Comments on: Asia’s Only Jewish Film Festival

By: Christopher DeWolf

Christopher DeWolf — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:54:25 +0000

I’m really just speculating and this is something that needs to be researched, but it’s possible that many of the Britons who worked here pre-handover were involved, directly or indirectly, in the colonial administration, or were people who took advantage of a visa-free work environment. But I was also surprised to see that the local Jewish population has more than doubled since 1998. Maybe those earlier numbers were inaccurate.

As for why HK Jews didn’t leave after WWII, we’re really only talking about a community of a few hundred people, compared to tens of thousands of people in Shanghai, so it wouldn’t have taken more than a handful of committed families to keep things stable.

By: C. Szabla

C. Szabla — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:27:08 +0000

But the Japanese arguably treated Jews worse in HK than they did in Shanghai, interning all the remaining Jews at an army barracks rather than creating a restricted residential ghetto, and most of the Shanghai Jews fled before the advance of communism rather than be forced out. It's possible many who left mainland China after the war wound up in Hong Kong and replentished the Jewish population, but many more left for Israel, so it's surprising that there were enough Jews who stayed in HK after the occupation, and enough refugees who decided to stop there rather than make their way to Israel, that the Jewish community managed to remain stable. I'm still puzzled about the rise in the Jewish population post-handover. I guess the underlying question is why more Americans and Israelis migrate there now than Britons overall (and why they weren't doing so before 1997), and/or why the percentage of Americans and other nationalities (beside Israelis) who come there are Jewish as opposed to the percentage of Britons. Was there a shift of emphasis in immigration controls?

By: Christopher DeWolf

Christopher DeWolf — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:25:34 +0000

Chris, the only reason the Jewish community dispersed from Shanghai was because of the Japanese invasion and then (for those who stayed during the war) the Communist takeover. They were forced out. Nothing like that happened in Hong Kong, which suddenly became, after 1949, the only truly welcoming place for Jews in Asia.

The swelling Jewish population after the handover probably has to do with a shift in the kinds of expats who come to Hong Kong — fewer Britons, more people from the rest of the world, including the US and Israel.

Vincci, the festival sells out pretty quickly. I have a few screenings I want to see but they’re already filling up.

By: Vincci

Vincci — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:11:28 +0000

Thanks for that! I was in Hong Kong around this time last year and tried to go to the festival but unfortunately the film I wanted to see was sold out.

By: C. Szabla

C. Szabla — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:24:29 +0000

Interesting. I’ve tended to associate “Jews in East Asia” far more with Shanghai (excepting, of course, the Kaifeng Jews), though the Jewish community there dispersed long ago. Any idea why this wasn’t the case in HK? And what’s caused the Jewish population to balloon since the handover?