Rabbis Gather in Taipei as Chabad Marks 40 Years of Jewish Growth in Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan (VINnews) — Seventy-five Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis from 15 countries gathered in Taipei this week for a regional conference marking four decades of Jewish growth across Asia.

The gathering comes 40 years after the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent Rabbi Mordechai Avtzon to Hong Kong as Chabad’s first emissary to Southeast Asia. What began as one outpost has grown into a network of about 60 Chabad centers across the region.

The conference opened with a visit to Taiwan’s new Jewish cemetery, which held its first burial June 23. Until the cemetery opened, Jews who died in Taiwan generally had to be transported overseas for burial.

Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of the Chabad Shluchim Network Kinus, called the growth of Jewish life in Asia a remarkable transformation.

Chabad emissaries now provide much of the Jewish infrastructure in communities across the region, operating schools, mikvahs, kosher restaurants and educational programs while hosting Shabbat dinners and youth activities.

They also frequently assist Jewish travelers and residents facing medical emergencies or other crises far from major Jewish population centers.

Conference discussions focused on security, Jewish education, young people in crisis, kosher certification and halachic challenges. Rabbis also discussed how artificial intelligence and other technology could help support growing communities without replacing the personal relationships central to their work.

Taiwan itself has become one of the clearest examples of that growth.

Rabbi Shlomi Tabib and his wife, Racheli, arrived in Taipei in 2011 with contacts for about 70 Jews. They now estimate that about 1,500 Jews live across Taiwan.

At the center of the community is the $16 million Jeffrey D. Schwartz Jewish Community Center, a 22,500-square-foot facility featuring a synagogue, kindergarten, classrooms, kosher restaurant, ballroom, Judaica museum and mikvah.

“This is really a sign of a thriving Jewish community which we have here,” Tabib said.

Israel’s ambassador to Taiwan, Israel Strulov, also addressed the rabbis, describing Chabad as an important support system for Jews living and traveling throughout Asia.

The conference’s major announcement came from Jeffrey D. Schwartz, the Taiwan-based businessman who played a major role in developing the Jewish community in Taipei.

Schwartz said his relationship with Tabib helped rekindle his own connection to Judaism after it had faded following his Bar Mitzvah. That relationship eventually led to the creation of the Chabad Taipei Jewish Center.

Now, Schwartz is looking to expand that impact across Asia.

Schwartz and Kotlarsky announced the Jeffrey D. Schwartz Asia Fund through Keren Hashluchim, the International Shluchim Foundation.

The fund will help establish new Chabad centers, bring additional emissary families to Asia, build mikvahs and other Jewish infrastructure, and assist communities facing urgent needs.

Rabbi Osher Litzman of Chabad Korea said the conference provided new ideas and partnerships that will help strengthen Jewish life in South Korea.

“Standing together in Taipei with fellow Shluchim who face similar challenges was deeply moving,” Litzman said.

Rabbi Benzion Butman of Chabad Cambodia said he planned to bring the conference’s energy and ideas back to his community.

The gathering concluded with a traditional spontaneous Chabad dance, as the emissaries prepared to return to communities in Seoul, Phnom Penh, Mumbai and cities across Asia.

After four decades of expansion, the message from Taipei was clear: Jewish life in Asia is not only surviving — it is continuing to grow.

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