During
World War II, Thailand was a part of the
Axis powers; however it has had friendly
diplomatic relations with Israel since 1954. The Jewish community of Thailand today is mostly made up of the
Ashkenazi descendants of refugees from
Russia and the
Soviet Union. There are also
Persian Jews who emigrated during the 1970s and 1980s to escape the
Iranian Revolution. The country's permanent Jewish community, with over 1,000 members, is mainly located in
Bangkok (especially in the
Khaosan Road area). There are also small groups of Jews with
synagogues in
Phuket,
Chiang Mai,
Ko Samui and
Koh Pha-ngan. During
Jewish holidays and weekly
Shabbat services, they are joined by vacationing Jews, especially from
Israel and the
United States, leading to Shabbat dinners with close to 1,000 people most weekends. 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 permanent
rabbi in Bangkok, in 1993. He has been in Thailand since 1993 (when the Jewish Association of Thailand was founded), and is a member of
Chabad. He was joined in 1995 by Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, also of
Chabad. ==Chabad ==