Family offers $16M to help Cleveland Jewish group relocate

CLEVELAND (AP) — A family is offering $16 million to help a Cleveland Jewish organization move from downtown to the suburbs.

The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland says the gift from the Mandel family would be the largest ever to an area Jewish institution. The federation last year bought an office building in Beachwood, and president Stephen Hoffman says the grant will allow renovation and relocation to be completed by June.

A statement Wednesday from the Morton and Barbara Mandel Family Foundation said moving will allow the federation to “optimize its impact on Cleveland and elsewhere for decades to come.”

A group called “The Committee to Keep the JCF in CLE” has tried to persuade the federation to stay in Cleveland, for the sake of the city and the Jewish community.