2022年4月15日金曜日

Rahmo Sasson and Isaac Alfred Ailion@Kobe

 

Exploring Japan’s Jewish history

Finding threads of Jewish history can sometimes feel like a treasure hunt. Wars, natural disasters and fading memories can destroy physical records and the ability to reconstruct history. However, the dedication of a few willing to preserve the past can make it possible to piece together a handful of history chapters.

On a recent trip to Kobe, Japan, my husband and I were fortunate to accompany Prof. Takayoshi Iwata as he pointed out bits and pieces of Jewish history. Iwata, a retired school principal, was the former director of the Kazamidori House, a popular tourist spot. He simultaneously taught college-level classes focusing on Kobe’s history. A visit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles ignited his interest in the Holocaust, and thereafter, he researched the Jews of Kobe. Acknowledged as an expert, he authored Japanese books about the Jews who lived in Kobe as well as the history of Kobe.

In pre-Second World War Europe, Jews who heeded the warnings searched for avenues of escape. A few thousand were able to connect with Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania. He issued transit visas to Polish Jews who sought his assistance. Many of these refugees, along with other Jews, sailed in boats headed to Tsuruga, Japan.

After arriving in Japan, an unknown number were transported by train to Kobe and Yokohama. In Kobe, the small Jewish community welcomed these immigrants who had limited resources and few offers for safe havens. The Jews who made up the existing Jewish community had found their way to Kobe after the major Japanese ports were open to foreign traders in the mid-19th century.

Iwata’s research has revealed that Kobe’s German population in the 1930s and 1940s was small, and there was no evidence of anti-Semitism in the town. The local authorities allowed the Jewish refugees to remain in Kobe under special conditions even though their short-term visas had expired and they were legally subject to deportation.

By taxi, we accompanied Iwata up the hilly roads of Kobe. He wanted to show us some locations where the pre-war Jews resided in cramped quarters. While the living conditions were far from ideal, these Jews were far better off than their relatives and friends who were left behind in Europe.

Our first stop was in a remote area of Kobe called Umadome. Standing outside a western-style brown and white multi-story home set upon a rocky platform, Iwata mentioned that recent research indicates that 39 refugees had resided in the house.

We hopped back into the taxi and headed up a narrow, steep hill to an area called Kitano-cho. As we walked through this quiet residential neighbourhood, Iwata shared snippets from oral testimonies about the people who sought refuge here. He pointed out the former residences of Rahmo Sasson and Isaac Alfred Ailion. Far removed from their home countries, European Jewish refugees had no idea what was happening during the Nazi reign.

Iwata treated us to a panoramic view of the city at the Shinto shrine Tenman Zinzya. We accessed this vantage point by climbing up stone steps with high risers.

During the Second World War, the Jewish community’s centre was located near another shrine, the Ichinomiya Shinto Shrine. During the bombings, just about everything was destroyed except for a few shrines. We could only imagine the place where thousands of Jewish refugees were supported by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). As I have seen in other locations, the JDC provided food, shelter and resources for war refugees. We stood next to a dull, worn-out sign stating, “Center Jewish Community of Kansai.” Iwata referred to this site as JEWCOM.

On April 20, 2020, a commemorative signboard will be installed on the site of JEWCOM. The city of Kobe will be covering part of the cost. Iwata has been asked to write the wording for this signboard. Honoured guests at the celebration ceremony will include Kobe’s mayor, a representative of the Foreign Ministry, a diplomat from the Polish Embassy and a survivor saved by Sugihara.

At the nearby shrine, we met with the Shinto priest Oomi Yamamoir. He was born in 1937 and raised at the small Ichinomiya Shinto Shrine, which dates back to approximately 300 CE. He studied the history of Jews before the Second World War and started collecting photos of the Jewish community, including a few provided by the Hyogo Prefectural Museum. Yamamoir shared a notebook filled with black and white images depicting Jewish life in the 1940s.

As the war progressed, the safety of the Jews was not guaranteed in Kobe. The Jews who were unable to obtain visas for another country were deported to Japanese occupied Shanghai, where they remained far removed from the Holocaust.

Two tangible aspects of Jewish life remain visible in Kobe today. The Ohel Shelomo Synagogue currently serves the small Jewish community. Even though we had an appointment with, American born, Rabbi Shmuel Vishedsky, he was unfortunately detained due to a congregant’s emergency. He relocated to Kobe six years ago because the congregation needed a leader. It was a good fit because his brother-in-law, Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich is the Chabad director in Tokyo.

Without a guided tour, we merely strolled around inside. I eventually connected with Rabbi Vishedsky by e-mail. He encourages visitors to consider attending services and to join with the local community at synagogue meals. However, it is always recommended to contact international synagogues before arrival.

In order to reach the Foreigners’ Cemetery before it closed, it was not possible to wait for the rabbi. Iwata had arranged special access with the city to enter, so we could not be late. The taxi wound its way through forested terrain filled with switchbacks and deep ravines. It was a bit odd to drive through a nature preserve to reach the Shiogahara Foreign Cemetery which is the final resting place for approximately 2,100 people, including 127 Jewish graves. Records indicate that the first Jew, Alfred Singleton, was buried there on Oct. 27, 1869.

Drops of rain started splashing on the ground as we entered a metal gate decorated with Magen Davids. The rolling landscape was conducive to a tiered burial arrangement. Older gravestones tended to be engraved in Hebrew, while the more recent graves were in English or a combination of English and Hebrew. Adjacent plots of land partitioned by fences contained Muslim and Christian gravestones.

Like many good mysteries, we returned to our cruise ship with more questions than answers. If we could read Japanese, the missing facts might fall into place after reading the two books that Iwata handed to us at the port. Perhaps, one day, more points will be revealed to an English-speaking audience.


 

Rahmo_Sassoon - Jewish Community of Kansai (Kobe ...

http://www.jcckobe.org › Rahmo_Sassoon
SASSOON--Rahmo, died October 4 at home peacefully in his sleep of natural causes at the age of 97, cared for to the end by Renee, his devoted wife of 58 years.
Oct 11, 2009 — SASSOON--Rahmo, died October 4 at home peacefully in his sleep of natural causes at the age of 97, cared for to the end by Renee, ...
Mar 22, 2015 — Rahmo Sassoon also helped establish the Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in Kobe. Mr. Sassoon's father, also named David Sassoon, found success in ...
Rahmo Sassoon, born in Aleppo, Syria in 1912, was responsible for the synagogue. It was named Ohel Shelomoh after Rahmo's father, Shelomoh Sassoon.
As the war ended, it was miraculously revealed to the rest of the Baghdadi world that in Japan itself, Rahmo Sassoon, leader of the tiny Baghdadi Jewish ...


As the Second World War saw most of the Baghdadi Jews of Burma, as well as individual families from across Asia, flee from the Japanese Occupation of Burma the Jewish population of Calcutta, the heart of the Baghdadi network, swelled with refugees to over 5,000 strong.[40] A small number of Jews fled the 1941 Farhud pogrom in Baghdad for Bombay. Even some of the leading Baghdadi Jewish families who had settled in Britain, chose to return to India as the Holocaust began the slaughter of European Jews. Despite India offering this place of refuge, the Second World War was the beginning of the end for old Baghdadi world.

The Japanese occupation of Burma, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia saw much of the Baghdadi community interned by the Japanese army.[59][60] As the war ended, it was miraculously revealed to the rest of the Baghdadi world that in Japan itself, Rahmo Sassoon, leader of the tiny Baghdadi Jewish community of Kobe, had skillfully negotiated with Japanese authorities to ensure no Jews were harmed during World War II.[61] Despite this, the one Baghdadi synagogue of Japan, in Kobe was burnt down during an American air raid.[44]



Jan 3, 2022 — Isaac Alfred Ailion. Birthdate: March 19, 1848. Birthplace: Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. Death: 1913 (64-65)
Immediate Family: Son of Isaac David Ailion‎ and ...‎
Born in Kobe, Japan on WFT Est. 1874-1902 to ISAAC ALFRED Ailion and Tsuneko (Tsune) Masuda. Ferdie Ailion passed away on WFT Est. 1880-1982.

Isaac Alfred Ailion was born on month day 1848, at birth place, to Isaac Ailion/Aelyon and ... Isaac married Masuda Ailion (born Tsune) at marriage place.


Isaac Alfred Ailion, 1848 - 1918

Isaac Alfred Ailion was born on month day 1848, at birth place , to Isaac Ailion/Aelyon and Rachel Salom Ailion (born del Valle/Valhe) .
Isaac was born on July 9 1822, in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands.
Rachel was born on May 12 1821, in Burgerlijke Stand, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands.
Isaac had 7 siblings: David Ailion , Albert Abraham Ailion and 5 other siblings .
Isaac married Masuda Ailion (born Tsune) at marriage place .
Masuda was born in 1862, in Japan.
They had 6 children: David (Maurice) Ailion , Ferdinand (Ferdie) Ailion and 4 other children .
Isaac passed away on month day 1918, at age 69 at death place .


The IAAF aims to cultivate and foster cultural relations between the Netherlands and Japan and to promote Japanese Studies at Leiden University.
  • The Isaac Alfred Ailion Fellowship will support scholars to work with the extensive Special Collections of Leiden University in the field of Japanese culture ...
The Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation now accepts applications for fellowships at Leiden University's Asian Library. All information can be found on the...
Stichting Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation has 6 total employees across all of its locations and generates $15,000 in sales (USD). (Employees and Sales figures ...
Mar 20, 2016 — Applications for an Isaac Alfred Ailion fellowship have to comply with a number of conditions: Fellows are expected to conduct their research in ...
De Leidse stichting “Isaac Alfred Ailion Foundation” zal de publicatie van Senshi Sōsho deel 3: “The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies” mede mogelijk maken.


LOL





2 件のコメント:

匿名 さんのコメント...

福岡県京都郡

"Tameno Masuda"

匿名 さんのコメント...

Well before World War II, there was a comparatively large Jewish presence in Kobe. Trade brought both Sephardic Jews from Baghdad, Iraq and Aleppo, Syria, and Ashkenazic Jews from Poland and Russia. In addition, Russian Jews who may have been escaping pogroms also landed in Kobe. One well-known member of the community was Sam Evans (born Ewanoffsky in Odessa). He settled in Kobe in circa 1919. For many years he was a leader of the Jewish community, businessman and philanthropist. He was, in fact, the very first Jew to become a naturalized Japanese citizen. The first synagogue in Kobe was established in a rented Japanese house in Kobe. It served as the gathering place for prayer for the Sephardic Jews. Rahmo Sassoon, born in Aleppo, Syria in 1912, was responsible for the synagogue. It was named Ohel Shelomoh after Rahmo's father, Shelomoh Sassoon.

With the outbreak of World War II, Rahmo and other Jews were stuck in Kobe, unable to travel or conduct business. However, the Jews received comparatively good treatment at the hands of the Japanese authorities. For example, during the war, German officers began to appear on the streets of Kobe, causing concern mong Jews there, who had helped smuggle European Jews to safety in Japan. Under pressure from the community, Rahmo Sassoon painted over the gold letters of the Ohel Shelomoh synagogue so that the location of the synagogue would be less conspicuous. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Sassoon received in invitation to meet with the Chief of Police of Kobe. At the meeting, the Chief asked why the letters were painted over, and Mr. Sassoon explained it was because of the anxiety the community felt over the presence of German officers and Japan's alliance with Germany. The Chief told Mr. Sassoon the community had nothing to fear in Japan and ordered him to restore the lettering above the doorway to the synagogue.

The Japanese accepted a large influx of Jews into Kobe during World War II. Even though Japan was allied with Nazi Germany, the community of Kobe helped save Holocaust refugees from 1940 to 1941. Japan's policy toward the Jews was much different than that of their allies. Japanese in charge of Jewish refugees knew little about Jewish customs and practices; they took action based on the belief that Jews are very influential in the world. In particular, they modeled their view of Jews after Jacob Schiff, a Jewish financier who raised huge funds for Japan during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Schiff helped the Japanese tremendously and demonstrated to them that Jews are good in business and possess strong worldwide contacts. Yasue Norihiro (a.k.a. Yasue Senkoo) and Inuzuka Koreshige, leaders of the military and civilian political clique known as the Manchurian faction, hoped to attract Jews to assist in their efforts to control Manchuria. The group's goal was to develop Manchuria and its vast resources. They believed that if they treated well the Russian and Sephardic Jews, and the German refugees who came under Japanese rule, that the Jews in East Asia in turn would convince their rich and influential fellow Jews in the United States to help with war loans. Also, they hoped that Americans would look at their good treatment of the Jews and thus change its negative policy towards Japan. Finally, these Japanese also looked specifically towards the refugees from Germany as possessing crucial scientific knowledge to help Manchurian development.

http://xenon.stanford.edu/~tamar/Kobe/Kobe.html