Curacao's historic Jewish population dwindles

The southern Caribbean island of Curacao is home to what is billed as the oldest continually operating synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, but the Jewish community has been steadily declining for years.

Late on a recent Friday, Avery Tracht, cantor of the stately yellow Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, worried there wouldn't be the minimum 10 adults to hold the complete service.

But soon, nearly 20 trickled through the heavy wooden door and singing poured out into the narrow streets of Willemstad's waterfront Punda district.

Jews settled in the then-Dutch colony of Curacao in 1651. They were the descendants of Jews who fled the Spanish …