Syrian Americans in New York City

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Syrian immigrant children (ca. 1910-15)
Magen David Synagogue, an historic Sephardi Syrian-Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn, September 2013.

The city of New York City includes a large Syrian population. New York City's Syrian community was historically centered in Manhattan's Little Syria, but is now centered in Brooklyn. Historically, Syrians in New York City were predominantly Christian. In the modern era, the city is home to the world's largest Syrian-Jewish community outside of Israel. 75,000 Syrian Jews live in New York City, mostly in Brooklyn.[1] New York City is also home to a smaller community of Syrian Muslims who have lived in the city for over a century, most of whom have immigrated since the 1960s.

History

Between the 1870s and the 1930s, thousands of Syrians immigrated to New York City. They immigrated from the region of

Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, among others. Prior to the 1960s, Syrian Muslims were a small and largely invisible population compared to the Arab Christian population. Many of the Syrian Muslims emigrated from the region of Palestine.[3] There are educational and economic divides among the Syrian population, with Syrian Christians and Syrian Jews having higher levels of educational and economic achievement compared to the Syrian Muslim community, which is more likely to experience poverty and educational barriers.[4]

When Syrian Jews first began to arrive in New York City during the late 1800s and early 1900s,

Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East were Jewish at all. In response, some Syrian Jews who were deeply proud of their ancient Jewish heritage, derogatorily dubbed Ashkenazi Jews as "J-Dubs", a reference to the first and third letters of the English word "Jew".[5]

Demographics

By 1910, the Syrian population of Brooklyn had surpassed the population in Manhattan. By 1930, Brooklyn was home to 10,000 Syrian-Americans. The South Ferry neighborhood was the center of Syrian Brooklyn.[6]

Notable Syrian-Americans in New York City

See also

References

  1. ^ Chafets, Zev (14 October 2007). "The Sy Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  2. ^ "Syrians in New York: Mapping Movement, 1900-1930". ArcGIS. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  3. ^ "History of Arab New York". Gotham Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  4. ^ "Home for a Century: The Syrians of Bay Ridge". NY City Lens. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  5. ^ Chafets, Zev (14 October 2007). "The Sy Empire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  6. New York State University
    . Retrieved 2020-09-02.

External links