The Jewish community in Kyrgyzstan is in a state of alarm following the bloody revolution that took place in the Central Asian country last week.
According to reports over the weekend, at the main government building in Kyrgyzstan, known as the White House, a large banner was unfurled with the words, "The dirty Jews and people like the son of the ousted president in Kiev have no place in Kyrgyzstan," hinting at known ties between the son of the ousted president and Jewish businessmen.
A local website reported that early this week several Jewish businesses were subject to looting and arson attacks.
Ben Joda, a British reporter of Jewish descent staying in the capital city of Bishkek, recounted a conversation with a member of the opposition after they took over the government building, who told the journalist that the Jews' end in Kyrgyzstan had arrived. According to the reporter, Kyrgyzstan is no place for Israelis or Jews during this period, and he expects the government of Israel to take immediate steps to ensure their safety.
Pinchas Avivi, deputy director of Eurasia at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Israel is indeed concerned about the recent developments and called on the Kyrgyzstan government to take measures to prevent antisemitism.
A synagogue in the capital, located between several stores that were torched and plundered, did not incur damage during the rioting, but congregants are increasingly worried by antisemitic acts in the Muslim country as it moves towards anarchy.
The ORT school, situated in the heart of Bishkek, has been shuttered due to the violence in the capital. According to a JTA report, when the violence broke out school administrators called parents to pick up their children, who had just resumed studies following the Pesach break. ORT and other institutions run by the Jewish community are expected to remain closed for now.
Kyrgyzstan is home to 1,500 Jews, including 1,000 in Bishkek. Half of the Jewish residents receive economic assistance provided by Jewish organizations in the US. JDC representative Asher Ostrin said the Joint is working to ensure welfare recipients do not experience disruptions during the period of unrest.
Kuzari, Uzbeki and Iranian Jews first settled in the country in the fourth century CE. The settlers were merchants taking advantage of Kyrgyzstan's location along the route leading from Iran and Uzbekistan to East Asia. Famous Italian navigator Marco Polo also describes the local Jewish community in his annals.
At the end of the 18th century Jews from the Russian empire were permitted to settle in the area, which was under Russian control. Following Russia's conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century, Ashkenazi Jews arrived in the region as well, although the Sephardic and Ashkenazi kehillos remained separate. The Sephardic Jews lived in the city's old, impoverished neighborhoods, while the Ashkenazi Jews lived in "European" neighborhoods, alongside Russians and Tatars.
In 1898 most of Kyrgyzstan's Jews lived in Osh, following an edict issued by the Russians. In 1905 non-Christian Russians were granted permission to live in certain areas held by Russia, including Kyrgyzstan. Many Jews immigrated from Lithuania, Poland, Iran and Iraq, and the Bishkek kehilloh grew. In 1910 the chief commissioner counted 800 Jews in Osh and 250 in Bishkek, in addition to a handful in towns and villages.
During the First World War many Ashkenazi Jews fled to Kyrgyzstan, swelling their numbers beyond those in the Sephardic population. Many Jews were also sent to forced labor camps. During World War II some 20,000 Jews escaping areas conquered by Nazi Germany sought shelter in Kyrgyzstan.
The Jewish community in Bishkek was officially recognized in 1945. Since then the Jews have not suffered antisemitism, including after the fall of the FSU, and Muslim extremism had not raised its head in the country previously.
Bishkek has only one active beis knesses, held by the Ashkenazi kehilloh, but in the 1990s it began serving Bishkek's Sephardic residents as well. After the dissolution of the FSU many Jews left the country, leaving only a small number behind.
