History of the Jews in Armenia

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Armenian Jews
  • יהדות ארמניה
  • Հրեաներ
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Timeline • Origins • Etymology

The history of the Jews in Armenia is one of the

Armenian Highlands
dating as early 1st century BC.

Historical Armenia

There are historical records that attest to the presence of Jews in pagan Armenia, before the spread of

Persian Armenia and resettled them at Isfahan in modern Iran.[4][unreliable source?
]

Jewish cemetery in Yeghegis, 13th century

In 1912 the archaeologist

better source needed
]

Modern period

Historical Armenian Jewish population
YearPop.±%
1926335—    
1939512+52.8%
19591,042+103.5%
19701,049+0.7%
1979962−8.3%
1989747−22.3%
2001109−85.4%
2011127+16.5%
Source:

In 1828, the

Judaizing Christians and mostly converted to mainstream Judaism or assimilated). Since 1840 they started creating Ashkenazi and Mizrahi communities respectively in Yerevan.[4] Up to 1924, the Sephardic synagogue, Shiek Mordechai
, was a leading institution among the Jewish community.

According to the 1897

Russian Empire Census, there were some 415 people in Alexandropol (Gyumri)[12] and 204 in Erivan (Yerevan)[13] whose native language was "Jewish" and significantly smaller numbers elsewhere 6 in Vagharshapat,[14] 15 in Novo-Bayazet.[15] The number of self-reported Jewish-speakers was the following in other Armenian-populated areas of the Russian Empire that now lie outside Armenia: 4 in Shusha (Azerbaijan),[16] 93 in Elizavetpol (Ganja, Azerbaijan),[17] 4 in Iğdır (now Turkey),[18] 424 in Kars (Turkey),[19] 111 in Ardahan (Turkey),[20] 189 in Akhalkalaki (Georgia),[21] 438 in Akhaltsikhe (Georgia),[22] 72 in Shulaveri (Georgia).[23]

An Armenian Jew, photographed in the Bourne and Shepherd Calcutta studio

As for

Adana Vilayet and 251 in Maraş Sanjak.[24]

The Russian Jewish communities moved to Armenia on a larger scale during the

Ukrainian SSR
.

Following World War II, the Jewish population rose to approximately 5,000. In 1959, the Jewish population peaked in Soviet Armenia at approximately 10,000 people. Another wave of Jewish immigrants arrived in the country between 1965 and 1972, mainly intelligentsia, military, and engineers. These Jews arrived from Russia and Ukraine, attracted to the more liberal society. However, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union many of them left due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Between 1992 and 1994, more than 6,000 Jews immigrated to Israel because of Armenia's political isolation and economic depression. Today the country's Jewish population has shrunk to around 750.[3] In 1995, the Chabad House was established in Yerevan.

Present day

Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Yerevan

There are about 500–1000[25] Jews presently living in Armenia, mainly in the capital Yerevan.[25]

There is a tiny community of Subbotniks (believed to be a Judaizing community that evolved from the Molokan Spiritual Christians) whose ancestors converted to Judaism, and who are quickly dwindling.[26]

The Jewish Community in Yerevan is currently headed by

Chabad Lubavitch
, and the sociopolitical matters are run by the Jewish Council of Armenia.

2022 influx of Russian Jews

The

mass emigration from Russia caused by fear of mobilization and political repression. Over 40,000 Russians moved to Armenia thanks to its geographic proximity, relatively low cost of living and lax immigration rules. At least several hundred of these immigrants identify as Jewish. As a result, Armenia's Jewish population has at least doubled. A Russian Jewish community club called "Yerevan Jewish Home" was established by Nathaniel Trubkin, a Moscow journalist who immigrated to Armenia in March 2022.[27][28]

Human rights

The President of the Jewish Community in Armenia, Rima Varzhapetyan-Feller, has stated on January 23, 2015, that "The Jewish community feels itself protected in Armenia, and the authorities respect their rights, culture, and traditions. There is no anti-Semitism in Armenia, and we enjoy good relations with the Armenians. Of course, the community has certain problems that originate from the general situation of the country."[29]

In 2005, Armen Avetisian, the openly anti-Semitic leader of the Armenian Aryan Union, a small ultranationalist party, alleged that there are as many as 50,000 "disguised" Jews in Armenia. He promised that he would work to have them expelled from the country. He was arrested in January 2005 on charges of inciting ethnic hatred.[30]

There have been two recorded incidents, in 2007 and in 2010, of vandalism by unknown individuals on the Jewish side of the Joint Tragedies Memorial in Aragast Park,

Holocaust. This monument had replaced a smaller monument that had been defaced and toppled several times.[31][32][33]

An Armenian Jew on Ellis Island, 1926.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jan Retsö, The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads, 2003. p. 347.
  2. ^ Movses Khorenatsi II, 65
  3. ^ a b Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Eurasia: Armenia and Jews Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "Բեն Օլանդերի հատուկ ներկայացումը Նյու Յորքում նվիրված Ռաուլ Վալլենբերգին,Երեքշաբթի 9 Նոյեմբերի 2010 թ." www.friends-of-armenia.org.
  5. ^ Michael E. Stone, "Journal of Jewish Studies", 2006, page 108.
  6. ^ Yeghegis, International Jewish Cemetery Project – International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies [dead link]
  7. ^ Hagopian, Arthur (8 May 2009). "Armenians Renovate Unknown Jewish Cemetery". Armenian Weekly.
  8. ^ "Приложение Демоскопа Weekly". Demoscope.ru. 2013-01-15. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  9. ^ "World Jewish Population, 2002" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Jewish Data Bank – World Jewish Population 2010". Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  11. ^ YIVO | Population and Migration: Population since World War I. Yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved on 2013-04-14.
  12. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  13. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  14. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  15. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  16. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  17. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  18. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  19. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  20. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  21. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  22. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  23. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  24. ISBN 9780299091606
    .
  25. ^
    ISBN 9781851098736
    .
  26. ^ Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Eurasia: Small community in Armenia strives to preserve its heritage Archived 2006-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Shabashewitz, Dor (28 September 2023). "Jews escaping from Russia find a home in Armenia". The Forward.
  28. ^ Mejlumyan, Ani (15 June 2022). "Following war, Russian Jews congregate in Yerevan". Eurasianet.
  29. ^ World Jewry Cannot Become a Tool in the Hands of Anti-Armenian Propagators. Rimma Varzhapetyan-Feller, Armenian Weekly, January 23, 2015
  30. ^ Danielyan, Emil (8 April 2008). "Armenia: Country's Jews Alarmed Over Nascent Anti-Semitism". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  31. ^ Who continues to destruct the Holocaust monument in Yerevan? February 2, 2006
  32. ^ Vandals deface Holocaust memorial in Armenia. Michael Freund, The Jerusalem Post, December 23, 2007
  33. ^ "2010 Anti-Semitism Compendium".

External links

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