On March 2, 2023, special guest Yaakov Baruch, Leader of the Indonesian Jewish Community presented as fascinting history of the Jews in Indonesia. Yaakov Baruch was born in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and grew up in Manado. He learned of his maternal Jewish mother’s background while a youth, and began to research his Dutch Jewish roots while in college. Yaakov visited Jewish communities in Singapore and Israel, Europe and America and then chose more in-depth study of Judaism.
In 2000, Yaakov established a synagogue community in Manado and inaugurated the synagogue in 2004, which was attended by Israel TV Channel 10. While there were Jews in Indonesia with Iraqi and Dutch roots, those communities which had existed in other parts of the country no longer exist. In 2019, the Tondano community decided to change its Synagogue “minhag” to that of the Western Sephardic or Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities. The Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue was consecrated in 2022.
Yaakov Baruch was born in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and grew up in Manado. He learned of his maternal Jewish mother’s background while a youth, and began to research his Dutch Jewish roots while in college. Yaakov visited Jewish communities in Singapore and Israel, Europe and America and then chose more in-depth study of Judaism.
In 2000, Yaakov established a synagogue community in Manado and inaugurated the synagogue in 2004, which was attended by Israel TV Channel 10. While there were Jews in Indonesia with Iraqi and Dutch roots, those communities which had existed in other parts of the country no longer exist. In 2019, the Tondano community decided to change its Synagogue “minhag” to that of the Western Sephardic or Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities. The Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue was consecrated in 2022.
Learn more, with photos, historical facts, and personal histories of the Jews of Indonesia.
If you missed it, enjoy this informative and well-presented story of the historic Jewish community of Barbados, and if you attended, watch it again, share with friends.
Join us to learn about the centuries of Jewish history in the Caribbean Island of Barbados. Neal Rechtman, an active member of the 50-person Barbados Jewish community, will lead us through the rich social and cultural history and practices of this Sephardic Jewish community.
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