Embark with us on an exploration of the eclectic and multilayered story of Central Asia's ancient Jewish community—Bukharian Jews. Join us as we discover the ways in which Bukharian Jews have developed their rich culture against the backdrop of the changing societies surrounding them—including Iranian, Arab, Turkic, and Russian empires. Through archival documents, music, photographs of heritage sites, and personal stories, your guide—Uzbekistan-born Ruben Shimonov—will take us on a journey through Central Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

Ruben Shimonov is an educator, community builder, and social entrepreneur passionate about Jewish diversity and intercultural understanding. He is the National Director of the American Sephardi Federation's Sephardi House initiative, which works to enrich Jewish campus life and young leadership with the vibrancy, wisdom, and diversity of the Greater Sephardic world. He is also the founding executive director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network (SMQN), the sole international organization building a supportive and much-needed community for LGBTQ+ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. As a visual artist, Ruben uses his multilingual Arabic-Hebrew-Persian calligraphy to build Muslim-Jewish interfaith bridges. His work is currently featured exhibited at the US Embassy in Tashkent and the Center for Jewish History in NYC. In 2018, Ruben was listed among The Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” emerging leaders and change makers. He is an alumnus of the COJECO Blueprint, Nahum Goldmann, ASF Broome and Allen Fellowships M²|Institute of Experiential Jewish Education Fellowships and is currently a Ruskay Institute Fellow at the UJA-Federation of NY. Ruben has lectured extensively on the histories, cultures, and wisdom of the Sephardic and Mizrahi communities, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Jewish world. Among his speaking engagements, Ruben has taught at New York University and the University of Southern California, at multiple Limmud conferences (U.K., South Africa, New York), the Jews of Color Torah Academy, and Hillel International.