Community in Montenegro - World Jewish Congress

Montenegro

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The Years of the Holocaust

Religious and Community Life

Relations with Israel

The local Jewish community of Montenegro, which reportedly numbered about 500 in 2023, consists of both Ashkenazim and Sephardim who speak both Ladino and Yiddish. At the end of January 2012, the Jewish community and the government signed the Act on Mutual Relations, under which Judaism was recognized as the fourth official religion of Montenegro.

Montenegro is a highly multi-confessional country, and there is no public manifestation of antisemitism. Moreover, there is great respect for the Jewish people and their contribution to world civilization. The community is vibrant and active in different fields, especially in organizing the annual “Mahar Conference," a central meeting point for Jewish communities in the Balkan region. This conference aims to prevent the assimilation of Jews in the region and establish cooperation between the region's Jewish communities.

The Jewish community in Montenegro is represented by the Jewish Community of Montenegro, the Montenegrin affiliate of the World Jewish Congress.

WJC Affiliate

Jewish Community of Montenegro

Phone: +382 20 622930
Mobile: +382 69 560 878
Email: jevzajcg@gmail.com
Website: www.jevzajcg.me

Social Media:
Facebook: Jewish community of Montenegro-Jevrejska zajednica Crne Gore
Instagram: @jewishcommunity.mne
X: @jevzajcg
YouTube: Jevrejska Zajednica

President: Nina Ofner Bokan

History

The first traces of Jewish presence in Montenegro date back to ancient Duklja, the ruins of which are located close to the center of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. Archaeologists have ascertained that the graves discovered in its necropolis belonged to Jews.

By the 12th century, the Jews living within the borders of present-day Montenegro's surrounding towns of Pljevlja, Plav, Gusinj, Bijelo Polje, Berane, and Ulcinj (then ruled by the Ottoman Empire) were generally well received. Most of the Sephardim were from Spain and Portugal (as well as Constantinople starting in the 16th century) and were largely involved in salt trading. The early Montenegrin Jewish community was also hugely influential in the trade route linking the northern and southern ends of the lands ruled by the Ottomans. In her work “Traces of Jews in the Bay of Kotor,” Lenka Blehova Celebic emphasizes the influence Jews had on the development of commerce in those regions, especially in organizing international commerce.

Some notable Jews that were buried in ancient Montenegro include the 17th-century Ottoman rabbi and cleric, Shabbetai Tzvi, who garnered a large following after proclaiming himself to be the Messiah. He was eventually buried in his native town, Ulcinj. Isaije Koen, a famous Jewish Portuguese doctor and poet who was better known as Flavio Eborenze Didako Piro, was buried in Herceg Novi.

A number of conflicts in the region disrupted the Montenegrin Jewish community, notably with the Serbians waging war against the Ottomans for their independence in addition to the more overarching Napoleonic war(s). The aftermath of such fighting saw the emergence of an independent Serbia in 1830 and the return of a larger number of Jewish people in the area. However, the newly independent Serbian government was somewhat hostile to its Jewish citizens, as it prohibited Jews from certain professions.

Despite fluctuations of tolerance and persecution, the Jewish community in the area remained a constant presence, largely seen in Kotor, where a large Jewish community existed. They were mostly concentrated in Kotor, as it was the administrative center. It should be mentioned that Jews were also present in these regions earlier. The fact that one part of Kotor’s cemetery was reserved for Jewish inhumations testifies to the respect Jews in the Bay of Kotor have enjoyed.

The decades following World War II saw a continued fluctuation of attitudes towards the Jewish inhabitants of modern-day Montenegro. The breakup of Yugoslavia saw the Jewish communities of the region thrown into violence. However, complete Montenegrin independence would not come to fruition until 2006. At the end of January 2012, the Jewish community and the government signed the Act on Mutual Relations, under which Judaism was recognized as the fourth official religion of Montenegro. Today, Montenegrin Jews enjoy a sense of stability that has allowed the community to prosper and flourish.

The Years of the Holocaust

After Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, Italy controlled Montenegro and imposed racial laws, although it treated Jews somewhat more leniently. On the eve of World War II, Jews from nearby regions took refuge in the mountainous area. Unfortunately, during the six months following Italy’s surrender to the Allies in September of 1943, German troops managed to find most of the remaining Jews in Montenegro. Most were taken to Nazi concentration camps in small groups, where they experienced the same fate as the rest of European Jewry.

About 300 Jews who were hidden in the northern and coastal towns of Montenegro escaped deportation and survived. After World War II, many of the survivors returned to their former homes, and their descendants make up the bulk of the present-day Jewish community of Montenegro.

Demography

The local Jewish community of Montenegro, which reportedly numbered about 500 in 2023, consists of both Ashkenazim and Sephardim who speak both Ladino and Yiddish. The Jewish community in Montenegro is one of the youngest Jewish communities in the world, having been officially registered in July 2011.

Community Life

The Jewish community in Montenegro is one of the youngest and smallest Jewish communities in the world, with around 100 active members. They celebrate all the holidays, but there is currently no synagogue in Montenegro. On property that the Montenegrin government had granted them in 2013, the community in Podgorica placed the foundation stone for a synagogue in December 2017. The synagogue will be the first in the century, for the time being.

Montenegro’s citizens are very friendly with the Jewish population, and there is no anti-Semitism in the country. The community is small but active and maintains a very good relationship with the government. At the end of January 2012, the Jewish community and the government signed the Act on Mutual Relations. Jews enjoy complete freedom to practice their religion, provided they maintain the law. Despite its small size, the Montenegrin Jewish community is well organized, with representation on a national, regional, and global scale.

The World Jewish Congress and the European Jewish Congress support the community's annual November Mahar Conference for members of the local Jewish communities.

Religious and Community Life

Though the community is quite small and largely concentrated in Podgorica, the nation’s capital, Montenegrin Jewry is very organized and tight-knit.

Chief Rabbi Moshe Prelevic, the chief rabbi of Croatia and Montenegro, provides spiritual guidance for the Jewish Community of Montenegro.

Jewish Media

In 2014, Almanah, a magazine of the Jewish Community of Montenegro, was founded to strengthen Jewish identity and preserve Jewish continuity. It features a wide range of articles by prominent rabbis, as well as Jewish writers, intellectuals, and communal leaders, on topics and individuals of interest to the community. Like the Mahar Conference, Almanah is devoted to connecting the Jews of Montenegro not only to other Jewish communities in the region but also to European Jewry generally.

Relations with Israel

Montenegro and Israel maintain full diplomatic relations, with Israel officially recognizing the country almost immediately after its independence from Serbia. Israel is represented by its embassy in Belgrade.

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