While the history of Afghan Jews dates back at least to the 7th century CE, the country’s last Jew left in in 2021. Currently, some 2,000 Afghan Jews live in New York City. Freshta Jalalzai, herself born in Afghanistan, describes a visit to one of their synagogues in Queens:

Barukh Sharabat, an Afghan Jew in his early sixties, greeted me at the door. Prone as we Afghans are to nostalgia, almost immediately he lamented to me: “Alas! We lost our country.” He was right. He could not imagine returning to Afghanistan, and like many of my fellow country folk, neither could I.

For many elders, holding onto their ancient heritage involves traditional dishes and antique objects that they spirited out of Afghanistan. These artifacts, family jewels, and photos are the only tangible links that remain of their lost homeland. Whenever members of the community invited me to their homes, they lovingly unwrapped these prized possessions and regaled me with the stories of how much the objects meant to their family histories.

Ziphora Sharbat treasures an antique oil lamp with a cotton wick. Observant Jewish women light candles on Sabbath, so when Sharbat married, her mother gifted her the silver bowls [for holding oil] that were fashioned in Herat, western Afghanistan, as a symbol of her faith. Sharbat prefers to use this ceremonial item over regular wax candles, as per ancient custom.

With the IDF engaged in ground maneuvers in both northern and southern Gaza, and a plan about to go into effect next week that would separate more than 100,000 civilians from Hamas’s control, an end to the war may at last be in sight. Yet there seems to be no agreement within Israel, or without, about what should become of the territory. Efraim Inbar assesses the various proposals, from Donald Trump’s plan to remove the population entirely, to the Israeli far-right’s desire to settle the Strip with Jews, to the internationally supported proposal to place Gaza under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—and exposes the fatal flaws of each. He therefore tries to reframe the problem:

[M]any Arab states have failed to establish a monopoly on the use of force within their borders. Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan all suffer from civil wars or armed militias that do not obey the central government.

Perhaps Israel needs to get used to the idea that in the absence of an entity willing to take Gaza under its wing, chaos will prevail there. This is less terrible than people may think. Chaos would allow Israel to establish buffer zones along the Gaza border without interference. Any entity controlling Gaza would oppose such measures and would resist necessary Israeli measures to reduce terrorism. Chaos may also encourage emigration.

Israel is doomed to live with bad neighbors for the foreseeable future. There is no way to ensure zero terrorism. Israel should avoid adopting a policy of containment and should constantly “mow the grass” to minimize the chances of a major threat emerging across the border. Periodic conflicts may be necessary. If the Jews want a state in their homeland, they need to internalize that Israel will have to live by the sword for many more years.