Where are the Jews in China?

More than 60 years ago, when the Nazis madly persecuted and slaughtered Jews, many countries closed their doors to Jewish refugees in urgent need, and Shanghai became the only city in the world that opened its doors to Jews.

1840 years later, when Kaifeng Jews along the Yellow River were finally assimilated, new Jewish immigrants came to China. In the next century, Jews who came to China formed a continuous trend. Around 1940, according to the author's incomplete statistics, there were about 40,000-50,000 Jews in China.

By the end of 1930s, the Shanghai Jewish community had become the largest, most active and representative Jewish community and Jewish settlement in China. This is not only because it is composed of Sefadi Jews, Russian Jews and European Jewish refugees, but also because it has carried out extensive and very successful economic, political and cultural activities and maintained very close ties with Jewish communities all over the world. At that time, the total number of Jews in Shanghai exceeded 30,000, forming the largest Jewish community in the Far East. Prosperous communities have their own offices, halls, schools, hospitals, clubs, cemeteries, chambers of commerce, more than 50 kinds of publications, active political groups (from utopian socialists to Zionist revisionists) and a small unit-the Jewish unit of Shanghai International Business Group-which may be the only legal Jewish unit in the world at that time.

Therefore, through the typical analysis of the Jewish community in Shanghai, we can find many sexual factors of Chinese Jews in modern times. Such as: good at industry and commerce, with strong economic strength; Carry out active political activities in a relaxed atmosphere without anti-Semitism; Have high cultural quality, actively run newspapers and periodicals, and be enthusiastic about cultural and educational undertakings; Maintain friendly relations with the people of China, the government of China and the democratic forces in China; Keep close contact with Jews and Jewish organizations all over the world. These characteristics also constitute the "Shanghai model" in the history of Jewish national dispersion that we are talking about now.

The "Shanghai model" has become a hot spot because Shanghai has helped tens of thousands of Jewish refugees. More than 60 years ago, when the Nazis madly persecuted and slaughtered Jews, many countries closed their doors to Jewish refugees in urgent need. Shanghai and Maine became the only city in the world that opened its doors to Jews for various complicated reasons. From 1933 to 194 1, Shanghai accepted more than 30,000 Jewish refugees from Europe. Excluding thousands of people who went to a third country via Shanghai, there were still about 25,000 Jewish refugees living in Shanghai by the time of the Pearl Harbor incident in19412. A city in Shanghai accepts more Jewish refugees than Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India combined.