State of Affairs
The arrival of Jews to Manhattan goes as far back as the Anglo-Dutch War of the 1600s, which brought difficult times to both the Dutch and the inhabitants of Dutch colonies. Some Dutch commonwealths like Recife, home to a large Jewish population in Brazil- more than 5000 according to the Jewishencyclopedia.com- was lost to Portugal in 1654. Portuguese policy of inquisition forced immigration. Rising anti semitism also played a major role in Jewish immigration to New York.

The First Immigrants
According to Binders and Reimers, the first Jew to arrive at New York was Jacob Barsimson, arriving on August of 1654. He was believed to be an ambassador to the Jews to determine if the area was a safe haven. A few months later, September of 1654, a small band of about twenty or so Jews arrived from Recife aboard St. Charles, most of whom were indebted to the captain for up to 495 guilders (Binders & Reimers, 9). Bankrupt and unable to pay their sums, they were held under civil arrest till funds from New Amsterdam were promised under court.

The first Jews were mainly poor people depending heavily on Dutch Reformed Church charities, which considered them heretics and offered help in a reluctant fashion. Private land applications were not approved for years, and when they finally did get approved, it was toward the outskirts of the city.

Struggles
Although Jews immigration to New York was rising, their population was not considerable, 170,000 compared to the two million that arrived before World War I (Binder & Reimers, 115). These individuals were "shetl" or town dwellers and did not hold qualifications for urban jobs. They were still barred from almost all trades and the opportunities were limited. Meat packing was more or less the only job available to Jews under the Right of Burghership (1657), which allowed them to make kosher meats. At first, they were not too keen about immigrating to New York as they considered it a place of spiritual corruption; but, with the onset of suffering in Europe, the beginnings of the World Wars, and the search for a scapegoat to vent their frustrations, the Jews faced harsh times and were forced to immigrate to friendlier locations, of which New York was part of the list. Other areas of immigration included Russia, Portugal, England, Syria, Turkey, and Germany, whose political environments at the time were not friendly. In Russia, for instance, the czar's May Laws of 1882 forced half a million Jews to relocate from their villages into cities, where pogroms or government-sanctioned riots and bloodbaths were practiced at the time (Binders & Reimers, 103).

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