History of the Jews in Afghanistan

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Ancient Iranian tradition suggests that Jews settled in Balkh, a Zoroastrian and Buddhist stronghold at the time, now in the north of Afghanistan. The Kingdom of Judah collapsed in 587 BCE leading to this migration. In modern times, decades of extreme persecution have led to the country's Jewish population disappearing entirely. At the time of the large-scale 2021 Taliban offensive, only two Jews were still residing in the country: Zablon Simintov and his distant cousin Tova Moradi. When the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was re-established by the Taliban in August 2021, both Simintov and Moradi immigrated to Israel on 7 September 2021 and 29 October 2021, respectively, leaving Afghanistan completely empty of known Jews. A video supposedly showing the last Jews in the country arguing with each other went viral on social media. The overwhelming majority of the Afghan Jewish community today - a branch of Iranian-Jewry - resides in Israel, with a small group of a few hundred living in the...

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