Thehistory of the Jews in Thailand began in the 18th century with the arrival ofBaghdadi Jewish families and Jewish peoples from Europe during theNapoleonic era (1799–1815).
DuringWorld War II, Thailand was a part of theAxis powers;[1] however it has had friendlydiplomatic relations with Israel since 1954.[2]
The Jewish community of Thailand today is mostly made up of theAshkenazi descendants of refugees fromRussia and theSoviet Union. There are alsoPersian Jews who emigrated during the 1970s and 1980s to escape theIranian Revolution.
The country's permanent Jewish community, with over 1,000 members, is mainly located inBangkok[3] (especially in theKhaosan Road area). There are also small groups of Jews withsynagogues inPhuket,Chiang Mai,Ko Samui andKoh Pha-ngan. DuringJewish holidays and weeklyShabbat services, they are joined by vacationing Jews, especially fromIsrael and theUnited States, leading to Shabbat dinners with close to 1,000 people most weekends.[4]
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Rabbis who were Chaplains in the United States Air Force served as the Rabbi for the Jewish Association of Thailand. They conducted services on Friday Evening, Shabbat morning, the High Holidays and Festivals.
At the request of two of Bangkok's synagogues, Beth Elisheva and Even Chen, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor took up residence as the first permanentrabbi in Bangkok, in 1993. He has been in Thailand since 1993 (when the Jewish Association of Thailand was founded), and is a member ofChabad. He was joined in 1995 by Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, also ofChabad.
Chabad of Bangkok is a smallChabad House in Bangkok,[5] catering primarily to young Israeli tourists.[6] It was an important center of disaster relief after the2004 tsunami.[7] It servesSabbath meals to hundreds of Jewish travelers every week, including during Jewish religious festivals such asPassover.[8] Due to security concerns in the aftermath of the2008 Mumbai attacks, entry is restricted to the Jewish community.[5]
A complete range of Jewish education services is available in Bangkok, from kindergarten through high school. This includes a recently openedOrthodoxyeshiva. After years of government refusal, permission has also been granted for the establishment of a Jewish cemetery next to theBangkok Protestant Cemetery inBang Kho Laem.[9]
