Tzivia Inoyatova sits every day on her crumbling doorstep next door to the synagogue in the Old Malhalla (Jewish Quarter) asking passers-by where they are from and where they are going. Even at home she seems lost, but her concern is not misplaced. Just over a decade ago, more than 10,000 Jews crowded the narrow dirt passages between the high mud walls of her neighborhood. Today less than 1500 remain, and they are leaving fast for Israel and North America. Most of those who will stay are those who have nowhere to go. After perhaps 2500 years of Bukharian Jewish history, this community may soon have only ancient Jewish doors and a handful of ancient Jewish faces as a reminder of its past.

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