A Place in History
After the breakup of the former socialist republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the Jewish community in a newly independent Macedonia set out to explore its Sephardic Jewish heritage against the backdrop of crisis in the Balkans. Through a tight-knit network of members and a close partnership with JDC, Macedonian Jews have overcome the tides of history to create a meaningful Jewish communal life.

Contrary to the trend elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the current Jewish population is comprised mostly of middle and young generation Jews and only a small number of elderly. Needy Holocaust survivors receive regular JDC-supported welfare assistance, while community doctors and other members supplement this care through volunteer services. The community also carries out JDC non-sectarian activities, enhancing its own local standing while assisting its non-Jewish neighbors.

The community is concentrated almost exclusively in the capital, Skopje, where JDC sustains an ongoing revival of Jewish life after nearly half a century of assimilation. Initiatives include monthly visits by the Belgrade-based chief rabbi for Yugoslavia and Macedonia, a communal seder and a Macedonian translation/transliteration of the siddur. JDC also facilitates community participation in regional events, such as the annual Beyachad (Together) seminar in Croatia for families from the former Yugoslavia and the Lauder/JDC Summer Camp in Szarvas, Hungary.

In the ancient town of Bitola, the 500-year-old Jewish cemetery stands as a reminder of this once vibrant, Ladino-speaking community that was almost entirely destroyed during the Holocaust. Neglected since the war, a JDC-sponsored work/study program has enabled local and other European youth volunteers to begin the task of cleaning and restoring this symbol of Macedonian Jewry's importance in the cultural history of the nation.

Today, Macedonia's 200 Jews meet their evolving needs with pride and dedication, despite ongoing economic and political volatility in the region. With support from JDC, they have impact on Balkan Jewish life beyond their numbers and continue to be a light unto the Jewish world.

2005