From April 15-20, Head of the Irwin Cotler Institute, Prof. Uriya Shavit, and Irwin Cotler Fellow for 2024-2025, Antonio Pena, traveled to Uzbekistan, for a series of meetings and events aimed at enhancing the academic and cultural relations between Israel and Uzbekistan, learning about the situation of the Jewish communities in Tashkent and Buchara, and briefing Uzbek officials on topical issues.

The visit was initiated and organized by Israel’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Gideon Lustig, who described it as a great success.

In Tashkent, the Cotler Institute delegation held meetings at The Center for Islamic Civilization (CIC), The International Institute for Central Asia (IICA), and the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies (ISRS). Ambassador Lustig and Prof. Shavit explored with their hosts potential future academic collaborations and joint academic initiatives, while Mr. Pena presented The Irwin Cotler Fellowship Program as a key initiative, offering scholarships, leadership training, educational visits to Israel, and human rights engagement opportunities for Uzbek students.

Prof. Shavit and Mr. Pena also met with Arkadiy Isakharov, the leader of the thousand-person-strong Jewish community in Tashkent and chairman of the Tero Synagogue, one of two active Bukharian synagogues in the capital. In their discussion, Mr. Isakharov informed of plans for a new synagogue complex that will house museums for the Bukharian and Ashkenazi Jewish communities. He noted that when in November 2024 an antisemitic graffiti was drawn on the walls of the synagogue, the authorities arrested the offender within 24 hours.

In Tashkent, Prof. Shavit and Mr. Pena also met with the leading Uzbek journalist, blogger and Producer Nikita Makarenko, and discussed, among other topical issues, online radicalization and racism and the means to fight this phenomenon. 

Following their time in Tashkent, Prof. Shavit and Mr. Pena traveled to Samarakand and Bukhara. In Bukhara, the ancient city along the Silk Road trade route, major medieval center of Islamic theology and culture, and once home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, they met with Rafael Elnatanov, the Chairman of the city’s Jewish community. Elnatanov shared with them the rich history of Bukharan Jews and highlighted the importance of preserving the community’s heritage and assisting those in need. He also observed that, while precuations have been taken, no local incidents of antisemitism have been reported since the October 7 attack, and noted the vital role his community plays as a bridge between Uzbekistan and Israel.