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High-Stakes Rescue Saves Jewish Artist Stranded at Sea for Weeks

It was eerily reminiscent of the route that Jews-turned-pirates fleeing Spain and Portugal in the 17th century would take. Making their way across the North Atlantic, these legendary swashbuckling Jewish pirates once roamed the Caribbean from Curaçao to Jamaica. In ships bearing names like Queen Esther and Shield of Abraham, the freewheeling buccaneers plundered and ravaged the Spanish fleet. Almost 400 years later, Amit Mendel set out on a similar maritime voyage—save for the swords and daggers.