Sephardic Jews and emigration

Posted by: el viajero

Sephardic Jews and emigration - 11/13/02 04:52 PM

From the "Franco" thread:
Quote:
The Spanish government decreed in 1924 that any Sephardic Jew in the world was entitled to Spanish citizenship upon request.
I understand that a version of this law is still on the books. I wonder how Sephardic one has to be to qualify. Must all four grandparents be Sephardim? Two? One?

This law and similar attempts at making up for past wrongs -- such as Spain's granting political asylum to Russian Jewish refugees circa 1890s-1900s -- are utterly intriguing. When the history of Jews in Spain is told, one usually hears about the golden era pre-1400s, then the Inquisition, then nothing. These later stories are somehow lost in the shuffle.
Posted by: big jamon

Re: Sephardic Jews and emigration - 11/14/02 09:11 AM

if you want to know the history of spanish jews after the inquisition you have to look at turkey...the ONLY country to welcome them with open arms...gladly taking the best and brightest of spain's citizenry...
my ancestors bounced back and forth between the 2 countries...with morocco thrown into the mix also...
even today most turkish jews still speak spanish in addition to turkish.
Posted by: Fernando

Re: Sephardic Jews and emigration - 11/14/02 01:34 PM

I've readen in some press article regarding sephards that they flee to "other" countries and not only to one...

Also some of them remain in Spain under the apparience of converted christians, and still other decided to really convert their faith to christianism.

With the expulsion of jews and moors Spain lost the most talented comerciants and agricultors.

Fernando
Posted by: big jamon

Re: Sephardic Jews and emigration - 11/14/02 01:49 PM

yes they did flee to other countries as well...but as far as i know turkey was the only country that actually welcomed them...not just tolerated them...
and yes some did convert to christianity or at least pretended to...and according to some historians, they even shipped out with columbus to the new world...in fact there was a theory a few years ago, that columbus himself was jewish, though that has largely been disproven...