by Merrill Shapiro | Nov 16, 2020 | Uncategorized |
On this day, November 16th, the 529th anniversary of the public execution of Jews at an auto-de-fe in the wake of the Holy Child of LaGuardia episode, it is wise to refresh our memories: The Holy Child of La Guardia (Spanish: El Santo Niño de La Guardia) is a...
by Merrill Shapiro | Nov 2, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The Spanish Inquisition, in force in St. Augustine, Florida from 1565-1763 (the First Spanish Period) and again from 1784-1821 (the Second Spanish Period), was established on this date, November 1, 1478. The Inquisition was established by the Catholic Monarchs...
by Merrill Shapiro | Oct 13, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Historians of the Jewish presence in Colonial St. Augustine, Florida should know about the “Holy Child of LaGuardia.” It was on this day, October 12, 1491 that the two Jews accused of murdering a child in the town of LaGuardia, Spain, were brought face to face to...
by Merrill Shapiro | Sep 10, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The letter written by the 16 Rabbis arrested in St. Augustine on June 18, 1964? It’s now available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/W4pJarpjeuQ There you will find it being read by actor and playwright Lee Weaver! The letter was written, the Rabbis explain,...
by Merrill Shapiro | Sep 7, 2020 | Uncategorized |
On September 7, 1654, 89 years after the descendants of Jews arrived in St. Augustine, Florida, a group of 23 Jews from Recife, Brazil arrived in New Amsterdam. They became the pioneers of the American Jewish community. They arrived on a French frigate called the...
by Merrill Shapiro | Aug 13, 2020 | Uncategorized |
How exactly did a black girl like the heroic Mimi Jones, of Albany, Georgia, get close enough to the swimming pool at the Monson Hotel that fateful day, Thursday, June 18, 1964, to jump in and have her photo taken while the Monson’s owner, Jimmy Brock poured muriatic...
