Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Turkmenistan

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Turkmenistan: about 1,000 Jews with no organised community, an Israeli embassy opened in 2023 17 km from the Iranian border, Israeli loitering munitions and armoured vehicles, and Turkmen references in the Epstein files

Turkmenistan has about 1,000 Jews but no organised Jewish community, synagogue or rabbi, according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] It established diplomatic relations with "Israel" in 1993.[2] On 20 April 2023 the Israeli foreign minister, Eli Cohen, opened an Israeli embassy in Ashgabat, 17 km from the Iranian border; he called the relationship one "of great security and political importance".[3] The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records Israeli SkyStriker loitering munitions and armoured vehicles supplied to Turkmenistan in 2016–21.[4]

Jewish community and religious life

According to the WJC, about 800 of Turkmenistan's Jews live in Ashgabat, with smaller groups in Mary, Turkmenabat, Dashoguz, Turkmenbashi, Balkanabat and Kerki. Most are Ashkenazim who arrived in the Soviet era; about 20 per cent are Iranian Jews with older roots in the country. The Soviet authorities converted the Ashgabat synagogue, the only one in the country, into a gymnasium. The WJC states that most Turkmen Jews are not practising and "do not usually disclose their religious origin due to severe religious persecution". There is no WJC affiliate. Since 1989, 1,050 Turkmen Jews have emigrated to "Israel".[1]

How far is it Zionist? No Jewish communal organisation exists, so no assessment is possible.

Chabad

Main article: Chabad-Lubavitch movement

There is no Chabad Bot page for Turkmenistan.

Israeli state and commercial ties

Diplomacy

"Israel" recognised Turkmenistan in 1991, and relations were established in 1993. According to The Jerusalem Post, agreements on culture, education, science, health, investment protection, tourism and air transport followed in the 1990s. Shimon Peres visited Ashgabat in 1994, and President Saparmurat Niyazov visited Jerusalem in 1995 and 1997.[5] In 2011 the Israeli foreign ministry listed Turkmenistan as a non-resident posting handled from Jerusalem.[2] A senior Israeli foreign ministry official, Yuval Fuchs, told The Jerusalem Post in 2025 that "for many years we had a non-resident ambassador".[5]

Cohen arrived in Ashgabat from Azerbaijan on 19 April 2023. He wrote on Twitter: "I came to open an Israeli Embassy 17 km. from the border with Iran… The relationship with Turkmenistan is of great security and political importance, and this visit will strengthen the position of the State of Israel in the region." He met President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. He said the visit was aimed at deepening cooperation in fields including "border protection and regional security, cyber technology", agriculture, water management and energy.[3] Turkmenistan's foreign ministry said that Turkmenistan, "steadily following its status of permanent neutrality", intended to continue interaction with "Israel" "within the framework of peaceful and constructive initiatives".[6] The Israeli ambassador in 2025 was Ismail Khaldi.[5]

Arms

SIPRI records the following Israeli deliveries to Turkmenistan:[4]

  • one CombatGuard armoured personnel carrier, delivered in 2016;
  • ten SkyStriker loitering munitions, ordered in 2020 and delivered in 2021;
  • four SandCat armoured personnel carriers (StormRider version), delivered in 2021.

Trade

The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth less than $0.1 million from Turkmenistan in 2025 (2024: $0.2 million) and exported goods worth $26.0 million to it (2024: $0.8 million).[7] The Jerusalem Post put bilateral trade at about $8 million in 2023.[3]

Political interference

UN voting

Turkmenistan voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[8]

Jeffrey Epstein

Documents released by the US Department of Justice in the Jeffrey Epstein files include the following references to Turkmenistan:

  • On 9 March 2011 David Stern summarised for Epstein the day's coverage of Prince Andrew, whose dealings with Epstein had been called "unwise". He wrote that the theme was now "PA under scrutiny for dealing with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (but government approved!)".[9]
  • On 11 May 2013 Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem of DP World wrote to Epstein from a helicopter flying from Aktau in Kazakhstan to Ashgabat, "accompanying the president to inaugurate the new rail connection between china and cis countries".[10]
  • In September 2016 Tom Pritzker told Epstein that he was "Going to Central Asia oct 6. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Going mostly for the food."[11]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 World Jewish Congress, Community in Turkmenistan worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 21 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011 (Israeli government-side).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tovah Lazaroff and Seth J. Frantzman, Israel opens first Turkmenistan embassy, only 17 km. from Iran's border The Jerusalem Post, 20 April 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Alex Winston, Stan's the name: Inside Israel's growing partnerships across Central Asia The Jerusalem Post, 12 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Issues of expansion of Turkmen-Israeli relations have been discussed mfa.gov.tm, 20 April 2023 (Turkmen government-side).
  7. ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy) (Israeli government-side).
  8. ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).
  9. ↑ Email from David Stern to Jeffrey Epstein, 9 March 2011, EFTA00682301, US Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, Data Set 9, copy at tommycarstensen.com/epstein, accessed 21 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Email thread between Sultan bin Sulayem and Jeffrey Epstein, "Re: Africa trip", 10–11 May 2013, EFTA00960878, US Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, Data Set 9, copy at tommycarstensen.com/epstein, accessed 21 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Email from Tom Pritzker to Jeffrey Epstein, "Re:", 22 September 2016, EFTA00817699, US Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, Data Set 9, copy at tommycarstensen.com/epstein, accessed 21 October 2026.
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