Collection of Items – The Jewish Community in China in the 1940s – Betar, the Jewish National Fund, and More

Six items documenting the life of the Jewish community in China during the 1940s: a certificate and a medal issued by the Betar youth movement; an issue of the journal of Betar and the Revisionist Movement; a religious periodical with articles by the students of the Mir Yeshiva; letter by the committee of the JNF in Shanghai about planting a forest in Palestine in memory of Holocaust victims; and a certificate for immigration to Israel. Shanghai and Harbin, 1940s. Russian, English and Hebrew.
1-2. Certificate issued by the Betar Youth Movement in Harbin indicating the winning of second place in a volleyball competition held in August 1942. Stamped with the stamp of the Betar Movement in Harbin and signed by the representatives of the sports committee of the movement. Enclosed with the certificate is a medal awarded at the aforementioned competition.
3. "Maor Torah [Light of Torah], Monthly for Torah Novellae on Halachic matters". Booklet B [of two booklets]. Shanghai, Menachem-Av (1946).
Scholarly compilation, edited by Rabbi Ephraim Mordechai Ginzburg, which served as a platform for the students of the Mir Yeshiva who escaped to Shanghai during World War II. Printed at the end of the issue: "The printing of this issue marks the end of a special period in the life of Torah scholars in Shanghai. A number of them moved to Canada and America, and the rest are ready to leave".
4. "Tagar" (Struggle), Organ of the United Zionists-Revisionists & Brit Trumpeldor in the Far East. Issue no. 22. Shanghai, November 16, 1947. Russian and English.
5. Letter by the Committee of the JNF in Shanghai to the head office of the JNF in Jerusalem. Shanghai, April 1947. English.
The letter announces the decision of the Jewish and Zionist organizations in Shanghai to plant a forest in Palestine in the name of the Jewish community of Shanghai, in memory of the Holocaust victims and asks to allocate land for the planting of the forest and to encourage other Jewish communities around the world to plant forests of their own. The letter is typewritten (on official stationery) and hand-signed by the secretary of the committee.
6. Certificate for immigration to Israel, given to a Jewish-Russian woman in Shanghai in January 1949. With a passport photo and stamps of the immigration office.
Size and condition vary.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.