Moldovan Jews:
A Rich Legacy

3.2 million

country population

~10,000

Jewish population

1921

JDC entry date

For more than 100 years, JDC has worked to care for Moldova’s most vulnerable Jewish elderly and at-risk families and cultivate a Jewish future, creating programs and initiatives that are hopeful, authentic, and inspiring for the country’s next generation of Jewish leaders.

From the 1903 pogrom in its capital, Chișinău, to the horrors of the Holocaust, as well as the decades of repression during the Soviet regime, Moldovan Jews have weathered a challenging history. But despite this past, the country’s Jewish communities are rich in spirit – each day, they work to build Jewish life that is vibrant, dynamic, and relevant.

Moldova has long been a focal point of JDC’s work. From the organization’s earliest years, JDC has supported Jews in need and sustained Jewish communities — and since the start of the Ukraine crisis, we’re still on the ground, continuing our vital activities and delivering food, shelter, accommodation, and the spiritual support of a global Jewish family to refugees in Moldova.

Innovative Care for Moldovan Jews

In response to the rampant isolation that many elderly Jews have experienced throughout the pandemic, JDC launched JOINTECH, an initiative that alleviates loneliness by connecting thousands of elderly and isolated Jews across the former Soviet Union to family, friends, and their larger Jewish community via specially-designed smartphones.

Since its initial launch, JOINTECH programs have expanded their work in Moldova and now cover four cities – Chisinau, Balti, Tiraspol, and Ribnita – reaching over 600 clients.

JOINTECH changes lives. Many elderly Jews in Moldova are confined to their homes, cut off from a larger support system. But after participating in JOINTECH programs, many elderly people confess that this program has given them a new purpose in life. Online programs include seminars on health, history, literature and science, psychosocial support, virtual tours, physical therapy, Shabbat services, Jewish holiday celebrations, and much more.

JOINTECH in the FSU is powered by funding from the Claims Conference, JDC Board Member Marshall Weinberg, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, and UJA-Federation of New York.

Aid for Vulnerable Moldovan Jews

Many Moldovan Jews were thrown into poverty with the collapse of the Soviet Union. And today, with rising inflation and meager pensions, a significant portion of Moldova’s Jews struggle to survive on as little as $2 a day.

Despite these challenges, JDC is there, providing aid to those who need it most. Each day, JDC delivers life-saving aid to more than 2,000 elderly and nearly 300 children and families through Hesed social welfare centers in Chișinău and other cities. This assistance includes homecare, social programs, and food and medicine assistance, as well as initiatives for children with disabilities and Jewish communal programming.

Cultivating a Moldovan Jewish Future

Jewish life in Moldova is three decades into a post-Soviet renaissance. JDC was a large part of helping make that story happen, and we continue to support the next generation of Moldova’s Jews.

Thanks to JDC programs, Moldova has become a major center of vibrant Jewish life in the former Soviet Union (FSU). A major focal point is Chișinău’s Volunteer Center, which was the first to be established in the FSU. This program now operates in 51 cities and 6 countries.

For Jewish youth, JDC helps support a plethora of social, cultural, and leadership initiatives. Through programs like Active Jewish Teens (AJT) — the Jewish youth leadership network that spans 63 cities across the former Soviet Union in partnership with BBYO and the Genesis Philanthropy Group — as well as children’s programming at JDC-supported Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), Moldova’s next generations are discovering their own sense of Jewish life. And many young Moldovan Jews discover a larger Jewish world at Szarvas, the JDC-Ronald S. Lauder Foundation international Jewish summer camp in rural Hungary.

Innovative Care for Moldovan Jews

Since its initial launch, JOINTECH programs have expanded their work in Moldova and now cover four cities – Chisinau, Balti, Tiraspol, and Ribnita – reaching over 600 clients.

JOINTECH in the FSU is powered by funding from the Claims Conference, JDC Board Member Marshall Weinberg, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, and UJA-Federation of New York.

Aid for Vulnerable Moldovan Jews

Cultivating a Moldovan Jewish Future

Jewish life in Moldova is three decades into a post-Soviet renaissance. JDC was a large part of helping make that story happen, and we continue to support the next generation of Moldova’s Jews.

Innovative Care for Moldovan Jews

Since its initial launch, JOINTECH programs have expanded their work in Moldova and now cover four cities – Chisinau, Balti, Tiraspol, and Ribnita – reaching over 600 clients.

JOINTECH in the FSU is powered by funding from the Claims Conference, JDC Board Member Marshall Weinberg, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, and UJA-Federation of New York.