Preserving Jewish Identity

In 1955, the year she was born, Suzanna’s family moved from Bulgaria to Albania where her mother raised her with a strong sense of Jewish identity, a rare attempt to preserve a family’s Jewish heritage under one of the most restrictive Communist regimes.  So Suzanna jumped at the opportunity to be a part of a Jewish community when JDC began its Albania program after the collapse of Communist rule.

An engineer who has attended Lion of Judah conferences in Israel and the United States, Suzanna now serves as the liaison to families receiving JDC welfare assistance, distributes matzah sent in by JDC for Pesach and organizes local holiday celebrations.  In addition, she and her husband assisted JDC in its non-sectarian efforts on behalf of Kosovar refugees who fled to Albania in 1999 and on development projects in Kosovo itself.  Even closer to home, Suzanna’s daughter has fulfilled the family dream, making aliyah to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

"Our small Jewish community has no long-term future," Suzanna sadly admits, "but with JDC’s help, we try to do our best for our families and for our community in passing on Jewish traditions."