The Americas’ Only Romaniote Synagogue Still Operates on the Lower East Side

Following the expulsion of Jews by Ferdinand and Isabella, large numbers of Spanish Jews settled in what are now Greece, Cyprus, the southern Balkans, and the western coast of Turkey. There they found communities of Greek-speaking Jews, known as Romaniote, who had lived in these territories since ancient times. Similar to what happened in North Africa, some of these communities assimilated into the Sephardi, Ladino-speaking traditions of the newcomers, while others maintained a separate identity. Like other Jews who left Europe in the early 20th century, some Romaniote settled in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where they established the Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue (KKJ), which still holds weekly services and is the only Romaniote congregation in the Western Hemisphere.