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Iceland Jews are left out in the cold

Though it numbers under 100 members, Iceland does have a Jewish community, and even a Jewish first lady. Some of them, however, say they're afraid to identify themselves publicly as such.
By Judy Maltz

Iako je njihov broj manji od 100 članova, Island ima Židovsku zajednicu i čak njezinu "prvu damu". Neki od njih  kažu da se boje javno identificirati kao Židovi

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REYKJAVIK - Even in this tiniest of Jewish communities, the Jews can't seem to agree. And in this case, the issue happens to be quite fundamental: Do they really want to be recognized as Jews?

On the one hand, applying for official recognition as a religion would make the Jews of Iceland eligible for state funding that could finally allow them to have their own place to worship, not to mention a Torah scroll and kosher food on the holidays. On the other hand, as American-born Mike Levin, the minuscule community's unofficial spokesman, notes, it could also open a can of worms.

"First, we would need to get everyone to sign a document saying they're Jewish, and I'm not sure everybody here would be willing to do something like that," he says. "Then, you've got to decide who becomes the leader of the community, who becomes the treasurer, and who becomes the official representative next time there's a big crisis in the Middle East and the media want some questions answered."

Depending on how you define a Jew, by most accounts, there are no more than 50 to 100 of them in this island-nation. Even considering that Iceland's total population is barely 300,000, that's still a drop in the bucket. The overwhelming majority of Icelanders belong to the Church of Iceland, which is Lutheran, but in recent years, other religions, among them Islam and Buddhism, have earned official recognition, prompting the Jewish community to consider its options. 

This past spring, Rabbi Berel Pewzner, a Chabad emissary, made a trip to Reykjavik to organize a Passover seder. Not knowing where to begin looking for Jews, he put an ad in the local newspaper inviting any and all members of the faith to attend......

"It was the first kosher seder ever held in Iceland, and we had more than 50 people join us," Pewzner recounts. Encouraged by the response, he returned in September to organize services and meals for the High Holy Days. "We had our first minyan here since World War II, and for many of those who came, it was first time they ever heard a shofar." ....