History of the Jews in Kuwait
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History
The noted British businessman Naim Dangoor is an Iraqi Jewish exile in his 90s whose grandfather was the chief rabbi in Baghdad, when the city's population was 40% Jewish and owned 95% of the business. He came to Britain in the 1930s to study engineering at Queen Mary CollegeQueen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
in London and returned to Iraq to join the army and then set up his business empire. He spent the 1950s running the Coca-Cola franchise in Iraq with a beloved Muslim business partner. He states that:
- In 1776 Sadeq Khan captured BasraBasraBasra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, many of the inhabitants left the country and among them were Jews who went to Kuwait. With the Jews' efforts, the country flourished with its buildings and trades. Around 1860, their number increased and their trade flourished. The Jews had a market called "The Jews' market ", which was next to the market Mosque. It was known that the Jews used to make alcohol and sell it to the public. The Jews were known to be very careful with trading. They were mostly wholesalers and worked with IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and AleppoAleppoAleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. They even exported to Europe and China. There were about 80 Jewish families in Kuwait living in one district where the Bank of Trade is now. The Jews used to wear long gown (Zboun) and Fez which made them look different from the others. Some used to wear European suits but they covered their head with Fez. They had their own Synagogue with their Sefer TorahSefer TorahA Sefer Torah of Torah” or “Torah scroll”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services...
. In the Synagogue, they had separate place for the women. SaturdayShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
is a sacred day. Jews didn't work that day. They also had their own Cemetery which shows that they lived there for a long time. Before 1914 there were about 200 Jews. Most of them went back to Baghdad and few went to India. There were two wealthy Jews in Kuwait but the rest were middle class, being Jewellers or material traders. Among the wealthy Jews were Saleh Mahlab who owned the first ice factory in 1912.Gurgi Sasson and Menashi Eliahou who were traders and financiers. When Sheikh Salem al Mubarak came to power in February 1917 (he was the 9th ruler). He wanted to stop the Jews from dealing with alcoholic spirits. He called them and warned them. There is no evidence that they were kicked out of Kuwait. The truth is that they went back to Iraq when King Faisal the firstFaisal I of IraqFaisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...
came to rule Iraq. The King had Jewish acquaintances like Wiseman and Sasson Heskel who became the Minister of Finance in Iraq. During the twenties, all the Jews left Kuwait.
Professor Faisal Abdulla Alkanderi of Kuwait cooroborates the above in his essay in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 2006, as summarized:
- Kuwait in the last decades of the nineteenth century had become a dynamic place for its time. There was a building boom in both houses and ships, and business opportunities abounded. The country was peaceful and stable. The combination of services available and economic prospects drew people from surrounding countries searching for a better life. This article deals with the little-known Jewish community that began to come to Kuwait during that time. It also discusses the possible reasons why they left. These Jews belonged to the 'Babylonian' JewsBabylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
who had lived in Mesopotamia for millennia. Their language was Arabic, and they had traded between Baghdad and India for centuries. The majority were involved in textiles, and they had their own market where people of all origins came to buy the cloth they imported. They usually educated their children in their synagogue. It was a community in flux, with constant comings and goings, rather than a stable group who arrived together and left together, and it was made up of diverse individuals.
A comeback
The government of Kuwait had approved on building a new city called Madinat al-HareerMadinat al-Hareer
Madinat al-Hareer , is a proposed planned urban area in Subiya, Kuwait, an area just opposite Kuwait City. Upon construction, it would include the Burj Mubarak al-Kabir, a natural desert reservation of 2 square kilometres, a duty free area which will be beside a new airport, in addition to a large...
or The City of Silk. A super mega-project that will host 1001 m high skyscraper. The super tall tower will include a Muslim Mosque, a Jewish Synagogue and a Christian church under a single roof.
Jews in the Arabian Peninsula
- History of the Jews in Arabia (disambiguation)
- History of the Jews in IraqHistory of the Jews in IraqThe history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BCE. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities....
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- History of the Jews in BahrainHistory of the Jews in BahrainBahraini Jews constitute one of the world's smallest Jewish communities. Bahrain was, at one time, home to as many as 1,500 Jews. Today the community has a synagogue and small Jewish cemetery and numbers thirty-seven persons.- Early history :...
- History of the Jews in OmanHistory of the Jews in OmanThere was a Jewish presence in Oman for many centuries, however, the Jewish community of the country is no longer existent.-Early Jewish history:Some of the earliest Jewish history in what is now Oman is associated with the Biblical/Quranic figure Job/Ayyoub...
- History of the Jews in QatarHistory of the Jews in QatarThe history of the Jews in Qatar is very limited.There are few Jews in Qatar, but the Anti-Defamation League has protested the existence of antisemitic stereotypes in Qatar’s newspapers. Hindus, Buddhists, and others are not allowed to practice openly...
- History of the Jews in Saudi ArabiaHistory of the Jews in Saudi ArabiaThe history of Jews in Saudi Arabia refers to the Jewish history in the areas that are now within the territory of Saudi Arabia. It is a history that goes back to Biblical times.-Early history:...
- History of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates
- Yemenite JewsYemenite JewsYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
See also
- Abrahamic religion
- Arab JewsArab JewsArab Jews is a term referring to Jews living in the Arab World, or Jews descended from such persons.The term was occasionally used in the early 20th century, mainly by Arab nationalists, to describe the 1 million Jews living in the Arab world at the time...
- Arab states of the Persian GulfArab states of the Persian Gulf"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
- Babylonian captivityBabylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
- History of the Jews in the Arabian PeninsulaHistory of the Jews in the Arabian PeninsulaThe history of the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula reaches back to Biblical times. The Arabian Peninsula is defined as including parts of Iraq and Jordan geographically...
- History of the Jews under Muslim rule
- Islam and antisemitism
- Jewish exodus from Arab landsJewish exodus from Arab landsThe Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries was a mass departure, flight and expulsion of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Muslim countries, from 1948 until the early 1970s...
- Jews outside Europe under Nazi occupationJews outside Europe under Nazi occupation-Jews of Algeria:Vichy rule cancelled the citizenship of the Jews and instituted the same restrictions that applied to the Jews of France . In 1941 the property of the Jews was confiscated...
- Judaism and Islam
- List of Jews from the Arab World
- Mizrahi JewsMizrahi JewsMizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...