AMERICAN HISTORY

BRAZIL FROM RECIFE TO MANHATTAN

The Greatest American History Story You’ve Never Heard

Written by Blaine McManus

The first Jews who helped to form New York as we know it today landed on America’s east coast by accident as survivors of a capsized ship sailing from their unlikely home in Recife, Pernambuco Brazil!

Brazilian Ambassador of Tourism and award-winning Hollywood filmmaker Frederico Lapenda says this is “the most important global history story to ever take place in Brazil.” Because of this, he has channeled his passion for this story and focused it on turning it into a feature film so the world can know how a small beautiful town in Brazil in the 17th century unwittingly contributed to the birth of what the world knows today as the great city of New York.

Recife was initially settled by the Portuguese in the 1530s, but the Dutch invaded in 1630 and ruled the region for 24 years. It was during this period that Jews who had previously settled in Amsterdam, many of them of Portuguese descent, began moving to Recife for business and religious purposes. The first migratory flow of Jews fleeing religious inquisition in Portugal and Spain occurred in the 17th century. At the beginning of this century during the inquisition, many Jews who were expelled from Portugal and Spain immigrated to Brazil, a new land with promise of safety and a possible new home with a bright future. In 1638 the first synagogue in the Americas was built (Kahal Zur Israel) in the small coastal city of Recife on the easternmost tip of Brazil. Many of the Jews were converted to Christianity and changed their name to fit in better with their new Christian community. With the arrival of the Dutch however and with the expulsion of the indigenous Portuguese, this scenario changed, allowing for the practice of Judaism between 1630 to 1654.

The Dutch period however, while productive for Jews, was short-lived. A little more than 20 years later, the Portuguese resumed dominance of the colony, generating a massive migration yet again of the Jews. In view of the high number of Jews who lived in Pernambuco and the reduced physical space of sea-worthy vessels at that time, many Jews were unable to leave the country, but it is known that seventeen vessels filled with Jews did in fact set sail for other lands. In an attempt to reach Dutch

Paulo Meira, Frederico Lapenda, Bruno Kehrle

territory, after the Portuguese victory, a group of Jews departed Recife bound for Amsterdam in 1654. Close to the Caribbean, however, the ship sank and only 23 Jews survived and miraculously made their way to North America and arrived in the small town of New Amsterdam, installing the first Jewish congregation where New York City was later founded.

Author Daniela Levy wrote the book from Recife to Manhattan portraying this story of the Jews history with mastery and released it inside the Brazilian synagogue in Recife in 2019.

Architectural Digest magazine published a survey of the 31 most beautiful streets in the world. Rua do Bom Jesus, in Recife, Brazil, known as Rua dos Judeus, was voted the 3rd most beautiful street in the world and the only Brazilian street in the survey. The colorful street of cobblestone located in a neighborhood known as “Recife Antigo,” or “Old Recife”, is lined with tall palm trees and is brimming with history. On this same street, in the middle of the block is a two-story, tan-painted stucco building with arched windows and doors called the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and is most notably known as the first Jewish house of worship in the Americas. Centuries later, the wealthiest man in Brazil, Jose Safra, owner of

Safra Bank, financed the excavation and discovery of the original remains of the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and refurbished it to its original grandeur. The building is now a Jewish memorial and cultural center. It was restored to look much as the synagogue would have when it was the center of Jewish life in Recife. The restoration also includes viewing areas of ruins discovered below ground level, including a ritual bath called a mikvah.

Producer Frederico Lapenda has licensed the rights to Levy’s book, translated it and will soon release it in the United States. Lapenda intends to produce a film telling the story of this journey of overcoming insurmountable odds and injustice. “This is the story of greatest global relevance that happened in Brazil, as the Jews who arrived in New Amsterdam helped to build what the world knows today as the great cities of New York and Manhattan. This is a story that needs to be told, as a celebration of history but also as a cautionary tale and reminder so as to not repeat the same mistakes.” Lapenda says. He also states, “Historically, countries who have expelled Jews, such as Portugal, Spain and Germany, often they go through extremely hard times financially and culturally afterwards. Whether this is a real thing or simply a superstition, one can only wonder what would have become of Brazil had the Jews not been cast out but rather had been allowed to stay and build the same economy and culture perhaps that New Amsterdam/New York became as a result.”