There are thought to be upwards of 250,000 Georgian Jews in the world today – the vast majority of them living in Israel. After perestroika policies in the 1980s softened emigration laws, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, Jewish people in all of the former Soviet states left to Israel or other Western countries en masse. What was once a thriving Jewish population, distinct from nearby Ashkenazi and Mountain Jewish populations, well integrated into non-Jewish Georgian culture, and influential in society, quickly became small, fading clusters of the left behind and remnants of holy temples.
If you are interested in Georgian Jewish culture and history, though, there is still plenty to explore in Georgia today! The historic sites tell the story of a people who made this land their home for centuries.
Georgia was home to more than 80,000 Jews as recently as the 1970s. Today the population is estimated to be between 3,000 and 10,000 people. In April 2018, the government of Georgia recognized Georgian-Jewish relations as part of Georgia’s intangible cultural heritage. During a ceremony at Tbilisi’s Museum of History of the Jews of Georgia, then-Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said, “26 centuries ago, the Jews settled in Georgia and since then we have jointly created a common cultural heritage, which has made both Georgian and Jewish cultures [more] diverse. A 26-century friendship is impossible without the strongest love.”
The community members who remain have incredible stories of sacrifice and loyalty and faith, but also of isolation and poverty – particularly outside Tbilisi. The largest Jewish community outside Tbilisi was once the town of Oni in the mountainous northern region of Racha. No more than six people now represent a once thriving community, serving as the keepers of a Jewish cemetery and synagogue.
There are old, closed synagogues across the country, ghosts of the people who once worshipped there – in Kutaisi, Martvili, Rustavi, Gori, Akhaltsikhe.
The most active and largest Jewish population in Georgia today is in Tbilisi, home to two working synagogues, a Jewish museum, a Jewish school, and at least two kosher restaurants – all clustered around the old Jewish quarter in Old Tbilisi.
The main synagogue in Tbilisi, called Great Synagogue, is a tall, striking red brick building with a large menorah out front on Kote Apkhazi St. (formerly Leselidze St.) – you can’t miss it! The other synagogue in Tbilisi is nearby, also on Leselidze St. but tucked into a courtyard. Passing a small Machakhela (a local chain restaurant) and the hip Moulin Electrique cafe, you will stumble upon Beit Rachel Synagogue, which once served Ashkenazi Jews who largely came to Georgia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on deportation orders from the Russian Imperial government, and rarely mixed with local Jewish populations.
To explore Jewish culture and history in Georgia, your first stop should definitely be the David Baazov Museum of History of the Jews of Georgia, located at 3 Anton Katalikosi St., near the Great Synagogue. The staff can help you connect with the Jewish community in other parts of Georgia or the waves of Israeli tourists that visit the country. Afterwards, you can pop over to Kosher Jerusalem for lunch, on Ierusalimi St.
For more information about the Georgian Jewish community, visit http://www.georgianjews.org.
By Samantha Guthrie
Photo: The Jewish quarter in Tbilisi, 1987. Beit Hatfutsot, the Oster Visual Documentation. Center. Courtesy of Ottar Koveliani, Georgia