Last week, at the general assembly of members of the Jewish Cultural Society of Daugavpils, the chairman of the society, Bluma Rein resigned. Chanan Sperling was unanimously elected as the new chairman of the Jewish Cultural Society.
Mr. Sperling will now combine two positions, as he will also remain the chairman of the Jewish Community of Daugavpils, which is affiliated with the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and Baltic Countries.
Mrs. Rein’s request to step down was well-received, as she will be moving to Israel to join her son there. Israel is currently home to approximately 2,500 Jews from Daugavpils. Only about 250 Jews remain in Daugavpils.
The Daugavpils Jewish community is supported by funds received from renting out property that was returned to the Jewish community by the Latvian Government, as well as from the American Joint Distribution Committee.
The community runs a number of cultural clubs and organizations as well as an historic society. Members are currently preparing the fifth edition of the book “Jews in Daugavpils.”
According to Mr. Sperling, plans for the near future include a visit to Riga to meet with the chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia, Arkady Sukharenko.