Chabad Lubavitch of Croatia
Chabad-Lubavitch in Croatia: the Zagreb mission established in 2004 and led by Rabbi Pinchas and Raizel Zaklas, its kindergarten, ritual bath, youth and women's programmes, its centre for Israeli students opened after 7 October 2023, and its place as one of Zagreb's three Jewish communities
| Chabad Lubavitch of Croatia
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| Logo | 
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| Type | Jewish religious organisation (Chabad-Lubavitch) |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder(s) | Pinchas and Raizel Zaklas |
| Headquarters | Zagreb |
| Location | Zagreb |
| Area served | Croatia |
| Services | Synagogue services, kindergarten and afternoon classes, ritual bath (mikveh), youth and women's programmes, kosher food, student centre |
| Key people | Pinchas Zaklas (head emissary) |
| Website | https://zidovi.hr |
| Remarks | Uses the names Chabad Croatia and Židovska zajednica Menora / Židovska organizacija Menora (Menora Jewish community / organisation) |
Chabad Lubavitch of Croatia (Chabad Croatia) is the Chabad-Lubavitch mission in Croatia, based in Zagreb and led by Rabbi Pinchas Zaklas and his wife, Raizel.[1][2] Chabad Croatia says it was established in 2004, and that since then it has set up a Jewish kindergarten in Zagreb and a women's club, and run Jewish studies, workshops and Shabbat programmes.[1]
Ynetnews reported in 2024 that Zagreb has three Jewish communities: the oldest, which it calls the "Jos community", Bet Israel, and Chabad.[3]
History
According to a 2024 Ynetnews travel feature, the Zaklases had then been in Croatia for 19 years. They first worked within the "Jos community", but saw that local Jews wanted more involvement in community life and holidays, and set up a Chabad House, which they had run for a decade.[3] These figures would put their arrival in about 2005 and the Chabad House in about 2014, whereas Chabad Croatia dates its establishment to 2004.[1]
In April 2008 a delegation from the Rabbinical Centre of Europe visited Zagreb to discuss the state of Jewish cemeteries with Croatian leaders. The centre's account names Zaklas, "Shliach of Chabad Lubavitch", and Rabbi Kotel Dadon, chief rabbi of Bet Israel, as the local rabbis who helped to organise and host the visit. It credits Zaklas with a "Jewish revolution" among Zagreb's Jews, especially through the educational institutions he had set up.[4]
Activities
Ynetnews described the Chabad centre in Zagreb as housing a kindergarten with afternoon classes for young children, a room for teenagers, and a ritual bath (mikveh) run by Raizel Zaklas, who also gives classes and organises events for women. Pinchas Zaklas teaches Torah classes and prepares boys for their bar mitzvah, and the couple host locals and tourists for Shabbat and holidays and provide kosher meals for yachts, cruise ships and airlines.[3]
Ynetnews reported that the Zaklases had recently hosted evacuees and families of hostages from Israel, and that after the attack on Israel of 7 October 2023 they had turned a former Yad Sarah medical-equipment branch into the "Be'eri Learning Center", a study centre for Israeli students in Zagreb, with a kosher shop. They also set up an empty Shabbat table display opposite the Croatian National Theatre to draw attention to the hostages.[3]
Centres
Chabad headquarters lists one centre in Croatia, Chabad of Croatia in Zagreb, postcode district 10000, led by Pinchas and Raizel Zaklas.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About Chabad Lubavitch Croatia", Chabad Croatia – Židovska zajednica Menora, 30 November 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Chabad of Croatia", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters (lubavitch.com), accessed 23 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ayelet Mamo Shay, "Still friendly to Jews: A visit to Zagreb", Ynetnews, 17 August 2024.
- ↑ "RCE Delegation Has Successful Talks with Croatian Leaders", Rabbinical Centre of Europe, 7 April 2008.