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Total population | |
---|---|
65,000-80,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() | 65,000[1] |
![]() | 10,000 |
![]() | 1,405 (not including Abkhazia or South Ossetia) |
![]() | 1,200 |
![]() | 800 |
![]() | 500 |
![]() | 14[2] |
Languages | |
Hebrew, Georgian (Judaeo-Georgian), English, Russian | |
Religion | |
Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Georgians, other Jews Especially Iraqi Jews and Persian Jews |
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Jews and Judaism |
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The Georgian Jews (Georgian: ქართველი ებრაელები, romanized: kartveli ebraelebi, Hebrew: יהדות גאורגיה, romanized: Yahadut Georgia) are a community of Jews who migrated to Georgia during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE.[3] It is one of the oldest communities in the region. They are also widely distinguished from the Ashkenazi Jews in Georgia, who arrived following the Russian annexation of Georgia.[4]
Prior to Georgia's annexation by the Russian Empire in 1801, the 2,600-year history of the Georgian Jews was marked by an almost total absence of antisemitism and a visible assimilation in the Georgian language and culture.[5] The Georgian Jews were considered ethnically and culturally distinct from neighboring Mountain Jews.[6]
As a result of a major emigration wave in the 1990s, the vast majority of Georgian Jews now live in Israel, with the world's largest community living in the city of Ashdod.