SASSOON Origin of surname

Esther Sassoon (b. 1936), obstetrician and gynecologist, born to a poor family in Cochin, India. Her mother's family fled to Bombay after the anti-Jewish riots in Iraq. She was one of four children, educated in St Theresa's Convent in Ernakulum in Kerala and then in the Maharaja College in the city. With the help of a loan from the local synagogue and great determination to succeed she was accepted at the local medical college specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. After graduation she obtained the post of tutor in the obstetric department of the Calicut Medical College. Thereafter, to continue her studies, she was accepted at the institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Egmore, Madras (now Chenai), where she completed her diploma with a gold medal and MD at Madras University in 1967. She obatained loans and financial assistance for the whole time. In 1968 she was promoted to Assistant Professor.

In 1973 Dr Sassoon went to Israel and worked as a volunteer at Tel Hashomer Medical Center. In 1974 she was sent to the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon where she worked until 2001. She became assistant to the head of the obstetrics and gynecology. She spent a great deal of her spare time helping underprivileged women of Indian origin. She never married.

Ilya Mohadab Sasson, known as Elias Moadab (1916-1952), comedian born in Cairo, Egypt, to a Jewish Syrian father and Jewish Egyptian mother from the city of Tanta, Egypt. He began his career as a singer working in many nightclubs such as Al Arizona and Alooberg, where he encountered famous Egyptian comedian Ismail Yassine who helped him enter the film industry and played alongside him in many films, most notably the 1948 classic ‘Anbar’ that starred Laila Mourad. In his performances in over 20 films, he used to speak in the Shami (Syrian) dialect of Arabic, creating the impression that he was born in Syria.  

Shanghai

In Chinese: 上海市

A port in Kiangsu province, China's largest city and a global financial hub, east China.

It was opened to foreign trade in 1843. A flourishing foreign community developed there, including Jews of various nationalities. They were mostly Sephardim from Baghdad, Bombay, and Cairo, including such well- known families as Sassoon, Kadoorie, Hardoon, Ezra, Shamoon, and Baroukh. There were three synagogues in shanghai, and between 1904 and 1939, 12 Jewish magazines in English, German, and Russian were founded there. The leading one was Israel's messenger, a Zionist monthly established in 1904 by N.E.B. Ezra and published until his death in 1936. Before World War I the Jewish population numbered around 700, with 400 Sephardim of Baghdad origin, 250 Europeans, and 50 Americans. Most of them were engaged in commerce, while a few were in the diplomatic service and in medicine or teaching. Their number was substantially increased to around 25,000, first by Jews from Russia fleeing from the 1917 revolution, then between 1932 and 1940 by refugees from Nazism in Germany and German-occupied countries who found out that they could enter the free port of Shanghai without visas.

The Japanese closed Shanghai to further immigration and after the outbreak of the pacific war in December 1941 they deported to Shanghai most of the Jews living in Japan or in transit to other countries. Substantial aid was given locally, especially by Sir Victor Sassoon, Horace Kadoorie, and Paul Komor. Additional funds came from abroad. With the outbreak of the Pacific war the position of all Jews became desperate. Most of them were kept in semi-internment under miserable conditions in the Kongkew district, subject to the whim of the Japanese occupation forces. They had great difficulty in finding employment and most of their property was confiscated under one pretext or another. Almost all of them left shanghai after World War II, largely with American help, for Israel, the United States, or other parts of the world. A few elderly people remained to live out their days under the Chinese communists.

Singapore

Republic of Singapore

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 300 out of 5,700,000. Main Jewish organization:

Jewish Welfare Board of Singapore
24/26 Waterloo Street
187950 Singapore
Phone: 65 337 2189, 65 63 37 21 89
Email: jewishwb@singnet.com.sg
Website: https://www.singaporejews.com

HISTORY

The first Jews to settle in Singapore were of Baghdadi origin, mainly from India. They migrated to Singapore in 1840 when the Sassoon family established business interests. Prayers were first held in a house in the street still known as Synagogue Street. The Maghain Aboth Synagogue was opened in 1878; it possessed a number of torah scrolls in beaten silver cases brought from Baghdad. Another synagogue, Chesed El, was built in 1904 by Sir Manasseh Meyer, reputed to be the richest Jew in the far east. He also endowed a Talmud torah. Local custom sanctioned conveyance to synagogue by rickshaw on Sabbath.

The community remained largely sephardi, but ashkenazi immigrants from England, the Netherlands, China, Russia, and Germany also settled there. Most engaged in business and the professions. The community continued to be highly prosperous and important out of all proportion to its size.

The 1931 census records that the 832 Jews and larger number of Arab residents were the largest house property owners in the city. There were over 1,500 Jewish inhabitants by 1939. Many were interned by the Japanese during World War II, and a number subsequently emigrated to Australia, England, the United States, and Israel. Apart from their contribution to commerce, Jews have taken a considerable part in political life and in 1955 David T. Marshall became the first prime minister of the republic. The community is represented by the Jewish welfare board which publishes a monthly bulletin. There exist two synagogues with one officiating rabbi; social activities center in the Menorah Club. The community numbered approximately 450 in 1968.

From the beginning of the 1960s, trade relations began to develop between Singapore and Israel. Israeli experts extended technical aid to Singapore, while a number of mutual visits were made by ministers, public figures, and senior officials. In 1968 a trade agreement was signed by the two countries and an Israel trade mission opened in Singapore. In May 1969 diplomatic relations were established, and in July the Israeli ambassador presented his credentials. Technical cooperation includes the dispatch of Israeli advisors to the Singapore army. In 1970 the two countries signed an aviation agreement.

In 1997 there were 300 Jews living in Singapore.

The nursery school Ganenu Learning Center was opened in 1996. In 2008 it was named the Sir Manasseh Meyer International School. A prominent Jewish personality, Sir Manasseh Meyer was a great philanthropist around the second half of the 19th century. The school's curriculum includes Jewish heritage with classes going up to 9th grade as of 2017.

Medina de Pomar

A town in Castile, N. Spain

21st Century

The town of Medina de Pomar has an old Jewish quarter. The Jewish quarter had a wall on its boundaries and the main street was King street.

History

The Jewish settlement here was one of the flourishing communities in 13th-century Castile. Like other Jews in the area, Jewish residents of Medina de Pomar owned vineyards and lands and engaged in commerce and crafts. Joseph Nasi and Abraham Benveniste de Soria, both of Medina, supplied grain and money to the army stationed on the border in 1429-30. On March 12, 1475, two Jewish cloth merchants, Josi Leal and Moses Sasson, complained that the authorities had prohibited visiting Jews from trading and buying goods in Medina. Conversely in 1490 the Jews of Medina complained to the crown that the Bilbao municipal council had banned visiting Jews from staying there overnight and that they had therefore been unable to attend the fair at Medina del Campo.

After the edict of expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the Jews of Medina de Pomar asked the crown for redress because the Christians had refused to pay their debts. Ferdinand and Isabella ordered the municipal authorities to deal with the matter expeditiously to enable the Jews to leave on time.

Brighton

Town on the south coast of England, UK

Jews began to settle in Brighton in the middle of the 18th century. When the town became a fashionable resort, wealthy Jews flocked there including the Goldsmid family at the beginning of the 19th century and the Sassoons at the end.

A congregation was first organized in 1800 but soon fell apart. It was reorganized in 1821. There are now in Brighton and its sister-town Hove, five synagogues including one Reform and one Liberal. Jewish affairs are coordinated by the Brighton and Hove Jewish Council.

The Jewish population of Brighton and hove was estimated in 1968 at 7,500.

In the mid 1990's the combined Jewish population numbered approximately 10,000.

The 2001 British census found that there were 3,358 Jews by religious affiliation in Brighton and Hove, although the actual figure was probably much higher.

In 2004, Brighton continued to have a wide range of Jewish Institutions, including four synagogues, two Orthodox, one Liberal and one Reform.