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.

Concluded in 1979, the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty ended nearly 30 years of intermittent warfare, and proved one of the most enduring and beneficial products of Middle East diplomacy. But Egypt may not have been upholding its end of the bargain, write Jonathan Schanzer and Mariam Wahba:

Article III, subsection two of the peace agreement’s preamble explicitly requires both parties “to ensure that that acts or threats of belligerency, hostility, or violence do not originate from and are not committed from within its territory.” This clause also mandates both parties to hold accountable any perpetrators of such acts.

Recent Israeli operations along the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip of land bordering Egypt and Gaza, have uncovered multiple tunnels and access points used by Hamas—some in plain sight of Egyptian guard towers. While it could be argued that Egypt has lacked the capacity to tackle this problem, it is equally plausible that it lacks the will. Either way, it’s a serious problem.

Was Egypt motivated by money, amidst a steep and protracted economic decline in recent years? Did Cairo get paid off by Hamas, or its wealthy patron, Qatar? Did the Iranians play a role? Was Egypt threatened with violence and unrest by the Sinai’s Bedouin Union of Tribes, who are the primary profiteers of smuggling, if it did not allow the tunnels to operate? Or did the Sisi regime take part in this operation because of an ideological hatred of Israel?