NYC was always the place of the largest Jewish community in US. How and when the first Jewish community of this city was founded. Who were those people and where did they come from. We’ll trace the fascinating story of a very small group of Jews from Brazil who came to NY harbor in 17 century, stayed here and founded the first Jewish community and the synagogue later. We’ll follow their life in New Amsterdam and their struggle for equal rights and freedoms for Jews people. The tour will start at the mouth of NY Bay where we’ll talk about the Jewish settlement of Caribbean region and their arrival in New Amsterdam harbor. We’ll see the monument to those first Jewish settles from Brazil and tell the story of their arrival and their fight to stay in the colony. Then we’ll stroll the old streets of New Amsterdam tracing life stories of some of these individuals. On the way we’ll get to the spot of the first synagogue of NYC, Sheath Israel, talk about it’s history. At the end of the tour we’ll reach the oldest Jewish cemetery in US located in what is now Chinatown. There is a significant amount of walking on this tour.

Your guide for this tour is Svetlana Kershtein, a professional tour guide who has worked on three continents and holds a a Masters degree in History, specializing in the history of the ancient world.

Born in Russia, she emigrated to Israel where she worked as a licensed tour guide for 11 years. Svetlana's passion for Jewish history, art, music, and cuisine is reflected in her popular tours. She is fluent in three languages (Russian, Hebrew, and English).