Bukharan Jews Cite Religious Tolerance in Uzbekistan

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001523

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/09/30
TAGS: PGOV SOCI KIRF UZ
SUBJECT: Bukharan Jews Cite Religious Tolerance in Uzbekistan

CLASSIFIED BY: Nicholas Berliner, Pol-Econ Chief; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Pol-Econ Chief joined members of one of Tashkent's Bukharan
Jewish Synagogues on September 25 for their celebration of the
beginning of the upcoming Yom Kippur holiday and their (delayed
because of Ramadan) celebration of Uzbek Independence Day. Unlike
other minority religious communities in Uzbekistan, these members
of the Bukharan Jewish community reported that they have
experienced no restrictions on their ability to practice their
religion freely. In fact, they cited close cooperation and support
from the GOU. Community members who spoke at the event repeatedly
expressed appreciation for the freedom and relative safety they
enjoy in Uzbekistan and remembered Uzbekistan's acceptance of
hundreds of thousands Jews who fled Soviet Europe during the Second
World War. They said that today they experience no discrimination
or anti-Semitism in Tashkent or elsewhere in Uzbekistan and have
very good relations with their Uzbek neighbors.




2. (C) The Bukharan Jews are supportive of the Karimov regime's
policies toward radical Muslim groups such as Hizb-ut Tahrir (HT).
When asked about this, Boris Mihailov, one of the Community
leaders, said that HT was an openly anti-Semitic organization and
that if its ideas were allowed to spread in Uzbekistan, the
tolerance towards Jews that has characterized this society could
easily be lost. Mihailov made the point that social peace in a
country like Uzbekistan is fragile and that if radical groups are
allowed to espouse their propaganda freely, it would be very easy
to stoke ethnic tensions. He then pointed to the unguarded and
unreinforced gate to the synagogue and asked, "Where else in the
world today can Jews gather and worship freely with no security
whatsoever?" Mihailov said that groups like HT, even if they do
not engage in overt acts of terrorism, are anti-Semitic and
intolerant and represent a clear threat to the safety of the Jewish
community in Uzbekistan.




3. (U) The Bukharan Jewish community numbered over 100,000 at the
time of Uzbekistan's independence eighteen years ago. Today,
however, according to members of this Synagogue, their numbers are
only about 15,000 due to emigration in search of economic
opportunity. Nearly everyone at the celebration had family members
in the U.S., Israel, Canada and elsewhere. Those who remain in
Uzbekistan live in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara, all of which
have active synagogues.




4. (C) Comment: The Bukharan Jews offer a pointed reminder that the
picture of religious freedom in Uzbekistan is much more complex
than first meets the eye and that, despite its designation as a
Country of Particular Concern, many religious groups co-exist in
this majority Muslim society with few problems - not something that
can be said of many countries in the Middle East today. The GOU
frequently cites the need to preserve "social harmony" as the
reason for its crackdowns on groups like HT, Nur and others.
Although not an excuse for the failure to adhere to basic tenets of
international human rights practices, we should not blithely
dismiss the notion that social peace in Uzbekistan could be a
fragile artifact, and that its disappearance could easily unleash
destructive forces in this multi-ethnic society.
NORLAND