The history of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

can be traced back to the 16th century, when the first Jewish immigrants began to arrive. The first Jews in Aruba were

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

immigrants from

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The first Jew to settle in Aruba was a Portuguese-Jewish worker for the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

named Moses Solomon Levie Maduro, who arrived in Aruba with his family in 1754. After 1924, a number of Jewish immigrants came to Aruba from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, Surinam, and

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1942, a Jewish center was opened and the Jewish community became officially organized four years later. The Beth Israel Synagogue was consecrated on November 4, 1962, in Oranjestad. Beth Israel also shares their house of worship with the Jewish Community of Aruba (Israelitische Gemeente). As of 2013, the Jewish population is around 85. The former Prime Minister

Mike Eman Michiel Godfried "Mike" Eman (born September 1, 1961) is an Aruban politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Aruba from 2009 to 2017. His political career began in 2001, but Eman has been involved in politics in one way or another since ...

is Jewish. Eman has interacted with

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

visiting Rabbis as well as with Chabad's permanent rabbi on the island. His brother

Henny Eman Jan Hendrik Albert "Henny" Eman (born 20 March 1948) is an Aruban retired politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Aruba from 1 January 1986 to 9 February 1989 and again from 29 July 1994 to 30 October 2001. Introduction Jan Hendrik Albe ...

was the first Prime Minister of Aruba.

References

External links

Chabad Jewish Center of Aruba
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aruba Dutch-Jewish diaspora History of the Jews in the Caribbean Portuguese-Jewish diaspora Sephardi Jewish culture in the Caribbean Sephardi Jewish culture in the Netherlands

See also

References

External links