ofskfe: Jews of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 2001. Photos by Gueorgui Pinkhassov.“Aron Zarga
ofskfe: Jews of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 2001. Photos by Gueorgui Pinkhassov.“Aron Zargarov spends most days sitting in his little synagogue, smiling for the tourists. They come from Israel, the United States, France and Germany to visit the 500-year-old ‘Old’ synagogue in this ancient Silk Road city. Eventually they move on, and local friends and neighbors wander in for evening prayers. But Mr. Zargarov knows it is only a matter of time before the tourists are the only Jews left in Bukhara.“We always have enough for a minyan,” he said. “But everybody has relatives in New York, and the majority are planning on leaving.“ (…) “You go to the synagogue, and you see your friends from childhood are gone,” said Abram, a local Jew who asked that his last name not be used. “You walk down the street, and it’s empty. It gets lonely and deathly boring. If you close your eyes and ignore it, maybe you can find some deeper purpose and stay on. But it’s very difficult.”” (An Ancient Community Counts Its Final Days) -- source link
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