Jewish, Georgian (Israel)

Georgian Jews are an ancient community from the Caucasus who trace their presence in Georgia to the Babylonian exile and came to Israel in two waves, about 30,000 in the 1970s and most of the rest after the Soviet collapse. They arrived as extended families and whole town communities, insisted on living together and on their own synagogues, and remain more traditional and tightly knit than most immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Ashdod now holds the largest Georgian Jewish community in the world, with others in Lod, Bat Yam, Holon and Jerusalem. Family celebrations follow the Georgian supra feast, with a toastmaster leading toasts and polyphonic song over khachapuri and khinkali.