Editing Kabul (section)

===The Jewish community===
{{main|History of the Jews in Afghanistan}}
[[Jews]] had a presence in Afghanistan from ancient times until 2021.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=2021-09-08|title=Last member of Afghanistan's Jewish community leaves country|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/08/afghanistans-last-jew-leaves-country|access-date=2024-07-12|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> There are records of religious correspondence establishing the presence of Jews in Kabul since the 8th century, though it is believed that they were present centuries or even millennia earlier.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Jews of Afghanistan: A History of Tolerance and Diversity|url=https://aissonline.org/en/opinions/jews-of-af.../1164|access-date=2024-07-12|website=aissonline.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Jalalzai|first=Freshta|date=2024-03-08|title=The Little-Known Story of Afghanistan's Last Jew|url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-little-known-story-of-afghanistans-last-jew/|access-date=2024-07-12|website=New Lines Magazine|language=en}}</ref> The 12th century Arab geographer [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] wrote down his observations of a Jewish quarter in Kabul.<ref name="Ben">Ben Zion Yehoshua-Raz, “Kabul”, in: ''Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World'', Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. First published online: 2010</ref> In the early 19th century, Kabul and other major Afghan cities became sites of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in neighboring Iran.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Feigenbaum|first=Aaron|title=The Jewish History of Afghanistan|url=https://aish.com/the-jewish-history-of-afghanistan/|access-date=12 July 2024|website=Aish|date=7 September 2014}}</ref>

Jews were generally tolerated for most of their time in Afghanistan, up until the passage of anti-Jewish laws in the 1870s. Jews were given a reprieve under the rule of King [[Mohammad Nadir Shah|Nadir Shah]] until his assassination in 1933. The influence of Nazi propaganda led to increased violence against Jews and the [[ghetto]]ization of their communities in Kabul and [[Herat]]. Most of Afghanistan's Jews fled the country or congregated in these urban hubs.<ref name=":5" />

After the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|establishment of the state of Israel]], the Jewish community requested permission from King [[Mohammad Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]] to migrate there. Afghanistan was the only country that allowed its Jewish residents to migrate to Israel without relinquishing their citizenship.<ref name=":3" /> Most of those remaining, approximately 2,000 in number, left after the [[Soviet invasion of Afganhistan|Soviet invasion]] in 1979.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

As of 1992, there were believed to be two Jews remaining in Afghanistan, both living in a synagogue in Kabul.<ref name=":4" /> The congregation's [[Torah scroll]] was confiscated during the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|first Islamic Emirate]]. [[Zablon Simintov|Zebulon Simontov]] was believed and widely reported to be Afghanistan's last Jew, until [[Tova Moradi]] fled months after him, with her grandchildren. Moradi, who harbored a rabbi in her home throughout the first Islamic Emirate, lived in [[Murad Khani|Morad Khane]], Kabul for decades. While she was married to a Muslim man as a child, she still covertly attended synagogue and tried to teach her children what Hebrew prayers she could remember from her childhood. As of her departure in November 2021, there are believed to be no Jews in Afghanistan.<ref name=":2" />