Earlier American Jewish Anniversary Celebrations: 1905 and 1954 (In Search of ...‪)‬

As the Jewish semisepcentennial, the 350th anniversary of the arrival of Jews in New Amsterdam approached, Jewish community leaders and historians examined earlier anniversary celebrations to see how they were commemorated. Some of the undertakings set precedents which forged the path for a stronger, more self-assured community. Some created a structure and ceremonial procedures that were worthy of being made more traditional. Yet, there were also controversies and perceptions that revealed differences within the American Jewish community. On April 9, 1905, two hundred fifty years after the first permanent Jewish immigrants to settle on the mainland of North America received permission from the Dutch West India Company to remain in New Amsterdam, a planning meeting of Jewish leaders convened in New York City in the vestry of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue, to appoint an executive committee and a general committee of two hundred fifty male Jewish lay leaders and clergy, with "representatives in every State and Territory and in most important cities of the Union" to coordinate the approaching anniversary. (1)