As we continue our journey in the Caribbean we find that Jews are not only choosing to live on the Island but contribute to their culture and economy.

Take Costa Rica most Jews migrated there from Jamaica, Panama and the rest of the Caribbean soon followed. A large group soon went in around the end of world war one. The country’s first synagogue, the Orthodox Shaarei Zion was built in 1933 in the capital San José. The Jewish community now consists of 2,500 to 3,000 people, most of them living in the capital. The San Jose suburb of Rohrmoser has a distinct Jewish presence. A couple of synagogues are located here, as well as a kosher deli and restaurant. The Plaza Rohrmoser shopping centre has the only kosher Burger King in the country talk about “Having it your way”.

Then there’s Cuba, Jews, have lived on the island of Cuba for centuries. Some Cubans trace Jewish ancestry to crypto-Jews—derisively called Marranos–who fled the Spanish Inquisition, though few of them practice Judaism today. There was significant Jewish immigration to Cuba in the first half of the 20th century. There were 15,000 Jews in Cuba in 1959, but many Jews left Cuba for the United States after the Cuban revolution. In the early 1990s, Operation Cigar was launched, and in the period of five years, more than 400 Cuban Jews secretly immigrated to Israel  In February 2007 the New York Times estimated that there are about 1,500 Jews living in Cuba, most of them (about 1,000) living in Havana.

In the Dominican Republic converso Merchants of Sephardic origin arrived in southern Hispanola  during the 16th and 17th centuries, fleeing the outcome of the Spanish Inquisition. Over the centuries, many Jews and their descendants assimilated into the general population and some have converted into the Catholic religion, although many of the country’s Jews still retain elements of the Sephardic culture of their ancestors.

Curaçao  has the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas – dating to 1651 – and the oldest synagogue of the Americas, in continuous use since its completion in 1732 on the site of a previous synagogue.

Haiti has quite the history, when Christopher Columbus arrived in Haiti, he had an interpreter, Luis de Torres. Luis was one of the first Jews to settle on Haiti in 1492. When Haiti was conquered by France in 1633, many Dutch Jews came from Brazil, who has arrived in 1634. In 1683, the Jews were expelled from Haiti, and the other French colonies. But a few remained as leading officials in French trading companies. In the mid-18th century the Jews that were expelled returned. When the slave revolt happened, many people of the Jewish community were murdered, and some were expelled. A few years later, Polish Jews arrived due to the civil strife in Poland and settled down in Casal, in the region of Grand-Anse. Most Jews attempted to settle in port cities. In 1881 a crowd in Port-au-Prince attacked a group of Jews but was drawn back by militia men. It was a few years ago when archaeologists discovered a synagogue of Crypto-Jews in Jérémie. In Cap-Haitien, Cayes and Jacmel, a few Jewish tombstones have been uncovered. By the end of the 19th century, Jewish families immigrated from Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. These Jews brought their Sephardic  culture. In 1915, there was a population of 200 Jews in Haiti. During the 20 years of American occupation, many of the Jews left to the United States. In 1937, the government issued passports and visas to Jews in Eastern Europe, to escape the Nazi persecution. During this time, 300 Jews lived on the island. Most of the Jews stayed until the late 1950s. As of 2010, the number of known Jews in Haiti is estimated at 25, residing in the relatively affluent suburb of Petionville, outside Port au Prince.

 The first major Jewish immigration to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago occurred in the late 18th century. Then a second wave of Portuguese Jews arrived in the late 19th century, with a few also arriving from Curacao. Nevertheless, many of these Jews assimilated and intermarried with locals. By the beginning of the 20th century, only 31 practicing Jews remained on the island. Today, the Jewish community numbers around 25-67 people, depending on who is inquired. Occasionally, communal services are held for Shabbat and holidays.

Jews were first recorded living in Guadeloupe in the late 14th century, also in 1654, three shiploads of Jewish refugees from Brazil settled in Guadeloupe. During that time, the Jews were welcomed by the French owner of the island.  During the latter part of the 20th century, many Jews began to arrive from North Africa and France. In 1988, the Jewish community consecrated the first synagogue in Guadeloupe, Or Sameah. Later the congregation added a Talmud Torah, community center, kosher store, and Jewish cemetery. Today, approximately 50 Jews live in Guadeloupe.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines must have the least amount of Jews if any no demographics report any Jews in this area, while the US Virgin Islands have a few synagoges.

Puerto Rico is currently home to the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean, with over 3,000 but the majority of the current population are descendants of Jews who fled from Cuba (once home to 15,000 Jews) after Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution in 1959. Once the conversos had arrived in Puerto Rico, Judaism was declared illegal, as it was in Castile and Aragon. Keeping the Sabbath could have resulted in serious persecutions, including and not limited to the relocation of children to be raised by non-Jews. While Puerto Rico has officially claimed that Jewish life in Puerto Rico began with the European Jewish immigration during the 1930s and 1940s, those Puerto Ricans who claim a crypto-Jewish heritage believe Jews have lived in Puerto Rico since the time of Columbus.

It just goes to show Jews have lived everywhere and everywhere they went persecution followed, perhaps its time to encourage these Jews to take Aliyah, there is no need to suffer under the burdens of the Goyim. The Caribbean isn’t only filled with Afro-Latino culture but it also has such deep roots in Judaism and if you take the time to check you yourself may be surprised of your Judaic roots. Before I wrap this up I would however like to say a small word about the Jewish Pirates. Yup! I was a little shocked myself but after learning about the Spanish inquisition it all made sense. Jamaica has a rich history in pirates, these Jews were said to have outdone the merchants of Port Royal to the point where they were accused of bad business practices.

Although many pirates disguised their Judaism, many Jews did not disguise their piracy. In many Jewish graveyards in the Caribbean, graves are decorated with skull-and-crossbones engravings. Yaakov Mashiach, for example, buried in Barbados, left no mention of his history other than a testament to his audacious marine activities. His grave, as well as his wife’s, bears a skull, crossbones, and an hourglass. Kritzler’s research proves that there were many more Jewish pirates than was previously believed. However, he told the Los Angeles-based ‘Jewish Journal’, determining the exact number of Jewish pirates is difficult because many of them traveled as Conversos (converts to Christianity) and practiced their Judaism in secret.

Today, approximately 200 Jews reside in Jamaica, predominately in Kingston. Only one synagogue remains, the Shaare Shalom Synagogue in Kingston. Nevertheless, there are remains of the old synagogues on the island. The floor is covered in sand, a tradition from the Inquisition period of the late 15th century (see Picture here). This tradition began when Marranos would cover the floor with sand during prayer services to conceal the noise.