Zablon Simintov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zablon Simintov
زابلون سیمینتوف
Simintov holding a Shofar in March 2005
Born	1959 (age 65–66) Herat, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Nationality	Israeli
Other names	Zebulon Simentov
Known for	Being the second-to-last Jew in Afghanistan
Children	2

Zablon Simintov (born in 1959) is an Israeli man who used to trade carpets and run a restaurant. He was born in Afghanistan. For many years, people thought he was the only Jewish person still living in Afghanistan.

From 2005 until 2021, Simintov lived in the Kabul synagogue. This was the only synagogue (a Jewish place of worship) in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. In September 2021, he left Afghanistan and moved to Israel. He got help from a private security group. Later, it was found that another Jewish person, Tova Moradi, also left Afghanistan around the same time.

Zablon's Early Life

Zablon Simintov was born in 1959 in Herat, Afghanistan. He grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family. Most of his early life was spent in Herat before he moved to Kabul.

When the Taliban group gained power in Afghanistan, his home was badly damaged. This made him move into the city's only synagogue. Most Jewish people had already left Afghanistan by this time. Many of them moved to Israel. Simintov did not stay in Israel. He briefly lived in Turkmenistan but came back to Kabul in 1998.

During this time, the Taliban had taken control of Afghanistan. Simintov faced many challenges. He was pressured by the group at his carpet business. He also had a well-known disagreement with another Afghan Jew named Yitzhak Levi.

Life in Kabul

Simintov lived at the Kabul synagogue with Ishaq Levin. Levin was thought to be the only other Jewish person left in Afghanistan. Levin passed away in January 2005.

The story of Simintov and Levin being the last Jews in Afghanistan became famous. It even inspired a play and a documentary film. Simintov and Levin did not get along well. They had personal arguments and disagreed about religious matters.

Simintov often spoke about how hard it was to be the only Jewish person in Afghanistan. He had to get special permission to prepare meat according to Jewish dietary laws. This permission came from a rabbi (a Jewish religious leader) in Uzbekistan. He also received special supplies for Passover (a Jewish holiday) from Afghan Jews living in New York.

Simintov said he only wore his kippah (a small cap worn by Jewish men) when he was alone. He was careful about letting visitors into the synagogue he looked after.

Living Alone and Family

Simintov lived by himself in a small room at the synagogue. He received money from Jewish groups in other countries. Some kind Muslim people in Kabul also helped him.

His wife and two daughters live in Israel. Simintov was separated from his wife. When asked if he would move to Israel to be with his family, he often said he would not. He once said, "Go to Israel? What business do I have there? Why should I leave?"

In a video interview in 2007, he seemed more open to moving to Israel. However, in 2019, he again said he did not want to leave. He explained, "I don't speak Hebrew. I am an Afghan." Simintov also mentioned that he knew the former Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani.

In 2013, Simintov announced he would close his kebab restaurant. Business was slow because fewer American and NATO soldiers were in Afghanistan.

Leaving Afghanistan

In April 2021, Simintov decided he would leave Afghanistan for Israel. He planned to go after the High Holy Days in September. He was worried about groups like the Taliban taking over again. This was happening as the US military started to leave.

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban captured Kabul. This was just three weeks before the High Holy Days. Simintov stayed in Kabul even though he had chances to leave. A businessman offered to pay for a private plane to take him to Israel.

At first, Simintov insisted he would stay to care for the country's last synagogue. Some reports suggested his decision was also linked to a Jewish religious divorce document. Later, he left in September 2021 with some families from his neighborhood. He said he left because he feared other, more extreme groups, not the Taliban.

After leaving Afghanistan, Simintov gave his wife the divorce document. A month later, Tova Moradi, Simintov's distant cousin, also left Afghanistan. She went to Albania in October 2021. Moradi was known as Jewish by her neighbors. She kept some Jewish traditions, but she had married a Muslim man. Because of this, she was not considered part of the Jewish community in Kabul. So, Tova Moradi was actually the "last Jew in Afghanistan."

See also

• History of the Jews in Afghanistan
• Bukharan Jews