Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Latvia
Latvia: its Jewish community, relations with "Israel" and Israeli arms purchases
About 4,500 Jews lived in Latvia in 2023, the largest Jewish community in the Baltic region according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] Latvia established relations with "Israel" in 1992[2] and has bought Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles.[3]
Jewish community
Most Latvian Jews live in Riga, with smaller communities in Dvinsk and Liepāja. The WJC says that there has been tension between the community and wider Latvian society "due to the continued honoring of Latvian veterans of SS Divisions from World War II". The Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia, at Skolas iela 6, Riga, LV-1010, is the WJC's affiliate and is made up of 13 communities in nine cities.[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Latvia as established in January 1992, with "Israel" represented by its embassy in Riga.[2] The Israeli embassy is at Elizabetes iela 2, 3rd floor, Riga 1010.[1]
Arms trade
SIPRI records Latvian purchases of Spike anti-tank missiles from a German production line, including a EUR108 million deal in 2018 and a EUR81 million deal for Spike-LR-2 missiles in 2025, with delivery planned from 2028, and a $100 million order in 2025 for UT-30 turrets for 42 ASCOD infantry fighting vehicles from Spain.[3]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $67.2 million from Latvia in 2025 (2024: $65.2 million) and exported goods worth $38.1 million to it (2024: $29.4 million).[4]
Political interference
UN voting
Latvia voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[5]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Denmark
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Finland
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Norway
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Sweden
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Estonia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lithuania
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Iceland
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 World Jewish Congress, Community in Latvia worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).