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T.F's avatar

See the following 2023 claim of Torah Scrolls of Yahya-e-Jalali Synagogue Afghanistan

https://www.saigatours.com/article/the-last-synagogues-in-afghanistan

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Robert Kluijver's avatar

Hi Barney, thanks for sharing this. You are probably aware that there was a Jewish cemetery (a cemetery where several headstones bear Hebrew inscriptions) close to Jam minaret. I visited it in 2000, but have not heard about it since then. This supports your suggestion that Afghanistan is also a repository of historical information on the Jewish people

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Barnett R. Rubin's avatar

Yes I know about this cemetery. The inscriptions are in both Hebrew and Judeo-Persian (Persian written in Hebrew script). The location of this cemetery dovetails with the Pashtun genealogy claiming that Bani Israil settled in Ghor sent a messenger to Mecca to accept Islam directly from the prophet (no Arab conquest) and that these are the ancestors of Pashtuns. The story is dubious in many ways, but it incorporates some historical elements.

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Homira Nassery's avatar

Fascinating.

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