Uzbek Jews

Uzbek Jews have two distinct communities; the more religious and traditional Bukharan Jewish community and the more progressive, European-in-origin Ashkenazi community. There were 94,900 Jews in Uzbekistan in 1989,[1] but fewer than 5,000 remained in 2007 (most of them in Tashkent).[2] There are twelve synagogues in Uzbekistan.[3]

Most Uzbek Jews are now Ashkenazi due to the emigration of Bukharian Jews to Israel and the United States.[4]

Contents

Judaism in the Ferghana Valley

Semyon Abdurakhmanov is the head of the Ferghana Jewish community. There are six synagogues in the Valley. There are several hundred Jews in Fergana, Namangan, and Kokand, with about 800 total in the area. Abdurakhmanov has said that the biggest problem facing the Jewish Uzbek community is the economy, not antisemitism, despite the increasing radicalization of Muslims in the area.[3]

During the Andijan Massacre in May 2005, the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent asked Abdurakhmanov to make a lists of Jews "in case there will be a need to airlift people to Israel."[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ World Jewish Population 2001, American Jewish Yearbook, vol. 101 (2001), p. 561.
  2. ^ World Jewish Population 2007, American Jewish Yearbook, vol. 107 (2007), p. 592.
  3. ^ a b c Uzbek Jewish worries JTA
  4. ^ Rift over root differences remains unmended for Jews of Uzbekistan Jewish Telegraph Agency

External links

History of the Jews in Asia
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