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Shanghai Express: Baghdadi Jews in China

Date and time: October 27, 2020, 7:30 pm Greenwich Mean Time (UTC±0)

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Dr Maisie Meyer, author of “From the rivers of Babylon to the Whangpoo,” will take us on an exciting journey aboard the Shanghai Express. A small number of adventurous Baghdadi Jewish merchants in the mid-19th century accomplished spectacular feats to make Shanghai a leading financial center.

HARIF is a UK charity representing Jews from North Africa and the Middle East (UK no.1186454), and dedicated to promoting their history, culture and heritage. Few know that ancient Jewish communities, predating Islam by a millennium, produced the Babylonian Talmud, great rabbis, doctors, thinkers and poets. In modern times, Jews made important economic and cultural contributions to their home countries. Few in the West are aware that Jews were an integral part of the Middle East and North Africa before they were were driven out of their homes in the second half of the 20th century.

Over 2,000 years of history in the Middle East and North Africa came to an abrupt and tragic end just 50 years ago. Jews departed for Israel and the West, leaving an enormous cultural and economic void behind. In another 20 years, few Jews who were born in these countries will still be alive. A vital chapter of Jewish identity, history and culture – an entire civilisation – will be lost. HARIF is here to make sure it is not forgotten.