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World Jewish News
Pesach in the Ashes - Jews in Moldova against Backdrop of Upheaval and Crisis
12.04.2009
The protests of Moldovan opposition lasted through April 6-7, giving rise to mass street riots and clashes with the police, and culminated in the burning of the parliament building and devastation of the presidential administration. The result: about 400 victims among the law enforcement officers, about 50 of them - hospitalized, approximately 200 participants in the riots - detained. Official sources report that the situation in the capital is under control. Will these events influence the Jewish population in the republic, which numbers about 20,000 people (the majority live in Chisinau)? The IzRus portal asks the director of the largest Jewish charitable organization in Moldova
"Dor le-Dor" Sonia Gitenshteyn and the editor of local newspaper "Jewish settlement" Ilya Maryash.
"So far, everything has been quiet," Gitenshteyn reported. "Many thousands of young people have taken part in the riots, but their anger was directed against the police and the president. No attacks on Jews have occurred. We are aside of the events. On Pesach, 650 people will gather in the hall of the hotel "Leonard," not far from the riots scene. I hope that everything will be quiet."
Gitenshteyn stressed that in Moldova there are practically no anti-Semitic sentiments. "The authorities have a very good attitude to our community. Isolated cases of anti-Semitic manifestations, as in Bendery recently, are not silenced, so I should not be complaining. We have a holiday coming soon, we are distributing gifts and Matsah, the community lives and thrives."
The editor of the "Jewish settlement" newspaper, issued by the "Dor le-Dor" foundation, told the IzRus portal that because of the economic crisis, funding of the projects of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Moldova has been decreased.
"Programs by "Hesed" and "Joint" have also been reduced, but our community is not particularly affected. Ex-prisoners of concentration camps and ghettos continue to receive benefits, there is no change. In addition, Jewish businessmen, though affected by the crisis, continue to allocate funds to communities, as well as providing material support to the talented Jewish children."
Alexander Goldenshteyn
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