Community Outreach
By Erin Levi
On June 18, a powerful roundtable, co-facilitated by Diana Rachnaev, Community Outreach Coordinator for Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, and the New York Board of Rabbis (NYBR), brought together rabbis, community advocates, and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to confront the challenges facing Bukharian Jewish communities in Queens.
At a time of rising antisemitism and political uncertainty, the roundtable was more than symbolic–it was strategic. For the Bukharian community, which numbers over 70,000 in Queens alone, the conversation signaled a growing recognition of its presence, power, and potential to shape civic dialogue in New York.
“This meeting was long overdue,” said Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov of Kehilat Sephardim of Ahavat Achim, who helped initiate the gathering. “For too long, our voice hasn’t been heard in key rooms. The Bukharian community is not on the periphery–we are in the heart of Queens, and we must act like it.”
Broadening the Tent
The event was the first in a series of three meetings NYBR plans to hold with Bukharian rabbis. While Bukharian Jews have long been active in their own synagogues and institutions, formal collaboration with pluralistic bodies like the NYBR is relatively new. Jessica Baginsky, Director of Engagement at NYBR, emphasized the Board’s commitment to broadening its scope.
“For the New York Board of Rabbis, this is about inclusion and representation,” Baginsky told the Bukharian Times. “The Bukharian community [alongside the broader Sephardic and Mizrahi communities] is one of the fastest growing and most vibrant parts of the Jewish landscape in New York. It’s time their voices are integrated into [not only] the New York City conversation,” but also the broader Jewish conversation.
The NYBR represents over 800 rabbis across the five boroughs and beyond. Unlike denominational rabbinic bodies, it is intentionally pluralistic, encompassing Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Sephardic leaders. The organization is often called upon by media for quotes, and even has an international presence.
The idea for a Bukharian-focused series began several months earlier, at an NYBR roundtable on February 27, 2025, where Rachnaev served as a panelist speaking about domestic violence in her role with Yesodot. It was during that event that she connected Rabbi Nisanov with NYBR’s Baginsky to begin shaping a focused conversation tailored to Bukharian rabbinical leadership.
At that same event, Baginsky recalled, “Rabbi Nisanov was the only Bukharian rabbi there, and he said, ‘We need something like this for our community.’ And we listened.”
Also present at the June 18 meeting were UJA-Federation representatives Ayelet Pearl and Annette Powers, and Bukharian World Congress of the US and Canada President Chagit Leviev Sofiev.
Queens Roots, Jewish Responsibility
District Attorney Melinda Katz, a lifelong Queens resident and the state’s only Jewish DA, opened the meeting with heartfelt candor.
“It’s my sixth year as District Attorney, but sometimes it feels like thirty, sometimes like one,” she quipped. “I’ve raised two sons here. I’ve served as Borough President.” Katz know Queens intimately–and what it means to lead in a borough where almost 50% of residents were born outside the United States.
Katz, whose sons were bar mitzvahed in Queens, didn’t shy away from the weight of her identity. “I’m the only Jewish DA in the state of New York, by the way,” she said, her voice steady. “And I feel a certain heavy heart at all times. It is incumbent on me to pay the attention these issues deserve–not more, not less. Just exactly the attention they deserve.”
With a team of 900–including 408 attorneys, 400 support staff, and 100 detective investigators–Katz runs one of the busiest DA’s offices in the country. “We’re handling 60,000 arrests a year, over 47,000 arraignments, about 1,500 gun cases at any given time. Just last week, we were trying 13 cases simultaneously.”
The Rise in Antisemitism
The conversation quickly turned to what Nisanov called “the elephant in the room”–antisemitism. “Between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2024, we saw hate crimes rise in New York City by 67%,” Katz said. “About 50% of all hate crimes reported are anti-Jewish. That’s a staggering number.”
As a Jewish woman, Katz emphasized her close attention to these figures and her office’s meticulous tracking. She illustrated this with a crucial example from Flushing Meadows Park. Her office reclassified a robbery as a hate crime after learning the attackers escalated their assault only after seeing the victim’s Jewish ID. «That’s when it moved from a robbery to a hate crime,» Katz explained, highlighting the increased severity of the charges. This diligent review process underscores her office’s commitment to justice for the Queens Jewish community.
She urged rabbis to encourage community members to report incidents, even when uncertain. “Things happen that don’t always look like hate crimes on the surface,” Katz said. “But when you apply common sense–it’s a good quality in the DA–” they often are.
For many in the room, the message hit home. Chagit Leviev Sofiev, the newly elected president of the Bukharian World Congress and the first woman to hold the title, spoke about the emotional impact on Jewish families, describing the layered impact on families, youth, and women. She also expressed sincere gratitude to DA Katz for her consistent support, accessibility, and action on behalf of the community.
Safety, Domestic Violence, and Elder Abuse.
Several rabbis expressed concern about community safety–both from external threats and within the home. Rabbi Kaziyev of Ohr Natan and Rabbi Nassirov of Bet El pressed for increased police presence at synagogues and schools, and asked Diana Rachnaev to assist with facilitating warm handoffs and relationship-building with NYPD’s liaison and One Police Plaza (1PP). Rachnaev clarified that her role is not to apply on behalf of anyone, but rather to help establish trusted introductions and ongoing communication channels.
Katz responded with openness and urgency. “We can absolutely help connect you to the appropriate channels,” she said. “My job is to ensure every Queens resident feels safe, no matter their background.”
On the issue of domestic violence, Katz acknowledged the cultural sensitivities that sometimes prevent survivors from coming forward. “Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world–49% of our residents were born abroad,” she said. “That means we need different outreach strategies. I’m happy to work with your synagogues and nonprofits to make sure people know what support is available.”
Rabbi Nisanov raised another delicate issue: elder abuse. He described a case in which a grandmother’s money kept disappearing from her home, but she refused to press charges against her grandson. “We need better systems of access and accountability,” he said, advocating for discreet pathways to intervene.
When Nisanov raised this critical topic, Katz responded with nuance, acknowledging that cultural sensitivities often discourage survivors from coming forward. “Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world–49% of our residents were born abroad,” she said. “That means we need different outreach strategies.”
She emphasized the importance of working closely with local community-based organizations like Shalom Task Force, Met Council, and Yesodot, which are already culturally embedded and uniquely positioned to help navigate such cases. Whether a survivor needs legal guidance or simply access to information, Katz underscored that help should meet people where they are.
“Not everyone wants to press charges. Sometimes they just need information. That’s okay. We can help either way,” said Katz. She also highlighted resources like the 24-hour domestic violence hotline (call 800-942-6906 or text 844-997-2121).
Civic Strength Through Unity
For Rabbi Nisanov, the meeting represented both progress and a wake-up call. “We need to show up–consistently,” he said. “Too often, our community operates in silos. Every other synagogue had prayer services after October 7th. Why didn’t we come together as one?”
He also called for greater coordination with local precincts. “112th is a block away. Do they even know who we are?”
He added, “We should be having meetings like this every week. When our voice is unified, it carries weight.”
Nisanov credited NYBR with “breaking down barriers” by reaching out to Sephardic and Mizrahi rabbis, despite internal resistance from some who view cross-denominational cooperation with skepticism. “At the end of the day,” he said, “those who hate us don’t care if we’re Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. They hate us all the same.”
A Legal Tangle and a Path Forward
One issue raised at the roundtable that fell outside DA Katz’s jurisdiction was the ongoing legal dispute surrounding damaged burial plots at Mount Carmel Cemetery. While Katz clarified that the matter was a civil case, Diana Rachnaev–who moderated the Q&A and serves on Katz’s Jewish Advisory Council–said the community had not exhausted its legal options.
“With coordination from our district’s lawmakers, we can re-engage this process,” Rachnaev said. “The initial litigation set a foundation. Now we need momentum and strategy.”
Rachnaev also shared her hope that the roundtable would be the first of many. “This was not a one-off event,” she said. “We’re building a network–of rabbis, elected officials, community leaders–that can respond nimbly to challenges as they arise.”
What Comes Next?
By the end of the meeting, Katz had offered to send staff to meet with individual synagogues, explore programming partnerships, and facilitate introductions to local precinct commanders. NYBR announced plans for a follow-up gathering focused on UJA’s evolving role in Bukharian communal life.
For Rabbi Nisanov, the momentum must continue. “We can’t be invisible. Not in an election year. Not when our kids are being bullied in public schools. Not when we are the largest Jewish population in Queens.”
The message from the roundtable was clear: visibility matters. Partnership matters. And a seat at the table–once elusive–is now firmly within reach.