The Jerusalem Post interviews a few of the remaining Jews in Bahrain:

…as many as 1,500 Jews once lived in Bahrain. Nearly all of them came from Iraq … The community is dying out …There is no rabbi here, so all religious ceremonies must be conducted abroad. Most of the people who are still in Bahrain are single. There’s not much to choose from, and there are very few cases of intermarriage between Jews and Arabs… The community at one point wanted to convert the [rarely used synagogue] for another use or give it to charity, but the government wouldn’t let us. They insisted it remain as a synagogue… We’ve never been to Israel, we have nobody there, and because we hold Bahraini passports we cannot travel to Israel … As far as we’re concerned, whatever the government will not let us do, we will not do. We’re law-abiding citizens.

I went to college with a Bahraini Princess. Her family name was Al-Khalifa. She was a total pain in the ass. I bet she’s really ugly now… That wasn’t relevant at all. In fact, the only reason I posted this was so that I could use the title.

I’m singin’ just singin in Bahraaaaain!

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About the author

ck

Founder and Publisher of Jewlicious, David Abitbol lives in Jerusalem with his wife, newborn daughter and toddler son. Blogging as "ck" he's been blocked on twitter by the right and the left, so he's doing something right.

4 Comments

  • Posted on 10.24.06 by ck @ 10:38 am

    In fact, the only reason I posted this was so that I could use the title.

    What about the Beach Boys’ “Bah-Bah-Bah Bah-Bah Bahrain”?

    Or Ray Bolger in the Wizard of Oz, singing “If I Only Had a Bahrain”?