Jews Were Denied the Right to Acquire Land for a House of Worship in America

There was a time when Jews in what is now the United States were deprived of the right to establish their own place of worship. On 13 March 1656 the colonial administration of Governor Peter Stuyvesant issued an order declaring that the Jewish community could not purchase or hold land in the city for the construction of a house of worship. They were also barred from certain public offices and their civic and social activities were restricted. The purpose of this policy was to prevent the establishment of an organised Jewish religious institution and to ensure that Jewish religious identity would not become visible in the urban landscape. At that time the region was governed by Peter Stuyvesant, a strict follower of the Dutch Reformed Church who wished to maintain the dominance of that faith in the colony. A few years earlier, in 1654, about twenty three Jews had arrived in New Amsterdam, today’s New York, from the Brazilian city of Recife. Brazil had previously been under Dutch rule where Jews had enjoyed a degree of religious freedom. However, when the Portuguese regained control of the territory, the Jewish community was forced to leave and many sought refuge in New Amsterdam. Governor Stuyvesant initially opposed their arrival and even attempted to expel them from the colony. He wrote to the Dutch West India Company urging that Jews should not be allowed to remain. The directors of the company in Amsterdam responded that Jews could not be expelled entirely because many Jewish merchants were financially connected with the company and contributed to its commercial activities. As a result the Jewish community was permitted to stay in the city, but several restrictions were imposed upon them. Later, when the British captured New Amsterdam in 1664 and renamed it New York, religious tolerance gradually expanded and the Jewish community slowly gained permission to establish their own houses of worship.