from Russia and Ukraine, attracted to the more liberal society. However, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union many of them left due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Between 1992 and 1994, more than 6,000 Jews immigrated to Israel because of Armenia's political isolation and economic depression. Today the country's Jewish population has shrunk to around 750. In 1995, the Chabad House was established in Yerevan. Present day There are about 500–1000 Jews presently living in Armenia, mainly in the capital Yerevan. There is a tiny community of Subbotniks (believed to be a Judaizing community that evolved from the Molokan Spiritual Christians) whose ancestors converted to Judaism, and who are quickly dwindling. The Jewish Community in Yerevan is currently headed by Chief Rabbi Gershon Burshtein from the Chabad Lubavitch, and the sociopolitical matters are run by the Jewish Council of Armenia. Human rights The President of the Jewish Community in Armenia, Rima Varzhapetyan-Feller, has stated on January 23, 2015, that "The Jewish community feels itself protected in Armenia, and the authorities respect their rights, culture, and traditions. There is no anti-Semitism in Armenia, and we enjoy good relations with the Armenians. Of course, the community has certain problems that originate from the general situation of the country." In 2005, Armen Avetisian, the openly anti-Semitic leader of the Armenian Aryan Union, a small ultranationalist party, alleged that there are as many as 50,000 "disguised" Jews in Armenia. He promised that he would work to have them expelled from the country. He was arrested in January 2005 on charges of inciting ethnic hatred. There have been two recorded incidents, in 2007 and in 2010, of vandalism by unknown individuals on the Jewish side of the Joint Tragedies Memorial in Aragast Park, Yerevan that commemorates both the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust. This monument had replaced a smaller monument that had been defaced and toppled several times. See also Armenia–Israel relations Armenian–Jewish relations Armenian Quarter Armenians in Israel Antisemitism in Armenia References External links Official webpage of the Jewish Community in Armenia Site on the Armenian Jewry Jews of Armenia Jews in Armenia – A documentary by Vartan Akchyan (aired on public TV station KCET Los Angeles Dec. 9, 2008) Hetq Online: There Have Always Been Jews in Armenia by Hasmik Hovhannisyan Hetq Online: Photo Story: Armenian Jews Celebrate Passover, Text by Hasmik Hovhannisyan, Photos by Nelli Shishmanyan Hetq Online: The Jewish Community