The Last Jew in Afghanistan Fears Return of Taliban, Longs for Israel

Stand for Israel  |  May 3, 2021

After years of Soviet rule and terrorist leadership by the Taliban, Zebulon Simentov remains in Kabul, the last Jew in Afghanistan. But in this fascinating Times of Israel piece by Jay Deshmukh and Usman Sharifi, we learn that Afghanistan is about to lose its last Jew after all of these trevails and an ongoing civil war, as Simentov dreams of at last making aliyah (immigrating) to his biblical homeland, Israel:

For decades, Zebulon Simentov refused to leave Afghanistan — surviving a Soviet invasion, deadly civil war, brutal rule by the Taliban and the US-led occupation of his homeland.

But enough is enough for Afghanistan’s last Jew, and the prospect of the Taliban’s return has him preparing to say goodbye.

“Why should I stay? They call me an infidel,” Simentov told AFP at Kabul’s only synagogue, housed in an old building in the center of the Afghan capital.

“I’m the last, the only Jew in Afghanistan… It could get worse for me here. I have decided to leave for Israel if the Taliban returns.”

That appears likely given the deal struck by Washington to withdraw all US forces by later this year, and ongoing peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government…