On the island of New Guinea, in the southern Pacific Ocean, lives Samuel Tabuni. Samuel is a recent graduate of the Melton Center for Jewish Education's Master's program, and the founder of the University of Papua, the first international university in the region. New Guinea is the land of the Papuan people, the eastern half an independent country now called Papua New Guinea and the western half, where Samuel lives, divided into five provinces under Indonesian control. Samuel, who is the son of the former leader of the Nduga tribe living on the northern side of the central range, is deeply interested in Judaism and Jewish education.
What possible connection could there be between a leader from Papua and Jewish education? That was exactly the question we posed in the interview we conducted with Samuel last week.
Most of the students in our master's program come from a Jewish background, but Tabuni is a Christian in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. His father was a passionate follower of the Bible and knew it well as a teacher and clergyman. He also had a great talent for telling stories, especially biblical ones: “I often went to sleep with my mind filled with the images of Abraham, Moses, Jacob and David as well as my namesake, Samuel.”
Samuel's uncle was the chief of the tribe and he sent his brother, Samuel's father, to join the colonial schools established by the Dutch government in New Guinea. He learnt the educational system and established schools for the tribe. Samuel’s father’s life-project was establishment of modern tribal schools, and little Samuel accompanied his father on his mission journeys around the country. The father had called his son "Samuel" because he hoped that, like Samuel the prophet, he too would appoint good leaders for their tribe, which suffered greatly during colonial rule and faces great challenges today, too, as an ethnic and religious minority. Samuel is devoted to his mission and continues his father's dedication to promoting education for the people.
Samuel founded the Papua Language Institute, which developed into a university. When the university recently received official approval from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, it seemed like years of hard work had finally achieved the desired results. The university has two faculties: the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Education. Many of the university’s students travel to learn in the United States or in Russia, funded by the Papuan government.
The connection between the people of Papua and Judaism is not accidental, says Samuel. Even before the members of his tribe were exposed to Christian missionaries, their tribe worshipped a Divine entity which is the Creator of everything and omnipotent, without physical existence or form. Hence, coming across the God of the Bible was an intuitive and familiar experience for them, which sat well with the tradition of their ancestors. At the same time, as you can see in the photos, Samuel did not abandon his tribal tradition, but looked for ways to integrate it into the religious theology that he was taught. At the moment, he is considering pursuing doctoral studies that will allow him to explore the relationship between tribal concepts and Judaism in depth. He hopes to write his doctorate at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Samuel is an educational leader. His commitment to education is deep and serves as an anchor in the struggle of the people of his tribe against systemic forces wielding extraordinary power. The land on which they live is rich in minerals and gold, which is one of the causes of conflict in the area. Mount Carstensz, 5000m high, used to be topped with three glaciers. While the Nduga are on the northern side of the range, just a few kilometres away on the southern slopes is the world’s largest gold mine, with rich copper too. This is now a joint venture between a American company Freeport-McMoRan and the governments of Indonesia, and Papua. While the gold was discovered in 1936 and production started in 1972 as a Rockefeller-mining venture, the unprecedented quality of the reserves indicate that mining will continue throughout the 21st century, and last year the turnover was $10 billion.
Samuel witnessed a significant decrease in the population of the indigenous Nduga people, from illness and hunger and unabated conflict with the Indonesian military. He realized that Education was the path to the future, the key to survival. "Education will bring Papuans to be masters of their land. Education both for Papuans and outsiders too. Education about humanity, about culture, about local wisdom, about sustainable development, about living in harmony between people and their environment, about respecting each other, and building the land together." The Israeli education system caught Samuel’s attention because the outcomes it produced seemed to combine culture, technology and religion.
What does the future hold for the new International University of Papua? Among other dreams, Samuel envisions establishing a robust educational relationship with Israel, sending Papuan students to Israel, and learning from the technological industry in Israel. But his relationship with Israel is even stronger than that.
“Through the contacts I made, which became friendships and a part of my learning experience, and through my own sense of obligation, I feel that I should take on an additional responsibility - simply because of the honor of being an alumnus of the Hebrew University - to try to be an ambassador for the Jewish people in Indonesia and Papua.”
We wish our fresh alumnus success in achieving his educational leadership goals!