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Jewish Community of the Republic of Moldova

Librarian Olga Sivak holds up a newspaper from 1913, Bessarabian Life, at the Jewish Museum of Moldova in Chișinău. (Photo by Larry Luxner via JTA)
September 23, 2025, 4:44 pm
Most Moldovan Jews fled decades ago. Local Jewish life is now fueled by their descendants
Decimated by pogroms, the Holocaust and years of Soviet rule, the small but tenacious community is coping with antisemitism, poverty and an influx of refugees from neighboring Ukraine
By Larry Luxner
Illustrative: People walk past a billboard depicting the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in Tiraspol, the capital of the Russia-backed breakaway region of Transnistria, in Moldova on November 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
August 30, 2025, 3:11 am
As war rages in neighboring Ukraine, Transnistria’s Jews feel caught in a Soviet time warp
The Russian-aligned breakaway state in Moldova had a Jewish population of 300,000 before the Holocaust. The few remaining today battle heightened poverty amid neighboring conflict
By Larry Luxner
Ilan Shor, then-mayor of the town of Orhei, Moldova, arrives to meet with supporters during a campaign event in the city of Comrat on February 15, 2019. (Daniel MIHAILESCU/AFP)
April 20, 2023, 2:41 am
A wanted Moldovan oligarch backs Russian interests at home from a haven in Israel
Convicted in absentia for stealing $1 billion from Moldova’s banking system, businessman-turned-opposition leader Ilan Shor is leading pro-Moscow protests in the country
By Jacob Judah
File: Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country are seen at the border in Palanca, Moldova, on March 14, 2022. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)
December 24, 2022, 3:46 am
In Moldova, a tiny Jewish community struggles to stay warm as war rages next door
Skyrocketing fuel costs, inflation make situation dire for already cash-strapped Chisinau, as Ukraine war also brings refugees in
By Judah Ari Gross
Ukrainian refugees enjoy a meal at the Agudath Israel synagogue in Chisinau, Moldova, on March 3, 2022. (Jacob Judah/via JTA)
March 5, 2022, 10:45 pm
In Moldova, Ukrainian Jews anxiously wait out war in synagogues and Jewish centers
Local Jews say thousands of their coreligionists have arrived from Ukraine after fleeing Russian invasion, seeking help, shelter, and advice as they plan next moves
By Jacob Judah
The aftermath of vandalism at a Jewish cemetery in Chisinau, Moldova on Oct. 31, 2020. (Courtesy of the Jewish Community of Moldova via JTA)
November 3, 2020, 6:22 pm
Headstones smashed at Jewish cemeteries in Moldova, Hungary
Swastikas, pentagram and ‘666’ spray-painted on tombstones at graveyard in Moldovan capital of Chisinau, which has been vandalized 3 years in a row
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Ilan Shor meets with supporters during a campaign event in the city of Comrat on February 15, 2019. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP)
August 30, 2019, 5:54 am
Moldova Jews bear anti-Semitic brunt as corrupt lawmaker flees, maybe to Israel
Saga of Israeli-born businessman Ilan Shor, thought to be hiding in Israel to avoid jail, dredges up old hatreds, complicating life for small Jewish community he left behind
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Illustrative: Rabbi Shimshon Izakson, second from left, praying with congregants at the Wooden Synagogue in Chisinau, Moldova on August 26, 2019. (Cnaan Liphshiz/JTA)
August 26, 2019, 11:44 pm
Moldova’s dwindling Jewish community reopens synagogue seized by Soviets
Hundreds attend ceremony at Wooden Synagogue in Chisinau, bringing number of Jewish houses of worship in country to 4
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Ilan Shor meets with supporters during a campaign event in the city of Comrat on February 15, 2019. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP)
February 25, 2019, 6:23 pm
Convicted Israeli-born fraudster Ilan Shor wins seat in Moldova’s parliament
Mayor of Moldovan city was sentenced to 7.5 years for fraud and money laundering; remains free pending his appeal
By ToI Staff
Ilan Shor, then-mayor of the town of Orhei, Moldova, arrives to meet with supporters during a campaign event in the city of Comrat on February 15, 2019. (Daniel MIHAILESCU/AFP)
February 20, 2019, 9:10 am
Israeli-born convicted fraudster on track for seat in Moldovan parliament
Businessman Ilan Shor is running on an anti-corruption platform, despite having been convicted in massive fraud case
By Ionut Iordachescu and Mihaela RODINA
Ilan Shor, the Israel-born mayor of Orhei, Moldova (YouTube screenshot)
August 10, 2018, 11:46 pm
Moldovan Jews slam ‘hate speech’ after tirade against convicted Jewish mayor
Former sports minister Octavian Țicu denies bigotry in statements he made against Ilan Shor
By JTA
Galina Kargher, the director of the International Center for Training and Professional Development at the Jewish Community Center in Moldova showing the materials they developed for teaching about the Holocaust in Moldova. To the right, a current textbook used in Moldovan schools. (Julie Masis/Times of Israel)
August 4, 2017, 2:16 am
Holocaust education in Moldova is about to get (slightly) better
While the world’s worst genocide currently occupies a page and a half in textbooks, a new initiative would significantly expand the coverage
By Julie Masis
Illustrative: The synagogue in Edinets, Moldova where 90 Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, now up for sale on Holocaust Street. (Julie Masis/Times of Israel)
July 20, 2017, 7:26 pm
In Moldova, a synagogue with a terrible history is for sale on Holocaust Street
Only 17 out of 7,000 Jews remain in Edinets since WWII. Now, a defunct house of worship where 90 penitents were massacred is on the market
By Julie Masis
Olga Levus started a single mothers' group which eventually became the Jewish Family Service in Moldova. (Courtesy of JDC/via JTA)
March 13, 2017, 4:04 am
How a single mom revolutionized Moldova’s Jewish community
To survive with her three sons, a nearly destitute Olga Levus formed a small support group, which eventually evolved into the JDCs local Jewish Family Service
By Cnaan Liphshiz
Israeli-born Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor. (Wikimedia/CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication)
May 19, 2015, 2:19 am
Missing Moldova fortune raises fears of anti-Semitic attacks
Israeli-born businessman Ilan Shor suspected in alleged embezzlement of $1 billion that nearly crashed three local banks
By Stuart Winer
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