Czech Republic

Overview

After the Holocaust, the names of nearly 70,000 murdered Czech Jews were painted on the walls of the sanctuary in the 500-year-old Pinkas Synagogue. The Czechoslovak communist regime erased entire sections, but with the collapse of communism, the names were restored. In like manner, Jewish life in the Czech Republic has revived during the past two decades.

The Czech economy is weathering the current economic crisis better than most. A pioneer in restituting formerly nationalized Jewish communal property, the Czech Republic has led the way in rendering the nation’s Jewish communities financially independent.

Need

Nonetheless, the Jewish communities of the Czech Republic still require assistance in creating and sustaining social service programs for the elderly, virtually all of whom are Holocaust survivors. Although the Prague Community in particular supports major institutions such as the Gur Aryeh Lauder Jewish School, innovative individuals and groups often need an initial investment by JDC to launch new programs.

Response

JDC provides technical and professional assistance, training opportunities, and modest financial support to launch new initiatives in Jewish education and community development. JDC efforts include:

• Consultative services and fundraising support that enabled the Prague Jewish community to open HaGibor, a modern Jewish old age home for 60 residents in a thoroughly renovated and expanded historic building
• Backing a broad-based effort to transform HaGibor into a multigenerational center, with programs for pre-schoolers, young children, students, and families

Impact

On a shoestring budget, JDC still manages to impact the lives of Czech Jewry:

• 120 families each year participate in a bi-national Czech-Slovak Limmud-style weekend retreat, hosted by JDC
• More than a dozen Czech youth from outlying areas attend the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation/JDC International Summer Camp in Szarvas, Hungary, where they explore their Judaism
• A newly introduced computerized management program provides a helpful guide for extensive welfare services
• An historic ceremonial house (Beit HaTaharah), at a Jewish cemetery, has been salvaged

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