In 1654, twenty-three Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil, landed at New Amsterdam (now Manhatten Island) . Like many events in Jewish history the arrival of this group of refugees was the result of a fortuitous occurrence - they were blown off course - rather than a pre-planned migration. The governor of New Amsterdam, Peter Stuyvesant, who represented some of the worst aspects of old world anti-Semitism, tried to expel them. Fortunately for the Jews they were able to appeal to Stuyvesant’s superiors in the Netherlands and they remained in the New World. The year 1654, therefore, represents an important water shed in Jewish history. Since that time there has been an organized Jewish community on the North American continent . Learn more: Read “New Amsterdam, 1654 -1664” by Jacob Rader Marcus Download “The Exodus from Brazil and the Arrival in New Amsterdam of the Jewish Pilgrim Fathers in 1654” by Arnold Wiznitzer. (PDF 18.9 MB)