Support a Story

I open a section ” Support a story” because i’d like to continue to document the Jewish Diasporas in the world. And especially in countries where those communities will disapear or will change. In some country, the jewish community wants to emigrate to Israel, in some other they rituals are so different that they start a change to be like the other jewish in the world, etc so the things i will see today is gonna be different in some years.

I plan some destinations, you will see the details below, and in those days it’s harder for magazines to have interests in those long term projects. So if you like the project and if you want to help me to document the Jewish Diasporas, let’s go!  I put a window for donations in the footer of the website.

Here are the destinations. For now there are

- Birobidjan / Russia

the Jewish autonomous Oblast established in 1934 and created by Joseph Stalin. In 1939, more than 17 000 jewish lived in the region located in Siberia. Today 90% of the population in Orthodox Christian, and no more than 2000 persons are Jewish. Many of them want to emigrate to Israel. But some want to stay in Birobidjan. There’s a National Jewish University, some school where you can learn Yiddish, A Jewish Football Club, A Jewish Dance Club, etc

- Ethiopia / Africa

The Beta Israel is the Historical name of the Jewish community of Ethiopia. most of them now live in Israel. They are also known as Falasha. Nearly 85% of the Ethiopian Beta Israel community, comprising more than 110,700 people, have emigrated to Israel. The Israeli government has mounted rescue operations, most notably during Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Solomon in 1991 for their migration when civil war and famine threatened populations within Ethiopia. Some immigration has continued up until the present day. The Falasha Mura, also known as Falash Mura are the descendants of Beta Israel who converted to Christianism to save their life. Some are returning to the practices of Judaism. Most of them lives around Gondar and Adis waiting to emigrate to Israel.

- Manipur / India

In North East India, in a land between Burma and Bangladesh lives a small group called ” Bnei Menashe”. They called themselves like that ” descendants of the tribe of Menashe”, one of the 10 lost tribes. Also Known as the ” Shinlung”. They relate their history of exile from the nothern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C.  Across the silk route they finally ending up to India and Myanmar. Today there’s around 5000 Bnei Menash in Noth East India. Lately some 300 Bnei Menashe Emigrates to Israel.

Mountains Jews – Azerbaidjan

Located on the southern edge of the Caucusus, and bordered by Russia, Armenia, Georgia, Iran and the Caspian Sea. Jews have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries and can be divided into two groups: Ashkenazis and Jews of Persian origins. Ashkenazim settled in Azerbaijan in the 19th century and during the World War II to escape the Nazis. Persian Jews, also known as Caucasian Mountain Jews, can be traced to Azerbaijan from before the 5th century. Mountain Jews  tells that they are the descendents of the Lost Tribes that left Israel after the destruction of the first temple in 587 B.C. After the persecutions in Persia, many Jews migrated to mountain villages on either side of the Black and Caspian Seas. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Mountain Jews lived as farmers and gardeners in their small, isolated communities. This historic way of life flourished in the towns of Privolnoe, Krasnaya Sloboda, Kuba, and Vartashen. Today more than 3500 mountain Jews lives around Kuba and maintains their historic way of life in the rural regions.