ABSTRACT
The object of this chapter is to discuss and raise three separate though related points: The transfer of the site of the ancient synagogue to Bishop William Charles White and the Canadian Church of England in the year 1914. The transaction raises a number of unanswered questions; The transfer of land to foreign missions and whether these lands were purchased or were gifts granted to those missions by Chinese authorities; The brief question whether the descendants of the Chinese Jews have any legal or documented claim to these ancestral lands. In 1912, negotiations started between the leaders of the Jewish clans and Bishop White, acting on behalf of the Canadian Church of England. Many Chinese had begun to realize the extraordinary value foreigners attached to Chinese historical artifacts, and a flourishing business developed in the creation of these artifacts.
