A delegation of the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are on a tour of
China to gain a better understanding of the role China played in protecting Jews
during World War II, as well discussing Sino-Jewish relations.
Established in 1913 with a mandate "to stop the defamation of Jewish people"
and "to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike," ADL is one of
the premier civil rights and human relations agencies in the US.
At the invitation of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with
Foreign Countries, it has sent a 25-member leadership delegation to visit six
Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Harbin two cities that had a strong
reputation for protecting Jews during the war.
Abraham Foxman, ADL's national director who heads the delegation, said they
were impressed with what the Chinese Government had done to preserve the
remnants of the history of Jewish people in China.
"In many other places of the world where Jews have lived, everything was
wiped out as if it never existed. But what we saw in Harbin was a conscious
effort to preserve the memories," he said while talking with China Daily
yesterday.
"We went to the newly rebuilt Jewish New Synagogue in Harbin, and the
cemetery which has about 600 graves of Jews. It is clean and well-preserved."
He said China had written a very special page on morality and respect for
other peoples. "China is one of few countries in the world that do not have
anti-Semitism. Not only that, but it has also been a refuge for Jews."
He recalled that when Jews fled persecution in Russia in the 1910s, they
found a refuge in Harbin and they built a community.
When Nazism almost destroyed the Jewish people, China again provided a haven
in Shanghai for thousands of Jews who came there to be rescued.
"We're here learning the details of that period," Foxman said.
He said Jewish people and Chinese people have many similarities. "We share
values on history, family, education, and respect for the elderly. Both
countries are suffering from ignorance and misinformation, so we can learn from
each other about how to respond to such prejudice."
Foxman said when the delegation met some top Chinese officials, including
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and State Council Information Office Minister Cai
Wu, they offered their help in the future to be a bridge of understanding
between China and the US.
The ADL is also planning to republish the album, which records the history of
Jews in Harbin, and distribute it in the US; take a copy of the exhibition on
Jews in Harbin around the US; and build a student exchange programme, which
would aim to bring Chinese students to the US to interact with Jewish students,
as well as bringing American students to visit Harbin and Shanghai.
The delegates arrived in Beijing last Friday and have visited Harbin and the
ancient city of Xi'an, capital of Sha'anxi Province. They will leave for
Shanghai today and head for Hong Kong and Macao after the Shanghai trip.
(China Daily 03/24/2006 page2)