Israelis in China - Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai's Israeli community may be the largest in mainland China. In 1995, when the Israeli consulate opened, only two Israelis lived in the city. However, by 2003, that number had grown to 70, and as of 2005, over 200 Israelis were registered as living in Shanghai. The city also boasts an Israeli restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team from Israel who came with their three sons which is considered something of a gathering point for the city's Israeli community; the Israeli consul is also known to frequent the restaurant.

Many Israelis in Shanghai are involved in the diamond industry. Most notable among them is Sara Imas, a former Chinese citizen with a German Jewish father and Jiangsu mother, who was born and raised in China and later recognized by former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as the first Jewish immigrant from China to Israel. Imas later returned to Shanghai as the representative of a diamond company after gaining Israeli citizenship and living in Israel for 12 years.