OHRNATAN.COM
Ohr Natan | Ohr Natan Synagogue | Ohr Natan Rego Park
Home
Ohr Natan in Rego Park and the Bukharian Community
Ohr Natan is a Bukharian community outreach center that is located in Rego Park, Queens, NY. The center is named for Natan Yakubov, who immigrated to the United States in 1977 after teaching Bukharian youth Hebrew and Judaism in his native Soviet Union. Yakubov died in 1986, and his daughter, Dr. Miriam Natan, continued his legacy by organizing activities for the growing community. The group did not have an official headquarters for several years; instead, they rented synagogues and schools to offer citizenship classes and lessons in Judaism to other immigrants. Ohr Natan moved to its current location in 2002, the site of the former Trylon Theatre.
Ohr Natan serves the Bukharian community. Members are of the Jewish faith who originated in Central Asia in an area once known as the Emirate of Bukhara. They speak Bukhori, a dialect of the Tajik-Persian language. Nearly all of the Bukharian people immigrated to the United States, Israel, Europe, and Australia after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The largest Bukharian community in the United States is located in Queens, New York.
Currently, there is a strong community effort to save the synagogue. New property owners want to temporarily relocate the community in four years when the current contract expires and demolish the synagogue to make room for a housing community. Community members are organizing petitions and rallies to save the beloved synagogue.
