Overview
- The Beit Shvidler Jewish Center of Iceland opened its doors in downtown Reykjavík on July 7, establishing the country’s first permanent Jewish center.
- The renovated three-story, roughly 9,000-square-foot building houses a synagogue, seminar and youth rooms, a Judaica and kosher shop, a community kitchen, a security center, and a Gallery of Jewish Life in Iceland.
- Chabad emissaries Rabbi Avraham Feldman and his wife Mushky, who arrived in 2018 and built local services from their home, led the purchase and conversion of the building.
- A separate geothermal mikvah has planning approvals and organizers are aiming to break ground toward the end of the summer, marking the next major step for fully observant family life on the island.
- Funded largely by private donors and named for philanthropist Eugene Shvidler, the center will serve Iceland’s small Jewish community of roughly 100–300 people and make Reykjavík a practical destination for thousands of Jewish visitors each year, though visitors are advised to coordinate visits in advance given the community’s size.