The OBS Travel grant offers $1,500 annually to a scholar who will conduct research in the archives of Congregation Ohev Beth Shalom (OBS, formerly Congregation Rodef Sholom) in Youngstown, OH.

Recipients will offer a public lecture through the CJHS about their research. The presentation may be conducted virtually if necessary. The CJHS reserves the right to post and circulate videos of the lecture on social media and its website.

The 2021-2022 OBS Travel Grant has been awarded to Dr. Donna DeBlasio, who is preparing an application to place the synagogue building on the national registry. We will announce next year’s contest at an appropriate time.

OBS recently opened an archive center which collects and makes available to the public documents and other materials from the synagogue’s history and from the Jewish community of greater Youngstown.

OBS’s partners in this endeavor include the History Program at YSU (and AmeriCorps), the Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at YSU, the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (Steel Museum), the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, and the American Jewish Archives.

For more information about the history of OBS, visit their website or our resource page on the history of Jews in Youngstown.