Kaifeng Jews suffer under Beijing’s religious crackdown

China’s crackdown on unapproved religions is impacting Kaifeng’s Jewish community, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Despite numbering barely 1,000, the Jewish community of Kaifeng is reportedly falling foul of Beijing’s campaign to erase non-sanctioned religions. An ancient well and stones marking a 12th-century synagogue have been removed or have vanished beneath cement as the authorities strive to erase Jewish history from the area. The authorities have also reportedly torn down the Hebrew signs indicating “Teaching Torah Lane” while a building used for holding services has a security camera directed at its entrance and it has been plastered with posters about China’s “management of religious affairs” and reminders that Judaism is prohibited.

Jewish schools have been closed and exhibits documenting the history of Jews in Kaifeng have also disappeared from a museum and a historic guild hall.

Unable to obtain Jewish religious materials, members of the Jewish community pass around dog-eared pamphlets compiled when Jewish scholars, rabbis and tourists flocked to Kaifeng as China opened up in the 1990s. Now, one resident explained, “no print shop dares to help us copy these”.

Groups such as the Sino-Judaic Institute and Shavei Israel had previously set up centres and helped some to emigrate. But both groups were among the first targets of the Government crackdown and expelled a few years ago.

Jews first settled in China’s historic former capital over 1,000 years ago. Of the 1,000 Kaifeng residents who claim Jewish heritage only around 100 are practising Jews. Yet the Jews in Kaifeng are remarkably resilient, and have found ways to keep their faith alive. Each week, meetings are supposedly held in secret to celebrate Shabbat, and candles to mark Chanukah were lit over the festival. “Whatever we do, we’re always very careful to make sure the authorities don’t find out,” one man said.

A local man, who said he dreamed of training in Israel to be a rabbi, claimed it was “Government policy” to “make sure the next generation doesn’t have any Jewish identity.”

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