VZCZCXRO1018
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGH #0033/01 0290654
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290654Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8519
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3283
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 2375
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0832
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2547
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 2366
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 2167
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0005
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 9186

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000033 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CH IS KIRF PGOV PHUM PREL SCUL
SUBJECT: SHANGHAI JEWISH COMMUNITY SEES EXPO AS A WAY TO EXPAND 
RECOGNITION 
 
REF: A. A) SHANGHAI 17 (EXPAT MORMONS IN SHANGHAI) 
     ¶B. B) 09 SHANGHAI 162 (SHANGHAI'S JEWISH COMMUNITY) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Shanghai's Jewish community has seen 
slow-but-observable progress toward greater acceptance by local 
government authorities over the last decade. The community now 
seeks to take advantage of the six-month-long Shanghai World 
Expo to push the door open another few inches.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Consul General met January 21 with Rabbi Shalom D. 
Greenberg, a leader in Shanghai's Jewish community, to discuss 
efforts to gain more use of the historic Ohel Rachel Synagogue. 
Rabbi Greenberg and Israeli Consul General Jackie Eldan both 
credit the U.S. Consulate with helping obtain permission to use 
the synagogue for religious services, albeit on a limited basis, 
starting ten years ago.  The Rabbi and Israeli Consulate are now 
asking city authorities for use of the synagogue on Friday and 
Saturday nights during the May 1-October 31 duration of the 
Expo, arguing that foreign visitors to the World's Fair will 
expect to be able to attend religious services while in 
Shanghai. 
 
 
 
WARTIME REFUGEE HAVEN 
 
--------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) In the early part of the 20th century, Shanghai's 
Jewish community grew to 30,000 as Jews fled Central Europe (Ref 
B).  Two synagogues from that era, Ohel Moshe and Ohel Rachel, 
have been preserved, although not as officially recognized 
places of worship.  (Note: According to Rabbi Greenberg, there 
are approximately 2,000 expatriate Jews in Shanghai today; he 
estimates 500 are U.S. citizens, 400-500 are Israeli citizens, 
and 150 are French citizens. There are no Chinese citizen Jews 
to speak of. End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ohel Moshe Synagogue, located in the Hongkou district 
that housed thousands of Jewish refugees during World War II, is 
now a museum, restored with help from the United States 
Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad and 
the Government of Israel.  A plaque dedicated in 2008 
commemorates the 1938-1940 actions of Chinese Consul General in 
Vienna Ho Feng-shan, who facilitated the safe passage of 3,000 
Austrian Jews to Shanghai.  Many of these refugees, including 
former Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, later moved to the 
United States. 
 
 
 
OHEL RACHEL SYNAGOGUE 
 
--------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Ohel Rachel Synagogue, built in 1921, was renovated 
by the city government in 1998 for the visit of then-First Lady 
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright.  Later added to the World Monuments Fund's 
preservation "Watch List", the synagogue is located in a complex 
used by the Shanghai Education Bureau and not usually accessible 
to outside visitors. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Since 1999, Shanghai authorities have allowed access to 
Ohel Rachel by the Jewish community three times a year.  While 
refusing use during the High Holidays, the government agreed to 
Hanukkah, Purim, and the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Day. 
Although for the past ten years this access was granted on the 
basis of an annual joint request signed by the U.S. and Israeli 
Consuls General (Ref B), the situation has now become routine 
enough that Rabbi Greenberg said a letter is no longer 
necessary.  Hoping to advance the situation a step further, the 
 
SHANGHAI 00000033  002 OF 003 
 
 
Rabbi is now seeking regular routine access to the Ohel Rachel 
Synagogue and permission to restore the building and 
surroundings as a center for Jewish life in Shanghai. The 
Shanghai Government has so far refused to allow the Jewish 
community to make upgrades to the building, which lacks air 
conditioning and heating. 
 
 
 
JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Another sign of progress flagged by Rabbi Greenberg was 
the inclusion of a photo of the unofficial Jewish Community 
Center in a 2005 publication on "The Jews in Shanghai".  The 
caption identifying the center (a house in the western suburbs) 
is seen by Rabbi Greenberg as de facto recognition of Jewish 
religious activity in Shanghai. Equally notable, the Public 
Security Bureau (PSB) has shown a willingness to turn a blind 
eye to the 80-150 foreigners who gather at the center every 
Friday evening.  Rabbi Greenberg described a conversation with a 
PSB official who insisted that the occasion involves only 40-50 
people, while acknowledging that additional "uninvited" guests 
also show up.  This helpful fiction allows the Friday gatherings 
to operate without the permit required for gatherings of more 
than 50 people. 
 
 
 
WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPO VISITORS 
 
---------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Noting that he has already received inquiries about 
religious services from future visitors to the Shanghai 2010 
World Expo, Rabbi Greenberg submitted a request to the Shanghai 
Foreign Affairs Office in November 2009 to use Ohel Rachel on 
Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the entire May-October 
Expo period.  To support this effort, Rabbi Greenberg is 
requesting that local diplomats and visiting dignitaries mention 
the Ohel Rachel Synagogue in their meetings with city officials. 
 He hopes this will lead the city government to realize the 
importance of allowing foreign visitors to attend services at 
the synagogue. 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Rabbi Greenberg also requested that the U.S. Consulate 
consider adding a visit to Ohel Rachel to the itineraries of 
future CODELS and other visitors to raise awareness.  He noted 
that Israeli President Simon Peres will visit the synagogue when 
he comes to the Expo in early May. 
 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Despite the fact that Judaism is not one of the five 
religions officially recognized by the Chinese government, the 
Shanghai authorities allow low-key religious activities, as long 
as mainly foreigners are involved.  At least some local 
officials recognize that Shanghai's war-time role as a haven for 
Jewish refuges is a source of great good will; the bilingual 
publication "The Jews in Shanghai" devotes 135 pages to text and 
pictures illustrating the city's long Jewish heritage.  This 
recognition, combined with a desire to showcase Shanghai during 
the Expo, may lead to greater accommodation for the foreign 
Jewish community and the Ohel Rachel Synagogue.  Coupled with 
the recent Shanghai issuance of a permit allowing foreign 
Mormons to hold weekly services (Ref A), municipal approval for 
regular Jewish worship would be another step toward easing 
restrictions on religious observances in Shanghai.  As the city 
 
SHANGHAI 00000033  003 OF 003 
 
 
faces the glare of the Expo spotlight and a surge of visitors, 
some officials are showing awareness that the right to worship 
in one's own faith is part of what many foreigners expect from a 
world class city. 
CAMP