Singapore - JEWS of Singapore - Day 2 (1 of 3)

We visited the campus of the oldest Synagogue in Singapore and the Jewish Museum with Paul & Nancy. As usual, security was extremely tight (in spite of us getting pre-authorization before we arrive).

When Raffles founded Singapore in 1819, Sephardic Jews (mostly merchants) from the Middle East were some of the first to settle here from India. By 1841, there were 18 men and 4 women and they were given 2 plots of land for a Synagogue and a cemetery, the beginnings of the Singapore Jewish community. By 1846, six out of the 43 trading houses in Singapore were Jewish and the community grew to include 30 men and 27 women by 1849.

During the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) the Jews were brought together to be massacred. The Japanese forces designated European civilians, including Jewish residents as "enemies of Japan" and interned them. These civilians were held at the Changi Prison Complex and later at the Sime Road Camp. The remaining 500-600 Jews that were not interned but were issued with armbands bearing their names, number and "Utai", Japanese for Jew, that had to be worn. The community endured the last 6 months of the Japanese Occupation until September 1945.

The Jewish Museum founded in 2021 is all about preserving the history of the Jews in Singapore. One of the more interesting things we found was the amount of time and space in the museum dedicated to stories of the founders and volunteers in the Jewish Community. After enjoying the museum (see some of the exhibits in the photos) we went to the Maghain Abot Synagogue (since 1878, the oldest Synagogue in Southeast Asia). On this campus is also the Ohel Jacon Synagogue for smaller services and educational purposes. Also downtown is the Chesed-El Synagogue (1905), which has services, a preschool, and a community hall where meals are served and events held. The Synagogue was built by Sir Manasseh Meyer on the grounds of his private home.

One of the Sephardic Jews who came to Singapore after being tortured in Baghdad was Abraham Solomon (1832-1884), the patriarch of the Singapore Jewish community and involved in the building of the Maghain Aboth Synagogue. While the Ashkenazi from Europe and Sephardi Jews did not initially easily integrate, as the community: grew, spread out (no longer in one small community), became more assimilated with others, and the Jewish wealth grew, and as Jews associated more with Europeans here, these backgrounds no longer mattered except as they had different Synagogues.

Born in Singapore, David Marshall's (1908-1995 parents were migrants from Baghdad. He was a lawyer, politician and diplomat who helped support the Jewish Women's League, was an editor of the ISRAELITE magazine in 1934 and sadly became a POW in Japan as he volunteered for the military. After returning to Singapore he was instrumental in forming the Jewish Welfare Board in 1946. Sir Manasseh Meyer (1846-1930), a leading magnate of his time, built a university building as well as was a large supporter of Synagogues. Jacob Ballas (1921-2000), a Baghdadi, was the first Asian and Jew to head the Singapore Stock Exchange. His story of starting as a car salesman and late becoming an insurance agent and working his way up is a great story. The Jacob Ballas Center here since 2007 is the heart of Jewish Life here, it is used for religious, educational and social needs. There is a great kosher market (see photos), high end kosher liquor store, a gift shop, a mikvah, and a kosher restaurant.

Since Jewish children had missed many years of education during the Occupation years, they bonded together in Jewish youth groups. Later it was important to build a strong Talmud Torah Hebrew School as an anchor of the community. Today, there is a modern Manasseh Meyer International School here with very impressive facilities that teaches extensive arts and science programs as well as Jewish values, tradition, and culture but also welcoming to students of all nationalities and faiths and has a strong ethical foundation and teach the students charity and volunteering and a commitment to social action, and healing the world.

The Jewish Welfare Board which since early 19th Century has been the Community Center of the Jews in Singapore, providing a place to meet and bring together those Jews of all backgrounds.

Antisemitism was never tolerated in modern, multicultural Singapore where religious and racial discrimination are unlawful and therefore the persecution faced by Jews worldwide seem to be absent in Singapore.

What a wonderful place and Center for Judaism.
(see the lecture 4/25 Garden City Singapore)Read more