Jamaica: Visit Our Jews

Come for the beaches, stay for the Jews? Jamaica is embracing its Jewish history in hopes of attracting new tourists—this, in spite of the fact that the island currently has one synagogue, no rabbis, and only 200 or so Jews. Still, the island claims to have once harbored a Jewish pirate named Moses, and Jews began arriving on the island in the 17th century during the Inquisition. By the end of the 19th century, Jamaica had six synagogues and over 2,000 Jews. A recent conference on Judeo-Caribbean history included stops at Kingston’s Hillel School, 20 of whose 750 students are Jewish, and a visit to a resort owned by Chris Blackwell, a music-label founder whose mother was Jewish.