Celebrating 350 Years in North America
In 1654, a group of twenty-three Jewish refugees fled Recite, Brazil, for New Amsterdam (New York) when the Dutch were defeated by the Portuguese. Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of New Amsterdam, tried to make them leave, but the Dutch West Indies Company overrode his decision. These men and women became the first permanent Jewish settlers in North America.
Within a year of their arrival, Jews were trading in the territory that became Delaware. Less than twenty years later the first Jew settled near the Appoquinimink Creek. However, it would be more than 200 years before there were enough Jews in Delaware to establish the first Jewish communal organization.
During the eighteenth century, the colonies developed and became a country. Although Jews, like other ethnic groups, faced discrimination, they were treated as equal citizens with rights and responsibilities guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The United States became the first country to give Jews equal rights under law. Given the chance to participate fully in society, Jews flourished. Today there are some 5.5 million Jewish people in the United States.
Our exhibit celebrates the freedom, opportunity, and idealism of America.