Freshta Jalalzai

An Afghan Synagogue Thrives in Queens

Others from the small community gathered around me, each with a story to relate about the life they left behind in Afghanistan, and their fond recollections despite the challenges they faced as members of a religious minority. Indeed, the agony of leaving their home and all that they had grown to love seemed fresh in their mind. Many of them, even those in their late 70s and early 80s, told me that the synagogue provided them with the solace and sense of belonging that they left behind in Afghanistan.