(JNS) Avi Kumar - From 1977 to 1979, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin permitted entry to 360 Vietnamese "boat people" in the aftermath of the Communist takeover in that nation, citing parallels with Jews struggling to find refuge during the Holocaust. Most settled around Jaffa and Bat Yam, and the community today numbers 150-200. Tongi Noyan, 28, works as a real estate broker in Tel Aviv. He speaks perfect Hebrew with no accent. He said the majority of Vietnamese Israelis are Buddhists, like his father, with some being Christian, like his mother. Some have also recently converted to Judaism. While noting that many members of the community left Israel for the U.S., France or other countries, including Vietnam, to him Israel is home. "Of course I'm a true Israeli....I speak Hebrew, I was born and raised here."
2022-07-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive