History of the Jews in Namibia

The history of the Jews in Namibia begins with the German colonial era on the territory of what is now the state of Namibia . The Namibian community is subordinate to the Beth Din in Johannesburg, South Africa . In the course of the immigration of European settlers, German-speaking Jews also emigrated mainly from Eastern Europe and the German Empire to German South West Africa . Small Jewish communities emerged in Lüderitz and Swakopmund , in the latter a Tahara house and a Jewish cemetery with eight graves were created.

Today the Jewish population in Namibia is only negligibly small. Most of them now live in the capital Windhoek . There is an Orthodox synagogue there . With the Keetmanshoop Synagogue in Keetmanshoop , there was another synagogue in Namibia between 1927 and 1973

The Jewish community in Namibia comprised (as of November 2015) only about seven families nationwide. According to the World Jewish Congress , there were 100-300 Jews in Namibia in 2016. In 2005 about 10 families with 30 adults and 12 children still belonged to Judaism . The Jewish community, with up to 600 members, had its peak in the mid-1960s. The Namibian community is subordinate to the Beth Din in Johannesburg, South Africa .

The best-known Jewish Namibians were Harold Pupkewitz , Abraham Bernard May , Jack Louis Levinson and Sam Cohen (1890–1977).

literature

• Windhoek Hebrew Congregation (Ed.): Jewish Life in South West Africa, Namibia - A History. Windhoek 2014, ISBN 978-99945-78-94-8 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Congress 2005 Namibia. African Jewish Congress. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
2. ^ Jewish life in German South West Africa.
3. ^ Windhoek synagogue might shut down. The Namibian, November 4, 2015, p. 3
4. ↑ Namibia. World Jewish Congress. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
5. ^ Shalom, Namibia: A Jewish Culture Guide. ShalomLife.com. ( Memento of November 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved November 5, 2015