Georgian Jews

Georgian Jews
ქართველი ებრაელები
Total population
65,000–80,000
Regions with significant populations
 Israel65,000
 United States10,000
 Georgia1,405 (not including Abkhazia or South Ossetia)
 Belgium1,200
 Austria800
 Azerbaijan500
 Russia14
Languages
Hebrew, Georgian (Judaeo-Georgian), English, Russian
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Georgians, Iraqi Jews, Iranian Jews, Bukharian Jews, Kurdish Jews, Mountain Jews, Soviet Jews

The Georgian Jews (Georgian: ქართველი ებრაელები, romanized: kartveli ebraelebi, Hebrew: יהודי גאורגיה, romanized: Yehudei Georgia) are a community of Jews who migrated to Georgia during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE. It is one of the oldest communities in the region. They are also widely distinguished from the Ashkenazi Jews in Georgia, who arrived following the Russian annexation of Georgia.

Prior to Georgia's annexation by the Russian Empire in 1801, the 2300-year history of the Georgian Jews was marked by an almost total absence of antisemitism and a visible assimilation in the Georgian language and culture. The Georgian Jews were considered ethnically and culturally distinct from neighboring Mountain Jews.

As a result of a major emigration wave in the 1990s, the vast majority of Georgian Jews now live in Israel, with the world's largest community living in the city of Ashdod.