The Jews Who Survived 2,500 Years in Isolation ~ by Unpacked 6.12.25

For over 2,000 years, Jews lived in the heart of Central Asia—then vanished from view. Cut off from the wider Jewish world, Bukharian Jews built their own customs, survived forced conversions, and kept their identity alive through food, folklore, and quiet resistance.

Today, few remain in Uzbekistan, but their descendants have carried Bukharian traditions to Israel, New York, and beyond.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:47 Bukharian Jewish identity
01:21 Origins of Bukharian Jewry
04:45 Isolation from the global Jewish community
07:57 The upheaval of Rabbi Maman
10:19 Invasion of Imperial Russia
11:55 Bukharian Jewry & Zionism
12:27 Bukharian Jewry & the USSR
13:58 Jewish preservation as resistance
16:20 Bukharian Jewish flight from the USSR
16:46 Adapting to new surroundings

Sources:
-Interview with Manashe Khaimov, 31 March 2025.
-Interview with Aron Aronov, 31 March 2025.
-Adle, Chahryar, Habib, Irfan, Baipakov, Karl M. “History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century.” Volume V. UNESCO Publishing. 2003.
-Cooper, Alanna E., Bukharan Jews and the Dynamics of Global Judaism. Indiana University Press, 2012. Kindle Edition.
-Cooper, Alanna E. "A Dying House in Samarkand’s Jewish Neighborhood." Essay. MAVCOR Journal 4, no. 1 (2020), doi:10.22332/mav.obj.2020.1.
-Cooper, Alanna. “Who Are the Bukharan Jews?” My Jewish Learning, accessed 24 April 2025.
-Çora, H., Mikail, E. H., & Çora, A. N. (2025). The History and Culture of Bukharan Jews in Uzbekistan. Journal of the Human and Social Science Researches, 14(1), 1-19.
-Dunn, John P. and Bartos, Sebastian P. “Amir Timur: Paragon of Medieval Statecraft or Central Asian Psychopath?” Education About Asia. Volume 18:3 (Winter 2013): Central Asia.
-Fields, Deborah Rubin. “Jews under the rule of Timur.” Jewish Independent. 23 June 2017.
“Historic Centre of Bukhara.” UNESCO World Heritage Center, accessed 24 April 2025.
-Kaikov, Yisrael. “Chacham Yosef Mammon (Part 1).” Bukharian Jewish Link. 21 October 2017.
-Mirovalev, Mansur. “Uzbekistan’s long-persecuted Bukhara Jews.” Al Jazeera, 6 May 2015.
-“Our History | Bukharian Jewish Community Center.” BCCNY.org, accessed 24 April 2025.
-Shapira, Dan. “A Brief History of the Jews of Bukhara and Central Asia.” Tablet Magazine, 11 March 2021.
-Sloame, Joanna. “Virtual Jewish World: Bukharan Jews.” Jewish Virtual Library, accessed 24 April 2025.
-“Tamerlane era - Uzbek history.” Uzbek Travel, accessed 24 April 2025
-Wilde, Andreas. “Manghit Dynasty.” Encyclopaedia of Islam Three. 2020.

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Image and footage credits:
Getty Images
Internet Archive
UFA Fiction
ARD Degeto Film
Wikipedia Commons
CTB Film Company
Andreevsky Flag Film Company
Paramount Pictures
Lucasfilm
Twentieth Century Fox
Scott Free Productions
Filmco International Productions
Native Dish - YouTube Channel
i24NEWS English - YouTube Channel
Jewish Bukharian Community of Toronto (JBCT) - YouTube Channel
NY LIVESTREAMER - YouTube Channel
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Executive Producer:
— Barry Skolnick
Co-Executive Producer:
— Shmuel Katz
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Translation credits:
Portuguese: Saymon Pires

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