Ok this is a legit question, not trying to troll or bait... Are there African or east Asian jews? Like Jewish communities in Ghana or Thailand for example?

[–] ArtikBanana@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Yup.
Ethiopian Jews, Indian Jews, and tiny communties of Chinese and Japanese Jews.

Edit: There are more, but those are mostly Jews that ran away / were expelled from other countries.
Like Jews in Thailand who fled Russia and Iran.

[–] vrek@programming.dev 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Interesting, I only hear of American, European or Middle East jews.

[–] ArtikBanana@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 months ago

Indian Jews are also the only ones amongst Jewish communities who haven't faced any discrimination. Despite their presence in India for around 2,000 years.

[–] datendefekt@lemmy.ml 11 points 6 months ago

First thing coming to mind are the Jews in Ethiopia.

[–] FUBAR@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

There are East Asian Jews https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews

[+] Melkath@kbin.social -11 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] vrek@programming.dev -4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for the knowledgeable and helpful post

[–] ExIsraeliAnarchist@kbin.social 13 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

That person really doesn't seem to know what they're talking about (Jews did not originate in Egypt, the UN didn't "shove" anyone to the land, Jewish settlement has been continuous in the region, and after decades of pogroms which culminated in the Holocaust, many who were in the diaspora ended up returning since they didn't feel safe anywhere else, but more importantly, like so many fleeing war and genocide today - were simply not welcomed by the "allies". There is also no such argument that anyone who lives on that land qualifies as Jewish, that's not how Judaism works, there are Israelis and Palestinians of all and no religion), I recommend reading some actual sources for yourself if you want to know more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_Judaism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_Land_of_Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_diaspora

And of course I have to defend myself in advance - despite all of the above, I am not denying that the state of Israel is occupying some lands illegally, and is oppressing and ethnically cleansing Palestine.
Both peoples have a rightful claim to parts of that land (and will, eventually, have to share other parts, or all die trying to be the only ones in control), and all deserve to live peacefully side by side on their homelands.

[–] vrek@programming.dev 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Like I said I asked the question in good faith and did not mean anything negative. It was out of pure ignorance and the desire to correct that ignorance.

I think the prime example of your point of "being on this land doesn't make you Jewish" is the hagie sophiea. It's a ancient place of worship that has been "owned" by multiple religions over the years.

[–] ExIsraeliAnarchist@kbin.social 1 points 6 months ago

Oh, my criticism wasn't of you, but of the person who replied to you with a load of nonsense. People tend to ignore/simplify/skew the history to fit their agenda (or are too lazy to make the kind of effort you are to understand), so it's good to look at the actual documented history.

As for the Hagia Sophia comparison, I can see where you're coming from, but this is all on a much bigger scale, which by default makes it much more complicated t figure out. But the first step is wanting to know, and you're there, so good job!