Zablon Simintov

Zablon Simintov (born 1959) was thought to be the last Jew in Afghanistan until his distant cousin Tova Moradi was discovered in October 2021. Moradi also fled Afghanistan in October of 2021 with her 20 grandchildren to Albania. Moradi married a Muslim man yet still remained Jewish traditions. He was born in Herat. Simintov had lived with the third last remaining Jewish person in Afghanistan, Ishaq Levin who is also known as Yitzhak Levi, who died on Wednesday January 26, 2005, aged around 80.

Zablon Simintov
Zablon Simintov in March 2005
Born	1959 (age 64–65) Herat, Afghanistan
Other names	Zebulon Simentov Zabulon Simintov Zabulon Simentov Zablon Simentov
Citizenship	Israeli
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	The second last Jew in Afghanistan
Children	2

Simintov says it is not easy to practice his religion alone. However, he has obtained special permission from the nearest rabbi, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to slaughter his own meat in line with kosher dietary laws. That can normally only be done by a specially trained and qualified Jewish ritual slaughterer. He says that he receives special kosher packages for Passover from Afghan Jews living in New York.

His wife and two daughters live in Israel. When asked during an interview whether he would emigrate to Israel, Simintov retorted, "Go to Israel? What business do I have there? Why should I leave?". Simintov lived in Turkmenistan very briefly for only 2 months before returning to Afghanistan. In September 2021 Simintov fled Afghanistan after granting his wife a get which is a Jewish religious divorce. Get refusal can lead to a prison sentence in Israel. Simintov lives in Israel as of 2022. Simintov decided to leave Afghanistan not because of the Taliban who is an ally of Al Qeada but because of more extremist Islamic groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria also known as ISIS. Simintov left Afghanistan with 29 other Afghans. Simintov was the caretaker of the Kabul Synagogue until his last day in Afghanistan