Bukharan Jews: Difference between revisions

Bukharian Jews

Total population
approx. 160,000
Regions with significant populations
United States	50,000
Israel	100,000
Uzbekistan	2,000
Tajikistan	1,000
Languages
Traditionally Bukhori, Russian and Hebrew spoken in addtion.
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Other Jewish groups (Mizrahi, Sephardi, Ashkenazi, etc.) Kurds,Mountain Jews

Bukharan Jews (Bukhoran Jews, Bukhari Jews, Bukharian Jews ) is a blanket term for Jews from Central Asia who speak Bukhori, a dialect of the Persian language. Their name comes from the Uzbek city of Bukhara, which once had a large Jewish community. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the vast majority have emigrated to Israel or the United States.

The Bukharian Jews trace their ancestry to Israelites who never came back from the Babylonian captivity after exile in the 7th century BCE. In Central Asia, they survived for centuries subject to many conquering influences. The community was essentially cut off from the rest of the Jewish world for more than 2,000 years and managed to survive in the face of countless odds. They are considered one of the oldest ethno-religious groups of Central Asia and over the years they have developed their own distinct culture.

Most Bukharian Jews lived in Emirate of Bukhara (currently Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), while a small number lived in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and some other parts of the former Soviet Union. In Emirate of Bukhara, the largest concentrations were in Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khokand. In Tajikistan, they similarly were mainly concentrated in the capital, Dushanbe.

Prior to the Partition of India, some Bukharan Jews could be found among the Afghan population of Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province of northwestern India, (now Pakistan). After partition and the creation of Israel, nearly all of these Jews left for Israel and other countries. One synagogue still exists in Peshawar but it's been closed for quite some time.

The term "Bukharan" was coined by European travelers who visited Central Asia around the 16th century. Since most of the Jewish community at the time lived under the Emirate of Bukhara, they came to be known as Bukharan Jews. They regarded themselves as "Isro'il" and "Yahudi."

Bukharian Jews used the Persian language to communicate among themselves and later developed "Bukhori", a distinct dialect of the Tajiki-Persian language with certain linguistic traces of Hebrew. This language provided easier communication with their neighboring communities and was used for all cultural and educational life among the Jews. It was used widely until the area was "russified" by the Russians and the dissemination of "religious" information was halted. Almost all Bukharian Jews today use Russian as their main language and a minority speak mostly Bukhori.

The Bukharian community in Central Asia had periods of prospering, as well as periods of repression. With the establishment of the Silk Road between China and the West in the 2nd century BCE that lasted well into the 16th century, many Jews flocked to Emirate of Bukhara and played a great role in its development. After their exile from Israel in 135, they came under the Persian Empire, as they prospered and spread through the area. However, around the 5th century, they were persecuted. Famous Jewish academies in Babylon were closed, while many Jews were killed and expelled (See Mishnah). After Arab Muslim conquest in the early 8th century, Jews (as well as Christians) were considered Dhimmis and were forced, among other things, to pay the jizya head tax. The Mongol invasion in the 13th century also hit hard on Bukhori Jews.

In the beginning of the 16th century, the area was invaded and occupied by nomadic Uzbek tribes who established strict observance of Islam and religious fundamentalism. Confined to city quarters, the Jews were denied basic rights and many were forced to convert to Islam. By the middle of the 18th century practically all of Bukharan Jews lived in Bukharan Emirate. In 1843 Bukharan Jews collected 10,000 silver tan'ga and purchased land in Samarkand, known as Makhallai Yakhudion close to Registon.

At the beginning of 17th century the first synagogue had been constructed at Bukhara city. It was done in contravention of the law of Caliph Omar who had forbidden the construction of new synagogues as well as the destruction of those that existed in the pre-Islamic period. [1] The story of construction of the first Bukhara synagogue relates to two persons: Nodir Divan-Begi - important grandee, and nameless widow, who outwitted an official.

In 1793, a Sefardi Jew from Tetuan, Morocco, named Yosef Maman traveled to Bukhara and found the local Jews in very poor condition, and he decided to settle there. He became a spiritual leader and changed the Persian religious tradition to Sephardic Jewish tradition. In the middle of the 19th century, Bukharan Jews began to move to the historic Land of Israel. Land on which they had settled in Jerusalem was called the Bukharan quarter (Sh'hunat Buhori) still exists today.

In 1865, Russian troops took over Tashkent, and there was a large influx of Jews to the newly created Turkestan Region. From 1876 to 1916, dozens of Bukharan Jews held prestigious jobs, and some Jews prospered. Jews were free to practice Judaism.

With the establishment of Soviet rule on the territory in 1917, Jewish life seriously deteriorated. Throughout 1920s and 1930s, thousands of Jews, fleeing religious oppression, confiscation of property, arrests, and repressions, escaped (often by foot) to The British Mandate of Palestine ^{[citation needed]}. World War II and the Holocaust brought over a million Jewish refugees from the European regions of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe through Uzbekistan. In the early 1970s one of the largest Bukharan Jewish emmigrations in History occurred as the Jews of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan emmigrated to Israel and the United States due to looser restrictions on immigration.

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and foundation of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan in 1991, there was an abrupt growth of nationalism, chauvinism, and xenophobia in Uzbek public consciousness. Advent of Islamic fundamentalism in Uzbekistan caused a sudden increase in the level of emigration of Jews (both Bukharan and Ashkenazi). For the next two decades, about 100,000 immigrated to Israel, another 50,000 to the USA (mainly Queens, New York) and about 2,000 still remain in Uzbekistan and less than 1,000 in Tajikistan (compared to 15,000 in Tajikistan 1989)

Currently, Bukharan Jews are mostly concentrated in the USA (New York City, Arizona, Atlanta, Denver, San Diego), as well as Israel, Austria, Russia, and Uzbekistan. New York City's 108th Street in Forest Hills Queens, is filled with Bukharan restaurants and gift shops. They have formed a tight-knit enclave in this area that was once primarily inhabited by Ashkenazi Jews.

On the dawn of the Jewish New Year 5765 (2005), the Bukharan Jewish Community of Queens (mainly Rego Park and Forest Hills) celebrated the opening of the Bukharian Jewish Congress. This establishment further reflects the growing Bukharan community in Queens and their desire to preserve their identity in an ever-changing world.

In early 2006, the still-active Dushanbe synagogue in Tajikistan as well as the city's mikveh (ritual bath), kosher butchery, and Jewish classrooms were demolished by the government (without compensation to the community) to make room for a new Presidential residence. After an international outcry, the government of Tajikistan reversed their decision and will allow the synagogue to be rebuilt on its current site.

Bukharan Jews had their own dress code, similar to but also different from other cultures (mainly mongolo-turkik cultures) living in Central Asia. On weddings today, one can still observe the bride and the close relatives put on the traditional kaftan (Jomah-джома-ג'ומא in Bukharian and Tajik) and the richly-embroidered fur-lined hats and dance.

Although their presence in Central Asia has dissipated, Bukharans remain proud of their Jewish heritage and almost all of them are Zionists. Even though they only came to the United States, Israel, etc 10-15 years ago without a penny in their pockets, they were able to gain prestigious jobs and own big houses in a short period of time.

The Bukharans have a distinct music called Shashmaqam, which is an ensemble of stringed instruments, infused with Central Asian rhythms, Muslim melodies, touches of klezmer, and even a few Spanish chords.

Bukharan cuisine consists mainly of shish kabobs of chicken, beef or lamb. Plov is a very popular rice dish that contains carrots and is often topped with beef or lamb. Bukharans have two main types of bread. One is called Non, which is a circular bread topped with black sesame seeds, and the other is called Noni Toki, which is hubcap matzoh.

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• Jacques Abramoff - Monegasque Businessman, Inventor, past President of the Monaco Jewish Community
• Asaf Achildiev - doctor involved in the French Resistance, World War II hero
• Aron Aronov - culture & languages scholar, American Bukharian activist, Director of Bukharan Jewish Museum, former languages translator for Richard Nixon
• Jacob Arabo, also known as "The King of Bling Bling" - proprietor of Jacob & Co.
• Rahmin Badalov (1897-1991) - member of the Bukharan intelligentsia, decorated WWII hero, linguist, writer, translator
• Aulov Borisovich - theatrical art director and pioneer, actor, decorated WWII hero
• Yosef Davydov - Tashkenti entrepreneur & Israeli philanthropist
• Rena Galibova - Soviet actress, "People's Artist of Tajikistan"
• Meirkhaim Gavrielov - Journalist murdered in Tajikistan in 1998.
• Nathan Gilkarov - Economist, philosopher
• Shimon Haham - Literary icon
• Barno Is'hakova - Soviet singer
• Hai Issaharov - Jewish Legion of British Army, Arab-Jewish peacemaker, engineer, Israeli aviation pioneer, Israeli Independence hero, Israeli Deputy Minister of Defense for Air Affairs
• Lev Leviev - billionaire businessman, philanthropist, president of the Bukharian Jewish Congress
• Shlomo Moussaieff - antiquities dealer to Liz Taylor, the Sultan of Brunei, and Queen Elizabeth II - Israeli Independence prisoner of war, Jewish-Arab peacemaker
• Shoista Mullodzhanova - Famous Bukharian Shashmakom singer, "People's Artist of Tajikistan"
• Yudik Mullodzhanov - Bukharian Jewish musician/ singer
• Gavriel Mullokandov – Shashmakom artist, "People's Artist of Uzbekistan"
• Boruch Mullokandov - Son of Gavriel, medical student, WWII Red Army volunteer, Nazi POW saved by Muslim hero
• Schlomo Mushkanodov -Hero of 1783 Bukhara rebuke to pogrom
• Alex Pilosov - Internet entrepreneur, rap artist
• Yakov-Hai Pinkhasov - Bukharan Jewish leader
• Rafael Potelyahov - Turkestani entrepreneur, philanthropist, and capitalist revolutionary
• John Safran - Australian comedian
• Gavriel Samandarov - writer
• Anthony Yadgaroff - British Businessman, Jewish community leader
• Hertzel Hillel Yitzhak – rabbi, clinical psychologist, author (Tzel HeHarim: Tzitzit. New York: Feldheim Publishers. 2006. ISBN 1-58330-292-1. Available at www.Feldheim.com)
• Tamara Aranbayeva - Writer, Jewish Community Leader, and Philosophical Revolutionary
• Jack Abramov - President, Chairman, and CEO, House of Taylor Jewelry
• Sulyman Tahalov - Chairman of the Israeli Opera house - President of the Tel' Aviv Jewish Music School - known as the king of strings
• Arkadiy Manevich Pinkhasov - Helped alot of people as a neuiologist in Margilan, Uzbekistan during the Soviet Union.
• Rudolph Abramov - TechnoMaster watch creator and mass marketing silicon diamonds as SIH Diamond's for increased profit.
• Gabriel Mordechaev - First Bukharian Chef in America. One of the most internally reknowned Chef's dating back to 1981.

 Eliahu Chaim Yusupov (1906-1977)& Leah Shaulova (1916 - 1977) - They lived in Samarkand, on the street of Vastok. He was a decorated war hero who fought in the Russo- Japanese war, she was a savvy and a successful business woman of her time.  She helped a lot of Bukharian people escape to Israel through the river Amu-Daryo in 1934, including her brother, but herself and her younger brother Shumel were could not escape.
   Eliahu Chaim Yusupov received his college education in Tashkent and returned back to Samarkand and became the director of the Museum in Samarkand.  As life went on Eliahu Chaim Yusupov met Leah Shaulova whom he married in 1934. They had 3 children and when Eliahu Chaim was summond to serve in the Russo-Japanse war.  He was away for 4 years.  While he fought to defend his country his wife fought her on own war on the homefront on supporting her family. After 4 years he came back home safe and sound.
   Eliahu Chaim was the first Bukharian deligate in the Communist Party in 1938.  By being a member of the Communist party Eliahu Chaim  helped a lot of the people in his community. An example of Eliahu Chaim's good deed would be  when he saved the life of Avner Levayev the father of Levy Levayev by telling him to leave the country because the KGB was after him.  As a family they helped a lot of people in their community in many ways.       
  They were an inspirational couple who survived the hardships of war . Leah Sahulova died in 1977 and Eliahu Chaim Yusupov died five months later that same year.  Today they are survived by 8 children and 23 granchildren, many great-great children who live in Israel and the United States.

• Bukharian Jewish Global Portal
• "Bukharian Entertainment and News at your Fingertips"
• "Rescue of Jews of Bukharan in occupied France"
• "The Silk Road Leads to Queens"