As an indigenous West Asian people, Jews have been present in western Asia since the beginning of their history. Some examples of ancient Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and Caucasus are: Iran ( Persian Jews) and Iraq ( Iraqi Jews); the Georgian Jews and Mountain Jews of the Caucasus. Through the centuries, they also established Jewish communities in eastern parts of Asia. There are

Bukharan Jews Bukharan Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכארא/яҳудиёни Бухоро, ''Yahudiyoni Bukhoro''; he, יהודי בוכרה, ''Yehudey Bukhara''), in modern times also called Bukharian Jews ( Bukharian: יהודיאני בוכאר ...

of Central Asia. Some Jews migrated to India, establishing the Bene Israel, the

Baghdadi Jews The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...

and the Cochin Jews of India ( Jews in India); and the former Jewish community in Kaifeng, China. Here is a partial list of some prominent Asian Jews, arranged by country. Note that those regions of Asia where Arabic or Russian or Turkish predominate are excluded from this list (except for the

from India and Southeast Asia); see

Middle Eastern Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

, Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardi Jews for information on these populations.

Armenia

Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian ( hy, Լևոն Գրիգորի Արոնյան, Levon Grigori Aronyan; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenians, Armenian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, who currently plays for the United States Chess Federation. A ches ...

, Armenian chess player (part Jewish)

Azerbaijan

* Misha Black, designer; brother of Max Black *

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet-born American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began studyi ...

, pianist * Gavril Abramovich Ilizarov, Soviet physician, known for inventing the Ilizarov apparatus * Lev Landau, physicist, Nobel Prize (1962). Russian-speaking Ashkenazi. * Lev Nussimbaum, writer (a.k.a. Kurban Said) * Vladimir Rokhlin, mathematician. Russian-speaking Ashkenazi.

Afghanistan

A small community of Jews lived mainly in

Herat, Afghanistan Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

and Kabul, but they emigrated to Israel, Europe and the United States. In September 2021, the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan,

Zablon Simintov Zablon Simintov (; he, זבולון סימן-טוב; born 1959), also known as Zebulon Simentov is an Afghan Jew, former carpet trader and restaurateur. Before his evacuation from Afghanistan to Israel in 2021, he was widely known as the only ...

, fled Afghanistan 's capital Kabul in response to the

Taliban takeover A Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and other allied militants led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan based in Kabul and marked the end of the nearly 20-year-old War in Afghanistan (2001–20 ...

several weeks prior.

China

* Morris Cohen, bodyguard of

Sun Yat-Sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

Misha Dichter Misha Dichter (born September 27, 1945) is an American pianist. Biography Misha Dichter was born in Shanghai to Polish-Jewish parents who fled during WWII. He moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, at the age of two and began studying p ...

, pianist (China-born) *

Israel Epstein Israel Epstein (20 April 1915 – 26 May 2005) was a Polish-born Chinese journalist and author. He was one of the few foreign-born Chinese citizens of non-Chinese origin to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Early life and educatio ...

, journalist, author *

Edmond Fischer Edmond Henri Fischer (April 6, 1920 – August 27, 2021) was a Swiss-American biochemist. He and his collaborator Edwin G. Krebs were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992 for describing how reversible phosphorylation works ...

, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1992) *

Jakob Rosenfeld Jakob Rosenfeld (January 11, 1903 – April 22, 1952), known in China as General Luo or Luo Shengte, was a Holocaust survivor and urologist who fled to Shanghai, China due to the repression he faced in Austria, which had been annexed by Naz ...

, doctor and general in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

* Sidney Shapiro, member of the People's Political Consultative Council *

Zhao Yingcheng Zhao Yingcheng ( Hebrew name: מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם, ''Moshe ben Avraham''; Traditional Chinese: 趙映乘;Michael Pollack, "The Jews of Kaifeng", p. 4 born 1619, died after 1663) was a Chinese philosopher and politician during ...

, ( Hebrew: ''Moshe ben Abram''), Ming dynasty

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Georgia

David Baazov David Baazov ( ka, დავით ბააზოვი; 1883–1947) was a Georgian-Jewish public and religious figure who spearheaded the Zionist movement in Georgia. His program was an amalgam of moderate orthodox religiosity, enlightenment ...

, Zionist activist and rabbi *

Ioseb Bardanashvili Ioseb Bardanashvili ( ka, იოსებ (სოსო) ბარდანაშვილი; he, יוסף ברדנשווילי; born 23 November 1948 in Batumi, Georgia) is an Israeli and Georgian composer. His works span classical to contemp ...

, composer *

Roman Dzindzichashvili Roman Yakovlevich Dzindzichashvili ( ka, რომან იაკობის-ძე ჯინჯიხაშვილი; pronounced ''jin-jee-khash-VEE-lee''; born May 5, 1944) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American chess player. He was awarded th ...

, American chess player * Yasha Manasherov, Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler * Mikhael Mirilashvili, businessman and philanthropist *

Tamir Sapir Tamir Sapir (born Temur Sepiashvili, ka, თემურ სეფიაშვილი; 1946/1947 – September 26, 2014) was a Georgia (country), Georgian-born, Georgian-American businessman, real estate developer and investor. He was the foun ...

, businessman and investor *

Gocha Tsitsiashvili Gocha Tsitsiashvili ( he, גוצ'ה ציציאשווילי, ka, გოჩა ციციაშვილი; born November 7, 1973, in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR) is a retired amateur Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's light heavy ...

, Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler

Hong Kong

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...

, Elly, Lawrence, and

Michael Kadoorie Sir Michael David Kadoorie, GBS (born 1941) is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman, and the chairman and 18% owner of CLP Group, Hong Kong's largest electricity producer. He also owns 47% of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. Early life Born in 19 ...

, businesspeople * Matthew Nathan, Hong Kong governor (1904) * Victor Sassoon, businessman and hotelier

India

Sarah Avraham Sarah Avraham ( he, שרה אברהם; born 1993/1994) is an Indian-born Israeli Muay Thai kickboxer. She converted to Judaism and moved to Israel after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Avraham was the 2012 Israeli women's champion in Thai boxing, in t ...

, Indian-born Israeli, 2014 women's world Thai kickboxing champion *

Joseph Rabban Joseph Rabban (old Malayalam:Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124).'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBoo ...

, given copper plates of special grants from the Chera ruler Bhaskara Ravivarman II from Kerala in South India * David Abraham Cheulkar, actor * Nissim Ezekiel, poet * J F R Jacob, former Governor of Punjab and Goa; the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command * Hakham

Ezra Reuben David Barook Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...

, a High Priest in Jerusalem in 1856; he traveled to India and settled in Calcutta. He is buried in the Jewish Cemetery at Narkeldanga *

Gerry Judah Gerry Judah FRSS is a British artist and designer who has created settings for theatre, film, television, museums and public spaces. Early life Gerry Judah's maternal and paternal grandparents came from Baghdad to settle in the already est ...

, artist and designer * Anish Kapoor, sculptor (Baghdadi Jewish mother, Indian father) * John Prabhudoss , currently the Chairman of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA); mother is of mixed Cochin Jewish descent. *

Samson Kehimkar Samson Kehimkar was a Jewish violinist and sitar player from India. One of the pioneers of ethnic and world music in Israel. Before emigrating in 1976, he played in Indian classical orchestras, film and pop bands. One of the founding members of ...

, musician *

Ezekiel Isaac Malekar RabbiEzekiel Isaac Malekar is the head of the Jewish community in New Delhi, India. He is the Honorary Secretary of the Judah Hyam Synagogue at the corner of Humayun road, where he works voluntarily. The Synagogue, in addition to serving the Jewis ...

, Bene Israel

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 24 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted a few Hindi and English language films, including '' K ...

, theatre personality (part Jewish) *

David and Simon Reuben David Reuben (born 1941) and Simon Reuben (born 1944) are Indian-born British businessmen. In May 2020, they were named as the second richest family in the UK by the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' with a net worth of £16 billion. Early life and b ...

, businessmen *

Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (actress), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress), Pakistani actress in Punjabi and Urdu f ...

, actress of the 1950s and 1960s. *

David Sassoon David Sassoon may refer to: *David Sassoon (designer) (born 1932), British fashion designer *David Sassoon (treasurer) (1792–1864), Iraqi-Jewish treasurer *David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), Iraqi bibliophile See also *Sassoon family *Albert A ...

, businessman *

Albert Abdullah David Sassoon Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 181824 October 1896) was a Baghdad-born businessman and philanthropist. Biography Life and career Sassoon was born on 25 July 1818 in Baghdad, Ottoman Empire, into the Sassoon family o ...

(1818 – 24 October 1896), British-Indian merchant *

Sassoon David Sassoon Sassoon David Sassoon (August 1832 – 24 June 1867) was a British Indian businessman, banker, and philanthropist. Biography Early life Sassoon was born in August 1832 in Bombay, India.William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Ang ...

(August 1832 – 23 June 1867), Indian-born British businessman and philanthropist *

Solomon Sopher Solomon F. Sopher is the president of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, India. He also serves as the Trustee of the David Sassoon Fund, and as the chairman and managing director of Sir Jacob Sassoon Trust, which manages the Knesset Eliya ...

, Jewish community leader * Eli Ben-Menachem, Indian-born Israeli politician *

Ellis Kadoorie Sir Ellis Kadoorie CBE (1865–1922) was a Jewish entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a member of the wealthy Baghdadian Kadoorie family that had large business interests in the Far East. His brother was Sir Elly Kadoorie, and his nephew wa ...

and

Elly Kadoorie Sir Eleazer "Elly" Silas Kadoorie (1867 – February 8, 1944) was a Baghdadi-born Jewish businessman and philanthropist active in Shanghai and Hong Kong. He was a member of the wealthy Kadoorie family that had large business interests in the F ...

, philanthropists *

Horace Kadoorie Sir Horace Kadoorie, CBE (28 September 1902 – 22 April 1995) was an industrialist, hotelier, and philanthropist. Early life and education In 1913–14, he spent a year at Clifton College and was a member of Polacks House; a boarding house so ...

, philanthropist *

Ruby Myers Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India. In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of h ...

, Bollywood actress of the 1920s, otherwise known as ''Sulochana'' *

Lalchanhima Sailo Lalchhanhima Sailo (22 November 1955 – 4 April 2007) was the founder of Chhinlung Israel People Convention (CIPC) and a leader in the Bnei Menashe community in Mizoram, India. His widow, Lalthlamuani, contested in the Lok Sabha Election 2019 ...

, rabbi * Abraham Barak Salem,

Cochin Jew Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim, from ) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now pa ...

Indian nationalist leader *

Bensiyon Songavkar Bensiyon Morisbhai Songavkar is an Indian professional cricketer who has represented Saurashtra. He lives in Rajkot, India, and is Jewish. Playing career In 2008, Songavkar was included in a special Israel squad that played against Ind ...

, professional cricketer

Iran/Persia

Sa'ad al-Dawla Saʿd al-Dawla ibn Ṣafī ibn Hibatullāh ibn Muhassib al-Dawla al-Abharī ( ar, سعد الدولة بن هبة الله بن محاسب ابهري) (c. 1240 – March 5, 1291) was a Jewish physician and statesman in thirteenth-century Persi ...

, (c. 1240 – March 5, 1291), Physician and statesman *

David Alliance David Alliance, Baron Alliance, ( fa, داوود آلیانس, he, דייוויד אליאנס; born 15 June 1932) is an Iranian-British businessman and Liberal Democrat politician of Iranian origin. Personal David Alliance (originally Davou ...

, British businessman *

Mashallah ibn Athari ''Mashallah'' ( ar, مَا شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ, '), also written Masha'Allah, Maşallah (Turkey and Azerbaijan), Masya Allah (Malaysia and Indonesia), Maschallah (Germany), and Mašallah (Bosnia), is an Arabic phrase that is used to expres ...

, eighth-century astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician * Moses ben Hanoch, rabbi * Yossi Banai, performer *

Soleyman Binafard Soleyman Binafard ( fa, سلیمان بینافرد; born 1933) is a former Iranian sport wrestler who is the only Jew in Iran to join its national wrestling team. He started to wrestle freestyle in 1950 at the age of 15. That year, he won the c ...

, wrestler *

Sahl ibn Bishr Sahl ibn Bishr al-Israili (c. 786–c. 845), also known as Rabban al-Tabari and Haya al-Yahudi ("the Jew"), was a Jewish Syriac Christian astrologer, astronomer and mathematician from Tabaristan. He was the father of Ali ibn Sahl the famous scient ...

, nine-century astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician *

Jimmy Delshad Jamshid "Jimmy" Delshad ( fa, جمشید دلشاد) is an Iranian-American politician in the state of California. He became Mayor of Beverly Hills on March 21, 2007 when he was sworn in by Fred Hayman, and again on March 16, 2010. He is the fi ...

, Californian politician *

Roya Hakakian , birth_date = ca. 1966 , birth_place = Tehran, Iran , death_date = , death_place = , occupation = , language = Persian, English , nationality = , citizenship = American , education = , alma_mater = Brooklyn College, , period = , ...

, writer * Moshe Katsav, Israeli president *

Rita Kleinstein Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

, Israeli singer/actress, known popularly as "

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

" * Janet Kohan-Sedq, track and field athlete *

Masarjawaih Māsarjawaih ( ar, ماسرجويه) was one of the earliest Jewish physicians of Persian origin, and the earliest translator from the Syriac; he lived in Basra about 683 (Anno Hegirae 64). His name, distorted, has been transmitted in European sour ...

, physician and translator *

, astrologer and astronomer * Shaul Mofaz, Israeli Minister of Transportation *

Bahar Soomekh Bahar Soomekh ( fa, بهار سومخ, born March 30, 1975) is an Iranian-American actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Crash'' and the ''Saw'' franchise. Early life Bahar was born in Tehran, Iran, to a devout Persian-Jewish family. ...

, American actress * Soleiman Haim, among first compilers of Persian dictionary

Israel

Japan

Alfred Birnbaum Alfred Birnbaum (born 1955)Our Authors: Alfred Birnbaum

* Dan Calichman *

Julie Dreyfus Julie Dreyfus (born 24 January 1966) is a French actress who is well known in Japan where she made her television debut on a French language lesson program on NHK's educational channel in the late 1980s. She has appeared on the TV show ''Ryō ...

Rachel Elior Rachel Elior (born 28 December 1949) is an Israeli professor of Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jerusalem, Israel. Her principal subjects of research has been Hasidism and the history of early Jewish mysticism. Academ ...

* Ofer Feldman, University professor *

Péter Frankl Péter Frankl (born 26 March 1953 in Kaposvár, Somogy County, Hungary) is a mathematician, busking, street performer, columnist and educator, active in Japan. Frankl studied Mathematics at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and submitted ...

, Hungarian mathematician * Shaul Eisenberg, businessman * Martin "Marty" Adam Friedman, rock guitarist *

Ayako Fujitani is a Japanese writer and actress. Early life Ayako Fujitani was born in Osaka, Japan. She is the daughter of Steven Seagal by his first wife, aikido master Miyako Fujitani. As a teenager, she also resided in Los Angeles. Career Acting Fujita ...

, writer and actress, convert * Szymon Goldberg *

David G. Goodman David G. Goodman (February 12, 1946 – July 25, 2011) was an American academic, author, editor and Japanologist. Career Goodman was a professor of Japanese literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He translated works b ...

, Japanologist (ja) *

Karl Taro Greenfeld Karl Taro Greenfeld (born 1965) is a journalist, novelist and television writer known primarily for his articles on life in modern Asia and both his fiction and non-fiction in ''The Paris Review''. Biography Born in Kobe, Japan, to a Japanese ...

, journalist and author * Manfred Gurlitt * Jack Halpern, Israeli linguist, Kanji-scholar * Shifra Horn * Hoshitango Imachi, né Imachi Marcelo Salomon *

Chaim Janowski Chaim (Chajkel) Janowski (June 15, 1853 in Wołkowysk – 10 January 1935 in Tokyo) was a Polish chess master and organizer. Born into a Jewish family in Wołkowysk (then Russian Empire), he was the older brother of Dawid Janowski. He was educate ...

* Max Janowski *

Charles Louis Kades Charles Louis Kades (March 12, 1906 – June 18, 1996) was an American soldier and lawyer who served as both chief and deputy chief of GHQ's Government Section in World War II. Kades played a central role in creating GHQ's draft of the Japanese ...

* Rena "Rusty" Kanokogi, née Glickman *

Abraham Kaufman Dr. Abraham Josevich Kaufman (Абрам Иосифович Кауфман, b. November 22, 1885 – d. March 25, 1971) was a Russian-born medical doctor, community organizer and Zionist who helped protect some tens of thousands of Jews seeking saf ...

* Michael Kogan, founder of Taito * Fumiko Kometani, author and artist, convert * Setsuzo (Avraham) Kotsuji, Hebrew professor, convert *

Leonid Kreutzer Leonid Kreutzer (13 March 1884 in St. Petersburg – 30 October 1953 in Tokyo) was a classical pianist. Life and career Kreutzer was born in St. Petersburg into a Jewish family. He studied composition under Alexander Glazunov and piano under Anna ...

, pianist *

Yaacov Liberman Yaacov (Yana) Liberman (born March 10, 1923) is a Chinese-Israeli Zionist politician and author. In 1948 he emigrated to Israel. Liberman was born in Harbin, China into a wealthy Russian Jewish family, to Semyon Liberman from Sevastopol and Gisia ...

Henryk Lipszyc Henryk Lipszyc (born 1941) is a Polish scientist of Jewish ancestry, specialist in Japanese culture, theatre and a translator from Japanese. In 1964 he graduated from the Warsaw University. Between 1972 and 1978 he studied at various Japanese uni ...

* Leza Lowitz, American Japanologist * Alan Merrill *

Sulamith Messerer Sulamith Mikhailovna Messerer, OBE (russian: Сулами́фь Миха́йловна Мессере́р, 27 August 1908, Moscow3 June 2004, London) was a Russian ballerina and choreographer who laid the foundations for the classical ballet in J ...

* Emmanuel Metter *

Albert Mosse Isaac Albert Mosse (1 October 1846 – 31 May 1925) was a German judge and legal scholar. Mosse's importance lies in his work on Japan's Meiji Constitution and his continuation of Litthauer's Comments on the German Commercial Code. Biography M ...

* John Nathan *

Emil Orlík Emil Orlik (21 July 1870 – 28 September 1932) was a painter, etcher and lithographer. He was born in Prague, which was at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and lived and worked in Prague, Austria and Germany. Biography Emil Orlik ...

Klaus Pringsheim Sr. Klaus Pringsheim Sr. (24 July 1883 – 7 December 1972) was a German-born composer, conductor, music-educator and the twin brother of Katharina "Katia" Pringsheim, who married Thomas Mann in 1905. Biography Pringsheim was the son of mathemat ...

Roger Pulvers Roger Pulvers (born 4 May 1944) is an Australian playwright, theatre director and translator. He has published more than 45 books in English and Japanese, from novels to essays, plays, poetry and translations. He has written prolifically for t ...

Ludwig Riess Ludwig Riess (1 December 1861 – 27 December 1928) was a Germany, German-born historian and educator, noted for his work in late 19th century Japan. Biography Riess was born in Wałcz, Deutsch-Krone, Province of Prussia, Prussia (present-day W ...

* Joseph Rosenstock, conductor of the

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra began as the ''New Symphony Orchestra'' o ...

* Jay Rubin *

Arie Selinger Aryeh "Lonk" Selinger (born 5 April 1937) is an Israeli volleyball manager and former player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest volleyball coaches of all time. Selinger has served as the head coach of the USA Women's Team in the years ...

Ben-Ami Shillony Ben-Ami Shillony (born October 28, 1937 (?), Poland) is professor emeritus of Japanese history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His wife, until her death, was , professor emerita of French literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. S ...

, Israeli Japanologist *

Kurt Singer __NOTOC__ Kurt Singer (May 12, 1886 – February 14, 1962) was a German economist and philosopher. Born in Magdeburg, he was a professor at Hamburg University (1924-1933). He taught at the Tokyo Imperial University from 1931 to 1935. Singer die ...

* Beate Sirota Gordon, former Performing Arts Director of Japan Society and

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Man ...

Leo Sirota Leo Gregorovich Sirota (May 4, 1885 - February 25, 1965) was a Jewish pianist born in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Podolskaya Guberniya, Russian Empire, now Ukraine. Biography Leo Sirota began studying piano at the age of five. By the age of nine he w ...

* Zerach Warhaftig ; Refugees, short expatriates: * Moshe Atzmon *

George W. F. Hallgarten George W. F. Hallgarten, or Georg(e) Wolfgang Felix Hallgarten (January 3, 1901, München – May 22, 1975, Washington, DC), was a German-born American historian. Hallgarten was a student of Max Weber in the University of Munich for a short time. ...

Albert Kahn (banker) Albert Kahn (3 March 1860 – 14 November 1940) was a French banker and philanthropist, known for initiating '' The Archives of the Planet'', a vast photographical project. Spanning 22 years, it resulted in a collection of 72,000 colour ph ...

* Mirra Alfassa *

Emil Lederer Emil Lederer (22 July 1882 – 29 May 1939) was a Bohemian-born German economist and sociologist. Purged from his position at Humboldt University of Berlin in 1933 for being Jewish, Lederer fled into exile. He helped establish the "University ...

Karl Löwith Karl Löwith (9 January 1897 – 26 May 1973) was a German philosopher in the phenomenological tradition. A student of Husserl and Heidegger, he was one of the most prolific German philosophers of the twentieth century. He is known for his two ...

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

Leo Melamed Leo Melamed (born March 20, 1932) is an American attorney, finance executive, and a pioneer of financial futures. He is the chairman emeritus of CME Group (formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange). Personal life Melamed was born Leibel Melamdo ...

* Franz Oppenheimer *

Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky (pronounced skĕr-ĕs-kūs'kĭ ; 6 May 1831 – 15 October 1906), also known as Joseph Schereschewsky, was the Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1877 to 1884. He founded St. John's University, Shanghai, ...

(

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

) *

Hayyim Selig Slonimski Ḥayyim Selig ben Ya'akov Slonimski () (March 31, 1810 – May 15, 1904), also known by his acronym ḤaZaS (), was a Hebrew publisher, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, science writer, and rabbi. He was among the first to write books on scie ...

; Other related people to Judaism and Jews in Japan: * Hana Brady, and George Brady *

Jeremy Glick Jeremy Logan Glick (September 3, 1970 – September 11, 2001) was an American passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks. Aware of the earlier attacks at the World Trade Center, ...

* Lili Kraus * Samuel Ullman

Ambassadors

Eli Cohen Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen ( he, אֱלִיָּהוּ בֵּן שָׁאוּל כֹּהֵן‎, ar, إيلياهو بن شاؤول كوهين‎; 6 December 1924 – 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israel ...

Kyrgyzstan

* Alexander Mashkevich, businessman (Kyrgyz-born)

Singapore

* David Marshall, first Chief Minister of Singapore, founder and first chairman of the main opposition party the Workers' Party of Singapore

Sri Lanka

Sidney Abrahams Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams (11 February 1885 – 14 May 1957), nicknamed Solly, was a British Olympic athlete and 26th Chief Justice of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He was the older brother of famed Olympian Harold Abrahams. Early life Born in Birmi ...

, Chief Justice * Hedi Keuneman, political activist *

Anne Ranasinghe Anne Ranasinghe (born Anneliese Katz; 2 October 1925 – 17 December 2016) was a History of the Jews in Germany, Jewish-German born Sri Lankan English-language poet. She is considered one of Sri Lanka's leading English-language poets, having won ...

, poet * Leonard Woolf, British administrative officer and author, later married author Virginia

Tajikistan

Rena Galibova Rena Galibova (Russian: Рена Абрамовна Галибова, Tajik: Раъно Абрамовна Ғолибова) (May 24, 1915 – September 10, 1995) was a Tajik actress and opera singer who was named the People's Artist of Taj ...

, actress, "People's Artist of Tajikistan" *

Meirkhaim Gavrielov Meirkhaim Gavrielov (25 August 1927 – 9 June 1998) (russian: Миерхаим Гавриэлов) was a Bukharan Jewish journalist murdered in Tajikistan. Life Meirkhaim Gavrielov was a prominent member of the Tajikistani media for fifty year ...

, journalist and political opposition leader * Malika Kalantarova, dancer, "People's Artist of Soviet Union" *

Fatima Kuinova Panir Ibragimova (28 December 1926 – 28 December 2021), better known by the stage name of Fatima Kuinova ( tg, Фатима Куэнова, fa, فاطمه کوینوا), was a Bukharan Jewish Shashmakom singer. She was named "Merited Artist ...

, singer, "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union" *

Shoista Mullodzhanova Shoista Mullojonova ( tg, Шоиста Муллоҷонова, fa, شایسته ملاجان‌آوا, russian: Шоиста Рубиновна Муллоджанова; September 3, 1925 – June 26, 2010), born Shushana Rubinovna Mullodzhanova, ...

, shashmakon singer, "People's Artist of Tajikistan" (viewed as the Queen of Tajik music) * Moses Znaimer, TV producer

Uzbekistan

* Ari Babakhanov, musician * Yefim Bronfman, pianist * Lev Leviev, diamond tycoon *

Ilyas Malayev Ilyas Malayev (January 12, 1936 – May 2, 2008) (russian: Ильяс Малаев, uz, Илёс Маллаев ) was an Uzbekistani musician and poet. Malayev was born in Mary (then in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, now in Turkmenis ...

, musician and poet *

Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman) , native_name_lang = Hebrew , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , birth_name = , birth_date = 1925 , birth_place = Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine , de ...

, Israeli businessman *

Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi) Shlomo Moussaieff (1852 – 1922) was a rabbi and gemstone trader, from Bukhara, in what is today Uzbekistan. He was one of the founders of the Bukharim neighborhood in Jerusalem. He was also the patriarch of the Moussaieff clan, which includes ...

, co-founder of the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem *

Gavriel Mullokandov Gavriel Aronovich Mullokandov ( uz, Гавриэл Муллоқандов, Gavriel Mulloqandov, russian: Гавриэль Аронович Муллокандов; 8 April 1900 – 6 February 1972) is widely regarded as the greatest Bukharian Jew ...

, shashmakom artist, "People's Artist of Uzbekistan" * Suleiman Yudakov, composer and musician, "People's Artist of the Soviet Union"

References

Bibliography

* {{Asia topic, History of the Jews in

Asian Jews As an indigenous West Asian people, Jews have been present in western Asia since the beginning of their history. Some examples of ancient Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and Caucasus are: Iran ( Persian Jews) and Iraq ( Iraqi Jews); ...

Jews,Asian