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Surabaya's only synagogue torn down
The only synagogue in Surabaya has been torndown despite the local administrationâs effort to register it as a cityheritage
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The only synagogue in Surabaya has been torn down despite the local administration's effort to register it as a city heritage.
'I have been informed about it being torn down and nothing left standing,' Surabaya Heritage Association head Freddy Istanto told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He said the association would file a letter of protest with the city administration for letting the building be torn down.
'This synagogue was the only vestige that there used to be a Jewish man, Charles Mussry, who fought hand-in-hand with his Surabayan counterparts against the Dutch colonists during the great battle of November 10,' he said.
The synagogue was located on Jl. Kayon and was the residence of a doctor of Jewish descent during the 19th century. The doctor, along with other people of Jewish descent, worked for a company owned by the Dutch government at that time.
Even though Indonesia does not recognize the Jewish state of Israel, the synagogue had survived through the ages until now. The synagogue was often used as a target for Muslim hard-liners protesting Israeli attacks on Palestine.
Another synagogue was also built in Manado, North Sulawesi.
