|
Malaysian Jews is a term used to refer to Jews living in Malaysia, or those originally from the country. A good number used to live openly in the state of Penang until towards the end of the 1970s, when many emigrated due to growing state-sanctioned antisemitism. They were also found elsewhere in the nation, especially in Negeri Sembilan and Malacca. Indications of the growing racial and religious hostility in the nation has caused many Malaysian Jews to leave or flee the country.〔 The Malaysian Jewish community consists of Jews of Sephardic origin who live amongst the Kristang people (people of mixed Portuguese and Asian ancestry),〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Kristang-Eurasian Jewish History )〕 Mizrahi Jews (the majority of whom are Baghdadi Jews), Malabar Jews and Ashkenazi Jews. == History == The first contact between Jews and the inhabitants of Malaya (later part of Malaysia) came in the 9th century AD on the riverbanks of the Bujang Valley. Jewish Malaysians could be found well into the 18th century in the cosmopolitan bazaars of Malacca. The arrival of Baghdadi Jews in Penang probably occurred at the turn of the 19th century as the fledgling British-ruled entrepot grew and attracted Jewish trading families such as the Sassoons and Meyers from India. There was also significant emigration of Jews from the Ottoman province of Baghdad as a result of the persecutions of the governor, Dawud Pasha, whose rule lasted from 1817 to 1831. The first Baghdadi Jew known by name to have settled in Penang was Ezekiel Aaron Menasseh, who emigrated from Baghdad in 1895. Menasseh claimed to have been the only practising Jew in Malaya for 30 years until after World War I, when a significant number of Baghdadi Jews began to settle in Malaya. Statistics from the same period showed a somewhat different picture: During the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the Penang Jewish community was evacuated to Singapore, and many were interred by the Japanese during the subsequent occupation of both Malaya and Singapore. After the war, a majority had emigrated to Singapore, Australia, Israel and the United States. By 1963, only 20 Penang Jewish families remained in the country. Penang's only synagogue, located on 28, Nagore Road, was opened in 1929 but closed down in 1976 as the community could no longer fulfill the minyan, a quorum of ten or more adult Jews assembled for purposes of fulfilling a public religious obligation.〔 Today, approximately 100 Jews who are refugees from Russia are said to reside in Malaysia,. The original Penang Jewish community has ceased to exist with the death of Mordecai (Mordy) David Mordecai on 15 July 2011.〔News Straits Times (Northern Edition) article on 18 July 2011 entitled: "Uncle Mordy laid to rest"〕 The rest of the Penang Jews have either embraced Christianity or else have emigrated to other countries, especially with the rise of anti-semitic sentiments and anti-Israel policies pursued by the Malaysian government since the 1970s. Jahudi Road (or Jew Road) in Penang, where the majority of the Penang Jewish population stayed, has since been renamed Jalan Zainal Abidin, erasing another legacy of the Jewish presence in Malaysia. The only significant presence remaining is the Jewish cemetery and the old synagogue, currently occupied by a photo studio whose owner, aware of the building's historical significance, has undertaken to preserve the exterior.〔(The last Jew to leave Penang )〕 Many of the descendants of the Penang Jews are mainly seen in Singapore (such as late Chief Minister David Marshall, a Baghdadi Jew). Marshall was an instrumental figure in the negotiations leading up to the independence of Malaya. Many also reside in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, especially in New York, but their numbers are unknown. The majority of Penang Jews spoke Malay and English, whilst the rest spoke mainly Yiddish, Persian, Hebrew and also Arabic. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the Jews in Malaysia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|