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8, 000 Japanese Reported Converted to Judaism; Have Own Synagogues

March 4, 1958
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Jewish Agency officials are now studying the possibilities of emigration of Japanese Jews, according to a report from Jerusalem by North American Newspaper Alliance. The report said that there are now about 8, 000 Japanese converts to Judaism in Japan.

These converts, the report stated, are organized into a group called the Union of Jewish Japanese. The group is led by two university professors, an atomic scientist and a prominent naval engineer, both of whom took part in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Union members speak only Hebrew among themselves, circumcise their children, and attend services in their own synagogues. They also bombard the Israeli Legation in Tokyo with repeated requests for immigration visas, the report said.

“Most of the Japanese converts to Judaism are said to be professional men and women–scientists and technicians–and business men, “the report stated.

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