On July 14, 2024, a General Meeting was held for members of the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia (CJCL). Leaders of Jewish communities and organizations from Riga, Daugavpils, Jurmala, Liepaja, Rezekne, Jekabpils and Jelgava discussed the activities of CJCL and important tasks facing the community in the future.
The meeting began with a report by CJCL chairman Arkady Suharenko on the work done by the community over the past four years.
For two years, under the challenging conditions of the pandemic, the Jewish community, the Welfare Center Hesed and the Jewish Community Center (JCC) successfully continued to fulfill their duties, providing assistance to those in need and conducting cultural and educational events in a new format.
During the reporting period, the long-term efforts of the Jewish community leadership to pass the Jewish property restitution law led to a successful result – the law was passed by the Saeima (Latvian parliament) in February 2022. The Latvian Jewish Community Restitution Fund (Fund) receives 4 million euros for the second year. It is necessary to ensure the effective use of these funds, laying the foundations for the financial stability of the community in the future.
Currently, with the support of the Fund, the community is implementing several important ongoing projects, including strengthening the territory of the memorial complex to the victims of the Holocaust in Šķēde, constructing new premises for the Museum “Jews in Latvia” in Old Riga at Alksnāja Street 5, installing an elevator and building an additional stairwell in the Riga Jewish Community building at Skolas Street 6, as well as other projects related to the repair and development of properties owned by CJCL member organizations.
Vladimir Fogel, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Jewish Community Restitution Fund, informed the meeting participants about the Fund’s activities. In 2023, from the allocated 4 mln the Fund’s total expenses were 1,625,107.82 euros. The Fund supported 27 projects out of 56 applications submitted. Additionally, the Fund provided support to 11 Holocaust survivors in Latvia, each receiving 5,000 euros. The remaining funds are held in the Fund’s account at the State Treasury. In 2024, the Fund received 62 project applications, supported 38 projects totaling about 1.5 mln euros, and also provided support to 25 Holocaust survivors.
The General Meeting decided to make changes to the articles of CJCL, namely: to rename the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia to the Jewish Community of Latvia (JCL), and to expand the number of board members to ten persons.
The following individuals were unanimously elected to the JCL board:
President – Arkady Suharenko; Vice Presidents – Benjamin Kajem, Dmitry Krupnikov (Riga Jewish Community), David Kagan (Riga Jewish Religious Community), Anna Petrova (Liepaja Jewish Religious Community); Board Members – Vitaly Gotlib (Chairman of the Board of Trustees), Riva Urjutova (Daugavpils Jewish Community), Rabbi Shimon Kutnovsky-Liak (Jurmala Jewish Community), Raja Legkodimova (Jekabpils Jewish Community), Roman Suhobokov (Rezekne Jewish Religious Community).
Currently, the Jewish Community of Latvia unites 13 communities and organizations from 8 cities:
Riga Jewish Community
Riga Jewish Religious Community
Chabad-Lubavitch Religious Community
Daugavpils Jewish Community
Daugavpils Jewish Religious Community
Liepaja Jewish Religious Community
Jurmala Jewish Community
Jekabpils Jewish Community
Rezekne Jewish Religious Community
Jelgava Jewish Community
Ventspils Jewish Community “Hevre Hahomim”
Liepaja Jewish Heritage Foundation
Association “Goral”
18.07.2024.