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The Jews of Georgia: A Diverse and Ancient Community in the Caucasus
Sunday, June 28
Please note that the times are different from our usual schedule!
USA 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET
UK 5:00 pm / France 6:00 pm / Israel 7:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
About this talk
Travel with us to the Caucasus Mountains and discover a diverse Jewish world that once spoke Georgian, Yiddish, Ladino, and Juhuri. These languages were used by Georgia's Jewish communities, making the country one of the most distinctive places in the Jewish world.
Prior to Georgia's annexation by the Russian Empire in 1801, and later its incorporation into the USSR, the 2,600-year history of the Georgian Jews was marked by largely peaceful coexistence with their neighbors and significant integration into Georgian culture.
Once numbering as many as 100,000, the Georgian Jewish population today comprises only a few thousand people, following major waves of emigration to Israel, the United States, and Belgium.
About Lasha
Lasha Shakulashvili was born and raised in a family of ethnic Georgians who spoke only Georgian at home. As a fifth-generation Tbilisian, he grew up in one of the world's most multicultural and multi-faith cities, surrounded by the Georgian-, Russian-, and Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities of Georgia. His childhood inspired him to pursue a PhD in Jewish Studies.
Lasha has completed academic programs at Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden (Isaac Bashevis Singer Fellow, 2021–2022), Tel Aviv University, and the inaugural Yiddish program at the University of Oxford. He has previously worked for the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the United Nations and received an EU-supported prize for diversity reporting.
He is currently a lecturer in Yiddish language and culture at Tbilisi State University and is conducting research at the National Library of Israel. In addition to his native Georgian, Lasha speaks English, Russian, Yiddish, Latvian, and Hebrew.
You will be asked to select one of these options:
General admission - $18
Supported admission - $9
Sponsor this talk - $36
With your contribution, you will also be donating to the Yiddish Theater of Tbilisi, whose crew includes actors with Jewish, Georgian, and Armenian heritage.
