The “Year of the Pig” was celebrated in Israel this week. It was marked by the 330-member Vietnamese community — the “boat people” — who fled the Communist regime in Vietnam and were granted refuge by Israel in 1977 after being denied haven by their neighbors in southeast Asia.
The Vietnamese held a party of the community center in Azor, a town near Tel Aviv where they live. They greeted their new year with traditional dances in their native costumes and a feast of Vietnamese dishes, some of which have acquired a Middle Eastern flavor. Of the 450 Vietnamese who landed in Israel 6 years ago, about 120 have left for other countries. Those who remain have found employment chiefly in the restaurant and hotel trades.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
