Introduction

What tied Jews to their local communities, the broader societies in the Americas, and the world beyond the continent? How did Jews’ local and global connections shape their lived experiences between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries?¹ The chapters in this volume offer a broad range of answers to these questions as they explore episodes in the centuries-long history of Jews in the Americas. They elucidate the diversity of Jewish experiences and identifications in the continent by stressing the significance of the institutions and sense of belonging that Jews developed in their local communities and countries of domicile. Additionally, the chapters