Sephardim

There may be more Jews in the U.S. than there are in any other country including Israel. The U. S. probably has fewer than 6,000,000 Jews. Israel probably has fewer than 5,500000. The population of Israel is about 75% Jewish. The U.S. population is less that 2% Jewish.

2% by world standards is high:

the U.K. is about.4% Jewish

Hungary and Canada about 1% each

France perhaps .8%

You may know that Jews sometimes divide into two groups: The Askanazi and the Sephardic. Askanazi being largely Central European and Sephardic being largely Iberic, but could be Spanish via Turkey.

The Jews now in the U.S. are largely from Askanazi background as one might expect.

But counter to what one might expect earlier Jewish settlement in the U.S. was Sephardic. First and maybe earliest were those who settled in the Rio Grand valley of what is now New Mexico. Later a group settled in New Amsterdam and started a synagogue there.

The picture above, I believe is of a synagogue in Spain well before the Inquisition.

Please tell me where I am full of beans. I try to be correct in my opinions, but many of the need revision.