Uzbekistan is a land-locked country in Central Asia. Though much of the land is a desert, its fertile river valleys has made the country the third-largest producer of cotton worldwide. Severe industrial and agricultural pollution, economic stagnation and periodic problems with Islamic insurgents from neighboring countries contribute to the daily hardships of its citizens.

Two distinct Jewish communities live in Uzbekistan: Ashkenazim and Bukharan.

The Ashkenazim migrated from other parts of the Soviet Union in the 19^th and 20^th centuries – the majority arrived in Uzbekistan during World War II. Many were fleeing the Holocaust; others were evacuated by the Soviet government when key industries were relocated to the area. Most had lost all ties to Jewish life after decades of enforced atheism. Secular, generally highly educated, the Ashkenazi Jews live mainly in Tashkent.

The Bukharans trace their roots in the region back many centuries and speak their own Tadjik-Jewish dialect. Throughout the Soviet era, the Bukharans clung tenaciously to Judaism and to Jewish communal life. Religious and deeply traditional, Bukharans live primarily in Samarkand and Bukhara.

These two Jewish groups live separate yet harmonious lives. Both enjoy cordial relations with their Moslem neighbors.

Today, the Jews of Uzbekistan face economic deprivation, and their numbers are dwindling as younger Jews emigrate. A disproportionately large elderly population – whose standard of living has seriously deteriorated – further burdens both the Ashkenazim and Bukharan communities.

JDC began working in Uzbekistan in the early 1990s to foster Jewish renewal and to establish a supportive network of services for the Jews of Uzbekistan.

2005