Aronstam Chaim (Khaim) (1918, Riga – 2004, Israel) was an actor, artist, and activist for aliyah.
Khaim Aronstam studied at the Riga Jewish Gymnasium and began painting at the age of 12 under the guidance of the renowned artist B. Dannenhirsch. Between 1936 and 1940, he attended the Studio of Jewish Artists in Riga.
In 1941, Khaim Aronstam was evacuated to Russia, conscripted into the army, and fought as part of the Latvian Division. After demobilisation, from 1944 to 1948, he studied at the S. Mikhoels Theatre School at the Moscow State Jewish Theatre (GOSET).
After earning his diploma as a dramatic actor, he worked alongside his wife, Zina (Zelda), at the Jewish Theatre in Chernivtsi (Ukraine) and later at the Lviv Jewish Theatre as both an actor and a stage designer until the closure of the last Jewish theatre.
In 1949, Aronstam returned to Riga and resumed his painting career. To make a living, he engaged in applied art, such as fabric painting, while attending evening courses at the Academy of Arts. His works were exhibited in club halls and received high praise from art critics. Most of his paintings were portraits of people with distinctively Jewish features, which did not align with the preferences of official critics. Moreover, as he was not a member of the Latvian Artists' Union, he was barred from exhibiting in major galleries.
From the late 1960s, Aronstam actively campaigned for the right to emigrate to Israel. In 1969, he applied for an exit visa but was denied permission for the next three years. During this time, his apartment became a meeting place for leading members of Latvian Jewry, where they organised joint protest actions. While continuing his artistic work, Aronstam created a gallery of portraits depicting “refuseniks” — those fighting for aliyah.
In 1972, Aronstam finally managed to emigrate to Israel, and by 1973, he held his first solo exhibition. He was allowed to take 209 of his works with him, though he had to pay for this right. As a result, his exhibition became a symbol of Riga’s aliyah movement. A review by Eva Epelman in a local newspaper was titled “Riga – Rehovot: The Paintings of Chaim Aronstam Have Crossed the Border Between Two Worlds.”
Over time, Aronstam held eight solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in museums in Bat Yam, Ramat Gan, Haifa, Rehovot, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. A versatile painter, he worked with oil, acrylic, watercolour, and tempera, depicting Israel’s landscapes, cities, and people. His paintings received positive press reviews and attracted considerable public interest.