Ramla’s Bukharian Community Marks Aliyah Day With a Young Talent Festival in Its 21st Year

This report was translated from Hebrew by Bukharian Jewish Post from coverage by Bucharim.com. The Bukharian Jewish community of Ramla marked Aliyah Day 2026 this week with a large community event centered on a festival for young performers that is now in its 21st consecutive year, the Israeli Bukharian news site Bucharim.com reported on Oct. 28. Yom HaAliyah, Israel’s national Aliyah Day, honors the contribution of immigrants to the country. According to the report, the festival gives teenagers from Ramla’s Bukharian community a professional stage for singing, instrumental music and other arts. The site said the event brought together grandparents, parents and grandchildren around original work and traditional music. It credited Deputy Mayor Avraham Djuraev, who holds the city’s communities portfolio, with leading the program in cooperation with Mayor Michael Vidal, and said that since Djuraev took on the portfolio the festival has received new investment in production, lighting and sound. Who attended Bucharim.com reported that guests included Mayor Vidal; deputy mayors Shmuel Ben Mordechai and attorney Adi Mordechayev; former deputy mayors Zina Yaskov and Dr. Yitzhak Yagdaev; and community businessmen including Benny Kandinov and Alex Yagudaev. Mordechayev was No. 23 on the Yisrael Beytenu list in this week’s Knesset election, as Bukharian Jewish Post reported on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28. In his speech, Djuraev thanked the mayor for his support and pledged to continue developing the city’s cultural and community programs, the site said. He thanked project manager Bella Poltov, department head Galit Poni, representatives of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, which took part in the production, and the volunteers and young people who rehearsed for the event. The site quoted him as saying: “Our strength as a community and as a city lies in the deep connection between the roots of the past and the strength of the future. We will continue to nurture the next generation, preserve our glorious heritage and move Ramla forward with full pride.” Background Ramla, in central Israel, is home to a long-established Bukharian Jewish community. Bucharim.com’s report did not give the exact date or venue of the event or an attendance figure. Sources: Bucharim.com, “Ramla’s Bukharian community marked Aliyah Day 2026,” Oct. 28, 2026 (in Hebrew); Bukharian Jewish Post, Oct. 28, 2026.