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The history of the Jews in Kazakhstan connects back to the history of Bukharan and Juhuro Mountain Jews. Kazakh Jews have a long history. At present, there are approximately several thousand Jews in Kazakhstan.
General Secretary Joseph Stalin evacuated thousands of Jews from other parts of the Soviet Union to the Kazakh SSR. During the Holocaust 8,218 Jews were evacuated to Kazakhstan between August 1941 and January 1942. [2] [3]
A Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue in Almaty is named after Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Rebbe, who is buried at the city's cemetery, close to the synagogue. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was exiled to Kazakhstan from Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk, where he was a chief rabbi. [4] Lubavitcher Jews from all over the world come to pray at his grave. [5]
Yeshaya E. Cohen, the Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan, and leader of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States told Kazinform on January 16, 2004 that a new synagogue would be built in Astana. He thanked President Nazarbayev for "paying so much attention to distinguishing between those who truly believe and those who want to hijack their religion." [6] President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, presented Nazarbayev with a menorah on 7 September 2004. [7]
Kazakhstan's Jewish population rapidly increased between 1926 and 1959, being almost eight times larger in 1959 than in 1926. Kazakhstan's Jewish population slowly declined between 1959 and 1989, followed by a much larger decline after the fall of Communism between 1989 and 2002 due to massive Jewish emigration, mostly to Israel. [8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 3,548 | — |
| 1939 | 19,240 | +442.3% |
| 1959 | 28,085 | +46.0% |
| 1970 | 27,676 | −1.5% |
| 1979 | 23,601 | −14.7% |
| 1989 | 20,104 | −14.8% |
| 1999 | 6,823 | −66.1% |
| 2009 | 3,578 | −47.6% |
| Source: [lower-alpha 1] | ||
Jewish Kazakh fencer Yakov Rylsky (1928 – 1999) was a Soviet Olympic and world champion sabre fencer.
About 2,000 Jewish Kazakhs are Bukharan and Juhuro Mountain Jews. There are synagogues and large Jewish communities in Almaty where there are 1,000 Jews in Astana and Pavlodar. Many of the Neo-Aramaic speaking Jews of Salmas now reside in Almaty. [13] There are smaller communities in Karaganda, Shymkent, Semey, Kokshetau, Taraz, Oral, Aktobe, and Petropavl.
There are twenty Jewish Kazakh organizations, including the Mitzvah Association, Chabad, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Jewish Agency for Israel, and the All-Kazakhstan Jewish Congress (AKJC). The Jewish communities formed the AKJC in December 1999 in a ceremony attended by Kazakh government officials and United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Richard Jones.
There are fourteen Jewish day schools attended by more than 700 students. There is a Jewish kindergarten in Almaty. [14] Between 2005 and 2006 attendance in religious services and education in Almaty among Jews greatly increased. The government of Kazakhstan registered eight foreign rabbis and "Jewish missionaries". It has also donated buildings and land for the building of new synagogues. [1] [2]
According to the National Coalition Supporting Soviet Jewry, "Anti-Semitism is not prevalent in Kazakhstan and rare incidents are reported in the press," contrary to incorrect perceptions in popular culture caused by the country's portrayal in the 2006 film Borat as a "hot-bed of anti-Semitism." [15]
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an Orthodox rabbi and the most recent Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
Yosef YitzchakSchneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe, the Rebbe RaYYaTz, or the Rebbe Rayatz. After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life.
Schneersohn is a Jewish surname used by many of the descendants of the Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
A Mitzvah tank is a vehicle used by the Orthodox Jewish practitioners of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism as a portable "educational and outreach center" and "mini-synagogue" to reach out to non-observant and alienated Jews. Mitzvah tanks have been commonplace on the streets of New York City since 1974. Today they are found all over the globe in countries where Chabad is active.
Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was a Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi in Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine. He was the father of the seventh Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Agudas Chassidei Chabad is the umbrella organization for the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The chairman of the executive committee is Rabbi Abraham Shemtov.
Ohr Avner Foundation is a philanthropic foundation that was established in 1992 by the Israeli billionaire and émigré from the former Soviet Union, Lev Leviev and is managed by its Director Rabbi David Mondshine. The foundation was named in memory of Lev Leviev's father Rabbi Avner Leviev. It supports a large network of Jewish educational institutions in the former Soviet Union, such as Jewish day schools, kindergartens and youth camps, a resource center and a teachers training institute.
The Moscow Choral Synagogue is one of the main synagogues in Russia and in the former Soviet Union. It is located in central Basmanny District at 10 Bolshoy Spasogolinischevsky Lane, close to Kitai-Gorod Metro station. Chief Rabbi Adolf Shayevich is its spiritual head.
The Library Of Agudas Chassidei Chabad is a research library owned by Agudas Chasidei Chabad. Its content had been collected by the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbes. The library is housed next to the Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York, and is utilized by Chabad and general Judaic scholars. It is viewed by thousands of visitors each year.
Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.
Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch is the central educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It was founded in 1943 by the sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, who served as president, and appointed his son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who would later become the seventh Rebbe, as its chairman and director. After the passing of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson succeeded him as president. Today, Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Krinsky serves as chairman and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky serves as vice-chairman.
The Ohel is an ohel in Cambria Heights, Queens, New York City, where Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, the two most recent rebbes of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, are buried. Both Jews and non-Jews visit The Ohel for prayer, and approximately 50,000 people make an annual pilgrimage there on the anniversary of Schneerson's death.
Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as Kiruv or Qiruv, is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life according to Jewish law. The process of a Jew becoming more observant of Orthodox Judaism is called teshuva making the "returnee" a baal teshuva. Orthodox Jewish outreach has worked to enhance the rise of the baal teshuva movement.
Israel–Kazakhstan relations refers to the current and historical relations between Israel and Kazakhstan. The countries established diplomatic relations on April 10, 1992. The embassy of Israel in Astana, Kazakhstan opened in August 1992. The embassy of Kazakhstan in Tel Aviv, Israel opened in May 1996. In 2004, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Israel-Kazakhstan was established in Israel in order to develop and expand trade and economic relations.
Chana Schneerson was the wife of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a Chabad Hasidic rabbi in Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine and the mother of the seventh Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Chabad affiliated organizations and institutions number in the thousands. Chabad is a Hasidic movement, a branch of Orthodox Judaism. The organizations and institutions associated with the movement provide social, educational and religious services to Jews around the globe.
Chabad customs and holidays are the practices, rituals and holidays performed and celebrated by adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. The customs, or minhagim and prayer services are based on Lurianic kabbalah. The holidays are celebrations of events in Chabad history. General Chabad customs, called minhagim, distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups.
Nissan Mindel was a Chabad Hasidic rabbi, author, editor, and served on the administrative staff of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The history of the Jews in Central Asia dates back centuries, where Jews have lived in countries which include Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
... moved virtually the entire community in 1950 to Almaty in Kazakhstan, where a large proportion of the Jews speaking the Salmas dialect can be found to this day. [in c. 2018]
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