Ezra Choueke

Just over a year ago, we brought Polissa Choeke z”l to eternal rest at the Jewish cemetery on Mount Futatabi in Kobe. Polissa – or Lucie as everyone called her – was a few days shy of her 100th birthday. She was the last remaining Japan resident of the former Sephardi Jewish Community of Kobe. It was a close of a long and illustrious chapter in the history of this community.

Last week, I received a copy of the book “Womb of Diamonds”, written by her grandson Ezra. I met Ezra when he visited Kobe to be with his grandmother in her final days and he told me he’d been working on this book for many years – based on many stories he heard from Lucie and on interviews with the family – and was now trying to trim it down to a reasonable size. The end result are 600 pages that paint a loving tale of the life of Lucie.

Lucie was born in Aleppo, Syria, and was raised by her mother, who struggled to make ends meet for her and her siblings. At 15, she was married off to Ezra, 17 years her senior. Shortly after the wedding, she boarded the ship Conte Verde, with her husband and her mother-in-law, and they sailed from Port Said in Egypt, through Bombay, Hong Kong and Shanghai to finally arrive in Kobe. There, she had to gradually get used to a life in a new, strange country, struggling to find her rightful place both at home and outside. The first few years were harsh; a strained relationship with her mother-in-law, Farida, made her life miserable. She gave birth to two daughters first, which only added to her misery given the traditional preference for males in the culture of the time. When two boys followed, things got better.

Lucie built a partnership with her husband Ezra, whom she learned to love. Together, they built a business trading in pearls, textiles, Japanese good, and more. The family survived through the horrors of World War II, when Kobe was bombed night after night by American planes. Those were days of hunger and of constant search for food in the black market. Lucie and Ezra rebuilt their lives from the ashes of the war, shrewdly taking advantage of the opportunities that the occupying American forces presented, building an even stronger relationship, both personally and commercially. Lucie had a strong business acumen that enabled her to seize upon new ventures when they presented themselves. The family flourished and was able to purchase a house in 1954, which later became a famous museum (read here about the Choueke Family Residence, which I visited in 2016, where I had the privilege to meet Lucie).

The book is not only a personal story. It is the story of the Jewish and foreign community of Kobe. Through the life of Lucie we learn how Jews came to Japan, how they built a community here, how they came together during the war to help Jewish refugees from Europe, and how they built the synagogue which is active to this day, long after their children left Japan. We also learn about the Japanese neighbors and friends and how they helped the Jews through difficult times. The appendices to the book complement Lucie’s personal life story with background details on this community.

The book’s title comes from the dying words of Farida, Lucie’s mother-in-law, who said to a family friend: “she (Lucie) gave me four beautiful children… she has a womb of diamonds”. Having met several times two of these diamonds – the sons Jack and Tony – I can attest this is a true statement.

This is a gem of a book. At times it is funny, at times tragic, but always inspiring. Lucie only did what every person does: lived her life trying her best to care for her family. But reading about her through the masterly crafted words of her grandson is an experience not soon to be forgotten. May her memory be a blessing to us all.… (plus d'informations)