Bukharian Jews

Bukharian Jews are Jews from central Asia.

From my live cam chat:

Josh:  many bukharian marriages are done sans a civil marriage, just religiously
Josh:  the husbands then have their wives take welfare, since the state views them as single parents
Josh:  some of these marriages end in divorce, and since the couple are not viewed as married according to the state, the wife has no recourse in terms of getting their fair share
Josh:  i live amongst these people and have come to the conclusion that the reason they lack normative morals is because communist russia deprived them of judaism
Josh:  they build these massive walls around their monstrosities they call homes in order to avoid prying eyes so they can beat their women in private

From the New York Times, March 16, 1997:

The struggle to learn English has proven to be a major barrier to economic independence to the close-knit community. Only the more secular Bukharians, like Ms. Simons, who speaks English fluently, interact with people outside the neighborhood enough to take jobs elsewhere.

Paradoxically, the Bukharians’ traditions have kept them from profiting from a technique adapted after centuries of oppression in their predominately Muslim homeland. Ms. Simon said Bukharians learn two professions, which she described as ”one intellectual, one simple.” ”We do this because we are Jews and we can be thrown out of our country,” said Ms. Simon, who was an ecological geneticist in Uzbekistan. ”In another country you are not intelligent anymore. You don’t know the language. But you can still practice the simple profession you learned.”

Rabbi Kaziyev, for example, was a geologist and a tailor before completing his rabbinical studies. He still makes his own trousers.

Mrs. Kasiyeva said her hope is for the children. She has a 9-year-old grandson who has forgotten his Russian and speaks only English. They communicate through their traditions, she says.

About Luke Ford

I've written five books (see Amazon.com). My work has been covered in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on 60 Minutes. I teach Alexander Technique in Beverly Hills (Alexander90210.com).
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