Sunday, October 25, 2009

Chinese Jews arrive in Israel


Chinese Jewish Descendants Start a New Life in Israel

Seven young Chinese men wearing kippot arrived in Israel via Uzbekistan to make aliya, descendants of the Jewish community of Kaifeng.

At its peak during the Middle Ages, Kaifeng Jewry numbered about 5,000, and the community lasted until the middle of the 19th century.

Hundreds of people in Kaifeng still cling to their identity as descendants of the city's Jewish community and, in recent years, a growing number have begun to express an interest in studying Jewish history and culture.
(Jerusalem Post)
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4 comments:

LHwrites said...

Interesting. I did not know about these people or that history. Thank you once again to Bruce's MidEast Soundbites for educating me on yet another interesting but overlooked situation!

Bruce said...

Jewish software doesn't go down easily...for these people to reconnect and move to Israel represents much committment...I'm impressed too.

Many forget that Israel reflects a multi-colored Jewish fabric!

Anonymous said...

There not real Jews, look at them ,decended from converts.

Bruce said...

It is much more complex than that. And please remember that converts are as real as any Jew. The Jewish nation is a belief, not a blood nation.