Knowledge (XXG)

History of the Jews in Myanmar

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494:'s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, obtained a license from the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to raise funds for a humanitarian project: the maintenance and restoration of the Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue in Yangon. (The license was needed to operate outside the US economic sanctions against the government of Myanmar because of its human rights abuses; sanctions were lifted in 2012.) The Council planned to provide for the synagogue's monthly expenses; complete restoration and maintenance of the synagogue; and assist the synagogue to purchase and establish a new cemetery. 125: 509:, the Yangon Religious Council, and other guests celebrated the completion of the restoration and establishing the synagogue as self-supporting. They credited anthropologist Ruth Cernea, who wrote a history of the Jewish community in Rangoon; Laura Hudson of the Council, and Stuart Spencer, a member of the synagogue's diaspora, as three leaders of this project. The Yangon Heritage Trust has installed a blue plaque at the synagogue, marking its historical significance. 463: 1398: 1003: 1408: 44: 526:(2017) is inspired by the lives of her mother Louisa Charmaine Benson Craig and maternal grandparents, and their roles in Burmese history. Her grandmother Naw Chit Khin was a Karen woman and her grandfather Saw Benson (Moses Ben-Zion Koder) was Jewish. Her mother won "Miss Burma" as the first beauty queen in 1956. 512:
On July 26, 2020, the MICCI Myanmar - Israel Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Innovation was launched in Musmea Yeshua Synagogue in Yangon by the Ambassador of Israel, Ronen Gilor, the head of the Jewish Community, Sammy Samuels, the President of UMFCCI together with Myanmar and Israeli Business and
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of men for a full religious service. Often, employees of the Israeli embassy help maintain regular services; Moses Samuels, a native-born descendant of Jewish immigrants from Iraq, took on his father's role as Trustee of the synagogue to keep it up, along with the cemetery. His son Sammy Samuels was
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or the country. It was first built in the 1850s as a small wooden structure, then rebuilt in 1896. The Jewish cemetery, containing 700 graves, is about six miles away. A Jewish school, for children up to middle-school age, had 200 students at its peak in 1910. After that some parents sent their
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both elected Jewish mayors in the early 20th century. In this community, a number of the men "married out", to Burmese women. The Jewish community also established ties with British colonial officers and businessmen. A second synagogue, Beth El, was opened in 1932, reflecting the growth in
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population. By 1940 the community numbered its peak of 2500 persons. most were involved in business and industry, with "some owning ice factories and bottling plants, others dealing in textiles and timber. The rest were primarily customs officials and traders."
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Following nationalization of businesses in 1964, the remaining Jewish community suffered further decline. Beth El closed. Most members moved to other countries. The country's last rabbi left in 1969.
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children to secular schools, especially as many Jewish men married Burmese or other ethnic women. In some cases, children were sent to India or Great Britain for higher education.
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In the drive for independence, the Burmese majority worked to dispossess and defeat the minority groups and strictly limited their rights in the new government.
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and live in the north of Burma, on the Indian border, have identified as Jews. They have taken on the belief that they descend from the lost tribe of
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Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
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also committed to the future of the synagogue. The senior Samuels has given numerous tours to visitors. In 2011 the congregation had 45 Jews.
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leaders. The MICCI was incorporated by the DICA of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Relations of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
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In the early part of the twentieth century, various minority groups began to work toward establishing some autonomy, including the
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Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Knowledge (XXG) article at ]; see its history for attribution.
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in the 18th century. But it was in the mid-19th century, during the British colonial period, that Jewish merchants from
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had emigrated from Iraq to escape persecution and being subject to pogroms; they comprised most of the immigrants.
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The Baghdadi Jews established Musmeah Yeshua synagogue in Rangoon; it is the only synagogue still standing in
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The first recorded Jew in the country was Solomon Gabirol, who served as a commander in the army of King
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outlook in their early years and held extensive contacts between their respective leaders.
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prospered as merchants developed small businesses, and traders worked in cotton and rice.
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On December 8, 2013, an interfaith event attended by the Myanmar Presidential Minister
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Mydans, Seth. "Yangon Journal; Burmese Jew Shoulders Burden of His Heritage"
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over the years, after India achieved independence. The local Jews use the
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to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is
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Nathan Katz and Ellen S. Goldberg, "The last Jews in India and Burma"
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Jews were so established in their major communities that Rangoon and
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came from India and both groups were part of the development of the
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Naing, Saw Yan."Meet the family behind Burma’s last synagogue"
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In 2007 the US-ASEAN Council for Business and Technology, the
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McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. "Myanmar Jews count on tourism"
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many Jews left the country, first under pressure from the
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to this template: there are already 1,481 articles in the
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Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture (Myanmar)
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a machine-translated version of the French article.
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Many Burmese Jews have 1040: 1026: 1018: 782: 761: 747: 739: 579: 577: 575: 573: 416:people, who are ethnically descended from 298:began establishing sizable communities in 42: 31: 650:"Moses dreams of reversing Jewish exodus" 412:Since the late 20th century, some of the 660: 658: 545:, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 535: 183: 1443:History of the Jews in Southeast Asia 7: 452:21st-century Yangon Jewish community 61:Regions with significant populations 873:State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee 726:, BurmaNet News, 27 November 1995 394:in 1953, and in 1957 it became an 25: 703:, New York: Lexington Books, 2007 674:, US-ASEAN Business Council, 2017 1406: 1397: 1396: 1002: 1001: 470:As of 2002, 20 Jews remained in 123: 1364:British Indian Ocean Territory 466:Musmeah Yeshua synagogue bimah 214:You may also add the template 1: 687:, New York: Grove Press, 2017 517:Representation in other media 815:Dhammayutti Nikaya (Mahayin) 272:Japanese occupation of Burma 18:History of the Jews in Burma 1438:Jews and Judaism in Myanmar 1048:History of the Jews in Asia 883:Monastic schools in Myanmar 259:, becoming allied with the 227:Knowledge (XXG):Translation 186:will aid in categorization. 1459: 836:Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru 482:, but it rarely draws the 455: 161:Machine translation, like 1433:Jewish history by country 1392: 999: 492:US-ASEAN Business Council 372:and a "European" group. 138:the corresponding article 110: 98: 78: 65: 55: 41: 1113:East Timor (Timor-Leste) 549:, n° 101, 15 Avril 1988. 522:Charmaine Craig's novel 480:Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue 458:Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue 444:. They are known as the 1374:Cocos (Keeling) Islands 831:Burmese Buddhist titles 318:came from India. Under 225:For more guidance, see 729:Stern, Sibella (2009) 615:Fredman Cernea, Ruth. 467: 931:Burmese folk religion 888:Monastic examinations 699:Ruth Fredman Cernea, 505:, Israeli Ambassador 465: 266:During and after the 198:copyright attribution 106:Related ethnic groups 1288:United Arab Emirates 476:immigrated to Israel 378:Burma was the first 1315:limited recognition 986:Freedom of religion 770:Religion in Myanmar 731:A Jew goes to Burma 606:, 02 December 2006 242:history of Jews in 38: 670:2021-01-20 at the 564:2010-09-14 at the 468: 388:Diplomatic mission 206:interlanguage link 1420: 1419: 1357:other territories 1015: 1014: 919: 918: 841:Agga Maha Pandita 720:, 3 October 2007 683:Charmaine Craig, 507:Hagay Moshe Behar 354:Japanese invasion 238: 237: 150: 146: 117: 116: 35:မြန်မာဂျူးလူမျိုး 16:(Redirected from 1450: 1410: 1400: 1399: 1369:Christmas Island 1055:Sovereign states 1042: 1035: 1028: 1019: 1005: 1004: 805:Hngettwin Nikaya 795:Thudhamma Nikaya 783: 763: 756: 749: 740: 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Index

History of the Jews in Burma

Yangon
Burmese
English
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Judaism
Baghdadi Jews
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Myanmar
Burma
Cochin Jews
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Japanese occupation of Burma
Yangon
Alaungpaya
Iraq
India

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