Indonesia’s last synagogue
Brought to my attention via FB post by Vinod Varghese.
Foreword:
My take was to pick up everything that we can and recreate the synagogue in another place to preserve its heritage. If this is not done, this is going to go to waste like the synagogue in Mattancherry Kerala. Either because the remaining few Jews will leave or the local non-Jews may want it destroyed.
After some more research, it seems it may be too late for this, as the damage is already done. :(
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Just 20 Jews remain in the world’s largest Muslim nation, and it is clear who demolished their last house of worship, Java’s Beith Shalom
October 4, 2013, 4:28 pm
Indonesia’s last synagogue has been destroyed, a Dutch news site reported.
Unidentified persons demolished the Beith Shalom synagogue in Surabaya on the island of Java to its foundations sometime earlier this year, according to a report on Indoweb.nl.
The synagogue has seen a number of anti-Israel protests staged in front of it and was sealed by Islamic hardliners sealed in 2009, according to the Jakarta Globe.
Reports suggesting the synagogue’s destruction have appeared in Indonesian media since May but were confirmed last week by the Indoweb.nl, which quoted the director of the Surabaya Heritage Society as saying that he intended to protest the demolition in talks with government officials.
“It is not clear by whom and when exactly the building was demolished,” Freddy Instanto told Indoweb.nl.
Indonesia’s last synagogue has been destroyed, a Dutch news site reported.
Unidentified
persons demolished the Beith Shalom synagogue in Surabaya on the island
of Java to its foundations sometime earlier this year, according to a
report on Indoweb.nl.
The synagogue has seen a number of anti-Israel
protests staged in front of it and was sealed by Islamic hardliners
sealed in 2009, according to the Jakarta Globe.
Reports suggesting the synagogue’s destruction
have appeared in Indonesian media since May but were confirmed last
week by the Indoweb.nl, which quoted the director of the Surabaya
Heritage Society as saying that he intended to protest the demolition in
talks with government officials.
“It is not clear by whom and when exactly the building was demolished,” Freddy Instanto told Indoweb.nl.
The City
Council of Surabaya was in the process of registering the building as a
heritage site. Istanto said that for that reason, the building “should
have been protected.”
The Dutch news site also quoted Sachiroel
Alim, the head of the Surabaya regional legislative council, as saying
that it was unknown whether Muslim extremists had anything to do with
the demolition.
Situated in in eastern Java, the small
synagogue was built in the 19th century by Dutch Jews when Indonesia was
still a Dutch colony. It had white-painted bricks a Star of David
painted on the front door.
The first Jews arrived in Indonesia in the
17th century with the Dutch East India Company. During the 1930s and
1940s, the community grew due to new arrivals fleeing persecution in
Europe, to reach an estimated 2,000 souls.
Currently, about 20 Jews are estimated to be
living in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, according to
Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. Judaism is
not one of the six religions officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam,
Christian, Catholic, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
Source: http://www.timesofisrael.com/indonesias-last-synagogue-an-intended-heritage-site-destroyed/
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Source: http://doonukuneke.wordpress.com/
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Last Java synagogue demolished
The unstoppable march of sharia law in Indonesia has claimed another victim: the Surabaya synagogue in Java. The Jewish Press reports:
Over the last few days there have been several articles bemoaning the
destruction of the last standing synagogue in Java, which is one of the
islands of Indonesia (south of Viet Nam, north of Australia, for the
geographically challenged).
The story had a human interest news hook: six American university
students were visiting Indonesia to learn about “pluralism and
democracy.” Oops. Not only was the only synagogue on Java demolished,
but it had already been sealed off in 2009 by Muslims who also burnt an
Israeli flag in response to the conflict in Gaza, according to the Jakarta Globe.
The Jakarta Globe article quoted lecturers from a local
university who claimed that the American students still learned one or
two things about pluralism from the city.
“They learned about how the residents form a pluralist and democratic
community,” said Diah Ariani Arimbi, dean of the Airlangga University
School of Literature.
That sounds awfully odd. But sadly enough, it may be true.
Read article in full
Java synagogue torn down (Mosaic)
source: http://jewishrefugees.blogspot.com/2013/06/java-synagogue-indonesias-last.html
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Java’s last synagogue demolished as U.S.
students visit on religious pluralism tour
By Jessica Chasmar The Washington Times Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A Muslim man vandalizes the door ornament of a synagogue during a rally against Israel in East Java, Indonesia, Friday, June 4, 2010. (Associated Press)
Just hours after six American students arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia,
on Friday evening, media reported that one of the country’s last
remaining vestiges of its Jewish community had been reduced to a pile
of rubble.
The students — visiting from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan — were in the country under the US-Indonesia Partnership Program for Study Abroad Capacity. Surabaya was their last destination to focus on religious pluralism and democracy.
Beth Shalom, Java’s only synagogue, was demolished in May after being sealed off by Islamic hard-liners since 2009, Freddy Istanto, the director of the Surabaya Heritage Society (SHS), told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday. He said it was uncertain who destroyed the building.
“In mid-May, I was informed by a member of the SHS that the synagogue was destroyed. In disbelief, I went over there and it had been flattened,” he said. “It was designated as a heritage site by the agency on April 16, 2009. It should have been protected. There were many artifacts in the building that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Sachiroel Alim, a city council deputy speaker, told the Jakarta Globe that the council summoned the Surabaya Tourism Agency to officially report the case to the police because the demolition was in direct violation of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
Soemarsono, the head of the National Unity and Society Protection Agency of Surabaya, claimed that the synagogue was an illegal structure because it did not possess proper building permits, the Jakarta Globe reported.
Indonesia’s last surviving synagogue is located in Manado, North Sulawesi.
Diah Ariani Arimbi, dean of Airlangga University’s School of Literature, said all was not lost on the trip, because the students were still able to learn “about how the residents form a pluralist and democratic community.”
The students — visiting from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan — were in the country under the US-Indonesia Partnership Program for Study Abroad Capacity. Surabaya was their last destination to focus on religious pluralism and democracy.
Beth Shalom, Java’s only synagogue, was demolished in May after being sealed off by Islamic hard-liners since 2009, Freddy Istanto, the director of the Surabaya Heritage Society (SHS), told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday. He said it was uncertain who destroyed the building.
“In mid-May, I was informed by a member of the SHS that the synagogue was destroyed. In disbelief, I went over there and it had been flattened,” he said. “It was designated as a heritage site by the agency on April 16, 2009. It should have been protected. There were many artifacts in the building that can’t be found anywhere else.”
Sachiroel Alim, a city council deputy speaker, told the Jakarta Globe that the council summoned the Surabaya Tourism Agency to officially report the case to the police because the demolition was in direct violation of the Law on Cultural Heritage.
Soemarsono, the head of the National Unity and Society Protection Agency of Surabaya, claimed that the synagogue was an illegal structure because it did not possess proper building permits, the Jakarta Globe reported.
Indonesia’s last surviving synagogue is located in Manado, North Sulawesi.
Diah Ariani Arimbi, dean of Airlangga University’s School of Literature, said all was not lost on the trip, because the students were still able to learn “about how the residents form a pluralist and democratic community.”
Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/18/javas-last-synagogue-demolished-us-students-visit-/
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Bad Timing: American Students Visit Surabaya on Religious Pluralism Tour
It
was perhaps the worst possible time for officials in Surabaya to host
students from two US universities hoping to learn about pluralism and
democracy. Hours after the six students from Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan arrived on
Friday evening, local media reported that one of Indonesia’s last
remaining vestiges more »Java’s Last Synagogue Torn Down
The
last vestige of one Indonesia’s oldest and largest Jewish communities
is now just a pile of rubble. Beth Shalom in Surabaya — Java’s one and
only synagogue — was demolished in May after being sealed off by Islamic
hard-liners in 2009. “It’s not clear when exactly it was demolished and
who did it,” Freddy more »
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