Abstract:
In Georgian periodicals of the twentieth century, the issue of the
Jews was one of the most important topics. For centuries, harmonious
coexistence between Georgians and Jews has had some impact on the
lives and culture of both peoples. Jewish life has embraced a number of
Georgian rules, which are clearly manifested in the rituals of Jewish
wedding, burial, and mourning. One of the main factors in the viability
of the Jewish community was the existence of a morally and economically
strong family.
Georgian Jews actively participated in the political and public life
of Georgia, in particular, in 1918, in the formation of the first parliament
of independent Georgia. The Jews in Georgia were closely connected with the Georgians
not only by living in a common territory, but also by producing a common
economic base. They pursued agriculture together with Georgians,
successfully engaged in viticulture and winemaking. Along with agriculture,
one part of the Jews pursued handicrafts and domestic industry:
metallurgy, carpentry, handicrafts, carpentry, painting, and blacksmithing.
Jewish artisans formed their own workshops or small industrial
associations - "communities", in which 2-3 artisans were united according
to their main profession. In Kartli (Gori, Tskhinvali) the Jews had
wine and vodka bottling factories, a tea-packing workshop, a shoemaker
and a garment factory, and so on. In Nikozi, the Jews owned small
brick factories where they made alize, brick and tile. They had sawmills,
mills. Jewish meths were known in Racha.
In 1918, the Georgian-language Jewish newspaper "Voice of a
Jew" started publishing in Kutaisi, and in 1924. The Georgian-language
Hebrew newspaper Makaveli was also published in Tbilisi. The Jewish
Cultural-Educational Foundation has been operating in the capital since
1993, with the support of which the magazine "Step to the Torah" is
published. From the same year, the newspaper "Menora" was published,
which systematically provides readers with information about the
ongoing processes in Israel, and tells Georgian Jews living outside Georgia
about the daily life of Georgia.
