The Sephardic Conundrum: An Effort to Atone for the Past

“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.” 

– Tom Stoppard

In 1492, the Catholic monarchs of Spain ordered the expulsion of between 40,000 and 100,000 Iberian Jews, known as Sephardim. Four years later, Portugal followed Spain’s example. 

Prohibited from practicing their faith in their homelands, many Sephardim sought refuge abroad, settling in the Ottoman Empire and North Africa.

The ensuing diaspora divided the Sephardic community into four groups. The Eastern Sephardim, the most recognizable of the four, settled in the Ottoman Empire, where they preserved Judæo-Spanish customs and developed an unique language (Ladino) and literary tradition. Meanwhile, the North African Sephardim developed a different language, Ḥaketía, and blended their traditions with those of the North African Maghrebi Jews. 

 

Spanish and Portuguese Jews, those who remained in their homelands, faced constant harassment from the Inquisition. While some continued to practice Judaism in secret, others converted to Catholicism. In addition to speaking Spanish and Portuguese, these Sephardim secretly maintained a liturgical usage of Hebrew. 

Here is a sign denoting an old Jewish quarter in Segovia, Spain:

 

In the modern day, the largest group of Sephardim are the Sephardic Bnei Anusim, descendants of Sephardic Jews who converted to Catholicism and abandoned their customs, integrating into Iberian society. Sephardic Bnei Anusim live in Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and other regions in Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, and North Africa.

 

Five centuries after the expulsion, Spain and Portugal enacted laws that enabled descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from these countries to apply for citizenship. 

News coverage of this historic gesture went beyond Spain and Portugal, helping spread awareness of the Eastern and North African Sephardim’s potential to obtain Spanish or Portuguese citizenship.

 

According to the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias, Portugal alone received around 140,000 applications for citizenship from Sephardic Jews by the end of 2021, granting around 57,000 of these. In 2021, Sephardic applicants accounted for 72% of applications for Portuguese citizenship.  

 

By 2022, more than 90,000 Sephardim had received citizenship in either of the two countries, according to The Times of Israel. 

 

Spain’s policy ended in 2019. Presently, only Portugal is accepting applications, and this window will close by the end of 2024.