Surabaya Synagogue
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The Surabaya Synagogue, officially the Beth Shalom Synagogue, was a former
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
congregation and
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
, located in
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
,
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. It is generally said to have been the only synagogue in the country during the years it operated, although since then Sha'ar Hashamayim has opened in
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
. The Surabaya Synagogue building was a former private residence purchased by the Israelitische Gemeente Soerabaia congregation in 1948. Due to world events and Indonesian politics, most of the congregation emigrated in the decade after it opened. The building continued to be used by a tiny community and fell into disrepair by the late twentieth century; it was controversially demolished in 2013 despite receiving some recognition as a heritage building.


History


Establishment

Although there had been a Jewish presence in Java and in Surabaya throughout the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
era, it was only in 1923 that a group of
Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...
established the Israelitische Gemeente Soerabaia (Surabaya Israelite Congregation, ), the first organized Jewish congregation in the city. The new congregation's synagogue in 1923 merely consisted of a rented room. Many of these Iraqi Jews had emigrated from the Netherlands or directly from Iraq to work in Surabaya as government officials, soldiers, or businesspeople. The congregation began to establish community institutions, and in 1926 established a Jewish cemetery which was one of only a handful in the Indies. Prior to the establishment of the IGS, Jewish Surabayans had a high level of intermarriage with little organized religious activity; the new organization soon incorporated both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews from a wide variety of backgrounds. During the 1930s a number of stateless
Eastern European Jewish The expression ''Eastern European Jewry'' has two meanings. Its first meaning refers to the current political spheres of the Eastern European countries and its second meaning refers to the Jewish communities in Russia and Poland. The phrase 'Ea ...
refugees also joined the congregation; it was during this period that the congregation reached its largest numbers, approximately 1,000 people. The congregation continued to rent private rooms to use as the synagogue and weddings and bar mitzvahs would often take place in private homes (especially that of businessman Charles Mussry).
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was very difficult on the Surabaya Jewish community as they were interned in concentration camps by the Japanese along with most other Europeans in the Indies.
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
and
Iraqi Jews The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...
were treated differently by the Japanese; the Dutch ones were immediately interned in 1942 along with almost all Europeans, whereas Iraqis were allowed to remain free until 1943 when a visiting German delegation insisted they be detained as well. After the end of the war, the congregation reconstituted itself and in 1948 bought a private home belonging to the Kruseman family, located at 4–6 Kajoon Street by the
Mas River The Kali Mas ("Golden River" in Javanese language, Javanese), also known as Kali Surabaya, is a distributary of the Brantas River in East Java, flowing north-easterly towards the Madura Strait. This river also forms part of the border between th ...
, to act as a permanent home for the synagogue. The house was fairly new; it had only been built in 1939. According to descriptions it was a fairly humble site, sandwiched behind other buildings. The synagogue land was owned by Joseph Ezra Izaak Nassiem and the operation of the synagogue was supported by the Sayers family. The congregation embraced
Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
and the newly independent state of Israel and flew Israeli flags at the opening of the building; many of the Iraqi Jewish members, who could not return to Iraq and had no ties to Holland turned to Israel. At first there was not a local rabbi to take up a position in the synagogue; eventually Ezra Meir, a rabbi of Iraqi descent living in Singapore, was recruited to take up the role on a part time basis.


Demise

However, despite the opening of the new building, the Jewish community in Surabaya was already declining in numbers and this affected the use of the synagogue. In the decade after it opened, the majority of the Jewish community in Surabaya emigrated to Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia or the United States. A large group left for Israel during 1948–50, and after that there was a steady emigration for various reasons including hostilities against Jews as a result of the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
, or the Indonesian claim over
Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region ...
, which led to measures against foreign nationals living in Indonesia. Other former community members converted to Islam and assumed Indonesian citizenship. The membership dwindled to around 100–150 by 1959, 60 people by 1965, and around eight families which continued to attend the synagogue by 1970. During that period of decline the Surabaya community remained the most viable one in the country; the Jakarta congregation essentially merged with it and the Surabaya synagogue remained the only one in operation. After 1991, a member of the Sayers family was appointed caretaker of the building. In the 1990s families from Jakarta still traveled to Surabaya to hold events, such as Bar Mitzvahs, at the synagogue. By 2003 there were only three local families (around 20 people) who still used it and held holiday events in the synagogue, although not weekly services. At that time a member of the Sayers family, Rivka, lived in the synagogue building.


Demolition

In its final years the synagogue building gained some official recognition but also became the target of political demonstrations against the state of Israel. During the
Gaza War (2008–2009) The Gaza War, also known as the First Gaza War, Operation Cast Lead (), or the Gaza Massacre (), and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan () by Hamas, Secondary source, Abdul-Hameed al-Kayyali, ''Studies on the Israeli Aggression on Gaza ...
, there were demonstrations by Islamic groups in front of the building who forcibly closed it. For that, the Jewish community gained some support and attention from the Ministry of Religious Affairs as well as by local politicians and activists who insisted that the city should be religiously tolerant. Also in 2009, the synagogue building was considered by the Surabaya Department of City Culture and Tourism as a potential cultural landmark (). However, despite appearing on that list identified by officials, it was not protected from eventual demolition. It continued to be the focus of anti-Israel demonstrations; in March 2010 a student group attempted to raise a Palestinian flag over the building, but were prevented from doing so by the police. The ownership of the building became the subject of a police complaint in 2011; it was alleged that Sayers, the official caretaker, was living in Israel and planning to sell off the building despite not being the legal owner. In 2013, the building was again the focus of protests by Islamic groups over the Gaza-Israel conflict. That same year a real estate developer purchased and demolished the building. Members of the Jewish community in Surabaya, as well as heritage groups like (Heritage Union Surabaya) reported the demolition to the city and police department, but did not get a clear response as to why it had been allowed to happen. An unsuccessful lawsuit was filed against the mayor and others over the sale and demolition in 2015–6, and the demolition and lack of respect for heritage buildings was publicly criticized by deputy Surabaya mayor Armuji in 2017. Nonetheless the new hotel was built and opened in 2018.


Other Jewish congregations in Indonesia

In 2019, the Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue opened in
Tondano Tondano is the capital of Minahasa Regency, mainly in the district of West Tondano (Kecamatan Tondano Barat), in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The city is located in the highlands on the shores of Lake Tondano near Mount Tondano, and enjoys cool temper ...
,
North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...
. The
Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
synagogue is the only active synagogue in Indonesia.


See also

* History of the Jews in Indonesia * Israelitische Gemeente Soerabaia * List of synagogues in Indonesia


References


External links

{{Jews and Judaism in Indonesia 1923 establishments in the Dutch East Indies 2013 disestablishments in Indonesia 20th-century synagogues in Asia Buildings and structures demolished in 2013 Buildings and structures in Surabaya Demolished buildings and structures in Indonesia Former synagogues in Indonesia Houses completed in 1939 Indonesia–Iraq relations Iraqi-Jewish diaspora Iraqi-Jewish diaspora in Asia Synagogues completed in 1948