Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Luxembourg
Luxembourg: its Jewish community, relations with "Israel" and recognition of Palestine
About 700 Jews live in Luxembourg, according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] Luxembourg has recognised "Israel" since 1949 and recognised the State of Palestine on 22 September 2025.[2]
Jewish community
The WJC says that Jews have lived in what is now Luxembourg since the 14th century. The Jewish population grew from 1,500 to 4,000 in the 1930s with refugees from Germany; 1,945 members of the community were murdered in the Holocaust.[1]
The Consistoire Israélite de Luxembourg is constitutionally recognised as the community's representative to the government and is the WJC's affiliate; the chief rabbi and communal functionary are funded by the government. The main synagogue is in Luxembourg City, with a smaller community in Esch-sur-Alzette. The youth movement, Union des Jeunes Gens Israélites du Luxembourg, is affiliated with the European Union of Jewish Students.[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Luxembourg as recognition in January 1949, with "Israel" represented by its ambassador in Belgium.[3] According to the WJC, full diplomatic relations were established in 1949, and in September 2016 Xavier Bettel became the first prime minister of Luxembourg to make an official visit to "Israel".[1]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $193.5 million from Luxembourg in 2025 (2024: $171.2 million) and exported goods worth $29.8 million to it (2024: $34.7 million).[4]
Political interference
Recognition of Palestine
Prime Minister Luc Frieden announced the recognition at the United Nations in New York on 22 September 2025, on the basis of the 1967 borders. The government said that the recognition "is in no way directed against Israel or the Israeli people, whom Luxembourg has recognised since Israel's admission to the United Nations on 11 May 1949", and that it "in no way implies recognition of, or support for, Hamas".[2]
UN voting
Luxembourg 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 Andorra
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Liechtenstein
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Monaco
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to San Marino
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Vatican City
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Malta
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Iceland
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 World Jewish Congress, Community in Luxembourg worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Government of Luxembourg, Luxembourg formally recognises the State of Palestine gouvernement.lu, 22 September 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ 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).