The Institute for Global Jewish Affairs

at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

cordially invites you to a lecture

Monday, 28 January 2013, 17 Shevat 5773, 10:00 a.m.

at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 13 Tel Hai Street

Our speaker will be

Gideon Elazar

  on

 Being Jewish in China:

The Current Situation of the Kaifeng Jews

Since the beginning of the reform era in 1979, a vast resurgence of a large variety of religious, ethnic and cultural identities has been sweeping China. The wave of interest in old traditions has had a major effect on the descendants of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng. With no synagogue or rabbi since the mid-19th century, until very recently the Jews of Kaifeng had almost completely assimilated into the Chinese world around them. In recent years, some members of the community have begun to examine and explore their Jewish roots. Interest in the faith of their ancestors and increasing contact with Jews from Israel and elsewhere has even led some of the community members towards conversion to Judaism. This talk will focus on a two-week visit with the community in Kaifeng under the auspices of the organization “Shavei Yisrael” during the recent holiday of Sukkot and an analysis of their history and current situation in the context of contemporary China.

Gideon Elazar is a doctoral student in the East Asian department in Haifa University. He has spent several years in China, studying Chinese and conducting anthropological research in the southwestern province of Yunnan. His doctoral research deals with the current activities of Christian missionaries in Yunnan and the relationship between religion, ethnicity, and state policy in an increasingly globalized China.

The lecture will be presented in English.

Registration is Required

RSVP: Email: ahuva@jcpa.org

Tel. 02/561-9281 or Fax 02/561-9112