The Last Jew In Kabul

Zablon Simintov is the last  Jew in Kabul, and possibly in all of Afghanistan. I loved seeing all of the vintage Jewish items like the shofar (the rams horn),  siddurs, or prayer books, and posters. I think it is really cool that Simintov cares for the old synagogue and is friends with the local Muslims. However, I find it a little odd that he is literally the only Jew in his town and that he doesn’t live with his wife and children. When the Taliban was in charge, Simintov was jailed and physically abused and his torah was stolen. 

Jews who are from or have ancestors form Muslim-majority states, mostly in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus, are called Mizrahi Jews. Jews have had a presence in Afghanistan for at least 2,000 years and some estimate the highest number of Afghan Jews was 80,000. It is widely believed by many Muslim, and some Jewish scholars that the Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, descended from the exiled 12 Tribes of Israel. 

For more information on Jews in Afghanistan: Click Here