The once prosperous and active Jewish community of Sarajevo has shrunk from its peak population of 10,000 to some 600 today and some of the members of the community believe that it will shortly disappear, the New York Times reported today in a dispatch from the Yugoslavian city.
The Times reported that in the now neglected synagogue in the most famous Jewish community of the pre-Hitler Balkans there were only the rabbi and 18 worshippers attending the services on the first night of Passover this year. Further, only 30 men, women and children–only two were children–participated in a Seder which followed the services.
Before the services began, the dispatch noted, a larger number of Jews attended a reception, but these because of their Communist beliefs and party discipline would not attend the religious services and the Seder.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
