The small Jewish community of Albania has its first Chief Rabbi who was inaugurated earlier this week in the main synagogue of the capital Tirana in the presence of Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Israel’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.
The inauguration of Rabbi Joel Kaplan, formerly the Chabad emissary in Thessaloniki, Greece, is the result of a meeting held a few months ago in Brussels between Prime Minister Berisha and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE), an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of Jewish communities in Europe.
During the meeting the RCE expressed to Berisha its gratitude for the fact that the Albanians helped in sheltering and saving many Jews during the Holocaust.
The inauguration ceremony, including the traditional agreement between a community and its new chief rabbi, was attended by Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, deputy director of the RCE and Rabbi Gershon Mendel Garelik, head of the Rabbinical Court in Milano, Italy, and founder of the RCE.
"The Rabbinical Centre of Europe’s mission is to assist any European Jewish community, whether it’s large or small, affiliated or non-affiliated," said RCE spokesman Rabbi Asher Gold.
"The Albanian Jewry has a long and illustrious history and the current community needs a spiritual leader to ensure its vitality and continuity," he added.
150 Jews are believed to live in the country but this number is buttressed by large numbers of Jewish tourists and businessmen who visit the small nation.
Rabbi Kaplan has expressed his desire to reinvigorate the community.
The Albanian Jewry dates back over 1,300 years, but was at its peak after many Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula made it their home.
During the country's Communist era however, the Socialist People's Republic of Albania banned all religions, including Judaism.
After the fall of Communism in 1991, most of the Albanian Jews moved to Israel.