Mozambique, formerly Portuguese East Africa
LOCALITIES ARE LISTED BELOW GENERAL INFORMATION
The Republic of Mozambique is a large country on the Indian Ocean coast of southeast Africa. It was a Portuguese colony from the seventeenth century (and was sometimes known as Portuguese East Africa) and became an Overseas Province of Portugal in 1951. It gained independence in 1975.
Jewish Community: ONUMOZ, Box 1915, Maputo. Tel. 1 42 32 17, Fax. 1 42 33 82.
Jewish Community of Mozambique: c/o Natalie Tenzer-Silva, P.O. Box 232, Maputo, [Office] +2581-497483 or +2581-494060/2, [Fax] +2581-494029 [Mobile] +258 82 326647 [Home] +2581-450542 . [October 2000]
The Jews of Mozambique: [January 2004]
Jewish settlement initiated around 1900 by South African Jewish refugees exiled by President Kruger's government for their pro-British activities. In 1926, a synagogue was consecrated in Lourenco Marques. The Jewish community, together with most of the ethnic Portuguese population, fled in fear of persecution when the country attained independence in 1975. Although the government has softened its initial stance toward the West and returned the Maputo (formerly Lourenço Marques) synagogue to the Jewish community, little Jewish community remains to reclaim it. Most live in Maputo.
According to the 22 June 2000 Jewish Tribune newspaper (UK) , page 9, "About 19 Jews currently live in Mozambique." [August 2009]