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Last Afghan Jew prepares to leave his homeland amid political uncertainty
Afghanistan’s last remaining Jew, Zablon Simintov, has decided to leave his homeland, citing concerns of the Taliban’s return to government as his primary reason.
In an interview with Radio Free Afghanistan, Siminto said he has lived apart from his wife and two daughters for more than two decades.
The 61-year-old said: “After our important festivals [Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in September], I will leave Afghanistan.”
He told Radio Free Afghanistan: “If you decide to leave then it is difficult to stay,” adding “if the Taliban return, they are going to push us out with a slap in the face.”
He said his increasing worries over the past two years have convinced him to leave.
According to Radio Free Afghanistan, Simintov, whose wife and daughters live in Israel, used to say it was God’s will that he lived in Afghanistan. But he said he has worried about his future since Washington began negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban in 2018.
“Peace talks are making people worried that if the Taliban come and if they behave the same as they used to during their regime [in the 1990s] then people will be worried,” he told the BBC in 2019.
Simintov is not the only one leaving his homeland, which in the mid-20th century boasted a 40,000-strong Jewish community.
Raja Ram, an Afghan Sikh, told Radio Free Afghanistan he is staying behind to look after the Hindu temple in Ghazni.
Afghanistan’s Hindu and Sikh minority has shrunk from more than 200,000 in the 1980s to a few hundred families today. Most members of Afghanistan’s tiny Hindu and Sikh minority have already left while others plan to join exiled members of their community in India.
A string of attacks against the community has seen a steady exodus of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus over the past three years.
Afghanistan’s religious minorities claim the face discrimination despite the country’s current constitution guaranteeing protections against discrimination.
However, Afghan clerics and Islamic scholars insist that discrimination against non-Muslims has no place in Islam.
“If religious minorities live in an Islamic country, its government is obliged to protect them,” Mufti Bilal Ahmed Safir, a religious scholar in Kabul, told Radio Free Afghanistan.
“Their lives and properties should be protected, and they should be granted all the rights given by Allah.”
Terrorist activities continue to be observed along Afghanistan borders and along the India–Pakistan–Afghanistan corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS, Lavrov pointed to ongoing concerns in the Middle East, including its Asian regions.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration with India at the United Nations to advance a global counter-terrorism convention.
Lavrov stated that while the draft convention has already been prepared, consensus on its adoption has not yet been reached.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about militant threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed the concerns saying that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country.
Noorullah Noori, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, held a phone conversation with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, to discuss bilateral border cooperation.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening border collaboration, with a particular focus on the ongoing renovation and updating of border markers. They also agreed to accelerate joint technical and legal meetings to enhance coordination.
As part of the agreement, the next meeting of senior border officials from Afghanistan and Iran is scheduled to take place in Iran in 1405 (2026–2027).
The Director General of the OIC Mission in Kabul, Mohammed Saeed Alayyash, met on Sunday with Rolf Dieter Reinhard, Head of the German Liaison Office for Afghanistan in Doha and Acting Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy in Afghanistan.
During the discussion, both sides exchanged views on the latest developments in Afghanistan. They focused on the security situation, as well as the humanitarian and economic conditions faced by the Afghan people.
The two officials also reviewed recent political developments and broader challenges in the country, highlighting the need for continued international engagement and support.
The meeting emphasized the importance of ongoing cooperation and coordination between the OIC Mission and the German side in addressing Afghanistan’s challenges and in supporting efforts to promote stability and improve the humanitarian situation.
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