Kaufman emigrated to Harbin, China in 1912, and quickly became the community shtadlan (organizer), active in many Jewish organizations.[3] In 1914 he helped organize the EKOPO society (Jewish Committee for the Help of War Victims) to assist some 200,000 World War I refugees with shelter, food and medical care.[2] In 1919 he became a Zionist leader in the Harbin Jewish community,[4] and of Manchuria (called Manchukuo when it was occupied by Imperial Japan) more widely, in the 1930s. He became an integral part of the cultural organizations of Harbin Jewry. Between 1919–1945 he was variously:[4][2]