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Oldest Synagogue Site in the Americas
Record holder
Record value
1636 year
Kahal Zur Israel stands on Rua do Bom Jesus in Recife, at the historic site associated with the first organized synagogue community in the Americas during Dutch Brazil. The congregation emerged in the seventeenth century as Jewish life expanded under Dutch rule. Archaeological excavations in 1999–2000 uncovered remains connected with the early synagogue, including the mikveh area, and the site was later restored as a Jewish cultural center and museum. The visible building today is not presented as an untouched seventeenth-century structure; JWR's record concerns the historic synagogue establishment at the identified site. To comply with JWR geographic standards, the record is framed at the continental level as the oldest synagogue in South America.
- Holder country
- Brazil
- Achievement location
- Recife, Brazil
- Achievement date
- 1636