Rabbi Leibel Alevsky recalled as a giant in the Orthodox world. Page 6
Devorah Alevsky, women’s program director of Chabad of Cleveland, stands with her husband, Rabbi Leibel Alevsky, Chabad regional director and executive director of Chabad of Cleveland, outside the Waxman Chabad Center in Beachwood in 2014. | Photo / Cleveland Kesher
Cleveland Kesher
No one will know if Rabbi Leibel Alevsky ever looked up in the night sky as did the prophet Abraham and consider how his spiritual o spring may someday be as numerous as the stars.
Such is the legacy of Rabbi Yehuda Leib “Leibel” Alevsky, executive director of Chabad of Cleveland, who passed away on the morning of April 20 at his home in University Heights. He was 86.
From a single Chabad in 1972, he pioneered the Cleveland Chabad movement that has grown to 21 houses across Northeast Ohio and another in Athens, many led by members of his family.
“We are all going to continue on,” his son-in-law, Rabbi Yossi Marozov, executive director of the Friendship Circle of Cleveland in Pepper Pike, told Cleveland Kesher. “There’s no question that the work that he started will get stronger, with greater dedication, and in
everything we do, we have him in mind. It’s a tribute to him and my mother-in-law for planting an orchard that continues to grow.”
The Chabad movement in Northeast Ohio was but a tiny seed in the ground when Alevsky came to Cleveland from Brooklyn, N.Y., in the early 1970s at the urging of Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Alevsky was serving as executive director of the Russian-founded Orthodox outreach Lubavitch Youth Organization, which Schneerson had established in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. Schneerson then shared he was sending Alevsky and his wife, Devorah Alevsky, to Cleveland to establish the first Chabad house in the area.
Similar to the Lubavitch Youth Organizations, an Orthodox Jewish movement focusing on outreach, education and Jewish
ALEVSKY | 8
awareness, Chabad was not unknown in Cleveland. Devorah Alevsky’s parents had moved to Cleveland from Paris in 1953 to start a local Chabad that operated out of their Cleveland Heights home and Congregation Zemach Zedek.
But Alevsky had a vision. The 1972 opening of the Chabad house of Cleveland on South Green Road in South Euclid started what Devorah Alevsky has called a “family business.”
Not only are all 10 of the couple’s children involved in Chabad, but so are many of the third generation, here in the United States and in Canada, and around the globe in Krakow, Poland, Thailand, China and Argentina, to name a few.
“We are all doing what he did,” Marozov said. “He instilled in us the value of service.”
Northeast Ohio Chabads and organizations a liated with Chabad today include Chabad of Downtown Cleveland, Shaker Chabad and Waxman Chabad Center, Camp Gan Israel, Fromovitz Chabad Center and Anash Youth Club, all of Beachwood; Chabad at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; Congregation Tzemach Tzedek in Cleveland Heights; Chabad Family Center of Greater Hillcrest in Lyndhurst; Semach Sedek Shul, Torah Nursery and Cleveland Kosher Food Pantry, all in South Euclid; Chabad Jewish Center of Solon; Chabad Jewish Center of Chagrin Falls; Twinsburg Chabad; Jewish Discovery Center and Chabad of the West Side, both in Lakewood; Chabad of Akron and Canton; Anshe Sfard Synagogue of Akron; Chabad of Kent State; Chabad of Oberlin; and Living Legacy Mitzvah Workshops.
Born in 1939 to Sima Chaya and Reb Chaim Boruch, Yehuda Leib Alevsky grew up under oppression in the Russia/Ukraine region, where Judaism was being institutionally stamped out. As a child, he was educated in underground Jewish schools.
“His grandfather made sure he studied because they were sacrificing their lives by going underground. If they got caught, it would be extremely detrimental to their survival,” Marozov said.
After the family made its way to Israel, Alevsky left for New York to study at a synagogue there. He later worked at Lubavitch Youth Organization and met his future wife in the city.
“He was determined at a young age,” Marozov said.
Marozov said his first encounter with Alevsky was in New York, when Alevsky brought his daughter, Estie, to meet him as a potential wife.
“In that short encounter, he was straightforward with what I learned later was his trademark ‘sarcasm,’” Marozov said. “He knew how to poke people in ways that other people would think to hold back, but he was very direct without the recipients feeling o ense or less worthy. He didn’t fuss around with pleasantries or political talk. He was straight and honest.”
By this time, Cleveland’s Chabad movement was beginning to flourish, but the rabbi continued to plant seeds, suggesting to Marozov at his and Estie’s engagement party that they take advantage of an opportunity to enhance Jewish life in Cleveland.
“He was generous in bringing together several benefactors in the community to present us with opportunities in a selfless way,” he said.
Another future son-in-law living in New York City, Rabbi Zushe Greenberg, knew Alevsky as a prominent rabbi prior to meeting another daughter and future wife, Miriam.
“He was warm and welcoming,” Greenberg told Cleveland Kesher. “He talked to everyone on his level as if they were friends.”
He was looking for a place to open a Chabad when his father-in-law mentioned “a place called Solon.”
“He said there were many young families there,” said the eventual head of Solon Chabad. “And we have had a rich life in Cleveland because of him.”
Calling his father-in-law a “charismatic speaker and powerful man,” Greenberg said Alevsky’s lively late-night discussions of Judaism with Case Western Reserve University students in the 1970s hippies era were carry-
overs of his Lubavitch Youth Organization days in New York.
“There’d be 70 students on the floor and he’d take questions,” Greenberg said. “He was very good at that. He loved reaching out to young people to bring them closer to Judaism.”
That teaching style, along with his warmth and welcoming manner, resonated with people of all ages, including Alan Wilensky. He first met Alevsky in 1983 when American Greetings co-workers, including late co-founder Irving Stone, invited him to a small home gathering where the rabbi was leading classes on Jewish topics. Wilensky was interested because his twin sons were being introduced to Judaism in preschool.
“It was a subject I was not up to speed on,” Wilensky told Cleveland Kesher. “Rabbi Alevsky became not just a friend, but a spiritual mentor who changed my life in a really positive direction. He changed the lives of thousands and thousands of Jews. It was part of the purpose of his life. You can’t write enough good things about him. We’re going to miss him a lot, he added.
Longtime friend and neighbor Morry Weiss had a front-row seat to Alevsky’s path to Cleveland because his father-in-law was Irving Stone, who was among those who brought him to Cleveland at a time when sending Jewish emissaries was in its infancy.
“One reason they came was because Devorah Alevsky’s parents, the Kazens, had a Chabad in Cleveland Heights,” Weiss told Cleveland Kesher. “Since he was married to a Clevelander, he seemed like a logical person to send.”
Describing Alevsky as a “bundle of nonstop energy,” Weiss praised his focus on nonobservant Jews and bringing them closer to Judaism.
In addition to Chabad houses, Alevsky started Jewish camps, schools, even a kosher restaurant for the Case Western Reserve University campus.
On a trip to Shanghai, scanning the hotel desk clerk’s list of Jewish services and Chabads one Friday night, Weiss said he learned that one of the rabbi’s daughters, along with her
husband, was running one of them.
“Anywhere you go, you’ll find an Alevsky,” he said.
At dinner with friends in Florida just a few days ago on April 21, Weiss said the conversation steered to Alevsky’s impact on Cleveland.
“The discussion was about the benefits their family – not particularly observant Jews –derived as a result of their involvement with the Chabad and Rabbi Alevsky,” Weiss said. “For most, he was their rabbi, even if they belonged to another Conservative or Reform synagogue. It was incredible. They made an amazing contribution to the Cleveland Jewish community. And that includes Devorah. She was dynamite. She could attract people to her, and people loved her.”
Alevsky also changed the life of Diamond’s Mens’ Store owner Randy Diamond, who, although Jewish, had grown up without celebrating Shabbat.
“We’d been invited to a weekend event where I met him and his wife, Devorah,” Diamond told Cleveland Kesher. “She brought me challah, and we learned for the first time what Sabbath was all about – resting and not being involved. Shabbat had not been central to our lives. I was quickly attracted to the experience. I learned for the first time what it was to be a Jew,” he said. “We saw how beautiful the religion of Judaism is. It wasn’t politicized – strictly coming closer to our heritage.“
Despite health challenges over the last decade, Alevsky never retired, continuing to work until the day he died.
Looking child friendships confident
Join our Friendship this
Through activities, students
“In the Chabad culture, as long as there is breath, as long as there is strength, you continue to serve to spread life,” Marozov said.
The funeral was on April 20 at Waxman Chabad Center in Beachwood. Burial followed at Anshe Sfard Cemetery in Akron.
Alevsky is survived by his wife, Devorah (Dvonia) Alevsky, and his children, Sarah Freedman of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, Chani Glitzenstein of Maaleh Efraim, Israel, Kaila Sasonkin of Akron, Chayim Boruch Alevsky of Cleveland, Miriam Greenberg of Solon, Dinie Greenberg of Shanghai, China, Estie Marozov of Pepper Pike, Rochie Sudak of London, Rivky Friedman of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Rabbi Mendy Alevsky of Cleveland.
•Conversation interaction
•Group play
•Emotional & empathy
•Communication (body language
•Flexibility
SESSIONS
Designed to social skills
Looking to help your child build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations?
Looking to help your child build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations?
Looking to help your child build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations?
Looking to help your child build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations?
•Led by an experienced SLP with 25+ years supporting social communication
•Led by an experienced SLP with 25+ years supporting social communication
•Led by an experienced SLP with 25+ years supporting social communication
GROUP
•Program runs from June 30th - August 6th
•Led by an experienced SLP with 25+ years supporting social communication
•Program runs from June 30th - August 6th
•Program runs from June 30th - August 6th
•Led by an experienced SLP with 25+ years supporting social communication
•Program runs from June 30th - August 6th
•Small groups of 3–5 students thoughtfully matched by age & social needs
•Small groups of 3–5 students thoughtfully matched by age & social needs
•Small groups of 3–5 students thoughtfully matched by age & social needs
•Program runs from June 30th - August 6th
•Small groups of 3–5 students
•Small groups of 3–5 students thoughtfully matched by age & social needs
•Led with social
•Program June
•Small thoughtfully & social
Join our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
Join our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
Join our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
Join our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
ON
ON
Looking to help your build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations? our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
WHAT WE
ON
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Looking to help your child build meaningful friendships & feel more confident in social situations?
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Tuesdays | 4:15 – 5:15 PM 3rd – 5th Grade Tuesdays | 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Tuesdays | 4:15 – 5:15 PM
Join our small, supportive Friendship Groups this summer!
3rd – 5th Grade
Through games, guided activities, and real-life practice, students will work on:
Through games, guided activities, and real-life practice, students will work on:
Through games, guided activities, and real-life practice, students will work on:
Tuesdays | 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Tuesdays | 4:15 – 5:15 PM 3rd – 5th Grade Tuesdays | 5:30 – 6:30 PM
FOCUS ON games, guided activities, and real-life practice, will work on:
•Conversation & peer interaction
Through games, guided activities, and real-life practice, students will work on:
•Conversation & peer interaction
•Conversation & peer interaction
Through games, guided activities, and real-life practice, students will work on:
•Group play & cooperation
•Group play & cooperation
•Group play & cooperation
•Conversation & peer interaction
•Conversation & peer interaction
•Emotional understanding & empathy
•Conversation & peer interaction
•Emotional understanding & empathy
•Group play & cooperation
•Emotional understanding & empathy
•Communication cues
play & cooperation
•Emotional understanding & empathy
•Group play & cooperation
•Communication cues (body language & tone
(body language & tone
•Communication cues (body language & tone
•Emotional understanding empathy
•Emotional understanding & empathy
•Flexibility & self-regulation
•Flexibility & self-regulation
•Flexibility & self-regulation
•Communication cues (body language & tone
•Communication cues language & tone
•Flexibility & self-regulation
•Communication cues (body language & tone
•Flexibility & self-regulation
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
•Flexibility & self-regulation
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
Designed to feel natural while building real-world social skills that carry over into everyday life. TO FIND THE RIGHT GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD!
SESSIONS ARE INTERACTIVE & FUN!
Designed to feel natural while building real-world social skills that carry over into everyday life.
Designed to feel natural while building real-world social skills that carry over into everyday life.
Designed to feel natural while building real-world social skills that carry over into everyday life.
Designed to feel natural while building real-world social skills that carry over into everyday life.
to feel natural while building real-world skills that carry over into everyday life.
Conveniently located at the A Plus Learning Solutions office: 3659 S. GREEN RD., SUITE 112, BEACHWOOD, OH SPOTS ARE LIMITED, CALL NOW TO FIND THE RIGHT GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD!
Conveniently located
Conveniently located at the A Plus Learning Solutions office: 3659 S. GREEN RD., SUITE 112, BEACHWOOD, OH SPOTS ARE LIMITED, CALL NOW TO FIND THE RIGHT GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD!
SPOTS ARE LIMITED, CALL NOW TO FIND THE RIGHT GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD!
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM SCHOLARSHIPS ACCEPTED. COST $525
3659 S. GREEN RD., SPOTS ARE TO FIND THE RIGHT
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM SCHOLARSHIPS ACCEPTED. COST $525
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM SCHOLARSHIPS ACCEPTED. COST $525
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM SCHOLARSHIPS ACCEPTED. COST $525
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM COST $525
Conveniently located at the A Plus Learning Solutions office: 3659 S. GREEN RD., SUITE 112, BEACHWOOD, OH SPOTS ARE LIMITED, CALL NOW TO FIND THE RIGHT GROUP FOR YOUR CHILD!
216-865-2525 JON PETERSON SCHOLARSHIPS & AUTISM SCHOLARSHIPS ACCEPTED.
COST $525
Malka Rosenberg, Rivka Rosenberg Katznelson and Yitzi Katznelson accept the Sefer Torah tribute in memory of Moshe and Pinchas Rosenberg, who were honored during the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland’s 83rd Scholarship Tribute Dinner March 9 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Rabbi Eli Dessler, financial director of HAC, Dr. Louis Malcmacher, president of HAC, and Rabbi Moshe Marcovich, director of development of HAC, are with them. | Photo / Cleveland Kesher
Cleveland Kesher
Hebrew Academy of Cleveland’s 83rd Scholarship Tribute Dinner drew more than 900 people recently at the Cleveland Museum of Art, marking the culmination of the school’s scholarship campaign that raised $2,554,000 from 935 contributors.
The dinner honored Dov and Miriam Berman, Moshe and Pinchas Rosenberg, and J. David Heller, who received the Mendy Klein Community Service Award.
“For 83 years, the academy has represented the heart of the Jewish story,” Rabbi Simcha Dessler, menahel/educational director at Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, said. “Established against all odds on the ashes of the Holocaust, it has emerged as a national leader. ... It’s a storied legacy of dedication and devotion, of leadership and partnership all neatly packaged into one classic academy
experience. ... To all of you here tonight, and to the hundreds more watching on livestream, thank you for being an important part of an incredible story. Your presence is appreciated, your partnership is cherished and your investment is eternal.”
The campaign allows the academy to educate its 1,550 students across its three campuses in Cleveland Heights and Beachwood, regardless of their parent’s financial constraints, Dessler said.
The event was held in the atrium ballroom of the museum, the fourth year it has been held at the venue, which was packed with community members representing both the Jewish and secular community.
Dr. Louis Malcmacher, president of the
Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, delivered the opening remarks and thanked those who worked to make the event possible, parents and sta members from the school along with the numerous attendees from local organizations, like the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, and area politicians such as University Heights Mayor Michele Weiss, who also is controller at the school, Cleveland Heights Mayor Jim Petras and Ohio Rep. Eric Synenberg of Beachwood.
“This is a celebration of 83 years of educating minds, inspiring hearts and empowering futures,” Malcmacher said.
The Rosenbergs were honored during a “unique” Torah dedication written specifically in their memory held at the Academy on March 8 and the Sefer Torah was presented to Malka Rosenberg, Moshe’s wife and Pinchas’ mother, Rivka Rosenberg Katznelson, Moshe’s daughter and Pinchas’ sister, and Yitzi Katznelson, Rivka’s husband.
Moshe, the son of Holocaust survivors, was raised in Czechoslovakia before coming to the United States in 1969. He bought Unger’s Bakery in Cleveland Heights and ran it with his wife until his death in June 2016. Pinchas was a certified commodities trader in New York and later managed a tile company in California. He had a passion for Yiddishkeit, sensitivity toward Holocaust survivors and empathy for those in need.
“Tonight, through this Sefer Torah tribute, their legacy continues,” Mendy Berger, who introduced and presented the award, said. “A legacy of faith, generosity, resilience and love that continues to inspire the very community they help build.”
Dov Berman, who serves as the chief financial o cer of Worthington-based NewVista Behavioral Health, is an active member of the academy’s board of directors and serves on a number of committees. Miriam Berman serves as an academic interventionist at the academy’s Beatrice Stone Yavne High School in Beachwood.
“They are assets to our school and to our community,” Dessler said in a video
presentation. “Dov is a friend who lends passion and insight to his involvement. And his wife, a busy mother, finds the time and place in her heart to focus on those students who can benefit from intervention beyond the classroom.”
Heller, recipient of the Mendy Klein Community Service Award, is the CEO and co-founder of Cleveland-based NRP Group, a developer, builder and manager of multifamily housing. He previously served as chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and national campaign chair of Jewish Federations of North America, among numerous organizational leadership positions locally and nationally.
“Anyone who knew Mendy knew that when he believed something mattered for the Jewish people, he simply rolled up his sleeves and got to work,” Heller said in accepting the award. “If we want to honor Mendy tonight, the best tribute we can give him is very simple: continue to build a Jewish community where every Jew feels they belong. That is exactly the community the Hebrew Academy helps to build every day.”
Gary Torgow, chairman of Huntington Group, chairman of the JFNA and president of Beth Yehuda schools in Michigan, served as guest speaker, and said that “our hearts are with our brothers and sisters in Israel and the brave warriors of the IDF,” amid the U.S.Israeli airstrikes in Iran, which began on Feb. 28.
“We are once again facing some of the most trying, di cult and uncertain times,” he said. “The Jewish people are one family, and we must maintain, uppermost in our minds, a deep sense of unity, love and compassion for every Jew su ering wherever they may be found.”
The event featured a performance from the Hebrew Academy boys’ choir, under the direction of Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Mann, who later joined Yehuda Fleishman to provide music throughout dinner.
The 2026 to 2028 board of directors for the academy was approved at the event.
Chany and Nati Klein won the $10,000 ra e, which was chosen by Dr. Jamshid Tehrani. Rabbi Moshe Marcovich, director of development at the academy, announced the winner.
Cleveland Kesher
Chaya Slain and Kate Ashwal were recognized for their impact on the community during Fuchs Mizrachi School’s 2026 Spring Event recently at its Irving and Beatrice Stone Campus.
Following a patron cocktail hour, Head of School Rabbi Avery Joel welcomed attendees before handing over the microphone to Danielle Wild, president of Fuchs Mizrachi, who o ered congratulations to the honorees.
“We’re so grateful for everything that you do for our school,” Wild said. “We’re here tonight to celebrate Fuchs Mizrachi School, but even more we’re here to celebrate our students.”
To celebrate the school and students, the Spring Event theme was “learning today, leading tomorrow.”
From her time on Fuchs Mizrachi’s board, its financial committee and executive committee, Slain has helped the school’s financial situation and for her service she received the Mike and Peppy Senders Outstanding Service Award. She is president and chief investment o cer of Vitera Partners, LLC in Pepper Pike.
“The truth of the matter is, to me, it never felt like service,” Slain told Cleveland Kesher. “I love the school. The school’s amazing. The teachers absolutely are devoted and committed to the student. And I actually just felt like it was an honor for me to be a part of it and help
Kate Ashwal, center, accepts the Rabbi Melvin L. Granatstein Educational Leadership Award from Fuchs Mizrachi Head of School Rabbi Avery Joel and board president Danielle Wild during its Spring Event at its Irving and Beatrice Stone Campus. | Photos / Cleveland Kesher
it any way I possibly could.”
Having two daughters currently attending the school and two who have graduated, Slain expressed appreciation for the school and the education it provides.
“The school really did an amazing job
FUCHS | 20
helping each kid exactly the way they needed to,” she said. “Also, they really instilled a strong love of the state of Israel, and Torah, and Judaism, so I’m just grateful to the school for them.”
Having been a teacher for Fuchs Mizrachi’s early childhood program for about 15 years, Ashwal was honored with the Rabbi Melvin L. Granatstein Educational Leadership Award.
“I really think that Jewish education is very important, starting from a very young age, and I feel very passionate about it, and value it very strongly,” Ashwal told Cleveland Kesher.
The program started with the student masters of ceremonies, ShirEl Maayan and Zeke Wilbur from Stark High School, welcoming attendees to the event.
Daniel Ebner and Jack Gardner of Stark High School sang the national anthem of the United States and a prerecorded Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, was sung by first- and second-grade students.
Maggie Soclof of Stark High School delivered a d’var Torah, reading parsha Vayakhel-Pekudei.
“In other ways, the mission was not just the building – it was a place designed to bring Hashem’s presence into the center of the Jewish community,” Soclof said. “In many ways, that is exactly what Jewish education is about.”
Je Wild, board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, o ers remarks on behalf of Federation. | Photos / Cleveland Kesher
Je rey Wild, Danielle Wild’s husband, and board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, o ered on behalf of the Federation, commending Fuchs Mizrachi for its work.
“Those of us, who are from the Fuchs Mizrachi School know, the connection to Israel is not abstract,” he said. “It is deeply woven into the life of this school, into the community, into how you educate and how you raise the next generation of proud Zionistic Jewish leaders.”
Wild also noted a record current enrollment of 581 students at Fuchs.
The school’s fundraising e orts have exceeded $12 million for its expansion project alone, with around $25 million raised for its capital campaign. He also said the endowment will receive $20 million, with half of that coming from the Mandel Foundation.
The Federation also gave Fuchs Mizrachi an additional $328,000 for funding.
Before Ashwal and Slain received their awards, video presentations were shown, highlighting their impact and featuring their family members.
A silent auction was held for sports memorabilia, housewares, spa gift cards, medical massages, student artwork and other local auction items.
We
RONALD J. FLEETER President
•Are you self-employed or own a business? We develop unique solutions by thinking out of the box for your health insurance.
•We can help review your Medicare options. We’ll take the confusion out of it.
•Learn about solutions for children who have aged o their parents’ plan or plans for individuals who have recently lost their job. Call Ron Fleeter at 216-595-5300 for more information ron@ebene tsource.com • ebene tsource.com •25700 Science Park Dr Ste 130 • Beachwood Ohio 44122
Content provided by: Nachum “Nooch” Langsner
Adangerous threat is hitting local businesses across the country: organized extortion schemes using fake negative Google reviews. If you own a local business, knowing how to recognize and fight back against these scams could save your reputation – and your revenue.
The playbook is simple and predatory. A business owner suddenly receives an unsolicited message via WhatsApp, email, or text claiming that damaging one-star reviews have been posted to their Google Business Profile. The demand follows immediately: pay up, provide free services, or watch your rating tank.
These attacks typically involve a coordinated surge of one- and two-star reviews appearing in a short window. Then the extortion messages roll in.
The psychology is e ective because it’s grounded in reality. Online reviews directly drive consumer decisions. A sudden rating drop can hurt your visibility in local search, erode customer trust, and hand business straight to your competitors. For contractors, service businesses, and healthcare providers, your Google rating is often the very first impression you make. Scammers know this – and exploit it ruthlessly.
Google recently introduced a dedicated reporting mechanism specifically for review extortion cases. This is a major improvement over the general reporting process, which was notoriously slow and ine ective at distinguishing coordinated fraud from legitimate negative reviews.
Here’s how it works:
1.Log in to the Google account tied to your
Business Profile
2.Complete Google’s Merchant Extortion Reporting form with full details about your business and the suspicious reviews
3.Upload all supporting documentation –screenshots, message logs, anything that proves the extortion attempt
4.Submit and wait for Google’s team to investigate
Early results are promising. Business owners who’ve used the tool report fraudulent reviews being removed within days – a dramatic improvement over the weeks or months it used to take.
1. Never pay or negotiate
Don’t do it. Paying an extortionist accomplishes nothing except marking you as a soft target. You have zero guarantee the reviews come down, you encourage future attacks, and you’re funding criminal activity. These are not dissatisfied customers – they’re scammers with no intention of honoring their end of any deal.
2. Document Everything Immediately
The moment you suspect extortion, start collecting evidence:
•Screenshots of all suspicious reviews (reviewer name, date, content)
•Complete copies of every extortion message across every channel
• Contact info associated with the scammer (phone numbers, usernames, email addresses)
•A timeline showing when the fake reviews appeared and when demands followed
•Patterns such as multiple reviews posted within minutes or reviewers with zero review history
Move fast. Scammers sometimes delete
Providingfinancialassistance,emotionalsupport,andeducational programmingtofamiliesandindividualswithmedicalfertilitychallenges.
Grantsupto$10,000forfertility treatments
Upto$10,000ofInterestFreeLoans
Free&opentoanyonestrugglingwithinfertility Monthlyvirtualsupportgroupsfacilitatedbylicensed infertilitytherapists
FertilityBuddiesmatchesveteranswiththosegoing throughinfertilityforpeer-to-peersupport
Shiftingtheunderstandingofinfertilityandhowthe Jewishcommunityviewsandsupportsthosewith fertilitychallenges
Panels,discussions,lectures,andone-on-onetrainings forclergy,fertilityclinicmedicalstaff,andfamilies affectedbyinfertility
tamar@jewishfertilityfoundation.org https://jewishfertilityfoundation.org/cleveland/
messages and accounts after making their play.
3. Report through Google’s o cial form
Once you’ve documented everything, submit your complaint via Google’s Merchant Extortion Reporting form. This specialized form gets di erent treatment than a standard review dispute. Be thorough – include every piece of communication, every screenshot, and a clear timeline. The more Google’s team has to work with, the faster they can act.
4. Monitor your reviews consistently
Don’t treat this as a one-time crisis fix. Make review monitoring a regular practice. Set up alerts or use reputation monitoring tools that notify you when new reviews are posted. Early detection is everything – it’s far easier to address a problem before it accumulates into lasting damage.
The best defense is a strong o ense. A consistent stream of authentic positive reviews makes fraudulent ones easier to identify as anomalies and dilutes their impact. Build review requests into your customer follow-up process so that happy customers are sharing their experiences regularly.
Stay actively engaged with your Google Business Profile. Businesses that update their profiles, respond to reviews, and post consistently are taken more seriously when they file reports – and sudden anomalies stand out more clearly.
It’s also worth understanding that review extortion is one piece of a broader Google Business Profile spam problem. Fake listings, keyword-stu ed business names, and unauthorized profile edits are all tactics bad actors use to undermine legitimate businesses. Stay vigilant.
Your Google reputation is a revenue driver. Scammers know that – and they’re counting on you to panic. Don’t.
The core rules are simple:
Key takeaways
•Never pay or negotiate with extortionists
•Document everything the moment you suspect an attack
•Report through Google’s o cial review extortion form
•Monitor your reviews consistently, not just in crisis mode
If you’re facing a review extortion attempt right now, start collecting evidence and file your report today. Your reputation is worth protecting – and you’re not powerless against these schemes.
Nachum ‘Nooch’ Langsner is co-founder and chief marketing guru at LocalBizGuru.
Chaviva High School students recently traveled to the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus for the 46th Annual Governor’s Holocaust Commemoration.
Chaviva High School students go hiking on the spring retreat.
Content provided by Chaviva High School
To see more photos, visit cjn.org/kesher and facebook.com/ClevelandKesher
Seventh grader Atara Kahn presents her Holocaust Memorial Showcase project, honoring individual stories of survival and loss and reminding us that “each person is an entire world.” The project culminated three months of learning in humanities class.
As part of the first- through fourth-grade Lower School Writing Showcase, second graders explore community helpers and present their research and projects. Pictured are Ethan Goldman and Lola Sher.
In celebration of Lag b’Omer, nursery students Max Schwartzben, Roee Jerusalem and Rory Katz enjoy a watermelon and lunch picnic.
Seventh grader Tiferet Dahan displays her Holocaust Memorial Showcase project.
Content provided by Fuchs Mizrachi School
To see more photos, visit cjn.org/kesher and facebook.com/ClevelandKesher
Celebrating Lag b’Omer at Hebrew Academy of Cleveland
Content provided by Hebrew Academy of Cleveland
To see more photos, visit cjn.org/kesher and facebook.com/ClevelandKesher
