Cu l t ur e&So c i e ty

Jews in The Hidden Vartan Akchyan

While the territory of Armenia has shrunk consistently, the Vartan Akchyan is associated with Armenian map of the world has widened and now encom- Georgetown Universi- passes almost every single continent. A piece of Armenian ty’s Center for New Designs in Learning cu l t u r e lives and thrives in the most remote areas of the and Scholarship. He world, while Armenia itself only houses approximately 30 directed a documen- tary film on in pe r cent of the global Armenian population. This dispersion Armenia, which pre- gives birth to quests for personal identity among many miered in New York Armenians in the Diaspora. City in June 2002. Although Armenians are usually thought of as a single group, similar to the Jews, there are several subgroups that ma k e up the greater Armenian ethnicity. Western Armenians ar e comprised of the Diaspora while Eastern Armenians are comprised of Armenians in the Republic of Armenia. These two groups, in turn, include smaller communities of Armeni- ans living throughout the world, such as North and South American Armenians, Australian Armenians, Iranian Arme- nians, etc. While these communities have shared traits that are distinctively Armenian, there still exist important differen c e s , which can be used as identity markers to distinguish among the various subgroups. This creates syntheses of identity based on national, religious, territorial, and ethnic characteristics. Is a person living in the with an Armenian gran d f a - ther really an Armenian? Who decides? Much about the

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Armenian identity, both at home and in order to function. His only pres e n c e abroad, remains unclear. in Armenia is through his English lan- Ambiguity and uncertainty are the guage, which is foreign to Armenia. Only ch i l d r en of such prescriptive labels, and when located in Canada is he seen as an when fantasy of the future and nostalgia effectively powerful and perhaps Ar m e n -

Much about the Armenian identity, both at home and abroad, remains unclear.

for the past are conflated in the Armen- ian character. One that is able to over- ian psyche after the traumatic experience come personal trauma (the loss of his of near annihilation at the beginning of Armenian-speaking wife) by red u c i n g the twentieth century, the pre s e n t historical, cultural, and religious baggage becomes further distorted—a mere fable. to a self-created wall hanging (a calendar Cu r r ently, Armenian collective con- of Armenian churches) and by rec o n - sciousness preoccupies itself with the structing and facing the reality of his loss sh a r ed collective memories of the past through the presence of forei g n - s p e a k i n g among a disparate and diffuse ethnic women in his home, which rep r esents his group of the present. It is important to unconscious attachment to a frag m e n t a r y note that, from the perspective of the te m p o r al and spatial relationship with Di a s p o r a (approximately 70 percent of Armenia. Such complex identity search e s , Armenians in the world), an Armenian ma r k ed by dispersion and personal jour- in Armenia is nameless and faceless—she neys of revelation, become the ref e re n c e is merely a part of Armenia. As a res u l t , points of self-discovery and common Armenia itself becomes something less ground for Diaspora Armenians, who than real. It becomes a utopian idea look inward towards Armenia, and Jewish without a strong foundation to support Armenians, who look outward towards it, while it is this foundation that ren d e r s Is ra e l . the group capable and the individual important. Otherwise, the individual is Historic Overview of Jews in faceless and incapable, neither an actor Ar menia. Various Jewish communi- nor a creator—a mere shadow. ties have lived in Armenia. Perhaps the In Atom Egoyan’s Ca l e n d a r , for exam- first appearance of Jews took place in ple, the Armenian protagonist of the the first century BCE, when Armenian film is, in effect, “dead” in Armenia. He King Tig r an the Great exiled thousands is nameless and faceless, powerless and of Jews from the to the out of place. Visually, he is never pres e n t Armenian Empire. The ultimate fate of in Armenia. He is in his ancestral home, this community remains unclear, but while the very Armenian environment the works of Khorenats‘i inform us that and his presence there turn him into a they first settled in the Armenian cities st r anger and “make him from somewhere of “Artashat and Val a r s h a p a t . ” 2 Wh i l e el s e . ” 1 While recognizing that “he is from ac c o r ding to Khorenats‘i’s account the th e r e,” he is in need of an intermediary Jews were converted to Christianity, the

[8 2] Georgetown Journal of International Affairs AK C H YAN Culture&Society

Gr eek geographer Strabo claims that ning of eighteenth century.8 Su b b o t n i k s “the tribesmen and townspeople, except ar e “The People of the ,” a dis- for those of Jewish and Greek birth, tinctively Jewish identification. Prev i o u s - sp o k e the Armenian language.”3 Si n c e ly, the Subbotniks were considered a sect, th e r e are no clear historical accounts “but in today’s reality, after studying their that rec o r ded the fate of this particular experience, we come to an understanding community at a later date, we can spec- that they are not a different sect at all, ulate that they were either eventually because the Tor ah constitutes the very assimilated into the Armenian culture basis of their beliefs, and there is nothing or have abandoned Armenia. In partic- except the Tora h . ” 9 Thus, the Subbotnik ular, these Jews may have been the pre- experience lacks not , but the cul- decessors of today’s Zoks, who are often tu r al identity of “Jewishness.” They are co n s i d e r ed ethnic Armenian Jews.4 As ethnically and linguistically Russian. Burshteyn claims, Although the early history of the Subbot- niks has yet to be uncovered, there is some Unofficially, Zoks are the descen- certainty that they came to Armenia from dants of ancient Jews who lived on the th r ee Russian cities: Tambov, Sarat o v , territory of Armenia and later con- and Vor o n e z h . 10 They established their verted to Christianity. Today, they own small town in Armenia and named it consider themselves to be Armenians Yelenovka. An elder Subbotnik said, and their point of view is also shared “Our ancestors had their own , by the Jewish world. However, I do their own Rabbi, and their own pray e r believe that one day the world will books—which were translated from know who the Zoks really are— He b r ew to Russian. To this date we con- whether they are a myth or rea l i t y . 5 tinue using those books.”11 Many Subbotniks still live in Armenia An interesting account of possible and practice their religion freely, but like Jewish presence in Armenia beginning in their Armenian peers, most of the the seventh century comes from Ya‘ q u b i . younger members of the community have The medieval kingdom of Khazaria exist- now left Armenia due to economic diffi- ed from 650 to 1016 when “the far east of culties and have established themselves in Europe was ruled by Jewish kings who , the birthplace of their late ances- pr esided over numerous tribes, includ- tors. Currently, the elder members are ing their own tribe: the Turkic . the only people who argue that there has After their conversion, the Khazar peo- been a continuity of the Subbotnik com- ple used Jewish personal names and munity in Armenia. As an elder Subbot- sp o k e and wrote in Hebrew . ” 6 Ya‘ q u b i nik suggests, “I was born here, and will writes that “the Khazars were they who most likely die here. Where else can we co n q u e r ed all the lands of Armenia.”7 go? This is our homeland. We love our Another community of Jewish converts homeland. We love our Armenia.”12 living in Armenia is the Subbotniks—a Historical evidence of another Jewish community of ethnically Russian Jews that community in Armenia was found in escaped religious persecution in Russia 1997 with the discovery of a thirteenth and has found its home in Armenia on century Jewish cemetery in the Armenian the shores of Lake Sevan since the begin- highlands. According to Dr. Michael

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Stone, a professor at the Hebrew Univer- and a range of other Jewish program s . sity of Jerusalem and head of excavations The fall of the Iron Curtain and the at the site, indications of Jewish commu- emergence of pluralism and democrat i z a - nities in Armenia have been vague and tion have, in turn, led to the awakening of sp o r adic: “We didn’t know that Armenia in post-Soviet Armenia. had a Jewish community. We saw a hint It is important to note that Jewish pres - he r e or a word there, but nothing from ence in Armenia during the Soviet epoch this period.”13 The discovery of seventy was, to a large extent, tran s p a r ent. Shared tombstones inscribed in Aramaic with tr aditions, values, and aspirations in the He b r ew letters, which date from the two cultures brought Jews and Armenians thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, together throughout the territory of the constitutes the first physical evidence of and, specifically, within a Jewish community in Armenia before Armenia. In addition, deep solidarity the nineteenth century. gr ew between the two peoples in the after- It is difficult to generate an all- math of the tragic events of the first and inclusive picture of the Jewish presence second world wars. While there was an in Armenia due to the imprecision of influx of Jews into Armenia during the some historical accounts and lack of 1940s and through the 1950s, a rep a t r i a - validation by other available data. How- tion of Armenians from Europe and the ever, the available combination of his- Middle East was simultaneously taking torical accounts and arc h a e o l o g i c a l place, making Armenia home for the sur- findings, while certainly less than com- vivors of both Armenian and Jewish p rehensive and mostly infre q u e n t , tr agedies. The factor most responsible for provides for a modest window into the the integration of Jews into Armenian general history of Jewish presence in society, however, was the establishment of Armenia, but ultimately belies the clear matrimonial unions between rep re s e n t a - indication of a strong and lasting rela- tives of the two groups. Due to the com- tionship between Jews and Armenians bination of these elements, Armenians c h a racterized by intermarriage and no longer perceived the Jews as outsiders, cross-cultural pollination. but rather as insiders. The uniqueness of Armenia’s Jewry Jews and Modern Armenian cannot be understood outside the Reality. During the past decade and a greater context of Armenian reality as a half, the people of Jewish origins living whole. Specifically, this reality comes to in Armenia have undergone a rel i g i o u s , life in the fusion of Armenian home- c u l t u ral, and linguistic re n a i s s a n c e . land with the Armenian Diaspora , After the collapse of the Soviet Union c h a racterizing Jewish existence in and its unsuccessful attempt at crea t i n g Armenia as a presence of one Diaspora a unified conglomerate of peoples and people in another Diaspora people’s religions under the umbrella of Com- homeland, which gives birth to a mul- munism, the first synagogue and Jewish tiplicity of outlooks and frames of ref- Sunday school to open in more than a erence in the Armenian conscience. century was established in the Armenian Interestingly, even with such dispersion capital. They offered Hebrew classes, and variety, being Armenian is to be in Shabbat services, holiday celebrat i o n s , a “closed unit,” since “Armenianness”

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(analogous to “Jewishness”) does not To the ground I bow in front of these provide any real windows of inclusion people, who in this little village on top of apart from kinship. Similar to “ and the mountains, in the middle of their joy- ,” there exists an “Armenian ous moments, spoke of the suffering of and Otar (foreign)” dichotomy, both the Jews. To those I bow, who in solemn of which are ethnic-religious identities silence listened to those words . ” 14 formulated from and reinforced by the Such expressions of solidarity and familial institution. exchanges of feelings were charac t e r i s t i c Indeed, the modern Jewish pres e n c e of the relationship between Jews and in Armenia reproduces itself mainly Armenians. Even more, such mutual through intermarriages between Jews and acknowledgements have elevated the rel a - Armenians—commonly labeled in the tionship between the two groups to a level

Process has become mo r e important than sa g a c i t y .

former Soviet Union as “the thundering often characterized as “unique and spe- merger.” Stereotypically, this “merger” cial,” as “enigmatic and mystical.”15 meant a “union of parallels,” in which Although physically close, Jews and two strong cultural groups with collective Armenians are often far apart; but, pain and confidence in their own ethnic- despite their differences, their fates were ity and religion came together to create a st r angely similar. Historical events turned magnetic bond founded upon their sim- these groups into survivors and tran s - ilar paths. But, at the same time, there formed their continued existence from was an ironic distance stemming from me r e subsistence to an imperative of per- their conscious awareness that a union of sistence and prosperity into the future. pa r allels was in fact impossible. “And the chain, the continuum of this This is illustrated by the experience of people’s life was unbreakable,” continues Russian-Jewish writer Vasiliy Grossman, Grossman. “In it were united youth, old who, in 1962, was dispatched to Armenia age, and sorrows of the dead. The contin- to write short stories about Soviet life in uum seemed firm and everlasting. Mis- the peripheral republic. In one of his sto- fortunes, death, invasion did not brea k ries, he describes an incident at an the chain.”16 These words, while describ- Armenian wedding where an old Armen- ing Grossman’s perspective on the ian veteran, after learning that Grossman Armenian people, are peculiarly charac - was Jewish, drank a glass of vodka to com- teristic of both Jews and Armenians. me m o r ate the deaths of his Jewish friends Similar to the Jews, the Armenians during World War II. This sort of public have come to acquire a concentricity of display of sympathy and grief for the vic- history, of national consciousness, and tims of the Holocaust was unheard of in of linguistic and religious difference. In the 1960s. Grossman was so moved and co n t r ast to other Christian church e s — affected by this gesture that he later wrote: and akin to practices of Judaism—the “Never have I bowed in front of anyone. Armenian Church has been historically

Winter/Spring 2003 [8 5] JEWS IN AR M E N I A a non-proselytizing institution con- rooted trait of Armenian character to be stantly struggling to maintain its own ex t r emely rational and irrationally whim- identity (even within Christendom), sical at the same time, to live life to its since, according to the writings of fullest while managing to fulfill the Elishe, spiritual and secular models im p e r ative of survival. The fear of escap- pa r allel to and borrowed from the Mac- ing the bliss of denial and thus con- cabees were utilized to shield Armenian fronting the trauma that suspends the customs and culture from outside force s choice-that-must-be-made and the as early as in the fifth century.17 a c t i o n - t h a t - m u s t - b e - t a ken pre v e n t s Establishing an organized ethno-cul- Armenian reality from tra n s f o r m i n g tu r al framework is absolutely essential from “process” into “choice/action.” The for a successful salvaging of the Armen- fear of moving beyond this cycle (or para- ian reality. “Go ahead, destroy this dox) is what “successfully” sustains conti- race…See if you can do it,” suggests nuity. Armenian reality has now entered William Saroyan.1 8 Armenians have the “domain of the closed circular palpi- struggled throughout much of history in tation which finds satisfaction in endless- or der to protect and maintain their ly repeating the same failed gesture. ” 19 social memories and way of life. They The constant Armenian denial of its have struggled to such an extent that own historical trauma has to be derai l e d struggle has become a major component be f o r e Armenia, along with its Jewish of their culture and identity. Who else community, can become a full member extends an invitation to be destroyed so of the twenty-first century world. Tod a y , that they can rebuild again? however, Armenian reality is a culture of Process has become more important fantasy, with a suspended present and a than sagacity; it has become a deeply- pr essingly uncertain future.

N OT E S 1 Ca l e n d a r , dir. Atom Egoyan, perf. Atom Egoyan, author, 1 July 2001. Arsinée Khanjian, and Ashot Adamian, Ego Fil m 10 Yo’av Karny, Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Ar t s / Z D F , 1993. Quest of Memory, (New York: Far r ar, Straus and Giroux, 2 Moses Khorenats‘i, History of the Armenians, tran s . 2000), 309. Robert W. Thomson (Cambridge: Harvard Universi- 11 Interview with author, July 2001. ty Press, 1978), 293. 12 Nacha Cattan, "Prof discovers remnants of 3 David Marshall Lang, Armenia: Cradle of Civilization, buried Armenian city," Fre e d o m , 18 January 2002. 2nd ed. (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978), 126. 13 Vasiliy Grossman, Povest’, Rasskazi, Ocherki (M o s k - 4 For more information about the Zoks, please va: Vagrius, 1998), 220. refer to the documentary film entitled Jews in Armenia: 14 Dr. Igor Ulanovsky, interview with author, 14 The Hidden Diaspora. June 2001. 5 Rabbi Gersh-Meir Burshteyn, interview with 15 Grossman, 221. Tak en from "Dobro Vam " author, 1 July 2001. [P eace Be With You], an account of Grossman’s jour- 6 “Khazaria Info Center,” http://www.khazaria.com ney to Armenia, 1962-63. (Date Accessed: 28 August 2002). 16 Elishe, History of Vardan and the Armenian War (C a m - 7 D. M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars bridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Pre s s , (P rinceton: Princeton University Press, 1954), 20. 1982), 156. 8 The author’s personal interviews with the Sub- 17 William Saroyan, Inhale & Exhale (New York: Ran- botniks yielded the 1730s as the date of their ances- dom House, 1936), 438. tors’ arrival in Armenia. 18 Slavoj Zizek, The Plague of Fan t a s i e s (London: Ver - 9 Rabbi Gersh-Meir Burshteyn, interview with so, 1997), 30.

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