Melbourne reaches out to Chinese Jews

A SMALL but active Chinese Jewish community was the recipient of the Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Victoria’s (COSV) most recent outreach project.

Following a request from Eric Rothberg, representing the Yiceleye Kaifeng Jewish School in the Henan Province of China, the COSV air-freighted a number of siddurs, chumash texts and sets of tzitzit.

“It is a real mitzvah to be able to help out in these circumstances and the COSV is very pleased to have been able to provide such practical
assistances to a far-flung Jewish community, looking to strengthen its Judaism,” president Paul Korbl said.

There are about 100 Jewish families totalling some 500 people in Kaifeng, an additional group recently becoming the first to make aliyah in an operation coordinated by Shavei Israel.

DALIA SABLE