History of the Jews in New York City

Approximately 12% of New York City's population is Jewish, making it the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel. As of 2020, over 960,000 Jews lived in the five boroughs of New York City, and over 1.9 million lived in the New York metropolitan area, which is about 25% of the American Jewish population. Nearly half of the city's Jews live in Brooklyn.

The first recorded Jewish settler was Jacob Barsimson, who arrived in New Amsterdam in August 1654. A larger group of Jewish settlers came from Recife, Brazil, in September 1654, fleeing persecution by the Portuguese Inquisition. After many blamed Jews for the assassination of Alexander II of Russia in 1881, a large wave of Jewish people moved to the United States. By 1910, New York had become the world's largest Jewish city, with more than 1 million Jews making up 25% of the city's population.

In 2012, the largest Jewish groups in New York City were Orthodox, Haredi, and Conservative Judaism. Reform Jewish communities were also common. The large Jewish population has greatly influenced the culture of New York City. Recently, the Jewish population has been growing again because of the high birth rate among Hasidic and other Orthodox communities.

As of 2023, about 960,000 people in New York City, or about 10% of its residents, were Jewish. New York state's Jewish population is also growing, especially in areas like Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

Historical population

Population comparisons

The New York metropolitan area has more than 1.3 million Jewish people, making it the second largest area for Jewish people in the world after the Tel Aviv area in Israel. New York City itself has more Jewish people than any other city in the world.

Immigration overview

Ashkenazi Jews

In the mid-1800s, many Jewish people from Russia, Lithuania, and Poland moved to New York City. The number of Jewish people in the city grew quickly during the early 1900s, reaching about 2 million by the 1950s. After that, the number of Jewish people in the city began to go down as many moved to the suburbs or other states like California and Florida. In the 1980s and 1990s, new Jewish people from the former Soviet Union arrived. By 2002, about 12% of people in New York City were Jewish, with many living in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Brooklyn has the most Jewish people, with about one out of four people there being Jewish.

Orthodox Jews

New York City has many Orthodox Jewish people. The main offices of Jewish groups like Chabad, Bobov, and Satmar are in the city. While most Jewish people in New York are not very religious, the Orthodox community is growing because Orthodox families often have many children. Borough Park in Brooklyn has many Orthodox Jewish people and a high number of births. Other Orthodox communities are growing in areas like Rockland County and the Hudson Valley in New York, and in New Jersey.

Sephardic Jews

Sephardic Jewish people, including those from Syria, have lived in New York City since the late 1800s. Many settled in Brooklyn. Some came from Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Morocco. In the 1990s, about 23% of Arab people in New York City were Sephardic Jewish people. Egyptian Jewish people arrived more recently and often speak Ladino, Arabic, and French. They mostly live in Queens and Brooklyn.

Multiracial Jews

Most Jewish people in New York City are non-Hispanic white, but some identify as Asian, Black, Latino, or multiracial. Many Bukharian Jewish people from Uzbekistan live in Queens neighborhoods like Rego Park and Forest Hills. Queens also has a community of Georgian Jewish people, and Brooklyn has Mountain Jewish people from Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus.

Immigration history

1654–1800

Main article: Jews in New Amsterdam

The first Jewish person known to live in New Amsterdam was Jacob Barsimson, who arrived in 1654. Soon after, a group of Jewish people came to New Amsterdam from Brazil. They were leaving because Portugal had taken back control of a place called Dutch Brazil.

Governor Peter Stuyvesant did not want them to stay, but leaders from Amsterdam said they could stay. Even so, many left after a few years because of rules that made it hard for them.

When the English took control in 1664, only one Jewish person’s name was on a list of people who had to promise to follow the rules. In 1680, more Jewish families arrived.

The first synagogue, called Congregation Shearith Israel, started in 1682 but did not get its own building until 1730. Over time, this synagogue became very important in Jewish life in New York.

1800–1881

After wars in Europe, many German and Polish Jews moved to New York. This led to the creation of more synagogues, like B’nai Jeshurun in 1825.

Jewish schools and help groups also started. For example, Mount Sinai Hospital opened in 1852.

During the Civil War, about 7,000 Jews fought for the Union and about 1,500 for the Confederacy. After the war, Jewish people in New York had more different ideas about religion.

1881–1945

From 1881 to 1924, many Jews came to the United States because of unfair treatment in their home countries. Over two million Jews moved to the US, and more than a million came to New York.

Many settled in an area called the Lower East Side. They brought their own languages and customs with them.

New York became a place where Jewish newspapers were published, like the Forverts, which started in 1897.

Growth in Hasidic Judaism

After World War II, many Jewish leaders who had escaped danger came to New York. Some started new communities in places like Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Borough Park in Brooklyn.

New communities also grew in places like New Square, Kiryas Joel, and Kaser, where families could live close together and follow their traditions.

Periods of discord

Amid earlier waves of unrest and unfair treatment targeting Jewish communities in Brooklyn, Crown Heights became an important place for discussions about Jewish communities staying in city neighborhoods. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement based in Crown Heights, encouraged Jews to stay and support the community. He warned that leaving would weaken Jewish communities across the city. His message to “stand firm and not run away” highlighted Crown Heights as a key example for Jewish communities worldwide.

Contributions

Jewish people helped shape many parts of New York City's culture and traditions. They brought foods like the bagel, which became very popular around the world. Jewish communities also built important places of worship, with the first one, Shearith Israel, starting in 1654. Over time, many Jewish people moved to areas like Borough Park in Brooklyn, where they kept their traditions alive.

Jews made big impacts in science, theater, and music too. For example, Otto Loewi won a top science prize for his work. The Yiddish Theater started in 1903, bringing Jewish stories and plays to the stage. Famous actors and singers, including Tony Curtis, Stephen Sondheim, Scarlett Johansson, and Barbra Streisand, also came from Jewish backgrounds and helped make New York City a place where many cultures and talents could grow.