When Rabbi Avraham Feldman and his wife Mushky first visited Iceland in 2017, there was no established Jewish community.
Although Jews have lived in Iceland for more than 100 years, the community there has been informal and has functioned by word of mouth.
The Chabad-Lubavitch couple saw an opportunity to create a thriving hub of Jewish life in Reykjavik, and a year later, in 2018, they relocated to the island.
“Our first priority was just to connect with people on a personal level, on an individual level, and find out what people felt was missing,” Rabbi Feldman told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
He referred to the community as “very diverse, in a beautiful way” with Jews from different backgrounds and levels of observance (something which continues to this day). The couple was told there were about 50-100 known Jewish locals at the time, but said, “it was never about the number for us.”
'Every individual a whole world'
“Every individual is a whole world,” he told the Post. “You give an individual or a family an opportunity to have something Jewish, and it means so much to them.”
When word spread of the new shluchim, it became apparent that there were “many Jews who were not known to other Jews.”
People started reaching out to the Feldmans, and they can now safely say they know a few hundred Jews in Iceland.
Of course, when the Feldmans first arrived, there was neither a Jewish center nor synagogue. To start with, the couple worked out of their home, and then from temporary spaces like hotel meeting rooms.
In 2022, they purchased a small building and spent the next two and a half years working on plans and permits to create a Jewish center there. However, by the time they acquired their permits, the Feldmans came across a larger, better building and decided to purchase it.
“We realized that the larger space would open up so many more opportunities, and more room for things that were really necessary,” they explained. “We had to ask ourselves: do we stay with the small dream, or do we expand it to something really special?”
The 9,000-square-meter site has since been transformed into the Beit Shvidler Jewish Center of Iceland, the first Jewish Culture House in Iceland’s history.
At three stories high, the center houses a Judaica shop, a space for a kosher cafe or restaurant, and a gallery of Jewish life in Iceland. There are plans to build a mikveh in the original building purchased in 2022.
Feldman stressed that the exhibit – which is almost ready – is not just about the Holocaust, but about Jewish life and “is structured in a way that you come out inspired.”
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Feldman told the Post. “It was a team effort, so many people have got involved to make this happen.”
Over the past eight years, several events stood out to Feldman as particularly memorable.
One was the public Hanukkah lighting in 2018, which was the first-ever public celebration of Judaism in Iceland.
Another key memory is the completion of the Sefer Torah in February 2020. This was the first-ever completion and inauguration of a Torah scroll on the European island. The last few letters of the scroll were filled out by members of the community. After this, the scroll was wrapped in its traditional mantle and paraded down the central streets under a chuppah. Jews and non-Jews alike came to watch.
“How moving to see the scroll being paraded down Laugavegur, Reykjavik’s main street,” Feldman said at the time. “And how beautiful to watch as the community gathered at the gala reception, with dignitaries and guests, along with the Krauss family and their friends, and celebrated this momentous occasion in Icelandic – and indeed, Jewish – history.”
A year later, in 2021, Iceland formally recognized Judaism as a religion. This, in turn, permitted Jewish marriage, baby-naming, and funeral ceremonies to be recognized by the civic authorities.
'We are writing the Icelandic chapter in the story of the Jewish people'
Most recently, in Spring 2025, the prime minister of Iceland officially recognized Holocaust Remembrance Day, making her the first head of state in the country’s history to do so.
Even with all these poignant memories, the “greatest dream” has been the building, he said.
“We have had really great experiences,” Feldman told the Post. “The majority of people are kind and welcoming. We feel lucky to be in Iceland.”
As a visibly Jewish person, Feldman is often recognized in public and says people stop him in stores to ask questions and express curiosity.
“Their knowledge of Jews is limited, but people are curious and interested,” he said, adding that some “say beautiful things.”
He also praised the strong relationship between the Jewish community and city officials, government officials, and the police.
On the occasion of the center’s opening, various political figures wrote moving letters to the Jewish community.
Thorunn Sveinbjarnardottir, speaker of the Althing, wrote: “For the first time, the Jewish community in Iceland has a place of its own in which to gather, to learn, and to celebrate, and to pass its traditions and heritage on to future generations. It reflects the dedication of all who worked to bring it about, and it is a welcome addition to the life of our nation.”
The prime minister of Iceland also wrote to them, calling it an “historic occasion” and “an important milestone for the Jewish community and for Icelandic society.”
“It will be a place for culture, learning, and dialogue, enriching our community for years to come,” she said.
“This is exactly the kind of place the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson] envisioned when he spoke of ahavat yisrael, giving every Jew the chance to connect with and celebrate their Judaism,” continued Feldman.
“Together, we are writing the Icelandic chapter in the story of the Jewish people.”