Emmanuil Grinshpun discussed the topic of the restoration of synagogues during their interview. But sticking to only one topic in the conversation didn’t work. Эммануил Гриншпун There were numerous other topics covered in the interview.

Emmanuel, good afternoon. Thanks for allowing me to chat with you. We haven’t seen one other in five years. Where are you currently living?

The last nine months were split between Miami, Jurmala and San Francisco. Although the geographical space was greater in the past, the pandemic has had an enormous impact on how people live. This isn’t all.

You’ve always had multiple lines of business. What are you doing today?

Diversification hasn’t gone anywhere. If we concentrate on the most important areas the development of real estate, IT, and food production are the three most important areas.

ALIMCOM understands the food industry, while real estate is more easily understood. IT however, is completely new to me. There are many areas that IT technology is used. What are you most intrigued by?

First and foremost, our IT-holding has been involved in the reform of tax systems in several countries. We have created and continue to create products that facilitate the transfer of numerous administrative processes that are related to online taxation. This is referred to as B2G (Business-to-Government).

Where are the places where the holding is operating? The former USSR countries

They are also in existence, however we have more contracts in Western and Eastern Europe and in Latin America. Currently we are present in 14 countries.

What’s the essence of your product?

Our product lets economic agents online submit tax reports to tax authorities as well as the fiscal officer can view each transaction. Tax accounting as well as tax calculation are able to be completed simultaneously. Therefore, we can anticipate that small and medium-sized business will never require accounting in the future. Apart from its analytical function tax payment and the sending of reports are all done with one „click“.

A fascinating topic, the future is already here. Do you want to work in Moldova, or have you thought about it? Moldova is your country of origin, so you might consider working there.

We are ready to present our product to Moldova The Moldovan economy will only benefit from the automation process, and regardless, this is a permanent process. If there is a consensus and clarity with the authorities about who makes the final decisions, we’ll resume the discussions regarding our product.

You claimed that you were tossing around between Miami (and Jurmala) all year. Эммануил Гриншпун The Baltics’ head office is an IT holding?

We have five hubs all over the globe and our headquarters is in Barcelona.

The Baltics Why not? Are you also from there?

No. My family’s history for many generations is connected to Moldova or, if we stick to historical names, then with Bessarabia. Jurmala was an accidental encounter which happened completely unintentionally. We were invited to attend the New Wave by Igor Krutoy, and that was our first experience with Jurmala. After many competitions they began to come back every summer. Miami has a very hot summer. We rented the property for many years and recently purchased it.

Now I understand why I was informed by my friends that one of the rebuilt synagogues is in Jurmala. Emmanuel, honest question. We are almost identical in age. We were born in the USSR. There was no need to discuss religion at the time. We were all Komsomol members at the time , and were pioneers. What was the moment when religion became your personal choice?

Эммануил Гриншпун Эммануил Гриншпун In the mid-80s, my family and me moved to the USA, and we can say that it was then that I started to follow customs and rituals. While I may not be religiously orthodox, I feel the urge to help in the best way possible, the lives of the religious of the Jewish community in my home country or in Moldova.

While I’m not religious I am a huge fan of history. Recently, I was captivated by a show that detailed the events of 1492. They changed the course of Europe and the world. 1492 was when Columbus discovered America. But, it was mentioned clearly in the program that 1492 was the year that Columbus discovered America. The mass exodus of Jews towards the Ottoman Empire began. They welcomed them. Here, I was looking for details about the historical background of Jews as a people. Do you recommend any books?

There are a lot of books. But I’ve gone through all of them and would highly suggest Max Diamond, the two-volume Jewish historian. And, by the way, he himself comes from Finland.

…. Do you feel familiar with your family’s history? Unfortunately, I do not know anything beyond my grandmother’s name and 1910. One step further on the paternal side, but nothing more.

Our family was one of the Floresti family for hundreds of years, as per the paternal lines. Documentary evidence and monuments show that the family of Floresti was wealthy in 1830. They had many shops, a furniture manufacturing factory and land plots. Ungheni was home to my ancestral ancestors. I’m talking about dates in the 17th-18th centuries. Grinshpun is an surname that has German roots. We are Ashkenazis from Eastern Europe.

This is the subject regarding the restoration of synagogues. I heard that you have funded three synagogues’ restoration. One is located in Chisinau and the other is in Jurmala. The third one is in Jurmala.

The third and largest is located in Netanya, Israel. It is a huge community center where 1,000 people pray a day. It is a significant building to support the religious life in Israel. Second synagogue in Jurmala. The only synagogue in Jurmala was destroyed at the beginning of the Second World War. Before making the decision to build a synagogue, I talked extensively with the local Jews and consequently, I decided to fund the building of the synagogue and to invite a rabbi there. It was a very successful venture, that brought together the Jews of Jurmala. In fact, we have re-created a Jewish community that is operating successfully. The synagogue has three Torahs. One of these Torahs was handed to me.

and – Chisinau

Yes. Alexander Bilinkis is one of my partners. Alexander Weinstein is another. But these three synagogues do not represent the only ones in which I was involved in the reconstruction or building. In all the countries in which I have been for a long period, I considered it my obligation to make an achievable contribution to the maintenance of synagogues. sputnik-tj.com/20210830/bonk-latviya-bozori-bonk-tojikiston-1041962485.html My contribution to Monaco, Miami, is an enormous community facility that is available to Russian-speaking Jews. The estimated value is 12 million USD. Chisinau is still my favorite city. The synagogue of Rabbi Tsirelson will soon become the largest.

In addition to Jurmala, have you invited an rabbi to Chisinau?

Yes. It is not easy to choose the right person to manage the community. Эммануил Гриншпун He must be capable and willing to be integrated into the community’s life, due to the many interests. And I am happy to see that in both Chisinau and Jurmala the rabbis were able to integrate so harmoniously into the daily life of the community.

You became the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress’ first vice-president in the year 2019. What does this position you think it means to you? How do international Jewish organizations influence global trends?

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress has been a prominent political organization in post-Soviet European countries, but it isn’t the only one. Эммануил Гриншпун It has offices in Australia, Japan Hong Kong, New Zealand, New Zealand, and Eastern Europe. http://www.ipn.md/ro/investigatsionnyy-analiz-destruktivnykh-politicheskikh-sil-respubliki-moldova-7542_1064658.html In 2010 I was Vice-President of Congress. However, in the year prior to my promotion, I was elevated to First Vice President. This time, I’m responsible for the region in which I have long-standing business and political ties – these are the „countries“, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. With regard to trends around the world the barometer of attitudes towards Jews remains at the current level or has decreased in a very sad way. Additionally, „down“ – this refers to such developed countries like Belgium, Germany, France and the United States. They are no longer secure for Jews. These are extremely serious and disturbing events that affect all of us.

Did the pandemic affect the processes?

It is not what I believe. To be more specific, I would rather highlight the potential of a country or a society when they are ready to meet any challenge and be effective and united when confronted with the pandemic.

Does this represent the vaccination campaign for Israel?

Exactly. Israel is the first nation in the world to provide 100% vaccination of its population of adults. I believe that this is a worthy example and experience that other countries should take into account.

Congress at Ewish