if only more were done to save the millions who perished in Europe at the hands of their neighbours...

Most of the names that are spanish descend from jews. There is a population still there, the synaguague is active and a new rabbi has arrived. The history of jamaican jewry is rich and interesting. I suggest the writer visit jamaica .

yes, there is a long and beautiful history of jews in jamaica. there was a significant population of jews and as Bernard has stated there are still jews in jamaica. i would also like to see an article written about jamaican jews in ynet. your readers may be pleasantly surprised!

The story of these Jews who escaped the SHOAH and were housed in Jamaica during WWII is well known and more recently researched. If Shahar Bar wishes he can contact me Ainsley Henriques

Never heard the story before.

In 1941 my parents managed to get from Spain to Jamaica where they were interned in a refugeecamp together with some 30 other Dutch and Belgian Jews. My father volunteerde for the Dutch army and was subsequently transported to Canada for training and from there to England where my mother joined him. My mother is relatively good at 91 and her memory of the Jamaican camp is quite vivid.

Its a amazing my mum has talked about her grant mother coming to jamaica on a boat, she had children and stayed in jamacia for the rest of her life.

And perhaps one reason why Jamaica is still a beautiful country!

I happened to work in Jamaica from 2004 until 2007 and as a Israeli and a Jew I can say that the Jewish comunity is a Icon that bleeks signals to the world "we r still here" I love u guys Avichai

at the beginning of the war the British government decided to evacuate the civilian population of gibraltar because of the nazi threat coupled with the proximity of their fascist allies in Spain. only able bodied young men were allowed to remain. the civilians including the large jewish proportion of them were evacuated to northern ireland ,london,madeira and to jamaica. The Gibraltar Jews continued to act as usual by opening synagogues and day schools and providing kosher food amonst other activities. there are still a few survivors of the evacuation and memorials built in all the locations.

My parents, grandparents my sister and I came to Jamaica in December, 1942 when i was almost 5 yrs old and moved to Curacao in late 1943 till the end of WWII. I have lived in the US since 1948

My parents, brother&I came end 1942 with 1st of 3 Dutch convoys from Spain to Gibraltar Camp in Jamaica. The exiled Dutch government in London paid for us for 1 year after which some of us went to Cuba, Curacao, Aruba, USA. Others had to go to Surinam. I have many photos of camp & people, including Norbert Zeelander.

In response to a comment in your article, as far as I know the original owners of the Dan Hotels in Israel were refugees in Gibraltar Camp, Jamaica. You might check with their children who are now most likely in their sixties.

I am one of the lucky children who came to Jamaica and ended up in the Gibraltar Camp with my sister and parents, in 1943; after escaping from the Nazis. I live in San Francisco,Ca.

Amnon Manver or Bar Shahar ar searching for people who were in the Refugee Camp in Jamaica. I was there and I know 3 more persons. We were very young at the time.

My parents and aunt and uncle were at Camp Gibraltar. I know a few other people who were saved in the same way. How can I reach Bar Shahar?

My mom,age 6,and her two older brothers and their parents (my grandparents) were on this ship from Lisbon, Portugal to Camp Gibraltar, Jamaica. She has a good memory of the events and life there until they moved to Canada before becoming Americans.

Perhaps someone can help me out on the following two questions I'm trying to solve for some time: does anybody know the name of Heinz Jürgen Themal who went to jamaica on 25-01-1942 on the "Serpa Pinto" and what has become of him? Is the family Zeelander the same as the family that stayed in "Praia das Macaes" in Portugal and managed the hotel "Royal" there? Are there any pictures of Mr.Themal or the family Zeelander in Jamaica? I'm doing research for a book on refugees in Portugal and what has become of them. Thanks for all your help. Loe Schoonbrood

It's fascinating to read the remarks and I'm glad that I've been in touch with some of those who have commented here. My PhD thesis at the University of the West Indies (developed post-war on the site of Gibraltar Camp) was on Gibraltar Camp, and I am still interested in the extent to which evacuees and refugees were involved outside their immediate groups and the extent to which they interacted with the Jamaican population. Also always interested to know anything about experiences of the camp (especially because, as someone said, people weren't supposed to work outside the camp, though some apparently did) and how people came to leave.