Jewish New York

By Ira Wolfman

Subjects: History, New york (n.y.), guidebooks, Jews, Jewish history, New York City, Jews, social conditions, Jews, united states, history, Jewish food, immigration

Description: This is a lavishly illustrated review of the 350-plus years of New York City's Jews. It recounts the story of the world's largest urban Jewish community from its founding in 1654 by refugees fleeing the inquisition in Portuguese South America through the arrival of German, East European, and Mediterranean Jews in the 1800's and 1900s. Each chapter is illustrated with photographs, paintings, postcards, quotes, and ephemera that bring to life different aspects of Jewish life in New York, past and present. Chapters cover such topics as: Who Are the New York Jews? Where They Lived; How They Made a Living; a Tradition of Philanthropy; the Joys of New York Jewish Food; Yiddish Theater, Artists, Musicians, and Comedians; and Synagogues and Celebrations. Unusual attention is given to the Sephardi community, which is often neglected in histories of the city's Jews.