Portal:Puerto Rico/Selected articles/18

Sha'are Zedeck synagogue in San Juan

The Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico began in the 15th century with the arrival of the marranos (variously called conversos, Crypto-Jews, or Secret Jews) who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. A Jewish community did not flourish in Puerto Rico because Judaism was prohibited by the Spanish Inquisition. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were European refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The second influx of Jews to the island came in the 1950s, when thousands of Cuban Jews fled after Fidel Castro came to power. Puerto Rican Jews have made many contributions in multiple fields, including business and commerce, education, and entertainment. Puerto Rico has the largest and richest Jewish community in the Caribbean, with 3,000 Jewish inhabitants. It is also the only Caribbean island in which all three major Jewish denominations—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—are represented. (more...)