The state of Penang was once home to a Jewish community, until the latter part of the 1970s, by which time most had emigrated due to growing state-sanctioned antisemitism.
Indications of the growing racial and religious hostility in the nation in response to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has caused many Malaysian Jews to leave or flee the country.
[5] Due to persecution by the Portuguese Inquisition in the region, many of the Jews assimilated into the Kristang community during the period.
[6] The arrival of Baghdadi Jews in Penang probably occurred at the turn of the 19th century as the fledgling British-ruled entrepot grew and attracted Jewish trading families such as the Sassoons and Meyers from India.
There was also significant emigration of Jews from the Ottoman province of Baghdad as a result of the persecutions of the governor, Dawud Pasha, whose rule lasted from 1817 to 1831.
[11] The rest of the Penang Jews have either embraced Islam or else have emigrated to other countries, especially with the rise of anti-semitic sentiments related to anti-Israel policies in reaction to the conflict in Palestine pursued by the Malaysian government since the 1970s.
Most of the graves take the form of a triangular vaulted-lid casket, resembling ossuaries commonly found in Israel.