Jews in Modern China

Los Angeles Jews who survived Nazi holocaust in China help launch new exhibit at Museum of Tolerance: The Jews in Modern China

On July 15, 2008, The Jews in Modern China, a new temporary exhibit
celebrating the unique friendship between the Chinese and Jewish people,
opened at the Museum of Tolerance.

Participants in the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony were: an 18-member
delegation from China; President, Pro- Tem of the Los Angeles City Council,
Wendy Greuel; Consul General of Israel, Jacob Dayan; Acting Consul General
of China, Ms. Huang Xiaojian;  Former Chinese Ambassador to the U.N., Wang
Yingfan; John Fishel, President of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los
Angeles; Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center;
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Wiesenthal Center; and Mosselle
Hendeles, Ralph Harpuder, William Krisel - Los Angeles area Jews whose
families escaped Nazi Europe and grew up in Shanghai.  Created by the China
International Culture Exchange Center and the Center for Jewish Studies
Shanghai, The Jews in Modern China will run through September 2, 2008. The
MOT is located at 9786 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles (corner Pico and
Roxbury).

As two of the most ancient civilizations, the Chinese and the Jewish peoples
have had a bond that has lasted centuries.  In China, Jews found a safe
haven to escape persecution in Europe and the Middle East and have
established large communities in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Harbin and Tianjin as
well as smaller communities.  Jews lived in harmony with the Chinese because
of shared values such as strong family ties and an emphasis on learning.
Jews found themselves influenced by the unique Chinese cultural identity and
in turn, they introduced aspects of their own cultural traditions to the
Chinese people.  Most importantly, the major faiths of China-- Buddhism,
Taoism and Confucianism do not disparage other faiths like Judaism, whereas
in Christian Europe, anti-Semitism was a deeply engrained prejudice. During
the Nazi era, most nations closed their doors to Jews fleeing Europe, but
thousands of Jews found safety in Shanghai. Diplomats in Europe such as Feng
Shan Ho, the Chinese consul in Vienna, and Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese
consul in Lithuania, often went against their government’s wishes by
securing visas for thousands of Jews to go to China and elsewhere. Following
WWII, many in the Jewish community left China for Israel, the United States
and Canada.

The following afternoon, Professor Pan Guang, delivered a special public
lecture at the MOT.