The Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue sits in the small town of Tondano, in the Rerewokan district in North Sulawesi. Despite its modest size, it’s an anomaly in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, because it’s now the only synagogue in the entire country.
The presence of Jews in Indonesia stretches far back into the archipelago’s history, with some historians placing their arrival to the area as far back as 1492. Others argue that Jews had migrated to the region in waves over centuries, moving about mostly for trade, or to escape harsh repression and persecution, such as the Spanish Inquisition (during which, in 1492, Jews were expelled from Spain).
Despite this, Indonesia has grappled with anti-Jewish sentiment, complicated by the country’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Israel’s occuption of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The Indonesian government consistently condemns attacks carried out by Israel against the Palestinians, and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed support and solidarity for the Palestinians.
“I and the Indonesian people continue to be with the Palestinian people in fighting for independence and their rights in accordance with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution,” Jokowi said in 2017. The preamble of 1954 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia can be translated to: “Whereas independence is the inalienable right of all nations, therefore, all colonialism must be abolished in this world as it is not in conformity with humanity and justice…”
People with Israeli passports aren’t granted visas into Indonesia on political grounds. Yet these political positions can often spill into anti-Semitism—particularly when Zionism, a movement for the development and protection of a Jewish nation in the historic land of Israel, is treated as synonymous with all Jews—which can in turn trigger attacks against Indonesia’s own Jewish population. A religious variant of Zionism also defines the Jewish identity as strict adherence to religious Judaism and opposes Jews being assimilated into other societies.
Even now, adherents of Judaism in Indonesia have to be secretive about their faith. Many worship in secret, gathering in their own homes to pray.
In response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in 2008 and 2009, the Beith Shalom Synagogue in Surabaya became the target of protests from Indonesian Muslim hardliners. In 2013, the synagogue was sold and dismantled; the building is now used for a different purpose.
Even now, adherents of Judaism in Indonesia have to be secretive about their faith. Many worship in secret, gathering in their own homes to pray. The only people who go to the synagogue in Tondano are Jews from North Sulawesi.
The Jews of North Sulawesi
Benjamin Meijer Verbrugge, leader of the The United Indonesian Jewish Community (UIJC), tells New Naratif that there are three Jewish community groups across Indonesia—in Jakarta, Surabaya and Manado—and around 5,000 people in the country are thought to be Jewish. However, of the thousands of ethnic Jews in Indonesia, only around 500 are practising Judaism; about 60–70% identify as secular Jews, observing Jewish holidays and practices as a cultural tradition rather than a religious one.
Prejudice against Jews hasn’t affected the Jewish community in North Sulawesi, a majority Christian area, as much as elsewhere in Indonesia. In a region where tolerance for difference is highly valued, they practise their faith freely and gather for Sabbath worship at the Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue, established in 2014, every Saturday without any trouble. There are around 20 Jewish families in North Sulawesi who worship in the synagogue and in the homes of community members.
The beginnings of this local Jewish community were formed, according to Yaakov Baruch, leader of the North Sulawesi Jewish community, from a base of older Jewish ancestors. But this history hasn’t always been clearly documented; while there used to be clear genealogical data, later generations grew distant from Judaism and their Jewish practices, choosing to assimilate by converting to one of Indonesia’s official religions. “There was a fear factor, many shut down,” Yaakov says.
His grandmother had hidden her religious identity for years, out of fear for her own safety.
This fear was present in Yaakov’s own family. He’d only discovered that he was of Jewish descent when his grandmother revealed it for the first time in his teenage years. It’d come as a surprise to even his parents; his grandmother had hidden her religious identity for years, out of fear for her own safety. But it was this revelation that set Yaakov on the path to learn more about his Jewish ancestry, tracing his family tree and making trips to the Netherlands, Israel and Australia, where he found out that his ancestors had been Orthodox Jews.
After studying Judaism in Singapore, Yaakov decided to set up a synagogue with Oral Bollegraf, a fellow Jew, in North Sulawesi. It wasn’t that difficult a decision for him; he’d grown up in a family of different religions. His father is a Protestant and his late mother had been Muslim. Since childhood, he’d been accustomed to living in a family with different beliefs, where his relatives upheld the values of tolerance.
“There is no problem, we can accept each other,” Yaakov says.
But the neighbours were a slightly different story. Initially, Yaakov tells New Naratif, there’d been suspicion from those who lived near the Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue. But their concerns were assuaged over time when they realised that the Jewish community had no interest in proselytising, keeping their teachings solely to their own community.
There’s also growing interest in Judaism and Jews in North Sulawesi and across Indonesia more broadly, Yaakov says. Curious about the faith, there’s been an uptick in the number of people in the past 10 years who want to convert to Judaism, with actual conversions taking place in the past five years.
Converting to Judaism
Reginald Tanalisan, whose Jewish name is Judah Ben Abraham, is one such example. He says a spiritual experience led him to embrace Judaism, which he converted to in 2014.
Once, while praying at his parents’ house in Jakarta, he heard a mysterious voice ring out, saying something that he later found out meant “generation after generation”.
It was the sectarian conflict in Maluku that pushed him to embrace Judaism. Following the general political and economic instability across the country after President Suharto fell from power, the planned expansion of Maluku Province to Maluku and North Maluku further exacerbated existing regional and political problems that had long been intertwined with religious differences. A dispute broke out between Christians and Muslims in January 1999, quickly deteriorating into acts of violence by both parties.
Judah’s family, made up of Protestant Christians, Catholics and Muslims, scattered to escape the conflict. Some went to Jakarta, but Judah headed to Manado, where he began to learn more about his family’s connection with Judaism—although he cannot trace his genealogy to Jewish ancestors, members of his family had converted to Judaism over the years. While doing this research, Judah began following the Hebrew prayer tradition.
Once, while praying at his parents’ house in Jakarta, he heard a mysterious voice ring out, saying something that he later found out meant “generation after generation”. It made Judah even more determined to visit the land of Israel and find out more about his roots.
“I didn’t have my family tree. So I was determined to go to Israel, [to] trace the genealogy. Am I one of the descendants?” he says.
His decision to embrace Judaism received a mixed response from his family. Many of his relatives opposed the move; to them, Judaism was such a foreign religion that they found it difficult to understand his choice.
The six official religions
Judah’s relatives apprehension or lack of understanding of Judaism haven’t happened in a vacuum. National policies in Indonesia have excluded the faith from the mainstream, even on official documents.
Judaism isn’t a religion that’s officially recognised in Indonesia. Since it’s a requirement for Indonesians to specify one out of six officially recognised religions—namely Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism—on their identity cards, Jews in Indonesia find themselves having to officially identify as Christians, or some other recognised religion. Anything outside of these six recognised religions is considered a sort of deviant belief, opening followers up to systemic and social discrimination.
Like many other Jews who live in Christian-majority parts of Indonesia, Yaakov Baruch identifies as a Protestant on his identity card. “Jews in Muslim-majority areas [identify as] Muslims in [their identity documents],” he tells New Naratif.
Listing himself as a Protestant wasn’t his first choice; he’d wanted to leave the column blank, and made several failed requests to the Manado City Government to do so. He’d also once considered challenging the constitutionality of having to state one’s religion on one’s Indonesian identity card. He’d eventually dropped the idea so as to avoid conflict.
Indonesia’s Jewish community isn’t particularly focused on official recognition; what’s more important is the ability to live freely in accordance with their beliefs.
“Yes, Jews in Indonesia, who are Jewish, are welcome to exercise their rights, to be religious according to their beliefs.”
Religious freedom is guaranteed in Indonesia under the Constitution. Pancasila, which forms the basis of the Indonesian state, also guarantees religious freedom in its first precept, belief in the Almighty God. Saefudin, the head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, has also been quoted in the local media as saying that adherents of Judaism must be protected despite it not being one of the country’s official religions.
“So indeed all religions have the right to live here, in this archipelago,” he said. “Yes, Jews in Indonesia, who are Jewish, are welcome to exercise their rights, to be religious according to their beliefs.”
Despite this, many Jews grapple with prejudice and challenges to practising their faith.
Yaakov Baruch tells New Naratif of his experience visiting a mall in Jakarta while wearing a kippah, a brimless cloth cap worn by many Jewish men. It attracted the attention of a group of people who gathered around him and verbally abused him, saying things like, “The Jews are crazy.”
Yaakov says he has never gone out wearing a kippah since.
Reaching out
In an effort to promote more social interaction and harmony between religious groups, the Jewish community in North Sulawesi is opening up to outsiders.
Activities at the Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue aren’t just worship services for the Jewish community; the synagogue also receives guests from a variety of backgrounds, coming from both within and outside Indonesia. These include theology students, students from Muslim universities, government institutions and other groups. Visitors can learn about Judaism directly from those who practise the faith, instead of relying on information found online. Yaakov also invites Muslims to the synagogue to break fast together during the fasting month—an activity that has been well-received.
“Jews in London do that and I do it here,” he says.
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