Iceland’s Jewish community marked a historic milestone this week with the inauguration of Schwidler House in Reykjavik, the first Jewish center and Jewish cultural center in the country’s history.
The new three-story building, covering about 840 square meters, will serve the small local Jewish community as well as thousands of Jewish tourists who visit Iceland each year.
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the opening of Iceland’s first Jewish center in Reykjavik
(Photo: Israel Sudry, chabad.org)
The center was established by Chabad emissaries in Iceland, Rabbi Avraham Feldman and his wife, Mushky, who have been active in the country since 2018. Iceland is home to an estimated 100 to 300 Jews.
Until now, Jewish community activity in Iceland took place out of the Feldmans’ private home and temporary spaces. For more than a century of Jewish life in the country, Iceland had no permanent Jewish center or organized synagogue, making Reykjavik the only European capital without a permanent rabbi.
“We dreamed of this moment for years,” Rabbi Feldman said at the dedication ceremony. “And today we are sitting inside the dream that became reality. This is a home where every Jew can come in, feel at home and simply be Jewish.”
The new center will include a Judaica and kosher food shop, a community events hall, educational and cultural programming and a new permanent exhibition titled “Jewish Life in Iceland.”
The Jewish community building
(Photo: Israel Sudry, chabad.org)
The exhibition will present the history of Jewish life on the island for the first time through documents and photographs tracing more than 100 years of Jewish history in the country.
More than 100 guests attended the opening ceremony, including rabbis from Scandinavian countries, public figures and diplomatic representatives.
Among the speakers was a member of parliament and former mayor of Reykjavik, who said the new center would serve as “a living bridge connecting cultures, dispelling ignorance and promoting dialogue and understanding.”
He added that many Jews in Iceland had hesitated for years to say openly that they were Jewish, making education and dialogue especially important.
The ceremony at Iceland’s Jewish center
(Photo: Israel Sudry, chabad.org)
Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir also sent a letter of congratulations. In the letter, she described the center’s opening as “an important milestone for the Jewish community and for Icelandic society” and expressed hope for continued cooperation between Iceland’s government and the Jewish community.
The center is named after businessman and philanthropist Eugene Shwidler, one of the project’s main donors, alongside other philanthropists who helped fund its construction.