SHABBAT SHALOM FROM RANGOON/YANGON, BURMA/MYANMAR
My burmese name is Aung Khant and my father would have called this city where I am now Rangoon and the country with which he was involved for a few years, Burma.
As the sun was setting I managed to obtain a 2016 Shiraz by Wolfgang Blass from SA and managed to say my Kiddush.
What a lovely day it has been for me, in this lovely country, Myanmar at the end of a long 3 month journey around the world including Easter Island, Brussels, Quiberon and Cochin and points in between ..
What wonderful memories I have of this country which I first visited with my dear brother Eliyahu whose Iraqi ancestry brought him closer to the Iraqi jewish community of Rangoon.
I have visited Rangoon/Yangon with some dear friends: my best friend MunChing and by then I had already an established group of friends. one of whom is Mrs EA.
We had a modest project to educate 12 young women in the ways of business, Mrs EA being a good business leader and I am happy to say that all 12 ended up in important positions in Myanmar Industry.
When I expressed an interest to return, she said: you looked after us once, this time we would look after you.
All of today I wanted to devote to the memories and walked along the Anwharata road which is the Indian town and headed towards the synagogue past the Hindu temple.
On my way, I stopped to say hello to Mr Tun Tun and his family (his ancestors were from Tamoul Nadou), the warm welcome after so many years was touching indeed.
The typical tamoul hindou architecture and then through crowded streets which have not changed their character, in Myanmar's rush to modernize, than God...
During my long absence from Rangoon, the trustee of the Synagogue, Mr Moses Samuels had died and I thought it fit to say the Kaddish (the jewish prayer for the dead for him at his own synagogue)
this Iraqi synagogue is a beautiful one, yes like the one in Mattanchery and another one under the care of Elias in Ernakulum.
U NU the prime minister of Burma was a great friend of Israel and Burma was one of the first country to recognize Israel and this friendship continues to this day
I did meet Ruth Fredman Cernea and was sad to hear of her passing away 10 years ago
There were many Jewish merchants in British Rangoon, many of them coming here from Calcutta or Bombay or from Baghdad. In this they resemble the communities in Calcutta and Singapore or erstwhile Penang rather than Bombay or Cochin.
Jolie Elba has taken over the responsibilities of Moses and his family is in Israel, in Ashdod, he said there are about 20 Bagdadi Jews left in Burma
Shalom to you, my brethren in Yangon.
Made my way to the offices of Sammy Samuels, the son of Moses Samuels, who was educated in Jerusalem and Yeshiva University in New York. He is the beacon of the Jewish Community of Rangoon now ..
Sammy runs a successful business from his offices near Sule pagoda. He had married about five years ago and his mentor rabbi from Jerusalem had come to officiate his wedding.
He was happy to say that while the actual number of Iraqi jews have subsided to 20, the number of transient jews who are here for business or consultation has increased dramatically since the liberalization of the Burmese Government. In it the community now resembles the Singapore Jewish community where most members are foreign jews who are in town for a prolonged period of time. During the last Hanukkah, Sammy said, including the invited Christian, Hindu, Moslem and Buddhist participants there were over 250 people at the celebration..
So this tiny jewish community which was on the brink of extinction has been revived by the policies of the government..which opened the country up for business, aid and international relations, and jews are here, on temporary assignments or on long term assignments..
and the Jewish community is not assigned to history pages yet..
Shabbat Shalom from Yangon
Am Israel Chai
My burmese name is Aung Khant and my father would have called this city where I am now Rangoon and the country with which he was involved for a few years, Burma.
As the sun was setting I managed to obtain a 2016 Shiraz by Wolfgang Blass from SA and managed to say my Kiddush.
What a lovely day it has been for me, in this lovely country, Myanmar at the end of a long 3 month journey around the world including Easter Island, Brussels, Quiberon and Cochin and points in between ..
I have visited Rangoon/Yangon with some dear friends: my best friend MunChing and by then I had already an established group of friends. one of whom is Mrs EA.
We had a modest project to educate 12 young women in the ways of business, Mrs EA being a good business leader and I am happy to say that all 12 ended up in important positions in Myanmar Industry.
When I expressed an interest to return, she said: you looked after us once, this time we would look after you.
All of today I wanted to devote to the memories and walked along the Anwharata road which is the Indian town and headed towards the synagogue past the Hindu temple.
On my way, I stopped to say hello to Mr Tun Tun and his family (his ancestors were from Tamoul Nadou), the warm welcome after so many years was touching indeed.
I knew this Muslim man and his family for years, two sons and three daughters and a Bamar Muslim wife
The typical tamoul hindou architecture and then through crowded streets which have not changed their character, in Myanmar's rush to modernize, than God...
He was happy to say that while the actual number of Iraqi jews have subsided to 20, the number of transient jews who are here for business or consultation has increased dramatically since the liberalization of the Burmese Government. In it the community now resembles the Singapore Jewish community where most members are foreign jews who are in town for a prolonged period of time. During the last Hanukkah, Sammy said, including the invited Christian, Hindu, Moslem and Buddhist participants there were over 250 people at the celebration..
So this tiny jewish community which was on the brink of extinction has been revived by the policies of the government..which opened the country up for business, aid and international relations, and jews are here, on temporary assignments or on long term assignments..
and the Jewish community is not assigned to history pages yet..
Shabbat Shalom from Yangon
Am Israel Chai
