Kesher Talk

Jews in odd places: Mongolia: Sumati Luvsandendev, whose father was a Mongol and mother a Jew, told JTA there are too few Jews in his country to call the Jewish presence in Mongolia a Jewish community.

According to historical records, a small community of mainly Ashkenazi Jews who lived in Urga, as Mongolia’s main city was then known, fell victim to Russian anti-Bolshevik forces that retreated into Mongolia in the early 1920s following a defeat in Central Asia.

Throughout Mongolia’s Communist history, Jews were a rarity — as was anti-Semitism.

After the collapse of Communism in Mongolia, a number of Mongolians sought better economic opportunities abroad and some made it to Israel, taking advantage of a visa-free agreement between the two countries. Recently, Israel introduced visas for Mongolian citizens after a significant number of Mongols were discovered to be working illegally in the Jewish state.

But there are also examples of people moving in the opposite direction. Hundreds of Israeli tourists come to Mongolia each summer — mostly seeking adventure in the Gobi Desert. And most of the Jews who live permanently in Mongolia these days are Israeli citizens. One Israeli family runs a laundry chain in Ulan Bator.

posted by William @ 5/06/2003 08:12:10 AM