ICEJMK Marks 83 Years Since the Deportation of Macedonian Jews

On March 12, 2026, IcejMk organized a solemn event in memory of the deportation of Macedonian Jews. Although the event this year was part of a three-day wider gathering, we will write about that on another occasion.

As we are by nature an association that reflects Christian support for Israel - with a Biblical basis - for us, in Macedonia, it is of the utmost importance to preserve the memory of our fellow Jews, who were forcibly taken away from us. And taken to Treblinka, from where not one of the 7144 souls, returned. Unfortunately, the Holocaust in Macedonia has an inglorious toll - 98% of our Jews were taken.

Thus, this remembrance, by tradition, began with Kaddish (a Jewish prayer in honor of the deceased).

However, looking to the past, we want to point to the present and the future. In that sense, our “Declaration of Support for Israel” , which was read afterwards, is also in this sense.

The highlight of this event was, of course, the video address of the Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Ms. Vivien Eisen. Considering that this speech truly deserves our attention, we will share it in its entirety in the next blog post.

Maja Susha, M.A.

As a representative of Macedonian Jews, the attendees were also addressed by Maja Susha, MA, Holocaust Researcher at the Center for Cultural and Spiritual Heritage and a master's student in Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel.

Maestro Hristo Arsovski

The event continued with two musical acts, opera arias by G. Puccini, performed by the extraordinary tenor Hristo Arsovski.

Prof. Ras Stajanoff told the story of Rachel Nachmias Kronberg (1917-2026), a Jewish girl who was saved by the Albanian consul in Bitola in the fateful year of 1943. She died at the beginning of this year, and is believed to have been the last of those who spoke Ladino as their mother tongue. The professor faithfully brought the story to life, providing details that delighted the audience. We hope to publish it here soon...

Prof. Ras Stajanoff (Rachel Nachmias on the panel)

Then, a work by Serban Nikifor, Dedication to Avihu Medina for clarinet, violin and piano, (premiere) was performed by Igor Bakrevski and Andrej Naunov.

Finally, "Folklorik", a folklore group, performed with songs and dances from our region.

May the memory of our fellow citizens - Jews who were taken away be a blessing!