Despite there being no Jews living in the area for decades, the Taliban has approved conservation work on a historic synagogue in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan.
Yu Aw synagogue, located in Herat’s old city and thought to have been built around the turn of the 20th century, will undergo a 16-month restoration project to save it from further degradation and possible collapse. It is being planned by the Herat municipality and other local organisations, with nearly $500,000 in funding being provided by the Aliph Foundation, a Swiss group aimed at protecting cultural heritage sites in conflict areas.
The project will also include repairs to the community mikvah, or Jewish bathhouse, known as Hammam-e Mosaie, that was once used by Herat’s Jewish residents which numbered in the tens of thousands.
The Jewish buildings are in the Mahalla-yi Musahiya area of the city, known by locals as the "Neighbourhood of the Jews"
It will be one of the first cultural conservation projects in the province since the Taliban overthrew the Western-supported government in 2021. The synagogue last underwent restoration efforts in 2009, with funding coming from another Swiss organisation.
The head of Herat’s department for safeguarding historic monuments, Zalmay Safa, told The Art Newspaper, who broke the story, “We want to prove that we are tolerant and accepting of one another, we seek peace, and we are not extremists,
“Despite the change in government, our historic sites remain protected and they are not in any way connected to religious matters.”
The Yu Aw synagogue, and three other synagogues built around the same time, are some of the last remaining physical reminders of the presence, and vibrant life, of Jewish residents in Herat.
Following the establishment of Israel, Herat’s Jewish population, once numbering in the tens of thousands, began emigrating to the Jewish State and the United States. By the 1970s the local Jewish community had completely left.
An Afghan labourer renovates Yu Aw Synagogue in Herat, Afghanistan (Credit: HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)
To find technical solutions to the decaying building, the Afghan Cultural Heritage Consulting Organisation (ACHCO) – a non-profit, apolitical, cultural organisation - was approached six months ago for assistance.
Jolyon Lesie, an ACHCO advisor, told The Art Newspaper that although the project has not explicitly been presented as a “Jewish Heritage” project, everyone is aware of the history of the building, and it is not perceived as controversial.
Safa said: “This is a cultural and historic site, which is not used as a place of worship, and the local government will support its preservation,
“Despite the change in government our historic sites remain protected, and they are not in any way connected to religious matters.”
Following the Taliban’s return to power last year following American withdrawal, Afghanistan’s economy imploded. Billions of dollars in Afghan assets held abroad remain frozen as the international community waits for the Taliban to honour promises on social and human rights issues, including permitting girls to be educated.
