Daily Podcasts Video Research

Meet the 2 Jews of Guyana, a South American nation with a tradition of religious tolerance

JL;DR SUMMARY Guyana, a South American nation known for religious tolerance, is currently home to at least two Jews, Raphael Ades and Andrea de Caires, both of whom provide insight into the country's unique makeup. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

JL;DR members get full summaries of all articles in the archive, including this one. Donate & start reading »

Tags

HistoryJewish CommunityReligious ToleranceInclusivityGuyanaOil IndustryEco TourismRaphael AdesAndrea De CairesJanet Jagan

Places mentioned

Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana
"Barely 21, Ades stepped in to take a larger role in the business. He flew with other diamond buyers into the rural mining areas, and learned the operations were producing thousands of carats of diamonds."
Bartica, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Guyana
"He was interested in burying her across from Sloth Island, on a hill in the mining town of Bartica just across the river."
Sloth Island, Pomeroon-Supenaam, Guyana
"In 1997, he bought Sloth Island, a 160-acre outpost about a two-hour journey from Guyanas capital, Georgetown, requiring an hour-long car ride through the small villages that dot the Atlantic coast, and then an hours boat ride down the widening Essequibo River, passing pristine forests lined with mangroves and Indigenous villages."
Paramaribo, Suriname
"But a Jewish friend from France facilitated a connection with the Surinamese Jewish community, who prepared the body for burial in the cemetery adjacent to Paramaribos main synagogue."
Chicago, Illinois, United States
"The other is a former Madison Avenue marketing executive from Chicago who until recently ran the countrys largest tour operator."
New Jersey, United States
"De Caires moved to New Jersey and trained as a jeweler, working with clients that included Tiffanys."
London, United Kingdom
"As a psychology student at the University of London, Ades began helping his father, who maintained an office in Londons diamond district, at work."

Support this source

This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 59065
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-08-12 05:31:26 UTC
Curated 2025-08-12 08:31:49 UTC