In early September 1654 a small group of Jewish travelers, fleeing Portuguese persecution in northern Brazil, disembarked in New Amsterdam (present-day New York). Although these refugees were not the first Jews to arrive in North America and only a few of them remained on the continent for very long, twentieth and twenty-first century American Jews have adopted them as the founding pioneers of their community.

This fact sheet chronicles the beginning of Jewish communal life in North America, which began in 1654.

This timeline marks Jewish women’s experience in North America from 1654 to 2004.

JWA's film discussion program provides groups with tools to explore cultural attitudes about American Jewish women through screening and discussion of five popular movies produced over the last fifty years.

JWA's 350th book discussion series offer established book discussion groups and those seeking substantive 350th programming a compelling framework for thinking about our past and present in North America.