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Friday, December 29, 1918 13
100 Families in Thailand Jewish Communtty,630
By WARREN FREEDMAN
Although there is no for-
mally established Jewish
community in Thailand, or
Siam, approximately no
Jewish families residing
there have a community
center and synagogue in
Bangkok.
A Lebanese Jew, Isaac
Djemal, Russian-born Haim
Gerson, and Bangkok-born
Mrs. Elisabeth Zerner (her
mother was Russian, her
father Romanian, and her
husband Dutch) helped to
found the Jewish Associa-
tion of Thailand, which is
housed in the Jewish Com-
munity Center.
The majority of Thai
Jewry are Israelis, but there
are also nationals from the
United States, Sweden,
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Spain and England. Several
families hold Thai national-
ity.
The. Jewish Associa-
tion of Thailand meets
regularly. About 75 per-
cent are heads of families
and 25 percent are single
Jewish men and women.
At least another 250 Jews
including American serv-
icemen are known to be
residents in Bangkok. Of
this number, Americans.
are in the. minority:
English, Swedish,
Spanish and Israeli Jews
have larger representa-
tion.
Until 1973, the Bangkok
Jewish community had an
American Air Force chap-
lain serve as the rabbi for
the congregation. From
1966 to 1973 no less than six
different military rabbis
served — each had a tour of
duty from 18 months to two
years.
On Purim 1974 tragedy
struck this little community
when their Rabbi, David
Sobel, (of Hartford, Connec-
ticut) was killed in an
automobile accident.
In October 1974, a young
tourist, Bezalel Gordon, son
of Rabbi and Mrs. James I.
Gordon of Detroit, was per-
suaded to accept appoint-
ment as the religious
leader. Gordon taught the
30 to 40 children Hebrew in
the Sabbath school (which
meets regularly every
Saturday morning), and
also' conducted religious
services; he left Bangkok in
May 1975.
Friday night services
were conducted by teen-
ager, Mitchell Bainwol
until April 1976; his
father was with the U.S.
Defense Department in
Thailand. Four ladies of
the community teach
Jewish history, singing
and dancing every Fri-
day afternoon.
The Bangkok Jewish
_ community holds a Hanuka
party every year, a Purim
bazaar (with profits to a
community charity), a
.
Swazi Leader
to Visit Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Maphevu Dhlamini, the
premier of Swaziland. —
which borders South Africa
and Mozambique — was
scheduled to pay a state
visit to Israel this week.
Dhlamini, who alio is his
country's foreign minister
and•army commander, will
be accompanied by Swazi
ministers of finance and jus-
tice and other top officials.
The Swazi guests will be
formally hosted by Premier
Menahem Begin and
Foreign Minister Moshe
Dayan, and they will hold
economic talks -with" Fi-
nance Minister Simha
Ehrlich. They will be ac-
companied by Israel's Am-
bassador to Swaziland,
Emmanuel Ron.
Swaziland is one of the
few black African countries
to maintain diplomatic re-
lations with Israel. The
premier is expected to ask
Israel for further technical
and economic aid.
•
Purim carnival, a tradi-
tional break-the-fast on
Yom Kippur, and a commu-
nity Seder on Pesach.
Thai residents of the
Jewish faith also include
Mrs. Myra Borisute, who
with six children still man-
ages to take an active role in
Jewish community life. Her
husband, Dr. Sungkas
Thongborisute, owns and
directs Paolo Memorial
Hospital and Clinic, Span
Kwai Square, in Bangkok.
Mrs. Elisabeth Zerner
donated the local synagogue
building. An American
lawyer, Albert Lyman and
his wife, Freda, are very
active too.
Robert Golden, a New
York-born Jew, has
authored a popular
Thai-English dictionary.
Selim Eubb-ani imports
kosher food from the U.S.
and still serves as
Bangkok's honorary
rabbi. Jewish visitors are
also welcomed to
Bangkok by N.H. Baum
of the House of Siam Ltd.
Thai Jewry (100 families)
is proud of the fact that in
April 1977 two daughters of
the King of Thailand paid a
somewhat formal visit to
the state of Israel. Good re-
lations continue between
Israel and Thailand.
However, the Libyan
government has been sup-
porting a separatist Moslem
movement in the four
southern provinces of Thai-
land where there is a major-
ity Moslem population. The
Thai government is watch-
ing these developments be-
cause Thailand is proud of
its absolute religious .
tolerance.
Religious tolerance has
been the keystone of Thai-
land, although 94 percent of
Thais are Buddhists. The
Thai attitude toward .reli-
gious sects is perhaps best
delineated by reference to
the thousands of saffron-
robed monks who fill the
streets and who carry rice
bowls that are kept gener-
ously filled with food by
passersby.
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