Jews in Hong Kong
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Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
were among the first settlers after
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
became a
British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
in 1841. The first Jews arrived in Hong Kong from various parts of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
as merchants and colonial officials. Among the first wave, the
Baghdadi Jews The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
stood out especially, including representatives of the influential families of Sassoon and
Kadoorie Kaddouri ( ar, خضوري, derived from "green", ''akhdar'' in Arabic; he, כדורי (transliterated; does not mean ''green'', which would be ירוק, yarok)) and many other transliterations, is an Arabic surname. People with the surname inclu ...
. The construction of the
Ohel Leah Synagogue The Ohel Leah Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת אהל לאה ''Beit Ha-Knesset Ohel Leah'') and its next-door neighbors, the Jewish Recreation Club and the Jewish Community Center, have formed the center of Jewish social and religious l ...
in 1901 marked the beginning of a fully fledged religious life for the city's local Jews. Hong Kong's Jewish community is able to freely practice most of their cultural and religious traditions, including holding
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
meals and celebrating the main
Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
. The city currently has four active synagogues, three schools and a Jewish cemetery. Jews never constituted a large community in Hong Kong, only numbering a few hundred prior to World War II. Nevertheless, many influential Jews have left their mark on the city. Among them are:
Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queen ...
, the first and only Jewish governor of Hong Kong, who established the
Guangzhou–Kowloon through train The Guangzhou–Kowloon through train () is an inter-city railway service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou jointly operated by the MTR Corporation of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Railway Group of mainland China. Services operate along the East Ra ...
; the members of the Kadoorie family, who founded the
China Light and Power Company CLP Group () and its holding company, CLP Holdings Ltd (), also known as China Light and Power Company, Limited (now CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., ), is an electricity company in Hong Kong. Incorporated in 1901 as China Light & Power Company Syndi ...
and
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) is the holding company of a hotel group. It is engaged in the ownership, development and management of The Peninsula Hotels; commercial and residential properties in Asia, the United States and Eur ...
; and the members of the Sassoon family, the benefactors of the Jewish cemetery and the Ohel Leah synagogue. As it is based in a major commercial centre, much of Hong Kong's Jewish community consists of non-permanent residents—largely expatriates from countries with much larger Jewish communities such as
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the United States, France, and other nations. , Hong Kong has around 5,000 Jewish residents belonging to different
denominations of Judaism Jewish religious movements, sometimes called " denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (includin ...
.


History


19th century

Jews were one of the first settlers in Hong Kong after it became a British colony in 1841. From 1842,
Baghdadi Jews The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
from India, the Middle East, southern China, and a smaller population of Sephardim and Ashkenazim from Britain, Europe, India and other places, began immigrating to Hong Kong. The first settler was the Baghdadi merchant
Elias David Sassoon Elias David Sassoon (27 March 1820 – 21 March 1880), an Indian merchant and banker born in Baghdad, was the second son of David Sassoon, an Iraqi-Indian philanthropist Jewish businessman involved in trade in India and the Far East, with branch ...
(1820–1880), son of the powerful Mumbai businessman
David Sassoon David Sassoon may refer to: *David Sassoon (designer) (born 1932), British fashion designer *David Sassoon (treasurer) (1792–1864), Iraqi-Jewish treasurer *David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), Iraqi bibliophile See also *Sassoon family *Albert A ...
(1792–1864) who opened an office in Canton (
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
) in 1844. This indicated the interest of the trading house David Sassoon, Sons & Co. in the Chinese market. David Sassoon, Sons & Co. opened a branch in Hong Kong in 1857, after moving their operations from Canton to Hong Kong, and E. D. Sassoon & Co. opened its own branch in 1867. The opening of two Sassoon-owned businesses in Hong Kong resulted in increased migration of Baghdadis to Hong Kong. A permanent Jewish community formed in Hong Kong in the 1850s. The social life of the community revolved around the homes of the wealthy Baghdadi families of Sassoon and
Kadoorie Kaddouri ( ar, خضوري, derived from "green", ''akhdar'' in Arabic; he, כדורי (transliterated; does not mean ''green'', which would be ירוק, yarok)) and many other transliterations, is an Arabic surname. People with the surname inclu ...
, another family of Baghdad Jews, whose interests extended far beyond the colony. These families hired mainly Jewish employees in their trading firms, which encouraged the influx of new Baghdadi and Mumbai Jews to Hong Kong. In 1855, a
Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...
was established in the Happy Valley area, after one of David Sassoon's sons, Reuben Sassoon asked for a 999-year lease from the Hong Kong government. The first synagogue was opened by the Sassoons in 1870 in one of the
tenement house A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
s on
Hollywood Road Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bailey Street in the vici ...
, but in 1882 it was replaced by a new synagogue. In 1884, David Sassoon's grandson, Meyer Elias Sassoon, together with the latter's brother, Edward Elias Sassoon and their uncle, Frederick David Sassoon, assumed the role of trustees. The synagogue was named ''Ohel Leah'' in honour of Leah Elias Sassoon, Edward and Meyer's mother. In the 1880s, a wave of
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
who fled the
pogroms in Russia Pogroms in the Russian Empire (russian: Еврейские погромы в Российской империи) were large-scale, targeted, and repeated anti-Jewish rioting that began in the 19th century. Pogroms began to occur after Imperial Ru ...
and anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe settled in Hong Kong. The already established Baghdadi traders helped Ashkenazim start small businesses in Hong Kong after learning about their struggles from Jewish publications. Wealthy Sephardim distanced themselves from the predominantly poor Ashkenazi. The two communities did not pray together and buried the dead in different parts of the cemetery. Ashkenazim were forced to settle in poor neighbourhoods and boarding houses, work in bars and clubs with a dubious reputation, and some women worked in prostitution. As the records of the Jewish community were destroyed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, information on the historical numbers of Hong Kong Jews is incomplete. According to an unidentified Jewish encyclopaedia, there were 24 Sephardim and 17 Ashkenazim in the city in 1872. In 1876, there were 36 Sephardim and ten Ashkenazim. The numbers had risen to 49 Sephardim and 22 Ashkenazim by 1881. In 1882, there were about 60 Sephardic Jewish residents in Hong Kong. By 1897, the Jewish community consisted of 52 men, 25 women, 26 girls and 14 boys. In the second half of the 19th century, Elias David Sassoon was the most influential figure in the Hong Kong Jewish community. He led the operations of the David Sassoon & Co. trading house in China and Japan, controlled the shipments of Indian opium, as well as the company's cargo transportation between Mumbai,
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, Hong Kong, Canton,
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
and
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
. With Sassoon's donations, a synagogue and the Sailors' House, one of the first charitable institutions, were built in Hong Kong. In 1865, the Sassoons supported the formation of
the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...
, and in the early 1870s David Sassoon & Co. took first place in the supply of opium from Hong Kong to China, overtaking its main competitor, Jardine Matheson & Co. In October 1879, the company suffered a disaster—its coal warehouses in the port of Hong Kong burned down and in March 1880, Elias Sassoon died in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. Another prominent member of the Sassoon family in Hong Kong was
Frederick David Sassoon Frederick David Sassoon (1 May 1853 – 4 May 1917) was an India-born Anglo-Jewish merchant and banker in Hong Kong and China. Early life Sassoon was born in Bombay, British India on 1 May 1853, Frederick David Sassoon was the eighth son of ...
(1853–1917). Initially, he helped his older brother Elias Sassoon and after his death, he headed the family business in Hong Kong and oversaw affairs throughout the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...
. In addition, in 1878–1879 and 1885–1886, he was chairman of the board of directors of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. From 1884 to 1887 he was a member of the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...
as a representative of the
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
. After moving to the UK, he was chairman of David Sassoon & Co. in London and director of the
Imperial Bank of Persia The Imperial Bank of Persia ( fa, بانک شاهنشاهی ایران‎, Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British bank that operated as the state bank and bank of issue in Iran (formerly known as Persia until 1935) between 1889 and 1929. It ...
. In addition to Frederick, his elder brother Arthur (Abraham) David Sassoon (1840–1912) was also on the board of directors of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Among the wealthy members of the Jewish community in Hong Kong, there was also the
Dutch Jew The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the Netherlands in World War II, occupation of the Netherlands by Naz ...
Charles Henri Bosman (1839–1892). He was the head of the Bosman and Co. trading house, co-owner of the
Hongkong Hotel The Hongkong Hotel was Hong Kong's first luxury hotel modelled after sumptuous London hotels. It opened on Queen's Road and Pedder Street in 1868, later expanding into the Victoria Harbour waterfront of Victoria City in 1893. History The ori ...
, and a director of the
Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock was a Hong Kong dockyard, once among the largest in Asia. History Founded in 1866 by Douglas Lapraik and Thomas Sutherland, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company (known as Hong Kong Kowloon and Whampoa Dock Company ...
, which was founded in 1863 by Scottish businessman Thomas Sutherland. By 1869, Charles Bosman was the Dutch consul in Hong Kong and ran his own marine insurance company, one of whose important clients was the Jardine Matheson & Co. Later, Charles Bosman moved to Great Britain and received British citizenship in either 1888 or 1889. He died in London in 1892. By the end of the 19th century, one of the richest people in Hong Kong was the son of Charles Bosman, Robert Hotung Bosman, who was able to compete with the owners of the leading British trading houses in the colony due to his wealth and influence. Along with the Sassoons and the Bosmans,
Emanuel Raphael Belilios Emanuel Raphael Belilios, (14 November 1837 – 11 November 1905) was a banker, opium dealer, philanthropist, and businessman, born in Calcutta, British India and active in Hong Kong. His father, Raphael Emanuel Belilios, was a member of a Jewis ...
(1837–1905) also stood out among the Jews of Hong Kong. Arriving in Hong Kong in 1862, he became an exchange broker in the colony. He quickly became wealthy after opening his firm E.R. Belilios which traded opium between India and China. He had become a significant landowner by the 1880s. He headed the Hongkong Hotel Company and was also the chairman of the board of directors of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. His increasing prestige among the Jewish community and his goal to be the new head of the Jewish community by replacing Sassoons, who at the time were considered the leaders of Hong Kong's Sephardic community, led to a dispute with the Sassoons. The dispute started with Belilios wanting to build a new synagogue in the city. He, then bought a piece of land on Kennedy Road. The other members of the Sephardic community tried to buy back the land but Belilios refused to give it up. In 1897, David Aaron Gubbay (Sassoons' family friend), Abraham Jacob Raymond (manager of E.D. Sassoon & Co.) and Abraham Jacob David (partner in E.D. Sassoon & Co.) took Belilios to court, arguing that Belilios had bought the land on behalf of the Jewish community and thus was obligated to return it. On 12 February 1898, Belilios won the case and the court asserted that Belilios had not bought the land on behalf of the Jewish community. However, the Jews of Hong Kong were still against Belilios' plan and it became clear that the community was loyal to the Sassoons. Soon after this, Belilios started to spend more time in London, possibly because of the failure of his plan.


First half of the 20th century

By the beginning of the 20th century, 165 Jews officially lived in Hong Kong. The heyday of the Jewish community of Hong Kong came under the rule of Governor
Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queen ...
(1904–1907)—the only Jewish governor of the colony. Under his governance, the Jewish cemetery was expanded and the construction of the railway between Kowloon and Canton began. The main street of Kowloon was named
Nathan Road Nathan Road is the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong, aligned south–north from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sham Shui Po. It is lined with shops and restaurants and throngs with visitors, and was known in the post–World War II years as the Golden ...
in his honour. From the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, there was an outflow of Jewish businessmen to the rapidly developing Shanghai and the number of the Jewish community dropped below 100 people. As before, the Sephardim predominated, but due to the influx of refugees from Eastern Europe, the balance began to change in favour of the Ashkenazim. In the first half of the 20th century, the brothers Jacob Elias Sassoon and Edward Elias Sassoon (1853–1924), along with their relative
Edward Shellim Edward Shellim (c. 1869 – 7 December 1928) was an English Jewish businessman in Hong Kong. Biography Born in Sussex, England to Ezekiel Shellim and Rebecca Sassoon, daughter of David Sassoon (treasurer), David Sassoon, he joined his grandfath ...
(1869–1928), were the most influential figures in the Jewish community of Hong Kong. Shellim, who was a nephew of Elias David Sassoon, started to work as a manager in the Hong Kong branch of David Sassoon & Co., and later became a chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1912 to 1913, as well as the director of the
Hong Kong Tramways Hong Kong Tramways (HKT) is a narrow-gauge tram system in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by RATP Dev Transdev Asia, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, with a branch circulating through Happy Valley. ...
,
Hongkong Land Hongkong Land (HKL) is a property investment, management and development group with commercial and residential property interests across Asia. It owns and manages some 850,000 sq. m. of office and retail property in Asia, principally in Hong K ...
and Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company. He was also a member of advisory committees of China Sugar Companies Refining, Hong Kong Fire Insurance and Canton Insurance Society. In addition to his commercial activities, Shellim was also involved in public affairs as a justice of the peace, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1913 to 1918, as well as a member of the committees of the
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; ) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kon ...
, House of Sailors, head of the financial committee of
Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH) is an acute district general hospital managed under the New Territories East Cluster of the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. Established by the former London Missionary Society in 1887, it was the fir ...
, and the council of the Ohel Leah Synagogue and
Hong Kong University The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...
Council. Shellim died on 8 December 1928. The Kadoorie family successfully competed with the Sassoons. In the early twentieth century, a member of the Kadoorie family, Eleazer Silas (1867–1944) was becoming the new leader of Hong Kong's Jewish community as the Sassoons' focus shifted to Shanghai and Britain. He changed his name to Eleazer Silas Kelly and later Sir Elly in Hong Kong to appease the British elite. At the height of his power, he, along with his brother
Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...
(1865–1922) controlled stakes in the China Light and Power Company, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the
Star Ferry The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...
, textile mills and rubber plantations, and owned extensive real estate and the Hongkong Hotel Company (today known as
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) is the holding company of a hotel group. It is engaged in the ownership, development and management of The Peninsula Hotels; commercial and residential properties in Asia, the United States and Eur ...
). In 1928, Elly Kadoorie opened the most prestigious hotel in the colony near Kowloon Station—the six-story Peninsula Hotel. In 1905, he established a social club near the Ohel Leah synagogue. The club allowed the Sephardim and Ashkenazim to meet in a more inclusive space. From 1937, Jewish refugees (mostly wealthy Jews with British or American passports) from Shanghai,
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
and
Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
, fled the hardships of the Japanese occupation and began to flock to Hong Kong, along with some Jews from Europe who fled
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. The composition of the newcomers was quite diverse; among this wave of refugees, there were Baghdadi,
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
,
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
,
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and
Czech Jews The history of the Jews in the Czech lands, which include the modern Czech Republic as well as Bohemia, Czech Silesia and Moravia, goes back many centuries. There is evidence that Jews have lived in Moravia and Bohemia since as early as the 10 ...
. The Hong Kong Society of Jewish Refugees was created to accommodate them.


Japanese occupation

Before the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
, there were still some contacts between the
Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkew district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwest ...
and Hong Kong. But after the attack, the wealthy Baghdadi Jews of Shanghai—many of whom had British citizenship—were
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
. In June 1940, the British authorities abruptly announced the evacuation of women and children off the island to Australia due to the threat of a Japanese invasion. The evacuations quickly turned into a highly contentious matter and became riddled with racial discrimination. When the women of Hong Kong wanted to leave, they learned only people with a "pure" British ancestry, as the Australian government requested, were allowed to leave. Nevertheless, some non-European women managed to board the evacuation ships. However, they were again separated at a stopover in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and sent back to Hong Kong. According to Jewish eyewitnesses of the time: "The ships were leaving half empty and government maintained its silence". On 7 December 1941, the Japanese army
invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Hong Kong and the city surrendered on 25 December. Allied nationals, including many members of the Jewish community, were sent to the civilian
prisoner-of-war camps A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
in
Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
(where, for example, Morris Abraham Cohen and
Elly Kadoorie Sir Eleazer "Elly" Silas Kadoorie (1867 – February 8, 1944) was a Baghdadi-born Jewish businessman and philanthropist active in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He was a member of the wealthy Kadoorie family that had large business interests in the F ...
's families were imprisoned), while those who fought with the military in defence of Hong Kong, were imprisoned in the military camp at
Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui P ...
. Inside the camps, some wealthy Jews managed to get certain camp privileges. For example, one wealthy Jewish family in Stanley had one of the best rooms in the camp and later managed to get repatriated to Shanghai. The camps were also full of negative Jewish stereotypes. The Jews were often associated with dishonest gains and the black market. During the Japanese occupation, the Ohel Leah Synagogue was used as a warehouse and the Jewish Club was looted. After the war, some of the local Jews who had managed to escape Hong Kong, returned; in 1949, the previously destroyed Jewish Club was restored. Another wave of Jewish refugees followed from Europe through the ports of Mumbai,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and Hong Kong to Shanghai, where, after the Japanese occupation, visas were still not required for Europeans—in contrast to the Jewish refugees who the British colonial authorities did not allow to disembark in their ports.


Second half of the 20th century

In the second half of the 20th century, the most prominent representatives of the Jewish community in Hong Kong were
Lawrence Kadoorie Lawrence Kadoorie, Baron Kadoorie, CBE (2 June 1899 – 25 August 1993) was a Hong Kong industrialist, hotelier, photographer and philanthropist. Biography Lawrence Kadoorie was born to a Baghdadi-Jewish family from Bombay, India. He was the ...
(1899–1993) and
Horace Kadoorie Sir Horace Kadoorie, CBE (28 September 1902 – 22 April 1995) was an industrialist, hotelier, and philanthropist. Early life and education In 1913–14, he spent a year at Clifton College and was a member of Polacks House; a boarding house so ...
(1902–1995)—the sons of Elly Kadoorie, partners in the family business and well-known philanthropists. After the war, they revived the China Light and Power Company and The Peninsula Hotel and formed Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. In addition, the brothers became shareholders of textile enterprises, the Star Ferry company and the
Peak Tram The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and o ...
cable car leading to
Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...
. Lawrence also served on the board of directors of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Lawrence Kadoorie was a member of the Legislative and Executive Councils of Hong Kong in the 1950s. In 1962, Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie received the
Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...
(the Asian analogue of the Nobel Prize). Lawrence Kadoorie received the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1970, was made a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in 1974, was made a baron for his philanthropy in 1981, became a life peer, and was the first person born in Hong Kong to become a member of the UK
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. In 1951, Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie founded the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association to provide training and loans for local farmers. The association became a successful business model and revitalized the
New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. Five years later, they established an experimental farm and botanical garden, which eventually developed into one of the world's top 20 botanical gardens. There were 250 Jews in Hong Kong (half Sephardi, half Ashkenazi) in 1954. The number dropped to 230 in 1959 and further to 200 in 1968 (130 Ashkenazi and 70 Sephardi). In 1974, according to the combined lists of the Ohel Leah Synagogue and the Jewish Club, there were about 450 local Jews living in Hong Kong. Five
Torah scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
s, belonging to the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng were discovered in the so-called "Thieves' Market" of Cat Street (
Lascar Row Lascar Row is the combined name of two streets between Hollywood Road and Queen's Road Central in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, Upper Lascar Row () and Lok Ku Road (Historically Lower Lascar Row). The immediate area is notable for its antique stalls. ...
quarter in the
Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...
district) in 1974. Today these scrolls are kept in the Ohel Leah Synagogue. In 1984, the Jewish Historical Society of Hong Kong was founded in the Jewish Club to study the history of the Jews in China. A year later, the Israeli Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau was officially appointed (Israel formally established diplomatic relations with China in 1992). In the late 1980s, American Rabbi Samuel Joseph arrived in Hong Kong and became the first head of the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong. At that time, the community did not yet have its own premises, and meetings were held at the American Club or the China Fleet Club of the British garrison. In 1989, of the members of Ohel Leah and the Jewish Club, 39% were Americans, 27% were British (including residents of the colony), and 17% were Israelis. In 1991, the Carmel Jewish Day School was founded, located in the east wing of the former
British military hospital British Military Hospitals were established and operated by the British Army, both at home and overseas during the 19th and 20th centuries, to treat service personnel (and others in certain circumstances). They varied in size, purpose and permanen ...
in the
Mid-Levels Mid-Levels is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. The Mid-Levels is further ...
. In the first half of the 1990s, 1.5 thousand Jews lived in Hong Kong, of which about 1,000 participated in the life of the community. According to the
Museum of the Jewish People ANU - Museum of the Jewish People, formerly the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the center of the Tel Aviv University campus in Ramat Aviv. ANU - Museum of the Jewish People is an institution ...
, on the eve of the transfer of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China (1997), around 2,500 Jews lived in the colony, two-thirds of whom were Americans and Israelis; while according to the
American Jewish Year Book The ''American Jewish Year Book'' (AJYB) has been published since 1899. Publication was initiated by the Jewish Publication Society (JPS). In 1908, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) assumed responsibility for compilation and editing while JPS ...
, somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 Jews lived in Hong Kong in 1997. The composition of the Jewish community had also shifted from the predominantly Baghdadi and Western European Jewish population to a predominantly American, British and Israeli mix. According to the 1989 Hong Kong community profile survey, only three per cent of Hong Kong Jews had Cantonese as their primary or native language (mostly Chinese women who converted to Judaism for marriage), while only seven per cent had learned Cantonese as a second language. Nine per cent of the survey respondents spoke Mandarin as a second language. In 1995, a large Jewish community centre was built next to the Ohel Leah Synagogue, replacing the old Jewish Club. The United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong moved into this centre, after which religious ceremonies began to be held in the auditorium of the centre, and the rabbi of the community settled in a nearby residential complex. From 1996 to October 1998, the Ohel Leah Synagogue underwent major renovation due to significant wear and tear over nearly a century. The restoration project won the Outstanding Project Award of the 2000
UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (since 2000) are given with as the strategic purpose of UNESCO with in the region Asia Pacific. The objective is to motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organi ...
.


21st century

About 5,000 Jews lived in Hong Kong in 2010, united in seven congregations: the reformist United Jewish Congregation; the Hasidic Chabad with branches in Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lantau; and the Sephardic Orthodox congregations Kehilat Zion (Kowloon) and Shuva Israel (Hong Kong). Most of the Jews are concentrated on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
, where the main objects of Jewish public life are situated—mostly in the Mid-Levels,
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
districts. However, there are also Jewish residents in the New Territories and Kowloon, mostly in the
Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hu ...
and East Tsim Sha Tsui districts. Immigrants from the US and Canada predominate, although there are also immigrants from Western Europe (Great Britain, France, Spain, Switzerland), Israel, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Expatriates working in Hong Kong include businessmen, managers, skilled professionals, journalists, teachers and professors. Most of the Jews speak Hebrew or English and a very small number of them speak Cantonese or Mandarin. According to the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
, some 2,500 Jews lived in Hong Kong in 2015; while according to the Jewish Historical Society of Hong Kong, the number was closer to 5,000. As of 2019, about 5,000 Jews live in Hong Kong. The most important cluster where the Jews of Hong Kong gather is located on Robinson Road in the Mid-Levels. Built in 1995, the Jewish Community Centre is located here, which includes a library, a Chinese-Jewish archive, a learning centre, a multi-purpose auditorium, an indoor pool, a gym, a kosher meat and dairy restaurant, a cafe and a kosher grocery store. Adjacent to the centre is the historic Ohel Leah Synagogue, with Hong Kong's only
mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
. The Consulate General of Israel is located in the second tower of the Admiralty Centre office complex on
Harcourt Road Harcourt Road is a major highway in Admiralty, Hong Kong, connecting Central and Wan Chai. It starts at Murray Road and ends at Arsenal Street. The road is 780 metres in length and has four lanes of traffic on either side. The section of Harco ...
in the Admiralty district. Among the modern significant members of the Jewish community of Hong Kong are: *
Michael Kadoorie Sir Michael David Kadoorie, GBS (born 1941) is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman, and the chairman and 18% owner of CLP Group, Hong Kong's largest electricity producer. He also owns 47% of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. Early life Born in 19 ...
(the son of Lawrence Kadoorie): chairman and co-owner of CLP Group, Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels and
Metrojet MetroJet was a low-cost carrier, no-frills airline brand operated as a wholly owned division of US Airways from 1998 until 2001. History After the conclusion of painstaking labor negotiations in 1997, US Airways sought to head off burgeoning ...
airlines, and member of the board of directors of
CK Hutchison Holdings CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong-based and Cayman Islands-registered multinational conglomerate corporation. The company was formed in March 2015 through the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and its main associate company Hutchison Wh ...
* James Meyer Sassoon: executive director of the Jardine Matheson Group, Director of Hongkong Land,
Dairy Farm International Holdings DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited (formerly known as Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited) is a Hong Kong retail company with its legal base in Bermuda. A member of the Jardine Matheson Group, it is a major East Asian-Southeast Asian reta ...
,
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group International Limited (MOHG) is a Hong Kong hotel investment and management group focusing on luxury hotels, resorts, and residences, with a total of 33 properties worldwide, 20 of which are fully or partially ow ...
and
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, also known as JLT Group or simply JLT, was a British multinational corporation that had its headquarters in London, England. It provided insurance, reinsurance, employment benefits advice and Brokerage firm, bro ...
, Chairman of the China-British Business Council *
Allan Zeman Allan Zeman GBM, GBS, JP (Chinese name: 盛智文; born 18 July 1949) is a Hong Kong business magnate. Background and personal life Allan Zeman was born into a Jewish family in Regensburg, Germany; and was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canad ...
: restaurateur, hotelier and property developer, member of the board of directors of the gambling group
Wynn Resorts Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound . History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...
, also known as the "father" of Hong Kong's
Lan Kwai Fong Lan Kwai Fong (often abbreviated as LKF) is a small square of streets in Central, Hong Kong. The area was dedicated to hawkers before the Second World War, but underwent a renaissance in the mid-1980s. It is now a popular expatriate haunt in ...
entertainment district


Religious life

The Jews in Hong Kong are able to freely practice their religious holidays, including holding Shabbat meals, celebrating the main
Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
(Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Shavuot, Pesach and others), and developing religious educational programs. Hong Kong has four active synagogues (three of which have full-time rabbis), a Jewish school (Carmel School for young children), two Sunday schools (the Ezekiel Abraham School for teenagers and the Shorashim school for children), and a Jewish cemetery in the Happy Valley area. The main synagogue is Ohel Leah, built in 1901–1902. While it is formally aligned to
Modern Orthodox Judaism Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on sever ...
, the synagogue is visited by adherents of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism,
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
, and
Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...
. The Jewish Community Centre is home to the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong, which caters to about 500 people who belong to heterodox currents of Judaism (reformists, liberals and conservatives). Since its founding in 1988, the congregation has been closely associated with the Jerusalem-based
World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...
and the Australian Union for Progressive Judaism. The Sephardic congregation Shuva Israel is located in the Fortune House, in Central District. It provides restaurants and offices with
kosher food Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of '' kashrut'' (dietary law). The laws of ''kashrut'' apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish ...
, conducts worship services, teaches adults and children, and provides other services to residents and tourists. A synagogue, study hall, library, restaurant, and kosher grocery occupy two floors of the community office. In addition, ten families of the congregation have their own preschool and
cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...
in the
Pok Fu Lam Pok Fu Lam or Pokfulam is a residential area on Hong Kong Island, at the western end of the Southern District. It is a valley between Victoria Peak and Mount Kellett, around Telegraph Bay. Pok Fu Lam can claim several ''firsts'' in the histo ...
area. The Hoover Court building on McDonnell Road in the Mid-Levels is home to the Chabad of Hong Kong office, and on Chatham Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is the Chabad of Kowloon office, opened in 2005 in the Oriental Centre building. The Chabad-Lubavitcher Hasidim are an active but isolated Jewish community in Hong Kong. Arriving in Hong Kong in 1985, the city has become the headquarters for the Chabad-Lubavitcher in Asia. The business complex Wing On Plaza in the Tsim Sha Tsui East area houses the office of the Sephardic community Kehilat Zion, which unites more than 900 people. Founded in 1995 by a Syrian businessman and the Jerusalem Sephardic Center, the Community Synagogue serves the faithful throughout Kowloon. The spiritual leader of Kehilat Zion is also the Chief Rabbi of the entire Sephardic community in Hong Kong. The community manages a library and a kosher restaurant, lectures and seminars, provides kosher food and reserves hotel rooms for those who wish.


Jewish cemetery

The Hong Kong Jewish Cemetery is located in the Happy Valley district. It was founded in 1855 thanks to donations from businessman David Sassoon (formally, the British authorities signed permits for the cemetery only in 1858). The cemetery is surrounded on all sides by high-rise residential buildings; it is accessible along a narrow passage between a Buddhist temple and a school attached to it. This is one of the few Jewish cemeteries in the Far East that have been preserved in their original location. The cemetery is oriented from east to west, and most of the graves are located at the western entrance. The oldest grave is dated 1857. The funeral lists indicate that most of the dead in the early years of the cemetery were men, since at that time it was not customary for travellers to settle in Hong Kong with their families. Sixteen of the oldest graves do not bear the names of those buried there, only identification numbers. Sephardic graves from the late 19th century are grouped in the eastern part of the cemetery, while Ashkenazi graves are grouped in the western, behind the chapel. The chapel itself and other small buildings appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, during the rule of the Jewish governor Matthew Nathan. In 1904, a 75-year lease was signed on a piece of land adjacent to the cemetery, and in 1979 it was extended for another 75 years. The cemetery is dominated by simple graves, although the first tombstones were made in the form of massive granite
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...
. The Sephardic Belilios family built white marble canopies in the
Ionic style The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...
over their graves. The Kadoorie and Gubbai families, whose graves are located together, preferred tombstones with narrow polished granite sarcophagi covered with protruding lids. Often, tombstones are decorated with various elements—flowers, foliage, swirls or garlands. One grave has a single broken column, which indicates an untimely death, and another has a photograph on the grave, which was a Russian tradition. The inscriptions are short: only the date of death, sometimes the date of birth, very rarely the place of death. Most of the inscriptions are made in Hebrew and English; inscriptions in Arabic, Russian or Dutch are less common.


Education

Jewish schooling has historically not been very strong in Hong Kong. A 1914 report stated that there were no religious schools in Hong Kong at that time. Another report in 1936 stated that a small school had opened "some time ago", but was closed due to the "lack of interest in parents in sending their children to learn Hebrew". In 1969, the Ezekiel Abraham School was founded as a volunteer-run Sunday school. There had also been no attempts to set up a Jewish day school in Hong Kong due to the small number of Jewish children. However, in the early 1990s, Carmel School became Hong Kong's first Jewish day school with an enrolment of thirty children. A few years after its opening, the school had more than fifty applications for preschool enrollment. , Carmel School Association has three campuses: Holly Rofé Early Learning Centre, Carmel Elementary School, and Elsa High School in Shau Kei Wan, which also has non-Jewish students. Elsa High School includes science laboratories, a library, music, art and design classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, conference and fitness rooms, and an all-weather artificial turf field. The Jewish Community Centre, located in the Mid-Levels area on Robinson Road, operates the Holly Rofé Early Learning Center. It includes an indoor pool, gym and playgrounds. Carmel Elementary and Preschool is located in the Mid-Levels on Borrett Road on the place of a former British military hospital, which opened in 1907. In 1967, the hospital was moved to Kowloon, and the military turned over the empty buildings to the colonial government. In the early 1990s, the east wing of the former hospital was occupied by the Carmel school, which provided religious and secular education according to the tenets of Modern Orthodox Judaism. The school has a library, music and art classes, computer science and programming classes,
special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
classes, an indoor gym, playgrounds and sports grounds, and a public garden. In 1999, the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong opened its own religious school, Shorashim School. In 2010, a local branch of the
Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation The Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation ( he, התאחדות הצופים והצופות בישראל, ''Hit'ahdut HaTzofim VeHaTzofot BeYisrael'') is Israel's federation of the five Scouting organizations in Israel, sorted by religious affilia ...
was opened in Hong Kong.


Culture and sports

The Jewish Community Centre is home to the Jewish Historical Society of Hong Kong, founded in 1984 by Denis and Mary Leventhal and Anita Buxbaum with the participation of Professor S. J. Chan, who studied Kaifeng Jews. The Society searches for, researches and preserves historical materials on Jews and Judaism in Hong Kong and China, holds exhibitions, lectures and seminars, and publishes books and collections of documents. The Library of the Jewish Historical Society is considered one of the best in Asia on the topic of
Chinese Jews Chinese Jews may refer to: *History of the Jews in China * History of the Jews in Taiwan *Kaifeng Jews The Kaifeng Jews ( zh, t=開封猶太族, p=Kāifēng Yóutàizú; he, יהדות קאיפנג ''Yahădūt Qāʾyfeng'') are members of a sm ...
. In addition, the society holds many unique photographs and documents, as well as audio recordings of interviews with members of the Jewish community. The society also conducts group tours to historical Jewish places in the region. In 1999, Canadian Howard Elias founded the annual Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, which includes films and documentaries from around the world, dedicated to various Jewish themes. The Hong Kong Jewish Women's Association, founded in the 1940s to help Jewish refugees from Shanghai, continues to play an important role in the community. It annually implements many cultural, social and educational programs, and also collects donations for charitable organisations in Israel and for the local Jewish community. The Israeli Consulate in Hong Kong oversees the Israeli Film Festival, which takes place every three years, as well as the children's and adult football teams of the Maccabi sports association. The Hong Kong Jewish community raises funds for various programs of the Israeli organisation
Keren Hayesod Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal ( he, קרן היסוד, literally "The Foundation Fund") is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren haYesod Law-5 ...
, annually widely celebrates Israel's
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
and Yom HaZikaron, and also holds events in support of non-profit organisations the
Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...
and the
United Israel Appeal United Israel Appeal (UIA), a subsidiary of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), is a link between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel. An independent legal entity with 501(c)(3) charity status, and a Board of Direc ...
.


Cuisine

Hong Kong's kosher restaurants include Sabra Meat Restaurant and Waterside Dairy Restaurant located in the Jewish Community Centre, Mul Hayam Restaurant run by Kehilat Zion in Kowloon, and Shalom Grill run by Shuva Yisrael in the Central District. Almost all Jewish congregations in Hong Kong provide kosher food delivery services to homes and hotels, and organise banquets and off-site receptions.


Antisemitism

The thesis about the absence of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
in Hong Kong is common. No report published prior to World War II mentioned the existence of antisemitism against Hong Kong Jews. In the early colonial period, wealthy Jewish merchants from Britain were traditionally referred to as "white Europeans", identified with the privileged class of the British colony. However, there are cases when even rich merchants from among the Baghdadi Jews were denied membership in the elite
Hong Kong Club The Hong Kong Club () is the first gentlemen's club in Hong Kong. Opened on 26 May 1846, it is a private business and dining club in the heart of Central, Hong Kong. Its members were (and still are) among the most influential people in the city, ...
(founded in 1846), where only British
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
were allowed to rest. According to a survey conducted in 1989, 83% of Hong Kongers declared a neutral attitude towards Jews or were ignorant of the life of Jews living in the city, and another 15% of Hong Kongers noted a positive attitude towards them. The standard explanation for these statistics is that the Jewish presence in Hong Kong has always been small, and prominent members of the community have been successful in commerce and philanthropy. Generally, Chinese people do not receive a balanced, in-depth account of Jewish history and culture as part of their education. Most Hong Kong Chinese could not clearly explain the general difference between the State of Israel, the Jews, and Judaism. Because of this, according to historian Jonathan Goldstein, it is difficult to say with certainty that the dominant neutral attitude towards Jews means there is no latent antisemitism. In April 1991, the local Chinese-language newspaper '' Hong Kong Daily News'' published an article titled "The Jews' Deep-Rooted Bad Habits: The Bad Nature of the Jews". The article contained statements such as "Why have these people (the Jews) been cursed by God to wander the world forever?" and "(Jews) are heartless, rich, cruel and ruthless warmongers, a selfish and avaricious race". The article angered the local Jewish community, which sent a letter of protest to the newspaper's office, and the newspaper published a reply stating that the article did not violate editorial policy. While preparing a lawsuit against the newspaper, the Jewish Initiative Group found that there is no article in Hong Kong law prohibiting incitement to racial violence. Some antisemitic incidents have involved immigrants. This became especially noticeable in 1987–1988 against the backdrop of public controversy around a plan for the redevelopment of Jewish Trust property. The controversy concerned the reconstruction of the historical synagogue Ohel Leah and control over this process by the authorities. The dispute gave rise to unsubstantiated accusations in the local English-language press of both the synagogue committee and the Jews in general. For a long time, the only local school with high American educational standards was the Hong Kong International School in the Southern district, owned by the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
. Children of American and European Jews who went to this school often faced strict Christian rules (compulsory attendance at the chapel, the study of Christian dogmas) and attempts at
proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
by individual teachers. Jewish residents have reported several antisemitic manifestations in 2002 and 2003.


References


Literature

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* *


External links

* * * * * {{Authority control
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...