http://www.smh.com.au/world/indonesias-novice-jews-turn-to-rabbi-google-20101123-185p6.html
Indonesia's novice Jews turn to Rabbi Google Norimitsu Onishi November 24, 2010 MANADO, Indonesia: A 19-metre-tall Jewish menorah, possibly the world's largest, rises from a mountain overlooking the city of Manado, courtesy of the provincial government. Israeli flags decorate motorcycle taxi stands, one near a six-year-old synagogue that has received a facelift, including a ceiling with a large Star of David, paid for by local officials. Long known as a Christian stronghold and more recently a home to evangelical and charismatic Christian groups, the Manado area in northern Indonesia has become the unlikely setting for increasingly public displays of pro-Jewish sentiments as people have embraced the faith of their Dutch-Jewish ancestors. With the local government's blessing, they are carving out a small space for themselves in the sometimes strangely shifting religious landscape of Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population. The trend comes as extremist Islamic groups have grown bolder in assailing Christian and other religious minorities elsewhere in Indonesia, with the central government, fearful of offending Muslim groups, doing little to prevent the attacks. In November last year extremists protesting against the 2008-09 war in Gaza shut down what had been the most prominent remnant of Indonesia's Jewish community, a century-old synagogue in Surabaya. That left the synagogue just outside Manado - founded by Indonesians still struggling to learn about Judaism and now attended by about 10 people - as Indonesia's sole surviving Jewish house of worship. They researched Judaism at an internet cafe in Manado, turning to Google for answers. They compiled a Torah by printing pages off the internet. They sought the finer points of davening - praying - on YouTube. ''We're just trying to be good Jews,'' said Toar Palilingan, 27, who, wearing a black coat and a broad-brimmed hat in the ultra-Orthodox style, led a Sabbath dinner at his family home recently with two regulars. ''But if you compare us to Jews in Jerusalem or Brooklyn,'' said Mr Palilingan, now also known as Yaakov Baruch, ''we're not there yet.'' The government of North Minahasa, a mostly Christian district, erected the giant menorah last year at a cost of $US150,000, said Margarita Rumokoy, the head of the district's tourism department. Denny Wowiling, a local legislator, said he proposed building the menorah after learning about the one in front of Israel's Knesset. He hoped to attract tourists and businessmen from Europe. ''It is also for the Jewish people to see that there is this sacred symbol, their sacred symbol, outside their country,'' Mr Wowiling said. A Pentecostal Christian, Mr Wowiling said Christians and Muslims had lived peacefully for years in the province of North Sulawesi, but acknowledged that ''there are worries that we might be targeted by people from outside''. The New York Times [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
