Last days for Afghanistan’s last remaining Jew

Eight years ago, Zablon Simintov became “>fallen on hard times:

Now the cafe, neat and shiny, faces closure because kebabs are not selling well – largely because of deteriorating security in Kabul that has made people frightened to eat out or visit the city.

Simintov used to rely on hotel catering orders but even these have dried up as foreign troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, further weakening security and investment.

“Hotels used to order food for 400 to 500 people. Four or five stoves were busy from afternoon to evening,” he said. “I plan to close my restaurant next March and rent its space.”

Naturally, he blames his poor sales on the United States. It seems that Simintov thought the troops would always be there, meaning more security and lots of mouths to feed; he “>vibrant Jewish community.

The decline of Afghani Jews is pronounced and near complete. But it's not unusual for the region. In Afghanistan and neighboring countries, non-Muslims generally have fared terribly.

No Afghani Christians remain. (Remember the “>dwindle to almost none and its “>too for Christians and Jews in parts of the Levant outside Israel.

Maybe its a western perspective, but this strikes me as a major loss. Pluralism fosters stronger, better reinforced, communities. And the presence of people from minority groups also says something to outsiders. Not that the presence of a lone Jew in Afghanistan is going to–nor should it–convince the rest of the world that the Taliban are pretty tolerant guys.

But what about outsiders who would visit and find in this Afghani anomaly something profound? Like Jonathan Garfinkel. He visited Simintov in Kabul three years ago,