Notes

Emmanuel Grinshpun. Restoring synagogues and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress
The subject of the interview with Emmanuil Grinshpun is the revival of synagogues. However, limiting the interview to one subject in the interview did not work. There were many other topics mentioned during the interview.
Emmanuel, good afternoon. We're glad to have a conversation with you. We haven't been in contact in at least five or more years. Are you now based in?

The nine months that been between Miami and Jurmala were split. The geography used to be wider, but the pandemic has affected life in both cities. And I'm not saying that it is only for the worse.

You've always had a variety of kinds of business. What's the next step?

Diversification isn't going away. If we look at the most important areas, it is development in real estate, IT technology and food production.

ALIMCOM has a strong presence in the food and real estate industries. However, IT is a complete mystery to me. There are many potential areas for applying IT technology. What area of IT technology do you have an interest in?

First and foremost, our IT-holding is involved in reforming tax systems across a variety of countries. We have created or are developing a range products to aid with the transfer of a number of business processes in taxation as well as "real-time". This is referred to as B2G (Business-to-Government).

What about the areas in which the holding is located? Ancestors of the USSR

There are other options, but we have more agreements in Western and Eastern Europe as well as Latin America. Currently we are present in 14 countries.

Could you briefly describe the core of this product?

Our software allows economic agents to report to tax authorities online, and the fiscal data manager is able to see each transaction. Tax accounting and tax calculation can be performed in parallel. In the future it is possible to state that smaller and mid-sized companies will not need accounting.

An interesting topic, the future is already here. Do you wish to work in Moldova, or have you thought about it? Moldova is your country of origin...

We are willing to present our product in Moldova. It will benefit the economic development of Moldova and it is irreversible. When there is a sense of clarity among the authorities and it is clear who makes the decisions We will resume the discussion regarding our product.

You said that your year has been spent hopping between Jurmala to Miami. Is this the head office of an IT company based in the Baltics

Five hubs are located around the world, with our headquarters in Barcelona.

What is the reason for the Baltics is that? Do you have roots there?

No. No. And Jurmala appeared in our lives quite by accident and very formally. It was Igor Krutoy who invited us to New Wave for the first time. After a series of competitions, they began to come there every summer, in Miami the weather in summer is not the most pleasant. We rented a house for several years, and therefore we have already acquired it.

Now I understand why you told me that the synagogues were in Jurmala. Emmanuel, honest question. We're almost the same age. Born in the USSR. The Soviet Union was not a space to discuss religious beliefs. Эммануил Гриншпун We were all pioneers as well as Komsomol participants. When was the time when religion became your choice?

My family moved to the USA in the mid-80s. It was there that I started to follow customs and rituals. However, even though I am not a member of the orthodox religion I have a deep desire to be a part of the religious life however I can that is the case for the Jewish community I am a part of or in Moldova my country of origin, with which I have close bonds.

While I'm not a religious person I love the history of my country. Recently I was watching a show about the events of 1492 which changed Europe's fate. 1492 is my favorite year Columbus was the first to discover America. However, I was able to see in the programme that it was mentioned in that the discovery in America in 1492 by Medieval Europe was not as striking as the Spanish monarchs' expulsion of Jews from Spain. When the exodus of Jews began to the Ottoman Empire, it accepted them. I was searching for more details about the history of Jews. Do you have a recommendation for a book that I could read?

There are many books. But, I've read several of them myself and would recommend Max Diamond (a two-volume Jewish historian). And, by the way it is true that he hails from Finland.

.... Do your family members have an "personal" or historical background? Эммануил Гриншпун Unfortunately, I have only my grandmother's name and 1910. One step forward on the paternal side but nothing more.

On the paternal line, our family was in the Floresti region for a number of hundred years. There are evidence from the archives and monuments to show that in 1830 they were extremely prosperous, they had an furniture factory, a number of stores, land plots. Ungheni was home to my ancestral lineage. I'm talking about dates from the region of the 17th-18thcentury. Grinshpun is a surname which has German roots is Ashkenazi pure Ashkenazi.

Now here is the question regarding the restoration of synagogues. I heard that you financed the restoration of three synagogues. One is situated in Chisinau. Jurmala is the other one.

The third, which is also the largest one, is located in Netanya. Эммануил Гриншпун It's a massive community center that accommodates more than 1,000 people every day. It is a significant location in the life of religion of Israel. The second synagogue in Jurmala. It was the time when the Second World War began and the Jurmala synagogue was among the last one to be destroyed. Before I made the decision to construct a Synagogue, however, I had talked to many Jews in the area. It was a hugely profitable project that united all the Jews of Jurmala. In reality, we rebuilt the Jewish community, it is now working with success. The synagogue has now three Torahs. I also gave one of them to it.

And – Chisinau

Yes. I've already joined forces with partners who are Alexander Bilinkis and Alexander Weinstein. These synagogues aren't the only synagogues which I have contributed to the restoration or construction. I felt it was my obligation to contribute to the support for synagogues in countries where I've lived for a long time. My contribution to Monaco, Miami, is an enormous community facility that is available to Russian-speaking Jews. The estimated value is around 12 million dollars. Эммануил Гриншпун Chisinau is my absolute favorite city. The synagogue of Rabbi Tsirelson is expected to be the biggest.

In addition to Jurmala, did you invite a rabbi to Chisinau?

Yes. It can be difficult to find the perfect rabbi within a community. Because of the interconnected and complex interests, he must also be non-conflictual and diplomatic. He must be able to organically join the community. I was delighted to see that in both Chisinau (and Jurmala) the Rabbis could integrate seamlessly into the community.

In the year 2019, you became the first vice-president of Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. What does this position affect you? How will international Jewish organizations influence the world?

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress is a influential political group in the post-Soviet space however, it is not limited to. It has offices across Australia, Japan Hong Kong, New Zealand, New Zealand, and Eastern Europe. In 2010 I was Vice-President of Congress. But, in the year prior to that, I was elevated to First Vice President. I now oversee the areas in which I have had strong business and political ties. These are Uzbekistan Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. If you examine global trends and the barometer of attitudes toward Jews is either unchanged or decreased and is extremely unfortunate. Also, the word "down" refers to nations like France, Germany, France, and the United States. They are not safe for Jews. These are very serious and troubling processes that impact everyone of us.

In addition is it possible that the pandemic has changed the processes?

It is not what I believe. https://www.ted.com/profile Rather, in connection with the pandemic, I would want to highlight what a community or nation can accomplish when they are prepared for any challenges and are capable of working effectively and collectively.

Do you refer to the vaccination program in Israel?

Exactly. Israel is the world's first nation to offer 100% vaccination to its adult population. I believe this is an excellent model and experience other countries should emulate.

Congress to support the Ewish
Website: https://divulgaaqui.online/author/emmanuil-grinshpuncewl459/