The History of the Jews of Brazil — the Oldest Jewish Community in the Americas

The Estaiada Bridge in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

It’s not New York, Cincinnati, or Philadelphia. The oldest and first Jewish community in the Americas was established in Brazil, where Sephardic Jews founded the first synagogue in Recife in 1636. This is the fascinating story of the Jews of Brazil.

Following a century of successful discovery and colonization, the Portuguese monarchy told Pedro Alvares Cabral in the year 1500 to take his ships as far west as he could...