SEPHARDIC Jews – whose ancestors were thrown out of Spain in 1492 along with the Muslim Moors – are now to be given automatic citizenship.

The group can currently only claim citizenship after two years’ residency, and have to provide proof of income.

Under the changes, they will only need to present a certificate confirming they are descendants of Sephardic Jews in order to gain Spanish nationality.

Sephardic Jews lived in Spain and Portugal until the 15th century but were later expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs, who accused the Jewish population of trying to subvert the Catholic faith.

Today there are thought to be 45,000 within Spain.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Sure Tony, I’ll help you out. It is my belief, and my opinion, that Spain is only making these changes in immigration policy to attract investors i.e. to purchase houses and generally invest in Spain, and not just to further add to the diversification of its population. This group of people has some seriously wealthy families. Anything else I can help you with?

  2. What pomposity? Five hundred and twenty years after the event now is the time to redress the damage done? In the worst economic depression Spain has seen in recent times or is it just a media stunt? Late is better than never and in this case, coincidentally, late is also lot cheaper.

  3. There is a reason Spain why has the smallest Jewish community in Europe. Smaller even than the Jewish community of Germany – of all places. Its because what Isabella did to the Jews was a lot more sinister and barbaric than just expelling them. The Spanish Inquisition is something held DEEP in the heart of the Jewish community – even to those who are not of Spanish descent. I think it will take a lot more than this typically cack-handed attempt at attracting the community back to Spain to want Jews to come back and reclaim their stolen property

  4. Jon:

    The Spanish Inquisition, that I think that were very bad, only was headed to christians.

    Some of them were former jews converted to the christianity.

    The jews that choose to be converted, mixed with the rest of population.

    An example of descendent of jews is Santa Teresa, another is the great inqusidorTorquemada.

  5. Anselmo, mas basura.

    Torquemada was a traitor to his own people and is despised to this day.

    You only THINK the Inquistion was bad – the rest of the world KNOWS it was bad, no evil.

    Jews and Moslems did’nt really have a choice – covert or die.

    It’s worth pointing out that it was the Germanic invaders of Spain – Goths/Visigoths and Swabians wqho were the driving force of the Inquisition and it’s first target was to dispossess the Euskadi (the first Europeans by thousands of years)of their wealth and lands followed by a pogram against the Catalans.

    Not surprisingly both these peoples don’t want anything to do with the alien ‘Spanish’.

  6. Stuart:
    I don´t know why you are molest with my comment.

    I agree with you that the Inquisition was evil. In the times of their eviction, the hatred to the Jews was motivated by religiose prejudices and economical interest, very few by race. In the times of the Inquisition the antisemitism of the Germanics had been disapeared. Have been passed 1000 years.
    Respect de Vasques, they were in Spain before that the Iberians and the Celts. (1000 years B.C.??).
    After came the Romans (200 years before J.C.), and after the Germanics (400 years after Christ).
    The Vasques, since the arrive of the Iberians and Celts, have been isolated in their actual location, and they were poorly romanized, and poor. In the rest of the península the population had been uniformized in Hispano-romanos. I don´t think that the Germanics find too much wealthy for to espoliate to the Vasques, because they have been relatively poor till the arrive of the British Industrial Revolution.
    About the Catalans, they didn´t existed in that times, it would be necessary to wait to the 900 a.J.C for to speak over them.
    In Spain the variety of the country and the slowly of the Reconquista have caused a great variety of peoples, that are very similiar in some caracteristics and diferents in others. But catalans and vascs are as spanish as, for example, the castillians.

    The separatists movements of catalans and vasques began with the 20 century, consequence of the industrial revolution and very soon they will to disapear because the Globalization

  7. Anselmo,
    if you go around telling the Euskadi (why not give them their real name?) or the Catalans they are ‘Spanish’ you are risking a visit to a hospital or morgue.

    The Euskadi were never poor but extremely wealthy with extensive fertile lands unlike the Germanics who could only establish a foothold in the mainly barren centre of Spain.

    The Euskadi made fortunes from trading and fishing, they were visiting the Newfoundland and the Canadian fishing grounds long forgotten by Europeans and Scandinavians – the Vikings and Celts had been there centuries before hand.

    Your also wrong to mention Iberians and Celts – the Iberians were the Celts – having spoken with teachers in Spain it is appalling how Spanish school children are told so many lies – like the ridiculous assertion that the ‘Spanish’ are Latins – completely ludicrous and untrue. Only 2-3% of Spanish are Latins and that because of rape by those nasty Romans.

    Having said all that the ‘English’ hav’nt got a clue about their racial origins, again due to brainwashing in school.

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