Rabbi David Abraham Jessurun Cardozo (March 29, 1896 – August 31, 1972) was a Dutch-born American

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Rabbi who served as assistant minister of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the oldest synagogue in the United States and was the first rabbi to conduct

High Holidays In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

services in Spain since the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...

of 1492 expelled Jews from that country. Albert Einstein and others letter

Cardozo was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

on March 29, 1896, to Abraham Jessurun Cardozo and Marie Serlui. He attended the Sephardic Seminary there and Jews' College in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, as well as the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

.Staff
"RABBI CARDOZO DIES; A SEPHARDIC LEADER"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', September 5, 1972. Accessed January 27, 2009. Rabbi Cardozo was the spiritual leader of the Montefiore synagogue in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

from 1929 to 1936.Staff
"GETS PHILADELPHIA POST; Dr. D. A. J. Cardozo, Aide of Dr. de Sola Pool, Accepts Call "
''

'', September 5, 1943. Accessed January 27, 2009. Rabbi Cardozo came to the United States to assist Rabbi David de Sola Pool from 1936 to 1943 at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

of the

borough of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Cardozo was selected in September 1943 to succeed Rabbi Abraham A. Newman at Congregation Mikveh Israel in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. He later served as Rabbi of Sephardic Jewish centers in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. In 1948, ''

'' published a letter signed by Rabbi Cardozo and two dozen prominent Jewish figures including

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

, which criticized the

Herut Herut () was the major conservative nationalist political party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. It was an adherent of Revisionist Zionism. Some of their policies were compared to those of the Nazi party. Early y ...

party, described it as an outgrowth of the

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

which the letter called "a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine" and criticized a visit to the United States by its leader,

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

. Invited to Spain in 1953 to lead services for

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

and

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

, Rabbi Cardozo was able to conduct prayer services and stated that he had no difficulty in bringing Hebrew prayer books into the country or of arranging the use of the facilities of the ballroom of a major new hotel. The services he led, reaching out to the 400 Spanish-speaking Jews in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, were the first there since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.Staff
"BALLET TEAM SKIPS IRON CURTAIN CALL; Dancers Who Fled Via Berlin Subway Are Among 1,145 to Arrive Here on Dutch Ship"
''

'', November 14, 1953. Accessed January 27, 2009. Rabbi Cardozo expressed his belief that the government of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

was showing a "more friendly" approach to the Jews of Spain, noting that permission had been granted by the Spanish government to construct a synagogue in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

."RABBI'S VIEW OF SPAIN; Cardozo Finds Franco Regime 'More Friendly' to Jews "
''

'', December 18, 1953. Accessed January 27, 2009. Rabbi Cardozo died at age 76 on August 31, 1972, and was survived by a brother and sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardozo, Jessurun 1896 births 1972 deaths Dutch Orthodox rabbis Orthodox rabbis from New York City Dutch expatriates in the United Kingdom Dutch emigrants to the United States Dutch Sephardi Jews University of Amsterdam alumni Alumni of the London School of Jewish Studies Rabbis from Amsterdam Sephardi rabbis 20th-century American rabbis