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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000885 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PGOV PREL KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZSTAN'S JEWISH COMMUNITY: THE LONG HISTORY 
AND CURRENT SITUATION 
 
BISHKEK 00000885  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Long gone are the days of a robust and 
vibrant Jewish community in Kyrgyzstan.  Like in many former 
Soviet republics, most of the Jewish population has 
immigrated to Israel, Canada, or the United States.  However, 
the Jewish community members who have chosen to remain, 
approximately 1500 strong, promote the traditions and history 
of the Jewish people through the programs of their charitable 
organizations.  Prominent Jewish citizens in Kyrgyzstan 
provide the necessary financial support to continue these 
programs into the foreseeable future.  End Summary. 
 
 
HISTORY OF JEWS IN KYRGYZSTAN 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  The history of the Jewish community in Kyrgyzstan 
dates back to the 1880's, when the first Ashkenazi 
(German/Eastern European) Jews settled in the northern Kyrgyz 
cities of Pishpek (now Bishkek), Tokmok, and Karakol.  They 
arrived together with an influx of Russian settlers.  During 
this period, Yahudi or Bukharan Jews arrived from Bukhara and 
Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan) and in the southern Kyrgyz 
towns of Osh and Jalalabad. They fled their homeland as a 
result of restrictions impressed upon them by the Russian 
Colonial Administration that limited their movement within 
the Bukharan Khanate. 
 
¶3. (U) During World War II, a flood of Ashkenazi Jews fled 
German Nazi-occupied areas of the Soviet Union and resettled 
in Kyrgyzstan.  This period saw the height of the Jewish 
population reach an estimated 26,000.  Members of the Jewish 
community fulfilled prominent roles in Kyrgyzstan society, as 
authors, scholars, politicians, artists, and scientists with 
little animosity from the Kyrgyz population. 
 
THE RETURN TO ISRAEL 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The exodus of Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel 
and other nations depleted the population in Kyrgyzstan to an 
estimated 7,200 by 1989, according to a government census. 
Doctor Boris Shapiro, Chairman of the Board of Jewish Culture 
Society of Kyrgyzstan "Menora," told Poloff that the severe 
limitations of freedom instilled by Soviet policies drove 
Jews to seek a better life in Israel, Canada, or the United 
States.  Although his own children immigrated to Israel, he 
vowed never to leave Kyrgyzstan, stating that "I am old and 
this will always be my home."  Shapiro is typical of the 
estimated 1,500 Jews remaining in Kyrgyzstan, comprised of a 
predominantly elderly population unwilling to uproot their 
lives. 
 
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT JEWISH COMMUNITY 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Although their primary focus is to support Jewish 
seniors, Jewish charitable organizations also conduct 
outreach programs, sponsor youth sports and art clubs, and 
provide seminars on health care.  Rosa Fish, Director of the 
Jewish Charitable Fund of Bishkek "Hesed Tikva" and 
Vice-Chairwoman of "Menora," told Poloff that the elderly 
Jewish community benefits from programs that provide food and 
other necessary household products, pay heating bills in the 
winter, and assist with medical care.  In addition, she noted 
that their organizations support youth sports and art clubs, 
sponsor trips to Issyk-Kul for families and individuals, 
conduct health seminars on emergency medical care and child 
healthcare, and organize outreach programs in schools to 
educate students on the tragedies of the Holocaust.  "Hesed 
Tikva" and "Menora" also fund a newspaper for the Jewish 
community and a school that conducts lessons on Judaism, with 
the goal of promoting the traditions and history of the 
 
BISHKEK 00000885  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Jewish people. 
 
LOCAL DONORS SUPPORT JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The primary source of funding for the Jewish 
assistance organizations and the local synagogue in 
Kyrgyzstan is the Jewish community itself.  Shapiro and Fish 
agreed that without the support of members of the Jewish 
community, businessmen, politicians, and other wealthy 
individuals, their organizations would not exist.  When asked 
about financial support from Israel, Rabbi Arie Raichman, 
head of the only Jewish synagogue in Kyrgyzstan, told Poloff 
that funding for his facilities came from within the 
community and that "the State of Israel supports us morally, 
as we do the same for it." 
 GFOELLER