I NEWS 1
Jews Scarce
In Jamaica
SHELDON KIRSHNER
N
ew York — Sephardi
Jews may well have
been the first white
settlers to set foot on the
Caribbean island of Jamaica.
Anthropologist Carol
Holzberg says they preceded
the arrival of the African
slaves.
Always insignificant nu-
merically, Jamaican Jewry
has grown smaller in recent
years. No more than about
300 Jews are left on the
island, representing M25 per-
cent of the population.
Holzberg believes the com-
munity's end is in sight.
In Minorities and Power in
a Black Society: The Jewish
Community of Jamaica,
Holzberg -traces the develop-
ment of a wealthy, powerful
minority that has wielded
considerable influence over
the island's affairs.
Holzberg ascribes the
longevity of the community to
communal solidarity; the ex-
istence of synagogues, special
school and burial societies;
and the maintenance of
specific rituals and
ceremonies.
Intermarriage, however, has
had an impact. The author,
now. teaching at the Univer-
sity of Massachusetts, claims
the many mixed marriages —
and conversions — over the
centuries mean that • most of
the descendants of the
original Sephardim have
assimilated within Jamaican
society.
As a result, there are black
and even partly Chinese
"Jewmaicans" today. Inter-
marriage has been such that
at a B'nai B'rith dinner in
1975, Holzberg writes, 18 of
the 25 couples in attendance
were the products of mixed
marriages.
Furthermore, since the
departure of Jamaica's last
rabbi in 1978, the "acting rab-
bi" has been a man who
technically is not even
Jewish. Ernest de Souza, the
secretary of the United Con-
gregation of Israelites, was
born before his mother con-
verted to Judaism. He mar-
ried a Christian who did not
convert until three years after
their marriage.
Despite all this, Jamaican
Jews say they take their
Judaism very seriously.
"They see themselves as dif-
ferent from the non-Jewish
population by virtue of their
collective history, enduring
support for Israel and their
tendency to employ their own
• as secretaries, accountants,
lawyers, company managers,
engineers and the like.
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