News Worthy Clips

News Worthy Clips

Update your vocabulary with news clips from around the world

A synagogue faces destruction; a community fades

The government’s decision to proceed with the destruction of the only remaining synagogue in Tajikistan has left the tiny Jewish community here angry and shocked. The synagogue has been threatened since April 2004 when the government decided to resurrect Soviet-era plans to build a Palace of the Nation. The palace will also serve as the residence of President Imomali Rahmonov.

Authorities insisted the project means that the synagogue had to go, although the building was not the site of the proposed construction. Instead, the synagogue was torn down to make way for a road that will lead to the new structure.

The government claims to have offered the Jewish congregation a plot of land elsewhere as compensation for the current site. The state will also provide them with free space that they can use for three months while the new synagogue is being built.

But the Jews say a plot of land alone will not help preserve their dwindling community. The most recent official census indicated that there were only 200 Jews left in the country.

“There is a small Jewish community left in the country and the synagogue is the only place where we can gather together to pray and interact. Its location is very convenient, and easy for elderly people to get to,” said another member of the community who declined to be named. “Demolishing the synagogue means scattering our community and threatening our rights as a minority group,” he added.

The fight appears to be between a stridently secular government and a devoutly religious community.

“The Jewish community says that according to their beliefs, a synagogue cannot be moved or demolished,” said Shamsiddin Nuriddino, head of the department for religious affairs. “But the Tajik Jews forget that they are living in another nation, which is naturally ruled by its own laws.”

Specialized Terms

Synagogue (n) 犹太教堂  a building in which Jewish people worship and study their religion

Soviet (adj) 前苏联的 of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

Census (n) 人口普查 an official count of the number of people living in a country including information about them

Vocabulary Focus

Resurrect (v) to bring back into use something that had ended

Compensation (n) payment or property given in exchange for something

Dwindling (adj) becoming fewer in number

Scatter (v) to cause to move far apart in different directions

Stridently (adv) in a manner expressed in forceful language which does not try to avoid upsetting other people

Discussion Question

Which side would win the fight? Why?

Extra Exercise

1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Demolishing the synagogue means scattering our community and threatening our rights as a minority group,’

2. According to the recording, the government destroyed the synagogue possibly want to …

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