News, Info & Resources for the Cleveland Orthodox Jewish Community
If you are 75 years or older AND have received some sort of care from MetroHealth in the past 2 years,
please call for an appointment at 216-778-6100 or schedule on MyChart at https://mychart.metrohealth.org/MyChart/Authentication/Login.
You must have an appointment to receive the vaccination. The vaccines will be given at MetroHealth in Severance Circle, Cleveland Heights.
DeWine announced Monday that his state budget plan will include his “Hands-Free Ohio” plan, which would allow law enforcement to pull over motorists solely for handling a cell phone or other handheld device.
From Cleveland.com
The expansion and renovation will touch nearly every facet of the building, Bookatz said, from the foyer to the morgue, with several amenities added, most notably a mikvah, or ritual bath, that will be used solely for the performance of taharah, the ritual bathing of the deceased. A mechanical lift will be installed to allow for transfer. Typically, that function is handled through the use of buckets of water.
AMIT Children concluded the calendar year in record fashion – raising almost thirteen million dollars to help educate AMIT’s 41,000 children in 104 schools across Israel.
“This year presented unique challenges on every level and I am so very proud of what
AMIT collectively was able to accomplish,’ said Audrey Axelrod Trachtman, AMIT’s president, “We exceeded our pre-COVID annual campaign goal because our partners around the world are so committed to our students who they view as their own children.”
When COVID hit Israel’s schools last March AMIT staff nimbly shifted to remote learning while ensuring that every child had what they needed to continue their education as
effectively as possible. In many cases, that meant providing a computer, internet access and, for the most at-risk, a range of vital support services including counseling. “COVID presented many challenges to our students but we found that our principals, teachers and students worked together as a team to meet obstacles head on and found creative ways to overcome them,” said Joyce Straus, AMIT’s Board of Directors co-chair, “In some cases it even meant providing nutritional support to those feeling the impact of the COVID induced economic crisis.”
AMIT charted out a plan for every student in the network individualized to meet their
needs. “1:1 attention is one of the great strengths of our network,” said Sharon Merkin board co-Chair. “Every child has an individualized plan to help see them through this crisis. That culture, along with AMIT’s revolutionary Gogya teaching methodology, enabled us to hold our students close virtually throughout the pandemic.”
Broad donor support helped AMIT to send an extra million dollars to help cover COVID
induced expenses. “When the crisis hit, we knew we needed to respond immediately. I’m thrilled that our supporters on every level were so responsive even when facing challenges here,” said vice-president Shari Safra, “They gave our staff in Israel the ability to respond immediately and put our students’ needs first.”
Helping meet a national challenge is nothing new to AMIT – in its 96-year history AMIT
has evolved to become an integral part of the fabric of Israeli society with over 320,000 alumni across the Jewish state. AMIT enables Israel’s youth to realize their potential and strengthens Israeli society by educating and nurturing children from diverse backgrounds within a framework of academic excellence, Jewish values and Zionist ideals.
Last November Cleveland Heights voted to change its form of government to elect its own Mayor and next November it will. Isn’t that easy? With me so far? Any questions? What if I told you that beginning January 1, Mayor Jason Stein of Cleveland Heights will no longer be Mayor? Let me guess. Now you are full of questions. Let me start over.
Currently, Cleveland Heights has what is known as a Council-Manager form of government. That means that the people elect a council that hires a manager to run all the departments from Police to Refuse Collection and Recreation. It also means that the City Manager answers to Council and not the people. There are some advantages to this form of government, but it’s most successful in younger cities where infrastructure is newer and less problematic. The older and bigger the city, the less it works as well. This is because the Manager has to report to a majority of the council. No one person, then is really in charge and without consensus, nothing can move forward.
Also, since the Manager’s job is tied to the pleasure of Council, when something needs to be done, if the Council has no appetite, job security encourages the manager to hide unpleasantries until they grow too big. An example you might recall was the big jump in the Cleveland Heights water bill. It had been leaking for a long time, but the leaks grew too big to repair easily over time as they went ignored while the City Manager ignored it, failing to bring it to Council’s attention. By the time Council became aware of it, the only remaining options were bad, worse and even worse than that. It was a system failure as well as a personal one. That City Manager was there a full 25 years before Council ended his term. Only a quorum of Council can fire a City Manager. He was never answerable to the people.
In November of 2019, we voted to change to a form of government that effectively has two branches instead of the one. That change will be effective when Cleveland Heights swears in its first Mayor in January of 2022 following his or her election in November of this year. Following the amendment, Council retains the legislative and budgetary powers, but the Mayor will be the Chief Executive. This form of government is commonly called the Strong Mayor form.
Not wanting to give up the idea of having a professional run the departments, the new amendment calls for the Mayor to appoint a City Administrator who will answer to him while maintaining the professional standards that a City Manager would have brought. In cities like Shaker Heights, the City Administrator will remain in that position, assuming he’s good, through many mayoral administrations, but since he will serve at the pleasure of the mayor, a new mayor could certainly make a change any time.
Called the best of both worlds, Cleveland Heights voted for the leadership a Mayor can bring to problem solving and development while maintaining professional standards at the highest level of management. Further, this mayor is directly elected by the people and so the executive function of the city now answers directly to the people. Therefore, it would be more accurately called a Hybrid Strong Mayor.
So is Jason Stein Mayor now or isn’t he? Well that’s a sleight of tongue. In a Council Manager form of government, the council of seven would elevate one member to be their chosen leader, technically Council President. Since the 1980s and in response to the fact that all our neighbors had mayors, it was decided to also use the title Mayor to refer to the council president even though under the City Charter, he lacked the powers that most mayors have as those belonged solely to the City Manager. This Council President/Mayor ran the meetings. The City Manager ran the city and its departments. So when Jason Stein was sworn in as Mayor in January of 2020, he was really President of Council and allowed, under the newly passed amendment, to use the title of Mayor only until January of 2021 when that title is stripped from the city altogether for the year. Stein will remain Council President until the end of the term in January 2022. The only change until then is the loss of the title of Mayor.
There were two reasons the crafters of the amendment (Issue 26) made that in name-only change. One was to prevent anyone from being able to run for the first mayor of Cleveland Heights by “seeking re-election”. No one is an incumbent to the newly created position of Mayor, and the goal was to keep the playing field level so no individual could claim that leg up. The second goes to answer the question “Is it just that easy?” By removing the mirage of power implied by the title of Mayor from someone who didn’t have it anyway, council will be forced to begin thinking of themselves in their new role and in regard to the new relationship they will have with the city functioning. It’s the first step in the transition to this new form of government, but there’s more to be done.
Citizens for an Elected Mayor didn’t scurry away after the 2019 victory. They formed a Transition Subcommittee to assist the city in working to see that transition happen as smoothly as possible. They provided council with suggestions of a timetable for when setting the salary for Mayor should occur to give those considering a run time to prepare; which they did. In addition, there are many laws on the books at the statutory level that refer to governmental proceedings under the old form. They will need to be updated to apply to the new form. This is a process that will take time and has already begun. Additionally, the Transition Subcommittee suggested a “guide book” that is currently being drafted including time tables, costs, who answers to whom in each department; a veritable “How the City Runs” to give to the Mayor-Elect. It was also suggested that our city would benefit from learning from other cities of similar size that have made the transition. What went right? What can we do better? What glitches to expect and plan for. Further, there is the education piece. That goes both ways. The citizens need to know what to expect in a Mayor and the Mayoral candidates need to know what the citizens expect and are looking for.
To that end, CEM, and a team that included Councilwoman Melody Hart and some individuals also active with Future Heights held an online forum with mayors from South Euclid, University Heights and Warrensville Heights to talk about their experiences, what works and what doesn’t, and their relationship to their Councils as well as reflections on their first day in office. It’s an excellent lesson in government from lively and informative speakers. Viewing it would make a great extra credit project for any civics class. It can be viewed at citizensforanelectedmayor.com.
Councilwoman Hart is also planning another online forum on Wednesday, January 20th, at 7:00pm to deal with transitional issues as experienced by East Providence, a city of similar size that has recently made the same transition. While open to the public, its target audience is City Council, prospective candidates and those active in city politics. Anyone interested in governmental processes will find it an informative presentation that will include upcoming glitches that the city can prepare for and those cultural adjustments we can count on. East Providence Mayor Dasliva and Dylan Conley, Esq., who walked them through their transition, will both be on the panel.
Future Heights and CEM will be co-sponsoring a final event intended to inform candidates about issues important to the citizens. “Electing Our First Mayor: Moving Cleveland Heights Forward” will take place via Zoom, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Visit https://conta.cc/2LSDmv3 to participate in an online survey open to all in Cleveland Heights to target which issues have the most interest.
As reported in Heights Observer, “Community input is an essential part of shaping what our first elected mayor’s priorities should be,” said Tony Cuda, Campaign Manager of CEM. “We believe this will not only help candidates create their platforms, it will help citizens evaluate candidates and identify the qualities, experiences, and qualifications that a mayor would need to address the issues.”
More from the Heights Observer:
In addition, the groups are asking members of the public to play an active role in the event by submitting a 15- to 30-second video clip expressing an important challenge for Cleveland Heights’ first elected mayor (see instructions below). Videos should be submitted no later than 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
For more information and to RSVP for the forum, visit https://tinyurl.com/y76adqn3.
Here are a few details and requests for your video:
- Record your video by holding your phone horizontally (landscape orientation).
- Make sure that your room is well lit with ample light in front of you, and try to eliminate all background noise.
- Can’t decide what to wear? Solids always work best on camera.
- Be brief; a maximum of 30 seconds is ideal.
- Once recorded, upload your video by going to www.wetransfer.com. Drag the video file into the website window, enter your e-mail address, and enter digizoommedia@gmail.com for the recipient e-mail address. If you prefer, you may use Dropbox or Google Drive, also using digizoommedia@gmail.com as the recipient address; and
- Submit your video by Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 9 p.m.
Questions? Contact us at info@futureheights.org or 216-320-1423.
The first forum received high ratings. Reviewing it and participating in the upcoming ones is highly recommended.
Trash talking is not usually the fare of respectable religious types, but in this case, Cleveland Heights City Council has just approved a resolution to change the Refuse and Recycling system in the city and has increased the billing to reflect the 2020 costs, so just this once, let’s talk trash.
Quick History Lesson
The discussion began in January of 2018 when China, who previously was the biggest importer of trash, abruptly stopped taking the world’s recyclables. The US market has been slow to create its own infrastructure leaving sorting centers officially called Materials Recovery Facilities or more commonly, MRFs, with recyclables they could no longer sell. What was once a profitable market, has now become an expense. Cities were paid for their recyclables and contracts were not up yet. Cuyahoga County has a consortium on recycling and the MRFs appealed the contracts which stipulated that the cities must be paid a minimum for their goods, even as they incurred costs for the same loads. The reply, to paraphrase, “This is what a contract’s for” Sorry, no relief. But the MRFs were bleeding and the contract was set to expire in September of 2020. As expected, renewal contracts folded in their losses in much higher costs.
So in 2018 Cleveland Heights commissioned a Refuse and Recycling Task Force (RRTF – full disclosure I was on it) to deal with the two issues that would hit when the contract ended: Rising costs and the end of the Blue Plastic Recycling Bags.
The bags created a political conundrum: If we are trying to be environmentally friendly, why are we using plastic in the first place. Second, the MRF centers are large conveyor belts with a combination of machine and hand sorting going on. Whenever the plastic gets caught in the gears, the entire facility shuts down, all the employees unproductively wait, and the repair crews untangle the mess and fix the damage. That costs. So one step the MRFs promised was the end of taking plastic bags at the end of those contracts.
Another cost is contaminated recycling. Wish-cycling is the term for people throwing in items that cannot be recycled or throwing in dirty or wet items Items for recycling need to be clean and dry. Cleveland Heights’ high contamination rate means that those items sent to the MRF that are unusable then have to be sent to the landfill anyway. This too, raises costs which are then folded into the future recycling contracts.
For most cities already outsourcing to Kimble, Rumpke, and Waste Management, the local haulers who all use containers, little adjustment would be needed. Not so Cleveland Heights. Cleveland Heights boasts its own Transfer Station and takes care of Refuse and Recycling as part of its Public Works Department. Garbage is taken there first, before being sent to either Landfill or the MRF. This asset needs repair and upkeep but affords the city the ability to customize services in ways outsourcing would charge extra for if they did it at all. What was clear was that the city’s trucks were old, many needing replacing, and should the city want to continue to provide services, it would have to address these issues for which it was not budgeted.
The task force was charged with looking at the three options: Continue using bags for garbage which doesn’t address the recycling concerns; Move to containers for both garbage and recycling but outsource the pick up and processing service. Or move to containers for both and have our department enter the 21st century with the appropriate equipment. The task force painstakingly looked at the pros and cons or each of these, their costs and their effects on the homeowner with special consideration for bulk pickups, holiday pickups (Yom Tov as well as December’s fir trees), lawn and leaf refuse and rental property move outs as well as other public locations. After eliminating the first option as undesirable and impractical and after extrapolating from the new contracts offered to other cities and using our residential numbers, it found that the costs of outsourcing would end up being similar enough to keeping it in-house. The benefits of pride in doing it ourselves would be preserved. If we take care of our own, and we will do a better job and be able to provide the extra touches we are accustomed to. Outsourcing means impersonal service, and any requests for accommodation of the sort the city now gets, would be a separate charge or unavailable altogether. Other advantages to doing it inhouse included not having to lfire any employees. Going automated would cut down the number of employees needed with the greater efficiency the new technology would provide, but that would happen through regular attrition instead of firing, upcoming retirements and moving resources within the department. Additionally, automation provides greater safety to our employees which is just responsible management. It also lowers liability and mandatory Bureau of Workers Compensation costs for the city.
The task force did not look at Enterprise pricing versus our current system and therefore had a lower number in mind for any increases to fees. Enterprise pricing implies that homeowners are billed for the entire cost running the department. Currently, some of the costs are born by the general funds, and therefore the entire cost has never been included in the landfill bill. Put another way, each homeowner pays a fee for part, but income taxes subsidized the rest. An outside firm later introduced the city to the concept of making the fees actually reflect and cover the entire cost of the refuse and recycling enterprise. They also ratified the belief that costs would have been similar no matter the option chosen.
The city could lower costs by suspending recycling temporarily until market value makes it more affordable such as the city of Cleveland and Richmond Heights have done, but in Cleveland Heights, that remains an unpopular solution. As Sandy Moran, a citizen who watched the task force meetings commented, “We may as well remove the tree from our (city’s) logo, if we do that.”
The first steps were taken earlier this month as the measure passed City Council. Cleveland.com reports that homeowners’ monthly sanitation fees will be increasing from the current $11.50, to $16.17 in the first year, up $4.67. It will be followed the next year, by an increase to $16.48 per month, and $16.83 in year three, with similar annual increases, finally reaching $19.32 per month in year ten. These costs remain $2 lower than the original propositions.
The approximately 900 residents using the homestead exemption program, would see their bills rise from $3, currently to $7.67 in 2021 and in ten years, $10.82, just over half of the regular costs.
One reason for the higher numbers is that prior to this, Council had not budgeted the cost of replacing the vehicles into the annual forecast. Cleveland Heights will be applying for a loan to finance the new equipment. The fees are set with the knowledge that considering the daily beating garbage trucks take, there is a new need for trucks every ten years. This rise in cost will reflect both the current loan and the realization that ten years will pass in ten years and the city will need to be ready to purchase new equipment as well as the contract realities in the new recycling economy. The cost of garbage collection has simply increased and the fees reflect the new reality moving the city closer to the enterprise formula.
The rise in costs has been long in coming. These fees reflect the correction in cost for recycling, the upgrades to the transfer station and purchase of new and upgrades to the fleet of vehicles as well as new carts for every household. It is not recommended that there be separate costs based on quantity of use, so large families can breathe easily there. A homeowner needing more than the single garbage bin provided by the city, one for garbage, one for recycling, will need to purchase any additional containers, and purchasing them at bulk pricing through the city will keep that cost for homeowners down, but they will be a onetime cost not incur additional monthly fees. The new system is expected to be in place by the end of 2021.
If you’d like your writing to be published in Local Jewish News, please email info@localjewishnews.com.
The COVID-19 vaccine is on a lot of people’s minds. With the aid of new technology, an entire world at work with resources on a scale almost inconceivable (including $10B from the US Government), with the world’s greatest minds working on it day and night and lots of cutting of bureaucratic red tape, the first two vaccines are in use in record time.
Many are unsure what they should do – vaccinate or not? I have a simple answer for most of you. Chill. Seriously, there’s no need for most people to make this decision now because so few of you can get it now. For our health care workers and nursing home residents who can get the vaccine now (or very soon) the answer is simple due to their very high risk. The two very similar vaccines have been given in two doses to about 35,000 people in trials. Another 35,000 received placebo (saltwater). Vaccination reduces cases of symptomatic COVID-19 by an amazing 95%. Side-effects were minimal. Nobody died from the vaccine. There were a small number of allergic reactions, as is normal with vaccines. However, it seems to be less frequent with [Read more…]
Click the post title to view more maps of the entire route. Please note that this year, there will be a live parade tracker! Also, we will be giving away Chanukah goodies to kids masked not gathering. Check out www.clemenorahparade.com for more information.
A group of local physicians was very concerned by the post concerning the COVID-19 vaccine that was published in the Local Jewish News Tuesday morning. We approached Dr. Michael Lederman, who has spent his entire career in the study of virology and immunology and is one of the foremost experts in this area, for his thoughts. They appear, unedited, below. He is Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals/Case Medical Center where he is also Professor of Biomedical Ethics, Pathology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Association of Immunologists, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and is a Fellow of the American Association of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is editor in chief of the scientific journal Pathogens and Immunity.
A number of local physicians have approached me and asked me what I thought of Dr. Eli Fink’s piece on COVID-19 vaccines in the December 7 Local Jewish News. I took a look at it and sadly, it is loaded with misinformation reflective of a poor understanding of immunity and cell biology. Here’s the scoop: While Dr. Fink is correct that the messenger RNA platform is new for vaccines, messenger RNA doesn’t do anything that he says it does. It doesn’t last long in cells as all messenger RNAs are designed to degrade. It is completely incapable of inserting itself into our own DNA as our cells don’t have the enzymes that are needed to make this happen. Dr. Fink goes on to tell us that viral infections trigger autoimmunity by getting their genes translated into our cells’ DNA. Utter nonsense! Messenger RNAs are not translated into DNA, they are translated into proteins – that’s how these vaccines work!
COVID-19 has killed nearly 300,000 Americans to date and will kill plenty more before this is all over. It’s true that most deaths are among the elderly but even infants have died of COVID-19. These RNA vaccines work, cutting down infection risk and serious disease by 90% or more. Dr Fink says we don’t know yet that these vaccines decrease transmission of the virus. Well maybe he doesn’t know it for sure but based on how these vaccines work, I would wager his life that immunization decreases transmission of the virus. If you choose to believe Dr. Fink’s nonsense, you’ll be wagering your life too!
Michael M. Lederman MD
Professor of Medicine
Professor of Microbiology/Molecular Biology, Pathology and Biomedical Ethics
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Click the post title to view more maps of the entire route. Please note that this year, there will be a live parade tracker! Also, we will be giving away Chanukah goodies to kids masked not gathering. Check out www.clemenorahparade.com for more information.
For a response to this article, please view “Response to mRNA Concerns“.
Any medical procedure that involves risk is preceded by informed consent. This is where you are given a list of what could go wrong, along with the chances that you will be helped if things go as planned. You then accept the risk and go ahead, or you re-think your decision.
The two current vaccine candidates set to be distributed are mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. These work by injecting mRNA coding for parts of the virus. The mRNA is taken up by your body’s cells, and is incorporated into the cells’ protein-making machinery, which then starts producing, essentially, pieces of the enemy. The immune system then recognizes these foreign viral proteins and produces antibodies against them. Later, if the person becomes infected with the real virus, it is pre-armed with antibodies ready to go, and the person doesn’t get as sick. A brilliant idea, really. Until now, vaccines worked by either injecting weakened strains of virus, or killed or partial viruses along with adjuvants (code for toxins) to better stimulate an immune response.
State curfew begins tonight at 10 p.m. The state curfew will be from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily for the next 21 days.
The curfew will not apply to those going to or from work, those who have an emergency, or those who need medical care. The curfew is not intended to stop anyone from getting groceries or going to a pharmacy. Picking up carry-out or a drive-thru meal and ordering for delivery will be permitted, but serving food and drink in person must cease at 10 p.m.
Cuyahoga County announced a new program on Wednesday. The new program run by CHN Housing Partners will be giving out $2 million dollars in utility assistance. This is in addition to the rent relief and utility assistance programs previously announced late last month. Here is what you need to know:
Covid-19 Rental Assistance:
CHN Housing Partners is the entry point for rental assistance, you can apply online, or you can call them at 833-377- RENT (7368).
Some details from the CHN website:
How does it work?
Who qualifies:
CHN Rental Assistance Application
Covid-19 Home Relief Grant:
The CEOGC is processing this program.
Some information from the CEOGC website:
Cuyahoga County residents, who are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level and have fallen behind on rent or mortgage payments, water bills, sewer payments or have any other immediate needs are encouraged to apply for assistance. Funds are available for a limited time and applicants are encouraged to reach out early.
Tip from Gesher staff & clients: You must make sure to fill out ALL fields correctly in order to submit the application!
Covid-19 Home Relief Grant Application
Covid-19 Utility Assistance:
CHN Housing Partners will be distributing funds for all four utilities, gas, water, electric, and sewer. This program will cover past-due bills beginning from March 1st, 2020.
What you must know: The application for all four utilities is the application marked “Water/Sewer Discounts & Sewer Crisis (Disconnection Notice)” located at the bottom of the page.
Quick facts:
Under the resolution, residents are advised to only leave their home to go to work or school, or for essential needs such as seeking medical care, purchasing essential items from a grocery store or pharmacy, picking up prepared food or receiving deliveries, the advisory said. Residents are also strongly advised to avoid traveling in and out of the state, and forgo having guests in their homes or residences during the upcoming holiday season.
This weekend clocks are moved back one hour. While the official time to do this is 2am Sunday morning, you can just do it before you go to sleep; definitely before Sunday morning carpool.
Practically speaking, the change means that Sunday morning you gain one (measly) hour of sleep which you already used Motzei Shabbos staying up later. It also means that for the next four months you’ll practice subtracting an hour from the time on your car’s clock, and that darkness will fall an hour sooner but hey, we’re Cleveland, we’re used to not seeing the sun.
Joking aside, this change affects halachic zmanim. Please remember to pay attention to the new zmanim going forward.
We wanted to share a few important COVID-19 messages for those that test positive for SARS-CoV-2 or coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 or anyone that is identified as a close contact of someone who tests positive. Those who test positive are advised to isolate themselves from others to prevent transmission of the virus to others for a minimum of 10 days from symptom onset or the date of the test if there are no symptoms. Close contacts quarantine and watch for symptoms of COVID-19 that may develop over a 14 day period.
We recommend that those who are contacts of confirmed cases seek testing to ensure they are not infected; however testing does not shorten the length of the 14-day quarantine if you test negative. Local health departments will call people who test positive for COVID-19 to advise them on isolation guidelines and to identify their close contacts.
Here is a graphic describing the difference between quarantine and isolation.
Here is link to a graphic describing contact tracking.
We are also in cold and flu season, so we are urging people to get a flu vaccine from your doctor, your local drug store or the health department. Flu shots protect you and your family and are especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. They can help keep others healthy too (learn more here).
You can find a flu vaccine near you here. It’s best to call ahead to make an appointment if necessary.
Help stop the spread of viral illness in your community by following these prevention guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/stop-the-spread-of-germs-11×17-en.pdf
PDF of Cleveland Doctors Letter
As Torah observant Jews, we recognize the obligation to save lives (נפשׁ פּיקוּח (as a value that overrides nearly every other religious obligation. We likewise seek to avoid situations of נפּשׁוֹת סכּנת) threats to human life), even when undertaken for supremely important purposes – tefilla, celebrations of shabbos and yom tov and Torah study. As physicians, we are concerned that over the next few weeks and months our community will see an increase in the local spread of COVID19, which could ו”ח ּendanger the health and lives of many of our friends, neighbors and family. We write what follows both to reiterate basic public health principles and warn the community about specific risks to be avoided.
The following are the basic principles of infection control that remain as relevant now as when this pandemic began:
We ask that every member of our community re-commit to keeping everyone safe by:
As physicians, we remind you to:
We conclude with wishes for year of health, success and safety for our entire community, and with earnest prayers to the Ribono Shel Olam to protect His people.
Names appear in alphabetical order and have been updated as of 9/17/2020, 4:00 PM
Mark Aeder MD General and Transplant Surgery
Josh Arbesman MD Dermatology
Daniel Asher MD Anesthesiology, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
David Bar-Shain MD Pediatrics, Clinical Informatics
Akiva Berger DDS General Dentistry
Nate Bergman DO Internal Medicine, Geriatrics
Yael Dahan MD Anesthesiology
Joel David DO Internal Medicine
Francine Erenberg MD Pediatric Cardiology
Ben Esraeilian DPM Podiatry
Daniel Fleksher MD Internal Medicine
Elisha Fredman MD Radiation Oncology
Rachel Garber MD Pediatrics
Sara Goldman MD Psychiatry, Adult Inpatient Psychiatry
Jessica Goldstein MD Emergency Medicine
David Gottesman MD Gastroenterology
Dovid Gutman MD Internal Medicine
Adam Haas MD Anesthesiology
Rafi Israeli MD Emergency Medicine
Avi Jacobs MD Cardiology
Lawrence Jacobs MD Cardiology
Daniel Kahn DO Nephrology
Saul Kane MD Gastroenterology
Fred Kessler MD Gastroenterology
Jonathan Klein MD Emergency Medicine
Michael Kurin MD Gastroenterology
Jeffrey Lautman MD Nephrology
David Lever MD Gastroenterology
Yehudah Lindenberg MD Neurology
David Liska MD Colorectal Surgery
Rebecca Lowenthal MD, MPH Family Medicine
Leon Margolin MD Pain Medicine
Shmuel Margolin MD Internal Medicine
Yael Mauer MD, MPH Internal Medicine, Primary care and hospital medicine
Bryan Michelow MD Plastic Surgery
Howard Nathan MD Internal Medicine, Hospitalist
Joel Peerless MD Critical Care
Meir Pollack MD Gastroenterology
Moshe Prero MD Pediatrics
Michael Rothberg MD, MPH Internal Medicine
Yosef Rudolph MD Neurology
Samuel Salamon MD Ophthalmology
Yehuda Salamon MD Anesthesiology
Amy Schechter MD Internal Medicine
Gila Schiowitz DO Pediatrics, Hospitalist
Steven Schwartz MD Geriatrics
Seth Sclair MD Gastroenterology, Transplant Hepatology
Shelly Senders MD Pediatrics
Anna Serels MD Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Marina Shpilko DO Emergency Medicine
Warren Sobol MD Ophthalmology, Retina
Benjamin Spinner MD Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry
Josh Sunshine MD Neurology
Ira Taub MD Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology
Yael Taub MD Emergency Medicine
Philip Toltzis MD Pediatric Critical Care, Infectious Disease
Franky Weinberger DO Rheumatology
Rachel Weinerman MD Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Ari Wiesen MD Gastroenterology
Carly Wilbur MD Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Brian Wolovitz MD Internal Medicine
Excerpt:
While many public schools on the east side of Cleveland will begin the school year remotely, Jewish day schools will offer in-person instruction in the fall for the first time since mid-March.
…
Citing pedagogical considerations, small class sizes and relatively large classrooms, heads of schools said they believe they can protect their students and offer higher quality instruction than can be offered remotely. In addition, at least two day schools are offering remote learning options.
It is with a mixture of intense gratitude to Hashem and raw sadness that Atideinu announces it will not be opening for the school year of 2021.
For the past 5+ years, Atideinu fulfilled its mission of building strong leaders for a vibrant Jewish future by cultivating meaningful relationships between our staff and children. With the current virtual platform we cannot effectively maintain these relationships which are the catalyst to meet our mission statement.
We thank the community for its support over the past several years and hope to see the redemption shortly.
Excerpt, full article at Cleveland Jewish News.
Michele Kaminsky, a Beachwood resident and owner of Mika’s Wig Boutique and Spa in University Heights, was recently elected president of National Council of Jewish Women / Cleveland.
Kaminsky, a member of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike, spoke with the Cleveland Jewish News about her new role and her hopes for the future of the organization.
Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Excerpt, full article at Cleveland Jewish News.
Michele Kaminsky, a Beachwood resident and owner of Mika’s Wig Boutique and Spa in University Heights, was recently elected president of National Council of Jewish Women / Cleveland.
Kaminsky, a member of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike, spoke with the Cleveland Jewish News about her new role and her hopes for the future of the organization.
Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
On July 19th, Bikur Cholim Cleveland together with LakeHealth Beachwood Medical Center had the honor of hosting a COVID-19 plasma antibody-testing drive. Even with over 100 people registered for testing, the organization handled the event flawlessly. Donors were met with warm smiles, hot coffee, and fresh pastries. After checking in, donors’ temperatures were taken, and they were immediately led to the collection area, with a total visit time of less than 10 minutes. After collecting blood samples for antibody testing, visitors were offered a fresh pack of cotton masks.
Rabbi Sokol of University Heights commented, “What a beautiful facility. I didn’t realize what a gem we had in our backyard. They were so professional, and I barely felt the needle stick”.
Philip Mulivor commented, “It was painless, easy, well-organized, and filled with nice people. I would definitely recommend it”.
After the success of the first Drive, Bikur Cholim of Cleveland is hoping to host another in the near future.
Update from Agudath Israel of Ohio from Agudath Israel on Vimeo.
There is a protest planned at 2:30 at Severance Center today. Recommendations received via social media are that all men be home, all children and everyone else be inside, that there be no toys or anything on the front lawn, the driveway, etc. Per CHPD there is no expectation that this will turn non-peaceful c”v. Hopefully, there will be no trouble, but we do not want to do anything to attract attention.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
June 2, 2020
The Cuyahoga County Police Chiefs Association stands with and in support of the family of George Floyd in mourning his death. We are sorrowful for this loss and regret that it came at the hands of a police officer whom we trusted to obey the law. We know, too well, that our profession is one that requires difficult decisions and reactions, but we, wholly, condemn the actions of this case.
Cuyahoga County is blessed to be made up of diverse populations and police personnel. We hear our communities when they say that there is much to do to improve race relations. We, together with the community, want to facilitate those improvements by listening, even more, and together developing a tangible way forward. The actions of this one officer do not represent what our profession stands for, but we acknowledge that he represented all police officers while he was employed as an officer. We feel shame that our trust in him was broken in such a way as to lead to the death of Mr. Floyd and which is bringing into question the actions of law enforcement everywhere.
The Cuyahoga County Police Chiefs Association is committed to help heal the division
that this and past incidents have caused. It is only through a continued effort of collaboration that we will begin to make headway. Without the support of our residents, we could never be successful. Therefore, we continue to push community relations, diversity training, and improving our hiring practices. We want to assure you that the voice of the people is being heard and we want to work with our communities to create a better path forward.
Bikur Cholim arranged a drive-by birthday parade in honor of a transplant patient and his brother who donated a partial liver to the birthday boy.
A truck played a video of birthday messages and was accompanied by a police car and families from the community who joined in their cars to show support.
Social distancing will not stop Cleveland from bringing joy and comfort to our patients in their time of need!
