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"Making researching your Jewish roots --- e a s i e r "

 

 

 

 

   

JEWISH ORIENT

   

China

India

  

           Philippines                                                                Singapore          Tahiti              



Try this site for even more depth of search
http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en


Click here > Chinese Jews 

There are many Jews (or were) in Syria, Baghdad and India whose roots trace back to Spain and the expulsion of Jews.  Many Iraqi Jews settled in Bombay and other Indian cities, as did a number of Persian Jews.

Asia and Oceania
http://www.jewishgen.org/Shtetlinks/Asia.html
 


"Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries"  - authored by Itamar Levin and published by Ministry of Defense Press and Praeger Publishers in 2001.  In English.  A review of this book can be found in the B'nai B'rith Magazine, Spring 2002 issue on page 9.  The book can be purchased by using my amazon.com link to the left of this page.


The Jewish people of Syria, Baghdad and India (mainly of Iraqi origin) are not Sephardic Jewish people, but Mizrachim (Eastern) Jewish people.  From a posting by Udi Cain chaikin@netvision.net.il on JewishGen Discussion Group on March 02, 2002.



Maps

Art Source International offers a selection of antique maps, prints and globes at Art Source International



Burma

There are about 25 Jews living in Burma



China 

                      

There are many photos available at 'The Rickshaw Express Web site - 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



Chinese Jews

A very informative article, actually a talk given by Dr. Les Malkin about 'The Jews of China', 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.  Some Jews had been living in Shanghai since 1840.  They were considered to be a valuable asset and gave others assistance with money and job opportunities. 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 a ghetto in Shanghai.  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. 

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.  Information obtained from a posting to JewishGen 12-12-2002 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 me Betty Provizer Starkman bettejoy@aol.com 

Chinese Jewish Family Tree - If you want to look up this ancient Hebrew genealogy
http://www.geocities.com/zhouclan/chia_pu.html

http://www.geocities.com/zhouclan/chia_pu.html?200512
Lester D. K. Chow offers his family genealogy online, because he is happy to freely share it with others. Lester D. K. Chow Lester D. K. Chow lchow@lava.net

Jews Buried in Harbin Cemetery - LIBERMAN, Zonoviy {Sholom} 1924; LIBERMAN, Tsipa {Zimel} 1913; LIBERMAN, Etl/Etsida {David} 1944; LIBERMAN, Chaim {Yacov} 1930. These are other family names in Harbin, related to early pioneers you can check on the JOWBR website: BASIN; DRISIN; FISHZON; FRIDE; GURFINKEL; HALPERIN; KAGAN; KAUFMAN; KUPITSKI; LERMAN; LINSKY; MADORSKY; MAZIN; MINDLIN; OSINOVSKI; PODOROISKY; SCHWARZ; SOLOVECHICK

More information on Chinese Jews can be found within the database of MavenSearch
www.mavensearch.com

The Ohel Moshe Synagogue still stands and now houses a small museum dedicated to the Shanghai Jewish community. It is a small two story building with a large Chinese sign overhead reading "Ohel Moishe Synagogue --- what else but in Chinese!

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



  Books

Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by
clicking hereJewish Genealogy

"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


"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


"The Jews of China" authored by Jonathan Goldstein


"Jews of Old China" - authored by Hyman Kublin


"Mandarins, Jews and Missionaries" - authored by Michael Pollak


"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
Information

Anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 Jews live in China, not including another 5,000 in Hong Kong, a former British colony that reverted to Chinese control in 1997.  Virtually all of them are foreigners: American, Israeli, British and French citizens working as factory managers, financial advisers, English teachers and tour guides.

Am Yisrael China - relics of the Jewish presence in China can still be seen
www.amyisrael.co.il/asia/china/


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

Association of Former Residents of China in Israel
P.O. Box 29786
Tel Aviv, Israel 61297 Tel: +972 (03) 5171997
Fax: +972 (3) 5161631
E-mail: info@jewsofchina.org

http://www.jewsofchina.org/communities/index.asp


There is a vast amount of data there [and photographs too] and
potential links.


Beijing Jewish Community
www.sinogogue.org/

Kehilat Beijing
http://www.sinogogue.org/

"Dinner with the Rabbi in Beijing
http://www.jewishsitesvisited.com/articles.htm


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.


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
 


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 


Council on the Jewish Experience in Shanghai (CJES)
3500 Race Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4925
Phone/Fax: +1.215.386.1270


Guangzhou - a city of 10 million (and China's fourth largest) that has a makeshift synagogue located atop a Kodak photo processing lab on Huan Shi Road for the 200 local Jews living in this city.  It is operated by Chabad of Guangzhou.  The Rabbi is Eliyahu Rozenberg. The first Lubavitch rabbi in China was Meir Ashkenazi, spiritual leader of Shanghai's Congregation Ohel Moshes from 1926 to 1949.Plans are to open a full-service kosher restaurant. 


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 cemetery of Harbin [ID 00348] is indexed on JOWBR** [enter this site via Google or JewishGen databases]. This is a searchable database - i.e. you have to enter names - so you cannot see the whole list of 515 burials. From a posting by Celia Male

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.

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

Teddy Kaufman is the leader of the Tel-Aviv based Association of Former Residents of China.

"Secrets and Spies: The Harbin File" - authored by Mara Moustafine is a book about her family's experiences in Harbin before emigrating to Australia.

China's northeastern city is restoring two synagogues
http://www.hsilai.org/english/merittimes/detail.asp?index=16374&page=B


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/
 


Igud Yotzei Sin (Association of Former Residents of China) Editor of their Bulletin is Boris Mirkin, 13 Gruznberg St., Tel Aviv, Israel


Israelites - a very well done and informative site dealing with 'The History of the Ancient Near East'  is at  
http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Israelites.html
 


Jewish Diaspora in China - from a Chinese perspective by Professor Xu Xin
http://home.earthlink.net/~davidturetsky/xuxinspeaks.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.

"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
."

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


The Jews of China - this site offers some good information about this part of the Jewish past 
http://www.kashrus.org/asian/china.html


Kaifeng - located in the province of Hunan, 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 Youtai in Kaifeng. There is a small Jewish museum in Kaifeng that commemorates the hundreds of years of Jewish history in this ancient land.

"The Jews of Kaifeng, China", by Professor Xu Xin "Mandarines, Jews, and Missionaries", by Michael Pollak. Submitted to JewishGen 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 

The Jews of Kaifeng -  by Beth Ha'tefutsorth, The Nahum Goldman Museum in Israel -  'The sect that plucks out the sinews'  
http://www.sino-judaic.org/
 

"Kaifeng, Jerusalem - a documentary by Noam Urbach
http://www.kaifengjerusalem.com

Kaifeng Jews  - an article about the Jewish Community in China can be found on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_jews

"Minyan in Kaifeng" - produced by Gorps Productions.  The National Center for Jewish Film
www.jewishfilm.org

Peony - a novel authored by Pearl S. Buck describes the Kaifeng Jewish community.


Kosher and Jewish China
www.kosherdelight.com/China.htm


Nanjing University - Xu Xin is a professor of Jewish studies


Pudong - there is a Jewish presence here


Radio - listen to the Ancient Near East classical Radio Stations at
http://www.radio-list.com/Directory/Arts/ClassicalStudies/

Ancient ISRAEL IRAQ EGYPT TURKEY SYRIA LEBANON JORDAN ARABIA CYPRUS BAHRAIN and Western IRAN.  This is, in addition to offering radio connections, an
interesting resource for genealogists.


Am Yisrael China - relics of the Jewish presence in China can still be seen.
http://www.amyisrael.co.il/asia/china/

An interesting internet site on Jews, the Holocaust and Shanghai
www.rickshaw.org

Canadian Jewish News
http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/01/feb22-01/front3.asp

  Typical Gaoyan Road home in the Hongkew District (Hongkou)

Chaoufoong Road - called Gaoyan Road in 1947 and was home to many of the 18,000 European Jewish refugees who had sought refuge from Nazi Germany in Shanghai's Hongkew District (today known as Hongkou). The Jewish social service organizations established five large group homes (heime) for the newly arrived Jews.

Changzhi Road - once the center of a thriving Jewish community and known then as "Little Vienna".

German Jewish Refugees, 1933-1939
www.ushmm.org/wlc/article. php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005468 

Jews of China: Historical information
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3680/is_200004/ai_n8879967

Jews of Shanghai and their History Site by Harry Leichter
http://www.haruth.com/AsiaJewsShanghai.htm

Safe Haven: 2 Immigration and settlement - admission of German Jews to Shanghai
http://www.naa.gov.au/Publications/research_guides/guides/haven/chapter2.htm

Shanghai - Wikipedia encyclopedia
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai 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
 

Shanghai Jews - contact Ralph Harpuder harpuder@aol.com 
Web site:
www.rickshaw.org

Shanghai Jews as seen by Chinese
www.dangoor.com/71page18.html

Shanghai Jewish Burials - some names are listed on the IAJGS Cemetery database.

Shanghai Jewish Center - in operation since 2003, is actually a large villa located within a gated community off Hong Qiao Road.  It has a synagogue, mikve, preschool and six classrooms  The Center director is Rabbi Shalom Greenberg who noted that at least 50,000 Jews visit Shanghai every year.
http://www.chinajewish.org/JewishHistory.htm

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 Sephardic Community (Gathering)
http://www.dangoor.com/71page15.html

Shanghai Star - between 1938 and 1945, more than 20,000 Jewish refugees came to Shanghai from Europe.
http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/history/00-04-11/l01-fen.html

Shanghai Synagogue visit and to other Asian Jewish sites
www.chinajewish.org/JewishHistory.htm

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia includes a map of Shanghai in 1933
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai 


Shenzhen - there is a Jewish presence here


Synagogues of China - a listing of synagogues can be found at this site. Look for the list at the lower left of index page
http://mavensearch.com


Telephone Directories on the Web
http://www.teldir.com
 


The Center for Research and Study of the Sephardi and Oriental Jewish Heritage at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.  Phone +972 2 883962   
http://orthohelp.com/geneal/sefardim.htm


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.



India

  Books

Most books, CDs, etc. can be ordered through my link to Amazon.com by clicking here > Jewish Genealogy 

General
India Genealogy
Information

Jews have been a presence in India back to antiquity.  There once more than 30,000 Jews living in India, but only 5,000 remain, 4,000 of which live around Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). 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.  Today, it is estimated that there are approximately 5,000 Jews left, mostly in Bombay. There were only 29 synagogues left in the 1960s and now there are 18 left.

Of a total population of 944,580,000, India's Jewish population is less than 5,000 and mostly centered in and around Bombay. In 2007, according to an article by Dana Greene in the San Diego Jewish Journal, there are 52 Jews living in Kerala; 70 Jews in Calcutta, 25 Jews in New Delhi and 4,500 in 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.  India's Jewish community is comprised of varied origin: the Bene Israel, the Jews of Cochin and the Iraqi Jews.  The Bene Israel claim to be descended from Jews who left the Galilee in the 2nd century BCE.  The "Black" Cochin Jews are seen as descendents of Jews fleeing the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, or as one of the Ten Lost Tribes, or as having lived in India since King Solomon's time.  The "White" (or Paradesi) Cochin Jews arrived in the Middle Ages, mostly from Spain and the Netherlands.  The Iraqi Jews arrived in the 18th century.

In the Paradesi area of Fort Cochin, there is a Paradesi Synagogue.


Agra - had a Jewish presence


Bnei Menashe (Luz Israels, Lushai as the British called them) - these practicing Jews came to the India-Myanmar border by way of China.  They claim that their ancestors were from the Ten Los 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.  Another article, authored by Rahel Musleah, appeared in the November 2006 issue and determines that there are about 7,000 Bnei Menashe from the Kuki and Mizo tribes

The Bnei Menashe were mostly raised Christian, but now follow Halacha (Jewish law) claiming their ancestry goes back to Manasseh, one of the lost tribes exiled from Israel by the Assyrians in 723 B.C.E.


Bombay (Mumbai) - has a Jewish presence. ORT opened a Vocational Training and Computer Center in 1961.  The city's name was changed to Mumbai.  There are two Mumbai high schools started by Jewish donors which previously had Hebrew and Torah classes for the Jewish students.  Today, only a handful of Jewish students are left.  There are several synagogues (Keneseth Eliyahu Synagogue was built in 1883 and operates in the Orthodox tradition), but they have trouble getting a minyan and unless one works for a Jewish organization, it's difficult to take off work for Shabbat and holidays.

Mumbai's remaining Jews are descendants of two communities, the Baghdadis and the Bene Israel.  The Baghdadi Jews, who at their peak numbered 5,000, came from Iraq about 250 years ago.  Many later left for England, Israel or other countries leaving less than 200 remaining in Mumbai today. Another report in The American Jewish World dated October 20, 2006 states that there is an active Jewish community of 4,000 people in a city of 14 million.

Most of Mumbai's community is made up of Bene Israel, Jews who trace their origins to a shipwreck off the Maharashtra coast around 175 B.C.E.  According to legend, the shipwreck left seven Jewish couples from the Galilee living on the Indian coast.  Their progeny today speak Marathi and maintain customs peppered with Indian traditions.  The largest Bene Israel synagogue in Mumbai is Magen Hassidim which has about 60 worshippers on Shabbat.  The other synagogues get fewer than 30 worshippers.  This information was gleaned from an Article in the American Jewish World of May 5, 2006 and was written by Shira Schoenberg for JTA.


Calcutta - in 2006, there are about 35 to 70 elderly Jews with 2 remaining synagogues - one being the Beth El synagogue located on Pollock Street.  The other is on Canning Street and is called the Maghen David synagogue. The teba (bima) is of interest to visitors. An interesting article authored by Rahel Musleah appeared in the 12/2007 issue of Hadassah Magazine.  Rahel stated that in the mid-20th century, 5,000 Jews once lived there.

There is a Jewish cemetery with over 3,000 tombstones.

Contact for the Jewish community is 80 year old David Nahoum who can be found at the Nahoum's Bakery.


Cemetery Photos in India - Isaac Solomon from Eilat, Israel spent several months in India photographing tombstones.  Over 560 photos, sorted into 28 cemeteries are available.
http://urlx.org/yahoo.com/c809a  or

http://in.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ijs_shapurkar/my_photos


Churachandpur - there are about 2,000 Bnei Menashe living here. There is the Shavei Israel Hebrew Center here, which houses a synagogue, mikve and yeshiva.


                     
                               Interior view of Cochin Synagogue

Cochin 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 in the Mantecherry area.. The synagogue is on Synagogue Lane in Jew Town.  In 1565, the Raja of Cochin gave a strip of land next to his palace and permitted the Jews to build a synagogue in 1568 just a few yards away from his temple.  Paradesi means "foreigners".  Should you find yourself in the town, be sure to visit the synagogue between Sunday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon or 3 to 5 p.m.  The synagogue is closed on Friday morning because it must be cleaned for Shabbat.  Services are held every Friday night and Saturday morning. Contact Dr. Joseph Asher via email yosefyosef@hotmail.com  if you have questions.

The Jews of Cochin have lived on the Malabar coast for centuries, some say from the time of King Solomon.  Others claim the Jews arrived in the first century B.C.E. after the destruction of the Second Temple.  Others say that Jews came along with the Spice trade and after the Spanish Inquisition.

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.


Cranganore - located north of Cochin on the Malabar coast.  It once served as a resting point for those going to the Jewish community in China.  When the Portuguese arrived, they set up an office of the Inquisition and caused the Jews to leave.


Delhi -  had a Jewish presence and today there are approximately 25


Global Gazetteer is 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/
 

World-Wide Gazetteer
www.fallingrain.com/world/index.html


Imphal - an urban center which house three synagogues and has about a 140 member community which practices Judaism, but are not yet officially converted.


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.

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 to JewishGen Discussion Group on 12-02-02


Jaipur - had a Jewish presence


Kangpokpi - a town with about 300 Bnei Menashe.  It is located two hours north of Imphal


Kerala - there are about 52 Jews living there in 2007


Mizos - these are people who believe that they are descended from the Lost Tribes.  About 350 of them have moved to Israel.


Phailen - a small village that has a mud and bamboo shack that is the Ohel Shavei Synagogue.


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
 


Zohar - a small village that has a Jewish presence



Indonesia

There are about 25 Jews living in Indonesia



Japan

The chief Rabbi of Tokyo was Rabbi Marvin Tokayer who retired to Great Neck, New York



Philippines

Books

There are a number of books available on this country and their Jews by clicking here > Jewish Genealogy

"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.

Temple Emil was 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.



Singapore

There are an estimated 300 Jews living in Singapore according to The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute Annual Assessment 2004-2005.  The Jewish community dates from 1840.

http://www.amyisrael.co.il/asia/singapor/index.htm

1822 Singapore Town Map

Our Visit to the Jewish Community of Singapore
http://www.jewishsitesvisited.com/articles.htm



South Korea 

There are an estimate  100 Jews living in South Korea



Tahiti

Jews, most likely, arrived in Tahiti in 1769 with Capt. James Cook. Papeete is the island's largest city and there is an Orthodox synagogue - Ahava V'Ahava - in this bustling port city.  It is 400 square miles island in the South Pacific with no rabbi, or cantor and thousands of miles from its nearest Jewish neighbors.  There are some 200 Jews living here with more than half married outside of their religion.  The synagogue was built in 1993.



Taiwan 

There are an estimate 150 Jews living in Taiwan.



Thailand
 

Jewish Community of Thailand - site is in Hebrew
http://genealogy.galim.org.il/upload/sites/kehilot.html



Please let me know if there is a favorite link of yours that is not included in my site and I will be happy to add it to Jewish Web Index                 

Email JWebindex@gmail.com

  

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