Mazel Tov! China Radio International has just launched its Hebrew site: hebrew.cri.cn.  The site is completely in Hebrew and is part of CRI’s plan to represent China in as many languages as possible. The Hebrew site is run by two Israelis and three Hebrew-speaking Chinese nationals.

Now if there was only a Chinese version of Galei Tzahal…

The Guardian reports on a Chinese clothing company that has angered Iranians by creating a line of jeans bearing the Islamic expression “In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful”.

A Chinese clothing manufacturer probably thought it was on to a winner by exporting jeans bearing the Islamic expression “In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful” to Iran. But an otherwise sound marketing ploy was undone by one embarrassing flaw: the phrase (Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim in Arabic), which graces each of the Qur’an’s 114 chapters, was prominently displayed on the pockets of the jeans’ backsides, something likely to be seen as disrespectful by devout Muslims.

The Guardian is quoting Asriran.com who is accusing China of “attacking Iranian Muslim sacred symbols in the most offensive manner”. Also, the importers of the Jeans have been arrested.

The Middle East Media Research Institute – MEMRI reports on who the Syrians think are behind a recent disturbance in China.

In a recent article in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, Syrian columnist Dr. Farid Hatem Al-Shahf wrote that it was the U.S. that was instigating the rioting by the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang, China. The U.S.‘s goal in doing so, he explained, was to pressure China so that it would agree to purchase U.S. government bonds and thus rescue the collapsing U.S. economy.

Another quote:

But wonder of wonders, they [the US] set up a great outcry over the Muslims of Xinjiang, who are [actually] victims of riots arranged by dubious circles in the U.S. and the West. The media, which has [always] turned a blind eye, and is still turning a blind eye, to the actions of the U.S. and its allies against Muslims all over the world, was summoned to cover the events [in Xinjiang]. It [continued to] ignore the fact that what was done and is still being done to the Muslims in China and elsewhere is clearly instigated by the U.S.

Let’s hope that the makers of this launcher don’t team up with this guy.

Israel’s Calcalist (Hebrew only) reports on quite a little scandal at the Israeli embassy in Beijing. According to the newspaper, the consul in the newly opened Israeli consulate in Shenzhen is under heavy criticism for choosing to live in…

Beijing!

According to the article, the newly appointed consul has been living in the nation’s capital for the last three months and has been commuting to work on a weekly basis. Not only that, according to the article his weekly travel expenses amount to USD 2,000 which is approximately RMB 14,000, and which also seems to me just a little too much…

Frankly, I don’t understand why he didn’t just stay in Tel Aviv. Not only is  the weather much nicer but return flights to Hong Kong only cost around USD 1,000 or so…

Fortunately I am not the only one that thinks that there is something wrong with this picture and an official complaint has been filed  with the Israeli State Comptroller.

What is it with Israeli politicians and their love for air travel?

Useless ID, an Israeli punk band from Haifa, put on a great show last night along with No Opinion, a German band, and local talents SKO and Recycle.

The show was scheduled to take place at the MAO Livehouse in Jiaodaokou but a suspicious last minute safety inspection deemed the venue unfit for rocking. Supposedly, there were very high levels of “hydrogen” in the building and the show was forced to move elsewhere. Apparently the local constabulary were worried that the show would disturb the coffee-sippers across the street at Nanluoguxiang.

Despite the temporary setback, the bands/organizers called an audible and the show was moved across town to the Get Lucky Bar.  And what a show it was!

Shame MUL couldn’t make it; I guess he’s too busy Fatwatching in Hong Kong.

October 8th update.

Here is a picture from the actual show:

More than 100 terror victims filed a class action lawsuit August 21 against the Los Angeles branch of Bank of China (BOC) for allowing millions of dollars to be wired by Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Hamas and PIJ are designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, and such wire transfers are a crime under American law…

The plaintiffs allege that beginning in 2003, BOC executed dozens of wire transfers for the Hamas and PIJ totaling several million dollars. These dollar transfers were initiated by PIJ and Hamas leadership in Iran and Syria, were processed through BOC’s branches in the United States, and were sent on to a BOC account operated by a senior operative of the Hamas and PIJ in southern China’s Guangzhou City. If the accusation is true, BOC would have facilitated the funding of terrorist activities. 

In 2005, Israel counter-terrorism officers met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and BOC regarding these wire transfers. Despite Israeli warnings, BOC persisted in wiring funds for Hamas and PIJ. 

If true, this is another example of how China’s “internal affairs” (in this case, corruption and lack of oversight) inevitably become external problems that affect the rest of the world.

An interesting article by Haaretz describes one of Israel’s smallest Jewish communities, that of the Kaifeng Jews, numbering just 10 souls:

Jin, 22, and Wang, 21, arrived in Israel at the beginning of 2006, together with two other friends from Kaifeng on tourist visas. They received temporary resident status after they begun conversion studies and received citizenship after undergoing a conversion ceremony in a rabbinical court. Wang explains that as children their parents and grandparents “told us we are Jews and that one day we’d return to our land.” Jin Jin boasts, “We have a family burial plot that goes back dozens of generations, and we have genealogy books showing our connection with earlier generations of Jews.” 

The town’s Jews reconnected with mainstream Jewry thanks to visits by Jewish tourists, who brought learning materials and religious objects to local Jews. Jin’s uncle Shlomo Jin went to the Israeli embassy in Beijing eight years ago seeking to immigrate to Israel. Embassy officials didn’t want to hear about it, so he eventually came to Israel with his family via a European country. Shavei Israel, an organization which reaches out to lost Jewish communities, helped community members get accepted into a conversion program.

And an interesting yet disturbing paragraph from the Wikipedia page about Kaifeng Jews:

While the official attitude toward the descendants of Kaifeng’s Jewish community is comfortable, their treatment by their fellow-citizens is not always so. Kaifeng is home to a dynamic Muslim community, which is very cohesive, having survived 50 years of isolation and officially sanctioned hostility (largely, presumably, because of the relationship between the Hui, Uyghur, and Kazakh ethnicities and the Chinese government). In that period, the descendants of Kaifeng’s Jewish community were protected and helped by Muslims, to the point that they became largely indistinguishable from the Muslim community.

That changed with the opening up of China, when Kaifeng’s Muslims reestablished links with Muslims elsewhere. The community received assistance from Muslim nations, and adopted much of the prevailing anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish attitude. The Kaifeng mosque propagates “Conquered Jerusalem” anti-Israeli propaganda, and the local Muslim population has developed an increasingly hostile attitude toward Jews. Since few outside Jews ever visit Kaifeng, this hostility is channeled toward the descendants of the Kaifeng Jewish community.

There are rumors of pogroms, information about which is reportedly censored by the Chinese government. Because of this situation, many descendants of the Kaifeng Jewish community prefer to pass as ethnic Han.

NATOR ADDS: Check out The Opposite End of China for excellent coverage of Xinjiang.