History of the Jews in Indonesia

Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (Tondano), is currently the only synagogue in Indonesia.
Surabaya Synagogue, demolished in 2013.

The history of the Jews in Indonesia began with the arrival of early European explorers and settlers, and the first Jews arrived in the 17th century.[1] Most Indonesian Jews arrived from Southern Europe, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, and Latin America. Jews in Indonesia presently form a very small Jewish community of about 100–550,[2] of mostly Sephardi Jews. Judaism is not recognized as one of the country's six major religions, however its practices are allowed under Perpres 1965 No. 1 and article 29 paragraph 2 of Constitution of Indonesia.[3] Therefore, members of the local Jewish community have to choose to register as "Belief in One Almighty God" (Indonesian: Kepercayaan Terhadap Tuhan Yang Maha Esa) or another recognized religions on their official identity cards.[4]

Presently, most Indonesian Jews live in Manado on the island of Sulawesi.[5]

  1. ^ Klemperer-Markman, Ayala. "The Jewish Community of Indonesia". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  2. ^ The Jewish Virtual Library - Indonesia
  3. ^ Armenia, Resty (2016-08-03). "Pemerintah Tidak Melarang Agama Yahudi di Indonesia". nasional (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. ^ Banka, Neha (22 April 2019). "Inside the secret world of Indonesia's Jewish community". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  5. ^ Brieger, Peter; Buol, Ronny (5 March 2019). "On remote island in Muslim-majority Indonesia, Jewish community lives in shadows". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 September 2020.

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