Malaysian Jews
| Malaysian Jews |
|---|
| Total population |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Singapore |
| Language(s) |
| Religion(s) |
The Malaysian Jews (Malay: Yahudi Malaysia) is a term used to
refer to Jews living in Malaysia, or those originally from the
country. They mainly live in the state of Penang, but they can also be found elsewhere in the
nation, especially in Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. The Malaysian Jews consist mainly of Oriental
Jews (the majority of whom are Baghdadi Jews), as well as European Jews
(Ashkenazi Jews). There are also a handful of Chinese
Jews from Kaifeng, China. The Kaifeng Jews fled their Chinese homeland mainly during the anti-religious
History
The first contact between Jews and the Malaysians goes back to the 9th century A.D. on the riverbanks of the Bujang Valley, and later well into the 18th Century A.D. in the cosmopolitan bazaars of Malacca. [1]The first known Jew to settle in Malaysia was Ezekiel Menasseh, who emigrated from Baghdad in 1895, despite the dispute among some historians stating that the earliest Jews settled in 1805 (as this based on the earliest Jewish ombstones in Penang). Menasseh remained the only Jew in Malaysia for 30 years, and he continued to observe Jewish holidays and keep up with kashrut. After World War I, more Jews began to settle in Malaysia. Then during World War II, the Jewish community was evacuated to Singapore, fearing Japanese imprisonment and ill-treatment. By 1963, only 20 Jewish families remained in Malaysia. Penang's only synagogue closed down in 1976 because the synagogue "could no longer muster the requisite ten men above the age of 12 needed to perform religious ceremonies." [2] Furthermore, some time after the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, many Malaysian Muslims sympathise with the Palestinians and demonised the Israelis, which resulted in many Jews fearing suppression and gradually decided to emigrate elsewhere. Instead, the Penang Jews go to Singapore as the nearest destination to fulfill such requirements, and only gather in Penang just for events such as attending Jewish funerals.
Malaysian Jews today
Today, there are about 100 Jews residing in Malaysia, most of whom are refugees from Russia. The Malaysian Jews are mainly
educators and business people. Although the descendants of Malaysian Jews today are mainly seen in Singapore, they are also many of them in Australia, Canada,
The majority of the Malaysian Jews speak Malay and English, whilst the rest speak mainly Yiddish, Persian, Hebrew and possibly Arabic.
Yahudi Road is located between Burma Road and MaCalister Road, a 10-minute walk from the towering Komtar (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak)
Jewish cemetery
The Jewish Cemetery in Penang is believed to be the oldest single Jewish cemetery in the country, if not in the entire region of southeast Asia. The oldest Jewish tombstone is dated 1805 and the most recent being 1978. It is the only cemetery established solely for the once small and thriving Jewish community in Peninsular Malaysia, although there may be a few Jewish graves in other non-Jewish cemeteries. The Jewish Cemetery is located in George Town at the formerly Jewish Street (Jalan Yahudi) - now Jalan Zainal Abidin. The oldest legible gravestone in the Jewish Cemetery is predated 1805 with the latest being 1978. The cemetery in Penang also has one of the largest number of Jewish graves interred in one specific area, numbering around approximately 70 graves (The Northam Road Cemetery holds 95 graves), including that of a Jewish British officer killed during the Second World War. Five other "military" graves are reputed to contain the remains of six Jewish servicemen killed in action while fighting the Japanese in Malaya during World War II.
Notable Malaysian Jews
- Charles Ephraim - leader of the Jewish community in Penang, whose family sells wrist watches. [1]
- Ezekiel Menasseh - the oldest known Jewish resident in Penang.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.penangstory.net.my/docs/Abs-RaimyCheRoss.doc
- ^ http://goasia.about.com/library/weekly/aa061001c.htm
- ^ http://www.apricot.net/apricot2001/about/malaysia.html
External links
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