Devon Dick
THIS WEEK, Israel's new museum, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, will be opened in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem, formerly Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, is the chief Holocaust educational centre.
In 1997, I was a member of a church delegation that visited the original museum, and I still have images of the monument to the children that were killed in the concentration camp.
The opening of this new memorial ought to be used as an occasion to commit to a culture of life and reflect on the mutually beneficial role between Jews and Jamaica.
LIKE AN ELDER BROTHER
The first Jews came to Jamaica to avoid persecution and they found Jamaica hospitable. They were not subjected to religious bigotry. So far advanced was Jamaica in religious tolerance that Jews in Jamaica got full civil rights in the 1830s, a generation before Jews in England.
Philip Wright, a British historian who visited Jamaica and is more known for his work on the Rev William Knibb, OM, recalls in Materials for Family History that in the early 18th century, the Jewish community here acted as a kind of elder brother to those in New York.
Those in the 'Big Apple' sought financial assistance from Jamaican Jews. Jamaica was indeed good to the Jews so that they could accumulate enough wealth through hard work and business acumen to offer help to the weaker brethren in the U.S.
Because of this wealth, some Jews were able to vote after 1830 and, more importantly, they had the additional requisite finances to offer themselves as candidates for seats in the Jamaican Assembly.
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION
Dr. Swithin Wilmot, now head of department of history, in a paper entitled A Stake in the Soil': Land and Creole Politics in Free Jamaica the 1949 Elections, records that two Jewish retailers, whose campaign for lower taxation and 'rigid economy' in public expenditure, particularly on officials' salaries, elicited strong support from small settlers in the parishes of St. Thomas in the Vale and St. Dorothy.
By 1849, eight of 47 members of the Assembly were Jewish and, by 1866, it was increased to 13 . And so significant were the Jewish members of that body, that the Assembly adjourned to observe Yip Kippur.
In Jamaica in the 19th century, Jews and Africans were in the same class.
There were upper class Europeans consisting of persons such as the Governor and his entourage, army officers, big landowners who were often absent.
The middle class which was made of planters, rich merchants, professional men such as doctors, attorneys etc, and then lower class persons including bookkeepers, artisans, clerks and small traders.
And then those who were of no class were Jews, free colour and the enslaved Africans. This perhaps explains the kinship between Jews and persons of African descent. Though it would be unheard of in the USA, Ainsley Henriques hosted the American Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan at the Jamaican Jewish synagogue!
It is well-known that the Jewish community has made a significant contribution to Jamaica especially in terms of business and commerce.
In radio counselling, Rabbi Bernard Hooker was a respected voice. In recent politics, Eli Matalon, a Jew, served as mayor and minister of national security.
JEWS AND CHRISTIANITY
However, what is less known is the co-operation between the Jewish faith and Christianity. In my book, Rebellion To Riot, it records that though Reverend E. W. Downer, rector of Kingston Parish Church founded the Victoria Mutual Building Society in 1878, he was supported by Jewish Rabbi Abraham Hiram Neito, who left his congregation for two years to labour as the society's secretary.
In addition, Jews will not make a fuss about celebrating Christmas or using the word Christ, and their cuisine would not be considered kosher.
The late Ernest DeSouza would attend clergy appreciation ceremony hosted by Kingston Keswick Club year after year and they would refer to him as 'reverend' and he never objected.
The Jews in Jamaica have so much to contribute to the world and Jamaica. Jews being affected by the Holocaust must be in the vanguard against illegal wars and help to develop a culture of life.
It ought to encourage Israel to remove her troops from occupying Gaza and heed the UN resolution. It must encourage the removal of troops from Lebanon and Iraq. Jews know what it is to be ruled by a foreign government and so they, therefore, must encourage, England, USA, France, Spain and all powerful nations to return governance to its inhabitants.
Let this memorial in this Holy Week inspire the Jews to support a culture of life in Jamaica and the world.
Rev Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: The Church in Nation-building'.
