Maps
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/as.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Resources-g580305-Maps-Orient
_Majorca_Balearic_Islands.html
Burma
There are about 25 Jews living in Burma
http://www.haruth.com/jw/JewsBurma.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Burma
http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl101.htm
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/
news/jt/international_news/jews_of_burma_march_on/
Baghdad Jews in British Burma
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4454
http://www.myanmarshalom.com/JewishColumn.html
Chinese Jews
more about
Chinese Jews
'The Rickshaw Express"
Many photos available at
http://www.rickshaw.org/photo_page.html
The one pictured here is entitled "The Chanukah costume Party
at the Shanghai Jewish Community Center on December 13, 1947".
Photo courtesy of Harry Sydel
http://www.rickshaw.org/
http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/Survival.html
History of the Jews in China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_China
'The
Jews of China'
A very informative article, actually a talk given by Dr. Les Malkin, can be now read here. Chinese
Jews
Jews have had contact with the Chinese since the 8th
century when they began trading with them. In the 9th century,
nearly 1,000 Jews lived in the city of Kaifeng. And in the
19th century, Jewish immigrants from Europe, Russia, India and the
Middle East founded communities in Harbin, Tientsin and some
other cities. By 1937, the Jewish population had swelled to some
20,000 mostly European Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis and
spent the war years in Shanghai, China. Today, China's
Jewish community numbers around 200, nearly all in Shanghai
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/chinajews.html
In Chinese, the name "Shanghai" means 'by
the sea.' A feature-length film, "Shanghai Ghetto",
offers interviews with survivors and never-before-seen footage that
documents the story of the refugees, their relationships with the local
Chinese people and with the occupying Japanese army, as
well as the rich Jewish cultural life constructed under great hardship
and the tragedy of relatives who stayed behind in Europe. The film
is narrated by Martin Landau.
There were four Jewish cemeteries that once served this city's small,
but prosperous Jewish community, but they disappeared in the late 1960s
during China's Cultural Revolution. The sites were paved
over to build a factory, park, hotel and Muslim cemetery.
Israeli photojournalist, Dvir Bar Gal has located 85 original
headstones and hopes to use them in a memorial to Shanghai's
Jewish past.
Shanghai, a major port that is now China's larges city, has
had three waves of Jewish immigration. The first began in 1845,
when David Sassoon, a prominate Iraqi Jew living in India, moved
his family business to Shanghai, which was China's first
city to open to the West. He was joined by tow other Baghdad
Jews, Elly Kadoorie and Silas Hardoon, and as the community grew,
they built Shanghai's fortunes and their own.
Pictured is Susie Segalowicz and the late Ted Gerson, both Holocaust
refugees, found their way to Shanghai during WW II and, found
each other and married on November 17, 1944. After the war, they came to
Portland, Oregon where the lived. More of the story was
published in the February 2013 issue of Oregon Jewish Life Magazine
http://ojlife.com/issues
The second wave came after 1905 when Russian Jews fleeing pogroms
and revolution arrived in the city. And in the 1930s, some 30,000
refugees from Nazi Europe arrived in the city as the third wave.
Shanghai was an "open city," and allowed immigration without visa
or passport. The 20,000 stateless Jewish refugees still in the
city were confined in what became known as the Hongkew ghetto,
but those with jobs outside were permitted to continue working.
The Iraqi and Russian Jewish communities, along with the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, sent in frequent
aid. After the war, virtually all of the Jews left for Hong
Kong, Australia, North America and Israel.
http://shanghaijewishmemorial.com/
http://forcedmigrationguide.pbworks.com/Encyclopedia-of-Diasporas
http://www.jewish-holiday.com/kaifeng.html
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kaifeng_Jews
PowerPoint Presentation of the Jews of Kaifeng and Harbin
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/harbin/TheJewsofHarbin&Kaifeng-Part2.pps
The microfilm reading room at National Archives located in College Park,
Maryland, holds Records of the Central Intelligence Agency (Record Group
263). RG263.2.3 "Records of the Shanghai Municipal Police"
contains Russian Emigrant Registration Cards, 1940-1952.
Russian emigrants had to register, and their registration cards with
certificates and photographs have been microfilmed (16 rolls). It
appears that only the Russian emigrant cards were microfilmed.
There are no hard copies. They are in alphabetical order. From
a posting to JewishGen by Roberta Solit
rsolit@comcast.net
"There are several elderly American Jews who remained in China
after WW2. They live in Beijing. There is a small Jewish
community in Shanghai, primarily Israelis and Americans
who are there for business purposes. They have a community Seder
and meet on occasion for Sabbath services. The last Jewish
resident of Harbin, died about five years ago. Though she
was born in Harbin, she never learned Chinese. Her
family was from Russia and arrived there in 1910 to avoid the cruel
reign of the Tsar." If anyone is interested in more info about
this poor woman, kindly contact Betty Provizer Starkman
bettejoy@aol.com
Chinese Jewish Family Tree
If you want to look up this ancient
Hebrew genealogy Lester D. K. Chow offers his family genealogy online,
because he is happy to freely share it with others. Lester D. K. Chow
lchow@lava.net
More information on Chinese Jews can be found within the
database of MavenSearch
www.mavensearch.com
Reference should be the chapter on China in the Avotaynu
"Guide to Jewish Genealogy". This will lead the researcher to the
relevant archives, resources, websites, etc. Of course other valuable
resources are being found since the Guide was published over a year ago.
YIVO in New York has a far more extensive collection on the
Jews of Shanghai than the Leo Baeck Institute (refer Drs Schwarcz),
especially for the Europeans that found refuge in Shanghai during
World War 2.
The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in
Jerusalem has a most valuable resource, the so-called
Shanghai HIAS Lists, which are now on microfilm. A microfilm copy is
also available at YIVO. A list of ships that sailed to
Shanghai could be compiled by searching about 8500 entries
From a posting by Peter Nash
genealogy@rpnash.com
|
Chinese descendants of ancient Jewish community make Aliyah
Seven descendants of ancient Kaifeng community arrive to Israel,
plan to study Hebrew, convert to Judaism
It would
probably be difficult to tell the difference between the seven
youngsters who arrived Tuesday at Ben Gurion airport, and the
thousands of Chinese construction workers living in
Israel. However, the young Chinese arrivals, aged 19 to
23, are descendants of an ancient Jewish community which
originated from the city of Kaifeng.
Immediately following their arrival, the seven knelt down and
kissed the soil of the Holy Land. "My dream is to complete the
process of converting to Judaism and become a certified rabbi,
after which I will return to my community and serve as its first
rabbi since the dissolve of the Jewish community some 150 years
ago," said 23-year-old Yaacob Wang. "I am excited to arrive
to the holy land. It is a dream come true," he added.
The first destination on the new immigrants' list was the
Western Wall, where they prayed "Shehecheyanu", a
blessing recited upon a noteworthy achievement.
"I
cannot believe after all these years I get to finally visit the
Western Wall which I dreamt of for years and drew in many of my
drawings," said Hang Shir, 24.
The group's trip
to Israel was arranged by Shavei Israel organization,
which has been in contact with the Israeli government
over the past two years, and recently received authorization
from the Ministry of Interior to give the seven a one-year
entrance permit, during which they will study Hebrew and go
through the conversion process.
Shavei Israel founder
Michael Freund, who funded the project out of his own pocket,
said Tuesday "this is an experimental project, and if it proves
successful, we will bring more descendants of the Kaifeng
community, of which a little less than half would like to
make Aliyah."
It is still not clear exactly when the
first Jews arrived in China, and around what year the
Kaifeng community, which currently has some 1,000 members,
was established.
However, according to the prevailing theory among scientist as
well as Kaifeng Jews' descendants, the community's
ancestors were merchants from Persia, who arrived in
Kaifeng – then the capital of China — via the silk
road during the 10th and 12th centuries.
Although the
Kaifeng Jews almost completely assimilated, their
descendants continued to observe certain traditions such as not
consuming pork, which is the main meat product in China,
baking matzo during Passover, painting their frame-head (door
post) in red instead of a mezuzah, and lighting Hanukkah
candles.
In recent years, some decedents of the
community began searching for their roots. "One explanation
is the internet, which allowed them access to information about
Judaism and Israel, which they wouldn't have been able to get
otherwise," said Freund.
Recently, three young
Kaifeng Jews made Aliyah with the help of Shavei Israel,
completed their conversion process, and became full citizens of
Israel. This time, the organized group will live in the
religious Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, where they will study
Hebrew for five months, after which they will complete their
conversion.
From an E-mail
from my school buddy Al Eisenberg of Minneapolis. |
Books
"The Angel of Austria's Jews"
Authored by Mark
O'Neil for the South China Morning Post is a story about how Ho Fengshan
saved thousands of Jews during World War II.
http://journeyeast.tripod.com/agnel_of_austria_s_jews.html
"Chinese Jews"
Authored by William Charles White
"The Covenant And The Mandate Of Heaven"
Authored by Tiberiu Weisz
"Diaspora" - authored by Werner Keller
"Emigranten Adressbuch Fuer Shanghai. Mit Einem Anhang
Branchen-Register"
Published in 1939. This small volume
contains the names, addresses, previous occupations and countries of
origin of the thousands of German and Austrian Jews who had
registered in Shanghai by that date. This book was
reprinted by Old China Hand Press, PO Box 54750 North Point Post Office,
Hong Kong and is priced at $10 USD, airmail)
"Far East Mission"
Authored by Louis Rabinowitz
"Fragrant Harbor
Authored by John Lanchester and published by Penguin. A novel
about Hong Kong set from the 1930s to the early 21st century.
"How Do You Celebrate Christmas"
Authored by Joshua Cohen
A Jew in China: The travails of life in a
land where Westerner equals 2/09/97)
http://www.salon.com/1997/12/09/feature_114/
"The Jews of China"
Authored by Jonathan
Goldstein
"Jews of Old China"
Authored by Hyman Kublin
"The Kaifeng Stone Inscription"
Authored by Tiberiu
Weisz
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL7558627M
"Mandarins, Jews and Missionaries: The Jewish Experience in the
Chinese Empire"
Authored by Michael Pollak and published by
Weatherhill. The book provides a general overview of Jewish
history in the region, including trades along the famed Silk Road and
the ancient Jews of Kaifeng.
"My China: Jewish Life in the Orient, 1900-1950"
Authored by
Yaacov Liberman and published by Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem and
L. Magnes Museums, Berkeley, CA in 1998.
"Studies of the Chinese Jews"
Authored by Hyman Kublin
"Wanderers and Settlers in the Far East"
Authored by Herman
Dicker
General Chinese
Information
A Chinese Jewish family
http://www.tabletmag.com/arts-and-culture/books/881/in-bloom/
Am Yisrael China
Relics of the Jewish presence in China can still be seen
http://www.travelwithjan.com/taxonomy/term/172
Association of
Immigrants from China in Israel
Includes Jews from all over China, Igud Yotzie Sin (Sin is China in
Hebrew). It's a very active group. Teddy Kauffman, who
was secretary of the Jewish Community in Harbin in the 1940s,
runs the organization and is editor for its newsletter, which is
published in Russian and English. They ask $25.00 for an ad in
their newsletter. Their E-mail is
Igud-sin@barak-online.net
Association of Former Residents of China
P.O. Box 1601
13
Grusenberg St.
Tel Aviv, Israel
http://www.jewsofchina.org/organization.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1
Beijing Jewish Community
Hutong District
Hidden Lane
www.sinogogue.org/
http://www.sinogogue.org/
Betar
The
head of Betar in China was Aaron Henkin of Harbin.
He came to the US in 1945 or 1946. Betar was the Zionist
youth group that backed the Irgun Zvai Leumi. During WW II,
because of the railroad and because the Japanese were relatively
tolerant, the Jewish community added a lot of refugees from Austria
and Germany.
http://www.betar.org/history/hist-h.htm
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/harbin/My_China_Chapter_3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betar
China's Historic Jews
More than 4,500 miles from the Holy Land, a Jewish community of 10,000
people lived in central China during the Sung Dynasty. Although
the synagogue and village were ravaged by bandits and floods, Leo Gabow
managed to gather photographs, memorabilia and artifacts connected to
the synagogue, which was first constructed in 1163
http://jewishsf.com/bk971003/sbsilk.htm
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/6691/china-s-historic-jews-synagogue-honored-in-silk-road-exhibit/
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2010/02/ross.html
China Virtual Tour -
Virtual Jewish History Tour
Today, China's Jewish community numbers around 200, nearly all in
Shanghai.
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/chinajews.html
http://www.chinavista.com/travel/virtualtours.html
http://www.thechinaguide.com/index.php
Council on the Jewish
Experience in Shanghai
(CJES)
3500 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4925
Phone/Fax:
+1.215.386.1270
http://cjes.org/
http://www.kulanu.org/china/shanghai.php
http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=subject%3A%22Jews+-+China+-+Shanghai+-+History.%22
Harbin
Once known as "the little Paris of the East", many refugees from
Russia lived in Harbin before immigrating to other countries.
The archives of the Jewish community in Harbin are intact, but
the Chinese authorities stopped access. The Mormons are
working on it. Eventually, it is expected, we will be able to get
marriage, birth and death records from them.
The first Jews reportedly arrived in Harbin around 1899.
Thereafter there were three waves of immigrations according to Li
Shuxiao, vice director of Jewish research at the Heilongjiang Academy of
Social Sciences. The first group, in the early 20th century, came
in search of opportunity after the opening of the
Russia-China railroad. The second during the 1917 Russian
Revolution. A third group of Jews sought to escape a
Russia-China border conflict in 1929. The local Jewish
population reached some 20,000 around 1920.
The history of the establishment of Harbin and the many Jewish
and White Russian families who lived there from Tsarist times and later
on fleeing from the Russian Revolution is fascinating.
The Los Angeles Times published an Associated Press article about the
Harbin Jewish Cemetery reopening which was published on April 22,
2000. It can be found in the LA Times Archives
http://latimes.com
Scroll down and on the left you
can type in 'Harbin Jews' in the search box. A portion of
the article can be viewed for free.
The gist of the article was that Chinese authorities have
reopened Huangshan Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery built by Jews who
moved there after the completion of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1896.
The article said that the cemetery, built in 1903, has more than 2,000
tombs and is said to be the largest Jewish cemetery in Asia.
It explained that 20,000 Jews moved to, or visited the city, after the
railway opened, and the government moved an additional 605 tombs to the
cemetery in 1953.
Jewish Cemetery in Harbin
http://jewishgraveyardrabbit.blogspot.com/2009/03/china-jewish-cemeteries-in-harbin-and.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2004/Sep/106964.htm
http://english.dbw.cn/system/2009/04/10/000123983.shtml
http://www.zegk.uni-heidelberg.de/hist/ausstellungen/harbin/bibliography.html
PowerPoint Presentation of the Jews of Kaifeng and Harbin
www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/harbin/TheJewsofHarbin&Kaifeng-Part2.pps
http://english.dbw.cn/system/2009/04/10/000123983.shtml
Information dealing with Harbin during WW II can be found at
http://www.rickshaw.org/
Harbiner Russia\China search
Try the Rootsweb-organized
Newsletter. To subscribe send an E-mail message with only the word
SUBSCRIBE in the subject and the body of the message to:
rusharbi-D-request@rootsweb.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/europe/15iht-letter.html
Teddy Kaufman is the leader of the Tel-Aviv based Association
of Former Residents of China.
http://www.sino-judaic.org/index.php?page=harbin_history
Books
"Secrets and Spies -
The Harbin Files"
Authored by Mara Moustafine and
published by Random House in Australia. The book documents
Mara Moustafine's family's history and fate from Tsarist Russia
to Harbin and under the 1937/38 Stalin Terror in Hailar
and Harbin in Russian Manchuria, and back to the former
USSR, Shanghai and eventually Australia
ISBN 1 74051 091 7
China's northeastern city is restoring two synagogues
http://www.hsilai.org/english/merittimes/detail.asp?index=16374&page=B
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/23621/chinese-city-with-jewish-past-reaches-out-again/
http://www.chinajewish.org/ohelrachel1/history
http://www.movius.us/articles/AWSJ-tilanqiao-original.html
Memorial Remembering the victims
http://www.memo.ru/eng/index.htm
http://www.bh.org.il/database-article.aspx?48705
http://kaifengjews.blogspot.com/
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln270/Judaism/bibliography.htm
Hong Kong Jewish Community
Dan Fellner published an article in
the October/November 2011 issue of Hadassah Magazine. He states
that "the hub of Jewish life lies halfway down the peak in a part of
Hong Kong known as the Mid-Levels, a popular residential area for the
island's general expatriate community. "There are two congregations,
a Jewish Community Center, a kosher supermarket and a Jewish day school.
"So many Jews live in the surrounding high-rise apartment buildings that
one local rabbi has dubbed the area a "vertical shtetl."
http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=twI6LmN7IzF&b=6725377&ct=11274597¬oc=1
Cemetery
There are about 360 Jews buried here and it has been in continuous
use since it was established more than 150 years ago. All the tombstones
have been catalogued by the
Jewish Historical Society of Hong Kong
13 Shan Kwong Road
http://gwulo.com/Jewish-Historical-Society-of-Hong-Kong
Census
Hong Kong census figures show only
40 Jews lived on the island in 1872, and that by the end of the 19th
century, the Jewish population had more than quadrupled, mainly because
of the influx of refugees from Eastern Europe. In 2011, it is estimated
that there are about 5,000 Jews, though estimates vary due to the
transient nature of the community.
The Jewish Community Centre
70 Robinson Road
Phone 852 2801 5440
is a multi-faceted facility conveniently
located in the Mid-Levels area above the Central district on Hong
Kong Island
http://www.jcc.org.hk/
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/hongkong.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Hong_Kong
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/world-jewish-population.htm
http://www.kehilat-zion.org/
Newspapers
Asian Jewish Life
http://www.asianjewishlife.org
Jewish Times Asia
http://jewishtimesasia.org
Synagogue
Kehilat Zion
62 Mody Road
Kowloon
Phone: 852 2368 0061
http://www.kehilat-zion.org
Ohel Leah Synagogue
70 Robinson Road
http://www.ohelleah.org/
Shuva Israel
61 Connaught Road Central
852 2851 6300
http://www.shuva-israel.com
The United Jewish
Congregation of Hong Kong
Phone: 852 2523 2985
http://www.ujc.org.hk
Igud Yotzei Sin (Association
of Former Residents of China)
Editor of their Bulletin is Boris Mirkin, 13 Gruznberg St., Tel Aviv,
Israel
http://www.jewsofchina.org/
http://www.jewsofchina.org/JewsOfChina08/index.asp
http://www.jewishtimesasia.org/harbin/259-harbin-communities/152-the-historic-community-of-harbin-china
Israelites
A very well done and informative site dealing with 'The History of
the Ancient Near East'
http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Israelites.html
http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook3.html
Jewish Diaspora in
China
From a Chinese perspective by Professor Xu Xin
http://home.earthlink.net/~davidturetsky/xuxinspeaks.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w73352kk4t308678/
http://www.lycos.com/info/jewish-diaspora.html
Jews in China
"There were many Jewish communities in China during the past 1000
years. In the ancient city of Kaifeng, however, we have
found written and archeological evidence of Jewish life.
Kaifeng now has a Jewish museum. Though they are no longer
Jewish, the descendants of this ancient community continue to identify
themselves on the Chinese census as "Yotai, Jews."
There is an estimated 300 'Yotai" living in Kaifeng at
this time (2005).
The Jewish Community disappeared after its last rabbi died in the
mid-1800s. Although the Jews are intermarried and retain few, if
any Jewish practices, they identify with the Jewish people.
Jews and Chinese have encountered each other for a thousand years or
more, beginning with the Jewish traders who went to China along
the Silk Road in the 9th century. In the 20th century, China
received Jewish refugees fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian
Civil War, and later the Nazi persecution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_China
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/china.htm
"Shanghai
was an important chapter in Chinese Jewish history in the 20th
century since they saved somewhere between 18,000 and 25,000 European
Jews escaping Hitler. Other important communities were in
Harbin, Tsin Tzin, Hong Kong."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Ghetto
http://www.shanghai-jews.com/
http://www.chinajewish.org/
Shanghai Ghetto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Ghetto
Several months ago, Professor Xu Xin of Najing University received an
award from Bar Ilan University in Israel. He teaches
graduate courses on the Jews of China and is partially responsible for
the renewed relationship between Israel and China. Due to
my friend Xu Xin, there are about 600 Chinese PhD candidates now
studying in Israel. They take this knowledge back to the
people of China. In February (2003) the JGS of Michigan along with
Historical Society of MI brought Xu Xin to Detroit.
He spoke to an audience of over 500 and it was video taped and presented
on local television.
The Sino-Judaic Institute has been for
many years sending copies, in Chinese of "The
Encyclopedia Judaica to Chinese Universities". The main important
books on this subject are: "Chinese Jews", by William White
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kaifeng_Jews
The
Jews of China
This site offers some good information about this part of the Jewish
past
http://www.kashrus.org/asian/china.html
http://www.jewsofchina.org/
http://www.haruth.com/JewsChina.html
Kaifeng
Located in the province of Hunan (Henan), just south of the
Yellow River. It was once the capital of Hunan province.
At it's peak (under the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644) it numbered some
5,000 Jews, has dwindled to no more than a few hundred. In the last
Chinese census in which Jews were allowed identify themselves as
Jews (1988) there were some 700 to 1,000 Yotai in Kaifeng.
There is a small Jewish museum in Kaifeng that
commemorates the hundreds of years of Jewish history in this ancient
land. According to historical records, a Jewish community (with
a synagogue built in 1163) lived in Kaifeng from at least the
Southern Song Dynasty until the late nineteenth century. (Wikipedia)
"Jews of Kaifeng"
An interesting article appeared in the
October, 1907 issue of National geographic, vol. 18, no. 10, page
621-632 and includes numerous photos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edhtdoPukk0
"Minyan in Kaifeng"
Produced by Gorps Productions.
The National Center for Jewish Film
www.jewishfilm.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubp8W3vth2o
Interesting presentation of Kaifeng
http://www.jewish-holiday.com/kaifeng.html
Books
"The Jews of Kaifeng, China"
By Professor Xu Xin
"The Jews of Kaifeng"
Authored by Beth Hatefutsoth, The
Nahum Goldman Museum in Israel - 'The sect that plucks out the
sinews'
http://www.sino-judaic.org/
"Mandarines, Jews, and Missionaries"
Authored by Michael Pollak.
From a posting by Betty Provizer Starkman
bettejoy@aol.com
Arguably, Professor Xu Xin not
only knows more about Jews than anyone in his native China, but
he knows more about Jews than many Jews. The 48-year-old director of the
Center for Judaic Studies at Nanjing University has been ensconced at
Harvard University's Center for Jewish Studies since January, wrapping
up work on his book about Kaifeng Jewry. He has already written a book
on anti-Semitism, and penned numerous articles on the subject of Jews
http://jewishsf.com/bk980410/sfaxu.htm
http://www.khazaria.com/xu.html
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Kaifeng_Jews
Kosher and Jewish China
www.kosherdelight.com/China.htm
http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/28439/kosher-chinese/
http://www.chinahelp24.com/kosherfood.htm
Nanjing University
Xu Xin is a professor of Jewish studies
http://www.oakton.edu/user/~friend/xuxin_trips.html
http://www.nju.edu.cn/cps/site/njueweb/fg/index.php?id=187
http://www.oakton.edu/user/~friend/chinajews.html
http://www.sino-judaic.org/index.php?page=jewish_studies_situation
Shanghai
German Jewish Refugees, 1933-1939
www.ushmm.org
www.srvhs.org/.../Reading%20US%20Reaction%20to%20Holocaust.doc
http://www.all-art.org/Visual%20History/452.htm
Shanghai Ghetto Documentary
Twenty
thousand Jews found refuge from the Nazis in Japanese
dominated Shanghai. Five internees and two
historians describe the ingenuity of Jews who, in a land of appalling
poverty, created a fully functioning community. Old footage as
well as new bring this little-known episode to life. I saw this
movie, and although it is a bit too long and repetitious, it is well
worth your time. Produced by Dana Jankowicz-Mann and Amir Mann.
Rebel Child Productions
www.shanghaighetto.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Ghetto
http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/The_Shanghai_Ghetto_
Documentary_DVD_1565.asp
Jews, the Holocaust and Shanghai
www.rickshaw.org
http://holocaust.hklaw.com/essays/2006/20063G.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007091
Shanghai Jewish Burials
Some names are listed on the IAJGS Cemetery database.
http://www.shanghaijewishmemorial.com/asianwallstreet.htm
http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/china-inc-hong-kong-a-macao/shanghai.html
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/history/customs/ancestors/shanghai.html
http://www.rickshaw.org/tombstones.htm
Shanghai Jews
Contact Ralph Harpuder
harpuder@aol.com
http://www.rickshaw.org
http://www.shanghai-jews.com/
Shanghai Jews as seen by Chinese
www.dangoor.com/71page18.html
Shanghai Municipal Police
Jews were a part of this municipality force. Surnames are in this
database which includes other information in many cases.
http://mail.bris.ac.uk/~hirab/smp2.html
Shanghai Synagogue
visit and to other Asian Jewish sites
www.chinajewish.org/Links.html
Safe
Haven: 2 Immigration and settlement
Admission of German Jews to Shanghai
http://www.naa.gov.au/Publications/research_guides/guides/haven/
chapter2.htm
Encyclopedia includes a map of Shanghai in 1933
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai
Synagogues of China
http://www.Jewishpostcardcollection.com
A listing of synagogues can be found at this site. Look for the
list at the lower left of index page
http://mavensearch.com
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0298/china1.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/synchina.html
Telephone Directories on
the Web
http://www.teldir.com
http://www.bt.com/
http://www.freedirectories.com/
The Center for
Research and Study of the Sephardi and Oriental
Jewish Heritage
Located at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905
Israel.
Phone +972 2 883962
http://orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm
http://www.folklore.org.il/misgav.htm
http://www.jewish-studies.com/Research_Institutes/Israel/
Translating Services
-
Languages
Just in case you didn't think of it, contact a nearby university or
college's foreign language department. They may offer to write
letters and translate letters into English. A nominal fee is
usually charged.
http://translate.google.com/#
http://www.i8899.com/translate/
http://www.yeasir.com/
India
Books
"Jewish Portraits, Indian Frames: Women's Narratives from a Diaspora of
Hope"
Authored by Jael Silliman and published in 2001 by
Seagull Books Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta
"Mammalia of India"
Authored by Frank Finn. A New and
Abridged Edition, - thoroughly revised and with an Appendix on Reptilia.
"Temples at Srisailam: A Study of Art, Architecture, Iconography
and
Inscriptions"
Authored by Anuradha, V.
General India
Genealogy
http://multiculturaljew.blogspot.com/
Of a total population of 944,580,000, India's Jewish population
is less than 5,000 and mostly centered in and around Bombay.
There are no Rabbis officiating at any of the remaining synagogues.
The Kerala Synagogue is the oldest house of worship in the
British Commonwealth.
Jews have been a presence in India back to antiquity. The
Jewish population increased during WW II as many Jews sought refuge here
from the Nazis. Not long after, more than half of the Jewish
community immigrated to Israel. There were only 29
synagogues left in the 1960s and now there are 18 left.
The Indian Jewish Community is mainly divided into three sects: Bene
Israels from Konkan and Mumbai (Bombay); Baghdadi from
Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata and Cochinis from
Kerala.
In 1960, there were 20,000 Jews in India, mostly in the larger cities.
Cities
and Towns in India
Map of Jewish Communities in India
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Indian_Jews_
communities_map.png
Agra
Once had a Jewish presence
http://www.koach.org/koc_5767_av_swarren.htm
http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/sit_pages/11325.html
http://www.hotelrajat.com/Maharashtra/alibag.html
Bangalore
The Chabad Houses hold services here.
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com/2008/12/jews-were-here-180-years-ago.html
http://worship.youmagix.com/India/Karnataka/Bangalore/jewish-synagogue.php
http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/india/bangalore.html
Bnei Menashe
These practicing Jews came to the India-Myanmar border by way of China. They claim that their ancestors were from the Ten Lost Tribes and wandered from Israel to this remote area. In recent years, more than 5,000 have embraced Orthodox Jewish practice and attend mud and bamboo synagogues. Few Western Jews have ever visited the community which is located in Imphal, the capital of the northeast Indian state of Manipur. Hadassah Magazine offers information and photos of these Jews in their August/September 2002 issue.
http://www.bnei-menashe.org/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article
7108970.ece
http://adaniel.tripod.com/manipurjews.htm
Bombay
(Mumbai)
It has a Jewish presence.
http://www.philsego.com/travel/mumbai.htm
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/136/The-Bombay-Jews
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/indians.html
http://gilmarks.com/wordpress/?p=17
Geneticist helps
Mumbai Jews reinforce sense of identity
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/archivelist.cms?year=2002&month=11&starttime=37586
"The Bombay Jews"
A documentary with a duration of 29 minutes follows points: India and Judaism; Hebrew and Marathi Language; Important Synagogues; Bene Israels; Customs; Intern Faith Meetings and Challenges ahead for the Community. This documentary also contains traditional music in the background
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/136/The-Bombay-Jews
Cochin (Kochi)
Interior view of Cochin Synagogue
http://www.A History of the Parur Synagogue
Trial by fire,
inquisition and neglect. Authored by Jay Waronker & Shalva Weil
Many people have heard of the Jews of Cochin (today Kochi) in
southwestern India, but far fewer know that there were in fact
other small Jewish communities over the centuries in this same region of
the country, each revolving around a synagogue. Eight such buildings,
all located in the central part of the State of Kerala, survive
in some form today. The most famous of these synagogues is the
Paradesi synagogue in Jew Town, Cochin, with its beautiful
blue tiles imported from China. In 1968, Indira Gandhi attended
its quarter-centenary celebrations and the Indian government
issued a special commemorative stamp on the occasion. Today, there are
only nine Paradesi Jews left in Jew Town, and a Chabad Rabbi
conducts the services, pulling in Israeli backpackers and
American and other Jewish tourists to make up the Minyan.[…]
[read more online]
http://www.asianjewishlife.org/
http://www.asianjewishlife.org/pages/AJL_archive.html
Pardesi Synagogue
Built in 1568 in south India and one of the oldest existing synagogues in the world. It sits at the end of Cochin's Jew town road.
The hand painted tiles were created in Canton, China. The Oil burning chandeliers were crafted in Belgium. There are less than ten families using this synagogue, whereas in the past the congregation once numbered in the thousands. The little community never numbered more than 2,500. It flourished for centuries on the southwestern coast of India until 1948 with the birth of Israel when most of the Jews left for their homeland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochi,_India
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsMGw1h-b_o/TfKvKkEOrrI/AAAAAAAAAAM/0PVBJ_OEwBI/s1600/Jew_Cemetery_-_Old_Cochin_-_Kochi_-_India_AdamJonesFreeservers.JPG
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/synindia.html
http://varnam.org/blog/2009/08/paradesi-synagogue-kochi-india/
http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/888799
Delhi
Once had a Jewish presence. There is a Books & Periodicals Agency operated by Ekta Gupta and it is located at
B-1,
Inder
Puri, New Delhi - 110012 India.
Email
bpage@del2.vsnl.net.in
http://www.nationalfinder.com/jbs/index-3.htm
http://www.srijanfoundation.org/areas-of-interest-to-srijan-foundation/religion/jews-in-delhi-dec-07/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Jews
Global Gazetteer
A great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. A tab separated list is available for each country.
www.calle.com/world/
Goa
Jews from Goa were of Portuguese ancestry and eventually migrated to Amsterdam and London. Most were in the same business of diamonds in Goa, and had Portuguese surnames. When many from the Portuguese community left, the Jewish community of Goa went to Amsterdam and/or London. There are some people in India of mixed Portuguese ancestry also, but the community of Jews were connected more with Amsterdam, though they originally came from Portugal. Chabad House holds services here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/indians.html
http://talesofawanderingjew.blogspot.com/2007/02/ever-present-israelis-in-goa.html
India
1952 Movie clip
http://www.movietone-portraits.com/
India's Jewish population
Today totals about 5,000 in a population of over 944,580,000 who are mostly Hindus or Muslims. There has been very little assimilation. Most of the remaining Jews live in and around the city of Bombay (Mumbai).
There was an article published in late 2002 'Geneticist helps Mumbai Jews reinforce sense of identity' and it may still be in the Times of India archives
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This referenced layman's article discusses Y-Chromosome evidence linking the Bene Israel community in India to Aaron the Priest. The Bene Israel claim descent from the "10 lost tribes," which were supposedly expelled from the Northern Kingdom (Israel) ca. 720 B.C.E. by the Assyrians, more than 130 years before the destruction of the Solomon's Temple in the Southern Kingdom (Judah).
Modern Biblical scholars see evidence in the Bible of a rivalry between the priests in the North (Shiloh) and the South (Jerusalem), and link the priesthood in the north with the descendants of Moses not Aaron. At any rate, according to tradition, Moses and Aaron were brothers, and thus would have shred the same Y-Chromosome. This information was submitted by Jake Goldstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/india.htm
http://www.hinduunity.org/jewsofindia.html
http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/05/india-jews-antisemitism-oped-cx_gw_0813jews.html
Jaipur
Once had a Jewish presence
http://worship.youmagix.com/India/Rajasthan/Jaipur/
http://www.info2india.com/south-india/the-antique-sellers-of-jew-street-location.htm
http://www.india-tours-operator.com/indian_jewish.asp
http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/core/uploaded/pdfs/indiaebrochure2010.pdf
http://www.talesofasia.com/rs-194-kochi.html
Manali
Chabad holds services here
http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/968330/jewish/Finding-a-Jewish-Home-in-Northern-India.htm
Mizos
These are people who believe that they are descended from the Lost Tribes. About 350 of them have moved to Israel.
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000238.html
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/99/0906/mizos.html
http://www.religioscope.info/article_250.shtml
Refuge and Rescue
Two complementary exhibits on the related themes of refuge and rescue are featured at the Holocaust Education Centre,
in Vancouver, BC.
http://bctf.bc.ca/ezine/archive/1999-10/support/RefugeandRescue.html
Telephone Directories on the Web
http://www.teldir.com
http://www.thephonebook.bt.com/publisha.content/en/search/international
/index.publisha
Indonesia
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2011/06/jews-in-indonesia.html
There are about 25 Jews living in Indonesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Indonesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_Jews
http://eamusic.dartmouth.edu/~larry/misc_writings/jew_indonesia/surabaya.html
http://www.joshuaproject.net/people-profile.php?rop3=210097&rog3=ID
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1945496
Japan
http://www.biblemysteries.com/library/tribesjapan.htm
The chief Rabbi of Tokyo was Rabbi Marvin Takayer who retired to Great Neck, New York
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Japan
http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~magi9/isracame.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864048,00.html
http://www.jccjapan.or.jp/
The "Fugu Plan"
A book written by an American rabbi who served in Japan long after WWII, but he did some research about the Jews were given transit visas by a Japanese embassy official in Poland just before the German invasion. He accumulated experiences of many survivors from the ghetto in shanghai, and wrote all of these stories as if they were experienced by five persons. If you are interested in the Japanese attitude towards Jews at that time, it is worth reading. Available from amazon.com
http://www.judaism.com/display.asp?etn=FICCH
Picture of a mezuzah
hanging at the front door of a Japanese restaurant
Korea,
(South)
A Jewish man affixing a mezuzah to his door in South Korea
http://www.crownheights.info/index.php?catid=51&startpos=69
South Korea is surrounded by China to the west, Japan to the east and borders North Korea to the north. The country has a population of almost 50 million, but very few Jews live in the country, although a few Jewish businessmen come and go from time to time.
There are an estimate 100 Jews living in South Korea
It is a developed country with a full democracy and is a leader in technology including electronics, automobiles, ships, petrochemicals and robotics.
Koreans call their country Daehan-minguk (Republic of Korea) and Hanguk for short (Korea). Until the 19th century,
Korea was known as the Hermit Kingdom because it was so isolated from the rest of the world in terms of trade. It gained its independence from Japan in 1945.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_South_Korea
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/south_korea.html
http://www.haruth.com/Asian_J.htm
Manchuria Memories
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0298/manchuria.html
Malaysia
Penang Jewish
Cemetery is billed as the oldest
single Jewish
cemetery in Malaysia.
Spread across more than 38,000 sq ft, this
cleaver-shaped plot of land was established in 1805. Set on Jalan Zainal
Abidin (formerly known as Yahudi Road) it used to be a green ‘lung’
but much of it has now been cemented over.
The Penang Jewish
Cemetery houses over 107 graves, most of which resemble traditional
ossuaries (triangular vaulted-lid caskets) such as those found in
Israel. The oldest Jewish tombstone, dating back to 1835,
belongs to that of Mrs. Shoshan Levi, the benefactor who donated the
land on which the cemetery was set up
http://www.penang.ws/penang-attractions/jewish-cemetery.htm
Philippines
Temple Emil
http://www.thenutbox.i.ph
Books
"Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror"
Authored by Frank Ephraim and published by the University of Illinois Press
The Jewish community of the Philippines, though quite small as compared to Shanghai, was not confined to a ghetto. Two hundred Jewish refugees reached Manila (population of one million) by the end of 1938. By mid-1940, there were 1700 Jews in all of the Philippines, 1200 of them refugees. The Japanese occupation extended from January 1942 to March 1945 and interred the Jewish congregants.
http://www.jewishtimesasia.org/manila/269-manila-communities/576-philippines-jewish-community
http://bjruth.com/History_of_the_Jews.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_Philippines
http://www.jewishphilippines.net/
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/philippines.html
http://www.haruth.com/JewsPhilippines.html
Freider Brothers Rescued Jews and
helped them in the Philippines
http://staugustine.com/stories/020705/nat_2873905.shtml
http://rescueinthephilippines.com/?p=130
http://rescueinthephilippines.com/?page_id=292
Temple Emil
Founded in 1919 and the adjacent Bachrach Center was built in 1942. The Rabbi was Joseph Schwarz and the cantor was Joseph Cysner. During the Battle of Manila, the temple was destroyed. It was the only synagogue on United States territory that was destroyed in WW II.
http://digital.cjh.org/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=210309&local_base=GEN01
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_Emil.jpeg
Singapore
Chessed El Synagogue, Singapore, 1980
http://www.bh.org.il/database-article.aspx?48718
There are an estimated 300 Jews living in Singapore according to The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Annual Assessment 2004-2005
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/singapore.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Singapore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Malaysia
http://www.bh.org.il/database-article.aspx?48718
http://www.singaporejews.com/
http://www.singaporejews.com/our-community.html
http://www.mavensearch.com/synagogues/C3431
Taiwan
Jewish Taipei
http://www.haruth.com/jw/JewsTaiwan.html
There are an estimate 150 Jews living in Taiwan.
http://www.jewishtimesasia.org/taipei/272-taipei-communities/775-taiwan-jewish-community
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_in_Taiwan
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/33527/overshadowed-by-china-a-few-jews-hold-on-in-taiwan/
http://blogs.forward.com/bintel-blog/13446/
http://www.taiwanderful.net/forum/kosher-food-and-jewish-community-taiwan
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