Georgia Addresses UNESCO to Recognize Its Relations with Jews as Intangible Cultural Heritage
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, April 13
Georgia marked 26 centuries of Georgian-Jewish relations as intangible cultural heritage at a special event late on Wednesday and has already addressed UNESCO to internationally recognize “the unique friendship.”
Speaking in Tbilisi’s David Baazov Museum of History of the Jews of Georgia the Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated that “anti-Semitism never existed” in Georgia and the Georgian-Jewish brotherly relations was an example of this.
"This day is very important for all Georgians and Jews, as we celebrate the unique phenomenon of recognition of the Georgian-Jewish 26-year-old brotherhood and friendship as a monument of intangible cultural heritage.
“This is our greatest wealth that Jews settled in Georgia 26 centuries ago and since then we have jointly created our common cultural heritage,” Kvirikashvili stated.
Kvirikashvili stated that the government of Georgia is waiting for the international recognition of the friendship as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Georgian Jews are one of the oldest communities in Georgia, tracing their migration into the country during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BC.
The community, which numbered about 80,000 as recently as the 1970s, has largely emigrated to Israel, the United States, Belgium and Russia.
