THE government approved a bill which makes it possible for Sephardic Jews to receive Spanish citizenship and retain their existing citizenship.
The bill was proposed by the ruling Popular Party. The bill has yet to be voted upon by lawmakers in Spain’s Congress of Deputies.
Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon said the measure smooths the bureaucracy involved in obtaining Spanish citizenship. Applicants must be vetted by the government and Spain’s Federation of Jewish Communities, or FCJE.
Gallardon announced his intention to introduce new legislation in November 2012. His party, the Popular Party, introduced the bill in December 2013, after Portugal passed its own law of Jewish return in July.
Those who are interested in acquiring Spanish citizenship based on prior Jewish ancestors who had lived in Spain need to contact the consulates and embassies of Spain for accurate details on how to proceed.
Many Sephardic Israelis appear to be interested in obtaining Spanish citizenship because it would confer various privileges on its owner, by virtue of Spain’s membership in the EU.
It now seems that after 522 years, Spain is trying to make amends.
BLIND VISION, the epic historical novel by the award winning best selling author, Vivian Jeanette Kaplan, is now available on Amazon. It is the story of the Inquisition in Spain and the expulsion of the Secret or Crypto-Jews from there in 1492, of their descendants living today, many in secrecy. They call themselves B’nei Anousim (Hebrew for sons of those forced to convert – Marrano means “filthy pig” in Spanish and should never be used. It was the extremely derogatory word used by the Spaniards to refer to the Conversos in the 15th century and unfortunately is commonplace today). It also finally uncovers the involvement and true identity, beyond any reasonable doubt, of Christopher Columbus who left Spain with his three ships on his voyage to the New World, on the exact same day of expulsion, with several Jews aboard.
The title BLIND VISION comes from the impassioned plea of one of most famous Court Jews of the time, Don Isaac Abravanel, Chief Royal Tax Collector of Spain, to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, to stop their planned Edict of Expulsion. Rabbi Don Abraham Seneor, Chief Rabbi of Spain, was at his side. In his speech, Don Isaac said “For generations to come it will be told and retold how unkind was your faith and how blind was your vision”.
Maybe Spain has finally got the message.
I must admit to having spent countless sleepless nights worrying when or how I can get my ancestral citizenship back. What after the torture, treatment like a farm animal, vilification through centuries of arcane, uneducated, retro-minded and typically Spanish Catholicism with its unbelievably purile education of its people on what is a Jew, well, I can hardly contain my joy at being able to finally re-join this nation of forward thinking and liberally-minded peoples.
WHAT A LOAD OF TOSH !!!
Why would ANY Sepharad wish to become Spanish of all nationalities?
The same was said of German jews who, after the war, decided to go back to Germany in order to reap compensation. It was scandalous then – and remains so today.
With Spain being bankrupt, there is clearly no financial gain to be had.
With most Jews being multi-ethnic in background, I would have thought that any non-EU citizens could find ANY EU nationality more valuable and certainly more morally uplifting than being associated with this nation of Church-educated pigs who still treat ANY foreigner with the disdain of the trough dwellers.
I sound angry – and I indeed AM angry.
With all of the problems this country faces, the PP find time for the most non-event subject to get frothed-up about. And this, at the same time as our forward-looking government is going backwards on abortion.
These people beggar belief!!
Barry Kaplan: re: Vivian Jeanette Kaplan. Any relation?
Barry & Bing Dong (strange handle BTW),
both excellent posts telling it like it was and is. These Catholic fanatics like the present day Taliban (quite ironic that) killed and drove away the very people who ran Al-Andaluz so well.
In fact it’s been downhill for Spain ever since. Hard to believe that anyone could reject the Cordoba Concorde – only stupid bigots could do that, the same ones who destroyed the Inca and Aztec civilizations.
Stefanjo, in answer to your question, I am the husband of the author.
I might mention that the main two characters in the book are “Stefan” who lives today and his ancestor, Alfonso, who lives, with his family as a Crypto-Jew during the Inquisition in the late 15th century.
If you go to Amazon there is a “Look Inside” feature that you can click on above the image of the cover that you can read the Introduction and the first two chapters. You will be able to read in the Introduction, an excerpt from an interview on Vatican Radio, in 1998, that the Inquisition was grossly exaggerated (the number of Jews executed) and it was, in effect, good that it happened as it saved Spain from the witchcraft scares of the time. You will also read that Queen Isabella is currently on the path to Sainthood. Her and her husband expelled the Jews (living in ghettos) and by default hundreds of thousands of Anousim/Secret-Jews and anybody else who had converted since they all feared for their lives if they stayed. You might find more there of interest.
I might also mention that although written as a novel to bring alive for the reader what happened then and is happening today, this book has been meticulously researched.