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About three blocks down Columbusstraat you will come to the Mikve’ Israel-Emanual Synagogue (The Snoa), the oldest synagouge in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere. Jewish families from Amsterdam founded the congregation in 1651 while the current building was consecrated in 1732. The hushed interior has a sand floor symbolizing the desert where the Israelites camped on their journey to freedom. The Jewish Cultural Historical Museum, also located here, displays traditional religious objects and is accessible from the synagogue’s courtyard. Everything was open.
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