Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, whether immigrants or those originally from the country. The state of Penang was once home to a Jewish community, until the latter part of the 1970s, by which time most had emigrated due to growing state-sanctioned
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
. 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
The ''Kristang'' (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") or ''Serani'' are a creole ethnic group of people of predominantly mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent, with substantial Dutch British, Jewish, Malay, Chi ...
(Malacca-Portuguese),
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...
(the majority of whom are
Baghdadi Jews
The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
),
Malabar Jews
Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim, from ) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now par ...
The first contact between Jews and the inhabitants of Malaya (later part of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
) came in the 9th century AD on the riverbanks of the
Bujang Valley
The Bujang Valley ( ms, Lembah Bujang) is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south. It is the richest archaeological area in Ma ...
. Jews could be found well into the 18th century in the cosmopolitan bazaars of Malacca. Malacca was the first and largest Jewish settlement in Malaysian Jewish history. 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
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
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 Manasseh, who emigrated from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
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 Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...
, the Penang Jewish community was evacuated to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, and many were interned by the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
during the subsequent occupation of both Malaya and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. 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. In 2008, it was reported that approximately 100 Jewish refugees from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
were residing in Malaysia. The original Penang Jewish community ceased to exist with the death of Mordecai (Mordy) David Mordecai on 15 July 2011. 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.
Yahudi Road (or Jew Road) in Penang, where the majority of the Penang Jewish population lived, 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.
Many of the descendants of the Penang Jews are mainly seen in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
(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
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, 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
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and also
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
.
Penang Jewish Cemetery
The Penang Jewish Cemetery, established in 1805, is believed to be the oldest single Jewish cemetery in the country. It forms a cleaver shaped plot of land situated alongside Jalan Zainal Abidin (formerly Yahudi Road), a small link road located between Burmah and
Macalister Macalister, MacAlister, MacAllister and their variants are forms of a Gaelic surname which means 'son of Alisdair'. The name originated in Scotland and belonged to a branch of the Clan Donald; they became an independent clan in 1493. From about the ...
Roads in George Town. The cemetery used to be a green lung, but much of the lawn has been cemented over.
The oldest Jewish tombstone is dated 9 July 1835 dedicated to a Mrs. Shoshan Levi and is believed to mark the grave of the English Jewish benefactress who donated the land where the current cemetery stands. Most of the graves take the form of a triangular vaulted-lid casket, resembling
ossuaries
An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
commonly found in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. There are approximately 107 graves located in the cemetery, with the most recent tombstone dated 2011, incidentally the grave of the last ethnic Jew on the island. 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 graves of the Cohens are located separately from the main group of graves on the north-eastern corner of the cemetery and it includes the grave of Eliaho Hayeem Victor Cohen, a
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
with the 9th
Jat Regiment
The Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, of which it is one of the longest-serving regiments.British Indian Army killed in an accident on 10 October 1941. It is the only grave in the cemetery that is maintained by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...
. The cemetery is still officially open for burials, and is itself managed by a board of trustees established and registered in 1885.
Malaysian Jews
* David Marshall - although he spent much of his life in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, he played a pivotal role in Malayan independence talks, and was briefly a Malaysian citizen when Singapore was part of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. He was also present at the
Baling Talks
The Baling Talks were held in northern Malaya on 28 and 29 December 1955 in an attempt to resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
The main participants were Chin Peng (representing the Malayan Communist Party), David Marshall (representing ...
of 1955 between the Federal Malayan Government and the Malayan Communist Party.
* Gary Braut - primary Jewish contact in Malaysia, died at Prince Court Specialist Centre, in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
on 21 January 2013. Buried at Beth Moses Cemetery,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
* Charles Ephraim – one of the last Penang born Jews
* Ezekiel Menasseh – the earliest verified Jewish resident in Penang.
* Modi Mordecai - last permanent Jewish resident of Penang died in 2011.
* Edgar Pinto Xavier – (former) formal Ambassador for Humanistic Judaism to the Far East.
Gallery
Image:Jewish Cemetery Penang Dec 2006 022.jpg,
Image:Jewish Cemetery Penang Dec 2006 001.jpg,
Image:Jewish Cemetery Penang Dec 2006 008.jpg,
Image:Jewish Cemetery Penang Dec 2006 020.jpg,
Baghdadi Jews
The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
References
Literature
* Khoo Salma Nasution. ''More Than Merchants: A History of the German-speaking Community in Penang, 1800s–1940s''. Areca Books. (2006). (pg. 33)
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...