Anti-Semitism in Indonesia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Anti-Semitism in Indonesia - Research Paper Example In most Islamic countries, the anti-Semitic attitudes felt can be alluded to some underlying cause, but in Indonesia, the cause is just because of the country’s affiliation with Islam and the general dissatisfaction in the country. This paper will trace the history of anti-Semitism in Indonesia; give the relationship of the anti-Semitism with Islam and the factors that have contributed to the discrimination of minorities in the country. History of Jews in Indonesia According to Hadler (2004), after the discovery of raw materials and other resources in the 17th century by the Dutch, the development of the island was mainly helped by the Dutch Jews present then. Some of the earliest history indicates that the first Jewish settlement was first developed in the Sunda Island as early as 1850, and in that period, most of the Jews in the country were either of Dutch or German descent. These Jews lived primarily in Jakarta, Indonesia, and in that period, the first efforts were done to organize the Indonesian Jews into one community. However, these efforts failed, and the few families that lived there remained scattered. Later, in the early 1900s, arrivals of Jews from other countries like the Netherlands led to the formation of different Jewish centers in the country. As early as 1921, it is estimated that as many as 2,000 Jews lived in the main Jewish settlement or congregation in Surabaya. Most of these were originally the Baghdadi Jews who moved into the country. In these settlements, the Jews in then Indonesia were mainly traders or operated financial institutions in the country. After the Nazi scourge in the 1930s, more Jews arrived in Indonesia to escape Hitler’s war, but in the late 193os, the arrival of the Japanese