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March 1, 2006
Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations Pained by Destruction of Synagogue
in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Calls Upon Government to Work with
Local Jewish Community to Help it Recreate their Religious
Community Center
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of
America, America’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella
organization, is pained by the actions taken by the government
of Tajikistan in undertaking the destruction of the only
synagogue in Dushanbe. Following two years of negotiations
between the government of Tajikistan, the State of Israel, and
the United States, during which the Tajik government assured the
Jewish community that it would be fairly compensated for its
beloved building, water and phone lines were shut off without
warning on February 7. Bulldozers arrived to destroy part of the
building just two weeks later.
President Stephen J. Savitsky and Executive Vice President Rabbi
Tzvi H. Weinreb issued the following statement:
Jews, and all who cherish religious freedom and culture, share
the pain of the Dushanbe Jewish community following the
demolition of their city’s one and only synagogue, one the
largely elderly and underprivileged community cannot afford to
rebuild. We expect that the government of a state such as
Tajikistan would be religiously tolerant rather than exert
control of private religious property for the sake of
presidential largesse. We are disturbed by the government’s
justification for demolishing the city’s only synagogue, mikvah,
classroom and kosher butcher that serviced the approximately 280
Jews that reside in the city: to make way for the a brand new
presidential palace. We call upon the government of Tajikistan
to negotiate in good will with the Jewish community of Dushanbe
so that they can recreate their communal and religious center.
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