ECHOES OF JEWISH IDENTITY IN AN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN SECT IN MINAHASA, INDONESIA

摘要

Recent reports mention the opening of two synagogues in Manado and Tondano, two cities in the Minahasa region of North Sulawesi. This is remarkable as Jewish corporeal presence is considered insignificant in contemporary Indonesia. It thus raises the crucial question on the interpretation of the presence of ‘Jews’ in Minahasa. A closer look reveals that these synagogues were started by a group of Messianic Judaists; a Christian religious sect whose members trace their family tree back to a Jewish progenitor in Europe. This article traces matters of Jewish identification in Minahasa from colonial times to the present. These are made visible through the (re)configuration of the socio-political landscape in Indonesia as mirrored by the family history of the Dutch Jewish entrepreneur Abraham Fontein and his descendants.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2010.513850