Thank You, Estonia — for a Courageous and Noble Step

In the mid-1920s, the small and young Republic of Estonia made a truly historic decision — one that earned it the sincere recognition and gratitude of the entire Jewish people.

After gaining independence, Estonia chose not merely to speak about equality, but to put it into law. In 1925, the country adopted the Law on Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities, and by 1926 the Jewish community had received the genuine right to govern its own cultural and educational life. ‎‎

For Europe of that era, this was extraordinary. In a small country on the Baltic Sea, Jews were able to open schools, preserve their language and traditions, establish their own institutions, and feel that the state was not standing in their way, but helping them.

This remarkable step did not go unnoticed.

In 1927, the Jewish National Fund – Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) entered Estonia into the Golden Books of Honor of the Jewish People and presented the country with an official certificate of gratitude in recognition of the unique cultural autonomy it had granted to the Jewish community. ‎

Such an inscription is made only on exceptional occasions — when history records an example of dignity and respect worthy of being remembered forever.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Jewish life in Estonia flourished. Jewish gymnasiums, cultural societies, and academic initiatives were active, while an educated Jewish интеллигенция emerged around the University of Tartu. ‎

It was a small community, yet vibrant, creative, and confident in its future.

But then came the years of tragedy.

First came the Soviet occupation of 1940: the destruction of autonomy, the closure of Jewish institutions, deportations, and the Red Terror. ‎

Then came the Nazi occupation, which continued the destruction and led to the annihilation of nearly the entire Jewish community of Estonia. Most of the Jews who remained in the country were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. ‎

This tragedy left a deep scar — but it did not erase memory.

In Israel, KKL carried out a living memorial project: a forest was created in memory of the destroyed Jewish communities of Europe, including the Jews of Estonia.

Six million trees planted near Jerusalem, on the holy soil of Israel, became a silent and living monument — a symbol that life endures.

Today, this story also has a new chapter.

Jewish life in Estonia is gradually being rebuilt, returning to its cultural and communal roots. And the restored independent Republic of Estonia is today a friend of Israel and a partner connected by relations of mutual respect and goodwill.

And so, one wishes to say very simple words.

Thank you, Estonia — for that brave and noble step taken nearly a century ago.

Thank you for the respect that has never been forgotten.

And eternal memory to the Jewish community of Estonia.

Its story lives on — in people, in memory, in the Golden Books of Honor of the Jewish People, and in the forests of Israel.