was happy to return to lead the Jewish Community Federation after a stint as head of UJC in New York. Former New York Times editor and rabbi's son Joseph Lelyveld raised some hackles with his memoir, Omaha Blues. Case law professor Michael Scharf was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jews also made headlinees on the sports scene. Benny Friedman, the legendary quarterback from Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August along with Steve Young and Dan Marino. Detroit native and online mortgage magnate Daniel Gilbert bought the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, and 23 area teens went to Dallas to compete in the 2005 JCC Macabbi Games in June.

Cleveland remained a vibrant center for the arts. The Halle Theatre performed its final season at the Mayfield JCC, but a grant from the Green Arts Fund is continuing arts and culture programming by the J until 2006. The Ingenuity Festival, co-produced by theater impresario James Levin, attracted nearly 1,000 artists and performers to downtown Cleveland in September and re-energized a neglected area.

Many groups and institutions celebrated a milestone in 5765. Oheb Zedek Taylor Road Synagogue had its centennial, and Ganon Gil Preschool marked its 50th year. Oakwood Club also turned 100, and Jews nationwide commemorated the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in America.

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