General Information
In the Czech Republic there are currently 10 official Jewish communities with approximately 3,000 registered members, of which 1,500 reside in Prague.
It is estimated there are an additional 10,000 to 15,000 unregistered
Jews. There also are a number of various Jewish organizations under the auspices of the
Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, e.g., the Open Prague Jewish community (Bejt Praha) comprised mainly of expatriate Americans and other foreigners, Chabad House, the Union of Jewish
Youth, Maccabi and Hakoach sporting
clubs, the Women’s Zionist Organization (WIZO),
Jewish Liberal Community (Bejt
Simcha) and the Terezin initiative that brings together
Czech Holocaust survivors.
Altogether, some 2,000 people are involved with these
organizations.
Rav Ephraim Karol Sidon is the chief Rabbi of Prague and the Czech Republic.
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There are 3 functioning synagogues: the orthodox Old-New
Synagogue, the High Synagogue, and the Art Nouveau Jubilee Synagogue on Jerusalemska Street.
There are regular Kabbalat Shabbat services held by Bejt Praha in the Jewish Town Hall as well as holiday services organized in one of the Prague synagogues (usually the Spanish Synagogue). There are also regular Kabbalat Shabbat services at Chabad
House and Bejt Simcha. Main holiday services are held at the Old-New Synagogue and the Jubilee
Synagogue. The Prague Jewish Community operates a kosher restaurant and the Charles Jordan
home for the elderly as well as
a Jewish kindergarten elementary and high
schools. Additionally, there are privately owned kosher restaurants and a deli.
The Jewish Museum in Prague has one of the most extensive collections of Judaic art in the world.
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