The series of explosions that terrified Triaspol, the capital of the Transnistrian separatist region of Moldova, that took place yesterday (Monday) caused images of thousands of people seeking to flee the region for fear it would be Russian President Putin’s next target – as part of his attempts to seize southern Ukraine.
Transnistria declared itself a republic in September 1990, while Moldova was part of the Soviet Union. Less than a year later, in March 1991, a referendum was held in the country and 90% voted in favor of establishing an independent state. In March 1992 a war broke out between the Moldovans and the Transnistria and it ended in July of that year with a ceasefire agreement. No country has recognized Transnistria, which stretches for 400 kilometers and is 10 kilometers wide. The independent state includes its own flag, anthem, currency and police and military forces.
As far as is known in Transnistria, about 5,000 Jews live out of a population of about half a million and they live mainly in the capital Tiraspol and Jewish communities also exist in the cities of Bendri, Dobsari and Rivnica. Rivnica is well known among the Jews of the former Soviet Union, because shortly before World War II the number of Jews there was 38% of the city’s residents and was inhabited by the Tzaddik Rabbi Chaim-Zanville Avrahamovich, known as the “Rabbi of Rivnica”.
On weekdays, Chabad emissaries in Moldova also operate during the year in Transnistria and last Passover they held a public Seder night in 4 cities, in addition to Torah lessons held in these cities.
Following the escalation there, with the series of explosions, representatives of the Jewish communities turned to Rabbi Mendi Axelrod, a Chabad emissary in Chisinau, and asked him to evacuate to the Moldovan capital. According to Rabbi Axelrod: The Jewish Agency and the JDC also operate in these cities.
According to Rabbi Zosha Abelski, director general of the Jewish community in Moldova: “We have been inundated with inquiries in the last two days. People are sure they are next in line, after Ukraine. We have rented 5 hotels and camps here for refugees from Ukraine and we are preparing to receive refugees from Ternistria as well. “We have a large logistics system, with the help of local friends and community members around the world, and I hope that a humanitarian crisis will not break out here, as in Ukraine.”
More Alex Galperin, Who assists in the activities of the Jewish community and Chabad, says: “There is a great fear of escalation. “Transnistria is home to a large Russian-speaking population alongside a Ukrainian community, and a civil war could break out there at any moment.”
Rabbi Mandy Goetzl The Chabad House in Chisinau added: “The fear of a Russian invasion has become more tangible. I hear evidence of many already packing their bags. “