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Tuesday Lecture: The Jews of Kobe
12/09/2017 @ 19:00 - 21:00
Free
Kobe, Japan. Jewish refugees, writers and journalists, in a Passover ceremony, 1941.
Speaker: Dr. Tony Fattal
The Jews of Kobe, Japan (1930-1945)
Synopsis: Not unlike Baghdadi Jews who migrated along the spice road in earlier centuries, with the opening of Japan to trade in the mid 19th century, Ashkenzi and Sephardi Jews started migrating to the port cities like Kobe, Nagasaki, and Yokohama. It was European persecution and Nazism that drove thousands more Jews to Japan by the start of WWII.
Dr. Tony Fattal, born in Kobe in 1942, will share his father’s story. Join us as we explore with him through his family’s experience, how Japan became a refuge for Jews during the Shoah. The Japanese treated Jews just like any other foreigner, warranting no special attention. It would appear the Japanese were not then, nor do they seem now, to be particularly anti-Semitic.
This free lecture is open to the public; everyone is welcome. To give us an idea of rough numbers, please indicate if you are coming on the RSVP at the bottom of this page.
