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Jews first arrived in Hong Kong when the territory was ceded to Great Britain by China in 1842. The Jews transferred their offices from neighboring Canton to Hong Kong and helped to develop this new port. The Hong Kong Jewish Community was first established in 1857 and the Ohel Leah synagogue, built by Sir Jacob Sassoon, was opened in 1900. The outbreak of World War II and the consequent Japanese occupation of Hong Kong temporarily suspended all Jewish activities there. The Jewish population numbered 60 in 1882; 100 in 1921, 250 in 1954, 230 in 1959; and 200 in 1968. Since the 1960s, Israel began to appoint Honorary Consuls to Hong Kong.
From the 1960s onwards, Hong Kong's development as a trade and finance centre has attracted tens of thousands of foreigners, among them Jews from the USA, Israel, the UK, Australia and Canada. They revitalized the local Jewish Community. In 1997, 2,500 Jews were living in Hong Kong, two thirds of them Americans and Israelis.
The community has four synagogues, three of which are served by rabbis. There is also a large Jewish Community Centre, which contains a library, recreational facilities and a kosher restaurant, and is the leading venue of Jewish activities in the city. There are two Jewish schools, the Carmel school for children up to eight years old and the Ezekiel Abraham school which provides after school learning for older children.
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