Concept in Definition ABC

From its most remote origins, the Jewish people have been the victim of persecution and suffering of different kinds. At the end of the 15th century in Spain the Catholic Monarchs decreed the expulsion of the Jews from the territory peninsular with the aim of imposing the Christian religion throughout the population.

An estimated 200,000 people were expelled and those who decided to remain on the peninsula were forced to convert to Christianity.

The Jews who went into exile are known as Sephardim, but they are also known as Ladinos or Judeo-Spaniards.

The word Sephardic literally means "inhabitant of Sepharad" (sepharad was the Hebrew word used to designate the territory of the Iberian Peninsula). After their expulsion they went into exile in different territories of the Mediterranean, in northern Europe and in America.

Today it is estimated that 10% of the world's Jews are of Sephardic origin. There are communities in many countries, but especially in Israel, France, the United States, Greece, Turkey, Argentina and Mexico.

Cultural identity is kept alive

It is estimated that there are about 2 million Sephardim in the world. The identitycultural of this population is maintained through two main axes: the religious rites that are practiced in the synagogues and that are not exactly the same as those of other Jewish communities and a language Own (Ladino or Judeo-Spanish).

Although it is a minority language, it has been maintained over time. Ladino is a Spanish from the 15th century, but any Spanish speaker can understand him without too much difficulty. In the Sephardic culture there is a common denominator: the feeling of longing for the territory of Sefarad.

One of the cultural singularities of Jews from Spain is the use of sayings and proverbs in the language colloquial. Culinary traditions are also preserved, newspapers published in Ladino and a wide production literary and musical. On the Spanish public radio (Radio Nacional de España) you can hear a barking or safardi program, "Luz de Sefarad".

In 2015 the Spanish government approved a law to grant Spanish nationality to the descendants of Jews expelled by the Granada Edict of 1492

Religious intolerance and the growing economic power of the Jews were the factors which led to their expulsion in the 15th century.

From the current perspective, that decision is considered unfair and totally wrong. For this reason Attempts have been made to compensate the Sephardic community scattered around the world and since 2015 it is possible to apply for Spanish nationality.

Fotolia photos: bimserd / dbrnjhrj