GLORIA L. CHARNES

Special to The Jewish News

U

pon my return from a
recent trip to the
Iberian peninsula, a
curious relative asked for
news from afar. "Thll me," she
queried, "are there any Jews
in Spain?"
Yes, Cousin Millie, after a
virtual absence of half a
millenium, there are Jews in
Spain. An estimated 15,000.
Admittedly, for centuries
anything related to Jews was
taboo; to be suspected of
Jewish blood or Judaizing
tendencies could make one a
pariah, or worse. "Now," a
Spanish law student mused,
"everybody is of Jewish
origin, some a little bit, and
some more than others."
There is open acknowledge-
ment of Jewish lineage.
Although legend relates
that Jews first settled in
Spain after the destruction of
Solomon's Ibmple in 586
B.C.E., Jews arriving with the
Phoenicians are presumed to
have named the towns they
helped to establish. Malaga
from "malacha," meaning
"work"; Toledo from
"toledot," "generations"; and
Seville from "shefelah," the
"plain." Once heavily popu-
lated with Jews, Granada and
Tarragona were referred to as
Jews lbwn.
As late as 1802, King
Carlos IV decreed that no
Israelite could enter Spain
without permission from the
Inquisition, and only in 1834
did that Holy Office formally
end. By the end of the 19th
century, Jews from the Otto-
man Empire began to immi-
grate to Spain, but not until
the 1920s was there any
semblance of an organized
community. In 1956, Ma-
drid's Jewish population
numbered about 300.
Now, some 30 years later,
we are in Madrid's Beth
Yaacov Synagogue on Calle
Balmes. Henry Misrachi,
born in Alexandria, Egypt,
came here on business 25
years ago, "liked it very
much, the life here, settled,'
and met his wife, Astrid, from
Tangiers, Morocco. Says
Astrid, "We have 420 WZO
(World Zionist Organization)
members and the younger
group, Aviv, has 75. Twice a
month, we have a social
meeting, with some type of
program. Between 80 to 100
ladies attend."
The synagogue was dedi-

Gloria Charnes is a writer in
Oak Park, IL.

124

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1990

The Remarkable Re birth
Of The Jews Of Spain

In 1492, Spain expelled all Jews from
the land. Now, Jews have returned
to the country and are
building communities.

A wing of the former El Transito Synagogue was opened as a museum in 1971.
Scarcely an hour's drive
cated on December 16, 1968.
south from Madrid and to the
The Archbishop of Madrid at-
west, Toledo emerges like a
tended, as did Mauricio
movie set depicting the Mid-
Tbledano, descendant of the
dle Ages. Where more than
renowned Rabbi David lble-
12,000 Jews once dwelt,
dano, who fled Ibledo in 1492,
perhaps three Jewish families
when Jews were expelled from
now live.
the country. At the dedica-
A flourishing center for
tion, the infamous Decree of
Castilian Jews active in tex-
Expulsion was officially
tile manufacturing and com-
abolished.
merce, Toledo was also a
On the outskirts of Madrid,
nucleus of Jewish learning, a
in a new suburb called La
prominent abode for Jewish
Moraleja, is the Jewish day
writers and scholars.
school, Colegio Estrella
Of its 10 synagogues, two
Ibledano. The rambling, con-
survive. Transformed into the
temporary structure was
Church of Notre Dame, the
dedicated in 1977. Besides
sanctuary of El Transito,
the basic curriculum, children
built in 1357 by Samuel
are taught French and
Halevi Abulafia, treasurer of
Hebrew from the age of four,
King Pedro the Cruel, is one
English from sixth grade on,
vast rectangle. A wing of El
and receive instruction in
Transito opened as a museum
religion. Kosher lunch is
in 1971, organized by the
served.

Spanish government. Among
Judaica items on display are
ceremonial artifacts, matri-
monial costumes from Moroc-
co, a map showing the loca-
tion of Jewish settlements in
the Middle Ages, beautifully
decorated Ketubat, frag-
ments from an old synagogue
and ancient headstones.

Until it became a church in
1405, Santa Maria La Blanca
was the Great Synagogue,
built in the late 13th century
by Joseph Ibn Shushan. The
crumbling facade in no man-
ner prepares one for the archi-
tectural grandeur within. A
series of colonnaded arches
divide the awesome interior,
with exquisitely detailed
filigree work ornamenting the
walls.
Barcelona, on the northeast

seacoast, an hour's flight
from Madrid, stretches be-
tween two hills, Tibidabo and
Montjuich. The latter, as the
name implies, means "moun-
tain of the Jews," in Catalan.
Although Jews never actually
lived on Montjuich, many
owned land along its slopes
and the principal Jewish
cemetery was located here. In
the heart of Barcelona, in the
former palace of the Viceroy,
lower walls were constructed
from tombstones with some
of the Hebrew lettering still
discernible.
The Jewish population
numbers over 4,000. Dedica-
ted to the memory of Moses
Maimonides, the synagogue,
built with official government
support, was formally opened
September 27, 1954, the first
synagogue erected on Span-
ish soil since the Expulsion.
Girona, a weathered city,
nestles almost in the foothills
of the Pyrenees, a pleasant
drive from Barcelona. In
1160, Jews were permitted to
lease shops outside the town
hall. Soon they were taking
part in the city's administra-
tion. At the moment, efforts
are underway to restore the
Jewish quarter. One can still
see the metal hook where long
ago the entrance to a stair-
way leading to the Jewish
quarter was locked at night.
Along the celebrated Costa
del Sol, Jewish communities
are surfacing. In Malaga,
there are 1,000 Jews, a
modest synagogue in an of-
fice building, and a kosher
butcher. The Ohayon family,
Sephardim from Morocco,
have built a marvelous little
synagogue with mikvah at-
tached, in the posh resort area
of Marbella. In the heart of
the business district of bustl-
ing Tbrremolinos is a nicely
maintained store-front syna-
gogue; congregants worship
from prayerbooks donated by
the United Synagogue of
America.
There has been a trium-
phant and legal return. On
June 28, 1967, the new Law of
Religious Freedom went into
effect, guaranteeing protec-
tion to the practice of all
religions, freely and openly,
individually and collectively.
Finally, on January 19,
1986, a much awaited event
occurred: Spain and Israel
established diplomatic rela-
tions, with the Spanish Prime
Minister and Shimon Peres
signing the historic document
at The Hague. Since 1983,
there have been direct flights
between Madrid andlbl Aviv
on an almost daily basis. ❑