Private Customized Tour

Tour #3: The Jewish Community of Colonial New York

Although the colonial era landmarks are gone, you will visit and discuss important sites of Jewish settlement during the Colonial era. In contrast to the Jews who came to America from Eastern Europe, the Jewish community of colonial New York was “exotic.” They came from Western Europe and were Sephardic. This represented the first Jewish immigration to America.

• Visit New York’s oldest surviving Jewish cemetery, from the 17th century, in Chinatown’s Chatham Square. This site is administered by Congregation Shearith Israel.
• See where the sites of the early Spanish and Portuguese rented synagogues stood, as well as the site of the Mill Street Synagogue (the first synagogue built in North America).
• Hear about Asser Levi, Jewish rights activist, and first kosher butcher in New Amsterdam.
• Walk on cobblestone streets where row houses were filled with Jewish families centuries ago.

 

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