!שלום־עליכם 欢迎! 欢迎! Welcome!
The Sino-Judaic Institute has been a pioneer in the field of Chinese-Jewish relations for over 30 years. We are a virtual institute, based in the United States, but with members the world over. We offer this website as a resource to all who are curious about various aspects of Chinese-Jewish relations and want to learn more. SJI is a membership organization. We welcome your participation and involvement.
Our fields of work include:
- The study of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng, where Jews have been living now for over a millennium, and assisting the Kaifeng Jewish descendants to reconnect with their cultural heritage as appropriate.
- The study of Jewish life in Shanghai, Harbin, Tianjin, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- The study of cross-cultural issues such as literary influences, comparative diasporas, religion, intermarriage and family matters, etc.
- The support of Jewish Studies programs in China and fostering scholarship in this field.
- Promotion of tourism to Kaifeng and other cities and to make current exhibits on the Jews of China more accessible to the public.
- Publicaton of Points East, a journal that comes out three times a year, and Sino-Judaica, an occasional scholarly publication.
Special Lecture in San Francisco
The Unbroken Past: Reflecting on a Refugee Past during a Troubled Present
Presented by Prof. Kevin Ostoyich
Thursday, September 19, 7 PM
Jewish Community Library
1835 Ellis St
San Francisco, CA 94115
Free admission with free garage parking on Pierce St between Ellis and Eddy streets.
Kurt and Jeanette Nothenberg lived comfortably in the middle class in Germany raising their only child, Rudy. Following Kristallnacht, Kurt was arrested and sent to Buchenwald, but was later released on the condition that he leave the country immediately. The family left by train to Genoa, where they embarked on a journey by sea to Shanghai. Professor Ostoyich interviewed Rudy Nothenberg, formerly the Chief Administrative Officer of San Francisco, and sifted through archival documents to chronicle the Nothenberg family’s time in Shanghai, as well as the complex story of how Rudy, Jeanette, and Kurt, each made it to the United States in succession. The Nothenberg family’s refugee history is a timely one, given the present rise in xenophobia and antisemitism in the United States.
SJI Board member Kevin Ostoyich is professor of history at Valparaiso University, where he has taught since 2006 and served as history department chair from 2015 to 2019. He holds his PhD from Harvard University. He is the author of The German Society of Pennsylvania: A Guide to Its Book and Manuscript Collections and publishes regularly on issues pertaining to German history, German-American Studies, and the Shanghai Jewish refugee community.
Kaifeng Scholarship Fund Created
As a memorial to board member Denise Bressler, who was long been active in helping to educate the Kaifeng Jewish community, the Sino Judaic Institute has created a scholarship in her memory called the "Denise Yeh Bressler Kaifeng Scholarship Fund.”
Funds are being raised to provide a Kaifeng Jewish descendant the opportunity to study practical Judaica abroad before returning home as an informal teacher. Money is needed for travel, room and board, study materials, and tuition.
Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5, $50, $500 or $5,000. Every little bit helps towards our initial goal of $15,000.
You can support this history-making project via Paypal on this website or by sending a check, made out to the Sino-Judaic Institute with a note for its purpose, to Prof. Steve Hochstadt, 1252 West College Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650. Contributions are tax-deductible in the U.S.A.