Kosher and Jewish Life in Bridgetown

The history of the Jews in Barbados has existed almost continually since 1654, when Sephardic Jews arrived on the island as refugees from what was formerly Dutch Brazil after it was captured by the Inquisitorial persecuting Portuguese colonisers who were consolidating their hold over all of Brazil. The Jewish refugees brought with them expertise in the production and cultivation of sugarcane and coffee, expertise which contributed to the development of Barbados as a major producer of sugar. Although small, the existing Jewish community has taken steps to preserve its heritage; for instance in maintaining a functioning synagogue, the Nidhe Israel Synagogue, in the capital city Bridgetown. In January, 2008, the Nidhe Israel Museum was opened. The museum tells the story of the Barbadian Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities using inter-active displays. In 2008 as well, the archaeology of the yard of the seventeenth century synagogue is being investigated by historians/archaeologists and students from the University of the West Indies. Though the focus is on the long destroyed rabbi's house, excavations have revealed the intact 17th-century mikveh which was constructed over a still-running freshwater spring. Now Bridgetown also has a Chabad House.