page_title: Ohel Rachel Synagogue
section_title: People's Republic of China
hierarchical_section_title: Ohel Rachel Synagogue / History / People's Republic of China
caption_attribution_description: 中文（简体）‎: 上海拉结会堂
context_page_description: The Ohel Rachel Synagogue is a Sephardi synagogue in Shanghai, China. Built by Sir Jacob Elias Sassoon in memory of his wife Rachel, it was completed in 1920 and consecrated in 1921. Ohel Rachel is the largest synagogue in the Far East, and one of the only two still standing in Shanghai. Repurposed first under the Japanese occupation during World War II and again following the Communist conquest of Shanghai in 1949, the synagogue has been a protected architectural landmark of the city since 1994. It was reopened for some Jewish holidays from 1999 and briefly held more regular Shabbat services as part of the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
context_section_description: The Communist Party of China took Shanghai near the close of the Chinese Civil War, a few months before the establishment of the People's Republic of China in October 1949. They permitted Shanghai's Jewish community to continue using Ohel Rachel until 1952, when the property was seized and stripped of its furnishings. It was then included in the compound for the Shanghai Education Commission. Almost all of the city's Jews had emigrated by 1956. During the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, the building was used as a warehouse and suffered some damage, with its windows and chandeliers smashed.
  As part of the thaw in Sino-American relations in the late 1990s, Chinese President Jiang Zemin invited three American religious leaders selected by the American President Bill Clinton to visit China in February 1998. One of them, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, extracted a promise from Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi to protect Ohel Rachel, restore it, and open it to the public. The Municipality of Shanghai allocated $60 000 to restore the synagogue under the direction of its former caretaker (and later Israeli resident) Aha Toeug. It was cleaned and repainted, although structural damage was not repaired.
  A few months later, during President Clinton's state visit to China, his wife Hillary and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited the synagogue. Rabbi Schneier resanctified Ohel Rachel for the occasion using a Torah brought from New York City, which he then donated to the local Jewish community. In September 1999, a Rosh Hashanah service was held at the synagogue for the first time since 1952. The same year, the synagogue was separately visited by Israeli President Ezer Weizmann and by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The areas of the building refurbished for these visits were then used as a lecture hall, although Jews were permitted to observe holidays such as Purim, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Hanukkah on site.
  As part of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, Ohel Rachel Synagogue was reopened for regular Shabbat services as well, despite Judaism continuing to be an unrecognized religion in China. The site—still part of the grounds of the Shanghai Ministry of Education—was open by reservation for services on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, while weekday observances were held elsewhere. By 2013, however, Ohel Rachel was again only available for major holidays, prompting protest from the visiting House majority leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), at the time the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in American history.
caption: Ohel Rachel Synagogue in 2013
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