Tova Moradi: Difference between revisions

'''Tova Moradi''' is an Afghan woman believed to be the last [[Jew]] to live in [[Afghanistan]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-10-29|title=Woman now thought to be Afghanistan's last Jew flees country|url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-lifestyle-canada-religion-middle-east-893baa3e2849b0081882d06d1da07535|access-date=2021-11-12|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country|url=https://www.independent.ie/world-news/woman-now-thought-to-be-afghanistans-last-jew-flees-country-40996142.html|access-date=2021-11-12|website=independent|language=en}}</ref> She is a distant cousin of [[Zablon Simintov]], who for years was considered to be the last Jew in the country until his departure for Turkey<ref>{{Cite web|title=Last Jew leaves Afghanistan|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/the-last-jew-in-afghanistan-is-en-route-to-the-united-states-678882|access-date=2021-11-12|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|language=en-US}}</ref> during the [[2021 Taliban offensive]].<ref>{{Cite web|title='Last Jew in Afghanistan' loses title to hidden Jewish family|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/not-the-last-jew-in-afghanistan-after-all-683879|access-date=2021-11-12|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=83-year-old Jewish woman leaves Kabul life behind|url=https://news.yahoo.com/83-old-jewish-woman-leaves-121558245.html|access-date=2021-11-12|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Biography ==

Moradi was born and raised in [[Kabul]] alongside nine siblings. At the age of sixteen, she eloped with a [[Muslims|Muslim]] man, although she did not convert to Islam. Moradi retained a few Jewish traditions and her neighbors were well aware of her religion.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Zion|first=Ilan Ben|last2=Semini|first2=Llazar|title=The last, last Jew? Simentov relative flees Afghanistan after Taliban takeover|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-last-last-jew-simentov-relative-flees-afghanistan-after-taliban-takeover/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

As a non-Muslim, Moradi attempted to keep a low profile during the first period of Taliban rule (1996-2001). She was acquainted with Rabbi Ishaq Levi, another one of Afghanistan's last Jews, once risking her life by hiding him from the Taliban.<ref name=":0" />

== Family ==

Moradi's parents and siblings left Afghanistan in the 1960s and 1980s. Despite her elopement, she maintained contact with a few members of her family. Her parents are buried at [[Jerusalem|Jerusalem’s]] [[Har HaMenuchot|Har HaMenuchot Cemetery]], and a few of her surviving siblings live in [[Israel]], many of whom she hasn't spoken to for decades.<ref name=":0" />

Four of her children moved to Canada in the 1990s when the Taliban first seized power.

== 2021 Taliban offensive ==

When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Moradi and her family feared for their lives. After relatives in Canada alerted businessman Joseph Friedberg, a venture to extract the family from the country was coordinated by [[IsraAid]], Afghan and Israeli diplomats abroad, as well as multiple Jewish philanthropists including billionaires [[Alexander Mashkevitch|Alexander Mashkevich]] and [[Sylvan Adams]]. The family were able to flee Afghanistan in the end of October, ending up in the Albanian town of [[Golem, Albania|Golem]]. Moradi hopes to reunite with her children living in Canada.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==