The number of Jews in Indonesia which before the Second World War was about 1,000, has dwindled to about 100, The New York Times reported in a dispatch from the Surabaya. Most of the Jewish residents who had come to Indonesia from Iraq and Europe since the turn of the century, emigrated to Israel, the United States and Australia after World War II, the report said.
Jewish religious services in Surabaya, the report declared, are now led by a layman, Jacob Silas Mussry, 81, who came to Indonesia from Iraq in 1905. The community’s only rabbi, born in Iraq but stateless, immigrated to Israel. Mr. Mussry said the Jewish community enjoyed complete freedom of worship.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
