History of the Jews in Thailand
Jewish community life in Thailand dates back to the 17th century, with the arrival of a few Baghdadi Jewish families, although the current community consists mainly of Ashkenazi descendants of refugees from Russia, and later the Soviet Union. Further augmenting the community were Persian Jews fleeing persecution in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s.
Most of the permanent Jewish community in Thailand, consisting of probably less than 1,000 individuals, resides in Bangkok[1] (especially in the Khaosan Road area), although smaller Jewish communities with synagogues exist in Phuket, Chiang Mai (home of Rabbi Levi Tzeitlin), and Koh Samui. During Jewish holidays, these communities' numbers sharply increase (to several thousand) as a result of vacationing Jews, primarily from Israel and the United States. At the request of two of Bangkok's synagogues, Beth Elisheva and Even Chen, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, took up residence as the first permanent rabbi in Bangkok, in 1993. He has been in Thailand since 1993 (when the Jewish Association of Thailand was founded), and is a member of Chabad. He was joined in 1995 by Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, also of Chabad.
Chabad of Bangkok
Chabad of Bangkok is a large Chabad House in Bangkok, Thailand[2] that caters primarily to young, Israeli tourists.[3] It was an important center of disaster relief after the 2004 tsunami.[4] It serves Sabbath meals to hundreds of Jewish travellers every week, and draws hundreds more on Passover.[5]
Jewish education
Today there is a complete range of Jewish education available in Bangkok, from kindergarten through high school, including a recently-opened Orthodox yeshiva. After years of governmental refusal, permission has also been granted for the establishment of a Jewish cemetery.[6]
References
- ^ The Jewish Community of Thailand
- ^ Inside Bangkok’s Chabad House As Hanukkah begins we tour the city’s Jewish-only sanctuary, where the wine flows and phone calls home are free, Richard S. Ehrlich, http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/none/inside-bangkoks-chabad-house-191691#ixzz19bf2njtQ, CNN, December 11, 2009.
- ^ World Wide Web; How did a small Hasidic court become a phenomenon that is fomenting something of a revolution in the Jewish world? The 4,000 Chabad emissaries who convened in New York offer a simple answer: energy, motivation, love and tolerance, Yair Ettinger, Haaretz, December 3, 2010, http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/world-wide-web-1.328607
- ^ January 6, 2005, Report From Phuket Faith and Tsunami: A Rescue Mission, Jewish Journal http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/report_from_phuket_faith_and_tsunami_a_rescue_mission_20050107/
- ^ Rebbe’s army soldiers on, Sue Fishkoff , November 30, 2008, JTA, http://jta.org/news/article/2008/11/30/1001259/what-keeps-the-rebbes-army-going
- ^ The Jews of Khao San Road
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