History of the Jews in Guyana

[1] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several Jewish families immigrated to British Guiana from Arab lands to avoid persecution and expand business opportunities.

[2] The Jews of Pomeroon (Bowroom) fled, following the destruction of their colony, mostly to Suriname, where they were granted unprecedented religious freedoms.British Guiana was part of the expanding British Empire, which included much of the Middle East.

Most of the Jewish migration during this period came from British controlled portions of the Middle East including what is now modern Iraq, and were erroneously identified as Assyrians and called "Syrians."

Prior to World War II, the leadership of Nazi Germany discussed the possibility of exiling the German Jewish population to British Guiana.

[5] After World War II began, the British colonial administration in charge of Guyana agreed to provide shelter for 50 Jewish refugees who escaped Europe through Spain.