DECEMBER 8 • 2022 | 17
is the only mono-ethnic Jewish
settlement outside Israel and was
established in 1730 when a local
ruler established a village under
his protection, where Jews fleeing
persecution in Dagestan and Persia
found sanctuary. By the late-1800s,
Red Village was home to 8,000 of
the region’s 31,000 Mountain Jews.
When Azerbaijan became part of
the Soviet Union, 12 of Red Village’s
13 working synagogues closed and
were converted into schools and
warehouses, and the town’s name
changed from Jewish Village to Red
Village.
The descendants of Red Village’s
residents have subsequently migrat-
ed to Baku and other parts of the
world, where they became very
successful. In 2010, several Russian
oligarchs with roots in Red Village
funded the establishment of the
Mountain Jews Museum, which
highlights their community’s Jewish
history, traditions and accomplish-
ments around the world. Although
Red Village has only 400 year-round
residents, it swells to 3,000 families
every year when its diaspora returns
to spend the summer in their opu-
lent vacation homes.
I left Azerbaijan impressed by the
lack of antisemitism, government
support for Jewish institutions and
strong relations with Israel, all three
of which are incredibly rare in the
Muslim world. I look forward to
learning more about this unique
community living among us in
Metro Detroit.
Dan Brotman is executive director of the
Windsor Jewish Federation and JCC.
Summer
mansion of
Jewish oligarch,
Red Village
Arif Shalumov,
president of the
Jewish Association
of Ganja
Meleh Yevdayev, chairman of
the Community of Mountain
Jews; Rabbi Avraam Yakubov,
head rabbi, Synagogue of
Mountain Jews in Baku; Nika
Jabiyeva, executive director,
Network of Azerbaijani
Canadians.