Notes

Emmanuel Grinshpun. Concerning the restoration of synagogues, as well as the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress
The topic of the interview with Emmanuil Ginshpun was the restoration of synagogues. The conversation was narrowly focused. So there are more questions to be discussed in the interview in the end.
Emmanuel, good afternoon. It was nice to talk with you. Эммануил Гриншпун We haven't seen each other for at least 5 or more years. Where are you currently living?

The last nine months were split between Miami (Miami) and Jurmala (Jurmala). The geography was far greater in the past, but the pandemic impacted the living style. This isn't all.

You've always had several business lines. What do you do now?

Diversification isn't going away. If we consider the key areas, then it's development in real estate, IT technology, as well as food production.

ALIMCOM has a strong presence in the real estate and food industries. However, IT is a complete mystery to me. There are a million possibilities to use IT technology. What IT-related field do you have an interest in?

Our IT-holding is occupied with tax reforms, but first, with tax system reforms across a variety of countries. We have created and are currently working on tools that allow you to transfer a variety of business processes that relate to taxation online. This type of business is called B2G (Business-to-Government).

What are the locations where the holding is in operation? The former countries from the USSR?

They exist. We have more agreements in Western, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. We currently have operations across 14 countries.

Эммануил Гриншпун What's the core of your product?

Our product makes it possible for economic agents to submit tax reports online. The fiscal data manager can see every transaction. Tax calculation and tax accounting can be simultaneously handled. Therefore, in the future, we will be able to claim that medium and small firms will no longer require accounting, unless it is for an analysis, and the process of paying taxes and sending out reports can be accomplished with just one "click".

This is an interesting topic. Did you ever consider being employed in Moldova? Moldova is your country of origin...

We are willing to present our product in Moldova. This will benefit the economic development of Moldova and it is irreversible. In the near future, once there is clarity from the authorities and it's clear who makes the decisions, we will return to the discussions regarding our product.

You said that you've been tossing about all year long between Miami, Jurmala. Where is the headquarters of an IT holding in the Baltics?

No, there are five hubs all over the globe and our headquarters is located in Barcelona.

The Baltics are not the only reason why? Do you have roots there also?

No. My family's history is tied to Moldova for a number of generations. If we are to keep our historical names, then it's in Bessarabia. And Jurmala came into our lives quite by accident and quite prosaically. https://www.ivfrt.ru/news/novosti-rynka/emmanuil-grinshpun-o-vnzh-v-latvii-za-investitsii/ It was Igor Krutoy who invited us to New Wave for the first time. The group began making it a regular summer trip after several competitions. But, the climate in Miami is not very pleasant during the summer. We rented the house for a number of years, and recently bought the property.

Now I understand why you told me that there were synagogues located in Jurmala. Emmanuel, honest question. We're pretty similar in age. Born in the USSR. We were all Komsomol members and pioneers back then. What was your first time you changed your religion?

In the late 80s, my family and me moved to the USA in the mid-80s, and we can say that it was during this time that I started to follow the customs and practices of my culture. While I'm not part of the traditional religion of Christianity I am still adamant about the need to support, to my best ability as I can, the religion of the Jewish communities in the countries I live in or in Moldova. That's where I came from and which I have continued to share the most close connections with.

You see, although I'm far from being religion-based, the subject of history is one I really enjoy. Recently, I was intrigued by a documentary that covered the events that occurred in 1492. They changed the destiny of Europe and the world. For me, 1492 is the year in which Columbus was the first to discover America. The program I was watching clearly stated that the discovery America in 1492 was not as significant as the Spanish monarchs exile of Jews from Spain. https://techplanet.today/post/emmanuil-grinspun-1 The Ottoman Empire accepted the Jews at the time of the exodus. I wanted to learn more about the history, culture and achievements of the Jews. Would you recommend a book me?

There are a lot of books. I've read the majority of them. I would recommend Max Diamond, a two-volume Jewish historian. He is Finnish himself.

.... Are you conversant with the history of your family? Unfortunately, my family tree is just one step further than 1910 and my grandmother. A step on the paternal side but nothing more.

Our family was a resident of Floresti for many hundred years on the paternal side. There are monuments and evidence which show that they were rich in 1830. Ungheni was home to my ancestral grandparents. We're talking about dates in the region between the 17th and 18th centuries. Grinshpun is a surname with German roots, which means we're the pure Ashkenazi of Eastern Europe.

Let's now discuss the restoration of synagogues. I heard that you have funded the restoration of three synagogues. One of them is located in Chisinau. Jurmala is the third.

The third and largest is located in Netanya, Israel. It's a large community center which houses up to 1000 people every day. This is an important building to support the religious life in Israel. Second synagogue in Jurmala. The sole synagogue in Jurmala was destroyed at the beginning of the Second World War. Before I decided on building an orthodox church in Jurmala I had already talked to local Jews. It was an extremely success project that brought together all the Jews of Jurmala. The project actually renovated the Jewish community and it is operating well. Three Torahs are currently in the synagogue. I donated one Torah to the synagogue.

and Chisinau

Yes. Alexander Bilinkis is one of my collaborators. Эммануил Гриншпун Alexander Weinstein is another. These three synagogues were not the only ones where I was involved in restoration and construction. I believed it was my obligation to make any contribution possible to the support for synagogues in countries where I have lived for a very long time. My contribution to Monaco, Miami, is a large community facility for Russian-speaking Jews. Its estimated amount is 12 million USD. I do not stop helping Chisinau as well. In the near future, it will be the biggest synagogue in the city, that of Rabbi Tsirelson.

Have you invited Rabbis to Chisinau along with Jurmala?

Yes. It can be difficult to find the ideal rabbi for the community. Due to the many interests that are involved, the rabbi has to be diplomatic and non-conflictual capable of integrating organically into the community's life. I am very happy to see that in both Chisinau and in Jurmala, the rabbis were able to integrate so harmoniously into the lives of the community.

In 2019, you became the first vice-president of Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. What does this position have for you? And how do international Jewish organisations influence global trends?

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress has been a prominent political organization in post-Soviet Europe, but it's not the only one. It has branches in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. Эммануил Гриншпун In 2010, I was Vice President of Congress. In the year prior I was elected as the First Vice-President. This time, I'm responsible for the region where I have historically strong business and political ties - these are known as the "countries", Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. If you look at trends worldwide, the barometer on attitudes towards Jews has either remained unchanged or decreased in a very negative way, which is incredibly sad. "Down" is also a reference to countries like France, Germany or France that are currently developing. https://stmegi.com/posts/61743/evreyskie-lidery-obsudili-v-moldove-voprosy-borby-s-antisemitizmom/ These are not suitable for Jews. These are very dangerous, alarming processes for us all.

Have these processes been affected by the pandemic?

That is not my belief. To be more specific, I would rather highlight the possibilities of a society or nation when they are prepared to meet any challenge and can effectively and with respect to the pandemic.

What are you referring to?

Exactly. Israel is the only country in the world to offer 100% vaccination for its adult population. I consider this to be an excellent example and a lesson which other countries can take note of.

Congress at Ewish
My Website: https://techplanet.today/post/emmanuil-grinspun-1