The 280th anniversary of the settlement of the Jews in the United States will be celebrated tomorrow evening by the Congregation Shearith Israel at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, 2 West Seventieth street, it was announced yesterday. The congregation, oldest Jewish community in the country, will mark at the same time its own 280th birthday.
The oldest churches in the city will be represented in a symposium that is to be part of the ceremonies.
On April 26, 1655, a group of Jews landed in Manhattan, the first of their race in North America. Peter Stuyvesant was not cordial to the strangers in his colony, but the Dutch West India Company approved their settlement. The band grew in numbers and strength, winning its place among the recognized religious communities in New Amsterdam. This struggle for liberty will be dramatized tomorrow evening by readings from some of the correspondence between the Jews, Peter Stuyvesant, and the Dutch West India Company.
Historic churches in the city are sending leaders of their faiths to tell of the contributions made by their denominations to the life of the city. Dr. Edgar F. Romig of the Dutch Reformed Church, Dr. J. A. F. Maynard of the Huguenot group, Michael Williams, editor of The Commonwealth, for the Catholics; Dr. Samuel Trexler of the Lutheran group and Dr. Donald B. Aldrich of the Episcopal Church will speak.
Dr. David de Sola Pool, minister of the Congregation Shearith Israel, will tell of the traditions made and shared by the Jews of New York City for almost three centuries.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
