The Congregation of Georgian Jews is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

at 6304 Yellowstone Boulevard, in the Forest Hills neighborhood of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The members are late twentieth century immigrants from the

Republic of Georgia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

History

The synagogue building was made possible by a donation from the Georgian Jewish philanthropist,

Tamir Sapir Tamir Sapir (born Temur Sepiashvili, ka, თემურ სეფიაშვილი; 1946/1947 – September 26, 2014) was a Georgia (country), Georgian-born, Georgian-American businessman, real estate developer and investor. He was the foun ...

. When the Republic of Georgia released a postage stamp honoring the nineteenth century Rabbi

Abraam Khvoles Abram is a male given name of Biblical Hebrew origin,Nikonov, p. 96 meaning ''exalted father'' in much later languages. NIV translation of the Bible, footnote to Petrovsky, p. 35 In the Bible, it was originally the name of the first of ...

, the unveiling ceremony was held at the synagogue by Revaz Adamia, representative of Georgia to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. During the August 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner held an emergency meeting for the entire Georgian community in New York, Christian and Jewish, at the Congregation because the synagogue is the only large, monumental structure built by Georgians in New York City.Marissa Brostoff
"Georgia on Their Mind: Expats Forced To Juggle Dueling Identities"
''

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...

'', August 14, 2008.

Current leadership

, the Senior Rabbi is Avraham Ashville, and the Rabbi and youth director is Aharon Chein."Torah & Prayer"
, Congregation of Georgian Jews website. Accessed October 28, 2010.

References

External links

{{Commons cat, Congregation of Georgian Jews
Congregation of Georgian Jews website
European-American culture in New York City Forest Hills, Queens Georgian-Jewish culture in the United States Orthodox synagogues in New York City Mizrahi Jewish culture in the United States Sephardi Jewish culture in New York City Sephardi synagogues Synagogues in Queens, New York