September 15: A Homeland for the Jews — in NY

The inscribed cornerstone of Ararat — “a City of Refuge for the Jews, founded by Mordecai M. Noah . . . ” — was dedicated in Buffalo, New York on this date in 1825, in an elaborate ceremony attended by thousands of Christians and a few Jews. Mordecai Manuel Noah was a playwright, newspaper man, diplomat and publicist, the son of a Revolutionary War hero and the first native-born American Jew to achieve a national reputation. Ararat was to be built on the Grand Island on the Niagara River (near the head of the Erie Canal), to serve as a new homeland for Jews. It was named for the mountain on which, the Bible says, Noah’s Ark was safely ensconced after the Flood. America was caught up in the Second Great Awakening in the 1820s, an Evangelical movement that included calls for the restoration of Jews to Palestine, and Noah’s idea of a temporary Jewish refuge had significant religious appeal — except for Jews, who rejected the plan out of hand and treated Noah as a presumptuous madman or con artist. The settlement attracted no settlers, and by the end of the year Noah was advising friends against investing in it. Despite the fiasco, he remained a prominent spokesperson for American Jews until his death in 1851.
“[T]his asylum is temporary and provisionary. The Jews never should and never will relinquish the just hope of regaining possession of their ancient heritage . . .” —Mordecai M. Noah