The history of the Jews in Mongolia starts with the 19th century trade routes between

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

merchants and the

Mongolians The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

. This resulted in some Jewish families entering

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

History

Before 1920, most Jews that arrived in Mongolia were of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

background, and had fled the chaos of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. Some were even elevated to

Mongolian nobility The Mongolian nobility ( Mongolian: ; ''yazgurtan; survaljtan'') arose between the 10th and 12th centuries, became prominent in the 13th century, and essentially governed Mongolia until the early 20th century. The Mongolian word for nobility, ' ...

. This was the case of Baron Zanzer, who changed his name in honour of

Zanabazar Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, , , "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723 (born Eshidorji) was the sixteenth '' Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism ...

, the first

Bogd Khan Bogd Khan, , ; ( – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khaganate from 1911 to 1924, following the state's ''de facto'' independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the third most importa ...

; the name and title become one in Mongolia and defined the identity of the person. The community was annihilated in 1921 by White Russians under the leadership of Baron

Roman von Ungern-Sternberg Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg (russian: link=no, Роман Фёдорович фон Унгерн-Штернберг, translit=Roman Fedorovich fon Ungern-Shternberg; 10 January 1886 – 15 September 1921), often refer ...

, who pursued even fleeing Jews and killed everyone of the 600 Jews: men, women & children. In 1925–6, a Russian-Jewish journalist came across a community of 50 newly settled families in a remote region of Outer Mongolia approximately from the Manchurian border. In 1926,

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

had a population of 600 Russian Jews who had attempted to leave Outer Mongolia, which was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

satellite at the time. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, a number of Jewish citizens left the country in search of better economic opportunities. Some left for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which had a visa agreement with Mongolia.

Present day

Many Israeli tourists visit Mongolia each summer, and the two countries have a mutual agreement for visa exemptions. Despite that, the Jewish population numbers less than 100. In 2003, the Mongol-Jewish Cooperation was formed, and its website answers questions about subjects such as Judaism and Israel. The organization's head, Sumati Luvsandendev, has said, "there are enough fingers on two hands to count all Jews who live here." The closest Jewish community with a rabbi is the Siberian city of Irkutsk, whose Chief Rabbi Aharon Wagner seeks to maintain close contact with the neighboring Mongolian Jewish community.

References

External links

Jewish virtual tour-Mongolia
{{Asia in topic, History of the Jews in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

Jews and Judaism in Mongolia

History

Present day

See also

References

External links