From The Rivers of Babylon to the Whangpoo: A Century of Sephardi Jewish Life in Shanghai / Focusing a group of adventurous Baghdadi Jewish merchants who began settling in Shanghai in the mid-19th century and organized a community that maintained itself with distinction for a century, Dr. Meyer takes her audience on an exciting journey, of how, in this outpost of the Jewish Diaspora that never numbered more than a thousand people, the Baghdadis accomplished deeds that leave us shaking our heads in wonder. We are introduced to the customs and occupations that the Baghdadis carried with them to China, and we are quickly made aware of the nature and commitments of the vibrant community they created and nurtured. We learn about the business acumen the transplanted Sephardim displayed, and how this, enabled Shanghai to become one of the world’s leading financial centers. We learn too, with lingering regret, of their participation in the opium trade—in an era, it must be understood, that this was entirely legal and even socially acceptable. We take a glimpse at the institutions they established to safeguard their Judaic heritage in their alien surroundings, and we commemorate their heroic, though unsuccessful, efforts to bring what was left of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng back to the Judaism of its forebears. We observe the relationship between the Baghdadis and the Russian Jews who began arriving in Shanghai around 1895 as refugees from Czarist persecution, and in time attained a population of 6-8,000. The humanitarian efforts of the Shanghai Baghdadi Jews to accommodate some 20,000 victims of Nazi persecution reflect further credit to the ethos of this remarkable community. And we end with a feeling of sadness that because of the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the World War II period and, shortly thereafter, the city’s incorporation into the Peoples’ Republic of China the Jews of Shanghai were forced to leave the country and scatter across the globe. Obviously, the Baghdadi Jews of Shanghai stand out as having established one of the most noteworthy communities in the Jewish Diaspora.
