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Crimean Karaites

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Peoples

   The Crimean Karaites (Crimean Karaim: sg. къарай - qaray, pl. къарайлар
   - qaraylar; Trakai Karaim: sg. karaj, pl. karajlar, Hebrew קָרָאִים -
   qarayim, 'readers'), also known as Karaims and Qarays, are a community
   of ethnic Turkic adherents of Karaite Judaism in Eastern Europe.
   "Qaray" is a Romanized spelling of the original name "къарай", while
   "Karaim" is a Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish name for the
   community. Originally centered in Crimea, Karaims were established in
   Lithuania and elsewhere in Europe from late medieval times.

   The name "Crimean Karaites" is something of a misnomer, as many
   branches of this community found their way to locations throughout
   Europe and the Middle East. Nevertheless this name is used for the
   Turkic Karaite community which originated in Crimea to distinguish it
   from historically Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic-speaking Karaites of the
   Levant, Anatolia, and the Middle East (i.e. to show the difference
   between the ethnic group and the religious denomination). For the
   purposes of this article, the terms "Crimean Karaites", "Karaims", and
   "Qarays" are used interchangeably, while "Karaites" alone refers to the
   general Karaite branch of Judaism.

Language

   Karaim is a Kypchak Turkic tongue being closely related to Crimean
   Tatar, Armeno-Kipchak etc. Among many different influences exerted on
   Karaim Arabic, Hebrew and Persian were the first to change the outlook
   of the Karaim lexicon. Later due to considerable Polish, Russian and
   Ukrainian influence a plenty of Slavic words entered the language of
   Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Russian Karaims. Hebrew remained in
   use for liturgical purposes. Following the Ottoman occupation of
   Crimea, Turkish was used for business and government purposes among
   Karaims living on the Crimean peninsula. Three different dialects are
   in use presently: the so-called Troki dialect, used in Trakai and
   Vilnius (Lithuania), the so-called Lutsk or Halych dialect spoken in
   Lutsk (until World War II) and Halych, and the Crimean dialect. The
   last forms the Eastern group, while Troki and Halych Karaim belong to
   the Western group.

Origins and ethnic identity

   Karaite men in traditional costume, Crimea, 19th century.
   Enlarge
   Karaite men in traditional costume, Crimea, 19th century.

   Turkic speaking Karaites (in the Crimean Tatar language, Qaraylar) have
   lived in Crimea for centuries. Their origin is a matter of great
   controversy. Some regard them as descendants of Karaite Jews who
   settled in Crimea and adopted a form of the Kypchak tongue (see Karaim
   language). Others view them as descendants of Khazar (unlikely) or
   Kipchak (more likely) converts to Karaite Judaism. Today Crimean
   Karaites deny their Israelite origins and consider themselves to be
   descendants of the Khazars. Virtually all scholars of Khazar history,
   however, agree that the Judaism of the Khazars was Rabbinical in
   nature. Modern Karaims seek to distance themselves from being
   identified as Jews, emphasizing what they view as their Turkic heritage
   and claiming that they are Turkic practitioners of a "Mosaic religion"
   separate and distinct from Judaism. On the other hand, many scholars
   state that the phenomenon of claiming a distinct identity apart from
   the Jewish people appears to be no older than the nineteenth century,
   when it appeared under the influence of such leaders as Avraham
   Firkovich and Sima Babovich.

   Whatever their origin, from the time of the Golden Horde onward, they
   were present in many towns and villages throughout Crimea and around
   the Black Sea. During the period of the Crimean Khanate some of the
   major communities could be found in the towns of Çufut Qale, Sudak,
   Kefe and Bakhchisaray.

   Many Karaims were farmers. Members of the community served in the
   military forces of the Crimean Khanate and of Lithuania.

   At the time of this writing (March 2005), genetic testing is being
   conducted to ascertain their ethnic origin.

In Lithuania

   In 1392 Grand Duke Vytautas of Grand Duchy of Lithuania relocated one
   branch the Crimean Karaites to Lithuania where they continued to speak
   their own language. The Lithuanian Karaites settled primarily in Vilna
   ( Vilnius) and Troki ( Trakai), but also in smaller settlements
   throughout Lithuania proper and lands of modern Belarus and Ukraine,
   that were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Karaims in
   Lithuanian territory were granted a measure of autonomy.

   Some famous Karaim scholars in Lithuania included Isaac ben Abraham of
   Trakai (1543 - 1598), Joseph ben Mordecai Malinovski, Zera ben Nathan
   of Trakai, Salomon ben Aharon of Trakai, Ezra ben Nissan (died in 1666)
   and Josiah ben Judah (died after 1658). Some of the Karaims became
   quite wealthy.

   During the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Karaims
   suffered severely during the Chmielnicki Uprising of 1648 and the wars
   between Russia and Poland in the years 1654-1667, when many towns were
   plundered and burnt, including Trakai, where in 1680 only 30 families
   were left. Catholic missionaries made serious attempts to convert the
   local Karaims into Christianity, but ultimately were largely
   unsuccessful. The local Karaim communities still exist in Lithuania
   (where they live mostly in Panevėžys and Trakai regions) and Poland.
   The 1979 census in the USSR showed 3,300 Karaims. Lithuanian Karaims
   Culture Community was founded in 1988.

   According to Lithanian Karaims website the Statistics Department of
   Lithuania carried out an ethno-statistic research "Karaims in
   Lithuania" in 1997. It was decided to question all adult Karaims and
   mixed families, where one of the members is a Karaim. During the
   survey, i.e beginning 1997 there were 257 Karaim nationality people, 32
   among them were children under 16.

In the Russian Empire

   Karaim kenesa in Trakai.
   Enlarge
   Karaim kenesa in Trakai.

   Nineteenth-century leaders of the Karaims, such as Sima Babovich and
   Avraham Firkovich, were driving forces behind a concerted effort to
   de-Judaize the Karaite community in eyes of the Russian legal system.
   Firkovich in particular was adamant in his attempts to connect the
   Karaims with the Khazars, and has been accused of forging documents and
   inscriptions to back up his claims.

   Ultimately, the Tsarist government officially recognized the Karaims as
   being of Turkic, not Jewish, origin, a political ruling that has little
   basis in historical fact. Because the Karaims were judged to be
   innocent of the death of Jesus, they were exempt from many of the harsh
   restrictions placed on other Jews. They were, in essence, placed on
   equal legal footing with Crimean Tatars. The related Krymchak
   community, which was of similar ethnolinguistic background but which
   practiced rabbinical Judaism, continued to suffer under Tsarist
   anti-Jewish laws.

   Since the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Empire the main
   centre of the Qarays is the city of Eupatoria.

During the Holocaust

   Their status under Russian imperial rule bore beneficial fruits for the
   Karaims decades later. In 1934, the heads of the Karaite community in
   Berlin asked the Nazi authorities to exempt them from the regulations;
   on the basis of their legal status in Russia. The Reich Agency for the
   Investigation of Families determined that from the standpoint of German
   law, the Karaites were not to be considered Jews. The letter from the
   Reichsstelle fur Sippenforschung gave the official ruling in a letter
   which stated:

          The Karaite sect should not be considered a Jewish religious
          community within the meaning of paragraph 2, point 2 of the
          First Regulation to the Reich Citizenship Law. However, it
          cannot be established that Karaites in their entirety are of
          blood-related stock, for the racial categorization of an
          individual cannot be determined without ... his personal
          ancestry and racial biological characteristics
          - (YIVO archives, Berlin Collection, Occ E, 3, Box 100, letter
          dated January 5, 1939)

   This ruling set the tone for how the Nazis dealt with the Karaite
   community in Eastern Europe.

   At the same time, the Nazis had serious reservations towards the
   Karaites. SS Obergruppenfuhrer Gottlob Berger wrote on November 24,
   1944:

          Their Mosaic religion is unwelcome. However, on grounds of race,
          language and religious dogma... Discrimination against the
          Karaites is unacceptable, in consideration of their racial
          kinsmen [Berger was here referring to the Crimean Tatars].
          However, so as not to infringe the unified anti-Jewish
          orientation of the nations led by Germany, it is suggested that
          this small group be given the opportunity of a separate
          existence (for example, as a closed construction or labor
          battalion)...

   Despite their exempt status, confusion led to initial massacres. German
   soldiers who came across Karaims in Russia during the initial phase of
   Operation Barbarossa, not aware of their legal status under German law,
   attacked them; 200 were killed at Babi Yar alone. German allies such as
   the Vichy Republic began to require the Karaites to register as Jews,
   but eventually granted them non-Jewish status upon being instructed by
   Berlin.

   On interrogation, Ashkenazi and Krymchak rabbis in Crimea told the
   Germans that the Karaims were not Jews, in an effort to spare the
   Karaite community the fate of their Rabbanite neighbors. The record of
   the Karaite community during the war is a checkered one; while many
   Karaims risked their lives to hide Jews, and in some cases claimed that
   Jews were members of their community, others joined German auxiliary
   units such as the Tatar Legion, Ostturkische Waffenverband, an SS unit
   that included Crimean Tatars and other Turkic peoples. According to a
   letter of September 27 1944, penned by Chancellor Gerhard Klopfer, an
   estimated 500-600 Crimean Karaims were fighting in the Wehrmacht,
   Waffen SS and Tatar Legion. Klopfer asked that until such a time as the
   exact racial origin of the Karaites could be determined, a list of all
   members of the sect be diligently kept. Many of the Karaims were
   recruited for labor battalions.

   In Lutsk the Karaims generally cooperated with the Nazi anti-Jewish
   activities. In Vilna and Troki Karaite Hakham Seraya Shapshal gave
   precise lists of the members of their community, allowing the Nazis to
   quickly discover Jews bearing false Karaite papers.
   Karaim cemetery in Warsaw, established in 1890.
   Enlarge
   Karaim cemetery in Warsaw, established in 1890.

Post-War

   After the Soviet recapture of Crimea from Nazi forces in 1944, the
   Soviet authorities counted 6,357 remaining Karaims. Karaims were not
   subject to mass deportation, unlike the Crimean Tatars, Greeks,
   Armenians and others the Soviet authorities alleged had collaborated
   during the Nazi German occupation. Some individual Karaims were
   deported.

   Assimilation and emigration greatly reduced the ranks of the Karaim
   community. A few thousand Karaims remain in Lithuania, Belarus,
   Ukraine, Russia, and Poland. Other communities exist in Israel, Turkey,
   the United States, and Great Britain.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Karaites"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
