Jews in Eritrea can trace their history back to the late 19th century arrival of
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of antisemitism, persecution, the vast majority ...
.
History
Eritrea once had a small community of Yemenite Jews who arrived in the country after having been attracted by new commercial opportunities driven by Italian colonial expansion in the late 19th century. In 1906, the
Asmara Synagogue was completed in
Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...
, the capital. It includes a main sanctuary which can seat up to 200 people, classrooms, and a small Jewish cemetery.
In the 1930s, the Jewish community was bolstered when many European Jews emigrated to Eritrea to escape
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
persecution in Europe.
During
British administration, Eritrea was often used as a location of
internment for Irgun and Lehi guerrillas fighting for Jewish independence in the
British Mandate of Palestine (now
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
). Among those imprisoned were future Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir (, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, ...
and
Haim Corfu
Haim Corfu (; 6 January 1921 – 23 February 2015) was an Israeli politician, and earlier Irgun commander and assassin.
Biography
Corfu was born in Jerusalem in 1921 to an ultra-Orthodox family. He studied in religious schools and yeshivas and ...
, a founder of
Beitar Jerusalem
Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply Beitar (), is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Jerusalem, that plays in the Israeli Premier League, the top tier in Israeli football ...
.
In 1948, after Israel was founded as a Jewish state, many Yemeni Jews residing in Eritrea emigrated to Israel. In the 1950s, 500 Jews still lived in the country. The last Jewish wedding at Asmara Synagogue was celebrated during that decade. The synagogue also served Jews who came from all over Africa to observe the
High Holy Days
In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of:
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement");
#by extension, th ...
there.
In 1961 the
Eritrean War for Independence
The Eritrean War of Independence was an War, armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate ...
began after
Eritrea
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
was annexed by
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, and Eritreans began to fight for independence. It was then that Jews began to leave Eritrea. In the early 1970s, Jewish emigration increased because of ensuing violence between Eritrean separatists and Ethiopia. In 1975, the Chief Rabbi and much of the community were evacuated. Many Jews settled in Israel, while others went to Europe or North America. By then, only 150 Jews remained in the country.
Eritrea formally gained its independence in 1993. At the time, there were only a handful of Jews still left in the country. (In 2001 the Cohan family numbered four) All but one have either died or emigrated. There was only one last native Jew left in Eritrea, Samuel Cohen, who ran an import-export business and attends to the Asmara Synagogue.
Judaism is not one of the four religions recognized by the Eritrean government. Despite this, the government never restricted Jewish freedom to worship, and the country has no history of any persecution of Jews.
References
{{Africa topic, History of the Jews in
Judaism in Africa
Yemeni-Jewish diaspora