The Georgian Jews

This Google Map shows the Jewish communities, past and present, of Georgia, including two sites in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The mapping does not purport to be complete and comprehensive, although all the main centres of population and synagogues should be shown. It is likely that there were smaller communities, or one or two Georgian Jewish families, elsewhere across the country, for instance as part of trading networks along the routes of the so-called Silk Road.

Where possible, the exact locations of synagogues and cemeteries have been pinpointed; elsewhere, a pin has simply been dropped onto the town or village as a general marker. Synagogues are shown with a Star of David.

These days, there are more Georgian Jews (or Gruzinim) in Israel than there are in the Republic of Georgia. The Georgian Jewish diaspora extends to America and Russia, of course, but also Belgium, Germany and elsewhere. As well as the Gruzinim, there was a growing population of Ashkenazi Jews in Georgia (and especially the capital Tbilisi or Tiflis) following its incorporation into the Russian Empire. Formerly, there were also Mountain Jews and Persian or Iranian Jews too in Georgia, and the latter had for a while their own synagogue in Tbilisi.