Jordyn Haime

Jews 'have special emotions toward the Chinese,' Rabbi Matt Trusch explains in a Douyin video aimed at the vast Chinese audience. (Courtesy/ via JTA)

August 26, 2022, 5:40 am

A Texas rabbi is fighting Jewish stereotypes on China’s TikTok

Matt Trusch lived in China for years, but it’s been tough to go back to visit during the pandemic era. Now he’s found a way to connect with Chinese speakers that has gone viral

By Jordyn Haime

Illustrative: Jews pray during Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, at the Magen Abraham Synagogue in Ahmedabad, India on September 28, 2020. (SAM PANTHAKY / AFP)

July 26, 2022, 10:58 am

Stone pillar in southern India may shed new light on region’s oldest synagogue

Jewish groups have history in India dating back to antiquity; pillar found not far from Chennai, where Sephardic Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition formed a community

By Jordyn Haime

A vehicle with Nazi symbols on it that was parked near the Israeli consulate in Chengdu, China (Twitter)

July 26, 2022, 10:03 am

Car covered with Nazi symbols raises alarm in China, leads to arrest of local

Israeli consulate in Chengdu alerts Chinese authorities to vehicle displaying swastika and eagle; owner, arrested, says he was not aware of their meaning

By Jordyn Haime

A Taiwanese dance teacher practices Israeli folk dance in Yilan, Taiwan. (Jordyn Haime)/ JTA

July 4, 2022, 5:34 am

How Israeli songs became integral to Taiwan’s national folk dancing tradition

Dating back to the nationalist Kuomintang government era, the pastime is still beloved by many Taiwanese of a certain age – and Hebrew classics make up a big part of the repertoire

By Jordyn Haime

A view of Schragel’s Bagels in Hong Kong. (Jordyn Haime/ JTA)

June 30, 2022, 1:30 am

In Hong Kong, dreams for a new Jewish deli devolve into a war between owners

A dispute is going public via the restaurant’s social media, splitting the public and airing unsavory accusations of harassment, mob-like activity and cultural appropriation

By Jordyn Haime

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, center, gestures as he attends a memorial ceremony at the Hall of Remembrance as he visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem, Wednesday, October 24, 2018. (Gali Tibbon/Pool Photo via AP)

April 6, 2022, 5:43 am

Chinese media keeps referencing the Holocaust – here’s why

Experts say China’s state-run outlets draw attention to the 20,000 Jews who took refuge in Shanghai during WWII to deflect criticism of the regime’s treatment of minority Uighurs

By Jordyn Haime

Purim in Shanghai, 2020. (courtesy, Hannah Maia Frishberg/ via JTA)

March 25, 2022, 12:34 pm

New strict COVID regulations in Far East push Jewish communities to adapt creatively

As the pandemic achieves some normalcy in North America after two years, Asia’s ‘zero COVID’ countries are in their third year — and a new wave

By Jordyn Haime

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to their talks in Beijing, China, on February 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

March 6, 2022, 1:03 pm

China adopts Russia’s ‘denazification’ myth to rationalize invasion of Ukraine

Official Chinese news sites have also published baseless claims that the US trained Ukrainian neo-Nazis to destabilize Hong Kong during protests there in 2019

By Jordyn Haime

Rabbi Yaakov Baruch makes a speech at the Shaar HaShamayim synagogue in Indonesia. (Yaakov Baruch via JTA)

February 10, 2022, 9:35 pm

Indonesia Muslim groups demand closure of country’s first-ever Holocaust exhibition

Display at country’s only synagogue criticized over claimed attempts by Israel to normalize relations; rabbi says he wants ‘to educate Indonesians on the danger of antisemitism’

By Jordyn Haime

Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K. Shanmugam tours the museum with Nash Benjamin, center, the president of Singapore’s Jewish Welfare Board, and the Chief Rabbi of Singapore Mordechai Abergel. (Jewish Welfare Board of Singapre/ via JTA)

January 9, 2022, 12:23 am

A new museum tells the story of Singapore’s Jews, starting with their Baghdad roots

Countless landmarks in the city pay homage to the contributions and rich 200-year history of the small Jewish community, which now has a place to showcase its achievements

By Jordyn Haime

A view from Tamanart, Morocco. (Marokko-erfahren/Wikimedia Commons via JTA)

January 2, 2022, 5:53 pm

Researchers discover ruins of 16th-century Jewish community in Morocco

Ruins of Tamanart synagogue found during preliminary survey of Jewish sites in area, thanks to locals who remembered Jewish neighbors leaving 70 years ago

By Jordyn Haime

The Jewish creators of 'West Side Story,' Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents, on the opening night of the original Broadway musical, on September 26, 1957. (Ben Martin/Getty Images/ via JTA)

December 12, 2021, 2:53 am

Jews were behind the original ‘West Side Story’ and today’s remake. Should they be?

Originally titled ‘East Side Story,’ the musical was about warring Jews and Catholics and was altered to reflect a changing NYC. Now, critics ask: Is the classic truly ‘timeless’?

By Jordyn Haime

The New Hampshire State House in Concord, Feb. 3, 2020. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images via JTA)

December 6, 2021, 1:49 pm

New Hampshire legislature leaders condemn antisemitism among state representatives

Statement comes after Democrat Rep. Maria Perez calls Israel an apartheid state and tweets ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’

By Jordyn Haime

Rabbi Moti Grumach with some Hanukkah-styled Japanese koma tops and traditional dreidels. (Courtesy/Moti Grumach via JTA)

December 4, 2021, 11:50 pm

In Kyoto, traditional Japanese candles and tops get Hanukkah spin

Chabad emissary in Japan gives local crafts a Jewish twist, forging a connection between cultures and boosting small businesses hurt by the pandemic

By Jordyn Haime

In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP, File)

October 21, 2021, 9:04 am

Chinese state-run news site proposes ‘final solution to the Taiwan question’

German lawmaker compares statement to Nazi rhetoric, says ‘alarm bells should ring for us’

By Jordyn Haime