VZCZCXRO1360
OO RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #0394/01 0591113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 281113Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6817
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 1399
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 1440
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 1429
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 1380
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 1326
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1396
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1354
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1291
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0006
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1199
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFISS/HQ USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 1445
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0980
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 1480
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0773
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 7933

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 000394 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/IRF 
NSC FOR MILLARD, MERKEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PROP KIRF TI
SUBJECT: DUSHANBE SYNAGOGUE DEMOLITION GAINING MEDIA INTEREST 
 
REF: A)  DUSHANBE 0329  B) 05 DUSHANBE 1737 
 
DUSHANBE 00000394  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The February 8 partial demolition of the Dushanbe 
synagogue (reftel A) is beginning to make waves in the 
international media and is stimulating letters of protest to 
Embassy Dushanbe from private citizens in the United States. 
The media accounts emphasize the reported intemperate and 
insensitive remarks that a few Tajik officials allegedly made, 
and perpetuate the inaccurate information that the synagogue is 
a century old and a historic site.  Because the story is 
growing, we propose press guidance in para 7.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  The demolition of the Dushanbe synagogue is drawing 
international attention.  Forum 18 News Service ( 
 ) provided a detailed and generally 
factual account February 22, "TAJIKISTAN:  Demolition of 
Country's Only Synagogue Begins."  February 28, "IsraelInsider" 
(  ) posted an 
op-ed by Shelomo Alfassa, "Our Synagogue is Destroyed.  Why are 
We Silent?"  This article contrasts international outcry over 
the destruction of the Shia'a Shrine in Samara, Iraq, to the 
lack of attention to the synagogue story.  The "IsraelInsider" 
op-ed includes the following: 
 
"~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. 
 
"The international Jewish community has a responsibility to do 
everything it can to help the remaining elderly and 
poverty-stricken Jews in Tajikistan. I call upon the worldwide 
directors of Jewish organizations, to speak out on this issue. 
Write articles, tell your communities about this, telephone, and 
email your government officials. Have them condemn this 
aggressive assault against a peaceful community. Communicate, 
act, help make 'Never Again' a reality~." 
 
¶3.  Both accounts emphasize the allegedly insensitive and 
intemperate comments by several Tajik officials. 
 
¶4.  February 28, Embassy Dushanbe received an e-mail from a 
concerned AmCit in Herndon, Virginia. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Dear Ambassador Hoagland, 
 
I'm a concerned citizen writing to protest the demolition of 
Jewish religious sites in Dushanbe between 7 and 22 February 
¶2006.  Among the destroyed buildings was the one and only Tajik 
synagogue, which was a century old and in active use by a 
juridically recognized religious community. 
 
According to Forum 18, an NGO based in Oslo, Norway, the 
demolition was marked by dispute and irregularity 
().  The 
Jewish community's claim of ownership was summarily dismissed by 
the municipal Religious Affairs Department.  Demolition began 
 
DUSHANBE 00000394  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
without an official assessment or opportunity for comment.  The 
temporary facilities offered by the Government to Rabbi 
Abdurakhmanov are remote from congregants and therefore 
inadequate.  Since the community is small, poor and partly 
elderly, it is unlikely to have the means to build a new 
synagogue. 
 
I'm most troubled by the state's attitude toward its Jewish 
citizens.  Dushanbe Religious Affairs Department head Nuriddinov 
branded them liars.  Tahir Rashidov, deputy head of the national 
Religious Affairs Committee, countered questions about the 
demolition with threats to revoke the Jewish community's 
juridical status.  When a congregant taped the demolitions, 
officials warned they would break his camera. 
 
I urge the Department of State, which is committed to the 
protection of global religious freedoms, to request an 
investigation of the incident and a reconsideration of the 
demolition.  If Tajikistan is a modern, tolerant and secular 
state, it would better serve these values by protecting its 
religious sites and respecting its faith communities.  A good 
start would be made by rebuilding the synagogue. 
 
I would appreciate a response.  Thank you. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
End text. 
 
¶5.  The Ambassador sent the following response: 
 
Begin text: 
 
Dear [name withheld]: 
 
I fully share your concern for the Jewish community in 
Tajikistan and for the Dushanbe synagogue.  I would like to 
assure you for three years, ever since the synagogue was given 
notice of the impending demolition because of an urban renewal 
project, I have followed these developments closely.  I have 
been in touch with several Jewish communities abroad and with 
other diplomatic missions, including the Israeli Embassy.  The 
synagogue and Tajik government have been engaged in a dialogue 
over this issue for years.  Unfortunately, no one has been able 
to produce a solution. 
 
Overall, Tajikistan is a religiously tolerant country, and I do 
not believe anti-Semitism is involved.  Several Tajik homes and 
a mosque in the immediate vicinity of the synagogue were 
demolished months ago.  The statements from Tajik officials you 
refer to were likely due to political insensitivity and 
frustration over the lengthy issue rather than anti-Semitism. 
 
I feel deeply for the community and regret that it is the poor 
and disenfranchised who will suffer.  I understand the 
synagogue, built in the 1940s, is an important structure for the 
community.  Unfortunately, the destruction is irreversible.  I 
agree with you that to move on, the synagogue should be rebuilt. 
 I will continue to help as I can; however, my intervention 
alone cannot be decisive.  I encourage you to work with others 
to assist the synagogue and its community financially or 
otherwise. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
End text. 
 
DUSHANBE 00000394  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  The Ambassador and Mark Levin of the National Council for 
Soviet Jewry have been in frequent touch on the synagogue issue. 
 February 27, the Ambassador recommended that Levin and an 
appropriate delegation come to Dushanbe soonest to mediate the 
problem and, equally important, raise funds for a new synagogue 
and community center. 
 
¶7.  If the issue is raised at the Department's Daily Press 
Briefing, we suggest the following press guidance: 
 
-- The U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan and his staff have followed 
this story closely for several years.  They have advocated to 
various groups in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere to 
work closely with the Dushanbe synagogue and its community. 
 
-- Despite reports of intemperate and insensitive remarks by 
several Tajik officials about this issue, we believe that 
anti-Semitism is not involved.  It is primarily a property 
dispute. 
 
-- Although the Dushanbe synagogue is widely reported to be 
about 100 years old, city records show that it was built in the 
1940s.  The city of Dushanbe, the new capital of the then-Tajik 
Soviet Socialist Republic, was founded in 1924.  The oldest 
existing buildings date from the end of the 1920s. 
 
-- We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and will 
be helpful where we can. 
HOAGLAND