12 – 12:45 pm ET

Past program. View the recording here.

We’re excited to partner on the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s upcoming digital program, First Synagogue in the Americas. Join historians Dr. Jacques Ribemboim and Dr. Daniela Levy as they share the fascinating tale of the Jewish community of Pernambuco and its first synagogue in the Americas, Kahal Zur Israel, erected over 380 years ago in Recife, Brazil.

Fleeing persecution, 23 members of the community went on to establish Shearith Israel in New Amsterdam (New York City), the first Jewish congregation in North America. This story is also where our Museum’s core exhibition begins, when these first permanent Jewish settlers came to the New World.

Filmmaker and DJ Grace Mozes moderates.