TRANSCAUCASIA & CENTRAL ASIA 2008/9

 

As in previous years, antisemitism remained at a low level in 2008. Nevertheless, several antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations took place in various countries of the region during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

 

introduction

The eight national republics in Transcaucasia and Central Asia gained their independence in the early 1990s after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Six of them have a Muslim majority (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan), and two have a Christian majority (Armenia and Georgia). Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan share a long common border with Iran; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan adjoin Afghanistan.

The revival of nationalist movements and conflicts following independence in these countries led to civil wars in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Tajikistan; as a result, demarcation of their borders has not been completed. The issue of national minorities is also complex since there are more than one hundred national groups in the region.

An armed conflict broke out in August 2008 in South Ossetia between Georgia and Russia (supported by local Ossetians and Abkhazians). The conflict had actually been ongoing since the South Ossetia war in 1991–92 between Georgians and Ossetians, which left most of South Ossetia under an unrecognized government supported by Russia, while some ethnic Georgian-inhabited parts remained under Georgian rule. A similar situation occurred in Abkhazia after the war there in 1992-93. On the night of August 7−8, 2008 Georgia attacked South Ossetia and Russia reacted on the following day by attacking Georgia. The largest battle of the war took place in Tskhinvali (the capital of South Ossetia) and lasted three days. On August 9 a second front was opened when Russians and Abkhazians attacked the Kodori Valley, held by Georgia, and entered western parts of Georgia itself. After five days the Georgians were forced out from South Ossetia and Abkhazian and Russian troops occupied several cities in Georgia. A preliminary ceasefire agreement was signed on August 12 as a result of French and European Union intervention and Russia gradually pulled its troops out of Georgia. Buffer zones were established around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On August 26, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia completed its withdrawal from Georgia on October 8; however,^[updat its troops remained in Abkhazia and South Ossetia according to agreements with the local governments.

There are also complex interstate economic difficulties relating to taxes, transportation, and ownership as well as use of natural resources. The question of the exploitation of the oil- and gas-rich Caspian Sea, for example, involves Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

            The socio-political situation provides fertile ground for the activity of radical political and religious groups (see ASW 2007).

 

Jewish Communities

The Jewish population is made up of several sub-groups: Bukharan, Georgian and Mountain Jews have been living in the region for centuries while most Ashkenazi Jews arrived during and after World War II. The massive emigration from the region has left some 30,000−50,000 Jewish residents, mostly Ashkenazi Jews living in the capital cities. In Bukhara (Uzbekistan), for example, only a handful of Jewish families are left, and a similar situation exists in other regional cities of Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have about 10,000 Jews each; about one thousand remain in Georgia and a few hundred each in Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Apart from Turkmenistan, where there is no synagogue or Jewish cultural center, the republics impose no limitations on the activities of local or international (the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Joint) Jewish organizations, which all have representatives and offices in the capitals. Chabad is the most active Jewish religious organization in the region. Other religious services include mikvehs and kosher food.

Chabad operates four Jewish schools (in Tashkent, Alma-Ata, Baku and Tbilisi), as well as Sunday schools and kindergartens. Two schools in Uzbekistan (in Tashkent and Bukhara) are sponsored by Midrash Sfaradi (the Israeli Sephardic religious organization); a school in Kyrgyzstan (in Bishkek) is supported by a private Jewish donor, while another in Azerbaijan (Baku) is funded by the anti-Zionist Vaad ha-Hatsala. Sunday schools are also operated by the Jewish Agency and the Israeli embassies.

In 2008 a major issue in Tajikistan concerning the Jewish community was the demolition in June of the only synagogue in the country, in the capital Dushanbe. This was the result of four years of debate between the Jewish community and the authorities, which were planning to build a new presidential palace and national park there. According to Chief Rabbi Mikhail Abdurakhmov, the community received no promises about an alternative location for the synagogue or offers of any other kind of compensation. In addition to services, the synagogue operated a food aid program for sick and poor Jews, which had to be halted.

 

Antisemitic Manifestations and Responses

As in previous years, antisemitism remained at a low level in 2008. Several antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations took place during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in late December 2008−January 2009 in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The main organizers and participants were Islamist organizations, such as the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Renaissance Party in Tajikistan (see General Analysis).

One antisemitic incident was recorded in Georgia where on April 26 swastikas and the slogan “Heil Hitler” appeared on graves in the Jewish cemetery outside Batumi. According to the cemetery's director, Nodar Jorbenadze, this was the first time that such an incident had taken place there. It was condemned by Shabtai Tsur, Israel's ambassador to Georgia, and the police opened an investigation.

In September 2008 Avaz Zeinally, editor of the nationalist newspaper Khural, in Azerbaijan, was put on trial for translating Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf from Turkish to Azeri and writing a preface to it. The legal proceedings followed a complaint by the Israeli embassy in Baku and the local Jewish community. Zeinally was charged with incitement to ethnic hatred and faced a prison sentence of up to four years or a fine. However, he was acquitted in late July 2009.