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Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

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Very interesting from a historical perspective. But Rabbi Freundlich is correct

"They may stem from Jewish ancestry, but they aren't Jewish," says Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, who runs the orthodox Chabad House in Beijing. "There hasn't been a Jewish

and

The handful of Kaifengers who go to Israel are sometimes floored to discover they need to go through a rabbi-certified conversion to be accepted as Jews, while the ones staying home squabble over which of them are really Jewish.

should be glad they're accepted as immigrants to Israel. I presume they would have stayed home if they didn't prefer Israel.

And for those who stay home

many in Kaifeng turn to Timothy Lerner, who calls himself a "messianic Jew"—meaning he was born Jewish but believes in Christ as the Messiah—to learn Hebrew and Jewish customs. Mr. Lerner acknowledges that his visa was revoked by the Chinese government in 2006 for evangelizing, but says he doesn't try to convince anyone to follow his religious beliefs. He says he set up the "Kaifeng Israel School" to help Kaifeng Jews "learn the Jewish lifestyle" and move to Israel, where about a dozen of them have taken up residence, thanks largely to funds from Shavei Israel, an Israeli group.
Others in the Jewish community are suspicious. Shi Lei, one of the first Kaifeng Jews to study in Israel, blames Mr. Lerner for "creating factions" in the tiny community with his school, though Mr. Lerner says Mr. Shi misunderstands his efforts.

they shouldn't be surprised if, as Christians, they're not allowed to make aliyah.

I remember visiting the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv. There was a model of a Synagogue from China. So even way back, China has been considered part of the Diaspora.

True Story:
My late M-I-L, kept a kosher home, but loved to eat out at Chinese restaurants. One night she asked the waiter if they had any “Chinese Jews”. The waiter became somewhat agitated, and ran to the kitchen.
When he came back, he said:
“So Sorry, Miss. We have Orange Jews, Pineapple Jews, but no Chinese Jews!”