April 2019 • Volume 14 • Issue 1 • Adar II / Nissan 5779 by Jewish Times Asia Limited

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April 2019 • Volume 14 • Issue 1 • Adar II / Nissan 5779

RECORD YEAR FOR ISRAEL’S CHIP SUPPLIERS SPURRED BY CHINA its economy towards Asia due to perceived political hostility in some European nations, and also because Asian markets are growing rapidly.

By Staﬀ Writer and Agencies Israel’s exports of computer chips to China soared in 2018, according to new data supplied by the Israel Export Institute. Semiconductor exports to China rose 80% to US$2.6 billion. Chinese firms purchased more semiconductors manufactured in the country, mostly at Intel’s plant based in Kiryat Gat and a few other companies. Moreover, Intel Israel accounted for close to 80% of those sales. The data will be welcome news to the government of Israel as it seeks deeper ties with China, also because semiconductors equalled US$3.9 billion of the total goods exports in 2018, according to the export institute.

According to sources familiar with the development, the two countries have begun negotiations on a trade deal,

One of Intel’s development centres in Israel

and technology is projected to be a significant part of the discussions. In general, exports of Israeli goods to China, excluding diamonds, increased 50% to US$4.7 billion. In 2017 Intel announced an investment of US$5 billion in a bid to expand capacity in its Kiryat Gat plant in the south of Israel. The plant produces some of the world’s smallest and fastest chips.

That same year, Intel also acquired Mobileye, an Israeli auto-focused chip and technology firm, for US$15 billion. The company has also said it will invest US$11 billion in a new plant in Israel this year.

The Israeli semiconductor industry is one of the most advanced in the world. The industry represents a major component of high-tech technology exports and employs over 20,000 people in dozens of companies. Almost all of the world’s leading semiconductor firms have significant R&D centres in Israel, and a large number of local semiconductor companies have been established alongside them.

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IN THIS ISSUE JTA anniversary greetings 2-8 Regional News Arkia airlines to launch India flights 9-14

Business News India and Israel collaborate to boost AI in Indian TB healthcare screening 16-21

One to one interview 22

Ambassador Ron Proser

Art • Culture • Music China-Israel Spring Festival Celebration

23-25

Festival Passover

Jewish communities in Asia Candle-lighting and the month’s Parshas

The Israel Export Institute also mentioned that sales of equipment for manufacturing semiconductors for China grew 64% to US$450 million last year. Israel has been pivoting

Israeli billionaires in Forbes list 2019 As in previous years, Forbes magazine has published its annual list of the world’s wealthiest individuals. According to the Forbes 2019 World Billionaires list, 21 Israelis are in the rankings. Technically speaking, Roman Abramovich, ranked 107, is now the wealthiest Israeli, with a fortune of US$12.4 billion. He received Israeli citizenship last May, but Forbes lists him as Russian. The wealthiest Israeli as defined by Forbes is again Eyal Ofer, who is ranked 149, with a fortune of US$9.4 billion, down

Eyal Ofer

from 145 last year with US$9.2 billion. In second place is Stef Werheimer, ranked 303, with US$5.7 billion, down from 269 in 2018 with US$5.6 billion. In

third place is Israel’s wealthiest woman, Shari Arison, ranked 355 with US$5 billion, down from 334 last year with US$4.9 billion. In fourth place is Idan Ofer, ranked 394 with US$4.7 billion, up from 631 last year with US$3.1 billion. Teddy Sagi has risen from 631 last year with US$3.1 billion to 546 this year with US$3.8 billion. Patrick Drahi, who has Israeli citizenship but is listed as French, is ranked 190, with US$8 billion. Among major investors and donors in Israel, Sheldon Adelson is ranked 24 with US$35.1 billion, and Len Blavatnik is ranked 59 with US$17.7 billion.

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Celebrating Our 13-Year Anniversary

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Jewish Times Asia – celebrating our 13th anniversary

ho can ever predict the f u t u re w i t h 100 per cent certainty? What started off in April 2006 as a work in progress to report on Jewish news in the region, and to uncover stories about Jewish ancestry and history, has now reached a very significant milestone as we celebrate 13 year’s – you could say that it is our Bar Mitzvah. Philip Jay, the Publisher & Founder of Jewish Times Asia, said: “Our primary objective, ever since we launched, has been to secure a Jewish voice in Asia, and for 13 years our editorial vision has not changed.” Perhaps the only thing that has changed is the delivery platform. “We now have a soft-copy digital version as well as a hard-copy print version. We are open to both, but

Philip Jay, Publisher

as people are bombarded with news online, perhaps our community readers find it refreshing to receive a simply formatted hard-copy newspaper in their letter box at home,” said Jay.

Building Israel-India diplomatic relations

A holy number to reach 13 In Judaism, the number 13 is among the holiest of the numbers, because it is closely associated with G-d (HaShem) - which means love (ahavah). The gematria of ahavah is thirteen. Additionally, as a major part of the Yom Kippur prayers, we repeatedly mention the 13 attributes of HaShem’s divine mercy. It is also the time for a Jewish boy to celebrate his Bar

Spotlight on the historic community of Tianjin, China

April 2006 – our first issue

Mitzvah. A Jewish male is not considered responsible for a mitzvah (observance of the Torah’s commands) until the age of 13. Prayer and praying therefore depend on having 10 men who are all at least 13 years old. And Moses Maimonides (1138-1204), a major Jewish rabbi, philosopher, doctor, mathematician and astronomer, outlined Thirteen Principles of Faith in Judaism. A strong Jewish voice in the region “For Jewish Times Asia, providing an excellent platform and developing an even stronger Jewish voice in the region is our goal for future years,” explained Jay. “In April 2006, the very first edition of our newspaper was printed. It was an exciting time to be the region’s primary platform for news-gathering about

International Holocaust Remembrance Day marked in Hong Kong

Jewish issues. Now, in our 13th year, we want to continue to provide a positive news spin for the state of Israel and its foreign affairs activities in the region. We also want to report on political and historical ignorance, especially relating to Israel and other Jewish issues.” He added that reporting on community news is still the most rewarding part of the publication’s work. “Over the years, we have been delighted to publish news about the much closer diplomatic ties between Israel and nearly all Asian countries in the region, not just in terms of trade and business relations but also in terms of cultural and educational activities.” Jewish Times Asia offers an independent resource to educate people in Asia about Jewish values, the Holocaust and Jewish heritage. Nowadays, noted Jay, almost all countries in the

Israel’s TECHNION university sets up a campus in Shantou, China

region observe UN Holocaust Remembrance Day, and embassies and consulates co-host Holocaust talks and lectures and invite Holocaust survivors to visit schools and universities. “We are grateful that most Asian countries have nothing but positive things to say about Jewish people. They have very few antiSemitic attitudes,” he commented. Jewish Times Asia publishes a hard-copy newspaper, an online resource of content on its website, and an online flipbook version that caters to departing Jewish expatriates and others who want to stay abreast of Jewish news in (or affecting) Asia. We invite you to join us in celebrating 13 years of Jewish news reporting in Asia.

The Hong Kong-China Team wins 10 medals at the 19th Maccabiah Games

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

April 2019 Dear Friends, Greetings ! Hearty congratulations to the Bar Mitzvah of the Jewish Times Asia – its 13th anniversary. Bar Mitzvah, is a significant year of celebration for the Jewish males, who reach the age of religious responsibility. We commend the good work of Mr. Philip Jay, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, for reaching this important milestone. The newspaper’s involvement in and support of the State of Israel not only enchances understanding of our country, but provides update information and close linkage between the Asian Jewish communities with Israel. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you another good news of this year. On May 31st, the Consulate General of Israel, is hosting a one-day forum entitled “Israel-Hong Kong-Women-to-Women Bridge” in partnership with Asia Society Hong Kong Center. The forum is to create a platform of sharing between women leaders from Israel and Hong Kong in the fields of – Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology – Research and Sciences - and to further enhance the existing close ties between the two places. Mazal-tov! Our best wishes to Jewish Times Asia for continued success!

Ahuva Spieler Consul General of Israel in Hong Kong Telephone: (852) 2821 7500 Fax: (852) 2865 0220

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Mazal Tov to Jewish Times Asia on its Bar Mitzvah Edition My heartiest congratulations to Jewish Times Asia on its 13th Anniversary, especially under the leadership of Philip Jay who does it almost voluntarily, and out of the goodness of his heart, his love to the State of Israel and the Jewish Community of Hong Kong. As we all know, nowadays, information is more important than the actual reality. Therefore, we need all the information in Hong Kong and around South East of Asia which I definitely think that Jewish Times Asia has been doing so. We are dedicated to promoting trade and development between Hong Kong SAR and Israel for mutual benefit. Our loyalties lie first and foremost with our members, acting as their voice in advising and sharing with Hong Kong officials, matters affecting businesses and the economy, providing members with business information and facilitating networking through a variety of chamber activities. If all countries work together, we could overcome all difficulties on the road ahead and the risk, in promoting lasting peace and common prosperity.

Dr. Rafael Aharoni, BBS Chairman

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Arkia airlines to launch India flights

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Arkia Israel Airlines Ltd. recently announced that it would introduce two new ﬂight routes to India. They will be ﬂying to Goa and Cochin in the state of Kerala. Arkia is joining El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., which operates direct flights to Mumbai, and Air India, which flies from Tel Aviv to Delhi on a shorter route passing above Saudi Arabia.

Arkia will operate the new flights from September 2019 using recently acquired Airbus 321neoLR airliners. Flights will take seven hours and will take place all year round, except for the summer in Israel, which is the monsoon season in India. The flights to Goa will take off on Tuesdays, while there will be two weekly flights to Cochin. Flights will take off on Mon-

Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that British Holocaust denier David Irving is not welcome to visit Poland, reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Irving is taking deposits on his website for the tour of Nazi historical sites scheduled for September, including visits to the sites of the Nazi death camps Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor and Majdanek. “British Holocaust

be used or reproduced in any form or in any way without permission from the publisher. While every effort has been made that the content is true and accufor any errors or omissions in the printed text.

Jewish Times Asia is distributed on a controlled circulation, to private resident addresses and businesses in the region. In addition extra copies are available at Jewish community centres, clubs and associations. The newspaper is also on EL AL flights between Israel & Asia.

An Arkia Airbus 321neoLR aircraft

days and Fridays in SeptemberOctober, and on Sundays and Thursdays starting on 27 October.

Since the frequency of the flights does not meet the criteria for obtaining grants from the Ministry of Tourism for operating flights to new destinations, Arkia will not receive a grant. Last year, Arkia began direct flights to Bangkok, joining EL AL. Arkia CEO Nir Dagan said that the airline would offer direct access “to preferred destinations at equal prices for ev-

David Irving not welcome in Poland

Material in the newspaper may not

rate, the publisher is not responsible

eryone… For India, the state of Kerala, and the destinations that we selected have been the dream of Israelis from all parts of the tourist spectrum.”

David Irving

denier David Irving probably will not be able to enter Poland due to the fact that his opinions are unacceptable from the point of view of Polish law,” Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said at a news conference in March. Irving is planning to spend nine days in Poland in September. In addition to the former Nazi death camps, he plans to visit the bunker headquarters of Adolf Hitler known as “The Wolf’s Lair” and the headquarters of SS chief Heinrich Himmler. Similar trips took place in 2013 and 2010. Irving was sentenced in 2006 by an Austrian court to three years in prison for his Holocaust denial. He was re-

Arkia International CEO Oz Berlowitz added: “In addition to the organised tours and vacations, Arkia will also offer continuation flights to

Following the trend of other major cities around the world, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality has installed the country’s first LED light strips at a pedestrian crossing, to warn people who are engrossed in texting on their smartphones. Strips of LEDs connected to existing traffic lights have

The LED light strips at a pedestrian crossing in Tel Aviv

been installed at the pavement edge and change colour at the same time as the eye-level

a variety of Far Eastern destinations.” Commenting on Arkia’s announcement and its entry as a registered carrier on a route to India, Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz said that the new flights would significantly increase the number of passengers on routes to India and lower prices to another of Israeli passengers’ preferred destinations.

Beresheet spacecraft takes selfies In March, the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet took its first selfie more than 23,000 miles from Earth. The selfie shows Earth in the background – with Australia visible – as well as a plaque installed on the spacecraft that shows an Israeli flag and the words Am Yisrael Chai (the nation of Israel lives) and “Small Country, Big Dreams”. The spacecraft transmitted the image back to the control room, located in Yehud in central Israel. It also recently sent home a video of a sunrise from the spacecraft’s point of view before it enters the moon’s orbit. The lunar lander is expected to land on the moon’s surface on 11 April. The landing site has been identified as the northeastern part of Mare Serenitatis, or the Sea of Serenity, a flat area on the moon’s surface. The Beresheet spacecraft is a joint venture between private companies SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries.

The Beresheet spacecraft took this selfie

leased after one year. Irving lost a libel suit he brought against Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt in 2000. The suit was dramatised in the movie Denial, starring Rachel Weisz as Lipstadt. He initially claimed that Hitler was not aware of the

Smartphone zombies in Tel Aviv, please pay attention Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality

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lights. The ground-level lighting is designed to warn pedestrians who are focusing obsessively on their smartphone screens rather than paying attention to the traffic. Such distracted pedestrians are called “smartphone zombies”, or “smombies”, and are a worldwide phenomenon, so similar devices and warning

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programme to exterminate the Jews and retained his credibility as a historian. Irving later transitioned to outright Holocaust denial, including claiming that there was no evidence to prove the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

signs have been installed in Europe, Singapore and Australia in recent years. In Tel Aviv, the LED lights are located on either side of the intersection of Ibn Gabirol and David Bloch Street, opposite the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality’s office. They are part of a trial that will be expanded throughout the city if it is deemed a success.

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Regional News

Ex-Pakistani leader calls for diplomatic relations with Israel Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, who in 2005 established contacts via Turkey, told a journalist in Dubai that there is no harm in establishing relations with Israel. The news was first reported by The Media Line. Musharraf said he believes it’s time for Pakistan to consider establishing ties with Israel. He was speaking at a press conference on 22 February in Dubai, where he has been living in selfexile to avoid what he believes are politically motivated court cases back home. “There is no harm to establish a relationship with Israel,” Musharraf said, adding that “it will help Pakistan counter India” by accessing an “elite club” of “influential” nations. His remarks came as tensions between Pakistan and India spiked recently over the contested Kashmir region.

Musharraf led Pakistan from 1999 to 2008. He was a strong critic of Israel until 2005, when he established contacts with the help of Turkey. Since then he has been a staunch supporter of

ties between the two countries.

“As expected, the Israeli leadership responded to my offer within 24 hours,” he stated, adding he believed that Israel would still welcome such ties.

The former president claims to enjoy support from Pakistan’s military establishment and cabinet members in the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

There was no official Pakistani reaction to Musharraf’s comment, although Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Media Line that the Palestinian issue would first need to be solved. “Pakistan has had a pro-Palestine stance for long time. We cannot even think of establishing contact with Israel until Palestine is internationally recognised as an independent state,” he said.

Anti-Israel sentiment is currently at an all-time high in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country of 220 million people. Musharraf’s initial efforts to establish ties with Israel led to a 2005 meeting in Turkey between the two countries’ foreign ministers. The meeting was

Senior delegation visits China Israel Changzhou Innovation Park On 14 March, Dr Eyal Propper, the Consul General of Israel in Shanghai, accompanied Zhou Minhao, District-Mayor of Shanghai Putuo District, and Cao Jiazhong, Standing Committee Member of Changzhou Municipal Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, to the China Israel Changzhou Innovation Park (CIP) initiative in Jiangsu Province.

Since the official launch of the CIP last year, it has attracted significant investment and interest from both sides. The park has so far gathered 81 Israeli and Chinese-Israeli co-operative enterprises, including the CI3 incubator, with more than 20 Israeli companies. During the visit, the par-

“Also, Pakistan is not a threat to Israel’s security. Israel represents no threat to Pakistan’s national security. But I have sympathy for the Palestinian people and their legitimate desire for a state,” Musharraf said. In his speech, which was hailed by many in Pakistan, he praised Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, calling it “a courageous decision”.

Pervez Musharraf

facilitated by Jack Rosen, a US businessman and currently the president of the American Jewish Congress.

Musharraf addressed a gathering of the World Jewish Congress in September of that year. “Pakistan has no direct conflict with Israel,” he said at the time.

At the same time, within the framework of deepening regional co-operation in the Yangtze River Delta, the two sides will jointly strengthen China-Israel innovation cooperation, in order to achieve the vision of “building, sharing and win-win” through complementary advantages.

As president of Pakistan

According to WikiLeaks, the ISI secretly provided intelligence to Mossad indicating that Israeli civilians might be targeted in a terrorist attack in India in 2008. Several Israeli citizens were indeed killed in November of that year during a massive series of attacks in Mumbai, one of them targeting the city’s Chabad House.

A source in Islamabad said that then-ISI chief Lt.-Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha personally established direct contact with Mossad to pass on the information. The Media Line, established in 2000, is one of the ﬁrst American non-proﬁt news agencies covering Middle-East journalism.

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ticipants agreed that Shanghai has the best resources in the country in terms of innovation platform, innovation resources and financial capital, while Changzhou has a strong foundation in terms of industrial co-operation. The two sides aim to further strengthen exchanges and interactions, and learn from each other with regard to the system and mechanisms for innovation and co-operation.

Nevertheless, his suggestion that Pakistan be open to diplomatic relations with Israel sparked fierce reactions from some Pakistani political figures, even within his own government. They included Ijaz ulHaq, his minister for religious affairs and minorities. “We can’t even think of establishing relations with Israel. No, not at all,” said Haq, currently president of the Pakistan Muslim League.

and head of its army, Haq’s father, Zia ul-Haq, allowed the nation’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) to establish links with Israel’s Mossad in the early 1980s.

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Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Regional News

Attendees at the ceremony

After an extensive 20-month restoration effort, the 135-year-old Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai, India, popularly known as the Blue Synagogue, was inaugurated in February at an event that underlined secularism and gender equality. The restored neo-classical structure was inaugurated by Israel’s Ambassador to India, Ron Malka, and the Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidyasagar Rao.

Ambassador Malka spoke of the bond between Israel and India. “Many Jews moved to Israel from India, playing an important role in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. I want to congratulate the Maharashtra government for formally recognising the Jewish community.” Sangita Jindal, chairperson of the JSW Foundation, which contributed towards the restoration, said the message she wanted to give through the restoration was of secularism. “I was told that no woman has ever stepped inside the prayer

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In a first, non-Jews will not only be allowed to take a look at the place of worship but will also be welcomed to take part in the prayers. Sending out a message of secularism, Solomon Sopher, the leader of the

Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, said: “Everyone is welcome here. Be it Muslim, Christian, Hindu or any other community.”

Inside the synagogue

Myanmar and Israel co-operate on agriculture research As part of the bilateral cooperation between Myanmar and Israel, the inauguration ceremony of a Demonstration & Research Plot, established with the help of Israel, was held at Yezin Agricultural University in Myanmar on 21 February. Attending the opening ceremony were Gilad Cohen, head of the Asia and Pacific division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry; Israel’s Ambassador to Myanmar Ronen Gilor; Na-

ing Kyi Win, Director General of the Department of Agriculture Research; Dr Nang Hseng Horn, Rector of the university, and other guests. The Israeli Embassy initiated the Israeli demonstration and research plot at the university in August 2017. The main purpose is to demonstrate to students and faculty members various aspects of Israel’s advanced agriculture and watermanagement techniques.

Dr Nang Hseng Horn and Israel’s Ambassador to Myanmar Ronen Gilor

Plaque unveiling with Governor of Maharashtra, C Vidyasagar Rao (right)

area from where I am speaking today. It is a privilege that I got the opportunity,” she said. Congratulating the community and the restoration team, Governor Rao said: “Girls, when given the opportunity, scale great heights. It is a privilege to note that this restoration work is the hard work and dedication of three women.” While Jindal was involved in getting the finances, Abha Narain Lambah was the principal conservation architect and Swati Chandgadkar restored the stainedglass panels.

A group of community members

The Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue is a place of worship for Mumbai’s Baghdadi and Bene Israel Jewish community. It was built in 1884 by Jacob Sassoon, grandson of the leader of the Jewish community

in Mumbai, David Sassoon, to commemorate his father Eliyahoo Sassoon. The synagogue is a Grade II A heritage structure protected under the Heritage Regulations of 1995.

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135-year-old synagogue in Mumbai restored

The exterior of the blue-and-white facade of the Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue

Congratulations to Jewish Times Asia on reaching 13 years

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Regional News

Last Chabad Yeshiva student to survive the Holocaust dies, aged 100

Landa escaped from Poland after being granted a visa in 1940 by Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara, and spent the remainder of WWII first in Kobe, and then in Shanghai. He was the last of the group of Polish Chabad Yeshiva students to escape the Nazis. Landa had written to Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, for advice on how to get out of Vilnius, Poland, where he was in the Chabad Yeshiva, and received a reply that assured him that God would grant him “… long, good and illuminating days and years, within the tent of Torah.”

Landa’s parents and all but one of his siblings were killed in the Holocaust. He received a visa to the US and arrived in New York in 1946. He was a teacher for decades before taking a job at the US Postal Service. After retiring he taught

www.chabad.org

Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Landa, the last Chabad Yeshiva student to survive the Holocaust, has died in the US. Landa died in his sleep on 15 February at the age of 100.

Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Landa and Chaya Landa

in synagogues and Yeshivas in Borough Park in Brooklyn. He is survived by his four children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

During an event at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, commemorating International Remembrance Day, Chiune Sugihara was recently honoured as a saviour of Yeshiva students. He was the Japanese vice consul in Lithuania during WWII and issued visas to Lithuanian Jews and many religious Yeshiva students for transit through Japan, saving thousands in the process. Today, Sugihara is a Righteous Among the Nations recognised by the State of Israel. A tree to commemorate his actions is planted at Yad Vashem.

Some personal possessions of German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of more than 1,200 Jews he employed in his factory during the Holocaust, sold at auction recently for more than US$46,000. The items – his Longines wristwatch, a compass, a 1938 Sudetenland Medal, two fountain pens and a business card – were sold in March by the Boston-based RR Auction, for more than they were expected to attract.

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The items were from the estate of Schindler’s wife, Emilie, who died in 2001. The compass is said to have been used by Oskar and Emilie Schindler while fleeing Russian troops and heading for American-occupied territory in 1945. The Sudetenland Medal was awarded to all German officials and members of the Wehrmacht and SS who

A compass

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Personal possessions of Oskar Schindler sold at auction

Two Parker fountain pens in a case

marched into Sudetenland, and it was later awarded to military personnel participating in the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia. Schindler had aided in the annexation and occupation of the Sudetenland as a spy for the German government.

“It’s an amazing archive of Schindler’s personal belongings,” Bobby Livingston, executive VP at RR Auction, told reporters. “Schindler struggled in everything he ever did before and after the war, so we are thrilled with the international media attention and honoured to have had the opportunity to share his story.” Schindler’s story was told in the 1982 novel Schindler’s Ark by author Thomas Keneally, and was the subject of Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List in 1993, which won seven Academy Awards.

India-Israel hackathon rewards innovation in cyber security and agriculture

Winners of the hackathon’s Indian leg

Keen to inspire young entrepreneurs, the state of Andhra Pradesh in India organised a first-of-its-kind hackathon to resolve problems in the fields of agriculture, cybersecurity and water supply. The Sunrise Open Challenge Hackathon (SOCH) included startups and entrepreneurs from India and Israel, along with teams of students from both countries. The 30-hour event, which took place in Visakhapatnam and Tel Aviv in February, was organised by the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society, in association with DCF Ventures

and Axis Innovation. The Indian leg of the event saw participation from 38 teams, with a total of 178 participants. Participating teams came from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The top three solutions by startups and the top three students’ teams were shortlisted under each category as winners, and prizes worth Rs 50 lakh (about US$70,000) were announced for each category. The event also included workshops and fun activities for

the teams. The Israel leg was recently concluded. One of the Indian startup winners was Headrunners, an intelligent chat box that uses visualisation to identify threats. The application sends reports and graphs to stakeholders and users. Headrunners plans to monetise the application as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) or data-as-a-service (DaaS) solution through monthly or yearly subscription to PR, legal and consulting firms. The winners from Israel included Dotan Borenstein, who offers non-GM seed treatments that induce crops to grow well when planted in high-salinity soil or when irrigated with brackish water, and Shaul Rom, who has created a cloud/internet-based supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, enabling adaptation of Internet of Things (IoT) technology with available cloud computing.

We are delighted to support this milestone of 13 years to Jewish Times Asia Mazal Tov Michael & Judy Green and family

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Regional News

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who recently participated in the 33rd International Mayors Conference, held in Israel, has been criticised by other politicians in Taiwan for a photo showing him sitting on the ﬂoor at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv as he charged his mobile phone. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been criticised for not arranging access to the VIP lounge for the mayor.

The photo was part of a series of images from his five-day trip to Israel, where he met with leaders to discuss ways of fostering new innovative industries in their cities.

“I think such an advanced airport must also have sockets for everyone to use. Those who deliberately do not use them and instead look for a corner to sit on the ground and pretend to be charging their phone are too pretentious, arrogant. It’s not the way a naive, natural, plain man would behave,” said Dem-

Ko Wen-je Facebook page

The photo, posted on 27 February, shows Ko casually sitting cross-legged on the floor of the airport as he scrolls

through and charges his cell phone.

Mayor Ko sits on the floor of the airport

ocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councillor Wang Shih-cheng Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Councillor Wang Chihping wrote: “You say he’s honest? Or is he destroying the image of Taipei? Which is it?” In an interview with Apple Daily, Wang said that as the head of the city, Ko should have staff help him recharge his phone batteries at the airport. “I did not expect him to do that. Would the mayor of Tel Aviv do that?” asked Wang. Wang said she believed Ko’s photo was staged and that he was “acting for Taiwanese to see. It’s basically making casual fun, and is actually hypocritical and disgusting.” In response to the criticism, Ko commented: “Taiwanese society is very fake.” He explained that his assistant had a mobile charger, but he felt embarrassed to ask to use it. He added that it’s not in his nature to want to bother his subordinates, so when he found the nearest plug in the airport, he just used it.

South Korea builds its own mikveh Chabad Korea has completed the construction of South Korea’s first mikveh (a bath for ritual immersion). A special reception event was held on 31 March at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Orthodox Jewish women residing in the country have previously needed to fly to China or Japan to use a ritual bath. Chabad Rabbi Asher Litzman says women have been forgoing job offers with companies such as Samsung because they would have no access to a mikveh in South Korea.

The new mikveh is constructed in the shape of a water drop that symbolises the purity of the rainwater source of the mikveh. The walls and floor are made of wood, in a modern design that hints at Korean tradition. The ceiling, shaped like a drop of water, was built using a 3D printer. “We arrived 11 years ago and it’s been our foremost goal to build a mikveh that will serve the Jewish community living here,” said Rabbi Asher Litzman. Work on the project

Lubavitch.com

Taipei mayor sits on airport floor causing a stir back home

The new mikveh in Seoul

began a year ago. According to Jewish law (halacha), Jewish women need to be immersed in a mikveh (for conversion, for getting married and for observing niddah – family purity).

Men are also obligated to immerse daily, or every Friday before Shabbat. In some Jewish communities, it is also customary to immerse before Yom Kippur, and for grooms to immerse before their weddings. A mikveh can also be used to make kitchen appliances such as cutlery and cooking utensils kosher.

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Regional News

Israel’s Consul-General to Hong Kong, Mrs. Ahuva Spieler and Irit Barash, Director of UIA Israel graced the occasion with their presence, as well as all UIA Directors and leadership, led by Co-Chairs Daniel Green and Philippe Bera. The event was successfully led by Daniel Kirwin, UIA Director.

The guest speaker for the evening was Ambassador Ron Prosor, Israel’s highest-ranking diplomat and a well-established writer, and newspaper columnist. Ambassador Prosor was introduced by Philippe Bera, Co-Chair of UIA Hong Kong.

Magnificent

The 2019 UIA Hong Kong – Keren Hayesod campaign kicked off to an enthusiastic start as 180 friends and supporters convened at the Hong Kong Jewish Community Centre for the “UIA Solidarity and Appeal” evening on 14 March.

From left to right: Ronen Zion, Irit Barash, Yoel Levy, Marc Zilkha, Philippe Bera, Sharon Ser, Ron Prosor, Daniel Green, Robert Dorfman, Daniel Kirwin and Jonathan Zeman

Ambassador Prosor carved out an international reputation as one of Israel’s most distinguished diplomats and currently heads the Abba Eban Institute for International Diplomacy in the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. For further insights about Ambassador Prosor’s work as a UN representative, see Jewish Times Asia’s interview with him on page 22 of this issue.

Ambassador Prosor has served Israel in multiple roles, most notably as Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2011 to 2015.

Irit Barash paid special tribute to the vibrant, dynamic and international Hong Kong Jewish community which reinforces the international character of Keren Hayesod – UIA.

Prior to his role at the United Nations Ambassador Prosor served as Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, as Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and as the political consul at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. In his more than two decades with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Daniel Green, Co-Chair of UIA Hong Kong, spoke on behalf of the UIA Directors and leadership and concluded with the final appeal. He thanked guests for their presence that evening and for their sincere

Irit also emphasised the special challenges currently facing Israel and the important role played by Keren Hayesod – UIA donors who answer Israel’s most pressing needs and strengthening Israeli society’s weakest populations. She also mentioned the mutual responsibility and bond between Diaspora Jewry and the People of Israel, which takes the form of a “sacred partnership” between the State of Israel and World Jewry.

Magnificent

Ambassador Prosor gave an intriguing and illuminating description of his tenure as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations and exemplified how he chose to take a proactive, innovative and realistic course of action in representing Israel. Just one highlight of his successful tenure to the United Nations was his becoming, in 2014, the first Israeli diplomat nominated to supervise UN elections.

Magnificent

From left: Zion Family – Hannah, Ronen, Leeron, Ephraim and Simon

From left: Joyce Abram, Jordy Abram and Jeﬀrey Schwartz

passion for the future of the State of Israel - our homeland and the Jewish People. He also extended a heartfelt thank you to the table captains, donors and volunteers whose support was essential in the success of the event. UIA also thanked its sponsors, including Safra Bank, the Green Family Foundation, the Hinrich Foundation, Withers law firm and El Al Israel Airlines.

Vietnamese students complete agriculture MSc in Israel

VNA

UIA Annual Dinner 2019 in Hong Kong

The graduation ceremony for Vietnamese students and others from Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda

Six Vietnamese students have completed an agricultural MSc programme, the fourth course carried out as a cooperative venture between the Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training (AICAT) and Tel Aviv University in Israel. A graduation ceremony was held in February for the Vietnamese students and seven others from Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Professor

Nir Ohad of Tel Aviv University applauded the efforts made by Vietnamese students during the course, and expressed his hope that with the knowledge gained in Israel they will contribute to the success of Vietnam’s agriculture industry.

Launched in 2014, the programme offers Vietnamese students the opportunity to access Israel’s modern agricultural knowledge and skills. Four centres currently participate in enrolling students in Vietnam: AICAT, Ramat Negev, Sdot Negev and Agrostudies.

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Business News Regional News

India and Israel collaborate to boost AI in Indian TB healthcare screening

China-Israel Diamond Week in Shenzhen

The Global Innovation and Technology Alliance, under India’s Department of Science & Technology, and the Israel Innovation Authority, under the Government of Israel, have granted funding to HealthNet Global in India and Zebra Medical Vision in Israel to validate, co-develop and deploy medical imaging Artificial Intelligence (AI) across India and to increase tuberculosis (TB) screening capabilities in rural areas.

The first China-Israel Diamond Week was held in Shenzhen from 1 to 4 April. It was organised jointly by the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) and Guangdong Land Holding Ltd. (GDLand).

Sales Meet, where Israeli exhibitors presented their goods to Chinese diamond buyers. The event also included special visits to diamond jewellery manufacturing facilities in the area, as well as social and networking events.

The highlight of the event was the China-Israel Diamond

IDE President Yoram Dvash said: “The China-Israel Diamond Week brings the close relationship between the Israel Diamond Exchange and the Shanghai Diamond Exchange to an even higher level. This is the IDE’s first solo exhibition in China. It is an excellent opportunity to gain exposure in this most important market, and we are very excited.”

HealthNet Global is part of the Apollo Hospitals Group, one of the first and largest corporate hospital chains in India, with over 70 hospitals and 200 care and diagnostic clinics. HealthNet Global works with Apollo Radiology International by deploying cutting-edge AI systems to increase the efficiency of India’s healthcare sector. Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision is a start-up that uses AI technology to help read medical scans, and will collaborate with the Apollo Hospitals network to deploy its technology across the country and collaboratively de-

Representatives from HealthNet and Zebra Medical Vision

velop applications suitable for the Indian market. Zebra and HealthNet Global will get support from the IndiaIsrael Industrial Research and Development and Technological Innovation Fund for the US$4.9 million project to jointly develop and provide clinical validation and evidence of the efficacy of radiology Al-based tools in India. The grant will aid the partners in the development of an India-specific algorithm-based tool for patients across India and other emerging nations. The project will also modify existing algorithms to make them suitable for the Indian population. The final product will be

a primary screening method for major diseases. It is expected to help provide high-quality radiology access to remote locations by alerting medical staff about the presence of critical findings immediately.

The World Health Organization estimates that 3.6 million people with TB are missed by health systems every year and do not receive adequate care. This is primarily because patients may present with mild or no symptoms, particularly early on. Many of them arrive at clinics too late with advanced disease or multi-drug resistant TB, which is difficult to treat and more likely to cause death. One of the key strategies to tackle TB is early diagnosis.

The event included a daylong seminar, the China-Israel Diamond Forum, at which each of the organisers had an opportunity to give presentations and introduce their services. The forum culminated with the signing of a memorandum of co-operation between all of the parties.

IDE booth to promote the Get Diamonds platform

The Carsley Family wishes the Jewish Community a Happy Passover 5779 Chag Pesach Sameach

from Philippa and Marvin Carsley

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Business Regional News News

Family business educates clients about investing in precious metals Afﬂuent individuals have an abundance of choices for investing their funds, and one alternative or complementary vehicle for building or diversifying an investment portfolio is precious metals. One company that helps such individuals to understand the importance of gold and other precious commodities is J. Rotbart & Co, which recently celebrated its third anniversary in Hong Kong. The company hosted a special reception for invited guests in March. Israeli-born Joshua Rotbart is the founder and managing partner. He previously worked for Malca-Amit, a secure logistics company in Hong Kong, and has advised hundreds of clients on their portfolios of physical precious metals. His brother Zvika Rotbart is responsible for business development, and a third brother,

families pass their wealth on to the next generation. Protecting your wealth

From left: Zvika, Joshua and Jonathan Rotbart

Jonathan Rotbart, is a fellow director. Together with their team, the three brothers have quickly established a niche operation, helping high-net-worth individuals, investment firms and private banks to invest in physical precious metals – gold, silver, platinum and palladium. The company provides complete solutions, including buying, selling, transporting and storing the metals in multiple locations globally, notably

Hong Kong and Singapore. Clients buy physical bullion as an alternative investment, as a tool for portfolio diversification, or as part of their wealth-protection strategy. Precious metals are very liquid, are recognised globally, and have robust demand and scarce availability. Gold is generally accepted as a tool against the growing uncertainties of the modern world, and for helping

At the reception, Joshua Rotbart gave a presentation about some of the new developments and services the company is working on. These include loans to clients, using gold and other precious metals holdings as collateral. This gives clients the flexibility of managing their cashflow or letting them make other investments while still keep their long-term legacy in gold, silver, platinum and palladium holdings.

The launch of JR-Crypto (www.jr-crypto.com), which targets investors in cryptocurrencies, offers clients a secure way to move funds from the volatile and virtual market of cryptos to the stable and safe world of physical gold. JR-Crypto also offers a ro-

bust ecosystem that allows a two-way market from gold to crypto and vice versa, without compromising on strict AntiMoney-Laundering and KnowYour-Client policies. And to complement its Hong Kong and Singapore offices in the region, the firm also announced the launch of an office in Manila, to cater to its growing client base in the Philippines. “I strongly believe that gold is amongst the best assets to safeguard one’s wealth. I see it each and every day when I meet a father looking to transfer gold holdings to his sons, or a daughter selling gold coins she inherited from her mother,” said Joshua Rotbart. According to the company, it has managed the transportation and storage of bullion worth over US$1 billion so far.

Nepal Airlines looking to expand flight destinations – Israel on the radar

UPCOMING TOURS in COSTA RICA 2019 A Nepal airlines aircraft

Local media in Nepal reported recently that state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is planning to ﬂy to new destinations, including Israel. New aircraft have been ordered, and the country has despatched technical teams to many destinations to hold discussions. For now, NAC’s top priority destination is Japan, followed by China and Saudi Arabia, according to NAC Executive Chairman Madan Kharel. “We will then focus on extending flights to Israel,” he said. NAC has sought permission to use Saudi Arabia’s airspace to fly to Israel. “If we get the permission, we will immediately start flying to Israel,” Kharel said. NAC is also planning to fly to countries with a significant Buddhist population. This preparation is being made as the first phase of construction of Gautam Buddha International Airport is nearing completion.

The new international airport is located near Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. “Lots of tourists from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia visit Lumbini,” said Kharel. Currently, NAC is conducting international flights with two wide-body and two narrowbody Airbus aircraft and one Boeing 757 to eight international destinations: New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai.

Flights between Israel and Nepal are likely to be very popular because many Israeli backpackers visit the country to go hiking and to enjoy the very tranquil tourist sites, especially after they serve in the Israeli army, which is compulsory after they finish high school and college. Chabad in Nepal also organises the biggest and most well-attended Passover Seders, with many thousands of people visiting the country.

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Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Business News

InfinityAR joins Alibaba Group’s Israel operations

Israeli startup Infinity Augmented Reality, based in Ramat Gan, announced on 21 March that it has been acquired by Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba Group.

It will join Alibaba’s Israel Machine Vision Laboratory after a three-year partnership, a collaborative effort to accelerate the development of frontier technologies, including AR, computer vision and AI. “We look forward to be joining Alibaba, a world-class, innovative global technology company. Alibaba’s expertise in turning technologies into next-generation products will be a great platform for the future technologies of computer vision, AR and AI,” said Motti Kushnir, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Infinity Augmented Reality.

Prof. Lihi Zelnik-Manor, head of Alibaba Israel Machine Vision Laboratory, said: “Alibaba is delighted to be working with InfinityAR as one team after three years of partnership. The talented team brings unique know-how in sensor fusion,

Thailand’s Singha beer company partners with SOSA Thailand’s Singha Corporation Co. Ltd., the holding company of the maker of Singha beer, has joined the network of Tel Aviv- and New York-based open innovation platform hub South of Salame (SOSA).

Motti Kushnir

computer vision and navigation technologies. We look forward to exploring these leading technologies and offering additional benefits to customers, partners and developers.” InfinityAR’s research and development team will now be working from Alibaba’s lab in Israel, which is one of the labs rolled out by Alibaba’s DAMO Academy to explore fundamental technologies such as computer vision and navigation. Over the past year, the Alibaba lab has been partnering with Tel Aviv University to advance studies in video analysis and machine learning. InfinityAR’s vision is about creating a new digital environment that will allow people to

interact naturally with augmented content in their physical surroundings, all by creating a new mixed-reality platform that will digitally enhance every person’s physical world. The technology turns AR glasses into a powerful contentaugmentation platform with an accurate inside-out Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) solution, allowing application developers to create mixed-reality experiences. The company was founded in 2013 and currently has 25 employees at its Ramat Gan offices.

According to Globes, market sources estimate that Alibaba paid over US$10 million in the latest deal. The Chinese company had previously invested in the startup.

The Singha Corporation is a leading Thai conglomerate producing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, food products and other consumer goods sold in more than 50 countries worldwide. SOSA was founded in Israel in 2014 by a group of angel investors and venture firms, and started out by offering coworking facilities. SOSA operates in Tel Aviv and New York,

Singha beer

and reports a network of more than 10,000 startups and 150 venture capital and corporate investors.

In January, SOSA announced that it had welcomed Tokyo-headquartered multinational insurance holding company Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. into its network, with the aim of facilitating strategic investments across the verticals of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, insurance technology and fintech. In the December 2018/ January 2019 edition, Jewish Times Asia reported that SOSA was looking to set up three tech innovation hubs in India.

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Business News

Joint venture aims to innovate powergrid technology

Israeli firm expanding its irrigation projects in India

A joint venture to transform and innovate AI technology for power grids was announced on 4 March. The deal was orchestrated by Hong Kong-based China Israel Synergy Holdings Limited (CISH), a management company that finds investments and partners with Israeli tech companies in selective and disruptive technologies.

Israeli irrigation company Netafim reported in March that it plans to carry out four large community irrigation projects in the Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradeshin, valued at around U$100 million. Netafim will provide irrigation solutions for over 60,000 farmers in over 100 villages in an area of around 137,500 acres.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (in Japan), GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited (in China) and eVolution Innovation Group (in Israel), together with CISH, have established a new company called Evolution Energy Limited to redefine AI technology for power-grid infrastructure, with the aim of optimising performance and minimising grid loss.

eVolution’s AI algorithms collect massive data from grid elements to learn their patterns and predict real-time demand. This advanced learning will reshape the way the grid operates and provide power companies a giant leap into the future with massive CAPEX and OPEX cost reductions. “There’s huge

The newly formed Evolution Energy team with Amir Yaar, CEO and Founder of CISH (far right)

potential for AI technology to predict and optimise grid performance. Utility companies will be able to transform from the long-standing manual management to sophisticated, agile and green operation,” said Roy Morad, CEO of eVolution Innovation Group. “We are very excited to be joining hands with eVolution to expand the reach of Mitsui’s innovative energy business. All partners contribute a globally recognised reputation in their respective areas to innovate the next generation of grid infrastructure,” said Daisetsu Sakai, General Manager of the First Department, First Projects Development Division, Infrastruc-

ture Projects Business Unit of Mitsui.

“We are very happy to contribute to the growth of eVolution Energy as strategic investors by leveraging our resources and market access in China, Japan and South East Asia,” said Donglei Yan, Investment Managing Director of GCL-Poly.

“CISH was formed with the mission assimilating Israel’s game-changing and disruptive technologies into Asia and China and creating partnerships that are transforming the way we live. We would like to thank the Israeli Consulate General in Hong Kong for its continued support,” said Amir Yaar, CEO and Founder of CISH.

Netafim said the four ventures were a follow-up to a community irrigation project that it completed in Karnataka in 2017, in which it provided precision irrigation solutions to 7,000 farmers in 30 villages. “India is a strategic market

for Netafim, whose mission is to help the world grow more crops with fewer resources,” said Netafim president and CEO Ran Maidan. “The community irrigation model originated by Netafim is especially affordable, and makes it possible to supply farmers with advanced irrigation systems within a short time. These projects will be integrated with digital agricultural systems we developed together with mPrest. The combined systems enable the government and farmers to control and supervise water and irrigation systems in real time, using cloud technologies and access from any mobile device.”

Farmers at work in Rhamtal, India, after the completion of Netafim’s community irrigation project

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Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Business News

Israeli edutech firm Accelium eyes Indian Azrieli in talks to bring Japan’s Uniqlo to Israel school market stein-Reich, who is also chairperson of Israel India Chamber of Commerce.

Accelium, an Israeli EduTech firm that is present in over 25 countries, is looking to open an Indian office. The 25-year-old firm, founded by two Israeli chess masters, is a game-based cognitive learning business that initially targeted corporations and school students. The company is working with Israeli business consulting firm A&G partners. “We have been commissioned by Accelium to explore the Indian market. We have carried out a pilot in a few schools in Andhra Pradesh, which was well received. In May-June this year, we will be taking it to some schools in Mumbai,” said Anat

Cognitive learning games

Tzvika Feldfogel, Accelium Chief Marketing Officer

Bernstein-Reich, A&G Partners.

founder

“Accelium initially taught kids chess in schools in Israel. Eventually, it realised that chess is not enough to expand all the thinking abilities of children. So it started developing digital games. Initially, the programme was solely for school children but now it is also being used in universities and corporate houses because it can help enhance cognitive thinking. It works across age groups,” said Bern-

“I look forward to seeing it in Indian schools. We tweaked the price of the product for the Indian levels, because we understand that the economies of scale will prevail,” she added. “To begin with, we hope to tap 10,000 students in India. This can be done easily by approaching a few schools. I am sure they will find value in it,” she said, explaining that charges would be only a few hundred rupees per student. According to BernsteinReich, the Accelium method is a very powerful tool, and a Harvard Business School study showed that the methodology can improve children’s cognitive skills. The Accelium way of game-based learning, which has been taught in 12 languages, is currently being used by nearly five million students around the world, including in European countries, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. In Asia the company has representation in Japan, China and Singapore.

Azrieli Group Ltd who own and manage shopping malls in Israel is in discussions to bring Japanese casual fashion retail brand Uniqlo to one of its main shopping malls in Israel, according to Globes newswires. Azrieli CEO Arnon Toren and others in the company recently met with representatives of Uniqlo, a subsidiary of the Fast Retailing corporation. Uniqlo was brought to Israel last year through parallel imports. Terminal X, an ecommerce website controlled by the Fox group, announced the sale of Uniqlo products when the website went on the air. The products sold out rapidly. Business futurist Adi Yoffe says that Israelis are very fond of the Japanese brand because “Uniqlo is a brand associated with real innovation. This company is known for its technology for producing thin and warm jackets. It is not a mere fashion item; it is connected to values of innovation and progress.” Uniqlo’s

branches

over-

seas feature large and carefully styled spaces covering several floors with a special design. The company has a unique inventory policy at its branches, and even special training for folding its clothes. Uniqlo was founded in Yamaguchi in Japan in 1949 as a textile manufacturer. The company controls the chain from production to distribution, marketing, and retails sales. Its shares are listed on the Tokyo and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges at a market cap of over US$50 billion. The company has extensive activity in its home country of Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and other countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania, and is also planning to increase its business in India. Uniqlo also has stores in Europe and North America, and is entering new countries. Japanese retail chains Daiso Japan and Miniso, which sell mainly home products and accessories, opened stores in Israel in the past year.

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Business News

Bamba snack for kids to tackle peanut allergies in US

Chroma Ate Inc. acquires 20% stake in Camtek Ltd.

Bamba, one of Israel’s most iconic kids’ snacks, will soon be widely available in the US market. As reported by Ynet News, Israeli children owe their resistance to peanut allergies to the legendary snack. The Osem food company, which owns the product, has secured a widespread distribution deal in the US, brokered by the international food giant Nestlé.

Taiwan-based Chroma Ate Inc., a provider of high-precision test and measurement equipment, announced in February that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 20% stake in Camtek Ltd., a manufacturer of metrology and inspection equipment, in a cash transaction of US$74 million.

The plan is for Bamba to be adopted by Nestlé’s baby snacks section, and a new commercial that aired recently already shows the Bamba icon – a red-headed baby – walking the streets of New York City. Bamba was independently distributed in the US a year ago, under an agreement with the Costco and Trader Joe’s supermarket chains. Before that, the snack was sold only sporadically, mostly within the US ultra-Orthodox community. Thanks to the deal with Nestlé, Bamba could be on

Osem’s Bamba peanut snack

its way to becoming a huge hit. In the European market, Nestlé has already taken over the marketing and distribution of another Israeli product, Tivall, a vegetarian schnitzel and burger brand. With the giant corporate on its side, Tivall quickly became the second-best-selling meat substitute in the continent. Consumers in the US market are fond of savoury snacks, making Bamba a strong candidate to capture the public’s attention. It already made headlines when US health authorities recommended exposing babies and children to foods that contain peanuts in order to prevent them from developing peanut allergies. Bamba is an ideal can-

didate since it does not contain actual peanut pieces and dissolves in the mouth, making it baby-friendly. In fact, research showed that thanks to the popularity of Bamba, Israeli children are far less likely than US children to develop peanut allergies. The discovery made headlines in the American media. Osem’s venture in this new market is no coincidence. The company recently set up a new factory in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, costing NIS 200 million and allowing Osem to produce double what it could produce in its older factory. The factory was especially designed to enable Osem to meet the growing international demand. Nestlé is the largest food company in the world. Some 25% of food sales in the US are of Nestlé products. Osem’s long-term revenues are expected to increase by hundreds of millions of shekels after Nestle starts distributing Bamba in approximately one year’s time.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of Q2 2019, subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Headquartered in Migdal Ha’emek, Israel, Camtek is also a provider of software solutions serving the Advanced Packaging, Memory, CMOS Image Sensors, MEMS, RF and other segments in the mid end of the semiconductors industry.

Leo Huang, Chroma’s Chairman and CEO, said: “In 3D metrology, Chroma has already developed White Light Interferometry (WLI), covering several high-precision and large-object testing and measurement applications. Today, through this strategic investment and alliance, we are able

to utilise Camtek’s triangulation technology (patented), which will strengthen Chroma’s 3D metrology capabilities of serving a broad set of fast-growing industries, including fabricated metals, pouch cells (for EV) and photovoltaic cells. The strategic alliance and synergistic relationship will accelerate both parties’ technology development and future collective growth.” Rafi Amit, Camtek’s CEO, commented that the agreement will enable the firm to strengthen its presence in Asia in general, and in Taiwan in particular. “Together with Chroma, we will be able to benefit from our technology capabilities beyond the traditional semiconductors markets,” he said.

Leo Huang

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

One-to-One Interview

A diplomat speaks – former Israeli representative to the UN shares his insights the UK and made sure not to miss any of the team’s games.

Jewish Times Asia sat down recently with former Israeli diplomat Ambassador Ron Prosor, who served in many positions, including as Israel’s 16th Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) from 2011 to 2015. He made a short visit to Hong Kong in March to be the guest speaker at the UIA Dinner event.

A long-time admirer of President Shimon Peres, whom he can imitate with uncanny accuracy, Ambassador Prosor has also taken on the Peres mantle of verbal dexterity, frequently coining phrases that sum up Israel’s situation, and that crop up repeatedly in his speeches. “The Jews’ greatest contribution to history is dissatisfaction!” he said. “We’re a nation born to be discontented. Whatever exists we believe can be changed for the better,” he said.

Jewish Times Asia invited him to share some insights and personal perspectives about his experiences at the UN, and also to discuss Israel’s current relations with various countries and regions around the world.

The UN’s significant role

A delicate diplomatic dance Ambassador Proser noted that during his tenure at the UN, there were some extraordinarily sensitive issues relating to Israel and how the UN operated, particularly regarding how member states voted on UN resolutions. With his customary wit and humour, Ambassador Prosor shared that working at the UN was sometimes like a soap opera or a drama, with good guys, bad guys and even some open trap doors, especially when it came to UN member states’ votes on particular topics and issues. For a small country such as Israel, this required extreme delicacy in attempting to persuade member states to vote fairly in some very heated debates. Even today, Israel is still definitely a hot potato at the UN. At the UN, Ambassador Prosor held a series of notable positions, including Vice President of the General Assembly and Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. He called for the first-ever General Assembly session on anti-Semitism, and oversaw the adoption of two landmark resolutions on entrepreneurship and agriculture that passed with an overwhelming majority. Counting the votes The UN is currently made up of 193 member states, with various organisational umbrella departments such as the General Assembly, the Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and departments dealing with such issues as human rights, environmental protection, etc. There are only four main alignments: 87 UN democracy

Ambassador Ron Proser

countries, 22 Arab states, 56 OIC Islamic countries and 122 members of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM). The NAM was established by India, Indonesia and Yugoslavia in the 1960s. Most of these NAM current members represent country interests from all around the world, including Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. “The maths for voting on issues are quite clearly weighted more heavily in favour of pleasing the Arab/Islamic interests rather than Israel,” said Ambassador Proser. As he emphasised, Israel does have huge support among other UN country ambassadors, however many of them are absent when votes are cast. “Support for Israel is very strong outwardly at the UN, but the mechanism to vote for or against Israel in strategic resolutions becomes problematic. Sometimes we work best with smaller nations such as Palau, because the world does not know how to gain their support,” he recalled. “It is clear that Israel’s strongest friends and allies do occasionally abstain from voting, or vote against us for strategic reasons, not necessarily because they are against us.” Given the complexities of international diplomacy and the UN’s operations, it is not surprising that Ambassador Proser

commented: “The United Nations was founded in 1945 with only 51 member states, and since then it has perhaps become less relevant in some areas in the modern world and may need some reform.” International relations Jewish Times Asia also asked Ambassador Proser for his thoughts on other diplomatic relationships that are currently developing for Israel globally. “We see that Israel is working on building its diplomatic channels with several Arab Gulf countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and most importantly Saudi Arabia, which are all majority Sunni Muslim countries. They all see the threat of Iran, a Shia Muslim nation, and its idealogy. The rope is tightening, under the radar,” he said. He added that there could also be a further opportunity with Pakistan, which also has a majority Sunni Muslim population. Ambassador Prosor was part of a team in Israel’s foreign ministry in September 2005 that created a dialogue forum, with the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan meeting in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Another important relationship in the region is with China. “China is all about energy, energy and more energy.” Ambassador Proser commented that Chi-

na needs to feed its huge population, build its infrastructure and make its economy stronger. Israel has state-of-the-art technology in agriculture and many other sectors, and China wants and needs to learn from Israel’s expertise. Defending Israel’s position Ambassador Proser was also drawn into the spotlight when he served as Israel’s Ambassador to the UK from 2007 to 2011. With his ongoing dialogues, he earned plaudits for his articulate and forthright defence of Israel’s position, published numerous articles in the British press, and addressed the widest possible range of audiences throughout the country. He is a keen soccer fan – he followed Manchester United when he was living in

Perhaps the ambassador’s fondest and most poignant memory of his role as a representative of Israel comes from his days at the UN. “When I arrived at the UN building every morning, I would look at all the flags of the many countries. Many of them were Islamic flags, with the crescent and star. But only one Jewish symbol, the Star of David, was fluttering there, and that made me so proud.” In conclusion, Ambassador Proser noted that with all its strength, and, some may argue, its weaknesses, the UN established the State of Israel on 29 November 1947. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 called for the partition of the British-ruled Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state. It was approved with 33 votes in favour, 13 against, 10 abstentions and one absent. The UN established modern-day Israel, so its role is extraordinarily significant to the Jewish people of the world.

About Ambassador Ron Prosor Ambassador Ron Prosor is the Abba Eban Chair of International Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC). In his more than two decades with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Prosor carved out an international reputation as one of Israel’s most distinguished diplomats. His appointments included: 2011-2015 Israel’s 16th Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2007-2011 Ambassador to the United Kingdom 2004-2007 Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1998-2002 Minister-Counselor, Political Affairs, Israeli Embassy, Washington, D.C. As an officer in the Artillery Division of the IDF, Mr Prosor attained the rank of Major. He holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Art • Culture • Music

Zorba The Buddha Festival 2019

A Spring Festival gala was held in March for Chinese and Israeli youths at Kalay High School in the city of Givatayim, Israel.

Israel’s largest hippy festival, The Zorba Festival, happens twice a year, in Spring and during the Festival of Sukkot, at the Desert Ashram in the Negev. This year’s Spring event will fall during Pesach Chol Hamoed from 23 to 27 April.

The celebration was organised by the Kalay High School, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association Israel, the Confucius Institute at the Tel Aviv University and the Confucius Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Chinese Embassy in Israel sponsored the event. The gala event was held in the school’s gym, which was decorated with red Chinese knots, lanterns, folding fans and colourful balloons. The Chinese traditional song Jasmine, performed in Chinese by a young female singer and a band of Kalay High School students, kicked off the festival. Students from the school also staged a dance performance to the cheerful background song Little Apple. Chinese students presented some traditional music with Chinese instruments, and some

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China-Israel Spring Festival Celebration

A student from the Confucius Institute at TAU performing Tai Chi

opera singing. The event also included a Tai Chi performance from the Confucius Institute of Tel Aviv University and a Kungfu performance by the national martial arts team of Israel. “This is the first time for our school to hold such a kind of event and it is marvellous. This is a good opportunity for our students to learn Chinese traditional culture,” said Avi Benbenishty, principal of Kalay High School, in an interview with Xinhua. “Our students are always curious about Chinese culture and they feel very excited to attend the event. We will try our best

to create more opportunities for students to learn more about China,” added Benbenishty.

“Such events enable our students to become more familiar with the Chinese culture,” said Izhar Oplatka, the city councillor, city councillor responsible for the education system in Givatayim.

Founded in 2003, the fiveday festival is a sensual meeting between spirituality, dance, meditation and music. It’s where all the edges meet – the great celebration of life, dancing, movement, music, deep yoga, the spirit of meditation and the silence of the desert. The programme includes workshops and meditations with top instructors and gurus from Israel and abroad.

A celebration of music

“Zorba the Buddha” teaches people that life is a journey that can combine the best of all worlds: the fiesta with the meditation, the dance with the quiet, the riches of the festival with the simplicity of the desert.

According to the festival’s website, the April event is so popular that all the tickets are already sold out.

Oplatka added that in recent years, more and more programmes have been carried out to expose students to Chinese culture, which is “meaningful and colourful”. More than 300 teachers and students from Kalay High School attended the event.

Spiritual chanting in unity at the festival

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Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Art • Culture • Music

Renowned Israeli conductor inspires Myanmar with an appreciation of music

Brand is a conductor of orchestras, a presenter on the Israeli Galgalatz radio station, and an educator with a love of classical music.

On 12 February he performed in a concert titled Life is a Concert at the Goethe Villa, co-hosted by the Embassy of Israel and the German Goethe Institute. The next day he conducted the musical workshop at the National University of Arts and

the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present concerts in Nigeria, Cameroon, Myanmar, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, India and South American countries.

Culture, followed by an evening performance at the Novotel Hotel Max for an “Israel Tourism Celebration” event. Then on 14 February he gave a special performance for children at Yankin Children’s Hospital.

Brand regularly travels around the world, promoting music to people in less fortunate regions and countries. He was born in Beersheva to Romanian parents, and was raised with a profound appreciation for music from an early age. “My mother and grandmother insisted that I nurture my talent and pursue piano lessons,” he said. “My parents both loved the piano, but had no means to learn how to play in Romania. They in-

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Israeli pianist Maestro Nir Brand visited Myanmar in February and gave a series of special performances in the country, organised by Israel’s Embassy in Myanmar.

Maestro Brand at the concert at the Goethe Villa

vested in my learning, and my grandmother would accompany me to lessons regularly, taking two buses to get me there.” He added: “Because of their commitment to me despite our modest circumstances, I feel I must make an effort to change the world through music and bring

its beauty to others.” It was for that reason that he established Music Without Borders, a non-profit organisation that takes humanitarian concerts to countries around the world. For the past eight years he has travelled on behalf of

He also founded the ClassiKid music programme in Israel in 2000. It involves workshops and performances in schools that are designed to enrich children’s personal experiences through music, and equip them with a special set of life skills. A proud Israeli and a committed citizen of the world, Brand says that the spirit and energy with which Israelis take on their challenges is something he channels in his music.

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Talented artist exhibits for International Women’s Day in India

Nir Brand visiting the Yankin Children’s Hospital

Chinese-Jewish chef’s show nominated for Emmy Chinese-Jewish chef Molly Yeh has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for best culinary host for her show Girl Meets Farm. The show, which is aired on the US Food Network Channel, premiered on the Food Network last summer and is now in its third season. In an Instagram post, Yeh wrote that she was “completely verklempt” to be nominated. Yeh, 30, became popular through her casual, aesthetically pleasing blog, “my name is yeh”. She occasionally melds her two heritages together in recipes, and now uses ingredients from the North Dakota farm she moved to with her husband, Nick Hagen.

The couple is expecting their first child soon, but Yeh is still filming the show.

She is a classically trained musician, cookbook author and blogger who has given up the streets of New York City to bring viewers to her home on a sugar-beet farm in the Midwest to dazzle them with her obsession with food.

Courtesy Food Network/Molly Yeh

“Growing up in the sub-

urbs of Chicago and living in New York, it didn’t even strike me as a possibility that a place could really exist without tons of Jews,” Yeh told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, about her culture shock moving to the Midwest. “If I wasn’t going to be maintaining my Jewish identity and celebrating Jewish holidays and cooking Jewish food on the farm, nobody was going to be.”

Molly Yeh in her kitchen making a cake

Vases

Ludmilla Chakrabarty

In celebration of International Women’s Day, a special art exhibition titled From my Quill to the Canvas: A Tribute to Femininity, showcasing works by talented Jewish artist and author Ludmilla Chakrabaty, was held in March at the Sheraton Hotel in New Delhi. Israel’s Ambassador in India, Ron Malka, was the guest of honour at the launch of the exhibition on 7 March. Many diplomats and art enthusiasts attended the event. Ludmilla Chakrabarty was born in Russia. While there, she taught English at the University of Tver and wrote a regular column in the Sestra

Book cover: A Pearl in the Oyster

newspaper. Since marrying an Indian orthopedic surgeon, she has lived in India, where she combines two professions: a lecturer of English and an artist and book illustrator.

Chakrabarty’s first book of stories, The Winged Tree and Other Fairy Tales, takes readers to an unusual world where trees dance to the tune of musical notes, an alchemist prepares a unique elixir and little kids take care of their naughty, troublesome, grown-up parents!

In conjunction with the art exhibition, her latest book, A Pearl in the Oyster, was unveiled at the opening ceremony. “This eclectic collection of writings happened on its own while I was busy pursuing a career in the fine art of painting. Being wholeheartedly involved in this occupation, I allowed the richness of life to stir my creative juices to the extent of their spilling over on paper,” she said. “I would like to believe that both in my painting and in my writing, I create a world of my own. Sometimes, though, I get the feeling that I only reflect what is already there, but this

eternal desire to explore the world, and myself as a part of it, motivates me to go on with this most exciting quest,” she added. Chakrabarty has had several solo and group exhibitions in the past, in both Russia and India.

Sisters

The Tribal World

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Art • Culture • Music

Hebrew University adds new manuscripts to Einstein Archive left Germany years earlier amid the rise of fascism. In a 1935 letter to his son Hans Albert, he expressed dismay that other European powers had not done more to curb the Nazis’ military build-up.

Part of a collection of 110 manuscript pages written by Albert Einstein was unveiled at the Albert Einstein Archive at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on 6 March. The university announced that it had obtained a “magnificent” collection of Albert Einstein’s manuscripts, shedding new light on the mind and soul of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist ahead of the 140th anniversary of his birth. The bulk of the 110-page collection consists of yellowed pages of handwritten equations, as well as several personal letters written in German. In one correspondence with his lifelong friend Michele Besso, Einstein said he felt “ashamed” for never having bothered to learn Hebrew. Inside the mind of a genius Professor Hanoch Gutfreund, the archive’s academic director, said: “For historians of science, it is very important to have manuscripts, because then one sees that he crossed out something, that he changed

This undated photo, released by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, shows an appendix to Albert Einstein’s 1930 unified theory written by the scientist, a part of the collection of 110 pages

something, and it is interesting to see how he actually worked.” Each of the four personal letters from Einstein “is a gem”, Gutfreund added. “In every letter exchanged between them, they refer to something scientific. But they always share something personal about their families. And they also very often exchange remarks about their Jewish identity.” Besso, a Swiss-Italian engineer of Jewish descent, was baptised a Christian but also learned the Hebrew language. In one of their letters, Einstein wrote about himself, with a

touch of sarcasm, that “as a ‘Jewish saint’ [I] must feel ashamed at the fact that I know next to nothing of it. But I prefer to feel ashamed rather than to learn it.”

“You will certainly not go to hell, even if you have had yourself baptised,” Einstein wrote in a 1951 letter. In that same letter, he reveals that he had “still not come closer” to fully comprehending the nature of light particles after nearly 50 years of research. Fleeing fascism The esteemed physicist had

“The German armament must be extremely dangerous; but the rest of Europe is now starting to finally take the thing serious, especially the English,” Einstein wrote. “If they would have come down hard a yearand-a-half ago, it would have been better and easier.” A rare find

The Chicago-based CrownGoodman Family Foundation purchased the 110 pages, most of which have never before been publicly displayed, from a private collector in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and donated them to the Hebrew University. The university did not reveal the purchase price, citing the donor’s wishes. A different signed Einstein letter to Besso sold at auction in 2017 for US$68,000. These newly acquired docu-

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ments had belonged to Ernst Straus, Einstein’s one-time assistant and fellow mathematician. After Straus died in 1983, his family sold them to a New York antique dealer. Eventually the documents made their way to the collection of Gary Berger, a Chapel Hill doctor. Roni Grosz, curator of the Albert Einstein Archive at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, called the documents “a rare find”. Though the contents of many of the documents were already known to researchers, “originals are a very, very special addition to a collection,” he said. Einstein helped establish the Hebrew University and was a member of its board of directors. After his death in 1955, he left most of his archive — over 82,000 items, ranging from manuscripts to his music records — to the school. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect, Einstein is perhaps more famous for his General Theory of Relativity.

Jewish Times Asia April 2019

Passover

Recalling the Exodus from Egypt

he festival of Pesach is celebrated for eight days, when we recall and relive our story of the Exodus from Egypt after generations of slavery. The festival begins on 15 Nissan and marks the anniversary of the birth of the Jewish nation. The festival also has agricultural importance and represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel. The holiday is also known as Chag Ha Aviv (the Spring Festival), Pesach literally means to pass through, to pass over. It refers to the fact that G-d “passed over” the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt.

Matzah

the Haggadah, that tells the story of the Exodus and explains some of the practices and symbols of the holiday. We recount the Ten Plagues. We eat symbols of slavery and freedom, and partake in a festive meal.

The festival is known as Chag Ha-Matzot, (the Festival of Matzahs), and Z’man Cheiruteinu, (the Time of Our Freedom). The most significant observance related to the festival involves the removal of chametz from our homes. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise.

It includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into contact with water. Ashkenazic Jews also avoid rice, corn, peanuts, and legumes (beans) as if they were chametz. All of these items are commonly used to make bread, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion. Such additional items are known as kitniyot. All chametz, including utensils used to cook chametz, must either be disposed of or sold to a non-Jew (they can be

A Seder plate

repurchased after the holiday). The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation is an enormous task and spend several days scrubbing and covering all surfaces that come into contact with food. The morning before the Seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned. The Seder The festival is marked by the celebration of an elaborate Seder on the first two nights (in Israel, on the first night only). The Seder is designed to give each Jew the experience of “going from slavery into freedom.” The text of the Pesach Seder is written in a book called

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The day before the festival is the Fast of the Firstborn, a minor fast for all firstborn males, commemorating the fact that the firstborn Jewish males in Egypt were not killed during the final plague.

During the holiday we eat symbolic food such as Matzah, which is unleavened bread, made simply from flour and water and cooked very quickly. This is the bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt.

During the Seder we eat Marror – the bitter herbs to remember the bitter times under slavery and Korech symbolises “the cement” for the building of the pyramids. The Seder is comprised of 15 sequential steps.

THE SEDER

KADESH: To begin we make Kiddush and sanctify the day. URCHATZ: Wash our hands without a blessing. KARPAS: We take a green vegetable and bless G-d for creating fruits from the ground. YACHATZ: We break the middle matzah, and put it aside. MAGGID: The power of speech given to humanity. RACHTZAH: We wash our hands. MOTZI: We make a blessing to thank G-d for bread. MATZAH: We eat the unleavend bread. MARROR: We eat the bitter herbs in combination with matzah. KORECH: The Hillel Sandwich “bricks-and-mortar:” SHULCHAN ORECH: A festive meal. TZAFUN: The last thing we eat is the Afikoman. BARECH: Grace After Meals. HALLEL: We recite Hallel. NIRTZAH: Conclusion

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Jewish Times Asia April 2019

April Parashas 6 April 2019 / 1 Nissan 5779: TAZRIA

20 April 2019 / 15 Nissan 5779: SHABBAT PESACH

Parasha Tazria, describes two types of bodily spiritual impurities. The first occurs after child-birth. After a period of 33 days in the case of a boy, and after 66 days in the case of a girl, the mother would complete this period by bringing an offering to the Temple. The second, which is incorrectly termed as leprosy, comes in several forms affecting the body and the home. Our sages deduce the cause of Tzara’as is Lashon HaRah – speaking badly about others, which can have the effect of excluding the target of such talk from the community.

On the First Day Of Passover we read from the book of Exodus (12:21-51) of the bringing of the Passover Offering in Egypt, the Paschal Lamb, or the Passover Lamb. Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering,”

13 April 2019 / 8 Nissan 5779: METZORA Parasha Metzora, discusses the purification process for one who contracts tzara’at (skin maladies which are contracted as a result of engaging in forbidden gossip), and the symptoms and laws of “house tzara’at,” indicated by certain stone discolorations. Also incudes ritual impurities, including the laws of the menstruating woman. The Torah provides a description of the purification procedure for a person who contracted tzara’at. The Torah also discusses the ritual impurity of a man. All such people must immerse in a mikvah (ritual pool) in order to be purified. The parasha concludes under certain circumstances a menstruating woman was required to bring to the Temple two bird offerings in order to attain purity.

HOLIDAYS/ FASTS/ ROSH CHODESH/ SPECIAL DAYS Rosh Chodesh: 6 April 2019 (1 Nissan 5779) Fast of First Born: 19 April 2019 (14 Nissan 5779)

Pesach (First Night Seder 19 April): 19 April 2019 (14 Nissan 5779) – 27 April 2019 (22 Nissan 5779)

We also read The Plague of the Firstborn at the stroke of midnight. The Israelites were instructed to put some blood of the lamb on the door posts of their homes. “Hashem passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.” G-d struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh. And how “On this very day, G-d took the Children of Israel out of Egypt.” The length of time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. Following G-d’s commandment, The Children of Israel hastily depart; so hastily that there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened, which we refer to as Matzah-unleavened bread.

27 April 2019 / 22 Nissan 5779: SHABBAT PESACH (8TH DAY)

On the eighth day of the Festival of Pesach we read Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17. It catalogs the annual cycle of festivals, their special observances, and the offerings brought on these occasions to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Eighth Day’s special connection with the Future Redemption is reflected in the Haftorah for this day (Isaiah 10:32-12:6).

Candle Lighting Times for April Cities

5-April

12-April

19-April

26-April

6:12 6:24 6:26 6:22 6:05 6:05 5:51 6:35 5:50 5:57 6:53 6:40 5:54 5:47

6:13 6:31 6:28 6:24 6:09 6:10 5:51 6:37 5:42 6:02 6:52 6:46 5:57 5:53

6:14 6:38 6:31 6:27 6:13 6:16 5:53 6:39 5:34 6:07 6:50 6:53 6:00 5:59

6:15 6:45 6:34 6:30 6:17 6:21 5:54 6:41 5:26 6:11 6:49 6:59 6:03 6:05

Bangkok Beijing Guangzhou Hong Kong Kathmandu Kobe Manila Mumbai Perth Shanghai Singapore Seoul Taipei Tokyo Candlelighting times are taken from Chabad.org.

JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN ASIA CAMBODIA

Chabad Jewish Center House # 32, Street 228, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: (855) 85 807 205 www.jewishcambodia.com

CHINA

HONG KONG

PHILIPPINES

Chabad of Hong Kong: 1/F Hoover Court, 7-9 Macdonell Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2523 9770 www.chabadhk.org

SINGAPORE

Jewish Community Centre: One Robinson Place, 70 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2801 5440 www.jcc.org.hk

Beijing Chabad House and Community centre: Fang Yuan Xi Lu, next to the south gate of Si De Park, Beijing, PR China Tel: (8610) 8470 8238 ext. 210, (86) 13910740109 www.chabadbeijing.com

Ohel Leah Synagogue: 70 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2589 2621 www.ohelleah.org

Chabad of Ya Bao Lu: Jian Guo Men Diplomatic Bldg, Building 3, 2/F, 223 Chaoyangmennei Street, Beijing, PR China TeL: (86) 1352 2016 427 Email: rabbaimendy08@gmail.com

The Israeli Chamber Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong: c/o The Jewish Community Centre, One Robinson Place, 70 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2312 1111 email: icochk@biznetvigator.com

United Jewish Congregation (Reform): Jewish Community Centre, One Robinson Place, 70 Robinson Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2523 2985 www.ujc.org.hk

Kehillat Beijing (Reform): Capital Club Athletic Center, 3/F., Ballroom, Capital Mansion, 6 Xinyuan Nanlu Chaoyang District, Beijing, PR China Tel: (86) 10 6467 2225 www.sinogogue.org

Kowloon Kehilat Zion (Orthodox): Unit 105, 1/F, Wing on Plaza, 62 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon Tel: (852) 2368 0061 www.kehilat-zion.org

Guangzhou Guangzhou Chabad: 31 He Ping Lu, Overseas Village, Guangzhou, China Tel: (86) 137 1050 5049 www.chabadgz.org

Chabad of Kowloon: Oriental Centre 1/F Unit D, 67-71 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Tel: (852) 2366 5770 Email: kowloon@chabadhk.org

Shanghai Shanghai Chabad (Shanghai Jewish Center): Shang-Mira Garden Villa #1, 1720 Hong Qiao Road, Shanghai, 200336, PR China Tel: (86) 21 6278 0225 www.chinajewish.org

Magen David Synagogue: 340 Sir J.J. Rd, Byculla, Mumbai Tel: (91) 22 23006675

Chabad of Pudong: Vila # 69, 2255 Luoshan Road, Shanghai, 200135, PR China Tel: (86) 21 5878 2008 www.chinajewish.org Sephardi Shanghai Center: Building B. Apt. 3 (Room 103), 1000 Gubei Road, Shanghai, PR China 201103 Tel: (86) 21 6208 8327 Mobile: (86) 15900808733 Email: sscshanghai10@gmail.com, ssc_shanghai@walla.com Kehilat Shanghai (Reform): XinTianDi – Lakeville 2 Regency Club, 168 ShunChang Lu, Shanghai, China Tel: (86) 13817825201 www.kehilatshanghai.org Email: info@kehilatshanghai.org, Facebook: facebook.com/KehilatShanghai Shenzhen Shenzhen Chabad: No.4, Block A, Guishan Xiaozhu Yanshan Road, Industrial Area, Shekou Nanshan District, Shenzhen, PR China Tel: (86) 755 8207 0712 www.chabadshenzhen.org

INDIA (MUMBAI)

Kenesseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, 43 Dr V.B. Gandhi Marg, Fort, Mumbai Tel: (91) 22 22831502 / 22839617 Kurla Bene Israel: 275 C.S.T. Rd, Jewish Colony, Kurla (W) Mumbai, India Tel: (91) 22 511-2132

JAPAN

Kobe Ohel Shelomoh Synagogue and Community Center: 4-12-12, Kitano-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650, Japan Tel: (81) 78 221 7236 www.jcckobe.org Tokyo Tokyo Chabad: 1-5-23 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan 108-0073 Tel: (813) 5789 2846 www.chabad.jp JCC Japan: Tokyo Jewish Community Centre, 8-8 Hiroo 3-Chome, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150 0012, Japan Tel: (813) 3400 2559 www.jccjapan.or.jp

NEPAL

Chabad House: GHA-2-516-4 Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: (977) 980 324 1294 chabadnepal@hotmail.com

Beth Yaacov Synagogue: 110 H.V. de la Costa cnr, Tordesillas West, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila 1227, The Philippines Tel: (632) 815 0265 www.jewishphilippines.org Chesed-El Synagogue: 2 Oxley Rise, Singapore 238693 Tel: (65) 6732 8862, (65) 9740 8109 Jacob Ballas Community Centre & Maghain Aboth Synagogue: 24-26 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187950 Tel: (65) 6337 2189 www.singaporejews.org United Hebrew Congregation (Reform): email: info@uhcsingapore.org

SOUTH KOREA Chabad: 744-18 Hannam-Dong, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul 140-893, South Korea Tel: (82) 107 730 3770 www.jewishkorea.com

TAIWAN

Taipei Jewish Center: No. 12, Lane 46, Anju St, Daan District, Taipei City 106, Taiwan Tel: (886) 9 2392 3770 email: Rabbi@jewish.tw Taipei Jewish Community: 16 Min Tsu East Road, Second Floor, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC Tel: (886) 2 2591 3565 email:einhorn912@xuite.net Taipei Jewish Community Synagogue Services: 11F, 54 Minsheng East Road, Section 4, Taipei, Taiwan email: thetjc@yahoo.com

THAILAND

Bangkok Jewish Association of Thailand: 121 Soi Sai Nam Thip 2, Sukhumvit Soi 22, Bangkok, Thailand Tel: (662) 663 0244 www.jewishthailand.com Chabad of Thailand: 96 Rambutttri St. Banglamphu, 102000 Bangkok, Thailand Tel: (662) 629 2770 www.chabadthailand.com Bet Sefer Chabad: 221 Sukhumvit Soi 20, Bangkok, 10110 Thailand Tel: (662) 258 3434 Chabad of Phuket 52/32 Ratch U-thit Song Roy Pee Rd. (opposite Patong Post Office), Second row of town houses, Patong, Katu District, Phuket 83150 Chiang Mai 189/15 Chang-Clan Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand, On street of Night Bazaar, 100 Meters before The Empress hotel Tel: (66) 81 870 2249

VIETNAM

Chabad: 5A (villa) Nguyen Dinh Chieu St., Dakao ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Tel: (84) 90 9166770 www.JewishVietnam.com

Celebrating

13 Years

Our Barmitzvah Edition Thank You

Jewish Times Asia wishes to thank its advertisers, editorial contributors, sponsors, supporters and subscribers over the past 13 years Thank you to the Jewish communities in the region for support and assistance