
Rafael Nektalov: Dear Lev Avnerovich, let me begin our interview with a recent event that has become a landmark for the Bukharian Jewish community in Israel. On January 12th, you gathered young dentists and invited them to become more actively involved in the life of our community. I was in Itan that day and saw with what impatience and excitement they awaited their meeting with you. This conference was not only an educational platform but also a unique opportunity for professional communication, exchange of experience, and discussion of modern trends in dentistry.
Lev Leviev: I myself went to this meeting with great enthusiasm to see our dentists with my own eyes, as their number in Israel is growing every year. According to statistics, every 10th dentist in Israel is a Bukharian Jew. If we consider doctors of other specialties, the number of our compatriots is even greater. I found working with young specialists, in accordance with their professional status, to be very promising. I sought to tell the participants about the activities of the Congress, to attract community dentists to charitable projects, and I was pleased to note that they received this message with interest.
RN: In America, we also have a guild of lawyers, which unites more than 150 people, most of whom are young specialists.
LL: Excellent! This corresponds to the urgent need today. I invited the chairman of the professional Union of Dentists of Israel, Dr. Lior Katzap, and the Minister of Health of Israel, Rabbi Uriel Bosso, who met such an audience for the first time and were able to see for themselves what wonderful specialists we have in our community. You know, the very fact that so many young people strive to get a higher professional medical education says a lot. Our community is changing, becoming more and more educated with young specialists of various profiles who seek to take their place in the country, and, importantly for me personally, they want to live in accordance with Bukharian Jewish traditions. This circumstance pleases me very much! They care about being part of their community!
RN: So we, the Bukharian Jews, contrary to forecasts, will be preserved as such in the 21st century! Right?
LL: That’s exactly what I wanted to say: we will be the best of the best and take first place in all indicators in modern Israeli society. And it doesn’t matter to me who today adheres to orthodox or secular views on life. The main thing for us is that they all remember their roots. We are Bukharian Jews!
A GREAT FUTURE AWAITS US!

RN: Exactly 25 years ago, from the podium of the first congress of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews in Jerusalem, you proudly spoke of your origins, and this was continued by the current Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, who at one of our congresses also counted himself among the Bukharian Jews. That is, in Israel after 2000 it became prestigious to be a Bukharian Jew.
I didn’t think about it then, but in fact, 25 years after the creation of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews, this happened, and I congratulate all the readers of the newspaper, the entire community in America, on this remarkable date in the recent history of our people. Much has changed in the Jewish world, in particular, the attitude towards us.
It became a result of the achievements we have achieved when we almost completely, by 95%, immigrated from the post-Soviet space to the free world of the West. Thus, we were able to fully express ourselves, competing in all sectors of the economy, medicine, education, and spiritual life as a whole.
LL: Yesterday I was in Ariel, and I spoke with Albert Pinhasov, a world-renowned scientist, rector of Ariel University, where 15,000 students study! He is a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Medical School, head of the Behavioral and Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory! This sounds like a symphony to me!
This is the reality of 21st century Israel! I will add. The rector of the Technological University in Holon is Professor Eduard Yakubov. The achievements of young scientists and specialists are impressive not only in Israel but also in the USA, Austria, and Germany. They were able to reveal their abilities in many fields of science and production. This once again confirms my thesis about the huge potential inherent in the Bukharian Jewish people, a potential that is manifested in the achievements of specialists every year.
RN: Dear Levi Avnerovich! On February 27, the capital of Austria will host the 25th, jubilee, congress of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews. What is the reason for choosing Vienna?
LL: As you know, our congresses are usually held in the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. But we are a worldwide organization, so we try not to ignore the diaspora. Thus, in different years, the “Presidential Week” outreach congresses were held in New York, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tashkent, and even Baku! This year, the choice of Vienna was predetermined by the fact that the community there celebrated its 50th anniversary and achieved colossal success in social and political life.
RN: I fully agree with your assessment! Participating in the celebrations dedicated to that anniversary, I got to know its young leaders Michael Galibov, David Pinchasov, Moshe Matatov, Michael Ustoniazov, who made a strong impression on me. I listened to your greeting, which was warmly received by our fellow tribesmen in Vienna.
We will all celebrate the anniversary of this community with the entire Bukharian Jewish world.
In your greeting to the New York community during the Hanukkah celebration and fundraiser for the Jewish Institute of Queens, calling on everyone to support Jewish education, you also shared that you are 96% Jewish, and moreover, most of your genes belong to Levites and Kohanim. Why did you mention this?
LL: Because it is important for me to accept the fact, proven by science, that the blood of the prophets Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron the Cohen flows in my veins, and after so many millennia (!), from generation to generation, we have preserved this memory and our purpose.
RN: What is it?
LL: Being a Levite by origin, I am obliged to help the community, the people, to the maximum extent of my abilities. This is not my profession. This is my inner purpose, which is the starting point of my genesis, from the feeling of my involvement in everything that happens to our people in Israel and the diaspora. I would also like to note that among Bukharian Jews, as a percentage of the total population, we have a fairly large percentage of Kohanim and Levites.
RN: What else motivates you, Levi Avnerovich, in your calling to serve the people? For example, the memories of my childhood and youth, which I spent in Samarkand and Tashkent. I remember the trepidation of the days of reading slihot, when it was customary to get up at the watch of the morning (the last third of the night), gather in synagogues and read slihot there, that is, «apologies.» It was necessary to wake up very early, almost at night, and go to the synagogue, and there see next to you those who share your spiritual connection with the Almighty. After all, every Jew prays not only for himself but for the entire people of Israel! The American community is also on the verge of interesting events. New organizations and professional communities are being created. For young leaders, you, Levi Avnerovich, are a role model. Thank you. In fact, I follow with great interest the events taking place in your community, in New York and other cities. I have a number of ideas that I intend to voice during the Congress in Vienna. I hope that, as in previous years, young leaders will also gather at our congress in Austria — and together we can move our worldwide community forward.
LL: To everything said, I want to add the following. I wholeheartedly congratulate the people of the United States of America on the historic election of a real leader to the post of president of the country, Mr. Donald Trump, a man who has become a symbol of loyalty to his principles, strong will and the ability to lead the country in the right direction. A G-d-fearing, direct and open man, he amazes me with his determination, respect for the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the Holy Jerusalem.
RN: Last week, while in Dushanbe, I received from the chairman of the Union of Composers of Tajikistan the score of the “Dance Suite” by composer Yakhiel Sabzanov, which will be performed in Jerusalem on July 2, 2025 by the symphony orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Yusupov – the most famous Israeli composer in the world, whose music is performed in Germany, Austria, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Russia, and many other countries in the world (shows the score of composer Sabzanov). Is the World Congress ready to support this initiative? The program of the concert on July 2 will include both contemporary compositional music and Bukharian shashmaqom.

LL: Undoubtedly! We proudly strive to cover a wide range of phenomena in Israel that are connected to the history and culture of our people. And I am glad for such initiatives that allow us to present our musical culture in all its breadth and grandeur.
RN: Levi Avnerovich, in your previous interview, you were interested in the idea of conducting a worldwide census of Bukharian Jews. I hope this has not lost its relevance? Perhaps it makes sense to start this work in Israel?
LL: Of course, this is really very important. Unfortunately, we mainly have data on repatriates after 1989. But that’s a lot too, 36 years have passed, and it was this aliyah that changed the demographic picture of the Bukharian Jewish population of Israel. We need to create a group of specialists, professionals who can deal with this issue.
RN: There is a demographer in Russia, Professor Marik Kupovetsky, and in New York, there is a sociologist, Professor Veliyam Kandinov. Leonid Elizarov, the editor of Menora, who indirectly dealt with this issue in Israel, also offered interesting ideas during your interview. There are departments at universities that study the population composition of Israel, as well as the country’s Census Bureau. We can discuss this issue at the upcoming Congress as well, so that the leaders can familiarize themselves with this important topic.
LL: We need to discuss this important project comprehensively and come to a decision. It really does not lose its relevance.
RN: Levi Avnerovich, and is the creation of a Bukharian Jewish Museum in Israel a reality?
LL: Of course, we are closer than ever to realizing this idea. Now the question is choosing a specific place, city, where it will be located. In my opinion, our museum will be part of a large project dedicated to the history of the Jews of the Russian Empire, where Bukharian Jews will take their place, along with Mountain, Georgian and other Jews.
RN: Thank you, Levi Avnerovich! On the eve of the 25th congress of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews, let me congratulate you on this important event in the history of our people and thank you for the immense attention and care that you give to Bukharian Jews in Israel and the diaspora.
LL: Thank you! I appeal to all leaders in the diaspora and Israel with a call to constantly support the community, invest in Jewish education, understanding that the fate of our children and grandchildren, and therefore of our entire people, depends on it. A great future awaits us!
RN: Thank you, Levi Avnerovich! Until we meet in Vienna!
Ramat Gan — New York
Rafael Nektalov
Photos by Arthur Kakuriev, Israel