History of the Jews in Thailand
Encyclopedia
Jewish community life in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 dates back to the 17th century, with the arrival of a few Baghdadi Jewish
Baghdadi Jews
Baghdadi Jews, also known as Iraqi Jews, are Jewish emigrants from Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, who fled religious persecution and formed immigrant communities in their new homelands...

 families, although the current community consists mainly of Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 descendants of refugees from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and later the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. Further augmenting the community were Persian Jews
Persian Jews
Persian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...

 fleeing persecution in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 in the 1970s and 1980s.

Most of the permanent Jewish community in Thailand, consisting of probably less than 1,000 individuals, resides in Bangkok (especially in the Khaosan Road
Khaosan Road
Khaosan Road or Khao Sarn Road is a short street in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Banglamphu area of about 1 km north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew....

 area), although smaller Jewish communities with synagogues exist in Phuket
Phuket City
Phuket is a city located in the southeast of Phuket Island, Thailand. It is the capital of the Phuket Province, covering all of the island. As of 2007 the city has a population of 75,573 people...

, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...

 (home of Rabbi Levi Tzeitlin), and Koh Samui
Ko Samui
Ko Samui island of Surat Thani Province , or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's second largest island, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of over...

. During Jewish holiday
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...

s, these communities' numbers sharply increase (to several thousand) as a result of vacationing Jews, primarily from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 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
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...

. He was joined in 1995 by Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, also of Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...

.

Chabad of Bangkok

Chabad of Bangkok is a large Chabad House
Chabad house
A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating Orthodox Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad Houses are run by the local Shaliach , who was sent to that place by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who founded all Chabad Houses...

 in Bangkok, Thailand that caters primarily to young, Israeli tourists. It was an important center of disaster relief after the 2004 tsunami. It serves Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 meals to hundreds of Jewish travellers every week, and draws hundreds more on Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

.

Jewish education

Today there is a complete range of Jewish education available in Bangkok, from kindergarten through high school, including a recently-opened Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

. After years of governmental refusal, permission has also been granted for the establishment of a Jewish cemetery.

External links

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