THE JEWISH NEWS MARCH 27, 1992 A Toast To Jewish Living ft 004 Age Jews And The Encounter With The Nei, World f4 c)"'' w- By JUDITH LAIKIN ELKIN What attitude should Jews take toward the Columbus Quincentenary? As Americans we never used to pay much attention to Columbus Day. Few of us noticed when Congress detached it from October 12 — the actual date when Columbus' lookout spied land — and allowed it to float between the closest Friday or Monday. But Latin Americans take October 12 seriously, calling it "The Day of the Race," while Italians celebrate the man they regard as their most distinguished native son, though he sailed under the flag of Spain. Native Americans point out that they had no need to be discovered and that the invasion of the western hemisphere by Europeans initiated the genocide of their people. As for Jews, we know 1492 as the most tragic year to befall us between the destruction of the Second Temple and the Holocaust. It is more useful to understand what happened in 1492 than to either celebrate or condemn it. Several extremely important events intersected in 1492: the defeat of the Moors at Granada led to the unification of Spain under the Catholic Kings; publication of the first Spanish language grammar gave Spain an instrument for controlling the empire it was about to acquire; the first transatlantic voyage of exploration began the process of opening all sectors of the globe to one another, with Spain at first the dominant power; and the expulsion of the Jews narrowed Spain's intellectual horizons at precisely the moment when her imperial power was expanding. The cumulative impact of all these events made 1492 a watershed year for Europe, America, and the world. 1492 created the world of 1992, so it is important for us to understand what happened. Continued on Page L-2 I Jews played a leading part in the cultural and economic life of Spain during the Roman, Islamic and Christian periods.Many were converted to Christianity in the 100 years before the expulsion. Jews were active in most occupations,and are known to have been doctors, lawyers, carpenters, tailors, butchers, bookbinders, tax-collectors, moneylenders, candlemakers, shipowners, sheep farmers, horse dealers and even lion- tamers. Jewish merchants dealt in silk, grain, furs, leather,wool and timber THE JEWS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 1000-1497 • • • • •I `r/4,„ 00 A_ • • • • 1355. 12,000 Jews massacred by the mob • • • • 4c • 0 • Lisbon Q • • • 1373,1449,1482. Anti-Jewish riots • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1228. Jews forced to wear distinctive badge • .1`i" • 0 • • • 1,s, • • • • • • • • • • S S • • • • is • • • • .1111 • 0 • Lerida® Q• • Q- 9 Barcelona 1/4 0 • 0 • "7 • • 0 • • • •c"• ()Toledo ' VO • Valencia 0 O • • • A NDALUSIA Cordova C) ® Jaen Ecija® Seville ® • • • • • • Gerona ®• 1391. 50,000 Jews killed 1492 Expulsion To Turkey 90,000 To Holland 25,000 20,000 To Morocco 10,000 To France To Italy 10,000 To America 5,000 Total emigrated 160,000 Died while seeking a new home 20,000 Baptized, and remained in Spain 50,000 Towns with Jewish communities by 1490 ® Anti-Jewish massacres 1391-1397 -4-- The expulsion of the Jews 1492-1498 More than 160,000 Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492, the same year Christopher Columbus discovered land — and "The New World." (Map from Jewish History Atlas, By Martin Gilbert). Sephardim Bring Tapestry Of Culture, Art, Heritage By LISSA HURWITZ Behar ... Is that a Jewish name? It sure is! And so are Alemon, Saltiel, Saraquse, Mustakis, Louza, Chicorel and Takouni.* Do these names sound like Greek to you? Some of them are. And Italian, and Moroccan, and Turkish. They are some of the common surnames among the Sephardim — the Jews of Spain. From 700 to the 1300s, Spain was the only European country that exercised religious tolerance. Christians, Moslems and Jews lived side by side. But by the mid-1300s, life for Spanish Jews was not easy. The Christians of Spain became distrustful of them, and resented their obvious devotion to a religion and customs that were unlike those of Christianity. Over time, it became more and more difficult for Jews to openly practice their religion: Resentment of the Jews went from bad to worse. In 1391, 50,000 Jews were murdered. The king and queen of Spain decreed that all Jews must convert to Christianity. Many Jews fled Spain then, and many, called conversos, appeared to have converted, while secretly continuing to practice their beloved Judaism. At the command of the king, a group of Christian religious leaders began an Inquisition, intended to ferret out backsliding Christians, and to uncover Jews who were only pretending to have converted. The Inquisition's first victims were six conversos from Seville who were burned at the stake in 1391. Then, in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed an edict expelling all of the Jews from Spain. Jews whose families had lived in Spain since the 700s had to quickly Continued on Page L-3