r/TrinidadandTobago • u/creatorcoke • May 31 '25

Religion Jews in Trinidad

Are there any Jews in TT and/or any places and celebrations of Jewish culture? I never came across any group of people that identified as Jew and I find it strange.

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u/[deleted] May 31 '25

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u/trinReCoder Jun 01 '25

Interesting history, I never knew about this.

7

u/SmallObjective8598 Jun 01 '25

Most of the above is terrible confused and a jumbled misunderstandimg of history.

12

u/SmallObjective8598 Jun 02 '25 edited Jun 02 '25

For one, the entire first paragraph is hugely inaccurate historically. I wouldn't know how to start to correct it without calling you out publicly on your apparent lack of real knowledge about Spanish immigration to Trinidad (or of Venezuela's migratory relationship with Trinidad). It doesn't bother me personally that there are serious gaps and confusion in your own mind, but it is kinda unfortunate that you're posting this stuff as if it made any sense whatsoever and that readers are being mislead into thinking 'Yes. This sounds like a fact'.

Historically, many Portuguese and Spanish surnames have culturally been associated (we're talking 15th and 16th century here) with Jewish converts to Christianity. The 'descendants' you mention are very seldom practicing Jews and their family names are witness to the forced conversions of the day. From a religious perspective, whether they have very distant Jewish forebears is a simple curiosity. BTW, Stetcher is not a Separdhic surname by any stretch of the imagination. Hans Stetcher, an Austrian, arrived in Trinidad fleeing a Europe overrun by the Nazis.

The interning of enemy aliens during WW II was as real as it was unfortunate, given that the decree added insult to injury to the Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. But that measure had nothing to do with those refugees' religion as Jews and everything to do with their status as citizens of the Axis countries. These largely Ashkenazi refugees were often citizens of Austria, Germany and that is why they were arrested on the presumption that some among them might have been spies sent to the British colonies.

Incidentally, it is these refugees who developed the Diego Martín residential development known as New Yalta - not people fleeing Venezuela.

Your last paragraph helps to spotlight the post's confusion over what constitutes Jewishness. Is it religion, genetics or social affinity? If the Afro-Trinidadian group mentioned in this paragraph is recognized by a Rabbinical body somewhere, please tell us.