Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Jamaica
Jamaica: Jewish settlement since about 1530, the Shaare Shalom synagogue, the Gibraltar Camp refugees, relations with "Israel" since 1962, Holness's 2017 visit, and recognition of Palestine in 2024
Jamaica has just under 200 Jews, most of them in Kingston, and one synagogue, Shaare Shalom, according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] It has had relations with "Israel" since independence in 1962; in January 2017 Andrew Holness became the first Jamaican prime minister to visit "Israel", and in April 2024 Jamaica recognised the State of Palestine.[1]
Jewish community and religious life
History and demography
According to the WJC, Portuguese crypto-Jews fleeing the Inquisition began arriving in Spanish Jamaica around 1530. After the British conquest in 1665 Jews were allowed to worship openly; synagogues were built in Port Royal before 1692, in Spanish Town in 1704, in Montego Bay and in Kingston, and by 1720 Jews made up 18 per cent of the population. Jews were taxed separately from 1693 and barred from public office, but obtained full political rights in 1831; in 1849 the House of Assembly had eight Jewish members and adjourned for Yom Kippur. Jacob and Joshua de Cordova founded The Daily Gleaner in 1834. The Ashkenazi and Sephardi congregations merged in 1921 after the Shaare Shalom synagogue was completed in 1912.[1]
During the Second World War Jamaica took in about 1,400 Polish and Dutch Jewish refugees, who were held in the Gibraltar Camp; the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee financed almost the entire operation.[1]
Communal organisations
The United Congregation of Israelites, the WJC's affiliate, is the central communal body and runs the Shaare Shalom synagogue and the Hillel Academy day school. The community also has chapters of the Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO) and B'nai B'rith, a home for the elderly, and the Neveh Shalom Institute.[1]
Chabad
- Main article: Chabad-Lubavitch movement
The WJC says there is a Chabad centre in Montego Bay, which also provides kosher food, and one operating out of Kingston.[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Jamaica as established in January 1962, with "Israel" represented by its ambassador in the Dominican Republic, with an honorary consul in Kingston.[2] The WJC says "Israel" is represented by its ambassador in Santo Domingo, Daniel Biran Bayor, at the embassy at Pedro Henriquez Urena 80, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[1]
On 7 October 2023 Holness wrote: "The Government of Jamaica condemns in the strongest terms the attack by the Hamas group on Israel, resulting in the deaths, injuries, and abduction of Israeli civilians." When Jamaica recognised the State of Palestine in April 2024 it said that it "continues to advocate for a two-state solution as the only viable option to resolve the longstanding conflict, guarantee the security of Israel, and uphold the dignity and rights of Palestinians."[1]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $0.1 million from Jamaica in 2025 (2024: $0.0 million) and exported goods worth $3.9 million to it (2024: $3.7 million).[3]
Political interference
UN voting
According to the WJC, Jamaica stayed away from a UNESCO vote in October 2016 that "ignored Jewish ties to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem", abstained in 2017 on resolution ES-10/19, which declared the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void", and was absent from the General Assembly vote of 27 October 2023 calling for a "humanitarian truce" in Gaza.[1] Jamaica voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[4]
Jeffrey Epstein
Documents released by the US Department of Justice in the Jeffrey Epstein files include the following.
- On 4 March 2014 a correspondent whose name is redacted, signing himself "bob", told Epstein that from 17 March "we will be measuring the elite sprinters in Kingston" at the National Stadium and the University of Technology, with three scientists and two German graduate students, and promised Epstein "a full report".[5]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Antigua and Barbuda
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Bahamas
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Barbados
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Dominica
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Grenada
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Saint Lucia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Trinidad and Tobago
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Cuba
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Dominican Republic
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Haiti
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 World Jewish Congress, Community in Jamaica worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).
- ↑ Email from a redacted correspondent to Jeffrey Epstein, "Jamaica", 4 March 2014, EFTA01932068, US Department of Justice, Epstein Files release, Data Set 10, copy at tommycarstensen.com/epstein, accessed 25 October 2026.