Shalom Magazine

"Out of Many, One People" may be Jamaica’s national motto, but what few know is that the expression also references a vibrant Jewish community that dates back more than 355 years. Jamaica may best be associated with beautiful beaches, reggae, and fun in the sun, but the country has long respected its Jewish roots and welcomes visitors to discover the long-kept secret of the Jews of Jamaica.

Many Caribbean islands boast Jewish history, but there was, in fact, a time when Jamaica had the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean. While their numbers have dwindled through the years, Jamaica’s Jews are still honored today as one of the island’s earliest groups of permanent settlers.

"Jamaica’s Jewish history is a treasure to all of the people of Jamaica, as we have always honored the first Jewish settlers, and the generations that followed, for contributing to the foundation of Jamaica’s exceptionally diverse culture," said John Lynch, Director of Tourism of the Jamaica Tourist Board. "We are most excited to unveil the story of Jewish Jamaica to new visitors with tours of the many interesting cultural and architectural landmarks that reflect Jamaica’s Jewish heritage."

Jamaica’s Jewish heritage dates back to the settlement of the island by the British. Jamaica’s Jews have played a vital and dominant role for over three centuries in the social, economic and political development of the country. Today, many of the island’s leading professionals, businessmen, artists and politicians can trace back their Jewish ancestry.

One to note is Ainsley Henriques, an accomplished genealogist, who serves as Honorary Secretary and as a Director of Jamaica’s Jewish congregation, and Israel’s honorary consul in Jamaica. He, along with Dr. Jane Gerber of the City University of New York, co-chaired a ground-breaking five-day Jewish Diaspora Conference in January 2010 that drew 24 speakers and a daily audience of nearly 200, including academics, genealogists and history buffs from Jamaica and around the world.

"The conference stemmed from the need to acquire knowledge and disseminate information about the Jewish history in Jamaica which was disappearing," said Henriques who has traced his heritage back to the 18th century when an ancestor arrived in Jamaica from Amsterdam in 1740. "However, the new found interest in Jamaica’s Jewish story demonstrates our will to preserve this legacy for future generations."

The spotlight continued to shine on Jamaica’s Jewish heritage last year following the release of Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, a widely recognized book by Ed Kritzler who died in 2010 soon after the book’s publication. The book tells the daring story of the Jews’ arrival in Jamaica, dating back to the 18th century, when they fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal.

At the turn of the 20th century, Jamaica had six synagogues and around 2,400 Jews. However, through intermarriage and emigration, Jamaica’s Jewish community shrank from 2,400 to 1,487 in 1911 and continued to drop to its present total of approximately 200 Jews. However, there is no decrease in Jamaican Jewish pride, as Jamaica’s Jews are still honored today as being amongst the island’s first permanent settlers.

Jamaica’s historic Jewish communities are represented today by the United Congregation of Israelites, Congregation Kahal Kadosh Shaare Shalom, the Gates of Peace. Jamaica’s remaining Jewish community may be small but it is dedicated and diverse, including Ashkenazim and Sephardim. They worship at the Kingston synagogue, one of the few in the world with a sand floor, a feature established in days when Jews had to worship secretly and used sand to muffle footsteps. The congregation also manages a private school, the Hillel Academy in Kingston, which is open to all denominations, and maintains a Jewish home for the aged and less fortunate.

A tourism package is in development that will include visits to historic Jewish cemeteries, a tour of the island’s synagogue, Heritage Center and museum, a chance to meet community members and learn more about their heritage. And indeed, loads of sun, sand and sea will be included. Accommodations can be made for kosher meals and there is surely no challenge finding vegetarian dining, the exclusive diet of Jamaica’s Rastafarian population – some of whom consider themselves a lost tribe of Israel and follow Jewish dietary restrictions forbidding shellfish and pork.

Although the Jewish community is the smallest it has been in hundreds of years, it is unified. From poets and artists to businessmen and manufacturers, even politicians, Jamaica’s Jews have made an enormous impact on Jamaica’s culture and way of life. As Ed Kritzler once wrote, "just as the Jews have been good for Jamaica, so has Jamaica been good to the Jews."

Contact Lesley Hock for travel information: 508-879-6110.