Kingston, Jamaica - New Spiel To Woo Jewish Tourists |
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News Source: Wall Street Journal
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Kingston, Jamaica - This island nation boasts miles of pristine beaches, reggae music and the Western hemisphere’s largest butterfly.
Now, it’s promoting a new asset to tourists: its Jews.
From the tourism minister on down, Jamaican officialdom has embraced a plan to market the nation’s Jewish history as a way of wooing a new segment of travelers.
New tours of Jamaica will offer travelers a rare look at the history of Jews on this Caribbean island.
No matter that Jamaica has just one synagogue and no rabbi, or that its Jewish community is down to around 200 people. It was once home to a Jewish pirate named Moses, according to one account.
A global economic downturn and “ferocious” competition from Mexico, says Jamaican tourism director John Lynch, mean that every traveler counts these days. Jamaica’s Jewish history, he concedes, has “been a well-kept secret.”
Mr. Lynch wants to put together a tourism package that includes stops at historic Jewish cemeteries, a visit to the island’s synagogue and a traditional post-worship repast with Jewish families—with some beach time thrown in.
Read more at The Wall Street Journal 
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Read Comments (19) — Post Yours »
1
Mar 10, 2010 at 10:53 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Get Mattisyahu to sing a theme song for any ad.
2
Mar 10, 2010 at 11:07 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
I know a pirate named Moses.
3
Mar 10, 2010 at 11:09 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Get Mattisyahu to sing a theme song for any ad. ”
Matisyahu is not a Reggae Artist... BennyBwoy is gonna sing any theme song, he is a real Reggae Artist & a Frum Jew... check out his website www.bennybwoy.com
4
Mar 10, 2010 at 11:37 PM Oppertunist Says:Report as Inappropriate
Quick, sombody tell SEED. They are too small for a chabad house, and aish only does campuses.
5
Mar 10, 2010 at 11:41 PM Babishka Says:Report as Inappropriate
Jamaica has one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the Western Hemisphere. I think the settlement in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands is the oldest, 100 years before Jews settled in North America.
6
Mar 11, 2010 at 12:28 AM zeidishke Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Jamaica has one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the Western Hemisphere. I think the settlement in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands is the oldest, 100 years before Jews settled in North America. ”
were there any jews in st. thomas or the virgin islands at all?? not that I know of. The only place there were known Jews was in Cuba and alot of them emigrated to Puerto Rico..its said that they were Moranoes.
7
Mar 11, 2010 at 01:13 AM chabadnik Says:Report as Inappropriate
there is a seasonal chabad house in Jamaica. check out www.chabadworld.org
8
Mar 11, 2010 at 01:20 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Actually, this would be a wonderful place for frum tourists to go without having to worry about diversions. While there are no restaurants on the Island with good hashgacha, you can pack a few cans of tuna fish and beans and get lots of fresh fruit at local vendors.
9
Mar 11, 2010 at 01:56 AM mistervister Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ were there any jews in st. thomas or the virgin islands at all?? not that I know of. The only place there were known Jews was in Cuba and alot of them emigrated to Puerto Rico..its said that they were Moranoes. ”
In 1650, 12 Jewish families moved to Curacao. an Island in the Carribean. and in 1656 the congregagtion Mikveh Yisroel (the hope for Yisroel as in "Mikveh Yisroel Hashem") was founded. This was about the same time that 23 Jewish people moved to New Amsterdam (now known as New York). It seems that Jews were living in the islands and in Brazil before they were in New Amsterdam (New York).
10
Mar 11, 2010 at 01:57 AM PMO Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ were there any jews in st. thomas or the virgin islands at all?? not that I know of. The only place there were known Jews was in Cuba and alot of them emigrated to Puerto Rico..its said that they were Moranoes. ”
There has been an active community there since 1796 when a sefardi community was built. The current shul was built in 1833 and is a US National Historical Landmark. Sadly, it was taken over by a "reform" religion and Judaism is no longer practiced there.
11
Mar 11, 2010 at 06:56 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ There has been an active community there since 1796 when a sefardi community was built. The current shul was built in 1833 and is a US National Historical Landmark. Sadly, it was taken over by a "reform" religion and Judaism is no longer practiced there. ”
Why a US landmark? Isn't Jamaica an independent country but part of the British Commonwealth of Nations?
12
Mar 11, 2010 at 07:22 AM Motti Fisher Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Matisyahu is not a Reggae Artist... BennyBwoy is gonna sing any theme song, he is a real Reggae Artist & a Frum Jew... check out his website www.bennybwoy.com ”
BennyBwoy is the real deal. Matisyahoo is hip hop or maybe dancehall or house. I am just unable to put my finger on what propelled Mr Miller into superstardom. Goldis just did not have the foresight what could have been and Miller, I believe was just a fortunate accident
13
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:22 AM FYI Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ were there any jews in st. thomas or the virgin islands at all?? not that I know of. The only place there were known Jews was in Cuba and alot of them emigrated to Puerto Rico..its said that they were Moranoes. ”
St Thomas has the 2nd oldest shul in this part of the world (the oldest existing 1 being in Curacao). I was at the shul & it also has a sand floor. There had been a Jewish community there since the Virgin Isles belonged to Holland, I believe, & there wasn't any inquisition there. That's y Jews came from South America to New Amsterdam.
14
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:36 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Jamaica has one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the Western Hemisphere. I think the settlement in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands is the oldest, 100 years before Jews settled in North America. ”
If you want a history lesson. The oldest settlements were in the Dutch enclaves of the New World, namely Dutch Brazil, Suriname (Dutch Guyana) and Curacao and later St. Eustacius. Later came St. Thomas and Jamaica and Panama. The communities can be dated by the tombstones.
15
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:48 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ were there any jews in st. thomas or the virgin islands at all?? not that I know of. The only place there were known Jews was in Cuba and alot of them emigrated to Puerto Rico..its said that they were Moranoes. ”
There has been a continuous Jewish presence going as far back as the 18th century, with the synagogue founded in 1796, with the permission of the King of Denmark. The Jewish congregation (French, Portuguese) gave Governor Peter von Scholten a set of by-laws dated 1801 and they did their best to keep the Sepharadi minhag into the 20th century, but intermarriage & assimilation took their toll after the Panama Canal attracted most of the Jewish families to Panana in the late 19th century. Famous Jewish St. Thomians are: Camille Pissaro, David Levi Yulee, Jacob Mendes da Costa and Judah P. Benjamin and Alexander Hamilton was born on St. Croix to a Jewish mother (Rachel Fawcett Levine) and a Scottish father. The St. Thomas synagogue is a famous tourist attraction and the 2 Jewish cemeteries (with graves dating from 1792) are well-maintained, but protected by a gate.
16
Mar 11, 2010 at 09:51 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ Why a US landmark? Isn't Jamaica an independent country but part of the British Commonwealth of Nations? ”
He was referring to someone's question about St. Thomas. Jamaica is an independent country, broken away from Great Britain and is greatly in need of tourist dollars since they don't have the British welfare system.
17
Mar 11, 2010 at 12:40 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Alexander Hamilton was not born to a Jewish mother. His mother was married to a man of Jewish extraction named Levine. She separated from or divorced him. She had Alexander Hamilton out of wedlock with the Scot Hamilton. Since Alexander was born illegitimate he was barred from the local school on the island of Nevis. He actually attended the local cheder, did learn Hebrew and was often historically misidentified as Jewish. He was a genius, a Founding Father of America, but, not a Jewish one.
18
Mar 11, 2010 at 08:38 PM Hamilton's status Says:Report as Inappropriate
Re Hamilton's mother - I am not so sure that his father was the non-Jew.
Where did you get that information?
I have seen it written differently.
It is possible that he was a mamzer.
19
Mar 12, 2010 at 12:46 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Any Yid who goes to Kingston is mishiga, Kingston has one of the highest crime rates and murder rates in the Carribbean and for that matter highest per capita in the world. We really have better places to spend our money.