Hong Kong: 'Asian Jewish Life' - new issue online

When Tracing the Tribe visited Hong Kong last year, we met a wonderful group of people, including US expat Erica Lyons, the publisher of Asian Jewish Life.

Erica just informed me that she is helping to get the story out on the situation in Japan and also working on the memoirs of a fascinating woman.

Read the stories by Erica about a Japanese Jewish family living in Hong Kong here and here. The Brenner family - the focus of these stories - also has a blog called the Hitachi Naka City Earthquake Recovery Blog. It is designed to raise awareness and eventually be a conduit for aid to Mayumi Brenner's hometown.

Asian Jewish Life also has a Facebook page, detailing Asian Jewish happenings, information on Japan's Jewish community and how they are coping with the aftermath of the immense earthquake, and other information.

The current issue of AJL is online with several articles of specific interest to Tracing the Tribe readers and genealogists. Click Asian Jewish Life to see the new issue.

One story is by Amelia Alsop who directs the Hong Kong Heritage Project. On my visit to Hong Kong, I visited the Project office, met Amelia and other staff members and was very impressed with what they are accomplishing.

The Kadoorie Family, Sephardi Jews, emigrated from Baghdad in 1880 to settle in the Far East. The family fortunes were founded by Sir Elly Kadoorie and Sir Ellis Kadoorie, who were pivotal players in the development of business giants such as the Hongkong Shanghai Hotel Co. and China Light and Power. Elly's sons, Lord Lawrence Kadoorie and Sir Horace Kadoorie continued the family businesses and philanthropic pursuits. The family is today headed by Lawrence's son, Sir Michael Kadoorie.


In May 2007, Sir Michael founded the Hong Kong Heritage Project (HKHP). The HKHP is the first of its kind in Hong Kong; a project supported and driven by business with the purpose of preserving community history. The HKHP does this by promoting new avenues of research, enriching Hong Kong's existing archival collection, encouraging young people to participate in the preservation of their community history and capturing unrepresented voices in Hong Kong's historical narrative through the collection of oral history. The HKHP is housed in an archive facility in Kowloon which holds 3,100 Kadoorie related records, as well as 550 filmed oral history interviews.

Read The Lost Records Revealed - the Hong Kong Heritage Project's Jewish Collection.

For a look at modern Kaifeng in China - where an ancient Jewish community once flourished and where its remnants are once again learning about their heritage - read Yair Osherovich's story.

...While I asked myself these questions and searched for proof, I already knew the answers. Like my intention to help for the right reasons, these Jewish descendents had pure intentions too. There were plenty of reinforcements for my belief: the seriousness of Tzuri when he made Kiddush, the holding to the Yom Kippur fast despite how very organized and serious the Chinese are about their timetable for meals, and the communal effort to build the sukkah. It was the first sukkah in the town in 100 years. I see proof in the money that these families spend on Friday night meals and the bustle and scents that Shabbat brings as if it was a neighborhood in Jerusalem. Most of all the determination stands out. I see them thrive for knowledge. They listen carefully and absorb all the Jewish knowledge they can.


This has all reinforced my motivation to return to Kaifeng to help out for a third time. It is hard to stay indifferent to the donations they have collected on their own for the rehabilitation of the Carmel Forest. It is hard to stay indifferent to the warmness they treat every Jew and it is hard to stay indifferent to the pride that belonging to the broader Jewish community gives to them.

Read the rest of this story here.

For a long and excellent article, with beautiful photographs, by Dr. Shalva Weill, detailing Southern India's synagogues and trade, read "In An Ancient Land," click here.

See the new issue's table of contents for more.

Thank you, Erica, for Asian Jewish Life.

Hong Kong: The Jewish flavor

The Urban Photo blog offered an interesting interview with the new rabbi of Ohel Leah synagogue in Hong Kong.

The post also mentions three of the wonderfully warm and welcoming people whom I met in Hong Kong last spring on my way to and from Melbourne, Australia, to speak at the National Jewish Genealogy Conference. I also spoke at the Hong Kong Jewish Community Center.

While there, I met with Howard Elias, who runs the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival and also handles the Jewish cemetery; with Erica Lyons, an American ex-pat who lives there with her husband and children, publishes the wonderful Asian Jewish Life magazine; and had tea with Judy Green, all mentioned in the post.

In Hong Kong, I attended Shabbat services at Ohel Leah, and at the Reform congregation, celebrated Purim at the JCC and had a fascinating first trip to Asia.

Planning a trip to Hong Kong? Make sure to email, call or write ahead of time to see the JCC and Ohel Leah, and find out what's going on in the community.

The JCC restaurant is also quite good (and kosher)!

By the way, the new issue of Asian Jewish Life is online now (see cover above left), so take a look at what's happening on the other side of the world. This issue has numerous articles on various aspects of Jewish life in India, including felafel in Bangalore.

Hong Kong: Asian Jewish Life's new issue

The summer 2010 edition of Asian Jewish Life has hit cyberspace to provide the rest of us with a look at contemporary Jewish diaspora life throughout Asia

When I visited Hong Kong (February/March 2010), I met Erica Lyons - an expat American who lives in Hong Kong with her family. As editor-in-chief of the magazine, she's produced another excellent collection of fascinating articles covering numerous countries.

Check out the new issue online and see these stories:

Animating Jewish-Chinese Relations: Judaism and Israel are hot topics in China. More than 10 Chinese universities offer Judaic studies programs, including at least one doctoral program. China’s state-owned television network, CCTV, recently aired a documentary titled “Walk into Israel - Land of Milk and Honey,” its first series on Israel. The story of the Shanghai Jews is now a popular topic as well.

The Way Home: Born in Seoul, filmmaker Jason Hoffman was adopted by a New York Jewish family. The film, "Going Home," is his story of finding his roots, his birthmother and sister.

Finding a Lost Tribe of Israel in India: The long road home.

The Endless Jewish Audience: Whenever he walks into a new social situation - synagogue, Shabbat dinner or a Judaica store - there's always the chance this Japanese Jewish convert will need to tell his conversion story to a confused, sometimes judgmental, audience.

The Color of Carefully Ordered Chaos: Israeli artist Nir Segal's work on exhibit in Thailand.

Living Tikkun Olam in Nepal: Israeli backpackers and diaspora Jews volunteer in Tevel b’Tzedek (The Earth in Justice), founded by Micha Odenheimer. The group runs intensive four-month Nepal experience (February), as well as five-week programs beginning in October, November and December. Read the story to learn what this organization has accomplished and its plans for the future.

In Book Reviews, two interesting family histories and a family secret (Shanghai and Zimbabwe). Although not new, each provides insights on a destination: Shanghai Shadows (Lois Ruby, Holiday House, 2006) and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun (Peter Godwin, Little, Brown and Company, 2006).

See the table of contents here for more. There are stories by a writer in Cambodia, a social activist in Japan, Asian kosher food, an ex-pat diary story, a travel feature by the New Jersey-born conductor of the The Hong Kong Bach Choir and Orchestra, and more.

AJL is a free quarterly publication designed to share regional Jewish thoughts, ideas and culture and promote unity, while celebrating individuality, diverse backgrounds and customs.

Thank you, Erica, for another good read!

Call for Papers: Jews in Asia, Asian Jews in the US

There's a call for papers and panelists covering Jews in Asia and Asian Jews in the United States at the upcoming joint conference of the Association of Asian Studies/International Convention of Asia Scholars, set for Honolulu, March 31-April 3, 2011.

A two-hour panel has been scheduled for the topics. At least one additional presenter or discussant is needed, in addition to a panel chair.

Currently, papers have been received on: Baghdadi Jews in Malaya, Singapore and and Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation; Indian Jews in the United States; and Luso-Sephardic Jews and their descendants in Goa.

Those interested in participating, submitting papers or obtaining additional information, should contact Dr. Joan Roland.

Tracing the Tribe reminds those interested that the 31st IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy (Washington, DC; August 2011) is also an appropriate venue for talks on such little-known Jewish communities. The Call for Papers for DC 2011 is coming up.

Hong Kong: 'Asian Jewish Life,' spring issue online

On my recent Hong Kong visit, I met with editor-in-chief Erica Lyons of "Asian Jewish Life: A Journal of Spirit, Society and Culture."

The new AJL spring 2010 issue is now online with stories covering India, Shanghai, Cambodia, foodies, book reviews, film and more.

"Asian Jewish Life is a contemporary journal of Jewish diaspora life throughout Asia. As Jews in Asia we are but a tiny minority unified by tradition, a love for Israel, common contemporary concerns and shared values. While Asian Jewish Life is a common media forum designed to share regional Jewish thoughts, ideas and culture and promote unity, it also celebrates our individuality and our diverse backgrounds and customs."

Here's the table of contents (read each online or download the PDF at the link above):

-- Inbox: Your letters
-- Letter from the Editor
-- India Journal- Life with the Bene Ephraim (Bonita Nathan Sussman and Gerald Sussman)
-- Eating Kosher Dog Meat: Jewish in Guiyang (Susan Blumberg-Kason)
-- Through the Eyes of ZAKA (Jana Daniels)
-- Interview: Ambassador Yaron Mayer
-- Replanting Roots in Shanghai: Architect Haim Dotan’s journey (Erica Lyons)
-- A Palate Grows in Brooklyn: Birth of a foodie (Sandi Butchkiss)
-- Poetry by Rachel DeWoskin
-- The Death Penalty: What Asia can learn from Judaism (Michael H. Fox)
-- Learning to Speak: A cross-cultural love story (Tracy Slater)
-- Book Reviews (Susan Blumberg-Kason)
-- Places I Love
-- Expat Diary: Raising a Jewish Child in Cambodia (Craig Gerard)
-- Film in Focus

Each article provides a diverse look into life in Asia, with a Jewish "hook." Tracing the Tribe will always remember the line "tenderloin of my heart," from Tracy Slater's "Learning to Speak."

Readers and writers with Jewish Asian experiences are invited to submit articles; click here for more information.

If you enjoyed this issue (the winter issue is also online), let Erica know, and tell her you learned about AJL at Tracing the Tribe. Feedback is always welcome.

A great issue, Erica!

Hong Kong: On a clear day....

Doesn't it always happen like this?

You visit a new place and weather conditions are such that you can't see more than a few buildings down the road. Then, on the last day, everything is beautiful and clear.

On both my visits, I could barely see the harbor from the hotel window. Today, I could see the hills on the far side.

At least I have this great shot!

Hong Kong has been a great experience and I am grateful to the Jewish Community Center events committee for making it happen. Mira, Tara, Erica, Howard and everyone else were most gracious and very kind.

This trip afforded many opportunities to talk genealogy with so many diverse individuals and I hope that they may go on searching their own ancestry, whatever it might be.

My visit to Australia was a dream come true as well. Ziva and Sam Fain were very caring hosts and it was hard to tear myself away from them (and the two dogs); the conference was excellent and I thank everyone on the committee who made it possible.

Meeting my Melbourne cousins from Bobruisk (Alex, Jenny, Nelly, Leon, Fleur) was a wonderful experience, and my Sydney cousins Bob and Di were delightful, as usual.

Meeting up with geneablogging colleague Randy Seaver and his wife just added to the overall good memories of Sydney. That's Randy and me on beautiful Manley Beach (right).

It was a great pleasure making in-person connections with gen colleagues Kerry Farmer and Carole Riley in Sydney, and finally meeting Linde Wolters, a member of MyHeritage.com's farflung family.

I will always remember the great people I met on this trip, talking genealogy in two countries and with fellow passengers. I'd like to travel there again for the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival in November. We'll see!

For now, it is back to Tel Aviv tonight, attempt to get ready for Pesach, and to catch up on a huge pile of work for upcoming conferences and other events.

Tracing the Tribe wishes a Happy Pesach to all readers who celebrate this special holiday.

Hong Kong: The Shabbat experience

Although Tracing the Tribe is now in Melbourne, I wanted to report on my Shabbat in Hong Kong.

I attended Friday night services with Garry Stein (an old Jewish genealogy friend from Toronto) at the United Jewish Congregation (liberal). Melodies were a mix of old, new and nostalgic There were Jewish faces and Asian faces, but most of all, there were singers. This is a singing congregation.

UJC's premises were carved out of space in One Robinson Place (70 Robinson Road), which includes two tall residential towers, the multi-floored JCC and the original Ohel Leah historic synagogue.

Following services, we went up to the Sabra Coffee Shop in the JCC for Shabbat dinner. The large space was transformed into separate dining rooms for two groups. The food was excellent and the company - a real mix of individuals - even better. One Chinese woman who attended is studying ethnomusicology at Hong Kong University and focusing on Jewish music, another young man is Brazilian; there are Americans and other nationalities.

On Shabbat morning, Ohel Leah was my choice. This wonderfully restored synagogue is across the courtyard from the JCC's Garden Terrace function room. The courtyard also has a playground well-used by the young children.

As OHL is an Orthodox congregation, women sit upstairs; the mechitza is an openwork grill surrounding the three-sided balcony. The acoustics are excellent, and the Torah scrolls in their silver Sephardic cases (tik) are masterpieces. The congregation uses the ArtScroll siddur and Stone chumash.

Everyone who read or participated had beautiful voices - it was a pleasure to be part of this Shabbat service. A sit-down kiddush followed. Among the familiar faces of people I had spoken to all week wasa new one: Howard Elias, who is both the Jewish cemetery warden and Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival organizer. Tracing the Tribe bets you didn't know there was one!

Kiddush included baked salmon in a delicious sauce, Chinese cold noodles, dressed cucumber salad, tomato salad, even hummus and eggplant salad. The community's excellent challah is superb; dessert was a strudel-ly pastry. Howard said this was regular kiddush fare, adding that I should see it when there's a simcha!

Howard grew up in Toronto, was a USYer, and lived very close to my TALALAY cousins.

During the zemirot singing after the meal, visiting Rabbi Jackson - from Ireland - offered a melody for one popular song that sounded very much like the Mighty Mouse cartoon theme. I won't forget that one very soon.

Over the past week, I've received many private comments from readers who have visited Hong Kong but never knew about the Jewish community, the JCC or attended a Shabbat service.

If this destination is on your radar screen, do try to visit, attend a Shabbat service, check events and meet the community - I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.

Don't forget the 11th Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival, set for November 13-21, 2010.

I am looking forward to my return trip March 21-25 to this diverse, welcoming and interesting community.

Hong Kong: Workshop report

Following the cruise, it was back to the hotel to get ready for the workshop and go to the JCC for dinner.

After a few technical glitches - I definitely need a course in hooking up computer projectors - we got everything squared away and everyone was connected to the JCC wireless system.

There were about 20 people, all with laptops, and others looking on. I went through a short PowerPoint which discussed some generalities and also showed examples of documents from my own family research and then we began some actual accessing of sites.

One woman, with roots in Rhodes, had a very unusual name. When we went to Jeff Malka's SephardicGen.com not only did the name pop up in several book indexes, but there were a number of burials in the Rhodes Jewish cemetery along with photos of the gravestones.

We accessed some Polish and UK records and resources, as well as features of JewishGen, SephardicGen, JRI-Poland, Ancestry and other sites.

As most readers know, even in a two-hour workshop, one barely gets into the amazing resources of so many sites. But participants received a list of major websites to look around (links to more links!), and were advised to register on JewishGen and add their information to the Family Finder.

I will be back in Hong Kong on March 21 and we'll have at least one more session. It was an enthusiastic group, and we even had a member of the younger generation attending - I was very happy to see that.

There are so many resources out there, and we barely touched them. The time flew by and everyone understood how easy it is to spend hours on finding clues to our families.

I think there may be a JGS of Hong Kong soon. Where do we sign up for the T-shirts?

Tomorrow (Friday), I'm planning to visit the Jewish cemetery and meet with the Jewish Historical Society.

Hong Kong: Victoria Harbour

Finally made it down to Victoria Harbour today. I had wanted to take the ferry across to Kowloon and visit the markets, but time was limited, so I settled for an hour-long cruise.

I love lake and harbor cruises. When I travel through Zurich and change planes there, I always build in a half-day so I can take the train into town, and tram or walk down to the lake and enjoy a relaxing boat trip. All the stress seems to melt away. I highly recommend it if you have a chance.

It wasn't a bad day for the ride today. The sun kept trying to break through the cloud cover and I did get some nice shots. See below.

Star ferries leave from Central Pier:

The terminal and adjacent building offer some food outlets, like Subway, a deli, a Burger Box, and Haagen Daz, where a featured flavor is green tea (a favorite). I had green tea and Belgian Chocolate in a waffle cone.


Views of the Harbour before leaving the pier:





There were some smalll fishing boats:

Colorful waterfront:

Here comes the sun - or tries to:

All too soon we were back at Central Pier, and I returned to the hotel to get ready for the hands-on getting started in Jewish genealogy.

Hong Kong: A desire for dimsum

Dimsum have been on my mind since I arrived.

Traveling means enjoying good food with great people. Hong Kong has provided several opportunities this week to do just that. And we did it again today!

Today, vegetarian versions were on the menu at Pure Veggie House in Coda Plaza. The same building also holds other restaurants serving hotpots, regular dimsum and more.

Here's their card:

Here's the regular menu (the dimsum menu is a printed list, something like a sushi order sheet, where you check off the items and how many of each dish):





We arrived at around 12.30, only one other table was occupied. By 1.15pm, every table in the place was filled; 1pm is lunchtime in HK.

We sat at a large round table with a revolving glass center.

Every dish looked delicious, but this group has gone there often and knew exactly what to order.

We started off with what turned out to be fried bean curd skins. They tasted a bit like vegetarian bacon bits - chewy, crisp, interesting.

The other dishes began arriving in bamboo steamers, small platters and bowls: transparent wild mushroom dumplings with black truffle sauce, steamed vegetarian BBQ buns (these were fantastic), turnip puffs (a yellow fried shell surrounding soft melting turnip), pure veggie siu mai, noodles in soup with sesame sauce and peanuts (very delicious), and wonton in red chili soup. Of course, green tea and jasmine tea were on the table. For our group of five, we ordered two of most items and stuffed ourselves silly. The bill? About US$10 per person.

We could also have had other deep-fried pastries - such as wild fungus spring roll, vegetarian cake, pan-friend pumpkin cake or vegetable turnover - or other steamed offerings - fried rice in lotus leaf, steamed eggplant with bean paste, bamboo fungus bundle or steamed rice flour pancakes with vegetables or mushrooms, or another 15 rice or noodle dishes.

Frequent diners get a 10% off card, which one of our group had today.

I learned that there are two types of vegetarian restaurants. One serves dishes that look, smell and taste like various meat products but aren't - such as platters of roast "pork." The other type doesn't try to imitate meat products, like Pure Veggie House.

How did I enjoy it? A simple one-word answer: YUM!

There were some interesting dishes on other tables and asked about them. One was a delicious looking spiced bean curd. Next time.

We didn't have dessert, but if we had room, we could have had sesame pudding, red dates and snow lotus seeds, red date pudding, or sweet rice dumplings.

Back to the hotel to prepare for tonight's talk. More later.

Hong Kong: A walk through the market

Even genealogists need a break occasionally.

This morning, Erica Lyons and I walked through the lanes of a market. Here are some shots.

Dried snacks and candies:

A vegetable stand:

Here are the fishies:

Lots of nuts:

And this was before lunch!

Hong Kong: Markets, magazines and more

Erica Lyons - who has been here for some seven years with her family - and I went to an old temple - I love the smell of incense - and a walk through the market.

We later met some of our dining companions from the other night for a fabulous vegetarian dim sum lunch.

Erica, a lawyer by training, is editor-in-chief and publisher of the new Asian Jewish Life: A Journal of Spirit, Society and Culture.

The now-quarterly free publication - hopefully to become more frequent - focuses on the Jewish experience in Asia. It is handed out on El Al flights from Asia in business and first. It is also online.

She gave me a copy of the 40-page premier issue which features an excellent group of articles by some very interesting writers, covering artists, book reviews, personal stories and much more. Read it online at the link above.

Erica (photo right) is also on the board of the Hong Kong Jewish Historical Society, and shared some information about the century-old Jewish cemetery, which I hope to visit Friday morning.

I have discussed the possibility of forming a Jewish genealogical society here under the auspices of the historical society. I hope to meet more of the historical society members when I return through HK from Australia towards the end of March.

Hong Kong: Day Three

The Hong Kong Jewish Community Center events committee produced this card about my two talks on Wednesday and Thursday:


It should be very interesting as so many people are saying they will attend.

I forgot to add an interesting conversation I had last night with Amy Mines Tadelis on the way to dinner. She told me about her husband, whose family is Polish, although their Sephardic name TADELIS - about as rare as TALALAY - is possibly related to the famous Benjamin of Tudela (Spain), who wrote a book about his journeys.

Never made it to the Kowloon ferry today, as I attended a Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) luncheon meeting at the JCC. The JWA holds meetings and events here, and I was interested because Tracing the Tribe often blogs on JWA events and activities in the US, but didn't know there was a branch here in Hong Kong.

Speaker Professor Atara Sivan of Hong Kong Baptist University has been here for some 20 years, when the community was very different. She and her husband came from Israel for six months a long time ago, and stayed; their sons were born and raised here.

Atara's talk was "Lost in Translation: The Emotional Journey of Women" and centered on women who follow their husbands to different countries for work, discussing problems of adjustment as well as that of their children, whom she refers to as "children of the world."

The core point was identity, who are we, what do the children consider themselves, issues of passport and "real" home, as well as the personal identity issues for the parents who may have been away from their home countries for many years.

It was a follow-up to the identity conversation I had yesterday with Mira Hasofer. It was also very personal for me. I remembered all too well my long-ago arrival in Teheran, back to the US and then to Israel. "Fish out of water" came to mind in my own memories. I wish a seminar like this had been available all those decades ago.

After lunch, we sat and talked, with several other long time residents of HK, for about an hour after the event ended. Atara described her work with some at-risk schools in the area who do not enjoy anything remotely like the resources of the Carmel School, housed at the JCC.

In fact, I'm sitting right now in the beautiful two-level JCC Judaica Library (below is one wall of the room). I haven't found any Jewish genealogy books on the shelves; I'm going to suggest a list for them to acquire, including Jeff Malka's "Sephardic Genealogy."


Following the theme of preserving identity and memories, I just saw now - right at my elbow - "In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin," (Jason Aaronson, 1996) edited by Cara De Silva and translated by Terezin survivor Bianca Steiner Brown. If you haven't read this slim volume, do look for it. In Michael Berenbaum's forward, he writes:

"For some, the way to deal with this hunger was to repress the past, to live only in the present, to think only of today, neither of yesterday nor of tomorrow. Not so the women who compiled this cookbook. They talked of the past; they dared to think of food, to dwell on what they were missing - pots and pans, a kitchen, home, family, guests, meals, entertainment. Therefore, this cookbook compiled by women in Theresienstadt, by starving women in Theresienstadt, must be seen as yet another manifestation of defiance, of a spiritual revolt against the harshness of given conditions. It is a flight of the imagination back to an earlier time when food was available, when women had homes and kitchens and could provide a meal for their children. The fantasy must have been painful for the authors. Recalling recipes was an act of discipline that required them to suppress their current hunger and to think of the ordinary world before the camps - and perhaps to dare to dream of a world after the camps."

In the introduction, Cara de Silva explains how the hand-sewn crumbling cookbook arrived at the home of Anny Stern, 25 years on the way from Terezin to New York's East Side. Sent by her mother Mina Pachter, it included a photo of Mina and Anny's son (then Peter, now David) and a fragile, crumbling book with pages on which were written some 80 recipes in different hands.

She writes:

"Food is who we are in the deepest sense, and not because it is transformed into blood and bone. Our personal gastronomic traditions 0 what we eat, the foods and foodways we associate with the rituals of childhood, marriage and parenthood, moments around the table, celebrations - are critical components of our identities."

In the camp, Mina and her friends faithfully recorded their favorite recipes: Heu und Stroh, fried noodles with raisins, cinnamon and vanilla cream; Kletzenbrot, a rich fruit bread; Erdapfel Dalken, potato doughnuts; Badener Caramell Bonbons, caramels from Baden Baden; and more.

Some of the people I met today included a woman whose mother and mother-in-law were living in Shanghai and also had connections to Harbin, people originally from Los Angeles and New York, some who have been here for a long time and speak Mandarin and Cantonese, to those who have just arrived, such as a Persian man and his wife who have been here only one year from New York. It is certainly an interesting community.

Tonight we (Mira, Armelle and me) had dinner at the JCC's Sabra Coffee Shop - a low-key quiet night and we all left early to catch up on work.

Hong Kong: Day Two

Today, JCC program director Mira Hasofer and I discussed identity, heritage and how it impacts "third country" children.

I had also talked about something similar with French native Armelle Sibony over lunch.

Many in the Hong Kong community are expats. Parents come from one country or maybe two, their children have lived in one or more countries from an early age.

The major question is who they feel they are. What are they? Who are they? Where is home? How does where they live impact how they see themselves?

It was an interesting way of thinking about things, and demonstrates how genealogy and family history projects can help Jewish (and indeed all) families focus on what is within them and what that represents and not what is outside the home and where they are living at that particular point in time.

As an expat myself, I understood what Mira and Armelle were saying all too well.

How does one maintain one's identity for the adults, and more importantly for the children. In the case of Jewish expats, being involved in the community is very important for adults and children to strengthen their heritage and identity.

At our dinner tonight, all the women had grown up elsewhere, mostly in the US. Their children were growing up here. All are very involved in the community.

This morning, it was drizzling, but it stopped a few hours later. Here's what it looked like, in the mist, at about noon.


After a nice buffet breakfast, with all the regular items plus some Chinese items and to-order eggs, I went down to the business center to blog - the Internet connection is faster down there.

My schedule was to include the Escalator from Mid-Levels down to Central, lunch, a visit to The Lanes, and a Chinese dinner with community members tonight.

A French native, Armelle Sibony has been in Hong Kong for three years with her engineer husband. She was my wonderful hostess this afternoon. Her family and her husband's are originally from North Africa.

Although we were supposed to take the Escalator down to Central, we took a cab. We went to a wonderful Thai restaurant called Cafe Siam, 40-42 Lyndhurst Terrace. The vegetarian springrolls were delicious - I knew there was a way of making a tasty vegetarian version, and these get a gold star. Armelle had a noodle and vegetable dish with a great sauce, and I had rice with vegetables and coconut served in a coconut. I had it with chicken, but it would have been just as delicious vegetarian.

Armelle's family is from Algeria; her family name - Gueta - is very unusual.

After lunch - we could have sat there chatting for several more hours - we went to The Lanes, a rabbit-warren of two narrow alleys, lined with shops on both sides as well as booths down the middle of it - kind of a bazaar atmosphere and good for chatchkeles and souvenirs. However I did find nearby an interesting shop that sold silk jackets and tops.

What does Central look like? Like any busy downtown in any major city. Lots of people, tiny shops on sidestreets with major stores lining the main road. Wherever you go, there are Starbucks, 7-11s, and every major upscale international brand.

At 6.30pm, I went to Mira's home where I met her two boys and the baby. She wanted me to see a Hong Kong apartment. She and her family will be visiting her parents in Israel for Passover and we hope to get together then.

Their apartment is on Conduit Road; the building has an unbelievably steep, curving driveway as do many buildings on this side of the road. If you think San Francisco has hills, you haven't seen anything yet! Not only is HK filled with even steeper hills than the famous Lombard Street, but also even more twisty roads. Their apartment has very large rooms, huge bedrooms, high ceilings, a balcony, very large kitchen, a utility room as big as an Israeli living room! At about 2,500 sq. ft. it's about the size of a nice-sized house in the US.

From here, I went to dinner - sharing a taxi with Amy Mines Tadelis who lives in the next building to Mira - with Tara Diestel, a liason between the community trustees and the JCC events committee, and five other women at the Peking Garden in Alexandra House.

Each dish was more delicious than the last. Our menu included scallion buns, a kind of fried seaweed with fresh bamboo and candied walnuts, tangerine beef stuffed into little sesame pockets, superb Peking duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce, a definitely seasonal dish of fresh pea sprouts, a delicious white-fleshed fish in orange sauce, noodles and a variety of mushrooms.

At a center table, a noodle chef demonstrated his technique and received applause.

I'm sure I forgot something, but it was all delicious. My dinner companions said they go there often, and it is a community favorite - they seem to have memorized the very extensive menu. Another table was also filled with their mutual friends.<

As expats everywhere, we spent time discussing our favorite items and whether they were available here or not. I felt like I was back in Iran decades ago. Back then, if you were served good tuna salad with Hellman's mayonnaise, you knew you were on the "A" list, as those treasures - among others - were hard to come by.

Tomorrow there's a luncheon at the JCC, and then I'm taking the ferry to Kowloon and back for another dinner invitation.

After a day climbing up and down hills (only the tamer ones!), I'm exhausted and planning to turn in early tonight.

Goodnight from Hong Kong!

Hong Kong: Day One

Following a relatively comfortable - although 10 hours long - flight from Tel Aviv, Hong Kong International Airport is an eye-opener.

Having grown up with JFK and LAX airports, "busy" was not an unknown quantity, but this airport is something else. An immense physical space filled with crowds of people.

Despite some long walking stretches, escalators up and down and a train to another terminal, everything was very efficient. The car service driver was waiting for me when I emerged from baggage claim.

I had been expecting cold, wet weather, but it was a warm 20C following yesterday's cold 8C, the driver told me. The 40km drive from the airport to the hotel in Mid-Levels was fast, no traffic at all, until we hit HK proper. It was a bit misty - think Los Angeles morning mist - but the hills were spectacular, as well as the views from the bridges.

This large bustling city is filled with very tall, slender buildings. When you don't have much land, the only way to go is up.

Mira Hasofer, the Hong Kong Jewish Community Center's program director, called to make sure everything was fine and to confirm our arrangement to meet at the JCC's traditional Sunday night BBQ dinner.

It was a short walk up (emphasis on the "up" as in "up hill") from the Bishop Lei hotel as I had to stop at a few places along the way looking for nail polish remover. My brand-new manicure had completely distintegrated. Three shops, not one had any remover at all, not even one bottle. Tomorrow I may just go for a new manicure.

There is major security at the JCC: a guard out front who checks passports and other papers and asks many serious questions in a friendly manner, and two more in a glass-windowed office watching everything. There is a metal detector and a check of bags. It reminded me of attending services at the Guadalajara (Mexico) synagogue

Downstairs, I met Mira, her attorney husband Menachem and her father Moshe. Originally from Sydney, Mira and Menachem, have been in HK about eight years and have three young children, the youngest only 3 months.

Mira introduced me to a number of community members who were also enjoying this Sunday night tradition, including Rabbi Stanton M. Zamek and Rabbi Martha Bergadine of the United Jewish Congregation and their two children. Rabbi Zamek is the Purim Spiel person. I'm looking forward to attending that production!

I especially enjoyed meeting Mira's father, Moshe. His family originally left Bushehr (southern Iran) in 1904 for Palestine, then to Bombay. Regular readers of Tracing the Tribe may remember that the ancestors of Samy Yecutieli (Caracas, Venezuela) were also from Bushehr. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the two families knew each other back then.

Moshe's family went to Bombay and back to Israel again. We kept wandering in and out of Farsi mixed with Hebrew and English. Moshe knew our cousin Sassoon z"l Menashy's father, Menashe, in Bombay. Menashe - son of Moshe ben Israel Dardashti - was a wedding singer and sang at most of the community's events. Moshe's father was also a singer and participated in those events.

Visiting HK and looking for a kosher BBQ buffet dinner? Visit the Jewish Community Center on Sunday nights, from 6-10pm. It's also a good place to meet the friendly local community.

The chefs barbecue on the patio outside, and treats include meat, chicken, turkey, fish, a chicken wok dish (as well as baked potatoes, french fries and other treats). There's also pasta, various salads and platters of delicious fresh salmon sushi and sashimi as well as baked salmon.

Don't miss the desserts, there's a fudgy brownie cake that is a MUST, along with other sweet treats and fruit.

The buffet, in the Garden Room, has a view of the 150-year-old Ohel Leah historic synagogue (see photo above left). Mira's husband Menachem explained that there are few buildings of that age left in HK. In the absence of zoning restrictions, they've most all been torn down to put up new towering buildings.

Ohel Leah was named for the mother, Leah Gubbay, of of David Sassoon's three grandsons. The land where the synagogue stands was purchased when the site was far above the city, and given to the Jewish community. The foundation stone was laid May 1901; it was dedicated April 1902.

In 1905, the Kadoorie family funded the Jewish Recreation Club on part of the synagogue grounds. Its facilities included a large hall, restaurant, bar, library and billiards room, a tennis court and a wide lawn with Victoria Harbour views.

Originally a Sephardic community, Ashenazim from Eastern Europe arrived during the 1880s, 1890s, and 1930s. In 1937, property below the club was given to the community by J.E. Joseph. Named Beit Simcha - in memory of his mother - the property was purchased to preserve the harbour view, to house the rabbi, along with a ground floor mikvah.

During World War II, HK was occupied by the Japanese, community members were placed in POW camps; the synagogue was requisitioned by the Japanese. The Torah scrolls were smuggled out and hidden during the war. The synagogue did not have serious damage but the Club was destroyed. In 1949, the Kadoorie famiy funded a new club on the same site.

Menahem said that when the Sassoons first bought the land, the area was not desirable and no one wanted to live there. Today, however, the neighborhood is a prime district filled with beautiful tall apartment buildings.

There's more to the saga. The Club included a large field gradually surrounded by these tall blocks. The once-undesirable plot of land was now worth a pile of money. The community's Trustees of the community decided to develop the land. In partnership with a local developer, two residential towers were built, with a percentage of the apartments in the two 40-story towers belonging to the Trust.

Also part of the agreement with the developer was that a Jewish Community Center be built. Today, the facility has some six floors, including a Jewish day school, library, kosher supermarket, meat and dairy restaurants, an indoor swimming pool, function rooms and offices. It is also completely wireless!

There was some controversy over whether the historic synagogue should be preserved or destroyed. Luckily, it was preserved, and completely renovated while retaining the original feel. In 1997 work began and the building was rededicated on October 18, 1998.

In 2000, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards recognized the conservation and restoration project with an Outstanding Project Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

The JCC also has the Sabra Coffee Shop - a glatt kosher meat restaurant that also offers a Wednesday evening buffet, the Waterside Restaurant (informal dairy) and the Coffee Bar. The facilities also include a Kosher Mart retail shop.

There are seven synagogues in Hong Kong today. Ohel Leah, three Chabad branches, and a Progressive/Reform congregation.

The community even has a glossy magazine, Jewish Times Asia, the first - and only - regional community publication, distributed in nine countries.

Tomorrow, I'm doing the Escalator Walk with a community member and we'll visit The Lanes - lots of shops. Mira assures me that on the way back there are some excellent manicure places, so I may do that.

There is a Hong Kong Jewish Historical Society, and more on that later in the week.

On the road again: Hong Kong, Australia

Tracing the Tribe's first-ever trip to Hong Kong and Australia begins tomorrow and I'll be blogging every day.

In Hong Kong, my schedule includes:

• Wednesday, February 24, 8pm, at the Jewish Community Center: "The IberianAshkenaz DNA Project: So You Think You're Ashkenazi?"


• Thursday, February 25, 8pm, at the Jewish Community Center: "Introduction to Jewish Genealogy," for the community.


• During the week, I'll also present "Intro to Jewish Genealogy" for students at Carmel College.

I'll do some sightseeing (weather permitting), enjoy the cuisine, meet interesting people and spend Purim in Hong Kong. Of course, I'll be blogging, so stay tuned.

On March 1, I fly to Melbourne, Australia, for the Second Australian National Jewish Genealogy Conference (March 7-9). I'm honored to have been invited for this event and look forward to seeing the Australian Jewish genealogy community.



My presentations include the IberianAshkenaz DNA Project as well as social media for today's genealogists.

Friends and family are part of the Australian schedule, including cousins who come from Bobruisk, Belarus and from America (in Sydney). I'll be visiting the Sydney cousins for the second part of my trip, and may do some additional talks there.

On the return flight, I will speak on MyHeritage.com, presenting an overview of its tools and features and encouraging people to participate in the new Beit Hatfutsot-MyHeritage.com partnership.

Family trees created with a special version of the free MyHeritage software will be periodically transferred to Beit Hatfutsot for digital archiving for ever.

This should be a very exciting trip, new sights, fascinating people and much much more.

Blogging will be on the menu in Australia as well.

Readers who either live in these destinations or who have been there before, are invited to suggest their favorite experiences - things to see, places to eat, etc.

Next week in Hong Kong!

Sephardim: Museum of Family History exhibits

The virtual Museum of Family History also has material for researchers of Sephardim.

-- Holocaust Memorials in Havana and Santa Clara, Cuba

-- Synagogues of Asia: Burma, China, Hong Kong, India, Lebanon, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkey [Asian side].

--Synagogues of Turkey: (European side of Istanbul)

-- Synagogues of Spain. The photo at left is the El Transito Synagogue in Toledo.

-- Postcards from Home: Turkey

Museum creator Steve Lasky wishes to include more pre-war family photos. Readers with such photos are invited to contact Steve.