Some people insist that the sand on the floor symbolizes the 40 years the Jewish people spent wandering the Sinai Desert after their expulsion from Egypt. Others say the tradition dates from the Inquisition, when synagogues in Spain and Portugal were covered with sand to muffle the footsteps of Jews worshipping in secret. Rene Maduro,… More ▸
Historic manuscripts offered for auction here last year must be returned to the congregation of Temple Mikveh Israel Emmanuel on the island of Curacao, an Amsterdam district court ruled last week. The manuscripts were being auctioned by Christie’s on behalf of a member of the Curacao congregation, Victor Pereira, who had claimed they were donated… More ▸
An Amsterdam district court judge will have to adjudicate a dispute between the Jewish community of Curacao and a former resident of that island in the Netherlands Antilles over ownership of Judaica conditionally auctioned by Christie’s here Wednesday. The matter entered litigation after Congregation Mikveh Israel-Emanu El in Curacao, one of the oldest Jewish communities… More ▸
Ceremonies marking the 250th anniversary of the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Western hemisphere began today on this Dutch island in the Caribbean with the first in a series of events sponsored by the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) this week. Nearly 200 leaders of the World Union gathered here to celebrate… More ▸
An investigation by an official of the World Jewish Congress has confirmed that there was no anti-Semitic intent behind the riots in the Netherlands West Indies colony of Curacao last summer in which the premises of some Jewish merchants were badly damaged. A report on the incidents by Lavy M. Becker, of Montreal, chairman of… More ▸
Most Jews in the Netherlands West Indies colony of Curacao are prepared to salvage the damage done to their business establishments in last Friday’s rioting even though it may take as long as three years to recoup the losses put at $35 million, according to Lionel Capriles, a leader of the island’s Sephardic community and… More ▸
Eye-witness accounts of rioting in the Dutch West Indies colony of Curacao have confirmed earlier reports that Jewish-owned business establishments suffered severe damage. Travellers reaching here mentioned Casa Cohen, Marine Store, El Globo. El Siglo, Touber, Casa Jose Verona and Spritzer & Furman among the shops that were sacked or burned by rampaging workers from… More ▸
A monument-saving formula developed by a Jewish chemistry professor at New York University is being tested as a preservative on tombstones in what is believed to be the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Western Hemisphere, the famous Mikve Israel Cemetery in Curacao, Netherlands West Indies. Prof. Seymour Z. Lewin, who developed a compound for preserving… More ▸
A Caribbean Congregational Conference opened here today under sponsorship of the World Union for Progressive Judaism in cooperation with Congregation Mikve Israel-Emanuel, the oldest Jewish community and synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The conclave will continue through Sunday. The 312-year-old congregation and the Curacao Jewish community are serving as hosts to delegations from Panama, Guatemala,… More ▸
The development of a united community in Curacao and steps to strengthen the content of Jewish life in the community were discussed at World Jewish Congress headquarters here today by Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin of the United Sephardic Congregations of Curacao. Rabbi Maslin told World Jewish Congress officials that there are now 700 Jews living… More ▸
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