THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
12 Friday, August 3, 1979
4:441toka cirkou-
Custom t
Surinam Jewry-Old Community
543-1110
T-v ki”
ask for PETER
By WARREN FREEDMAN
In Surinam (formerly
Dutch Guiana) is probably
the oldest Jewish commu-
nity in America, dating
from 1639. Jews settled in
the first capital city, To-
ranica (of Torah Rica), now
abandoned. -
The Jewish settlers in
Dutch Guiana had origi-
nally settled in northern
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Brazil following the Inquis-
ition of 1492; in northern'
Brazil was a Dutch colony
governed by the gallant
Maurice of Nassau. But in
the 17th Century Prince
Maurice was recalled to
Holland and the colony col-
lapsed, once more leaving
the Jews at the mercy of the
Portuguese.
Feeling less than com-
fortable about this situation
the Sephardim, who had
made their fortune through ,
trade and plantation own-
ership, moved to French
Guyana where they received
a frigid welcome. Finally,
they wandered into
Surinam and settled in the
savannah lands, building
the first South American
synagogue in 1668. They
soon became prosperous
plantation owners and were
granted full religious free-
dom by the early British
rulers.
Other Jews from Re-
cife, Brazil, with capital,
energy, and know-how
soon came, and were
given land for a cemet-
ery, school and
synagogue in Joden
Savanna where they
achieved a form of au-
tonomous state under the
Dutch.
In 1665, after David
Nassi donated a tract of 25
acres, the first synagogue
was established for 232
Jews. (In 1968 the 300th
anniversary of Jewish set-
tlement was commemo-
rated by three special post-
age stamps, one showing
the ancient synagogue, an-
other an elaborately
engraved tombstone and
the third a map of Jewish
plantations on both sides of
the Surinam River.)
The first synagogue, built
in 1668 and later rebuilt,
survived until the great fire
of 1832 when all of Joden
Savanna was razed. Today,
nothing remains except the
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tower sections ofthe walls of
the synagogue, the only
brick building in town, and
these ruins have been de-
clared an official historical
site.
For a century, Surinam
Jews owned some of the
largest plantations of
Surinam, until labor shor-
tages and frequent raids
from hostile Bush Negroes
made their property unpro-
fitable. By the 18th Century
most of the Sephardim had
abandoned their planta-
tions and had moved to
Paramaribo to make their
living as merchants.
(They were joined by
the northern European
Ashkenazi Jews who had
come over with the
English. The two groups
have remained distinct
through the centuries,
with very few intermar-
riages.)
Jews began to settle in
the city of Paramaribo, and
built a synagogue in 1719
along Gravenstraat 186.
Fifteen • years later the
Ashkenazim took over the
originally Sephardic
synagogue. For 100 years
the synagogue functioned,
and in 1835 was rebuilt on a
large scale.
Today, both the smaller
and older and the larger
and newer synagogues
stand on the site. (The
Sephardic synagogue is
located at Gravenstraat
186. It is an old building
with polished dark
hardwood and shiny
brass candelabra. The
floor of the synagogue is
covered with clean white
sand, symbolizing the
journey of Moses across
the desert. What fantastic
stories Isaac de la Parra,
david de Isaac Nassi and
David Nunes Montsanto,
whose names are in-
scribed on the white tem-
ple walls, could have told
about Jewish life in
Surinam! The Ashkenazi
synagogue is located on
Keizerstrasse.)
At the end of the 18th
Century Jewish life in
Surinam declined as the
economic life of the country
deteriorated. -
There are about 650 Jews
in Surinam out of a popula-
tion of 350,000. Surinam
Jews are not all merchants,
but civil servants working
for the government at all
levels. President Of the
Sephardic community is
E.J. Robles, and piesident of
the Ashkenazi community
is D.H. Emanuels. There
are four Jewish cemeteries,
Surinam gained its in-
dependence in November
1975 — it is wedged be-
tween Guyana to the west
and French Guyana to
the east; Although Dutch
remains the official lan-
guage taught in the
schools, the lingua
franca, Sranang Tongo,
or Taki Taki, is the more
popular oral means of
communication.
Even Sranang Tongo is
not universally understood,
for though Surinam is a
melting pot, each ethnic
group remains distinct and
clings to its own language.
LZA Head Says Settlements
Are Tip of. Debate on Israel
NEW YORK — The set-
tlements issue is "merely
the tip of the iceberg" in
what is a fundamental de-
bate over the very nature of
the future of the Jewish
state, says the president of
the Labor Zionist Alliance.
The debate, maintains
Prof. Allen Pollack, is be-
tween those who support
the "Land of Israel" policy
at all costs and those in the
Labor movement who be-
lieve that "the essential
ideological ingredient
should_be the nature of the
Jewish state, not the extent
of it."
Prof. Pollack, in a
statement to the LAZ,
said that participating in
the debate on the nature
of the state of Israel
should be all those Jews
who feel, as Zionists, that
their future life as Jews
will be determined by the
kind of Israel that is
created. "All these people
have a right and an obli-
gation to participate in
this debate," he asserted.
He voiced "deep disap-
pointment" at the way the
debate was being con-
ducted. "It is not commen-
surate with the level of the
significance of the debate it-
self," and he hit out at those
who hurl vile accusations.
against those who, for
example, dissent with the
present Israel government
policy.
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