There is a long history of Jews living in Afghanistan, perhaps as long as 2700 years ago from Jews brought to the area during the Assyrian Exile in 720 B.C.E. and the later Babylonian Exile in 560 B.C.E. There is an ancient tradition that the Pashtun people descended from Jews and later were converted to Islam. The Pashtuns are currently the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, are Sunni Muslim, and speak their own Indo-Iranian language of Pashto. They also hold to a pre-Islamic code of behavior known as Pashtunwali, not shared by other Afghan ethnic groups.
The Jews of Afghanistan chiefly resided in modern times in the towns of Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni, and Balkh. Since the time of the formation of Israel they began to emigrate and now only one Jewish resident is found left in Kabul. Several synagogues still exist in Afghanistan and some are being restored.
Afghan Muslim Converts
Several Afghan groups began to report in the 19th century that they believe that they can trace their ancestry to King Saul and other Israelites, calling themselves the Bani Israel, or Children of Israel. These groups include the Durrani, Afridi and Pashtun. A Pashtun historical work, Taaqat-i Nasiri, tells of a tribe known as Bani Israel who lived south of Herat in Ghor in the 7th century, who were converted to Islam. In the 17th century C.E., Maghzan-e-Afghani also discusses the Pashtun descent from Jews. Ironically, the Pashtuns are the same ethnic group that has bred supporters of the Taliban, who are obviously opposed to any Jewish presence in Afghanistan.
The Pashtun’s have tribes, Naphtali, Asheri, and Yusafzai who specifically claim descent from the Lost Ten Tribes of of Israel. Other tribal names in Afghanistan are Rebbani (Reuben); Levoni (Levi); Ephriti (Ephraim); and the Ghaghi tribesmen claim their name is from Gad. Several Pashtun customs appear to be Jewish such as the chupah covering for the wedding and the circumcision of boys on the eighth day. They wore prayer shawls similar to those of the Jews of the west. They are known to leave stones on graves when visiting them like the Jews, They also lit candles on Friday evening, the Jewish Sabbath. and they once held Saturday as their day of rest. They believe that the name of the country derives from the grandson of King Saul, Afghana. Kabul, the capitol city, is thought to derive from a Hebrew name. And King Habibullah Khan of early 20th century Afghanistan, though born in Tashkent, claimed descent from King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin.
Jewish Settlers in Afghanistan
Other Jews escaping the Muslim Conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries fled to Afghanistan, retaining their religion. Several historians and rabbinical records reported large Jewish communities living in Afghanistan from the 10th century on. The “land of the North” mentioned in the Bible is thought to be the land of Khorasan, a historical area thought to stretch from north-eastern and east of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, western and northern Afghanistan and the North Western Areas of Pakistan. It appears that the Babylonian Talmudic schools and the area of Khorasan were in close contact through the Middle Ages, and the main Jewish communities in Afghanistan were in Merv, Balkh, Ghazni, Herat, Kabul and Nishapur.
In 1956 in the town of Ghur by Herat, inscriptions were found on stones in the cemetery dating 752-753 C.E. Later many more inscriptions were found up until the time just after the Mongol Invasion in 1249, which would indicate that the community had been annihilated or had fled. The Mongol Invasion of 1222 decimated the Afghans, the Jews and the Jewish records. Not much has been found written about the Jews of Afghanistan again until the 19th century when thousands of Jews began to flee from Persia into Herat, Afghanistan due to forced conversions there.
When Israel was formed in 1948 and finally allowed for immigration in 1951, there were approximately 5,000 Jews in Afghanistan most of whom emigrated. At the time of the Soviet Invasion in 1979, only 300 Jews remained who then immigrated to Israel. And now in 2009, there is only one Jew left in Kabul.
Sole Survivor in Kabul
Zablon Simintov born in 1959, is a Jewish Turkmen Afghan. As of 2008, he remains the sole surviving Jew in Afghanistan. He deals in carpets and takes care of the synagogue in Kabul. All other Jews have emigrated, mostly to Israel since the time of that Israel was created, leaving only pockets of Jews in Afghanistan. There are over 10,000 Jews of Afghan origin now living in Israel. Simintov remains Orthodox in his solitary life in his synagogue home in Kabul, after all, his father and grandfather were rabbis. His wife and daughters now live in Israel.
And so the Jews are now extinct in Afghanistan, or are they? If you consider the Pashtun people, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, to have Jewish roots-- then the Jewish heritage continues on in Afghanistan.
Sources:
Matalon, Guy “The Other in Afghan Identity: Medieval Jewish community of Afghanistan,” Afghanistan Online
Oreck, Alden “ The Virtual Jewish History Tour: Afghanistan
Vivians, Frank " Taliban may have origin in ancient tribe of Israel: Anthropologist finds many similarities," San Francisco Chronicle (Saturday, October 20, 2001)
Paula I. Nielson - Paula I. Nielson, Ph.D., holds credentials and interests in anthropology, archaeology, religion, the Middle East and Asia.
