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74
April15
Unfortunately, the only kosher
restaurants in Singapore are the one
in the Jacob Ballas Centre, next to the
main synagogue in Waterloo Street, and
a new kosher Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in
Orchard Central.
That means everything our family eats
– for all three meals, including school
lunches – has to be prepared at home.
Also, entertaining at home is really our
only option.
Which community structures are
you involved with?
My husband is very involved with the
Jewish community. We go to both the
main synagogue in Waterloo Street
and the one at Oxley Rise. At the
Sunday school, our children have
studied Hebrew and learnt about Jewish
heritage and traditions. They spent their
kindergarten years at the Sir Manasseh
Meyer International School in Belvedere
Close, where David still goes, before
moving to UWC for Grade One.
Our first three children have already
gone through their coming-of-age
barmitzvah
(for boys) or
batmitzvah
(for
girls). For this ceremony, the child has to
learn the portion of the Torah that relates
to the year of his or her birth, and read it
aloud to the congregation; then there’s
a big party, of course.
What is it like to be an Iranian
Jew in Singapore?
To give some background, Singapore’s
current Jewish community is made up of
locals, Israelis and expats. The original
Baghdadi Jewish community has shrunk
to only about a hundred, as people have
moved to theUS, to Israel and toAustralia.
Afghani Jews like my husband are
very few and far between; and if you’re
looking for an Iranian Jewish woman in
Singapore, that’s me! I’m the only one.
I lovemy community andmy rabbi here;
but sometimes I miss my family and the
Iranian Jewish friends I grew up with in
Hamburg. They too have moved, though,
to Israel, to Los Angeles or to New York.
In recent years, the influx of Israeli and
other Jewish expats has grown. What’s
more, they seem to be staying longer
and becoming a longer-term part of
the community – and that’s a welcome
development!