The city of Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang
province in northern Manchuria, northeast
China .
Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning "a
place for drying fishing nets". Harbin bears the
nicknames "The Pearl on the swan's neck"
because the shape of Heilongjiang resembles a
swan, and "Oriental Moscow" or "Oriental Paris"
for the architecture in the city. Harbin is also
known as "Ice City" for its long and cold winter.
This city is most famous for its beautiful display
of ice sculptures in the winter.
Wikipedia
Harbin once had the largest Jewish population in
the Far East. In the late 19th and early 20th
century, it was the largest political, economic
and cultural centre for the Jewish people in the
region.
The first Jews arrived to Harbin from Russia and
Eastern Europe in 1898, with the beginning of
the construction of the trans-Siberian railway
linking Moscow and Beijing.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,
increasing numbers of Jews migrated to Harbin.
At its peak the community, which usually
numbered 10,000 inhabitants, reached 25,000
people .
After World War II, the Jews of Harbin
gradually scattered to Shanghai, Israel
and other countries. In 1963 the Jewish
institutions in the city were officially
closed down. In 1985 the last Jew in
Harbin died .
Original synagogue
The Main Synagogue in Harbin
(also called the Old Church)
Its foundation was laid on May 3, 1907
and completed in January 1909
Main synagogue of Harbin
reflection
The new Jewish synagogue in Harbin:
construction started in 1916 and finished in 1921,
and is now Harbin Jewish History
and Culture Exhibition Hall
Once the largest synagogue in Northeast
China, covering an area of more than
1,230 square metres and being able to
accommodate up to 800 worshipers, it
has not been used since the Jewish
people left the city in the 1950s.
Built in 1921, the synagogue was not only
an important place of religious
observance and community education for
Harbin's Jews, but was also a public
library
The entrance to the Exhibition of Harbin
Jewish History and Culture features
a sculpture of a large Menorah,
a candlestick with seven candles.
On the walls there are two relief sculptures
depicting the migration routes
of the Jews.
The synagogue itself is full of
intricate Jewish architecture with the Star
of David on prominent display .
A film on the
Holocaust, with
Chinese subtitles, is
screened on a large
television screen at
the foyer .
The synagogue
itself is full of
intricate Jewish
architecture with
the Star of David on
prominent display.
The building's two floors are filled with
large black and white pictures
documenting Jewish life in the city:
the soup kitchen, the Beitar youth
movement, the women's welfare
organization, shops and plants, the
library, the orchestra, Jewish singers,
Jewish athletes, “ The Jew of World
Famous “ as they call them.
The Harbin Huang
Shan Jewish
Cemetery, located
in the city's
suburbs, is the
largest and the
best-preserved
cemetery in the
Far East.
The cemetery, with
about 600
tombstones engraved
in Russian and
Yiddish, was built in
1903 in the city
center and was
transferred outside
the city in 1958. In
1992, after the
establishment of
relations between
Israel and China, it
was renovated.
Ehud Olmert,
Israel's prime
minister, paid
respects to his
grandfather
who is buried in
the cemetery .
He left a stone
on the tomb of
his grandfather
Joseph Olmert,
who died in
Harbin in 1941.
Source :
- Harbin's Jews: Isle of calm for embattled nation
By Shiri Lev Ari
- The Jews of Harbin
Dr. Irena Vladimirsky
www.bh.org.il/Communities/Archive/Harbin
- Wikipedia
Photos : Charles B.
Dec-08