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Article: 350 years after first Jewish settlers, Judaism thrives in America.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- September 13, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ron Grossman
NEW YORK _ Having fled the Inquisition and survived capture by pirates, a small and bedraggled party of Jews landed here 350 years ago to a less than enthusiastic welcome.
The fervently Christian governor of New Amsterdam had no patience for religious minorities and ordered them to leave what was then a Dutch colony. But the "23 souls big and little," as those refugees described themselves, were exhausted by the adventures that brought them to "the end of the inhabited earth" in early September 1654.
They appealed to the authorities in Holland and were allowed to stay _ thus becoming the founding fathers and mothers of ...