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Yiddish theater is revived in Tbilisi, Georgia after 100 years
When Lasha Shakulashvili was a grad student at Tbilisi State University in 2022, he stumbled onto something unbelievable. In the National Archives of Georgia, he found Yiddish posters from 1910 announcing theater performances put on by a grassroots, community-run troupe in Tbilisi in what was then still part of the Russian Empire. The troupe was called the Jewish Division of Musical-Melodrama Art.
The posters were fragile and there were only a few of them. Along with them was a single photo he found in a 1917 copy of The Jewish Daily Forward, found in the archives of the National Library of Israel. The paper had a short dispatch mentioning the Ashkenazi school in Tbilisi and the photo showed a teacher writing the Yiddish word friling — spring — on a chalkboard.
Shakulashvili was surprised. Almost nothing had been written about Ashkenazi Jewish heritage in Georgia because most Jews in Georgia were kartveli ebraelebi or Georgian Jews; ‘Mountain Jews’ (Jewish inhabitants of the eastern and northern Caucasus) and Sephardic Jews. Shakulashvili was eager to find out more.
Born in Tbilisi to Orthodox Christian parents, he was raised in part by a Jewish nanny who taught him Russian and Yiddish. That early exposure set him on his scholarly path – and instilled in him a love for Yiddish and Ashkenazi culture.
Before turning to academia, Shakulashvili, who’s now a Yiddish scholar, Jewish history educator and digital storyteller, worked as a diplomat for Georgia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and the Georgian Foreign Ministry. Thanks to this career, he told me: “I look at things as an academic and a diplomat. As a diplomat, you have to be cautious but also persistent. A scholar does that, too.”
That persistence led him to write a dissertation on his findings, and publish some of his early discoveries in the Forward in 2022. His thesis is on the role of Yiddish theater in Georgia in the Jewish enlightenment. “Yiddish theater was groundbreaking at a time when Georgia was a very conservative place,”Shakulashvili said. “There were more actresses than actors, women were leading it, and there were plays that explored arranged marriages and women getting revenge. It was a ‘Belle Epoque’: Ashkenazis had been in Georgia less than a century and they changed the life of the whole community.”
Shakulashvili traced how Ashkenazi Jews began arriving in Georgia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fleeing poverty and pogroms in densely populated communities in the Russian Empire’s Pale of Settlement. Before the 1917 Revolution, about 5,000 Ashkenazim lived in Georgia, joining an already diverse Jewish population.
Shakulashvili visited Jewish cemeteries, eventually finding graves of every actor whose name was mentioned on the 1910 theater posters. He conducted oral history interviews with Jewish residents of Georgia from different Jewish communities and learned how interconnected different Jewish populations were: Sephardic and Georgian-Jewish sources told him about their grandmothers being educated at the Yiddish school in a time when many schools didn’t accept girls. In turn, the Sephardic community has taken on the task of preserving the two historic Ashkenazi synagogues.
His journey took him to archives in Tbilisi, Jerusalem and Oxford, England. “I had to bring these stories back to life somehow,” he said. “It’s one thing to find a poster and prove the theater existed, but who played there and where did they come from and how did they learn? My curiosity for the theater led me to find out more about the Yiddish schools. One thing led to another — there was a school, there was a society, a whole culture. I wanted to find a complete picture.”
The majority of Georgian-born Jews have since emigrated to Israel or the United States. According to his interviews, most of them did so not because of fear or persecution, but simply for better economic opportunities after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Shakulashvili shared discoveries with his students at the Paideia Institute in Stockholm and Tbilisi State University, where he was lecturing. He then began sharing his discoveries on Instagram. One early video he posted showed him offering his mostly non-Jewish students cookies shaped like letters of the alef-beyz (the Hebrew alphabet) — a traditional way of welcoming children into Jewish learning.
When Shakulashvili started speaking publicly about the long-lost Yiddish theater, non-Jewish Georgian actors and directors reached out. Many were stunned to learn that Tbilisi once had a Yiddish stage, shut down in 1926 by Soviet authorities. A question emerged: Could the theater be revived?
Shakulashvili’s discovery and networks forged online brought together Georgian historians, Jewish community leaders and actors of all backgrounds. Ana Sanaia, a prominent Georgian actress, director and playwright emerged as the producer who’d make this dream a reality.
A century after its last performance, the Tbilisi Yiddish Theater reopened in 2023. The first production – performed in Yiddish and old Russian, with Georgian supertitles – was Osip Dymov’s 1907 drama Shema Yisroel (named for a centerpiece prayer in Judaism). Jewish protagonists convert to Christianity to survive, only to be rejected by their families and left stranded between identities.
The reopening in Tbilisi came at a tense time. Since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza, Jewish cultural institutions elsewhere have faced protests and boycotts. Georgia has largely avoided that backlash, something Shakulashvili attributes to the country’s strong identification with its Jewish history.
Still, Georgia is politically polarized, especially as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to shape regional affairs. The theater is self-funded exclusively through independent fundraising, Ana Sanaia, the theater’s producer, told me.
While Shakulashvili has since stepped back from the theater, his research paved the way for recovering the forgotten Yiddish culture of Georgia. He is now based in Israel, where he produces digital content, leads heritage tours and travels for lectures. He still spends the spring semester teaching in Tbilisi.
Meanwhile, Sanaia continues to produce plays, raise funds and recruit actors. She is currently producing her own play in Georgian about the Yiddish-speaking community and their relationship with Abkhaz Muslims in a Black Sea town in 1907.
Shakulashvili’s latest project focuses on online public education about the diverse arts, culture and languages of the Jewish people, through a platform he calls “Jewish Storytelling.” He is also working on a memoir about his discovery and the journey it sent him on.
“I’m proud to be a Georgian Orthodox Christian, and I am proud to work in Jewish studies,” Shakulashvili said. “Everyday I say ‘thank you’ to God that I have been able to do what I love.”
The post Yiddish theater is revived in Tbilisi, Georgia after 100 years appeared first on The Forward.
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Israeli Muay Thai Fighter Returns Home After Victory Over Anti-Israel Turkish Rival
Israeli Muay Thai fighter Ahavat Gordon. Photo: YouTube screenshot
Israeli Muay Thai fighter Ahavat Hashem Gordon returned home to Israel on Monday morning after winning a match in Lithuania on Saturday night against a Turkish rival who reportedly had posted on social media a series of threats against the Israeli athlete as well as anti-Israel messages before their fight.
The 19-year-old Israeli, who is nicknamed “Golden Boy,” defeated Turkish fighter Ali Koyuncu, 25, after just two rounds at the Lithuanian UTMA 17 held at the Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas. Gordon has no UTMA losses and put on an aggressive performance in the Muay Thai fight, where the fighters using MMA gloves. In the second round, Koyuncu injured his foot shortly before Gordon knocked him to the floor with a blow to the head. When the fighters were pulled apart, Koyuncu was seen heavily bleeding from the side of his head. The judges then made the call to end the fight and Gordon was named the winner.
At the pre-fight weigh-in on Friday, Gordon was draped in an Israeli flag and wore a kippah, tzitzit, and a Star of David necklace. Koyuncu tried to grab his Israeli opponent by the throat and as officials attempted to hold the two men back from each other, the Turkish fighter managed to kick Gordon in the stomach.
Koyuncu additionally raised his middle finger at Gordon and made antisemitic threats, which led to the Israeli Embassy in Lithuania requesting increased security around Gordon ahead of the fight, according to Israel Hayom. Before getting into the ring, Koyuncu also reportedly posted a video on social media that featured a message about the “bloodshed” he hoped Gordon would suffer.
“I always try to avoid bringing politics into sports. The moment he brought it in, there was no turning back,” Gordon added about his opponent. “I’m glad I showed the whole world that the people of Israel are strong. It’s incredible and it’s a privilege. I gave strength and showed that a Jewish Israeli can step into the ring wearing a kippah and tzitzit and not hide who he is … I asked him why he wrote what he wrote and told him not to do it again. I do respect him for stepping into the ring because that takes a lot, but beyond that I don’t respect him.”
Gordon thanked the public for their supportive messages, especially those he received from IDF troops. “Soldiers who watched the fight in Gaza, it moved me almost to tears,” he said. “Did I receive antisemitic responses about this fight? Yes, absolutely,” he admitted. “Not only me, but my family also did. I also heard about incidents in the crowd. We’re doing what we need to do, and we’re doing the right thing.”
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Israel Warns Lebanon of Strikes if Hezbollah Enters Any US-Iran War, Lebanese Officials Say
A man works on an electric pole next to a damaged building, in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Friday, in Tamnine el Tahta, Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Feb. 21, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Israel has warned Lebanon that it would strike the country hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in any US-Iran war, two senior Lebanese officials said on Tuesday.
The Lebanese officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Israeli message was delivered indirectly. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iran and the US will hold a third round of nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on Sunday, amid growing concerns about the risk of military conflict.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, whose government has sought the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah since taking office a year ago, urged the terrorist group not to take Lebanon into “another adventure,” speaking in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.
Israel dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah during a war in 2024, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with thousands of its fighters and destroying much of its arsenal.
Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah was established by Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Hezbollah‘s new leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address last month that the group was “not neutral” in the standoff between Washington and Tehran, and that it was “targeted by the potential aggression.”
“We are determined to defend ourselves. We will choose in due course how to act, whether to intervene or not,” Qassem said.
Hezbollah‘s last war with Israel began after it opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza conflict in 2023, prompting months of cross-border fighting before Israel mounted its devastating offensive.
PM SALAM WARNS HEZBOLLAH AGAINST ‘ANOTHER ADVENTURE’
“The Gaza adventure imposed a big cost on Lebanon. We hope that we will not be dragged into another adventure,” Salam told Nida al-Watan newspaper in the interview published on Tuesday.
The US State Department is pulling out non-essential government personnel and their eligible family members from the US embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official said on Monday.
Since a US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in 2024, Israel has carried out regular strikes against what it has identified as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, accusing the group of seeking to rearm.
Israeli strikes have killed around 400 people in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to a Lebanese toll.
Hezbollah says it has respected the ceasefire in southern Lebanon. In January, the US-backed Lebanese army said it had established operational control over the south, in line with the objective of establishing a monopoly on arms.
Israel said the effort was an encouraging beginning but far from sufficient.
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EU Memo Raises Security Concerns Over Mass Escape From Islamic State-Linked Syria Camp
Members of the Syrian government security forces stand guard as a group of female detainees gather at al-Hol camp after the government took control of it following the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in Hasaka, Syria, Jan. 21, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
An EU internal memo has raised security concerns about the escape of thousands of people from a detention camp holding relatives of suspected Islamic State fighters in northeastern Syria, suggesting terrorist groups could recruit from them.
The memo, sent from the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union to member states and dated Feb. 23, said the status of third-country nationals who had fled the camp at al-Hol remained unclear and that it was reported that a majority of them had escaped.
“This raises concerns about how terrorist groups might seek to capitalize on the current situation to increase recruitment efforts among escapees,” said the memo, which was reviewed by Reuters.
PRISONERS INCLUDED THOUSANDS OF FOREIGNERS
Al-Hol, near the Iraqi border, was one of the main detention camps for relatives of suspected Islamic State fighters who were detained during the US-backed campaign against the jihadist group in Syria.
Control of the camp changed hands in January, when Syrian government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa drove the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from the area.
The SDF had guarded the facility for years.
The camp‘s population was 23,407 people the day before the government takeover, including 6,280 foreigners from more than 40 nationalities, Reuters reported last week, citing official data from the camp.
The US military said on Feb. 13 it had completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Islamic State fighters from jails in Syria to Iraq. It had originally said up to 7,000 prisoners could eventually be transferred. The EU memo noted that the initial target was not met.
‘CHAOTIC TAKEOVER‘
In a section entitled “Security concerns stemming from the evolving situation in northeast Syria,” the EU memo said the “chaotic takeover led to the collapse of security and services in the al-Hol camp, triggering the escape of a significant portion of its population.”
The UN refugee agency in Syria and the Syrian government “have confirmed that an uncontrolled exodus has occurred over the past few weeks,” it added.
Damascus has accused the SDF of withdrawing from al-Hol on Jan. 20 without any coordination. The SDF has said its forces had been “compelled” to withdraw from the camp to areas surrounding cities which it said were under threat.
A Syrian government security source told Reuters last week that the security authorities, working in cooperation with international partners, had established a unit to “pursue those who are wanted.”
The SDF had guarded prisons holding thousands of Islamic State militants in northeast Syria, in addition to al-Hol and a second camp at Roj, which also holds relatives of suspected jihadists.
The EU memo said the capacity of Damascus “to manage these facilities is assessed as limited and facing significant operational challenges.” It noted that the government’s stated intent to gradually phase out al-Hol camp had “been overtaken by recent events, which raise grave security concerns.”
The EU memo said that al-Hol and Roj camps were hosting around 25,000 people, primarily women and children, “with many of these being highly radicalized and living in degrading humanitarian and security conditions.”
Roj camp remains under the control of the SDF for now.
Last week, the SDF released 34 Australian nationals from Roj, only for them to return later. The Australian government has ruled out helping families of IS terrorists return home. Roj is also home to British-born Shamima Begum.
The EU memo said there was “reason for concern regarding the possible escape of families” from Roj once the Syrian government takes control.
Syria‘s Information Ministry and the US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The memo came amid an uptick of Islamic State violence in Syria.
Islamic State terrorists killed four Syrian government security personnel in northern Syria on Monday, the Syrian state news agency reported, in what would be the group’s deadliest attack on government forces since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
The assault on a checkpoint west of Raqqa city underlined an escalation in attacks by the jihadist group against President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government, two days after the jihadist group declared “a new phase of operations” against it.
Islamic State issued no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s attack. On Saturday, the group claimed two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, in which a Syrian soldier and a civilian were killed.
The Syrian state news agency said forces foiled Monday’s attack and killed one of the militants. It quoted a security source as saying Islamic State carried out the attack.
The terrorist group, however, only claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a separate attack on an army headquarters in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria that killed one soldier.
The group had carried out an attack in the same city days earlier.
The Syrian government joined the US-led coalition to combat Islamic State last year. In January, government forces seized control of Raqqa from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, along with much of the surrounding territory in northern and eastern Syria.
Meanwhile, US forces on Monday began withdrawing from their largest military base in the northeast, according to three Syrian military and security sources – part of a broader pullout of US troops who deployed to Syria a decade ago to fight Islamic State.