Bukharan Jews, also Bukharian Jews or Bukhari Jews, also called the Binai Israel, are Jews from Central Asia who speak Bukhori, a dialect of the Persian language. Their name comes from the former Central Asian Emirate of Bukhara, which once had a sizeable Jewish community. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the vast majority have emigrated to Israel or the United States, while others have emigrated to Europe or Australia. There is a tradition among the Bukharian Jews tracing their ancestry to the Lost Tribes of Israel. These Jews claim to be descendants of the Issachar, Naphtali, and Ephraim Israelite tribes who never returned from the Babylonian captivity after exile in the 6th century BCE. They maintain that some of the Israelites migrated eastwards in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, in the time between the fall of Nineveh to Nabopolassar in 612 BCE and the fall of Jerusalem to his successor Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BCE, during the transition from Neo-Assyrian to Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) rule. he Bukharian Jews of Central Asia were essentially cut off from the rest of the Jewish world for more than 2,000 years and somehow managed to survive and preserve their Jewish identity and heritage in the face of tremendous odds. They are considered one of the oldest ethno-religious groups of Central Asia and over the years they have developed their own distinct culture. Throughout the years, Jews from other Eastern countries such as Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Morocco migrated into Central Asia (usually by taking the Silk Road), as did Jews who were exiled from Spain during the Inquisition; all these joined the Central Asian Jewish community and were later collectively known as Bukharian Jews. In Central Asia, the Bukharian Jewish community survived for centuries, despite being subject to many conquering influences and much persecution.

Most Bukharian Jews lived in the Emirate of Bukhara (currently Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), while a small number lived in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and some other parts of the former Soviet Union. In the Emirate of Bukhara, the largest concentrations were in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khokand. In Tajikistan, they similarly were mainly concentrated in the capital, Dushanbe. Prior to the Partition of British India, some Bukharian Jews could be found among the Afghan population of Peshawar, a city in what is now Pakistan. After partition and the creation of Israel, nearly all of these Jews left for Israel and other countries. One synagogue still exists in Peshawar and there are two main synagogues and several Jewish cemeteries that still function in the port city of Karachi. Today, there are about 100,000 Bukharian Jews in Israel, 50,000 in the US (mainly Queens, New York), about 100-1,000 still remain in Uzbekistan, about 500 in Canada (mainly Toronto, Ontario), and almost no Bukharian Jews remain in Tajikistan (compared to the 1989 Jewish population of 15,000 in Tajikistan). The Bukharian Jews have a distinct musical tradition called Shashmaqam, which is an ensemble of stringed instruments, infused with Central Asian rhythms, and a considerable klezmer influence as well as Muslim melodies, and even Spanish chords. Shashamqam music "reflect the mix of Hassidic vocals, Indian and Islamic instrumentals and Sufi-inspired texts and lyrical melodies."