Cleveland Jewish History - Jewish Community Federation weighs a move to the suburbs

Jewish Federation of Cleveland

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2008: the tenth decision on where Federation should be located.

Note: This page was written in August 2008. In late 2008 the economic downturn
forced large staff reductions. The current (9/2010) staffing is roughly 100 persons.

Federation's staff has grown more than 160 percent — from 50 to more than 130 — since it moved into its building at East 18th and Euclid Avenue in 1965. Most staff work in a second building. It is now considering moving to Beachwood, to be near most of the area's Jewish population.

An active discussion is underway, for many in the Jewish community believe that the Jewish Community Federation should remain in downtown Cleveland, to show a continued commitment to Cleveland's health and growth.

Some of this discussion is on the web:

A Cleveland Plain Dealer story, with comments
Recent Cleveland Jewish News coverage: its blogspot, with comments, Should Federation move its HQ east (April 11, 2008) and a story on the "downtown dialogues" (August 15, 2008).
The website of the group advocating that Federation remain in downtown Cleveland www.KeepJCFinCLE.com

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan wrote 70 years ago "The past has a vote, not a veto." We believe that if these history pages tell of the past, specifically how the leaders of our Jewish community have located Federation's offices, they will have helped to inform the discussion.