Former building of Chisinau synagogue disputed in court

The Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Moldova announced at a news conference on June 12 that it would not cede the building of the former synagogue located in Chisinau. The building is now used by the American-Jewish organization “Joint”, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Association came into possession of the building at the end of the 90s. In 2001, “Joint” proposed restoring and extending the building in exchange for allowing it to own the organization for the period of the repair works. Afterward, in accordance with the signed contracts, the old part of the building was to be returned to the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities, while the new constructions were to be used by the American-Jewish organization for charitable work. A conflict arouse when, according to representatives of the Association, “Joint” did not want to honor its obligations and kept the building in its possession. Alexandr Pincevskii, co-president of the Association, accused “Joint” of pursuing an aggressive policy towards other charitable organizations from Moldova and abroad, using the powerful influence it has in different institutions. He said that the organization has no right to the new rooms of the building because they had been built from sponsors’ funds as it does not have financial resources, but manages them as part of charity activities. He also said that the Association is now forced to rent rooms in downtown Chisinau from its own money so that the Association could work. Representatives of the Association said that they sued “Joint” to court in September 2007 in order to get the building back and they won the case. The American-Jewish organization appealed against the decision, but this is a waste of time, according to the Association. The court is to make a final decision on the case towards the end of June. The Association’s co-president Alexandr Belinskis said that the Association will not yield up its historical property and will make everything possible to get it back. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, officials of “Joint” refused to comment on the accusations leveled by the Association against them. The disputed building was constructed by the Moldovan Jewry in the XIX century.