View source for List of Asian Jews

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{{Jews by country}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar |Population}}

Jews have been present in Asia since the beginning of their history. Some examples of ancient Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and [[Iran]] ([[Persian Jews]]) and [[Iraq]] ([[Iraqi Jews]]); the [[Georgian Jews]], [[Bukharan Jews|Bukharian Jews]], and [[Mountain Jews]].

Through the centuries, they also established Jewish communities in eastern parts of Asia. There are some Jews who migrated to India, establishing the [[Bene Israel]], the [[Baghdadi Jews]] and the [[Cochin Jews]] of India ([[Jews in India]]); and the former [[Kaifeng Jews|Jewish community in Kaifeng]], China.

Here is a partial list of some prominent Asian Jews, arranged by country. Those regions of Asia where Arabic or Russian or Turkish predominate are excluded from this list (except for the [[Baghdadi Jews]] from India and Southeast Asia); see [[Middle Eastern Jews]], [[Ashkenazi Jews]] and [[Sephardi Jews]] for information on these populations.

== Armenia ==
* [[Levon Aronian]], Armenian chess player (part Jewish)

==Azerbaijan==
{{see also|List of Azerbaijani Jews}}
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* [[Misha Black]], designer
* [[Bella Davidovich]], pianist
* [[Gavril Abramovich Ilizarov]], Soviet physician, known for inventing the Ilizarov apparatus
* [[Lev Landau]], physicist, Nobel Prize (1962).  Russian-speaking Ashkenazi.
* [[Lev Nussimbaum]], writer (a.k.a. [[Kurban Said]])
* [[Vladimir Rokhlin (Soviet mathematician)|Vladimir Rokhlin]], mathematician. Russian-speaking Ashkenazi.

==Afghanistan==
A small community of Jews lived mainly in [[Herat, Afghanistan]] and [[Kabul]], but they emigrated to [[Israel]], [[Europe]] and the [[United States]]. In September 2021, the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan, [[Zablon Simintov]],  fled [[Afghanistan]]'s capital [[Kabul]] in response to the [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|Taliban takeover]] several weeks prior.

==China==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
{{see also|History of the Jews in China}}
* [[Morris Cohen (adventurer)|Morris Cohen]], bodyguard of [[Sun Yat-Sen]]
* [[Misha Dichter]], pianist (China-born)
* [[Israel Epstein]], journalist, author
* [[Edmond Fischer]], biochemist, Nobel Prize (1992) 
* [[Jakob Rosenfeld]], doctor and general in the [[People's Liberation Army]]
* [[Sidney Shapiro]], member of the People's Political Consultative Council
* [[Zhao Yingcheng]], ([[Hebrew]]: ''Moshe ben Abram''), [[Ming dynasty]] [[mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarin]]

== Georgia ==
* [[David Baazov]], Zionist activist and rabbi
* [[Ioseb Bardanashvili]], composer
* [[Roman Dzindzichashvili]], American chess player 
* [[Yasha Manasherov]], Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler
* [[Mikhael Mirilashvili]], businessman and philanthropist
* [[Tamir Sapir]], businessman and investor
* [[Gocha Tsitsiashvili]], Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler

==Hong Kong==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* [[Ellis Kadoorie|Ellis]], [[Elly Kadoorie|Elly]], [[Lawrence Kadoorie|Lawrence]], and [[Michael Kadoorie]], businesspeople
* [[Matthew Nathan]], [[Governor of Hong Kong|Hong Kong governor]] (1904)
* [[Victor Sassoon]], businessman and hotelier

==India==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* Sarah Avraham, Indian-born Israeli, 2014 women's world Thai kickboxing champion
* [[Joseph Rabban]], given copper plates of special grants from the [[Chera dynasty|Chera]] ruler Bhaskara Ravivarman II from [[Kerala]] in [[South India]]
* [[David Abraham Cheulkar]], actor
* [[Nissim Ezekiel]], poet
* [[J F R Jacob]], former Governor of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and [[Goa]]; the Chief of Staff of the [[Indian Army]]'s Eastern Command
* [[Gerry Judah]], artist and designer 
* [[Anish Kapoor]], sculptor (Baghdadi Jewish mother, Indian father)
* [[Samson Kehimkar]], musician
* [[Ezekiel Isaac Malekar]], [[Bene Israel]] [[Rabbi]]
* [[Pearl Padamsee]], theatre personality (part Jewish)
* [[David and Simon Reuben]], businessmen
* [[Nadira (Indian actress)|Nadira]], actress of the 1950s and 1960s.
* [[David Sassoon (treasurer)|David Sassoon]], businessman
* [[Albert Abdullah David Sassoon]] (1818 – 24 October 1896), British-Indian merchant<ref>p.862 {{ref|Palgrave|Palgrave Dictionary}}</ref>
* [[Sassoon David Sassoon]] (August 1832 – 23 June 1867), Indian-born British businessman and philanthropist<ref>p.865 {{ref|Palgrave|Palgrave Dictionary}}</ref>
* [[Solomon Sopher]], Jewish community leader
* [[Eli Ben-Menachem]], Indian-born Israeli politician<ref>{{cite web|title=Knesset Members - Eli Ben-Menachem|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=22|website=Knesset.gov.il|accessdate=4 December 2015}}</ref>
* [[Ellis Kadoorie]] and [[Elly Kadoorie]], philanthropists
* [[Horace Kadoorie]], philanthropist
* [[Ruby Myers]], Bollywood actress of the 1920s, otherwise known as ''Sulochana''
* [[Lalchhanhima Sailo (rabbi)|Lalchanhima Sailo]], rabbi
* [[Abraham Barak Salem]], [[Cochin Jews|Cochin Jew]] Indian nationalist leader
* [[Bensiyon Songavkar]], professional cricketer

==Indonesia==
* [[Carmel Budiarjo]], Human rights activist, lecturer, and author, founder of [[Tapol]] 
* [[Cosman Citroen]], Prominent colonial era architect, designer of [[Lawang Sewu]]
* [[Dolly Zegerius]], [[Contract Bridge]] Athlete
* [[Johan Bernard Abraham Fortunatus Mayor Polak|J.B.A.F. Polak]], Former Member of the [[House of Representatives (Indonesia)|House of Representatives]], Politician from the [[Socialist Party of Indonesia]]
* [[Nafa Urbach]],  Indonesian soap opera actress, singer, and politician.
* [[Yapto Soerjosoemarno]], founder and leader of the [[Pancasila Youth]] (partly Jewish descent)

==Iran==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* [[Sa'd al-Dawla al-Safi ibn Hibatullah|Sa'ad al-Dawla]], (c. 1240 – March 5, 1291), Physician and statesman
* [[David Alliance]], British businessman
* [[Mashallah ibn Athari]], eighth-century astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician
* [[Moses ben Hanoch]], rabbi
* [[Yossi Banai]], performer
* [[Soleyman Binafard]], wrestler
* [[Sahl ibn Bishr]], nine-century astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician
* [[Jimmy Delshad]], Californian politician
* [[Roya Hakakian]], writer
* [[Moshe Katsav]], Israeli president
* [[Rita Kleinstein]], Israeli singer/actress, known popularly as "[[Rita Kleinstein|Rita]]"
* [[Janet Kohan-Sedq]], track and field athlete
* [[Masarjawaih]],<ref>Richard Gottheil, Max Schloessinger. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=239&letter=M Masarjawaih]. ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''</ref><ref>Hebrew Union College Annual
Vol. 81 (2010), pp. 105-126 (22 pages)
Published by: Hebrew Union College Press</ref> physician and translator
* [[Mashallah ibn Athari]], astrologer and astronomer
* [[Shaul Mofaz]], Israeli Minister of Transportation
* [[Bahar Soomekh]], American actress   
* [[Soleiman Haim]], among first compilers of [[Persian language|Persian]] dictionary

==Israel==
{{further|List of Israelis}}

==Japan==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->{{Further|List of Japanese Jews}}
* [[Alfred Birnbaum]]
* [[Dan Calichman]]
* [[Julie Dreyfus]]
* [[Rachel Elior]]
* [[Ofer Feldman]], University professor
* [[Péter Frankl]], Hungarian mathematician
* [[Shaul Eisenberg]], businessman 
* [[Marty Friedman (musician)|Martin "Marty" Adam Friedman]], rock guitarist
* [[Ayako Fujitani]], writer and actress, convert
* [[Szymon Goldberg]]
* [[David G. Goodman]], Japanologist<ref>[[:ja:デイヴィッド・グッドマン|(ja)]]</ref>
* [[Karl Taro Greenfeld]], journalist and author
* [[Manfred Gurlitt]]
* [[Jack Halpern (linguist)|Jack Halpern]], Israeli linguist, Kanji-scholar
* [[Shifra Horn]]
* [[Hoshitango Imachi]], né Imachi Marcelo Salomon
* [[Chaim Janowski]]
* [[Max Janowski]]
* [[Charles Louis Kades]]
* [[Rena Kanokogi|Rena "Rusty" Kanokogi, née Glickman]]
* [[Abraham Kaufman]]
* [[Michael Kogan]], founder of [[Taito]]
* [[Fumiko Kometani]], author and artist, convert
* [[Setsuzo Kotsuji|Setsuzo (Avraham) Kotsuji]], Hebrew professor, convert
* [[Leonid Kreutzer]], pianist
* [[Yaacov Liberman]]
* [[Henryk Lipszyc]]
* [[Leza Lowitz]], American Japanologist
* [[Alan Merrill]]
* [[Sulamith Messerer]]
* [[Emmanuel Metter]]
* [[Albert Mosse]]
* [[John Nathan]]
* [[Emil Orlík]]
* [[Klaus Pringsheim Sr.]]
* [[Roger Pulvers]]
* [[Ludwig Riess]]
* [[Joseph Rosenstock]], conductor of the [[NHK Symphony Orchestra]]
* [[Jay Rubin]]{{citation needed|date = February 2017}}
* [[Arie Selinger]]
* [[Ben-Ami Shillony]], Israeli Japanologist
* [[Kurt Singer]]
* [[Beate Sirota Gordon]], former Performing Arts Director of [[Japan Society (Manhattan)|Japan Society]] and [[Asia Society]]
* [[Leo Sirota]]
* [[Zerach Warhaftig]]

; Refugees, short expatriates
* [[Moshe Atzmon]]
* [[George W. F. Hallgarten]]
* [[Albert Kahn (banker)]]
* [[Mirra Alfassa]]
* [[Emil Lederer]]
* [[Karl Löwith]]
* [[Norman Mailer]]
* [[Leo Melamed]]
* [[Franz Oppenheimer]]
* [[Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky]] ([[Christians|Christian]])
* [[Hayyim Selig Slonimski]]

; Other related people to Judaism and Jews in Japan
* [[Hana Brady]], and [[George Brady (Holocaust survivor)|George Brady]]
* [[Jeremy Glick]]
* [[Lili Kraus]]
* [[Samuel Ullman]]

=== Ambassadors ===
* [[Eli Cohen (politician born 1949)|Eli Cohen]]

==Kazakhstan==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* [[Alexander Mashkevich]], businessman (Kyrgyz-born)

==Singapore==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
* [[David Marshall (Singaporean politician)|David Marshall]], first [[Chief Minister of Singapore]], founder and first chairman of the main opposition party the [[Workers' Party of Singapore]]
* [[Harry Elias]], lawyer, founder of the Harry Elias Partnership LLP
* [[Joseph Grimberg]], prominent lawyer and a former judge of the [[Supreme Court of Singapore]]
* [[Manasseh Meyer]], businessman and philanthropist who was a benefactor to the Jewish community in Singapore.

==Sri Lanka==
* [[Sidney Abrahams]], Chief Justice
* [[Hedi Stadlen|Hedi Keuneman]], political activist
* [[Anne Ranasinghe]], poet  
* [[Leonard Woolf]], British administrative officer and author, later married author Virginia

==Tajikistan==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
*[[Rena Galibova]], actress, "People's Artist of Tajikistan"
*[[Meirkhaim Gavrielov]], journalist and political opposition leader
*[[Malika Kalantarova]], dancer, "People's Artist of Soviet Union"
*[[Fatima Kuinova]], singer, "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union"
*[[Shoista Mullodzhanova]], shashmakon singer, "People's Artist of Tajikistan" (viewed as the Queen of Tajik music)
*[[Moses Znaimer]], TV producer
*[[Rus Yusupov]], designer and tech entrepreneur.

==Uzbekistan==
<!-- Only people who already have articles should be included. Additions must be supported by reliable sources.-->
*[[Ari Babakhanov]], musician
*[[Yefim Bronfman]], pianist
*[[Lev Avnerovich Leviev|Lev Leviev]], diamond tycoon
*[[Ilyas Malayev]], musician and poet
*[[Shlomo Moussaieff (businessman)]], Israeli businessman 
*[[Shlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)]], co-founder of the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem 
*[[Gavriel Mullokandov]], shashmakom artist, "People's Artist of Uzbekistan"
*[[Suleiman Yudakov]], composer and musician, "People's Artist of the Soviet Union"

==See also==
*[[List of Jews]]
*[[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]]
*[[List of Jews from the Arab World]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{note|Palgrave}}{{cite book|last1=Rubinstein|first1=William D.|title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History|date=22 February 2011|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230304666|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_T_HCg17ufIC|accessdate=4 December 2015}}

{{Asia topic|History of the Jews in}}

[[Category:Lists of Jews|Asian Jews]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Asia| ]]
[[Category:Lists of people by ethnicity|Jews, Asian]]