Figure 1.--This Jewish mother and her son judst arrived at New York JFK airport (summer 2009). They were part of a secret U.S. State Department effort to rescue Yemeni Jews who were becomin targets of Islamic fundamentalists in their impoverished country.

The various Jewish communites of the Diaspora interacted to varying degrees with the local culture. The Jews of the Diaspora developed remarkably diverse cultural lives as well as religious outlooks. These Jewish communities were established througout Europe as well as the Middle East. Spain and Portugal using law and the Inquisition kept Jews out of the Americas until independence (19th century). Egland did not, however, bar Jews from their American colonies. Each country has its own unique history of Jewish settlement and culture. Some like America, Poland, and Rusia had very large Jewish communities. Other countries have had only tiny Jewish communities. Some Jewish communities were destroyed or exiled in the Medieval era and n some instances later recovered. Some were irevocably destroyed. Jews and later Protestants were a major target of the Inquisition. Many of these communities were destoyed in thr 20th century. The NAZIs destroyed vibrant Jewish communities throughout the areas of Europe they occupied. The Arabs and Iranians have destroyed the Jewish communities in their countries. Here is what we know about the various Jewish communities of the Disopra. While small in number, Jews in many of these countries have played a major role in cultural and intelectual life.

(El) Salvador

Jews were not allowed in what is now El Salvador during the Spanish colonial period. A few Jews emigrated to El Salvador during the early 19th century, mostly Sephardic French Jews. El Salvador’s first know Jew was Alsatian-born Bernardo Haas (1868). He incouraged his nephews Lazaro and Julian Dreyfus (related to Captain Alfred Dreyfus) to join him. Leon Liebes was the first documented German Jew (1888). President Martinez openly supported Fascism during the 1930s. The NAZIs seized power in Germany (1933). El Salvador's small Jewish population attempted to aid their relatives by obtaining entry visas for them. This was especially the case after the Niremberg Laws were encted (1935) and conditions became even more difficult for German Jews. The Government made emigration difficult for Jews and closed it off entirely (1939). Salvadoran Jews tried to get entry vusas for their relatives from less histile Latin American governments. President Martinez personally blocked the entry of 50 Jewish refugees on the German ship Portland (July 30, 1939). The refugees had paid $500 for Salvadoran entry visas in Budapest and Amsterdam, but President Martinez had them declared “fraudulent” and the refugees were forced to returned to Germany. Inprobably a Salvadoran diplomat managed to sace about 30,000 Jews. The small Jewish community founded the Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador (1944). They opened a Jewish community center (1945). The situation for Jews improved after the War. A small number of Ashkenazi refugees emigrated to El Salvador. El Salvador recognized the State of Israel (1948). The Jewish community opned the country's first synagogue (1950). Salvadoran Jews founded the Instituto Cultural El Salvador-Israel (1956). Jews were targeted in the Civil War. leaving many to flee the country (1970s). There are believed to be about 200 Jews in El Salvador.

Saudi Arabia

Serbia

Serbia was one of the Balkan kingdoms conquerred by the Ottomans. King Lazar Grebelyanovich was killed at the Battle of Kosovo Polje 1389 when the Serbs suffered a disatrous defeat at the hands of Turkish Sultan Murat I. This ended the Serbian royal line and devestated the Serbian nobility. This ended the existance of Serbia as an independent state. The first of Serbia to be liberated from the Ottomans was Vojvodina in the northwest which was acquired by the Hapsburggs and administered by the Hungarians. Jews began arrving their in the (16th century). The first group of Jews were the Sephardic refugees from Spain and Portugal. They were followed by Ashkenazic Jews (17th-19th centuries). Emperor Joseph II issued the Tolerance Edict on the eve of the French Revolution (1782). The Jews made an inportant contrubution in eastablishing new industries. One source reports that there were about 40 Jewish communities in Vojvodina (late-19th century). Most of the Vojvodina Jews were Orthodox. Serbian nationalists afer the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) began to agitate for indeopendence from the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan grabted Serbia internal independence (1830). As part of the Sultan's charter, Jews were given equal rights. The Serbian Constitution gve full civil rights to Jews (1888). Jews served in the Serbian Army that fought the Central Powers during World War I. Yugoslavia after World War I as built around Serbia. Jews throughout Yugoslavia received full civil rights. Anyti-Semitic incidents in Serbia were rare during the inter-War era. Serbia was at the center of resistance to NAZI encroachments in the Balkans. Riots in Belrade ousted Prince Paul who HItler had forced to join the Axis. Hitler's resonse was a the terror bombing of Belgrade and the invasion of Yugoslavia. World war II, unlike World War I had a huge impact on minorities. The Jewish minority was destroyed in the World War II Holocaust.

Slovakia

There were before the Munich Conference about 138,000 Jews living in the Slovakian portion of Czechoslovakia. The NAZI's carved up Slovakia and the resulting NAZI-puppet state had a Jewish population of about 89,000. The variation may in part be due to the loss of Slovakian terrtory, especially to Hungary.

Somalia

The Yibir (Hebrew) is traditioinally viewed as having Jewish/Isreli origins. They are believed to have come to East Africa as Arab-speaking teachers. The Sultan and his peopl convered to Islam (13th century). There are today about 25,000 Yibirs in Somalia and other areas of East Africa. They have no knowlege of Judaism or any remaining Jewish traditions. We have only limited information on DNA studies, but note that one study suggests that Ethiopian Jews have Somalian rather than Middle Eastern origins. [Watson]

South Africa

Jews were associated with the early histry of South Africa. Jews were among the Portuguese astronemers and cartographers that guides the ships south toward and around the Cape of Good Hope. Portugal barred non-Christians from their colony, but the fact that the Dutch and Britain were the oprimary colonial powers meant that Jewish participation was possible. Jews participated in the Dutch East India Company, which administered the colony for 150 years. Jews arriving in the colony encountered substantial anti-Semitism. Authorities finally granted freedom of worship to Jews and other groups (1870), The primary involvement of Jews as uin the United States began in the late 19th century with the mass emigration of Jews from Eastern Europe, Jews played an important role in the fight against aparthaid.

Spain

Jews have a long history in Spain. After the Roman supression of the Jewish Revolt (70 AD), exiled Jews established communities in Spain. There they were tolerated for centuries in both Islamic and Christian kingdoms. Jews developed a sophisticated culture in Spain. Many individuals made important contributions. Perhaps the best known is Moshe Ben Maimon (Rambam), a noted scientist, physician and a Torah Scholar. With Christian domination of Spain, the Spanish soverigns and the Inquisition pressured Jews to convert. Spain's Jews were expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella after the fall of Grenada and the completion of the Reconquista (1492). The expelled Jews became known as Sephardic Jews. They played an important role in the economic suucss and cultural life in countries like the Ottoman Empire and Netherlands. The expulsion of Jews and Moslems by Ferdinand and Isbellaoccured at the same time that Spain burst on the world scene with Columbus' discoveries. The gold and silver which poured in to Spain with the conquest of Mexico and Peru made Spain for a time a European super power. Spain's subsequent decline is in part due to the decling shipments of bullion. Many histoians believe that the impact of repressive policies such as the use of the Inquisition to curtail discent (and free thinking) and the expulsion of the Jews and Moslems were major factors in Spain's decline. Jews who converted were called Marranos. Many who did so continued to secretly peactice their faith. The Inquisition attempted to ferret out the false confesos. Eventually Spain's Jewish community was tottaly destroyed. Generalismo Franco who was rumored to be of Marrano descent refused to turn over the small number of Spanish Jews to the NAZIs during World War II. He also permitted Jews to escape from occupied France and and transit Spain to safety.

Sweden

Jews have lived in Sweden since the Middle ages under a wide range of restrictions. The effort to achieve emancipation began after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. King Charles XIV took the first step when he rescinded some restrictions placed on Jews (1838). This provided Jews basic civil rights and legal protection. Sweden was one of the first European states to take this step. There were still restructions on intermarriage. Most of the remaining restrictions were removed by the 1870s, but a prohibition on holding politica office conctinued into the 20th century, finally veing removed in 1951. Aftercemacipation in the mid-19th century, Jews became full Swedish citizens and anti-Semitism was much less prevaleng in Sweden than most other European countries. Sweden's Jewish population increased after emancipation, reaching about 6,500 in 1920. While this was a substantial increase, the Jewish population was minor compared to the large Jewish populations in Russia, Poland, and other European countries. Much of the increase was the result of emmigration resultung from pogroms and other repressions in Russia which at the time controlled much of Poland. Sweden adopted restrictive immigration laws after World War I. After tge NAZIs seized power in Germany (1933), small numbers of German Jews emmigrated to Poland. The NAZI Anschluss in Austria brought fears of expanded Jewish emmigration. University students at Uppsala and Lund demonstrated against increased Jewish immigration (1938). A wave of anti-Semmetic action spread over Europe even before World War II began. The Swedish Government prohibited the Jewish ritual slaughter of animals. The Swedish Government allowed only 3,000 Jews to immigrate or enter Sweden as a transit point (1933-39). When reports of NAZI attricities reached Sweden, the Government began reassessing its policies. The NAZI pogrom of Kristallnacht shocked Swedes and other Europeans.

Switzerland

Little is know about Jews in what is modern Switzerland during the Roman era. A Jew is presence is not known until the late medievakl er. Records exiss of Jews in Basle (1213). It is believed thsat Jewish merchants from France and Germany traveled along river trade routes to Bern, Zurich, Geneva, St Gallen, Lucerne, Vevey, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and other cities. Thus Jews are known before the Swiss Confederation was founded (1291). Authorities banished the Jews (15th cetury). Jews managed, however, obtained protection and the right to live in two villages in the Aargau canton (Lengnau and Oberendingen). The Surb Valley Jews were Switzerland's primary Jewosh community. The Swiss in the 1874 Constitution granted equal rights to all religious communities. Article 49 recognizes that the freedom of conscience and belief is inviolable. The Jews in the Surb Valley migrated to the larger Swiss cities. Jews from Alsace, Germany and Eastern Europe emigrated to Switzerland during the 19th and early 20th centyry. The 1920 census indicated a Jewish populsation of 21,000 people and that populatin is little changed today. Switzerland refused to hand ver its Jews to the NAZIs in World War II, but did turn over mny non-Swiss Jews attempting to fkleet the NAZIs. After the War, many Swiss banks refused to honor insurance policies and bank deposits owed Holocaust survivors. Ruth Dreifuss was elected president of the Swiss Confederation.

Syria

Jews have a long history in Syria. Large areas of the Assyrian Empire were part of what is now modern Syria. After the Assyrian comquest of the Jews, substantial nymvers were exiled to other areas of the Empire. As these exiles disappeared to history, they became the Lost Tribes of Israel. They are believed to have assimilated with the local population. Other Jewish communities were estanlished during the Roman era. Syria was part of a series od empires (Byzantium, Arab, and Ottoman). The League of Nations after Wold War assigned a mandate to France (1922). At the time of World War II there were about 30,000 Jews in Syria. There were three major Jewish communities in Syria. Kurdish-speaking Jews were centered in Kamishli. Jews of Spanish ancestry were concentrated in Aleppo. Jews desended from the original eastern Jewsish community lived primarily in Damascus and were referred to as the Must'arab. The status of these Jews changed radically with the dall of France (June 1940) and the formation of the Vichy Government. Syria and Lebenon (administered as part of Syria) were only two Vichy controlled colonies around the Mediterrean. Vichy also controlled Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Vichy's 1940 anti-Jewish regulations were extended to all these jurisdictions. The Vichy regulations involved a range of persecution and denial of of rights. Committees for Aryanization were established and the citzenship of French Jews was revoked. Camps were established abd many Jews internened. The pattern differed somewhat in each jurisdiction with Tunisia adopting particularly harsh regulsations in 1941. The Vichy High Commissioner in Syria, Henri Dentz, was planning to open concentration camps, but theBritish and Free French forces seized control of Syria before he was able to do so. [Stillman, p. 146.] As a result of Vichy support for the pro-Germanm Rashid Ali revolt in Iraq, British and Free French forces occupied Syria (June-July 1944). About 1,350 Syrian Jews were transported to Palestine in a complicated operation as part of the Aliyah effort. The Jewish community in Syria gained only a brief respite from persecution. After Syria achieved independence, the government prohibited Jewish immigration to Palestine. Other regulations followed as well as attacks on Jews.

Tajikistan

The Jewish people living in Tajikistan originate from displacements. The Bukharan and Ashkenazi Jewish people. The first came to central Asia after the Babylonian Captivity and subsequent fall of Babylon (6th century BC). Just as Jews moved throyghout the Roman Empire, Jews at this time moved throuhout the Persian Empire. The Ashkenazi Jews are a much more recent addition to the Jewish community in Tajikistan. They arrived during World War II, fleeing east to escape the NAZI occupation of Eastern Europe and invasion of the Soviet Union. The Jewish population is found mainly in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. It is an increasingly older population as many of the younger Jews have immigrated to Israel. There are about 900 Jews currently living in Tajikistan. European Travellers called the Jewish people they found in Tajikistan Bukharan Jews. This was at the time the Emir of Bukhara ruled over the region. States in Central Asia rose and fell over time as well as changes of rulers The lands of Tajikistan were occupied by the Mongols (13th century) and eventually came under the ruler ship of khanate of Bukhara (16th century). Central Asia was a region where the Islamic people were Sunni Muslim. Persia became a region where Islam was Shiite Muslim. The result was that the Jews in central Asia were isolated from the Jewish world and developed their own culture. Yahudi is the name the Bukharan Jews call themselves. They speak Bukhari. A Judeo-Tajik dialect. The language incorporates Hebrew words. This group live in Tajikistan’s capital city Dushanbe. Tsarist Russia conquered Central Asia (19th Century). The Yahudi welcomed this change because the arrival of the Russians brought to an end the oppression endured during the Khanates. The Jews were mainly traders and had established trade with Russia. A powerful Jewish trading class of Bukharan Jews developed from this political change. Not all the Jewish traders benefitted. The Jewish traders who used a traditional way of cloth-dying were replaced by Russian Industrial companies. When the Russian Bolshevik Revolution occurred the Jewish community found themselves persecuted as a resultv of the athesist policies of the Bolsheviks. Many Jews left the region (1920-30). The Soviets shut down their newspapers and chools. In this period Judeo-Tajik books were not allowed to be printed. There was increased assimalation into the general community. With the advent of NAZIn persecutions and World War II, many Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe sought refuge in Tajikistan. After Tajikistan gained its independence with the disolution of the Soviet Union (1992) there were no longer limits on emigration. many Jewse emigrated, primsrily to Isreal. The Jewish people in Tajikistan are old and poor. Much relief work is being done by the world wide Jewish relief agencies.

Tunisia

The history of the Jews in Tunisia appears to extend over two melennia. It may have begund during theb Punic era. Carthage was a great trading republic, but there is no confirmed information. The Jewish community in Tunisia grew in waves during the Roman Empire. Presumably some Jews arrived in Tunisia during the Roman era as a result of the expulsion from Palestine and the Diaspora. Unlike Christians, Jewish comminities outside Palestine were not persecuted. With the rise of Constantine, Christianity became the established religion of the Empire. And Byzantine rulers began anti-Jewish measures as well as actions against heretical Christian sects. The Arabs conquered Tunisia (648-69). The Jews as a people of the Book were tolerated by Arab armies and subsequent Islamic rulers. This includrd, various Arab and Berber dynasties. Toleration varied from ruler to ruler, but was Muslim rulers were geberally more tolerant than Christians rulers, especially with advent of the Crusades. A strong Jewish presence in Tunisia (13th century). Jews lived primarily in the Hara, a communit in Tunis. Spain had veen a haven for Jews in Europe. Spain with rhe success of the Reconquista expelled its Jews (1492). Portugal folloed suit a few years later. Some were killed rather than expelled. Many went to Morocco and Algeria, fewer went to Tunisia. We are not sure why, but may have been a function of geography. The Ottomon Turks conquered Tunisia (1570-74) and ruled it until the 19th century. The Ottomams were relatively tolerant of Jews, generally more tolerant than local Berbrs and Arabs. Sephardic Jews settled in Italian Tuscany, enjoying a rare degree of toleration. Jews there settled in ports (Livorno and Pisa), establishing trading relations throughout the Meduiterranran. A community of related Jews developed in Tunis. Hara became a kind of ghetto. Tunisia was an Ottoman province, but as Ottoman power declined, essentially became independet. The Husainid dynasty acceded to the throne (1705). This is gen Tunishian rtulers began ti byse the Ittoman tern 'bey'. Tunisia became a stronghold for the Barbary Pirates. As a result there was a run in with the new American Republic. America's first distant projection of power was aimed at the Barbary Pirates. Gradually Europe became inncrasingly liberal and tolerant during the 19th cebtury. The Revilutions of 1848, although few suceeded. Europeans becamne comcerned of the aupression of minority groups in the Ottoman Empire, mostly Christians, but also Jews to some extent. Jews at the time were being liberatedfrom essentail medieval restictions and becoming enfranchissed. The Bey as a result of a revolution moced in the opposite direction. He abrogated the constitution (1864). One source describes 'great suffering on several Jewish communities, especially on that of Sfax". France had annexed Algeria decades earlier. This meant that the Bey was concerned about possible European intervention, moderating policies towad Chrustaians and Jews. With the Scramble for Africa underway and issues with the Ottoman were threatening the srability of Europe. These issues were addressed at the Congress of Berlin where German Chancellor Bismarck played a mahor role (1878). There was agreement for France to aquire Tunisia and Britain obtain Cyprus from the Ottomans. [Aldrich, p. 29.] Rebel Khroumir bands in Algeria using Tunisia as a sanctuary provided a pretext for French military intervention. [Randier] French troops occupied Tunisia (1881). The Bey was forced to sign a treaty accepting a French protectorate. France by this time was governed by the Third Republic with a secular outlook and accepting Jews as full citizens. Jews under the Drench began moving out of the Hara and acquired am increasongly French orientation. We do not know at this time to what extent Tunisia Jews were Jews descended from families in Tunisia before France seized control or French Jews who emmigrated to Tunusia. The children here at the Ecole Carnot look very Europeanized (figure 1). The Jewish population of Tunisia at the time of World War II was about 90,000. Another estimate places the Jewish population at 105,000 in 1948.

Turkey

The Ottomn Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers (1914). Ottoman officials hoped with German assistance to regain territory lost to the Russians. Ottoman armies experienced a series of disastrous defeats. The Russians destroyed a Turkish army in the Caucauses. The disaster was a factor in the Armenian Genocide (1915-16). The British and French failed at Galipoli (1915), but British offensives in Palestine and Mesopotami ended Ottoman rule of Aran lands. The War destoyed the Empire. It was replaced by a new Turkish Republic created by the Young Turks. After losing the Christian Balkans and the Arab lands and with rthe destructin of the Aremenians, the new Turkey was more ethnically homogenious, although there were still Greek and Kurdish minorities as well as the Jewish community. The Turkish people elected Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as the first president. The Republic abolished the Caliphate and adopted a secular constitution. The Young Turks rejected a treaty imposed by the Allies and a new treaty was negotiated--the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). A war with Greece resulted in the expulsion of the Greeks. The Republic extended minority rights to the three principal non-Muslim religious minorities. They were given the right to operatevtheir own schools, social institutions, and administers funds. The Republic prepared to adopt anew Civil Code based on Swiss law (1926). The Jewish Community as a result renounced its minority status protections. After the NAZIs seized power in Germany (1933), Ataturk offered refuge to German Jewish professors. These Jewish scholars layed a major role in building a modern university system in Turkey. [Shaw] Turkey remained neutral through most of World war II (1939-45). Both the Allies and NAZIs attempted to bring Turkey into the war. The Germans courted the Turkish and other Islamic minorities after invading the Soviet Union (1941). NAZI diplomts believed that they had convinced the Turks to enter the War. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad ended any chance of that. Turkey resisted the NAZI Holocaust. allowed Jews fleeing the NAZIs to pass through their territory, but did not allow any large number of Jewish refugees to stay in the country. The Turks refused NAZI requests to deport their Jews. Turkish diplomats (Ambassadors Behic Erkin and Numan Menemencioglu; Consul Generals Fikret Sefik Ozdoganci, Bedii Arbel, Selahattin Ulkumen; Consuls Namik Kemal Yolga and Necdet Kent) worked to save Turkish Jews in the countries occupied by the NAZIs--primarily Greece and France. [Shaw] Salahattin Ulkumen, Turkish Consul General on Rhodes (1943-44) was recognized by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Gentile. The Jewish Community now numbers about 26.000 people. Most live in Istanbul. A smaller community exists at Izmir. A few Jews live in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Canakkale, Iskenderun, and Kirklareli. Most Turkish Jews are Sephardis (over 95 percent). Most of the rest are Ashkenazis. There area few Karaites, who do not accept the Chief Rabbi's authority. Turkish Jews are legally represented by the Hahambasi, the Chief Rabbi. He is assisted by a religious Council.

Uganda

Abayudaya meaning the "People of Judah", similar to the Jewish term Children of Israel, are a Ugndan group which practices Judaism. They belong to the Baganda tribe of eastern Uganda aroun the town of Mbale. Unlike Ethiopian Jews they are not genetically linked to the Hebrew people of Israel or the Diaspora. They are described as rather devout obseving their kashruth, and following a limited Shabbat. The Abayudaya live in several villages. Their Judaism is of relatively recent origins, the 19th century, A Muganda (singular of Baganda) military leader, Semei Kakungulu, turned to Judaism wen the British did not support his territorial claims. Bible study convinced gim that Judaism was the true religion. He knew virtually nothing about the religion beyond what he read in the Bible. The British wanted to have nothing more to do with him. An unidentified European Jew known only as "Yosef" taught the Abayudaya about Jewish religious practice, espcially the major Jewish festivals. The Abayudaya are accepted by Reform and Conservative Jewish sects, but the Abayudaya in Putti seek Orthodox conversion. The Abayudaya once numbered over 3,000, but since the persecutions pursued by Idi Amin have declined to only about 1,000 people. The Abayudaya are subsistence farmers. Ethnically they are mostly of Abayudaya origin. They speak the local languages, Luganda, Lusoga or Lugwere. Some have managed to learn Hebrew.

Ukraine

Both the boundaries of the Ukraine and the people ruling the area have changed markedly over time. The attitidues toward Jews has varied significantly. Jewish history in the Ukraine began with the Khazars (6th century AD). The Kazar Empire became a major power, controling what is now the Ukraine as well as adjacent areas (8-10th centuries). Jews from Christian Europe (especially Byzantium) sought refuge in the Kazar Empire. The royal family evetually adopted Judaism. As a result, the Ukraine developed on of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. Lithuania-Poland conquered the Ukraine (14th century). An expanding Russian Tsarist Empire defeated the Poles and seized he Ukraine and susequentkly Lithuania and large areas pf Poland. The Germans seized much of the Ukraine in World War I and were in the process of creating a satellite state when the Western Allies cracked the Western Front and forced the Germans to request an armistice (November 1918). In the mean time the Russian Revolutioin broke out and the Ukraine became on of the battlefields in the resulting Civil War (1919-21). The Blolsheviks managed to gain control of much of the Ukraine. The new Polish state in a war with the Bolsheciks manahged to gain control of areas of Beylorusia and the wesern Ukraine. World War II began with the invasion of Poland (September 1939). The Germans invaded first from the west followed by the Soviets from the east. The Soviets annened eastern Poland. The southeastern area was incprporated into the Ukrainian, SSR. The Jewish population of the Ukraine at the onset of World War II nymbered about 1.5 million people. This was about 3 percent of the overall population. About 3.5 million people were eventually evacuated. Availablesources suggest that Jews were over represented in the evacuations because they were primarily urbanized and well educated and generally supported the regime. Those evacuated included scientists, skilled workers, and government officials. Some sources suggest that as many as one-half to two-thirds of Ukranian Jews managed to escape east and avoid the NAZI Holocaust. A factor here was where they lived. The furthur east they lived, the more chance they had to evacuate.

Uzbeckistan

There was a Jewish community in central Asia, although the origins are poorly documented. The central Asian Jews may well pre-date European Jewery. The Jewish community of Uzbekistan may date from the destruction of the Temple and the Babylonian captivity. Or it may date from the Persian Empire that followed. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Palestine, but not all did. There were Jewish community within the Persian Empire. Laws about religion varied, but on the whole the Persians were tolerant toward conquered people as long as they accepted Persian authority. Of course Jews would only had to be concerned with the Persians, but with the laws and traditions of the principlities in which they lived, many of which were less tolerant than the Persians. The best known and probably oldest Jewish community in Uzbekistan is that of Bukhara. Its origins are not documented, but it may be over 2,000 years old. Legends adscribe its origins to variously. One repor suggests Jews fleeing from persecution in Persia about 1,500 years ago. Others suggest more recent origins, merchants on the Silk Road (7th century AD). Uzbek Jews were mostly city dwealers, mostly artisans and merchants, since laws prohibited land ownership. Jews survived the various invasions that swept over the region (Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the Sardians, the Qarakhanids, the Seljuks, the Persians, the Turks, and the Chinese). The Jews of Central Asia were for the most part not vicuiously percecuted by the Muslims as was the case in European Christendom. The famed Tsarist photographer Prokudin-Gorskii in 1911 captured a remarable image of a group of Jewish boys, in traditional dress, studying with their teacher (figure 1).

Yemen

Yemeni Jews trace their history to the time of King Solomon. The sources are legendary. They believe that King Solomon dispated Jewish merchants by ship to prospect for gold and silver needed to ador the Great Temple Yemeni Jews also claim that Jewish craftsmen were requested by Bilqis, Queen of Sheba. Notably the Beta Israel or Chabashim (Ethiiopian Jews) have a similar tradition as to their origins which has the Queen of Sheba marring King Solomon. Such traditions while not the same as recorded history should not be dismissed. Both Bilqis and Solomon were historical figures. And at the time Sheba controlled parts of Yemen and Ethiopia. Yemen was conquered by the Arabs (7th century). The status of Jews in Yemeni society was radicaly chsanged. The Yemeni Government reserected an ancient law which required Jewish orphans under age 12 be converted to Islam (1922). The country's largest Jeewish community was located in Aden. News that the United Nations approved a plan to partition Palestine caused riots in Aden (1947). Rioters assisted by the Yemeni police carried out a pogrom that killed 82 Jews and destroyed hundreds of homes. The rioters also destroyed Jewish stores and businesses leaving the Jewish community destitute. Further rioting and looting followed trumped up chsarges that Jews had ritually murdered two girls (1948). Israel organized Operation "Magic Carpet" to rescue the endangered Jewish population. Almost all of the Yemeni Jews left the country, about 50,000 people (June 1949- September 1950). Small number of Jews remained and they were allowed to emigrate as they desired. A civil war broke out (1962) ad authorities halted any further Jewish emigration. It was believed at the time that there were no longer ay Jews in Yemen. An American diplomat by accident encountered a small Jewish community living in an isolated part of northern Yemen (1976). These Jews had no partuicipated in Operation Magic Carpet for a varirty of reasons, including theirvisolation as well as problems like sck reklatives unable to travel. Isolated in remote reas, many had abadned their faith and converted. Yemeni authorities do allow the,m to practice their faith. There are reportedly two synagogues. One report suggests that in recent years about 400 Jews have mnaged to emigrate to Israel depite a Goverment prohibition.

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a country born out of firestorm of World War I. In fact the assasination of the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo was the spark that ignited the conflagration. Serbia's reward for fighting on the allied side was a nation forv the southern Slavs--Yugoslavia. It cobeled together many natiinal groups uncertain about Serbian domination of the new state. Croatians in particular were wary of Serb control of the state. Other contstiuent parts were Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. , and other areas with Bulgarian, German, Italian, and Hungarian minorities. Within this complex states there were a small number of Jews. Their history and traditions varied from region to region. As elsewhere in Europe they played a role in the development of trade, commerce, and culture. Their experience was somewhat different than the Jews of Western Europe because of the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans. Both Sphardic and Ashkenazic Jews were present in Yugoslavia. The Jewish history in Yugoslavia was only a fraction of their long history in the Balkans. Tragically the one experience shared by the Yugoslav Jews was the Holocaust. There wre about some 78,000 Jews living in Yugoslavia at the time of World war II. This included about 4,000 foreign Jews who fled to Yugoslavia from the Germany and German occupied countries. The NAZIs invaded Yugoslavia (April 1941) and occupied the country within days. Germany divided the country among its Axis partners. The Jews in each area except the Italian occupation zone were immediateky targeted by the NAZIs and local authorities. Few Yugoslavs Jews survived.

Sources

Shaw, Stanford J. Turkey and the Holocaust: Turkey's Role in Rescuing Turkish and European Jewry from Nazi Persecution, 1933-1945.

Watson, E., Forster P, Richards M, Bandelt HJ. "Mitochondrial footprints of human expansions in Africa," American Journal of Human Genetics September 1997), Vol. 61, No. 3, pp. 691-704.

Created: 11:54 PM 3/7/2007
Last updated: 4:57 AM 2/23/2020