The presence of the first Jews on Romania`s territory was documented during the Roman province of Dacia, when several Jews enrolled in the Roman army or came as craftsmen.
The first Jewish communities that are documented in the area date back to the sixteenth century. Following persecution in neighboring countries, many Jews settle in the Romanian kingdoms. Also, many Jews are called to populate or repopulate local towns.
During this period, Romanian authorities allowed the organizing of Jewish religious communities and the freedom of religious laws and practice, the recognition of Rabbinic trial courts, the existence of educational, charity, and health institutions. The treasury, interested in cashing taxes from Jews, treated them as a guild, as early as Constantin Brancoveanu. In Moldova, in 1719, following a decision of the Ottoman Empire, <Hahambasia> (the Chief Rabbi position) of Moldova is introduced. The position lasted until the fifth decade of the eighteenth century, when it was stopped. The <Hahambasa> had a deputy in Bucharest.
The political emancipation of the Jews -promised during the 1848 revolution- becomes real with the founding of the national Romanian state in 1918. The 1923 constitution guaranteed the right of minorities, leading to the unification of the Jewish communities from the old Kingdom, underthe name of the Federation of the Unions of Jewish Communities in 1928. With the Goga-Cuza regime, their political and social rights are slowly restrained, and in August 1940, the law of the blood is introduced, and soon many Jewish properties are robbed and many Jews are deported to Transnistria, or, from the Hungary-occupied Transylvania, to Auschwitz.
The Jewish community in Romania is led by the Federation of Jewish Communities, based in Bucuresti, and represents all communities in the country. The Jews are organized in 40 communities, the most important being in Bucharest, Timisoara, Iasi, Cluj, Galati, Bacau, Arad, Baia Mare, Botosani, Brasov, Deva, Tg. Mures, etc.
Romania has 103 temples, synagogues, and prayer houses, 50 of which are still being used. Many temples and synagogues are considered historical and architectural monuments, protected by the law: the Coral Temple and the Great Synagogue in Bucuresti, the Great Synagogue in Iasi, the Temple in the Citadel in Timisoara, the Old Temple in Botosani. The Jewish community owns 801 cemeteries administered by the local Jewish communities. It also owns nine ritual restaurants, two homes for the elderly, and three retreat houses. The community currently has approximately 8 000 members.
The Jewish community in Romania publishes in three languages (Romanian, English, and Hebrew) the bimonthly The Jewish Reality Magazine, as well as other publications through its own publishing house, Hasefer.