History of the Jews in Cambodia

A Chabad house run by an Orthodox Chabad rabbi is the focal point of Judaism and Jewish religious life in the city of Phnom Penh.[2][3]

An American Jewish attorney, law professor, prosecutor and criminologist Phil Weiner was knighted by the Cambodian government for his training of Cambodian law enforcement officers. He received the prestigious Royal Order of Sahametrei.[4][5]

Elior Koroghli a granddaughter of a Cambodian princess who had converted to Orthodox Judaism. Elior Koroghli is the great-granddaughter of MH King Monivong, who ruled Cambodia until 1941, celebrated her Bat Mitzva in Cambodia.[6][7]

Cambodian women have become a source for the human hair for wigs, known as sheitels worn by very religious Orthodox Jewish women. This has become a lucrative export for Cambodia.[8][9]

A Jewish philanthropy in America, Jewish Helping Hands, helps support an orphanage in Phum Thom and Phnom Penh.[10]

A Jewish philanthropic couple in America, Alan and Elyse Lightman, funded the building of a mosque for the followers of Imam-San: As reported by Ynet: "Imam-San, a small Islamic sect that incorporates Buddhism, Hinduism and animism. The Imam-San makes up about 3 percent of Cambodia's 700,000 Muslims, who themselves represent only 5 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people, according to the US State Department annual report on religious freedom."[11]

Cambodia–Israel relations are the official relations between Cambodia and Israel. Both countries established diplomatic ties in 1960. In 1972, Cambodia opened its embassy in Israel in Jerusalem.[12] However, Israel cut its ties with Cambodia in 1975 due to the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime. Ties were restored in 1993.[13]