SYNAGOGUE DESTROYED

Thanks to Sandi for alerting us to this article, which went generally unnoticed...
From a SPECIAL STATEMENT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SEPHARDIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, FEBRUARY 26, 2006 ...

Decent people of the world were horrified by the destruction of the gold domed mosque last week, but on the same day, the destruction of an active synagogue—by a progressive government, supposedly based on civil law—was hardly even noted.

...On February 22, 2006, an active synagogue, much beloved by its Jewish congregation, was destroyed .... This was the only active synagogue in the country of Tajikistan, a country north of Afghanistan and south of Russia.

.... When news of the destruction of the Tajikistan synagogue reached the Bukharian community in the United States, the news was met with shock; people whose children were brought up in that synagogue reacted in tears. Members of the Bukharian community in Atlanta, Georgia stated they worry about the Jewish cemeteries that are near the synagogue, what will happen to them?....First the government destroyed the mikvah (ritual bath), then the kosher butcher shop, now the entire synagogue.

... while the Iraqi Muslims claim say the community near the gold domed mosque was there for 1000 years, the Jewish community has been in the area surrounding Tajikistan for 2000 years. And while the gold domed mosque in Iraq was built in 1905—a little over 100 years ago—the synagogue in Tajikistan was built 100 years ago as well. Yet, everyone is quiet about this. Including Jewish organizations—this must change.

The destruction of the Tajikistan synagogue is the most disgraceful act committed by a sovereign state toward its Jewish population since the end of WWII. The Soviet Union and its successor states may have oppressed and harassed their Jewish communities, but even at the height of Stalin’s anti-Semitic purges they did not seek to wipe every element of Jewish existence like the Tajikistan government.

It is an ominous message for a Jewish community, that while living under a government that is attempting to rebuild its economic, political and social image—it starts by wiping out the only synagogue in its country.
Where is the outrage?

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Editor's Note: The International Sephardic Leadership Council is based in the heart of the vibrant Near-Eastern Sephardic Community of New York City, a community highly committed to Judaism, made up of 75,000 Syrian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish and North African Jews; one of the largest, strongest, and fastest growing Sephardic communities in the world.