Iceland Opens Its First Jewish Community Center, Beit Shvidler Jewish Center, Honoring Eugene Shvidler
The Jewish community of Iceland has opened the country’s first permanent Jewish community center, “Beit Shvidler.” The three-story, 836-square-meter complex officially began operations on July 7, 2026, in Reykjavik.
Prior to the opening, the local community primarily gathered at the home of Rabbi Avraham Feldman and his wife Mushky, who arrived in Reykjavik in 2018 as emissaries of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. For the entire history of modern Jewish presence in Iceland, the community had never had its own synagogue or a permanent rabbi.
The new building houses a synagogue, a kosher grocery store, a community kitchen, a youth center, and a library. Visitors can also explore a permanent exhibition on the history of Iceland’s Jewish community. The center will be open daily to both locals and tourists and will serve as a hub for cultural and educational events.
More than one hundred guests, including government officials and rabbis from neighboring countries, attended the opening ceremony. Former Reykjavik Mayor Jón Gnarr described the center as “a bridge between cultures,” while Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir called its opening an important milestone for Icelandic society. Businessman Eugene Shvidler, the main benefactor of the project, is the namesake of the center.
