19 October 2007

Afghanistan: A Jewish family's journey

According to a press release, there's a new book out on a little-known community:

Journey Among Nations is the history of a Jewish family that left their homeland in Afghanistan for Israel and then to the United States. It is a story lovingly related about tradition and sacred ceremonies, the values that hold a family together, and the events of war that forever altered their lives.

Says Kabul-born author Michael Cohen:

"I started to compare our current situation to the one we left in Kabul. My heart was crying, especially for my father who was a prominent personality in Kabul and other cities of Afghanistan…. Then he came to the Holy Land close to retirement age to wander with a shovel and dig holes just like the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt…. I wondered if he would have done this move had he known the consequences in advance. We left a state where everything was in abundance. It was a Diaspora indeed, but the Jews there adapted very well, especially in Kabul where the people are generous, noble, and respectful of others. I did not know of even one Jew there who worked as a plain laborer."

Cohen has headed two Afghan-Jewish delegations in meetings with Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai, and helps to bridge religions and enhance American, Afghan and Israeli ties. He and his family live in New York.

For more information, click here.

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