TORONTO – The Jewish community of Myanmar is small in numbers but large in spirit. Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar was once home to a thriving community of predominantly Sephardic Jews, largely from Iraq, Iran and India.

Before World War II there were more than 3,000 Jews in Burma. They held their heads high when the Burmese prime minister paid a visit to the newly formed state of Israel in 1948. He was the first such dignitary to do so.

Israeli dignitaries in turn visited Burma. They included Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and Ben Gurion. The Jewish school once had 200 students and several street names were named for prominent members of the Jewish  community. In the early 1900s, the mayor of Yangon, formerly Rangoon, was Jewish. However, with the nationalization of businesses in 1962 many of the country’s Jews left for Australia, Israel, India and the United States.

Currently there are only eight families remaining, in a country of 15 million.

Moses Samuels is the trustee of the synagogue in Yangon and head of the community. Together with his son Sammy, they established Myanmar Shalom Travels and Tour in the hopes of sharing the beauty of their community with the international Jewish community. Tours are kosher and highlight the Jewish sites and history of the region.

Sammy, 28, is the North American contact for the agency. Currently working in New York City, he is a graduate of Yeshiva University. Many of the young Jewish Burmese travel abroad for Jewish education and experience, and his two sisters travel often to Israel.

He speaks of the jewel of the Jewish community there: “It’s a beautiful synagogue, right in the city centre. Some Israeli visitors, they may not have been to synagogue in Israel, but when they come they love to see the synagogue and stay for Shabbat.”

With help from the Israeli embassy, Jewish tourists and Chabad of Bangkok (the nearest Chabad), the community does not lack for religious materials. They always have a good supply of kosher wine, candles or matzot as the season dictates.

The Israeli embassy also arranges an Israel Independence Day celebration in Burma.

“We try to get along with all the other communities because it’s such a small community,” adds Sammy. At Chanukah, they invite their Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Baha’i neighbours to join in the festivities.

Sammy recalls many Shabbatot, when he was still living in Burma, waiting outside the synagogue with his father in the hopes that someone would come by and they would open up for prayers. When no one would show, they would still light candles in the synagogue.

The Samuels’ conviction and dedication to their history is clear. As Sammy simply states, “we want to keep the Jewish spirit alive in Burma.”