Bendery Jewish Community
Bendery, now known as Tighina, is a port city on the Dniester River in East Moldova has a very interesting history. During the 14th century, a Genuese colony called Tigin was built here. The Moldovan name ‘Tighina’ derives from the old Genuese name. Between the two World Wars, Bendery became a Romanian town and was renamed Tighina. Since 1944, it belonged to the Moldovan SSR. In 1992, Bendery became the main battlefield of the war between the secessionist Transdniestran (Russian) army and the Moldovan army.
Kishinev Jewish Community
Kishinev – Capital of the republic of Moldova, part of the former Soviet Union, became a flourishing Jewish center in the 18th century, when the growing economy presented new commercial and industrial opportunities. By the turn of the century Jews owned a score of factories employing thousands of Jewish workers; there were 16 Jewish schools with 2,100 students, and 70 synagogues.
Rybnitsa Jewish Community
Rybnitsa was founded in 1650. After 1918, the town became part of the Soviet Russia. From 1990, it belongs to Pridnestrovye/Transdniestria. Rybnitsa is an industrial center of the unacknowledged Transdniestrian Republic. A big steel works is situated in the town. Also its industry produces construction materials, food and clothes.
Tiraspol Jewish Community
Tiraspol is a city located in the Southeast of Moldova. Since the 17th century, this city has always had a thriving Jewish presence. By 1897, the Jewish community equaled 27 percent of the total population of Tiraspol (8,668). During the Holocaust, nearly the entire Jewish community perished in Nazi concentration camps. After World War II, the Jewish community began to grow once again and, by the 1960s, there were nearly 1,500 Jews
Dubossary Jewish Community
Dubossary was founded at the end of the 17th century. Defending the border of old Europe against the Muslims on the Moldovan side, Dubossary was one of the fortress towns on the Dniester River.
The fortress town Dubossary is located on the banks of the Dniester River, on what was in the past a main transport artery equal in importance to the Danube.
Soroky Jewish Community
Soroki is a city in northern Moldova. Jewish settlement in Soroki is first recorded in 1657. An organized community, however, dates back to the 18th century. During this period, Soroki had 157 Jewish families and was led by Rabbi David Solomon Eibenschutz. By 1897, there were 8,763 Jews, making up over half of the population of Soroki. During the 19th century, most Jews in Soroki, engaged in agriculture, grew primarily tobacco and grapes. The economic crisis of the 1880s caused many Jews to immigrate to other nations in search of economic prosperity.