Our Delegate from Vienna
By Leonid Elizarov
Michael Uston (Ustoniyazov) was recently elected as the sole delegate from Austria to the World Jewish Zionist Congress. Journalist Leonid Elizarov interviewed him by phone about the life of the Jewish community in Austria, its goals and challenges, and his plans for his new role.
Leonid Elizarov: Michael, congratulations on your election. You are the only delegate from Austria in this organization, and your mission is to represent not only Bukharian Jews but the entire Jewish community in the country. Can you tell us how the Jewish community in Austria lives today?
Michael Uston: Our community has come a long and difficult way. After World War II, for well-known reasons, there were almost no Jews left in Austria. But in the 1950s, the Jewish community began to revive: families from Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, and Slovakia arrived in the country. Two decades later, they were joined by Bukharian, Georgian, and Russian-speaking Jews from the former USSR. Over the last ten years, many Jews from Ukraine have arrived, and the Israeli diaspora has also grown.
Today, Jewish life in Vienna is rich and diverse. The community has about 15,000 members. We have everything we need for a full spiritual and cultural life: schools, homes for the elderly, active youth organizations, more than twenty synagogues, kosher restaurants, and cultural centers. All of this makes Vienna a special place on the Jewish map of Europe.
But, of course, there are also difficulties. Antisemitism has intensified, especially after the events of October 7, 2023, in Israel. Another challenge is assimilation. In the Bukharian community, it is relatively low, which we owe to the strong spiritual leadership of our rabbis. But in the wider European community, the problem is much more acute. We need to reclaim ‘lost Jewish souls’ and turn community centers into beacons of Jewish identity. At the same time, we must skillfully navigate the generational shift and unite the rich linguistic, cultural, and ethnic diversity of our community.
LE: Recently, the Bukharian community in Vienna adopted a new name. Why did you decide to do this?
MU: During our 50th-anniversary celebration, we took a symbolic step and named our community ‘Yachad,’ which means ‘together’ in Hebrew. This reflects our goal of strengthening ties with the entire Jewish community in the city and moving into the future with new energy. Under the leadership of community president Shlomo Ustoniyazov, board chairman Iosif Sarikov, and my friend Michael Galibov, vice president of the [IKG-Jewish Community], we strive to maintain cultural and political unity. There is still a lot of work ahead, but I am confident that the right initiatives take time and will definitely yield results.
LE: Your father, Shlomo Ustoniyazov, is the president of the Bukharian Jewish community in Austria. What do you learn from him?
MU: First and foremost, my father is a man of great soul. He is a direct, noble, and talented diplomat. He has always been a role model for me. From him, I learned the values of responsibility, honesty, and compassion. He leads the community with dignity, relying on the rabbis and the board. He has managed to unite everyone, which is not easy—we have seven synagogues but one recognized president and one board.
LE: You became a delegate to the World Zionist Congress from the Likud party. Can you explain to our readers what this means?
MU: The World Zionist Congress is called the ‘parliament of the Jewish people.’ It convenes every five years for delegates from different parties and movements to elect the leadership of the World Zionist Organization. We will also be responsible for allocating about a billion dollars per year to projects in Israel and the diaspora for repatriation, Jewish education, security, and social and cultural programs.
The Congress was created in 1897 on the initiative of Theodor Herzl and remains a key platform where issues of the global Zionist agenda are decided. The World Zionist Organization is an ‘umbrella’ for well-known structures like Keren Kayemet Le Israel (JNF), Keren Ha Yesod, the Jewish Agency (Sokhnut), and Mekarkeei Israel.
For me personally, it’s a great honor to be the voice of Austrian Jewry on this international stage. It’s a chance to strengthen Jewish education and Israel’s presence in the academic, political, and economic life of Austria. In October, at the election for the WZO chairman in Jerusalem, my new team and I will formulate strategies and begin to implement projects.
LE: What topics do you plan to promote?
MU: First and foremost, strengthening ties with Israel, providing objective information about its situation, fighting antisemitism and assimilation, strengthening security, and developing youth education to prepare future Jewish leaders. I want to emphasize that our community in Austria is deeply Zionist, and we want to inspire Jewish youth worldwide to build bridges—cultural, educational, and economic. As an entrepreneur, I know that preparing leaders is the key to the future
LE: What would you like to wish the young Bukharian Jews of Europe?
MU: Remember your roots—they are your strength. But also, be a part of the unified Jewish world: participate in community life, movements, and projects. Today, when the world is often hostile toward Jews, we need resilience and unity. We must be able to stay together even if our views differ. Our people have been through many trials, and with G-d’s help, they will overcome the current ones as well. The bridges we build today will become the roads our children walk on.
This was translated from
Russian into English.