Product Description

Newspaper

The Cleveland Jewish Publication Company is organized for the purpose of performing a public service to the Jewish community of Northeast Ohio and shall: Provide the Jewish community of Northeast Ohio with a quality weekly newspaper which will fully present local, national and world news of Jewish interest. Offer commentary, interpretation and background on events of the day, as a means of stimulating the concern and response vital to the fulfillment of our responsibilities as Americans and Jews. Enrich the cultural life both of individuals and the community through the presentation of features, articles, reviews and other material of Jewish content and interest. Provide a variety of forms of communication to enable members of the community to express their viewpoints on matters of Jewish interest. The Company may also provide the Jewish community of Northeast Ohio with other communications vehicles (e.g. website, magazines and community events) that further the Company’s mission. The Company is not affiliated with any one program, organization, movement, or point of view within Jewish life, but expects to give expression to all phases of that life. The Company is completely independent. It is committed to the progress and continuity of Jewish life and to the democratic traditions which have made our country a blessed land. Awarded General Excellence for Newspapers (Division II) in 2019 by the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors and Best Non-Daily Newspaper in Ohio in 2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2015 by the Press Club of Cleveland, the Cleveland Jewish News is the only independent source of Jewish news and commentary serving Northeast Ohio. It was formed in 1964 as an independent successor of two privately owned Jewish newspapers in Cleveland: The Jewish Review & Observer and the Jewish Independent. The Jewish Review & Observer dated to the founding in July 1889 of Cleveland’s first Jewish newspaper, the Hebrew Observer, by Hiram Strauss and Sam Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer teamed with Jack Machol in 1893 to start the Jewish Review, which was purchased in 1896 by Dan S. Wertheimer. In 1899, Wertheimer merged both weeklies into the Jewish Review & Observer, which the family controlled for the next 65 years. The Jewish Independent, established in March 1906, became another family enterprise when Maurice Weidenthal of The Plain Dealer became editor several weeks later. Circulation approached 20,000 by 1917, when Weidenthal died and was succeeded by his brother Leo. Leo Weidenthal guided the Jewish Independent for 47 years. His retirement in 1964 served as the catalyst for a reorganization of Cleveland¹s Jewish press by a civic group incorporated as the Cleveland Jewish Publication Co. A group of 29 business, professional and community leaders in Cleveland’s Jewish community, headed by Lloyd S. Schwenger, arranged for a credit line of $155,000 to secure the assets of the two papers. They created an independent publication that is now held in trust for the Cleveland Jewish community and governed by its own board of directors. The Jewish Community Federation helped support the CJN initially, until it established itself as financially independent. Under the leadership of editor Arthur Weyne, the Cleveland Jewish News debuted as a 32-page tabloid-sized newspaper on October 30, 1964.