Landmark Assignment. Who the Bukharian Jews are. History

Landmark Assignment
Student’s Name:
Student’s Number:
Institution:
Introduction
Bukharian Jews are a Jewish group from Central Asia. When the Soviet Union was dissolved, many of them migrated to Israel and the United States. The ones that went to the United States are scattered across New York, Arizona, Atlanta, Denver, South Florida, Los Angeles, and San Diego. In one borough of New York City, called Queens, in Forest Hills, people refer to the 108th street as “Bukharian Broadway" because a majority of them have set up shops, restaurants, and settlement there. Also, the majority of the population of Queens are the American Jewish people. According to a 2011 Geographic Profile of the Jewish Community in 2011, the Bukharian Jewish community accounts for more than 60,000 Jews in Queens, which makes 17% of the Jewish population in the borough. This landmark assignment identifies and explains more about Queens as a famous location in New York City Jewish history.
Who the Bukharian Jews are
Jews in Central Asia were facing persecution by Islamic rulers. Although the leaders protected most of them from the massacre, Sephardic leaders who traveled from Turkey and the Land of Israel influenced them. The Jewish community in Queens, New York, maintained their culture in the Samarkand cities of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Bukhara, and Kokandin, the capital city of Dushanbe (Rachel, 2005). Additionally, although they were under a communist rule for a long time, their sudden eradication was an end to Jews in the Soviet Union. Many Bukharian people lost their lives and families when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. That is the reason they celebrate the Soviet Victory Day not as a day of happiness but as a remembrance to the death of their members (Cohen, 2018). However, the group acknowledges Queens as another home away from home because it holds their memories and cultural heritage. They have managed to maintain their devotion to Mesorah in New York as they have Jewish schools and synagogues.
Historical Background of Queens in Modern Jewish History
Initially, the Emirate of Bukhara comprised Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. That is the reason people who know Queens well sometimes call it "Queensistan." However, the groups, and many other Jewish communities, fled the territory because they were escaping discrimination and religious wars that were occurring at the time in Asia. The war between Uzbekistanis and Turks forced many Jews to migrate into Israel and the United States (Kliger, 2016). The first Bukharian Jews in Queens settled in Forest Hills between 63rd and 65th avenues. They have created a tight-knit enclave where they live as one stable community in an area where Ashkenazi Jews lived before their arrival. Even a synagogue called Congregation Tifereth Israel, which was established by the Ashkenazi Jews in the 1900s, has now become Bukharian as another portion of them lives in Corona, Queens. The community has proliferated.
The Two Waves of Emigration
The Bukharian Jews emigrated into the United States in two waves. The first wave began in the late 1980s. The group contained educated, partly traditional in their activities and had leadership and professional positions in Asia. Many of them crossed Israel and settled in cities that were on the eastern side of the country. Others continued and settled in Queens because there was a small Jewish community of people from Afghanistan (Kliger, 2016). Therefore, because they shared a similar culture, and the sense that housing was affordable, the place was a perfect spot for them. Later, the street strip of Forest Hills would be famous for numerous butcher shops, stores, restaurants, and retail shops. The second wave was larger than the first one, and they arrived in the early 1990s. Most of them were Jews from the Soviet Union. A total of 40,000 Bukharian Jews settled in Queens, and as a show of gratitude, numerous Jewish resettlement organizations accepted them in their English classes and social services (Cohen, 2018).
Institutions that unite Jews in Queens, New York
In December 1999, the American Jews held their First Bukharian Congress in Queens. In 2007, they convened in the same location to continue with their plans with the community and generations to come. The meeting had them settling on lobbying rights. Zoya M...