Community in Uzbekistan - World Jewish Congress
Uzbekistan

There are two distinct Jewish communities in Uzbekistan: the more religious and traditional Bukharan Jewish community and the more progressive  Ashkenazi community made up primarily of Jews of European origin. There were 94,900 Jews in Uzbekistan in 1989; less than 5,000 remained in 2007 (most of them in Tashkent). There are 12 synagogues in Uzbekistan. The World Jewish Congress affiliate is the Jewish Community of Uzbekistan.

WJC Affiliate
Tashkent Jewish Religious Community of European Jews

Telephone:
+998 90 187 89 50
Email: bakmand@mail.ru

President: Dimitriy Bakman
History

The special sub-ethnic group of Bukharian Jews has its roots oi the territory of Uzbekistan. Legend has it that Jews first settled in what is now Uzbekistan following the destruction of the First Temple. The first documented Jewish presence in the region dates back to the fourth century C.E. A large Jewish community in Samarkand is first documented in the 12th century.

By the time Central Asia was annexed by Russia (1865-1873), the term “Bukharian Jews," or 'indigenous Jews,' emerged—used to define Jews arriving to Russian-ruled areas from the Bukharian emirate. After the region came under Russian rule, Ashkenazi Jews appeared there as well.

Bukharian Jews were a minority with diminished rights, and a small part of them, living in the Bukharian emirate, were forcibly converted to Islam (the so-called “tchala”). Jews were living in Bukhara, Kattakurgan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Karshi, Shakhrisabz, Kokand, Margelan, and other cities. The discriminatory edicts that had existed in the Bukharian emirate with respect to the Jews were canceled in the areas annexed by the Russian empire. 

At the end of the 19th century, there were around 16,000 Bukharian Jews. By the 1926 census, the Jewish population in Uzbekistan had grown to 38,200. In the 1970s, approximately 10,000 Jews immigrated to Israel. Despite this, both the 1979 and 1989 censuses recorded 95,000 Jews living in the republic, with 26,000 being Bukharian Jews.

The first legal Jewish secular organizations in the region emerged between 1988 and 1999. In May 1990, nationalist riots led to significant damage in the Jewish quarter of Andijan. During the mass emigration from the late 1980s to early 1990s, more than 80,000 Jews left the republic, a trend that continues today. While many emigrated to Israel and the U.S., smaller groups have settled in Russia, with smaller communities also forming in Austria and Germany.

The years of Holocaust

During WWII, more than one million Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied eastern Europe passed through Uzbekistan.

Demography

In 2018, Hebrew University demographer Sergio DellaPergola estimated the Jewish population in Uzbekistan at 3,200. The community is centered in Samarkand, Bukhara, and Tashkent and consists of two groups: Ashkenazi Jews, who arrived from the Soviet Union, and Bukharan Jews, an indigenous group with a Tajik-Jewish dialect, especially concentrated in Samarkand.

Today, the Jewish population is around 13,000, including approximately 3,000 Bukharan Jews. Tashkent has the largest community with 8,000 Jews, while smaller groups remain in Samarkand, Bukhara, and cities like Fergana and Andijan. Despite recent emigration due to economic challenges and government "Uzbekization" policies, traditional Jewish quarters, or mahallas, still exist in some cities.

Community Life

Both Tashkent and Bukhara have Jewish cultural centers. Jewish musicians play a leading role in the local musical scene, performing both Uzbek folk music and classical central Asian music called Shashmaqam. There is also a Russian-Jewish publication called Shofar, which is published monthly.  

Religious and Cultural life

Bukharan Jews have made valiant efforts to preserve Jewish life; even in the face of pressure from the Soviet authorities, intermarriage was almost unknown. The Gumbaz synagogue in Samarkand enjoys the benefits of a Bukharan rabbi who is affiliated with the Chabad movement.

Jewish Education

Uzbekistan is home to several Jewish schools, among them three day schools, one in Bukhara, one in Samarkand and another in Tashkent.

Relations with Israel

Israel and Uzbekistan maintain diplomatic relations.

Israel Embassy:
16A Lachuti Street, 5th Floor
545 Tashkent
Uzbekistan

Telephone: +7 3712 567 823
Fax: +7 3712 543 907

 

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