The Jewish Community of Hong Kong

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Public Seder for the Jewish Community of Hong Kong attended by Lord Kadoorie and other community dignitaries Photo: Ehud Malez Beth Hatefutsoth, Visual Documentation Center Courtesy of Ehud Malez, Israel

At the senior citizens' home in Hong Kong, 1983 Photo: Ehud Malez Beth Hatefutsoth, Visual Documentation Center Courtesy of Ehud Malez, Israel

The Sassoon family arrived when Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain by China in 1842. They transferred their offices from neighboring Canton to Hong Kong and helped to develop this new port. The Kadoorie brothers and the Sassoons made it their policy to employ only Jewish managers and clerks, mainly of Baghdadi origin. The Hong Kong Jewish Community was first established in 1857 and the Ohel Leah synagogue, built by Sir Jacob Sassoon, was opened in 1900. The outbreak of World War II and the consequent Japanese occupation of Hong Kong temporarily suspended all Jewish activities there. The Jewish population numbered 60 Sephardim in 1882; 100 in 1921, mainly Sephardim; 250 in 1954, half Sephardim and half Ashkenazim; 230 in all in 1959; and 200 in 1968, 70 Sephardim and 130 Ashkenazim. Since the 1960's, Israel began to appoint Honorary Consuls to Hong Kong.

From the 1960's onwards, Hong Kong's development as a trade and finance centre has attracted tens of thousands of foreigners, among them Jews from the US, Israel, the UK, Australia and Canada. They revitalized the local Jewish Community. In 1997, 2,500 Jews were living in Hong Kong, two thirds of them Americans and Israelis.

Rosh Hashanah greetings card showing Ohel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong Beth Hatefutsoth, Visual Documentation Center

The community has four synagogues, three of which are served by rabbis. There is also a large Jewish Community Centre, which contains a library, recreational facilities and a kosher restaurant, and is the leading venue of Jewish activities in the city. There are two Jewish schools, the Carmel school for children up to eight years old and the Ezekiel Abraham school which provides after school learning for older children.

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