New Center To Ease Transition for Asian Emigres

(JTA) As a slender violinist with flowing black hair played Oseh Shalom to an audience peppered with at least a dozen long-bearded rabbis, Bukharian Jews in this capital city ushered in a new era.

Their cause for celebration: Unlike many of those from Central Asia who came to Austria more than 25 years ago, immigrants to the country now have a new center to help them find their way.

On Feb. 18, Chabad opened a $6.05 million facility in Vienna aimed at serving their needs.

"The House of the Future," as the center has been dubbed, is expected to cater mainly to Bukharian Jews from Central Asia with whom Chabad is already deeply involved.

"The main purpose of the center is to provide help with integration," said Rabbi Jacob Biderman, chairman of the extensive Chabad organization in Austria. "Yes, this is initiated by Chabad and there will be a chance for Jewish classes, but job skills, language skills and adult education are the focus."

The five-story building, which features a polished, 19th century facade, is across the street from the Lauder Chabad School for kindergarten through 12th grade.

It represents a natural extension of ties with Chabad for a large portion of the community, and also the general vitality of the Bukharians, who have managed to retain their traditions and a high level of observance as immigrants.

Shlomo Ustoniazov, a businessman in his 50s and artist from Uzbekistan who has lived in Vienna for several decades, said the center "is an expression of unity of the Bukharian community."

"We are developing, we have our own identity, but we are also part of the Kultusgemeinde," he said, referring in German to the Jewish Community of Vienna, an umbrella organization.

Estimates put the Bukharian population at 3,000 to 4,000 of the approximate 10,000 Jews in Vienna.

The center will offer activities for seniors, job training, women?s programs and a youth club. It also will be available to other immigrant groups such as Turks, according to Biderman.

Many Jews who came to Vienna from the former Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s on their way to Israel said they felt unwelcome in Austria. Bukharians in particular, with their large families and mostly lacking higher education, seemed backward to the integrated Ashkenazim.

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