The people of Israel yesterday said a joint thank you to Shanghai for the protection the city provided during World War II.

Ron Klinger, grandson of the founder of the White Horse Cafe in Hongkou District, where Jews used to meet, attends its reopening yesterday. — Wang Rongjiang

In the 60-second-long video, aptly titled “Thank You Shanghai” and shot in several Israeli cities, lots of people expressed their gratitude.

The film was released yesterday by the Israeli consulate and shown at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. It will also be shown at other places in the city.

“It is here, in Shanghai, where Jewish refugees could find shelter from the Nazi regime. It was here, in Shanghai, where Jewish refugees were received in open arms by the Chinese people. It is only logical that we should express our gratitude,” said Arnon Perlman, Israel’s consul general in Shanghai.

Some of the people on the film hold up signs that say “Thank You” in three languages: Chinese, Hebrew and English.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also in the film, saying: “We are eternally grateful and we will never forget, thank you.”

About 23,000 Jews who fled Nazi-occupied Europe found shelter in Shanghai during the war.

Netanyahu said: “When cities across the globe closed their doors to Jews fleeing genocide, Shanghai showed hospitality.”

“This film is a token of appreciation to Shanghai and to the Chinese people from the people of Israel,” Perlman told Shanghai Daily.

“We created this film in the hope that many people in China and around the world will see it and feel our deepest wishes of gratitude to them,” he said, adding that he hopes it will “strengthen the friendship between our two nations.”

Perlman and his team began making the film late last year. It took four months to finish.

“The film is far better than me and my colleagues thought it would be,” he said.

Other Israelis seen in the video include Yona Yahav, the mayor of Haifa — which is twinned with Shanghai — Nobel Prize laureate Robert Aumann, and magician Hezi Din.

Perlman said the final version of the film was created from four hours of footage. Copies will be sent to all consulates in Shanghai and embassies in China, he said.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)