Bukharan Jews

Bukharan Jews, also Bukharian Jews or Bukhari Jews (Russian: Бухарские евреи Bukharskie evrei ; Hebrew: בוכרים‎ Bukharim ; Tajik and Bukhori Cyrillic: яҳудиёни бухороӣ Yahudiyoni bukhoroī (Bukharan Jews) or яҳудиёни Бухоро Yahudiyoni Bukhoro (Jews of Bukhara), Bukhori Hebrew Script: יהודיאני בוכאראי and יהודיאני בוכארי), also called the Binai Israel, are Jews from Central Asia who historically spoke Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajik-Persian language. Their name comes from the former Central Asian Emirate of Bukhara, which once had a sizable Jewish community. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the great majority have immigrated to Israel or to the United States (especially Forest Hills, New York), while others have immigrated to Europe or Australia.

Background

According to some ancient texts, there were Israelites that began traveling to Central Asia to work as traders during the reign of King David of Jerusalem as far back as the 10th century B.C.E. When Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon, he encouraged the Jews he liberated to settle in his empire, which included areas of Central Asia. In the Middle Ages, the largest Jewish settlement in Central Asia was in the Emirate of Bukhara.