From the ancient synagogue to the wealth that accompanies them today • In a special column for "Israel Today", one of the few Jews living in Bahrain tells about the history of the community in the country
Bahrain is an ancient paradise blessed with clean water and burial mounds that provide some insight into who would like to be buried here.
Is an example for those who want to live together, no matter what your background.
The Jews of Bahrain have long known that this is a blessed land, but the reason there are so few of us here goes back many years, to 1948, when there was a first wave of Jews who left the country - along with most of the entire community.
Those of them who held the Bahraini passport felt safe enough to stay here.
In the 1930s, a French pearl merchant who visited the country to purchase pearls for his business in France, decided to establish a synagogue in Bahrain.
The synagogue was rebuilt in the 1980s by my father, and today it is being renovated so that it will also include a museum.
That French pearl merchant, by the way, was a member of the well-known Cartier family.
Trade united the people of Bahrain, something it does today.
Most of the Jews who worked in the country had a harder life when they left for the Holy Land, because they were used to not paying VAT.
My grandfather had a collection of silver threads from clothes that he threw into silver ingots that helped him enter the world of money conversion.
He had four sons and four daughters, and today each has his own family.
Similar stories can be found among other Jewish merchants who were successful in areas they had not previously dealt with.
We will always wish the best for the royal family of Bahrain, who have allowed us to live our lives in the most comfortable way possible and have taught us how to be generous and empathetic.
Brought to print: Shimon Yaish.