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    • The last Jew from Afghanistan arrives in Israel from Türkiye
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    The last Jew from Afghanistan arrives in Israel from Türkiye

    Sakege Posted on

    The last known Jew from Afghanistan, Zablon Simantov, traveled to Israel from Turkeysurprising his family, Walla was told this week.

    “My younger brother called me on Thursday around 9 or 10 p.m. and said, ‘Congratulations, your brother is in Israel,'” Simantov’s brother Benjamin told Walla. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. On Saturday night we were already on our way to see him at the place where he is staying in southern Israel.”

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    Simantov’s arrival in Israel was made possible thanks to the help of the Jewish Agency after a complex rescue operation controlled by the Taliban. Afghanistan three years ago, led by Moti Kahana, a well-known activist specialized in evacuations from conflict zones. After leaving Türkiye, Simantov also plans to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

    “We haven’t seen each other in almost 25 years. He now lives here in Israel. He wants to move to central Israel and, no matter what happens, we will be by his side,” Simantov’s brother added. “We will be with him on Shabbat too. He promised us that he would come to Israel and it finally happened.”

    Simantov, 65, speaks very little. Hebrewalthough he speaks fluent Persian and is expected to need considerable help adjusting to life in Israel.

    A woman wrapped in an Israeli flag stands outside where Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema attends a press conference following violence against fans of an Israeli soccer team, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 8 November 2024. (Credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/ REUTERS)

    Moti Kahana, who orchestrated Simantov’s rescue, has been conducting complex evacuation missions in conflict zones around the world for the past 14 years, including operations in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria. As promised, he expressed his commitment to bring Simantov to the Western Wall soon.

    Complex rescue operation

    “It was not easy to get him out of Afghanistan. The rabbis approached me and asked for my help to rescue the last Jew from there,” Kahana said. Walla. “They had seen my previous work, the evacuation of Jews from Yemen and Syria, and asked me to do them a favor and help get Zablon out. There were also several bureaucratic obstacles along the way.”

    One of the challenges Kahana mentioned was getting a divorce from Simantov’s wife, who had left the country in the 1990s. “I sent my team to pick him up, but he didn’t want to leave Afghanistan,” Kahana recalled.

    “I have evacuated Jews from all over the world, even from the most dangerous places. I am like a ‘Jewish divorce in a war zone’. When we went to pick him up, he had gathered about 100 people who also wanted to leave. He insisted that Either everyone went or no one went. In the end we took 30 people and we reached the border of a neighboring country, crossing a river, but they refused to go until all the families had crossed first. , where everyone wanted to make sure he was safe. He has been in Turkey for three years, and this week, he spent his first Shabbat in Israel,” Kahana added.

    Kahana concluded: “It took me a little while, but this week I plan to take him on a tour of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, just as I do with all my rescues. I’m already working on the next challenge: evacuating a Jew from Yemen and rescuing to hostages from Gaza”.

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    The Jewish Agency commented: “We cannot discuss this specific case.”

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