Rabbi Ted Alexander, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation B’nai Emunah, has been a beloved teacher and spiritual leader in Northern California for over 50 years. Rabbi Ted is the descendant of a long line of distinguished German Jewish rabbis. In 1939 he escaped Berlin, arriving in Shanghai. Rabbi Ted was ordained in Shanghai in 1946.

Linda Frank’s first novel, After the Auction, follows a woman searching for a family treasure looted by the Nazis. Through fiction, the story weaves Linda’s substantial research on art looting and other Holocaust and pre-State Israel history into the context of a suspenseful plot.

In addition to a (recently retired) career in financial services and involvement in non-profit volunteerism, Linda has published numerous articles on business and travel and has produced and hosted a cable TV show. She’s just begun to work on her second novel. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin. For more information check out her web site at www.lindafrankbooks.com.

Leah Jacob Garrick was born in Shanghai, the fourth generation of her family to live there. She had a typical colonial upbringing – English girls’ school, servants, and afternoon tea, all incorporated into an observant Sephardic Jewish lifestyle. She lived through the war years under Japanese occupation and came to the United States in 1947. She returned to Shanghai several times since. Leah was Director of Leisure League of Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, a senior social group. She established the Volunteers for Israel program in Northern California and served twice in the IDF, Israel Defense Forces, as a volunteer. Her first trip to Israel was on scholarship from Hadassah as a Young Judea leader. Leah resides in San Francisco and has spoken the world over – from California to New York, London, Australia, Israel and Shanghai.

Inna Mink was born in Harbin, China. At age 2 her parents moved to Shanghai. She lived in Shanghai through the war and came to the States in January l949. Inna appears in the film Exit Shanghai, directed by Ulrike Ottinger. This film traces the lives of several Germans, Austrians, and Russians whose paths crossed in wartime China using interviews and photographs, and documents.