The Lasting Legacy Of Afghanistan's Jewish Community

Afghanistan has a rich Jewish history, with records of Jewish communities in the country dating back to the 7th century CE. In the 12th century, Benjamin of Tudela claimed there were 80,000 Jews in Ghazni on the River Gozan. In the 19th century, Afghanistan was home to around 40,000 Jews, many of whom had fled forced conversion in neighbouring Iran. However, today there are no Jews left in Afghanistan. The last remaining Jew, Zablon Simintov, left the country in September 2021 after the Taliban takeover. Now, the majority of Afghan Jews reside in Israel, with smaller communities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The history of Jews in Afghanistan

Afghanistan, also known as Khorasan or Khurasan in medieval Muslim and Hebrew sources, has a Jewish history that may date back 2,700 years to the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile. The country has been remarkably tolerant towards Jews for over a thousand years, with major Afghan cities such as Herat and Kabul serving as safe havens for Jews fleeing persecution in other lands.

The recorded story of the Afghan Jews starts in the 900s CE, two centuries after the country was converted to Islam. However, it is believed that Jews lived there before that time, as some Afghan tribes, including the Durrani, Yussafzai, and Pashtun, claim to be descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The Pashtun, Afghanistan's main ethnic group, believe they are descended from the tribe of Benjamin, and that Afghanistan is derived from "Afghana," the grandson of King Saul.

The earliest records and religious correspondences of the Jews of Afghanistan date back to the 8th century. These documents affirm the existence of thriving Jewish communities in several Afghan cities, including Ghazni, Balkh, Kabul, and Herat. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Jewish population in Afghanistan is estimated to have reached between 40,000 and 80,000. Many of them were traders, dealing in leather, karakul (sheep pelt), and other goods, and often travelling long distances between Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Central Asia.

In the 13th century, Genghis Khan's Mongol invasion devastated Afghanistan and its Jewish communities. Little is known about the small and isolated Jewish community that remained until the 19th century. In 1839, thousands of Persian Jews fled to Afghanistan to escape forced conversion, bringing the Jewish population back up to 40,000. The city of Herat became the heart of this new Jewish community.

However, starting in the late 19th century, the situation for Afghan Jews deteriorated as the Muslim authorities enacted anti-Jewish measures, triggering a mass exodus. In the early 20th century, the myth of Afghans being descendants of the Bani Israel was replaced by the myth of Afghans being Aryan, influenced by German Nazis and Turkish fascist propaganda. Pogroms were carried out, and Jews were subjected to harsh economic laws, restricted to certain cities, and forced to serve in the armed forces.

In the 1940s, the Jewish population in Afghanistan was around 5,000. After the creation of Israel in 1948, the vast majority of Afghan Jews left the country, with most settling in Israel. By 1969, only 300 Jews remained in Afghanistan, and by 1996, there were just 10.

In 2005, Zablon Simintov and Isaac Levy were the last two Jews remaining in Afghanistan. They lived in separate ends of the same decaying synagogue in Kabul, each claiming to be the rightful owner of the Torah, which had been confiscated by the Taliban during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001. After Levy's death in 2005, Simintov remained in Afghanistan, refusing to leave despite the dangers and pressures to convert to Islam. He devoted himself to trying to recover the stolen Torah.

In August 2021, with the Taliban takeover of the country, Simintov finally agreed to leave, joining the exodus of Afghans fleeing the country. He was the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan, bringing an end to centuries of Jewish history in the region.

The emigration of Jews from Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Jewish history dates back to at least 2,500 years, with some sources claiming it goes back 2,700 years. The community has been reduced to complete extinction due to emigration, primarily to Israel.

The recorded story of Afghan Jews starts in the 900s CE, two centuries after the country was converted to Islam. However, this is not because Jews did not live there before; all records that might have proven the existence of a pre-Islamic Jewish community have been lost.

In the 12th century, Benjamin of Tudela claimed there were 80,000 Jews in Ghazni on the River Gozan. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Jewish population of Afghanistan was estimated to have reached between 40,000 and 80,000. Many were traders who travelled between Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Central Asia.

In the 1830s, thousands of Persian Jews fled to Afghanistan to escape forced conversion in Persia. This brought the Jewish population up to 40,000. The northwestern city of Herat became the heart of this new community.

In the late 1800s, the situation for Afghan Jews deteriorated as Muslim authorities enacted anti-Jewish measures, triggering a mass exodus to neighbouring countries. The assassination of King Nadir Shah in 1933 triggered another anti-Jewish campaign.

In 1948, there were around 5,000 Jews in Afghanistan. The vast majority left the country for Israel in the early 1950s. Afghan Jews also emigrated to the United States, most settling in Queens, New York.

In 1969, only 300 Jews remained in Afghanistan, most of whom left after the Soviet invasion in 1979. In 1996, 10 Jews were left in Afghanistan, and by 2007, there was believed to be only one remaining, Zablon Simintov.

In 2021, Simintov left Afghanistan, leaving no Jews in the country.

The current state of synagogues and Jewish sites in Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Jewish history goes back at least 2,500 years, with the city of Herat serving as the historic centre of Jewish life in the country. However, due to decades of warfare, antisemitism, and religious persecution, there are no Jews remaining in Afghanistan today.

In Herat, there are four synagogues, a public bath, a Jewish cemetery, and several abandoned houses. The Yu Aw Synagogue, the largest of the synagogues and the only one to undergo proper preservation, has been declared a historic site. It features a main congregation room, several side rooms and corridors, and seven domes of different sizes. While the synagogue has been well-maintained, the public bath is in urgent need of renovation to prevent its complete destruction.

Of the other synagogues in Herat, the Gulkiya Synagogue has been converted into a mosque but retains its original structure and design, while the Shemayel Synagogue has been converted into an elementary school. The Mulla Ashur Synagogue, located within Herat's historic bazaar, has been left abandoned and is in a state of disrepair.

Overall, the current state of synagogues and Jewish sites in Afghanistan is a reflection of the country's once thriving Jewish community that has since dwindled due to emigration, persecution, and conflict. While some sites have been preserved and maintained, others have fallen into disrepair or been converted to new purposes. The current state of these sites is a testament to the religious tolerance that once existed in Afghanistan and the country's rich Jewish history.

Jewish life in Afghanistan

Ancient Iranian tradition suggests that Jews settled in Balkh, a Zoroastrian and Buddhist stronghold, after the collapse of the Kingdom of Judah in 587 BCE. Over the centuries, Afghanistan was a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution in other lands, and cities like Herat, Kabul, and Maimana once had thriving Jewish populations. The town of Balkh was a major centre of Jewish life, with some Islamic traditions holding that it was the burial place of the prophet Ezekiel and the home of Jeremiah, a prophet in both Judaism and Islam.

In the 12th century, the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote of a Jewish quarter in Kabul. Jews also settled in Herat, an important location on the Silk Road, and ruins from these settlements, including a cemetery, remain today. Hebrew and Aramaic prayers carved into rocks along the trade routes through the mountains in eastern Afghanistan also stand as a testament to the presence of Jewish merchants and travellers.

In the 19th century, thousands of Persian Jews fled to Afghanistan to escape forced conversion in Persia. Herat became the heart of this new community, and at its height in the 1000s and 11000s, the Jewish population of Afghanistan is estimated to have reached between 40,000 and 80,000 members. Many were merchants dealing in leather and karakul (sheep pelt), and they often travelled long distances between Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Central Asia.

However, the situation for Afghan Jews deteriorated in the late 1800s, with the enactment of harsh anti-Jewish measures, including pogroms, high taxes, and forced military service. The assassination of King Nadir Shah in 1933 further worsened conditions, leading to more pogroms and the ghettoization of Jews in Herat and Kabul. Harsh economic laws drove many Jews out of the country in the 1930s, and those who remained faced restrictions on their movement and where they could live.

Despite a brief revival under King Nadir Shah, who granted Jews equal rights, the vast majority of Afghan Jews left the country in the 1960s, primarily emigrating to Israel, with others going to New York and Europe. Today, over 1,000 Afghan Jews and their children live in Queens, New York, and more than 10,000 Jews of Afghan descent reside in Israel. A smaller group of a few hundred live in the United Kingdom.

In recent years, only a handful of Jews remained in Afghanistan. Zablon Simintov, who lived in a synagogue in Kabul, was believed to be the last remaining Jew until his departure in September 2021. Simintov's distant cousin, Tova Moradi, was later discovered to be the last Jew in the country before she, too, fled in October 2021.

The decline of Afghanistan's Jewish community

Afghanistan's Jewish community has a long history, dating back to at least 2,500 years. However, due to various factors, the community has declined over time, and by the early 2000s, only a handful of Jews remained in the country. Today, there are no Jews officially reported to be living in Afghanistan, and the Afghan Jewish community is considered extinct due to emigration. Here is an overview of the decline of Afghanistan's Jewish community:

Ancient History and Medieval Era

The history of Jews in Afghanistan is ancient, possibly dating back to the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian exile some 2,700 years ago. Ancient Iranian tradition suggests that Jews settled in Balkh shortly after the collapse of the Kingdom of Judah in 587 BCE. Existing records of a Jewish presence in Afghanistan date back to the 7th century CE, with some Afghan tribes, such as the Pashtun, claiming descent from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The town of Balkh was once a major center of Jewish life in ancient Afghanistan, and Jewish settlements were also established in other cities such as Herat and Kabul.

19th Century and Early 20th Century

In the 19th century, Afghanistan served as a refuge for Persian Jews fleeing forced conversion in neighbouring Iran. By the late 19th century, the Jewish population in Afghanistan had grown to around 40,000. However, the situation for Afghan Jews began to deteriorate in the late 1800s, with the enactment of harsh anti-Jewish measures by Muslim authorities. Pogroms, high taxes, and forced military service drove many Jews to emigrate to neighbouring countries.

Mid-20th Century

By the mid-20th century, the Jewish population in Afghanistan had declined significantly. In 1948, there were approximately 5,000 Jews in the country, but the vast majority left for Israel in the early 1950s. Afghanistan was the only Muslim country that allowed Jewish emigrants to retain their citizenship. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the Soviet invasion in 1979 further accelerated the decline of the Afghan Jewish community.

Late 20th Century to Present

By the late 20th century, only a handful of Jews remained in Afghanistan. In 1996, there were only about 10 Jews in the country, mostly in Kabul. Despite the tolerant attitude of their Muslim neighbours, the remaining Jews faced pressure to convert to Islam from Islamist groups like the Mujahedeen and the Taliban. The Taliban confiscated Jewish property, including the synagogue's Torah scroll, and jailed members of the Jewish community.

In 2005, Isaac Levy, one of the last two known Jews in Afghanistan, passed away, leaving Zablon Simintov as the sole known Jew in the country. Simintov cared for the Kabul synagogue and refused to leave Afghanistan despite the challenges and isolation. However, in 2021, with the Taliban's return to power and facing threats from the Islamic State group, Simintov finally emigrated to a neighbouring country, bringing an end to Afghanistan's Jewish community.

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