A boatload of Jewish refugees landed in the Dominican Republic in 1940. They were from Poland and Czechoslovakia and Belgium. They were given land in Sosua to build houses and also to clear for farming. They used their skills in cattle raising: cheese making, as butchers and bakers. They were teachers and doctors.
The Jewish batey (Spanish for a community where all are of the same group) prospered. The Jews took advantage of the land given to them; building structures, businesses and making good use of the rich soil. They built and ran a meat market; a flour mill, a school. The only synagogues in the Dominican Republic are in Sosua and nearby Puerto Plata. Most of the Jews have been assimilated into the community at large by now, but this unprecedented welcome to a group of persecuted people so different from the Dominican population is fascinating to me. Though Trujillo ends up with much negative press for the way he treated people, this was one bright spot of his leadership.
The batey in Sosua is now the home of multiple hotels and restaurants enjoyed by tourists and locals alike. The synagogue and a Jewish museum still stand today, but it was unclear as to how much they are functioning.
This history makes me wonder about the kind of welcome that we (as a nation, as a community, as individuals) are offering to brothers and sisters who come to us today for refuge from something. Perhaps if we offered more of a start to these brothers and sisters, we would all benefit from the gifts they bring.
“When immigrants live in your land with you, you must not cheat them. Any immigrant who lives with you must be treated as one of your citizens. You must love them as yourself, for you were immigrants in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33,34. CEB translation.
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