State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Mike Hammer Visits Ancient Bukhara Synagogue

Assistant Secretary Hammer visits the Bukhara Synagogue. (U.S. Embassy photo)

After a series of public events in Bukhara, State Department Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Mike Hammer, visited the 16th century synagogue at the heart of Bukhara’s Jewish culture.  A member of the Synagogue described for Secretary Hammer the history of the Synagogue and the Jewish community in Bukhara.  He took pride in showing the ornate decorations inside the Synagogue, and pulling aside the Uzbek silk curtains, he showed Assistant Secretary Hammer the Synagogue’s 500 year old Torah scrolls.
Assistant Secretary Hammer listened attentively to the story of the Bukharin Jewish community.   There has been a Jewish community for more than 13 centuries, and Bukhara often provided a place of refuge for Jews persecuted in other lands.  It is reputed that before the construction of the current Bukhara Synagogue, Jewish and Muslim worshippers peacefully shared the Magok-i-Attari Mosque for their separate services.  The Magok-i-Attari still exists, as does Bukhara’s tolerance for members of the Jewish religion.
During his time in Bukhara Assistant Secretary Hammer spoke to students and faculty at Bukhara State University, and participated in an English Access Club class.  He also engaged with local press while visiting the famous Bukhara Ark Citadel, which the State Department has supported with a $42,000 grant from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) to the Bukhara State Architectural Museum.  The museum used the funds to restore the intricate calligraphy and paintings on the interior walls and ceilings of the mosque.
This was Assistant Secretary Hammer’s first visit to Uzbekistan. In addition to his events in Bukhara, Assistant Secretary Hammer gave speeches at universities in Tashkent and Samarkand, and participated in a conference on government transparency.  The Assistant Secretary used these public events to promote government transparency, press freedom, and tolerance.

 http://uzbekistan.usembassy.gov/050613en.html