New York City: A Jewish Immigration Mecca

Jews and New York City

By Isaac Sutton

The Statue of Liberty
One of the first sights immigrants see as they enter the New World through New York.


Since the mid-nineteenth century the United States of America has become an icon of freedom. Countless numbers of immigrants from all over the world have come to the United States seeking refuge from the racial and religious persecution they encountered in their native lands. America symbolizes a land of opportunities free from these discriminations, where everyone has the right to believe what they want to believe, appear as they want to appear, and say what they want to say. America is a democracy where anyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, can determine their own destiny by working their way to success. America became a dream for the discontented people of Europe and Asia, and New York City symbolized the gateway to their dreams.

 
Sketched in 1887 and entitled "New York - Welcome to the land of freedom" this picture portrays the arrival of an immigrant ship to New York.

 

The Jewish religion has come to be synonymous with words such as persecution and discrimination. In biblical times, the Egyptians enslaved the Jews. During the time of the Roman Empire, Roman-Catholics persecuted the Jews. During the Middle Ages, the Spanish tortured and expelled the Jews, and during World War II, the Nazis massacred millions of Jews. Throughout history, the Jewish people have been on the move escaping religious persecution, moving from Jerusalem to Spain and Europe, and furthermore to Middle and Far East. Since the mid-nineteenth century, however, Jews have been migrating to a world where they have been free of such discriminations: The New World. Today, there are more Jews in the United States than in any other country in the world. The Jewish migration to America is not a recent one, but rather an accumulation of over three centuries of a minority seeking refuge.

The Jewish Immigrant
…Far, far toward the West,
There is a great country,
Far across the sea it holds out
To us its brotherly hand.

Thither shall we cross over,
There shall be the home
Where we can find rest
From suffering, ignominy an agony
Dr. Rothenheim, Reform Rabbi, 18551

 
New York City is home to more Jews than any other city in the world. New York City became the immigration Mecca for the Jewish people because it supplied an abundance of Economic opportunities, relatively free of racial and ethnic discrimination, while providing an atmosphere in which the immigrants could feel at home and succeed. There were many Social and Religious aspects that contributed to this phenomena. New York's environment allowed the Jews to maintain their inherent traditions and customs and practice Jewish life with no disturbances. Because of the pending social pressures of the Old World, the first Jews arrived in New Amsterdam seeking the same refuge that the later immigrant Jews of Central and Eastern Europe would look to find. These Jews set a precedent that allowed for a successful assimilation in to American culture, which has continued into the 21st century.

 

 

 

The First Jews of New Amsterdam
Why the Jews Migrated
Reasons why Central European Jews came to America

Reasons why Eastern European Jews came to America

Why Jews settled in New York

Social Aspects

Religious Aspects

Economic Aspects
Conclusion
Bibliography

 

1. Abraham J. Karp, "Golden Door to America: The Jewish Immigrant Experience."

(New York, The Viking Press, 1976) p. 41