Nairobi, Kenya – While the Jews of Kenya seem unscathed by the country’s political crisis, Jewish nongovernmental agencies that work there and elsewhere in Africa are bracing for the long-term effects of the sudden outbreak of violence.
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Inter-ethnic violence erupted Dec. 27 after the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, declared himself the winner of the country’s presidential election amid evidence of widespread fraud. Opposition leader Raila Odinga maintains he won the election.
An estimated 500 to 1,000 people have been killed and more than 250,000 left homeless as a result of rioting and pitched battles between members of minority tribes
Meanwhile, Kenya’s small Jewish community seems unscathed by the violence.
Nairobi has 400 to 500 Jews – mostly British, Australian, Canadian and American expatriates. The community has a synagogue congregation that meets weekly, according to the director of Chabad of Central Africa, Rabbi Shlomo Bentolila. [jpost]