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In 1754, under special permission from the Dutch royalty, Moses Solomon Levie Maduro, a prominent member of a Sephardic (Portuguese) Jewish family in Curacao, established himself in Aruba, with his wife and six children. The Maduros stayed on the island until 1816. |
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Levie Maduro was one of the
first Europeans ever to arrive to the Dutch West Indies. He was working for the Dutch West
Indies Company, and founded a branch in Aruba. In 1994, Maduro and Sons, the main shipping company
in Aruba, proudly celebrated 250 years of Jewish settlement by their ancestors . Other Jewish families established themselves on the island after the Maduros, (23 persons registered in 1867), but, even though their numbers increased, they were never able to support a community organization like their fellow Jews in Curacao. Hence, they did not follow a traditional Jewish lifestyle. Today, a large group of local residents, descendants of the original Portuguese Jews, proudly acknowledge their Jewish roots, and share their Jewish heritage with fellow Jews in Curacao. Amongst them we can name the families Maduro, Curiel, Robles, Nassy, Lopez, Henriquez, and others. A small cemetery in town, with tombstone names that times has almost erased, is the only physical evidence of the Jewish presence in Aruba in the past centuries. Historical 18th and 19th centuries documentation is not available on Aruba, since the governmental old archives were stored in Curacao, and sent to Amsterdam thereafter.
Profile of the Jewish Community of Aruba Today
The community received official recognition
by the Dutch Kingdom on Dec. 1st., 1956, and Beth Israel Synagogue was
inaugurated on The community consists mostly of Jewish immigrants that arrived in Aruba from different parts of the world in the early 20’s, and made it their home. After 1924, a large group of Eastern European Jews, mostly from Poland, settled here, together with Jews from Holland and Sephardic families from the previously Dutch colony of Surinam (South America.) The community opened a Jewish center on Palm Beach in 1942 – the Jewish Country Club – and, four years later, with the arrival of some Holocaust survivors, the community was officially organized. This country club, no longer existent, was an important community center in which life-cycle events, such as weddings and bar mitzvahs, took place. It was also used for Purim parties, youth activities, and more. However, when most young Jews had to leave the island in order to pursue their college education in the 60’s, and quite a number of them established their homes in the U.S.A. or in Holland, the club was slowly abandoned. Today, the Jewish community has about 85 members, and 120 Overseas Members. Due to its small size, and the intimate, close knit nature of the community, one joint organization was formed, blending the Sephardic with the Ashkenazic traditions, respecting their common culture, and enjoying the differences. Since Feb. 1999, Rev. Cantor Irving Spenadel (ledaneps@setarnet.aw) from Merrick, NY, has been the spiritual leader of the community. He is in charge of leading religious services, and providing non-formal Jewish education for the youth. Cantor Spenadel has initiated a program of Adult Jewish Education which reaches out to all, and is particularly geared to unaffiliated Jews on the island and mixed marriage couples, where the non-Jewish partner decides to embrace Judaism. Rev. Spenadel also performs at life-cycle
events for Jewish visitors to Aruba who wish to celebrate them on the island. If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact us at vitiailana@hotmail.com |
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The Jewish Community of Aruba (Israelitische
Gemeente) shares, since 1962, Beth
Israel Synagogue as their
place of worship, and cares for their small cemetery