Bender Jewish Community
Bender, in the past known as Tighina, is a port city on the Dniester River in East Moldova has a very interesting history. During the 14th century, a Genuese colony called Tigina was built here. The Moldovan name ‘Tighina’ derives from the old Genuese name. Between the two World Wars, Bender became a Romanian town and was renamed Tighina. Since 1944, it belonged to the Moldovan SSR. In 1992, Bendery became the main battlefield of the war between the secessionist Transdniestran (Russian) army and the Moldovan army. After the war, parts of the 14th Russian army remained in town, but it looks like Russia has withdrawn its army.
Today, only Russian peacekeeping forces are stationed in and around Bender to secure the precious but fragile peace.
