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 ...

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, dates back to at least 1899. A high point in Jewish activity in Guam was during the time of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Jews have continued to live there since, although as a small presence. As of 2009, there are approximately 150 Jews in Guam, of which about a third are religiously active.

History

During the late 19th century, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

colony Guam was – as part of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

– conquered by, and ceded to, the United States. For a brief period in 1899, the year following the annexation, the Jewish naval officer Edward D. Taussig served as Governor of Guam. He was the first American officer in charge of the territory. During his short governorship, Taussig carried out a number of actions, among them the establishment of a local government consisting of native Chamorro people. Having been ousted by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

in 1941, American troops recaptured Guam in 1944 following years of occupation. In the wake of this, large amounts of military forces were deployed to the area – whether from the army, the navy, or other branches. Some of the personnel deployed were of Jewish origin, both secular and religious. One example of this was Lt. Miriam Miller, a member of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

who aided troops wounded across the Pacific theatre. Some Jewish personnel in Guam were politically active, establishing the Guam Zionist Club after some of them decided that they should try to keep

zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

alive among themselves. The association put out a mimeographed newspaper for its members, and advertised activities in regular military publications. The book ''The Jews' Secret Fleet'', in which the author Murray Greenfield described the participation of North American sailors in ''

Aliyah Bet ''Aliyah Bet'' ( he, עלייה ב', " Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews, most of whom were refugees escaping from Nazi Germany, and later Holocau ...

'', mentions how one individual came into contact with the secret operation through a newsletter for Jewish servicemen while stationed at Guam. In 1945, 1,500 servicemen celebrated the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah at Guam, in a Boeing B-29 Superfortress hangar converted to the purpose by non-Jewish personnel of the

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

. The hangar was equipped with seats, a pulpit, a

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

to hold sacred scrolls, special lighting, and public address systems. A souvenir prayer book was printed as well. Chaplain David I. Cedarbaum officiated the ceremony, while others led the attending choir and blew the

shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...

. A single Jewish synagogue once existed on Guam. It was however destroyed in 1962, during an exceptionally strong typhoon. Despite this, members of the congregation continued to assemble. In 1976, a military chapel was dedicated for use by practitioners of Judaism by the US Navy and Air Force. Religious activity continue into the 21st century, with for example Jews represented in the Guam Interfaith Committee which began its activities in 2005. Occasionally, visiting

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

s from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

help the Jewish community in Guam practice for example bar and bat mitzvahs.

References

{{Organized Jewish Life in the United States Jews and Judaism History of Guam Religion in Guam

History

See also

References