(By Our Moscow Correspondent)
Interesting and curious facts relative to the Causasian mountain Jews have been described in the Soviet press as a result of a study made by the Executive of the Council of the National Minorities of the Soviets.
Jews have been living in Azerbaijan, in the Caucasian mountains, for centuries, writes the “Stern,” Yiddish Communist paper of the Ukraine. It is difficult to distinguish them from the innumerable Oriental tribes and families inhabiting the Caucasus. Their language is a mixture of Turkish, Persian. Arabic and the local languages and dialects. This language is extremely poor in vocabulary which makes it difficult to explain to them the facts and phenomena of modern life. It is still their custom to squat on carpets spread out on the floor. Apart from carpets, mattresses and domestic utensils they have no furniture in their houses. The walls are bare. Their wives go about veiled with only their eyes peeping through. No man is allowed to look at them.
Before the coming of the Soviet regime the mountain Jews used to have about two or three wives. And even now the law is frequently evaded in this respect. They have no fixed age at which a woman is allowed to marry. If a girl is struck with a fur hat on the head and she does not fall it is a sign that she is of marriageable age. Even today cases occur when a child is betrothed at birth to another which has not yet been weaned.
The mountain Jews live in segregated settlements; in the great cities like Kuba they live in separate quarters; in Baku in separate streets. This mode of living which is characteristic of the life of all the peoples of the Caucasus is explainable by the undeveloped state of their economic life.
The chief centres in which the Jews of the Caucasus live are Kuba, (1,200 souls) and Diakchei, Nuke and Baku (about 4,000). The majority are artisans, shoemakers and tailors. The rest are small shopkeepers and peddlars. There are also a few rich people among them. These are tradesmen, dealers in expensive carpets and antiques. They trade chiefly with foreign countries. There is no social life among them and there are very few social workers of ability. The Rabbi is the highest authority over them and he is assisted by a council of elders. They have no industrial proletariat.
In Baku one meets the youth of the Caucasian Jews in the technical schools; they are also employed in the oil and metal industries, garages and cooperative stores.
There is a very keen desire for culture among these young Jews. When meetings are arranged, the biggest hall in Baku cannot hold all those who want to attend; but there is a lack of educational workers to satisfy this desire. There is no lecturers, there are no school books. The Executive of the Council of the National Minorities of the Soviets has decided to publish a paper in the Tat language (the language of the mountain Jews) but there are no people to carry out the work of editing the papers. In Baku about 40 women attend the classes which are conducted in Turkish because there are no teachers in their mother tongue. The classes are attended regularly and the pupils are keen on learning. The women’s section tries to influence the mountain Jewesses to take part in the productive work. The society for exploring and studying Azerbaijan has a special committee devoted to Tat folklore and to the collection of material for reviving and developing the language of the mountain Jews.
AGREEMENT FOR DISPOSAL OF PALESTINE MATZOS IN U. S. NEAR CONCLUSION
Negotiations, said to be nearing completion, opening the American market to Palestine baked matzos are under way between the Manischewitz Brother matzos company of Cincinnati, and Mr. Samual Aaronsohn, a representative of the Baron de Rothschild flour mill and matzos factory in Haifa.
The Rothschild mills in Haifa, the largest flour mill in the Near East, has recently opened a matzos bakery, which it is intended will supply Palestine matzos to the Jews of the world.
On the suggestion of influential lovers of Palestine in New York, the Manischewitz Brothers and Mr. Aaronsohn started negotiations for the dispose of Palestine matzos in the United States.
The transaction when concluded will be a uniq### manifestation in the world of business, that of on concern volunteering to develop a rival concern, for the sake of developing Palestine.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
