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  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

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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

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Chinese Jews 

                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

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'The Jews of China' 

A very informative article, actually a talk given by Dr. Les Malkin, can be now read here.  Click here

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, an 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.

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

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  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 

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"Chinese Jews"
Authored by William Charles White

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"The Covenant And The Mandate Of Heaven"
Authored by Tiberiu Weisz

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"Diaspora" - authored by Werner Keller

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"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)

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"Far East Mission"
Authored by Louis Rabinowitz

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"How Do You Celebrate Christmas"
Authored by Joshua Cohen A Jew in China: The travails of life in a land where Westerner equals Christian (12/09/97)
http://www.salon.com/wlust/mw/1997/12/12mondo.html

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"The Jews of China"
Authored by Jonathan Goldstein

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"Jews of Old China"
Authored by Hyman Kublin

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"The Kaifeng Stone Inscription"
Authored by Tiberiu Weisz
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL7558627M

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"Mandarins, Jews and Missionaries"
Authored by Michael Pollak

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"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. 

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"Studies of the Chinese Jews"
Authored by Hyman Kublin

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"Wanderers and Settlers in the Far East"
Authored by Herman Dicker

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General Chinese
Information

A Chinese Jewish family
http://www.tabletmag.com/arts-and-culture/books/881/in-bloom/

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Am Yisrael China

Relics of the Jewish presence in China can still be seen
www.amyisrael.co.il/asia/china/

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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

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Beijing Jewish Community

   Hutong District Hidden Lane

www.sinogogue.org/

Kehillat Beijing
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

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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

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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

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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

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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   

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Hong Kong Jewish Community

   

The Jewish Community Centre 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/

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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

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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

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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

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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/

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

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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

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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   
           

"Peony"
A novel authored by Pearl S. Buck describes the Kaifeng Jewish community.

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"The Jews of Kaifeng, China"
By Professor Xu Xin

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"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/ 

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"Mandarines, Jews, and Missionaries"
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

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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

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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

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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 
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 

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Synagogues of China

      

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

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Telephone Directories on the Web

http://www.teldir.com 

http://www.bt.com/

http://www.freedirectories.com/

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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/

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Translating Services - Click Here

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/

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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

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"Mammalia of India"
Authored by Frank Finn. A New and Abridged Edition, - thoroughly revised and with an Appendix on Reptilia.

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"Temples at Srisailam: A Study of Art, Architecture, Iconography and Inscriptions"
Authored by Anuradha, V.

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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.

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Cities
and Towns in India

Map of Jewish Communities in India
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Indian_Jews_communities_map.png 

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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

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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

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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/article7108970.ece

http://adaniel.tripod.com/manipurjews.htm

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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

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Cochin (Kochi)                     

  Interior view of Cochin Synagogue

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

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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

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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/ 

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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

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India

1952 Movie clip
http://www.movietone-portraits.com/

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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

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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

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Manali

Chabad holds services here
http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/968330/jewish/Finding-a-Jewish-Home-in-Northern-India.htm

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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

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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

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Telephone Directories on the Web

http://www.teldir.com 

http://www.thephonebook.bt.com/publisha.content/en/search/international/index.publisha   

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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
 

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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