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Jews,
Opium and the Kimono: The Story of the Jews in the Far-East,
by Ezra Yehezkel-Shaked,
translated from the Hebrew by Yosef Yaakov. (2003, Rubin
Mass, Ltd, P.O.Box 990, Jerusalem, 9`009 Israel, $25. Tel:
972-2-6277863; FAX 972-2-6277864)
Translated from the Hebrew, this is a less scholarly but more anecdotal work than Maisie J. Meyer’s From the Rivers of Babylon to the Whangpo: A Century of Sephardi Jewish Life in Shanghai, and focuses on more recenthistory.
Examining the importance of the Jewish presence in the Far-East, this 282-page book covers the waves of Jewish emigration to the Far East after the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917, the rise of Nazism, politicalloyalties of the Jewish communities in Shanghai and Harbin highlighting the largely pro-Jewish attitudes of pre-1942 Japan, and Internment andWorld War II experiences in China, Japan and India. Attention is paid to the Jewish role in building Shanghai and Hong Kong, helping create theChinese Army, and introducing Communism to the Chinese people. Some black and white photographs and an especially useful brief coverage of people,places and events in the epilogue (discussed in the following order):
Sir Victor Sassoon
Flora (Farha Sassoon)
The Palace at 32, Kidd Street, Calcutta
Dr. Abraham Kaufman
General Morris (two-Gun Cohen)
Moshe Schwartzberg
Dr. Abraham Cohen
Colonel Yisue
Shibata Mitsugi
Captain Inutzuke
Goya, “The King of the Jews”
Senpo Sugihara
Dr. Abraham, Kutusuzi (or Kutsuji)
Dr.Zerah Warhaftig
Abraham Richer (The “Watchmaker King”)
Max Hodorovsky – Menahem Savidor
Ohel Rachel Synagogue, Shanghai
Beth Aharon Synagogue, Shanghais
Hardoon Road
Jewish Cemeteries
”The Butcher of Warsaw” the Nazi Col. Josef Meissenger
Marble Hall, the Kadoorie Mansion in Shanghai
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion