History of the Jews in Puerto Rico Very few American Jews settled in Puerto Rico after it was ceded by Spain to the United States under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The second influx came in the 1950s, when thousands of Cuban Jews (most of Eastern-European descent) fled after Fidel Castro came to power. The majority immigrated to Miami, Florida, but a sizable portion chose to establish and integrate themselves on the neighboring island because of Puerto Rico's
History of the Jews in Puerto Rico cultural, linguistic, racial, and historic similarities to Cuba. Puerto Rican Jews have made many contributions in multiple fields, including business, commerce, education, and entertainment. Puerto Rico has the largest and richest Jewish community in the Caribbean, with over 3,000 Jewish inhabitants. It is also the only Caribbean island in which all three major Jewish denominations—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—are represented. According to historians, the first Jews to arrive in Puerto Rico were "conversos", Jews who were forced to convert to Catholicism and were members of Christopher Columbus' crew during his second voyage on November 19, 1493 to the so-called "New World".