History of The Jews in Arabia - History of The Jews in Oman

History of The Jews in Oman

The history of the Jews in Oman goes back many centuries. There was a Jewish presence in Oman for many centuries, however, the Jewish community in Oman is no longer existent. Some early Jewish biblical is associated with the biblical figure Job. The Tomb of Job is located 45 miles from the port city of Salalah. The documented Omani Jewish community was made famous by Ishaq bin Yahuda, a merchant who lived in the 9th century. Bin Yahuda lived in Sohar, and sailed for China between the years of 882 and 912 after an argument with a Jewish colleague, where he made a great fortune. He returned to Shoar and sailed for China again, but his ship was seized and bin Yahuda was murdered at the port of Sumatra.

In the mid 19th century, the British Lieutenant J.R. Wellsted documented the Jews of Muscat in his memoirs Travels in Arabia, vol. 1. He mentions that there are "a few Jews in Muskat (sic), who mostly arrived there in 1828, being driven from Baghdad . . .by the cruelties and extortions of the Pacha Daud." He also notes that Jews were not discriminated against at all in Oman, which was not the case in other Arab countries. Despite the lack of persecution in Oman, the community is believed to have disappeared before 1900.

During World War II, a Jewish American Army enlisted man, Emanuel Glick, encountered a small community of Omani Jews in Muscat, but this community consisted mostly of recent migrants from Yemen.