History of the Jews in Aruba

Last updated

The history of the Jews in Aruba can be traced back to the 16th century, when the first Jewish immigrants began to arrive. The first Jews in Aruba were Sephardi Jewish immigrants from Netherlands and Portugal. The first Jew to settle in Aruba was a Portuguese-Jewish worker for the Dutch West India Company named Moses Solomon Levie Maduro, who arrived in Aruba with his family in 1754.

Contents

After 1924, a number of Jewish immigrants came to Aruba from Eastern Europe, Surinam, and The Netherlands. [1] In 1942, a Jewish center was opened and the Jewish community became officially organized four years later. [2]

The Beth Israel Synagogue was consecrated on November 4, 1962, in Oranjestad. Beth Israel also shares their house of worship with the Jewish Community of Aruba (Israelitische Gemeente).

As of 2013, the Jewish population is around 85. [3] The former Prime Minister Mike Eman is Jewish. Eman has interacted with Chabad visiting Rabbis as well as with Chabad's permanent rabbi on the island. [4] His brother Henny Eman was the first Prime Minister of Aruba. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ANU - Museum of the Jewish People</span> Museum of Jewish history and culture in Tel Aviv, Israel

ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, formerly the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the center of the Tel Aviv University campus in Ramat Aviv.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in the Netherlands</span> Aspect of history

The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the Jewish community was severely persecuted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Indonesia</span> Aspect of Indonesian and Jewish history

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. 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, 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. Therefore, members of the local Jewish community have to choose to register as "Belief in One Almighty God" or another recognized religions on their official identity cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Albania</span>

The history of the Jews in Albania dates back about 2,000 years. According to historian Apostol Kotani : "Jews may have first arrived in Albania as early as 70 C.E. as captives on Roman ships that washed up on the country's southern shores...descendants of these captives that would build the first synagogue in the southern port city of Sarandë in the fifth century...[but] Little is known about the Jewish community in the area until the 15th century."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch</span> Jewish charity organization network

Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch is the central educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. It was founded in 1943 by the sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, who served as president, and appointed his son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who would later become the seventh Rebbe, as its chairman and director. After the passing of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson succeeded him as president. Today, Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Krinsky serves as chairman and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky serves as vice-chairman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in the Dominican Republic</span>

The Sephardic Jews that were exiled from Spain and the Mediterranean area in 1492 and 1497, coupled with other migrations dating from the 1700s and during World War II contributed to Dominican ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue</span> Synagogue in Recife, Brazil

Kahal Zur Israel was a Jewish synagogue located at Rua do Bom Jesus number 197 in Recife, Brazil. It was established in 1636 by Portuguese and Spanish Sephardic Jews that had taken refuge in the Netherlands fleeing forced conversion and were joined by New Christians, who possibly helped to build the structure and were already living in the colony. It was the first synagogue erected in the Americas. The building is now a museum, including a Torah and bema as well as archeological excavations displaying various parts of the original synagogue, such as the mikveh.

Amsterdam has historically been the center of the Dutch Jewish community, and has had a continuing Jewish community for the last 370 years. Amsterdam is also known under the name "Mokum", given to the city by its Jewish inhabitants. Although the Holocaust deeply affected the Jewish community, killing some 80% of the approximately 80,000 Jews at time present in Amsterdam, since then the community has managed to rebuild a vibrant and living Jewish life for its approximately 15,000 present members. Six of Amsterdam's mayors were Jewish. Job Cohen was runner-up for the award of World Mayor in 2006.

The history of the Jews in Omaha, Nebraska, goes back to the mid-1850s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Thailand</span>

The history of Jews in Thailand began in the 17th century with the arrival of Baghdadi Jewish families and Jewish peoples from Europe during Napoleonic era (1799-1815).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Israel Synagogue (Oranjestad, Aruba)</span>

Beth Israel Synagogue is the synagogue of the Aruban Jewish community, located in Oranjestad, Aruba. Beth Israel Synagogue is an independent congregation with a liberal style similar to Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism.

The history of the Jews in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada has been noted since the mid-19th century.

South Florida is a recognized region of the state of Florida, comprising Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties. These counties contain approximately 12% of the land in Florida, but 28% of its population. The University of South Florida, in Tampa, is not in South Florida as the term is used today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Florence</span>

The history of the Jews in Florence can be traced over nine hundred years. Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. The Jews of Florence have one of the oldest continuous Jewish communities in Europe. The historic Jewish community in Florence is one of the largest and one of the most influential Jewish communities in Italy. The Jewish community in Florence also serves the smaller neighboring Jewish communities in Pisa, Livorno, and Siena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Japan</span> Aspect of history

The history of the Jews in Japan is well documented in modern times, with various traditions relating to much earlier eras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

The history of the Jews in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be traced back to 1907, when the first Jewish immigrants began to arrive in the country. The current Jewish Congolese population is mostly of Sephardi background.

The history of the Jews in Curaçao can be traced back to the mid-17th century, when the first Jewish immigrants began to arrive. The first Jews in Curaçao were Sephardi Jewish immigrants from the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. These immigrants founded Congregation Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, the oldest continuously used synagogue in the Americas. The first Jew to settle in Curaçao was a Dutch-Jewish interpreter named Samuel Cohen, who arrived on board a Dutch fleet in 1634. By the mid-1700s, the community was the most prosperous in the Americas and many of the Jewish communities in Latin America, primarily in Colombia and Venezuela, resulted from the influx of Curaçaoan Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Houston</span>

The Jewish community of Houston, Texas has grown and thrived since the 1800s. As of 2008 Jews lived in many Houston neighborhoods and Meyerland is the center of the Jewish community in the area.

The history of the Jews in Central Asia dates back centuries, where Jews have lived in countries which include Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The history of the Jews in Alaska began before the Alaska Purchase in 1867. Jews from Imperial Russia lived there periodically as fur traders, and a Jewish community has existed since the 1880s. The Klondike and Nome gold rushes attracted Jews to Alaska to seek their fortunes as miners and businessmen and resulted in the first organized Jewish communities. In the Nazi period, Jewish refugee resettlement in Alaska was seriously considered by the government, but after facing backlash, never came to be. Alaskan Jews played a significant role in business and politics before and after statehood, and have included mayors, judges, senators and governors. Today, there are Jews living in every urban area of the state.

References

  1. "The Jewish Community of Aruba". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
  2. "The Jewish Community of Aruba". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
  3. "Curaçao". Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  4. "Aruban P.M. Welcomes Future Rabbis to Caribbean". Chabad.org/News. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  5. "Aruba Jewish community". Beth Israel Synagogue. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-02.