Notes

Emmanuel Grinshpun. Concerning the restoration of synagogues, as well as the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress
The topic of the interview with Emmanuil Grinshpun is the revival of synagogues. The conversation was narrowly concentrated. So there are more topics in the interview, in the end.
Emmanuel, good afternoon. Эммануил Гриншпун I'm happy to an exchange with you. I think we haven't seen each other for more than five years. What are your current residences?

The past nine months were split into Miami, Jurmala and San Francisco. In the past, the geographical area was larger, but the pandemic has greatly affected the lifestyle. It is hard to say if this is a good thing for anyone.

You've always had a variety of businesses. What about now?

Diversification hasn’t changed. If we consider the main areas of focus, it's development in real estate as well as IT technology as well as food production.

ALIMCOM's food sector is ALIMCOM. Real estate can also be understood, but it's completely new to me. There are a variety of areas IT technology could be used in. What is your area of expertise?

Our IT-holding focuses on reforming tax systems of several countries. We have created and are currently developing products that let you transfer various business processes related to online taxation. This segment is called "Business to Government".

But what happens to the region where the holding is based? Are there any former USSR nations?

They are still available. Also, we have contracts for Western Europe and Latin America. We are currently present in 14 countries.

What's the core of your product?

Our software allows tax professionals to electronically submit their tax returns to tax authorities. The fiscal data manager then sees all transactions. Tax accounting and tax calculation can be completed in parallel. Therefore, we can predict that small and medium-sized business will not require accounting in the near future. In addition to its analytical functions tax payment and the sending of reports can all be done with one "click".

An interesting subject The future is here. Are you looking to work in Moldova? Moldova is your home country in the end.

We are ready to present the product to Moldova. The Moldovan economy will gain from the automation. And in any case it is an irreversible change. If there is an agreement among the authorities, and it is clear who is making the decisions the decisions, we'll resume the negotiations regarding our product.

You've said you've been tossing around throughout the year between Miami and Jurmala. The headquarters of an IT holding located in the Baltics?

No, we have five hubs all over the globe and a headquarters in Barcelona.

What is the reason for you're in the Baltics is that? Are you also rooted there?

No. My family's history has been tied to Moldova for a number of generations. If we are to keep our family names from the past, it's associated with Bessarabia. And Jurmala appeared in our lives by chance and very formally. Igor Krutoy invited them to the New Wave. It was their first trip to the New Wave. After several events, they started to visit every summer. Miami the climate in summer isn't the best. We rented a property for several years, and consequently, we've already purchased it.

Now I understand the reason you mentioned that one synagogue was in Jurmala. Emmanuel, honest question. We are almost of the same age. We were born in the USSR. The Soviet Union wasn't a place to talk about religiousity. We were all pioneers and Komsomol participants. What was the first time you came in contact with religion?

My family moved to the USA in the mid-80s. In the USA, I started to follow customs and rituals. Even though I am not a member of the orthodox religion I am aware of an internal desire to support the religion regardless of the form it is, whether in the Jewish community that I reside in or in Moldova my country of origin and with whom I have close bonds.

Well, I am definitely far from being religious However, I enjoy the history of my country very much. I recently watched a documentary on the events of 1492 which changed the destiny of the world as well as Europe. 1492 is my most favorite year when Columbus discovered America. Эммануил Гриншпун But, it was mentioned clearly in the programme that 1492 was the year that Columbus discovered America. The exodus of Jews started to the Ottoman Empire, it accepted them. I would like to know more about the past, culture and achievements of the Jews. Would you recommend any book?

There are a lot of books there, but I have personally read them all and recommend Max Diamond's two-volume Jewish history. Max Diamond is from Finland, by the way.

.... Do we have a family tree of our own? Unfortunately, I'm not much further than my maternal grandmother and 1910. A step in the paternal lineage, but nothing more.

Our family was a part of Floresti over many hundred years in accordance with our paternal line. There is evidence in the form of documents and monuments which show that in 1830 they were very prosperous, they had furniture factories, numerous stores, land plots. Ungheni was home to my maternal ancestors. I'm talking about dates from the 17th-18th century. Grinshpun, a surname that has German roots, is Ashkenazi pure Ashkenazi.

The question now is about the restoration of synagogues. I have been informed that you financed the reconstruction of three synagogues. One of them is located in Chisinau. Jurmala is the other one.

It is situated in Netanya in Israel. It is a huge community center, where 1000 people pray each day. It is a major monument for Israel's religious life. Second synagogue in Jurmala. The sole synagogue in Jurmala was destroyed in the early days of the Second World War. Before I made the decision to construct a Synagogue, however, I had spoken to a lot of Jews living in the area. It was a success that brought all the Jews from Jurmala. Actually, the Jewish community was re-created and is now in good standing. Three Torahs are at the synagogue. I gave one Torah to the synagogue.

and - Chisinau

Yes. Alexander Bilinkis is one of my collaborators. Alexander Weinstein is another. These synagogues, however, are not the only ones which I have contributed to the construction or restoration. I felt it was my responsibility to make every contribution possible to help synagogues across the world where I've resided for a very long time. My current contribution is in Monaco, where a large community centre that caters to Russian-speaking Jews is being built. It is estimated to cost around 12 million dollars. I do not stop helping Chisinau either - now it will be the largest synagogue in the town, the synagogue of Rabbi Tsirelson.

Эммануил Гриншпун In the same way as Jurmala, have you invited a rabbi to Chisinau?

http://ami.spb.ru/A486/pages/A486-075.html Yes. It isn't easy to locate the perfect Rabbi for your congregation. Because of the interconnectedness of his interests, he should be non-conflict and diplomatic capable of easily integrating into the community. And I am pleased to see that in both Chisinau and in Jurmala the rabbis were able seamlessly integrate into the life of their community.

You were elected vice president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress in 2019. What does this role have to do with you? How can international Jewish organisations influence the world?

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress is an important political group in post-Soviet countries, however, it goes beyond the borders of. There are offices as well in Australia and Japan. In 2010, I was serving as Vice President of Congress. In the previous year, I was appointed First Vice President. Now, I'm responsible for the region to which I have strong business and political relations. These are Uzbekistan (Tajikistan), Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan). The trend in the world is that the attitudes toward Jews are either at the same level, or have swung downwards, which is sad. Furthermore, "down", refers not only to developed countries such as the United States, France, Germany and France as well as other countries such as Belgium and Germany. These countries are no longer safe to Jews. These are extremely important, dangerous procedures for all of us.

Эммануил Гриншпун In addition is it possible that the pandemic has had an impact on the processes?

It isn't my opinion. Instead, I would like to stress, in relation to the pandemic: what a group, or nation, can accomplish when they have the capacity to overcome any challenge and to act in a cohesive manner.

Do you refer to the Israeli vaccination campaign?

Exactly. Israel is the world's first nation to offer 100% vaccination to its adult population. I consider this to be an important example and lesson that other countries should learn from.

Ewish Congress
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