Walking Tour: Jewish New Amsterdam

Stroll the Manhattan Financial District with one of our expert Eldridge Street tour guides to trace the steps of the first Jewish settlers who arrived in New Amsterdam in the mid 17th century!

Soon after the establishment of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company (renamed “New York” after British conquest in 1664), the first Jewish settlers arrived by boat from Brazil in 1654. Together with a few Jewish colonists that came from Amsterdam, they created the first Jewish community in North America and later founded the first synagogue in what became New York, Shearith Israel.

Explore the origins and growth of this groundbreaking Jewish community, and trace the life stories of its members who fought for equal rights and freedoms for Jewish people in this new land.

Meet by the flagpole at the monument to the first Jewish settlers (Jewish-American Tercentenary Flagstaff) at Peter Minuit Plaza, located in The Battery. Tickets must be purchased in advance of arrival.

Highlights:

Visit the monument to the first Jews who arrived to New Amsterdam from Brazil

Stroll the old streets of New Amsterdam where those new arrivals settled

Visit the spot of the first synagogue in NYC, Shearith Israel, and learn it’s story

Hear stories about the famous members of the Jewish community as we pass the streets where they lived and worked

Talk about the Jewish community during the American Revolution

Stop near the oldest Jewish cemetery in the country, located in what is now Manhattan’s Chinatown

Image Credit: Johannes Vingboons (1616-1670), “View of New Amsterdam,” 1664. Watercolor on paper. Nationaal Archief, 4.VELH 619.14. nyhistory.org.